Chapter Nineteen: Get Well Soon

When the ambulance arrived, Reid was extremely grateful that Persephone had noted him as next of kin. It meant that when he went to accompany her there had been little resistance practically once the paramedics had been informed of this. Persephone didn't say anything on the way to the hospital and neither did Spencer. Instead, he just held her hand and allowed Persephone to bask in the silence. She wasn't allowed to sleep just yet- it wasn't clear if she was suffering from brain damage. The silence would allow her to rest though.

A few hours later, Persephone was lying in her hospital bed. A CT and MRI scan had both come back clean, so the doctor had allowed her to sleep. She welcomed this news and with the help of some decent painkillers had also welcomed sleep fairly easily. She would be all right. She wasn't in a serious condition but would need some rest. Well, Persephone would be getting plenty of that.

Reid glanced over to her and considered everything that had happened over the last few weeks. He cursed himself for not intervening sooner. He should have told the team everything when Persephone first told him about the letters. He had never been more scared than when he had found out that Percy had been abducted. Now, she was lying in a hospital bed with bruises and scrapes. True, her injuries were not that serious or life-threatening. The worst injuries that she had were some cracked ribs. That wasn't the point. Any injury on Percy was a bad thing and these could have been prevented if he hadn't been so stupid.

"It wasn't your fault," A voice told him from the door.

Reid turned to face the direction the voice was coming from. It was Hotch. Reid wondered which member of the team would be the first to arrive. Now that he thought about it, the answer was obvious. It would make sense that Hotch would come to visit Persephone as soon as he could. Apart from being the Unit Chief, he was also listed as another of Persephone's emergency contacts.

"I wish I could say I believe you on that, but I can't. I should have brought the letters to your attention sooner. If I did, this would never have happened," Reid responded glumly.

"Maybe, maybe not," Hotch replied "But I bet Persephone asked you not to tell anyone and anyway, it looked like he'd backed off. I was in the parking lot and spoke to her just seconds before he took her. If anyone's to blame, it's me."

"It wasn't your fault." Reid shook his head, echoing the reassurances that Hotch had given him earlier.

"Why don't we agree that neither of us is to blame and leave it at that? Trying to blame ourselves won't help Persephone," Hotch suggested, looking over to the sleeping agent.

Reid gave a weak smile and nodded. Hotch pulled up a chair near him and split the stares between the two of them. The older agent sighed. He had been in this position too many times. It came with the territory of the job but that didn't make it any easier.

"Speaking of Persephone, how is she?" Hotch inquired.

"She's sleeping right now. The doctors say she's going to be all right. She has a few bruises, scrapes, and a cracked rib but nothing serious. She's going to be OK." Reid updated him. He spoke the last sentence quieter than he had said the rest as though he was trying to reassure himself.

"That'd good," Hotch nodded "Really good. What about you?"

"I wasn't injured," Reid pointed out slightly confused.

"That wasn't what I meant Reid. How are you doing?"

"I'm scared," Reid admitted "Now that the adrenaline's worn off it's hitting home how close I was to losing her. I- Hotch I need to go to a meeting. I'm craving."

"Go. I'll wait with her until she wakes up." Hotch indicted the door with a sharp nod of his head. He was not completely surprised when Reid made no move to get up. Instead, the young genius shook his head so vigorously that if he had put any more force to it he would have given himself whiplash.

"No," Reid refused "I need to be here when she wakes up."

"Persephone is luckily to have you."

"I'm lucky to have her. I-" Reid cut himself off before he could admit the thing that he couldn't admit to himself let alone Hotch.

"You care about her."

If Reid thought that he was being obscure that he was wrong. If he thought that the rest of the team didn't know that Reid more than just cared about Persephone he was wrong. If anything, they were probably more aware of the situation than the two of them were.

"She's my friend."

Hotch smiled knowingly. Then he clapped Reid on the shoulder. After having Reid promise to call him his cravings got too bad or he changed his mind, Hotch left. He needed to update his team on Persephone's condition. They would be arriving in the hospital soon and would no doubt be annoying the staff members. He was surprised that Garcia hadn't called him yet demanding to know what had happened.

RING RING

The Unit Chief chuckled, amused when he saw the caller ID. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Not that Garcia was the devil of course.

"Garcia, everything's all right. She's fine." Hotch explained as he made his way through the hospital corridor.

Persephone bounced up and down on the sofa. She had been looked after her neighbour Mrs Tenley because on Monday her mum had to be taken to hospital. Usually, that would be really bad news but this time it was really good news. The babies that were in mummy's tummy were coming out today and soon she would be able to meet them. She was a big sister now! She had to wait two whole days to see them because they had to check that her mummy and that her new brother and sister were all healthy.

Finally, the door to the front room opened and her parents walked in. They were both carrying car seats in their arms. Inside each of them were a tiny bundle of cuteness. Persephone saw that her mummy looked very tired. She had been told by her teachers that her mummy would be all right but giving birth was very hard. That was why it was called 'labour' because it took a lot.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Persephone yelled when her parents came in. She leapt off of the sofa and ran to meet her. She stopped herself from jumping into her mum's arms for a hug like she normally would do. She didn't want to hurt her or the baby she was carrying.

"Shh! You'll scare your brother and sister and then they'll cry." Her dad scolded sharply. He didn't want to have another kid let alone two. One had been more than enough. But it did make his wife happy and that was what mattered to him. However, that didn't mean he could handle crying after being stuck in a hospital room for eight hours listening to the love of his life scream in pain.

Persephone withdrew herself. She didn't like it when he yelled. Her mummy shook her head and her dad. Her mummy was always doing that when she felt he was being too mean. Persephone was glad that her mummy was so nice.

"Seb, she's just excited. Aren't you, my little Pumpkin Pie?"

"All right Cherie, I'm sorry." Sebastian apologised using his wife's pet name.

Estelle Ambrose smiled down at her eldest daughter. Now she had two more children who were just as beautiful and as perfect as her firstborn. She did not doubt that Persephone would be a brilliant sister. It was clear by the excitement she had in her voice. When they'd told her, she was going to be a big sister she expected tears and even resentment to the growing foetus. That hadn't happened. She delighted even more so when she found out that they were going to have twins.

"Mummy? Can I see my little brother and sister now?" Persephone pleaded. She had been very patient. It had been two whole days before her mother had gone into hospital and Mrs Tenley had said that she needed to wait and be a good girl. Well, she'd waited and been a very good girl.

"Of course, sweetie," Estelle answered. She placed the car seat she was carrying down and picked up the little bundle that was securely inside of it.

Persephone stilled her movements. She had already been told that she needed to be still and careful. Even if she hadn't been told that she would have been gentle anyway. She didn't want to hurt her brother or sister.

"This is your brother Persephone. He was born first and his name is Ignatius Oberon," Estelle told her, and she gently placed her son in her daughter's lap. She kept a hand underneath his head and neck, supporting him.

"Hello Ignatius," Persephone spoke softly "I'm your big sister, Persephone. He's so tiny."

"He is, isn't he? Can you believe that you were this small this once? One day they'll both be as big as you."

Persephone shook her head. Ignatius opened his eyes and made a gurgling noise at her. He had wisps of ginger hair but apart from that, he was completely bald. Gently she planted a kiss on his forehead.

"I love him," Persephone announced. "Can I see Sister now?"

A few minutes later she was looking down at a nearly identical baby. Her eyes were the same green colour, but they were slightly brighter. She had more hair too.

"This one is called Cassiopeia Amalthea," Estelle told her after switching the babies.

Again, Persephone planted a kiss on the baby's forehead. Cassiopeia curled a hand around her finger. It made her sister smile.

"Hello, Cassiopeia. I'm Persephone, your big sister. I love you so much." She told her baby sister quietly.

Later that day, when the babies were in their cots, Persephone went to go check on them. Mummy told her that they would sleep for most of the day because they were so little, and they had to spend lots of time growing. She couldn't play with them until they were bigger but that was ok. She just wanted to look that them again. They were so cute!

"Mummy says you're too little to play with but that's all right. When you get bigger we can play so many games and you can share my toys! I have so much to teach you!"

The babies gurgled. Persephone was sure that they could understand what she was saying. She knew that they would be very clever because she, her mommy and her daddy were clever.

"You can come to school, but you need to be a lot bigger first," Persephone explained and then made a face. "But you may bump into mean bullies like Frank Jenson. But you don't need to worry about that. Mummy says when you make promises you have to honour them. That means you gotta do what you say you will or not do what you say you won't. So, I'm gonna make you two a promise. I will protect you and I will never let anyone hurt you."

Ignatius and Persephone gurgled again before falling silent. Persephone checked to see if they were all right but found they were perfectly fine. They had just fallen asleep. Persephone smiled at them before tiptoeing towards the door and creeping out silently.

Persephone's eyes opened slowly. The dream she had – more of a memory really- had been the best one she had had in a long time. She loved the day her parents had brought her brother and sister home. Persephone had kept her promise until that fateful day in June. She kept her brother and sister from getting hurt. Anyone that bullied them quickly found out that it would be in their best interests to leave them alone. Anyone that made them cry was delt swift and through justice by Persephone. Of course, there had been a day where she failed in that endeavour and it cost the two of them their lives. It had been the only time she'd failed to protect them and rightly or wrongly, Persephone blamed herself for that failure.

"Percy!" Reid exclaimed noticing that his friend had woken up.

"How long was I out?" Persephone questioned but with her drowsiness made it come out like 'ow ong wa I ou'

Thankfully, Reid understood what she was asking and looked at his watch.

"About three hours. How do you feel?"

Persephone snorted "Like I got kidnapped."

"Touché." Reid chuckled.

Spencer looked at her in a look with a mixture of worry and happiness. Persephone was safe, that was the main thing. However, being safe and being OK were two different things. Oh, the doctors had assured him that Persephone's injuries were not serious and that with time and rest, she would be fine. The thing was that he knew better than anyone that there was more to a person's health than their physical wellbeing. Right now, whether she was OK mentally remained to be seen.

"The doctors say that your injuries aren't serious. I'll go and get him so that he can come and speak to you," Reid got up and was about to walk away from the bed when a hand on his arm stopped him. It was Persephone, of course.

"No. Don't go yet, Spen. Please." Persephone requested. The 'please' was said in a pleading tone and it and well as the word itself was unnecessary.

"All right Percy." He agreed, patting the hand that was holding his arm.

Persephone looked into Spencer's eyes. She felt a few tears form. Now that she was safe, the emotional toll was getting too much to handle. In the past 24 hours, she had an unwilling reunion with her father, been drugged, punched, and even drenched in water. It had been a long day and now it was just too much.

"Percy…" Spencer whispered sadly.

"Spen, I-" Persephone cried.

Spencer was debating what he should do. In the end, Persephone decided for him and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly. With one hand he stroked the back of her. Right now, he needed to console her. He whispered reassures in her ear. Gradually, her sobbing quietened, and the hiccups stopped. Persephone was the one that initiated the hug and she was the one that broke it.

"I'm sorry," Persephone apologised.

"You know you say sorry a lot. Why? There's no need to apologise."

Persephone shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'm just British I guess. We apologise to inanimate objects."

"I nearly lost you today. It scared me. I care about you Persephone." Reid informed her "A lot. I don't know if it's being faced with nearly losing you that's made everything clear, but I need to say this so I'm just going to say it. I love you. I know, you probably don't feel the same and now I've made this all awkward, but I can't stop denying it."

"You're rambling," Persephone reminded him, then she added in a soft voice: "I feel the same."

Another one of Reid's smiles, the kind that Persephone felt in her stomach, appeared on her face. She mirrored it. Then two kissed. The moment had been a long time coming. When they parted Reid stroked Persephone's uninjured cheek.

"I should go and find the doctor. He'll want to do a neuro check but since your talking, I would say you are fine."

"Is that your considered opinion Doctor Reid?" Persephone quipped.

"Well I'd say it was my professional opinion, but I have been reliably informed that my second opinion does not count for much when it comes to medical matters," Reid joked.

The doctor agreed with Reid's assessment of Persephone cognitive status. After the standard neurological questions and checks, he diagnosed Persephone with a mild concussion. It meant that she would probably have a headache for a while but otherwise, she would be all right.

"You have a full team of profilers out there, waiting to hear about you. There's a lot of people that care about you." Reid assured.

"I'm beginning to realise that."

"Is it all right if I update them?"

Persephone nodded her assent.

"Are you all right to have visitors?" Reid asked, casting a glance at the doctor. He asked the question directly to her out of respect to Persephone but was also deeply aware that the doctor may have a problem with the request.

"Send them in." Persephone smiled.

"If Miss Ambrose is alight with it, I have no issues. Only two at a time, mind and they can't stay too long. My patient needs her rest," Doctor Weston ordered.

With more information at hand, Reid left to go and find the rest of the team. Just as he wa leaving Persephone was trying to persuade the doctor to let her go for a walk. The doctor was trying to persuade Persephone to stay in bed until tomorrow. He chuckled as he listened to Persephone's protests and imagined the glares the doctor was getting from her. He wondered who would win. Of course, Reid had his bets on Persephone. He was loyal.

It wasn't a surprise to see that the rest of the team were sat in reception- Garcia included. Hotch was there so he'd likely informed the team about Persephone's progress. The doctor would have also spoken with the Unit Chief and if the team hadn't been there for that he would have relayed whatever he had been told. Still, they would be happy to hear it from the donkey's mouth as it were. Anyway, they'd been told that they couldn't see them until Persephone was awake and willing.

As soon as the team spotted Reid walking towards them, those sitting down jumped to the feet. They immediately hounded Reid with questions and surrounded him. Hotch took pity on him.

"All right let him speak, back away," Hotch ordered. He waited until his team obeyed the order before turning back to Reid. "How is she?"

"Awake and arguing with the doctor." He disclosed with a smile. The profilers at once noticed that he looked like the cat that got the cream.

"Is she receiving visitors?" Rossi inquired.

"Yes, but only two at a time and you can't stay long. Percy needs her rest. And, no-one is to talk about what happened today or about her family unless Persephone herself broaches this subject all right?" Reid answered. He gave each member of the team a warning glare and his tone was nothing but commanding.

The team agreed without any complaints. Of course, the protective nature of his tone did not go unnoticed. Things like that didn't go unnoticed. Even Garcia, the least perceptive to this kind of thing noticed it. After spending so long with profilers she had picked up a few skills. Even without that, she wasn't blind.

Garcia and Morgan were the first ones that went to go and visit Persephone. Reid stayed in the room which caused a raised eyebrow from the doctor but since he stayed silent; the doctor did not say anything about it.

"What's up Pumpkin Spice?" Morgan greeted. The nickname earned him an eye roll from Persephone.

"I'm doing good. I see you've chosen another nickname. You're lucky I like it," Persephone remarked.

Garcia greeting was a lot more animated. She hugged Persephone excitedly. The Brit had not been expecting the attack and flinched at the sudden movement. But when she felt herself in the warm embrace of Penelope Garcia, she relaxed into it.

"I'm so glad you're OK. I was worried about my English Ginger." She cried.

"Nellie, it's all right, I'm going to be OK."

"You better Ginge or we're having words!"

Garcia had brought a few gifts for Persephone. The first was a Dalek plushie (Garcia had somehow managed to find a pink one) the second was a notebook and pen set and the third and final gift was a set of cupcakes. They looked delicious and the tops were decorated with a Union Flag and various characters from Doctor Who.

Morgan had also brought a gift. It was a travel-sized set with three different types of games. It would be the perfect thing to occupy her mind when she was still in the hospital. In the words of Arthur Schopenhauer, The two enemies of happiness are pain and boredom. Well, Morgan took care of the boredom side and the medication the doctors had her on took care of pain.

Hotch and JJ came in next. Both had cards from their respective children. Jack's drawing was more controlled than Henry's but that had been expected, he was more developed than Henry. Still, though, it was nice to see that the boys had thought of her.

Hotch had gotten her a few Agatha Christie books. She had mentioned beforehand that it was her favourite author which had been a surprise to Garcia. She spent her job with real murders she didn't know why she wanted to read it for fun.

"Make sure you get lots of rest. Don't worry about work. You can take as long as you need," Hotch reassured her.

"Thank you, sir." Before Hotch could say anything, Persephone amended. "Sorry, I mean Hotch."

"Henry's looking forward to seeing you. He wants to visit you in the hospital."

Persephone shook her head. "I don't want to scare Jack or Henry. Once I'm out of the hospital the boys can come and see me. You can tell them I'm all right and that I'm looking forward to seeing them again."

Hotch and JJ smiled at that. After everything she had been through, she was still looking out for their children. Now they knew about her brother and sister it was clear why exactly she was so protective when it came to children. It also made it clear why she was so good with them. After promising that they would make sure the boys knew she was OK, the two left.

Lastly, Rossi and Prentiss came in. Rossi kissed each side of Persephone's face being mindful of the two busies that marked her cheeks. It was rather awkward at first, but she allowed it to happen and realised it was just part of Rossi's charm. Rossi placed a container filled with various foods. He had seen what meals the hospital offered and wanted to save her from that fate. He also gave her a meal planner and recipe book.

Prentiss, like everyone else, had got her a gift too. She gave her some Get Well Soon balloons. She also got her a basket of washing stuff so that she didn't have to use what the hospital provided.

"You had me worried there, Bambina."

"I'm sorry, Rossi. I didn't mean to cause a fuss."

"Shh." Rossi injected. "There's no need to apologise. And after all, you've been through you can make all the fuss you want."

Prentiss squeezed her shoulder gently. She smiled warmly at her. That had been times where she had been scared for Persephone's safety and for a moment back there, she had thought that it would have turned out a lot worse than it had.

"Rossi's right. We're just glad that you're OK. We'll let you rest for now."

The pair left leaving Persephone and Spencer alone together. Satisfied that they wouldn't be disturbed, he lay next to her on the bed. Then he placed an arm around her and pulled her in close. He planted a soft kiss on her temple.

"What does this mean for us Spen?"

"I'm not sure. What do you think?"

Persephone was silent and she thought about it. Exactly a minute later she responded.

"I guess we're going out now." She stated.

Spencer kissed her again in response. "I was hoping you would say that."

The two smiled. Soon, he would be ushered away, and he would have to leave. For now, though, they were content to stay exactly as they were. All was fine once more.