"That's all you have to say?" Garcia cried, her emotions breaking to the surface. The others were silent, trying to adjust to the shock. "You've been dead for over a week and all you say is 'Hey guys'?"
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm not my usual clever self."
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Garcia cried with glee, rushing forward. Gently, she wrapped him into a hug.
"You don't seem too surprised." Reid mentioned, embracing her in return.
Garcia released him, her usual bubbly self having emerged after days in hibernation. "Kevin showed me an encrypted file he found. It revealed all about you're medical care and federal protection."
"I should have figured I couldn't hide it from you." Reid smiled, giving her arm a pat. His eyes traveled behind her where JJ, trying not to get too distressed, waited for her turn.
Garcia stepped aside and let JJ come forward. "Hey," Reid said, "How are you feeling?"
"Better than you, I think." She said, a few tears leaking out. "I uh… I know I wasn't supposed to, but… I went to put something in your… coffin." She stumbled over the word. The whole circumstance was too fantastic. "When I opened it, there was a mannequin… I wanted to believe… but I was too afraid… to get my hopes up…"
"Come here," Reid whispered, motioning for a hug. JJ leaned down and let him hold her. She cried on his shoulder. "It's okay, JJ. I'm okay."
Several minutes passed. JJ sobbed in his arms and Reid never let her go, holding her as close as possible. His body was weak, but it was warm and familiar, further proving he was alive. At last, JJ pulled away, wiping her cheeks. "How's Henry? And Will?"
"They're fine." She said with a nod. "They miss you… Henry keeps asking for you… we really don't know what to tell him."
"Tell him I miss him and I'll see him soon." Reid said with a smile.
She pushed back some of his hair, "You have no idea how happy I am that I can tell him that."
JJ leaned down to kiss his cheek and he smiled. She stepped aside and Reid looked at the remaining two. "Who's next?"
Emily didn't need to be asked twice; she hurried forward and gingerly took him in her arms. She was completely lost for words. Emily Prentiss, an expert at containing her emotions, completely broke down in his arms. She remained silent, but her tears flowed from her like a waterfall, soaking into his hospital gown. Her body shook in his arms. Just yesterday she could barely stay on her feet as she stood at the gravesite, believing she'd never see her dear friend again. And now he was holding her.
"I'm glad you're okay." He whispered.
An anxious giggle erupted through her. "Kid… I know the feeling." She replied, standing up right. "Reid… I am so sorry."
"Emily…" He looked at her in disbelief. "This wasn't your fault. I told you to leave… enough people have died because of me, I'd be devastated if you got hurt, too."
"But… I just stood there," She started to cry. "You were bleeding and I just stood there… I'm sorry… you could have died…"
Reid tugged on her arm, an order to come forward for another hug. "You were scared, that's all that was… how many times have you been there for me? Have you saved me?"
He felt her nod as more tears collected on his shoulder. At last, she stood again, finally giving a real smile. Emily looked over his face, starting to feel the guilt slowly fade away.
Lastly, Reid's gaze landed on Morgan. He stood immobile for a long time, and Reid began to think he would never come over. Slowly, he took a few steps.
"This is so typical." Morgan said, leaning on the bed. "You always have to have a big fuss made over you, don't you?"
"Sorry." Reid muttered, giving a smirk. "It wasn't my idea."
"You put everyone through Hell, you waste tax dollars on a bogus funeral and for what? For nothing. Well… don't expect any sympathy from me, kid." He replied.
"I won't," Reid agreed.
Morgan nodded. "Good."
A long, silent moment passed as the two men stared each other down. But finally, Morgan reached and embraced the boy. It was one thing for the girls to lose it over Reid, but seeing Morgan break down, even a little, just proved how important these people were to each other.
Reid gave Morgan's back a few pats as they pulled apart. Morgan stood, wiping away the glisten that had appeared in his eyes. Garcia stepped forward, giving her boy's arm a comforting stroke.
Now that everyone was acquainted with the situation, the atmosphere in the room was much lighter. JJ went to sit on one side of the bed, taking his hand in hers. She voiced just what the others were thinking. "So… what happened?"
"Well," Rossi took a seat in the corner of the room, "as you can see, Reid did not die on the way to the hospital."
"Yeah, we got that, Dave. The kid may be a magician, but Houdini couldn't pull that off." Morgan said, taking a free seat. Garcia sat next to him while Emily sat on the other side of the bed. Reid felt so relaxed, surrounded by his friends after a week of seclusion.
Hotch leaned against the door, folding his arms over his chest, continuing the story. "Nathan Harris is a very disturbed man. He's dangerous and, since he was a teenager, he's gotten worse. He's been unable to stop the urges of homicide and sadism, even when he was functioning in society. Because he stopped his suicide attempt four years ago… he blames Reid."
"So his intent is to kill him?" JJ asked, squeezing his hand tighter.
"No, he wants to hurt Reid." Rossi explained. "Because of the threats against his family and the deaths of those formerly involved in his life, his intent is to psychologically and emotionally hurt Reid. We believe he wants Reid to suffer mentally the same way he does."
Emily spoke up. "Then why did he come after us last week?"
Rossi and Hotch glanced at each other. "We're not sure why he did that. We suspect he's been stalking Reid. Once he realized Reid was accessible that day, he acted on instinct. He probably couldn't stop his rage and tried to kill him." Rossi admitted.
"We're not giving up finding, Nathan, though." Hotch determined. "We're still tracking him down. We are still working this case, diligently, and we have full approval from Strauss to do so."
"Wow…" Morgan muttered. "I'd like to know which three ghosts visited her."
"Four." Reid corrected. The whole room turned to him, and he divulged into explanation. "Three ghosts is a common mistake. There were three Ghosts of Christmas, but Jacob Marley was the first ghost to visit Ebenezer Scrooge, making the total four. Also, most people call the final ghost Ghost of Christmas Future, but the correct name used by Dickens is Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come."
A long silence echoed in the room, and Reid noticed all eyes on him, making him feel very exposed. JJ released more tears. She leaned down to kiss his cheek again as Morgan exclaimed, "It's so good to have you back, kid."
Reid blushed and smiled. "Anyway," Hotch continued, "whether we've convinced him or not, Nathan has backed off for now. There don't seem to be anymore threats delivered. Reid's parents are safe. His father is informed on the situation. His mother doesn't even know he was hurt. And tomorrow, I'm going to pull Elle aside and explain everything. She still wants to help on the case, but we can't get her security clearance since she doesn't work for the Bureau.
"Once Reid is healthy, he'll be able to go home, but for now he has to remain here, where he can stay under constant watch. With the exception of Kevin Lynch, Elle Greenaway, and William Reid, no one outside of this room is to know he's alive."
"Hotch, I think you might be forgetting someone," Emily pointed out, taking a glance at Reid with a smile.
But instead of looking happy, as she suspected, his face fell, looking both guilty and sorrowful at the same time. His eyes sparkled with tears as he looked to the ceiling. "What?" Emily asked.
Hotch continued. "As I said… no one outside this room is to know he's alive."
"You're not serious?" Emily looked between Hotch, Rossi and Reid. "You can't keep this from her."
"We have to consider that Nathan may be keeping the closest watch on Riley to make sure Reid's gone. If she's still distraught, it'll be easier to convince him. That can't happen if she knows he's alive."
Rossi chimed in. "It's only temporary. Reid won't be going home for another week or two yet, so that gives us time. Who knows, we could even catch Nathan before then."
"Let's hope," Reid muttered, still staring at the ceiling. Emily took his other hand, knowing where his thoughts were centered.
"So, now that we know you didn't die," Garcia mentioned, "What happened to you, Reid?"
"I don't really remember." Reid replied, at last turning from the ceiling to look at her. "I remember Riley and Hotch… Riley was trying to stop the bleeding… telling me to stay awake… I tried, but I couldn't. The pull was too strong. I awoke for a few seconds in the ambulance; I was fighting and struggling to stay alert… I felt so weak and everything went black again… and the next thing I knew… I was waking up here, and Rossi and Strauss told me I had died."
"We didn't exactly lie about that, Reid," Rossi explained. "You did flat line in the ambulance."
"He was technically dead for 23 seconds." Hotch explained. "But they brought him back. The bullet was lodged in his chest; it did a bit of muscle damage, but his nerves are intact. He was in surgery for awhile. Right now, he isn't very strong. He needs a lot of rest if his body is going to repair itself."
"They're keeping me on a strict diet." Reid grumbled. "I can't even have coffee."
The group laughed, starting to feel like old times again. But Reid's thoughts were wandering, something that wasn't lost on the group.
"You okay, man?" Morgan asked.
He wasn't sure if he wanted to know, but he missed her so much and not knowing made his chest hurt. A pain that had nothing to do with his injury. "How is she?"
No one needed an explanation. Reid's eyes went to Emily, waiting for an answer. "She's… well, she's… fine."
"I want the truth," he pressed.
Emily shook her head. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, talking about her, Reid. You don't want to get stressed-"
"Please, Emily, I have to know." His grip on her hand got tighter. "I know you saw her today, you smell like her perfume. Please, tell me."
Taking a deep breath, "What do you expect, Reid? She's a wreck… she feels like her life is over."
The words weren't a surprise to him, but it didn't hurt any less. He looked across the room. "Please, Hotch, we have to tell her."
"You'll be out of here soon enough, Reid. And then she'll know." He explained.
"So Riley has to suffer through the next two weeks thinking I'm dead? That's torture, Hotch!"
"You're doing this for her protection, Reid. She'll understand that. You're doing this for all our protection. And you're parents and Gideon and Elle-"
"Gideon?" Reid asked. The gears shifted so quickly. "What does he have to do with anything? Gideon hasn't spoken to me in years."
Morgan looked at Hotch. "You didn't tell him?"
"Tell me what?" Reid asked, looking around.
"He asked me to wait until he was released; he wanted to tell him in person." Hotch explained. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."
"Said anything about what? What are you talking about?" Reid urged.
The cat was out of the bag now, and Morgan spoke up. "Gideon came to your funeral, Reid. He told us he's going to be staying in town for awhile."
"Actually, he's staying so he can see Reid. We couldn't fool him, he knew what we were doing. Since he is here and he did interview Nathan four years ago, he offered to help us on the case."
"Wow," Reid muttered, lying back on his pillow. Jason Gideon was someone he suspected he'd never see again. It took his death to bring him back. Reid wasn't sure if that were insulting or flattering.
"Listen guys, we need to get going." Hotch explained, checking his watch. "We were only granted a half hour of visitation and it's ten minutes over.
"You guys just got here." Reid moaned. He refused to release JJ's hand.
"I'm sorry, Reid," Rossi said, standing up. "But we'll be back to see you soon."
"You don't all have to leave, though, do you?" He exclaimed. "I've been here alone for an entire week."
Hotch thought for a moment, looking around at the expectant faces. "I think I can justify one or two people staying. I'll have Strauss clear it so you can have visitors stay with you each night."
"I'll make up a schedule!" Garcia exclaimed. "But who's going to stay tonight?"
"Me," Morgan said immediately. "Anyone else?"
"I can stay," JJ said, "I'll call Will and explain something came up and I'll be home in the morning. That is… if that's alright with you, Emily?"
"Definitely," Emily said, her eyes sparkled at him. "Sorry Reid, but… I promised someone else I'd stay with her tonight."
He was on the brink of tears, "Thank you… for watching her for me."
"It's not for you, Reid." Emily explained. "It's like I told her… she's my friend."
Reid pulled Emily into another loving hug. "Please take care of her."
"I will." She replied. As she stood back up, she smiled. "Get better. And you'll be taking care of her again yourself."
Emily turned to leave. She shared a glance with Morgan, unnoticed by the others, but left without a word. Garcia came over for another hug, heading out with Emily. Hotch and Rossi said their goodbyes to everyone, leaving the three alone.
"Thanks guys, for staying." Reid said softly. He rested his head back on the pillow. "Except for a few nurses and the doctors, I've been alone. I thought I was going crazy."
"What do you mean 'going'?" Morgan asked with a grin.
"You sound tired, Reid." JJ said. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? You need to get all the rest you can. We'll be quiet."
"No," Reid moaned as his eyes began to droop. "I've missed you guys so much. I want to talk, just for a little while. About anything, please."
"Well…" JJ said, thinking. "You would have liked your funeral. It was a lovely service."
It seemed like a morbid topic. Maybe these people spent too much time together, but talking about this was completely natural to them.
"It was nice," Morgan agreed. "They did a good job on it. A lot of people came, and even more sent flowers."
JJ and Morgan carried the conversation; a long time passed before they noticed how their voices soothed their friend to sleep.