(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters)
Sorry for the delay. This week has been crazy, I worked from Monday till Thursday, packed when I got home each night and then left for my final year in uni. So I've been moving in yesterday and today, but next week will be back on Friday, if not sooner.
Thanks to for reviewing everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
Please keep letting me know your thoughts in the comments. I love to know what you like or don't like and any suggestions are always interesting to see.
Enjoy.
JJ followed Derek into the hospital as he marched to the desk, his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw set tightly. She paused when she heard kids yelling from the shop and she glanced at the array of balloons, flowers and 'get well soon' cards. She pursed her lips and turned away.
She got to the desk as the receptionist pointed down a hallway.
"He's in the ICU," Derek said, his voice tight as if trying to hold something back.
JJ nodded solemnly. "Can we... see him? A-are they allowing visitors?" she asked.
"We can look in and talk to his doctor, she said no visitors though," he said.
"Alright," JJ said and she sighed before walking down the hall the receptionist had pointed to.
Derek led the way up a flight of stairs and past several wards before stopping and flashing his badge to a security guard outside of the ICU.
"Come on," he said and he tried to smile at JJ who had been looking at the floor.
A doctor stopped them as they walked inside and Morgan flashed his badge again.
"Spencer Reid," he said and then he paused. "William... uh, the latest victim on the eighty-six kidnapping case?"
The doctor's face fell slightly with understanding and he gave a curt nod. "What do you need to know, agents?"
JJ looked up and turned her head slowly to Morgan, waiting for him to say something. He stammered for a moment before managing to clear his throat.
"W-we were hoping to see him?" he said and the doctor frowned again.
"I'm afraid he can't have visitors at-"
"No..." JJ said suddenly and she bit hard into her gum when the doctor's glare fell upon her. "We just want to look. Can we just take a look, to make sure h-he's okay?"
JJ dug her nail into her palm as her eyes started to burn again. The doctor eyed her warily.
"If you really do insist."
"We do," said Morgan quickly.
"Well... you can 'look.' Follow me."
He turned abruptly on his heel and started down the hall. JJ and Morgan glanced at each other and followed the sweeping coat tailing after the doctor. He stopped at a door with a thick window.
"He's in there. You can look, but I can't allow you to go in," he said, stepping out from the way of the window. JJ walked forward and her eyes started to burn again.
"Oh god, Derek."
Morgan stepped to the side of JJ so he could also look through the window and his face fell at the sight before him. If he had any doubt before it was well and truely gone. It was most certainly Reid in that bed. The poor kid had been placed on a ventilator, the plastic strap holding it in place obscured his mouth, only making the sight more frightening. There were black stitches standing out on his face and the red skin encompassing the stitches was a stark contrast to the rest of Spencer's paleness.
"I didn't think..." JJ started but her voice grew too thick with emotion to continue. She lifted her hand to her lips and just shook her head.
They could both only imagine the damage the hospital gown obscured. Two stab wounds... Morgan started to shake his head too. Why Reid? he thought bitterly.
The kid was connected to several serious pieces of medical equipment and Morgan quietly counted each and followed the wires to Reid's hand, nose, and chest.
JJ's hand moved from her mouth and she pressed her fingers to the glass longingly. "I just want to see him," she murmured.
"Me too. If I had any idea-"
"Yea..."
Morgan gave a small grunt to mask his emotions. He put his hand on JJ's shoulder, making her turn. He attempted a smile.
"We should get back to the team. We're no good to him right now."
JJ didn't nod, she glanced back at the window. "I-I want time stay," she said and she smiled back at Morgan. "Just... just be close, you know. It'll make me feel better."
Morgan smiled sadly too. "Yea, okay. I'll..." Morgan paused and shifted his gaze to the window and said, "we'll stay for a bit. Keep an eye on boy genius"
JJ gave a genuine smile and nodded. "Okay."
Morgan and JJ got back to the police station a while later and found Emily waiting for them. She stood up instantly.
"How is he?"
Emily's eyes were wide as she looked at JJ's red face.
"Alive," Morgan said. He glanced across at the conference room where Hotch and Rossi were still sat, silent in their thoughts. Hotch was looking toward the map while Dave glared at his hands. "They been out?" he asked gruffly but Emily shook her head.
"Not yet. They were talking a while ago but Rossi started yelling and they've been like that ever since."
Morgan grimaced. "How did you get on?"
"The crime scene was awful... there was so much blood," Emily said, her voice declining into a low whisper.
Morgan nodded. "He doesn't look great."
Emily lent back on the desk behind her and her hands rose to scrub at her face. "God," she muttered. "How did this happen?"
"I'd like to know too," said Morgan as he stood beside Emily and leaned into the desk. JJ quickly wiped at her eyes and she made gave a valiant smile.
"He'll be okay," she said. "He's got so much more to do, so... he'll be fine."
Morgan looked up at JJ with a serious look on his face.
"He won't be fine, did you not see him!?" Morgan shut his mouth shut with a definite clamp of his teeth and he glared across the room at Rossi and Hotch. "And those two clearly don't care that it's Reid we're talking about."
Morgan shook his head and got off the desk. He looked back at JJ to see angry tears in her eyes. He was about to say something but JJ angrily wiped at her fast falling tears.
"He will be alright," she snapped. "Because... because if he's not-" her voice cut off with a squeak and Emily got up to go to her. She turned and started walking away. Neither looked back at Morgan.
"Crap." Morgan shook his head and leaned back on the desk. He had to be realistic. Reid was in ICU. He wasn't going to be 'okay.'
He got back up and started after the girls when his phone started to buzz. He pulled it out and smiled. "Baby girl..." he muttered as he answered the call.
"Talk to me, baby girl."
Morgan paused, waiting for Penelope to take a deep breath.
"Spencer-" she mumbled.
Morgan grit his teeth and glanced in the direction Emily and JJ had left in. He breathed out slowly and said, "he'll be okay. We need to figure out why this happened to him."
Garcia's relieved sigh echoed down the line. "Good... good, that's really good. Can you get to the laptop? I want to see you."
"Yea, sure." Morgan stood and looked around the room. He saw the laptop emblazoned with their logo and he grabbed it, flipping it open quickly and waiting for Penelope to work her magic. Her face came on screen within seconds and he saw the red discolouring her cheeks, and the lines creeping up her eyes. She smiled and Morgan grinned back, making her laugh.
"Stop," she whispered.
"Sorry."
Garcia sighed and her smile dropped again. "Back to it then," she said.
"I-I don't know what I've found," she said after a long pause and her voice shook with every word.
Morgan made the effort to smile. "This case is getting worse... and with pretty boy wrapped up in it-" Morgan shook his head, his smile faltering. "I don't know what to think about it all either."
"It's just... well, it's making more sense but at the same time it's weird." Penelope sighed and looked at Derek. "The things I've found are really disturbing, Derek. I-I mean Spencer a-and his parents..."
Derek lifted the laptop up and moved away from the desk. He went quickly into an empty room and shut the door. He set the laptop down again and took a seat in front of it.
"Shoot," he said.
Garcia looked down anxiously. "Um... so um, I was Uh... thinking about the whole Rossi being Spencer's dad and..." Garcia swallowed quickly and shook her head just as fast. "Obviously t-that's not possible. Rossi said himself so um... I focused on just looking into Reid. It's weird that he was born 1981 because he's always said he was born 1982... but I mean... maybe-" Penelope dropped her head into her hand. "I don't know," she murmured and Derek watched her with his lips pressed together.
"Forget about that," he said. He waited for Garcia to look back up at him before he said, "what did you find?"
"Uh... everything else he told us seems fine. Graduated high school at twelve. His three PhD's... everything checks out. So I looked into his parents."
Morgan nodded along quietly as Garcia avoided looking at him.
"Diana was diagnosed very early with schizophrenia. Just a few months after Reid was born. She was medicated until... well it's funny because there's a lapse in her medication."
Morgan cut in then. "Reid said that she went off the pills for a few years because they made her too tired to care for him."
"Oh..." Garcia squinted at her screen. "She didn't go to any appointments either for... well, her last appointment was October 1985 and then she went back January 1987."
Morgan raised his eyebrows in surprise: he wasn't aware she'd gone un-medicated for so long.
"Then everything seems normal. She went in more regularly and it evened out when Spencer left. She hasn't been institutionalised though."
"I don't think Reid could ever do that to her," Morgan said. "Or his dad."
"Ah, now that's my second point. His dad. He's been working for the same law firm since 1978. He's now a partner in the business."
Morgan wasn't sure what made him say it, but he asked, "were there any lapses in his employment?"
"Uh... no, it all looks normal. But... well, he's had a few arrests, they've all been covered up."
Morgan sat closer on his chair.
"In 1981 he was arrested for assault but it was covered up quickly."
"What happened?"
Garcia grimaced. "He uh... smashed a bottle and attacked someone with it."
"Jesus," Morgan muttered and Garcia nodded grimly.
"He wasn't drinking either which is..."
"He didn't have an excuse," Morgan said.
"Yea. He was arrested again in 1987 for strangling his receptionist and scratching her face. He did a few weeks for that before getting bailed out. There's more after that but they've all been hidden well."
Morgan snorted. "It wouldn't look good on his record," he said and he sighed and shook his head.
"Spencer's dad is a bit sketchy," Garcia said.
Morgan smirked. "Don't worry, I've heard stories about that guy," he said and Penelope looked up from her other screens. Morgan cleared his throat and said, "from Reid. And, well, the way he acts when anything is brought up about his dad-"
"No team-profiling," Garcia said and they both smiled.
"Yea, we still do it. Reid gets all tense when he talks about him. He was dreading..." Morgan paused and frowned. "Dreading his week off with him," he mumbled. Garcia was watching him through the screen.
"His dad..." Morgan muttered thoughtfully and he glanced around to look through the room's windows. He saw Emily with JJ, rubbing her back and talking softly. He also caught sight of Rossi talking with the sheriff.
"His dad is... is... oh"
Morgan turned back to the screen and he and Garcia shared a look of disdain. "You don't think," Garcia started and Morgan nodded quickly.
"We need to tell Rossi."
"Y-you guy need to go find him!" Garcia said.
Thanks for reading.
Only a short chapter. I've been busy, but things will get better soon.
See you soon.