Saint Claude Hospital | 9:37 am

It was funny to Garcia. She knew everything about everyone, yet when the nurse frantically asked for Bell's age, she couldn't give it to her-because she didn't know. She'd never not known something so simple about someone. And just when you needed us the most, we failed you, Penelope thought sadly.

The team was sitting in the waiting room in the St. Petersburg hospital-it wasn't like they had anything better to do anyway. The profile had been delivered, the surveillance set up; it was only a matter of waiting for nightfall. So they all sat there, stewing in their own thoughts. It had been nearly an hour and a half since Bell had been rushed into the hospital, and other than the nurse asking for his vitals, they'd had no contact with any medical staff.

Rossi was reminiscing about exactly that encounter with the frazzled nurse with a slight chuckle. It had gone like this:

The BAU had arrived following the ambulance not a minute after the FIO was wheeled into the depths of the medical facility. A little while later, a nurse, who refused to answer any questions about him because "they weren't family", started asking questions about him.

Age. Allergies. Medical History. Next of kin.

No one could answer anything and the nurse became rather exasperated. "You insist you're the closest thing to family he's got, but you don't know anything about him!" She walked away, and the words really started to sink in.

And that was what the agents were mulling about currently. Morgan recalled that day Bell had found them in Garcia's office, talking about how to crack his shell.

"You don't," he had said, stepping into the room. "You can't crack me. You won't find out anything about me. With all due respect, we're coworkers, and let's keep it at that. I've only been assigned here temporarily." He turned and walked out of the room.

Garcia had taken his admonishment as a challenge and used every database possible to try and find out anything at all about her mysterious new friend. Morgan, Reid, and JJ all watched as she failed time and time again.

But that hadn't stopped them from trying to crack him, and now they were all wishing they'd tried harder. Maybe if they'd cracked him sooner, they could have helped his doctors out.

Speaking of whom, one very stern looking one was walking toward them now.

"Are you here for...well, the chart only has a title and a last name, so, are you the family of FIO Bell?" she asked, scanning the agents suspiciously.

"Well, not exactly-" Reid started, but JJ cut him off.

"We're the closest thing he has to one right now."

"Right. Well, from what I can tell, your FBI agent has been struggling with the worst case of insomnia I've ever seen. I don't know what brought it on, but I recommend he see a psychologist. His lack of sleep, and I'm assuming high-stress life, had brought on an onslaught of fatigue so strong, he's lucky he didn't fall into a coma," the doctor explained.

The team stood wide-eyed at these revelations.

"Now, I'm going to keep him here for observation overnight, just so he can rest. I highly recommend not waking him up when you go see him-it seems to be the most sleep he's gotten in a while. He's in Room 376. Please be quiet." She then motioned the team in and they briskly walked toward where Bell slept."

Much to their surprise, Bell actually was asleep when they got there. They'd never seen him in that state before. He was always awake, always alert, last one out, first one in.

"You know...he almost looks happy like this," Rossi joked softly.

The team let out a few quiet chuckles.

7:19 pm

Bell awoke from his recurring nightmare with a start. Those damn fireworks, he thought. He looked around and realized, to his chagrin, that he was situated in a hospital bed, in a hospital room, in a…you guessed it, hospital!

Bell then realized something a good deal more surprising. He wasn't alone. In front of him, conked out in a plastic hospital chair, was none other than David Rossi. Quickly checking his phone, and realizing he'd been asleep for ELEVEN HOURS, he came to the conclusion he needed to head back to the precinct. After all, he had to be there when the unsub was apprehended.

Silently, he changed into a t-shirt and shorts (god knew where his dress shirt and pants were), and not wanting to wake Rossi, he simply left a note on the bedside table he was sure to see when he awoke.

FIO Bell slipped out past the snoring agent and into the real world, ready to head back to the precinct when... he found out he had no way of getting to the precinct. He sighed deeply and pulled out his phone to call an Uber when a hand clapped on his shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" Morgan asked.

"Derek-the stakeout-unsub-I need to be there!"

"Calm down, Bell. You're fine. We already got him."

"How-"

"Don't worry about it. We got him safely. 42-year-old Brian Kemall. No injuries. Now, get back into your hospital bed before you make me carry you."

Bell snorted and opened his mouth to respond-then he closed it. He understood that he was not going to win this argument. He just turned around and walked back into the hospital.

Quantico, Virginia | October 28th, 11:22 am

It had been a few days since Bell's hospital incident, and something had changed between Bell and the rest of the BAU. Although Bell still had his nightmares, PTSD, insomnia, and depression, and he was still adamant on keeping distance from the BAU family, it was clear to everyone involved that the team dynamics had changed.

The Officer knew exactly what it was that caused it. It was the fact that no matter how much he pushed them away, they kept showing up. They kept making sure he was resting. And for that, he would respect all of them forever. So even though he didn't want to; even though he knew it would only bring trouble; he let them a little.

No longer was he perpetually serious, insistent on addressing everyone with titles of respect, and silent. No, he actually took part in some joking, lighthearted conversation, and even slipped Morgan the occasional file, though he still did a good portion of everyone else's paperwork. They knew it, but they decided not to push too hard for the moment.

Currently, Bell and Reid were engaged in a heated debate over Halloween. Even though he inherently trusted the rest of the team now, he was still most comfortable with the 29-year-old doctor, whose birthday it coincidentally happened to be.

"The commercialization of the holiday disrespects it Gaelic roots; it's just a crude cash grab for candy companies and costume makers!" argued Bell, fifteen minutes into it.

"It also enables children to express creativity and to be whomever they wish for a night!" Reid retorted.

"Express creativity how?" Bell snorted. "By choosing which piece of plastic they'll adorn standing in a Walmart aisle? Companies profited nearly $9 billion just from the Halloween season in 2019!"

"Forget about the corporatism aspect for a minute, there were studies-"

"Oh, I'm sorry that my political beliefs about greedy corporations stealing from the working class by culturally approriating a HOLIDAY got in the way of your argument!" Bell said hotly.

"The studies showed that child psychological developm-"

"That's enough, you two!" Although Prentiss was glad her plan had worked, and Bell had let down some walls, hearing Bell and Reid debate constantly about anything and everything in the middle of the bullpen took its toll.

"Hmph." Bell returned to his desk, grumbling. "I did all my paperwork anyway, why am I even still here?"

"Because," whispered JJ with a glare, "It's Spence's birthday, and you're not leaving till Garcia give him cupcakes. Hell, you're not gonna weasel your way out of drinks later either."

"Oh, yeah-it's Spence's birthday…" Bell smirked and looked pointedly at the blonde.

Panic bells sounded in JJ's head and suddenly she grabbed his arm and pulled him into her old office. Locking the door, she turned to berate Bell when she noticed the smug look on his face. "You know…" she said softly.

"It's pretty damn obvious, Jennifer."

"Have the others noticed yet, do you think?" JJ was panicking.

"I think Rossi may suspect something, but considering I read body language the best out of all of you, I doubt anyone else does. Your secret's safe with me."

JJ breathed a sigh of relief.

Bell's expression turned serious. "How're you gonna deal with this, if I'm not overstepping any boundaries? You're married, right? I don't know if you have kids, but how is this going to work?"

"How is what going to work?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jennifer. You're clearly in love with the Doc. Probably always have been. You're going to kill yourself staying that marriage if you're that deeply infatuated with Spencer."

"I can't-I can't tear apart my family!"

"Look, I'm the last person to turn to for advice. I suck at emotions, even more so with one I don't even believe exists. You have to make a decision for yourself. And don't act like such a hardass all the time. It's ok to let down your mask."

JJ snorted, with a look who's talking expression on her face. "Yeah, sure."

Bell unlocked the door and left the room, but something he'd said resonated with her. Well, all of it had, surprisingly, but one piece a little bit more than the rest. "...more so with one I don't believe exists."

Did he not believe in love?

4:09pm

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The conference room erupted in cheers and Spencer Reid looked around with a sheepish smile.

"Thanks, guys," he said timidly.

Garcia presented her famed cupcakes with a flourish, Rossi kissed his cheeks, Morgan clapped his back, Emily embraced him, and JJ-well, she did everything. Bell gave him a congratulatory look, and said, "Enjoy 29."

The team got swept in the festivities. No case, slow day, paperwork done-they were having a great time. That was why no one noticed Bell's expression change as he glanced down at his Interpol phone. That was why no one noticed him quietly slip out of the room.

It was better this way.