Thank you for the support as always.

#10

Hunger, love, pain, fear are some of those inner forces which rule the individual's instinct for self preservation.

~Albert Einstein

Tara Lanthrop was having a bad day. Or bad morning that she believed would lead to a worse afternoon, evening, and night. She woke up late on the most important day of her advertising career she was trying to resurrect. After grabbing her bulky portfolio she took one last look at herself in the mirror. With her chin-length blond hair and black blazer with a white blouse plus a silk a rainbow scarf for color, she looked like the picture of professionalism. If only she felt the same on the inside.

Technically her office was within walking distance, running if she hoped to arrive only fifteen minutes late. But in Savannah, Georgia's hot weather and her high heels, it just wasn't an option. What was an option was cutting through a gated alley. It was the length of a street and Lanthrop believed it was used as some sort of loading dock. She took off her shoes, threw them over the gate, and pulled herself over.

Then she saw him. A shirtless man bleeding on the side of the alley. Forgetting, her shoes, she ran to his side. It looked worse up close. He was bleeding from his abdomen and some sort of word was cut into his chest. There were tiny cuts on his cheeks. At first she thought he was dead but then he opened his eyes.

"Please," he whispered. "Help me."

Lanthrop leaped into action. She pulled off her scarf and pressed it again his chest wound.

"Hi," she said trying to sound cheerful. "I'm Tara Lanthrop. What's your name?"

"Spencer," he moaned. "Spencer Reid."

"Can you hold this while I rip apart my blazer?"

He merely nodded and weakly pressed his hands against the scarf.

For the first time she felt lucky she had a sister who was a surgeon. Watching her cut up her dolls and later studying to be a cardiac surgeon taught her a couple things. She shrugged off her blazer and ripped it apart so that there were long strips. She pressed a strip across what looked like a stab wound at the abdomen and then added another for Reid to hold to his chest. She rolled up the rest of her blazer and applied it to the abdomen wound.

With one hand on the wound she reached for her phone. She dialed nine-one-one and gave the address to the best of her knowledge.

Reid was starting to lose consciousness again.

She gently wiped away a lock of hair on his forehead.

"Spencer," she said urgently. "Spencer you need to stay with me. Come on, um…I work at an ad agency. What do you do for a living?"

"FBI agent," he murmured with his eyes closed.

"That's cool," she said. "Are you in the advance team for the president? Is he coming to town?"

He shook his head. "That's secret service. I'm a profiler."

"Even cooler," she said.

He suddenly burst into tears. "I was the target of the UNSUB," he said and suddenly yelped when tears leaked into cuts on his cheeks.

With one hand firmly on his abdomen she began to frantically wipe away the tears.

"It's okay Spencer, the ambulance should be here any minute," she said panicking.

"Tell them no narcotics," he said urgently.

"Spencer I'm no doctor but you probably have internal bleeding. They're going to need to knock you out with something."

"But I'm an addict, to, to dilaudid," he said as more tears formed.

"I'm a cocaine addict, three months clean. I'd still accept drugs and deal with the consequences later. This is literally life or death."

The sound of ambulances could be heard.

"Help is on the way Spencer," she said as she continued to wipe away tears.

"He carved 'stupid' into my chest, backwards," he said suddenly. "So I can never look in the mirror the same if I lived."

He was crying so hard he began to cough. Lanthrop had no idea what possessed her to do so but suddenly she kissed him on the lips. She tried to drain the pain away.

When she stopped he looked into her eyes with surprise and confusion. He then closed them and fell back as the sound footsteps arrived upon them.

…

She rode in the ambulance with him. The EMTs said that her actions probably saved his life, yet she didn't feel much like a hero. Lanthrop just felt numb.

She was told detectives would be coming to take her statement. After some begging they let her sit in the chairs outside the operating room. Lanthrop closed her eyes and tasted the last remnant of the kiss.

"What are you doing here?"

Her sister Sophie was standing in front in scrubs with her hands on her hips.

"Can't a little sister hang out in the OR when she feels like it?" she said.

"Aren't you supposed to be performing a presentation to save your career?"

"Don't you have some angio things to perform in the cardiac wing?"

"What are you doing here Tara?"

"I think I have to wait for the detectives before I answer that," she said.

She let out a loud huff. "Are you in trouble again Tara? I can't believe this. Why?"

A police officer appeared followed by a man in a suit.

"Dr. Lanthrop you shouldn't be here, the woman is part of an ongoing investigation."

"I'm her sister," she said defiantly. "She needs me."

"I can handle it Sophie," Lanthrop said more confidently than she felt. "I'll call if I need bail money."

Her sister rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Tara Lanthrop," the man in the suit said. "I'm Special Agent Aaron Hotchner of the FBI. Why don't we move this discussion to another room?"

"Is Spencer going to be okay?"

"He's in critical but stable condition for now."

"Thank god," she said as she got up.

She followed Hotchner into a small meeting room off to the side where another older man was waiting.

"This is Special Agent David Rossi. Tell us from the beginning about your encounter with Agent Reid," he said once they sat down.

She described everything she did including the kiss.

Hotch raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you do that?"

"I needed him to stop pouring salt into his wounds and I didn't know what else to do," she said honestly.

The two agents exchanged a look.

"That will be all Miss Lanthrop. While the men we believe responsible are in custody, we're going to provide you a police escort and twenty-four hours security until we're certain."

"Can't I be there when he wakes up?" she asked pleadingly.

Hotch shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It is a security risk."

It suddenly hit her. "You think I'm lying."

"We just want to verify your story," Rossi said.

"Can't you do so from here?"

The two men exchanged another look.

"We'd like to hear Agent Reid's version," Hotch said.

Lanthrop knew she could not win an argument with two FBI agents.

"Okay," she said tearing up. "I'll go."

"Thank you for your time Miss Lanthrop," Hotch said standing up.

"I'm glad I was able to save your friend's life," she said.

"This officer will take you home," he said gesturing to the cop outside the door.

…

Hotch closed the door after Lanthrop left.

"What is your take David?"

"I think she's telling the truth. We have Richards, Bates, and Collins in custody. There was no mention of a female accomplice."

Hotch nodded. "They were bragging about leaving Reid where we couldn't find him."

"And we wouldn't have if a woman wasn't running late for work."

…

Reid slowly opened his eyes and saw someone with blond hair slumped in a seat.

"Tara," he said.

J.J. straightened up and looked at Reid. She smiled.

"You're awake, how're you feeling?"

A sense of panic set in. "Where's Tara? She had nothing to with this!"

"She is at her apartment under security watch in case someone comes after her."

"Or she comes back for me."

"Spence!" J.J. said. "She's safe and we really don't think she had anything to do with your attack."

"Then bring her to me, please," he said as his voice started to crack.

…

Garcia was in the room knitting when J.J. came with Lanthrop who appeared in a red t-shirt and jeans. She looked like she hadn't slept well.

"How are you feeling?" were the first words out of her mouth.

"Alive, thanks to you," he said with a smile.

"I like to think anyone would have done the same if they were in my position."

"Including, kiss me?" he said softly.

J.J. and Garcia gasped. They hadn't heard about that part.

Lanthrop approached him. "I just needed you to calm down and, and you're a very attractive man," she said turning a deep shade of red.

"I think you're a lovely woman Tara," he said. "I know I'm in love with you right now because you saved my life, but I want to believe there can be more to this relationship."

"Why don't you focus on getting better first?"

"I will," Reid said and then looked at her attire. "Did you go to work?"

"I was fired," she said. "I was running late for the meeting before I met you and that was my third strike."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I think I need a fresh start," she said taking a seat. "One away from my well-meaning but overbearing sister."

"Can I suggest D.C.?" he said.

"I can help you find a job," Garcia said suddenly.

Reid smiled. "So you're endorsing this relationship Garcia?"

"I am too," J.J. added. "Anything to make you happy Spence."

Lanthrop looked around, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Thank you all so much."

"Thank you for saving my life Tara."

…

Three months later Reid was looking at the scar on his chest in the bathroom mirror. The doctors said there was no way of removing it. It still haunted him every day.

Lanthrop's arms snaked around him. She kissed his neck.

"The people who did this must be extremely stupid to think that word would ever hurt you."

He wrapped arms around her.

"I don't know how I could have gotten through this without you."

"I don't know I have could have stayed six months clean without you," she said.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you more," she said and guided him to their bedroom.

End Note:

I'm not a medical professional. A level of suspension of disbelief is necessary for all of my stories.