A/N: Hey, Hi, Hello. New chapter for you here. I sincerely hope you enjoy. GUYS this story is almost over. There are only a couple chapters left (aww) but I've enjoyed this so much. Thank you to all you lovely readers who have stuck with this so far. Your reviews are so encouraging! You are all amazing!
"Josephine Ryan?" The entire team stood as the doctor emerged through the double doors, calling out Joey's name.
"How is she?" Prentiss asked without waiting.
The doctor grimaced. "She was pretty banged up when she arrived, but she's going to be fine." The team let out a collective sigh of relief as the doctor continued. "Keeping the bullet in her shoulder actually minimized blood flow, so she was pretty fortunate. She may never regain full range of motion in that shoulder, but with physical therapy, she should be able to use it normally again within a couple of months. A few of the lacerations on her abdomen needed stitches, but overall none of them were deep enough to do any real damage, however, it would have been incredibly painful. There was…" The doctor paused.
"What is it?" Morgan pressed.
The doctor gave them all an uneasy look before speaking again. "There was water in her lungs. Not a whole lot, but it was definitely there."
JJ closed her eyes in a grimace and Morgan clenched a fist at his side while Reid cast a nervous glance around his team.
"The most concerning thing for us right now is the fact that she's very dehydrated and she has the early signs of bronchitis."
"When can we see her?" Reid asked softly.
"Now, if you'd like. But," He called as they all moved toward the doors. "There's a chance she won't wake up for a few days. We gave her a sedative, but her body needs to recover. Once the sedative wears off, she'll wake up on her own time, but it might be a while. Agent Hotchner…" The doctor called to the team leader, who stayed behind as the rest of his team filed to Joey's room. "I look forward to the day when I no longer have to see your team huddled in my waiting room." The doctor sighed.
"You might want to look into early retirement, then." Hotch remarked without a trace of a smile.
The doctor's lips, however, twitched slightly before he became serious again. "Look, Agent, I wanted to ask you…do you know if Agent Ryan has been having any trouble at home lately? Maybe with a partner?"
"Why do you ask?" Hotch inquired sharply.
"Once we got Agent Ryan stitched up where she needed to be and removed the bullet, we took x-rays all over, just to be safe. It looked like there were at least a few injuries that she's sustained in the past that never quite healed correctly. Normally, I'd chalk it up as an occupational hazard, but I also know you guys require your Agents to be physically competent to be out in the field, and these injuries would have left her almost unable to work."
"What kind of injuries?" Came Hotch's response.
The doctor looked down at his file. "At least one broken wrist, probably a cracked rib or two, and it looks a sprained ankle based on the tissue build-up."
Hotch dropped his gaze as he thought back to several weeks ago when Joey had arrived at the round table with a slight limp and, when asked what she'd done, laughed at how she'd fallen down the steps outside her apartment building that morning.
The doctor wasn't done yet. "Agent, there were also signs of sexual abuse." Hotch looked up sharply, urging him to continue. "When she first came in, Agent Ryan…woke up as we were prepping her for surgery. As you can imagine, she was very disoriented and distressed, but when one of our male nurses went to try and calm her down, he grabbed her arm and she…reacted to him. I don't want to imply anything or jump to any conclusions," the doctor insisted. "But it is something we look out for."
Hotch regarded the doctor for a moment, though he didn't quite seem to be focusing on him. Finally, he nodded once. "Thank you for telling me this." He said, ignoring the doctor's original question.
The doctor understood his dismissal and grabbed Hotch's shoulder bracingly before turning and pushing back through the double doors. Hotch took a moment to collect his thoughts and himself before following.
The first thing Joey was conscious of was that she was restrained. Her heart jumped for a moment before she realized the restraint was coming from a sheet that had been tightly and expertly tucked into the corners and sides of the bed she was lying in. Then she heard the beeping.
Joey opened her eyes as memories of Pearce and the warehouse came back to her. Before her mind could get too far, though, she became aware that she was not alone. She blinked slowly at Prentiss who was occupying the armchair to the right of Joey's bed. In one hand, she held her head, in the other, her phone.
Joey rolled her head to the other side as she felt that there was a weight on the edge of her bed. Reid, with his arms folded as a pillow, was laying his head on the left side of Joey's bed, his face toward the door.
With great effort, Joey raised her hand and gently touched Reid's arm. "Reid." She croaked.
Reid jumped slightly at her touch, and whipped his head up and around. Prentiss snapped her gaze up to Joey. "Hey." Reid said gently with a soft smile.
Joey grinned back, closing her eyes bracingly. "How do I look?"
"A little rough around the edges." Reid responded playfully with a small grin.
"Yah well…I do feel like shit." Joey chuckled ruefully. She opened her eyes as Reid stood.
"I'll go look for the others and a nurse." He quietly pushed his way out of the room.
Prentiss leaned close to the bed and took Joey's hand, being mindful of the IV. "Joey." She said to the blanket. "Do you remember what happened?"
Joey nodded, but stopped as her head protested. "Yah." She said in a hoarse whisper. An image of Pearce wielding a whip flashed across her mind. She felt Prentiss squeeze her hand gently, and Joey reciprocated it. "Hey, Emily." Her voice sounded horrible, but she ignored the scratching in her throat. "Emily…This wasn't your fault. I don't blame you." Joey insisted, squeezing Prentiss' hand again. "Okay?"
Prentiss nodded and wiped away a stray tear that had leaked down her cheek and smiled briefly. "I know, I just…I'm just so glad you're okay."
Joey returned the smile. "Me too."
The both looked up as the door opened and a pretty young nurse entered, followed by the rest of the team.
"How are you feeling?" The nurse asked sweetly as she glided to the beeping machines.
"Like someone threw me through a wood chipper." Joey replied with a wry grin. The stitches on her stomach were starting to itch and sting.
The nurse beamed down at her. "Well, you can take something else for the pain in an hour. For now, you have a morphine drip. Do you need anything else?"
"An extra blanket maybe?" Joey asked, shivering slightly. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was wearing just a hospital gown as the whole team looked down at her while they stood back to let the nurse drape another blanket over her. Joey closed her eyes and the memory of Pearce tucking a strand of hair behind her ear came flooding back to her, making her shiver again.
"Let me know if you need anything else!" The nurse chirped as she floated out of the room, Hotch thanking her as she departed.
Garcia, who had flown out as soon as she heard that Joey had been found, rushed quickly to the side of the bed, but was gentle as she grasped Joey's hand. "Oh thank goodness you're okay."
Another image of Pearce, this time pouring water over Joey's covered mouth, crossed her mind's eye. Joey smiled weakly into the tech analyst's watery eyes. "I'm so glad to see you, Garcia."
"How are you doing? Really?" Garcia peered at Joey's face.
"I'm fine. Really." Joey replied, dropping her gaze and gently pulling her hand out of Garcia's. "Just a little banged up. How long was I out?"
"Just over two days." Reid replied. Joey's eyes widened before she nodded slowly, digesting the information. "How did he find me?" Joey asked after a moment of silence.
The team all exchanged uneasy looks, but it was Garcia who finally spoke. "Well, once we recovered Pearce's phones, all four of them, we were able to access some locked files on his computer. He…" She paused. "He had planted microscopic cameras in the cars of everyone on the team."
"He had been watching us for weeks." Hotch added.
"All of us." JJ repeated bitterly. Joey felt a surge of guilt run through her. Pearce had been watching them all? Because of her?
Hotch's phone rang suddenly, and he stepped out to take it.
"You really had us worried, kid." Morgan grinned playfully.
Another wave of guilt crashed over Joey. She looked around at her team. Prentiss was stifling a yawn. Garcia, though cheerful as always, looked like she was still in the clothes she was wearing the last time Joey saw her. JJ's usual shiny, healthy hair now lay limp against her shoulders, and she was holding what was probably her third cup of coffee. Morgan had an overall haggard look about him, and the usual circles under Reid's eyes looked like bruises now.
"I know, I'm sorry." Joey mumbled to her blankets.
Morgan continued, not seeming to have heard Joey's apology. "But the doctor said you'll be just fine. Hopefully they'll be able to transfer you to the hospital in Quantico in a few days. Once you get the stitches out in a few weeks, you'll start physical therapy back at the bureau. You'll be back in the field before you know it."
"Back…in the field?" Joey asked hesitantly.
"Yah." Morgan answered with a furrowed brow. "Unless, of course, you want to transfer to a desk job…I'm sure we can talk to Hotch about it—."
Joey held up a hand to stop Morgan. "You mean…I'm not fired?"
Everyone in the room looked around at Joey in surprise. "Fired? Joey, why would we fire you?" Prentiss asked in shock.
Joey, in turn, was shocked at their confusion. "I mean…I aided in whatever Pearce was up to with a Czech mob, I made you guys fly out to wherever we are,"
"Plymouth, Massachusetts." Reid interjected helpfully.
"And now all this…" Joey gestured to all the tubes and wires that were attached to her. "All these medical bills. If I had just…if I had just told Pearce no, put up more of a fight…" Joey's voice broke and she became angry with herself. She hadn't fully cried once throughout this whole ordeal, and now was not the time to start. She took a deep breath, but Morgan cut her off.
"Ryan…what happened, this wasn't your fault. Pearce was blackmailing you and threatening your father's life. You couldn't have said no." He replied softly. "As for the Bureau getting billed for all this, I think they'll consider it a small price to pay considering you helped expose a corrupt agent who was helping international arms dealers."
"If anything," JJ added with a small grin. "You deserve a promotion."
Joey attempted a smile, but was spared giving an answer by the return of Hotch. Joey felt her heart jump to her throat at the look on his face.
"What is it?" Reid asked tentatively.
Hotch pocketed his phone before speaking. Joey had the impression he was trying to figure out how to say something difficult. "Pearce has escaped custody."
Garcia gasped. Prentiss looked angry. "What? How?"
Hotch's mouth was a thin line. "He was being transferred from state to federal prison when he overpowered the two officers with him in a blitz attack. The car was found in a ditch. The two officers were alive but unconscious."
"How far was it from here?" JJ asked knowingly.
Hotch hesitated. "Four miles."
Morgan closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Reid dropped his worried gaze to his knees. Joey rubbed an IV-injected hand over her sore eyes. Her head was starting to hurt and she wished she could go back to sleep and pretend this was all a bad dream.
"Ryan, we've contacted your father, but it's early so we're waiting for his response. We're going to try to fly him to Quantico and take him into protective custody." Joey nodded her thanks, feeling a surge of gratitude toward her team leader. "For now, one of us will be in or right outside this room at all times. Until Pearce is caught, you'll be heavily guarded."
Joey nodded again, yawning. Her eyes were starting to droop. Hotch took notice and nodded to her. "We'll let you get some sleep." He said softly. "We can talk more when you wake up."
Morgan, JJ, Reid, and Prentiss rose to follow. The young nurse from earlier breezed back into the room to adjust something pumping through one of the numerous tubes connected to Joey.
Garcia took Reid's spot in the chair by the bed and patted Joey's hand consolingly. "One of us will be here when you wake up. Sweet dreams, angel."
Joey gave her a half smile before rolling her head to the other side and drifting off once more.
Some time later, Joey woke. She guessed it was nighttime considering the room was dark. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Vaguely, she wondered what had pulled her out of sleep.
She raised her head off her pillows slightly to see if one of her teammates was in the room with her. While her eyes were adjusting, Joey gazed around in the general direction where she thought Garcia had been sitting earlier. "Garcia?" She softly called into the darkness.
Finally, by the faint lights of the machines she was attached to, Joey was able to make out figures. The chair was empty. Feeling a little disappointed, Joey dropped her gaze to the floor near the chair…where she made out a dark mass on the floor.
She panicked. "Reid?" She asked as her eyes strained to make out a pair of converse and a tweed jacket. He wasn't moving. "Reid?" Joey pushed herself up onto her elbows, wincing at the soreness in her shoulder. "Reid, oh my God." Joey fumbled over all the wires and tubes she was attached to as she reached for the nurse call button.
Suddenly a light flicked on in the corner by the armchair and Joey froze. Her blood turned to ice as someone spoke with a sickly sweet voice. "Now now, Agent Ryan, you don't want to wake him."