Steadily the room was bathed in the dimmed orange light of the morning sun as it rose above the horizon and drifted inside, softened only slightly by the thin bedroom curtains. It's warmth seeped into the air, making everything just the right temperature to be comfortable. Unfortunately everything in life can only be enjoyed for so long and in this case Hotch was soon forced to wake up by several loud knocks on the hotel room door. The sudden noise hammered through the room, pulling him from his sleep with a yerk and causing his mind to practically skip the hypnagogic state completely. Feeling unusually tired he ran a hand over his face. He hadn't slept well these past few hours at all, his mind much too distracted by the knowledge that one of his team had fallen ill.
"Hotch? Are you still in there?" Rossi's voice called from the other side of the door, giving identity to the person responsible for the former noise. Aaron stifled a yawn as he pulled himself out of bed, quickly stretching his muscles before making his way over to answer the door.
"Woah, what's up with you?" The elder Italian profiler asked, crooking an eyebrow in surprise at the unit chief's appearance once the door was open enough for him to get a proper look at the other man. Where Rossi was already fully dressed in his usual attire of a dark-blue shirt, his beloved black jacket with matching pants and stylish leather shoes, Hotch on the other hand looked a mess in his sleepwear and with his hair uncombed. "I thought we were sharing a ride, you're not ready yet?"
Hotch's eyes widened slightly as realization hit. If Rossi was here waiting for them to take one of the SUV's to work then it must have been around seven. He hadn't thought it would be so late already. He glanced over his shoulder at his phone on the bedside table. For some reason the alarm hadn't gone off when it was supposed to. Darn.
"Sorry." He apologised. As he rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes his mind ran a list of things that needed to be done before he could leave for work and he sighed internally. The day hadn't started well. "I must have overslept."
"Is everything alright?" With a small frown Rossi studied the other man closely, taking in every detail of his unusual appearance. It wasn't like the workaholic agent to be anything less than early for their job, let alone for him to oversleep. Something was out of place, the only question was what exactly it was.
"Well, Reid got sick last night." Hotch filled him in, opening the door further and stepping aside, wordlessly inviting Rossi to enter the room. The conversation didn't have to take place in the hallway after all. "I just didn't sleep well."
"Is he okay?" His voice held a touch of concern as Rossi stepped past Hotch and into the hotel room the two younger agents were sharing.
"I'm not sure." Hotch admitted, glancing at the young genius who was still curled up under the warm covers of his bed. The kid hadn't so much as twitched at the noise of Rossi's arrival, completely undisturbed. "I haven't checked on him yet."
"I tell you what, how 'bout you go do that now while I fix us all some coffee. You look like you need it." Rossi offered with a smile, giving Hotch a light pat on the shoulder. Hopefully the warm beverage would be enough to make up for his apparent lack of rest, though Rossi doubted that it would.
"Thanks." Hotch smiled back. He was grateful that he wasn't pressured to be ready for work by the other agent. If his alarm had gone off when it was supposed to he would have been done by now for sure, but it felt good to know people understood when things didn't go quite as planned. Besides, he was confident that the others would be able to manage things even if they were a little late, they were all skilled agents.
"Don't mention it." With that Rossi turned away and headed toward the kitchen area to brew the promised drinks. Along the way he couldn't help but notice what appeared to be a bundle of bloodied clothing that had been discarded in the small hotel dustbin, but decided to pay it little mind aside from a briefly raised eyebrow. Hotch meanwhile made his way over to Reid's bed for what was technically the second time that morning. The team's youngest member was hardly visible at all, having somehow wrapped himself in his bed covers to such an extent that everything below his ears was completely hidden.
"Reid. I need you to wake up for a few minutes, okay?" Hotch spoke quietly. Leaning slightly over the younger profiler's bed he gently shook his shoulder. Unsurprisingly, Reid responded by moaning opposingly and sliding further underneath the covers. Needless to say he wasn't exactly looking forward to facing the day.
"Come on. It won't be long." Hotch reassured him. He couldn't help thinking how much this reminded him of all the times Jack got sick. "I just need to know how you're doing."
" 'm tired." Reid mumbled quietly as his sleep fogged mind was pulled far enough into the world of the woken for him to form a sentence, albeit short. His voice was half muffled by the soft duvet cocooned around him.
"I know, I'm sorry. Do you still have a headache?" Reid nodded, moving even deeper under the duvet until his eyes were covered as well. To say he still had a headache was a great understatement. Honestly it had only gotten worse since earlier. The stabbing behind his eyes now felt like his entire head was being slowly crushed, or shredded, possibly both. A constant, agonizing beat went off in his skull. Da-dum! Da-dum! Da-dum! Da-dum! Like a canon going off, over and over and over again, each time setting off a pulse of pain. Never before had he wished blood flow was a silent process, now however the idea seemed like bliss. Every single sound he heard echoed, bouncing around in his head. And the cold was just making it worse. He shivered as he pulled the covers tighter around him, trying to keep as much warmth as possible from escaping into the freezing air.
"Reid?" A small frown of confusion furrowed Hoch's brow as he watched his agent's unusual behavior. When the kid was this quiet in a conversation it was never a good sign. The Reid he knew would have at least tried to conceal the level of his own discomfort. Without bothering to ask any further questions he reached out and placed his hand on the kid's forehead, which was only just sticking out beneath the covers. Spencer instantly flinched away from what he felt to be an icy cold touch.
"This isn't good." Hotch remarked, his voice sounding increasingly concerned. The younger profiler's skin felt like it was on fire against the palm of his hand, far above what could be considered a healthy temperature. He wondered how long Spencer's been like this. Did he already have the fever earlier? No, surely Hotch would have noticed . So it must have developed recently, within the last few hours at most. The rate at which the fever had developed worried him especially.
"What's wrong?" Rossi questioned from where he stood in the kitchen, still within earshot of the other profilers. While brewing the coffee he had been silently observing the interaction between the two. Hearing the touch of a distraught tone in the unit chief's voice had caught his attention. He might not have known the team as long as the others, but he knew enough to be sure it was unusual for the team leader to sound troubled.
"Reid's burning up." Hotch called over his shoulder, his eyes never really leaving the young profiler. The fever looked to be a bad one too, going by Spencer's reaction to Hotch's touch and how he shivered despite being wrapped tightly in the thick duvet.
"Spencer." Hotch spoke even more gently than he had the night before. He hardly ever called Reid by his first name, and by doing so he was showing a side of himself which the team members have rarely witnessed first hand. He hadn't felt this worried about someone he cared for in awhile, not since Jack had gotten a really bad flu some time back. Headaches were one thing, but this was starting to look undeniably serious. "I really think we should take you to a doctor."
"Can't move. The light hurts." Reid whimpered as he curled further into himself. He dreaded the idea of having to crawl out from under the covers. It was already freezing enough as it was and having to expose himself to the light, which was currently being blocked by the covers, would only fuel the pain in his head. He could feel Hotch place a hand roughly where his shoulder was positioned and he wished that he didn't have to leave the warmth of his bed. He had always taken care of himself when he had fallen ill as a child, he had gotten so used to it that it felt uncomfortable now to have someone trying to look after him. He didn't want the attention. No matter how bad he felt, he just wanted to sink away and disappear until this all passed and life could go back to normal, like it always did. He didn't want to deal with doctors and tests and the endless numbers of questions they would no doubt ask. If he could just go back to sleep then everything will eventually get better, right? Hotch, however, wasn't taking chances anymore.
"I'll help." Hotch's voice was now a little more forceful, making it clear that although he understood Spencer's pain, he also wasn't giving him a choice in the matter. Going to see a doctor wasn't as much a suggestion as it was a direct order. He would rather have the kid be displeased with him now than risk further complications in the long run. "Cover your eyes with your hands."
He waited for Reid to do as he was told before he slowly pulled away the duvet. Within seconds of having it removed Spencer began to shiver more fiercely, his only true source of heat being gone. It felt like he had been stuffed into a freezer, icy needles sticking into every inch of his skin. And though his hands helped to keep some of the light away from his eyes, they weren't quite as effective. Small beams still managed to find a way through the gaps in his fingers and assaulted his vision with scorching flashes of pain going off in his brain. The drumming became louder. Da-dum! Da-dum! Da-dum! It was almost deafening at this point.
He felt a set of hands, strong yet gentle, grip his upper arm and hold his back as they carefully pulled him up and guided him into a sitting position, his legs now dangling off the side of the bed. Never once did the hands force any movements, merely supporting him in every way they could. He couldn't see a single thing, but he didn't have to in order to know who the hands belonged to. Sitting up made him dizzy, the world already feeling like it was spinning around him. The nausea from earlier returned in full force and he used almost all his concentration just to stop himself from getting sick. More than once gravity threatened to pull him down in one direction or another. It wasn't long before a second set of hands took hold of his other arm, both of the other agent's working together to keep him upright.
"You okay kiddo?" Rossi's voice sounded almost right next to his ear, soft and low. He appreciated that both the other agents didn't talk too loudly, that they were trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. It helped, even if just a little. He didn't answer though. His head hurt too much for him to attempt a nod and if he opened his mouth to talk he was afraid he might whimper from the pain or get sick instead. "We've got you. Just lean on us."
Rossi and Hotch looked at each other, their eyes sharing the same concerned look as they supported the shivering profiler in their arms. Silently Hotch cursed himself for not taking Reid to get proper medical attention earlier. He had hoped that whatever it was would have passed by now, instead the delay had only allowed his condition to worsen. Should have known better, he thought to himself. But what could he do about it now? What's done was done, no changing that.
"Think you'll be alright sanding up?" Hotch's voice now sounded distant and distorted to Reid as his mind idly worked to process what was being said. It was almost like something had created a thick wall of cotton between him and the rest of the world, muffling any and all sounds. Even the drumming in his head quiet down a bit, though the throbbing pain remained. His head felt even more fogged up than before, his thoughts easily getting lost inside the fuzzy cloud. He didn't get a chance to respond to the question as he felt himself being lifted into a standing position. It was so strange, he felt almost disconnected from himself. If it wasn't for the support the other's gave him he would have toppled over in an instant.
Like before he found it difficult to focus. Concepts of time, space and reality danced in and out of existence, making it incredibly hard to keep track of what was happening around him. The others were still talking, that much he knew, but what they were saying and whether or not they were talking to him was indistinguishable. He wasn't even completely sure whether everything he heard was actually being said by the other two profilers, or if some of it was just his own thoughts being echoed back at him.
A red flag went up somewhere in the foggy realms, his mind subconsciously connecting dots that he couldn't quite follow at a conscious level. A feeling of impending danger crashed over him as confusion made way for fear and his gut twisted with sudden anxiety. "Something's wrong." He tried to speak, but even his own voice was muted, the only sound now audible being an unusual, high pitched ring. This wasn't good. None of this was good. It was as if every fiber of his being was suddenly screaming at him that something bad was coming, though try as he might he couldn't grasp what.
All the pain and confusion melted together, creating a feeling of pure exhaustion and mental pause. Nothing registered anymore. Everything, thoughts and memories, feelings and senses, it all became an unidentifiable blur. He couldn't think. It felt like he was losing control, his own mind had finally turned against him and there was nothing he could do. Never before had he felt so helpless. In less than a minute the entire world had fallen away around him. It was suffocating him. He could feel it. Though his lungs could expand the needed oxygen simply wasn't there.
And then. Nothing.
~ 0oo o0 o0o 0o0 ~ o0o0o0 ~ 0oo o0 o0o 0o0 o o0o ~ o0o0o0 ~ 0o00 o 0 ~ 0oo o0 o0o 0o0 o o0o ~ o0o0o0 o0o0o0 o0o0o0 ~
"Something's wrong." Reid whispered in a tone so low Hotch and Rossi could barely even make it out. His breathing had sped up to the point where the kid was almost hyperventilating and if Rossi didn't know any better he would have figured the boy was having a panic attack.
"What is it?" He questioned, hoping that the younger agent would be able to clarify what exactly he meant, but the reply didn't come. Not that he held it against the kid for not answering, it was clear to anyone that he was more out of it than in. "Reid?"
"Reid?!" The concern Hotch had felt mere seconds ago suddenly flared into momentary panic as Spencer lost all consciousness, collapsing fully into the support of their arms. Had they not already been holding him up the kid would have surely fallen to the floor. Quickly yet carefully they guided Reid's now limp body down to lay on his back and the two older men crouched down beside him. Hotch's heart raced in his chest, beating fiercely as his mind battled to process all the information it had received in the past few seconds. Everything was just happening so fast.
Without any form of warning Reid went entirely rigid, every last muscle in his body straining, his back arching until it wasn't even touching the ground anymore. And he screamed. A loud, agonized, heart-stopping scream which cut into the other agents deeper than any blade or bullet ever could. It cut right into their souls, chilling them to the bone. It was a sound neither of them would ever forget, one which was sure to haunt their nightmares for years to come. The sound of a fellow agent, a friend, in such torment. Hotch hadn't felt levels of pure dread this strong in a very long time.
What the hell was happening?!
Rossi was the first to snap back into an at least somewhat composed state, the urgency to take action outweighing the momentary shock. The wheels in his head turned faster than that of a steam engine. His eyes widened slightly as the pieces started falling into place and the realization hit him. He'd seen these symptoms before. This wasn't good. Any second…
"Turn him on his side! Now!" He ordered, not waiting for Hotch to comply as he already moved to grab a pillow from one of the beds and carefully placed it under Spencer's head. Whilst Hotch saved a split second to glance at the older agent in slight confusion he quickly decided it best to do as he was told, rolling Spencer onto his side as gently as he could. Then it happened, just as Rossi had feared.
The convulsions started.
A seizure? Of all the things that could have possibly gone wrong during the run of this case, this was most certainly the thing Hotch would've expected the least. Not daring to waist any more time at getting Reid the medical help he so obviously needed, Hotch grabbed his phone off the nearby bedside table, only to find that its battery was dead, making it completely useless. In a minor fit of frustration, which was admittedly unusual for him, Hotch tossed his phone quite gracelessly to the side. Its screen smashed as it collided with the hard floor. Everything seemed to be going wrong all at once, and the worst part was that Hotch could do practically nothing to help. As the seconds crawled by and Rossi used his own cell to dial 9-1-1, Hotch was forced to hold back and watch the scene unfold, unable to do anything to help his youngest agent, unable to help the kid he had sworn to protect since the day he joined the BAU.
Time became a blur and Hotch had no idea how long it had been before the spasms finally came to a stop. He could tell that Rossi was still talking on the phone, but this became part of the background as he somehow found himself focusing all his attention on the now completely still young man who lay in front of him. It felt like way too much time had passed before the kid finally cracked open his eyes and peered up at him with those chestnut orbs. Seeing Reid start to wake up Hotch released an almost shaky breath, one he hadn't realized he was even holding before.
"Hotch?" Reid's voice sounded so weak and fragile and broken, something which he sould never have to be. He looked lost and confused, somehow he even appeared more pale than he usually was. All of this together only made him appear all the more vulnerable, and though he didn't show it, Hotch's heart ached at the sound of his name.
"We're right here, Reid." Hotch spoke in what he hoped to be a reassuring tone. He was truly grateful that the kid was at least talking again, not that it did much to make either him or Rossi feel any better.
"Yeah, kiddo." Hotch glanced up as Rossi finally rejoined the conversation. Though neither of the older profilers truly allowed their exteriors to show the concern they felt, they both knew that they found the situation equally worrisome. They shared a brief look of understanding before their attention was turned back to the team's youngest. Sirens could finally be heard approaching in the distance and the men all felt relief that help was on the way.
"Y' won't leave, righ'?" Reid questioned, his voice slurred with exhaustion. It felt as though he was neither fully awake nor asleep, but rather trapped in some strange in-between state of consciousness limbo, unwilling to commit to either side just yet. "Wouldn't think of it." He heard Rossi's calming voice one last time before the darkness finally decided to swallow him up and carry him off.
~ 0 oooo o ~ 0oo o0 o0o 0o0 0o o ooo ooo ~ 0o0 o o o00o ooo ~ 00o o0o 000 o00 oo 0o 00o ~ o0o0o0 o0o0o0 o0o0o0 ~
The following is an author's note:
See! I did continue it! I didn't forget! Hehe, heh…
Sorry I took so long. What can I say? We had exams and then I kinda just lost my grip on the story and couldn't figure out how I wanted to continue it. But I will continue it… probably… Erm it might take a while, heh heh.
I got into CSI while I was gone, and I am now convinced CSI and Criminal Minds take place in the same universe! (*whispers* Also, Greg Sanders is amazing.)
I really hope this chapter is okay *nervously plays with thumbs*, oh well, won't know till you try.
Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Your support helps a ton.
Have a nice day/night. Munchkin out! *poof*
