A/N: Hey all! Happy New Year! Sorry about the late update. I totally intended for this to be finished before the new year. But, it didn't work out that way. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Still on the angst side and more of a filler chapter, but a chapter nonetheless. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 3:

Emily's eyes were glued to her foot as it tapped the tiled floor uncontrollably. She and Rossi had returned to the waiting room only to find the same scene she'd walked in on thirty minutes before. A quick check with Hotch confirmed their suspicions; no one had been out with an update.

So, here she was, another forty-five minutes later, waiting. God, she hated sitting around idly. Emily itched to do something, anything. But she wasn't a doctor; the only thing that could be done is waiting and praying.

Emily let out a restless sigh, her booted foot taking on a new, seemingly inhuman speed.

The sound of a throat clearing tore her gaze from her fascinating boot. She'd hoped it was a doctor, but it was only Rossi, staring pointedly at her foot with a glare. Apparently she was getting on his nerves.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Then, with great effort, she placed the sole of her boot flat on the floor.

Her steadiness didn't last long, though. A mere five minutes later, she was bursting out of the plastic hospital chair. "What's taking so long? Why hasn't anyone been out to tell us something?"

Silence followed her outburst. She looked around the room, receiving a few sympathetic stares. Emily had to remind herself that they'd been here a lot longer than she had.

Still, she began to pace the room, she sucked at waiting.

"Maybe we should go get some more coffee," Kate suggested, hesitating a moment. She eyed Emily shrewdly. "Or tea. Chamomile, I think."

Emily gave the woman a small smile. She was liking this Agent Callahan already. A good sign. It was nice knowing the team was in good hands.

Running an errand, as meaningless as it was, would at least be doing something. She was about ready to say 'let's go' when a man in scrubs walked into the room.

"Excuse me?"

The entire room stood up and huddled around the spectacled doctor. The man looked overwhelmed for a moment and took a step back.

"Are you all here for Derek Morgan?" he questioned.

"Yes," they answered collectively.

He looked at them dubiously. "And you're all family?"

"Yes!" they said once again.

Not by blood, of course, but by the only standard that should count: love. Derek's mother and sisters, Emily was told, were on their way.

The man sighed, rubbing at his eyes like he had a headache. Not a good sign, Emily thought. And not very professional.

"My name is Dr. Hartnell, my team operated on Agent Morgan," the doctor stated the obvious.

"And?" Rossi inquired pointedly. It was obvious his patience, like all of theirs, was wearing thin, made worse by the fact that there was absolutely nothing any of them could do.

"He's out of surgery." More obviousness. "And he's stable."

"What does that mean? Stable?" Kate asked.

More rubbing of his eyes. Getting answers from this guy was like pulling teeth. "It means, for now, his vitals are steady… heart rate, blood pressure, it's all within normal range."

"That's good, isn't it, doctor?" Hotch said, his arm still around JJ's shoulders.

"It is."

They breathed out a collective sigh of relief. He was going to be ok. Morgan would get through this. And then Emily would never leave his side again.

"Our concern right now is Agent Morgan's brain," Dr. Hartnell said, bursting their bubble.

"What's wrong with it?" JJ practically whispered.

He shot JJ an 'are you dense?' look making Emily want to slap the guy. If it weren't for the fact that he was the one keeping Morgan alive, she so would have. Had this Dr. Hartnell never heard of bedside manner before? Because he sure needed a refresher course.

"His brain hemorrhaged. We caught it early, but the prognosis would be better if he'd come to the ER conscious."

"What is the prognosis?" Emily asked tersely.

"The pressure has been relieved. The bleeding has stopped. We believe he'll wake soon. When he does, we'll know more of the extent of brain damage."

"Brain damage?" she repeated. She had to swallow down the bile that threatened to make an exit all of the sudden. Those two words were the scariest thing she'd ever heard.

Focus on the fact that Dr. Jackass says Derek's going to wake up, Em, she told herself.

She took a deep breath, but almost choked on it.

"Oh… God," Garcia whispered.

The hardhearted doctor's face softened as his eyes set upon the usually perky blonde. "Like I said, Ms…" he started, a new glint in his eyes.

"Garcia, Penelope," Garcia answered, staring at the man with wide eyes.

"Ms. Garcia, Penelope," he said familiarly. This guy is too much. "We'll know more when your friend wakes up. It could be nothing," he added reassuringly.

Oh, right, for the pretty girl he has the kind words.

Garcia nodded once.

"Would you like to see him?" Dr. Hartnell addressed only Garcia. And then he noticed she was holding Reid's hand still. "You and your boyfriend…"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, blushing.

"We're not together," Reid said quickly, dropping Garcia's hand like it was a hot potato, a blush forming on his own cheeks.

"Reid's not my boyfriend, no way. We're just friends. I don't have a boyfriend; I had a boyfriend, but it didn't work out—" She stopped abruptly when she realized she was babbling. "Yes, I'd like to see him."

If the situation weren't so dire, Emily would have laughed out loud at the current scene. From the twitches on everyone else's lips, they seemed to feel the same.

"Right this way, then," Dr. Hartnell said, putting a guiding hand on Garcia's shoulder. Way too familiar, Emily thought. She'd have to give him a piece of her mind, after Derek recovered of course.

Garcia hesitated, turning back to eye all of them. "What about the rest of my friends?"

"Your not-a-boyfriend can come with you… And then the rest of you can take turns. No more than two people in the room at a time, all right?"

They all gave him a nod. Something told Emily that if it weren't for Penelope they wouldn't have been seeing Derek anytime soon…

"Thank you," Garcia said gratefully, allowing herself to be guided away, Reid trailing after them.

Things weren't all peachy just yet, but it felt like a bit of the weight had been lifted from her chest.

"Thank goodness for Penelope," Dave commented amusedly.

The group nodded their agreement as they resumed their previous positions. And waited.

That's it for this chapter. Short, I know. I hope to have the next one up soon.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading. And thanks to my reviewers: Guest#1; Guest#2; Frenzy cmfan; XoxMountainGirlxoX; Guest#3; rmpcmfan; and jhplug (This story takes place right along with the current season. Emily was back for the 200th episode last season; and in my story again during the summer. So it's been about 6 months she's been back in DC. Good question about Savannah, I have no idea. Lol).

See you all soon!