CHAPTER 14
Reid was sat up in the bed reading a book at a normal person pace when the door slid open. He had his gown wrapped around him and he was wearing a garish green cardigan that had been brought in for him by Garcia. He was also wearing his horn rimmed glasses. The oxygen cannula remained under his nose, but the other tubes were now gone. A drip continued to feed antibiotics and steroids into his system. Reid looked up and smiled when he saw JJ edging into the room.
"JJ!"
"Hey, Spence! How you feeling?"
" Actually not too bad. Did you know that hospital acquired pneumonia increases a hospital stay by an additional seven to nine days and has a mortality rate of thirty to fifty percent? It's highest occurrence is in twelve to twenty nine percent of ICU patients on a ventilator." JJ laughed and shook her head, "What?"
"Nice to see you back to your old self. I've got someone who really who wants to see you. Well two people actually..." Reid closed the book and set it on his lap and looked at JJ hopefully. She came up into her tip toes slightly to see what Reid has been reading, "The DaVinci Code?"
"It's actually quite fascinating. I know it's a work of fiction but there's a lot in there that kind of makes sense. Who wants to see me?" A head poked around the side of the door, black square glasses balanced on his nose and floppy blonde hair over one eye. Another head appeared underneath. Reid beamed.
"Henry! Michael!" The boys scrambled into the room and up onto the bed with Reid, one at either side. Reid curled his arms around the boys, ignoring the protests from his shoulder wound.
"We've missed you, Uncle Spencer. Momma said some bad guys took you away and hurt you," said Henry with a sad look on his face.
"That's right. But I'm getting better. I won't be able to run around playing soccer for a little while as my legs are still poorly but I think we can still have so much fun."
"Bad men gone 'way now?" asked Michael, nibbling on his thumb.
"Yeah, they've gone away now. Your momma helped" Reid leaned in close to whisper to the boys, "See your mom's really a superhero, but we gotta keep it real quiet." The boys nodded in agreement. Reid sat back and took in a deep breath of the sweet oxygen. Will strode into the room and wrapped his arms around JJ's waist.
"Hey, darlin'," came the southern drawl. Will gently kissed JJ on the neck then looked up at Reid, "How you feelin', Spence?"
"Better. I'll need to stay on oxygen for a few more weeks and I'll need to take inhalers. If all goes well, I should be able to leave here in a couple of days time. I'm staying with Rossi for a while. I'm gonna get so fat!" JJ pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle.
"Between Rossi's Italian cooking and Garcia's cupcakes..."
"I'm gonna take the boys for ice cream, can I get you anything?" asked Will as he ushered the boys from the bed.
"Actually... I'm gagging for some coffee." JJ couldn't stifle her laughter any longer, "What?"
"Spence, you and your coffee!"
"It's been over a week since I last had any!" exclaimed Reid incredulously.
"That has to be a record! I'll make sure I note that on our calendar for 'length of time Reid goes without coffee'." Reid raised an eyebrow at the blonde woman who was giggling in front of him.
"You actually have that?"
"Of course. It's pinned up in Garcia's lair. So far your record is two hours."
"I'm not that bad!"
"Oh, yes you are!" Reid pouted but struggled to maintain the facade, falling into fits of laughter. JJ dropped into the seat beside Reid and picked up the book he has been reading, flipping it over to read the blurb.
Reid and JJ had been talking at length about how much time he would be able to spend with his godsons and the activities he could do with them whilst confined to a wheelchair. They could do arts and crafts, he could teach them his famous physics magic... Reid felt hopeful and excited. Will returned with two very happy and content boys. He placed a disposable cup of coffee from Starbucks on the bedside table and wheeled it over the bed. Reid's eyes sparkled, similar to the way a child's does at Christmas. He picked the cup up with both hands, the warmth spreading through his fingers and hands. He sniffed and took a sip, the sweet caffeine goodness sliding down his throat. Reid gave a content sigh and closed his eyes.