AN: Okay so after I got a message begging for a continuation, I decided why not? So here this is. Honestly, it's just about another member of the team reacting to Reid's illness and less of an actual plot line but that was kind of the idea anyway. That being said, I don't know how well it will flow or how good it will be overall, but hopefully someone enjoys it!

Warning: unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own. Still spoilers for Amplification from season 4 if you haven't seen it.

That's it! Hope you all enjoy :)

It had been a rough night. A very rough night. Mostly for Reid as he struggled to make it through the seemingly endless hours of darkness, but it was just as long for the remaining team members who stayed knowing that if they didn't, there would be no one else there for the young man when he finally came to.

Garcia was amongst those that stayed behind, accompanied by Morgan as well as Rossi. JJ, of course, desperately wanted to return home to her own family after such a scare and Emily had stayed for a while, but had eventually decided to return home, get a few hours of sleep, and then come back. No one had been surprised when Morgan said he planned on remaining at the hospital but Rossi's decision had been slightly surprising; but most things he did seemed to be a little unexpected. As for Garcia, she couldn't bear to go home considering she hadn't been able to see Reid for herself and one of their last conversations together had had a very somber tone of Reid acknowledging the fact that he may not make it out of this one.

"So, he did wake up?" she asked suddenly, wanting to hear that one piece of good news again as more dark thoughts began to take over. Morgan had been the only one who saw Reid and after that, Dr. Kimura decided that as long as Reid was asleep, there would be no visitors.

"Yes, baby girl. He woke up," Morgan restated for at least the fifth time but Penelope didn't care. It made her feel better.

"So you saw those beautiful brown eyes?"

Morgan chuckled. "What kind of question is that?"

"Oh, well you have beautiful brown eyes too…" she began, but Morgan cut her off with more laughter.

"Yes. Yes I saw his dreamy brown eyes. Feel better?"

"Perhaps when I see them for myself," she replied as she thought ahead to when she would be able to see him. She hated that his strangled speech and attempts to suppress coughing fits were the last she had heard of him and was plagued with it replaying through her head like a broken record. She wanted to see him; make a new memory to replace the last one.

Garcia laid her head back against the chair she was sitting in. It had been hours since they last heard from Kimura and they were beginning to get antsy. And about twenty minutes ago, Rossi had gotten up and declared that he was going to find something out. Garcia had learned a long time ago that finding out information in a hospital was not likely; you had to wait for it to come to you.

"He's been taken off the ventilator."

Morgan and Garcia both jumped at the sound of Rossi's voice.

"What?"

"They took him off," Rossi repeated with a grin. "Apparently his lungs were well enough to breathe on their own."

Garcia erupted into a smile. It was some of the best news they had heard yet.

"Hmm, my thunder seems to have been stolen," came the unmistakable voice of Dr. Kimura. "Unless there is something else to celebrate that I'm unaware of, Dr. Reid has, indeed, been removed from the ventilation system."

"So his chances are even better now, right?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, they have improved greatly. In the case of this illness, the lungs are one of the most vital organs involved so the fact that his are well enough to work on their own is a wonderful sign."

Penelope was beyond happy. Her little man was most definitely getting better and would be back to himself in no time.

"Now, he is awake and probably will be for a little while, so I don't mind someone going in to sit with him but please understand, he remains very ill and is still experiencing aphasia."

Garcia frowned. "Aphasia? Isn't that when you can't speak?"

The doctor nodded. "It is when the brain has a difficult time piecing together logical statements. Some words may make sense, while others will not. It will wear off on its own."

"Thank you, Doctor," Rossi said and the others nodded in agreement.

"Of course," she replied. "One of you may join him at any time, but please, do not excite him in any way. His body needs as much rest as possible." Kimura then nodded as a goodbye and turned to leave.

A quick silence fell over them as the question hung in the air: who would go in the room with Reid?

"Garcia," Morgan said, making her jump ever so slightly. "Why don't you go?"

"What?"

"Yeah," Rossi said. "I think you'd be the best out of us three for him right now."

Garcia frowned. " Thank you, but may I ask why?"

Rossi looked at Morgan then back at her. Penelope could tell that he wasn't quite sure what to say but she was going to let him squirm until he figured it out. "You the happiest," he answered finally. "You are the most lively and the most innocent."

At that, Morgan scoffed and turned away with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey!" Garcia said with mock anger. "I am so innocent. Keep going, Agent Rossi."

Rossi laughed. "I just think that it may do him good to see someone a bit more lighthearted right now. That's all."

"Yeah he's right," Morgan agreed, though Garcia could tell he wanted to go back in there.

Garcia bit her bottom lip. She wanted to see him really bad, but then again, he was so sick. She didn't want to see him like that. And then there was the aphasia…

"But what do I do?!" she said quickly as the thought occurred to her. "He can't even talk! And he's so sick… So pitiful…"

"Garcia," Morgan said seriously as he grabbed her shoulders. "It's Reid."

Garcia waited a moment for him to continue, but when he didn't, she realized it wasn't necessary anyway. It was Reid in there. Even if he was sick and unable to talk, it was still her Junior G-man.

"You're right," she said, pulling away from Derek's grasp. "You're right." She then turned and started to walk away, but soon stopped. "Um, I don't know where I'm going."

Morgan laughed then pointed down the hallway. "Room 1101. It's a little ways down the hall on your left."

"On my left, got it."

He felt contained in a world of haze and clouds, only being able to piece together a portion of the events that led to this moment. The rest were all flashes of things that could be memory, could be fever-induced works of his imagination. All he knew for sure was that he felt like he had gotten hit by a truck. He was aware of the oxygen mask on his face but was pretty sure he remembered a tube being down his throat at one point, so this was definitely an improvement. Other than that, he felt like he had the world's worst case of the flu.

Probably the worst part of it all was how confused and slow his brain seemed to be. It scared him in a way that reminded him only of that terrible time when drugs were forced into his system, and likewise, then chose to force them on himself. And he absolutely couldn't stand it.

He looked around the room for a moment but stopped and clenched his eyes shut when the movement made him nauseous and his head ache. A part of him longed to have someone there, but no one was. It was okay though because Reid knew the only reason his friends wouldn't be with him is if they were still trying to catch the killer or if they weren't allowed in. And for some reason, he thought he remembered Morgan saying the guy had been caught so it was likely the latter of the two.

Reid turned to look at the monitor beside his bed and winced at the dizziness and pain that accompanied it. Once it cleared enough to read the numbers, he observed his own vital signs and discovered that he most certainly had a fever with a temperature of 102.7. It could be worse, he thought.

He then looked around what he considered to be a cubical of a hospital room that had big glass walls. So, maybe it was more so like a fishbowl than a cubical. And he was the fish.

Reid closed his eyes as he was suddenly reminded of William Faulkner's classic, As I Lay Dying, in which one of the speakers believes his own mother is a fish. Immediately, Reid began to reread the novel in his head but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps nearby. With great effort, he opened his eyes and saw the face of a blond-haired woman with soft, kind eyes.

Garcia, he thought with a smile.

"Reid," she said so softly, it was basically a whisper.

He looked nothing short of terrible and it killed her. In many ways, he looked even worse than he had on that little computer monitor back in Georgia. He was pale, so pale, with the exception of his bright red cheeks, no doubt a result of his high fever.

She watched as his half-glazed, swollen eyes wandered over to her, not completely seeing her but it was good enough for the time being. He looked the very definition of weak and frail, but there was no doubt about it, this was her Reid.

"How are you feeling?" she asked without thinking.

"Wait, don't answer that," she added quickly. "It's quite obvious you don't feel so good. I mean, you don't look bad or anything… okay, you do. But you just look sick. Really, really sick. But you're still very handsome…"

Garcia had no idea why she was stumbling so much, but Reid simply looked amused if not slightly confused.

"Well," she continued, "I guess you know we got Brown and all that so no worries there and Dr. Kimura, as far as I know, administered the other patients with the vaccine so hopefully that will work. It's working for you!"

Reid continued to watch her with a glossy look in his eye but the half-smile he wore on his face made it clear he understood at least some of what she was saying.

"And… um…," she said, trying to keep light conversation going but it was getting so hard to hold back her emotions. She knew it would be best to keep things light for Reid's sake but she couldn't stand holding back all that she wanted to say to him.

"Oh pumpkin! Why must you always end up in these dreadful hospital rooms?!" she blurted finally, losing her internal battle. "It seems like every time I turn around I get a phone call saying you're in trouble. And this time… this time I was sure I'd never have the chance to get another phone call…"

Reid frowned, though Garcia knew it was due to guilt which made her feel extremely bad. She began to apologize but before she could say anything, he started speaking first.

"'Mm… show," he tried, then clenched his eyes shut. "I'm… story."

"Reid…" Penelope said, suddenly terrified by the fact that Reid couldn't speak. The fear was immense and indescribable, taking her by surprise.

"Mm s-sol-sorry."

Garcia sat in her chair, completely in shock and at a loss of what to do or say. She had seen Reid beaten, she'd seen him bloody, crying, in terrible amounts of pain and even, technically, dead. But never had she seen, or imagined she would ever see, him struggling to do something as easy as speak. Especially since most of the time he was rambling about some interesting fact or other. But watching him try so hard to get out two simple words made her heart ache in a way she had never known.

A part of her wanted to run away and the other wanted to stay with him. Instead, she just sat there and stared at him.

"The… af-aphasia why-w-will go away s-soon," he managed to say, his eyes staring right back into hers.

Immediately, Garcia felt another spasm of guilt, realizing that he was trying to console her. She suddenly felt a tear roll down her cheek but quickly wiped it away.

"I know," she whispered. "I'm so sorry Reid. I've just never… I never thought I'd see you like… this."

Reid smiled then said, "D-don't got-get used to is-it."

Penelope laughed when she figured out what he was trying to say. She laughed and felt much of her fears and anxieties melt away. Yes, Reid was terribly sick and she had seen the young man in many different terrible conditions, but what mattered was that she'd see him again.

And with that thought, Garcia watched as his eyes slid shut and simply enjoyed the silence, knowing that soon, Reid would be right back to non-stop chatter and that's exactly what she wanted.

EN: Hope you guys liked it! I also hope you were able to follow along with what Reid was saying.. ha it's kinda hard writing... wrong? Ha I don't know. So yeah... review if you got a chance or feel like it. Otherwise thanks so much for reading! Oh, and if I continue this any more, it would like be once Reid left the hospital maybe but was still recovering...? Ha I don't know!