A.N: Reid's big detox scene, hope you enjoy. Thankyou to to those who've been reviewing! Please review if you're reading. I'd appreciate the feedback!
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, CBS does! I do own Cameron Mansfield.
After a long and treacherous drive, Cameron and Reid arrived at his townhouse. She drove cautiously and in silence because he was pretty much out of it. He just sat limply and said or word or two here and there. Cameron tended to like talking to fill in the silence, when no one was talking, it was just gave her too much time to think.
Not to her surprise he was in pretty bad shape by the time she got him home. The meds she gave him before had been wearing off the whole day and he was experiencing full-fledged detox for the first time.
With her arm around his waist she gently walked him upstairs to his bedroom. He sat on the bed while she rummaged through his drawers looking for some pajamas.
"Camr… I…think I'm…go...onna be…sick."
She calmly walked into the bathroom and grabbed the waste bin. She placed it beside him and he instantly threw up. She rubbed his back again until he was finished. She gently stroked his face, it was sweaty and his eyes were bloodshot.
She helped him out of his cardigan and shirt and into a clean T-shirt. She did the same to help him into his pajama bottoms.
"Come on, you need to lie down." She pulled down the covers and helped him into bed.
His voice was weak and watery, "Tha…thanks."
She rubbed his arms up and down and told him she had to leave for a while to pick up some things from the CVS. It was already snowing and freezing rain was on the way and she didn't want to leave him later.
With all her hurrying the few errands she had to do took her nearly 45 minutes. She returned to his house, a couple bags in hand and wet hair. She dumped the groceries on the counter and hurried upstairs to check on Reid.
He was curled up small in his bed sweating like crazy and shivering all at once. She sat down beside him and tried to pull the blanket away.
He mumbled in protest, "No…no. It's too cold."
She frowned, "Sorry. I'm sorry, I know you're cold but your clothes are soaking wet."
His eyes were closer tight, "I'll be o…okay."
Cameron sighed, it went against her better judgment but she let him be. Besides, what he really needed was to sleep. She poured out a fair dose of cough medicine, hopeful that he could sleep through the worse part. In California she learned that cough medicine was the go-to for cold turkey detox. It isn't exactly a miracle, but it helped.
She helped him sit up and his hand was shaking so bad she had to hold it to keep from spilling the sticky red liquid. She couldn't help grinning at the childishly sour face he made after swallowing the medicine. She held out a glass of water but quickly pulled it away, "Sip slowly, okay?"
He was in misery, and he never could have imagined how bad this was going to be. His legs felt like they were being torn apart. But he was still hanging in there, barely. He also didn't expect he would be so grateful to have another person with him, witnessing him in this frail position. She was strangely calm and reassuring and when she got back from the CVS, she barely left the room for the rest of the night.
As for Reid, he was in and out of sleep. Either the leg pain, or nausea or the fact that he couldn't warm himself, something would always wake him up.
He only heard her leave once to make herself some tea. She mustn't have left him alone too often, because each time he woke up, she was there, giving him a sip of PowerAde or offering to help him change into dry pajamas.
She never seemed to tire, she would either be checking his pulse or taking his temperature, which was too high. She was glad to have something to do, something that occupied her mind.
It was around midnight and the wind was howling wildly outside, the freezing rain had started up. Cameron had dragged a kitchen chair upstairs and she'd been in and out of it for hours. Reid was moaning and Cameron knelt next to his bed. His whole body was trembling from spasms and he was clutching his stomach.
"How're you feeling? Tell me what's wrong." For the first time, she seemed to panic, her eyes were alert with concern.
He winced, and sounded dazed, "My stomach is killing me. I—I can't st…stop shaking."
Cameron tried to calm her voice, "It's okay, it's okay." She repeated. She hesitated a moment and went around to the other side of the bed, climbing in beside him. His body was in a complete state of unrest. She wrapped her arms around him and held tight. It took some time but the shivering and tremors subsided and he felt comfort and relief with her arms around him.
Through the haze of pain he was amazed by how right it felt to have her lying next to him. Her firm hold helped the shivering, her body providing him with warmth. She lent her hand for him to hold while the pain in his legs and stomach continued through the night. When the pain got bad, her mere presence provided him with a startling amount of relief.
As for Cameron, she couldn't manage to sleep so she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of him breathing deeply.
The pain and the nausea came in varying levels of severity all night. And she never left his side, unless it was to get him some water to rinse out his mouth or to pour him so more cough syrup. It was after 4 am and he was throwing up again, he was mumbling and whimpering words of nothingness. She was alarmed by how incoherent he was. Anxious she laid her head on the pillow beside his and grasped his hand. She sang softly into the darkness of the night.
'When I find myself in times trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be. And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me. Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be.'
His body began to still and he fought his body's desire to rest, he wanted to move, say something, but he couldn't. So let himself drift asleep while her voice filled up the silence of the room. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
'Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom: Let it be.
And when the broken hearted people, living in this world agree, there will be an answer let it be.'
Her eyes were brimming with tears, and he was breathing loudly, asleep once again. She pulled him closer, holding him a little tighter to her body. She closed her eyes and allowed only a few tears to roll down her pale cheeks, and it was all she could manage. She took a breath and sang the end of the song,
'And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be. I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.'
Please review, good or bad, feedback is always a plus!