Title: You Broke My Bones
Rating: T
Summary: The BAU becomes too much for Reid to handle. But his old and current jobs are bound to collide.
Previously: Reid left the BAU, a victim brings the BAU to the hospital, Reid meets his new teacher, Hotch is shot, Reid discovers he's dating his replacement and Reid is attacked
This Chapter: The team continue to try and cope with Reid's attack
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds but I own the plot for this story and any OCs
Status: In-Progress
Chapter: 12. Thanks and Folders
Note: Thank you for all the reviews/alerts/favourites. Any constructive criticism is welcome
Estelle pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she struggled not to cry. It was a tight fit inside the end toilet stall, but there was no alternative where she wouldn't be seen. She rubbed her left eye with her hand, her other arm still wrapped around her legs when she heard the door to the female toilets open. As quietly as possible, she stood, before flushing the toilet so the person would think nothing of her being here.
She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes again, before wiping her hands on her jeans. She opened the door to the toilet stall, and nodded at the nurse washing her hands at the sink. There was a few seconds before the nurse spoke.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Estelle glanced up at her. "Sorry, it's none of my business but you look like you've been crying." Estelle nodded, pushing a few locks of her black hair out of her face.
"I have." She replied after a few moments indecision.
"Are you one of the FBI Agents?" The nurse asked. Estelle nodded. "So you know Dr. Reid?" Estelle gulped, before nodding.
"We actually started seeing each other a month ago." She replied, glancing sideways at the doctor.
"How are you feeling?" Estelle sighed, leaning on the sink. "Sorry," the nurse quickly added. "It's just, I counsel assault victims and their families." Estelle studied her face for a second before she took a deep breath.
"I feel, I feel like I'm an intruder," she suddenly said. "I mean, they've all known each other for years. I've only known him for a month, and I didn't meet him through work. He didn't even know I worked for the FBI until the other day," she took a deep breath, studying her tired face in the mirror. "And it's not like I've worked with them for long. I've only been with the team for a few months," the nurse nodded. "Sorry, I shouldn't be dumping this all on you." Estelle straightened.
"It's okay. Honestly," the nurse said. "Just remember there's no normal feelings you have to feel. You can feel what you want, and you can feel it for however you want. No one should tell you how to grieve." Estelle nodded.
"Thank you," she said, turning to face the nurse. "It means a lot to me." She said, as the nurse pulled her into a hug.
"It's no problem," she smiled as they pulled away. "I have to go," she said, she turned and started walking toward the door. "Good luck." She glanced over her shoulder as she opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.
Estelle took a deep breath, before following and leaving the bathroom.
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As Dr. Daniels walked into the waiting room, the team stood, eager to hear the news on their friend. He peeled off his bloodied gloves and threw them in the bin, before walking up to them, where they stood in a semi-circle.
"The injuries Dr. Reid sustained include internal bleeding, a broken nose, three broken ribs, two fractured ribs, a broken wrist, a sprained ankle and several bruises and lacerations. We went into the OR to repair the damage sustained that caused the internal bleeding," Dr. Daniels looked down at his feet, before looking back up at them. "We did everything we could, but unfortunately it wasn't enough," Morgan felt his chest go tight, and he suddenly had trouble breathing. He glanced around at the time. JJ, to his right, gasped, her hand to her mouth. Prentiss was staring opened mouth at the doctor, clearly in shock. Rossi, to her right, nearly mirrored her expression, with the exception of the open mouth. Garcia, to his left, starting crying, large sobs shaking her body. He wrapped his arm around her, subconsciously pulling her close. To her left stood Hotch, his face contorted with pain, his arms crossed.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Daniels finally said. "Reid's dead."
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"Reid, Reid," Morgan mumbled. "No, not Reid."
"Morgan. Morgan!" Morgan muttered something incoherently. "Morgan, wake up!" Morgan opened his eyes, immediately sitting upright, Garcia's hand still on his left arm.
"What happened?" He asked, glancing around. "How's Reid?" He added, glancing at Garcia.
"Still no news," she replied sadly. "You were having a nightmare," Morgan glanced at the others of the group and realised they were looking at him sympathetically, all of them afraid to sleep in case of nightmares, the tiredness already showing on their faces. "What was it?" She whispered.
"Nothing." He replied softly, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Here, have a coffee." Estelle said, reaching over to hand him a takeaway coffee cup.
"Thanks," He said, glancing up at her and taking the cup gratefully. He scratched the back of his head as he took a sip of the coffee, welcoming the scalding liquid as it slipped down his throat. "What time is it?" He asked, glancing around.
"Nearly lunch. You've been asleep for a few hours. We didn't want to wake you." Garcia replied.
The team stood as Daniels entered the waiting room, much in the same way as Morgan's nightmare. "The injuries Dr. Reid sustained include internal bleeding, a broken nose, three broken ribs, two fractured ribs, a broken wrist, a sprained ankle and several bruises and lacerations. We went into the OR to repair the damage sustained that caused the internal bleeding," Morgan's eyes were on the doctor's face, looking for any hint on what he was about to reveal. "Thankfully, we successfully managed to stop the bleeding." Morgan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. JJ glanced up at him.
"Any chance we can visit him?" Prentiss asked, Morgan unable to speak.
"He's in recovery right now," Daniels replied. "You should be able to visit him in a few hours. We have to make sure he stays as infection free as possible," The team nodded and Estelle regained her previous seat. "I'll leave you to it." He finally said, nodding at them as he turned and walked toward the nurse's station, before being called away by Nurse Jamie.
"Okay, now that we know Reid is okay we have to start working on finding his attacker," Morgan said, he turned to Garcia and Kevin, who stood to Garcia's left. "Garcia, I need you to go over any records of the college Reid studied at, see if anything happened there that would make someone come back for revenge. Also, run a background check on anyone he studied with; fellow students, teachers. And check any of the cases Reid worked just before he quit. See if anyone swore revenge, and run background checks on any family members," Garcia squeezed his hand before waving goodbye, scurrying toward the hospital doors, Kevin be her side as Morgan turned to JJ. "JJ, we don't know yet how the press works into the profile, so if anyone asks tell them we'll make a statement in the near future and answer any further questions with the standard "no comment." JJ stood, fishing her phone from her pocket as she wandered toward the hospital doors, opting to stay inside.
"I'm going to visit Hotch. Bring him up to speed." Morgan nodded as Rossi stood, still clutching a now cold takeaway coffee cup. Prentiss turned to him.
"We'll canvas the area. Somebody must've seen something," Morgan replied to Prentiss's unanswered question. He turned to Estelle, who remained sitting, staring into her coffee cup. "You can stay here if you want." He whispered, squatting next to her. She shook her head, taking a large gulp of coffee, finishing the cup. She crushed it in her hand, before her eyes met his.
"No," She said. "I can't sit here and wait. I have to help." He nodded, standing.
"I'll start with the nurse who found him," Morgan said. "Try and get a copy of the roster from last night, we'll photocopy it and question anyone that worked last night." Prentiss and Estelle nodded, Estelle standing.
"We'll get a copy of the roster to you as soon as we can." Prentiss said, offering Morgan a sympathetic smile as she passed. He nodded, before putting his mouth to his hand, closing his eyes. He was exhausted but they needed to find the UnSub, he needed to find the bastard that had hurt his best friend. He knew Reid needed him, that the team needed him, but it was so tempting to curl up and go to sleep, and hope that when he woke someone would tell him everything was okay.
But he knew that, that wasn't possible, so he stood and walked toward the nurse's station to find the nurse who had found his best friend.
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"Hotch?" Rossi asked, taping slightly on the open door, stepping inside. The unit chief glanced up at him, his pace still as pale as it had been when they'd brought him in the day before.
"Rossi," Hotch said, his throat dry. "What's happened?" He asked, his eyes scanning the older agent's face. Rossi walked forward and pulled a chair closer to the bed. Hotch studied the older man's tired face as he sighed and settled into the chair.
"Reid's been beaten," Rossi replied. "Badly. A nurse found him this morning behind the abandoned building in front of the hospital," Rossi could see the shock on the agent's face. There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead, and he looked deathly pale. His bloodied white shirt had been removed, as well as his pants, and were replaced with a hospital gown. "He just came out of surgery," Rossi added. Rossi put a hand on Hotch's uninjured left shoulder and pushed him down softly as he tried to sit up to get off the bed. "There's nothing you can do. Morgan and the team are already working on catching the UnSub."
Rossi stood and walked over to the counter against the wall to his right, picking up a facecloth. He turned to the sink, wetting the face cloth and wringing it out. He turned and walked back, sitting back in his chair. He occupied himself with wiping Hotch's face, which Hotch was immensely grateful for. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cool cloth on his face.
"You should really be helping the others," Hotch said, finally breaking the comfortable silence. "I'm sure they could use your help going through Reid's files." Rossi nodded.
"I can read some files in here," Rossi said, continuing to wipe Hotch's forehead. "Besides, if I go, you won't be able to go through the files with me." Hotch's eyes opened and flickered towards Rossi.
"Promise?" He asked. Rossi chuckled.
"We can bounce ideas off each other." He replied, standing. He walked back over to the counter, placing the face cloth in the sink as a nurse knocked on the door, a tray filled with food in hand.
"Foods high in calcium," the nurse explained at Rossi's confused face over the items on the tray. "Strengthens his bones to help him recover from the GSW." He nodded.
"I'll do it," Rossi said. "Don't worry, I'll make him eat it all." He added at her sceptical expression. She nodded and handed him the tray before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
"What's on there?" Hotch asked, curious. Rossi glanced down at the tray as he sat back in his chair.
"Milk, yoghurt, cheese and some cereal." Rossi replied, setting the tray on the small bedside table next to Hotch's bed. He opened the straw, stabbing the milk popper. He held it out and put the straw in Hotch's mouth, holding it as Hotch took a few sips. He put it back on the tray, peeling back the plastic cover of the plastic bowl of cereal. He opened the packet containing the plastic spoon and put it in the bowl of cereal.
"I can feed myself." Hotch said, as Rossi held the plate up to his mouth and put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.
"You have to minimise use of your arm," Rossi said, waiting for him to finish chewing before giving him another spoonful. "So, no, you can't."
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"Thank you," Morgan said, nodding at the nurse. She smiled sympathetically, before standing and walking away. Morgan sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You got anything?" He asked Prentiss, who sat diagonal from him, crossing another name from her copy of the roster. She shook her head.
"Nothing," she replied, copying his motions and leaning back. "Nobody I've talked to so far saw anything." The two glanced up as Estelle walked up, dropping herself into Rossi's unoccupied seat. She shook her head and held up her copy of the roster, crosses through all the names with a blue cross next to them.
"What's next?" Estelle asked tiredly.
"You read through these," Garcia said, Kevin by her side as she walked through the hospital doors. She passed Prentiss a large pile of folders, before sitting to Morgan's left, Kevin sitting to her left. "I couldn't find any threats in any of the last cases Reid worked, but I printed out some copies anyway. I also printed off the files of anyone teachers or students Reid worked closely with at the college." Morgan nodded, thanking her with a kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks baby girl," he said. "I'll get some of these files to Rossi, he'll want to read through some of them," He said and Prentiss handed him a small pile of folders, before distributing the rest to herself, Estelle and Morgan while Garcia and Kevin pulled out their laptops and set to work. Morgan placed his folders on his chair, before walking to Hotch's room, where he found Rossi hand feeding Hotch yoghurt. He smiled tiredly at the sight, knocking softly on the door. The two agents glanced up, and Rossi placed the small tub of yoghurt on a tray on the bedside table. "Reid's last cases and the files of some of those he worked closely with at the college." He said, reaching over and handing Rossi the files, before turning to Hotch.
"I'm fine," he said, answering Morgan's unanswered question. "Besides, Rossi's already fussing over me I don't need anyone else to." Rossi flashed Morgan a grin.
"Did anyone see anything?" Rossi asked. Morgan shook his head and sighed again.
"Nope," he replied. "The only one that saw him was the nurse that found him," Rossi and Hotch nodded. "Good to see you awake, man." Morgan added, nodding at the two as he walked back to the door.
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"We aren't getting anywhere," Prentiss said, snapping the folder in her hand closed. Sighing she tossed it onto Rossi's still unoccupied seat. "We've been at this for hours. It's nearly six o'clock and we haven't found anything." Morgan frowned and unclipped his phone from his belt.
"Six o'clock?" He asked, checking the time on his phone. "You're right," he said, sitting upright and dumping the folder in his hand on the file at his feet. "We need to rethink this."
"Why don't you start with dinner?" Daniels asked, sitting in the seat next to Rossi's. "You haven't eaten since you came in and you've been here all day. Food will help you think." He shrugged, before pulling a crumpled take away menu out of his pocket and handing it to Prentiss.
"He's got a point," Estelle said, walking over from the other aisle where she'd been pacing again, reading through one of her files. She sat to Prentiss's left. Morgan nodded. "I'll go order then." She said, standing again and taking the menu from Daniels.
"Just say you're ordering for Dr. Daniels, password 2729. They'll know where to send the order." He said and she flashed him a tired smile as she walked to the right of the hospital doors.
"Anyone want something specific?" She asked and the group shook their head.
"Okay, new plan," Morgan said as JJ yawned to his right. "Tomorrow we go to Reid's college, talk to everyone there. See if anything happened between Reid and anyone at the college." The group nodded their heads.
"Daniels, do you know if Reid was seeing anyone while he was at college?" Prentiss asked, turning to Daniels. He shook his head slowly, thinking.
"I don't think so," he finally replied. "He never mentioned anything, and I never heard anything about him seeing anyone. The only rumours that ever went around about him was how long he actually had to study to finish the course." Prentiss and Morgan smiled at each.
"That's our boy," Morgan smiled. "What you doing, baby girl?" Morgan asked, turning to Garcia. She sighed.
"I'm going through all the records started from Reid's last cases with us, searching for any keywords that would indicate anyone coming back for revenge," she glanced up at him. "There's not much right now," she added. "Kevin's going back further, to around the time Reid joined the FBI, working his way through until today. It's going to take some time, but it's thorough. I'm also going through any news articles searching for any keywords, see if there's anything about Reid or any incidents at the college while he was there."
"Good job, baby girl," Morgan said, kissing her forehead. "The rest of us will eat before hitting the files again." He said, turning to the rest of the team.
"Food's here." Estelle said, walking over, plastic bags in hand, surprise clear in her voice. Daniel smirked as everyone glanced at him.
"The menu's from the place across the road," he shrugged. "We sometimes order from there when we can't get away."
"I'll give Rossi some," Morgan said, standing. He took a container from the bag. "Good choice." He said, nodding at its contents, before taking another container for himself and two plastic forks. Estelle smiled at him, sitting next to Prentiss once more.
"Want some?" Morgan heard Estelle ask Daniels as he walked out of the waiting room, walking straight to Hotch's room. He chuckled softly at the sight. Hotch was now asleep, his head turned in Rossi's direction. His bed had been propped up, so he was almost sitting upright. Folders littered the bottom half of his bed, one open underneath his left hand. Rossi was still sitting in the chair by his bed, his legs crossed, a folder in his lap. He aimlessly flicked a page of the folder, unaware of Morgan's presence. By the left side of his feet sat a stacked pile of folders, on the right side, a smaller stack of folders.
Morgan chuckled again, this time alerting Rossi to his presence. The older agent glanced up at him, a smile playing at his lips. He glanced at Hotch.
"He fell asleep ages ago," Rossi shrugged. "How are you guys going?" He asked, closing the folder in his hand. Morgan shook his head, before reaching over and handing Rossi one of the containers and a fork.
"We haven't found much. Thought we'd take a new approach in the morning," He replied, taking the lid off his container as Rossi did. "We're going to go to the college and talk to anyone that knew Reid," he ate a mouthful of chicken, watching Rossi carefully. "You staying here?" Rossi shook his head, waiting until he finished chewing to reply.
"No, I want to come," he replied, taking a mouthful of chicken. "Reid?"
"He's still unconscious in recovery, but they're going to move him to another room tomorrow where we'll be about to see him." Rossi nodded. "Rossi, thank you for this morning."
Rossi shrugged. "No problem." He said.