Chapter 8

Morgan

Morgan turned his wheel to the right and stamped on the brake. His car scraped against the wall of rock and came to a halt. Morgan leapt out of the car and ran across the road to where he had seen Aaron's car drive over the edge. Pulling off his jacket, he ran into the water. He could see the roof of the car just below the surface.

Taking a breath, he dived under the water.

Aaron was still strapped into the driver's seat. The blood from a head wound was washing gently from his skin, staining the surrounding water. His eyes were closed, his head forward, his hands still gripping the wheel.

Morgan pulled at the door, desperate to open it. It was jammed. He surfaced, and climbed over the car to the other side. This door opened.

He leaned across, and undid Aaron's seat belt. Pulling the unconscious Aaron through the door, he put his arms around his chest and swam to the surface.

He laid him on the bank, and checked for a pulse.

Aaron's pulse was strong, but he wasn't breathing. Morgan turned Aaron's head to the side, and compressed his chest. Aaron coughed water onto the grass and took a breath. He struggled to get up. Morgan pushed him down again.

"Spence! Where is he?" Aaron started coughing again.

"It's just you, Hotch. Reid wasn't in the car." Morgan tried to calm him.

"No! Spence! He's in the back!" He tried to get up again. "He's still in the car!" Aaron turned onto his hands and knees and vomited river water onto the grass.

Morgan was running back into the water before Aaron had finished speaking. Again he dived down into the water.

Spencer was lying on the back seat still. His arms were floating in the water, his hair forming a soft halo around his pale face. His eyes were closed, his lips were turning blue, his mouth slightly open.

Morgan pulled at the door. Everything seemed to move slowly, the car door opened, the pressure of the water slowing everything. Reid's body, moving gently in the current as the door opened. Morgan pulled Reid out of the car by his arms, and dragged him up onto the bank next to Aaron.

Morgan again felt Reid's neck.

"He's got a pulse. It's very weak." Morgan checked his respiration. "He's not breathing!"

Aaron crawled over to him.

"He's been bitten by a snake." Aaron showed Morgan Spencer's bitten hand. "He needs anti-venom!"

Morgan pressed Spencer's chest to try and get him breathing. He didn't know if it was the venom or the water that was preventing him from breathing.

Morgan picked Reid up in his arms and ran across the road to his car with him.

He put Reid in the back, and ran back for Aaron.

Blood was running down Aaron's face. Angrily, he wiped it from his eyes.

"Spencer! Help him!"

"We'll get him to the ER, Hotch. It's not far."

Leaning on Morgan, Aaron crossed to the car. He got in the back next to Spence, and put his arms around him, his hand on the back of his head, entwined in his wet hair.

Morgan hoped that his car would be drivable after scraping it along the wall. He started up, and put his foot down.

A horrible crunching metal sound and Morgan had turned the car, and was racing towards the hospital.

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"We need help here!" Morgan shouted, running into the ER with Reid held close to him, Aaron next to him. A doctor ran to him and took Spencer from him.

"Snake bite! He's not breathing!"

A nurse appeared with a trolley, Reid was place on it. As the trolley was pushed into resus, the doctor asked why he was wet.

"I've just pulled him out of the river. The car crashed." Morgan answered. "Help him! Quickly!"

Aaron was trying to get close. He felt dizzy from his head wound, but all he could think about was Spence. He looked so sick, pale and still on the trolley. As the doors closed, leaving Morgan and Aaron outside in the waiting area, Morgan clung onto Aaron, holding him back from following Reid.

"Leave them to do their job, Hotch."

"I need to be with him!" Aaron cried. He was shaking with cold and fear and anxiety for Spence.

Morgan steered him towards the reception area. "Let's get this cut on your head sorted, Hotch." he said. "Then you can tell me what happened."

Morgan had his arm around Hotch's waist. Aaron tried to walk. His eyes rolled upwards and his knees buckled as he fainted. Morgan managed to prevent him from falling. He carefully laid him down on the floor

Blood and tears were running down Aaron's face and into his hair. Morgan got some tissues from a box at the reception desk and wiped Hotch's eyes.

"Hotch!" He held Aaron's hand.

Nurses came and a doctor. They lifted Aaron onto a trolley and took him into a cubicle. Morgan followed, no one tried to stop him.

The nurse wrapped a blanket around Aaron. "He's gone into shock, and he's cold, but he will be fine. He just needs to be kept warm."

The doctor checked Aaron's vital signs. The nurse got ready and cleaned and stitched Aaron's head wound.

"He will need a tetanus shot as he has been in the river." she said, preparing the syringe.

When they had finished, Morgan and Aaron were left alone. Aaron began to come around, his eyes flickered open.

"Spence?" Aaron was shivering. Morgan took another blanket from under the trolley and wrapped it around Aaron's body.

"It's Derek, Hotch. You passed out."

"Where's Spence?" Aaron made as if to get off the bed. Morgan gently pressed him down.

"The doctors are with him now." Morgan laid a comforting hand on Aaron. "What happened, Hotch?"

Aaron told Morgan about Spencer getting bitten.

"I don't know where the snake came from. But how would one get into an apartment?"

Aaron said. "Why is someone trying to hurt Spencer? What the hell is going on?"

Morgan said, "I'll get someone over to Reid's to find the snake."

"Then the car! The brakes failed." Aaron put his head in his hands. "Oh god. Spence!"

Morgan held onto Aaron, as sobs racked his body, Morgan pressed him close. Aaron's hands clutched hold of Morgan, as he cried for Spencer.

They sat together in the relative's room, waiting for news, both afraid of what that news would be. Morgan felt sick with worry. Aaron drifting from grief stricken tears to fear and anxiety.

The doctor came in and sat beside them.

Both looked anxiously at him.

"We have had to put him on a ventilator, because we couldn't get him to breath on his own. He's on intravenous fluids to counteract shock, and because his systems were closing down, he's also on medication to increase blood flow to his organs." Aaron looked into the doctor's eyes, trying to see if there was a spark of optimism. He didn't see one. "We've given him anti-venom and tetanus, and he's on antibiotics, to prevent wound infection."

Aaron stopped him. "Is he going to be all right?"

The doctor sighed. "We've done everything we can. The rest is up to him. The main thing going against him is his weight. Because of his low body mass, the toxin was more concentrated. We will have to wait and see if his body can cope. I am sorry that is the only thing I can tell you. As I said, the rest is up to him."

"Can I see him?" Tears were rolling down Aaron's face. "I need to be with him."

The doctor nodded, and with Morgan's help, they followed him to where Spencer was fighting for his life.