Chapter 3:

"Wow, I think I preferred the sarcastic yet still friendly Megan. That side of you actually just scared me a little bit."

"Bastard."he mumbles

"Megan?! Megan, can you hear me?"

"Don? Gran..ger...throw... bomb...jump ..off.. deck..."

"I'll go find him, David, you stay with Megan."

"Colby! Stop right there!"Don yelled

"Don, this isn't what you think! I had to, my superiors told me to!"

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that."

"Thank god David was there."

"Megan, do you remember what we do with people who are in shock?"David's voice is quiet, yet forceful, as he pulls Don's jacket on Megan, and covers her with his.

"...warm..."

"Good, what else?"

"...awake...?"

"Yes, Megan, I need you to stay with me, okay?"

"...'kay."

"Hold my hand, 'kay? Stay with me, for Larry, alright?"

"...'kay."

"That's a girl."...

"Donnie! Don! Wake up!" Alan's voice brought Don out of his sleep.

"Huh?"

"Megan's getting weaned off the sedative today. We should try to get there before she wakes up."Alan mumbled through a yawn.

"What time is it?" Don

"6:30 in the morning. I just woke up to the hospital's beeper buzzing and my phone ringing. Are you hungry, because we could stop at McDonalds and get something."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that but, uh, not really. I'll get something from the hospital cafeteria once I see Megan." Don chuckled slightly, and Alan lightly slapped the back of his head.

"I am capable of not making breakfast everyday, you know."Alan tugged Don up.

"Let's go, we want to be as early as possible." Alan said

"Definitely."

20 minutes later, Don and Alan were in Megan's room sitting by her watching her sleep.

"Hey Dad, I think Megan's waking up, she just squeezed my hand, and did you notice, she fluttered her eyelids. And look, her heart rate is going up."

Don said Alan smiled at Don, then looked down and smiled at Megan. She grunted and moaned, then slowly, she cracked her eyes open. Megan looked around until she found her eyes had been filled by Don and Alan. She smiled up at them, then weakly squeezed each of their hands.

"Hello sweetheart." Alan's gentle voice had ended the silence, and Megan cleared her throat.

"What is it Meg? Are you thirsty?" Don asked

"Yeah."Megan's croaky voice pushed out a word, a single word.

"Alright. Here you go, Meg. Drink as much as you want, but don't drink too fast or you'll choke." Don slid the straw between Megan's lips, and then she started to sip the cool liquid very slowly. Alan smiled down at Megan, and she smiled back, much more strong than the last time. Megan took a few small sips, and looked at Don and Alan again. It was obvious that she was having a hard time staying awake. Alan smiled at her, then bent down to whisper lightly in her ear:

"Rest, sweetie. We'll be here." With those words, Megan's eyelids closed, and her grip on their hands loosened.

Don turned to his father, and spoke;

"I've got to get to work, but I'll be back later. I'm also going to talk to Charlie about how to tell Larry." Alan nodded, and watched Don leave. He sighed, and squeezed Megan's hand gently. His stomach growled.

Alan thought: Damn. I've got to eat something. Where's her doctor?

Just as he said that, Dr.Webb walked in.

"Mr. Eppes?" Doctor Webb asked

"Dr. Webb. Megan woke up, and drank some water, but she fell back asleep. I'm going to go get something from the cafeteria." Alan spoke lifelessly

"I'll make sure somebody either comes down there, or notifies you by phone."

"Thank you."

Don got into the office, and saw Liz standing with David.

"Hey David. Hey Liz. Do you have any specific instructions from Merrick?"Don asked the two.

"He wants to see you." David

"Okay."

Don walked towards the AD's office.

"Don. First of all, how is Megan doing?" Merrick greeted Don as he took his seat.

"She's out of surgery and was sedated until about an hour ago. They're putting on some temp prosthetics to help with swelling, and hopefully lessen the shock of losing her legs." Don explained

"That's good." Merrick sighed, then looked at Don.

"Don, I would like to put you and your team on 2 weeks paid administrative leave. A DOJ team will look through all your cases- they will alert you when they are done." Merrick addressed Don.

"What? No, this is our juristiction, and this is my agent. I will work this case." Don snapped at Merrick.

"No, Don, you will not work this case. I understand that Megan was hurt and that you want to find justice for her, I really do, but that will cloud your judgement. You know that. This case is being handed over to the BAU. We will find justice for Megan. But we also must make sure that everything was done by the book. This topic is finished. If you say one more word, I will give you a written warning." Merrick warned. Don stood up and left.

"What'd he say?" David walked up to Don as he stormed down the steps.

"He wants us on administrative leave for 2 weeks. Another team will handle all the paperwork." Don scowled at the duo, and they sighed.

"Damn him. I mean, she's our agent, and when she was kidnapped, he let us work that. Megan deserves justice. We deserve justice." David snapped

"What the hell is he doing, trying to stop us from getting justice for her?" Liz fumed

"I don't know." Don seethed

"How's Megan doing?"Liz whispered once they were back to their cubicles

"She's in a regular room, and off the sedative, but still really sleepy. The docs are switching her over to heavy duty pills. She woke up to drink some water right before I left. I'm going back there right now, if you guys don't mind."

David and Liz shook their heads.

"Can we come over soon?" David questioned

"I'll call if you can, because visiting hours are flexible." Don said

"Hey, you alright?" Colby asked as he followed Megan out onto the balcony.

"Yeah. You know, swearing an oath to the FBI was the first time in my life I ever felt like I was a part of something. I felt good, you know? I liked what I was doing." Megan said thoughtfully.

"Past tense?"

"Let's just say the past six weeks put some beliefs to the test, and I'm not sure that I passed."

"Well, you may be talking to the wrong guy." Colby reached into his coat and pulled out a grenade. Megan gasped, and started to back up slowly.

"What the hell?! Granger, it's me; it's Megan, Granger. What the hell is up?!" Megan asked with a layer of faint fear.

"I'm sorry, but I can't betray my country, Megan. I have to follow orders, and my orders are to kill you." With that, Colby jumped off the balcony, ran about 10 feet, and threw the grenade.

Megan screamed, and tried to run away, but got hit in the legs by a giant piece of shrapnel. She fell to the ground, narrowly missing another giant piece of sharp metal. She struggled to free her legs, and felt a ripping sensation right below her knees, then extreme pain.

"Aarrgh!"

Just then, she heard footsteps and yells of FBI!

"Megan?!"Don said

"Don?"Megan cried weakly

"Megan?!"...

"Megan? Can you hear me?" Don pleaded with Megan.

"Mmmm...Don? Wher..?" Megan moaned, then slowly cracked her eyes open.

"Hey"

"How are you feeling?" Don asked

"Really woozy, and lighter. What happ...?" Don put his finger over Megan's lips to silence her.

"Megan, when you were hit with the giant piece of shrapnel, your legs were severed just below the knee. The doctors tried to save them, but they were too late. They-the doctors-, Megan, they had to amputate your legs just below your knees."

Just then, Alan walked in from getting coffee. He saw Don and Megan, and Megan looked at him in horror.

"But- but my legs are still there, Don. They can't be gone if they're still here. Like Larry says; matter can't just disappear."Megan pleaded

Alan put the coffee on the bedside table, and went to Megan's side.

"Sweetheart, would you like to see why you think your legs are still here or should I tell you?"

"I wanna see." Megan cried

"Okay." Alan pulled back Megan's blankets, and Megan screamed in horror.