Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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The three watched as another nurse and a doctor entered the room. They couldn't see what was going on. "What happened?" Evan asked.

"I don't know, we'll have to wait until they tell us," his brother responded.

Peggy was taking the patient's vital signs. "BP's slightly elevated," she told Dr. Hood.

Dr. Hood was listening to the heart through the stethoscope he had placed on the William's chest, "Are you having chest pain?" the physician asked.

"No, I'm fine. I just woke up and saw my sons at the end of my bed and then everyone came running in and told them to get out." He looked between the doctor and the nurses. "I want to see my sons, please."

"Okay," Dr. Hood decided. "I think you were just startled when you woke up and saw your sons and that caused your heart rate to shoot up. It appears to be back to normal now, so we'll let them back in."

The doctor and nurses left the room. Dr. Hood stopped by Spencer, Allie and Evan. "You're William's son," he asked.

"Yes, I'm Spencer Reid. Was it you I spoke to on the phone," Reid inquired of the man who appeared to be in his forties, around 5'9" and slight in build with thinning brown hair. He wore blue surgical scrubs topped with a white lab coat.

"Noah Hood," he said shaking Spencer's hand. "Your dad's heart rate spiked but I think it was more due to waking up and seeing his sons standing there than anything cardiac related. You can go back in now."

"Thanks," Reid said as they headed for the door again. This time his father was sitting up in bed when they entered.

Evan ran past his brother and over to the bed. "Hi Dad," he leaned down and gently hugged his father. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I felt pretty rough there for a while but I'm feeling better now that you're here." He looked over a Spencer and Allie who still stood by the door. Spencer held the baby carrier. "Allie," he said and the lovely brunette came forward and sat on the edge of the bed beside William.

"Hi Dad," she said as she too hugged him gently. "It's good to finally meet you."

"It's good to finally meet you too my dear." He looked beyond her to the door where Spencer still stood with the baby carrier. "Is that my granddaughter?" he asked.

"Yeah…yeah, this is Joanna." Spencer brought the carrier toward the bed and put it on the bedside table. He undid the straps and the infant squealed happily when he picked her up. "You want to go see grandpa?" he said softly as he neared the bed. Allie moved from her seat beside his father and Spencer laid Joanna in his father's arms.

"Oh Spencer," his eyes filled with tears, "she's beautiful. Lloyd showed me a picture but…"

"Yes, she's a beauty, just like her mother," Spencer replied.

"Actually, no offense Allie," he looked at his daughter-in-law, "but she looks so much like you did when you were a baby Spencer."

"No offense taken," Allie replied. "I'll be happy if she looks like her father."

"I'm surprised you remember that," Spencer replied.

William looked at his son, "Of course I remember Spencer," he said and then began to talk softly to Joanna.

They looked up as the door opened admitting Dr. Hood once again. "Sorry to intrude," he gestured to William holding his granddaughter, "but there's a slight problem with your surgery," he told his patient.

"What kind of problem?" William asked.

"We're having trouble getting blood. You're a difficult type to match because you have some extra antigens attached to your blood and it's proving to be a challenge to find donors with those same antigens. We don't want to do the surgery without some blood on hand in case of significant blood loss."

"That's the same problem I had when we were looking for a bone marrow donor. Nobody matched because of the extra antigens," Evan interjected.

"But you obviously found a donor," Dr. Hood replied noting the healthy appearance of the young man. "Leukemia?" he inquired.

"Yeah," Evan nodded, "I thought I was going to die until Dad found my brother," he indicated Spencer, "and he was a match."

"Then perhaps you'd be a match for your father as well," the doctor suggested.

"I doubt it," Evan said. "My dad and I don't match. He was tested when they were looking for donors for me but my brother and I match so he wouldn't match Dad."

The doctor was thoughtful for a moment. "Do you know your blood type?" he asked Spencer.

"Sure, O negative," he replied.

"Then you could be a donor for your father if you have the antigens which it appears is the case," Dr. Hood told them.

"But that doesn't make any sense. If Dad matches you then why didn't he match me?" Evan asked his brother.

"Because Dad's got a blood type other than O negative so you couldn't get bone marrow from him, you could only get it from another O negative person but an O negative person can give blood to anyone of any type. So it doesn't matter if the blood types match; only the antigens have to match."

"Well, if my brother can then so can I because we're the same," Evan added.

"No," the physician responded, "I'm afraid we can't take your blood. You're a minor and you've also had leukemia. That prohibits you from being a donor.

"Then I guess it's up to me." Reid stood from his position leaning against the window sill. "Where do I go?" he asked.

"No Spencer," William interjected. "I don't want you to feel you have to do this." He turned his attention toward the doctor. "Couldn't we wait? Spencer shouldn't be forced into doing this."

"Nobody's forcing me Dad, besides waiting could be dangerous." He turned to Dr. Hood , "Lead the way."

Outside the room Reid stopped the doctor. "Before we proceed, there's something I need to tell you." He paused for a moment, "I was an IV drug user. I don't know if that will affect my suitability or not."

Dr. Hood's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. "How long ago?" he asked when he had recovered from his initial surprise.

"About two and a half years, I was injected repeatedly in the line of duty, I'm an FBI agent," Reid explained, "and I developed an addiction. I used for about four months after that and then stopped. All my HIV tests have been negative."

"What drug?" the doctor asked.

"Dilaudid."

"Okay, thank you for telling me. We do HIV tests anyway, always. Does your father know about this?"

Reid thought back to the anger he'd felt when Allie told him she'd written to his father about Georgia. "Yes, he knows about it."

"We'll remind him," Dr. Hood suggested, "and it'll be his choice, okay?" Reid nodded and the pair proceeded to the lab.

The bite of the needle as the phlebotomist inserted it into his vein still elicited anticipation as it had when the bite had been immediately followed by the warm, floating sensation of the drug entering his system. No such feeling occurred now, of course, and all that resulted was blood leaving his arm, entering the tubing that eventually led to a plastic collection bag.

He watched as the red liquid snaked through the tubing. Blood, he'd seen lots of it. He'd seen the way it would pool and congeal under a dead body becoming dark and thick with time. He'd seen it splattered on walls, the shape and size of each droplet telling its story. He'd seen it spurt from the body when a bullet hit its mark. He'd seen it in test tubes and through microscopes. He'd seen it in the delivery room when his daughter was born. But this blood was different. This blood was a bond, stronger than any ropes or chains. This bond couldn't be broken by a knife or a key. It couldn't be severed by anger, neglect, or hate. It was Reid blood and it flowed in his father and it flowed in him and it now flowed in his precious Joanna. All three were joined together, forever, by blood.