Disclaimer- I do not own Criminal Minds, NUMB3RS or CBS. I merely borrow the characters for my own amusement.

Chapter Fifteen

HOPE MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15

While Charlie retreated back down the hallway in search of Lyssa, Garcia continued on her way to Reid's room. When she entered the room she quickly walked over to the bed and gazed down at her young colleague. Reid's eyes were only partially open and yet his gaze was searching the room. Searching, she knew, for the person who had just ran out.

"It's okay sweet boy," Garcia whispered to him, picking up his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.

Reid slowly raised his gaze to Garcia and then he slowly pulled his hand from her grip and moved it to the tube that was taped to his mouth.

"No!" Garcia said, quickly recapturing his hand and holding it tightly in her own. She gazed down at the young man with a concerned expression on her face. "You have to leave the tube alone Spencer, you need it to breathe."

There was a confused expression in Reid's eyes however he made no further attempts to extubate himself. He merely lay in bed, staring blankly at the far wall. Shaking her head sadly Garcia continued to gaze down at his pale face, holding his hand and speaking words of comfort to him in a soft and soothing tone of voice.

After establishing the fact that Lyssa was nowhere to be found inside the hospital Charlie made his way to the front entrance and upon walking out the front door he found the young woman sitting on the steps, her knees drawn up under her chin and her arms wrapped protectively around them. Lyssa was completely silent however as Charlie sat down beside her he noticed that tears were flowing down her face.

"What happened in there Lyssa?" Charlie asked in a quiet voice, his gaze focused on Reid's young girlfriend.

"I don't know," Lyssa choked out, wiping the tears from her face with the sleeve of her shirt. "Seeing him like that was just too much for me to take. I started to feel like I couldn't breathe and I knew that I had to get out of there."

"Panic attack," Charlie muttered, more to himself that to Lyssa. "Do you need anything?"

Lyssa shook her head, knowing that she didn't deserve his kindness. Her thoughts kept going back to the news that she had to give Spencer and this caused a fresh bout of tears. It wasn't something that she wanted to do however she realized that it was something that she had to do. "I'm really sorry."

Shocked by the young woman's words all Charlie could do was stare as Lyssa got to her feet and made her way back inside the hospital.

Forcing herself to remain calm and to take slow and deep breaths, Lyssa made her way back upstairs to the ICU and once again went inside Reid's room. She offered Garcia an apologetic look and, after a brief hesitation, Garcia relinquished her hold on Reid's hand and stepped out of the room.

"Hey Spence," Lyssa said in a quiet voice as Reid's gaze focused on her. "I'm sorry about that. I just needed some fresh air but I'm back now."

Lyssa picked up Reid's hand and smiled sadly as she felt a slight pressure.

After Lyssa arrived back in Reid's room Garcia left the ICU and made her way back down the hall to the waiting room. Charlie had rejoined the others by this time and Garcia sat down beside him and turned a questioning gaze in his direction. "So did you find out exactly what was wrong with her?"

"She said that she felt like she couldn't breathe," Charlie replied, gazing at the hands that he held clasped in his lap.

"I think there's something more to it than that," Morgan said, his gaze focused on the hallway that led back to the ICU.

"Maybe," Charlie said in a quiet voice. "She told me that she was sorry but she didn't say exactly what she was sorry about.

HOPE MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17

After regaining consciousness Reid's recovery progressed well and after two days he was moved to a private room in the Intermediate Care Unit. The members of the BAU, with the exception of Gideon and Garcia, had gone back to work once it became obvious that Reid was going to make a full recovery however the old profiler remained in case his young colleague needed him and Garcia had told the others to call her if they needed her assistance. Charlie and Lyssa remained as well and as soon as the young profiler had been settled into his new room and the nurses gave the okay to visit Lyssa took a deep breath and got to her feet.

As she walked down the hall Lyssa couldn't help the tears that formed in her blue eyes. She new that what she was about to tell Reid would hurt him deeply however she was still convinced that it would save him pain in the long run and her determination never faltered.

When the young woman reached the room where her boyfriend lay she knocked softly on the door a couple of times, to announce her arrival, and then she pushed the door open and stepped inside the small, private room. Reid's gaze shifted to her as he heard the sound of her entering the room and a small smile appeared on his face as he realized who his visitor was.

"Hey," the young profiler whispered as Lyssa walked across the room toward him.

"Hey yourself," Lyssa said as she leaned down and gave him a very chaste kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling Spencer?"

"Not bad considering," Reid said quietly, picking up on the fact that she'd called him Spencer instead of the usual Spence. He also couldn't help but notice the fact that her eyes were filled with unshed tears and there was a slight shake in her voice when she spoke to him. "Are you okay?"

"Listen Spencer you don't need to worry about me," Lyssa said, gazing down into his pale face. "I'm not worth it."

"Of course you're worth it," Reid said, pulling himself to a sitting position with some difficulty.

Lyssa shook her head. "I can't handle this Spencer. Your job and the fact that something like this could happen again the next time you go on a case. I don't think the two of us should see each other anymore."

"But I. . . I don't understand."

"I'm sorry Spencer." With these last parting words Lyssa turned and fled the room, ignoring the fact that Reid called out to her in a pleading voice.

"Please Lyssa," the young profiler begged, attempting to extricate himself from the tubes that had him surrounded. "Please don't do this."

"I have to," Lyssa thought to herself as she ran down the hall and away from his room. "It's for the best."

"What in the world?" Garcia exclaimed as she and the others made their way down the hall toward the small room that held an assortment of vending machines.

"Garcia," Gideon said, his gaze focused on the retreating young girl. "You and Charlie go and check on Reid. I'm going to go and find out what's going on with Lyssa."

Garcia and Charlie both nodded and the trio parted ways; Garcia and Charlie in the direction of Reid's room and Gideon in the direction that Lyssa had fled. Charlie and Garcia quickly made their way down the hall to Reid's room and when they arrived they found the young profiler attempting to remove the IV from his arm.

"Whoa," Charlie exclaimed as he rushed across the room and grabbed Reid's arm. "What are you doing?"

"I have to go after Lyssa," Reid said, fighting the hold that Charlie had on his arm.

"What happened Spencer?" Garcia asked in a kind and gentle voice.

All of the fight left Reid as he recalled the words that Lyssa had spoken to him, words that had absolutely broken his heart. "She doesn't want to see me anymore."

"What?" Garcia exclaimed. "Why not?"

"She said that she couldn't handle it," Reid said in a quiet voice as Charlie helped him to lay back down. "She said there was a potential that something like this could happen again and that she just couldn't handle the stress."

"But she knew all of this when she met you," Garcia said. "So what else has changed?"

"I don't know," Reid said, tears evident in his eyes.

Gideon followed Lyssa out of the hospital and watched as the sobbing young woman got into her car and drove out of the parking lot. Shaking his head the old profiler went to the spot where his own car was parked, climbed inside and made his way to the place where he was certain Lyssa was going; her home. When the profiler pulled into the parking lot he saw the car parked in it's usual spot and he pulled his SUV in beside it. Getting out of the car Gideon made his way to the front door where he rang the doorbell and waited for a reply.

A few minutes passed and then the door opened, revealing a still crying Lyssa. When the young woman realized who her visitor was she attempted to close the door however Gideon offered her an understanding smile. "I just want to talk. I promise I won't try to alter your decision."

Lyssa debated his words for a few minutes before she made her decision. Stepping aside she allowed Gideon to enter her home. She led the way into the living room, where she motioned toward a sofa where a small white dog was sleeping. Gideon sat down beside the dog, who opened his eyes and wagged his tail in a friendly manner, while Lyssa sat in an armchair across from them.

"You think I'm a horrible person don't you?" Lyssa asked in a voice hoarse from crying.

"No I don't think you're a horrible person," Gideon replied in his own quiet voice. "I think you're a person in pain and I think that you didn't mean to cause Spencer any pain. I believe that you are, in fact, trying to save him from future pain."

Lyssa's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're sick aren't you?"

"How did you. . ."

"Spencer mentioned that you've seemed sad and distracted lately," Gideon told her. "And that you've had to cancel several dates because of appointments that you told him you'd forgotten about. They were doctor's appointments weren't they?"

"I have a brain tumor," Lyssa said in a quiet and resigned voice. "I didn't tell Spencer because I didn't want to see the same look of pity in his eyes that I get from everyone else. And I don't want him to have to watch me die. This way is better. Sure he's in pain now but it'll be easier for him to recover from the pain if he thinks I'm a selfish bitch and hates my guts."

"I don't think that he could ever hate you," Gideon said quietly. "And I have the feeling that he'll attempt to talk you out of this decision once he gets out of the hospital."

"I've thought of that," Lyssa said. "Which is why I've decided to move. There are hospitals better equipped to treat my disease and while the doctors have pretty much given me a death sentence I'm not about to lay down and die. However when Spence gets out of the hospital I won't be here anymore."

"You've thought about this a lot," Gideon said.

"I've had awhile to plan," Lyssa said sadly. "Please promise me that you won't tell him what you know. Please just let him think that I'm a jerk."

"I won't tell him," Gideon said. "But I really think that you should."

Lyssa shook her head as a single tear slid down her cheek.

TBC. . .

A/N- Once again I apologize for the fact that it took me so long to update this and I apologize for the fact that it's depressing although I swear that my current depression in no way affected the story. This was the planned outcome all along however there is one chapter left and that chapter might make up for this one somewhat.