Happy reading, my friends!
A doctor with a clipboard walked up to the team. "Isabella Morgan?" He asked.
"Yes." Morgan answered. "And Andrew Reid."
The doctor nodded. "Well, the burns on the wrists are severe. They'll definitely scar. You can talk to a cosmetic surgeon about how you can lighten them. We removed most of the shards from their legs, but they have extremely deep scrapes on the knees."
"Will they be okay?" Garcia asked worriedly.
The doctor sighed. "Well, Isabella is okay. She got 23 stitches on her face. She had several other small gashes on her body, but we dressed them and they should heal up just fine. Her knee was pretty bad. It took some work to reset some of the bones, but after some work, we got them back into place. We'll have to remove some of the shards soon. We want her to wake up first, though. We need to know what's hurting and such. It's hard to do that without the patient being awake."
"What about Andrew?" Hotch asked.
"His case wasn't so simple. His injuries weren't that bad. Mostly bruises and a few gashes. But a shard of glass hit one of his main veins in his wrist and…well, he's lost a lot of blood."
Nobody said a word for a couple minutes.
Spencer felt numb. "Will he be okay?"
The doctor sighed. "We aren't sure, he lost about 37% percent of his blood. An adult could survive this, but Andrew is young and quite skinny. It could go either way. He's unconscious yet pretty stable right now, though. The only thing we can do is wait and see if he wakes up."
"I know." Spencer said quickly. "When do you think they'll wake? I mean, if…"
"They could wake up at anytime. We aren't sure how much they will remember when they awake. Please don't overwhelm them as it may make them become unstable. Don't tell Isabella about Andrew just yet. And if they don't remember what happened, keep it that way for now. We'll need her to be in a good mind set for when we have to remove the shards. Try to remain calm and put up a good front for them. We recommend they see a therapist to help deal with possible PTSD. This is just what we've gathered so far. Once they gain consciousness, it will be easier to determine the lasting effects and emotional tolls." The doctor explained.
"Can we see them?" Emily asked.
"Come along." The doctor said, ushering them towards the two doors. He pointed to the one on the left. "This one is Andrew's room. The other is Bella's."
The team looked at one another, unsure of which one to go in.
"Can I maybe…be with Andrew alone for a while?" Spencer asked, timidly.
"Of course." Rossi said softly. "We can go visit Bella now, if it's alright with Morgan."
"Sure."
The doctor smiled softly before opening Bella's door as Spencer entered Bella's. They filed in silently, afraid of what they were going to see. Bella was covered in bandages and there was a think black line across her left cheek. She was asleep. The massive bed and all the tubes seemed to swallow her. It reminded Derek of when she was a baby. She was an itty-bitty thing and she always looked tiny in comparison to the world around her. He neared the bed and reached for one of her heavily wrapped hands. He lifted it cautiously, as if being too rough would break her.
"Oh, Bells…" Penelope said softly, stroking the teen's hair gently.
"She's a tough one." Rossi said, giving everyone a little hope. "She'll pull through soon."
The whole team nodded, hoping Rossi was right.
-:-
Spencer walked in and immediately felt uncomfortable. He hated hospitals, they reminded of the times when his mother would be rushed to the ER for overdose or when he'd have to go because his mother had a therapist meeting. Most of all, he hated how hospitals felt big and empty, making him feel alone. He wasn't going to let Andrew feel alone.
He walked slowly towards the hospital bed. There was Andrew, his face purple and bruised on one side. He was asleep and his sandy blonde hair was sticking out in every possible direction. Spencer grabbed a chair and pulled it right up next to the bed, planning to not leave this side for a second. Spencer watched him lay there, motionless and prayed that he'd soon see his eyes flutter open. Reid had grown to care for this boy more that he'd expected. He'd met Andrew a long time ago, at the hospital where their mother's were. They'd talked briefly and Spencer took a liking to the kid, but never in a million years did he think that Andrew would be living with him. However, when he saw Andrew sitting in the cafeteria at his mother's clinic, looking like a lost puppy, Reid had to ask what was wrong. Andrew explained his mother's overdose with a stern face, but Spencer could see the kid wanted nothing more than to cry. Spencer's heart got the best of him and then, after some arrangements, he'd returned to Quantico with a teenager in tow. Things were quiet at first. They went through their daily routine, without much bonding, but after a few weeks, things became comfortable and Spencer kind of loved having him around. It was nice to not come home to an empty house everyday. Sometimes, they'd stay up late watching TV or playing cards. Over a short amount of time, they'd developed a simple, brotherly relationship. It wasn't until Andrew was in danger did Spencer realize just how deep that relationship was. He couldn't lose Andrew. He just couldn't.
So, he sat there, trying to ignore the facts and statistics about blood loss that were bouncing around in his head.
-:-
Derek Morgan, who, along with the team, had been next to Bella's bed for quite some time, felt his heart leap when he saw Bella's eyes flutter ever so slightly.
"She's moving!" Penelope exclaimed.
Bella cracked open her eyes, seeing Derek standing above her. "Hmmm." She mumbled, shutting her eyes again. "Derek."
"Hey Sweetheart." He replied, giddily. His heart fell a little when he felt her subtly slip her hand from his.
"Where am I?"
"You're at the hospital." JJ blurted quickly.
Bella's eyes popped open, once more. "Jayje?"
"Yeah, Bells, we're all here."
"Why?"
"You…you don't remember?" Emily said softly.
Bella shook her head. "Where's Spencer?"
"He's…with Andrew." Morgan told her.
"Andrew…" She muttered. "Where is he?"
The team looked to one another nervously, but Bella didn't notice.
"Guys?" She continued, her voice weak.
Derek's heart broke. What was he supposed to say?
Hearing silence, Bella frowned, turning to Emily. "Em? Pen?"
Nobody knew what to say. If she remembered, she'd demand to see Andrew, which they couldn't allow.
"Bella…" Morgan began.
Bella pushed herself up and Morgan registered how pale she was. He clicked the button to call the nurse before gently placing two hands on her shoulders.
"Lay down, Bells."
A few nurses came in and Bella was immediately smothered. She allowed it, though. They left after a few minutes of checking and procedure, and she sat silently, staring down the six agents in the room.
"What's going on?" She asked, shaking. Still, no response. Holding back tears she asked again. "What happened?"
"We can talk about it later." Morgan replied, not making eye contact.
"We can talk about it now." Bella's words were as cold as ice.
"You need to rest." Morgan said through gritted teeth.
"I'll rest after I know why I'm here. Derek, I can't remember much. There's nothing there."
"I know it's hard, Bells, but you need to-"
"No, you don't. It doesn't take a profiler to notice something's wrong. I'm scared. Spence and Andrew are gone. I'm hurt and I don't know why or how or…" She began to cry softly.
Derek reached for her hand, but as soon as he came in contact with Bella, she pulled away. "Get out."
Morgan thought he heard wrong. "What?"
"Get. Out. All of you."
Morgan was pretty sure he could hear his heart breaking. "Baby…"
"No. Don't call me that. Tell me or get out." She repeated.
Morgan opened his mouth to say something, but JJ shook her head. Morgan knew he couldn't tell her about Andrew or the accident. It would do more damage than good. So, the team began to file out. Morgan tried to linger, but when Bella noticed she stared him right in the eye. "Leave, please."
JJ grabbed his arm and gently pulled him from the room. "Give her some time. She is just confused."
"And she had every right to be!" Morgan exclaimed. "Why can't we tell her? How could they ask us not to tell her?"
"Morgan, you know why. It'll upset her and that's not good for her right now."
Morgan looked defeated. "But it's upsetting her when we don't tell her anyways."
"I know." JJ replied. "It's upsetting all of us."
Soon, a doctor walked up to Morgan, announcing they were going to start resetting the bones and removing more of the deep shards. Everyone, mind Spencer (who was still with a non-responsive Andrew), asked to be allowed in the room to offer Bella support.
"It's up to her." The doctor replied.
Hastily, the team walked into the room behind the doctor.
"Can you tell me what's wrong and why I'm here?" Bella questioned the doctor.
"Um, not now. We need to work on your knee some more."
Bella nodded grimly, turning to the team. "What are you doing here?"
"We…Bella, we just want to be here for you." Penelope explained.
Bella looked beyond skeptical.
"We won't touch you or talk. We'll just be here."
To everyone's enjoyment, she nodded curtly.
They undressed the wound and began to work on the knee. Bella winced and pulled at the sheets at the slightest touch, but refused to hold anyone's hand.
The doctor looked worried at Bella held back a squeal. "Isabella, I have to be honest, this is just the beginning. The pain worsens when we have to go deeper. I know you're angry…"
"That barely covers it…" She muttered.
"…But it would be easier with the support of your family."
Bella scoffed. "That's hardly my family. Families don't lie to each other."
That one hit deep, not just for Derek. The whole team felt that one.
"Bells…" Emily tried.
Bella ignored her, but turned to the doctor. "Keep going."
The tears began to trail down her sullen cheeks soon after the doctor started up again. Hotch couldn't watch her suffer.
"Bella. I know you're angry. But we're only helping. Now," He stood up and kneeled by the bed, and grabbing hold of her hand, tightly. "I don't care what you say. If it hurts, squeeze."
Bella looked like she was going to punch him, but soon she softened and let him stay. She tugged on his hand and he began to mumble words of comfort to her. It helped. The rest followed suit and everyone was bunched up around the bed, holding her hand, rubbing her back or whispering words of encouragement to her. Even Morgan, who had generally refrained from getting to close, was clutching her hand after a few minutes. It was bittersweet. Sad, obviously, from watching her squirm like that, yet the tiniest bit happy, as the team felt like Bella had forgiven them.
And even Hotch couldn't help but smile at that.
Okay, so first off, thanks for the amazing reviews! You anon reviewers are really stepping it up! (: Also, the link to the pictures of Ashley (Bella) are on my profile! Click away.