Author's note: What if Elle Greenaway fell in love with Reid in the hospital after the Hankel case?
Dr. Reid had been in the hospital overnight after being tortured and drugged by Tobias Hankel. It was 7 am and the BAU team were waking up in their hotel rooms wanting to go and see Reid at the hospital hoping the doctors would release him to fly back to DC. Elle Greenaway arrived at the hospital to visit her friend first.
Reid was still asleep when Elle walked into his room. She looked at his foot first. The swelling seemed to have gone down overnight by the ice pack his foot was on. Then, Elle looked at his bandaged head hoping that Reid didn't lose his gifted genius brain because of his head injury. Then, Elle took Reid's right arm in her hands and she sadly looked at the 8 needle puncture wounds in Reid's arm.
"Damn you, Hankel," angrily thought Elle to herself. "Dr. Reid is the sweetest guy I have ever met in my entire life! He is the last person in the world who deserves this happening to him! Damn you!"
Reid suddenly woke up from a nightmare involving the Charles personality whipping his foot. Reid looked up at Elle holding his arm.
"Elle...?" said Reid. "What...what are you doing?"
"Reid," said Elle. "I was just looking at your injuries and..."
"Don't," shyly said Reid.
He pulled his arm away from Elle and he shamefully turned away from her.
"What's wrong?" asked Elle.
"Don't look at my arm," cried Reid. "I told him that I didn't want it, but he still forced it on me! Hankel violated me! He's addicted me to dilaudid! I hate what he did to me! Elle, could you please leave? I want to be alone."
"No," said Elle. "I'm not leaving you alone, Reid."
"Why not?" asked Reid.
"Because you didn't leave me alone three months ago in the Lee case," answered Elle. "Now, look at me, Reid."
"I can't look at you, Elle," cried Reid. "I feel so...ashamed!"
"Reid, turn your head and look at me," said Elle.
"No," cried Reid.
Elle took Reid's head and she turned his face towards her.
"Look. At. Me," sternly ordered Elle.
Reid opened his eyes to see that Elle had quickly unbuttoned her blouse to reveal the scar she had under her neck after getting shot.
"Elle, why the hell...?" blushed Reid.
"Because I'm making us even," answered Elle. "You don't want me to look at your arm, and I don't want you to look at my scar. You've been tortured and drugged and I've been shot. Garner violated me, too. The truth is, both of our monsters have hurt us badly."
"Yeah," agreed Reid. "We both have been hurt badly. I...did notice after you came back to work that you were not wearing any more cleavage shirts or blouses. You were always buttoned up or wearing a scarf or a turtleneck sweater. Was that because of this scar?"
"Yeah," tearfully admitted Elle. "You're...the second person who has seen this scar outside of the doctors."
"Who was the first person?" asked Reid.
"My ex-boyfriend," answered Elle. "After I left the BAU, I returned to Brooklyn to start over again. I bumped into my old boyfriend, Billy a month later. We were engaged to be married four years ago. But, we broke up when I moved to Seattle two years ago. He wanted to give us another chance. We spent two weeks getting to know each other again. That sparked some old feelings in our relationship. After eating dinner together at my favorite restaurant, I brought him back to my place so we could have sex. But, when Billy pulled my shirt off and he saw my scar, he was...completely disgusted by it. He told me it looked hideous and now, I was just...a damaged freak. Billy put his shirt back on and he...walked out on me."
"I'm sorry, Elle," said Reid.
"I was...heartbroken," cried Elle. "I was crying for weeks after that! Billy made me feel like nobody would be attracted to me anymore! All because Garner shot me and gave me this horrible scar! Billy made me feel so ashamed! I...even wished that I didn't get revived after I was briefly dead. I thought this crappy life wasn't worth living if I couldn't attract another guy. I felt like I was scarred forever!"
"I guess I know how being scarred forever feels like," tearfully said Reid. "While I'm positive that my foot and my head will completely heal, I've been drugged against my will! How the hell do I completely heal from that?!"
"You don't," tearfully answered Elle. "Look at me. I didn't completely heal from this. And, look at you. Even you are avoiding looking at my scar!"
"Elle," blushed Reid. "It's not your scar I'm avoiding looking at. "It's...your bra and breasts because your blouse is open."
Elle gasped and she buttoned up two of her blouse's three buttons blushing in embarrassment. But, her scar was still exposed.
"I'm sorry," laughed Elle. "I was so quick to show you my scar, I...gave you a peep show!"
"Thank you for covering up, Elle," blushed Reid. "I can look at your scar now. And, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve anything that Randall Garner did to you."
Elle took Reid's right hand.
"And, you didn't deserve anything that Tobias Hankel did to you, Reid," tearfully said Elle. "I'm sorry, too. I wish I had been there. Maybe I could have saved you from this."
"Does your scar still hurt?" asked Reid.
"Sometimes," answered Elle. "I remember how much it hurt when the doctor took out the stitches. I can sometimes forget about it until I see it again in the mirror. You can wear long sleeved shirts or sweaters to hide those needle marks, but they will still hurt you like my scar still hurts me. But, it really hurt after what Billy said..."
"Elle," said Reid. "Forget about what Billy said."
"But, he...called me a damaged freak!" cried Elle.
"You're hurt," said Reid. "Not a damaged freak."
"Why?" asked Elle while shamefully lowering her head. "What do you see when you look at this scar?"
"I see a very strong and brave person who refused to just give up and die after she got shot," answered Reid. "I see a beautiful woman who could never lose her beauty because of one bad man's scar. If Billy left you thinking that you are a damaged freak, then he was not the right man for you, Elle. You don't deserve to have your heart broken. You deserve somebody who will love you and who would be proud to see that scar and make you feel as beautiful as I always thought you were."
Elle quietly gasped. Her heart soared. She lovingly looked into Reid's eyes.
"Thank you," tearfully smiled Elle. "I...love you, sweetie."
Elle took Reid into her arms and she cried happy tears from the compliments. Reid hugged Elle back and he, too, cried from the nightmares and the PTSD that Hankel had given him. Elle started crying harder from the nightmares and the PTSD that Garner had given her. They both tightly held onto each other while crying on each other's shoulders. They both started healing from their wounds together.
The scene faded into a night club one evening where Elle was telling Prentiss, Garcia and JJ what Reid said to her that day over drinks.
"...and, after Reid told me that, I...just knew that he was the right guy for me," tearfully smiled Elle. "We both needed to cry in each other's arms that day. I wished that I had cried in Spencer's arms nine months earlier. Then, I kissed him and he kissed me back. I realized that my life was better with Spencer in it than without him. I could never leave him again. I've never felt like a damaged freak again. Spencer has made me feel more beautiful than I ever felt before. We spent two years dating and falling in love with each other. And tomorrow, I will become Mrs. Dr. Spencer Reid."
"Wow," tearfully said Garcia. "If Kevin had ever said that about my scar from getting shot? I would have married him, too!"
"Who knew that Reid could sound so sweet and lovable talking about your scar?" sniffled Prentiss.
JJ wiped her tears and she looked at her watch.
"I...hate to ruin a beautiful moment, bridesmaids," said JJ. "But, it's almost midnight. We need to get our bride-to-be into bed to sleep for her wedding tomorrow."
"You can take me to bed," smiled Elle. "But, I won't be able to go to sleep. Two years now, and I can't go to sleep if I'm not in Spencer's arms."
"You will once we start imitating Reid giving us his daily statistics," wickedly grinned Garcia.
"Ugh," groaned Prentiss. "If that doesn't put you to sleep, nothing will!"
The four ladies laughed as they left the night club.
Elle narrated: "Life is too short, hug a little longer, love a little stronger, forgive a little sooner and smile a little sweeter."