A/N: I'm baaack! (grins) It feels super good to give ya guys a relatively timely update.
THANK YOU, so, so much, for you absolutely fantastic reviews! (GLOMPS) You can't even imagine how good it felt to receive so many of them! Reviving a story is always nerve wrecking. You guys made it feel far more than just worth it. (beams)
Awkay… (takes a breath) It's time to get going. I really hope that this chapter turns out enjoyable.
Breaking Free
Three Weeks Later
As Spencer's extremely uncomfortable condition developed he discovered a new good reason to avoid spending a lot a of time in public. While his face and the rest of his body kept losing flesh his stomach kept growing far more quickly than he managed to keep track of it. It was amusing, embarrassing and frightening at the same time, especially since he had no clue of just how big he was going to be, before…
Yes, before what? He wished he'd had at least some sort of a clue. As a man of science he hated such uncertainty beyond all belief. Especially because a nagging voice in the back of his head kept reminding him that he might not live to face the ending result.
"Earth to Reid." Derek's voice pulled him out of those nasty thoughts. There was a look of worry and warning on the man's face. "You've been staring at that page for the past ten minutes. And it looks like whatever's going on in that head of yours isn't doing you any good."
Spencer grinned sheepishly. "I… guess I got a bit carried away." He looked around and blinked twice upon realizing that they were the last ones present. "Where did everyone else go?"
The look on Derek's face spoke volumes. "Home. Which is where we should be headed now, too. But I didn't have the heart to leave you sitting around here all alone."
Spencer gave his friend a dry look. "Thanks." He then frowned upon examining Derek's fingers. The man was drumming restlessly. "Morgan, what's going on?"
There was a long pause that cautioned him to prepare himself for a massive impact. Derek took a deep breath, barely daring to look his way. "I… did something you won't approve of, a while ago." The agent swallowed. "I… Remember how you told me that the doctor of yours gave you some pills? I… took a couple of them, and sent them to… a friend of mine to be researched properly. That's why I told you not to take them anymore. I didn't want you to take something that might be dangerous, especially now."
For a moment Spencer stared, unable to believe what he was hearing. Then white, hot rage boiled over. "You went through my things? Morgan…!"
Derek lifted his hands in surrender, visibly apologetic. "Reid, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was out of line. But you need to hear me out, 'k?" When he didn't manage to say anything the man went on. "I didn't want to tell you this in front of the others, but I… I finally got the results today." Slowly, as though worried that he might attack or explode once more, the agent reached out towards his bag and pulled out a print.
Curiosity taking over anger for the time being Spencer took the paper and gave it a look. What he discovered made his stomach drop. His blood pressure sped up considerably.
"Those pills… I don't know what he told you them to be for." Derek's voice was unsteady and protective, dangerous. "But when those ingredients are mixed together they…"
"… cause immense nausea, in some cases bleeding. I know." Spencer kept staring at the test results right before him, his eyes widening and his breathing quickening so fast that he was beginning to feel dizzy.
He couldn't believe this. He couldn't fucking believe this.
He'd trusted his life into this doctor's hands, and now…
"Hey." A hand was placed to his shoulder. The thing inside him thought that the touch was what caused his distress and a hissing sound filled his ears. There was so much movement in his stomach when Derek spoke that he barely heard the man. "Reid, breathe, okay? Breathe. You look ready to collapse."
Spencer's head began to spin and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he'd lose control entirely. Only a matter of time before… "Don't… Don't touch me." His voice was weak, pathetic. He couldn't bring himself to look at Derek. "Just… don't. Please."
Derek obeyed but obviously didn't like it. "Okay." It took a while before the man dared to speak. "It's that thing, isn't it?"
Spencer nodded, unable to speak. The horrifying urges swirling inside him weren't his, yet it was getting harder by the second to believe that. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to reach out towards the force taking over.
Calm down, calm down. Please calm down. He squeezed the table before him so hard that it hurt. Please, just calm down. Everything… Everything's going to be okay.
He didn't believe that. The thing did. Little by little his body was his once more. It became easier to think and breathe. Spencer shuddered a little bit, feeling so exhausted that it was difficult to hold his body together.
Derek didn't dare to touch him just yet but he felt the man inch just a little bit closer. Spencer drew comfort from the non hostile presence. "'Feeling any better?"
Spencer nodded, trying to offer his friend a tiny smile. "Yeah." His expression then faltered. He swallowed loudly. "I… I'm sorry."
Derek frowned. "For what? You didn't say or do anything."
Spencer shook his head, looking away once more. His knuckles still lacked some color. "You don't know what went through my head", he breathed out, so quietly that Derek most likely didn't even hear him.
"C'mon." Derek lay a cautious hand to his shoulder. He wasn't sure which one of them was more relieved when the contact didn't tricker a dangerous reaction. "I'm taking you home. I'm not that eager to finish paperwork and you need rest."
Spencer nodded meekly, following his friend. He wondered how worried he should've been by the fact that he didn't have the energy to argue.
Spencer must've been even more tired than Derek had first assumed. Exactly four minutes after he drove his car out of the bureau's parking lot the younger man was already fast asleep. Derek swallowed, futilely trying to chase away some of the worry spreading all the way through his system as he took a glimpse towards his friend.
It felt like he'd been looking at a cancer patient.
Most likely sensing even in his sleep that he was being stared at Spencer shifted, a look of discomfort appearing to his face. It took the amount of time they spent stuck on a red light for the genius to pry his eyes halfway open. Spencer frowned, licking his lips. "Where…?"
It was Derek's turn to frown. His stomach twisted with something slightly beyond worry. "I'm taking you to your place. Remember?" Obviously Spencer didn't. He swallowed thickly, discovering that focusing on driving was becoming a nearly impossible feat. "What's… the last thing you remember?"
Spencer appeared lost for a moment, which in itself was worrying. "We… were doing paperwork. I got caught up in something." The man gave him a dark, meaningful look. "I remember what you told me."
Derek looked away, guilt pressing against his chest like a full grown elephant. Trust Spencer's mind to be able to storage that particular part…. He bit the inner side of his cheek for a second, then breathed out. Another red light. "I'm sorry."
He could feel Spencer's eyes on him even without looking. According to his count it took ten seconds before the man finally reached his verdict. "I believe you." Then, as an afterthought, genius went on. "But there'll be a payback. Never mess with a…"
Derek found himself smirking at that, just a little bit. "I know, I know." The weight on his chest eased just a little bit.
They drove in a relatively comfortable silence for about five more minutes until Spencer's eyes widened and the little color there'd been on the man's face disappeared. Derek realized what was happening a blink before Spencer brought a hand to his lips. "Stop the car." The genius' voice was barely audible. "Stop the car, please, right now." The blatant despair on the man's face left no room for arguing.
Derek pulled over, hating the fact that they were in the middle of the city and there were so many people walking by, witnessing Spencer's humiliation. Although granted, the younger man himself didn't seem to care so much. Spencer dashed out of the car and managed to take one step before throwing up loudly. Derek felt his insides shrink to a painful ball when he saw the trails of blood in the vomit.
At that very moment he began to understand the true severity and urgency of Spencer's problem. And it scared the hell out of him.
Deciding to toss aside the question of providing Spencer privacy he jumped out of the car and made his way to his friend as quickly as possible. By then the genius was only gagging dryly, shaking so badly that it was a miracle the man was standing at all. "Reid." His voice shook but he didn't care. The man didn't respond, causing him to place a hand on quaking shoulder. "Reid, are you alright?" Still nothing. By then he was beginning to panic. "C'mon, say something!"
This time Spencer did react – or technically it wasn't Spencer. The eyes that turned towards him were completely black. The sound, a electric hiss, that erupted from Spencer's throat was nothing human.
Derek's eyes widened but the rest of his body remained frozen. "Jesus…!"
Before he even saw movement he flew through the air, crashlanding to pavement so hard that it was a miracle he didn't lose consciousness. He didn't even notice the people screaming. All he could focus on was the pain radiating from his back. He groaned, struggling to a sitting position. It wasn't until then he realized that he'd flown all the way to the opposite side of the street, miraculously avoiding getting hit by a car. His eyes widening once more he looked towards where Spencer stood, rooted to his spot – so close yet so far away.
Spencer, the real one. The one that had tears and a look of absolute terror and self hatred in his impossibly wide eyes. The one that finally began to move, stepping backwards.
Derek shook his head, trying to get up but failing miserably. "Reid, no!" he screamed although there was no way the man could've heard him through all the traffic. His heart thumped madly. If Spencer would leave now, thinking that this was his fault… "Reid!"
A buss whistled past him, between them. By the time it was gone so was Spencer.
Spencer's head was a horrendous, chaotic mess while he escaped as fast as he possibly could, at some point finding himself from a buss. It took all his self control not to break down into tears as he sat on his seat, gasping for breath and his head spinning.
This, what he'd done… There was no way he'd go back to his team. His own life being at risk was something he could live with. But endangering them… There was no way he'd ever forgive himself for that.
There was only one person who could help him. That's why he found himself from Dr. Lucas Castro's apartment, sitting on the man's extremely uncomfortable couch and wishing that he was anywhere else in the world.
Dr. Castro's face held a grim look when he finished his story. The man sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So it's getting out of control. It means that the time is coming closer."
Spencer gulped laboriously, feeling like he'd just smashed right at a wall of bricks. Instinctively his hand flew to his stomach where the thing was kicking and squirming. "It's… coming out now? Tonight?"
Dr. Castro nodded somewhat grimly. "Yes. The process will begin in a few hours."
Spencer attempted to get up but for some reason his feet wouldn't support his weight. His line of vision swayed dangerously. "I… I need to go…", he murmured, his tongue feeling oddly thick. Why was his head so fuzzy? The thing was becoming frantic. "I need to go get to the… to the hospital."
He tried to get up again but this attempt wasn't any more successful than the previous one. He wobbled, everything spinning around him.
What the hell was going on? What…?
And then his eyes strayed to the glass of water on the table before him. He'd only consumed half of it but…
Ice cold truth sank in, making him shiver. He was seeing double when he lifted his gaze with a lot of effort to meet Dr. Castro's eyes. "You…" He couldn't speak out the rest, couldn't even open his mouth properly.
Through blur he watched how the man made his way to him, kneeling down to his level. "Shh, Spencer… Just fall asleep. It'll all be over soon."
Spencer fought with all his might but it wasn't enough. The last thing he heard before the darkness swept him away was the sound of his cell phone ringing for the fifty-second time since he ran away from Derek.
TBC
A/N: Oh man… That was sort of just waiting to happen, no? (sighs) Poor, infuriatingly stubborn Reid. Let's hope that the others find him before it's too late.
PLEASE, let me hear from ya! Leave a note to express your thoughts – was this chapter any good, at all? Hearing from ya would totally make my summer day. (gives puppy's eyes)
IN THE NEXT ONE: The thing is about to come out and Reid is far away from all reliable help. Meanwhile the team tries to track down their genius before it's too late. A surprise arrival shakes things up a little bit.
ONLY THREE MORE TO GO!
Until next time, folks! I REALLY hope I'll see ya all then.
AppleTea21: Awww, I sure will since you asked so nicely. (beams) 'Hope you'll enjoy the story to come.
Huge thank yous for the review!
