I don't own Criminal Minds
Everything was white. The last time she saw anything this blindingly white is was the car accident that killed her father when she laid waiting for someone to rescue her from being thrown from the car. She couldn't be entirely sure, perhaps she was still lying in that snow bank. Maybe she never did get pulled out. Maybe she imagined her father's funeral, her childhood, college, Rossi… Derek Morgan. No, she knew he was real.
"D-Dave." she stammered out hoping someone was around to hear her. If she was still alive then what happened to him? Did he take the bullet her her? And will this searing pain in her head and shoulder just go away already?
"I'm here. You're alright. Just stay with me." Morgan could see her confusion and her wince as he continued to compress on the bullet wound which impacted at the very base of her skull. And as all head wounds go she was losing a great deal of blood. "Damn it Hotch! Get the truck!" He knew his boss was moving as fast as possible but every second seemed to go incredibly slow. Baby Girl had yelled something about an ambulance but there was no time. With this snow the one vehicle with a plow and snow chained tires was their best bet to get these two to the hospital fast enough.
"D-D-Dave!" She commanded. She was so cold. "H-Hen-ry"
Derek sighed over her seeing recognition dawn in her eyes when he came into her view. She was more pale than usual, her skin shivering from a combination of the snow and shock. How could she do this? Any other time he would think her brave but not now. Now he wanted to kill her because she could have died. "Henry is scared but fine. Rossi was hit by a large piece of shrapnel in his neck. Emily has him now."
"A-al—" words were starting to be lost on her. She was glad for Henry, sorry he was scared but so thankful he was saved from real harm. But God! Dave! She realized the words weren't leaving her lips but she kept begging Derek to tell her that he was ok.
He covered her with his heavy parka and looked over to Emily. "How is he?"
Emily shook her head. "He's lost a lot of blood. He's still out. I—" she could feel the words choking her. All she could do was hold onto the wound and try to keep her eyes away from the crimson snow underneath the man she should have told 'yes' to long ago. She bent to his ear, hoping somewhere in his head he could hear her whisper. "Hold on. You have to hold on. I need to marry you."
Penelope had stood stalk still inside the house at the doorway terrified of going out there until Reid barged past her towards Dave, proclaiming. "Napoli's gone. Get the first aid kit!"
She did as she was told, proud to notice that Jack had run after Henry to pull him away from between Dave and Tabby. The second she returned with the first aid kit she found Reid and JJ had retaken that spot, both administering to their friend's wounds as best as possible awaiting Hotch to arrive with Dave's snow plowed extended cab pickup with a capped back.
He backed it in and she jumped to open the latch in the back, running back to Dave's side where she helped Reid and Emily carry Dave into the back of the pickup with Emily climbing in first to help drag him in the full length. Morgan did just the same as JJ and Hotch carried Tabby to lay next to Rossi. Penelope and JJ took the boys into the cab of the truck and just as soon as the door slammed Hotch stepped on the gas and away they went.
"JJ, open the window to the back." Hotch commanded and once he heard the hurried voices of Reid instructing Morgan and Emily on what to do he called back. "What's their state? I need to call the hospital!"
"Hand me the phone, I'll do it. You just stay on the road and get us there alive!" Reid's words were forceful and in a strange state of command. He had always had a thorough understanding of anatomy of course, and survival. You don't spend a lifetime as a genius that can read 20,000 words per minute without picking up several medical texts. But since becoming a father, he's gotten very hands on.
JJ dialed 911 and handed the phone back through to Spencer, admittedly impressed that he was taking this on so well. "Hotch, go as fast as you can. Dave is in real trouble."
Penelope had to steel herself with a deep breath and just focus on being the navigator, borrowing some of her team's example of separating yourself from the problem and just getting the job done. "Take a left here. There's a private way and I really don't have any sense of property rights right now. It should shave off ten minutes."
Hotch looked over to her, once again impressed at her ability to find things no one else would see with her computer skills. "That's my girl." He grunted as he hit a patch of ice and nearly flew off the road but thankfully hit a graveled and well tred path of the road. "Fuck!"
"Thank God!" Reid yelled. "Pressure patches." These should control the bleeding some, at least enough to hopefully allow the two heavily bleeding FBI employees to make it the the ER.
"Hear that Tabby? We'll make it. I swear we will make it." Morgan was desperately trying to coax a response from her. He's held far too many women bleeding and nearly dying in his lifetime. "Tabby wake your ass sexy ass up!"
"I thought you were a boob man." She managed to mumble, angry that Derek was holding her head so she couldn't look over at Dave. She knew that it is better to be immobilized with her injury and that she probably wouldn't want to see whatever Dave is going through, but she needed to know he would be alright. For now though, she was beginning to get lost in Derek's eyes as he looked down on her with worry and slight relief.
"Oh God. Thank you God." He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes. "No, don't you dare go out on me again." But he could see it was too late, she was drifting out again. "Dammit Hotch! How long?"
"Three minutes!" Penelope yelled back. Aaron had enough to focus on with the conditions of the road and blinding sheets of snow coming down again. He couldn't even respond to her more gentle inquiries upfront.
Three minutes. Three silent minutes where every person there seemed to hold their breath. Jack and Henry were crying but quietly, too afraid to make much noise and throw something off. JJ and Penelope were actively trying to navigate their way with Penelope on her GPS and satellite images and JJ with instructions on what obstacles to avoid.
"Around the corner. Get ready!" Penelope warned, seeing the hospital entrance. She spends far too much time in hospitals but she meant every word she said last night. She needs to be there and needs her husband-to-be there as well whatever the risks.
The second the hatch was down in front of the ER entrance two teams of doctors set into action pulling Dave onto a gurney first, followed by Tabby. Emily and Derek had barely a chance to catch a last glimpse of them before each was ensconced in a team of physicians leaving Reid, Emily and Derek standing in front of the entrance in a state of pure shock that they finally got them there. Those last fifteen minutes in the back of that pick up truck were some of the worst of all of their lives.
Hotch parked in the closest spot he could find and jumped out, grabbing Henry in his arms since he should really be checked out too. The boy was covered in blood and while he says nothing hurts you can't be too sure.
JJ and Penelope followed with Jack, the whole group now meetings and entering, Reid explaining what he could to the doctors come back for more information.
"Are you the next of kin?" A young nurse looked to Emily and Derek, each covered in their significant other's blood.
"I'm her emergency contact but I called her sister who is coming as soon as possible. Emily," he pointed to the brunette in shock of being on the other side of this conversation, a week ago she was in a coma. "is Rossi's power of attorney I believe."
"Ma'am?" The nurse thought she looked familiar. "I will need you to sign consent forms." She held up a clip board. "He needs surgery right away, he's being transported right now."
That snapped her to. "Surgery?" her voice was weak, not her own she was sure. This really couldn't be happening. She didn't just wake up from a coma to possibly lose the love of her life, the father of her child.
Derek hooked his arm around her, Penelope holding her hand on the other side as Reid had gone back to the trauma ward to give more details. Hotch seemed to be talking to security personnel and JJ took charge of the boys, thankful the triage nurse came out to see Henry right away. "Emily, take the papers." He helped her hold her pen and she signed with shaky reflexes. He never saw her this way. Even when she was losing incredible amounts of blood herself courtesy of Doyle, she had remained composed.
Once signed the nurse called out to the desk to page the doctors that they have consent. "He was already being prepped. He should be in within the next five minutes. I will send a doctor out to explain it all to you."
Emily nodded and then looked at Derek with concern before switching back to the nurse starting to walk away. "Wait! What about Tabby?"
"She's fairly stable right now and receiving a transfusion but we have to work on her until she can get to radiology. We can't get a good idea of the damage to her skull at this point. Take a seat and stick around so I can find you. A doctor will be out shortly." With that, the nurse disappeared.
-Criminal Minds-
"It's been half an hour! Why isn't anyone telling us anything?" Derek was furiously pacing in front of the line of chairs occupied by his friends. "Even Reid hasn't come out and said anything!" He punched the wall, not for the first time though there was a small dent left after this impact.
"I'm going back there." Penelope stood up. She's had enough of seeing her friends like this. No way is she going to let either Emily (about to break down) or Derek (about to rip off heads) do the dirty work to get answers.
"Mommy, wait!" Jack hugged onto her legs. She can't go anywhere without him. He could lose her, everyone keeps ending up at the hospital.
Penelope recognized Jack's thoughts without him voicing anymore and took his hand leading him away with her before Derek could protest or join along.
"Reid!" she called past the trauma rooms. "Spencer!"
His head of crazy locks poked out of a nearby room a few feet down the hall. "Garcia, in here." He shushed her and closed the door behind her and Jack once they got in. "Cover your eyes Jack, or face the wall."
Jack did as he was told and turned around as Reid opened the blinds that looked in on the room that Tabby was in, two doctors still treating her. "She should be heading to radiology soon. I only stayed because I pulled rank with the badge and I knew someone needed to be here. Morgan wouldn't handle it well."
Penelope nodded and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'll stay. Go update him, please. Before he ends up getting sued for property damage. Jack, honey. Go with Uncle Spencer."
Jack was glad to get his chance out of this room. The one peek he took shook his bones. Tabby was intubated and had all sorts of tubes in her, blood all over the doctors working on her.
Hotch poked his head in just then, letting Reid know one of Rossi's doctors was in the waiting room and he was needed to explain it all to Emily. Once Reid was gone he pulled Penelope into a half hug as they watched their newest friend's fight for her life.
"She's just a bureaucrat." Penelope whined. "Why, Aaron? Why did he shoot her? It doesn't match the profile."
He sighed long and hard, trying to get the image of one of the doctors pulling the large shard of shrapnel from Tabby's shoulder out of his head. "It does. That's why she kissed him, to make it look like she was his wife or significant other, not Emily."
"You mean she did this on purpose!" She was appalled and proud at the same time. "I- Aaron." Now the water works finally emerged as she saw the spurting of more blood from Tabby's body.
"Come on." He rubbed her back trying to calm her. "You can't see anymore of this." He opened the door and practically dragged her to the hallway. "Don't tell Derek you saw her. He will insist on being there and he already saw too much."
She nodded feebly. "But why is he so upset? I mean, I know they were flirting and…" realization hit. "Tabby is the woman he's been seeing? No wonder why he's kept it a secret. She's a fucking assistant director!" Her emotions were all over the board between anger and grief, sadness and betrayal. But so long as she was focused on Tabby she wasn't thinking about Dave in his surgery, Dave's blood juxtaposed to the snow.
"Shh." Aaron stopped her progress down the hall just shy of the doors to the waiting room. "He only told me a few minutes ago when I pulled him aside. You can't tell anyone else. Alright? That's his choice to make."
She nodded, unhappy but trying to push what wasn't important out of her mind. Aaron always claims she grounds him but he does the same for her when she in on some emotional tangent. "I love you so much."
"I love you too." He pulled her into his arms for a grateful kiss, grateful yet again that she was safe and in his arms. Their lives are filled with drama and risk but he was determined to enjoy every moment he had of her for as long as he could so he decided to let them just stand there in an embrace for a while before facing whatever news might be there to be heard.
He leaned against the wall pulling her to him. He could smell the lavender shampoo and conditioner he worked into her hair this morning in the shower. He could feel the head of her arms wrap around his waist. "Penelope." He murmured with his lips to her forehead. "I want to talk to you about something."
She lifted her head from his chest, thankful he waited for more conversation after her sobs died away. "What is it?"
He noted tinges off fear roll off her so he stroked her cheek reassuringly. "Until we get married we should make out power of attorney documents so you can be mine since I am already yours. Our lawyer, Steve, suggested I also list you as Jack's legal guardian in my will until then. I can't take any risks of you not being his mother or either of us hurt and unable to do anything."
"Oh Aaron. You better not make that necessary, but thank you. I can't face the prospect of losing my son." It was the first time in a couple days that she remembered the investigation likely looming over them. She cursed Jessica's parents and prayed that JJ had a good lot of success with the social workers but of course none of that was top priority right now. "I want to know how Dave is. Can we go in now?"
Truthfully, Aaron was procrastinating on getting that information. Rossi was his best friend and mentor. He was pretty sure that if the news was bad he was going to go off the deep end. "I—"
Penelope might not be a profiler but she did recognize fear. "I will be right there with you. We have to know honey." She reached to cup his cheek. "We have to know."
Reluctantly he dropped their embrace to holding her hand and let her lead him back to the waiting room where he took a seat across from Emily. "Prentiss, what's the news?"
Emily was staring at the floor for longer than she could keep track of. Between Derek's constantly pacing and muttering and JJ's hand rubbing her back she was being lulled into a state of numbness which she wanted to never return from. "He's lost nearly half his blood volume."
"Shit." Penelope bit out mostly under her breath, making sure to reassuringly rub small circles on Aaron's hand. "What else Em?"
Emily breathed long and deep for a few minutes. "His heart has stopped twice on the table. They are doing some sort of procedure I still don't understand and trying to bring him back but they said it's not good." She could feel that anger she usually resorted to in times of trouble rise within her and heard her voice increase in voracity when Penelope and Aaron both started tearing up. "And Tabby! She's probably going to be brain damaged!" she was actually a little thankful she saw the red dot on the back of Tabby's head just before the shot. It clicked for her then, realizing that Tabby was taking the bullet for her. Ex or not, kissing her boyfriend or not, that woman was her hero.
"What?" Penelope gasped and looked to Derek stalking off in a muttering mess in the corner, speaking low on the phone and still hitting walls. "Aaron, I'm gonna go…" She couldn't think about what Em said about Dave. She had to believe otherwise, but a brain damaged Tabby, she just couldn't even deal with repressing it.
"Go." He could see that Morgan needed his Baby Girl right now. "Take him to the cafeteria. I will send for him there ok?"
Penelope stood and kissed her fiancé, then her son before approaching Derek who just hung up his call with caution. "You." She pointed at him directly and with such force he stopped in his tracks. "Are coming with me."
He simply nodded and let her grab his hand.
After a minute of navigating the all too familiar halls she sensed he was calming some. "Who was that on the phone?"
Derek sighed. "I'm sorry baby girl. Tabby is the secret I have been keeping from you. I'm in love with her. She practically lives at my place."
She led him into the elevator, pressed back against the wall and looking straight ahead. "I know."
Derek looked at her sideways. "You do? Hotch told you."
She nodded. "He did. But I had hoped you would be with her all this weekend. Derek, I have to believe that everything happens for a reason. She will make it through this. Dave better make it through this too. Emily better say yes to him when he wakes up. And we will keep this team and family together so help me God. But right now, let's focus on that call."
Morgan closed his eyes in relief of his secret not weighing on him and locked an arm around his best friend. "That was her sister. I had to pull all sorts of tricks to get in touch with her in the coast guard. She should be here any minute. Can we make this cafeteria trip quick?"
Penelope actually giggled. "Honey, we have seven coffees to pour and two hot chocolates to make. This will take a little while and you need the distraction."
That was true, the mundane of getting coffee and picking out a bunch of unhealthy snacks for the group let him relax just a little, enough where he could face Tabby's sister without scaring the woman when they got back to the waiting room and he handed her a cup of coffee, black just like Tabby takes it.
"Oh Der." Alicia cried as she pulled him into an embrace. Unlike Tabby she was fairly tall, plump but still in shape and definitively less feminine. She made no secret of her sexual orientation and he admired that in her. "The doctors said she is in radiology now."
He took a tentative seat next to her. "At least, at least it's progress." He bit his lip, the first time he could ever remember doing the gesture. "Leesh. I should have been there, I should have stopped…"
She put a hand on his arm and noticed everyone else watching them. "Do they all know?" He shook his head no so she responded. "Don't you think they should?" He nodded but couldn't say the words. "Derek come on."
He sighed and looked up to see Emily's eyes focused on him. She could tell right then what was going on. "How long have you been dating her?"
Everyone's head snapped to the conversation. Internally Reid and JJ were both cheering because they wanted to see those two together. Hotch and Garcia were simply shocked that Emily could see it. Derek was just as surprised. "Three months but it's serious. I, well…"
"I know they used to date." She was forgetting anyone else was around so she was a bit surprised when a yip escaped Penelope.
"Wait, wait." Pen swooshed her hands in front of her trying to get this detail in place. "You mean Tabby and the Super Agent?"
Both Derek and Emily nodded. "She said it was a long time ago. And both have moved on. But that wasn't my point Em. She's the one I plan on being with. Even if she does have brain damage from this. I love that woman. And it's my fault! I should have kept an eye on her. I should have."
"Hey." Alicia interrupted. "I shouldn't have left her alone. I should have found somewhere for her to stay warm so she wouldn't have even been there."
Hotch had enough of this. "No more blame game. Things happened, none of us could expect that a snowed in getaway would be sullied by some former unsub none of us ever heard of."
Alicia took a good, long breath. She had always assumed her sister would never get into trouble since she wasn't an agent but a desk girl. She remembered some of the stories Derek told her about his job and it made her cringe. "Can someone tell me exactly what happened?"
-Criminal Minds—
"Em, you have to eat." Penelope had been picked to accompany Emily to the operating waiting room. She was only allowed one other person and it was an unwritten rule that Garcia takes over the nurturing of the agent.
"You sound like Dave." She had no emotion, none. If she did she would be a weepy mess collapsing in the floor with the fact that her (what she hopes to consider her fiancé) has basically died twice on the table and his surgery has lasted an extra hour beyond its expectation.
Penelope was doing much the same. She couldn't face losing Rossi. Over the course of the last month especially she has grown incredibly close to him. Losing him would be as bad as when Emily was announced dead. She couldn't take it. "Well someone has to take over his valiant effort to keep you out of a coma again. Now, eat." she nudged Emily into taking half of the turkey sandwich that JJ had brought up. "I will force you, ya know."
Emily sighed and took a bite. She couldn't even taste she was so distraught. "When he found me in Paris and showed up at my door it was the first surprise in my life that I actually enjoyed."
While she had wanted details on this Rossi romance ever since she found out about it, Pen had to gather all her strength to hear it, recognizing the tone in Emily's voice. She was near to giving up hope. "Did you guys have history before that?" She had heard that JJ told Rossi where he could find Emily, but she wasn't sure exactly why he went looking as he had. Apparently he gave JJ as good of an interrogation as he once gave herself.
Emily shook her head. "No. I mean, I had some feelings, I had fallen for him over the years, but Paris is when it really happened for me. He let me cry… me, cry… on his shoulder for days without trying anything. We just cuddled and he let me finally drag him to bed but for a few nights we only slept. I had started to feel rejected to be honest until his last night there when he made a move. Pen, it was the best sex of my life and the first time I ever meant it when I said 'I love you'. But I meant so I left. I didn't want him to go through this. I didn't want to share running for my life and I didn't want him to have to deal with me like I am now. Still so ungodly afraid."
Penelope wrapped one arm around the brunette and pulled her closer, trying to sooth her sobs starting to escape. "But, do you want to marry him?"
Emily sniffled for a few minutes just thinking that over. "I do, its just. I'm scared. And now I want to just jump the broom and do it but I am also scarred that that is purely a reaction to all of this." she swept her hand to indicate the situation. When she said yes to Rossi she wanted it to be because she was sure, because she came to the conclusion on her own. He deserved more than a reactionary acceptance of his proposal. "He deserves to have no doubts on my answer which is why I haven't given one yet."
Penelope was finally starting to get it. For her it was easy. Well, scary but still she knew for a fact this was what she wanted. For Emily, she knows but has to be extra sure. Her whole adult life has been lived in this constant state of flux with an inability to trust others. Even her team, who she generally always trusted, is still earning that… Ian Doyle proved just how compartmentalized Emily had become. "Now, I want you to listen to me. I think you are right, that you shouldn't just do it because of this. And I suspect part of your waiting to say anything also has to do with the baby?"
Emily nodded, accepting the tissue that Garcia handed her and wiping her nose. "I found out the morning he proposed. He didn't know until after he asked."
"Oh Em. He really loves you." She knew that was always true. "When you had left I had realized that. He just seemed so despondent after his vacation. You just, sweetie. Don't keep him waiting too long alright?"
Emily nodded, noticing Derek and Alicia being escorted into the waiting room by a nurse. "If he makes it out of this, I'll answer him pretty soon."
"Hey." Derek greeted, pulling up a chair so close across from Emily that their knees touched. "Any news on Dave yet?"
Emily shook her head, noticing Alicia and Penelope walk off to get more coffee from the small machine in the room. "He's been 'somewhat' stable for two hours but I haven't heard anything in a while. They should have been done a long time ago." Her jaw was quivering and her nails where bit until they were bleeding.
"Em." Derek leaned into her and wrapped her fully in a hug. "I am so sorry I wasn't there for you earlier in the waiting room. Emily, we have to stick together." He wasn't sure if he was going to handle losing Dave. He knew for sure he couldn't handle losing Tabby. She's the one woman in the world who could understand all the restrictions of his job and she embraced them. She worried about him in the field, of course. But she took the time to do her own work and clear her schedule for when they could be together. And she understood and envied his loyalty to his team, his family. "She was so happy when I told her about you and Dave."
Emily tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Yeah?"
Derek backed up to study her face. She actually looked a little less disturbed at the moment. "Yeah. She always wanted Dave to find someone good for him. I had told her all about all of you and when I shared a little suspicion I had on you two she practically begged God to make it true. She started falling in love with all of you through me long before this weekend."
Emily actually smiled a little. "I really like her too. Is it true what Rossi said? She hiccups in her sleep."
Derek actually burst into laughter, aware that Alicia and Penelope turned to stare at him in confusion. "She does, it's hilarious and so annoying. It's worse than snoring; she could have a hiccup fit all night."
"You are so far gone." Emily teased, happy to think about something other than the pain of possibly losing Dave. "She's got you right around her finger doesn't she?"
Derek grunted in dissent but he couldn't hide from the truth. "You tasted her baking. How am I to resist?"
The both broke into small giggles at that as Alicia and Penelope sat again. "You two doing alright?" Alicia edged, a little uncertain if these were sad giggles or not.
Emily nodded. "Have you heard more on Tabby?"
Alicia sighed. "Yeah. They won't be sure about brain damage or not until she wakes but it likely won't ruin her life. Had that bullet impacted just half an inch more in center she would have been gone instantly. It hit in what the surgeon called 'the best spot' if it were to happen at all."
Derek could sense her starting to come undone again. "She will have a large scar of course but her hair will grow over it again. Her shoulder got some shrapnel too but nothing that bad. All in all, I suppose we are 'lucky'". He held his fingers in air quotes, unhappy that that was true. "When I find that mother fucker I will personally rip his bowels from his body."
"Adonis, seriously. Don't say things like that." Penelope warned. She got it, but he needs to watch his reactions in public. "You know you wouldn't actually do that, as much as all of us want to."
Derek sighed. "Sometimes I hate being moral."
Alicia pat his hand. "You and I both."
"So, um. What is happening with that anyhow. Finding him I mean?" Penelope had been out of the loop for a while now. The unsub needs to be caught. Thankfully all of the viable targets right now appear to be in this hospital and they have loads of security surrounding them at this point.
"Security gave Hotch, Reid and JJ a room to work this. Local LEOs are on the lookout and are processing the scene at Rossi's."
Pen was glad to hear they were still working this. She isn't leaving this hospital until that man is put away or dead. "I still can't believe Reid got a shot at him, trees and all."
Derek sighed. "Yeah. At least he is badly wounded judging by the blood loss we found. He must be climbing through trees or something, I don't know. They lost his trail." And that angered him more than anything. But at least Reid's shot disarmed the man. His rifle and scope were found at the forest floor when Reid cautiously approached. "That's the second time Pretty Boy has shot someone to protect us this month."
Penelope actually giggled which made everyone look at her oddly. "What? I owe Reid more than anyone when it comes to that. I've never really thanked him. I should."
A doctor came through the double doors. "Lieutenant Katz? Agent Morgan?"
Neither recognized this particular physician so they both tensed and nodded him over. He must be Dr. Harrington, the specialist they had called down for Tabby. "Is it alright if I speak in front of your friends?" He knew that his patient also came in with a male agent which was still in surgery and it was touch and go. His wife was elbows deep in the older man's blood but he wasn't going to be saying anything.
Alicia nodded, sweeping her hands to indicate the other two women and Derek. "We're all family here."
The doctor pulled up a chair closer to them. "Well, I have good news. The bullet impacted at such an angle where it didn't penetrate her skull. It did cause several fractures which essentially led to shattering and bone fragments. She will have a large hairless patch on the back of her head for a while and she now has a metal plate but over all she is extremely lucky."
All four nearly lost their composure with such good news. Derek actually felt grateful tears in his eyes and silently prayed a great thanks to the man upstairs. "Is she going to be ok then? Any permanent damage?"
Dr. Harrington sighed a bit. "Some of the lose fragments may have caused some damage which is unseen. We will know when she wakes from anesthesia. Right now though she is in recovery, her shoulder is done being worked on so it will be only about half an hour or so until I can test her for lasting effects."
Derek was making it pretty clear to the room that he was taking over this show. That was his woman in there. "And what effects would those be if they are present? I want to know what to look out for."
The doctor nodded, understanding and actually relieved that someone would be taking a responsibility of that on themselves. Family and friends spend more time with patients, they can more clearly guage what is going on with them than a doctor who sees them mainly on rounds. "The impact site is at the cerebellum. There are a couple things that could happen. First, the force of impact could cause some internal damage but from what I saw it is unlikely. Really, all I worry about is the potential for some of her more fine motor skills to be impacted. But you said she is a bureaucrat right? Not an agent?" He continued after the nods of all four there. "Then she should still be able to work just find after a short recovery period. I must say, she is a fighter. She lost a lot of blood but is making it through."
Emily tried to stifle her cry from the reminder of Dave's blood loss but everyone caught on, including the doctor. "Ma'am. I'm sorry. I will send someone to update you on Agent Rossi's progress. Alright?"
She nodded. "Thank ya-you." Her voice was not something she could trust right now.
"God Em, I'm sorry." Derek pulled her practically into his lap in a hug. Tabby had meant to take that bullet fully. She never intended for Dave to be hurt in the least.
Emily seemed to understand that thought using her trusty profiler skills. "I'd be dead if it weren't for her."
Dave nodded and pulled her closer. "And she would be if it weren't for Dave's pulling her just that tiny bit closer at the last second." It had been a reaction to the kiss, he thinks. But that little movement had changed that angle just enough where the bullet didn't sever her spine.
The doctor coughed uncomfortably and brought attention back round to him. "She will be out of recovery in a few minutes. This is her room." He handed a paper over. "I will have the doctor for Agent Rossi come update you there. You should all visit."
Emily nodded reluctantly. But, she was aware that Dave would be sharing the same room as Tabby because of the security requirements that they would need with Napoli still on the loose. She sighed and took the paper from Derek's hands. "Let's go. I can't stand around here anymore."
-Criminal Minds—
Waiting is the single worst part of being at a hospital. Penelope was starting to go stir crazy waiting on Tabby's transport to her room. It had been twenty minutes since they got up here and Emily was reacting much the same. Neither Tabby or a doctor to update on Dave's condition had yet been seen.
"What the hell is taking so long!" Alicia was at her wits end as well. Only Derek seemed anything relatively close to ok.
"Alright Pen and Emily. Go get some coffee and check in on the team alright? I need some time with Alicia."
Penelope twisted her lips but grabbed Emily's hand. The coffee machine was just down the hall, they wouldn't miss out on anything and at this point she was pretty sure if she didn't walk and leave this room both her and Emily would end up stabbing the next person to come in that wasn't Tabby.
Once his friends left Derek pulled two chairs close together and sat Alicia down next to him. "Now that we know she is going to be alright—"
She cut him off with a derisive laugh. "She might have brain damage."
Derek took a calming breath. "She might, but even the doctor said it shouldn't impact her life significantly. Anyhow, that's beside the point. I need to ask you something."
Alicia felt bad for snapping at him. Her girlfriend says she always gets snappish when she is scared. Thinking about that made her think of Tabby and how good of a sister she is. Their mother disowned her once she came out as a lesbian at twenty two. Tabby is two years younger and was depending on their mother for support through college but she stuck by her sister, being disowned herself for 'siding with the devil'. "Sorry."
Derek put a warm hand on her shoulder and rubbed it until she seemed a little more comforted. "You're all the family that Tabby has and I am a little old fashioned."
She furrowed her brow. "Ok" What is he getting at?
He took as long of a breath as his lungs allowed. "At some point, not too soon but in the nearer future I want your blessing to ask Tabby to marry me."
"Oh. My. God!" Emily jumped, having just come into the room with Pen in time to hear that. She rushed over and knelt beside them, looking to Alicia.
Her face was killing her from the smile growing onto her cheeks. She never thought her sister would find someone to be so forgiving of her work life, someone who could accept her social experiments and her brazen attitude. "Of course you have my blessing."
"Yes, yes yes!" Penelope jumped up and down. This was the best news she has had all day and she could see the foot of Tabby's bed poking into the room as well.
"There's my girl." Derek smiled ear to ear seeing Tabby awake and looking at him with a grin as her bed was set in place. "Look, everyone is up to visit." He pointed to her sister, Emily and Penelope and Hotch, JJ and Reid all coming into the room. Jessica had been kind enough to come to the hospital as well, she was staying in the secured conference room with the boys to keep this all from them.
"Forgive me." She pleaded, only caring about him at the moment. She was sure he at least heard about the kiss, and she was sure he would be mad at her throwing herself into the path of a bullet.
He sat on the chair closest to her and stroked her hair. "Hey, none of that now. There's nothing to forgive."
"You're my hero, you know that?" Emily looked over to her, understanding that Tabby would look for her forgiveness as well.
"Dave?" Tabby suddenly remembered he was hurt. "How's Dave?" her head started darting all around trying to find him. "He's not here?"
Hotch approached a little closer. "When he's out of surgery he will share your room too." He grabbed Penelope's hand, knowing she was just as upset as ever before. She loved everyone on this team so much.
Reid tried to smile reassuringly at Emily and Tabby both. "Many, many people make it off the table even with the complications he has faced. I will refrain from spouting statistics because JJ's squeezing of my hand indicates you aren't interested."
There was a universal giggle in the room which was broken by a deep, scratchy voice. "You cheated and tricked me." He accused. "You will pay."
All eight heads snapped to the door just in time to see the bandaged up and scarred Tucker Napoli wielding a small sidearm pointed directly at Tabby. It was now a race for all the agents to reach for their service weapon, each hoping Napoli would be the one to go down. This situation was certainly going to be fatal for someone.