Wow. It's been forever since I updated, and I am sorry about that. But this story deserves a conclusion I am determined to finish it! I expect a couple more chapters after this one will be enough to wrap things up.

Derek Morgan walked into the hospital just after sunrise. He had gotten a few hours of sleep, but wasn't able to stay in bed any longer. He needed to see Reid, and was sure that Hotch would be ready for a break.

After making a quick stop at the coffee cart, he made his way to Reid's room and had to stifle a chuckle at the sight before him. Hotch had fallen asleep sitting in the bedside chair, leaned forward with his head and arms resting on Reid's bed. Reid had clearly fallen asleep in the middle of a card game, as a few cards were scattered across his chest. The rest of the deck of cards sat on the bedside table, and it was clear what game the men had been playing. From the looks of things, Reid had been winning.

Morgan attempted to be as quiet as possible, but the noise of the door closing was enough to rouse Hotch from his light slumber.

Aaron took a moment to orient himself before he stood and straightened his clothes. A quick glance at Reid assured him that the man was still asleep, before he looked to Morgan and gestured to the door. Both men exited the room so they could talk in the hallway.

Morgan handed Aaron a coffee, who nodded in appreciation before taking a sip. "So, how was your night?" Morgan inquired.

Aaron sighed. "He woke up in the middle of the night and was up for a bit. He says he's fine, but he's clearly in more pain than he's admitting. And it's not going to be easy to keep him in bed for long. I managed to distract him with cards last night, but today might be a struggle."

Morgan nodded, expecting just as much. "Have the doctors said anything more?"

Aaron took another sip of coffee and shook his head. "They haven't been by yet this morning, but should be making their rounds soon. Remind them that the IV needs to come out as soon as possible." The men locked eyes, an unspoken understanding being communicated. Morgan knew why this was so important.

Morgan nodded in affirmation and turned to look through the door's window at his friend. He noticed Reid's brow was furrowed, and his heart rate on the monitor was picking up. Morgan realized he must be having a nightmare, and opened the door to the room to wake his friend.

Morgan was halfway to the bedside, Hotch not far behind, when Reid awoke with such a jolt that he sat straight up. He was out of breath and spent several seconds trying to slow his breathing while clutching his abdomen. He had clearly aggravated his injuries with the sudden movement. Morgan stood beside Reid, rubbing his back and speaking in a calm tone. "It's okay Reid, it was just a bad dream. You're safe now."

Reid remained silent, focusing on Morgan's words to calm himself down. It was just a dream. Just a dream. Not real. But it felt real. Reid's breathing gradually returned to normal and his heart rate slowed down as he was brought back to reality. His abdomen hurt like hell though, and he was grateful when Morgan used the bed's control to bring it into an upright position so he could lean back and still be sitting. He looked up at the man with a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude.

After a moment of eye contact, Reid looked away. It was then he noticed Hotch was still in the room, against the far wall. "What are you still doing here? You must be exhausted," Reid questioned. Truthfully he was just happy to change the subject before anyone had the chance to ask him about the nightmare that was still fresh in his mind.

Hotch smiled at Reid's concern for him. "Don't you worry about me, I'm fine. And actually I was just leaving, now that Morgan is here." He moved to gather his bag.

Reid eyed him suspiciously. "And by leaving, you mean going home right? Not to the office?"

Hotch stopped and sighed, turning to the young man. "I have to stop by the office for a bit, but I promise afterwards I'll head home."

Reid nodded. "Good. I better not see you back here until you've gotten some real sleep. A couple hours in that chair doesn't count."

Another smile graced Hotch's lips. "Hey now, which one of us is the boss here? I can take care of myself. Besides, I slept pretty good in that chair." Hotch turned to exit the room, then paused for a moment and turned back to the two men. "Call me if you need anything, alright?"

Morgan nodded. "Will do. Thanks."

An awkward silence fell over the room as Hotch departed. Reid was still reeling from the vivid nightmare he had just experienced and did not want to talk about. He knew he had to steer the conversation before Morgan asked. A new topic wasn't difficult to find, as there was a question he had been wanting to ask since he first woke.

"Has anyone talked to my mom?" Reid asked. There was an innocence that crept into his voice every time he spoke of his mother.

Morgan sighed. "No, we decided it was best not to worry her, and hoped we'd have you back before we needed to."

Reid nodded in relief. "Good, I'm glad. Can I call her?" Reid tried to keep the question casual, but Morgan sensed the desperation underneath his tone. Morgan knew all too well, that sometimes a man just needs to talk to his mom to make everything better.

"Of course Reid." Morgan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to the young man. "I'll go grab us some breakfast from the cafeteria. Any requests?"

Reid thought for a moment. "Jell-O. And coffee?"

Morgan shook his head. "Sorry my man, no coffee just yet. Doctor's orders. They want you to get plenty of rest, so caffeine is a no-go. I'll be back in a while. Say hi to your mom for me."

Morgan headed out the door, closing it again behind him. He assumed Reid would want some privacy for this phone call. As he turned towards the direction of the cafeteria, he saw Reid's doctor approaching. He stepped towards Dr. Carmen and met him a few feet from Reid's room. "Hey Doc, are you headed to see Reid?"

Dr. Carmen nodded. "Yes, just making my rounds. How is he?"

Morgan sighed. "He's doing pretty good, all things considered." He considered leaving it at that, but decided that his doctor should know everything that's going on, so he continued. "He woke up from a nightmare not too long ago. Might have agitated his abdomen a little, you should probably check that out. He's being pretty tight-lipped when it comes to his pain level. I think he's afraid that we'll force him into taking narcotics if he is truthful about it…" Morgan trailed off, the weight of what he'd just said hitting him.

The doctor nodded. All of this was to be expected, given the circumstances. "I'll go talk to him. Once he understands my commitment to his wishes regarding medication, he might open up a little. Agent, keep in mind that he's just been through something traumatic. It's going to take some time for him to heal, physically and emotionally. The rest of you have some healing to do as well, for that matter. But I can tell that you all really care for each other. As long as you are all there for him, I think he will be okay." The doctor smiled and put a hand on Morgan's shoulder in support. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

Morgan nodded, remembering what Hotch had told him. "Ya, can you do something about that IV in his arm?"

Dr. Carmen nodded in understanding – he had been asked this several times already. "I'll see what I can do. If his hydration levels are acceptable I'll certainly take it out. But if not, he may need to live with it in for a while longer."

The doctor moved towards Reid's room, but Morgan stopped him. "Hey, can you give him a few minutes? He is on the phone with someone."

Dr. Carmen nodded. "Sure. I'll just grab myself some coffee and come back."

Morgan raised his eyebrows. "You might want to finish that coffee before going in there. He's pretty desperate for a cup of it himself."

"Gotcha. Thanks for the heads up." Dr. Carmen smiled and headed back in the direction he had come, while Morgan moved the opposite direction towards the cafeteria.

Reid waited until Morgan had shut the door, then turned to the phone in his hand. He needed to talk to his mom. His thoughts were scattered and he was anxious, and he knew that the sound of his mom's voice would help ground him. It always had. He dialed the number to Bennington Sanitarium and held the phone to his ear. A cheerful voice answered, "Thank you for calling Bennington, how may I help you?"

"Vivian, hi, it's Spencer Reid," Reid said, putting on the happiest voice he could muster. "How is my mom doing? Could I talk to her?"

Vivian's voice mirrored back the same fake happiness, but Reid saw right through it. "Oh Spencer, it's so nice to hear from you. Diana is having a bit of a rough day, but let me take the phone out to her. I'm sure a talk with you will turn her mood right around."

After a few moments of silence, Reid heard a muffled conversation on the other end of the line. "Diana, Spencer is on the phone."

"I don't want to talk to anyone. Go away," he heard his mother say with much contempt.

"But Diana…" Vivian tried.

"I said go away!" Reid heard a loud thud that sounded like something had been thrown.

Vivian's voice came back on the line as she addressed Reid, the fake happiness layered back on. "I'm sorry Spencer, now isn't a good time. Could you try again later?"

Reid sighed. "Yes of course. Thank you." He ended the call, put the phone on the side table and closed his eyes.

Reid's frustration level was building. He felt helpless, and that feeling was all to similar to how he felt during his abduction. He sat alone, unable to speak to the one person he needed right now, and unable to leave his hospital bed due to the injuries he had sustained. He was not as immobilized as he previously was while drugged, but enough that every time he closed his eyes, he feared he would open them and be back in that basement.

He looked down at his arms. They were covered in bandages and welts from the belt he was attacked with. He shuddered as he remembered not only the pain, but the looks on his teammates' faces afterwards. It was the last thing he had seen before he was blindfolded, and the image had been seared into his mind. He knew, logically, that they didn't think any less of him than they did before; but irrationally, he was ashamed that he had been beaten in front of them all. He worried that the looks of pity on their faces would remain every time they looked at him. He didn't want to be looked at as a victim, but he also couldn't just pretend like nothing had happened. He knew that he was far from okay.

Reid's eyes were drawn now to the IV that was still inserted into his arm. He had asked several times for it to be removed, but was told that it was medically necessary. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't stand to leave it in his arm a moment longer. It felt like an unwelcome intrusion; it could be used to pump anything into his system, and he didn't trust it. He resolved to remove it and was gingerly removing the tape that held it to his arm when the door opened.

"Dr. Reid, please don't do that." Reid looked up, slightly startled, to see an older man in scrubs standing at the doorway. He had a stethoscope around his neck, a clipboard in his hands, and wore a nametag that said 'Dr. Carmen.' He wore a tired but inviting smile. Reid deduced this must be his doctor.

Moving his hand away from the IV, Reid asked, "can you please take it out?" He met Dr. Carmen's eyes and pleaded nonverbally for his request to be met. He knew he probably looked pathetic, but couldn't help it at the moment. He was just barely keeping it together.

Dr. Carmen nodded. He could see that the IV was doing more harm psychologically than good it was doing physically. "Of course, Dr. Reid. I'm sorry we had to leave it in so long." The man moved to the side of Reid's bed and took the IV out as gently as he could.

"Now, without this IV it is all the more important that you drink plenty of fluids, understand?" Reid nodded. "Good. How is your pain level? On a scale of 1 to 10?"

Reid thought for a moment. "It's a 5, maybe? Not that bad. I'm fine, really." He downplayed the pain he was in, not wanting the doctor to take any drastic pain relief measures. Truth be told, everything hurt.

Dr. Carmen sighed. "Spencer, I'm your doctor and I need you to be honest with me about your pain level. I promise that I will respect your wishes to abstain from narcotics, but I can't provide you with the best treatment options if you aren't truthful with me, alright?"

Reid sighed. "Okay fine. It's probably more like an 8. I think I aggravated something when I… sat up earlier." He skirted around the topic of his nightmare. If he didn't want to discuss it with his friends, he certainly wasn't going to discuss it with a stranger.

"Let me take a look." Dr. Carmen moved to the other side of the bed and carefully lifted Reid's bedsheet and hospital gown, trying to leave as much covered as possible. He could tell this patient was a bit shy and he wanted to respect that. He lifted the corner of a bandage to assess the wound. "Well the good news is that you didn't tear out any of your stitches, but there is a bit of exacerbation that's caused some bleeding. I'll send a nurse in to change your bandages shortly. Now, I'm going to increase your dose of painkillers, but you will still be in some pain. If you find it's preventing you from sleeping, I want you to take two of these sleeping pills." He pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket and set it on the bedside table. "Normally the hospital staff would administer these, but I think under the situation it would be best for you to have control over when you take them. But please keep in mind that the more you rest, the faster your body will heal."

Reid nodded to the doctor and gave him a smile that he hoped conveyed his gratitude. He knew it was against hospital procedure for patients to have control over their medications. "Thank you Dr. Carmen."

Reid heard a knock at the door and turned to see Morgan had returned with a tray of food. "Hey, hope I'm not interrupting, but I brought breakfast."

Dr. Carmen waved the man in and headed towards the door, passing Morgan on the way. When he reached the door he turned back around. "Spencer, please let me know if you need anything. I want your stay here to be as comfortable as possible."

Reid nodded. "Thank you doctor, I will. How long do you think I'll be here?" He hoped to be discharged as quickly as possible. He was not particularly fond of hospitals. He'd spent too much time in them.

Dr. Carmen smiled. It was the most frequent question he was asked by his patients, and he understood why. "I don't want to make any promises until we see how you do today, but I don't want to keep you here any longer than needed. Barring any complications, it could be as early as tomorrow. You'll need to stay with someone while you recover. But having met your friends, I don't anticipate you'll have a lack of volunteers there." Dr. Carmen winked at Reid and disappeared down the hallway.

Morgan, who had busied himself setting the tray of food up in front of Reid, smiled. "Hey that's some good news. You'll be out of here before you know it. Now eat up, Pretty Boy. You need to get your strength up."

Reid hadn't realized how hungry he was until he smelled the breakfast Morgan had delivered. Eggs, bacon, pancakes… and of course, a cup of Jell-O. "Thanks Morgan." He grabbed a spoon and the Jell-O cup.

Aaron Hotchner finished his second coffee of the day as he arrived at the federal jail. After making his way through security and speaking to the guards, he was led to a visitation room to await the arrival of Arthur Malcolm.

He didn't have long to wait. Minutes later, Dr. Malcolm was escorted into the room by two guards. After securing his handcuffs to the table, they left the room.

Hotch looked Malcolm over. He certainly seemed a lot less smug than the was during their previous meeting. A night in jail with no prospects of getting out would do that to a man.

Hotch gave the man a cold stare before speaking. "Mr. Malcolm."

Malcolm sneered. "It's 'Doctor.'"

"Actually it's not any more, Mr. Malcolm. You had your licence revoked, didn't you?" Hotch took a small amount of glee knowing he was getting under the man's skin.

"So what can I do for you, Agent Hotchner? I think I'm ready to make a deal. I'll tell you where you can find Spencer, or what's left of him anyway, in exchange for a shorter sentence. Of course, the death penalty is going to have to come off of the table." Malcolm had a twisted smile on his face, falsely believing he had the upper hand in this conversation.

Hotch couldn't wait to put him in his place. "Actually, we found Dr. Reid, just in time. He's going to make a full recovery." Hotch paused, allowing this information to sink in. He watched as Malcolm's smile turned into a frown, and could practically hear his brain recalculating the position he was in.

After a moment of silence, Hotch continued to speak. "You are facing life without parole, Arthur. Attempted murder and kidnapping a federal agent are very serious crimes. Luckily for you, he lived, so you won't face the death penalty. Though you had better hope that your fellow inmates don't find out about all of those patients of yours. Men like you don't tend to last long in prison."

Malcolm tried to switch tactics. "Hold on now. Don't you want to know how I pulled this off? We can still make a deal, Agent Hotchner. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Hotch was quick to shake his head. "You have nothing left to offer me, Arthur. Enjoy your time in prison." Hotch stood and knocked on the door. It took only a second for a guard to open it. He walked out without so much as a look back at the man who had caused so much turmoil for his team.