Everything was dark, and she was extremely cold. Those were the first things that Erin could focus on when she came to consciousness. Frowning a little, she tried to reach out her hand and turn on the lights to her bedroom, in order to see if she had left the window open or somehow managed to kick off all the covers. She could tell that Derek wasn't next to her, as she would feel the heat of his body rolling off in waves, and there was nothing there. Her hand wouldn't move very far, a sharp pain causing her to pause in her motion, and that further confused her. "Hello?" she called out, hoping that there was someone in the house that could hear her and come.
What seemed like hours passed with no answer, and Erin struggled to sit up a little more, hissing as her head throbbed painfully. Raising her other hand, she rubbed at her temple, and her eyes widened as she saw that she was wearing a hospital bracelet. That explained one part of the mystery of where she was, but also seemed to only raise a thousand more questions in her mind, the first of which was where Derek was. He should be there, by her side, and yet she was alone. Taking a deep breath, Erin tried to calm her suddenly racing heart and looked down at the hospital bed she was resting in. Though it was somewhat hidden, she managed to find the call button with some alacrity, and she pushed it a few times in an effort to get a nurse to her room.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, I'm her nurse. I've already been vetted by the head of your department, and she has called for me. Obviously, she's finally woken up, and I need to check her vitals. Step aside!"
The firm, but calm, voice helped to soothe Erin a little, since it appeared that this nurse would be able to help her out and tell her what was going on, including how she had ended up in a hospital room alone. The door opened a little, only enough for the thin, short, woman to slip inside, and then it was quickly shut behind her once more. "Hello?" she said, wincing a little at how gravelly and deep her voice sounded.
"Erin, it is so good to see that you're finally awake!"
"Finally?" Erin croaked out as she allowed the woman to help her sit up. There was no ready answer forthcoming from the nurse, and she frowned a little as she tried to clear her throat to clear the gunk from it.
"I'll get you some water, and then we'll see about getting you some answers." The nurse reached out to smooth the hair from Erin's face, and she let out a soft sigh at the tender touch. From the look the nurse gave her, Erin knew that she wouldn't be hearing anything good in the next few minutes, and she tried to brace herself for what was to come. The more she was alert, the more she could feel the ache in her body, especially her wrist, and she lifted it to see that there was a thick bandage wound there. "That's one of the things I'll tell you about. Well, as much as I can."
Erin nodded as she took the glass from the nurse's hand, trying to ignore the tremble there as she kept an eye on what the woman was doing. "Could you start with your name?"
"Oh, I forgot that we haven't been introduced! We usually keep your whiteboard updated with who's taking care of you each shift. I'm Claire, and I'll usually be your Monday through Friday nurse, since I have weekends off. And let me tell you, the background checks and hoops all four of us went through to be able to take care of you are something else!"
"Background checks?" Erin asked, feeling more confused than ever at those words.
Claire nodded as she stepped away from the computer and then took a seat in the chair next to Erin's bedside. "Yes. I know that you'll get more in depth news once you've met with your handler, but I can tell you the little that I know. The first thing that you should know is that as of three days ago, you unofficially entered the Witness Protection Program."
Erin blanched as she took that information in, knowing that whatever had happened to land her in hospital it was enough to label her as dead to the world. She didn't want to leave everything behind, she didn't want to leave her children behind. And she didn't want to leave Derek behind. Unwanted tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she sipped at the water in an effort to try and distract herself. "What happened to me?" she finally managed to say, hating how weak her voice sounded in that moment.
"The man that your team was hunting somehow managed to get you alone and he dosed you with a particularly nasty MDMA cocktail. It took your doctor a good long while to figure out how to combat the effects of the drug and remove it from your system with the least amount of damage to your body. The fact that you're awake now, and speaking with me, is a great sign."
Claire reached out and patted her hand softly, which once more drew Erin's attention to the gauze around her wrist. "And this?"
The nurse shuddered a little with distaste, and then took a deep breath. "This Curtis fellow was a right nasty piece of work and decided to leave a reminder of himself on your body. I don't know if he thought you would live, since from all the news reports I've watched on his crime spree have indicated that all previous victims of his malicious madness have died, but he still left you or your loved ones, with a reminder of his evil. There's an infinity symbol hidden beneath all that wrapping, and it is a wicked looking wound."
She nodded before taking another sip of water, trying to ignore the telltale signs of bile creeping up her throat. She didn't want to give in to that feeling, since it would feel too much like letting John win once more, so she continued to sip slowly at the water in an effort to will that sensation away. It finally worked, and she took a deep breath as she set aside the cup and folded her hands over her stomach, trying not to wince as the movement pulled at her wound, which told her that it was likely to turn into a scar with time. "How long has it been?"
"Six days. Your case is still in the news, since another agent was kidnapped shortly after you ended up here."
Erin's eyes grew large as she began to fumble around for the remote that would turn the television on. Claire took pity on her and fished it out from the side of the bed, and Erin flipped through the channels until she landed on ZNN. A short gasp tore from her lips when she saw the image feed from outside their hotel in the City, and she worried her lip between her teeth as she tried to focus on the words that the reporter was speaking. All she could glean from the report was that Alex was missing, and she was dead, according to the world at large.
"Someone chose a beautiful picture of me to show the world," she murmured as she muted the sound and tried to turn onto her side in order to curl up into a ball. "I sort of want to fall asleep for however long it takes to find John and allow me to come out of the Program."
"Well, it probably wouldn't be healthy for you to sleep for that long, I can tell you that it would be all right for you to take a little nap, even if you did just wake up. All your vitals look good, and I'll catch your doctor up on what's happening in here, and we'll go from there."
Erin nodded as Claire got to her feet, gently covering her with the thin hospital blanket before leaving the room, flipping the lights off before she closed the door. It didn't take long for Erin to fall back asleep, and she eagerly gave in to the blackness that welcomed her, wanting to forget everything that she had just seen, since she didn't want to think about Alex in danger because of her.
The next thing that she knew, Erin could feel eyes on her body, and she frowned deeply as she managed to maneuver her body upright once more, reclining against the headboard of the bed as she focused in on the quiet man in the chair next to her. "You must be my handler."
"You would be right. I'm Colin Soules, and I'll be helping with your transfer from the hospital to your new home and life. There's a packet waiting for you in the car, to read while I drive."
"You speak as if I'm being released right away," she stammered, and Colin nodded. "So soon?"
He nodded once more before getting to his feet. "We feel that it's prudent to get you on the move, given that your former team is still searching for Doctor Blake. This means that Curtis is still in the wind, and if he finds out that you're still alive, you could become his target once more, since the team's attention would be entirely on finding Doctor Blake."
Erin let out a long breath before she nodded, knowing that Colin was correct. She just didn't think that she was truly recovered enough to make this next move. "I, I need to get dressed,"
"Of course. I have new clothes for you here, in this bag, and once you're situated in your new place, I'll go and bring you more. We don't know how long you'll be in the Program, so you won't get that much."
"That's fine," she hurriedly interrupted as she felt the urge to get out of bed. Her legs felt a little wobbly, and Colin reached out to steady her before she nodded and took a few hesitant steps towards the bathroom. Knowing that she could support her own weight filled her with a sense of joy, and she smiled at her handler before drawing in a long breath. "Who knows I'm still alive?"
"Agent Rossi was the one who discovered you were still alive, since he went with you to the coroner's office. He was the one who reached out to us, and informed us that it would be better if you were brought into the Program."
"And will I be able to tell my partner and children that I'm all right? That they don't need to mourn me? I know that you dealt with the BAU before, that it didn't turn out well, but I don't know if I can allow my children to think that I've died, and then have them find out that it was a ruse a little time later. I don't want them to shed tears over me."
"I believe that we can allow you to write a short letter to your partner, since Agent Morgan is with the BAU."
"I never said who my partner was," she replied with a sharp sniff.
Colin smiled as he shook his head. "Agent Rossi mentioned that the man was quite distraught over what happened, and put the pieces together as he watched over your body. He told me that you had to let him know, that there had been a previous person in his life who had gone into WitSec, and that had profoundly affected him. I'll deliver the letter to him, but there will be no further contact than that. You can write to him after you read the onboarding information."
"All right," she murmured as she picked up the bag that sat on the foot of her bed before carefully making her way into the bathroom. She hated the fact that she was slightly out of breath from the short trek, but knew that it would take time to rebuild her strength after whatever John had done to her had fully passed. A tender smile spread across her lips when she saw that Colin had bought clothes that were thoroughly her, and she wondered how he had managed to figure out that much about her in such a short amount of time. Six days didn't seem like long enough to know this much, but he also might have had a hand from David.
Erin made certain to take her time dressing, not wanting to tax herself too much. She could smell the stale hospital aroma on her skin, but didn't want to ask for the time to shower, knowing that she could take a long bath once settled in her new place. Finally, she managed to finish getting dressed, and she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Erin didn't like the fact that she still looked ill, but there was nothing that she could do about that, since Colin hadn't included any makeup. Letting out another sigh, she ran her fingers through her hair and then made her way back into the room.
Colin was speaking with a man that Erin assumed to be her doctor, and she nodded to them as she wobbled her way over to the chair and lowered herself into it as carefully as she could, listening in on their conversation. "…rushed. I'd like Erin to stay here for another week, under observation."
"And that's too much time here, where she's exposed. I promise that I'll have her looked after by a visiting nurse service once she's settled."
"It's on your head," the doctor muttered as he signed off on a tablet before pressing the stylus in a couple different places. "I have the wheelchair waiting for her right outside the door."
"And you're going to show us to the service elevators, yes?" The doctor nodded as he looked over at Erin, concern written on every line of his face. "All right, let's get going. The longer we're here, the more I worry about everything else."
Colin came over to Erin, holding out his hand. She clasped it tightly and allowed him to lead her out to hallway. It was a bit of a relief to sit in the wheelchair, though she let out a groan of disappointment when a large hat was plopped onto her head and a pair of large gloves shoved into her hands. "Colin!"
"A disguise is necessary, Erin. Put the sunglasses on and you can take them off as soon as we're under way to your new home."
Knowing that she couldn't argue with him, she nodded before placing the sunglasses on her face. These were nothing that she would ever wear, loud and garish, and she knew that Colin had deliberately chosen them thus, so as to distract any onlookers from her features. And even though she knew that, she still found herself wholly annoyed at having to wear them, hoping that she would be in the car and underway soon, so that she could be herself once more.