A Well Respected Man (Chapter 11)

Jan 21, 2010 21:32

Title: A Well Respected Man (Chapter 11)
Author: ar_poe
Rating: PG/PG-13
Pairing: Morgan/Reid
Warnings: Drug recovery, very mild slash (all fluff)
Summary: Spoilers for 'The Big Game' and 'Revelations.' What happened during Dr. Reid's group therapy and throughout his recovery.

Chapter 1 can be found here.
Chapter 2 can be found here.
Chapter 3 can be found here.
Chapter 4 can be found here.
Chapter 5 can be found here.
Chapter 6 can be found here.
Chapter 7 can be found here.
Chapter 8 can be found here.
Chapter 9 can be found here and here is Chapter 9b.
Chapter 10 can be found here.
And my accompanying picspam can be found here.


A/N: Sorry it's taking me longer than usual to get these chapters up - I'm swamped this new semester! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. Boo.

Chapter 11

Derek sat uncomfortably in the hospital chair that was still working on its way to deflating under his weight. He continued clasping his hands and entwining his fingers, creating various shapes to keep himself moving, and refusing to look up at the thin and fragile form lying in the bed.

The constant beep... beep... beep that was emanating from the machines did nothing to keep Derek's mind in the here and now, he merely kept his head bowed, and thought. He had considered calling his mother, but he knew it would only make her worry about the two of them, and he didn't think anyone could make him feel okay right now.

His head snapped up when he heard a gasp and a sharp intake of air, and when he saw Spencer's face, his heart shattered into a million pieces. His face was contorted in nothing but pure agony, and as soon as he saw Derek, he shut his eyes again, squeezing them shut as he tried his hardest to push himself up in a seated position as his eyebrows furrowed dangerously low.

Derek abruptly jumped up and made his way to Spencer's side. “Hey, kid.” He said softly, looking his lover over - his terribly thin and unhealthy looking body almost a part of the mattress, his disheveled and tangled hair, and the dark skin under his eyes more prominent and unhealthy looking.

Spencer slowly and painfully reopened his eyes and looked up to Derek. “What did they put me out with?”

“They had to, you were... shot in the chest... they had to operate immediately, and you looked so -”

“With what?” Spencer's angry voice brought Derek back from his wandering thoughts, brought him out of his intense worry and panic, and Derek looked at him with sadness and compassion in his eyes. He lifted his hand and smoothed down Spencer's hair, just relishing in the fact that Spencer was right here, just a few inches away, awake, alive...

“I don't know.”

Spencer clenched his jaws and turned his head to look straight ahead, ignoring Derek's touches and strokes. Derek maintained the silence, giving Spencer a few minutes to get his thoughts together as images from the previous day flashed through his head. The UNSUB in New York shooting Spencer in the chest... Spencer looking at his wound as if he almost couldn't believe it as his hand shakily found its way to apply pressure... Spencer's legs giving out as he dropped to his knees and his eyes fluttered shut, all before Derek could get to him...

Why the hell didn't you put your damn vest on quicker, Reid?

“The doctors know what they're doing, Spence. They'll just give you enough so you're not in pain.”

Spencer knew what they gave patients for operations, and he knew what they gave patients for pain. He knew the dosages and the milligrams. He bit his lip forcefully as he tried to push his thoughts aside - he had felt that familiar ache, that hunger, before he even opened his eyes moments ago.

Spencer wanted to snort and roll his eyes, but his entire body felt like it was on fire. Just blinking and inhaling felt like it would make his bones turn to dust.

“I'd like to be left alone for awhile.” Spencer said simply and quietly, sounding withdrawn. He felt Derek's hand stop it's stroking, and he could almost feel the worry and hurt flowing out of his body, but he was in too much pain to try to open his mouth again to correct it.

Derek stood there for a minute and watched him. He couldn't read any emotion on the young man's face, and Spencer did nothing to even acknowledge his presence. Derek picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and made his way to the door before turning around with his hand on the door knob.

“I love you, Spence. I'll be back later to check on you.”

Derek waited another second, hoping to receive some kind of reaction from Spencer, but he just kept his eyes to the blankets, looking lost and sad. Derek opened the door and left, closing it behind him.

When Spencer heard the door close, his eyes found their way to the IV in his arm. He glared at it and imagined ripping it out, but as soon as that image entered his mind, it was taken away and replaced by an old memory - sitting on his bed, the Dilaudid rushing through his veins as his head tipped back with a small, pleasured moan. He slowly fell back onto his bed in an awkward half-lying, half-sitting position, and remained in his drug-induced sleep for close to twelve hours...

Spencer reached over; ignoring the pain that was shooting through his body, and hit the button to call the nurse. He needed something. He smiled to himself - he needed to sleep.

0-0-0

Derek met the rest of the team outside of Reid's room and sighed as he felt Hotch's intense stare fall upon him. He put his jacket on, suddenly cold, and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to wake himself up.

“He woke up and as soon as he got his head together, he asked what medicine they used to knock him out for surgery. He won't talk anymore, he said he wanted to be left alone.”

Hotch's gaze softened as he looked around the hospital, automatically going into 'team leader' mode. He knew what Reid had gone through after Tobias Hankel, and what he's been going through since. His heart ached for the young agent who had found his way into the team as not only the genius everyone relied on for information and profiles, but also as the one who they all confided in and talked to, because he was so easy to talk to... he was the younger brother and young son...

He soon realized that there was nothing he could do, nothing the team could do, but sit here and wait or go home and get some sleep. Rossi had taken out the UNSUB as soon as shots were fired, the families and public had been notified, and all that was left was final paperwork.

As if reading his mind, Derek spoke. “You guys should go home and get some sleep, I don't think he'll want to see anyone tonight. I'll call you as soon as anything changes.” Hotch hesitated, but nodded once Rossi put his hand on Hotch's shoulder.

“Get some rest, too, Morgan.”

Derek nodded and sat down in a chair in front of Spencer's room as Hotch ordered the team to go home and get some rest. He slouched down and laid his head against the wall as he noticed a nurse walking his way. He watched her go into Spencer's room and return shortly after, giving him a polite smile.

A few minutes later, Derek walked back into Spencer's room and found Spencer lying back down, dead asleep and appearing to be pain-free. He stood by Spencer's side and bent down to kiss his forehead, looking at how peaceful he finally looked, and then kissed both eyes before settling back in the hospital room chair.

0-0-0

Two mornings later, Derek walked into Spencer's room with two cups of coffee. Spencer tiredly took his cup from Derek's outstretched hand and sat back down on the edge of the bed. He kept his head low as his hair dangled in his face and he stared at his cup. Derek eyed him worriedly as he took a gulp of his own coffee, taking in his tired features and depressed-looking posture.

“Ready to go home, Pretty Boy?” Spencer nodded absentmindedly and sipped at his coffee. He was already dressed, complete with mismatched socks, and now he just had to wait for his doctor to return for his final check-up.

When the doctor finally walked in, he politely asked Derek for some privacy, and checked Spencer's healing wound, blood pressure, and everything else before he was satisfied with Spencer's recovery. He gave Spencer an ice pack sling and explained how to use it while resting and for how long, and administered the rest of his directions for a successful recovery.

“Would you like a pain killer prescription? I don't know how comfortable you'll be at home with that type of wound.”

Spencer bit his lip and thought. It seemed like his mind had split into two parts: one part saying no, Spencer, you'll be fine, you'll be with Derek, just rest... and the other was nagging and spiteful and mocking oh, come on, Spencer, just this one bottle won't do any harm. It'll just take the edge off so that you can rest and heal... No harm in that...

Spencer remained deep in thought as he loosened his tie. I'll just use it for my recovery, he thought. This doesn't go against my sobriety, it's prescribed by a doctor. I'm recovering. It won't get out of hand. The hunger began to rise, that little hungry growl in the back of his mind, that itching. A small smile formed on his face.

“Yeah. I'll take it.”

pairing: morgan/reid, genre: hurt/comfort, rating: pg/pg-13, genre: slash, genre: fluff

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