New FIC: Life is short (Criminal Minds)
Title: Life is short
Author: morena_donn
Rating: FRT for language
Pairing: Morgan/Reid first kiss
Word count: 1,200
Authors Note/Spoilers: Missing scene/tag for 4x24 Amplification, so major spoilers for that. I more or less followed canon for Reid’s symptoms and recovery, so it’s probably medically inaccurate, but what the heck, it’s an imaginary strain, it can be made to fit the plot.
Summary: “You focused on the case when I needed you. Now I need you to focus on you and Reid.”
Beta by brindel As usual, I made some last minute changes, so any mistakes are entirely my fault.
Disclaimer: Fan work, not for profit.
Derek watched as soldiers took the anthrax into custody and Brown was lead away. They’d saved hundreds, maybe even thousands, of lives. He should have felt victorious, relieved, but all he could hear was Garcia saying, ‘Reid’s in trouble.’
Hotch clasped his arm. “Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
A DC cop approached as they pushed through the crowd. Derek waved him away, focused only on getting back to Reid as soon as possible. It was only as he was buckling into the government SUV that he realized that the work day wasn’t over, and at least one of them needed to return to the office and tie up loose ends.
“You don’t have to do this. I can find my own way. You should get back to work,” he told Hotch. “Hell, I should get back to work,” he added halfheartedly.
“Absolutely not. You focused on the case when I needed you. Now I need you to focus on you and Reid.”
“Me and Reid? Almost sounds like you’re implying something there.” He glanced at Hotch, hoping for eye contact, but the older agent was focused on the road. “You’re serious.”
“I’m always serious.”
Derek huffed out a laugh. That was true enough, but not really important right now.
“For the record, there is no me and Reid.”
“Isn’t there?”
“You think I’m lying, man?”
“Of course not. On the record, Agent Hotchner is relieved. Off the record, Aaron is asking why the hell not?”
“You… I… he…” Derek couldn’t remember ever feeling this flustered. Reid was fighting for his life, and Hotch was putting into words the thing that Derek had been fighting and denying for so long. “I can’t talk about this now.”
“I understand. It’s just…life is short, and I think you’d make each other happy. And you both deserve that.”
**********
He was out of the car and striding towards hospital before Hotch had the key out of the ignition, forcing the older man to trot to catch up. When they reached nursing station however, he found he couldn’t speak.
Fortunately, Hotch didn’t have the same problem. “How is he?”
“Physically, he’s stable.” Dr. Kimura replied. “We had to sedate him, because the pain was putting too much stress on his body, so we don’t know how the aphasia is responding.”
Derek, who had always thought it was just an expression, felt his knees go weak at the thought of Spencer Reid without words.
“I see. And the others?” Hotch asked, placing an unobtrusive hand in the small of Derek’s back. Derek gladly leaned into the silent support.
“All the survivors are showing improvement, but none are up to speaking yet.”
Derek reluctantly stepped away from the comfort of Hotch’s hand, turning to face the other man. “You should get back, update the others, and do whatever bureaucratic b.s. you need to so that you all can come see him when he’s awake.”
“Right, of course,” Hotch replied, but he made no move to leave.
“I got it, man. Go do what you have to do,” Derek reassured him. He turned to Dr. Kimura “Can I see him?”
*******
Spencer awoke to the sight of Derek Morgan sitting by his bedside, eating jello. Maybe he had died and gone to heaven. And maybe (definitely) he was still feeling the affects of the sedative, because the first words out of his mouth were “You’re eating jello?” and could he sound any less intelligent?
Derek didn’t seem to notice, just hummed in agreement and gave Spencer a smile that made him glad he was already lying down.
*********
After a brief conversation with the doctor, Derek reluctantly left room to update the team. When he returned, Reid was sitting up, looking rumpled and fragile and far better than anyone should in a damn hospital gown. Derek felt a rush of affection that left him tongue-tied.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“I see they took the cannula out.” Smooth, Morgan. Real smooth.
“Yeah, it was, um, irritating, and I don’t really need it. Dr. Kimura says my lungs are recovering quickly. I wish I could say the same for my hand.”
Derek sat and took Reid’s hand in his. “Damn, Pretty Boy, that does look painful.”
Spencer made no move to retrieve his hand. Encouraged by this, Derek confessed, “Seeing you, on the other side of that door - I have never felt so scared in my life. And there was nothing I could do.”
“That’s not true,” Reid protested. “You kept me sane, kept me focused. I cow, Canada, coffee…”
Reid’s hand was still nestled in both of his, and Derek felt the other man’s pulse race as he struggled to find the right word. “Hey, none of that.”
Reid looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. Derek brought one hand to his face, gently raising his chin.
“Look at me. It’s gonna be okay. Doc said this might happen. She also said it would most likely be temporary. And if it isn’t, you’re a genius, and the rest of us are no slouches. We’ll figure something out.”
Reid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Derek’s hand moved from his chin to his cheek, thumb stroking gently. They both leaned forward, jumping back an instant after their lips met.
“I’m sorry, I…” “I don’t know what…” they spoke at once.
“Fuck it,” Derek murmured. “You could have died. I want this.” He leaned forward again and kissed Spencer with intent.
Endless seconds later, they broke apart at the sound of a clearing throat. Hotch stood in the doorway. “I’m glad to see my opinion still holds some weight,” he smiled at Derek. “I’m truly happy for you. I do hope you’ll exercise more discretion in the future, however.”
He waved away the stammered apologies. “I spoke with Dr. Kimura on my way in. She said Reid can be released, provided he doesn’t go home alone. I took the liberty of offering Morgan’s services. I trust neither of you objects.”
“I was planning on it anyway,” Derek said with a smile, taking Spencer’s hand. The smile slipped when the younger man tensed. “Moving too fast?”
“Four years is hardly considered fast, unless one is referring to geologic time in, which case…“ A quiet cough alerted Reid that he was going off on a tangent. He broke off and wiggled his trapped hand. “I thought we were being discreet.”
“You’re in the hospital with anthrax poisoning. I think that gives us a little leeway,” Derek glanced at Hotch for confirmation.
“It does,” Hotch assured them, looking at his watch. “However, the others should be arriving soon, and you might want to consider what conclusions you want them to draw.”
“I’m being released!” Spencer squawked. “Send them away!”
“Well, I could call Rossi and Prentiss,” Hotch said slowly. “But do you really want to deprive Garcia of the chance to fuss over you in the hospital?”
“Yes!” Spencer said emphatically.
Derek shook his head. “I’m afraid you’re underestimating my Baby Girl. She’d just fuss over you at work. Besides, I kinda like the idea of the team drawing the right conclusion.” He squeezed Spencer’s hand.
“Me too,” Spencer replied with a smile, squeezing back.
Author: morena_donn
Rating: FRT for language
Pairing: Morgan/Reid first kiss
Word count: 1,200
Authors Note/Spoilers: Missing scene/tag for 4x24 Amplification, so major spoilers for that. I more or less followed canon for Reid’s symptoms and recovery, so it’s probably medically inaccurate, but what the heck, it’s an imaginary strain, it can be made to fit the plot.
Summary: “You focused on the case when I needed you. Now I need you to focus on you and Reid.”
Beta by brindel As usual, I made some last minute changes, so any mistakes are entirely my fault.
Disclaimer: Fan work, not for profit.
Derek watched as soldiers took the anthrax into custody and Brown was lead away. They’d saved hundreds, maybe even thousands, of lives. He should have felt victorious, relieved, but all he could hear was Garcia saying, ‘Reid’s in trouble.’
Hotch clasped his arm. “Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
A DC cop approached as they pushed through the crowd. Derek waved him away, focused only on getting back to Reid as soon as possible. It was only as he was buckling into the government SUV that he realized that the work day wasn’t over, and at least one of them needed to return to the office and tie up loose ends.
“You don’t have to do this. I can find my own way. You should get back to work,” he told Hotch. “Hell, I should get back to work,” he added halfheartedly.
“Absolutely not. You focused on the case when I needed you. Now I need you to focus on you and Reid.”
“Me and Reid? Almost sounds like you’re implying something there.” He glanced at Hotch, hoping for eye contact, but the older agent was focused on the road. “You’re serious.”
“I’m always serious.”
Derek huffed out a laugh. That was true enough, but not really important right now.
“For the record, there is no me and Reid.”
“Isn’t there?”
“You think I’m lying, man?”
“Of course not. On the record, Agent Hotchner is relieved. Off the record, Aaron is asking why the hell not?”
“You… I… he…” Derek couldn’t remember ever feeling this flustered. Reid was fighting for his life, and Hotch was putting into words the thing that Derek had been fighting and denying for so long. “I can’t talk about this now.”
“I understand. It’s just…life is short, and I think you’d make each other happy. And you both deserve that.”
**********
He was out of the car and striding towards hospital before Hotch had the key out of the ignition, forcing the older man to trot to catch up. When they reached nursing station however, he found he couldn’t speak.
Fortunately, Hotch didn’t have the same problem. “How is he?”
“Physically, he’s stable.” Dr. Kimura replied. “We had to sedate him, because the pain was putting too much stress on his body, so we don’t know how the aphasia is responding.”
Derek, who had always thought it was just an expression, felt his knees go weak at the thought of Spencer Reid without words.
“I see. And the others?” Hotch asked, placing an unobtrusive hand in the small of Derek’s back. Derek gladly leaned into the silent support.
“All the survivors are showing improvement, but none are up to speaking yet.”
Derek reluctantly stepped away from the comfort of Hotch’s hand, turning to face the other man. “You should get back, update the others, and do whatever bureaucratic b.s. you need to so that you all can come see him when he’s awake.”
“Right, of course,” Hotch replied, but he made no move to leave.
“I got it, man. Go do what you have to do,” Derek reassured him. He turned to Dr. Kimura “Can I see him?”
*******
Spencer awoke to the sight of Derek Morgan sitting by his bedside, eating jello. Maybe he had died and gone to heaven. And maybe (definitely) he was still feeling the affects of the sedative, because the first words out of his mouth were “You’re eating jello?” and could he sound any less intelligent?
Derek didn’t seem to notice, just hummed in agreement and gave Spencer a smile that made him glad he was already lying down.
*********
After a brief conversation with the doctor, Derek reluctantly left room to update the team. When he returned, Reid was sitting up, looking rumpled and fragile and far better than anyone should in a damn hospital gown. Derek felt a rush of affection that left him tongue-tied.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“I see they took the cannula out.” Smooth, Morgan. Real smooth.
“Yeah, it was, um, irritating, and I don’t really need it. Dr. Kimura says my lungs are recovering quickly. I wish I could say the same for my hand.”
Derek sat and took Reid’s hand in his. “Damn, Pretty Boy, that does look painful.”
Spencer made no move to retrieve his hand. Encouraged by this, Derek confessed, “Seeing you, on the other side of that door - I have never felt so scared in my life. And there was nothing I could do.”
“That’s not true,” Reid protested. “You kept me sane, kept me focused. I cow, Canada, coffee…”
Reid’s hand was still nestled in both of his, and Derek felt the other man’s pulse race as he struggled to find the right word. “Hey, none of that.”
Reid looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. Derek brought one hand to his face, gently raising his chin.
“Look at me. It’s gonna be okay. Doc said this might happen. She also said it would most likely be temporary. And if it isn’t, you’re a genius, and the rest of us are no slouches. We’ll figure something out.”
Reid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Derek’s hand moved from his chin to his cheek, thumb stroking gently. They both leaned forward, jumping back an instant after their lips met.
“I’m sorry, I…” “I don’t know what…” they spoke at once.
“Fuck it,” Derek murmured. “You could have died. I want this.” He leaned forward again and kissed Spencer with intent.
Endless seconds later, they broke apart at the sound of a clearing throat. Hotch stood in the doorway. “I’m glad to see my opinion still holds some weight,” he smiled at Derek. “I’m truly happy for you. I do hope you’ll exercise more discretion in the future, however.”
He waved away the stammered apologies. “I spoke with Dr. Kimura on my way in. She said Reid can be released, provided he doesn’t go home alone. I took the liberty of offering Morgan’s services. I trust neither of you objects.”
“I was planning on it anyway,” Derek said with a smile, taking Spencer’s hand. The smile slipped when the younger man tensed. “Moving too fast?”
“Four years is hardly considered fast, unless one is referring to geologic time in, which case…“ A quiet cough alerted Reid that he was going off on a tangent. He broke off and wiggled his trapped hand. “I thought we were being discreet.”
“You’re in the hospital with anthrax poisoning. I think that gives us a little leeway,” Derek glanced at Hotch for confirmation.
“It does,” Hotch assured them, looking at his watch. “However, the others should be arriving soon, and you might want to consider what conclusions you want them to draw.”
“I’m being released!” Spencer squawked. “Send them away!”
“Well, I could call Rossi and Prentiss,” Hotch said slowly. “But do you really want to deprive Garcia of the chance to fuss over you in the hospital?”
“Yes!” Spencer said emphatically.
Derek shook his head. “I’m afraid you’re underestimating my Baby Girl. She’d just fuss over you at work. Besides, I kinda like the idea of the team drawing the right conclusion.” He squeezed Spencer’s hand.
“Me too,” Spencer replied with a smile, squeezing back.