CM: BigBang 2011
Chapter 11
At nine am, the next morning, Hotch carried Reid´s go bag to his hospital room and found Morgan, Garcia and Dave already there. Reid was sitting up in the bed and laughing at something Garcia had said. The sound made his chest tighten but Hotch made sure to keep a hint of smile on his face.
“Good morning,” Hotch said. “How are you?” he asked as he set the bag down by the bed.
“Ready to go home,” Reid replied, earning a chuckle from the others.
“Has the doctor been to see you?” Hotch couldn´t help but ask.
“Yes, an hour ago. I´m just waiting for the nurse bring the discharge papers,” Reid replied. He beckoned his bag; “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Hotch looked around the room before turning his gaze back to Reid. “So, who´s going to stay with you?”
Reid´s eyebrows shot up, clearly surprised. “Rossi told me you were.”
After sending Dave a small irritated glare Hotch looked back at Reid. “I can, but it´s up to you,” he said patiently.
Reid looked down and fiddled with the sheet, clearly a bit uncomfortable. “Okay,” Reid said and glanced at Hotch. “If it´s not too much trouble.”
“It´s not.” Hotch couldn´t help when his lips curled slightly, feeling a bit victorious. “All of you,” he said and turned toward his team, “I need to get Reid home.”
Taking the hint, Garcia blew Reid a finger kiss as Morgan raised his hand in a goodbye. “See you later,” Morgan said and Reid mirrored Morgan´s movement.
“I´ll talk to you soon. Take care,” Dave said. The three of them walked out the door.
Hotch turned toward Reid. Reid stared at Hotch, his expression unreadable. Hotch gave him a curt nod. “I´m going to see if I can find someone to discharge you.”
“Thank you,” Reid said and Hotch left looking for a nurse.
***
Spencer´s apartment was neat but lived in and had a lot of books stacked against the walls and three full bookcases in the living room. A three seat old couch, with a blanket twisted up at one end, and a recliner was diagonal to couch. Both were set up in front of a large TV that hung on one of the walls between bookcases. The kitchen was small, about half the size of the living-room. In the living room, next to a low brick wall that separated the space from the kitchen was small hallway that led to a bedroom, an office and a bathroom.
Spencer led him to the office. A computer sat on the desk, files, papers, writing pads and more books took up the rest of the surface. A single bed with a beautiful handmade throw took up the remaining space. Aaron was glad to see the bed, at least he wouldn´t have to sleep on the poor couch in the living room.
“I´ll tidy up the desk and you can use this room,” Spencer told him before disappearing into the next room. Hotch set his belongings down and followed to see the rest of the place.
The king-size bed was unmade and clothes were piled on a chair and a desk that was up against the further wall. There were books everywhere here too, stacked along the bedside, on the desk and on the two nightstands.
“Sorry, about the mess,” Spencer said rushed and took the pile of clothes from his chair and set it on already full basket. The clothes rolled to the floor and Spencer started to try to pick them up. “I haven´t been…”
“Reid,” Hotch interrupted, “it´s fine. Is it okay if I take a look at your kitchen?”
“Yeah, sure, of course. Go ahead.” Spencer turned toward him but didn´t meet his eyes.
Aaron headed toward the kitchen hoping to find something he could use to make something edible. He heard Spencer start the shower as he explored the sadly bare fridge and cupboards. He clearly needed to go shopping and the list just kept on growing.
“Sorry,” Spencer said quietly from behind him and Aaron quickly turned around to face the young man. “I forgot to go shopping.” Spencer looked at the floor in embarrassment before looking back at Aaron.
“Do you think you can handle a trip now?” Aaron asked.
“Definitely,” Spencer replied with a smile.
***
Spencer asked to go to Walmart after they filled the car with food. “Why?” Aaron asked and fastened his seat-belt.
“I need bookshelves,” Spencer answered. “I´ve been meaning to organize my books but haven´t found time to do it. Now is as good time as any.”
“Reid, you´re supposed to take it easy,” Aaron said. He started the car and steered the car into traffic.
“I can´t sit around and do nothing for a whole week,” Spencer said and his voice pitched at the end, giving away his distress.
Aaron looked at him, when they stopped at a red light. Spencer was looking out the side window, and it was hard to see his face but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. “Okay,” Aaron replied and made a left turn.
It took Spencer whole twenty minutes to find the right shelves. He bought two and the salesman promised to get the material delivered that afternoon. Aaron stopped Spencer as Spencer was about to enter Starbucks.
“Hotch, I am perfectly capable of lowering my caffeine intake, my second cup today isn´t going to change that,” Reid argued.
“Reid, you haven´t eaten anything since you left the hospital this morning,” Aaron told him quietly.
“Are you seriously forbidding me to have coffee?” Spencer stared at him with shock.
Aaron looked at his posture and instantly saw something wasn´t right. Spencer´s shoulders were too relaxed for Spencer to be upset. His body wasn´t tense although he leaned a bit forward and kept his hands in the pockets of his slacks. And lastly, he wasn´t talking; if Reid really thought Aaron was stepping on his toes, he´d be quoting some study or giving him the facts on how caffeine worked on body. Hotch glared at his agent in disapproval. “Your books are perfectly organized,” he stated.
Spencer at least had the decency to avert his eyes and try to hide his smile. “But I did need the shelves,” the young man told him.
Aaron turned so his body was blocking Spencer´s entrance to the coffee shop. “Get in the car, Reid,” he said quietly and refrained from pointing toward the exit.
“Yes, sir,” Reid replied with a small chuckle as he started walking. Aaron couldn´t help the small smile that came to his lips as he watched Spencer walk out. His agent had obviously not suffered any trauma to the head and he was going to have to watch out for Reid´s mind games.
Back at the apartment, they put away the groceries. Spencer kept his word and tidied up the desk in the guest bedroom while Hotch made them lunch. Spencer even called Garcia and together they linked Hotch´s laptop to the FBI database and Garcia set up a live feed so Hotch could reach her at any given time.
Spencer ate the lunch Aaron had made without complaint but as soon as Aaron put his fork down on the empty plate, the young man jumped to his feet and started brewing coffee. Aaron let him go, knowing how much the young man needed the coffee. As soon as the dishes were done, Spencer retreated to the living room with his largest mug filled to the brim and a book. Aaron set up his office in his bedroom, drawing up files from his briefcase and organized everything to his liking. He went to get himself his own cup of coffee about half an hour later and found Spencer sleeping on the couch, the mug half empty on the table next to him and the book open over Spencer´s chest.
He hoped he hadn´t pushed Spencer too much earlier, but was glad at least the man was getting some rest. Carefully, he removed the book and set it on the coffee table before untangling the blanket by Spencer´s feet.
Aaron spread the blanked over Spencer. He knew he had no right to feel so protective of Spencer. Spencer was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, even if he didn´t do it very well at times. But sometimes Spencer needed to be reminded he wasn´t alone in the world, that there were people around him, his co-workers, his friends, his family, which cared about him, that there were people who loved him and wanted nothing more than make sure he was happy.
***
Three hours later there was a knock on the front door. By the time Aaron had made his way to the living room, a disheveled Spencer was already opening it. Jo and Anna stepped inside, Anna holding a large baking pan and Jo carrying a stack of folders.
“We brought you some dinner,” Anna said hesitantly and smiled shyly. Spencer stretched his body and yawned, his face looking joyful.
Jo turned toward Spencer, she hadn´t seen him since yesterday afternoon and then he had been sleeping. They stared at each other for a few moments. “I´m sorry, Spencer,” Jo said quietly.
Spencer huffed and shook his head. “This wasn´t your fault, I lost track of time,” he said quickly.
Drawing in a small breath, Jo let her shoulders drop. “Thank you,” she said and smiled. “I´m just so grateful that you´re okay,” she said and touched his forearm briefly to emphasize her words.
“Hello, Agent Hotchner,” Anna said.
“Hi,” he greeted and quickly stepped forward, “here, let me help you with this,” he said as he held out his hands to take the pan from her.
“Thank you,” Anna said and let him take the container, “It just needs twenty five minutes at three fifty.”
“I brought you some paperwork,” Jo said as she followed him into the kitchen. She stood by the counter while he put the food away. “I gave the pending files to Dave. He´s going to forward them to the other team if they to be looked at immediately.”
“Good. Anything else?” Hotch asked and she shook her head. They could hear Spencer and Anna speaking in the living room. Anna laughed low at something Spencer said and they heard him snicker too.
“I´m sure Dave informed you of his meeting with Strauss?” Jo asked.
“Yeah, he called earlier,” Hotch told her. “Would you like some coffee?” he asked and eyed the left over brew.
“No thanks. We won´t stay long. Anna has a shift in an hour and I need to pick up the girls from Dave.”
Aaron still found it a bit strange that Rossi was considered a grandfather by two four year olds, although he knew the older man took his role very seriously. Dave had showed him a picture of the four of them: Anna and Jo sat on a green grass each holding a blond girl around four, in their arms, and all of them smiling at the camera.
Jo turned her head toward the pair sitting on the couch and Aaron followed her gaze. Anna and Spencer sat comfortably on the couch but turned toward each other, both speaking with rapid hand movements and excitement.
“It´s strange how some friendships are formed,” Jo said. Aaron thought she said it more to herself then to him because she kept looking at Anna and Spencer.
She turned her head and met his eyes briefly. “We should get going. If you need anything just let me know. I can drop it off tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Can you take some papers back to the office and file them?”
“Sure,” Jo agreed eagerly just as the doorbell rang. Spencer got up from the couch. Aaron noticed he peeked through the window before opening the door. It was the delivery man with the shelves.
Jo offered to stay a bit longer and help. She and Aaron helped the man carry the wood and boxes inside and soon long planks and short, flat boxes leaned against the wall behind the sofa. Spencer eyed them before looking at Aaron. Aaron put up his best annoyed-expression as he remembered the scheme Spencer had tried to pull on him. Spencer looked away but he was grinning widely.
“Ready?” Anna asked Jo as she clapped her hands together to get rid of the fine dust from the wood.
“Yeah, just need those files from Hotch.”
“Hold on,” Aaron said and quickly went to the bedroom and got the stack of files he´d managed to work through during the day.
Jo accepted the files and they said their goodbyes as they headed out. The door had barely closed behind them when Spencer jumped toward the kitchen. He came back carrying a box-cutter and promptly started ripping the cover away from the wood.
Aaron watched him for a minute before heading toward the kitchen and turning on the oven. Taking a large garbage bag to Spencer, he found him sitting on the floor reading the directions. Spencer looked up and gave him a small smile as he took the bag from him.
“Think you can hold off assembling this until after dinner?” Aaron asked him, with a hint of tease.
“Yeah, just making sure nothing's missing,” Spencer said and started cleaning up the mess.
Over dinner Aaron saw his opening. “Are you going to tell me what happened over the weekend?” he asked carefully. Spencer looked up but remained silent. “Jo told me you´d argued.”
Spencer set his silverware down. “I don´t remember,” he said as he stood up and made his way to the coffee-maker.
Aaron turned in his seat and watched Spencer´s back as Spencer prepared to make coffee. “Reid, I would belief that if it weren´t for your eidetic memory. What did she say that kept you up for thirty hours straight?”
“I mainly remember things I read.”
Aaron stood up and made his way into the kitchen. “Mainly, not solely.”
“It doesn´t matter, it´s not important,” Spencer said without looking at him.
“Reid, it´s obviously important to you. I need to know what´s going on,” Aaron told him with a hint of authority.
“Why? What she said has nothing to do with my job,” Reid argued and swiftly turned around. “It doesn´t affect my job or my job performance in any way.” He raised his hand to his temple and stared at Aaron in disbelief.
It didn´t go past Aaron that Spencer had just admitted remembering the argument with Jo. “Reid,” Hotch said fiercely, feeling the anger building in his chest. He made sure to keep his voice under control; “You collapsed from exhaustion at work. If that happened in the field it could jeopardize someone´s life.”
“You think I would willingly put the team in danger?” Reid said loudly. His hand kept rubbing his temple as his eyes grew wider. The hint of mistrust in Spencer´s eyes, didn´t go past Aaron.
“Not willingly but sometimes you go ahead of yourself. Like the case in Miami; where you separated yourself from the group because of a hunch and a migraine almost got you injured?” Hotch tried to stay calm but all he wanted to do was to grab Spencer´s shoulders and shake him… shake him until Spencer realized how much... he meant to Aaron.
“But it didn´t,” Reid shouted. “I´m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don´t need you to baby me.” Reid squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the right temple fiercely
Taking a step closer, Aaron noted the young man´s discomfort. All feeling of anger disappeared only to be replaced by worry “Reid?” he said softly.
Spencer gave a whimper and covered his eyes as he started to fall forward. Aaron reacted instantly, grapping the thin body into his arms and slowly lowering them to their knees. “Spencer?” he breathed.
“Too bright,” Spencer cried low and buried his face into Aaron´s shoulder. It was disturbing how tight Spencer held his shirt. It told him just how much pain the man was in.
“Spencer, we need to go to the hospital.” Aaron could hear his own fear in his voice.
“No, it will go away after awhile,” Spencer said in a distressed voice, “Need to lie down… my room.”
“Spencer?” Aaron whispered, pleadingly.
“Please,” Spencer said his voice pitching. “It will go away, I promise.”
Aaron quickly made a decision. “Okay, let´s get you up. Ready?”
Spencer gave a small whine as a reply. Slowly, Aaron got them up from the floor. He half carried Spencer into his bedroom as the young man slouched against his side, trying to walk and covering his eyes. The bedroom was dark and cool, Spencer sighed with relief when he fell on the bed.
“I´m sorry, Hotch,” he mumbled as he curled on the bed, burying his face into the pillow.
Aaron was furious with himself as he fetched a cold cloth from the bathroom. The doctor had specifically told him not to put him in stressful situations and yet here they were. Aaron carefully laid the cloth over Spencer´s forehead, and Spencer quickly pulled the fabric over his eyes. Watching until Spencer´s breathing evened out, Aaron wondered for the first time if Reid could do his job anymore. Carefully he pulled the covers over the sleeping form before exiting.
***
Ch: 12