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The unsub had taken them all by surprise.
Three days ago, the team had gotten called to San Diego. There had been a string of murders in the area, with victims missing clothes and limbs, and that was the easy part.
Derek had just wanted to finish up and head back to Quantico.
It had been a tough case, one that didn’t have a satisfying ending. Hotch’s leg was broken, Reid had been shot, and Derek didn’t know what to do. They had been trying to convince the unsub, Caleb Melrose, that he couldn’t resurrect his brother, no matter how many spiritual self-help books he misunderstood, to no avail. Reid had deduced where Caleb was living, and Hotch had led the team to the ranch far outside of town. Caleb seemed as though he was putting his gun down when he rushed Hotch, breaking his leg at the angle he fell at. Derek had tried to get a shot in, but he was too close to Caleb, who flailed, kicking Derek’s hand, causing him to miss the shot, and hit Reid instead. Reid yelled and sank to the ground, blood spouting from his chest, right above where his vest was. This distraction allowed for Hotch to shoot Caleb, quickly ending their fight.
“Reid!” Hotch called.
“I got him!” Derek ran to Reid’s side, gently lifting his top half off the ground to get a look at the damage. The bullet had entered near Reid’s collarbone, and the blood was coming fast. “Hotch!” Derek yelled, “He’s going to need a hospital and fast.” He heard Hotch muttering and assumed he was making the call for the medical team to come in.
Reid started to speak, “De-rek.”
“Hang on, kid, we’re going to get you some help” Derek began applying pressure and trying to hold Spencer as gently as he could.
“Tell her, Derek,” Spencer rasped.
Derek shushed him, “Just hang on, we’ve got medics on the way.” Derek motioned for the medics to come forward and watched as they carried Reid out on a gurney.
“Hotch, you okay?” Derek asked, watching as the grim man rose unsteadily to his feet with the help of two medics.
“I’m fine. Go with Reid to the hospital. Keep me updated,” Hotch said calmly.
“On it,” Derek said, running after the medics who were lifting Reid into the ambulance.
“You have to tell her, Derek,” Spencer said when Derek came into his sightline.
“C’mon, Pretty Boy, there’s no need for all that. You know you’re going to be fine. You just have to get some rest and let the doctors take care of you,” Derek said.
Spencer took a deep breath and carefully lifted his arm and grasped Derek’s. “Listen to me,” he gritted out, “you have to tell her that I love her.”
“Spencer, you can tell your mom you love her once you get out of the hospital,” Derek told him.
“No!” Spencer answered, his eyes wide, “Not r,” he muttered as his eyes rolled back.
“Spencer?” Derek looked at the medics.
“His blood pressure is dropping,” one of the medics said, “Agent, you have to move.”
Derek moved out of the way and allowed the medics to work on Spencer. He wasn’t sure what Spencer had said and why he didn’t want Derek to tell his mom that he loved her. Derek watched as the medics continued to work and sat silently, with only Spencer’s heart monitor to keep him company.
As they got to the hospital, Derek saw the team of doctors and nurses waiting to take Spencer to the operating room. Derek waited in the waiting room until Penelope, JJ, Emily, and Rossi arrived to wait.
“How’s our genius?” Penelope asked.
“I’m not sure, no one has come to update me yet,” Derek said, putting his head in his hands.
“And Hotch?” JJ asked.
“He followed after us, I expect to hear from him soon. He didn’t seem too bad, but I don’t know about his leg.” Derek replied.
After a while, two doctors came out and approached the team.
“Agent Hotchner will be fine,” the first said. She glanced at the team, “It’s going to be a few months before he’s able to walk properly again, but he’s already healing, and you can see him if you’d like.”
“Thank you,” JJ said. The doctor nodded and walked off.
“Doctor Reid,” said the second doctor. “Is stabilized now, but his collarbone is fractured. We removed all of the shrapnel, but it will take about six to eight weeks to heal fully. He’s sleeping right now, but will be awake when the medications wear off.”
“But he’s okay?” Penelope asked.
“He’s stable,” The doctor nodded.
“Oh, thank god,” Penelope said, her hand wrapping around Derek’s.
The team was back in the waiting room after having visited Hotch when you ran into the hospital.
“Where is he?” you yelled, looking at the team.
“Woah, ma’am, who are you looking for?” Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t fuck around with me. Where is he?” you yelled again, glaring directly at Morgan.
“Where is who, ma’am,” Emily asked.
“Spencer!” You said impatiently.
“Who are you, and how do you know Spencer?” Penelope asked.
Before you could answer, a doctor came up to you, “Ma’am, are you, Y/N Y/L/N?” she asked. You nodded in response, “And you’re here for Doctor Reid, correct?”
“Yes,” you answered.
“He’s stable, but as I explained to his team, the bullet fractured his collarbone, and it will take some time to heal,” the doctor explained.
“When can I see him?” You asked.
“You can visit him now, but he may not wake up for a while,” the doctor stated.
You nodded and told the doctor, “I would like to go see him.”
The doctor nodded and began to show you where Spencer was being treated.
As you both began the walk, you heard Rossi’s voice behind you, “I’m sorry, who are you? And how did you know about this?” he asked.
You turned around and stared at Rossi, you had never seen the man before, but Spence had described him in such great detail that you knew that it was him immediately.
“I’m Y/N, Spencer’s girlfriend.” You said. You immediately followed after the doctor.
It was unnerving, seeing Spencer lying motionless in the hospital bed.
“Spence,” you whispered, walking to his bedside. You leaned down to brush a strand of hair off his face.
“Hey, pretty girl,” Morgan said as the rest of the team followed him into the room. “If you’re Spencer’s girlfriend, why didn’t we know about you? How did you know he was here?”
“He didn’t want you all to know yet,” you answered, not looking up from Spencer’s face. “We’ve only been dating for a couple months, and we just wanted to keep this between us for a while.”
“But how did you know he was here?” Rossi asked.
“He missed our last three check-ins. Usually, he tries to call me once a day when you all are on a mission, but when he missed this last check-in, I uh” you looked over at Penelope sheepishly, “I hacked into your computer and found out where you all were headed.”
“What!” Penelope shrieked.
“You have a gorgeous set up, by the way,” You told her.
“But how did you? When did you-” Penelope started.
Spencer whimpered, and all eyes were back to him. He opened his eyes slowly and looked over to where you were standing.
“Hey, Spence,” you said quietly. The rest of the team stared in shock as Reid gave the girl a soft smile.
“What are you doing here?” Spencer asked, trying to lift himself into a seated position on the bed.
“You didn’t check-in, and then I found out you were hurt, and I came here as fast as I could,” you replied, gently cupping his cheek. He grabbed your hand and kissed it softly.
“I’m okay,” he said softly.
“No, you’re not, you’re in trouble, pretty boy,” Derek teased, “Why have you been hiding this bombshell?”
You smiled and shook your head. While you had never met the team in person, Spencer had told you about each one of them, so Derek’s flirtatiousness didn’t surprise.
Spencer blushed, Derek’s teasing bringing some of his coloring back to his face.
“And she’s smart,” Penelope said.
“When can I get out of here?” Spencer asked.
“You’ll be out of here in a few days, but you’ll have to take it easy for a while,” Hotch’s voice said as he wheeled himself into the room. He glanced up and looked directly into your eyes. “Nice to meet you, Y/N.”
You nodded at him, “It’s nice to meet you too, Hotch. Officially, I mean.”
“Hotch, you knew?” JJ questioned.
Hotch’s lips turned up slightly at the corners, “Of course I did.”
The team stared in shock, and all was silent until Derek cleared his throat.
“Why don’t we give Reid and Y/N some time together. We can check in later,” he said, and you smiled gratefully at him.
The team began to file out of the room until Rossi stopped and turned around, “I’m hosting a dinner when he gets better” he stated, “You should come along so we can all get to know you better.”
“I’d like that,” you said, squeezing Spencer’s hand, which was still clasped in yours.
“You can tell me how you hacked my system,” Penelope said, and you smiled at her.
“Thank you” you whispered, “and I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean-”
“Don’t worry about it,” JJ said confidently, “We’re just glad to know there’s someone who cares about Reid as much as we do.”
You smiled as they all began to leave again.
“You hacked Garcia’s computer?” Reid asked, looking up at you.
You bit your lip and nodded.
“That’s uh- that’s,” Reid stuttered, “wow. Maybe we should hire you.”
“Maybe you should” You teased with a smile, leaning down to kiss him. As his soft lips pressed against yours, you knew everything would be alright.