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Spencer Reid groaned and opened his eyes, immediately regretting it when all he saw was clear blue sky and a very bright sun that called attention to a severe pain in his skull. Reid groaned and tried to remember why he was lying on sand under the bright sun and actually swore aloud. Statistically it wasn’t nearly as improbably as it sounded given how much time they spent in planes, there had been some kind of mechanical trouble, the pilot had said someone must have tampered with the plane when the co-pilot turned and knocked him out.
Morgan and Hotch had none too gently secured him while Rossi and JJ attempted to revive the pilot leaving Kate and him to try and work out how to fly the plane. Reid had found a manual and kept them from crashing which was good, didn’t keep Rossi from puking which was not great. The pilot had woken just as Reid started to lose what little control he had and managed to crash land the plane in the middle of a desert. Heavy emphasis on crash land, Reid turned his head and saw part of the plane standing up and a larger bit laying down. More importantly Hotch’s eyelids were fluttering and his face as shaded by the wing, a low groan indicating that Hotch was also not feeling great.
With a grunt and another curse Reid pushed himself up and stumbled toward the rest of the wreckage. Along the way he found JJ and Kate next to each other and remembered how they had clung to each other during the crash, they were still buckled into their seat and didn’t seem too badly injured. Next he found the pilot who looked to have a broken arm but had stable breathing so Reid would deal with that when he found Rossi. The eldest was in the body of the plane and still in his seat looking as though he’d simply fallen asleep on the plane, Reid checked for a pulse and sighed when it was strong and steady, the co-pilot had not fared so well, his wrists had deep lacerations from the cuffs and his head had struck something, hard.
Returning to Hotch Reid found the man starting to roll over and rushed to help him stand, noting that he couldn’t put any weight on his leg. Only speaking to assure Hotch the others were alive he helped the man to the plane wreckage, making him lay down and keep an eye on Rossi as Reid went back out and began dragging the girls in as they were the lightest. They didn’t wake but Morgan was groaning as he pulled Kate inside so Reid helped him stand, pleased to see that aside from the cuts, bruises and a dislocated shoulder Morgan wasn’t in too bad of condition. Walking back out one last time Reid cringed as Morgan shouted in pain as Hotch realigned the shoulder for him. Reid knew he was lucky to be in such good physical condition considering their plane crashed, even if it was a controlled crash. The pilot was still at groaning stage and had a piece of shrapnel stuck in his arm and had the most cuts of them all and Reid cursed for not having seen the shrapnel first.
Once everyone was in the shade of the body of the plane Reid began to look at injuries and start formulating a plan. He motioned for everyone not to talk, they all had nasty concussions and needed to conserve everything they had if they were to survive. As Reid began to work on the pilot the two girls and Rossi woke up, Kate cried out in pain before breathing through it but JJ was about equal with Reid, battered and bruised but not too bad given the circumstances and she helped Rossi move to lie down, wincing at the pained sounds of every movement. She left and found the big first aid kit, somehow it had ended up several feet in the opposite direction and Reid gratefully found rubbing alcohol.
“It’s nearly dark.” She said looking at the sun and decided to climb on the plane, cursing at how hot the metal was, coming down after looking in all directions. “There’s nothing as far as I could see.” She informed Reid who nodded.
“We’ll scout after dark, the desert gets cold at night.” Reid reminded and decided the pilot would be as fine as Reid could make happen right now. He ordered Sam, since they were probably on first name terms now, to rest, he’d lost enough blood that he needed to rest, and the cold temperatures would probably be worst for him. “Start looking for metal and fabric, anything I can use as a splint. We need length of about a leg down to a finger.” Reid ordered and JJ nodded.
“What sort of metal am I looking for?” She asked as he started poking Rossi and watching his expression carefully.
“I need a few long pieces at least, as straight as you can find. Doesn’t have to be metal, anything stiff will do but metal is probably all we have. As for fabric anything I can wrap or tie a knot with, we’re going to need a lot of it. Stay close too, it’s easy to get lost out here.” Reid ordered carefully and JJ nodded determinedly, groaning as she moved but heading out into the rapidly fading light, at least the sun wasn’t burning anymore. That was a slight improvement. Reid carefully mapped his hands over Rossi’s hip and swore.
“Do not tell me I broke my hip.” Rossi demanded with an attempt at humour.
“I don’t think so but you need to stay laying down, me or JJ will have to help if you need to use the bathroom.” Reid grimaced, it wasn’t something he was looking forward to either and Rossi just groaned particularly loud while Morgan snickered. “It’s dislocated, you’re not going to like relocation and you are absolutely not allowed to even sit for at least a few days. You might need surgery, moving you more than we have could paralyse you even.” Reid threatened and Rossi nodded sharply.
“No thanks doc, I’ll be good.” Rossi offered sarcastically making Hotch snort and then groan so Reid moved to him, pulling open a pocket knife and cutting away his pant leg and wincing at the bulge but starting to poke him all over too.
“Broken leg obviously, you aren’t walking but at least you can move with help. Broken wrist I think, not too serious, that gash on your shoulder will scar but unless it gets infected you’ll be right.” Reid assured and Hotch nodded tightly.
“Please tell me you know exactly how to set bones and this isn’t going to be excruciating?” Hotch asked hopefully and Reid bit his lip.
“I know how, and it’s a relatively simple break but you’re going to be in considerable pain until we’re found. We all are.” Reid whispered looking around and Hotch nodded again so Reid moved on again, delivering his diagnosis of a broken finger and multiple fractures in his arm to Morgan. The man was very pleased to be allowed to move without assistance, once his finger and preferably arm was dealt with. Until then he sat against the overturned table and watched Reid blush slightly as he patted Kate down and began checking for serious injuries.
“How am I doc?” Kate grunted and Reid sighed.
“You’ll live. I think your collarbone is broken but other than that you were lucky, you have the least cuts and you landed half on JJ so you’ll find the bruises slightly less.” Reid shrugged. “I’m going to make a brace for you first, please try not to scream directly in my ear at any point.” He asked and helped her sit up, digging through the first aid kit and coming up with some basic pain medication.
“How long do you think we’ll be here?” She whispered looking at the meagre supply and mentally going over the list of injuries Reid had announced.
“They should know where we went down, I would estimate they’ll find us early tomorrow at the earliest. Later I’ll go scout the area and try to make some signals.” Reid promised. “But just in case we’re here for a few days I’m going to have to ration the medication as much as I can.” He frowned but decided on what would be best for her.
“Then don’t give me anything, Hotch and Rossi need it far more.” She decided wishing she could be selfish but Hotch was almost crying in pain, Hotch.
“This is all I’ll give you, but it’s going to be painful with something to dull it a little, you’ll need it.” Reid ignored her half hearted attempt at self sacrificing for the sake of the team and drew some of the liquid into the needle. She nodded, resolve to bear through gone with that idea and Reid gently rolled up the sleeve of her good arm. “Please relax, I know what I’m doing and I’ll be as gentle as I can.” He promised and she took a deep breath, reaching out to take Rossi’s hand and squeaked when he pushed the needle in, sighing as the pain faded and everything mattered a little less.
“Oh I like that.” She sighed as he began taking off her jacket, the good mood not lasting long as he pealed it off her bad arm.
“Give her your belt to bite.” Hotch ordered and Reid blinked, then nodded and pulled of his belt, offering it to her and she bit it. He pulled off his own jacket and wrapped them around her shoulders, knotting them in a brace that crossed behind her back and forced her shoulders back. The first knot was fine, the second hurt a bit more, the third one had her screaming, grateful that his shoulder was behind her head so she couldn’t throw it back and make it worse. It was over quickly though and she gasped as the pain faded slowly, dropping the belt and swearing colourfully.
“That was gentle?” She slurred.
“I’m sorry!” Reid squeaked, grateful when JJ came back with an armful of metal and a few strips of fabric.
“I found the fridge; it still has water and food in it.” She announced and Reid could have been converted to believing in a god at that exact moment it was such beautiful news.
“Good, we’ll go get it soon.” He didn’t relish the idea of carrying the fridge back but it was worth it. Instead he started pulling out the longest bits of metal, pleased to see the ends weren’t too sharp and they were kind of flat, probably part of the body of the plane. He used part of a seatbelt to dull the one kind of sharp edge and looked to Hotch apologetically.
“I’ll start matching pieces to the other limbs if you like?” JJ offered hesitantly so Reid repeated the list of broken bones, in order of severity. “Reid, you need to look at my wrist too, I went to pick something up and pain shot right up my arm, I can’t use this hand.” She waved it uselessly and Reid injected Hotch before gently probing her wrist until she yelped.
“Sprain or fracture, if we have left over I’ll splint it to be safe but otherwise we can just wrap it.” Reid decided and JJ sighed in relief, at least it wasn’t broken. She left again and came back with two go bags, hers and Rossi’s, digging through what was left of the cabin and finding all but Reid’s who rolled his eyes. They laughed as Reid removed Hotch’s guns before starting to bind his leg, the laughter stopping when Hotch whimpered. It was comforting to see how focused Reid was on the task but they were all starting to feel the warmth being stolen by the night.
“I’m cold.” Sam stated, wondering if he should be or if he was going to die.
“It is getting cold, JJ, can you help everyone lay next to each other, put multiple pairs of socks on everyone and cover them in any lined clothes.” Reid ordered and JJ jumped to do as told, already having pulled a skirt over her slacks and put a blazer on and finished sorting the metal pieces. She wasn’t sure if it was enough but it was all she could find that wasn’t too sharp.
Reid moved quickly from Hotch’s leg to his arm, everyone wincing at the loud crack as he rotated it slightly, and the subsequent muffled scream it produced. Their doctor apologised but had the wrist tied with a scarf, pair of stockings, and two bits of metal in minutes, leaving Hotch to recover. Next he moved to Rossi who took the belt with a glare and with JJ’s help Reid managed to traumatise them all in the process of moving Rossi’s leg until his hip gave a loud cracking pop and went back into the joint. Rossi grunted and even yelled into the belt until the crack at which point his eyes rolled up and he was out.
“That’s probably not a bad idea.” Reid admitted and began to quickly splint his wrist and relocate his thumb, an injury he’d missed on first inspection.
Sam’s arm was next, and Reid wincing every time the man swore, their pilot did little but swear as his wrist was splinted with what looked to be part of a table and the wing. Morgan grunted as his finger and arm were splinted, and left teeth marks in Reid’s belt but took it the best even though he’d only taken very basic drugs. His injuries were the least severe of the broken bones and he could gently cuddle up to Hotch knowing that they would need all the warmth they could get. By the time Rossi woke up the whole team was bundled together, the fridge was to the side and Reid was pulling on one of Hotch’s jackets.
“Where are you going?” Rossi slurred and Reid jumped in surprise.
“To see if I can work out where we are and make a sign to help them find us.” Reid explained finding a pair of Rossi’s shoes since he had too many socks on for his own to fit.
“Won’t you get lost?” Hotch asked reasonably and Reid shrugged.
“I know what I’m doing Hotch, remember that time we got lost in a forest and you somehow knew where you were going and got us back without any trouble?” Reid asked and Hotch nodded. “Well now we’re in my territory, I may not be able to tell how to navigate a forest but I know desert.” Reid promised. “Look after each other, if you need to pee store it in a bottle, I know it’s gross but we may need water.”
“Oh ew.” Kate groaned making Reid smile tightly before setting out, already feeling the bite of a winter night in the desert despite his layers.
They dozed while they waited, taking turns and making sure no one stayed asleep too long since they all had pretty bad concussions. None of them felt comfortable with Reid heading out into the desert but he’d taken water and some food just in case and it wasn’t like they could exactly stop him. They could barely take a piss on their own. Hotch was the first to require a bathroom and Morgan tried not to think as he helped Hotch pee without disturbing the pile of people, placing the bottle very far away, near the dead body that they would have to move soon. Just as they were starting to panic about Reid they heard him call out and a few minutes later he was climbing back in with a triumphant expression.
“We’re in the Mojave desert, just outside Death Valley National Park and I’m pretty sure there’s a town, if you can call it that, not too far south of us. I should be able to reach it in the early morning, or there’s a reservation north but I don’t know how they’d take me stumbling in, or if it’s any closer, or if it’s still there and occupied.” Reid explained excitedly.
“We’re in Death Valley? Oh that inspires confidence in our chances.” Kate groaned.
“As I’ve been trying to gently imply, this is not my first unprepared stay in the area. We have food, water, medication, and people know roughly where we are, our odds as a group are pretty good.” Reid promised. “If we’re careful and lucky we might get through this without getting much worse.”
“What time is it?” Morgan asked as Reid began to drag the body away from the plane.
“My watch says eleven past eight.” Rossi offered and Reid looked to JJ as he left the body just outside.
“I can make it by morning and send help, or I can stay, look after you and hope we’re found. There’s nothing to make signs with though I laid out a long piece of metal that should reflect and draw attention from the air a few minutes’ walk away.” Reid shrugged, both options were pretty bad. He was the most able bodied, and he had medical knowledge if things did take a turn for the worse.
“How bad is our condition?” Morgan asked lifting his busted arm slightly and Reid sighed.
“Rossi needs a hospital as soon as we can get him airlifted out but Hotch is my concern. If he gets an infection there’s very little we can do to fight it, and if he gets a fever his chances drop dangerously low. That’s not counting the fact we’re all in pretty bad shape, even me.” Reid sighed and rubbed his head.
“Can you stay with us tomorrow and if we’re not found then or Hotch gets worse you can go?” Morgan suggested and Reid nodded.
“Sam, do you know if he tampered with anything but the engines?” Reid asked and Sam shrugged.
“I’m sorry, by the time I realised my entire focus was on staying up not on more minor problems. You think he might have disabled the trackers and radio?” Sam asked in horror.
“What are the chances of them finding us tomorrow?” Rossi questioned.
“Well the radio didn’t seem to work so it’s possibly tampered with. We didn’t go too far off the flight path, if the plane was tampered with more then they’ll know when and where we dropped off their radars which will be the centre of their search. Our chances are pretty good unless we got further off track than I realised, I don’t know about you but I’m feeling we’ve been about as lucky as we’re going to get.” Reid shivered particularly hard.
“Stay with us tomorrow, then leave just as the sun starts to go down. We need you.” Hotch ordered and Reid nodded.
“I think that’s a good course of action. When it starts getting light we’ll make a cover out of any light coloured fabrics to help shield us from the sun a little, and put the dark colours out in the sun to use as heat blankets at night.” Reid started pulling stuff out of the first aid kit.
“What are you doing now?” JJ asked curiously.
“I’m going to start taking hourly vitals, we need to closely monitor ourselves, if anyone gets too bad I’ll leave even if it’s light.” Reid decided.
“Isn’t that completely stupid?” Rossi asked pointedly. “You’re already red as a lobster from the sun, you’ll get heatstroke in minutes.”
“Why can’t Morgan or I go?” JJ sounded like she didn’t want to but it was a valid point, Reid was the closest they had to a doctor and there wasn’t much she could do to help them on her own, and Morgan was very capable.
“You can’t go because you don’t know how to navigate a desert, especially when fatigue and dehydration start playing with your mind. Morgan won’t be able to walk that far, he’s masking pain of a torn ligament with every step. It may be foolish to go in the day but I’d rather a stay in hospital to carrying another coffin. I can leave instructions on how to look after each other, it shouldn’t take more than nine hours after I leave for you to be found, maybe as few as six.” Reid sighed and started recording Morgan’s vitals.
“I can do it myself pretty boy.” Morgan pointed out, silently admitting that Reid was the only valid choice for a walk through the desert at the moment, even if it sounded stupid beyond words.
“I know, but I need to keep moving. After this I’ll drag another large piece of metal in the opposite direction, there’s only two bits that are any good.” Reid checked Hotch’s leg and helped Rossi pee.
“Even if you leave tomorrow night, we aren’t going to need to drink that, are we?” Morgan asked looking at the two bottles in distaste.
“I’m going to purify it, but I was planning to use it mostly if you start getting fevers, it will cool you down, and you won’t know what you’re drinking by that stage.” Reid teased and Morgan frowned.
“Who knew pretty boy would be a survival expert.” Morgan jested. “Turning piss back into water.”
“I read the SAS survival guide and several others. You think because I don’t know how to catch meat or how best to navigate a forest I mustn’t know any survival skills. Of course, you’re forgetting two things. That I can identify what’s poisonous and what’s edible, and that my father wanted a normal boy which means camping.” Reid offered dryly.
“Why do I see that being as dangerous as little league, if not worse?” JJ groaned making Reid grin childishly.
“When I was eight I got tired of it so I ran away while he was asleep and walked back to Vegas, mum thought it was hilarious, once she finished yelling at me for being so stupid. I ended up having to do a summer survival course as punishment, one month and I had nightmares about sand for weeks afterwards.” Reid shuddered earning a few chuckles.
“So what do we do while we wait? Half of us can’t move, I think I’m already frozen, and the cards are out there somewhere.” Rossi looked wistfully to the window making the others chuckle.
“We rest, try not to talk too much since then we’ll need to drink more water, try not to focus on the pain.” Reid shrugged.
Reid left once he’d taken all their vitals, telling JJ she only had to take her own every two hours, technically it wasn’t necessary but Reid didn’t want any surprises, if either of them started to get ill it would become very serious indeed. He was glad they were buying the level of expertise he said he had, while he had spent a lot of time in the deserts during his youth he’d always been alone and relatively prepared. Not once did he have to deal with injuries this bad, instinct told him to just start walking but they needed his medical knowledge to monitor and treat their condition. Both options had considerable risk.
He was glad to be moving at least, between the cold and worry he wasn’t sure he could just lay around watching his team. At least he felt like he was doing something right now. Even if it wouldn’t help much it would draw attention from further away, when he got back he’d start using the sand to insulate their cave a little. It wouldn’t do much but every little bit would help, with the daytime temperatures going as high as the mid sixties they would need every attempt at relief, and if they could hold some of the daytime heat into the night which would get down to the low twenties that would be very helpful. The day was more of a threat than the cold of night, huddling for warmth was unpleasant but it was better than sweating out precious liquid.
When he got back Kate was shivering and mumbling to herself, the others had dozed off. He visually checked everyone’s breathing, making sure it was steady and not too shallow as he grabbed the last blanket they’d left to the side for whoever needed it most. Mindful of her shoulder he moved her, sitting behind and taking off a few of his layers and unbuttoning a few more so she could lean against his bare chest. He flung the other shirts over her front, wrapping one around her head and wrapping his arms around her underneath the mound of fabric. Her teeth were chattering but her shivering was less as he started to gently rub her arms to create some friction.
“Thank you.” Kate whispered tiredly as her teeth stopped chattering too. Reid smiled at the back of her head and held her close, sharing what warmth movement had given him.
“Did the cold wake you up?” He asked and she nodded. “I’m sorry. Try to sleep.” Reid murmured and JJ stirred but only curled closer to Kate’s legs and Hotch.
“I’m scared.” She confided and Reid pressed his lips to her cheek gently.
“Me too, but we’ll be okay.” He promised, smiling softly at her doubtful expression. “I do my best work when inspired by fear, you just focus on looking after yourself and let me worry about everything else.” Reid promised and she relaxed in his arms, slowly falling asleep.
Reid dozed lightly, waking up and checking the time so he could keep tracking the team’s vitals. If they were asleep he made a note and tried not to wake them, if they didn’t show some sign of having been awake for two hours roughly he gently woke them, checked their pupils and cognitive skills. Thankfully no one had any major complications so far, their condition from the crash made it difficult to fully evaluate the effects of the concussions but so far there were no unexpected symptoms.
At one point Reid moved to lie beside Rossi who was shivering, warming the man up before returning to Kate who didn’t have the benefit of a warm body pressed to her, unless you counted her legs. When he got cold he moved the sand to provide what insulation he could. When it was nearing daylight he moved out and dug three stills, thankfully they had just enough plastic, and the emergency raft would also help attract attention. He put the urine to start in the two smaller ones, he didn’t want to rely on it for drinking water unless absolutely necessary, but there was no way he wasn’t preparing for that eventuality.
As the sun started to peak over the horizon Reid began tying Hotch’s white shirts over the windows to filter the hot dry wind. Reid wasn’t the only one who smiled at Hotch’s half hearted complaint when he used one of the silk ties as a headband to keep sweat dripping into his eyes. Everyone was waking up as their natural body clocks insisted it was time to start going to work and Reid felt comfortable giving them small amounts of food, just a few bites of squished and lightly salted banana but it would help with water retention. Rossi and Hotch were almost brought to pouting when Reid fed them carefully, coaxing them not to protest to the salt, he’d learned the hard way that water wasn’t much good if you didn’t eat and if you didn’t have food, salt was a dear friend.
Over the first two hours of daylight the temperature rose quickly, making them all miss the dreadfully cold night since at least it didn’t make every bruise on their body scream. JJ and Morgan were set to covering every dark patch of the plane with pale shirts and laying darker clothes out in the sun. Reid made everyone take off their shirts, making the girls very glad that their pyjamas were light enough that he allowed them, mostly for the sake of dignity. Shirtless he laid their skirts under everyone.
“Why do we have to lie half naked on skirts?” Rossi asked not complaining but very curious, and a little worried that Reid was the one with cognitive difficulties from the concussion.
“When you sweat you lose precious water, the skirts collect that and I put them in the stills and by night we have a few bottles of water extra.” Reid explained dutifully and they all made faces. “It’s that or the urine, our choices are not great.” He offered and they all chose the sweat water for drinking, Reid reminded them that it was filtered.
Spread out as much as possible they tried to nap more, it was, quite frankly, far better than worrying or watching Reid tend to the others. Every hour without fail Reid took their temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate and wrote it in their ‘chart’ which were either pocket books or the folder of a case file. JJ or Morgan helped with temperatures but Reid insisted on taking the rates, no one argued since he knew almost creepy details about them, like how fast they read different types of material and how often they used the bathroom. By midday he was taking Hotch’s vitals every half hour, using some of the ‘piss water’, as Morgan insisted it be called, to soak two of the girls tank tops to try and manage his mild fever.
Kate and Morgan refused any further medication, Sam and Hotch needed it the most and it kept Rossi from driving them crazy. Sam was eating the most, he needed to replenish the lost blood but Hotch was drinking the most, he needed to stave off fever and infection. Reid was moving the most, taking the sweat soaked clothes out into the stills every few hours and it felt like he was constantly bustling around the small cabin. He started to check Hotch’s vitals every quarter of an hour and moved Sam up to half hour intervals with a grim expression.
“Hailey.” Hotch caught his wrist after the most recent check. “You worry too much.” Hotch tried to pull Reid closer but was too weak, his words heavily slurred but clear enough to make Reid’s eyes go wide.
“Shh Hotch, you need to drink some more.” Reid said holding the bottle to his lips and Hotch ignored it, trying to tug him closer.
“Just lie with me for a while, I miss you.” He slurred and Reid closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
“One moment Aaron.” He made his voice higher and it didn’t really sound like Hailey but it was obviously close enough for Hotch who pouted playfully. “Just take a few sips and let me check on Jack.” He whispered and Hotch sighed but did as asked. “Try to sleep honey, I’ll come back soon.” He promised, watching as Hotch fell into a restless sleep again.
“What was that?” Rossi asked, close enough to have heard fragments, but not enough to know what happened.
“Hotch is starting to hallucinate, he’s hit a hundred and two point six.” Reid cursed and folded a tie over his eyes since Hotch was notorious for getting light sensitivity with bad concussions, even if he pretended he didn’t, especially because he pretended he didn’t.
“Shit, infection?” Morgan asked as Reid began to carefully examine Hotch’s leg as he had every half hour since midday.
“Yep, just starting.” Reid sighed and looked around. There was two hours until sunset, if he moved quickly he might be able to make it in six hours instead of eight. “Morgan, JJ’s squeamish about needles so this will be your job.” He decided and Morgan shuffled over as though he regretted every moment.
“What am I doing?” He asked.
“Rossi and Sam will need the dose I have written in their charts at seven, that’s going to use the last dose I have for them. Hotch will need it at six and again at eight-thirty. With the eight-thirty one you’re going to give him the strong antibiotics but instead of going into his arm you’ll have to roll him over and inject them to the back of his knee. Be sure you get the vein, hopefully being injected so close to the site of infection they may help a tiny bit more.” Reid explained, showing the bottles and very carefully labelling them with his instructions.
“Okay, I can do that.” Morgan promised. “When are you going to start walking?” He asked cautiously and Reid sighed again, he’d been doing that a lot.
“About five, an hour before the sun is fully set, I’ll only take a little water, we’re running out and you need it more, especially Hotch.” Reid said looking at the man who groaned in his sleep.
“Okay, what schedule do I keep for food, water, and vitals?” JJ asked and Reid considered it for a moment.
“Keep it to a sip every hour and a bite or two every two or three hours, that’s going to run out quick. Note any unusual or significant pain, any nausea, dizziness, or cognitive difficulty still.” Reid reminded and JJ nodded, making a note on some paper, just in case it was better to have the instructions there.
“What schedule do I do the cognitive tests on?” She asked.
“Do it at six after vitals, we’re pretty much safe from that, note if Hotch is lucid that you can tell. Take his vitals every fifteen to twenty minutes, change his wet towels every hour through the night too, and try to get him to take a sip every half hour alternating the sport drink and water. If he wants more try to make it half and half but err on the sport drink side.” Reid explained showing Morgan how to inject the antibiotic, deciding it would be easier at a slightly higher point that made Hotch cry out in his sleep.
“Sorry man, but you’ll thank us when you get to keep your leg.” Morgan tried to pat his hair a little and Hotch mumbled something about a bad carrot making Morgan look even more worried. “Do I even want to know?” He asked and Reid shrugged.
“Probably not.” He agreed.
“What if he won’t drink at all?” JJ asked afraid.
“Keep trying, pretending to be Hailey worked for me.” Reid shrugged and moved on to check the rest of their vitals, returning to Hotch for his quarter hour check up at the end.
“Kitty.” Hotch made a clicking sound as his hand caught Reid’s hair and Morgan snickered with Sam. “Here kitty, I won’t let him hurt you.” Hotch sounded oddly childish and Reid shrugged, letting his head be pulled onto Hotch’s chest which at least allowed him to take heart and respiration rate. Reid couldn’t help but smile as Hotch petted his hair making weak sushing sounds.
“Hotch, of all the embarrassing things I remember you doing calling me ‘kitty’ is going to be one I never let you live down.” Reid announced not expecting a response at all but Hotch pulled him up closer.
“Shh kitty, I’ll bring you food soon.” Hotch whispered and started snoring making Reid chuckle and pry himself free.
“Don’t you even think of it.” He warned Morgan who looked like he was preparing a wonderfully teasing remark. As they stared each other down Kate meowed softly and JJ burst out laughing, slightly hysterical. “Kate! How could you betray me like that?” Reid teased as he started collecting what he was going to take.
“You’ll need more layers.” Sam said when he saw Reid was only wearing two shirts with one of Rossi’s jackets being used to carry a bottle of water and a granola bar and a half in a makeshift knapsack. “It’s going to be freezing.” He reminded.
“I know, but you need the warmth, I’ll be moving which will help me stay warm and I’ll collect an extra jacket on my way.” Reid promised and JJ cried out at him.
“You’ll freeze! At least take one of the warmer scarves to keep your face warm.” She bargained knowing that Reid was too stubborn, and they really did need all the warmth they could get.
“Okay, remember to hold Kate if she starts to get cold, against your bare chest if you can Morgan.” Reid instructed, he wasn’t comfortable leaving his team but they needed a hospital and he was the only one who knew where to go for help. “Don’t forget to collect the water from the stills and replace the containers, and don’t forget the shirts on the plane.” Reid fretted and JJ groaned as she got up and placed a hand on his cheek.
“We’ll survive, go get us help.” She pulled him in for a tight hug before kissing him gently on the cheek. “Be careful, take two of the guns with you just in case.” She passed him his own revolver and Kate’s gun. “We’ll see you again in the hospital.”
“Okay, okay. If no one comes, tomorrow evening go north until you find the highway, then follow it North until you reach either an airfield or the reservation.” Reid whispered into the hug and she sobbed, not letting tears fall.
“You’re going to make it.” JJ scolded him and he nodded.
“But just in case.” He pleaded and she nodded, promising to do that if no one came during the next day. Then he turned and started walking, picking up one of his own jackets on the way and praying to any listening deity or higher life form that everyone survived.
Reid was beyond exhausted. As the temperature dropped he’d put on the two coats, abandoning the piece of metal he’d used to carry everything, and wrapped the scarf around his face so his breath could help keep him warm. He’d started short jogs, about five minutes at a time every ten to twenty minutes and it kept him warmer than simply walking but it also used more energy. The first hour had been horrible, but then the temperatures had dropped and he’d reached the peak of his ability for the night, jogging probably half of the hour.
He kept an eye on the mountains to track his progress and he was coming up to the ones that had slowly been growing in front of him. Forcing his mind through mathematical problems to keep himself alert he went around the edge of the mound. There was an incline but it wasn’t nearly enough to bother calling it a mountain, more of a particularly large sand dune with a bit of rock. Tiredly Reid wondered why no one had ever tried to turn it into a giant sand castle. Shaking his head he decided he needed to find help fast because he was starting to be effected by the elements.
He took his sip and headed between the next two mountains, leaving the slight attempt at a road and going up over the slight increase in sand rather than around. It wasn’t enough of an incline to be worth avoiding. The road wasn’t much of a road, but there was indication that it occasionally received traffic so Reid had been following it since he found it an hour in, it was heading roughly where he was and it had to go somewhere. Also, there was a tiny chance that someone would drive past, though who would be driving through Death Valley at nine at night was something he couldn’t guess to. Well he could, that was part of the problem.
As he rounded the next mountain he took out his water bottle and took another gulp even though he shouldn’t. It couldn’t be much further and he needed water, holding it in his mouth and slowly swallowing, his mouth was so dry he was tempted to lick the sand and see if it was moister. He decided to jog until he was past the next mound, it shouldn’t be far. At the next mountain he left the road, cutting across the side where it was barely a lift. It was in sight, well, if there were something to see it would be in sight, and Reid passed over it again as he cut towards where he knew an art museum and ghost town were but kept going straight instead of following it.
Steve was a night guard at the Goldwell Open Air Museum, rather, he was the only security, his little house was attached to the office and meant he was always there if something was wrong. It was nice, he generally didn’t have to do anything but take the occasional stroll around the area and greet groups of tourists occasionally. It was generally hard to get out of small towns but the job allowed him plenty of time to complete online courses and work while keeping him fed and housed. It was perfect because nothing ever happened.
He was taking a late night walk to clear his head after a dreadful essay he’d had to write, when he got back he’d read over it and go to bed. That was until he saw something in the distance, strange, that wasn’t the direction of town, the ghost one or sparsely populated one. He watched it wondering if some poor animal had headed into the desert and was regretting that choice. As it came closer he realised it wasn’t an animal, that was a person stumbling toward him. Steve ran to see the guy who was bundled up in business clothes with a scarf over his face and shivering as he walked. The guy didn’t seem to see him.
“Hey guy, you realise it’s Death Valley out there?” He yelled and the man’s head jerked up, eyes blinking forcefully as he tried to focus on him.
“Yeah. Water?” The man half lifted one hand which was curled around an empty bottle and Steve nodded.
“Sure, here, don’t drink it fast, you’ll be sick.” He cautioned as he unscrewed the cap of his bottle and handed it over. The guy looked like he needed it, closing his eyes, moaning and swaying as he took a few desperate mouthfuls and forced himself to lower the bottle.
“Thank you. Phone?” The man asked again. “Need to get help.” He said as Steve pulled out his phone with an awkward glance.
“I don’t have much credit but emergency numbers are free aren’t they?” He asked as he got one of the guy’s arms over his shoulder to help him walk. Looking closer he realised the guy couldn’t be much older than him, and skinny like he hadn’t eaten in a very long time. “What’s your name kid?” He asked and got a bemused look.
“I’ve got to be at least ten years older than you.” The stranger decided and Steve shrugged slightly.
“I’m nineteen.” He offered hoping to get something useful.
“Thirty-three.” The not-a-kid answered. “Name’s Spencer Reid, Doctor, Agent, take your pick.” The guy waved a hand and fumbled in one of the inner jacket pockets so Steve reached in and pulled out the wallet, trying not to think about the metal he’d brushed. Flipping it open he found FBI credentials belonging to Doctor Spencer Reid. Quickly he put it back and looked at the man in awe, for a place where nothing happened this was so cool. The man made an impatient noise and thrust the phone back into his hand.
“Can’t dial.” He complained and Steve noticed his hands were shaking quite bad, dehydration, he knew the signs well. Grow up in a desert and you learn to spot these things early.
“911?” Steve asked and the guy shook his head.
“Take too long, need doctor.” He forced out and rattled off a number that Steve quickly typed in and repeated, pressing dial and holding it to the agent’s ear. Reid stumbled heavily and almost fell but Steve caught him and crouched in front of him.
“Get on my back, just don’t drop my phone.” He offered and Reid groaned.
“Morgan will never let me live this down.” He complained but let Steve carrying him on his back. He heard when a woman who sounded suspiciously like she’d been crying seconds ago answered the phone. “Hey Penny.” The agent breathed with a wide smile at the scream from the other end of the line. “We’re alive. Can you patch me through to the people leading the search?” He asked and there was a flurry of words that Steve didn’t catch but they all sounded very happy and affirmative. Soon a male voice answered.
“Agent Reid?” The man asked gently in a voice that was clearly not used to gentleness.
“I prefer Doctor.” Reid slurred and shook his head. “Sorry. Get a map.” He ordered and the woman said something about the phone and Reid groaned. “Kid, stop, I need your help.” He ordered and Steve helped the agent sit on the ground and sat beside him, taking the phone and calling up google maps.
“Okay, we can see what you see.” The crying woman told them which was weird and creepy but the whole night was turning out that way.
“My name’s Steve by the way, you can’t call me kid, you don’t look nearly old enough.” He protested quietly making the agent and ‘Penny’ laugh.
“Go to the desert, up near Grapevine Peak but in the flat part on the Nevada side. I am in Nevada aren’t I?” The agent asked and Steve nodded, adding terrain and had to shake Reid.
“Agent, doctor, not-kid!” He yelled and Reid jerked, eyes flying open.
“Sorry. So tired, and cold.” The agent’s body was wracked with a shiver and Steve shrugged off his jacket, draping it over as Spencer tried to poke the right place on the screen. “There. They’re there, I moved some metal to point to the crash, and the raft is working as a still.” He said unnecessarily.
“Why aren’t they with you?” Penny demanded.
“Hurt. I was the only one able to make it so far, and I knew the way. Hate this damned desert.” Reid answered making Steve snicker.
“You from around here?” He asked and the agent nodded.
“Vegas.” The agent said with a grimace.
“What is the condition of the others?” The male asked a little more forcefully and Reid took another gulp of water.
“Co-pilot is dead, he crashed us and knocked out the pilot. I kept us up for a while but the engines were failing, the manual didn’t say what to do if there was engine failure.” Reid whined making the woman laugh.
“You learned to fly a plane?” She asked and the agent smiled.
“I learned how to crash land it too, Sam is a very good at yelling detailed instructions while plummeting to almost certain death.” He beamed.
“Their condition?” The man pressed.
“Assorted broken bones, JJ’s next best after me. Rossi dislocated his hip and can’t be moved, the pilot was hanging on when I left, he lost a lot of blood in the crash. Hotch is the worst, his leg is broken, infected, he spiked a fever of one hundred and four point four and is hallucinating.” Reid answered making the woman cry and the man curse.
“What first aid could you give them?” The man asked trying to be gentle again and Reid took another gulp, moaning softly at it.
“I splinted their bones as best I could, rationed what food and water we had, set up stills for urine and sweat to be purified which gave us a few more bottles. Did everything I could to keep Hotch’s fever down, injecting antibiotics just above the infection, brought some time but there’s only three doses of it. Kept a chart of what I did, it’s in their pockets.” Reid explained and Steve looked on in awe at the man who was so calm even though he looked to be in considerable pain himself.
“They found them, the first crew is going down to get Agents Rossi and Hotchner onto stretchers for the next two teams to wince up.” The man relayed and Reid closed his eyes for a moment looking happy.
“Rossi will puke, he’s been nauseous since just before the crash. His vitals have been fairly steady, slight fever but nothing to be overly concerned about. Mildly dehydrated obviously, probably grumpier than ever before but it’s just his hip that’s a worry.” Reid smiled softly.
“What about the others?” The woman asked.
“Morgan had several fractures in his arm and a broken finger, he tore something in his knee and can’t walk properly but he refused any pain medication past the actual splinting process. Kate has a broken collarbone I think; she may be mildly hypothermic too, last night was really rough on her. JJ has a fractured wrist, other than that she’s got some pretty bad bruising, some internal, but nothing seems to be causing complications. I took our vitals every hour, Hotch is up to every quarter hour and our pilot was at half an hour.” Reid sighed and shivered harder.
“Here, let me carry you the rest of the way.” Steve offered but the agent shook his head.
“I can walk. I’m just tired. I hate sand too. Really hate it. It is scientifically impossible for it to get everywhere.” Reid whined making the woman laugh. “I can’t wait to be anywhere there isn’t sand.”
“Teams are wincing Agents Rossi and Hotchner up as well as the civilian Mr Maguire.” The man relayed and Reid smiled, letting himself be lifted to his feet. “They want me to tell you that you did a fantastic job, they’ve never seen part of a plane wing used as a splint.” The man reported.
“Are they going to be okay?” The woman asked tremulously.
“From what I can hear Rossi is demanding to know Doctor Reid’s condition, Hotch is barely conscious but stable as far as they can tell.” The man reported. “What is your condition Doctor Reid?” The man asked and Reid sighed.
“I’m severely dehydrated, probably mildly hypothermic, badly sunburned, I’m covered in deep bruises and I think I sprained my ankle at some point. Beyond that you’ll have to ask Steve because I’m not certain my mind is functioning correctly.” Reid admitted. “Steve, need a hand.” He gritted out and Steve caught the phone, and tried to catch Doctor Reid but more accurately cushioned his fall.
“What happened?” The female shrieked from the phone and Steve felt like doing the same, looking for a pulse desperately, wincing at the red skin.
“He passed out, the pulse is fast, how fast should it be?” Steve squeaked into the phone remembering something about timing it and pushing his sleeve up to reach his watch but the agent groaned and swatted his hand away weakly. “Oh, he’s waking up. Don’t do that!” He scolded and Reid grunted.
“Sorry, just fainted, I’m fine.” Reid assured even though he very much did not look it. Steve reached out and gently tugged the scarf down, gasping at the small blisters on the man’s cheeks.
“That is not the face of fine, even for an FBI agent.” Steve pointed out.
“It’s the face of fine after a plane crash and a winter day in the desert.” Reid argued but Steve made a negative sound.
“Is there road nearby? Actual bitumen road?” The man asked reminding Steve he had the phone cradled against his ear still.
“There’s the highway a few miles south, but there’s a dirt track just a bit away, Pioneer road.” Steve answered, it wasn’t hard to memorise the local geography, most places didn’t have names that were used by people though.
“Go there and we’ll send a chopper to collect Doctor Reid.” The man promised so Steve lifted Reid to his feet again, amazed when the agent pressed on determinedly, even though his face was contorted in pain and little gasps and moans kept slipping out unbidden. Not to mention the way his knees bobbed every few steps.
“Not until the others are safe.” He gasped and swore as he tripped on sand. “I hate sand.” He added with a pout that was entirely too cute for an FBI agent or a man who’d spent an unprepared day in the desert being heroic.
“The team that has Agent Callaghan will pick him up en route. “ The man stated and it wasn’t really a question.
“We’re going to Vegas? Can I just walk to LA instead?” Reid asked sarcastically obviously knowing his opinion didn’t matter in this case and Steve could understand feeling snippy right now.
“Absolutely not! Mysterious Steve, do not let him even try!” The woman yelled making Reid smile softly, causing him to trip a little and stumble into Steve who hoisted an arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around the agent’s waist.
“Promise ma’am, he’ll get on the ‘copter or I’ll carry him over my shoulder.” Steve teased and Reid squawked.
“If I’m in Vegas I have to visit my mother, and she’s going to yell at me for getting stuck in the desert again, she always does, even if I try to pretend I didn’t she knows!” Reid complained and Steve chuckled, it was nice to know older people still had to answer to their parents, and that his mother wasn’t the only one with uncanny knowledge.
“How many times have you gotten stuck in the desert?” Steve asked figuring conversation kept him awake and relatively alert, plus, he was kind of curious. How do you make that kind of mistake more than once?
“Well once I didn’t want to go camping so I walked home, then I didn’t like the survival course instructor and just hiked for about two weeks, I ran out of fuel driving home from CALtech, another time I think they were trying to kill me. I don’t know, how do people normally end up stuck in deserts?” Reid asked actually sounding quite curious.
“Usually people plan very hard to not get stuck in deserts and tend to get stuck on roads where they can be seen eventually.” Steve pointed out and Reid looked at him in amazement.
“You’re seriously telling me people don’t just drive out, dump someone and hope they die?” Reid asked in shock.
“Generally not, I mean, your FBI, if it happened I’m pretty sure you’d find out.” Steve reminded. “Then again, it’s not like the bodies would be found.” He winced at that, way to sound like a crazy person.
“That is a problem, most people aren’t aware how to survive, most people born here have no real clue what to do if something goes wrong. I can’t wait to get my glasses back, or contacts even, I just want to see again.” Reid whined making Steve chuckle, he knew that feeling, there was nothing worse than the huge blur.
The man’s voice said the remaining agents had been lifted into the helicopters and were being taken to a hospital in Vegas. Moments later a helicopter was approaching with a man steadily moving down to the earth. Steve watched in awe and Reid just swore.
“Thank you very much for everything, especially the phone and water. Good luck with your studies.” Reid said and Steve helped the rescue worker clip a harness onto Reid who grimaced appropriately at the discomfort and squeaked as he was lifted up, clinging onto the cable. Steve waved and watched in amazement as they left. Suddenly he was far too tired to look over a stupid essay, looking at the time he was amazed it had barely been half an hour since he first saw the figure.
Reid barely had to bully the nurses into letting him sit in a room with most of his team, they were all hooked up to IV’s and had a team of nurses tending to the cover of cuts and bruises but they were mostly together. JJ’s wrist had been set and Sam was already out of surgery, still asleep but he was there. Morgan had only just avoided surgery, if he was very good and healed well he might still escape, his arm had also been properly set and his knee was being iced. Kate was still in surgery, Rossi was still with the doctors and Hotch was being kept separate until the fever went down significantly and the full extent of damage could be assessed.
A doctor came in and smiled at Reid making the genius almost wish he were back in the desert, smiling doctors were not much better than grim ones. He was wheeled down and found that the humming of the MRI made his head ache more than it had before when he’d complained of it. He knew they were all going to get them, the doctors wanted to check nothing had come of the concussions. At least he was allowed to have a nice long bath at exactly the perfect temperature to sooth his muscles without making his skin hurt more.
By the time he rejoined the others Kate had joined them, still asleep from surgery but looking better already, Garcia had flown in and was probably responsible for the slightly traumatised looking nurse he’d passed on the way. Sam was awake and coherent, well, maybe not, they had him on very strong pain medication and he was smiling broadly, loudly thanking Reid. Garcia immediately began fussing over him, cooing over his sunburn. Rossi and Morgan were the only ones not red but Reid was by far the worst.
“Hey Garcia, nice to see you again.” Reid said when he could speak without fear of hair, feathers, or any part of Garcia and her ensemble getting in his mouth.
“JJ, Morgan, and Sam have been telling me how heroic you were.” She squealed and pushed his chair over to the others who were sitting between the two beds for now. “Also that you are now my kitten.” She smiled, pulling something from her pocket and he looked down to find a bell being tied around his neck with a ribbon.
“Why am I getting teased over this? Hotch is the one who said it!” Reid cried, croaking slightly but conveying his upset well enough.
“We can’t tease him man, he almost died.” Morgan pointed out and JJ nodded, wincing and flapping her hand instead as it hurt her head.
“Yeah, he didn’t because I’m not a kitten.” Reid pointed out but realised it was futile. Instead he let them tease him about being the ‘kitten hero’, a pet name the nurses picked up unfortunately earning more laughter when one said it without thinking. Eventually they all had to sleep, the nurses letting Garcia sleep on the spare bed in the room, it wasn’t like they’d subject a civilian to the ‘FBI room’ as it was dubbed.
“You know Reid managed to take our vitals without waking us up every hour?” Morgan hissed the third time he got woken up by a nurse and Reid stifled a laugh. “It’s displayed on a machine beside me, he had to actually physically find a pulse.” Morgan bitched, perking up when he saw that Rossi had been brought in since he’d last been woken.
“Kid, shut up.” Rossi groaned and JJ snickered.
“Was it the hip?” Reid asked quietly and Rossi grunted.
“Wrist. They decided to secure the major bones where they should be, reduced flexibility probably but I’m not left handed thankfully.” Rossi answered seriously and they all nodded, drifting off again, only for most of them to be woken at next vitals check.
In the morning Hotch was wheeled down, looking pale and far too vulnerable in the hospital gown with multiple IV bags and more wires and tubes than the rest of them. He was allowed there though and they all managed to relax finally. It was over, they were going to be fine.
“Hey Hotch, how much do you remember?” JJ asked gently as she helped him take a drink.
“Not much, Reid looked after us. I remember the night but most of the day is blank.” Hotch admitted, his MRI had shown no damage which was excellent; the doctors said his memory may or may not return, he’d probably remember a few hours but not all of it. “I remember something about the cat I saved as a kid, I called it Spencer.” Hotch said and looked confused as everyone burst out laughing, Sam and Kate groaning in pain but unable to contain their mirth. “Why is everyone laughing at that?” He asked Reid who was the only one not laughing, though he did look amused.
“When you were hallucinating you spent most of an hour trying to pet me and calling me ‘kitty’, I wondered what the connection was.” Reid explained and Hotch actually blushed.
“That explains the bell.” Hotch sighed and Reid laughed, the bell tinkling against his neck.
Instead of being kicked out they were allowed to stay until they could all be transported, Hotch and Rossi by medical transport and Sam in the jet with them. Eventually they were allowed to return to work, their first day back as a team being marked by an award ceremony for Reid as he received honours for saving them all. Everyone smiled when he came in with a tie that had a little bell pinned just below the knot for office days, the little tinkling making them smile every time. Even Hotch smiled at it. That made the strange looks of other agents not matter, Rossi and Garcia had taken to calling him ‘kitten’ and the others used it occasionally too except for Hotch. Until one day they had a case and Reid went into the victim’s house only to be literally climbed by five hungry cats and four kittens. Then he had just smiled.