Chapter Text
His alarm went off at 6:30 like it did every morning, so Spencer Reid woke up cursing the societal norm that subjected the world to waking up early. He was always tired in the morning and he hated waking up, sometimes conjuring up a scenario where he could go to sleep and never wake up. He wasn’t actively suicidal, but he was depressed and there was no point in denying that. Spencer rolled out of bed with a groan and stumbled to the kitchen to make some coffee. He didn’t have a lot of food in his fridge - he didn’t particularly like cooking, but he always had milk for his coffee. Honestly, he believed that without coffee he wouldn’t survive a day, even though he didn’t particularly like the bitter taste. While he sipped his first dose of caffeine for the day he checked his phone, seeing no new messages or missed calls. That meant no new cases. While that meant there were no gruelling urgent serial cases in the states today, it also meant he would have to go home in the evening and be alone once again. He left his flat, got another coffee cup in the coffee shop on his street and took a bus to work. Usually Morgan offered to carpool, since they lived close, but his car was in a repair shop, so the bus it was. Pretty miserable day so far. He was sitting in the back of the bus with his headphones on and a book in his lap, which he kept reading despite the build-up of motion sickness, when he registered a man getting up from his seat and then a loud boom he mostly felt rather than heard. He noticed some force pushing him into his seat and some shrapnel flying in his direction. “An explosion” - Spencer’s brain helpfully provided and his vision went black.
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Emily was driving her car with a radio on. She hummed to the melody of a random song and was generally in a good mood which was a rather rare break from her usual bleak demeanour in the mornings. She was stuck in traffic but it didn’t really bother her: yes, she would be late for work, but in her time in the BAU she learned that beneath the strict facade Hotch was basically a giant softie. Very protective of his team softie. When she first joined the team she was on the receiving end of that protectiveness but by now she was part of the team and she knew that her boss cared about them. So yeah, it didn’t worry her that she was gonna be late. She was, however, curious as to why there was so much traffic. Usually there wasn’t as much. So she switched the radio station to the one she trusted on the news in the DC area. “And coming back to you from the commercial break with breaking news: a few minutes ago there has been an explosion of a bus in Quantico. The bus was travelling by route 37. We’re unaware yet if that was a terrorist attack and if there were any casualties. We’re waiting for clarification from the law enforcement, in the meanwhile however we recommend the drivers to avoid the following routes…” Emily sighed. Okay, an explosion probably meant the FBI will have to get involved, that meant a joint task force most likely. She didn’t like those. She didn’t like terrorist threats as well, no matter how desensitised to it she had become in the last few years. Working undercover on Doyles case would do that to you, not that the team knew about Doyle. She shook her head and tried to stay focused on the present. Bus explosion. Bad. She was nearly at Quantico base already so she didn’t dwell too much on the news, instead parking at her space and entering the building. Approaching the elevator she noticed Garcia hurrying through security. Garcia was going hastily through her bag, and apologising profusely to the guards and whoever was behind her in line.
“So sorry, I can’t find my badge, oh here it is, so sorry, here you go, thanks”. Garcia dropped her bag and hurried to pick it up “So sorry, thank you, bye!”
Emily couldn’t stifle a laugh looking at her friend: “Hey, Garcia!”
“Emily! Good morning! You are late too, that’s good. Not that it’s good, but at least I’m not alone here, there are 2 of us. There was this horrible traffic on the way here, I got stuck”
“Good to see you too, Penelope. I was stuck in traffic too, I think Hotch will forgive us”
They got out of the elevator and entered the bullpen. Morgan got up from his seat to greet them:
“Look who is here. It’s not often I am the second one to come in”
“Traffic” - said Prentiss
Sorry, traffic” - at the same time answered Penelope - “where is Reid?”
“Um, I think he is on the bus today. We couldn’t carpool together because my car is in the repair shop. That’s weird though, he is usually way more punctual”
Prentiss became a little more alarmed at that:
“Which bus does he usually take?”
“I think it’s route 37 or something, why?”
“There was a bus explosion today at Quantico, I think it was route 37”
“HOTCH!”
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Spencer was slowly coming to his senses. There was a lot of noise and sirens, and the air smelled like smoke. He was looking around coming to the conclusion that he was at the scene of an explosion. Right. The bus. He remembered, sort of. He groaned and tried to move. That exact moment he felt an intense pain in his left lower torso. Okay, so no moving then. Hopefully there was no spinal injury, that usually is one of the first concerns for the first responders. The other one being head trauma, but Spencer didn’t want to think of that. Speaking of first responders: there ought to be some of those around. Maybe the remaining structure of the bus isn’t safe yet. Okay, so maybe he needs to wait a bit more. He felt his consciousness starting to slip again. He should probably stay awake in case of a concussion, there is a better chance to…His vision swam again and he lost consciousness.
Next time he came to the first thing he heard was the steady beeping of a heart monitor. A hospital then. Okay. He groaned and opened his eyes. There was a nurse in his room.
“Oh, good, you’re awake”
“What happened…”
“You were in an explosion. I’m sorry, how are you feeling?”
“Just peachy.”
“The first responders found an ID on you, but just to verify, what is your name?”
“Uh, Dr. Spencer Reid.” - his voice, he noticed, was rather raspy. “Can you please let my boss know I won’t be able to come to work today? He is in my phone listed as Hotch”
“Okay. When you came in you were briefly awake and requested non-narcotic pain medication. Is it still something you insist on? Your injuries are rather extensive.”
Oh. Right. Thank god he was awake, apparently. Losing his hard fought for sobriety would not be good, even though the pain he was now feeling was rather noticeable.
“Yes, that is something I still insist on. What are my injuries?”
“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t tell you but your doctor will be here any minute to talk to you. In the meantime, if there’s anything you need, please press that button”
With that the nurse left with a smile and Spencer closed his eyes. The fluorescent light was annoying him, with the electricity buzzing constantly. He really didn’t want to go into a sensory overload on top of his injuries. He sighed and waited for the doctor.