ENTANGLED | CRIMINAL MINDS

At Last

Spencer was finally able to make it to the hospital that Jean was still residing in the wee hours of the morning.

He ran through the halls like a man with a mission, desperate to see Jean, hoping with every fiber in his being that she was okay.

He came upon the room she had been temporarily residing in since being retrieved from the warehouse and slowly creaked the door open so as to not awaken her. 

His eyes fell upon her resting figure, the slow rising and falling of her chest bringing great joy to his heart.

Spencer sat himself in the blue chair that had been pushed close to her tiny hospital bed, his hands reaching for hers to make sure that this wasn't all a dream. 

That she had made it out alive with him and Hotch.

Speaking of Hotch, Spencer smelt a faint whiff of his signature cologne, however he chalked it off to coincidence and reached over to the bedside table to read the notes the nurses had left on Jean's clinical sheet.

As he read through the sheet making sure that she was taking the meds and the correct amount of IV fluids she needed, his ears began to her sweet mumbling coming from her bed.

Jean slowly sat herself up, grimacing in pain as the once-broken ribs ached.

"Spence, is that you?" she called hoarsely as she rubbed the sleep out her eyes.

He quickly shuffled to his feet, practically jumping out of the seat that was too small for him to be at attention by her bedside.

"How're you feeling, Jeanie?" he whispered softly, looking into her eyes to see if he could see any of the pain and fear that once inhabited them.

 All he saw though was calmness and tranquility. It was a testament to herself that no matter what she had endured, her light would never burn out.

"A lot better now that you're here. You know, this morphine is one hell of a drug" she giggled, looking up at him with a smile.

He looked at the floor and let out a small laugh. Leave it to Jean to have just nearly come back from the dead and already be cracking jokes. That was his Jean.

He groans. Technically, thanks to the life or death shitshow that Cat put the three of them through, she was Hotch's Jean.

Reid was in a dilemma. He made a promise to Hotch, however that was when he was certain that he was about to meet his maker. He didn't know if that still held or what Hotch said to her in the ambulance or if Hotch had come to stop by last night.

"Jean, I know you just got out of surgery but I wanted to talk if you're up to it. If not, it can wait for another day. I have no problem sitting in this chair and watching crappy television while feeding you crappy hospital food" he said nervously, scratching the hair at the nape of his neck, anxious at the thought of where this conversation would go.

"Can I talk first?" she questioned. He could never say no to her and her big, beautiful eyes. She could ask for the world and he'd do anything to give it to her.

He simply nodded his head and gripped onto the hospital bed.

"Hotch came by last night and talked to me. He told me what you did for me. God, Spencer. I adore you but how could you ever do something like that for me?" she said, looking up at him as tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Because I am in love with you!" he exclaimed, running another hand through his ruffled hair as he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"I'm so in love with you. This love is all consuming and you're always dancing through my thoughts in my mind, no matter the time of day. I would throw my life away in a second if it meant you'd get to live yours out happily" he let out with another breath, his hands starting to shake with anxiety.

"Spencer, that's what I wanted to tell you about" she said, reaching out to grab his fretting hands.

"I love you so deeply, loverboy. As I said, Hotch came and talked with me and in short told me that after seeing the lengths that you would go for me, the love in your eyes as you volunteered yourself to that crazed woman, he refused to entertain any notions that he could be the one for me" she said quietly, her body stilling as she kept her grip on Spencer's hand.

Time stood still.

She coughed into her hand, letting go of Spencer's hand for a split second as she attempted to reach for the half-full glass of water that lay at her bedside. 

She stuck her tongue out and wiggled her fingers as she tried to extend her arm to grab the water.

In a flash, Spencer simply reached over and grabbed it for her, gently placing it in her hands. She gulped it down in seconds, running her hand over her mouth to wipe off any excess water that remained.

"I just want to say, once and for all, I want you. I want you, Spencer Reid. You and only you" she said, pushing herself up once more in her bed with all her might so that she could reach for Spencer's face and press a soft kiss to his lips.

Spencer had dreamt of this moment.

This was it. This was real life.

"You are undoubtedly the most amazing man I've ever met and I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life being by your side. I know I'm getting ahead of myself with all this future talk but I had to get it off my chest" she said with a geeky smile, her eyes crinkling from smiling so hard.

The past few months with her heart being so entangled with Hotch and Reid, she had been so torn and hadn't known true peace ever since she found herself involved with the two of them. Right now though, her heart was the most at peace it ever had been.

"Jean, I would like to officially ask you to be my girlfriend" Spencer said timidly, fishing around in his slacks to find a ring.

"I had gotten this from one of the gumball machines out in the hallway right before I walked in. I can totally get you something better or-" he rambled on before Jean cut him off with another kiss.

"It's perfect, Spence" Jean smiled as she held out her dainty hand for Spencer to slide the ring on to.

Spencer felt like this was all a dream, but it wasn't. 

It was his reality.

Jean was his and he was completely hers. After everything that had gone down in the last twenty four hours, he wasn't going to let a single day go by where he wasn't appreciating life and the beautiful woman that he was living it with.

In the end, at least this time, the nice guy didn't finish last.

Author's Note: And that is the end! 

Thank you so much for reading Entangled, it has been so fun to write and see everyone's comments. I  never knew something I did out of boredom would have several thousand reads and I thank you all!

Make sure to check out my new story, Caught in The Crossfire, which is also a story with Hotch and Reid :)