Cruel - Criminal minds enemies to lovers

Hidden glances

A jolt sparked through Athena's chest hours before she found her eyes flicking open to the sun peeking through the hospital blinds, surprised to feel the breath leaving her mouth and going back into her nose, doubtful that she was alive but taking the delusion like a kid in a candy store.

She couldn't help but smile as the birds chirp from somewhere outside of her fuzzy vision, the fresh air wafting in through the small open window sending her sitting up with impulse to get to the blind, stumbling onto the floor as soon as the IV tube dragged her back.

"Athena?" A familiar sleep-filled voice interrupted her shaky inspection of the blood-filled IV bag, turning her attention to the corner of the room where she hadn't noticed Morgan slumped over fast asleep before he jolting up to help her stand with steady hands.

"H-hello again you" she couldn't help herself smiling, ignoring his brows furrowed with concern that always found a way to annoyingly make her heart flutter.

"You're awake! Why did you try and get out of bed?" 

"I wanted to open the blinds" Athena shrugged casually as Morgan sighed with an amused smile he annoyingly couldn't help, nodding for her to get back onto the bed as he opened the blinds for her.

"Thanks man" she smiled at his gesture she was unsure why had made her palms sweat, clearing her throat to shake it out of her mind, "what's the time?"

"It's about 5:30am" a yawn slipped his lips as he checked his watch on the way back to her bedside.

"Wait what? When was the press conference? How long have I been asleep?" Athena asked with understandable confusion, only realising in that moment that this wasn't some kind of death induced fever dream that she was letting herself have just to see Morgan- not that she would admit that out loud now that she knew it was real life.

"Three days ago" he answered, slumping into the chair by her bed and shuffling it closer with a shunt.

"The fuck!? I've been out for three days? Wait- am I in a hospital?"

"You passed out from blood loss at the end of your 'very professional' press conference" he couldn't help his usual teasing as he explained, although something seemed sweeter to his teasing tone, "we almost didn't get you here in time but they managed to stabilise you enough to do surgery on your shoulder; hence why you're getting your second blood transfusion as we speak."

"I feel like a reverse Capri Sun" Athena yawned with her usual attitude to traumatising life events, focusing on the 'key details' as usual which somehow comforted a chuckling Morgan who shook his head with a smile.

"That's so gross."

"Wait, wait, wait-" something clicked in Athena's head as she turned to Morgan with a squint of confusion, "If I'm just getting stabilised and some extra blood then what are you doing here? Also it's 5:30 am, right? Aren't visiting hours not for like another 10 minutes? I watched my fair share of greys anatomy, isn't that like universal hospital rules or something?" 

The smile slipped to the corner of his mouth as a teasing passed Morgan's lips once more, "I convinced them to let me stay past the visiting hours- you're not the only on who can flirt their way around the rules."

"How long have you been here?" Athena tilted her head as he shrugged across the room to grab a coffee cup from the side table that seemed to be the resting place of 6 other empty large to-go cups.

"Jesus Christ man your heart is gonna hate you" she laughed before feeling something she didn't want to pay any attention to in her chest, clearing her throat as the words bubbled out against her will, "you... you didn't have to stay here this whole time- that was, uh, really nice of you though, I appreciate it... I know I'm not the greatest company when I'm awake but I can't be much better when I'm asleep."