Speechless | Spencer Reid FanFiction ✔️

Chapter 59: Okay

~Spencer's POV~

I nod at JJ before she goes to leave and return my focus to Annie. She asks me "does everybody know now? About Harrison?" I look down and nod "in order to find you I needed the help of the team and your parents. That's the only way I was able to find you so quickly." She nods "I figured. I don't want to talk about it anymore, ever again." I nod. She is going to have to make a formal statement and talk to the team about it, but that clarification can wait until she's woken up a bit more and calmed down a bit.
She leans into my touch a bit and asks after a few minutes of silence "did the whole team see me naked?" I hesitate and consider lying to her, but eventually I decide to tell her "everybody but Garcia, they were all at the takedown." She nods and screws her eyes shut, a tear escaping as she does it. I don't know what to say to her to make her feel better. I know she's very vulnerable right now and she has always been very insecure about her body. Nothing I can say can really change any of that. Instead of saying nothing, I tell her "the focus was on saving you, not gawking at you. It was not a time for judgment, okay? None of them are going to pass judgment on your body, especially under these circumstances."
She nods "I know. I just don't like people seeing me naked. Swimsuits are hard enough." I nod in understanding. I take her hand up to my lips and give it a gentle kiss "I know, baby. You're beautiful, though, you have nothing to be insecure about." It's insane to me that after she survived an abduction and another assault that she is sitting here stressing over what the team thinks about her body. That is the last thing we worry about on cases when unsubs leave their victims naked.
After a couple of minutes of silence again I tell her "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. This never would've happened if I had made sure you made it back inside safely. Your parents thought you left with me and went to my hotel." Annie sighs and says "Spencer, it's not your fault or my parents' fault. None of this is. You found me within a day, at least I think it was within a day." I sniffle and tell her "if I had just prevented this from happening then you wouldn't have been hurt and bruised like this. That's all my fault because I wasn't there when you needed me." She sits up and turns to look at me. I refuse to look back at her. She says "Spence, look at me." I reluctantly raise my gaze to meet hers. She gives me a sad smile before taking her right hand to my cheek and saying "you are not the one who hurt me. You have done everything in your power to help. Harrison is the one who hurt me and many other girls. Without all of this he wouldn't be dead. I'm okay with having to be this..this sacrifice...if it means he's dead."
A nurse and a doctor walk in at that time with JJ following. JJ says "I told them you're awake, I'm going to head back to the team." We both nod at her and thank her. The doctor who talked to me earlier walks forward and gives us a sad smile. He introduces himself as Dr. Jeffries. He talks to Annie and says "well, I'm happy to see you're awake. The surgery went well. I don't know what you've been told so I'll recap it all for you. You were brought in by emergency services with two broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and a collapsed lung. We had to remove your spleen, the chest tube you have currently is treating the collapsed lung, and your ribs will heal on their own as long as you rest and follow our directions for the next few weeks." Annie asks with watering eyes "he beat me so much that my lung collapsed and my spleen ruptured?" The doctor looks down and nods before looking back into her eyes and saying "he really did a number on you and I'm so sorry this happened to you. We are going to do our best to take care of you. I'd like to keep you under observation for a few days."
She nods and asks, looking down, "what..what happened to my shoulder?" Dr. Jeffries nods "from what I understand, the offender tried to fire a shot at you but his aim was displaced after he was shot in the heart. His arm moved up and the bullet grazed your shoulder a bit sharply. It should heal on its own in a few weeks with physical therapy to help get your full range of motion back." Annie nods "what about..my back?" Dr. Jeffries continues "we've bandaged the wounds. They aren't as deep as we were afraid they would be. They may scar, but we can recommend plastic surgeons to address that if you would like."
The doctor continues "we have you on a morphine drip because you are probably in a lot of pain due to the extent of your injuries. If you are hungry, which I assume you are, you can eat whenever you feel ready. However, I advise you to take it slow, especially if you have a proclivity for nausea or have had reactions to anesthesia in the past." Dr. Jeffries writes something down before looking to the nurse and then looking back to the two of us. Dr. Jeffries says "there's one more thing." We both nod, urging him to continue. He sighs before he says "if you consent to it, we need to do a rape kit." Annie sits up a bit and says "he didn't rape me. Not that I remember, anyway."
I breathe an audible sigh of relief and Annie continues "he removed my IUD and he planned to rape me, I think. He didn't get the chance before the team showed up. I fought him every step of the way." Dr. Jeffries says "because he used such a crude method to remove your IUD and you were unconscious for pieces of time, we would still like to do a rape kit, even the smallest bit of evidence could tie him to other unsolved cases in the area. Your fiancée can stay for it and anybody who may make you feel more comfortable can also be in the room." She nods, not saying anything. I turn to the doctor and nurse and ask them "can we have a minute alone please?" They both nod and move to leave the room.
Once they're gone I gently move some hair out of Annie's face and ask her "do you not want to do the rape kit?" She sniffles and says "I...I just don't want anymore poking and prodding. I can still feel the  cramps from him removing the IUD. It felt like he ripped it out and I could feel the blood pouring out of me. I...I just want to be left alone for a bit." I nod "I understand that. The problem is, the specimens may only be viable for a short time, so they only have a short window. If you decide you really don't want to do this, then I will back off and not bring it up again. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think it might help other families have closure from the aftermath of Harrison James." She sighs and nods. She says "okay..I'll do it. But, I want JJ in here. And you. I don't want my parents in here. I can't face them right now." I give her a sad smile and nod. I tell her "I'll tell them now. Are you sure you're okay with this?" Annie nods "I want to help others have closure. And I want this nightmare to be over."
I nod and give her a sad smile before I get up and leave the room. I find the doctor and nurse outside and tell them she wants to do the rape kit. They both nod before leaving to set everything up and jump through all the legal hoops. I text JJ and ask for her to come up here to Annie's floor. Within 2 minutes, I see her walking towards me, concern etched into her features. JJ asks me "what's wrong?" I tell her "Annie is going to do a rape kit, but she asked for you to be in the room with us." I can almost see the rage boiling to the surface of her skin as the words "rape kit" sink in. She asks me "did..did he..?" I shake my head and say "as far as we know he only removed the IUD, but that might be enough DNA to catch something, we don't know. We are trying to be extra thorough in the entire process." JJ nods, looking somewhat relieved. She says "okay, yes, I'll be in there if she wants me to be." I nod and we both walk into the room to find Annie scared and shaking. She reaches for me and says "please don't leave me again, Spence. Not yet."
It was incredibly stupid of me to leave her so soon after she woke up, of course she is panicking. I race over to her side and pull her into my embrace. I comfort her and tell her she's safe. She's still shaking as she says "don't leave me again." I nod to myself and tell her "I won't. I'm sorry. I won't leave you alone again, I promise." I pull back from her and tell her "JJ is here. She's going to stay with you, too, okay?" She sniffles and nods. She turns to JJ and gives her a sad smile. JJ offers a sad smile back and asks Annie "is it okay if I hug you?" Annie nods and reaches her hands towards JJ "of course it is." They embrace and it warms my heart.
        Annie asks JJ while in the embrace "did you get me chicken nuggets?" JJ chuckles and pulls back, she sniffles and says "I..I actually got it for Spence, but they're yours if you want them. I'll get Spencer more later." I smile and nod "I'm okay, eat." She nods and digs into the chicken nuggets. I ask her "Annie, did he feed you in the 24 hours he had you?" She shakes her head "no, when I first came to I think it was the morning. She hit me on the head and took me back to the house and it knocked me out. When I came to, Harrison was livid with his wife and he took her to punish her because she didn't follow his directions. In that time I used my teeth to get the ropes untied off my right hand and then I used my teeth and right hand to untie my left hand. Then I used both hands to untie my feet.
"I snuck out of the room he had me in carefully, it was like the whole house was in storage and under sheets. I snuck around and found some bread and water in a kitchenette. I quickly ate and drank before I heard somebody coming so I hid in a cabinet. Then I ran up the stairs and found Isabella, his wife, tied up. She had been whipped repeatedly. I kept moving because I knew she was so submissive to him she would probably alert him to me. I remembered a secret room that Megan had found when we were kids and I made my way there, remembering Harrison had never found it. I made it there and found some old granola bars and bottles of water. I ate a few of those and then I passed out. I woke up and he had found me. It was nearing dusk at that point when he found me and he forced me at gun point to follow him to a room."
She stops there and I want to ask what happened next, but I think I can put together the pieces. This is the point when he beat her. Her lips tremble as she puts down the half eaten chicken nugget that was in her hand. I place my hand on hers and tell her "Annie you don't have to. It's okay." She shakes her head "no, I want to say this and just get it over with so I never have to say it again." Through choked sobs and tears she continues "he...he forced me to s-strip my clothes o-off. I tried to keep my underwear on and he f-forced me to t-take those off t-too. Th-then he s-slapped me in the f-face and pulled m-my hair when I t-tried to m-move away f-from his t-touch. H-he threatened me with worse but th-that didn't s-stop me from d-defending Spencer wh-when he t-tried to call Spencer a t-toothpick."
I sigh and shake my head "Annie, you should've gone along with it." She nods and says "I know. I just couldn't. I was so angry at him for doing that to me." I nod "I know, it took a lot for me to not try to shoot him myself." She nods and continues "that's when he beat me for I don't know how long. He punched me in the face and then I was on the floor and trying to protect my vital organs as he kicked me. Apparently I didn't do a good job. Then he pulled me up and I was completely limp. He would pull my hair as he moved me and I remember it hurting but I didn't have the energy to do anything about it at that point.
"He tied me to the bed and asked me if I took birth control. I told him no. He asked if I had the implant or IUD and I didn't answer. Then he threatened to cut my arms open to check for an implant so I told him I had an IUD and he thought I was lying so he put his...hand...up..inside..me and tugged on the IUD before pulling it out. It hurt like a bitch and he told me to quit crying because there aren't any nerve endings in the cervix and I told him he should shove an IUD up his dick and see how he liked it and called him a narcissistic prick."
I lose it at that point and start laughing and JJ looks at me like I've had a psychotic break. I know it's inappropriate but that just struck me as the funniest thing I've ever heard. Annie starts laughing, too, in response to my laughing. JJ looks between us and says "you guys are weird." I nod and Annie nods, still recovering from laughing, she's grabbing her side which makes me think it's hurting from the surgery. I slow down my laughing and try to get her to slow hers down too. I don't want to hurt her anymore than she already has. Annie eventually stops laughing and blows out a breath. She coughs a couple times and says "and um then he tied me up to whip me. He would taunt me and then whip me over and over again until you guys showed up."
       I now feel guilty for laughing and apologize "I'm sorry, Annie. I shouldn't be laughing, I think I'm just delirious." She chuckles and shakes her head "no I thought it was funny, too, Spence." I tell Annie "they should be in here to do the rape kit any minute." Annie nods "how long will it take?" I tell her "it can take a long time. Quite a few hours, usually, but since your clothes were already compromised because you were brought here naked and you've already been through surgery, that limits a lot of things they'll be able to do." She gulps and nods "I just want it over with. I'm glad I can have you here, Spence, and you, Jayge. I needed a female ally in here with me. You can read me and help me stand up for myself better than the rest of the team or my parents. Wait, do my parents know I'm okay?"
        JJ smiles and nods "yes, they're respecting your decision to wait to see them. I think they're still processing everything, themselves. They're downstairs with the team." Annie nods, I think she's content with that answer. She asks "could somebody get me some comfortable clothes from my parents' house? I'm really tired of the naked or paper look." JJ nods and pulls her phone out. She walks towards the door and says "I'll get somebody on it now." I look down and notice her engagement ring is gone. I ask her "Annie, did...did he do something to your ring?" She looks down and shakes her head "no, I uh actually left it on the windowsill in the kitchen at my parents house because I didn't want to damage it when we did the dishes."
         I furrow my brow, she's never done that before, even in our apartment when she did the dishes. Were things that bad between us before all of this that she took her engagement ring off for the first time? I decide to let it go for now and we can talk about it later when she's feeling better, physically and mentally. She asks me "what all will this procedure entail?" I stumble over my words before saying "well they'll probably swab around the areas of your skin where you say he might have touched you, like your arms or around your neck. They'll also try to get anything from under your fingernails that could be his skin cells. They'll also probably do a vaginal swab and exam. They may have to be more thorough and check more areas, but you can say no to anything you aren't comfortable with them doing."
          She furrows her brow and asks me "you mean like my butt?" I chuckle slightly and nod "yes, like your butt." She shakes her head and says "yeah I'm saying no to that one. He didn't touch me there." I chuckle and nod "it's up to you." She nods "damn right it is." I mentally make a note that butt stuff is probably off the table then, it's honestly not that surprising. JJ comes back in then and takes her seat on the other side of Annie. She asks Annie "do you want to finish this shake now? You've hardly had any of it." Annie shakes her head "no, I'm good. If you can, you can put it in a fridge, or give it to somebody else who wants it." JJ nods, leaving the room again.
I give Annie a soft smile and tell her "you are so strong. You are handling all of this so well. I'm so proud of you, Annie." She gives a small smile in return and sighs before saying "I wish I didn't have this strength because then I wouldn't have had all of these things happen to me." I nod in response "I understand. Remember, all of the flaws you think you have, all of these cracks in your pottery, have been filled with gold. The gold makes you stronger, it adds to your story as well as your beauty." She looks away and says "leave it to Dr. Spencer Reid to make surviving sexual assault as a teenager, being abducted by the former assailant, and beaten by said former assailant into something positive."
I chuckle and shake my head "I love you, Annie, all of you. Now and forever." She looks at me and smiles before saying "amen." I chuckle and shake my head "you're crazy." She nods "and that's why you love me." I smile "that, among many other reasons." She nods and goes to say something else before the doctor and nurse knock on the door frame. He asks Annie "are you ready to get started with the next procedure?" Annie nods "can we wait for JJ to get back before we start though, please?" They both nod and walk in, the doctor says "there's a few things we can set up while we wait. This is all on your time and you have the ultimate authority of what we do and how long this lasts."
Annie nods "thank you." They start setting up different swabs and instruments on a table. JJ walks in a couple minutes after they have started their setup process and looks between us. She says "sorry I took so long. Annie, Morgan and Penelope are going to your parents' house now to check on Ryder and gather some clothes and toiletries for you." Annie smiles and nods "thank you, JJ." The nurse walks over to the door and shuts it then she closes the blinds on the windows into the room. She turns to Annie "nobody should be looking in here or coming in here. The staff outside has been alerted to not allow anybody in here except for emergencies. Everybody knows the drill. You're safe here." She gives a sad smile and nods. The doctor looks between everybody in the room and asks "shall we begin?"