Psychopathy

Chapter 55- Homeward

Isabel could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. She ran towards it with all her might, not daring to stop until she got there. If she stopped, she might lose the light, and she couldn't bear to be lost in the darkness forever. She'd been in the dark, physically and metaphorically, for far too long. It was time for her to go into the light. And into the light she went.

At first, it was blinding. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't tell which direction was which. All she could tell was that this light was warm and bright, two of the very things she'd been missing. The light finally dimmed, though, and she found herself standing on a dirt road, green hills on either side of her. Though she couldn't see anything in the distance, she knew where she was, and where she would end up if she traveled that path. Knowing that, she put one foot in front of the other, letting her feet take her down that road.

The road home.

********************

"Ciara B.?" Reid shot awake, not having remembered falling asleep. Most everyone else started stirring awake, with only Teresa and Hotch having stayed awake. But he supposed it wasn't surprising. One look at his watch told him it was nearing six in the morning. Teresa was used to staying up all night and Reid wasn't sure Hotch ever slept. Reid had never actually seen the man sleep. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at the doctor. This was a new one. This doctor was a middle-aged balding man, much different from the young, blonde surgeon they'd spoken to before.

"Over here," Teresa called, and the doctor came over to the group, eyeing the half-asleep group. "Yes, all of us. And yes, it's been a very long night."

"Understandable. I'm Dr. Becker. I'm Ciara's intensivist," the doctor, Dr. Becker, said.

"Intensivist?" JJ asked blearily. She had been the last one to wake.

"An intensivist is a board-certified physician that provides care for critically ill patients," Reid explained.

"So Ciara's in the ICU?" Akilah asked, before nodding to herself. "Well, yeah, okay, that makes sense."

"Is she awake? Can we see her?" Hotch asked, getting right down to business.

"No, and yes."

"She's not awake?" Reid asked, and Dr. Becker shook his head.

"She woke up for a singular minute in the PACU. I'm not sure it was long enough for her to even remember it. But it was long enough to tell us that the anesthesia had worn off and that she was extremely confused and disorientated. But she quickly went back to sleep and we have been unable to wake her since," he explained, and for a moment, everyone was silent.

"What does that mean?" Blake asked.

"Is she... in a coma?" Teresa asked, and Dr. Becker sighed.

"She's not in a true coma. We're still working to figure out exactly what's going on, but for lack of a better diagnosis, yes, she's in a coma."

"I don't recall her having any head trauma or prolonged lack of oxygen to her brain. But perhaps she received an injury before we even got there," Reid theorized.

"Actually, we found no signs of head trauma at all. That's why we don't consider this to be a true coma. There's no medical reason for her to be in a coma or for us to have medically induced one," Dr. Becker responded. "I do have a theory, though."

"And that would be?" Rossi wondered.

"I'll admit, I don't know everything that's happened to her. I only know bits and pieces. But those pieces are enough. I doubt that girl has been able to sleep without one eye open for a long time. Her brain probably hasn't allowed her to enter deep sleep. It's trained itself to stay in light sleep and REM mode so she could easily wake and be alert at any given time," the doctor told them.