the great war, spencer reid [ 2 ]

044. coma

Spencer's head rests on the hospital bed, hunched over in the chair. One hand is gently gripping onto his wife's still hand, the other resting on her leg, hating to not be in contact with her, even in his unconscious state.

"Reid?" He wakes up to the soft voice and gentle hand on his shoulder. His head shoots up, looking around, stopping when he looks beside him to see Penelope.

"Oh. Hey." He mumbles, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hey." Penelope weakly smiles. "How you holding up?"

"I... I don't know." Spencer quietly admits. He looks up to Bedelia's face, wishing he'd see her brown eyes and his favorite smile, but her eyes are still shut, her mouth in a straight line. Still like she's just sleeping.

Spencer sighs, tightening his grip around her hand.

"You should go home." Penelope says.

"No. I-- I can't leave her." Spencer shakes his head.

"Honey, you've been here all week. You're in the same clothes, you haven't showered, you've barely eaten." Penelope says.

"I don't need to." Spencer says.

"Hey." Penelope puts her hand on his shoulder and he looks up at her. "When she wakes up, she's gonna want you to be healthy. If you keep this up, you're gonna be in the hospital for your own issues and won't be able to see her when she wakes up."

Spencer sighs, knowing the blonde is right.

"Go home. Take a shower, get some food in you, spend time with Theo and your mom." Penelope tells him.

"Theo." Spencer winces, digging his palms into his eyes.

"We... we didn't tell her. We just... I told her you two were on a case. She's been staying with Eliza while JJ's been checking in on your mom every day, spending time at your place." Penelope says.

"I-I didn't mean to place everything on you guy--"

"Hey." Penelope stops him. "We're your family. We're Bedelia's family. Anything you two need, you got it. Go home. I won't leave her side."

Spencer sighs, looking back at his wife. The last thing he wants to do is leave her. He can't stand being away from her. He already spent three months away from her, the last thing he wants is more time away. Just when he got her back, something else happened, tearing them apart again.

Spencer reluctantly gets up, letting go of her hand to rub up her arm as he moves closer. He leans down, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead.

"I love you." He whispers against her skin. He presses a few more kisses to her forehead, going down to her temple. "I'll be back later. I promise."

He brushes a stray out of her face, smoothing it down, scratching her scalp for a short moment. He pulls away, keeping physical contact until the last possible second.

"I got her." Penelope promises.

Spencer nods.

"Thank you." He tells her.

Penelope gives him a small smile and pulls him into a hug.

"Always." She assures, rubbing his back. "But you-- you really do need a shower, so, please, go home. That-- you smell awful." She says, gently pushing him away. Spencer weakly smiles, nodding. He looks back at Bedelia one more time before he finds the strength to leave.

+++

Spencer had gone home first, reassuring his mom everything would be okay and he took a shower, knowing he wouldn't be able to do it with Theodora home.