Criminal Minds x Reader

I'll Come and Stay With You [A.H] pt. 2

As you woke up at first you did not understand where you were. The light was coming in strong through the windows and you could tell even with your eyelids closed. It was late afternoon. You began to move your body as much as you could, shaking, the heat strong against your skin. It was suffocating.

"Hey, hey. Easy there"

The voice caught you off guard. You turned your head to the left where Hotch was sitting not too far from your bed. You swallowed, uncomfortably, your saliva like sandpaper in your throat. "Hi" you breathed out.

"Hello"

He tucked the files he was reading between his side and the chair and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. "How are you felling?"

You straightened your head, your gaze now fixed on the ceiling. "Like some psychopath tried to kill me" you replied, eyes rolling at yourself for what you had just said. "Sorry"

"It's okay" he reassured you, " It happened to me a couple of times, not the best of expriences, is it?"

"Nope"

You couldn't see it at the time but he had a hint of a smile on his lips. My boss making a joke, nice you thought. The situation must be serious.

"Have you been here all night?" you asked, changing the subject, the memories too painful to allow you to think about them any longer.

He sat up straight, adjusting his shirt in the process. As soon as his eyes met yours, his heart leapt. Sure, he had seen your condition before you woke up, but now that you were alert and conscious he fully understood the essence of it. You had two stitches on your chin, a scratched face and a purple bruise on your forehead. Your neck had red marks here and there, and your right arm was attached to an IV drip that hurt, he could sense it from the way you hissed every time you involuntarily moved your upper limbs. Your hair was spread messily all over the pillow, but he still could have sworn you had never looked more beautiful than that.

He shook his head. "No"

He could not let you know that in fact yes, he had been in that room since the previous afternoon and would have spent a hundred more there by your side if only it was needed. He couldn't let you know that he cared about you more than he wanted to, because loving someone meant violence and danger to him, and he didn't want that for you. He wanted to keep you safe, hold you close and tell you over and over again that it was all right, that from then on you would no longer have to defend yourself because he would take care of you. He couldn't admit that. Not even to himself. So he shook his head again, repeating the lie one more time. "Mhm-mhm. No"

You hoped he would answer yes, and he could tell by the way you bit your lip, which you did every time you wanted to argue. He didn't like to see you sad. He looked for something else to say to you, his thoughts traveling very fast in his already tired mind.

But before he could say anything else, the doctor came in. "Glad to see that you're awake" she smiled at you.

"Hey"

"The lab results will come back in eight hours, then we'll see what to do"

You attempted to sit on the bed, alert. "Oh. Does that mean I'll be in the hospital for a while?"

"Probably until tomorrow. We need to get you rehydrated, make sure nothing unexpected pops up. You know, you're very lucky"

"Mhm" you scoffed. You didn't feel like it.

You then swiveled back to Hotch, a question ready for him. "How did you find me?"

He opened his mouth, but the voice you heard was not his.

"Uh, that was my genius policing skills," Derek jokingly informed you as he came through the door, "That's just what people are saying"

You chuckled at him. He walked into the room with his hands behind his back and something giant peeking out from either side of his body.

"Anyway," he paused at the foot of the bed, "I brought you something"

"I can see that"

He placed a giant pink stuffed rabbit at your feet. "It was the biggest one I could find".

"Oh, my God. I should hope so"

"Where is she even supposed to put him?" wondered Spencer as he stepped in, a bouquet of flowers clutched to his chest. His face was all scowl as he looked at his colleague, then turned to you and raised a hand in greeting.

You made the same gesture too. "Well, he is a she, and she is going to sleep in my bed, since I am clearly never going on a date again"

"I'm not sure that should be the takeaway" the doctor slightly scolded you.

"Statistically, that's actually pretty safe. Definitely should"

You let out a breath, grinning shocked at the young officer in front of you. "Wow. So, is this the kind of support and understanding I can look forward to from now on?

"Yes" Derek mocked with the head of the stuffed animal.

"Pretty much" Hotch replied, his answer a surprise to him as well. He would have never again allowed a man to touch you in any way, and if the mere thought of doing so passed through those creeps' minds, it would have made it clear how things stood. You were a flower to be cared for, not picked. Because beautiful flowers are always picked in a field, but that led to their wilting. And you were not meant to be ruined.

You laughed again, looking down at your hands. "That's great. That's really good"

A couple of minutes later the only ones left in the room were you and him again.

"You hungry?" he asked you.

"Yeah. I'm starving. You know what I really want to eat right now?"

He reached for a paper bag behind him. "Oh, burger and fries, a coke, extra ice?"

You were quite amazed. Whenever he did something like that your body froze for a moment. When one morning he brought coffee to the whole team and handed you one just the way you liked it without you ever telling him. When during cases he would pair you up with him and in the hot sun hand you a small bottle of water before telling you that you needed a drink. Your heart would lose beats every time, and then you would convince yourself that he treated everyone like that, that he would do the same thing with others. Your feelings are one-sided, stop it you told yourself then, unable to think that a man like him could ever fall in love with you.

You took a deep breath, once again forcing yourself not to think about anything other than what that gesture really was. Pure kindness. "You know me so well"

The look you exchanged next was far beyond the acceptable threshold of a working relationship. Not even a friend would look at a friend that way, but neither of you would ever admit it to the other.

He smiled. "Too well"