Serre-Moi Fort; Hold Me Tight

Briscoe County, Texas

Part 2

With no leads, everyone headed back to the station  An hour or so had gone by when Reid came up with the idea that it could be the preacher.  After calling Garcia, they found that he was going by a different name. He had a record for cutting a coworker in the similar fashion of the other victims. The only thing, he didn't fit the profile. With this, the team came to the conclusion that he was being set up.

Alex POV

We got a call from one of the officers that the priest was seen at a local restaurant.  As soon as we got there and were out of our cars, someone began shooting. There were bullets everywhere and we had no time to think. Before I could get my gun out, I looked around almost instinctively to make sure that Rossi hadn't been hit. It was like I was in a daze and everything was moving slowly.

I was snapped out of it, when the deputy was hit right in front of me. As I was trying to pull him out behind one of the cars, Reid came over to help and before I knew it, he was on the ground too. So many things were happening at once that I couldn't process anything.

As JJ, Derek, and some of the officers started moving in, I ran over to check on Reid. When I got to him, he was barely conscious and had already lost a lot of blood. Without thinking, I started yelling Ethan instead of his name. I don't know if it because I wasn't thinking straight or if it was because I felt a materiel all connection with him. If Ethan were grown, I don't have any doubts that he would be just like Reid.

With all the gunfire, it was too hard for anyone to come in safely, so I sat there putting pressure on his wound praying to god that he could hold on for a few more minutes. Sitting there trying to keep him awake made me realize that that should be me laying there. If I wasn't so lost in my head I could have pushed the deputy out of the way and none of this would have happened. I kept replaying that moment over and over again so much that I didn't hear the sirens.

~

Sitting in the waiting room was killing me. He'd been in surgery for I don't know how long and my mind was going to the worst places. When the doctor did finally come out he told me that Reid was gonna be fine. Relieved, I let go of a breath that I didn't know I was holding in.

When I went into his room, I was glad he was still asleep. I don't know if I would have been able to look him in the eyes knowing that I put him there. The whole time that I sat there, all I could see was Ethan. I saw him during his last day, barley holding on. I almost broke down right then and there before I noticed that Rossi was standing in the doorway.

Rossi POV

As I was walking up to Spencers room, I noticed Alex sitting nervously at the side of his bed. I could tell something was wrong, but as soon as she saw me, she sat up straighter, and stopped bouncing her leg.

"Hey, can I get you anything?"

"I don't think I could eat anything right now," she said barely looking up, " I'm too worried."

I pulled up a seat next to her, knowing she could use someone there to keep her mind from racing any more than I'm sure it already has, "As long as you're sitting here, I'm not going anywhere. I want to make sure that you're all right too."

As much as I knew that something was going on, I didn't want to punch her. If she felt comfortable enough, she would tell me. We're always sharing little things about ourselves with each other because it's so easy talking together. Hopefully, this is another one of those times.

We sat in there for a few minutes in silence just  listening to all of Spencers machines ticking and chiming every few seconds. When I looked over at Alex again, I could see the tears forming in her eyes. I pulled her chair closer and instead of trying to move away, she put her head on my shoulder and let me hold her as she let it out.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it felt comforting. She trusted me enough to let me be there, and see her crying. At work, she always put on this brave face and never let anything going on at home affect her work. She never did say what was wrong, but as I sat there with her in my arms, I could feel her starting to loosen up. She was letting her guard down, and even though it may not seem like much, that gesture had so much meaning.

"When truth is buried underground it grows, it chokes, it gathers such an explosive force that on the day it bursts out, it blows up everything with it."