The Dangers of Falling (A Criminal Minds Story)

XIII

    The bright fluorescent lights in the hospital woke me up quickly, and I smiled, seeing Reid there next to me.
    "Hey," I said, my voice hoarse.
    "Hey." He said, smiling too.
    "What's my diagnosis?"
    "Oh, just some bruises. Pretty nasty concussion. You threw up on the EMT." I laughed.
    "That's... embarrassing." He shrugged, the smile still on his face, never fading. "How's JJ doing?"
    "She's doing good. Surgery went well. You can see her some time, because they're letting you out soon." I smiled.
    "Good, when can I go back to work?" I asked, already prepared for another case at the B.A.U.
    "Uh, you're not. Not for a while." I frowned.
    "Oh, come on, Spence. Can you just talk to Hotch? I'm fine."
    "What about talking to me?" Hotch was waiting in the doorframe. I smiled when I saw him.
    "Hey, Hotch, good to see you."
    "Good to see you too, Miller. Now what's this about talking to me?"
    "Can I come back to work soon? If I'm getting released from the hospital in the next day or so, I should be able to come back to work next week. I'm fine. It was just a scratch or two." I knew I wasn't doing the best job at convincing, but it was worth a shot. Hotch gave the smallest sliver of a smile.
    "No. Absolutely not. I'm not having you prematurely coming back to work and getting more injured, can I?" I smiled at him, knowing he was right. "Take it easy, Miller."
    "Bye, Hotch."

    I was released the next day along with Emily and Garcia. Since JJ was shot, she would have to stay a little while longer, but we all went to visit her. Something about that day bonded us. Those experiences we shared would stick to us forever.
    We laughed a lot and talked about how anxious we were to get back to the B.A.U. I told them how I saw Hotch smile and they told me they didn't believe me. For a moment, despite how crazy everything was, it felt good. It felt happy.
    Spencer, obviously, insisted on staying with me despite how much I protested. I was barely hurt and I could get along fine on my own, but he wouldn't give in. He read to me a lot. All of his favorites, all of the classics. Despite the fact that I could read perfectly fine on my own, he seemed to enjoy reading to me, so I let him.
    There was only a week until I could return to work, and I couldn't wait. I had Spencer try to tell me about every single one of his cases that he could remember - which was basically all of them.
    I think he liked telling me about them, though. It gave him something to ramble about.
    The next day around one, the door rang and I walked over to answer it, my heart somewhat racing. Despite the fact that I knew the guy who kidnapped me and my friends were dead, I still looked through the peephole, thoughts running through my head.
    I sighed with relief, opening the door to see Garcia and Emily standing outside the door. "Hey, Andy. Long time no being kidnapped," Garcia said, letting herself in. She was dressed back in her usual bright clothing and I smiled at this little detail, knowing that things were slowly going back to the way they were.
    "Hey, guys, what's up?" I asked, shutting the door behind me.
    "We're going drinking every single night this week." Emily said giddily. I laughed.
    "Why?"
    "What do you mean, 'Why'? Is there a reason to want to get incredibly drunk the week before we start back up at the B.A.U.?" Garcia asked.
    "Don't you want to join us?" Emily asked, sitting down on my sofa.
    "Um, sure." I said, giving them alarmed looks.
    "Amazing. Invite Reid." Emily said. I blinked.
    "Reid doesn't drink and he's working." I reminded them, but Garcia shook me off.
    "Come on, you guys are dating now, right?"
    "Well, we haven't really put any labels on it..." I started, frowning. That was true - where did I really stand with Reid? Were we even dating in the first place?
    "Oh, please, you two are totally dating." Emily said with a laugh. "And everyone knows it. Even Hotch." I sighed.
    "He's not going to want to go out with us." I told them and Garcia rolled her eyes.
    "Just meet us downstairs tonight, okay?" She said, standing up. I nodded. "See you later, Princess."