delicate • s.r. {completed}

• chapter seventeen •

~your pov~

You woke up to the sounds of people talking in your room, their hushed whispers somehow pulling you out of your dreamless dreamland.

It sounded as if Spencer was there, and Derek, and JJ, and Emily, and Hotch, and Rossi, and Luke, and Garcia. You opened your eyes to people scattered around your hospital room in an assortment of chairs, their faces turning as you shifted yourself up into a sitting position. They all greeted you, keeping their voices relatively quiet.

"Hey, guys. What are you all doing here?"

"We came to visit you!"

You turned at JJ's voice, seeing her smiling at you as she shrugged her shoulders. It brought a smile to your face, and you allowed yourself to relax around your team members.

"Well, thank you. You guys didn't have to do that."

They all immediately burst out in a protest, spouting things like "we're family!" and "of course we did!" until you waved them down. They all started laughing, and you joined in, surprised you were able to without it hurting too much.

You all talked amongst yourselves for a little bit before a nurse came in, pushing through the gaggle of people to get to you. They all pushed themselves and their chairs back against the wall, giving her space to take your vitals and administer medicine.

"You're starting some new antibiotics today, okay? They're gonna make you feel a bit groggy at first, but that's normal when you first start taking these."

She smiled at you as she flushed your IV with saline before attaching a new syringe, slowly pushing the plunger down until the clear liquid was coursing through your veins. It stung a little, your face contorting as the pain built then subsided. She closed the port and wrote some things down on your chart, allowing the rest of the team to gather around you once more. The effects of the medicine were already hitting you, and you could barely feel Spencer's hand lace with yours as he got closer.

"I think this is our cue to leave."

Everyone nodded at Rossi's words, stacking the chairs in the corner of the room before filing out. JJ and Emily stopped and squeezed your leg, smiling before leaving the room as well. Now it was just you and Spencer.

"How you feeling?"

You shrugged your shoulders. "Tired. Those antibiotics take effect very quickly."

He moved over to your chart and quickly scanned it, nodding at the medications listed.

"They gave you stuff to help combat pretty much everything, so it's gonna take a much bigger toll on your body than normal antibiotics. You should sleep, it'll help."

You nodded, lowering yourself down to a flat position on the small hospital bed. You turned on your side to face Spencer, a small smile on his face as he started to wheel himself out.

All of a sudden, memories came flooding back. Him, forced out of the room, not allowed to touch you or see you. That same feeling came over you, the overwhelming need to have him close to you.

"Wait!"

He turned, his brows pulled together in concern.

"Can you stay with me?"

His expression softened at your words, a small smile forming on his lips as he wheeled himself towards you. His hand reached out and grabbed yours, and he pulled it up to his lips to gently kiss it, as if doing it any harder would break you.

"Always."

You felt the feeling ease, your body relaxing against the mattress. You felt Spencer's hand run through your hair, untangling it and combing it out. It made you feel like a small child, like you had just had a nightmare and gone into your mom's room for comfort.