Annoyance (Spencer Reid x Reader)

Recovery

Spencer's POV

Despite the fact that you had been sleeping for days, you had no problem falling asleep later that night. Spencer kept watch next to you, as he was accustomed to doing. Except this sleep was not restful. At some point after you had closed your eyes, your breathing started to become labored. Spencer calculated the time in his head. You were in the middle of REM sleep. You were dreaming. But these were not sweet dreams. Your heart rate was starting to spike, to the point where Spencer started to seriously worry. He reached out to you from his chair, cupping your cheek in the palm of his hand.

He whispered your name over and over again, trying to wake you up gently as he stroked your cheekbone with his thumb. If anything, you were becoming even more agitated. Spencer stood up fully, standing over you and calling your name a bit louder. He used his other hand to squeeze your shoulder, trying to do anything he could to get you away from whatever it was you were seeing. Your eyes snapped open suddenly and you gasped, your first instinct being to shove him away.

"Stop!" you shrieked. Spencer backed away as quickly as he could, throwing his hands up to show you he wasn't a threat.

"It's just me, it's Spencer!"

You paused, taking a moment to look around the room and gather yourself. One of the attending nurses burst in. The both of you turned to her surprisedly.

"It was just a nightmare," Spencer explained. She looked between the two of you, your frightened expression and his defensive stance.

"If you could please step out for a moment, sir," she said firmly.

"No, no, it's okay!" you protested. "He can stay, it's okay!"

She hesitated, sizing Spencer up for a moment before turning to you.

"Press the call button if you need anything, ma'am."

You nodded to her reassuringly and she cautiously walked out, leaving the two of you alone again. Spencer hesitantly moved towards you, going to sit in the chair next to you. You looked at each other in the awkward silence. Spencer couldn't take it.

"What did you see?" he asked. You just shook your head, turning away from him. He reached out to hold your hand, waiting until you had fallen asleep again before he begrudgingly slept too.

-

Spencer had argued against it, had told Hotch it wasn't a good idea. But with Emily still missing, they needed to interview you, figure out as much as they could so that they could find her. Spencer knew you weren't ready, knew you couldn't handle it, but Morgan was here anyways, sitting where Spencer had sat last night while Spencer stood in the corner, watching. He just knew it wasn't going to end well.

You had been mostly silent since you had woken up, likely still processing everything that had happened. Usually in times like these you would at least cry or show some kind of worry, but your face was blank as a slate. Spencer could only partially comprehend what was going through your mind. Sometimes you would stare off into space for extended periods of time, or sigh forlornly with no visible reason; other times you would bite your nails or examine your arms and hands, picking at your scabs and running your fingers over what were soon to be new scars. Spencer had almost given up trying to stop you from marring your already damaged skin. It was like you were doing it unconsciously. Even with distractions like your phone or books, you always went back to your injuries.

"Are you ready?" Morgan asked, taking your hand in his.

"Yeah."

Your voice was meek. You were not ready for this at all. But Morgan asked you to close your eyes anyways, asked you to walk him through what had happened.