Chapter Text
You open your eyes, struggling to adjust to the bright fluorescent lights above your head. Instinctively, you lift your hand to your nose, trying to remove whatever is obstructing it. Your fingers tighten around the thin plastic tubing and you try to pull it out, groaning softly in frustration when it won’t come out.
“Hey, hey, stop,” says a soft voice beside you. You turn to see Penelope, sitting in an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair. “You need that to breathe, Y/N.” She looks stressed, but relief covers her face behind her bright red polka-dotted glasses.
You’re in the hospital, you realize. As you slowly become more aware of your surroundings, you become more aware of your own body as well. Pain blossoms in your stomach, and you gasp as it hits you. One of the monitors in the room starts beeping rapidly
Penelope hurries over to your bedside. “You’re okay!” she promises. “Relax.” She places a hand on your shoulder and you try to take a deep breath, but it only hurts your stomach.
“What happened?” you croak.
“You were shot,” Penelope explains hurriedly. “That bastard Sullivan hit you right in the stomach. The rest of the team is out in the waiting room, I couldn’t do the ambulance transport thing because you know, I love you but blood, ick, so I followed in the car-” She catches her breath before continuing. “They got the unsub. He’s dead. Boy Wonder shot him, but not before he managed to get you.”
You close your eyes, trying to remember, but it’s all fuzzy. “The vic?” you ask. “The missing girl?”
“Fine,” Penelope confirms. “Her arm was broken, but she’s going to be okay. She’s back with her parents and brother.”
There’s a knock on the door, and you look up to see Rossi and Morgan standing at the door. “You look great, kid,” Morgan says, a half-grin on his face. You smile back at him, sensing the cadence of a joke but not knowing exactly how bad you look.
“How you feeling?” Rossi asks. “Doctors told us you got lucky. Half an inch over, and you might’ve died.”
“I’ve felt better,” you tell the two of them. “Thank you for staying, you really didn’t have to.”
“What were we going to do, leave?” Rossi asks you, chuckling.
“Yeah,” Penelope chimes in. “We’re not going anywhere. The rest of the team is outside if you want them to come in. We didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
You use all your strength to sit up a little bit. “I’d love to see them,” you tell her.
JJ, Hotch, and Prentiss appear at the door a few minutes later, bringing laughter and relief with them. You look around at your team, all chattering happily, a soft smile on your tired face, but it fades when you notice someone missing. You turn to JJ.
“Where’s Reid?” you ask her. The rest of the team carries on laughing about something Rossi had said, not noticing your side conversation.
She hesitates before leaning down to speak softly right into your ear. “He left,” she says. “He felt awful about not stopping Sullivan before you were shot. He didn’t want to face you.”