Only a Human (spencer reid x oc) ✅

epilogue

7 years later...

Hospitals had to be the worst places on earth.

Don't get me wrong, you can have good memories at hospitals. Like bringing your child into the world or seeing a person overcome their battles and manage to get better. But more often than not, hospitals can bring you a lot of pain and sadness. People suffer here. People can be ripped from your life here.

I just hoped that wasn't going to happen to me today.

We had been working on a rough case. Everett Lynch had been on a spree, managing to torment all of us in the process. Yesterday, we thought it would be just a normal takedown. We thought we had him surrounded and Spencer had given the go ahead for the SWAT team to enter the house we thought Lynch was in.

An explosion happened, causing six agents to die. Spencer took it to heart. He was frustrated all last night, mulling over what he missed. He had been by himself for a while when we heard a thud. I sent Delilah up to see if her dad was okay and everything after that seemed like a sick joke.

Delilah's scream pulled me from my thoughts and I ran up to the office only to find Spencer on the floor, passed out and starting to convulse. We called the ambulance and they came quickly.

Now we're at the hospital, hoping that he would wake up.

The doctors told us there was swelling in his brain and if the swelling didn't stop, we could lose him.

I had been so wrapped up in all of this that I forgot to tell the team. So when I got a call this morning asking why we weren't at work, they all freaked out a bit when I told them the news.

Thankfully, I had a saving grace in the form of Penelope Garcia come and stay at the hospital with us. She was keeping Delilah occupied and taken care of while also making sure I was okay.

Delilah was currently passed out with her head on Penelope's lap as she stretched out on the small couch in the room. I was seated next to the bed, my hand not daring to leave his.

He wasn't showing signs of getting better, but he wasn't getting worse. It was this weird moment in between. Something inside me told me to speak to him, not caring if he could hear me or not. I leaned forward in my chair and gave his hand a squeeze, my other hand lightly running up and down his arm.

"Hey, Spence. I don't even know if you can hear me, but I figured I'd give it a shot."

I was trying to speak softly and I could already feel myself start to choke up.

"I remember being in a similar situation like this with you years ago. You didn't know when or if I would wake up, but you came to my bedside every day and talked to me. The sound of your voice was like music to my ears and seemed to be my best medicine. You always told me what was going on with Delilah and the team or other things that just popped into your mind. You read to me, played my favorite songs, basically anything that you thought would make me more comfortable, you were going out of your way to do all that without even knowing if I could hear you. You told me how much you loved me every single day. But-"

A sob stopped me from speaking. I took a moment to compose myself before speaking again.

"But you also understood how much pain I must have been in. And you always told me that no matter how much it would hurt you, that it was okay for me to let go. I guess I'm here to tell you the same thing."

I brought his hand up to my lips, placing a kiss on his knuckles. I wiped away a few stray tears and continued.

"But I want you to fight, Spencer. I need you to keep trying. Because you've got way more of a life to live. Your mom still needs you. I still want to go out on dates and cuddle with you every moment I can. You deserve to see Delilah grow up. There's still so much more for you to teach her. And I really don't want this next one to grow up not even meeting you."

I could hear a gasp and I turned my head to see Penelope with tears in her eyes.

"Are you?"

"We found out a few days ago. He was so excited."

I turned back to look as him. His face didn't look as peaceful as it does when we're in our bed together, but he looked calm.

"That's me being selfish though. Do what feels best for you. And if the best thing you can do is let go, I won't be mad. I could never be mad at you. I just hope that you keep fighting."

After that, it was silent for a while. The sun was setting and it was getting harder and harder to wait for an answer.

Delilah was in my lap, laying the top half of her body on his bed. She had only said a few words to him before she started crying. A nurse had been in, taking his vitals and observing his behavior.

There was a flicker of hope when we saw him open his eyes for a brief moment.

"That's really good," the nurse said with a smile. It wasn't much, but it was enough to lighten our spirits a bit.

Seeing his eyes open spurred Delilah to talk a bit more. She and Penelope were sharing stories and memories of Spencer.

"Right now I am plucking a memory of Spencer's eyes and they are brown with gold on the outside," Penelope thought outloud.

"I think they're gold on the inside," Delilah spoke up.

After she shared that fact, he started to open his eyes, confirming the fact that Delilah was right.

"Dad!" she cheered as she crawled on the bed and gave him a light hug. He slowly moved his arm to wrap around her back and placed a kiss on her head.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked as I ran my hand through his hair.

"A little weird," he said with a scratchy voice. "I heard you." He gave me a smile and reached out to grab my hand, pulling me over to sit next to him on the bed. His hand then found it's way to my stomach, lightly running his fingers over my not-yet-visible bump.

"There was no way I would get out of having all the fun of raising another baby."

We both laughed and I leaned over to give him a gentle kiss. With all of his strength, he squeezed Delilah and I closer. We were all squished together on the hospital bed, but we were right where we wanted to be; in each other's arms and ready to take on the next chapter of our lives together.

That's a wrap!!! Thank you all so much for reading this story. As of right now, I'm working on another story, which isn't another criminal minds story. But don't worry! I will write about dear Spencer again and maybe even revisit the story of Spencer and Ariel. Thank you again for all the love and support! Abby <3