Infiltration - Spencer Reid x Reader

Chapter Six

         

As soon as you laid down on the couch inside the conference room, you were fast asleep, relying wholly on Spencer to keep good on his word to guard the room. You had a fear of appearing weak in front of others, especially colleagues. To you, weak was the worst thing someone could be; you held yourself to the highest standards and never wanted to let your guard down should someone decide to take advantage of you. With that in mind, you should have known that your sleep wouldn't exactly be the most restful: it was dreamless at first, but soon you found yourself being awakened by the frantic shaking of some unknown hand.

You groggily came to, blinking the sleep from your eyes as your brain returned to its former state of alertness. Spencer was shaking you awake, repeating your name over and over. Were you dreaming? Why was he so keen on waking you up? Had something happened...?

"Agent (Y/L/N), please, wake up, you are scaring me!" You sat up quickly, seeing stars from the sudden movement. You realized then that you were soaked in your own sweat, panting hard, trying to refocus on Spencer and his hand on your shoulder. "You were screaming..." Spencer elaborated slowly. You were still dazed from the rude awakening, and swung your feet over the side of the couch and onto the floor, trying to regain control in such a helpless situation. You tried to stand up, only to fall back to the couch. You looked down at your limbs in shock, only to see them shaking violently. You hadn't had such bad dreams in a long time, and were genuinely scared that this would once again become a nightly occurrence.

Spencer sat beside you, placing his hand on your knee in order to try to steady your trembling. He searched your eyes, trying to figure out what he should say in such a situation. He had never dealt with someone else's nightmares, only his own. He empathized completely but wasn't sure how to show you this, so instead he squeezed your leg, trying to convey his understanding through touch. You closed your eyes, trying to slow your racing heartbeat and stop the shaking that overwhelmed your body. You leaned back into the couch, sliding ever so slightly nearer to Spencer as you did so. The feeling of his body so close helped to ground you, to bring you back to the present and reclaim your body.

When your trembling had quieted down significantly, Spencer got up from the couch without a word, releasing the soft pressure he had been placing on your leg that was comforting you immensely. You made a noise involuntarily when he stood, still not as clear minded as you should be. When you realized that a sound had escaped your lips, you looked down sheepishly, hoping that he hadn't heard you. You felt his glance linger on you just a bit as he walked out of the door. You breathed in slowly, trying to coax the heat away from your cheeks as you realized how Spencer's proximity had relaxed you. You scolded yourself, reminding your body that the reaction was not grounded in something emotional, but rather it was a physical reaction to find comfort in someone that was a "good guy," especially after being surrounded by bad people for the past year.

Spencer re-entered the room a few minutes later holding a hand towel. He repositioned himself beside you, careful to leave a bit more room than you had last time, and handed you the towel. It was cool, and you held it to your forehead, immensely appreciating the relief from the hotness of your night terror. Spencer stared at you until you removed the cloth from your forehead and then hesitantly put the back of his hand up to your forehead. "You're still quite warm, Agent. You may be ill. A temperature of over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit indicates a fever. Yours seems to be low-grade, but it could quickly worsen. You should be somewhere conducive to rest due to the chills and headaches that you will likely experience in the next few hours."

You gazed at Spencer in shock. Had he just diagnosed you? The amount of information that had just been uttered by him went entirely over your head; you couldn't process it in your state. The only thing you heard was "Somewhere... to rest." In a raspy voice filled with sleep-deprivation, you said "I don't have anywhere to go." You and Spencer both fell silent, and you processed how weak you had just sounded. Piping up again, you added: "I can find a hotel room. I don't know why I didn't..." "You can stay with me, if you are comfortable with that." Spencer interjected.

You peered at him and slowly started, "I don't want to impose. You don't even really know me. It's no hassle, I just need to collect my belongings from the Bureau first..." Your mind began to shift gears as you ran through the steps it would take to ascertain your hotel room. Was your ID still valid? Did you cancel your credit card before you went undercover? For the life of you, you could not remember. Spencer spoke up, "Most of your belongings are in holding and you would have to go to Bureau headquarters in order to obtain them due to the fact that the Bureau will only release personal artifacts of an agent to him or her in person."

You blinked, staying quiet. A bed, a private room, not having to somehow collect all the painful reminders of who you were a year ago? It all sounded so tempting. Spencer picked up on this, and quietly added: "It's no problem, Agent (Y/L/N). Really. I usually share a hotel room with another member of the BAU anyways. The way I see it, you are an agent, and are just as deserving as a paid-for room as any of us."

You smiled gratefully at Spencer, fighting the urge to breakdown due to his kindness. You nodded your head vigorously, waiting for Spencer to cue your next movement.

"Spencer...?" You asked. "Yes, Agent?"

"Please just call me (Y/F/N)."

***

Hey everyone, here's a 'present' of sorts to apologize for not updating in four months! I'm trying to make it up to you :) Thank you so much for the votes and comments, it really motivates me to keep writing and I love any feedback you want to give me! xx