Chapter 13

A steady bleep was all Prentiss could hear as she sat keeping vigil by Reid's bed in the hospital. Once the doctors had looked him over thoroughly and declared that he was going to be OK. Miraculously he had not suffered from brain damage from his time in the water and his dehydration would subside after they had pumped him full of IV fluid. The only visible marks Douglas had left were a bloody nose, a slightly busted lip, a small cut on his cheek bone from the knife and a cluster of small burns on his shoulder that were just visible under the collar of his hospital gown. No one had talked to Reid yet, so they could not be sure of his mental state, but they all knew that he would get though it with the team by his side.

Morgan and Rossi had headed back up to Quantico, delivering the fantastic news to Garcia, leaving Hotch and Prentiss alone at the hospital. Hotch had been waiting for this moment all day.

He wordlessly sat beside Prentiss, and for a few moments of comfortable silence they looked down at the serene sleeping face of Reid.

"You were brilliant," Hotch said quietly, almost a whisper.

"Aaron, I - " Prentiss began, her voice full of uncertainty.

"No, it's Ok, Emily, you don't have to say anything," Hotch took her hand in his and gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. She closed her eyes, relaxed and comforted by Hotch's touch.

"What now?" she breathed, gazing into those dark eyes that matched her own so perfectly. Hotch responded with a kiss, like the one at the BAU offices; it was slow yet passionate, her rhythm matching his exactly. Prentiss felt the stirrings of something more inside her, and she wished they were anywhere else but here.

Prentiss kissed Hotch more deeply. It was only a few minutes but it felt like a whole lifetime.

"What - what are you doing?" Reid croaked groggily and Prentiss and Hotch immediately broke away from each other and looked guiltily at one another and Reid.

"Reid, you're awake!" Hotch said, trying to move on swiftly

"Where you kissing just then?" he asked, puzzled, as his eyes darted back and forth between his friends.

"Umm..." Hotch was rarely caught off guard, but when he was, he was as speechless as a naughty teenager.

"Yes," Prentiss said simply, "What about it?"

"Oh, errr, nothing," Reid said, now feeling like the awkward one as Hotch laughed at Prentiss' bluntness, "I just didn't know... Hey, is Douglas' ex-wife ok? Did he fine her?"

Grateful for the subject change, Hotch leaned forward and prepared to give Reid the shocking ending of this ordeal.

"Douglas' ex-wife is fine, so is her new husband," Reid sighed with relief when he heard this, "But we found Peter Douglas' body a few hours ago. He drove off a bridge, Reid, he's dead."

"What?" confusion cast a dim haze over Reid's features as he struggled to comprehend.

"He was found in his car. He drowned. He was clutch a photo of his ex-wife and...the authorities aren't sure if it was suicide or an accident." Prentiss said this and stared into Reid's brown eyes, trying to tell what he was thinking. There were tears in his eyes and they were darting from side to side, as if he was trying to make sense of the news.

"It's my fault...I pushed him and pushed him," Reid said, tearfully, "I was angry and I profiled him and he lost it. He killed himself because of me."

"He tried to kill you as well though Reid. He was an emotionally unstable man," Hotch said in a comforting, low voice, "If it wasn't you, it would have been something else, Reid. Don't blame yourself. You were brilliant."

Reid looked into the earnest eyes of his boss and nodded sadly.

"He always felt overshadowed. Like he couldn't compare to others and his wife leaving him only made it worse," Reid couldn't help defending the man who had almost killed him, Prentiss noted sadly. He was always trying to see the good in people, just like he had with Tobias Hankel.

"Reid, Douglas' wife didn't just leave him for an FBI agent. He beat her, and her daughter. He was an abusive husband, always blaming others for his faults," Prentiss said softly, taking Reid's trembling hands in her. He had shut his eyes and leaned his head back on his pillow. His hair was so short now compared to how it used to be, but it still splayed out over his pillow and around his head like a halo.

"Are you feeling Ok, Reid?" Hotch asked delicately, the way he asked making it clear that he wasn't asking about Reid's physical injuries.

Reid opened his eyes and stared straight ahead of him, "I thought I was going to die or get tortured or never see my friends again, or my mom..."

He trailed off, his gaze becoming unfocused. Prentiss and Hotch shared a worried glance.

"...but I got out. I survived AGAIN, and I was strong. I didn't break," he turned to look at his friends who were anxiously leaning closer to hear his words, "You saved me too. All of you... I feel safe knowing you're there. And I know I am strong. I didn't know that after Hankel. I thought I survived by a fluke, a miracle. But now I know I was strong. And I have the best team...friends..."

And with that, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Prentiss and Hotch stayed with him and were there when he woke.