Title: Barely Breathing
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Spencer Reid
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Spencer Reid, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Spencer's muscles tensed as he stared at the door of the hotel room, the door that he knew Greg was hidden behind. Was Foyet there with him? Or was the killer long gone, leaving only Greg's lifeless body behind him as a grisly surprise for the BAU?

He shivered at the thought, his breath catching in his throat. He didn't want to think of Greg's body being behind that door; he wanted to believe that Greg was there, unharmed, and that Foyet had left. Even if Foyet escaped, at least Greg would still be alive.

Even as the thought coalesced in his mind, he knew that wouldn't be possible. Greg might be alive, and Foyet could very well be long gone -- but he knew in his heart that his boyfriend wouldn't be unharmed. His abductor would have made sure of that.

He had no idea what Foyet had done to Greg, but he knew that this man wouldn't have kidnapped his lover unless he intended to do Greg harm. This was meant to be a message to the BAU: Spencer just hoped that Greg's life hadn't been sacrificed as part of that message.

All he could do was wait until the police made their move, broke down the door and entered the room. He wasn't in the forefront of the action, but he was here -- and he would know within just a few moments if Greg was still with him, or if he was gone forever.

He looked over at Hotch, who nodded grimly, then looked towards the closed door. There were two armed cops in front of them; Spencer knew that Hotch and Morgan would enter the room after them, and then he would be next. He would know soon enough what had happened.

His breath constricted in his throat again; the only thought in his mind was that Greg couldn't be taken from him, not like this. Not by Foyet. It would be bad enough if his boyfriend met with some accident in the line of duty. Fate couldn't just rip him away.

Greg deserved better than this. He should have been around to protect the man he loved; he should have known that Foyet would do something like this once he escaped from prison. He should have warned Greg, should have been prepared for some catastrophe.

He was barely breathing as he waited for the police to give the signal, his nervous wound so tight that he was sure they would snap. He'd been on this side of similar doors before, but there had never been as much at stake as there was now.

Spencer had never felt such anxiety in his life; nothing had ever meant as much to him as finding out that Greg was all right, that the man he loved was still alive. All he could do was wait, barely breathing through these long, interminable moments before all hell broke loose.

He wanted to take a deep breath, but he couldn't. If he did, then he was sure that he would cough, or make some other kind of noise that would alert Foyet to their presence if he was still in the room. Even the slightest sound could seal Greg's fate.

If his nerves were stretched any more tightly, all of the people around him would hear them vibrating like a plucked harp string, Spencer thought, focusing his attention on the door. He had to try to calm down, to stop the rush of fear that threatened to overwhelm him.

Greg was behind that door, and Spencer had to believe that he was still alive. If he didn't, then his entire world would fall apart around him; he would have nothing left to keep living for. Everything would turn to ashes; nothing would ever make him happy again.

How had Greg come to mean so much to him in so short a time? He had no answer for that; all he knew was that he could barely breathe at the thought of losing Greg, as though the life was being squeezed out of his body, the air from his lungs, the hope from his heart.

Spencer closed his eyes for just a few seconds, forcing his thoughts into a semblance of calm before he opened them again and focused on the moment at hand. He couldn't give in to the panic that skittered around the edges of his consciousness; he had to stay alert and focused.

His breath hitched in his throat again as he saw the man directly in front of the door start to turn his head and give the nod that would be the signal for them to break down the door and rush into the room; this was what he'd been waiting for. The moment of truth.

Only a moment more .... Spencer almost winced at the sound of the door splintering and flying inwards. He didn't want to step across that threshold, didn't want to see what he was dreading. He was positive that whatever he saw would rip his heart to shreds.

He moved through the doorway, trying not to focus his gaze in any one place. But a soft moan drew his attention to the bed -- and the naked man lying face down, his wrists and ankles bound to the bedposts. Greg. Tied down, but alive. Not a lifeless corpse.

Spencer almost let out a cry of joy as he made his way across the room, not caring what he might be walking into. He didn't care if Foyet appeared in front of him to block his path to his boyfriend's side; if he had, Spencer would have knocked him out of the way.

But Foyet didn't appear to be there; he had left Greg alive, which was unprecedented for him. Spencer sat down on the bed, slowly, reaching out a trembling hand to remove the gag from Greg's mouth and turn him over slowly once Morgan had cut the ropes that bound him.

Greg stared up at him, his dark eyes wide with fear, seemingly unable to believe that he was looking at Spencer. Without thinking, Spencer reached for the other man, gathering Greg into his arms; he didn't care what anyone else might think of that heartfelt embrace.

All that mattered was that Greg was alive, that he was here in his arms, safe and unharmed. At least he looked unharmed; he didn't seem to have been stabbed, or shot, though Spencer was sure that he already knew what had been done to him.

"Greg?" he whispered, needing confirmation from Greg himself that he was all right. "Are you okay?" He felt silly asking the question; Foyet had held Greg captive for more than twenty-four hours. Of course he wasn't okay. But at least he was still alive.

That was more than Spencer had expected. He felt as though he'd been barely breathing since he'd found out that his lover had been kidnapped; he had been twisted up in knots, his emotions so tangled that he'd been certain that he would never be able to think clearly again.

"H-he ...." Greg gulped, burying his face against Spencer's shoulder and wrapping thin arms around him. Spencer could feel the hot tears through the fabric of his shirt; he had no doubt of what Foyet had done to Greg. The blood on Greg's thighs and on the sheets was silent proof.

"Shhh, sweetheart," Spencer whispered, burying his face against Greg's hair, holding back his own tears. "I know. I know what he did. We're going to get you to a hospital, okay? I know it might seem invasive, but we need to make sure you're okay."

Greg nodded, gulping again, then sniffling. Spencer was silent, waiting for his boyfriend to say something, but Greg only held on to him more tightly. At least he was capable of doing that, Spencer told himself; it was a good sign that Greg wasn't panicked and hysterical.

That could very well come later. It wasn't something that he relished dealing with, but he intended to be there every step of the way for his boyfriend. He was going to stay with Greg for as long as he was needed, even if it meant taking an extended leave of absence from the BAU.

The thought of being able to stay with Greg took his breath away again. Would it be possible? He was sure that Hotch would approve a leave of absence for him; Hotch knew how it felt to lose someone he loved, and he would be glad that it hadn't happened to Spencer.

It might not be to easy to get that permission to be away from work for a while from Strauss, but he was fairly sure that Hotch would make it happen. And if he had to resign from the BAU to be with Greg on a full-time basis for a while .... well, then, he would do it.

He was barely breathing again, as he thought of a future where he could be with Greg every moment of every day. It might not last forever -- he didn't think that Greg would want to take him away from the BAU for good -- but he would be here in Vegas for a while.

Whatever he had to do to assure that would happen, then he'd do it. He wasn't going to leave Greg alone while he tried to recover from something that had happened to him because of his involvement with Spencer. Greg deserved to be loved and cared for.

Someone handed him a blanket to wrap around Greg; he did so carefully, knowing that he couldn't carry Greg out of here. His boyfriend would be taken out of the hotel on a stretcher, then taken to a hospital via ambulance. And he intended to be right by Greg's side through it all.

He wasn't going to leave. It didn't matter what anybody else might think -- he would stay with Greg every second that he could. The BAU didn't need him as much as his lover did; the others would understand. He was sure that they wouldn't begrudge him time with Greg.

He could so easily have lost the man he loved tonight, Spencer told himself, feeling a lump rise in the back of his throat. He would be grateful every day that he hadn't lost Greg; he already felt that he was starting to breathe easier. They'd had a narrow escape this time.

If Foyet came back into their lives, they would be prepared for him, Spencer told himself grimly. He had a score to settle with that bastard. He was sure that they hadn't heard the last of Foyet -- and the next time they met, he would have vengeance in his heart and justice on his side.

***