Title: Recovery
By: curlyred
Pairing: gen
Rating: PG-13
WARNING: WiP
Summary: Post Revelations. The team helps Reid deal with everything after taking him home from the hospital.

***

The four of them paced the hospital lobby nervously. The team, minus Garcia who was still at headquarters in Quantico and Gideon, who had gone with Reid because he wouldn't allow anyone to touch him unless Gideon was there, were waiting anxiously for news on Reid's condition.

After they discovered Tobias Hankels cabin in the woods, Reid had managed to stumble over to the ambulance himself but that was about it. After a few hushed words he had passed out completely and was rushed to the hospital for examination.

"Calm down, guys," Hotch ordered "You're making me nervous."

"He'll be fine, right?" JJ asked nervously for the millionth time in the hour they'd been standing there.

"For the last time, JJ, I don't know," Hotch grumbled, "We're not doctors."

JJ took a step toward the desk and Morgan stopped her,

"Don't ask the doctor, he told us he'd let us know the second they know something."

"How'd you know I was going to ask him?"

"Cause that's what you do. You ask us, we say we're not doctors, you ask the doctors, they don't know yet so you come back and ask us."

"Sorry," She scowled, "I'm nervous."

"We're all nervous," Emily said, "You didn't make this happen, so just calm down."

JJ's eyes widened. The others knew that she secretly felt responsible for what happened to Reid because she had been with him, and it was kind of the unspoken rule of the team that they protect their youngest.

"Here," Hotch said, taking out his wallet and putting it in her hands, "Why don't you go down to the gift shop and buy Reid a nice teddy bear."

"That's a good idea," She said, taking Hotch's wallet and disappearing around the corner.

"Finally, a moment's peace," Morgan sighed.

"He will be alright though, won't he?" Prentiss asked.

The two men groaned.

"Where's JJ?" Gideon asked, appearing in the doorway.

"We had to send her off to the gift shop," Hotch explained, "She was freaking out."

Gideon frowned, "We've got some…news."

Morgan said "Good news?" at the same time Emily said "Bad news?"

"I don't know," Gideon said, "The doctor said there've been some complications."

"Why aren't you in there?" Hotch asked.

"They sedated him. He woke up but he couldn't move. Every time anyone other than me got near him he'd freak out so they had to put him under. They're running the tests now."

Hotch nodded slowly.

"I should go back in there in case he wakes up," Gideon said, turning to go, "I'll come back out the second I know something."

As soon as Gideon left JJ appeared with a large brown teddy bear. Noticing their faces she demanded,

"What, what happened?"

Hotch filled her in and she began pacing around, running her hands frantically over the teddy bear. Emily gently took the bear and JJ began pacing back and forth between Hotch and Morgan.

"He'll be alright, though, won't he?" She asked Morgan.

Morgan rolled his eyes.

"You know what, I think he needs a good get well card," Hotch said, "I'm not very good at these things, do you think you could pick one out."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," JJ said, running off toward the gift shop again.

Morgan and Hotch exchanged a look that said if it weren't for the circumstances they would be laughing.

"Maybe you should just tell her he'll be fine," Morgan suggested, "Then she'll stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off."

"Yeah, and what if that turns out not to be true," Emily demanded, "What would you do then?"

"I'll explain it to her," Morgan said aggrivatedly, "Just tell her something to shut her up."

"The gift shop thing seems to be working pretty well," Hotch mused, "Maybe we could get her to run across town and get the car fixed."

"You guys better not be talking about car repairs right now," Gideon appeared in the doorway, shaking his head.

They all turned their undivided attention to Gideon.

"His tox screen came back positive for diluad…I guess Tobias injected him with it," Gideon reported.

"Will he be okay?" JJ demanded, appearing in the doorway with an oversized card.

"We don't know yet," Gideon shook his head, "I should get back there."

"Sign this first." She thrust it into Gideon's hands.

He seemed startled by the sheer size of the card, it was two by three feet. Gideon signed the card and left again while the rest of the team passed around the enormous card. When that was done, Morgan called Garcia while JJ follwed him around, anxiously trying to hear Garcia's end as she dug up information on Diluad. Finally Morgan got frustrated with JJ's antics and said,

"Hold on a sec, sweetness…JJ!"

"What?" She demanded.

"I bet he'll be hungry when he wakes up…go get some candy or something."

She nodded and disappeared. Hotch looked up with the beginnings of a smile on his tired face. When Morgan hung up Gideon was once again standing in the doorway. JJ returned at the same instant with a basket of goodies.

"I finally got some answers," Gideon announced.

***

"Most importantly, he's going to be alright," Gideon announced, "He'll need some taking care of during the next couple of days but he should make a full recovery."

Morgan thought JJ was going to pass out from relief. They began chattering hopefully and Morgan started to dial Garcia.

"Wait," Gideon held up his hand, "Reid is suffering from muscular atrophy, it happens when you can't move for a very long time. It'll be a day or two before he can move at all and a week before he gets his full dexterity back…."

"That's got to be really frustrating for him," Emily muttered.

"That's not all. He's extremely dehydrated and hasn't eaten in days. His system needs to get the nutrients back but he won't be able to eat regular food for a few days. The doctor suggested we feed him baby formula. Then comes baby food and then we can start him on solid foods," he handed a folder to Hotch, "There's a detailed list in there of what he can and can't eat and when…It's all pretty complicated. They wanted to keep him here for a few days so they could take care of him but I said we would take him."

"Good call," Hotch said, "He probably wouldn't let the hospital staff touch him anyway."

"Right, so as soon as he wakes up we can take him home. Hotch, call the pilot."

Hotch nodded.

"In the mean time we can all come in and wait with him."

Gideon led the team down a long corridor to where Reid was lying unconscious in a hospital bed. He looked so small and helpless, lying in a hospital gown. He was covered in cuts and bruises and had obviously lost weight. His face looked drained and tired and even the twin sized hospital bed made him look tiny. Morgan sat on one side of him and Gideon on the other.

Morgan ran one big hand over Reid's hair.

"Why is he clean?" Hotch wondered.

"They threw him in this huge tub of water. Literally just dropped him in there. He freaked out. That's about the time he stopped letting them touch him," Gideon explained.

"Can't say I blame him," Emily frowned.

They hung around the room for fifteen more minutes musing about Reid when a doctor came in.

"How much longer until he wakes up?" Morgan asked.

"Shouldn't be long now," The doctor explained, "He might be a little shocky when he wakes up. Probably for a while. Are you sure you guys want to take him?"

"Yes," They all said vigorously.

"Well, you can go down to the desk and start filling out the paperwork."

Gideon stood up to go.

"Morgan, come with me," He demanded, "We might need Garcia to look up some stuff."

Morgan looked none too happy about leaving Reid, but reluctantly followed Gideon out into the lobby. Both were much more relaxed now that they knew he would be alright. Everyone except JJ. She kept pacing between Reid and Hotch.

"Will he really be alright?" She asked Hotch.

"Yes, the doctor said…"

"I know…I know….I just…" She fretted nervously.

"You know some flowers might be a nice gesture," Hotch said.

Before he could finish his sentence JJ was gone.

At the front desk, Gideon was filling our Reid's insurance forms while Morgan stared idly at a man trying to catch his two year old child, who was throwing a temper tantrum and running about the room.

"Cute little guy," Gideon commented, noticing Morgan staring.

"Yeah….I guess….."

"What?"

"You have a son, don't you?"

"Yeah….haven't seen him in a while."

"I….I don't know how people do it," Morgan sighed.

"What, you don't want kids?" Gideon asked.

"I think I've seen too much to ever want to bring another person into the world," Morgan sighed, "Besides I'd be a lousy father."

"Why do you say that?"

"I can't take care of a kid. Especially that age, when it's important. I'd lose him, drop him, feed him junk. I just don't have what it takes."

"You'd be surprised," Gideon said, amused at the strange turn this conversation had taken, "It's always different when it's your own."

"I just don't know…I'd want to be sure before I had a kid."

"Borrow one," Gideon suggested, "Maybe Hotch will let you."

"I've held Hotch's baby," Morgan said, "It was just werid."

"I'll tell you what," Gideon said, finishing the paperwork and shoving it at the nurse, "You can take care of Reid."

"Well, that's a little different, Reid is an adult," Morgan said, "But don't get me wrong, I want to take him."

"Good," Gideon said, "Let's go back. We'll want to be there when he wakes up."

Back in the hospital room, JJ was driving Hotch crazy, this time with a large boquet of flowers in her hand.

"How do you know he'll be fine?"

"The doctor said so," Morgan laughed, taking over as they entered.

"I know but how does he know?" She demanded, "It's been too long, what if he doesn't wake up."

"JJ, he'll wake up," Gideon attempted to calm the situation.

"Are you sure?" JJ looked at him pleadingly.

Hotch held up a hand as if to say 'I know how to handle this one'

"JJ," He suggested, "I bet he's going to be really cold in that gown. Why don't you run downstairs and get him a warm hoodie or something."

"Right….um…you're out of cash," She said, handing Hotch his empty wallet.

"Take mine," Morgan groaned, "Just go."

She took Morgan's wallet and hurried out of the room.

"How much more stuff can be left in the gift shop," Emily joked, motioning to the plethora of stuff that surrounded them.

By the time Reid started stirring, JJ was going frantic so Hotch sent her to the giftshop again. The rest of the team gathered around his bed, waiting. Finally, his eyes peeked open and he looked around, confused.

"Reid," Gideon said softly, "Spencer. Are you okay?"

Reid looked up at him silently, with fear in his features.

"It's okay," Gideon assured, "You're in the hospital…can you understand me?"

After a moment, Reid nodded slowly.

"Do you want to go back home?" Hotch asked.

"Give him a minute," Gideon demanded, "Emily, can you go get a wheelchair or something?"

Emily nodded and rushed off.

"Where am I?" Reid croaked softly.

"We're still in Georgia," Gideon replied. When he saw the younger agents eyes widen he said quickly, "Tobias is dead. We shot him, remember?"

Reid nodded quietly.

"We're going to take you home tonight," Hotch promised, "I've already got the pilot ready."

"I can't move," Reid said, his voice panicky.

"I know…you won't be able to move for a couple days," Morgan explained, "Don't worry, we'll take care of you."

Reid nodded and laid back down, unable to handle anymore.

"Reid," Morgan started.

"Let him rest," Gideon interrupted, "He's got a lot going on."

Emily came back with a wheelchair and Morgan and Hotch gently lifted Reid into it. He slumped over, his bare legs covered with goosebumps.

"I wish we had some pajamas or something," Gideon frowned, "It's cold out there."

JJ held up a pair of plaid patterned pajama pants and a hooded sweatshirt from the gift shop. Hotch laughed. The team went about the business of dressing the half conscious and immobile Reid before wheeling him down to the lobby, where Hotch had pulled the SUV around to take them to the airstrip.

The nurse told them that they couldn't keep the wheelchair so Morgan gently lifted Reid into the back of the SUV and the others piled in around him. When the got to the hangar, Morgan picked up Reid like you would carry a sleeping child and carried him onto the plane. The other team members filed in behind him, arms stuffed with giant cards, flowers, teddy bears and all JJ's other gift shop goodies.

Morgan layed Reid down on the couch part of the plane and covered him with a decorative blanket that JJ had picked up (where else) at the gift shop. Morgan watched awed as Reid slumped over. He really did have no muscle control at all.

"Don't worry, he'll get it back," Gideon said, as if reading his thoughts.

"He just looks so helpless," Morgan said.

"I know, but he's got us now. He'll be back to normal in no time."

"Is he going to be…the same…you know after something traumatic like this?" Morgan dared to ask.

"Now you sound like JJ," Hotch joked.

"I think so. Maybe he'll learn to ask us for help," Gideon said hopefully.

When the plane lifted off the ground, the team spread out along the seats and floor to get some much needed sleep, as no one had slept a wink since Ried's abduction. Three hours later the plane touched down in Quantico.

Morgan didn't even attempt to wake Reid before picking him up in the same way he'd done before, again being astonished at how little the young agent weighed. They set Reid down on a couch in Gideons office for a few minutes while JJ made coffee and the team began planning what they were going to do with him.

Morgan, as discussed earlier, would take Reid to his apartment and stay with him there. They made copies of the papers the doctor had given him to pass around, things he could and couldn't eat…sleeping, walking, exercises. It all amounted to a fairly large folder.

"This is kind of weird," Emily commented, "It's like a briefing for a case, but it's not."

"Profound," Morgan chuckled, starting to get his sense of humor back now that Reid was safely in their care.

"Shutup," She punched him lightly on the arm.

They decided that Morgan would keep Reid in his apartment for the first two days and if all went well he would bring him in to the BAU after that to sort of get him back into the field slowly. Obviously he wouldn't be working, as he would harldy be able to move, but the exposure to his everyday life would help him recover. Eventually they would even start taking him on social outings to get him comfortable being around lots of people again. After working out a detailed care plan, they all hugged the sleeping Reid and took off. Morgan carried Reid to his car and laid him down in the back. He had thought Reid was asleep but at the sound of the car door closing he jerked awake, a terrified expression consuming his features.

He let out a yelp, which was really all he was capable of and Morgan spun around to look at him.

"Reid, you alright?" He asked.

"Morgan?" Reid said in a panicked tone.

"Yeah, don't worry man, I'm just taking you home."

"Why am I in the back?"

"You can't sit in a seat, I just thought you'd be more comfortable. I can put you up here if you want."

Reid didn't respond. He seemed to be satisfied or not strong enough to make any further conversation because he slipped back into sleep. Morgan managed to park the car and carry him up the stairs to his apartment without waking him.

He fumbled briefly with the keys, which he had taken from his clothes before they'd been thrown away and got a strange look from a neighbor as he carried the unconscious Reid through the building.

Morgan laid Reid down on the couch and took a few minutes to get familiar with the place. He began opening cupboards and drawers to figure out where everything was. He felt a little funny going through Reid's stuff while he lay sleeping on the couch, but figured he should probably know since he'd be living here for a while. He sat on the chair, watching Reid as he waited for Gideon, who was going to run by the store and pick up some stuff for them.

When Gideon finally let himself in (he also had a copy of Reid's key) Morgan was flipping through the paperwork the doctor had given him.

"Oh man," he groaned, "It says here I have to wake him up every three hours tonight and try to force feed him baby formula."

Gideon chuckled, "Wait 'til you have kids."

"He's not going to eat it," Morgan predicted.

Gideon set the grocery bags down and took the paper from Morgan.

"Three ounces," He laughed, "That's nothing. You can force feed him that much. There's even a baby bottle in there." He motioned toward the bags.

"Would you sit with him well I run home and pack?" Morgan asked, "I need to take a shower too."

"Of course," Gideon said.

Once Morgan left, Gideon went into the kitchen and started putting away groceries. There were still three large bags of crap from the gift shop that Gideon didn't know what to do with so he began arranging it all on the dining room table. When it was all set out it amounted to quite the display. Gideon was still not entirely sure how they had managed to collect such a large amount of stuff.

He was distracted from his display by the sound of Reid whimpering. Gideon quickly sat on the edge of the couch where Reid could see him, assuming of course that Reid could see, he wasn't sure.

Reid in fact, could see nothing but blurs. It frightened him that he would wake up for a few minutes at a time, always in a different place from where he fell asleep and then slip out of consciousness before he could piece it all together. He was still not entirely sure what was happening.

"Reid, it's Gideon," He heard his bosses voice from next to him.

He whimpered again and tried to move his arm but nothing happened. When he realized that he couldn't move a sudden chill of terror began running up his spine. He must have shown it outwardly because he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and heard Gideon's voice saying, "You're alright, don't worry."

He tried to stay awake long enough to speak, to ask questions, to figure out what had happened, but his body was simply too exhausted and sleep overtook him again.

Satisfied that he had calmed his young friend, Gideon waited patiently for Morgan to return. Morgan's first words upon entering the apartment were,

"How is he?"

"Fine," Gideon said calmly, "He woke up for a few minutes and then fell back asleep. The doctor said after we start feeding him he'll build up enough strength to stay awake for longer."

"We should probably start feeding him soon," Morgan said, dropping his duffel bag and heading towards the kitchen. He laughed when he saw the display that Gideon had set up. The two men laughed quietly for a minute before Gideon joined Morgan in the kitchen.

Morgan had never made baby formula before, so Gideon showed him how to mix it and heat it up.

"Shouldn't we fill it all the way?" Morgan asked, noticing that the bottle was less than half full.

"No, he won't be able to eat any more than this. Probably won't even finish this."

"Can you reheat this stuff?"

"Yeah, just pop it in the microwave," Gideon said, "But this bottle's plastic, you can't put that in the microwave."

"Yeah, I got that," Morgan said snidely, "I do have some common sense, you know?"

"Do you?" Gideon smiled, handing him the bottle, "Let's see you do this."

Morgan walked over to the couch and sat down on the edge next to Reid and started trying to position the bottle.

"You're going to feed him laying down?" Gideon asked skeptically.

"No," Morgan corrected, gently lifting Reid into an upright position, leaning back against Morgan's chest. Morgan once again tried to position the bottle.

"You're going to do it while he's asleep?" Gideon asked, "Don't you think he'll choke?"

"Dammit," Morgan cursed, "See, this is why I can never have kids."

"I'm sorry," Gideon apologized for teasing him, "You're doing fine, just wake him up first."

"Reid," Morgan shook him, "Reid, wake up."

Reid whimpered in response. His eyes opened but he could only make out sillhouttes.

"It's Morgan," Morgan announced.

Reid could feel a warm arm wrapped around his tiny figure. He attempted to speak but what came out wasn't quite words.

"Hey, listen, Reid, you have to drink this, okay?" Morgan said gently, "It'll probably taste like crap."

"You have a real bedside manner, you know that?" Gideon teased.

"Hey, I'm giving fair warning," Morgan defended as he gently forced the nipple into Reid's mouth.

"He's not drinking it," Morgan whispered.

"Squeeze some out and he'll swallow it," Gideon instructed.

Morgan obeyed and gave the bottle a hard squeeze. Reid moaned as formula came dripping down his face.

"Jeez, Morgan, I didn't mean that much," Gideon frowned, handing him a tissue, "Just a little bit at a time."

Morgan, clearly frustrated, wiped the formula from Reid's face and began administering the formula more slowly. Reid slowly but surely swallowed most of what was given to him, with only little bits dribbling down his face. Finally, when he couldn't handle any more, Reid grunted in protest and forced his head to turn away. Deciding not to force it anymore, Morgan removed the bottle from his face and stared at it curiously before taking a sip himself.

"Well?" Gideon asked amusedly.

"It's not too bad, it's kinda….I don't know how to describe it."

Gideon took the bottle and drank the little bit that remained before taking it to the kitchen to clean it out. Reid had fallen back into a deep sleep so Morgan slid out from under him and followed Gideon into the kitchen.

"Well that was an adventure," He said shortly, "I almost messed up like ten times."

"You did fine," Gideon assured, "Besides, now you know."

"But he's so fragile," Morgan protested, "What if I really hurt him."

"Relax, you've got common sense, you can handle it. He can't even move, there's not to much room for error," Gideon pointed out.

"I know," Morgan replied, "I'm sorry, I've just never seen him so helpless."

"He needs us," Gideon said frankly, "Do you need me to stay."

"No, I can handle it," Morgan decided, "Thanks though."

Morgan watched Gideon go before turning to Reid. It had been a long day and Morgan was exhausted. Reid was already out cold and Morgan took a moment to look at him. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Nothing like the fear and trauma that undoubtedly plagued him while he was awake. He was sure the agent lying helplessly before him would have more psychological trauma than he could handle when he could stay awake for more than a few minutes.

Morgan scooped him up as he had before and was once again surprised at how limp and weightless Reid seemed. He carried him into the bedroom and moved the covers back with his foot. Morgan was pleased to see that Reid had a king sized bed, this way Morgan could stay with him all night without feeling weird sharing a bed. He set Reid gently down on one side of the bed and pulled the blankets over his limp body. He softly brushed the hair out of Reid's face before walking over to his own side of the bed.

He set the alarm for three hours later, in time for Reid's next feeding and turned off the light. The second the light went of he heard Reid let out a whimper of fright.

"You okay, Reid?" He asked.

Reid mumbled something that sounded like "where am i?"

"You're at home," Morgan assured, climbing into bed next to him, "We're going to sleep, okay?"

Hearing Morgan's voice seemed to calm him down enough to slip back into sleep.