One-shots/Short Stories

Spencer Reid - Part II

The Hostages - Part II
"Hey. . .Claire, come on, stay awake." Reid told the weak woman, shaking her body gently. "Come on, if I can stay awake, you can."
"Spencer. . ." she slurred, "it's been days."
"I know, I know." Reid murmured against her head, adjusting her body on his lap. "I promise we'll find some food and water for you."
"But I want to sleep. . ."
"I know, but until you get some food and water, you can't fall asleep. There's a chance that you might not ever wake up again." Reid told her concerned. "Come on. . ." Reid lifted her very light and skinny body in his arms, and started walking. Reid felt guilty at their situation; if he hadn't have acted on his plan, they would have still been living in the shed where it kept them a bit warm, and where Mason would have probably given them food. Yet here they were; cold, hungry, thirsty, and weak. To make it worse, Claire had a high fever. To keep her warm, not only did he wrap her in the blanket they had still, but he gave her his button up, leaving him shirtless (A/N: Yum. Sorry, couldn't help it 😋).
Reid stumbled through the never ending forest, looking for a source of edible food or some water, while also keeping and eye on Claire. And then he heard it.

Water flowing down a stream.

With newfound energy, he started making his way to the sound, revealing a small river of clear water. Reid gulped eagerly, licking his dry lips. He stumbled his way to the small stream, falling to his knees in the water. Placing Claire on the edge near the water, he cupped his hands with water and gave a greedy gulp of the water, the coolness of the water soothing his dry throat. After splashing water all over him, he made his way to Claire to find her unconscious. Reid started to panic at the chance that she'd never wake up.
"Claire? Claire, wake up. I kept my promise, I found some water for you. Come on." Reid pulled the blanket away from her and ripped a piece of his shirt off, dipping it in the water. Going to Claire, he opened her mouth and started squeezing water into her mouth. He watched with relief as she swallowed all of the water, slowly regaining consciousness. He lifted her into his arms and started walking them into the water. She needed to be cooled down. Slowly, he lowered her body to the water, making sure he held a good grip on her. Using the ripped shirt, he started to wipe the dirt smudges off her, cleaning her skin as much as he could, regaining back her beauty.
"Mhh? Sp. . .Spencer. . ."
"Claire." Reid breathed out, cupping her face with one hand. She slowly opened her eyes, smiling tiredly up at him. "Thank God you're okay."
"Mhh. . .I feel cool. . ."
"I found water, look." Reid said happily. "You were heating up, so I put you in the cool water. It's refreshing, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Claire sighed in bliss, snuggling into his chest. Reid wrapped his arms protectively around her, holding her close like she was a newborn. "I'm thirsty."
"Here." Using one hand, he cupped some water in his hand and quickly gave it to her. She drank from his hand greedily, pulling away afterwards with a small content smile. "See? Everything is going to be okay." Reid smiled gently against her head.

***

Using the blanket as a towel, Reid dried them off, creating a fire to help dry the blanket so Claire could use it again. While the blanket was drying, Reid used his body heat to warm her up. Claire sat on his lap in a curled ball, nuzzling into his warm neck. Reid traced small circles on her side, holding her close to his body while staring into the fire. It was almost nightfall, making it their third night in the wilderness. They decided to stay near the river for a while until they felt stronger, and hopefully then someone would have found them by then.
"Spencer?"
"Yes, Claire?"
"Are we ever going to get out of this?"
"Of course!" Reid told her, but started to second guess. Was the team still looking for them? What if they found Mason and decided to leave? What about Claire? She needed the hospital. "I promise you we will get out of this." Reid vowed to her. "Whether if only one of us has to survive or not."
"What are you saying. . .?"
"I'm saying, I will do everything I can go get you out of this, even if I might not be with you."
"Spencer, you're not going to sacrifice yourself for me."
"I'll do anything for you." Reid cupped her face in his hands, making her look up at him. "You have such a bright future ahead of you, you deserve to live more than I do."
"No." Claire shook her head. "I am not leaving this forest unless you are with me. I-I need you."
"I brought us into this." Reid said guiltily. "If we had just stayed back at the cabin -"
"We would have died by the hands of Mason." Claire told him. "I'm glad we found an escape."
"It's not really an escape." Reid muttered. "We've been out here for days. We're cold, hungry, and you have a fever. All because of me."
"Stop thinking like that." Claire demanded. "We're alive still, aren't we?"
"Yeah, but -"
"But nothing." she interrupted. It was her turn to cup his face so he had no choice but to look into her eyes. "I'm fine, Spencer. It's not your fault." And then the impossible happened. They kissed. On the lips. Reid was shocked and in heaven.
And just like that, it didn't matter if they died out here, they were together and that was all that mattered.

***

"Reid! Claire!"
"Spencer! Claire"
"Doctor Reid! Miss Claire!"
"Yell out if you can hear us!"
"Where are they?" Prentiss asked frustrated. "We searched around the cabin. There's no sign of them!"
"Trail led to a dead end." Morgan walked towards her and the team. "Led to a hollow tree."
"That was where they probably hid from Mason when they were running away." Hotch deduced. "It's been now four days."
"What if we are too late?" JJ asked concerned, tears starting to gather in her eyes. "They're still young. They don't deserve this."
"It's almost night." Rossi said gravely. "We can't search until the morning."
"We can't! We might miss out -"
"JJ, we have no other choice." Hotch told her. "We can't look for them at night or else we'll be lost with them."
"Look!" a policeman yelled in the distance. "Smoke!"
"Reid and Claire!" the team realised.
"Go! Go! Go!" Morgan, Rossi and Hotch started yelling to the policemen and women.
"Follow the smoke!" Morgan yelled.
"We're coming." JJ mumbled, a surge of hope searing through her chest.

***

The team finally reached the smoke, landing at a river stream. They looked around, spotting a small campfire. And what they saw near the fire made their hearts leap with joy. Reid and Claire were leaning against a tree, a blanket around them. Claire was on Reid's lap, huddled close to him. Reid was holding her close to him, face buried in her hair. They also noticed he was shirtless, the shirt on Claire instead.
"Reid!" Morgan yelled. Without thinking, he went into the river to reach the two. The team also started following, while yelling at the police to bring medics.
"Spence!" JJ kneeled at his side, shaking his shoulder gently. "Spencer, wake up!"
"Hmm?" Reid moaned, slowly opening his eyes. "JJ?"
"You're okay!" JJ brought him into a hug - as much as she could since he was still holding on to Claire.
"Claire? Are you okay?" Morgan asked her, kneeling on the opposite side of Reid. Reid's eyes opened widely at the question, sitting up straight.
"Claire needs medics!" Reid rushed out. "She has a high fever and is in a worse state than me. She needs help!"
"Okay, okay, just let me get her -"
"No!" Reid protested, holding the unconscious Claire closer to his chest, away from Morgan. "I-I'll do it."
"Reid -" Rossi said.
"No, I've been carrying her the past days. I can do this." Reid protested. He stood up suddenly, still holding on tightly to Claire.
"Spencer?"
"Claire!" Reid stared down at Claire with a grin. "Look! We're saved!"
"Really?" Claire moved her head slightly and noticed his team surrounding them, their faces full of concern. "Nice to meet you all."
"Come on," Reid gave her a small kiss on the forehead, "we're going home."

The End