Pain Relief

"Pain Relief"

Spencer Reid sat in the passenger side of the SUV and buried his pounding head in his hands.

Hotch looked over at the young agent and opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, but nothing came out. It was a stupid question. He knew Reid was the opposite of okay.

"Migraine?" Came out instead.

Reid nodded slightly in reply.

Hotch had noticed that something was off about him that day. He had this way of knowing when something was wrong with one of his team members. Especially Reid. He was the youngest, and had no family to take care of him apart from his coworkers. Naturally, Hotch usually kept a very close eye on him. This was one of those times when Reid really needed someone to take care of him.

They sat in silence as Hotch drove a little faster than usual to the jet. The sounds of Reid's deep and concentrated breathing filled the empty silence of the vehicle. Hotch looked over at him from time to time, wishing there was something he could do.

"You did take medicine, right?" He said in his softest voice possible.

Reid nodded in affirmation. Then..."Hotch pull over." His slender hand jetted to the door handle, and as soon as they were somewhat stopped he jolted out of the door and was on the ground wretching.

Hotch sat waiting for Reid to return. He winced at the pained noises coming from outside. Vomit...coughing fit...labored breathing...coughing fit...silence. He had no idea what to do. The amount of pain the younger agent was experiencing was out of his reach to understand. He said loudly enough for him to hear, "Reid, you okay?"

He didn't respond. He just stood up with what looked like great difficulty, and lowered himself back into the passenger seat. He closed the door softly and returned his pounding head to his hands. He let out a soft moan of pain.

Spencer was never dramatic about anything, especially when it came to being sick or in pain. So the fact that he was acting this way showed Hotch that the situation was pretty serious.

They sat in silence for another 10 minutes, Hotch still trying to rush to the jet so he could get Reid laying down. Spencer broke the silence with another soft moan of pain. Hotch glanced over at him in immense concern. "Do you need a doctor, Reid?"

In the smallest voice possible, "They can't do anything to help...I just-aghh..." he curled further in on himself and took a deep breath. "I just wanna go home..."

Hotch reached over and put a gentle hand on Reid's shoulder. "Alright. I'm gonna get you home."

Once they got to the jet, Hotch turned off the SUV and unbuckled his seat belt. Reid didn't move.

Hotch bit his lip, not quite knowing what to do. He had never been in this type of situation with Reid before. He had never seen him so vulnerable. It was almost awkward in a way. Spencer was usually so uptight about letting people baby him. No matter what, Hotch knew he had to take care of him right now. He proceeded to step out of the car and move briskly to the passenger side door. He opened it gently and put his hand around the back of Reid's arm. "Alright Reid here we go. Let's get you to the jet so you can go home."

"Noooo..." He let out a small whimper of pain and shook his head ever so slightly. "It hurts..." his voice broke at the last statement.

Hotch didn't know how to respond. Reid was in so much pain right now. He wasn't making any logical sense at all. He was completely out of it, and he couldn't even communicate properly. It was actually scary.

"I know it hurts buddy." Hotch broke his fatherly tone out, hoping to comfort the younger agent. "You don't have to open your eyes okay? Let's go to the jet so you can lay down."