My Girl (Spencer Reid/Max Brenner)

I think I might not go back.

Spencer landed himself in the hospital during the hunt for Everett Lynch. While being in and out of consciousness, Spencer missed several calls from Max.

JJ, Garcia, and Emily were at Spencer's bedside, watching him sleep. His phone vibrated for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day.

"His phone has gone off about a million times today. Who-" Garcia started.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked.

"Nobody told Max. Oh my god, nobody told Max he's in the hospital." Garcia said. She read multiple texts from Max, asking Spencer to please call her as soon as he can. Garcia immediately called her.

"Hello?" Max answered.
"Hi, Max. It's Penelope Garcia, I don't know if you remember me."
"Uh, yeah. Yes, I remember you."
"So, um, Reid is actually in the hospital. There was an explosion while they were on the last case, and they came home and then we weren't getting a response from him, and-"
"Is he okay?"
"He was having seizures and his brain was swollen, but they said the swelling is down now."
"Oh my god."

Within the next half hour, Max was at the hospital.

She saw JJ, Garcia, and Emily in the hall.

"Max!" Garcia called out.
"How is he?"
"The doctor said he's stable. He's gonna have a long recovery, but they don't think he'll have lasting damage." JJ said.
"When did this happen? He called me Monday and I missed it. I got a text from him saying you were back from the case, but after that there was nothing."
"We found him yesterday morning. He didn't come into work so JJ and I went to his apartment and we found him on the floor." Garcia said.

A nurse came towards them.

"Has he woken up at since his mother was here?" she asked.
"No, he slept the whole time." JJ said.
"Max, we'll give you space to go in to see him." Emily said.

Max followed the nurse into Spencer's room, and sat at his bedside. The nurse looked him over and checked to make sure he was getting enough medication, then left.

Max felt as though she had been there for a year before Spencer finally woke up. It was actually only twenty minutes.

"Max?" Spencer said.
"Hey."
"I didn't expect to wake up to you. This is a nice surprise."
"Garcia called me about an hour ago."
"What time is it?"
"5:40"
"Pm?"
"Yes."
"What day is it?"
"Wednesday."
"Oh."
"I was confused on Monday because you texted me that you were back from the case, but then you didn't answer any of my texts."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's not your fault. I was just worried."
"I would've called you once I really woke up again. I was up earlier today, I think. I'm not really sure when it was, but my mom was here."
"How did this even happen?"
"The unsub had a hostage and I ordered agents to go in. A bomb went off and six agents died. I didn't get in the building, I just hit my head off the ground."
"Well it's good that you're okay. How do you feel?"
"Honestly? I feel awful."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not gonna be back to work."
"Not with a brain injury."
"I think I might not go back."
"What?" Max was shocked.
"I'd still consult, but I don't know if I want to go back to the BAU full time. Maybe just until they find my replacement."
"What made this happen?"
"I need to explore other things. I could teach. I did a series of seminars for two years and I really liked it."
"Well, I think you'd be a great teacher."
"You're a great teacher, so you'd obviously know."
"Yeah, about that..."
"What?"
"I got the job at the Smithsonian."
"What? That's amazing! When did you find out?"
"They called me last night."
"Max, that's so great. I told you you'd get it!"
"I was so worried about it."
"I'm proud of you, you deserve the job."

Spencer reached for Max's hand, and held it to his chest.

"Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me. And I'm sorry for worrying you." He said.
"It's okay. I'm just happy that you're okay."

Spencer ended up falling back to sleep holding Max's hand to his chest. The team eventually came up to Reid's room.

"He was wide awake a few minutes ago." Max said.
"How's he feeling?" Rossi asked.
"He said he felt awful."
"Poor kid."

Visiting hours were nearly over when Spencer woke up again.

"We're gonna be leaving soon, Reid, visiting hours are almost over." Emily said.
"Spencer, I actually have to go pick up some things from the Smithsonian. They're giving me training packets for before I start." Max said.
"Go, I'll be fine. Thank you for coming." Spencer said.

He pulled himself to sit up more in bed, and Max hugged him.

"Call me next time you're awake for a while, let me know how you feel." She said.
"I will, I promise." Spencer yawned.

Max kissed his head, said goodbye to the team, and left.

The team all left, except for Garcia, who was staying with Reid, and JJ, who wanted to talk to him alone for a minute.

"You really seem to like her, Spence." JJ said.
"I do."
"She was really worried about you."
"I feel so bad, she had no idea. She said she's just happy that I'm okay."
"So things are going well for you two? You're happy?"
"I'm happy." Spencer nodded.