Battlecry | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 29

We part, our foreheads pressed together and salty tears dripping onto her hospital gown. I hold her face in my hands, not ready to let her go.

"I love you," I breathe. "I love you so much."

"And I love you. Always," she manages.

I kiss her again. She lifts her good arm, her hand tangling in my hair and pulling me closer. I forget where we are as I melt into her, our lips locking together over and over.

"Carli!"

I break away, head swiveling to see Reid in the doorway with two jello cups. Carli smiles, never letting go of me.

"Hey, kid genius."

He drops the jello cups and runs to her other side, throwing his arms around her. She winces, her expression twisting in pain. Spencer immediately lets go.

"Sorry," he blurts out. "I'm sorry."

She grabs his arm, forcing a smile. "I'm okay. A little sore is all."

I lift an eyebrow, a little? She just shakes her head.

"Spence, can you call the team?" I ask softly. He nods and leaves the room, rushing to call Morgan.

I tilt Carli's head back towards me. "You're in pain. Don't tell me you aren't."

She rests her head against my hand. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," I whisper. "But you're alive."

"Immortal, right?" she mumbles.

I give her a sad smile. "You better be."

She turns her head, kissing my palm. "Fourteen. That's how many..." she trails off, eyes distant.

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

I shake my head, leaning close again. "Don't apologize."

"I never meant to do this to you," she breathes. Her tears come again, dripping off the curve of her jaw. "It wasn't fair to you."

"None of this was fair, Carli. But not because of you. You did everything you could to keep me safe. And you did." I press a kiss to her forehead. "You kept me safe."

She nuzzles her head against my shoulder. "We're gonna be okay," she murmurs, almost to herself.

"We're gonna be okay," I repeat.

The team shows up not ten minutes later, and it's too familiar—the seven of us crowded around Carli's hospital bed, half of us in tears and all of us in awe.

After a few hugs, I tell them to stop touching her. Carli shoots me a look, but she's in too much pain to be moved. I'm about to abide by my own rule, as much as it pains me, but she refuses to let go of my hand. Not that I'm complaining.

The others understand, everyone taking a seat around her. An assortment of doctors and nurses bustle in to make sure everything's okay, but then they leave us alone.

Everyone's smiling. Even Hotch.

"Okay, I have a question," Carli asks after a few minutes of wild conversation. "Who saw the company sign in the video?"

Hotch lifts a hand. "That would be me."

Carli playfully rolls her eyes. "Of course it was."

"But Elle figured out the trains," Spencer interjects.

I smile, glancing at Carli. She gives my hand a squeeze. "She was supposed to."

Some time later a nurse comes in to change Carli's bandages. She sits up in bed, ready to take off her gown, when Garcia interrupts.