𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧 |~𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚒𝚍~|

Chapter Thirteen

The next week was incredibly long and lonely. 

All I did was sleep, wake up, eat, go back to sleep, change my bandages, sleep. 

On my third day there, my dad called me. He was frantic. He said that I wasn't allowed to leave the house ever again and that he was going to be waiting there for me when I flew into Virginia. 

After a week had passed, I was finally leaving Georgia for good. I never wanted to go back, but I would probably end up there again fairly soon for another case. 

They loaded me onto a plane and then I was off to Virginia. 

As soon as I was in the new hospital room, my dad came rushing in. 

"Oh my god, Delaney. You almost died. I couldn't loose you too, you know that. Oh my god never do that again. I swear to god, when I say I was worried sick, I-" 

"Yeah, Dad, I know. It's ok. I'm fine." 

He hugged me tightly and kissed my head. "You sound awful." 

I smiled. "I'll be good as new in a few months." 

Then, my cellphone rang. It was Spencer. I picked up the phone. 

"Hey, Reid." 

"Hi. So, you're back in Virginia?"

I nodded. "Yep. Sentara Potomac Hospital."

"Oh. That's pretty close."

"Yeah."

"Listen, we just got back from a case. Is it ok if I come and see you?" 

"Yeah, yeah. My dad's here, too. You can meet him." I smiled. 

"Ok. Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you soon?" 

"Yeah." I hung up and looked over to my dad. "That was Spencer Reid. He's in the BAU, too."

My dad nodded. "Isn't he the one who was..."

I nodded. "Yeah. Hankle shot me so that he could abduct Spencer." 

"And how old did you say he was?" 

"25. He's 4 and 1/2 months older than I am." 

My dad sighed. I cleared my throat, trying to get away from this subject. "So, how're things going in the restaurant?" 

After everything that happened with my mom, we moved 170 miles East from our small town of Champlain, New York to another small town called Lincoln in Maine. There, my dad started a restaurant and it had been pretty successful. 

"Good, things are good. You know, if you ever want a quieter life, my door is always open." 

I smiled. "I know." 

"You remember that one boy, Harris? Harris Miller?" 

"I have an eidetic memory, Dad." 

"He always comes around and asks about you. When was the last time you talked to him?"

"Last Christmas." 

"Oh! Speaking of Christmas, are you gonna come up this year?" 

"I'm planning on it." 

He smiled. "That's great. You know, I would be just so lonely if you weren't there." 

I was about to respond when a doctor opened the door. "Dr? You have another visitor." She turned to somebody outside of the room. "She's right in there, Dr." 

Spencer walked in. I smiled glumly at him. He returned my melancholy look. "Hey there," I said. 

"Hi." He turned to my dad. "Hi. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid." 

My Dad smiled. "Nathan Leroy. I'm Delaney's Dad." 

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Leroy." 

"Oh, please, Dr, call me Nathan." 

"You can call me Spencer." 

Dad looked at me. "Laney, I think I'm gonna go get some food. You two stay here and talk, ok?" 

"Ok." 

"Call the doctor if you need anything." 

"I will." He blew me a kiss as he left, which made me smile. I looked up at Reid. "Thank you for coming to see me." 

He nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't stay with you or come see you earlier." 

"Don't be. You were on a case." 

"Do you want to hear about it?" 

I chuckled. "I mean. No, not really." 

He smiled and looked at the floor. "Yeah, I didn't think you would." 

It was silent for a moment. I studied him. He had gotten skinnier since the last time I saw him, if that was even possible. His pupils were extremely small. He seemed very drowsy and tired.

Those were all signs of someone on opioids. 

He cleared his throat and looked at me. "How're you holding up?" 

I shrugged. "I'm not supposed to stand and walk yet. They let me sit up, though. How about you?"

He sighed and studied the floor. "I don't know. Its just... I killed him. But, Tobias Hankle was still in there. He was good. He could have been saved. But I killed him."

"Spence, you did what you had to do." 

He shook his head. "I guess I'm just still recovering. I mean, I'm fine, physically. But, I don't know if I'm just weak, but-"

"Spencer Reid, you are not weak. You were abducted and tortured. You're not just gonna go back to everyday life and feel fine." 

"I know. It's just... He made me choose. He made me choose who had to die. And a woman died, because of me." 

"Spence, that's not your fault, and you know it's not."

He nodded and wiped a tear from his face. "Yeah." 

There really wasn't much more to say. I opened my arms, asking him for a hug. He sat down next to me and wrapped his arms around me. 

"I'm just so glad you're alive," he said. 

I nodded and pressed my face into his shoulder. "Me too." 

We hugged for a little longer. Then, he stood up and sighed. "I should probably go home." 

I nodded. "Yeah, get some sleep."