"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."
- Maya Angelo
Spencers POV
I sat at my desk at the BAU, Ivy was still in her coma and I needed to be back at work.
My arm was in a sling which had greatly helped take the weight off my shoulder, the doctors saying it'll be a couple more weeks before I would be able to take it off, even more, physiotherapy to bring my shoulder back to normal.
The team was happy to see me back in the office, everyone asking how Ivy was doing if she had woken up.
Ring
I grabbed my phone looking at the caller ID seeing 'Dr. Johnson.'
"Dr. Reid speaking."
"Dr. Reid, it's Dr. Johnson from the Virginia general hospital calling about Ivy Parkson."
I sat up in my seat "Yes, is she awake?"
"Dr. Reid I would be more comfortable if you came into the hospital so we could talk."
"No, please, tell me."
"Our nurse was doing a routine check-up, she noticed her neck wound had opened up and there was a blood clot, so the surgeons wanted to take her into surgery to correct it. she coded on the table, they tried to resuscitate her, but she was unresponsive. She's died at 12:01 PM this afternoon."
My vision lost focus, "Spence?" JJ asked, noticing my change.
"Okay... Thank you." I hung up the phone and let my tears fall.
"Spence? What's wrong?"
"Ivy died. She's dead."
I lurched forward, awaking from my dream-- more like a nightmare. I glanced over at my clock. 4:45 AM.
Having the same dream over and over again.
I groaned, rubbing my face it had been 4 days since they discharged me from the hospital and it had been one week since Ivy and I were both admitted there. I had visited Ivy every day since then, she was in a medically induced coma, her injuries slowly getting better, day by day.
I could imagine her waking up and seeing her big blue eyes, I could see her smiling as we joked about what we went through. Until then I would come to see her and brush her hair, making sure it wouldn't be unmanageable when she did wake up.
I fell back into bed staring up at the ceiling.
'Ivy please wake up soon.'
I woke up again to my phone ringing.
"Dr. Reid speaking," I answered
"Dr. Reid its Dr. Johnson, we have some news on Ivy's conditions."
"Is something wrong?" the feeling of dread from the dream I had earlier creeping my thoughts.
He laughed "Actually the opposite, she's awake and she has asked about you."
I let out a sigh of relief "Can I come to see her?"
"We are just running some test, but yes if you'd like"
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
I hung up the phone, a smile appearing on my face.
Getting dressed I threw on the normal grey suit with a purple top.
'Ivy was awake. She wanted to see me' letting out another breath I opened my door.
I walked into the hospital with a smile on my face as I looked around. I walked to the front desk looking at the nurse "I'm looking for Ivy Parkson's room?"
"Room 213"
"Thank you."
I could feel my heart beating out of my chest.
I knocked on the door before I peeked my head inside.
"Spen?"
Her voice was groggy she smiled wincing at the small movement, I could feel the tears build in my eyes I could feel myself smiling as I saw her.
"Hey Ivy."
I walked towards her and held her hand. "How's the shoulder?" she asked
I sat in the chair beside her bed, "It's fine, how are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck."
I smiled "More like stabbed a couple of times, a bullet too. Ivy, god, you scared me."
"I'm glad you're alright." her smile was warm, her eyes were half open.
"I wish you'd let me take the bullet, you wouldn't have been in the hospital or a coma for as long as you have been."
"I don't regret anything; I would do it again in a heartbeat." She paused "I love you Spen, I know we haven't spent as much time together or were actually together but I know how I feel about you. "
"I love you too, I was so afraid I wouldn't get to tell you." I paused "God, I was beginning to think I would never get to hear your voice, see you smile or see your big blue eyes open. Every time I hold your hand I feel safer, its like the germaphobe in me stays silent."
"I was not going to die without hearing you say that. I waited longer than we promised."
I laughed "Too long, but now that's it's over, I want to take you on a date as soon as you can leave the hospital."
"I don't know how nice I would look with bandages all over."
"I don't care, it just means you are a survivor."
"Spen, what happened to Benson?"
I scratched the back of my neck "Emily and Matt shot him when he pulled the trigger. He was admitted to the hospital— a different hospital for your safety."
She nodded "he's alive?"
"He is, but he's in police custody as of right now, they're sending him to prison tonight, you're safe."
She closed her eyes for a moment sighing "I barely remember what happened, it's like one big blur, I remember the pain, I remember jumping in front of you. "
"You're the bravest person I know, you took on so much pain, you took a bullet for me... Do you remember anything else?"
"I uh- I'm not sure—Tim. Oh god. I killed Tim."
I could see her panicking, her monitor starting to spike "No, no, you didn't kill him, Ben did. Whatever Ben made you do, it's not your fault."
"What are they calling him?" she asked
"Pardon?"
"His name, what name did the media give him? They wouldn't just stick to calling him Benson"
"The Joker, because of the smile he cuts in his victims face, thats his name, but he will always be Benson to us-- to the FBI."
"Fitting, because he's a fucking joke. Fuck him." She cried
"He's in prison now, no one else will ever get hurt because of him."
"Is he saying why he did it?"
I shook my head "No."
"Will we ever know why he did what he did?"
"The case is solved Ivy, there's approximately 200,000 unsolved murders in the U.S, we are lucky to know one less killer is out on the streets."
"I thought he was my friend, look how that turned out, he didn't care who he killed, he was a maniac. I moved here to get away from what I knew about my biological father, and I found myself in an even worse situation."
"George Foyet is dead, Benson Peters is in jail. Ivy, you and I are alive."
She looked at me "But at what cost Spen?" she paused "I love you Spencer, but I think I just hurt people around me."
I shook my head "Please don't say that."
"Remember when I said I was afraid of my blood, the fact that I shared DNA with a serial killer. What if it's not me that is affected by it, but what if it's the people around me. "
"I don't understand Ivy. What do you mean?"
"I'm basically Poison" she paused letting out a chuckle "Poison Ivy."