Down A Long, Dark Path

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Criminal Minds. (Though I do wish that I owned Reid.)

Summary: After a severe concussion, Reid struggles to put the pieces of his life back together after being comatose. Will he ever be the same again?

Third Person (April, 2013)

JJ pulled into the parking lot all too quickly for Spencer. He didn't have anytime to prepare himself. He was inside the building before he could even comprehend what he was doing there. What was he doing there?

"Hey, stranger," Morgan greeted cheerfully as the two walked into. He gave Spencer a look over. "Look what the cat dragged in. How you doing, Pretty Ricky?"

"Ha. Ha. Funny."

"Where's Hotch?" JJ interrupted.

"His office. We're gonna be leaving in about fifteen minutes," Morgan told her. JJ, Henry, and Reid walked towards Hotch's office.

JJ knocked, then entered. He handed her the paperwork and then asked Reid how he was feeling.

"Great. You know, maybe, I could just stay with Garcia and do... mapping and-"

"You are not jeopardizing your health. Get a doctor to clear you for work, then we'll talk," Hotch said.

"I am a doctor."

"Reid," He glared sternly.

"Fine," Spencer relented. JJ turned to leave, but Spencer stayed behind. He still had something to say.

"Will-Will I still have a job when I'm cleared?" Reid questioned unsurely.

Hotch's face softened. "You always have a place here, Reid."

Reid nodded, satisfied, and left. Morgan came around the corner with Henry, grinning at the young boy.

"Time to go, Henry," JJ instructed. He pouted and Morgan copied, sticking his bottom lip out too. JJ laughed.

"Puppy dog faces don't work on me. They have to leave soon too, Henry." Henry sadly grabbed his mother's hand to leave. He waved to Morgan before he started walking.

"Bye, Uncle Morgan," Henry said.

"Bye, Henry," Morgan echoed.

—

Spencer fell asleep while in the car. He was glad that he was able to see the team and talk to Hotch, but the trip had wore him out. He woke up to JJ shaking his shoulder about fifteen minutes later.

"Wake up," she said. Blearily, he took in his surroundings. He realized eventually that he was at JJ's house in the car, not in his bed at his house.

"What?" He mumbled.

"Just a few feet and then you can go back to sleep."

"Oh." He realized what was going on now. He was not use to his brain working that slow. When he got inside the house JJ asked him if he was going to lay down again, but Spencer said no. He was wide awake now. Plus, it was lunch time and he was hungry. Despite JJ's objections, he made himself a sandwich before he was forced out of the kitchen and into a chair. But it was a start. Maybe, just maybe, he would be cleared for work soon.

—

The first thing Spencer was aware of was the fact that he was in a hospital again. The sounds, the smells, everything came back to him with a hated familiarity.

"JJ? What happened?" He croaked.

"Don't you remember?" She asked softly. "You passed out."

It started to come back to him. After he ate he had started to get a headache. JJ told him he had over exerted himself and that he should get some rest. On the way to his bedroom everything went dark and began to spin. He had heard JJ yelling, and then the next thing he heard was the beeping of the heart monitor.

"The doctor says you just overworked yourself. But he's actually pleased with your progress. You just have to stop being so stubborn, Spence," JJ explained, "and you'll continue get better."

"No promises," Reid said, his voice beginning to slur with exhaustion. He was sick of always being tired. When he was working cases, he could go days with just a few hours of sleep. Not now. He needed days of sleep just for a few hours.

"Get some sleep," JJ instructed. Spencer didn't have to be told twice. His eyelids did all the work for him.

A/n: As many of you have pointed out, I made a mistake in the last chapter. I rethought it and fixed it. My apologies. I made it better now though!

Kateryn1: I really need to update that. I'm working on it. Thank you so much for reviewing.

Ahowell1993: Maybe she will. Thank you for reviewing. :)

Namira O.O: I changed chapter three please check it out. And thank you so much for reviewing!

White collar black wolf: Thank you.

96 Hubbles: I changed chapter 3. And JJ was going to leave him alone for 10 minutes. Plus, it was that he shouldn't be alone if he has a headache.

Tannerose5: Don't leave him alone if he is dizzy or headache. And originally I was only having JJ go to get paperwork and then come back to work from home. But I changed chapter 3.

SPDrAnger006: Thank you so much!

Marjereid: I'm pretty mad at myself for that chapter, so thank you for staying with me!

FlyKitty7000: Thank you so much for your encouraging review!

Stay Gold lovelies,

- Alee XxX