(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters and I'm glad about that for once considering what I'm about to do to them.)

I realised my next story would be number 13! And I was thinking that maybe the story should match the unlucky number. So instead of the story I was going to upload (which will be coming soon) I decided to post this. I literally woke up after having a dream about this and I just had to write it. This is the result.

Huge warning, there will be a character death, if that's not for you don't read on and don't leave an angry review ;)

Thanks to Sarry22 for all your info on this subject.

Please review.

Without much further ado, here's the story.

Enjoy.

Spencer driving home was an extraordinarily rare sight. He didn't quite know what influenced him to make the decision to drive to work.

He glanced at his watch and smiled. It had been an early day and Hotch had let them clock off at four. Spencer was about to make the most of those free hours; he already had a book waiting for him on his counter at home and he was practically salivating at the very idea of his over sugared coffee and a good book to curl up with.

Just as he was going through the measurements to make a perfectly sweet 'Reid' cup of coffee his phone rang. He pulled into the nearest lay-by and answered the call.

"Reid."

"Hey, pretty boy, any chance you're still at the office?" Morgan's voice came from the other end and Spencer grinned.

"I'm on my way home, sorry. I can go back if you want. What do you need?" Spencer asked, already his mind was pushing back his schedule but his new book and steamy mug of coffee still remained a priority.

"Ah. Nah that's okay, man, I just left my favourite cologne on my desk, but I can just use another."

Reid smirked when he realised what Morgan was doing.

"Date?" He asked.

"Hot date. Wouldn't miss it for the world. So what's pretty boy doing with his time off?" Morgan asked.

"I have a new book-"

"I should've known," Morgan chuckled. Spencer made an offended face despite Morgan being unable to see him.

"I've been waiting to read it for ages actually," Spencer defended.

"And let me guess, does a mug of coffee come complimentary with that?" Morgan laughed. Reid grimaced: was he really that easy to profile?

"Maybe..."

"Well, you have fun being a genius and I'll bag myself a lady. I'll see you tomorrow."

"How long will she last?" Reid added bravely, covering his mouth to staunch a giggle.

"What are you insinuating?" Morgan made an animated gasp.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Morgan. Good luck."

"See ya kid."

Spencer hung up and pulled back onto the road. His mood had somehow elevated despite him being in an already pretty good mood. That was until the car behind him started swerving dangerously on the other side of the road. Spencer glanced in his rear view mirror and saw a Land Rover close on his tail, trying to overtake. Spencer frowned as he calculated how far this guy was over the speed limit. He also took into account that the car was trying to overtake while other cars were still coming down the other side of the road.

Spencer tried to ignore this, but suddenly the Land Rover took its chance and hit the accelerator, soaring up beside Spencer. Another car was travelling the other side of the road and the driver of the Land Rover panicked and swerved into Reid. Spencer yelped and yanked his wheel to the left. He successfully missed the larger car but as he tried to regain control of his car he was blind to the concrete bollard looming ever closer. His car collided with it and sharply twisted sending the car spinning out of control. Spencer grappled desperately with the wheel; his teeth gritted as he tried to ease the nauseating spinning.

Before he knew it the car had turned over and was flipping down the road. Spencer closed his eyes and gripped the handles on the roof.

Glass smashed and metal bent into curious shapes; Spencer futilely tried to cover his face as the car folded in around him. He lost count of how many times it had flipped. The roof fell inwards and as Spencer's head whipped back it smacked against the jagged metal. He heard something crunching before everything went black.

"Hey, Jack!" Hotch opened the door and wrapped his arms around his son. Jessica smiled and stepped inside, setting Jack's bag against the wall.

"Thanks, Jess," Hotch said, smiling up at Jessica.

"Always a pleasure."

"Would you like to stay for a coffee?" He asked politely. Jessica looked back at the open door before nodding.

"Sure."

"And a movie?" Jack pleaded with a sweet smile.

They were all comfortable on the couch when Hotch's phone rang. He walked to the door as not to disturb Jessica and Jack's movie.

"Hello?"

"Is this Aaron Hotcher?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"This is Virginia general hospital," Hotch frowned and readjusted the phone on his ear.

"Can you confirm that you are the emergency contact for Mr Spencer Reid?"

"It's doctor and yes. Why? What's happened?"

"I think it would be best for you to come down, sir."

Morgan sat down after pulling the chair out for his date.

"I must say you have good taste, Derek," the young lady mused as she looked around the restaurant.

"Anything for the most beautiful woman I ever did lay my eyes on."

She blushed and Morgan grinned at his success.

He ordered them wine and was about to call a waiter over to take food orders when his phone buzzed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, hanging up on Hotch's call angrily. He had specifically told his boss not to disturb him, even if there was a case.

"What if that was important?" His date asked, sipping her wine and looking at him curiously.

"It wouldn't matter I-" the buzzing of his phone interrupted him and he groaned.

"You should take that," she said. "I don't mind."

"Okay, I'll tell him to stop ruining our date," Morgan grumbled. He accepted the call and held it up to his ear. His attention was on the beautiful woman in front of him.

"Now's not a good time, Hotch," he winked at the woman who had potential of becoming his girlfriend before the night was up.

"Derek, don't you dare hang up on me again!" Hotch's voice was strained, but incredibly angry.

Morgan frowned.

"What-"

"You need to end your date."

"I can't do that, Hotch," Morgan hissed, shaking his head at his date who rolled her eyes before taking a sip of her wine.

"I'm serious, Morgan. It's Spencer."

Morgan noticed how quiet Hotch's voice had become and also the fact he'd used Reid's first name.

"What about him? Did he slip into a sugar coma?" Morgan laughed, recalling the many spoons of sugar that would compliment Reid's coffee.

"There was an accident."

Morgan froze.

"What's wrong?" His date asked.

"His car flipped... he's in the hospital-"

Morgan grabbed his coat off the chair, pulling out his wallet and throwing a few bills on the table.

"Derek?" His date asked.

"I'm on my way, Hotch."

"Oooooh, Kevin!" Garcia sang. Kevin looked up from the couch and saw Garcia in her lingerie, a seductive smile on her face.

"P-p-pen-ne-ne-" Kevin stuttered as his eyes traced her curves.

"I'm about to have a shower, wanna join?"

Kevin nodded his head eagerly like an obedient puppy.

Just then Garcia's phone rang. Kevin groaned as she quickly picked it up. She cast him a wink and pointed to the bathroom.

"Penelope Garcia, oracle of all knowing, how may I offer my services to you,"she answered and she rolled her eyes when Kevin gave her a cheeky smirk.

Kevin waited a few moments and watched as Garcia's face fell and her fingers started trembling.

"I-I'll be right there, Sir."

Hotch's fingers quivered over the buttons on his phone as he called the rest of his team and gained confirmation on their swift arrival.

His feet tapped nervously against the tiles as he passed the time by profiling the other victi-patients families.

Spencer opened his eyes and jolted awake. He glanced down at himself and found that he was sat in a waiting room chair. He also noticed that he was wearing a fresh hospital gown.

"Weird," he mumbled. He sat up straight and caught sight of someone to his left.

"Hotch?" He asked. The dark haired man didn't respond.

"Aaron Hotchner," he spoke a little louder and waved a hand in front of Hotch's face. The unit chief didn't flinch.

"Hotch!"

Spencer's head whipped around at the sound of a frantic voice and he saw Morgan sprinting in.

"Hey to you too, Morgan," Reid huffed when he was ignored yet again.

"Any news?" Morgan panted. Hotch shook his head and Morgan collapsed into the seat next to him, the seat Spencer just so happened to be sat in.

"Hey!" Spencer cried he closed his eyes as Morgan descended on him but when he opened them he was in a new chair.

"What the hell," he muttered.

"What happened, Hotch? I was on the phone to him just an hour ago... h-he was fine," Morgan mumbled. Spencer's frown deepened. Were they talking about him?

"According to a witness another car tried to overtake while a truck was coming down the other lane. They swerved into Reid and Spencer... he must have tried to avoid it. He crashed into a bollard lost control and flipped. I'm not sure how far."

Spencer's eyes widened and he was suddenly struck with an onslaught of memories.

Sirens. Where were they coming from? They were all around him. Crushing him.

No... no... it's not that, he thought, something else was crushing him.

He could smell it. A metallic beast holding him in place, it's barbed steel teeth sunk into Spencer's pale flesh. Spencer shifted trying to get the creature off him but it only bared down more, hungrily chomping on Spencer's shoulder.

The average grizzly bear weighs 800 pound and they can bite through iron skillets with their...

This wasn't a grizzly bear. It was 2,400 pounds of Volvo squeezing him like toothpaste in a tube.

Spencer gasped back to reality, or wherever he was.

"I just spoke to him. He was on his way home. I just talked to him Hotch!" Morgan yelled and Hotch gently touched the younger agent's back.

Someone else was speaking; Spencer could hear their voice. He closed his eyes and found himself in a dimly lit room. He glanced around and squinted at the bright light in the centre where he caught sight of an unmoving body.

Him.

Spencer swallowed thickly at the sight of his battered form. The rings around his eyes were 10x darker than normal and his chapped lips pressed loosely against a thick tube that slithered down his throat and made Spencer want to gag. There were cuts and bruises all over his face.

Spencer took a step forward and scowled at the wetness between his bare toes. He glanced down and jumped back from the blood smearing the tiles.

This can't be happening, he thought, it just can't.

"Something's wrong," a masked doctor muttered.

"He should be stabilising."

They were staring at Spencer's vitals which were steadily dropping.

"Internal bleed?"

A few nodded in agreement and the doctor who had spoken started prodding Spencer's chest. Spencer was too busy staring at the stitches climbing up his side to notice.

"Found it," the doctor said, pressing his fingers into Spencer's abdomen. Spencer looked down at his legs and grimaced in horror. One was drowned in badages the other was practically held together with a splint and Spencer could see the glint of white poking through the shredded flesh.

"Scalpel."

Spencer watched for a long time as they slowly worked through his injuries.

He could hear other voices: scared voices, panicked voices, and voices that just seemed lost, but he was too scared of leaving his body alone in case he couldn't return to it. He followed after the bed as it was wheeled into the ICU and gaped in terror as another gurney was pushed out; a white cloth covering the patients grey, dead face.

He watched as they plugged him in as if he were a machine and he focused on the mechanical rising and falling on his chest. He started counting them.

1...

2...

Doctors danced around him as time passed, sticking him with needles and touching parts of his body that made Spencer cringe with embarrassment. He continued to count which seemed to be the only remotely real thing he could do.

1,404...

1,405...

He'd followed them and himself for an MRI scan which had been an equally unpleasant experience.

1,532...

1,533...

1,53-

Spencer blinked and shook his head. The window to his left showed brilliant and hopeful daylight, but he continued to stare at himself and wondered how many more breaths he'd have.

Morgan jolted awake at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Are you here for Spencer Reid?" The nurse asked, checking her clipboard to make sure she'd pronounced the name right.

"Yes, can we see him yet?" Hotch, who hadn't fallen asleep, asked. He had no idea how long they'd been waiting but it was no longer dark outside. Spencer had been out of surgery for hours, but visitors hadn't been an option.

"Dr. Haines has given the go ahead for visitors but only a few at a time," the nurse said.

"Please, we all have to see him," a groggy Garcia begged.

"We've all been waiting for hours."

The nurse rubbed the back of her neck and glanced back into the hallway. The team were on their feet when she looked back and she didn't have the heart to refuse them.

"Okay," she whispered in defeat.

Spencer had stopped counting and instead sat in the corner with his head between his legs, breathing deeply as he fought nausea.

How long have I been here, he thought and his mind answered curtly that it had been 14 hours 41 minutes and 8 seconds. He shook his head and covered his eyes with two long fingers, pushing them harshly to initiate some kind of pain: something that made him real.

"Spencer Reid!" Garcia's voice filled the quiet room all of a sudden and Spencer jerked upright and looked around from the corner. Garcia didn't even glance at him as she staggered over to the version of him that barely portrayed signs of life.

"How is it that your car flipped god knows how many times, you landed yourself in a damn coma and yet you still look devilishly handsome!" She smiled falsely and ran her fingers through the carnage of his bloodly hair.

"When you wake up you will be telling me your secret, young man!" She stared at Spencer as if hoping he would smile or make any sort of response. He didn't. Garcia's forced smile fell and a sob clawed it's way out of her throat.

"Y-yo-you w-will w-ake up," she stammered; fat tears rolled down her face. Still Spencer didn't respond.

"I want to," the spectral Spencer whispered. He stood up and stroked Garcia's hand.

"He will," Morgan deadpanned.

"Course he will, won't ya, Kiddo," Rossi simpered, pressing a hand on Spencer's shoulder as he took up a chair nearest the heart monitor. Still the young man didn't move or make any indication that he was still there.

"I'm trying," Spencer promised.

Hotch hung back at the door and just stared at his youngest agent. Spencer's legs and torso were hidden by a thin white sheet and dull hospital gown, but from the bulk of his right leg, Hotch could tell he had god knows how many breaks beneath it. Spencer's arms were pale and had a yellow tinge to them. There were deep purple bruises branching down his left arm and curling around his wrist. Several wires snaked from his wrists and many were wormed under the sheets. What caught the whole team's attention was Spencer's face. A thick tube protruded from his mouth, held in place by a kind of clamp that wrapped around the tube, covering his pale, split lips. His eyes were darker than usual and a subtle blue bruise was starting to blossom beneath his left eye. A deep gash lay over his eyebrow and two bloody stitches held the skin together. His face was white except from small patches of red which were taking their time to bruise. There were several other wounds stitched up, the most prominent was one that skimmed past his hair line and into his mass of hair where a significance of blood had dried, leaving an almost crunchy texture to the genius's hair.

"Jesus," Morgan muttered as he too took in the extent of Reid's injuries.

"Morgan," Emily hissed, her eyes motioning to Garcia who was already a shivering wreck.

"I wonder if he can hear us?" Garcia whispered absentmindedly, her finger trailing down Spencer's face before she took up his other hand and gently stroked his swollen fingers which appeared to be broken.

"If only you could hear me," Spencer mumbled. He returned to his corner hopelessly.

"I'm sure he can, he's a genius!"

Reid glanced up at Rossi and smiled.

"Well if he can hear- if you can hear me, Reid," Hotch added, with his own forced smile. "Then when you're better you will not be driving to and from work, you got that?" He warned and Spencer chuckled to himself.

The team smiled and seemed to space out amongst themsleves, all sets of eyes glued on Spencer. Spencer's chest continued to rise and fall, but nothing else moved.

"I've never seen him this still..." Hotch said, clearing his throat uneasily.

"Or this quiet," JJ added with a sad grin.

"He'll be alright," Emily said, but it was more of a question.

"I don't know..." Hotch replied and he finally sat down, putting his head in his hands and avoiding looking at Spencer's closed eyelids.

"Agents."

The door opened and a tall doctor walked in with a thin lipped smile,

"Are you his doctor?" Hotch asked,

"Yes. I'm Dr. Haines; I was involved in his surgery-"

"Why'd it take so long?" Morgan questioned, folding his arms and glaring at the doctor as he would when interrogating an Unsub.

"The extent of Mr- sorry, Dr. Reid's injuries were serious. We had to remove the spleen and drain his-" Dr Haines stopped himself when he caught sight of the agent's grim expressions. "There were also complications: internal bleeding, cardiac arrest-"

"Cardiac arrest!? You mean..." Garcia gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Haines sighed and nodded.

"His heart failed twice. He was lucky to pull through. He sure is a fighter," he relayed and the team looked back at Reid. The irony of the situation was that Spencer had never been described as a 'fighter', yet here he was, fighting harder than he had before.

"Why isn't he awake yet?" Rossi demanded.

"Um well... the collision caused significant blunt force trauma to his head. We are running tests but there is a possibility Spencer will have brain damage which may explain why he hasn't regained consciousness yet," Dr. Haines explained.

The team froze in silence. They were all thinking the same thing: Spencer's mind was indispensable; he couldn't have brain damage, he just couldn't.

Spencer glanced at the clock.

20 hours.

Hotch had ordered the team to go home, and despite some agreement on the matter they couldn't persuade themselves to get up and leave when Spencer was lay so still in a hospital bed.

The doctor stressed the importance of rest for both Spencer and themselves and restricted two visitors at a time.

It was JJ and Morgan's turn.

JJ sat in a chair beside Spencer's bed. She carefully dabbed a wet cloth over his face, cleaning away the blood with the gentleness of a mother cat cleaning her newborn kitten.

Spencer glanced around boredly. JJ seemed to have lost her voice after breaking down when they had taken over from Garcia and Rossi and so silence suffocated the room.

The door opened and Spencer burst out of his trance, he stood up from the corner as did Morgan. JJ held the unmoving Spencer's hand as the doctor came in. .

pursed his lips solemnly and glanced at Morgan.

"You may want to sit down, sir," he said calmly.

"Why?" Morgan snapped; he refused to budge and the doctor stepped towards the bed housing the genius and set his clipboard carefully at the foot of the bed.

"We have the test results from the scans," he said, swallowing thickly and avoiding looking at Spencer's battered body.

Reid bit his lip hard and placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder. Morgan tensed and Spencer thought maybe, just maybe, Derek could feel his presence. Morgan shrugged off the feeling and Spencer sighed sadly.

"What are they?" JJ whispered

"Shouldn't we wait for the team-" Morgan started, but JJ was quick to interrupt him.

"What do they say?"

The doctor paused and stared down at his board for a long time.

"I'm sorry to tell you this-"

"No!" JJ cried, covering her mouth and panting raggedly.

"Spencer's head trauma led to an internal bleed on his brain, however... scans showed no brain activity."

Spencer gaped up at the doctor and shook his head.

No. No, this can't be, he thought desperately. How am I here if I have no brain function? It's not true.

JJ and Morgan may as well have stopped breathing. The only sound that filled the room was the heart monitor and the calm and methodical wheezing of the ventilator which proved that Spencer wasn't all gone.

The only movement was Reid's chest rising and falling, too mechanical to be controlled by a human.

"There has to be something, please. You have to do something more!" Morgan begged. The doctor exhaled and shook his head slowly.

"Spencer was already losing brain function when he came in. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

"S-so so that's just it then?" JJ stammered. "What, we j-just turn off the machines?" The thought made her want to heave.

"Take your time. You should all have a chance to say goodbye," he swallowed. "Spencer has an organ donor card so you won't have to decide when to turn the machine off."

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening," JJ rasped; her fingers entwined with her hair and pulled harshly at it. Seeing that she was distressed the doctor turned to Morgan.

"You may want to contact family and friends before we start the procedure so that they can say their goodbyes."

The doctor nodded and swiftly left the room. As the door swung Morgan collapsed into the bed, clutching his chest as if in agony.

"No," he hissed.

"No! This can't be real; it can't...urgh," he sobbed into the bed sheets and glanced up at Spencer's motionless face. "Don't do this, Reid. Just, please, be alright!"

Dr Haines stepped out and took a long sad breath before collaring a young doctor.

"Call Clarissa Okara and her family. Tell them we have found a heart," he muttered. The doctor nodded and hurried off. Haines glanced back at the window where the blonde woman had broken down into a sobbing heap, weeping in the darker man's arms.

After he hung up the phone, Haines spun around to see Morgan stumble from his patients room, panting heavily. He stepped forward and placed a hand on the agent's shoulder.

"We should tell your colleagues," the doctor said.

"Family," Morgan corrected.

Rossi was first to see them. Dr. Haines led Morgan and JJ into the family room. Morgan was glowering at everything and everyone and JJ was following like a lost puppy, her eyes seemed to wander around as if in a daze.

The Italian stood and started a sort of Mexican wave as Hotch followed, with Garcia jumping up also and Emily scrambling out of her seat.

"What is it?" Garcia asked, she looked from JJ to Morgan hopefully. Her smile fell as she took in their expressions and then caught the sympathetic one reserved for Dr. Haines.

Hotch saw it too and he closed his eyes and fought back the urge to vomit.

"There's nothing you can do?" he mumbled. Haines nodded in confirmation.

"There is no brain activity shown on any of the tests we ran. I am...so sorry," he added.

"W-Well...What are you g-gon-nna do?" Garcia stammered.

"There's nothing they can do, baby girl," Morgan whispered. Garcia shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

"No...no! You're wrong! Spencer is a genius! H-his brain... no... NO!" She screamed. Several heads turned in her direction.

Emily pushed past Morgan and hurried to the restroom.

"When d-do we have to turn it off?" Rossi asked. He was desperately trying to maintain his calm, but as the words left his mouth his facade cracked down the middle.

"Spencer has an organ donation card so you won't have to make that choice," Haines explained and Garcia slammed her hands over her ears and gritted her teeth angrily.

"Stop! He's not dead! He's not! He c-could come back!" She yelled. Her cheeks burned red, as did her eyes as salty tears stung at her brown irises.

"Penelope," Hotch muttered.

"Don't 'Penelope' me," she snapped. Morgan offered a hand, but she smacked it away.

"I- I'm going to find Emily," JJ whispered before she vanished.

"I am truely sorry. We tried our best, I can assure you that," Haines offered and Rossi smiled appreciatively at him. He held out his hand and the doctor shook it.

"Thank you."

"Take your time with your goodbyes. The transplant team are on standby until you're ready."

With that the doctor left the team to crumble.

Garcia gaped at his back and slowly shook her head.

"Please tell me th-this isn't real. It's j-just a dream, right? It's just a dream..." Garcia pleaded and she fell into Morgan's arms. Morgan pushed down his emotion once more as he had for JJ. He felt like a balloon filled with too much air, waiting to burst.

"I can't tell you that, baby girl," Morgan murmured and he felt himself slowly sinking down, still clutching Garcia.

"But he's still alive... he's still alive...I'm not ready to say goodbye," she sobbed. Morgan pressed her face into his shoulder, not caring about the wet patch she was creating. His own chest heaved with emotions and he threw his head back and released a loud sob.

The balloon burst.

"I know...Neither am I."

Spencer turned away from his team. He'd let them down again.

Spencer drifted away from reality. He closed his eyes and let himself float away.

"Pathetic," He berated himself with disgust.

He ignored the voices calling to him from somewhere in the distance.

"I love you.." one said.

"If you had taken the train," he chided behind his closed eyelids.

"-gonna miss you," another voice mumbled.

"See you soon, pretty boy."

Only one voice pulled him back to reality.

"-care for your mother," Aaron promised. Spencer opened his eyes and looked over at Hotch who was sat at his bedside.

Hotch placed his hand over Spencer's and sighed deeply. From the opposite chair Reid willed Aaron to see him, but he never did.

"I promise...you just...rest up," Hotch whispered. Spencer placed his pale hand over Hotch's and his real one. Hotch didn't react but Spencer could feel him, he could feel the tension in the older man's fingers, and even the fear.

"You won't have to be in on Monday," Hotch added with a faint smile. Spencer smiled too.

Hotch was rubbing circles in the back of Spencer's palm when a team of doctors walked in. Hotch froze; his grip on Spencer's hand tightening protectively.

"It's time," Dr. Haines said.

Spencer looked from the scrubbed up doctors to Hotch then to his lifeless form on the bed.

This is it, he thought.

"H-his mother," Hotch said quickly, hoping to delay what was happening.

"She lives in Vegas. She hasn't had a chance to say goodbye."

"There isn't time, sir. I truly am sorry," a younger doctor mumbled.

"Please. H-he's too young," Aaron pleaded. He held Spencer's hand tight, part hoping that he could keep hold of the kid forever another part of him praying against all odds that Spencer would squeeze his hand back.

"I thought you said we had as much time as we needed?" Hotch snapped.

"Sir, we already have a patient under anaesthetic waiting to receive Mr. Reid's heart," a female doctor added blandly.

Suddenly, it all became too real for Hotch and he gasped in shock. Spencer was still alive, why did they want him dead so badly?

"I-it's Dr. Reid," Hotch growled.

"Agent Hotchner, There really isn't anymore time."

Spencer began to panic. It hadn't been that long, had it?

He looked up at the clock and inhaled sharply. It had been exactly 26 hours since he'd been brought in.

"C-can I stay?" Hotch muttered. "Here?"

The doctors exchanged sympathetic looks before Haines nodded.

"Of course."

Hotch looked back at Spencer. His face was peaceful; he really did look as if he were just sleeping, like he did on the jet. Anytime now he'd wake up. Hotch slowly realeased Spencer's hand, setting the limp fingers on the bed sheets. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

He turned his back and put his hands behind his head, shutting out reality.

The doctors swooped in like vultures, taking the breaks off the bed and unhooking and reconnecting wires.

Hotch heard the rolling of wheels and he managed to sneak one more glance of his youngest agent before he was carted away forever.

Garcia who had been coming from the opposite direction that Reid had been taken shuffled to Spencer's room; the bounce in her step would die with Spencer. She knocked on the door and walked in. Hotch looked up at her from the corner of the room and she saw the tears in his eyes. The she saw it. The bed was gone and so was Spencer.

The coffees she had been holding crashed to the floor, sending hot brown liquid everywhere. She sank down with them and a heart wrenching sob escaped her.

"You let them take him away!" She screamed. Hotch's stern face broke with emotion and he stumbled over to Garcia.

"I have to see him!" She cried. "J-just one last ti-i-i-ime," She blubbed.

"They had to," Hotch whispered. He wrapped his arms around her and she hit him weakly.

"No! No! He's still alive! H-he's still alive, Hotch! I-I have to s-se-see him!"

Hotch didn't let her go and winced at the scratches she was creating in his skin. After a few moments she finally collapsed into his arms and sobbed.

Morgan stood up from the waiting room, deciding Hotch had had long enough. The team followed but as they entered the hallway a bed was wheeled past them. Morgan froze to the spot. He felt as if he were in quick sand, sinking to the floor when he saw the unmoving face of his best friend. Rossi tried to hold him and keep him on his feet while an animal noise screeched from JJ's lungs and she chased after the doctors taking Spencer to his death.

"You're killing him!" She yelled as Emily grabbed her and struggled to keep her back.

"You're going to kill him!"

Spencer stopped following his body and looked down the hall at his friends. Morgan was on the floor staring at nothing in particular; his mouth opening and closing as if he were having an imaginary conversation. Rossi had his hands under Morgan's arms and was trying to heave him back up. JJ was pushing against Emily who couldn't hold the blonde much longer. Spencer watched as Emily gave up and released her. JJ ran up to Spencer's body and he followed her all the way to the theatre doors. Spencer touched her arms and she stopped at the doors. He swore that she looked straight at him, but as soon as the thought arose she stared back into the glass on the door and managed to see her Spence one last time. She backed up into the wall and slowly slid down it, curling in on herself like a woodlouse; hiding from a reality that could crush it.

Spencer felt a tugging sensation recalling him to his still beating heart. He cast one last look at his friends, fearing it may be the last time he ever saw them considering not even he knew what came after death.

Just as JJ hiccuped on a loud and unattractive sob Spencer slipped past the doors and found himself in the operating room.

True to their word a woman was already lay on one of the tables. Spencer averted his eyes from her bare chest and instead studied her face.

She was young. She had silky ginger hair forced into a surgery cap. She was also pretty. She was maybe a year or two older than he was and he wished that in any other situation he could've met her. He deemed her worthy of his heart.

He stared back at his own body. Despite the lack of life in his limp frame the doctors remained gentle. They carefully slid the hospital gown down to his waist and kept his lower parts covered, sparing Spencer the embarrassment. He watched as a cap was placed over his own hair, which was still caked in blood despite JJ's efforts. They hooked him up to several machines and Spencer caught sight of the life support machine waiting on one of the tables surrounding the large metal ones. He knew that's what would keep him temporarily alive while they harvested him.

They started applying the anaesthetic over his chest, they skipped the shaving part considering Spencer had no chest hair.

Reid had to look away.

I don't want to die, he thought

It had been two hours. Morgan's legs and arms shook sporadically. He kept wondering whether Spencer was dead yet. While he was sat in the uncomfortable navy hospital chair, being very much alive, he wondered what his best friend was enduring. He wondered if Reid was even there anymore, and if that was the case he pondered when the great Dr. Spencer Reid had truly left them.

The third hour crept by and then the forth and they all had one thing on their mind: was Spencer still with them?

Spencer watched curiously as they lifted his heart from his chest and set it on a tray with ice, the veins and arteries were connected to a new machine to keep the heart functioning. Spencer looked back at himself and inhaled sharply. He had no heart keeping him alive. He scoffed a little a the idea of being 'heartless'; it didn't suit him. They doctors worked tirelessly to connect him to life support to keep him temporarily alive. After that was done the majority of the doctors worked on Clarissa, who Reid learnt the name of through hours of listening.

He wasn't totally forgotten. A few doctors remained at his side and muttered things to each other about prepping Spencer for complete donation.

Spencer shivered and turned his attention to the functioning patient. He watched them connect his heart to her. It was another two hours until they were closing her up.

Spencer barely noticed that the doctors were turning their focus back to him and when Clarissa was wheeled away to recovery he became the centre of attention once more. Most of the doctors worked with sympathy in their eyes.

Technically: he was dead. He would've been dead when they announced that he had no brain function and that was most likely when they recorded his death. But the heart monitor that beat falsely made Spencer futilely hope that he was still alive.

It took several more hours until they turned off the life support and watched the heart monitor stop. Spencer closed his eyes as the flatline echoed in his empty mind.

Morgan glanced at the clock and batted away the tears. He has to be gone by now, he thought.

Garcia who had been sobbing non-stop was breathing raggedy, her fingers pinching her skirt tightly as she stared at the way the thread in her tights weaved in and out of each other.

Hotch and Emily sat side by side with similar expressions. They were trying hard to keep their emotions submerged beneath their stony masks. JJ had practically passed out with exhaustion, anxiety and plain grief.

Rossi was twiddling his thumbs and replaying every move of his last chessngame with Spencer.

They couldn't help but notice the other people in the waiting room. All of whom were waiting for good news. The waiting room swelled with unrelinquised hope and the bitter irony was that the BAU was reigned to no hope. They simply waited for confirmation of Spencer's death. They prayed for a miracle; that maybe Spencer suddenly woke up during the surgery.

Hours prior a doctor in bloody scrubs had come out and grinned at a family nearby.

"Clarissa is doing well," he exulted. They had cried happily amongst themselves and darted off leaving the team's hearts pounding in their throats at the realisation that they could never be like them.

Now, several more hours later, reality was balancing over their heads waiting to fall down and crush them.

A door down the hall swung open and the Hotch jolted upright. A couple doctors wandered out.

He's dead, Hotch thought, a sudden panic gripping his insides and making him short of breath.

He's already gone, Garcia thought and a fresh wave of sobs struck her like a tsunamic wave.

The lead doctor from the transplant team stepped out and smiled at the team. They looked back with puffy eyes and red faces. Dr. Haines who had been hovering beside the nurse desk caught sight of the transplant team and realised that his patient was officially dead.

"I-is he-?" Rossi muttered, his voice cracking.

"Spencer has and will save many people," the doctor simpered and the team took that as their answer.

I warned you! ;D

That's not it; I plan on writing two more chapters which I already have planned out.

This has taken so long because my FanFiction app keeps freezing and shutting off and deleting all the work I do. It literally just did it twice and when it happened earlier and I lost the majority of this story I actually cried. Is this affecting anyone else? It's driving me insane!

I apologise if the medical stuff is incorrect, I tried to make it as accurate as possible and I know that the woman who got his heart wouldn't typically have the surgery at the same time, but I watched a film called 'awake' where the patients mother is able to give her heart and they are operated on at the same time in the same room and I wanted to have the same sort of scene.

If you got to the end, thank you!

Leave a review on how much you hate me for killing Reid ;) I understand, I'm experiencing a little bit of self loathing.

Hope to see you guys in the next chapter.