Consume Me Like a Fire

"I'm getting better now, but I used to be incredibly awkward with girls. I think any guy who says 'I've never had an awkward moment with a girl' is a liar." ~Daniel Radcliffe

The flight didn’t last very long, and once the plane landed, Shiloh was one of the first to get off. She quickly headed to baggage claim and got her suitcase. Looking around, she tried to spot anyone she knew. Derek said there would be a car waiting for her. Shiloh made her way to the closest exit and found Derek leaning against one of their SUVs.

“How was the flight?” He asked once he saw her.

“How’s Spencer?” She asked, ignoring his question. Derek sighed and took her bag to load it in the car.

“He’s still in surgery. I left to come get you and head back.” They got into the SUV and headed back to the hospital. A light drizzle was falling, and there were hardly any cars on the road this late at night. It was nearing midnight, but Shiloh was wide awake. She was too worried to think about sleeping any time soon.

“What happened?” She finally asked as Derek drove.

“Like I said over the phone, Reid got a lead and went with Rossi to check it out. Rossi said they encountered the unsub, but he ran when they tried to apprehend him. Reid ran after him and managed to take him down, but the unsub pulled a gun on him and shot him in the shoulder. Rossi managed to stop most of the bleeding, but the Reid was mumbling about it being close to a major artery or something. He passed out before the ambulance got there,” Derek muttered the rest. Shiloh bit her lip and looked out the window; the hospital was coming into view.

“Boy Wonder has survived worse than this, he’ll pull through,” Derek comforted her as he parked. Shiloh nodded and walked with him into the waiting room of the hospital. The rest of the team was there minus Garcia who was staying at the HQ in case they needed anything else.

“Is he still in surgery?” Shiloh asked the group.

“Yes—“

“Is the family of Spencer Reid present?” A doctor asked, walking through a pair of double doors.

“We’re his family,” Hotch informed the doctor. The older man nodded and smiled warmly at them.

“Spencer’s surgery was a success. We managed to remove the bullet and stitch up his arm. There will be a bit of scarring, but he is expected to make a full recovery.”

“Thank God!” JJ sighed and turned to hug Shiloh. It was unexpected, but Shiloh was grateful for the gesture.

“When can we see him?” Derek asked.

“We are moving him into a private room, and then you all can go in there. He’s been heavily medicated so he’ll probably still be a bit loopy when you talk to him,” The doctor put in layman’s terms. The group nodded and waited for a nurse to escort them to Spencer’s room.

The team let Shiloh walk in first, and the sight of Spencer had her almost crying in relief. He was grinning madly at her with his eyes half-lidded, probably from all the medication. The team followed her in and greeted their teammate with open arms.

“Did we get the unsub?” Spencer somewhat slurred.

“Yes, he’s in police custody now,” Hotch filled in. Spencer nodded and turned to Shiloh.

“How did you get here?” He asked, not quite up to his usual thought process.

“I got a flight when Derek told me you were shot,” Shiloh said, sitting on the side of his bed. Spencer managed to scoot over a bit and give her more room.

“I didn’t want you to worry. I had it under control.”

“Yeah, tackling a murderer with a gun is having it under control,” Shiloh remarked playfully.

“I didn’t know he had a weapon on him…” Spencer pouted. His eyes kept closing, but he tried to keep them open so he could talk to everyone, but soon he was out like a light. Shiloh fixed his blanket and made sure he was comfortable.

“Shiloh, we booked some rooms at the nearby hotel for the night,” Derek told her.

“Thanks, but I want to stay here tonight,” She said gesturing to the uncomfortable looking couch near the window. The team nodded and soon left after that. Shiloh looked at the couch disdainfully before grabbing an extra blanket and making herself at home.

~*~

The next morning was much better. Shiloh woke up when the nurses were changing shifts so she was able to meet the new one coming on. Spencer woke up about an hour later and was much more like himself.

“Do you want your next dose of—“

“No, I don’t want any more pain killers,” Spencer said quickly to the new nurse, Nancy. Shiloh looked on with curiosity.

“May I ask why? You’ll be much more comfortable,” Nancy tried.

“I don’t want to relapse,” Spencer said curtly. Of course he wanted to ease the throbbing pain in his shoulder, but he didn’t want to risk it. Being dependent on Dilaudid was one of the worst experiences of his life. Nancy understood and dropped the subject before moving on to asking what he wanted for breakfast. She left and then it was just Spencer and Shiloh, the latter which had many questions.

“A relapse?” She asked softly as she sat on his bed again like she had the night before.

“I didn’t exactly want to bring it up so soon… But yes, I had an addiction problem.” Shiloh said there quietly as Spencer told her about his time with Tobias and how he became addicted to Dilaudid.

“So now, I don’t take pain killers of any kind unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t want that part of my life to come back again,” Spencer finished.

“I understand. Having an addiction is hard, and a lot of people don’t understand how it works. People can’t just quit an addiction because they decide to. It’s a life time commitment and takes a lot of effort,” Shiloh added with a smile, “I’m proud you’re doing that.” Spencer smiled and looked to the door just as it opened. Derek poked his head in and smiled.

“The coast is clear and their clothes are on!” He announced and walked in. Shiloh snorted and stood up so Spencer’s team could see him. They were all talking when Spencer’s food came in. He kept poking it with his fork but never ate any of it.

“You need to eat something,” Shiloh whispered.

“I don’t have an appetite…” Spencer mumbled but forced himself to eat a few bites.

“When do you get discharged?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen my doctor yet,” Spencer replied.

“I’ll go find out,” Hotch said all matter of fact and left the room. Everyone looked at each other before smiling. Hotch always acted all business, but it was obvious that he cared about his team deeply.

“I hate hospitals,” Spencer grumbled and pushed his food away from him.

“Then stop gettin’ yourself put in them,” Derek joked and gestured to the arm that was now fastened in a sling.

“Oh ha ha, very funny,” Spencer muttered.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to leave soon,” Shiloh laughed. Hotch walked back in with the doctor from before with him.

“Well Spencer, it looks like everything is going smoothly. You can be discharged today, but you’re not allowed to overwork yourself. I want you on a month’s leave of absence from work to make sure you heal fully, and I want you to schedule weekly checkups with your regular doctor.” Spencer wanted to groan but nodded to please the man.

Hotch handled all the paper work and by noon they were boarding the private plane to head back to Quantico. Spencer was sitting in a chair next to Shiloh and kept fidgeting, unable to get comfortable.

His arm was killing him, and the dull ache was not going away.

“Are you okay?” Shiloh asked, concerned.

“I will be once we get back home. I’m exhausted.” Spencer moved around more before pushing the armrests up so he could lay down with his head on Shiloh’s lap. She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair while looking out the window. Spencer managed to get a few hours of sleep in before they landed again.

The black SUVs were waiting for the team further down the landing strip. They all said their goodbyes, along with JJ lecturing Spencer to take it easy and let Shiloh look after him. Derek got in the driver’s seat of one SUV with Shiloh and Spencer in the back of it.

“Where am I taking you guys?” Derek asked as he pulled out onto the main road.

“Spencer’s,” Shiloh answered for both of them. She figured Spencer would need help until he was able to use his injured arm again. Derek nodded and drove them to Spencer’s bungalow. When Spencer tried to lift his go bag out of the back, Derek shooed him away and got it for him. Shiloh immediately made Spencer go lay down while she got things settled and said goodbye to Derek.

“I’m not completely helpless,” Spencer grumbled from his spot on his bed after Derek drove away.

“I’m sure but humor me and let me take care of you. You deserve to relax. Now, what do you want to eat? I don’t know about you, but I haven’t eaten anything except for some peanuts on the plane. I’m starving,” Shiloh said, sitting on the edge of Spencer’s bed.

“I think I have some stuff to make stir fry with—“

“Perfect! Stay put and I’ll go make it.”

About half an hour later, Shiloh reemerged in the room with two steaming bowls of beef stir fry. Shiloh gave one to Spencer and kept the other for herself. She propped herself up against the headboard next to Spencer so they could eat.

“So, what do you think about moving in?” Spencer said out of nowhere causing Shiloh to almost choke on her broccoli. She rested her bowl in her lap and eyed him curiously.

“I think that might be a little soon. I just got a drawer…”

“I know, but honestly, I know I want to be with you for a long time. I think it might even be better for us. Statistics show that couples who move in together early on in the relationship to get know one another faster and how the other functions. It either strengthens the relationship or shows that they weren’t meant to be,” Spencer rambled with a shrug of his shoulders and focused on his bowl, trying not to lose his courage and look at his girlfriend.

“Hm, that’s an interesting theory…” Shiloh said taking a bite of her beef. She knew she wanted to be with Spencer for the long run too, but did that mean that moving in should be done so soon?

“I don’t want to pressure you, it was just something I’ve been thinking about,” Spencer mumbled.

“I’ve thought about it too, but how about you ask me again in a few more months, maybe closer to when my six month lease is up with my apartment,” Shiloh said with a wink. Spencer grinned and ate more of his meal knowing that was a yes, but not right now kind of answer. That was good enough for him.

Shiloh finished her food and set her bowl on the nightstand next to her. She relaxed and let out a yawn not realizing how tired her was. It’s been an exhausting couple of days with her family drama and then Spencer’s accident. Spencer noticed and raised his good arm up.

“Come over here.” Shiloh did as she was told and snuggled up to Spencer’s good side. The two laid there perfectly content with the comfortable silence. Within a couple of minutes, their breathing evened out and they were asleep.