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Day Eleven - Just Keep Swimming
Drowning
The freezing water was a shock to Spencer’s system, his entire body going rigid as he was pulled under the surface by the UnSub.Winter in Vermont meant that the lake had frozen over but the moment the UnSub had tackled Spencer onto the ice, it shattered beneath their weight. Involuntarily, Spencer gasped and began to choke on the water, air being forced out of his lungs. His arms flailed around, his coat soaked up water and began to drag him down, down, down, as his lungs filled up, up, up with water. It was an experience Spencer had never wanted to go through, that sick feeling as his lungs began drowning and his body followed.
Spencer felt lightheaded. All of a sudden, his lungs weren’t hurting. His body no longer felt stiff, or cold. Above him, the blue ice began to disappear as his eyes grew heavier and heavier. Briefly, he thought, “am I dying?”, before his mind grew cloudy. Fuzzy. He lost the fight. He closed his eyes.
“Spencer!” Hotch shouted as Morgan went diving into the lake. Gun still raised, all Hotch could do was watch and wait as the surface of the water went deadly still. The rest of the lake was still frozen over and the hole that had been made was too dark to see what was going on underneath. Fear grew and overtook Hotch’s heart like vines growing over a building it was reclaiming for nature, gripping as tightly as Hotch was holding his weapon. The world was quiet, too quiet, then suddenly the silence was broken as Morgan resurfaced, unconscious Reid in his arms. Hotch hurried to the edge of the lake, where the ice was thickest, and reached out to pull the two agents onto the safety of the shore.
No sooner than they were safe, Spencer began to splutter, coughing up water and heaving as his arms shook, barely holding him upright. Hotch fell to his knees just as the others arrived, their names being called out, but Hotch ignored them.
“Are you alright?” he asked them both.
“Freezing,” Morgan replied, and he was shivering violently.
“Feel sick,” Spencer choked, and was barely able to turn his head away before he threw up onto the bank. Hotch rubbed his back lightly. When the gagging turned to dry heaving, he and Morgan helped Spencer to his feet and they slowly made their way back up to the road.
“You’re both frozen, let’s get you to the hospital,” Hotch instructed, “you’re both at a risk of hypothermia, don’t even think about arguing.” Both Spencer and Morgan snapped their mouths shut.
Things got a bit crazy. The UnSub never resurfaced so it became a search and rescue, and as much as he didn’t want to, Hotch was forced to leave Spencer and Morgan in the care of the paramedics as he helped coordinate the search. However, when Rossi arrived a few hours later, the older agent shooed him away telling him to check on the two at the hospital. It was a short drive and an even shorter walk to the room Spencer and Morgan were in, but when Hotch knocked on the door, he hadn’t expected to find them lying propped up on the bed, Spencer fast asleep curled up next to Derek with a blanket around their shoulders. When Morgan noticed Hotch, he smiled and then put a finger to his lips.
“He’s only just fallen asleep,” Morgan said quietly.
“What’s the verdict?” Hotch asked, moving closer.
“They’re gonna release us in a few hours, just wanna make sure we’re warm again and they’re sure this one isn’t at risk for secondary drowning.” On the bed, Spencer screwed his face up and shifted, curling up closer to Morgan, who just pulled the doctor in closer. Hotch gave a smile and reached for the blanket at the end of the bed, lifting it up over the two agents.
“Well, you two get some rest. I’m going to go talk to your doctor,” he said.
“Thanks, man,” Derek replied, leaning back against the pillows. He looked exhausted, which wasn’t surprising considering the stunt that he pulled diving into that lake. Hotch stayed for a little while longer, just long enough for Morgan to pass out, at which point he got up, pressed a soft kiss to Spencer’s forehead, and left them to sleep.
They would be fine. When the team got back to the little hotel they were staying at, they found Morgan and Spencer curled up in front of the fireplace.