I love the dynamics between Garcia and Reid and you captured it perfectly.

Really nice writing, Garcia can be fantastic when she wants, I'm glad they got out of that one, thank you for writing this.

I already left a review earlier but I just wanted to add I'd love to see some more Garcia and Reid fics from you. I really enjoyed reading your fics, this one was one of my faves, and honestly this fandom needs some more fics that focus on those two! Again I really enjoyed this one, it was lovely! Thanks!

This was lovely. You wrote Garcia so well! Thanks for sharing!
PS: please consider uploading your stuff to AO3 I'd love to subscribe to you there!

Garcia and Reid is a woefully under appreciated duo in the show, I think we can all agree. I mean, how often do we get to see them doing their geek things together? And then when they do, it's always amazingly awesome in every way. The fitness examination, the sci-fi convention, and of course this episode and Garcia's mother bear protectiveness.

I think you've captured that really well in this fic, the way the two work. Garcia's so protective of who is basically another little brother to her, and it would have been impossibly hard to watch him get hurt like that, especially once she started tallying up all the times he'd been hurt in the past.

And you've caught that 'waiting in the hospital' feeling perfectly - waiting desperately for news, for someone to wake up, for anything to happen, and quietly pleading with anyone who'll listen to make everything better again. It's a hard sensation to capture in writing without delving too far into wangst, but you've done extremely well here.

I love your work!

Wow. What a wonderful perspective on Garcia's thoughts throughout that whole thing. I can only imagine how horrified she must have felt just waiting for him to wake up. And then to have to shoot someone to save his life, going against all of her morals and beliefs...it was heartbreaking.
I LOVE how you reflected on all of Reid's other near-death experiences! It sounds like something that every team member probably thought of when Reid was shot. Kind of like, "Does this kid have a death wish or something?!" And poor Garcia is the only one on the team who has the time during cases to sit there and panic at the thought that one of her babies might be hurt or dying. All of the others have distractions with the cases, but she had to try and rely on her sheer optimism alone. You definitely captured her personality and thoughts on this perfectly. Really spectacular short story. :) You're such an amazing person and author.

Excellent. I love the emotions conveyed in this fic

This is a lovely look into Garcia's mindset during that episode, and I think you've really nailed the cadence of her thoughts (I'm not actually sure if that's a thing...but I'm hoping you get what I mean). It reads as just so...Garcia. From the little tidbits of humour, to the way the thoughts are structured (teetering right on the edge of rambling), to her determination. I love how you've described her character with those kinds of details, without having to explicitly state that she's an optimistic person, an empathetic person, etc..

And of course it's a good look at our favourite genius, through an interesting lens. Garcia's perspective of people and situations is a nice change from the critical eye of the profilers because it seems as though she'd look at a situation similarly to how we (as non-profilers) would.

I like that this shows the strength of both characters here. There's such a nice mirroring here between the two characters and revealing that strength that is so often attributed to other characters. Having Garcia run down all those instances really drove home the point that Reid's a lot tougher than people give him credit for, and her reactions to recalling those thoughts drove home the idea that Garcia has grown stronger over the years as well (it seems as though where she's steely-eyed and determined now, she might've been jittery and nervous years ago). And I love that he's still (somehow) managed to keep that innocent/naive quality about him despite it all, which of course can also be said about Garcia, and you've captured that here as well.

"There are few things more frustrating to Garcia than talking to someone, only to get no response."

Loved that line. Really, really resonated with me. Can't quite put my finger on why, but it does. It just makes a ton of sense to me to say that about Garcia, and knowing her character as we do, it adds to the description in so many ways. Really well done.

Enjoyed it from start to finish, and I think it's a fantastic tag to the episode. It's a nice glance into the friendship between the two of them that is so often overlooked, despite their combined nerd factor reaching fairly high levels. Well done, my friend!

As a Reid fan, I wouldn’t have minded if the entire episode had been about Reid and his teammates sitting in the hospital, wondering and worrying and then fussing over him. If anyone needs to be reminded he is valued and loved, it is Reid. So it is gratifying that you have pulled back the curtain on Garcia’s vigil while the others were on the case.

It is so like Garcia to try to think happy thoughts, and I loved that her memory went back to the day Reid was asked to be Henry’s godfather. That line about the smile not leaving his face for some time afterward brought a smile to my face as well.

And I enjoyed the scenario you envision of Reid hogging Garcia’s space when he was forced to stay behind at Quantico because of his knee injury, especially his “hobbling around causing her stuff to fall.” The right note of humor, and you make sure we know the inevitable friction and unexpected competition between them was not that serious by having Garcia compare Reid to her annoying brothers. Even when Reid gets on her last nerve, she still has a familial affection for him.

Garcia is right to feel bad about dragging Reid out of that convention. It seemed pettily selfish to me at the time. After all, Reid had gone to a lot of trouble to make his costume and was going to have a geekily good time. And Reid let himself be denied his anticipated pleasure with just a momentary pout. Could he be a nicer, less self-interested person?

Yes, Garcia should scour the internet for any opportunity to invite Reid to another event. And equally important, she should accept one of his invitations.

It is natural for Garcia’s thoughts to turn to sad memories after happy ones. The litany of Reid’s woes is long enough, as you remind us. Your description of Reid’s dying at the hands of Hankel is quite effective.

I do like the sense of humor you inject near the end - “the hospitals should start giving him punch cards - win a free examination.” Indeed.

Garcia will have the chance to help Reid. I am glad, as I’m sure you are, that she was prepared.

A lovely and effectively sentimental story. Thank you.

This made me smile. I love how the Garcia/Reid friendship was emphasized in the finale, and you do a great job of capturing that.

Nice little moment 'in' the finale for the season. Totally in character and very well done. Loved how when Garcia shot the baddie, it wasn't all 'Garcia Gone Commando' but rather a friend who would do ANYTHING to proctect her friend. Good episode, and great story to go along with it.

Wow, that was beautifully written! You captured Garcia perfectly and I had major feels as she recalled the many times Spence has suffered. Awesome work! Thanks for sharing it with us!

This was pretty awesome. You did an excellent job if getting beneath Garcia's always cheery front to reach her almost maternal side. Loved it.

Aww, I love this! And you captured Garcia perfectly!

This is amazing! :) Loved it! :)