Proof of God

Reid and Emily

If it is a miracle, any sort of evidence will answer but if it is a fact, proof is necessary- Mark Twain, as said by Spencer Reid during episode two of season seven.

Chapter 12

April 2011

Soon a nurse came hurrying in, wanting to check on the patient, and then said "This is a good sign that the antibiotics are working."

Reid didn't think that the nurse and Elizabeth could see it but all around Emily was a warm, white light that slowly got stronger and stronger. Her hand became warmer in his grasp.

And then she made a sound. A beautiful sweet sound. Her head moved around a bit.

Reid said "She's squeezing my hand."

The nurse wasn't as easy to convince that this was real progress, and not something Reid imagined, but she said "I'll tell the doctor," before she left the room.

Elizabeth's tears turned into happy ones. The light, that only Reid could see, got bigger, brighter, warmer and eventually, hours later, Emily started to come out of her coma. Reid never left her side, whispering words of encouragement, praying aloud and kissing her hand often.

When her eyes finally opened there was a glazed look there. He wasn't sure what that meant for her cognitive function in the future but all that mattered to him was she was there for him to care for everyday for the rest of his life.

As their eyes met Reid was sure he saw some awareness there in hers...a glimmer of something that spoke to her knowing they had a connection. It was a glimmer he should have noticed years ago but he knew it was there now. And he would never ignore it again.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The weeks went by and slowly Emily started to improve, learning again to speak, to walk, to feed herself, dress herself, bathe herself, and brush her own hair. Reid visited her everyday to read her poetry and push her wheelchair around the grounds so she could get fresh air.

He could tell that Emily did not remember the time they spent together when she was a spirit. She never mentioned it or acted as if she was in love with him.

Reid pushed down his disappointment at that. Tried not to question God's plan or why God would let Reid know love for such a short period of time. Why it had worked out this way? Why couldn't Emily had remembered everything? Remembered their shared miracle.

Was it real if only he remembered it? He had promised her though to never think of it as a delusion and questioning what had happened would be the same as breaking that promise. Instead he kept his faith in all that he had felt, learned, and came to believe during Emily's coma.

"Go," Emily said to Reid, in her stilted way of speaking that she had now.

"Excuse me? Are you kicking me out?" he teased.

"Fun. You...fun."

"I'm having fun here."

She shook her head no.

He took her hand and when she tried to jerk it away he wouldn't let her. "Emily...I'm right where I want to be most."

Seeing the look in her eye, he added "Not because I feel sorry for you and not because you would do the same for me. I'm here because..."

Reid reached into his messenger bag and pulled out something he had been carrying with him since not long after Emily came out of her coma. He had found it at her apartment one day when he went there to see Mrs. Prentiss. He liked to check up on Elizabeth now and then, share a meal with her, give her someone to talk to about her feelings, worries and fears.

He pulled out the star puzzle, broke it apart and put it back together again in five seconds flat. "I get it now."

A tender smile came to her face and a tear slid from Emily's eye. He figured she'd probably doubt him and doubt his feelings for a long time to come- thinking he just thought he had fallen for her but really he just felt sorry for her- but eventually she'd have to see that what he felt was real and lasting.

They had time now to explore everything they had ignored for too long. He planned to win her heart all over again- for the third time in his this life- and if he ever lost her love later than he'd win her heart again and again and again for she was Emily and there was no doubt to Reid he was meant to spend his days loving her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Standing behind her at the gun range, Reid held Prentiss arms up to steady her as she aimed and fired. She needed to practice often now so she could re-qualify to join the team.

It had been a long eight months since she awoke from her coma. Months filled with friendship and a slow growing love that neither of them could deny.

Emily had worried for the longest time that Reid just felt pity for the poor sick lady, his friend that he wanted to help out, but finally she saw his feelings for her were so much more than that. She had confessed to him that a small part of her had feelings for him before Doyle came into her life last Spring.

A small part of her had wanted to go to that movie Reid had invited her to and make it a real date. When she had confessed that Reid told her "I bought the DVD so we can have that date tonight if you want."

And they had.

Now she fired her gun, each bullet taking her another step closer to the life she wanted back and also toward a brand new version of her life. Emily Prentiss couldn't be the same person after all she had been through.

No...she was so much better now. And it was mainly loving Reid that made her stronger, wiser and saner.

As her last bullet fired and hit the target, her body slumped back against Reid. She still got tired easy these days. It would be a while before she was able to go back into the field.

Reid leaned over and kissed her throat. "Can we please go get some dinner now? My grehlin levels have been peaking for hours now."

Grehlin is the hormone in the stomach lining that signals hunger.

"We have been here a while," she agreed. "One more round?"

He nodded.

Of course she had been saying one more round for the last hour. No matter how much her body ached she needed to get this practice in. Emily knew Reid would stay there with her as long as she wanted...she had come to see how his love for her was not the kind that ran away, faded, or flinched during the hard times.

Spencer Reid had seen her through her recovery this far. She knew he'd see her through to the end.

He was her proof that love could come to even those people that had squandered all their chances and wasted all their lives...even to a sinner like Emily Prentiss.

If ever there was proof that God existed it was that Reid had fallen for her. She knew no other way she could have ended up so lucky.

After shooting a few more rounds she said "All right. I guess I'm done for today. It's not like I'll be back to work anytime soon anyway."

"Sure you will. Everyday you get stronger. Hotch is just waiting for your doctor to sign off on it and then you'll be back in the field with us."

"Not anytime soon-"

"Not with that attitude."

"Well I don't think Strauss will approve me running around chasing unsubs down when I'm out to here." She motioned her stomach sticking out.

"Huh? Why would you be out to there? You haven't put on any weight. In fact, you've lost at least seven pounds since you were injured."

She turned around and looked up into his eyes. "You know how they say condoms are only 98 percent effective?"

"It depends on if they are used properly or not. The effective rates vary in certain-"

"I'm pregnant."

His mouth dropped. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his wrapped around her waist as they embraced- celebrating the miracle their love had created. Their lips met in a kiss and warmth shot through Emily's body, as if she was glowing from the inside out.

That had happened every time she ever kissed Reid. It was how she knew he was the one. No other man made her feel like she was in heaven every time his lips touched hers.

Loving Reid had given Emily her own version of heaven on earth. Now she finally understood what all the nonsense and drama of dating had been about...getting to something so beautiful it was worth any pain in the world. Something that could last through this life and the life beyond this one.

A love that was strong enough to survive for eternity. If you asked Emily before all this had happened if she thought that love like that existed she would have said it wasn't anything she would ever think could be hers.

Now it was. All because Spencer Reid never gave up on her. When she was pushing him away during her recovery he always fought for her...made her fight for herself...fight to live...fight for them...fight for the future.

He believed in them as if he knew it to be a fact that they were soulmates and now she believed in them just as much. God only knows how she got this lucky but Emily had the life of her dreams now.

Just like the fragments of dreams she had right after she woke up out of the coma- her and Spencer in his apartment making love under a hot, steaming shower. Those were the most beautiful dreams of her life.

Now that kind of thing happened all the time but it wasn't a dream anymore. Spencer wasn't just a fantasy. He was her future in every sense of the word.

For eternity, he would be her man.

THE END

Thank you to everyone who read this. I have an idea for a new fic for these two, which is tentatively called "Going for It" but I'm not sure the muse will latch onto it. We'll see. Thank you for indulging me with my first supernatural fic, Proof of God.

Sara