Spencer Reid: Afterlife

Summary: A mission goes wrong and the cost is the life of one SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. The team is devastated and barely functional. But is it really the end for our young genius?

Disclaimer: I don't own CM or Spence! :(

AN: For those of you reading 'No Escape', I haven't given up on that story, I promise, I've just been completely over-run with Hurt!Spencer plot bunnies and had to write this! Either way, I hope you enjoy this!

Chapter One: GSW

The suburban neighbourhood of Atlanta, Georgia was peaceful and quiet in the early mid-summer morning. Families were curled up asleep in their beds, enjoying the well earned rest of a Saturday morning, and content in the knowledge that they and their loved ones were safe. Birds chirped happily while the gentle wind rustled the well covered trees that lined the street. Flowers were in full bloom and the sun shone brightly on dew sprinkled grass, making the droplets shine like diamonds.

It was a postcard perfect scene.

The beauty was however broken by the screeching of rubber on asphalt and the monotonous whine of sirens as two large black SUV's and half a dozen police cars careened down the cul-de-sac, coming to a stop only at the dead end.

The SUV doors were the first to open, six smartly dressed people in FBI emblazoned bullet proof vests exiting and standing to look at one of the houses. The many police officers and SWAT members following suit and coming to stand behind them.

The FBI team, part of the Behavioural Analysis Unit, was lead by Supervisory Special Agent Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner. Hotch was a family man who took pride in the team he'd helped to create; a team that had become like a family in itself.
Flanking him was SSA David Rossi, a previously retired and excellently skilled profiler, and SSA Derek Morgan, the BAU's resident tough guy but a sweetheart inside who really cared for his co-workers.
Behind them were, SSA Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau, the team's media liason, SSA Emily Prentiss, a woman who may not look like much but could take down a man five times the size of her, and SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, all around genius and the youngest member of the BAU team.

The team were dealing with an unsub who was attacking women of beauty, blinding them with tear gas before shooting them in the heart. The profile had said that psychologically, the unsub was exacting revenge for every time a woman had blinded him with her charms before breaking his heart. It had taken a while, but eventually they had determined that the unsub was a man called Frederick Porter, a maths student who had been bullied and taunted throughout most of his life, causing him to turn to violence and crime.

The police waited cautiously behind the BAU team, knowing that it was Quantico's experts who would know what exactly needed to be done. All they needed to do was assist where necessary.

The house looked just like the others from the outside, but the BAU team knew different. Motioning for Rossi, Prentiss and Morgan to take the back, Hotch, along with Reid and JJ, took the front.

At a count of three, both doors were kicked open and the team swamped into the house, guns at the ready. Shouts of "Clear" echoed throughout the house until they entered the living area where their sight was immediately blinded by a cloud of thick white smoke.

Hotch, unable to see any members of his team, could not believe that they had not accounted for the unsub may knowing that they were coming and setting a trap. He just hoped that they would still be able to arrest the unsub without any more casualties, a hope that was increased tenfold as soon as the smoke cleared and he was able to see...

Reid

The young agent was struggling in the unsub's grasp as Porter held him tightly around the neck, Reid's bullet proof vest hanging loosely from Porter's other hand.

They all froze.

Porter grinned almost sadistically as he watched the range of emotions that crossed the BAU team's faces as they realised how much danger one of their own was now in.

As if mocking them, Porter let the vest drop to the floor with an audible, almost deafening clatter.

"Porter." Hotch began, hoping to diffuse the situation quickly. "You don't want to do this. Let him go".

Porter didn't respond, merely continuing to grin as he held Reid in front of him like a protective shield, knowing that the team would not shoot if there was a chance that they could injure their team member.

"Let him go!" Morgan echoed, his big brother instincts flaring. Reid was like a little brother to Morgan and the older agent would do anything to make sure that Reid was safe.

Hotch shot a look at Morgan, silently telling him that getting angry would do Reid no good, before turning his attention back to Porter. "Let him go, or we WILL open fire". He hoped that stressing the point would cause Porter to become unconfident in his assumption of the team.

It didn't work. If anything, Porter's smile grew wider as he drew a gun from his back pocket and pressed it to Reid's chest, just where his heart would be.

"Did you know that love isn't just about a couple or a family?" Porter taunted. "It's about a bond." He pressed the gun further into Reid, making the young agent squirm slightly, before continuing. "Did you also know that the one thing most likely to break someone is losing a person they share that bond with?"

His finger tightened on the trigger.

"I've had my heart broken. It's only fair I share it around."

Gunshots rang out.

Porter stumbled, hand clutching his shoulder as blood began to seep through his fingers. His gun clattered to the floor and his hold on Reid slipped as pain clouded his eyes and he fell to the floor gasping.

Next to him, Reid also fell.

Morgan was the first to get to Reid, stopping the younger man from hitting the floor, as Hotch made sure that Porter was incapacitated before cuffing him.

Smiling at the younger agent, Morgan said, "It's alright kiddo", thinking that the reason Reid's eyes were slightly clouded and confused was because he was in shock.

He heard Emily gasp from behind him, but brushed it off as a noise of relief; relief at knowing that Reid was ok.

It was only when Reid looked at him, his eyes unfocused, and spoke that Morgan realised how wrong he was.

"M'rg'n?" Reid whispered. "M'rg'n H'rts" Reid's words were slurred and pained, and it was only when Morgan looked down at Reid's shirt that he realised why.

"HOTCH!" Morgan yelled, staring in horror at the growing crimson stain on Reid's shirt.

The BAU Unit leader hurried over, Porter now being handled by the local PD, and was horrified by the scene he saw in front of him. His youngest team-member, the one that he, that they all, had sworn to protect after the events of the Hankel case, was once again lying broken and bloody before his eyes.

He only paused in shock for a few moments however before springing into action and running to the front door where he proceeded to call for paramedics, who were in the house within seconds.

Morgan slowly moved away as the paramedics began to work on Reid, though still keeping one hand tightly gripping one of the younger agents', as if by letting go, Reid would somehow disappear.

"Alright, we got a GSW. Bullet seems to have gone through, but by the sounds of his breathing, we've got a punctured lung." One paramedic said as they examined Reid all the while putting a C-Collar on him and strapping him to a backboard.

The other paramedic nodded before adding. "Possible internal bleeding too. We're gonna have to red line to the OR stat."

With a nod between them, they lifted Reid onto a stretcher and took him out of the house to the ambulance, the team following close behind, looks of worry and fear on all of their faces.

Once again their youngest was face to face with death.

They just hoped he hadn't used up all his chances.

Hope you all enjoyed that chappie!

Thanks for reading!

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