Just FYI—I know that the medical things might not be perfect in here. I did the best I could with research I could, but the brain part I just winged because it fit the story, lol. So if it doesn't seem plausible, well, it's because it mostly is just out of my head. :D Hope you all don't mind and I hope it doesn't detract from the story. Now, read on to my ending of Time and please! R&R!

Waiting was one of the hardest things for Morgan to do. It gave his mind too much time to think about everything that could possibly go wrong. It allowed him to remember the sound of the heart monitor in the ambulance suddenly going flat; how they'd rushed to bring him back. The sound as he finally came back to them and his heart started to beat once more. It allowed him to see the blood that looked like it was everywhere. To remember the way Spencer had looked lying on the floor of that horrible basement, the knife sticking out of his stomach.

He'd flat lined once on the way to the hospital, and once more as they were bringing him in. Each time they'd brought him back, but it left Morgan terrified. Would it happen again while in surgery? Would they be able to bring him back if it did?

Three nurses had helped to separate Morgan from Spencer. The only reason they'd managed it was because Morgan knew his best friend, the man he loved, needed to go to surgery. There was nothing Morgan could do for him right now. So he'd gone with the nurses, following them as they'd taken him to a room where he could shower and change out of his bloody clothes and into a pair of scrubs, since he had no clothes with him. Then they'd led him to a private room and promised to bring the team back when they arrived.

Now he was pacing the waiting room, praying as hard as he could. That was how his friends found him when they rushed into private room. Instantly he was surrounded by the people who were the closest to him. Garcia came right over, wrapping her hand around his arm to both give and receive comfort. The others circled loosely in front of him, their eyes on his face.

Morgan brought a hand up to run it over his scalp. "He's still in surgery right now." He told them hoarsely. "He…they lost him twice before they even got him in the OR. Once in the ambulance and once when we arrived. But they brought him back both times. He's been back there since we arrived. They needed to repair whatever damage the knife caused and check the rest of him over. I don't know anything yet." He needed something, anything, to take away the image of Spencer bleeding. Of Spencer's heart stopping. "What happened at the house?"

"Vincent was gone by the time the paramedics got to him." Aaron said in a hard, cold voice. There was a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. "They tried to revive him but there was no hope. He's being shipped to the morgue."

"Good." Morgan snapped out. Though he wished he could bring the man back, simply to beat him to death with his bare hands. A clean gunshot was too easy a death.

Apparently he wasn't the only one that thought that. He heard Emily furiously hiss "He got off too easy."

"The protection detail over Cindy has been removed, now that she's safe. The house is being processed, but there's no case. Everything was pretty obvious and pretty cut and dry." Aaron continued.

The doors opened once more and Morgan saw Will and Henry walk into the room. Everyone turned to look at them as JJ strode straight to her family. She reached out, taking Henry from Will's arms and pulling her son close. Her eyes lifted to Will's, shining slightly with unshed tears. "We got him." She said simply. Morgan assumed that Will must not have known the whole story yet, though he'd obviously been told that Spencer was at the hospital.

Dave clapped a hand on JJ's shoulder. "She got him, actually." He corrected. Turning his eyes to JJ, he smiled gently. "You did good, JJ. You did right."

From Morgan's left, he heard Emily softly say "Well." All eyes turned toward her, curious. She gave them a weak smile and repeated herself. "Well. She did well. Reid always corrects me if I say someone did good. He says we don't do good, we do well."

The tension in the room was broken for a brief moment with that little slice of humor. It eased them all enough for everyone to take a seat in the chairs against the walls. Even Morgan sat, though his eyes couldn't seem to leave the door. He needed to watch for the doctor, even knowing that it would be a while before anyone came out. Surgery always took a long time. Most likely they would be here for hours still. But he couldn't take his eyes off the door.

Garcia rubbed her hand up and down his arm to try and soothe him. "Why don't you settle back, sweetie? You look beyond beat." She whispered to him. He shook his head, eyes never leaving the door. "I want to be awake when the doctor comes." He told her.

"Derek, you know it's going to be a while yet. You need to be at your best for him afterwards and you won't be if you're about to drop from exhaustion. Come on, lay back. I'll wake you up the instant anyone comes in."

He was about to answer her but he heard Aaron as JJ and Will "How's Henry doing? Did he…did everything check out ok?" That drew not only Morgan's attention, but everyone else's. JJ shifted her son on her lap, smiling down at him. One of her hands came up to smooth back his hair as the little boy curled against her chest, his thumb coming up to rest in his mouth. "The doctor said he's perfectly healthy. His wrists are a little tender from being locked, but there should only be minimal bruising. Physically, he checks out great. Emotionally…" she trialed off for a moment, bending her head to kiss the top of her son's head and to gather her composure. "We're going to take him to see a child psychologist. I can't imagine what he heard or what he understands from it. But he hasn't sucked his thumb in a year and he's barely stopped since we got him back."

Aaron turned in his seat to better face the couple. "Children are surprisingly resilient." He told her reassuringly. "A psychologist would be a good idea to help him move past this. Thankfully, it sounds like he saw nothing, which should make the healing process easier for him. He wouldn't have understood most of what he was hearing."

"We owe Reid our son's life." Will said in a voice hoarse with emotion. His arm was around JJ, his other hand resting on Henry's back like he couldn't bear to be parted from either of them. "He saved him. JJ told me how he convinced this guy to let Henry go. How he sacrificed himself. He's an amazing guy."

"Henry's his Godson." Morgan said. His eyes were still trained on the door, but his quiet words filled the room. "To him, that says it all. But he would have done it no matter who the child was. He would have given up anything to make sure no child was hurt that way. It's a part of who he is."

Dave turned to look at Morgan. "He's going to make it, Morgan. Look at what he's survived so far. That man is far stronger than anyone in his life has ever given him credit for."

"How much can a person be expected to take, though?" Morgan replied dully. "How many times can you expect someone to keep getting up after getting trampled down? He was doing so well before this. He was talking to me about seeing a counselor and trying to get his life in order. He wanted to take his life back. What's this going to do to him, even if he makes it through the surgery? Is he still going to be Spencer? Or will this be the last straw?"

No one had an answer for him. The room fell quiet after that. Together, the group of friends sat, waiting and praying, hoping beyond hope that their friend would make it through this.

Six hours later, the occupants of the private waiting room had finally drifted off toward sleep. They'd been sleeping off and on for the past few hours, startling awake each time they heard a noise. Aaron had gone at one point to see if there had been any kind of update, but he was told that there was nothing new. So they all stretched out in their chairs, trying to get as much sleep as they could manage. Even Morgan had tried to sleep some. Will had taken Henry home, telling JJ to stay and call him when she knew anything. At some point in their wait, Ethan had showed up. Morgan was just grateful he didn't have to deal with the guy. He knew that Ethan was a friend, but at the moment he didn't think he could have been calm enough to talk to him. Luckily, Dave had handled that. Now Ethan sat beside Dave, trying to sleep and wait like the rest of them.

The sound of the door opening jolted all of them back to the present moment. The mood in the room went from nervous and exhausted to alert in a split second. Morgan was on his feet before he'd even thought about moving.

The woman who walked in was the same woman that had treated Spencer for his gunshot wound, Morgan saw. That thought flittered through his mind briefly before all his concentration focused on her. He tried to read her face, but he could only see exhaustion at first.

He took a step toward her. "Dr. Tawny." He said hoarsely. "Please, how is he?"

She lifted compassionate eyes toward him. "He's stable right now." Was the first thing she said. The tension in the room instantly eased some. Morgan felt like he could breathe again. The 'right now' part was worrisome, but Morgan held on to the 'stable' part of things.

Dr. Tawny moved to take a seat, gesturing for them to sit down as well. "Sorry, but I've been on my feet for hours." She explained to them. "This is going to take a bit to tell. So, please, take a seat."

Once everyone was seated, Tawny leaned forward and rested her arms on her knees. Though she spoke to them all, her eyes moved toward Morgan. "I'm going to be as blunt as possible, so tell me if the information is too much, ok?" When they nodded, she continued. "We repaired the damage done from the stab wound. It damaged his spleen beyond repair, so we had to remove it. He lost quite a bit of blood. That, combined with the stress his body was under as well as what he was put through was enough to tax his heart. That was why it stopped the two times it did. We've given him some transfusions and his heart is beating fine now. The injury to his stomach should heal well, too. He'll be sore for a while, but I see him recovering fine from it with the proper care."

Morgan knew there was more. He said nothing when she paused, only waited for her to continue. His one hand was gripped tight by Garcia's and he felt Emily's hand come to rest on his back. He didn't pay attention to any of the others.

Sure enough, Tawny spoke again after a moment. "We repaired the damage to where his previous gunshot was torn back open. Luckily, the damage wasn't made worse. I don't see there being any lasting side effects once it's had time to heal. What worries us is what you told us, Agent Morgan, about the strangulation.

"Asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally, such as strangulation. Between the instances that this was done, as well as the times his heart gave out, Dr. Reid's brain was deprived of oxygen. We call this HIE. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy—HIE—is a condition that occurs when the entire brain is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply, but the deprivation isn't total. HIE is often a complication of cardiac arrest."

"Does that mean there's…brain damage?" Aaron's voice broke slightly on the words. All of them knew that it would be devastating to Spencer if he lost capabilities in his brain. That would almost be more traumatic for him than anything else that could happen.

Dr. Tawny turned to look at the unit chief. "We ran him through a few tests and I'm glad to say that there appears to be no serious damage done to his brain. We'll want to test him more once he's alert again."

"Again?" Dave interrupted.

The doctor nodded at him. "Yes. I'm sorry, but we've been out of surgery for a bit. I didn't come tell you because we were testing him still and when he woke, we wanted to check as much of his brain capability as possible before we came out to tell you anything."

Garcia's jaw dropped a little. "And he let you do that without someone there? Around strangers?"

"Well, yes, though it was obvious he was nervous. When we test him again, I would like it if you would be there, Agent Morgan. He seems most relaxed around you." She looked to him, waiting until he nodded before smiling. He tried to find it in him to be mad at her for making them wait so long but her logic seemed sound. She was a doctor more concerned with the patient than anything else and how could he complain when it was all in Spencer's best interest?"

"Now, from what we were able to see on our tests and in our conversation isn't that bad. Memory and mental capabilities are going to be normal from what we can see, but he is going to suffer a few speech problems. A mild stutter or he might have a hard time getting some words out. But otherwise his mental facilities should be fine and he can undergo speech therapy to help with his words, though it'll never be perfect. I would predict that, barring any further complications through the night and barring any infection, he should make a fully recovery from this. I dare say he'd even be fine to eventually return to his job without any physical complications."

No one bothered to correct her on him coming back to work. They had no idea what Spencer's mental capability was going to be or if he was even going to want to come back to work.

Now that all of this was out of the way, Morgan wanted only one thing. "Can I go see him?"

"We've got him in a private room right now." Tawny told them all. "He'd fallen back asleep, but he was stirring again a little when I left. He may be in and out of it for a while as the anesthesia wears off. The pain medication he's on may make him a little groggy as well. Please, keep in mind the experience he's been through and the problems I explained to you. His speech is a little hard at first and seems to be worse the more stressed he is, so try to keep him as calm as possible. I can let you in two at a time to see him, but I can't promise he'll stay awake through it all. His body needs rest."

The decision as to who was going first was no question; just like everyone knew that Morgan wouldn't be leaving. So he and JJ went in first to see their friend, both of them impatiently following the doctor to the room. When the door opened, Morgan had to hold back both his sigh of relief at seeing Spencer alive and the tears that wanted to fall at how beat up he looked.

There was something attached to his nose, running up to tuck behind his ears and come together underneath his chin. His hair hung loosely around his face, resting like a screen over the black eye he was sporting. His bottom lip looked like it was split. The wound on his arm had been re-bandaged so only the white bandage was visible, peeking out of the edge of his gown. His knuckles looked bruised and slightly torn except for one finger, which was splinted straight and wrapped. And all of that was just what was visible.

He or JJ must have made some sound because Spencer's eyes suddenly blinked open, looking straight to the door. Morgan saw the momentary disorientation there followed by recognition. Something like relief passed over the young man's face. That was all Morgan needed to move forward. He went to the side of the bed near the wall, hooking the chair with his foot and sitting down right by Spencer's bedside. He and Spencer stayed looking at one another the entire time.

Morgan brought a hand up, reaching out hesitantly for Spencer's hand. He wasn't sure how the younger man was going to react to being touched. How far back was this going to set his mental recovery? It had to have been the hardest thing for him to have to go back to the hands of the man who had tortured him for so long.

Because he was thinking those thoughts, it surprised him immensely when Spencer caught Morgan's hand with his, gripping as tight as he could for the moment. A relieved smile lit Morgan's face. "Hey there, pretty boy."

"H-Hey." The raspy croak made Morgan want to wince. Spencer's voice sounded so raw! But with everything that had happened, it was totally understandable. JJ did wince before she moved to grab a little cup that sat at his bedside, full of ice chips. She spooned up a little, offering it to him. "Hey, Spence." She said softly. When he took the ice chips from her, not even lifting his head off the bed, she smiled at him in a motherly sort of way. "You sure had us worried for you, honey."

"Hen..ry."

JJ's smile grew and her eyes became even warmer, though now they were misty with tears. "He's ok, Spence. He's ok because of you. You saved my baby." She gave him another spoonful of the ice chips. "I don't know how to repay you for what you did for him. But you have our eternal gratitude. Anything you need, anything at all, you don't be afraid to ask us. We'll never be able to pay you back for saving our baby for us."

For a brief second Spencer closed his eyes. "Was my f-fault h-h-he was th-th-there."

Neither one of them commented on the stutter nor the way the last word had seemed to almost stick in his mouth. Morgan just ran his thumb over Spencer's hand, still holding tightly to it. He kept quiet despite wanting to scold Spencer for saying something like that. JJ would handle this, he knew. Sure enough, she put one hand on her hip to give him a serious look as she scolded, looking just like any mother. "Spencer Reid, don't be ridiculous. Yes, that bastard took him to lure you out, but you had no way of knowing that he would. If you had, you would have had protection put on him. Are the rest of us to blame because we didn't think to protect him either?"

That had Spencer's eyes flying open. "No!" he exclaimed. "You d-didn't k-k-k…" He trailed off, gritting his teeth in obvious frustration at not being able to say the word he wanted.

JJ kept talking as if he hadn't even stumbled. "No, we didn't know, and neither did you, Spence. So don't you dare take that man's guilt on your shoulders. You're just going to have to deal with our gratitude whether you like it or not and that's final."

The gentle threat had Spencer's face relaxing. JJ leaned forward now, smoothing his hair back from his face so she could kiss his forehead. "I'm going to let the others in now. But I'll be back later when they let visitors back in, ok sweetie? You just rest and get well. We're so glad to have you home."

"Th-Thanks, JJ."

The smiling mother gave him one last kiss on his forehead before exiting the room. Spencer and Morgan said nothing to one another. For the moment, they didn't need to say anything. Morgan was content to sit quietly as long as Spencer wanted. Just being here with him, touching him, was enough to ease the ache that had been in his heart. Here he knew Spencer was ok. If anything happened, he would know; he wouldn't have to wait and find out later. He would be able to watch the young man and take care of him. Protect him, the way he should have before.

Dave was the next one to come in. He walked right up to Spencer's bedside, staying back just enough to leave the young man his personal space. "Hey there, kiddo. You're looking better than the last time I saw you."

"Th-Thanks." Spencer answered softly. There was no tensing to his body to suggest that he was uncomfortable or bothered by having Dave in the room, which Morgan took as a good sign.

Dave hooked his hands in his pockets, tipping his head to look at his friend. "Don't give the nurses here too much hell while you're here. You just concentrate on healing, you hear me? We'll all come back to visit you as often as they let us in here. Hopefully they won't get sick of us before it's all said and done." He seemed to hesitate for just a split second before he worked up his courage and said "I'm damn proud of you, Reid. What you did was stupid and dangerous and you could have been killed. But it was the right thing to do and I'm proud of you for doing it."

That left Spencer a little speechless, but his eyes seemed to glow with the smile that didn't quite reach his lips.

Next to come in was Aaron, with Emily sneaking in with him. When Morgan saw the two of them together, he raised a single eyebrow. Emily just smiled at him. "Rossi said he was looking tired and I didn't want to miss out, so I snuck in with Hotch." She explained impishly. Then she walked straight to Spencer's bedside. Since that hand was the one with the splint, she couldn't hold his hand, but she stroked her fingers over his arm. "You sure terrified me, Reid." She told him honestly. Behind her, Aaron nodded. "I think it's safe to say you scared us all."

Emily reached into her pocket, pulling something small out. She held it for just a second before showing it to him. In her palm sat a little pin in the shape of a sun. This time, Spencer's smile actually came to his lips, curving them ever so slightly. She reached out and worked the pin into the chest of his gown, gently avoiding touching his skin as she did. "I saw this at the gift shop when I went to get coffee and I had to get it." She told him in a voice softer and gentler than they were used to hearing from Emily. "It's my promise to you that I won't ever forget the sun's there, no matter how cold it gets around me. And it's to remind you that it's there for you too, even when everything seems hard and dark and cold."

Lifting his injured hand, Spencer carefully laid it over hers, letting the two rest against his chest for a moment. "All of-f-f you…are my su-sun. You w-w-warm me…i-ins-s-side."

"You warm us too, Reid." Aaron said gently. There was one of his rare smiles on his face, making him look almost paternal. "You're a central point to our team. Without you, we flounder. You help keep us together. You're a part of our family and your family is very proud of you right now."

Morgan could see the tears that built in Spencer's eyes. One single one slid down his cheek. But his smile was one of the biggest and truest that he'd worn since he'd come back to them.

The last two to come in were Garcia and Ethan. True to form, Garcia bustled right on over with none of the hesitation or caution the others showed. She was her usually self, fussing over his blankets, offering him more ice chips, and smiling all the while the tears rolled down her cheeks. But Ethan stood at the foot of the bed, unsure and hesitant. When Garcia had pet and hug Spencer enough, she stepped back to smile at him. "I'm sure glad to see you alive, sweet boy. But you ever scare me like that again and you and I are going a few rounds, you hear me?"

"Y-Yes ma'am." He teased her.

Leaning in, she kissed his cheek. "We'll talk more tomorrow. You look beyond tired." She rose, throwing a look to Morgan. "Take care of him."

"You better believe it, baby girl." It was the first thing Morgan had said since coming in the room.

Then she was gone and only Ethan was left standing there, looking beyond uncomfortable. He had his hands on the foot of the hospital bed, shuffling them nervously around. "I'm um, I'm glad you're ok, Spencer." He finally said.

The hand in Morgan's gripped a little tighter. He looked at Spencer's face and could see that he was trying to draw strength to himself as well as figure out what he wanted to say. "I'm s-s-sorry, Ethan." The words were slow, but the stutter wasn't as strong. "I didn't f-forget y-you on p-p-purpose."

Ethan looked like he wasn't sure how to take that statement. But Morgan could see it on his best friend's face. He couldn't help but smile. Spencer remembered Ethan! His thoughts were confirmed a moment later. "You w-were alw-ways a g-good friend." Spencer said slowly. "Th-Thank you f-f-for s-sticking around u-until I r-r-r-r…" Trailing off, Spencer gritted his teeth once more and rolled his eyes up to stare at the ceiling. Morgan leaned in, bringing a hand up to smooth over Spencer's forehead. "Remembered." He supplied quietly.

The younger man swallowed and opened his eyes again, looking to Morgan. Everything on his face was showing just how tired he was becoming. It had to have been visible to Ethan too, because the other man moved away from the foot of the bed and towards the side. "Hey, Spencer, listen to me, man. It's all good. The fact that you remember now, that's good enough for me. We can talk about the rest of it later, ok? Right now you look like you need some sleep, man. I can just come back tomorrow if you want."

"P-Please."

"All right. You rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

And then they were alone.

Now was the moment Morgan had waited for the most. Not because there was anything he wanted to say, or anything he needed to here. No, he simply wanted to be alone with Spencer. To sit here and watch him and touch him and keep reminding himself that Spencer was alive. That he was going to be ok. Morgan scooted his chair forward, moving his hands enough to drop down the edge on the bed. Then he rested his arms on the bed, taking Spencer's hand once more. A thousand words passed through Morgan's mind and yet none of them seemed necessary at the moment. Spencer was there. He was alive. That was enough.

Apparently it wasn't enough for Spencer. Even looking as tired as he did, he rolled his head toward the side so that he could look at Morgan's face. "I'm s-s-s-sorry I s-s-scared y-you."

"You did what you had to, sugar. Yeah, I was scared. I was terrified. But you're back now. You're back here with me." Leaning in, Morgan lifted Spencer's hand—making sure to be careful of the IV—and kissed the bruised knuckles. "I was so afraid you'd die before I got the chance to tell you that I love you too, Spencer Reid, with everything I am. I think I have for a long, long time." He lifted his eyes so that they were locked with Spencer's. There he saw love mixed with surprise and…was that hope?

For a single, long moment they stared at one another. Joy was slowly unfurling inside of Spencer, shining out his eyes. "I'm b-b-broken." He said slowly. Almost as if he was trying to brace himself for Morgan's reaction. The older man just smiled at him. "Then we'll put you back together." He countered. His smile was gentle and full of love, the sensation filling him as he let himself truly feel everything. "Spencer, for as long as you want me with you, I'm here. Until the day you tell me to get the hell out, well, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be by your side, helping you, taking care of you, loving you, protecting you. And I'm never going to ask you for anything you aren't able to give me. I'm not telling you I love you to pressure you. I'm telling you because I want you to know. What happens from there, that's up to you."

This time the joy was bright in Spencer's face. He didn't hold back, but beamed down at Morgan with a smile more beautiful than any that Morgan had ever seen. "I l-l-love y-you. D-Don't ever l-leave."

Morgan crossed his arms on the bed and rested his head on them, his face turned to smile at Spencer. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here, sugar."

Ever so carefully Spencer lifted his hand, touching his fingers to Morgan's cheek, stroking them down his neck, finally stopping to rest them on his arm. The fight with staying awake was slowly being lost. Morgan watched as Spencer's eyes slowly slipped shut, despite his best efforts to fight and keep them open. After a moment, Morgan couldn't take it. "Go to sleep, Spencer. I'll be here when you wake up, sugar, I promise you. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here and you're safe. Just go to sleep."

The grateful look Spencer gave him told him that he'd been right. Spencer finally closed his eyes, letting the medication take him back under. As he drifted off to sleep, Morgan watched him, content to simply sit and look at his face.

In two years, Spencer had been through hell. He'd been kidnapped, held captive, rescued, started to recover, had his Godson kidnapped and ended up sacrificing himself. So many things that, on their own, would be enough to break a person down. Yet Spencer was still here, still alive, still fighting. He'd even smiled. There was no one that Morgan knew that had the strength of spirit like Spencer did. Tipping his head a little, he kissed Spencer's knuckles once more. The road to recovery was going to be a long one. There would be obstacles in the way; long nights, hard days. Times where the pain would be overwhelming. But, looking at the sleeping face of his own personal angel, Morgan knew they would make it. Together, they could do anything.

Smiling, he drifted to sleep at the bedside of his love.

So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't really care? Let me know! This is the end of the story Time! Wow, I can't believe it's done. I can't believe it's actually over. Or, is it really? LoL. I've sat and thought about writing a sequel, just to show Spencer's healing, maybe him eventually going back to work. It wouldn't be the whumpage that Spencer went through in this story, though nightmares and flashbacks would be a part of it. It would just be a straight recovery story. Maybe starting six months or a year from the end of this story. Be sure to tell me what you want :) Anyways, thank you to all of you for sticking with me through this all. You guys are the absolute best! For this being my first story on I can't believe how well it did. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now, I'm going to go work on Undercover, lol, and maybe a new story soon :D