Chapter 9: A beautiful mind

Lina's POV

Today's the second day of my hospital stay, and my doctor said I should be able to go home in the afternoon. The nights here are dreadful without Spencer. Even though I was in medical school to become a surgeon, the beeping of cardiac monitors and code blue alerts still makes me stressed out. I wait impatiently for Spencer to come so he can hold my hand and talk about statistics to me. I chuckle when I think about all the stuff that he knows about.

Even though Spencer and I are just friends, I can't help but imagine what life would be like if we were to date. I haven't dated anyone in nearly 4 years—because all of my exes have cheated on me before—so I stopped trusting people in relationships. But with Spencer, he seems so kind and genuine which I love, and I feel like he would never do anything to hurt me.

Before I can continue with my thoughts, I hear a knock on the door and my face breaks out into a huge smile, expecting to see Spencer. "Spencer!" I smile brightly. The door opens and to my disappointment, I see that it's just my nurse, Darlene.

"Sorry, not Spencer!" Darlene waves.

I chuckle. "It's also great to see you, Darlene."

"Well, today's your lucky day—you can finally go home." She smiles and comes over to my bed.

I lay down flat as she checks my vital signs. "As much as I love talking to you and all the wonderful people here, I can't wait to get out." I grin at her.

"And as much as I love seeing you everyday, I want you to get out of here now that you're better," she replies. "So what's it with you and that doctor?"

I looked at her confused. "What doctor?"

"Dr. Spencer Reid." Darlene's eyes twinkles.

"Ohhh." I smirk and shake my head. Because of Spencer's young age, I keep forgetting that he's a doctor, and that he's 2 years younger than me. "Nothing, we're just friends."

"Yeah, friends," Darlene teases. "Last time, your cardiac monitor went off because your heart rate was at 116 while sitting in bed, and I rushed in to check on you but it turns out it's because he gave you a hug." I blush, remembering how he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ears while hugging me. I am about to say something to defend myself when the door opens again and Spencer walks in. I feel my face light up with a smile.

"Hey, Lina," Spencer says and smiles brightly.

"Hello, Spencer," I greet him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not bad for a two-star hotel," he jokes and we laugh.

"I'll leave you two alone now," Darlene whispers as she takes off the blood pressure cuff around my arm.

"Bye, Darlene," I say and she winks at me, leaving the room. Once the door is closed, Spencer sits down in the chair next to me. He's wearing a fresh set of clothes today—a button up shirt, sweater vest, and trousers. I look down at my two-day-old hospital gown, feeling exposed with only my underwear on underneath it.

Spencer takes my hand in his. "I just spoke with the doctor and convinced him to let you go earlier."

"Really, when?" I bounce up and down a bit in my bed.

"Actually, right now." He grins. "But he said that you'll have to wait 2 to 4 weeks before you can return to your normal activities."

"Okay. But I can't walk out of here wearing this." I gesture towards my gown.

"That's why I brought your go-bag." He shows me the bag he's holding.

"Oh! Thank you so much, Spencer." I give him a hug. Even though Spencer is pretty skinny and not very cuddly, I still feel instant warmth when he wraps his long arms around me. I sigh and inhale his scent, trying to memorize the smell. We hug for a good whole minute before we slowly pull away, smiling at each other.

"I'm going to wait outside the room while you change," he says and I nod. Once he leaves, I go through my bag looking for something to wear. I am definitely not in the mood for jeans or anything too tight since my abdomen is still sore from the surgery. Thankfully, I packed a whole bunch of comfy athletic wear.

I pick out my favourite pair of cornflower blue leggings, a cropped black racerback tank, and a pair of white sneakers. I take off my gown and see the stitches on my stomach and sigh. There were already so many scars on my body, and now there's another one. I push the thought away and finish changing.

After that, I quickly put my hair into loose, messy-looking Dutch braids and pull out some strands of hair in the front. I smile as I tie them off—Phoebe was the one who taught me how to braid, she was like the mother I never had. My birth mother left me in front of a fire station when I was 7 years old, and I have no idea who my father is—which is why I ended up taking my foster mother's maiden name.

After braiding, I head into the washroom in my room to put in my contacts and I do a light, natural-looking makeup look with eyeliner and some mascara. I finish packing up the rest of my stuff, and grab a grey zip up hoodie in case it gets colder later and head out of the room. Outside, I see Spencer sitting on a chair and his face lights up when he sees me.

"Hi." Spencer briefly looks at me up and down in my tight workout clothes and chuckles.

"I know, I know." I feel myself blushing. "I didn't feel like wearing jeans or office clothes."

He laughs. "Well, you look great." We stare at each other for a moment before we snap out of it.

"You ready to go?"

"Yup." He reaches down to take my bag from me.

"I can carry it myself, you know." I roll my eyes at him and he chuckles.

"It's not whether or not you can, it's that you shouldn't. You just had surgery."

"Alright fine," I say. We walk out of the hospital together and get in the car. I hop in the passenger seat while Spencer takes the wheel.

"Hotch arranged a jet to pick us up in 2 hours." He starts the car.

"What—2 hours???" I check my watch. "What are we going to do during that time?"

"I don't know." Spencer keeps his eyes focused on the road. "There's not much to do around here. Unless you want to get some coffee?"

"Coffee sounds good," I reply.

After 5 minutes of driving around, we find a nice little coffee shop and go in. We both order a black coffee and I watch as Spencer puts in five packets of sugar in it. "That can't be good for you," I joke and he laughs.

We find a nice cozy booth and sit down in it, chatting away. I love watching Spencer's face light up whenever he talks about statistics. Even though I have trouble following him, seeing him happy makes me happy.

"Sorry, you must be bored listening to all of this," Spencer apologizes.

I shake my head. "Don't be silly, you were just talking about how more than 10 people a year are killed by vending machines, right?" He laughs and nods. "See, I listen."

"Most people tell me to shut up within 30 seconds of hearing me speak," Spencer jokes, but I can see the sadness in his eyes.

"Aw, Spencer." I hold his hand. "You have a beautiful mind filled with so much knowledge. It's their loss if they don't want to listen to you." He looks down at his coffee and I can tell that he is both flattered and embarrassed.

"T-thanks," he stutters then quickly changes the subject. "So what do you like doing for fun?"

"You mean when I'm not chasing down serial killers while trying not to get killed?" I smirk. "Well—I like working out, writing stories, and learning medicine."

Spencer raises his eyebrows and takes a sip of coffee. "Medicine?"

"Yeah. I couldn't decide if I wanted to be a surgeon or lawyer, so I double majored in health sciences and criminal justice. After graduating, I went to medical school to become a surgeon."

"Well, obviously you're working at the BAU now. So what stopped you?"

"I was in my second year of medical school, but after what Michael did to Phoebe and I, it inspired me to become an FBI agent so I can put bastards like him in prison." I feel anger flare up in me and I stare at my coffee to hide it.

"Hey," Spencer says and I look up at him, immediately I feel myself relax as I stare into his hazel eyes. "That's what we're doing right now. Saving people from horrible people like him."

I smile at him. Even though we've only known each other for 2 months, I feel closer to him than anyone else I've known in my life. Two hours pass by in a flash as we talk more, and if Hotch hadn't called Spencer we would've missed our flight. A 30 minute drive later, we arrive at the jet and settle down in our seats.

"Listen, Spencer," I say, "thank you for being here with me.... I owe you."

"No you don't. This is what friends are for." He smiles warmly at me. We sit next to each other in silence for the rest of the flight and I can't ask for anything better. His presence makes me feel safe, and that he is someone I can trust and let into my personal life.... A while later, Spencer and I arrive at the BAU and we walk into the bullpen together.

"Hi, Lina!" Garcia greets excitedly when she sees me, giving me a tight hug. "I heard about your surgery. How are you feeling?"

"Great," I reply, my voice sounding strained. "Except my stitches are going to burst because you're hugging me too tight."

She giggles. "Oops."

"Hey, Pretty Boy." Morgan comes up behind Garcia.

"Hi, Derek." Spencer grins at him.

Morgan turns his attention to me. "Yang, welcome back."

"Thanks." I put my hands on my hips.

"Wow, you work out?" He gestures towards my biceps that I have been working on.

I grin. "Yeah, I try my best." I feel out of place in the office, wearing my cropped tank top and leggings.

"Well, if you ever need a workout buddy, you got me here." Morgan flexes his huge biceps and we all roll our eyes, laughing. Just then, Hotch comes walking towards us.

"Yang, Reid." Hotch gives Spencer and I a small nod. "Good to see you guys back here."

Spencer smiles and responds, "Good to be back."

"We have another case, but Yang, I want you to go home and rest," Hotch orders.

"But I feel fine, sir." I protest.

"The doctor said 2 to 4 weeks, remember?" Spencer says, nudging me a bit.

"But—" I begin but Spencer shushes me.

"No ifs no buts."

"Fine." I sigh, feeling frustrated. "But stay safe guys." I wave goodbye and head out of the office.

On the drive back to my apartment, I can't stop thinking about Spencer and I feel lonely without his hugs. But then I walk through my door and I see Pumpkin sitting at the doorway, waiting for me. I smile and pick him up, hugging him tight.

"Meow!" Pumpkin complains a bit and I loosen my hug.