Chapter 15: Pure bliss

Lina's POV

I've never confessed my feelings to anyone in my life before—not once. All my exes were the ones who told me they liked me first. Even though Spencer was asleep when I did it, I still felt embarrassed as if he heard every word I said. But I can't help imagining what it would be like to be with him and the places he would take me on dates. As I continue to daydream, a stern voice interrupts my thoughts.

"Yang." Hotch calls me but I don't really register it in my head. "Yang!"

"Huh?" I respond stupidly and everyone in the team stares at me, trying to hold in laughter. Hotch had called us earlier to the hospital cafeteria to discuss something.

"Did you hear what I was saying?"

Rossi's eyes glimmer with humour. "Someone looked like they were daydreaming."

"I wonder what it's about." Prentiss wiggles her eyebrows.

Morgan leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "More like who it's about." Everyone chuckles and I roll my eyes at them.

"It's nothing. I'm just not feeling well," I say. I mean, I'm not lying. My whole body still aches from the bruises and cuts.

"If you need to take a break, just let me know," says Hotch.

"I'm fine." I give him a small smile

He nods. "As I was saying, I'll stay with Reid for the week while the rest of you go home first."

"I can stay with him," Morgan offers, "you need to go home to take care of Jack."

"No, it's my job to make sure that all my agents are safe."

"But—" Morgan begins but I cut him off.

"Actually, I can stay." I interrupt. "Reid stayed with me when I had my appendectomy. It's the least I can do for him."

"You saved his life, Lina." Rossi smiles. "What more can you do for him?"

I shake my head and think about how Spencer was the only reason I was able to get up and fight. "He's my friend. Please, Hotch."

After thinking for a while, he nods. "Alright. Yang will stay with Reid."

"Thank you." I smile brightly.

"Well, we need to leave soon." Hotch checks his watch. "The jet will be arriving in an hour."

I watch as the team gets up to leave. "Fly safe!" They all wave goodbye to me.

Once they leave, I walk back into the hospital to check on Spencer. It's been an hour so I hope he's awake by now. But before going, I quickly run into the washroom to check my hair and clothes. I'm wearing an old T-shirt and some jeans, and my hair is in a messy bun.

I take the bun out and my hair falls around my shoulders in loose waves. There is some frizz though so I use some water to smooth it down. After that, I look at my reflection with satisfaction. I walk out of the washroom and head to Spencer's room and upon entering, I see him sitting up, reading a book with his glasses on.

He looks up at me when I walk in. "Hey!" he greets me and smiles.

"Hi, Spence," I say and return the smile. "You're finally awake." I can't help but notice how cute he looks with glasses.

"Yeah," he replies. "Come sit down." He scoots over on his bed.

"Thanks." I sit down. "You know I was here earlier."

"Oh, r-really?" he stutters, sounding nervous.

"Yeah." I cock my head. "Are you okay? You sound nervous."

"I'm f-fine." He gives me an awkward smile.

"Okay then, if you say so." I ruffle his hair. He does that cute thing where he furrows his brows and squints his eyes a bit when I do so.

"Is my hair not messy enough?" he jokes and I laugh.

"By the way, Hotch and the others left already. They're on their way back to Quantico."

"Why didn't you go with them?" Spencer takes off his glasses, putting it on the nightstand.

I blush a bit and stare down at my feet. "Well, um, I wanted to stay here with you."

"Lina, you didn't need to do that," he says softly.

"Yeah, but you stayed with me when I was in the hospital." I fidget with my thumbs. "So I figured I would do the same for you. Besides, Hotch was gonna stay if I didn't."

"Well then, no offense to Hotch but I'd much rather have you here."

I giggle. "I'm sure he's not offended."

Suddenly, he stares intently at my black eye. "Oh, Lina." He reaches his hand up to cup my face. "How could she—" I watch as anger flashes in his eyes which surprises me. I rarely see Spencer mad.

"Oh, come on." I roll my eyes. "You have it way worse." I gesture towards his bandaged leg that's peeking out of the blanket.

He smirks. "Thank you...." He locks eyes with me. "You saved my life." I open my mouth to say something but I feel like I'm at a loss for words as I look at him.

I get a sudden urge to kiss him—I stare at his perfect lips and feel myself leaning closer. I flicker my gaze to his eyes again, and see him staring at my lips as well. As our faces inch closer, I can feel his breath on me.

Just as we're about to kiss, his cardiac monitor goes off, scaring the both of us. The nurse comes running in so I stand up to let her through. But to my surprise, she just winks at Spencer and leaves the room.

"Um, is she not going to check on you?"

Spencer chuckles. "I-it's happened before. It's nothing."

I furrow my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

He blushes a bit and runs his hand through his hair. "Sometimes I get a bit... nervous."

"Nervous?" I repeat. "About what?"

Spencer clears his throat. "Like, around y-you."

"Me?" I tilt my head in confusion. "Why?"

"Because you're a very pretty and smart woman, a-a-and I don't really have experience talking to girls.... You get what I mean?" He gives me a timid smile.

My face turns red and I grin a bit. "Oh, okay. I get it," I reply. "And t-thanks." After that we are quiet, both of us pretending that we didn't just almost kiss.

Spencer breaks the silence. "So, um, what kind of books do you like reading?" He puts his hand on my knee and absent-mindedly traces circles on it.

"Books?" I stare at his hand on my knee and feel butterflies in my stomach. "I-I like fantasy."

"Fantasy." Spencer looks up, scratching his chin. "You know, it's said that individuals who are more drawn to fantasy books are generally more creative."

I smile and laugh. "Well then what kind of books does the brilliant Dr. Reid enjoy reid-ding?" I joke and gently nudge him.

He rolls his eyes playfully at me. "Mostly literature, historical fiction... those kinds of books." He lets out a big yawn.

I check the clock and see that it's getting late. "I'm gonna go check into a hotel. I'll come back tomorrow, you need your rest." As I stand up to leave, I feel him tug on the hem of my shirt.

"Wait, Lina." He begins. "Um, can you stay for a while longer?" He looks up at me with big puppy eyes.

"Yeah, of course, Spence." I sit back down. "Anything you need." I stay with him for another hour and I feel my eyelids getting heavy. Spencer is already asleep by now, but I don't want to leave his side just yet. He looks so peaceful. I think to myself with a grin. Just then, I hear a knock on the door and the nurse comes in.

She smiles sweetly at me. "Hi, honey. Just wanted to let you know that visiting hours are over."

"Oh, okay." I wait until the nurse leaves and make sure that Spencer's still asleep, then I replace my shoulder that he's been sleeping on with a pillow. Then I gently kiss the back of his hand before placing it on the bed. After that, I pull a blanket over him and exit his room.

I then leave the hospital to find a hotel. After some searching, I find a cheap one and check in. I quickly take a shower and wince at the sight of my cuts and bruises. After that, I go to bed and fall asleep thinking about Spencer.

The next morning I wake up feeling groggy. Groaning, I bury my face in my pillow, my whole body still hurting from the fight. I roll out of bed to check the time and realize that it's already 10:15 p.m.

"Shoot!" I say to myself. I wanted to get to the hospital earlier. In a rush, I pull out clothes from my go-bag, looking for something to wear. I decide to go with a sleeveless red tank, black skinny jeans, and my converse. On my way to the hospital, I stop by a coffee shop to get something to drink. I also order a cup for Spencer since he's always buying me coffee.

I finally arrive at the hospital and take the elevator to get to the fifth floor where Spencer is staying, and walk down the hallway to his room. "Knock knock!" I say before opening his door.

"Wait—" Spencer's starts, but it's too late. I open the door and see him sitting on his bed with only his pants on.

"Sorry!" I quickly slam the door closed. I stand outside of the room, my face completely red in embarrassment. But then I wince as I think about all the bandages wrapped around his torso, and how much pain he must've gone through.

A few minutes later, Spencer's voice sounds from inside the room. "You can come in now!"

I slowly open the door. "Can I look now?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Spencer blushes. "The nurse said I can change into some regular clothes.

"No, it's my fault. I should've waited for an answer before walking in." I stare down at the floor before quickly changing the subject. "I brought you coffee."

"Oh, thank you." Spencer takes the cup from my hand. I walk into the room and sit down in the chair next to his bed. We sit there in awkward silence for a bit before I speak up.

"So what are you reading today?" I point to the book on his nightstand.

"Edgar Allen Poe," answers Spencer, "have you heard of him?"

"Mhm. My favourite short story of his is 'The Tell-Tale Heart'."

"Really?" Spencer asks excitedly and I nod. "That's one of my favourites as well. My mom used to read it to me all the time." His face turns sad at the mention of this mom.

"What's wrong, Spencer?"

He looks down and shakes his head. "Nothing." It looks like something's troubling him, but I decide not to push him.

"Hmm, okay."

"Do you want me to read it to you?" Spencer looks up at me.

"Yeah, sure. That would be lovely." I smile.

He scooches over to his right and extends an arm towards me. "C'mere."

"Okay." I smile and sit next to him, instantly feeling the warmth radiating off of him which makes me feel safe. As Spencer reaches for his book, I study every little detail on his face. The shape of his eyes, the point of his nose, and the softness of his lips. I quickly look away when he glances at me.

"You ready?" he squeaks. He clears his throat. "You ready?" he asks again, his voice deeper this time.

I giggle a bit and nod. "Yes." I smile brightly at him. He starts reading and I'm immediately drawn to the calmness of his voice. It is soothing, gentle, and sophisticated. After a rough night of sleep, I begin to feel drowsy. My head starts to drop and I quickly snap awake.

"Oh, sorry. Is it boring?" he asks, looking unsure of himself.

"No, no. I love it, keep going. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Here." Spencer wraps his arm around me and pulls the blanket higher. "You can sleep on me if you want."

I smile at him and rest my head on his shoulder. "Thanks." I say, snuggling closer to him as he continues reading to me. And at this moment, I'm in pure bliss.