Reid and Reid Ship Oneshots

Reid Has Vocal Paralysis

(Yeah here's another. Not an intentional ship, but you can kinda see it.)
❤️

When Reid was shot in the neck, he lived miraculously, but it had some lasting effects on him.
The bullet missed any major vessels somehow, but it instead went head-on into his larynx, injuring it severely. He wasn't able to speak for weeks until it healed to a certain point. And even with it fully healed eight months later, he still had issues.
The most obvious was his breathy tone and intense fatigue from just speaking. You could tell it took him a large amount of effort just to iterate a few sentences.
At first the BAU was worried this would lower Reid's morale, or even cause him to quit, but it surprisingly didn't effect his way of life very much at all. He took frequent breaks when ranting or belting information to the team for a case, but he didn't talk any less than he normally did.
Reid did find it annoying though. He would get winded from just speaking, and he'd frequently chock on air when he breathed, or on food when he ate.
He felt embarrassed whenever he disrupted everyone's conversations just because he went into a coughing fit.

"You ok, Reid?" Garcia asked, as she walked by him to sit in her own chair at the table the rest of the BAU was seated at. She patted his back lightly to dislodge any food he may have got stuck.

"Yeah-yeah I'm fine." Reid replied with a wheezy voice, catching his breath.

"Eat slower." Morgan advised, half teasing, half serious.

"I was actually thinking of getting this f-fixed, you know?" Reid swallowed hard, it getting stuck for a split second before breaking up.

"What do you mean?" JJ asked, her eyes wide in curiosity.
Everyone else was just as intrigued. They wanted Reid to live happily and comfortably, so this opportunity was well appreciated.

"There's this thing called bulk injections. And it's a procedure; very minimally invasive, where my vocal folds are injected with autologous fat to-" he took a long breath, "enlarge them so they meet easier at a midline. It would make my vocal cords strain less to connect. Talking would be easier, breathing, eating, etc." Reid took a few more wheezy breaths as he let anyone speak their opinions.

"I think it's a great idea, Reid." JJ smiled, giving a very reassuring look, though she didn't actually understand the whole procedure.

"I wouldn't be able to talk for a few days, but that's really the only side effect." His voice cracking like a middle schoolers, really just further solidifying his odds of going through with the surgery.

I can give you a few days of leave for you to heal, and then you'll be back in no time." Hotch smiled.

"Yeah, I think I'll do the bulk injections in a few days. I've been talking with my doctor for a couple of weeks now." Reid replied. He was nervous to be talking about this. He doesn't know why, but it was embarrassing to be talking about his medical needs.

"We're sorry this happened, Bambi." Rossi tried to give a reassuring smile, but it looked more like a cringe.

"You guys shouldn't blame yourselves. I'm alive aren't I?" Reid smiled as he stood up and left the table.

Over the next week, Reid constantly talked about his surgery. He decided to do it one of two ways. Instead of injecting the autologous fat through the back of his neck while a camera was shoved up his nose, he decided to do it completely orally. The surgeon will give him a topical anesthetic and use an endoscope to see the injection sight. It's the most noninvasive of the two.

Reid sheepishly walked into his bosses office. It was the day before his procedure, and he needed to solidify his leave.
"Hotch?" He asked.

"Yes?" He looked up from the papers on his desk.

"I just wanted to put my leave request in." He took a breath, "My procedure is tomorrow, and I think I'd be best to have a week of healing...before I came back." He was so tired of his breathy and wheezy voice. It'd be gone soon enough.

"Oh, didn't you say that your operation was next week?" Hotch asked, worry evident in his voice.

"No, it's tomorrow. Why? Is my request not viable?" Reid asked, holding his hands nervously in front of him.

"I'm sorry, but we have a case." Hotch replied, giving his full attention to Reid in sympathy.

"Oh, I guess I could reschedule..." He began to walk out of the office.

"Would it be possible for you to get your procedure done tomorrow, and then fly out to Oregon the next day?" Hotch asked, stoping Reid in his tracks. "I know you won't be able to speak, but we still need your expertise."

"I guess I can do that." Reid smiled nervously, "I don't know how the recovery will be, or if I'll be able to fly."

"It's minimally invasive, correct?" Hotch met Reid on his feet, "You should be able to fly, and if not, then you'll drive." He put a hand on Reid's shoulder, "We need you there for this case Reid."

With his usually shaky breaths, he nodded.
"Ok. Send me the files and I'll brief myself. I'll meet you guys in Oregon."
Reid left the office, happy. He'd soon be his old self again, or at least closer to who he once was. And it was nice to see that everyone relied on him.