Disclaimer: I do not own Morgan, Reid, Garcia, or anything else relating to Criminal Minds. The only thing I own is the idea, and I don't make a profit from it, except a fuzzy warmth that satisfies my inner fanboy.

Warning: Not slash, not yet at least.


The young man that joined their group knew too much about human mortality even before being faced with the more gruesome of unsubs. Looking into his eyes, Morgan could see the haunted look that hid behind that eager gaze.

From the first time he met the young, brilliant Spencer Reid, he could see that there was something in the past that drove the boy to pursue a career in the FBI. The pay certainly wasn't enough to sway anyone, especially not someone with a brain like that. He could have been anything, so something must have drive him to pick such an unpleasant career. The question was: What?

When the two of them met for the first time, he had been briskly informed that it was "Doctor Reid," not "Agent Reid." Gideon hadn't explained it to him, but he hadn't needed to. Genius could only get you so far, and then looks held you back. If anyone had their looks stacked against them, it was that kid.

It wasn't that Reid was ugly or anything. For a guy, he was sort of cute. The problem was, he looked a lot like a twelve year old, and acted like a socially awkward child. Nervous and uncertain, he fell back on statistics and stumbled over his words when he was confronted with a situation where he had to deal with someone one-on-one. Even when he was being introduced to the team, he had been flustered and uncertain.

Despite how naïve and childish he seemed, Morgan could still see it in his eyes. There was something in the darkness that haunted the doctor. As they faced grisly cases that turned his stomach, he reached out to protect the twenty-one year old boy. He wanted to prevent him from learning anymore about human mortality.


A/N: I love their friendship so much. Also, this series will be broken into 3-4 Parts. This is "Part A" and will include 25-36 chapters. All of them will be about the same length as this piece.