Shivers Down Her Spine

by AutumnMalarkey

Elle's car breaks down in the middle of a snowy abandoned road. She gives a call to the only man that can help her. One-Shot

I think we all know proof reading isn't my strongest point. So, there are probably a million mistakes lurking in this story.

It's also not one of my best works. But it's for my NaNo, so, here it goes!

If you have some time please review and tell me what you liked and didn't like or some form of feedback. Thanks.

Summary: Elle's car breaks down in the middle of a snowy abandoned road. She gives a call to the only man that can help her.

Shiver's Down Her Spine

Light drops of snow fell onto the windscreen in front of her. The window wipers, with some form of haste, wiped the white jewels away, adding them to the ever growing pile of slush on top of the car's bonnet. Hands clutching at the stirring wheel, some how giving her an added sense of control, as the wheels skidded another time on a patch of ice.

"Shit." She cursed for what was the millionth time that day, as she struggled to grasp control of the vehicle. Her heart skipped a beat as she grasped harder, waiting for the control over the vehicle. Never letting the stirring wheel steer out of her hands.

Eventually, she came to a patch of road that seemed a little bit more bearable than the patch she had just skidded off, and it was evident that the car believed so too as the wheels came to a grind and she was given back control of her vehicle.

A soft breath blew out from between her pale lips, before she let her tongue out to wet the chapped surface. Giving the road one last glance, she looked down to the heat dial, prying her hand's tight grip away from the black material of the wheel, she gave it a wave in front of the heater.

"Damn it." Another curse left her mouth as she felt no air what so ever coming out. Hot or cold, anything would have been a good sign right now, but no. Her car's air conditioning was flat out.

Her brown eyes now chanced a glance at the wing mirror, just as her hand came back to the wheel, and saw she was completely alone on the abandoned road. "Great." Giving the brown jewels a small roll, she pulled into the side of the road as carefully as she could, avoiding any possible ice.

As she gave the break a tug, and checked that she was actually in one piece, Elle let herself slide out of the car, and around to the other side of the road. Tugging angrily at the right back door handle, knowing it jammed a little in cold weather (which Elle had once guessed was a conspiracy to annoy her a little bit more), her bottom lip was bit as she felt her index finger get trapped under the black plastic of the handle. Snatching her hand away in anger, she let another small curse leave her body as she saw the already forming blister, and this time, with far more force, she reached over and angrily grabbed at the handle, letting the door open at last.

A shiver ran through her spine as she felt the chill run down her red t-shirt, Goosebumps slowly making their appearance on her skin. Her hand grasped at the blue jacket on the back seat, not wasting any more time, she pulled it out and wrapped it around her arms. It was not warm, no, it was still far from it, but it was an improvement on a minute ago. Elle gave a groan, evidently showing her annoyance for forgetting to pack a go-bag for something that should have been as simple as a light drive down memory lane (or the long winding road surrounded by forest, as it looked to her now.) But, as a child, the woman had shared many good memories with her father, so, after a particularly hard case, she felt it necessary to get something good into her head. Of course, for the calamity that Elle Greenaway was, that was never as simple, as she was now finding out.

Letting the car door slam behind her, she walked to the bonnet of the car, and gave her best effort to open it up.

"Humph." She let out the sound as the bonnet slammed from what little it had been opened.

Her body gave off another involuntary shiver as she realised just what she was going to have to do. Raising, her slowly freezing hand, she began brushing away the mush gathered by the wind screen wipers previously, avoiding the area as to where she was throwing it.

As soon as the bonnet was cleared, she heaved the bonnet up, and tried to look into the blackness of what was inside, but, without a flash light, it was impossible. Angrily, her eyes looked up to where she hoped a street light would be, but instead there were just more leaves from a tree over head. No light at all.

"Right, let's just get home. Heating or no heating." Giving off a little less than un-satisfied nod, she let the bonnet slam shut, and began the careful tread over the ice patches around to the drivers side of the car.

The heel of her foot hit the worst patch of ice a little too hard, and she felt herself begin to slip. Instinctively, her arms went out to protect her, just making the lack of friction worse as she landed with a soft groan, on her front. Her hand's stinging with such a pain that would be described as unbearable. Shaking her head, Elle tried to get the bangs of her hair out of her eyes before begging the careful procedure of peeing herself off of the floor without another accident.

As she successfully made it to the drivers side, she opened the door and climbed into her seat, before switching the over head lights on and examining the damage.

The corner of her coat was torn, and the corner of her red top that was underneath it showed a small tear. A faint patch of red showed through the material, which she could not help but smirk at, wondering if she would have noticed if her top had been a shade or two darker. Letting her hands peel the material back slowly, she realised that there was only a light graze, and soon enough the bleeding would stop, she just needed to work through that. Now her eyes glanced to her hands, that she turned over one by one in front of her. Her left hand was not too bad, only a light graze, and there was no broken skin. Aside from the sting, which she knew was from the cold floor, there was nothing actually wrong with it. On the other hand, her right hand was a bit more messed up than the two other injuries. Skin quite obviously missing from her palm, and blood seemed to be coating the surface.

"Shit." She let herself say, another time. Fumbling through the pain, she took the red top off, closing her coat up fully as to make sure not to give anyone a free show when she arrived back on Virginia's roads. Then, she let herself clumsily wrap the top around her hand, not having the strength to rip it and do so. Giving it her best try, she pressed her hand against the dashboard, hoping that by the time she arrived, her hand would have stopped bleeding.

Then became the battle. A battle between the icy road, the slippery wheels and Elle's one handed driving skills.

Elle kept her focus off of the pain in her hand as she struggled to release the break and finally get back onto the road, but when she finally did, she let her speed drop to half of what she was going before; not taking a single risk. Goosebumps now covered the top of her chest that was not covered by her top any more, and her coat did not see to want to zip any higher to give her the bit of warmth. As she breathed out, Elle could have sworn you could actually see her breath condensing in front of her. Shaking her head, she told herself that was stupid, there was no chance the car would be that cold.

A light yawn crept over her body, and her eyes began to water as she released the sign of her tiredness. Her eyes had only shut briefly, but that was all it took. Unknowingly, her foot pressed a little harder on the gas, and she began to speed up a little faster. Coming out of the yawn, she blinked back the wateriness of her eyes, and then it came to her. In the glimmer of her headlights was a deer. She gave a honk of her horn, but it remained frozen on the spot, and she did all she could do, swerve out of the way of the creature.

Her front left tire hit the patch of ice first, sending the car into a frantic dancing panic, as she tried to grasp the stirring wheel, one handily, and gain the power again. But it was too late. The other wheels soon joined the first in skidding over the ice, and began to send the car plummeting into the sides of the forest. Seeing the impending trouble, Elle did all she could managed to do; take her hands off the wheel and dashboard and tried to protect her head.

The car let out a defeated cry of smoke from the bonnet, just as the windshield broke into a million small pieces. Elle waited for it, but the airbag never came.

"Damn it." She always knew this car had been a death trap.

As carefully as she could, Elle let herself climb out of the car, and her shoes sunk into the soggy soil bellow. Her eyes noted that the snow had seemed to pick up somewhat, and now large clumps of the watery substance was falling rapidly. She shivered, and began her trek back up to the road side. With a fumbling left hand, she searched her pocket for her mobile phone, then began looking though her phonebook for the necessary number. After finding it, and pressing the green call button, she waited, pressing it to her ear.

"Due to the recent weather," It was one of those crappy automated messages, never a good sign, "We are sorry to say we are not in service tonight." Elle hung up mid sentence. Her annoyance prominent.

"What the hell? You're the road side recovery, and you think you can stop working during snow? That's when the worse, frickin' accidents happen!" She gave a loud huff, trying to think of someone else to call.

Hotch? - No, he was with Jack and Haley. Elle sure as hell was not interrupting his weekend with them.

Gideon? - She recalled what he was saying just before he left on Friday: "Going to the cabin, don't call me for anything… Anything." Well, he definitely was a no go.

Reid? - No, the young doctor was visiting his mother in Vegas.

Garcia? - There was a moment when her head told her it would be fine to call the voluptuous blonde, but them thoughts were soon dissipated as she thought that she really did not want to make the blonde woman drive all the way out here, especially in this weather.

JJ? - That was a definite no. Knowing the woman had never really liked her, and would probably like her less if she made her do this trip.

That only left one.

"Morgan." His groggy voice came. Then it dawned on Elle that is was one something in the morning.

"Morgan, it's Elle… Sorry for calling, but." Her voice cracked, for which she was unsure why, but she knew tears were threatening to fall out of her eyes.

"Elle, what is it, what's wrong?" She could tell, from the way he was now talking, that the man was wide awake, and already throwing some clothes on.

"Um… I kind of…" She froze as she heard a female voice come from Morgan's end of the phone.

"Baby, what is it?" The woman, Elle was certain she did not know, said.

"Nothing, just work. I'll call you or something." Elle could tell from the lack of emotional response that Morgan was still frantic over what was wrong with her. She could also tell, from the lack of a goodbye kiss, that that woman was one of the ones Morgan most probably used to get over a bad case. Elle knew, no, the whole team knew, how Morgan 'relaxed'. "Elle, are you still there?" He asked, and she could now here him fiddling with what sounded like his car keys.

"Yeah, sorry." Sucking in a deep breath and wiping her injured right hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears that had already fallen.

"What's wrong, Elle?" Derek's voice was soft, compassionate, and Elle knew that he had cut down his franticness to try and get her to speak.

"Um… my car." She began to slowly drip feed him, "There was an accident."

"What? Where are you Elle?" She could hear annoyance in his voice now.

"Up on East Highway Sixty-Four." Her head dropped down to the mud she was still trekking in. "I'm about three quarters of a mile down."

"Are you okay? Injured." He asked her.

"No, I'm fine… Can't say the same for my car though." She let a light laugh pass her lips, somehow feeling comforted by the joke.

"Okay, I will he there in no more than an hour." Informed Derek.

"No, don't speed. The snow, and ice, I don't think we need a second car accident. Drive carefully, I'll still be here." As if on instinct, her right hand reached for her gun, "I have my gun anyway."

"Okay then, that's good." He said. "Do you want to stay on the line while I'm driving?" A small smile played on her lips as she realised just how sweet he was.

"No, I'll be okay, really. Just drive safely and concentrate on the road." Another short laugh passed her lips as she realised she sounded just like a nagging wife, or a caring mother.

"Okay, stay where you are. I'll be there soon."

"Alright." No less than a second later, she hung up, and slid the phone back into her pocket, letting another shiver creep though her body, she carried on up the sludge until she came to a rock by the roadside. Sitting herself down on it, she patiently waited.

Time seemed to pass very slowly, and Elle was suddenly made aware of her lack of clothes. She gave a light curse as she tried to pull the zipper ever so higher on her jacket, but it would not budge. Letting out a defeated groan, she let her arms drop to the side of her and wrapped the top a little tighter around her hand, not even bothering to check if the bleeding had stopped or not. Her eyes trailed up the path of the road and saw, impressed in the ice, the skid marks from her car before. They looked almost amusing, if it were not followed by the fact her car was now lying in a ditch, a tree sticking in the front. Raising her left hand, she wiped it over the surface of her face, and huffed on her hand to try and stop the numbing feeling that was over coming it. Then it all dawned on her, just how cold she was.

Her feet felt like blocks of ice at the tips of her legs. Her legs, well, lets just say she really regretted shaving them this morning. Her stomach was still showing the graze, but the blood had stopped. Elle wondered weather or not that was due to the coldness from the fact her jacket was far to small, and it stopped just below her belly button. She could have sworn her cleavage was a pale blue colour, and she had lost feeling there about ten minutes ago. Giving a shake of her head, she knew her cheeks and nose were bright red with the cold, yet the rest of her was pale, almost blue. She could not feel anything at all in her ears… Then it dawned on her, could she actually feel anything in her ears in the first place? Another shake of her head and she moved up her body. Her forehead, she presumed was fine, her scalp… Well it stung a little bit. But maybe she bumped it on the wheel when crashing before. An ache in her shoulder dawned on her as she realised that she seatbelt must have been working for that to have happened.

"At least one thing worked." She almost groaned out, giving a roll of her eyes.

Another bunch of time passed, in which, Elle had kept herself busy by messing with some features on her phone and attempting to play eye-spy with herself… That did not go too well. Now, she was trying to take a nap on her right hand, which just added more pain (and pressure) to the injury, while her left hand fingered anxiously at her gun. Her eyes begun to shut as she heard a faint noise in the distance. Both of them snapped back open, and she pressed onto the trigger, waiting. A part of her, the reasonable part, told her that it was just an animal. Most probably the deer she frightened the life out of before. But the hyper vigilant, injured, Elle Greenaway was screaming inside her to shoot anything she saw moving.

She never did.

In the distance, she saw headlights rounding the corner, and a part of her hoped that it was Morgan. Jumping involuntary, she felt the vibration of her phone and answered it.

"Hey, Derek." She said.

"Hi, I think I'm about three quarters of the way down. Where are you?" There was a nervousness in his voice.

"I'm guessing you're the car that just rounded the corner then. I'll start to walk up to you." Rising from the rock, she noted that her butt, was too, frozen like a brick. As headlights flashed in her eyes, she heard Derek state:

"Okay, I can see you. Stay there. I don't need to you fall over." Then the car began driving as close as it could get to her without the risk of slipping on the ice and knocking her over.

She did not have to guess that there was anger and shock lacing his face, when the headlights caught her again, as his car door flung open and he raced out of the car to her side.

"I thought you said you weren't injured!" He scolded, wrapping his arm around her bare waist.

"I said I wasn't hurt from the car accident, I mentioned nothing about falling over before the car accident." Ignoring her harsh tone, Derek tried to examine her in the harsh light.

"You're freezing." He informed her, as if she did not know.

"I know." He took no notice of what she had said.

"What the hell are you wearing?" The man's eyes widened as he took in her lack of a top.

"I didn't know you were the fashion police…" She snapped, and threw his arm from around her waist. "And I can walk myself."

"Fine then, next time you call needing help, I'll make sure to take my time." Elle did not look up to see him, but knew he rolled his eyes. That only made her quicken her pace, and she slipped, once again, on the slippery ice.

Thankfully, her knight in shinning armour was only a step behind her and he caught her, before she fell on her right hand, messing it up a little more.

"Thanks." She mumbled, this time not bothering to move his arm sill holding her up. There were tears in her voice, and Morgan could tell.

"Don't worry about it. Okay? Let's just get you to a hospital." Much to his surprise, the brunette did not argue. Instead her eyes watched each patch of ice, carefully treading over them.

As they reached the passenger door, Derek held it open and let her climb in, not missing the relief on her face at the warmth of the car. He jogged around to the other side, and jumped in.

"Let me check you over." He said.

"It's nothing, just grazes here and there." Elle informed him.

"I think I will decide that." Reluctantly, she laid her t-shirt clad hand on his lap and held back her winces as he peeled back the red material. "Elle, this looks really bad. I'm going to get us to the nearest hospital, okay?" Now came the protesting.

"No, please. I'm fine, it's nothing a good bandage and a painkiller won't solve." She almost begged, and Derek felt his heart almost break at the vulnerability in the woman, a vulnerability he had never seen before.

"Elle, it's not fine. You've lost quite a bit of blood, and it's bleeding a bit still. Never mind the cut on your head." He informed her.

Then it dawned on Elle that it was not only a bang, it was a cut to, and her left hand traced up, to be met by a small drip of blood. She could not hold back the wince as she felt herself press something further into the wound.

"I think there's glass in it." He informed her, and she nodded, agreeing completely. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll fix you up, warm you up and send you home to bed." He began re-wrapping the hand back up, when he noticed the bags lacing under her eyes. "Why don't you try and get some sleep, yeah?" Elle gave an exhausted nod. "I'll wake you up when we get there."

Studying carefully, he watched as she put her injured hand on her lap, and wrapped her other one around herself, Derek knew this was both a way of her trying to hide her emotions from him, and her trying to keep herself warm. Taking it as a hint, he spun the air conditioning all the way up, trying to get her a little bit warmer. Glancing from the road back to the woman, he watched as her eyes dropped and she fell into a soft sleep.

"Damn it!" He swore, loudly, waking her from her slumber only a few minutes later. A loud beeping filled the car as he pulled into the side of the road.

"What's wrong?" She dreaded to ask. His annoyance multiplied as he slammed against the stirring wheel.

"Out of gas." Now her ears perked up.

"What?" Derek gave a nod.

"Sorry, Elle. I knew I should have got more before I came." He hit his head with his hand.

"It's not your fault, do not worry." She gave a sigh. "There should be a motel a mile or two up ahead, think we should walk up there?" She asked, he passed her a look, that told her he thought she was being stupid. Subconsciously, she sunk into herself even more.

"I'll give Hotch or someone a ring." In a state of distraught, Elle began to shake her head.

"No, don't. This is the first weekend he has had alone with Haley and Jack, I don't want to spoil it." As Derek went to open his mouth, she shook her head again, "Gideon is in his cabin, the likelihood is he hasn't even got cell service. Reid is in Vegas, and I really do not want Pen or JJ driving out in the snow." She gave him a begging look, which made him succumb.

"Fine. Do you think you can manage the walk? I can call an ambulance… Actually, let me call an ambulance." He took his phone out and began dialling Nine-One-One, that was until Elle snatched the phone from him.

"Please, don't. I do not need an ambulance. Okay? I am fine. We'll walk to the motel, find a first aid kit, and I can fix my hand." Elle heard as Morgan let out a defeated breath.

"Do you need me to carry you?" He asked, and Elle laughed, like it was a joke.

"No, I can walk on my own, besides, if you fall it'll just hurt me more." He gave a nod, turning off the car's engine and stopping the heating, plummeting the car into darkness.

They both left the car in sync. One door only closing a fraction of a second behind the other. Elle waited at her car door as Morgan grabbed his go-bag and locked the doors.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk?" He asked, attentively looking back down at her wrapped up hand.

"It's my hand, Derek, not my leg." She gave a gruff answer, not looking at him. Carefully watching the ice on the floor to make sure she did not fall over again.

"Sorry." He now looked down, avoiding her looks, and watched the ice in front of Elle. Standing ever so slightly behind her, to catch her if she slips.

They had been walking for around half an hour when he saw Elle shiver slightly again.

"Elle, here." He waited for her to stop before slipping his own jacket off, and wrapping it around her shoulders.

"No, Morgan, you'll start to freeze." She began to take it off and hand it back to him.

"I won't. Besides, I don't want you getting hypothermia." Elle still protested, trying to hand it back to him. "I'm not putting it back on, even if you're wearing it or not, so you may as well put it on now and be warm." Morgan stopped himself from smiling in triumph as she put the jacket on over her own.

There was a part of Elle that was extremely grateful for the largeness of Morgan's jacket, and the warmth it gave her body.

"Thanks." She said after a moment or two.

"No problem…" Morgan looked up to find her looking at him, she gave him a small smile.

"No, really, Morgan, thanks. You really did not have to come out here and save me." Analysing her tone and words, Morgan noticed her looking down at the floor, almost in shame at her accident.

"Why wouldn't I? Someone needed to be your knight in shining armour." He gave her a smile to try and tell her he was okay with coming to get her, but it seemed that Elle did not pick up on it. So, instead, he reached out and lightly held her arm, stopping her and making her turn to her, "You know you couldn't have prevented crashing right?" She gave a light shake of her head.

"There was a deer, if I had been looking properly, I would have noticed." Her eyes fell to the floor as tears welled up in them.

"Elle." He tilted her head to make her look up into his eyes, and saw tears dripping down her cheeks. His heart tore in two. "It is not your fault. Okay? Nothing was in your control." A small nod came from Elle. "Now, I think you're just being irrational because you're injured, tired, and freezing to death." Morgan's hand came up and wiped away the tears. "And I never want you to think that you can't call me. Whether it is to come and help you, or just someone to talk to. I am always available." Elle took in a shaky breath, and he knew she was getting upset again. "Elle?" He repeated.

Watching her carefully he saw her take in a breath to steady herself, before looking up to meet his gaze.

"But… I. I interrupted you tonight." She told him, looking back to the floor.

"Elle, it's okay. That, it meant nothing. And I promise to you, that no matter what I am doing or where I am, I will always be available to you, even if it's just by a phone call." She gave a small nod and Morgan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in for a hug, giving her a soft kiss on the top of her forehead. "Good. Now let's get that hand fixed up." He let her pull away and begin walking, but refused to remove his hand from her waist.

Walking another ten minutes later, and they were still walking, Morgan watched Elle closely, seeing tears still lightly making a trickle down her cheeks. To save her the embarrassment of another conversation, he just rubbed his thumb lightly against her waist, trying to taper off the tears. But it soon stopped as she gave a slight wince.

"You okay, Elle?" She did not respond, still looking at the floor and nodding. "Then why did you just wince?"

"It's nothing, just a graze." Elle informed him, extremely quietly, and he knew he would have missed it if they were still in the car, but under the silence of the night, he could hear it perfectly.

"I thought you said it was just your hand and head." There was anger in his features, that he masked upon seeing the woman's vulnerability.

"I swear, it is just a graze. It's fine." Morgan gave a nod.

"I'll check it when we get to the motel." Elle succumbed and gave a nod. "Good." He held her a little bit tighter, but moved his hand higher as not to hurt her. "That okay?" Another nod, and he felt he needed to lighten the mood. "Well, I never thought I would see the day that Elle Greenaway called on me for help." A light nudge to the ribs told him she had taken it as a joke.

"Don't get used to it, big guy." He snuggled her closer, liking the sense of warmth she was giving to his cold body. Apparently, Elle noticed this.

"Are you cold? Do you want your jacket back?" He shook his head.

"It's fine. I'm only getting a little bit cold. You're freezing." He informed her, taking her hand in his and feeling the cold skin. "Let's speed up though, get in a bit faster, yeah?" When he saw Elle nod, he began to walk at a slightly faster pace, tightening his grip on her so she did not slip.

Eventually, they came to a small motel that was dimly lit up.

"You have you wallet right?" Elle asked when it dawned on her that she did not have her purse.

"I've got it. Don't worry." Morgan heard the worry and needed to reassure her.

"Thanks." He gave her side another strong sleeve before holding the door back for her.

"Go and sit down, I'll be over in a minute." He let her go, and waited for her to sit down before putting his go-bag at her side. "Two seconds."

Elle's eyes watched him for a moment as he spoke to the man at the small desk. She looked around and noted that the motel was not exactly the nicest of places, and it looked quite groggy and dim. She shrugged, it would do for now. Anything to let her get some sleep. Seeing the man walking up to her, she noticed the one key in his hand.

"One key?" He nodded. "Apparently they only have one room. And no heating. The pipes have frozen." Elle gave a groan in response.

"It'll do anyway."

"And he passed me this." Raising his hand and showed her the first aid kit.

"Cool." Giving him a smile, she stood up, and picked up the go-bag.

"Yeah, but give me that." He did not give her an option before he took the bag out of her hand.

"Give me the key then." She snatched it from her, with her good hand and began reading the number on the key before beginning the walk to the first floor, and then along the corridor.

Carefully sliding the key into the lock, she waited for it to click before pressing on the handle and walking in, flipping on the lights. She carried on walking in, looking around as she did so. The room was not too bad looking after all. It was not spotless, a corner of damp on the ceiling and a crack here and there. A patch of wallpaper was missing that was attempting to get covered up and a far too small photo in a frame, but it would still do.

Elle noted the temperature of the room, and it was barely warmer than outside. Then her eyes fell onto it. The open window.

"What the fuck?" She grumbled, making Morgan look from where he was putting the bag down on the double bed.

When he realised what she was grumbling about, he walked over and closed the window.

"It's not going to get any warmer though, so I say you get on the bed and then let me fix you up before you go to sleep." Glancing down at her appearance, then to the bed, Elle gave another groan.

"My jeans are covered in mud, and I don't exactly have a top." She recalled in her brain her cut hand and climbing back up to the road in the slush.

"It's a good thing I brought my go-bag then, isn't it?" He asked, unzipping it and taking out two pairs of jogging bottoms and a top. "These are going to be quite big on you, but extra warmth, yeah?" Elle nodded.

"Thanks."

"Do you need some help?" Morgan asked, as she fumbled with them in one hand.

"I think I can manage, don't want to give you a free show!" She teased, but noticed his face turn serious. "I'll call if I need help."

"Alright."

Watching her walk into the bathroom, Morgan noted that Elle did not lock the door, and he knew that was because she was uncertain that she could manage on her own. So, quickly, he changed out of his clothes into a pair of jogging bottoms, before opening up the first aid kit and waiting. Listening intently for her call of help, but it never came.

The bathroom door opened a second later and Elle walked in, cradling a pile of clothes. She dumped them down on the table in the corner and turned around. Morgan noted the way his clothes were practically falling off of her body.

"Sit here." He ordered her, and watched her wince slightly as she sat on the bed. "Hand first, then head, then hip. Any other injuries?" He asked, giving her a fierce look that told her she should not lie to him.

"Just a bruised shoulder from the seatbelt. Nothing else at all." Morgan nodded, seeing the truth in her eyes.

"Okay then, but this will sting." Elle nodded and placed her hand in his lap.

Carefully, he peeled back the red top, to find the blood clad hand.

"I'm going to need to wash some of the blood away, and then clean it properly, okay?" Elle rolled her eyes.

"I'm a grown woman, Derek, just get it over and done with." Giving her a light smile, he got up and found a bowl and filled it with cold water, then, finding a towel on the rack, he began to wipe away the blood. Not missing the way the brunette was biting her bottom lip to stop herself from wincing. Morgan chose not to tease her on it, though, because, if he did, it would make the night with him a little more awkward and unbearable for her.

"This really is going to sting." He told her, and Elle just nodded as he began to get out the packet of sterile wipes. Taking one out, he carefully ran it over her skin, trying his best to do it slowly, and less painfully, but failing.

"Can you do that a little faster?" Annoyance hung at the end of every word she spoke.

"Sorry. This really will hurt." A roll of Elle's eyes told her that he should just get on with it, so he began pressing harder and wiping it away with speed. Not missing the tears that welled in her eyes. But, on the plus side, it was over and done with a lot quicker. "Done." He said, and Elle sniffled back the tears and stopped biting her lip. Morgan smiled, seeing that she had bitten her lip hard enough for her teeth to indent the bottom of it, but not tightly enough to draw some blood. "I'll just put the gauze, tape and bandage on now, okay?"

"Will you stop asking me and get on with it, Derek!" He had to hide his smile by looking back in the first aid kit.

"Okay." Putting tape on the four corners of the already cut gauze, he stuck it down to her hand, then began to wrap the bandage around, stopping when it looked secure enough, and taping that down too. "That's done as well. Ready to get that glass out?" He asked, and Elle nodded.

Taking the tweezers out of their plastic, he wiped them down with a new sterile wipe before crouching over her, and trying his best to ignore her wince as he fumbled to get the small piece of glass out. Finally, he grabbed it, and gave it a tug, taking it off of the end of the tweezers with the wipe. Morgan could tell that it was the only piece in there as a trickle of blood soon flowed out.

"Sorry!" He apologised. Wiping the drip away and quickly trying his best to cover it up with a tight bit of gauze and more bandage before it could bleed even more. "If you feel light headed at any point, you need to tell me." Elle gave a nod. "Okay, now hip."

Shifting on the bed, Elle laid a bit further down before raising his top slightly. Then, there was an awkward pause where she realised his pants had dropped quite a bit on her, and she realised the top of her lace blue panties were on show.

"Sorry!" She quickly apologised, and tried to shift the pants higher.

"Don't worry about it, I've seen worse." He gave her a slight wink before turning his attention back to the cut. "Elle, that looks quite nasty." He told her.

"Compared to my hand, it was only a graze, I told you." Morgan gave a sigh as he wiped yet another wipe over it and took the bit off blood off of it. "Yes, I am bandaging that up too." Elle groaned.

"Why? It's nothing!"

"I don't care Elle, but when we get to the hospital, I really don't want to know you have gotten an infection in it from sleeping in this nasty motel." The brunette rolled her eyes and let him bandage that up two.

"Done?" She asked, hopefully.

"Let me see your shoulder." He ordered.

"It's only a bruise. It's not even bad." Her eyes fell into her lap.

"Elle, you told me that," he pointed to her hip, "was 'only a graze'."

Reluctantly, she slid her shoulder out of the top of the top, to reveal it was really only a slight bruise on the top of it.

"See. It's fine!" She told him, with a slight sense of 'I told you so!'

"Okay, it is. Now go to sleep, okay?" Elle nodded, sliding the top back over her shoulder and standing up to pull the covers back.

"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked him, and did not miss the way Morgan's eyes looked down to the other side of the bed.

"Am I not allowed to sleep here?" His joking smile came on.

"Of course, just don't try anything funny, I have my gun, you know." She pointed over to the dresser next to her.

"Wouldn't dare." He laughed. Walking back around the bed and locking the door, turning off the light before climbing in.

"What time is it?" Elle asked.

"Um…." She looked around to see the light on his phone lighting up his face. "Twenty to four."

"Gah." She groaned, tiredly.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Greenaway." He teased, and felt a nudge in his side.

"Night, Morgan."

It was a moment or two before Elle's breathing calmed down and he knew she was fast asleep, yet Morgan stayed awake, just waiting to see if she needed him… Waiting for that breakdown that never came. He knew it would not come. Not today, Elle was good at hiding her emotions. But one day, she break down, and he wanted to be there to catch her when she did.

As his eyes began to close, he felt a soft shaking from the bed next to him, and he carefully rolled over to see the back of Elle. Analysing her breathing, he could tell she was still fast asleep, and not crying. Then it dawned on him; the blanket was thinly spread over the two of them, and there was barely enough to cover her and him, which was saying something considering just how tiny Elle was.

Morgan bit his lower lip, knowing she must have been freezing. First she was out waiting for him for an hour, then there was another hour and a half walk to this motel, and this room was still freezing. Deciding enough was enough, he wriggled closer to her, and wrapped his arm around her, trying anything to keep her warm. The blanket was now a little more fitting and he made a best effort to cover her completely in it before settling back down and pulling her into his bare chest. Sucking in a deep breath, he noted the scent of watermelon in her hair and had to smile slightly. Yes, Elle Greenaway was indeed a girl. No matter how hard she tried to push it away to help her work in the 'BAU boys club.'

"I thought I said no funny stuff." Her groggy voice came, and he could not help but smile.

"You were freezing cold and shaking." He informed her.

"Any excuse to try anything funny with me, eh, Derek?" Although he could not see it, he could tell she was smiling.

"Just go back to sleep, Elle." He gave a small laugh.

"I will when you promise to sleep as well, and not lay there awake, waiting for whatever you think is coming." He hated profilers, but a small smile came across his lips.

"I hate profilers." He told her.

"So you hate yourself too." From the slurring of her words, he could tell she was fast falling asleep, and only a short moment later did her breathing even out.

Finally, Derek let himself fall into a slumber, knowing Elle was safe in his arms.

Sun streamed in from the windows, but Morgan knew it was still early when he opened his eyes. Taking his arm from around Elle, he reached for his mobile and turned off the alarm that he had set for nine.

"Morning." Elle said, still quite groggy.

"Hey." He looked down at her injured forehead, and noted the slight bit of blood that had came though it through out the night. "How's the head?"

"Stings like a bitch." She laughed slightly.

"How's the hand?" He smiled slightly at her words.

"It stings like a bitch." She replied again, and revealed her hand that too, had a bit of blood coming through the bandage, only a little too much for his liking.

"God, it's still bleeding." He stated.

"Seems so." Elle grumbled.

"Alright, I'm going into the hall to call the car company, why don't you try and get a bit more rest, ay?" Morgan knew, that if Elle had not have been so tired she would not have just nodded and rolled back over.

Out in the hallway, Morgan looked around to see none of the other residents of the motel were up, and so he felt slightly better about being topless. Running though his phone book, he pressed dial on the phone company.

"Hello?" A woman's voice came over the line.

"Hi, this is Derek Morgan, my car has broken down, and my friend Elle Greenaway's car has been in an accident." He told the woman.

"Oh dear. Where are the cars?" She asked.

"East Highway Sixty-Four. The accident is about three quarters of the way down, and my broken down car is halfway down." He informed her. There was a pause, which worried him.

"Sir, there seems to be extreme weather conditions in that area, and we will not be able to get a to-truck out until it has calmed down." He sighed.

"Sure, that's fine. I'll call a friend to come and get us, and you can get the car's when the weather has calmed, yeah?" There was a tone that told the woman he was far from happy.

"Of course, Sir. Have a nice day." Then she hung up.

"Have a nice, frickin' day." He repeated, with a groan.

Then, as he looked through his contacts, he sighed.

"You'll just have to deal with it, Elle." Then he pressed call and waited for the reply.

"Jareau." JJ's voice came.

"Hey, JJ, it's Morgan. There's been an accident, and I kind of need you to come and get me and Elle." He tried to feed her all the information as fast as possible.

"What? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Well, I am, Elle's a bit messed up, but I'll take her to the hospital when we get back."

"We can drive straight there. I'm just getting Pen and we'll come down. Where are you guys?" He could hear how frantic she was, and then heard a knock on what he presumed was the technical analyst's office door.

"East Highway Sixty-Four. There's a little motel about a quarter of the way down. Just call when you're outside. And please remember to get a tank full of gas."

"Okay, sure."

"Drive carefully, it's quite icy." Morgan ordered.

"Of course, Derek. We'll be there as soon as possible. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up and crept back into the motel room.

As he entered, he did not miss the way Elle was now sat up in the bed, and it looked like she had given up on sleep.

"I thought you said you would sleep." He told her.

"I did. But if I try to sleep on my right side, my hand and head hurt, if I try on my left my hip and shoulder hurt. I gave up eventually." He gave her a look of sympathy, that he soon lost seeing her discomfort with it. "Are they coming to get the cars?" She asked, and looked saddened when he shook his head.

"They said they could not get here until the weather had settled." Morgan informed her.

"So who'd you call?" She questioned, knowing he would have called someone to get them to a hospital quicker.

"JJ. She and Pen are on their way." He did not miss Elle's groan.

"Great!" He could tell it was fake enthusiasm, but ignored it, and turned to the side.

"Do you want a coffee?" He asked, and did not miss her nod. "I don't know how well this is going to go though." She gave him a small smile, appreciating him trying. "While I do this, wrap yourself up warmer, okay?" Elle nodded.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked, eyeing up his bare chest.

"Surprisingly, no." A smile came to his lips and he turned around to cover it up as he tried to figure out how this crappy kettle was going to work.

First he filled it with cold water from the bathroom, then put it on to boil. Whilst he was waiting, he looked over at Elle who was picking at her hand's bandage.

"If you carry on, I will have to bandage your left hand up too." He teased.

Elle pulled a tongue at him as the kettle clicked to say it was fully boiled. Pressing himself back up from the bed, he padded over to the counter, rinsing out two mugs in the bathroom to make sure they were fully clean before adding the sachet's of sugar and coffee before pouring in the water and stirring with the milk. Then he carried it over.

"No matter how bad it is, I want you to drink it all, It'll keep you warm." As he pressed it into her other hand, he rubbed her arm lightly, in a comforting manner.

An hour and a half passed, in which Morgan and Elle had done some talking. It was not really one a certain topic, just any little thing really. A kind of 'getting to know each other' task. They talked about Brooklyn and Chicago, about their brothers and sisters, and then their moms. The conversation was cut ten minutes ago, when Morgan had asked about Elle's father, and the brunette tensed up in a way he had never seen her before. Almost full of guilt. They had not talked in ten minutes. Elle just staring at the blank space in front of her, refusing to return to the conversation. Both were pulled away from their thoughts as Morgan's phone began ringing.

"It's JJ." He told her, before answering. "Hey… okay, we'll be out in a second… Yeah… Put the heating on full… I'll tell you when we get in the car… Bye." Closing the cell, he turned to look at Elle. "They're outside." The brunette nodded and began to painfully get up out of the bed. "Whiplash?" He asked. Adding it to the list of things to get her checked over at the hospital for.

"Think so. Or exhaustion." She told him. Trying her best to make the bed.

"Leave that, I'll do it." He stopped her, and began to take over what she was doing.

"Okay, I'll get changed." She told him.

"Don't even think so." Morgan's words stopped her, "You need the warmth and comfort. Not the nasty, mud covered clothes. I've already put them away to be cleaned. You're gun is in the bag too, along with your cell." Elle could not help but smile.

"Thanks." She smiled, a real, genuine smile, at him.

"No problem. Now let's go and get you checked over." He grabbed the go-bag before Elle could even make within a metre of it, and then picked up the key. "After you." He held the door open, waiting for her to leave before locking it. Then they began the painful walk down the single flight of stairs.

"Have a nice night?" The man behind the counter, the same one as last night, asked, as he took the key and hung it back on the wall.

"Yeah, thanks." He slipped a protective arm around Elle as he walked her past him and out of the door. Right outside, there was a waiting SUV, with two very anxious blondes.

"Oh my God. Elle, what the hell happened?" He watched as they both left the car and Garcia raced to her side.

"It's nothing. Don't worry." Cautiously, Garcia helped her into the passenger seat of the SUV, before getting in the back next to Derek. Leaving JJ to drive.

They stayed there for a moment before JJ spoke.

"Do either of you want to tell me what the hell has gone on?" She asked, a little annoyed she was pulled away from her work.

"I would, but I only really know my part of the story, I haven't gotten the story from Elle yet." Then all eyes fell on the injured brunette agent.

Sucking in a deep breath, Elle sighed, and knew she had to tell them the story.

"I was just going on a drive, how the hell was I to know it was going to start to snow?" Morgan laughed slightly.

"A drive?" He smirked.

"To clear my head. I…" Her eyes fell to her lap and no one missed her solemn tone. "I had a lot of good memories here, I wanted to get back in touch with them." Morgan nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. Then he passed Garcia a look, telling her not to press it any further. He knew JJ had already gotten the hint.

"Then what happened?" JJ asked.

"The heating broke… So I got out to check… slipped on ice, hence the hand and hip." She rolled her eyes, holding her bandaged hand up for them. "I couldn't fix it, so I just ended up driving. Then, the next thing I know, there's this deer, right in front of me, and I tried to swerve, and lost control. Before I knew it, the car was plummeting into the front of a tree. That's the shoulder bruise and whip lash. I am still unsure of how I got glass in my head to be honest." There was a hint of amusement in her voice, but they could see pain in her eyes.

"Then I guess it's me." Morgan said, making the blondes look at him, "I got a call, drove over and then ran out of gas on the way to the hospital. That's why we've ended up here." They both nodded.

"Where are your cars?" Garcia questioned.

"It's a bit further down, and Elle's is just a bit down from that, The to-truck will come and get it when the weather settles." Morgan filled them in, and then looked around at the blonde's shocked faces.

"Sounds like you've have a hell of a night." JJ smiled slightly, but lost her smile as she saw the brunette wince. "Let's get you to a hospital. Garcia's found us directions to the nearest one."

"It's fine. I just need to go home." Elle now began protesting.

"Not a chance, Greenaway. I will drag you in there if I have to." He joked and Elle laughed slightly.

"I knew I should never have called you." She rolled her eyes, as the feeling began coming into her hands from the warmth of the car.

"Oh, you know you do not regret calling me." He pulled a tongue at her before nodding to JJ to start to drive. "I'd say seatbelt, but that might aggravate your shoulder a little more. So I think we'll let you off of the Federal Offence." He teased.

"You know, I still have one good hand, I can kick your ass." She told him. Looking into the mirror with a threatening look.

"I bet you could." He laughed slightly.

The car revved slightly, and no one missed the way Elle jumped with a bit of fear, holding onto the side of the door tightly and her eyes widening as she looked out of the windscreen.

"It's okay, we are not going to crash." Morgan reassured her, and Elle gulped slightly, nodding her head.

"Going to be fine." She said, quietly, but everyone in the car heard it. "Going to be fine." She repeated, taking a steadying breath.

Morgan looked slightly worried as he met Garcia's eyes, and then JJ's as he looked into the rear view mirror. Yes, he was terrified that Elle Greenaway finally broke down and there was no way he could comfort her. As they passed onto the wooded road, he did not miss the way she looked at the trees with fear, and terror. Morgan knew there was only one way to get her past the fear.

"Elle, look at me." He waited, but she never did. "Elle." He repeated. The brunette's head snapped to meet his gaze. "I need you not to think about the accident. You are fine. You're going to be fine, and it is not going to happen again." She nodded absent minded. "Remember, you said there was good memories related to these woods. Just think of those, yeah? Remember all of those times." Another nod told him that was not going to work. "Okay, tell me, tell me something good about these woods. Tell me, Elle."

"Um…" Her breathing quickened.

"Elle. It's okay, calm down, and tell me." He prompted again.

"We… We flew down… Mom, Dad, Rob, Shaun and Me." Morgan nodded, prompting her to continue.

"What did you do here?" Elle swallowed before continuing.

"We camped. Well… Tried to. We got soaked in the rain and all got sick. All besides Dad." She smiled slightly at the memory. "He had to play doctor and look after us for the whole week. And he promised we would come back."

"Did you?" He felt like he was finally breaking a wall down.

"Yeah, we went out to the little cabin down at the end, and then went on the lake and went fishing." She gave a light laugh, "Rob fell into the water. Always the clown."

"I bet he is." Morgan's eyes shifted from Elle's to see they were back on the interstate. "We're out of the woods." He told her. "In both senses." Elle gave a light laugh.

"Guess so." She rolled her eyes and smiled a little more happily.

"The hospital is only ten minutes away from here." Garcia finally broke in. "Second exit on this roundabout." She told JJ, and the driver carefully made the turn off.

"Alright." JJ nodded and began driving down the road.

"Next left." Garcia began telling her the directions and Elle could not help but smile at the two.

As they arrived at the hospital, Elle felt everything blur around her. The two blonde's were at her side helping her, which she was insisting she could do all on her own. Morgan raced inside and said the six magic words to get her immediate attention: 'FBI Agent' 'Car Accident' 'Possible Concussion'.

Now, she was lying in a hospital bed, recalling the entire situation, from stat to end to a doctor, who, she had to admit, was quite sexy.

"Okay, I will send in a nurse who will give you a pain killer then change all your bandages. In an hour or so, someone will come down and take you for an X-Ray." Elle then opened her mouth to protest. "It's just a precaution, Agent Greenaway. You have no choice. Now, I'm going to have to call your boss and fill him in… again, not optional." She huffed and sunk back into the hospital bed a little further. Messing slightly with the drip in the back of her hand.

A moment later, the door opened and in walked the three agents.

"What did he say?" Morgan asked.

"That the bandages need changing, I have a drip because apparently I got hypothermia despite all that we did, and I will be given an X-Ray in an hour or two." As if on cue, a nurse entered, a tray of equipment behind her.

"Agent Greenaway?" She asked and Elle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah." The nurse pulled the tray to the side of her bed.

"This is going to hurt, but after you've got the pain killer in you, the sting should be gone, okay?" Elle nodded and winced slightly as a needle was pressed into the top of her arm.

"Awh, so tough FBI agent can handle a car accident, but bring out the needles and she winces." Morgan teased.

"Shut it, Derek."

Looking up with caution, the nurse asked:

"Miss Greenaway, do you want to be alone for this?" She asked. Almost terrified, Elle shook her head. "Alright then. Here we go."

She began with the top of her head, and carefully peeled the gaze away.

"Well, you have taken care of that it seems. It looks quite well." She informed them.

"My handy work." Morgan boasted, and Elle elbowed him again.

"It's quite good." Wiping a cleansing wipe over the cut, Elle winced. "Has the painkiller not kicked in yet?" The nurse asked.

"You think." Elle glared at her.

"Sorry." The nurse apologised, and still carried on with wiping the blood away. "The cut is still quite deep though. I'd say you need at least two stitches… Only butterfly ones, don't worry." Digging though the tray, she produced the stitches and carefully applied them to her forehead before putting another bit of gauze over it and another bandage. "Has that pain killer kicked in yet?" She asked, tentatively before going for Elle's hand.

"Think so." Elle told her.

"Alright. Hand." She ordered and Elle lay it in front of her.

Not even wincing as she began to unwrap the still bleeding hand.

"This does not look too good already." Elle bit at her lower lip. Knowing that 'not good' would put her out of the field for at least two weeks. "I think this is definitely going to need stitches." The wipe soon became blooded up as she cleaned the cut, or cuts as it was soon revealed. "Yep." Elle gave a groan. "Sorry."

The brunette found herself looking away as she began to stitch up her hand. Only looking back once the gauze and bandage was over it.

"All done. Now apparently there is a hip cut as well. Maybe Mr Morgan would like to leave for this one now." Elle once again shook her head. "Okay then."

Carefully, she slid the hospital gown up, letting the blanket cover her lower body.

"Okay, that is just a graze. A bit of cream and that will be fine." She applied a bit and then let Elle lower her gown. "I also need to check you over for whiplash." Elle gave an understanding nod. "Alright then, I'm guessing no neck injury." Elle gave a shake of her head. "Spinal pain?"

"Nope."

"Okay then, anywhere that are those cuts?" Before Elle could answer with another no, Morgan cut in.

"She has a nasty bruise on her shoulder from the seatbelt." The nurse nodded and wrote some things on a clip board before coming back to her side.

"I need to check that out." Without being told, Elle slipped her arm from her gown and exposed the purple line on her shoulder. "Okay." She began pressing into the soft tissue. "It seems fine, you'll just need a few pain killers for that." Elle gave a nod. "If that's all I'll go and get you wheelchair for the X-Ray." Elle opened her mouth to stop her again. "No protests, Agent Greenaway."

Ten minutes since Elle left the room for her X-Ray, and the hospital room door opened again, this time to reveal Hotch and Gideon, looking a little less than pleased. Morgan, Garcia and JJ all looked up to them.

"Where is she?" Hotch asked.

"They've taken her for an X-Ray." JJ told him.

"How bad is she?" Gideon asked, and they all knew what he meant.

"Physically? Just a few scrapes and stitches. Mentally? That question is unanswered. Although she did have a funny turn in the car. But we got her though that pretty well."

Running a hand over his face, Gideon seemed worried.

"She is going to freak when she gets back though. At least we haven't brought Reid back. That was the first thing she began protesting about last night." Morgan sighed.

"Last night? Why the hell haven't we been called sooner?" Gideon now asked, a little more than ticked off.

"We got stuck out on The East Highway at almost two. I thought she would just want to sleep, and we could call in the morning." He half expected for Gideon, or Hotch even, to shout, but it never came. The room only fell into silence that was soon broken by the protests of a certain Agent on the other side of the door.

"I swear to God, if you do not stop this thing and let me walk, I will shoot you." Her tone was deadly, and they all knew the hospital's porter had given in and let her walk. A moment later, the door opened and she began the 'walk of shame to the bed'. "Great, they really did call you." She did not look behind herself as she carefully climbed back into the bed one handed.

"Agent Greenaway, I need to put your drip back in…" The nervous porter stated. Almost fidgeting on the spot.

"Well thanks for letting me know." Giving a sigh she looked at him, and knew she was being far too snappy. "Just hurry up, please?" She tried to take the harshness out of her tone, but failed somewhat.

"Yes." He fumbled with the back of her left hand and the end of her drip. Elle could not help but let the amused smile cross her lips. "Your results should be in in about half an hour." She gave him a smile before he raced out of the room, Elle laughing slightly.

"Scaring the shit out of the help, Greenaway?" Morgan teased.

"I needed some amusement. Especially after the poking and prodding they just gave me. Jesus, it was annoying. Plus he nearly crashed into a tray of needles on the way back, he deserved it!" Morgan gave her an amused laugh.

"It's a hospital, not a place for your amusement." He reminded her.

"You think I forgot that?" She grumbled, her eyes feeling a little bit droopy. "Okay, I admit, I think that painkiller they gave me before made me a 'little bit' loopy." She gave them big hand gestures.

"A 'little bit' loopy? Sweetheart, I think you're out of your mind." Garcia smirked somewhat.

"Yeah, get some rest, we'll wake you when the doctor comes, okay?" Nodding, no one missed the way her eyes were almost shut before she settled down into the bed fully.

"I think we need to put on her medical notes, that she should not be given whatever kind of medication that was." Hotch joked and everyone agreed slightly. All of them managing to seat themselves around the room, waiting for the doctors entrance.

They began talking about work, which was what most of them spoke about anyway. That was until Garcia and JJ got themselves into a small conversation about going on a spa weekend the next time they were free.

"JJ?" Morgan finally broke the silence, after analysing everything last night and Elle's reaction after he said he had called her. He looked to the brunette before carrying on and speaking again. "You like Elle, right?" There was a look of confusion playing on her face.

"What the hell, Derek, of course I do."

"You might want to let her know that." He informed her. Only making JJ look a little more confused. "I swear she thinks you hate her… some profiler she is, eh?" He smirked slightly.

"I'm just always busy. But sure, I'll try and make an effort or something." Morgan nodded and all looked up as the door opened.

A doctor, or more specifically, the sexy doctor from before, walked back in, a case in his hand. Morgan slowly began nudging Elle who groggily opened her eyes. The doctor looked a little amused.

"Well, Agent Greenaway, everything looks clear. So once that drip has finished, we'll get you discharged, okay?" Elle gave a groggy nod, and his eye brows creased, "We did check for a concussion, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's the pain killers, I think the nurse gave her a little too much." Morgan informed him.

"Okay. That's fine then." He began to continue, "Alright, and I need you to keep your stitches clean. I have called over to your local hospital, and they're expecting you in a week to get checked over, and then hopefully get the stitches on your forehead removed. The ones in your hand will be at least two weeks though. I do suggest someone goes home with you, or, if there is someone there, you have them check you over. Considering you reaction to the painkiller we've given you, you're going to be quite out of it on these other ones, and I would feel far more comfortable if someone was there to monitor you just in case of anything." Everyone in the room nodded.

"Don't worry we'll get that covered." Morgan spoke.

"Great. I'll send a nurse in in about ten minutes, she will remove your drip and discharge you." He began jotting down on a small slip, before handing the prescription off to Morgan, "Two with breakfast, two with lunch and then two with tea. If she needs any in the middle of that time, I suggest she only takes one. And only one extra one is allowed. Would not want her to overdose." Morgan nodded, mentally noting it all down.

"Thanks." Elle gave him a small smile, waiting for him to leave, before turning to Morgan, "There is no chance I can take those painkillers, man."

"What?" Morgan asked.

"I swear to God I saw a unicorn before. I am going to go crazy if I'm on them for two weeks!" They all gave a slight laugh.

"We'll take shifts in watching you, okay, I will make sure you don't go hunting for Leprechauns." Elle hid her face in her hand, feeling a sudden embarrassment to her vulnerability in front of the team. The very team she had only know for three months. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about." Morgan told her.

"Yeah? Well I'll tell you that when you manage to fall on ice, and then crash your car when avoiding a deer, okay?" There was a certain bitter tone to her words.

"Yeah, you can go straight ahead." He paused, remembering something. "Oh, your brother rang before, apparently." That made her eyes snap up to meet Morgan's, and no one missed it.

"What?" She asked.

"Yeah, I went out to get my cell before and you had a missed call." Morgan informed her.

"Christ." She moaned. "Do you have my cell?" Morgan nodded and handed it to her, no one stopping her from using it in the hospital.

"Hello?" There was a pause as she got the reply. "Hey, Rob… No, everything is fine… Yeah, just walking around the park here in Virginia…. It's quite sunny to be honest… No, the BAU is great… Yeah… You called before?… Sure… Um, tell her I will be down when I next get a break… Yeah, I am off this weekend… No, sorry, I can't come up… No, I need to stay close to home… You are not coming down to see me… We just got a case in… It seems like a long one… so… possibly a good few weeks?… Sure, I'll see you then… Love you two… Yeah, tell Shaun and Mom I said hi as well… Bye…" As she hung up the phone she avoided everyone's confused looks. "Do not say a single thing." She sighed, "My family hate hospitals, if I tell them I'm injured they'll freak out." She explained.

"Fine. But none of us know when we will have to talk to them any way." Morgan teased.

"Shut up." There was a playfulness in her tone.

The all looked to the door as the nurse came back and began messing with the drip on Elle's arm before taking it away and signing some things on a clip board.

"You can go now." She coldly said, laying Elle's (well, Morgan's) clothes back on the bed and leaving the room.

"Jesus, who peed in her sandbox?" Garcia commented from the corner of the room and Elle had to laugh.

"You can't be serious about me changing back into them clothes." Elle grumbled, and began getting out of the bed.

"Oh, don't pretend like you did not enjoy being in my jogging bottoms, Greenaway." There was a joking tone in Morgan's words.

"Get lost, Derek." She laughed slightly and then carried the pile in her hand to the bathroom. Not even turning around, she added, "And, no, I do not need help."

As she left the bathroom, she saw everyone waiting patiently for her.

"Jesus, I swear, either my clothes are growing, or you are shrinking." Morgan teased her, and Elle had to groan slightly. "I remind anyone that watches you to over feed you."

"No one has to play 'Elle-Watch' I can manage on my own." She informed them.

"Not a chance, sweet-pea." Garcia said. "Apparently, I've got the first shift. Well, me and JJ." Elle missed the small wink Garcia passed to Morgan. Operation Elle and JJ friends a go! "And we have a ton of films we can watch." The brunette gave a groan.

"Oh great, I cannot wait." The falseness in her voice was covered up quite well, and if the group were not profilers, they would not have caught on to the fact she was far from happy with it.