Reid didn't come up to him after the crises had ended. Before the smoke had cleared and the unsub taken into custody, no one talked to Morgan. The job, after all, was their first priority.

But afterwards everyone but Reid had something to say to him. Hotch had asked him if he needed time off from work to rearrange his thoughts. Rossi had given him a pat on the back and a "good job". Prentiss and JJ had fussed over him relentlessly, and Garcia had actually knocked over three interns in order to tackle him when he got home. Morgan had to rub her back for twenty minutes straight to get her to stop sobbing into his shoulder.

"You could have been killed!" Garcia moaned.

"I know, baby girl, but I'm fine," Morgan said. And in the most basic way, that was true.

He had been involved in what the FBI termed a "hostage situation". For forty-five minutes, he and three other agents had been held at gunpoint by a psychotic unsub. For forty-five minutes, Earl Dayton had screamed and swore that if the FBI came any closer, he was going to put a bullet through Agent Amanda Reyes' head. Morgan would have tackled him right then and there, but he had Amanda by the throat, and the risk that he would kill her before Morgan got him subdued was too great. Amanda wasn't a member of his team, but she was a good agent, and she didn't deserve to go that way.

The climax of the situation occurred when Dayton had thrown Amanda to the side and aimed the gun at Morgan. It was crazy, but the only thing Morgan could think about during the split second he was sure he was going to die was, 'I'll never see Spencer again…'

Reid. He was a whole different problem. Reid had stormed into the room with the rest of them, but he didn't go to Morgan, instead concentrating on keeping Dayton neutralized. It had been three days, and Reid wouldn't even talk to him. It hurt, in a weird, hollow way that Morgan didn't understand, but at the same time, it wasn't like he had expected any different.

He and Spencer were more than friends. They weren't lovers, not by a long stretch, but they were definitely more than just friends. Friends didn't spend hours together like they did. Friends didn't kiss and hold hands and talk about… everything. Things Morgan couldn't even talk to a girlfriend about. Things only Spencer with his genius brain and soft lips and huge, caring eyes could understand.

They hadn't had sex. That was something Morgan was sure Spencer didn't want, and that was not what Morgan needed from him. He needed Spencer because Spencer understood him. All of him, even the parts that Spencer didn't like. And he understood Spencer.

And that was what was bothering him, Morgan decided. It was that, for once in a long time, he couldn't understand why Spencer was doing what he was doing. After a case like this, Spencer was always at his apartment with hot food and a warm smile, ready to talk things over with him and kiss away his fear and confusion.

Morgan wanted to blame all of his feelings on the fact that he couldn't understand what Reid was getting at. Everything, including the way his heart leaped into overdrive when he heard the doorbell, and saw Spencer standing on his porch.

"Hi, Spencer," Morgan said. His voice sounded almost shy, using that tone he reserved for when he used Reid's first name, when he and Spencer were alone.

"Hello, Derek," Spencer said.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked, stepping aside as Spencer invited himself into his home. Spencer's eyes were almost wild, unshed tears glistening madly in the overhead light as he turned back to look at Morgan.

"No," He said. And then he lunged at Morgan, pulling him into a kiss so desperate, so hungry, so cryptic that it made Morgan's knees weak.

That night was the first time they'd done it. Not made love, though no other word sounded right to Morgan as he lay staring at the ceiling. It really shouldn't have been as good as it was, considering that Spencer was crying half the time and begging him not to stop the other half. But it was good, very good, possibly the best Morgan had ever had. And it wasn't just that Spencer was good in bed – he was, by the way. It was the fact that, for the first time, Morgan spent the entire act thinking about Spencer, and it was obvious that Spencer was only thinking about him.

"Derek?" Spencer whispered from beside him.

"Yes, baby boy?" Morgan said.

"I can't come over here anymore," Spencer said. "You know that, right?"

Morgan had expected Spencer to say something like that, but it made his stomach clench unpleasantly all the same. "Why?" Morgan said.

Spencer took a long, shaky breath. "Morg – Derek. For forty-five minutes, I thought you were going to die. I was sick, and terrified. The only thing I could think about is that I would never get the chance to be with you again… something changed for me, Derek. I can't be your friend anymore or even… whatever we are right now. Please don't think this is something you did wrong."

Morgan stared at him, feeling his insides twist harshly. "I don't understand," He said, wincing at how childish he sounded.

"I know," Spencer sighed, "But maybe someday you will. If that happens, come talk to me, but until then, I can't be with you anymore. I have to leave tomorrow." Morgan nodded and buried his face into Reid's stomach. Spencer wrapped his arms around Morgan, hummed until he was on the verge of falling asleep, then whispered, "I love you."

But that couldn't be right. Derek and Spencer were not in love. They were more than friends, but not in love. Morgan didn't understand any of this. Yet somehow it was enough to make him relax and fall into the best sleep he'd had since before the crises.

When he woke up, Spencer was gone.