Hello there you lovely people. As you can see i usually write Gleeee fanfiction and although i do watch a LOT more American shows, Criminal Minds is the only other show to date that makes me want to write. I'm now mid way through Season 4 (started from the start on LoveFilm) so if things are wrong or behind then i apologize and the chapters will change as i watch the and i also have a thing for Reid. Just sayin'.

Brief Summary: Reid comes down sick and Morgan is there to try and help him get better. Meanwhile the team have to deal with a particularly strange UnSub and Aaron Hotchner also has some feelings to deal with.

Chapter 1: 264 hours

"The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world." - Leonard Cohen

Morgan glanced at his watch as he sat at his desk, reading a case file but not actually taking any of it in. It was 8:58 am and Spencer Reid, resident genius, was nowhere to be seen. Usually Spencer was in by 8am on their quietest days.
"Hotch, have you seen Reid? He's normally here by now." Morgan asked after he had entered his Unit Chief's office. The analytical agent watched as the older man looked up from the same case file; the murder of 2 internet sensations at the same convention. Aaron Hotchner was pulled from the case by the young doctor rushing in from the elevator, mumbling apologies as he hurried to his area, knocking his case files to the floor; dropping to his seat clumsily.

Jennifer Jareau watched on as Reid lost his composure after trying to write the same sentence 3 times. Something was certainly off with the youngest member of their team. JJ waited for Morgan to notice Reid's arrival and would immediately make sure he was okay. She'd been observing Morgan and Reid and had noticed that they were getting closer during their last few months within the bureau. First it was the occasional basketball game that Morgan's friend dropped out of at the last minute (as if the man man had no other friends he could take) and Spencer had also just happened to be free that night (he was always free so why didn't he agree to go out with them more often?) The occurrences had been growing in frequency during the last few weeks and lately their physicality with one another seemed to also be on the rise.

It appeared as though neither of them had even noticed they were doing it. She got up from her desk and crossed over to their youngest agent.
"Reid, you really don't look so good. Maybe some rest at home would be good for you?" She asked, bending down to retrieve his papers from the floor. She already guessed that he would decline so she gave Derek a meaningful look. The other man gave her a nod of understanding and helped Spencer to stand up straight. Morgan tried to ignore the way Reid was shaking and the purple bruises under his eyes that had been steadily darkening.
"Maybe if i went home to just sleep for a little while, it might be beneficial to my work. Did you know that the longest you can stay awake is 264 hours or 11 days. It was tested in 1965 when..."
"Yes Spencer. We understand; sleep." The older agent interrupted him, rolling his eyes playfully. Leave it to Reid to use statistics to illustrate that he was tired. Morgan got the feeling that no-one would take Spencer seriously without the cold hard facts to back his youth up.

Everyone in the department was watching as JJ collected the doctor's papers for him and Morgan tried to manhandle him from his seat. Unfortunately for Reid he worked in the profiling department of the FBI and everyone had noticed his downward spiral since his 'problem' with dilaudid. He had been constantly turning up agitated to work and flustered like he'd just got out of the shower. He'd also been drinking near enough dangerous amounts of coffee and rarely seemed to eat anything. The saddest part, Morgan thought, was that Spencer had turned hostile towards his friends and the adorably awkward doctor they all knew and loved. That part hurt Morgan the most; the sarcastic eye-rolling, the glares and the hostile retorts. It was very different to the young man now. He looked vulnerable and slightly adorable, like his old self.

Morgan quickly dragged his thoughts back to the realm of the appropriate work colleagues. He felt Reid latch onto his waist and he did all he could to maneuver Reid back to the elevator. He surveyed their co-workers while they waited and noticed that Hotch had also left his office to see what the commotion was about. Hotch had been different since his divorce from Haley. Morgan had been the first to notice but the others the others had sensed something was wrong when he had started to sleep at the office. He seemed to be paying a lot more attention to Reid since Gideon's disappearance a few months prior. The elevator doors opened and Reid dragged himself in, clinging to the bar inside as if his life depended on it.

Getting Reid to his car was definitely an interesting experience. He continuously scratched his arm; nervous. Spencer fell asleep half way back to his apartment, head resting on the window of the passenger seat. When they had stopped at a red light Morgan took time to watch the young agent's chest rising and falling. Sleep had evidently taken hold of him for now. Derek was beginning to feel guilty about the way he'd handled the Hankel case after Reid had been allowed to leave the hospital. Sure, everyone had looked after him at work and had been constantly checking up on him; but no-one went home with him to make sure that away from their watchful eyes (where he knew to keep his true feelings hidden) that he was doing okay. It was in that moment, watching the other man sleep, that Morgan decided he would call JJ and tell her he was taking the day off to look after Reid.

So people, end of Chapter 1. I'm a Brit so any anomalies in places or colloquialisms is my bad, so please inform me of them. I'd love to have an American consultant who i could maybe check things with and ask stuff over emails or something convenient? Any takers? :)

Chapter 2 will follow soon, not sure where this is going but there will be an UNSUB soon, probably in the next few chapters.

KB