Disclaimer: Just a funlittle story I wrote, I don't own Criminal Minds, sadly.

Shortly after Reid is Shot and Hotch is atacked by Foyett.

Everyday I'm Shufflin'…

~)0(~

Illogical as it was, he truly detested the metallic supports he had been temporarily assigned in order to allow his injury time to correctly heal. They were large, awkward and cumbersome…how exactly was he supposed to do anything whilst being way-laid by these infernal contraptions!

The mobile in his pocket jingled, forcing him to do a strange hop-skip-juggle of all his items, until his hand finally made it into the required area of his outfit, grasping the small metal object and tugged it out into the sunlight; snapping it open in one swift motion.

"Hey, my Baby Boy!" came a loud, excited voice on the other end; the bubbly IT Goddess could be no other than Garcia… "How are you? Do you need me to come get you? Oh! I know! I should totally come down there and pick you up! Or maybe…hang on a second…"

There was complete silence on the other end for a moment, some yelling; several familiar voices conversing loudly…then Garcia was back, "Okay, stay where you are, Boy Wonder, I'm sending my chocolate God…uh, Morgan, to pick you up and he will be there momentarily…"

A deep voice broke into the background chatter, "You're just lucky I love you, Baby Girl…and the Kid Genius too…" Garcia giggled, and talked over the protest his mouth was already forming, "Yes, I know you can take care of yourself, and No, I don't care if you think you can drive right now…you're not going to!

Sit tight, or I swear, I'll have to come down there and duct tape you to a chair!"

Feeling mildly intimidated by her tone, he meekly agreed, "O-Okay…right here, sitting, not moving at all!" She made a happy humming noise in the back of her throat, and tapped at her ever-present keyboard as he waited.

~)0(~

The dark SUV pulled into the parking lot out the front of his apartment building; he pressed the phone to his ear and said, "Garcia…? Morgan just arrived…can I hang up now?" he asked, timidly. The Techno-Goddess seemed to focus on their conversation again, "Oh…Reid…sure, tell him I love him, and will kill him if anything happens to you!"

Reid paused, "Uh…I'm not sure I can use those words, especially the first part of the sentence; as it would denote a physical attraction to Agent Morgan that I do not-…" he started, information bubbling out of him like a fountain…but a familiar, deep voice shocked the young doctor into half-standing, as it stated, "Oh, I could hear your beautiful voice from the doorway…"

There was a tittering on the line, that could easily be identified as Garcia and JJ, the echo in the background was most likely Prentice… The bemused voice returned, "Derek…were you talking to me…or Reid?" Laughed Garcia, wheezing deeply…

Derek Morgan, a man who had faced down many an armed criminal or sociopath, froze utterly with a surprised and confused look on his face, as if considering the question deeply, working out which answer might possibly lead to it becoming an internet phenomenon.

…It never hurt to be cautious around the Team's Hacker, she could do anything!

~)0(~

"Uh…both, oh Queen of the Keyboard…?" he said, opting for the devil-may-care approach, and probably praying like hell on the inside…to which Garcia replied, "Oooh, knew it! You just take care of my Baby Boy and if you lay a hand on him," her voice got all scary-deep and parental, "or are indecent with him in anyway, I will kill you myself! Till we meet again my darlings!"

And she was gone. Leaving two shocked Special Agents staring at each other in complete disbelief…

Finally, Derek broke the silence, "So…that was awkward… Well, come on, Reid, let's get you to work…unmolested," he threw in with a grin, as the younger agent flushed a deep red and averted his eyes. Reid reached for the crutches, glaring at them malevolently for a moment before standing up straight and trusting the awkward creations with his weight.

"Still don't like 'em, do you" smiled the older man. Spencer gazed at him with a curious expression on his face, Agent Morgan smiled back, "Saw it when you left the Hospital…the way you walked, and, well, quite frankly…the way you glared at them. I know you don't like being out of action for so long, but…what you did was impressive, we're all proud of you. And if you need time off, you should take it once in a while…Let's face it, you aren't Superman!"

Reid glared at Morgan, "Hotch was injured far more severely than I was, and he's still at work! Why shouldn't I be? I'm just as good as the rest of you!"

The older agent was taken aback at what he thought was an earnest jest, and heartfelt advice. Reid obviously felt strongly about this, considering the manner in which he was injured; it was quite a surprise to find him so insecure…

"Look, Spence, I didn't mean it that way…you know that, it's just…We- I'm worried about you. You're always pushing so hard, I know you feel like the team doesn't respect you 'cause you're so young…well, younger than the rest of us, but we do. More than you know. Without you, there would be hundreds more dead people in this world…I'm sorry if I upset you." Morgan said, reaching out a hand to hover mere millimetres over the other's arm, as if seeking permission to touch.

~)0(~

He sighed and sagged a little, feeling as if the need to defend himself had been blown away with the gentle breeze that whisked leaves past his face, as they neared the car in the Lot; he stopped moving altogether, as if shying away from Morgan's hand.

"It's-it's not you or Garcia, or JJ, or even Prentiss…it's the way the others look at me. I know they still think of me as a child, and I get it, I do. Hotch, Rossi and especially Gideon, treated me like a child that required their protection, almost parental in some respects. Which is a fascinating aspect of most ancient cultures…a lot tended to adopt older children when they had…none of…their…own…ah, getting back to my original point… You all seem to want to protect me, and when I get injured in the field…which I will be the first to admit, is much too often for even my liking…you all tend to take the 'wrap him in cotton wool' approach. Which is infuriating, because I am quite capable of taking care of myself!

I mean, even if I hadn't taken the bullet for that man, and his son came home to a lifeless corpse…because of another who was bent on a twisted form of revenge…do you honestly think I could live with myself? And when I do manage to save him, you act as if I've hurt myself whilst playing the big boy…" he sighed sadly, staring at his pale reflection in the sheen of the black SUV's hood.

Derek saw the deep hurt in the Kid's eyes, "Look, we never meant it that way…we just care about you, and when you –of all of us- got hurt, doing something you never should have had to…we feel as if we have failed. It's our job to take the bullets, chase the bad guys, you're the smart one…the one we turn to in desperation and pray for a miracle."

Reid considered the statement for a moment, "Whilst statistically, the chance that your prayers will be answered is insurmountably small…I have been known to perform miracles on occasion…" he said with a straight face. Derek snorted, and a wide grin spread across his features; this was the Reid he knew, and it was nice to have him back.

But the face fell a little, "I just wish you'd understand how I feel on occasion, I passed all the right tests, and I can shoot in the general direction of the unsubs or bad guys…I just wish you could understand… I can do what you can, just because I'm a little…well, a lot, on the skinny and awkward side, only means I have a small issue with tackling guys bigger than me…"

Resisting the urge to stop, drop and LOL, Derek snorted into his hand and looked the Kid straight in the eyes, "We, I, appreciate what you do, Spence. It's as I said, we worry, but we trust you to make the right calls…even after…the Tobias Henkel incident. I swear, Hotch and Rossi were going to duct tape you to a wall inside a padded room, lock the door and crush the keys to powder. Talked 'em out of it, of course…but you get it, you mean a lot to us all, Kid.

Right now, if something was to happen to you…JJ would kill me; she has her heart set on you being Godfather extrodainaire –which I'm pretty sure stands for 'glorified babysitter'- of Henry. Not to mention what Garcia would do…" he shuddered theatrically.

Reaching over, he opened the passenger side door, and took a moment to appreciate the unique hobbling-shuffle Reid had worked out to accommodate his leg, "Everyday I'm Shufflin'…" whispered over the still-running stereo, and then launched into the chorus about 'Party Rocking'…Derek swiftly turned it off by leaning over the passenger seat. Before turning and dramatically offering the seat to his younger companion.

Reid attempted to slide in awkwardly, holding both crutches in one hand and near-falling over, Morgan reached out and grabbed the Kid about the waist before he fell out and onto the pavement –trying hard not to laugh- and lost his composure as Spencer turned and stated, in that authorative tone of his, "I'm pretty certain this breaks the 'deliver unmolested' part of Garcia's deal…I'm telling!"

Then closed the door with an arrogant 'swish' with the most ridiculous expression of self-righteousness on his face; nose in the air, eyes averted, and completely encumbered by the crutches which poked out at odd angles about his frame…

Derek laughed loud and long…sliding into the passenger seat, no point in telling the Kid about the Surprise 'Welcome Back' Party awaiting his arrival…he only hoped Reid's expression when they all jumped out from behind various objects, was half as priceless as this one. He kept laughing.

And Reid? He kept shooting his driving companion funny, though partially petrified looks the entire drive to the BAU…

THE END

A Random, little Team!Love fic, with humourous Reid involved, but I can imagine being the baby isn't always fun for him.

Thanks for reading and PLEASE:

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