A/N: So this oneshot is told from one character's point of view, reflecting on all the team members. I haven't really written anything like this before, so I hope you enjoy it!

Warning: Very brief Reid/Morgan slash.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.


It was just a fleeting visit, his return to DC. He just needed to pick up a few things, maybe take in a few sights, and then he'd be gone again. He hadn't even meant to see them at all. It was only from a distance, and they couldn't see him, but there they were. The BAU. They were climbing out of two black SUVs, obviously visiting their latest crime scene.

Hotch and Morgan headed inside the crime scene immediately after emerging from the large vehicle. Hotch, the team's leader, seemed a lot more worn than when he'd last seen the man, like some terrible tragedy had befallen them. He silently berated himself for forgetting; it had been in all the papers. He knew what had happened with the Reaper, and to Haley. Even a greater man than Hotch would have been changed by that. At least he hadn't left the BAU because of it. They needed him.

Derek Morgan, on the other hand, looked a lot more relaxed than he remembered the man being. He looked so much happier, freer- like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Like he'd finally gotten everything he'd ever wanted. Something momentous and amazing had happened in Morgan's life, he could tell. He wondered what that something was.

Emily Prentiss was the next person he saw. He hadn't known her for very long, but he knew she had a fierce determination to do her job well. And she was very good at what she did, despite his original opinion of her. And she definitely looked like she was a part of the team. Like she belonged.

He caught sight of a long sheet of blonde hair, and realised he was looking at JJ. She looked just as warm and loving as she'd always been, perhaps even more so. He remembered seeing a press conference she'd held, and seeing her pregnant. She would've had her baby long ago; he wondered who the father was. Was it that Southern detective from the New Orleans case? They'd all seen the sparks fly between the pair. He was almost certain about who the baby's godparents were. He knew who JJ's best friends were.

The very colourful woman the followed almost immediately after JJ could only be one person: Penelope Garcia. He was slightly surprised to see her; she didn't normally work outside her office filled with computers. She definitely appeared to be as bright and bubbly and happy as she'd been when he'd known her- the team's ray of sunshine in their dark world. He was glad they had someone like her to get them through everything. Maybe if he'd gotten to know her better, he'd never have run away from the job.

If he'd been surprised to see Garcia, he was even more surprised to see David Rossi. He'd worked with the older man before, but he'd retired years ago. He never thought that the experienced profiler would return to the BAU, but he obviously had. Rossi was obviously his replacement. He knew that the team would learn a lot from his experience. He only hoped that Rossi had become more of a team player than he once was.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw the last member of the team emerge from the SUV: Spencer Reid. Reid had been his protégé, like the son he'd never had. And he knew that Reid had seen him as a kind of replacement father, filling the void left by the biological father that had abandoned him. That was why it had broken his heart when he left the same way William Reid had done, abandoning the boy that relied on him. He knew it would hurt the young man. Badly.

Reid looked really, really good, though. He looked healthier, more comfortable in his own skin. He looked happier than he'd ever been before. He'd cut his hair quite a bit shorter, too; it no longer hung loosely down past his chin. He was still as skinny as he'd always been, and he just knew that Reid was the same genius from before, with his extremely extensive knowledge and his rambling of facts that never ceased to amaze people, even those that had known him for years.

As he watched Reid, the younger man bent down and rubbed his left knee gingerly. He noticed that he was walking with a slight limp, like he'd sustained a serious knee injury- most likely in the course of his job. Had he been shot, maybe?

He saw Morgan head back out of the house, and immediately make a beeline for Reid. At first he thought that Morgan just wanted to tell Reid what he had just found out, but then he began to rub Reid's knee gently, almost tenderly. And Reid wasn't shying away from the contact- in fact, he was leaning into it. Could it be?

His suspicions were confirmed when Morgan wrapped his arms around Reid, pulling the younger man closer to him and kissing him softly. Reid and Morgan… No wonder both of them looked so happy, so comfortable, so free- they'd finally found their other half, the one who returned their love equally, irrevocably and unconditionally. The one who'd be by their side for the rest of their lives. Reid and Morgan… If he really thought about it, that love had been there all along- the casual teasing from Morgan, his protectiveness of the younger man, Reid never shying away from his touch… They'd always been close; best friends. Now that had become something more.

As he sat there, watching the two of them, Morgan looked up. And he saw him. He stared at him in shock for a moment, not really believing what he was seeing. And then Morgan did something that stunned him- he smiled at him, not telling Reid who he could see. Morgan gave him a look that said: you don't have to worry about him anymore. I'm looking after him now. And I'm never going to let him get hurt. Morgan gave him a small wave. He waved back.

"Who're you waving to?" he heard Reid say.

"Just an old friend," Morgan replied. "An old friend." He looked back down at Reid. "I love you, pretty boy."

"I love you too, Derek."

He smiled and rose from his seat. He didn't need to stay here anymore. The moment he'd seen the SUVs, he'd known that he needed to wait until he'd seen Reid before he could leave. But now he was satisfied. He knew that Reid was happy. And that was all he needed to know. With one last look back at Reid, Jason Gideon walked away.


A/N: So did any of you guess that it was Gideon who was watching the team. I wanted to allude to the fact that it was him, but not actually name him until the very end- I actually kept writing his name while I was writing this, then I would have to go back and change it!

Note from Diamond Cobra: "I can't feel my fingers on my left hand. It's cold. Makes it hard to type." (Seriously, it's freezing cold here in Melbourne, Australia- it's made me so sick it's ridiculous, I've only been to school 2 and a half days in the last two weeks...)

So what did you think about the story, and the style? Please send me a review, I'd love to hear what you think!