A/N: Heh, it's only logical to start a new story when finishing a old one, isn't it? (snickers) And this time I was hit by the about the last plot-idea I would've ever expected. (sweatdrops) I seriously have no idea where this came from! I blame it on the flue I'm having at the moment.

WARNINGS: SLASH, M-PREG, language, adult themes… Weird stuff. Such fun. (grins sheepishly)

DISCLAIMER: Let's say that if I DID own anything of 'CM', there'd be A LOT more money on my bank account. (pouts)

Awkay, because I REALLY have to get this one out before I change my mind… Let's go! (gulps) I REALLY, really hope you'll enjoy the ride!

Sweet Child of Mine

The hotel room was dark and quiet as Derek Morgan entered, feeling more exhausted than ever in his life.

Their team had done its job, the Unsub had been caught, the case was over. But that, of course, wasn't the end of the story. Especially today.

Derek blinked twice when seeing that there was already a dark figure in one of the room's two beds. He noticed in an instant that the person was breathing far too fast to be asleep. Swallowing thickly he took off his jacket and took two steps closer before freezing. For once in his life he didn't have the slightest clue what to do, how to approach the situation. "Hey", he half-whispered in the end. A part of him hoped that his roommate was asleep, after all, so they wouldn't have to have this conversation. "Did they… discharge you already?"

There was a long silence after the slight shake of a head he just saw in the dark. "They wouldn't have wanted to." Dr. Spencer Reid's voice was much lower and quieter than usual. "They made me sign some papers, and made me swear I'd come back if necessary."

Derek nodded, although all his sense told him that the other wouldn't see it. Finally managing to summon the required courage he walked all the way to the bed and sat slowly to its edge. He felt the urge to brush visibly tensed up Spencer's hair, but then thought better of it. He took a deep breath, noticing absentmindedly that the brunet still smelled like the hospital and something else he would've much rather ignored altogether. "Are you…?" He cleared his throat, then tried again. "Do you have any pain?"

Spencer clearly focused hard on breathing for a while. "It's not too bad anymore. I just took a couple of Aspirins – I'm waiting for those to kick in." Finally the brunet shifted so that they could really look at each other. The young genius' eyes looked much darker than usual in the room's barely existent light. The man breathed, long and hard. "The thing is… Strauss came by today, after you left."

A flare of rage immediately ran through Derek. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell did she want?" he snarled through tightly grit teeth, his fists balling so tightly it hurt.

Spencer's eyes moved, focusing rather on the wall than him. It was a loud warning of what was to come. "She… wanted me to take some suspension, so I can recover from…" The rest died out while the younger man's eyes darkened still.

The rage inside Derek intensified, filling him so that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to restrain it. "How could she just…!"

"I agree with her", Spencer interrupted, making absolutely everything freeze for Derek. Once more their eyes met. The brunet swallowed loudly. "I… keep having nightmares. And even when I'm awake I see his face. I won't be able to do my job."

Derek found it hard to breathe through the lump that appeared into his throat. "It's only been five days!" he half-exclaimed. "It'll take time, I know, but… You'll get over it eventually. Do you really think we wouldn't be there for you every step of the way?" Do you really think I wouldn't?

"That's what I'm worried about. Because… I'm not sure if I'll ever get there, okay? After those two months I… I'm not sure if I'll ever be the same again." It was all too easy to feel just how hard those words were to produce, to see how much ache swam behind those eyes. "I know you're trying to hide it, but I can see how careful you all have to be with your words and actions. You guys are like my second family, but I… I can't deal with this when I have to worry about you. I have to leave, at least for a while."

Several emotions danced inside Derek, with such force it was nearly suffocating. And then his eyes narrowed as the anger finally took over. "Fine."

Spencer's eyes were practically pleading, torn. "Morgan…"

He shook his head, interrupting the other harshly. "We slept together once. That doesn't mean you'd have to run your decisions past me." With that he got up much faster than his head would've liked and headed towards the room's door without looking back. "I need to go and get some air." Even as he slammed the door Derek knew he was being childish and stupid. But that didn't stop him as he walked out of the building, fighting furiously against the hellish stinging that took over his eyes.

He spent most of that night in a nearby bar. When he finally wobbled back into the room Spencer was already asleep or at least feigned sleep remarkably well. In the morning the young genius was gone.

Two days later Derek was the only member of the team who wasn't there to say goodbye to Spencer at the airport.

Sitting in the plane Spencer found his trembling hand sliding instinctively to his stomach. For the first time since being thrown from one nightmare into another he let two tears escape. "I'm sorry, little one", he whispered, so quietly that no one else but the life growing steadily inside him heard. "I'm so sorry."

As it turned out he forgot to come back until several years later.

Six Years Later

It was a long and hard process, but in the end the team had no other choice but to learn to cope without Spencer. The young genius kept sending a letter every now and then, to let them know how he was doing. Derek never read them, nor did he want to hear a word of what'd been written into them. That's why he couldn't know that every single letter ended with the words 'Tell Morgan I'm sorry'.

Life went on. And eventually Derek managed to sleep through most nights without dreaming about Spencer and waking up in tears he would've never admitted to anyone. He even managed to go through some days without thinking about the young genius.

That morning there was a surprisingly emancipated smile on his face as he entered a tiny bookstore. It didn't take long before he spotted the store's owner, a rather beautiful latino woman of his age with long light-brown hair and huge brown eyes that always had a smile in them.

He grinned when the woman gave a gasp as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Sorry, baby." He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I didn't mean to startle you."

As though instinctively she brought a hand to his. He didn't see her face, but he was almost sure she was smiling. "I was… worked up by something." She nodded towards the space between two huge shelves that were full of books. "Her father asked me to keep an eye on her for a while. She's been rooted to that spot for almost an hour."

Looking towards the pointed direction with curiosity Derek felt very cold all of a sudden. There, sitting on the floor with a mountain of books around her, was a girl at the age of perhaps four or five. Those books should've been much too demanding for her, but that wasn't what almost startled Derek. What truly got to him were the child's long, brown hair, those eyes and facial features. Despite the fact that her skin held a touch of mocha she looked almost too familiar…

"Do you think we could also have one of those someday?" When the woman in his arms realized he wasn't responding she looked at him with a frown. "Derek, what's wrong?"

Before he could ever answer the store's door opened, making the bell above it chime. As soon as he saw the person entering Derek's entire world stopped. Cold spread through his whole body.

The arrival dashed to the child, scooping her gently into his arms. "Hey, sweetie. I'm sorry it took this long."

The child grinned widely. "It's okay. I love these books! Do we have to go home?"

Her father shook his head with a smile and a sigh. "What am I going to do with you?" The man then started to turn his gaze. "Thank you so much for…" Just then the man turned – and two pairs of eyes widened as his met Derek's. It took what felt like less than seconds for recognition to dawn. "Morgan?"

Once more a storm of emotions flared inside Derek. His hold on the woman most likely tightened. "Long time no see, Reid."

TBC, or not?

A/N: Soooo… There's something different. (grins sheepishly and sweatdrops) BUT, other than different, was that any good, at all? Or should I throw this into a trash-can and pretend this never existed?

PLEASE, let me know what you thought of this one! It'd seriously mean the world to me, especially since I'm a bit insecure with this idea. Pwease…? (gives puppy's eyes)

Awkay, it's getting late and I still have a ton of things to do, so I'm tuning out.

Thank you so much for reading this! Maybe I'll see you around later?

Take care!