The sudden shifting of the plane jolts Morgan awake, and he sits up, pulling off his headphones. At first he thinks it was just sudden turbulence, but the plane doesn't stop shaking. He looks out the window nervously, it's been storming all night and the plane is surrounded by clouds and flashes of lightning.
He's not the only one who looks concerned; JJ and Emily have looked up from their Scrabble game and are also glancing nervously out the window. Rossi and Hotch have stopped their conversation too, and he sees Rossi get up and head towards the cockpit.
"What's going on?" Reid asks apprehensively from the seat across from him, clutching the arm rests.
"It's just the storm, I think," Morgan says, but he doesn't sound as sure as he would like.
The plane jerks so hard he almost falls out of his seat, and across from him Reid is having the same problem. It does it again and he hears JJ scream as the lights start to flicker.
"Hotch!" He hears Emily cry out, as the lights give up completely.
"Does anyone else feel the plane tipping down?" Reid shouts, and in the dark Morgan feels a hand on his arm.
"Just stay calm, it's just turbulence," Hotch tries to reassure, but just then Rossi appears again.
"Guys, the pilot's lost control of an engine, and the other's failing," Rossi sounds like he's in shock; Morgan hears him struggling to get to his seat as the plane shakes.
"Oh my God," JJ whimpers, "Oh God, oh God."
"That's impossible," Reid mumbles, "The odds of being in a plane crash-"
"Reid," Emily begs, "Don't. Just, don't."
"What are we going to do?" JJ whimpers again, "There has to be something…"
They all go quiet for a moment as they hear the sounds of machinery screeching, and then the plane is lit from the outside by orange light; a propeller has just caught fire. The girls are sobbing now, Morgan can hear them, as well as Reid's hitched breathing in his hair. At some point the younger man has moved to sit next to him, and Morgan is glad. He grabs Reid's arm.
"I am so, so sorry," He says urgently, holding onto Reid as the plane begins to pick up speed.
"Morgan-"
"I'm so sorry I never got to tell you," Morgan continues, his throat feeling tight.
"Tell me what?" Reid says, sounding dazed, "Morgan, is this really the time to-"
"It's the only time!" Morgan gasps, saying aloud what they all know, "Reid, just listen! I'm trying to tell you I love you."
"Morgan? Hey, Morgan!"
Morgan jumps and jerks awake, for real this time. Reid is giving him a curious look, and behind the younger man he sees the others getting their things. When he looks out the window it's still stormy, but they're safely on the Tarmac.
"What happened?" Morgan asks, still befuddled from sleep, "The plane, there was something wrong with it…"
Reid frowns at him, "Well, we did experience a little turbulence, but that's perfectly normal when flying through a storm. The plane is fine, man."
Morgan realizes then that everyone else has exited already, and it's just the two of them. He swallows hard and quickly makes a decision.
"Morgan, are you sure you're alright?" Reid asks him, looking concerned.
"I'm fine," He says automatically, and then, "Hey, do you wanna go get some dinner? I want to talk to you about something."
Reid smiles at him softly, grabbing his go bag and moving back so Morgan can stand, "Sure, let's go," And then, as Morgan gets his own stuff and they head out, he adds,
"Do you know the percentage of the population that talks in their sleep?"