A/N: Hello, 'CM' world! I'm back! (smirks) Yay?

Soooo… This pretty chilling idea has been sitting in my head for a while now. Tonight it's finally going to be unleashed. (grins sheepishly)

WARNINGS: RAPE. SLASH. VERY adult themes. More or less detailed descriptions of violence. Language. Hey, don't run over one another on your way out! It's impolite!

DISCLAIMER: Oh, please…! The day I own something of 'CM' is the day cats finally take over the world. (grins)

Awkay… I'm really, really nervous right now so I'll have to do this before I'll change my mind. (gulps) I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy this!

The Mockingbird

Wounds in the Dark

Dr. Spencer Reid was never, ever late. That was the first warning sign. Derek Morgan frowned and checked the time again. Five more minutes had passed.

Suddenly the usually confident man felt unnervingly exposed as he sat in the middle of a rather fancy restaurant. Derek's frown deepened while he fidgeted, taking a long gulp of his water. There was a nasty feeling building up in the pit of his stomach.

It says something about his state of mind that he didn't even notice the very beautiful waitress with long, blond hair and sparkling blue eyes until she spoke. "She still hasn't arrived, huh?" She flashed him a sympathetic smile that had something far less innocent buried underneath. "Can I… do something for you, while you wait? Something to eat…?"

It amazed Derek how little time ago – less than a year – he would've jumped to the chance. Back then he would've winked, taken her to a nice and quiet place. Then he would've showed her just what Derek 'Seven States' Morgan was all about. But as it was he simply shook his head, his eyes sweeping towards the restaurant's door. Still not a sign. "No, thank you. I'll wait for a little while longer, if that's alright."

The waitress nodded with a look on her face that suggested she'd just swallowed something unpleasant. "Of course." That professional tone was nothing close to the one that just attempted to lure him. "I'll get back to you later." So saying she departed with stiff, sharp steps.

Fifteen more minutes passed. Spencer was forty minutes late already. Derek growled, his left eyebrow twitching with all the irritation that was bubbling dangerously towards the surface. In the end he allowed his infamous temper to take over and grabbed his cell phone with one, brisk motion, about to make a phone call he just might regret later.

Derek, however, never got the chance to do that. Because just as he got the item into his hand it began to ring. He nearly dropped the cell phone with startle until he managed to compose himself. He gritted his teeth upon seeing who the caller was. "Spencer, are you aware…?"

"Uh…" That female voice most definitely didn't belong to Spencer. "Is… this Derek Morgan?"

Derek's blood ran ice cold. Had he not been sitting down he would've definitely crashed to the floor. A tiny part of him registered the feel of blood running from his face. "Yes. Who am I speaking to?"

There was a exhausted sigh. Such that made the cold intensify. "I'm nurse Molly Hudson, from Memorial Hospital. A man named Dr. Spencer Reid was admitted a little while ago and you are listed as his emergency contact."

"What happened to him?" Derek barely registered his volume. Didn't pay any attention whatsoever to the looks he was receiving, nor to the searing sensation that was taking over his eyes. His hands were trembling pitiably. "Is he alright?"

The nurse paused, which was never a good sign. "Physically… Dr. Reid will be fine. But… I'd feel much more comfortable with going through the details in person."

Derek was already up, the way the world around him swayed dangerously be damned. He nearly dropped the remains of the water he'd been sipping to kill time. (To kill time while Spencer was…!) "I'm on my way." He hung up before giving the nurse the chance to say another word. Or before asking which ward to go to.

Stupidly ignoring the fact that he was far from the condition to drive in that amount of shock Derek dashed to his car and sped off. His head, fueled by all the horrors he'd seen during his life, coming up with sickening scenarios. Nothing, however, could've quite prepared him for the reality.

After harassing several members of staff to a point where it was a small miracle that he wasn't kicked out Derek managed to fish out Spencer's ward.

There was a flurry of activity everywhere. Patients being brought in, doctors and nurses dashing around. Too much noise and movement. For the life of him Derek couldn't remember afterwards what he said to the young, extremely timid looking nursing student that rushed past him. But less than thirty seconds that felt like a lifetime to him later a nurse with neatly tied brown hair and pale brown eyes made her way to him. There was a carefully trained, professional look on her face. One that made the nausea swelling inside Derek intensify.

"Are you Derek Morgan?" She went on after receiving his nod of confirmation. "I'm Molly. Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private and have a talk?"

Derek followed the nurse numbly. Somehow it felt like a part of him already knew. Unwanted flashbacks began to stir deep within him and he had to use all his willpower to keep them under control.

In the end they entered a unoccupied patient room. As soon as the door had been closed Molly gave him a somewhat cautious look. "Perhaps you should sit down?"

Derek folded his arms defiantly, a look of steel taking over his face. It might've been a lot more menacing if he hadn't been shivering like a leaf. "I'd much rather stand. Now where is my boyfriend? What happened to him?"

Molly licked her lips and a torn look appeared to her eyes. Derek's whole world plummeted long before she began to speak. "Earlier this evening Dr. Reid was… attacked. He was drugged and sexually abused." She eyed on him warily, like he'd been the one who… "Are you… sure that you can take in more right now?"

"Just tell me", Derek spat out. He already felt like someone had stabbed him repeatedly. How much worse could it get?

Molly took a deep breath. "Dr. Reid has asked me not to share certain details with you. So I'll only go through what we agreed on and what you're willing to hear." Receiving no visible response from him she went on. "Before I allow you to meet him I must warn you that there's quite a bit of bruises. He also has a concussion. Upon coming in he suffered from some bleeding but that's been taken care of. It required some stitches. He'll be very sore for a while but we're expecting him to make a full recovery. The drug given to him was some sort of a sedative but we haven't been able to identify it quite yet. Because of the concussion and the drug in his system we're going to keep him here overnight for observation."

Derek stared at the room's wall with sharp, unreadable eyes. For some reason his focus locked on the picture of two unclear figures walking hand in hand. He swallowed laboriously and couldn't quite blink away the stinging in his eyes. "What about emotionally?" Was that his voice?

Molly sighed. "He's… going to need a lot of time and support. And patience." She bit her lip and shifted her weight. "They take time. These things."

"I know", Derek mumbled in a hollow tone that might've chilled him under different circumstances. It took several seconds before he managed to speak again. "Now can I see him?"

Molly blinked once, then nodded. "We're already finished with… the samples. And I'm under the impression that the police is also just about through with interrogating him. You can go in as soon as they're done. He's in room 3013."

Derek nodded stiffly and bolted towards the room's door like it'd been his sole passageway to safety. He felt out of breath, dizzy and ready to throw up. But he wasn't ready to lose his composure yet. Not here, not in front of this stranger, especially not when Spencer needed him.

He'd almost made it out when Molly spoke out once more. "Derek? I'm sorry."

Derek didn't reply a word simply because he couldn't find the breath for words. He fled as fast as possible. No matter how much he wished and prayed the nightmare wouldn't end.

In the end it took nearly an hour before Derek found the courage to approach Spencer's room. He hesitated behind its door for the longest time, his hand on the handle and his heart thundering madly. Attempting to prepare himself for the worst.

He didn't quite manage to do it.

There was a young female police officer in the room when he opened the door. Her shoulder length ginger hair a curly mess and a look of sincere sympathy in her pale blue eyes. "… you for answering so throughoutly." She was already turning to leave. "We'll be in touch as soon as we discover something."

There was no audible response. The officer seemed to bite down a sigh before turning fully and beginning to march away. On her way out their eyes met and Derek felt chills run through him upon seeing the question in her eyes.

It took all the courage Derek had to finally focus on his boyfriend. Sure, the nurse had warned him. But he still felt like he'd been punched at the sight of Spencer.

Spencer was sitting on his bed, legs brought to his chest under the covers and arms wrapped tightly around them. The man's whole painfully thin frame was trembling ten times worse than Derek's. If such was even possible the genius was several degrees paler than usual. Which only made the already clearly visible bruises stand out. The ugly marks were everywhere, tainting the soft skin. There was also a small, carefully treated wound on the doctor's temple. The worst, however, was the haunted, broken look in those eyes.

Spencer… just wasn't supposed to look so throughoutly beaten. Not ever. Not after all the times Derek had sworn to himself that he'd protect his partner.

Derek had no idea how long it took until Spencer's body jolted all of a sudden and those hazel eyes swept quickly towards him, full of fright until they slowly recognized him. The younger man swallowed thickly. "I… I'm sorry that…" The younger man's voice was painfully hoarse.

Derek shook his head, determined to stop his boyfriend before he'd end up losing control over the hellish burning in his eyes. "Hey, none of that." He approached, hating how cautious his steps were. "Are you… alright?" What an idiotic question to ask…!

Spencer didn't seem to hear, though. The younger man looked away once more, sinking into that inner world of his for a terrifyingly long moment before all but whispering. "Can we… go home, now?"

Derek's eyes shimmered dangerously for a few seconds until he managed to get his act together. He blinked furiously before slumping to the chair beside his boyfriend's bed, feeling absolutely exhausted all of a sudden. He couldn't even imagine how tired Spencer must've felt. The helpless rage was just too much. "I'm sorry, baby. But you'll have to stay for tonight."

Spencer nodded, slipping away once more. Derek hoped that he would've been able to stop himself from wondering what those eyes saw upon staring at nothing. What was going through the head that remembered absolutely every little detail of…

Desperate to focus elsewhere Derek glanced towards Spencer's hands. That was when he spotted the metro card. His heart clenched painfully with dawning understanding. "Did you… take a metro here?" He knew before the answer, though. After being beaten viciously and raped Spencer had taken a metro to the hospital, all alone. Instead of calling for an ambulance. Instead of calling him. Of course Derek understood that Spencer hadn't been functioning according to reason but it still hurt.

The quiet continued for so long that Spencer's voice startled him. "I'm sorry, but… I'm tired. I think I'll sleep a little."

"Okay." Derek wished, from the bottom of his heart, that he would've dared to reach out and take Spencer's hand. To offer at least some form of physical contact. That he would've been able to convince his boyfriend that everything would be alright eventually. To do something. Instead he remained frozen still.

Futilely attempting to disguise a wince of pain Spencer turned to his side, facing away from him. The younger man's back was stiff and straight. The stench of a foreign, violent touch was nauseatingly evident in the air.

Neither man slept that night.

TBC OR NOT?

A/N: GOSH! What a painful start. (sighs) Those poor things!

Soooo…. Here's the big question. Do you think that I should continue this or not? I'm still a bit insecure with this so your opinion would mean the world to me!

PLEASE, do let me know! Awww, c'mon, isn't that box down below just irresistible…? (winks)

In any case, thank you so much for reading! Perhaps I'll see you guys later…?

Take care!