Don't own criminal minds

His pride and joy.

(Morgan and the daughter he always wanted)

He watches her come out onto the stage….she sings a song for him, for the mother she never knew, for the brother she lost. He is mesmerised by her singing, never realising that she can sing this well. He knows she's going to be something one day, something or somebody that could change the world. He stares at her and she looks at him, he smiles at her to let her know that he's listening. The end of the song comes and he applauds loudly to let her know that he loved it. He goes to the back of the stage and watches her classmates congratulate her. She spots him and lets out a squeal. "Daddy, you stayed for the whole performance!" He notes her excitement and remembers to tell her that he loved the song and if mummy was still here then she would have loved it as well. He comes down to her level and said, "how about for your tenth birthday we get grandma and the family and go out to Disneyland…I'll get the whole week off." The little girl shakes her head, "Its okay daddy, I just want to spend the day with you." The little girl gets on her tip toes and wraps her arms around his neck. "I love you daddy."

Then his phone buzzes and he knows he's going to have to leave. He sighs before answering, "What's happening?" It turns out he has to go back to work tonight. He looks down at the little girl and says, "Baby Girl, Daddy has to go fight the monsters again tonight…Aunt Sarah is going to pick you up okay?" The girl nods her head and tells her father to be careful….he's the only parent she has left.

At the BAU the team meets in the conference room. "What's happening JJ?" He asks, curious but his mind still drifts back to his little girl and watching her singing on the stage. Its then that his phone rings again. He doesn't know the number so he excuses himself from the team and goes outside to answer, "Derek Morgan….yes I know a Sarah Lyre…she's my sister….WHAT!" his yelling alerts the team and they all turn to where he is standing outside the door. "What do you mean….what about the little girl with her?.....her name's Lena Elizabeth Morgan….she's nine years old…..Fuck….sorry about the language….I'll be there in five minutes…goodbye."

He hangs up the phone and hits his head against the wall before sliding down it. The team leave the room and wonder what's happening. He tells them, "I have to get to the hospital, there's been an accident." He doesn't tell them about his daughter because he doesn't want them to taint her with what they know. He wants her to remain as innocent as possible, for as long as possible. He grabs his keys and wallet from his desk and leaves…the rest of the team stand in the bullpen, unsure of what to do.

When he arrives in the hospital he runs to the front desk and asks about his daughter. All they tell him is that a doctor will be out to talk to him shortly. He paces back and forth before deciding that it would be better for him to sit down. He has been sitting for about a half hour before the doctor comes out to talk to him. He is told that his sister more than likely died on impact. He sheds a single tear for his sister, knowing she would have wanted her life rejoiced not mourned. He then asks about his daughter. He is told that she is in a coma…that it's up to her when she wakes up….that there's no major damage….she'll be fine when/if she wakes up. He wants to see her and the doctor allows him to see her.

He gasps at the tubes and wires sticking out of his daughters' tiny body. He pulls up the plastic seat and sits down. He holds her small hand in his and begins to talk to her. He tells her how much he loves her, how much he loved her performance. He tells her about her mother, the one she never got to know, how her mother would be proud of how strong she is today….how much she reminds him of her mother. He keeps talking as if she was listening because it's all he knows to do. He talks to her about going to Disneyland and her birthday. The decorations, cake, people, friends…everything he can think to talk about he tells her about. Then he tells her about the team. About how Reid always talks about statistics, how he's always nervous, can't catch a ball. He goes on to tell her about Penelope, JJ, Rossi and Hotch then he decides to tell her about the one he likes, the one he's in love with, Emily. He tells her all about her and that she would like Emily. That he would like her to meet Emily one day. Maybe for her birthday she could meet her father's friends. Maybe she could see what he does, how he fights the monsters that scare him at night.

He doesn't hear them behind him, standing there watching him hold the hand of the daughter they never knew he had. They watch him lay his head on his hand and watch her. None of them seem to know what to do. Emily steps forward and goes into the room. She puts her hand on his shoulder which startles him. He looks into her sympathetic eyes. He puts his free hand on top of hers. She whispers into his ear that she's going to be okay. That she's strong, just like her father. She places a kiss on his cheek and tells him that they'll come back tomorrow. She turns and walks away, knowing that something has changed.

She tells the team that he needs to be alone with her, that he doesn't need them waiting around for him, giving him the sympathy glances. She tells them that they can come back tomorrow, that tonight is just for him and her, for him to understand why this happened to her, to talk to her and let out his emotions.

They come back the next day to find them talking. She woke up during the night calling for him. She's in bed laughing, eating ice cream and he's laughing too. Emily knocks on the door, lightly so not to startle them. He turns and waves them in. He watches as each person interacts with his daughter. Then he introduces Emily to her. He was right, Emily and Lena like each other immediately. Later when the team has left and they're all alone, Lena turns to her father and says, "You know, I think you should ask Emily over for tea one night….she's really nice…I like her." He smiles and thinks about the future…he knows it looks brighter now that she's awake.

He knows he will have the family he always wanted.