Something which just had to be written, after my quite possibly favourite ever criminal minds scene. At the end of 4x11 - Derek Morgan's moment to shine.

Don''t own any of it - :(

"Excuse me, kid."

He'd called me kid before, but it was his tone that startled me. There was something unfamiliar and gentle about it. A stark contrast to the yelling he had done earlier. At first I thought he just wanted to get closer to Henry, he hadn't seen him since he was born. But then he made the arm gestures and I looked around, a little panicked. What did Morgan know about kids, about babies? Even after a couple of weeks, I was feeling an instinctual need to protect my godson. Morgan was many things, surprising being one of them. But he was not a daddy.

"Of course."

Anxiety swept through me as soon as I let go of him. But then, this was nothing new, I felt this way every time Will held him. I'd been told about this maternal instinct, and I'd never believed until I actually held him in my arms. Which, I know, makes me the biggest cliché. I never thought that this would be me. That I could be this happy. So I let go, because I want to see this from afar. Part of the job is to step back and see the bigger picture. Emily and Pen made a fuss straight away, of course. But the picture was obvious. He'll deny it, but one day, that man will be an amazing daddy.

"Careful, careful!"

Oh god, he wants to hold him. Half of me was scared for Henry, and the other half was shocked. Derek Morgan holding a baby. Who would've thought? This is definitely something to take in because it is rare. I wish I had a camera right now. JJ was right, for all the darkness we see in this room, we need some good memories. Especially after a day like today. And I could definitely use it for blackmail one day. I mean really, who would've thought, Derek Morgan, a daddy?

"You don't got it- you're smothering him!"

How dare he take my godson away from me! What does he know about babies, any way? Mr Derek Morgan. Mr Player. Mr Hot-stuff. He's probably the greatest man alive, but not in this case. He doesn't know squat about babies. I was about to protest again, but something stopped me. He had taken a step back so we got a perfect snapshot of him and Henry. It took my breath away for a moment, the gorgeousness of it. I'm the first to admit that I'm a sucker for both those guys, but Derek surprised me. And won me over all over again. He was the greatest guy alive, and he'd be an even better daddy.

"He is smiling at Derek Morgan!"

I don't know what made me do it. I'm not the daddy type. I'm not really even the family type. It just, never seemed possible. I was sure that being a father would be something I would suck at. I mean, you can't get better than that, than being a dad. I remember when Des was born and how our dad held her so protectively. He wouldn't even let Mom hold her unless she had to. I could never be as great as my dad was; maybe that's why I ruled it out. For years it wasn't even a possibility, but now I see this little baby, this tiny person look at me with what is definitely a smile and a wave of pride washes over me. Maybe I could, someday. Maybe I could be a daddy.

"Gas."

I watched Morgan rock Henry gently. I was on edge, ready to catch him if anything happened. I guess that's what being a father does to you. It changes you, irreversibly. I couldn't hate our unsub; he was a father. He was sick and a sociopath, but he was also a father. I thought of Jack, of how long it had been since I'd seen him. Too long, any time was too long. But Jack is also the reason I do this job. Anything I can do to keep him safer makes me a better father. I'm smiling, and as JJ comments I realise I surprise even myself. But I know, right then, that Morgan was ready. Regardless of when or where or with whom, some child out there would be lucky to have him as their daddy.

Excuse any out-of-character-ness...I'm still new to this fandom and if you love this scene as much as I do, you''ll hit the review button and tell me??