It had been eating at Reid all day. Hotch had pulled him aside to talk about dreams, and that's when he knew that it didn't matter anymore. Morgan was saying goodbye to the driver of the car, and as soon as the man was out of earshot and Morgan turned to the house they were going to investigate, he finally broke.

"Morgan. You knew I didn't want you to tell Hotch about my nightmares." He was angry. Morgan could tell. His jaw was clenched, his hand fidgeting where they were hidden in his bag.

Morgan took a deep breath, upset that his partner could be so blind to the importance of the situation, "Reid, that's something they need to know about."

"What do you mean they?" His eyes were becoming more and more disbelieving as his eyebrows drew together on his face.

"Hotch and Gideon," Morgan said, almost cautiously, trying to keep his calm in the situation as Reid began to blow up.

"You told Gideon, too?" He backed up, his feet tripping over each other as he distanced himself, his voice raising several pitches, the rage bubbling up his throat and cutting off his air supply and his reasoning skills.

"Yeah," Morgan was getting upset. He didn't want to tell him, but if Reid kept pushing, he'd have to. "And it's ok, kid."

Reid stuttered, looking away for a moment before locking his eyes with the other man. "What if they think I can't do my job? What if they want to... pull me off the team?"

"They won't." Morgan tilted his head, trying to pull Reid back into his better mind, but it wasn't working.

"Oh, yeah? How do you know that?" He pursed his lips, his heart beating out of his chest. There were so many burning words to say, but so little time and so little breath.

Morgan looked at him, his heart cracking right down the middle. He couldn't stand it anymore. "I just do." He began to walk away, needing some space before he said things he'd regret.

Reid wasn't done. "You had no right, man. I-I confided in you." He chuckled, his overwhelming bursts of emotion coming out in laughs. Morgan turned to look at him. "This is—you know, this is exactly what I get when I trust someone. It gets thrown back in my face-"

Morgan walked up, his chest almost touching Reid's, his voice straining not to quiver, "Mine started 6 months after I got into the B. A. U." Reid's mouth opened in surprise before it closed and his hazel eyes looked away. "Yeah. Mine."

He began to walk away again, and Reid stood for a moment but realized Morgan wasn't leaving. He reluctantly followed as Morgan leaned against the car in the driveway.

He sighed, "We were working a strangler case in Montana. Four victims." Reid nodded slowly, looking down every so often. He was eager to understand what he'd missed about the man he loved who was supposedly as lost as he was. "Me, I was still pretty young at the time so you know, I was feeling myself. I was cocky, I was arrogant."

Morgan carried himself with sass and cynicism, an obvious contempt toward his younger self. Reid's lips turned down as his eyes couldn't break away from Morgan.

"The locals, they didn't have anything, so I stepped up. I said I can nail down a profile for you just as soon as I can get what I need."

Reid glanced away, "More victims?"

"Mm-hmm. She was found the next day," Morgan's resolve to hide his feelings were spiraling downward, "So I went down to the scene to do my thing. And as I was looking over the body, that's when I saw them. Her eyes, Reid. They were wide open. And there was something different about them it was like they were looking right at me."

Reid shuddered, both from Morgan's story and the knowledge of what that's like.

"Like she knew," Morgan continues, his bottom lip stiff, "I asked for a victim. Well, here she was. That's when they started for me. Night after night I would fall asleep and I would see those eyes. They were dead eyes." Reid squirmed where he was standing, feeling nauseous, unable to look anywhere for more than a few seconds. "Accusing eyes. And it got to the point where it was happening even when I wasn't asleep. Reid, everywhere I went, I saw those eyes."

Reid opened his mouth, suddenly feeling dry, "What did you do?"

"Gideon." Reid's eyebrows raised, his eyes gaining the empathy his anger had lost, "He knew. I didn't tell him. I was like you. I didn't want anybody to know." Reid nodded needily, his face becoming more and more troubled. He wanted to help, he wanted to help so bad but there were still a few days until the weekend. "He just... he knew."

"And he sat me down and he just kind of talked me through it. I still have the nightmares to this day, just not nearly as often. But when they come back, I know how to handle them better."

Reid, feeling much more calm, mumbled, "What did he say?"

The sound of a nearing car engine broke them apart, their closeness interrupted as Morgan stood from the car and grabbed his gun.