Morgan stood near the doorway of the room, arms wrapped around her chest, as she watched silently over Greg. A little over twenty minutes had gone by since Russell came in and neither of them had been able to say a word. Greg kept pacing across the break room, his hands buried deep in his pockets, as Russell's voice kept playing in his head.

"Natasha, she's gone. Someone took her."

As hard as he tried, he still couldn't make sense of it. How was it that his cousin was gone? That someone had taken her and another girl while leaving three others dead? He felt tears well up in his eyes as stopped near the table, grabbing onto a chair. He look down, not wanting to meet Morgan's stare. Rage suddenly overcame him as he grabbed the chair and sent it flying across the room. He didn't realize what he'd done until he heard Morgan gasp when the chair crashed into the wall.

The fear he saw in her eyes as she covered her mouth, made all the rage inside him disappear. Shock invaded the blonde as she tried coming up with words. As much as she understood why Greg had suddenly snapped, she did not, in any way, condone it. Her lips trembled as she looked away from him, instead focusing on the chair that was flipped upside down.

Greg looked at Morgan with concern as he walked toward her. "Morgan, I'm sorry, I didn't meant to startle you. It's just that I started thinking of where she could be or wha-." Morgan stopped him before he could even try explaining the thoughts that were running through his head. She shook her head as she looked at him with watery eyes, "I-I can't, I-I'm sorry," she stuttered out before spinning around and dashing down the hallway.

Paralyzed, he watched as the blonde fled down the hall. What in the world was that about? Never in the time he had known Morgan had he seen her act so strange. Sure, she had been quiet since Russell came in with the news but there was a fine line with her knowing there was nothing to say as opposed to her running away from him. Greg knew it wasn't right to not trail afterward but something inside him stopped him. It was as if the only way his body could go running after her was if his brain figured out why she had reacted the way she did.

Burying his hands in his pockets again he started pacing around, replaying the previous scene, trying to look for a clue. It was the throwing of the chair that was to blame for Morgan's change. The moment when it slammed against the wall was when she became a completely different person. Had she been angry that he took his frustration out on a chair? Was it the fact that he hadn't been able to say anything that suddenly caused her to shift? No. It couldn't have been that. She didn't look angry, the look in her face was pure ..

Greg stopped in the middle of the room. The look in Morgan's face .. It was fear. Seconds before Morgan ran off, right when she stopped him, when she looked at him while holding back tears. She wasn't crying because she had been angry or frustrated, those tears had been caused by fear. Had Morgan been afraid that his rage was gonna escalate? That he'd take out his pain on something else, or worse someone else? Someone like her?

No, it couldn't be. Greg followed her footsteps as he raced out of the room, desperate to find Morgan. About ten minutes later and searching in every possible corner, he made his way outside. Sure enough, sitting on a bench near the entrance of the crime lab was Morgan. She sat on the corner, arms wrapped around herself, as she sobbed.

"Morgan?" she ignored him, instead, she hugged herself a little tighter. "Morgan," he repeated as he found himself walking toward the bench. She looked up for about a second before letting her head drop. It pained him to see her like that. One of the things he loved about her was how, despite the situation, she always managed to smile. As he sat next to her, he placed his hand over hers. Instead of calming her, it seemed to break her even more.

It took everything in him to not start crying with her. Instead, he pulled her in, securing his arms around her. Minutes passed as they sat there, in silence once again. She sobbed quietly with the occasional sniffing while he stroked her blonde hair. He leaned in, kissing her head, "It's alright, you're safe with me. I won't let anyone hurt you," he whispered.

She pulled away, surprise washed over her. "How did you kn-," he stopped her, not wanting to hear those words coming out of her mouth. Greg shook his head as he leaned in wiping away her tears, "The look in your eyes said it all."

She stayed silent for a second before finding words to say, a small sad smile formed on her lips. Just as she was about to say something, he beat her to it. "You don't .. We don't have to talk about this Morgan."

She shook her head, "I want to. I need to."

He gently grabbed her by the hand, as she sighed, "Remember beautiful blonde, sunny SoCal .. How I must have loved it?"

Greg nodded, of course he did. Those were the words he had said to Morgan while they were investigating the crime scene at Super Dave's high school reunion. Greg had teased her about how easy her high school years must have been like. At the time, Morgan let him assume it was true and Greg had completely missed the uncomfortable look in her face.

"Well, sunny SoCal, wasn't as sunny as it seemed," she hesitated before continuing, avoiding Greg's concerned look, "I took up cheerleading once I started high school, after the divorce. My mom insisted on an after school activity to take my mind off things. I hated it at first but I grew fonder of it as time passed and I discovered I was pretty good. I was captain by senior year. Aside from the divorce, life was pretty much perfect," she smile for a moment before sadness took over, "That's when he came into my life. Transfer student from Texas, leading quarterback, everyone fell in love with him from the moment he stepped foot in the school hallways. He had that southern charm that made everyone fall under his spell. Anyway, we started dating a few weeks after despite how I swore I'd never fall in love. He was different, I didn't need to worry about him abandoning me like I felt my dad did," her eyebrows knitted together, "The first few months were perfect and then one day, it all changed. At first it was little things, like some off hand comment about my appearance. Then, he became more possessive, he would constantly call to know where I was or he'd accused me of cheating. I shrugged it all off at first but it kept getting worse and worse."

She stopped, finally looking at him. "The reason I got so upset when I saw you like that was because it reminded me of the first time he, well, hit me. We had just gotten back to his house after the championship game and the first thing he did when we walked in was send a chair flying. It freaked me out a little but I just watched him. He started yelling at me. Blaming me for the loss of the team, saying I hadn't supported him enough. I tried defending myself, I told him I wasn't his personal cheerwhore. That's when he lost it. He struck me across the face," tears fell down her face again, "He hit me so hard that I fell and when I tried getting up, he just started kicking me. When he was done he just left me there. The next day at school, he a acted like nothing had happened. He didn't actually say it but I knew that if I tried telling someone, that he'd make me pay. So I stayed with him out of fear and it got worse after that. It wasn't until I ended up in the hospital, that it all came to an end."

Greg looked at her with pure horror, not wanting to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. "It was right after prom, we were arguing again, or rather he was. I didn't want to listen to him anymore so before he could try to lay a hand on me, I ran out of his room. He ran after me and caught me by the hair as I reached the stairs. I don't really remember what happened after that but I ended up in a hospital bed with cuts and bruises all over my body and a broken rib cage." Greg pushed a strand of hair out of her face, looking for a familiar scar he'd seen. "The reminder of what he did," she said as she touched it, "News that he was abusing me went around. He was sent to juvie and I was sent to the bottom of the food chain. I lost my spot as captain, my friends, my social life. People started rumors about how I was faking it all. Everyone was so mean to me after that," she smiled, "That's how I ended up here. I stopped caring about all that stuff and focused on something I loved and was passionate about. I put all my energy and time into being where I am now."

"Morgan, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I didn't, I," Greg was speechless, he was astonished at what she had just confessed to him. Never in a million years would he have guessed that she would have been a victim of violence; she was probably the last person he would have guessed to be a victim.

Morgan shook her head, "It's alright, it's not your fault. Besides, that's part of the past not my present," she smiled, "I'm just glad I was able to get that off my chest. I'm glad you were the one I told this to."

"Does that mean your dad doesn't know?"

"Aside from my mom and those I went to high school with, no. No one really knows about that. Not even my step dad or my team in California. It's not something I can easily talk about. I try to block as much as I can."

"Did you ever talk to someone about what happened or go to therapy?"

"Like a shrink?"

Greg shook his head, the last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable. "No. Just to anyone. Just to let it all out. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you ever tried talking to someone to get closure?"

"I tried, it only made me feel worse."

"Have you ever considered trying it again?"

"Talk to a stranger about my abusive ex? No thanks."

"I meant with someone you know, someone like me. Morgan, I'm here for you. If you ever need something or want to talk or anything. I'm here, I'll always be here."

She smiled, that was all she needed to hear. To know that she had him to rely on, that he'd listen or be her shoulder to cry on, as well as to protect her - it made her feel complete. "I know."

Moments passed as the two stayed silent. Hand in hand, they both looked up to the distance. "Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Natasha? She's gonna be okay. We're gonna find her and when we do, she'll talk to you about it and you'll be there for her, just like you're here for me. She'll be okay. She's smart and strong, she'll find a way out and if not, we'll find one for her."