Okay, so new chapter! Thank you to Juna Izumi, Queenmancilla13, Pembie, King of Spiders, and Dextolan for the very kind comments! I really appreciate each and every one of them! You guys are great! I hope you like this one!

Chapter 4

i.

'Okay… You can do this' whispered JJ, as she stood outside Reid's room. She'd been psyching herself up for this for at least twenty minutes now and trying to figure out how she was going to do this. 'C'mon, Jennifer?!' she'd said again, 'It's just a little makeup… that's all… you can do this!'

She glanced in through the door, making sure not to be seen, and looked at Reid. He was just sitting there, staring around him, all wide-eyed and innocent, and scared... She'd never seen him look so lost.

"Hey, you!" she called out, giving Reid a huge smile as she finally walked through the door.

She had Garcia's bright pink, flower patterned gym bag with her, a far cry from the type of bags the rest of the team used as their 'go bags'. It looked a little out of place in her hands.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"W-what happened?!" gasped Reid, as he caught sight of her bandaged arm.

He hadn't seen it earlier because she'd been dressed for work, and she'd had her suit jacket on. Now that she was dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, he could see that her arm was bandaged from the wrist all the way to the shoulder. It looked pretty serious.

"Oh god! …JJ…" he sighed, eyes wide with worry, "I'm… sssoooo sorry!"

She shrugged and set the bag down on the bed by his feet.

"Hey… It's nothing!" she said with a little smile, "It uh… It happened in the explosion… The same one where you were injured"

His eyes flicked up to meet hers and his bottom lip began to tremble.

"N-no-one will tell me w-what happened" he said, "I-I don't remember… I mean… How… how did I end up in an explosion?"

"Oh, Sp…" she began to say, but caught herself before the name slipped out. She sat down on the side of his bed and reached out to caress the side of his face. "The doctor says you have to remember by yourself" she said, with a sad little half-smile, "But… I can tell you that there was an explosion and you got thrown across the room… You hit your head." She picked his hand up and helped him to raise it up to his head to feel the scar.

He winced a little when he felt the shape of the scar on his scalp. It was a little like the seam on a baseball, extending from his hairline, in a sort of curve, and finishing just behind his ear.

"Oh god!" he groaned.

"You had surgery" she explained, "You were unconscious for a few weeks…"

"But…" he said, allowing her to place his hand back on the bed, "But… JJ… I need to know what happened…"

"I know, sweetie" she said, "But it'll come back… You'll remember."

Flashes of a smoke-filled warehouse, and burning debris, flashed through her mind but she pushed the images away as quickly as they came to her. She wasn't going to let him see how much it had affected her.

"Why can't you just t-tell me?!" he whined, "I don't understand?!"

She frowned a little. She couldn't tell him the real reason. How could she tell him what had happened without confusing him even more? The truth would mean telling him that he was Reid, and not Garcia, and the doctors had warned them at great length against doing that. She wasn't sure how to handle this. 'Treat him like an Unsub' she said to herself, feeling guilty for even having that thought, 'Someone having a psychotic break who needs me to talk them down…'

"Do you trust me?" she asked, reaching for his hand and clasping it between both of hers. She looked in his eyes in a searching kind of way. What she wouldn't give to have Spencer look back at her. To see a spark that said 'I'm still in here!'

"I… I do" said Reid, nodding and starting to cry, "You know I do, JJ… I just… I… I n-need…"

"You have to trust us" she said, giving his hand a little squeeze, "You can do that, can't you Sweetheart? …You know we love you and we would never do anything to hurt you… Not ever… There's a reason I can't tell you, a good reason, but I need you to accept that and not ask me… You know there's always a good reason for everything we do, but we can't always share that reason until… until it's over… You know that…"

He stared at her in a thoughtful sort of way, as though slotting the pieces of information together.

"U-until… Until it's over" he repeated, not as a question, but as a sign of acquiescence. He nodded a little and stared down at his bedsheets.

She couldn't help smiling a little. Maybe the old Spencer was still in there after all?

"I've really missed you, y'know?!" she said, as tears shone in her own eyes, "…It's been so hard dealing with all of this without you."

He nodded, and squeezed her hand as best he could. He was still very weak.

"I'm ssorry." he said, still slurring a little, "But at least you had Reid… and… everyone else…"

She gave an exasperated little laugh and wiped again at her tears as she nodded. "Not the same without you, Garc…"

He smiled for a moment, but then his brows knit together in a worried little frown.

"Does it… h-hurt?" he asked, staring at her arm.

"Not anymore" she laughed, letting go of his hand to wipe at her tears again, "But I'm not the one lying in this bed! Why are you always more worried about other people than yourself?!"

She grimaced a little, realising that she'd been unconsciously talking to Reid, and not Garcia. Not that that sentiment wasn't also true of her.

He shook his head a little incredulously, and then looked down at his own skeletal semi-paralysed body. "W-we're quite… the p-pair… aren't we?!" he laughed.

She giggled a little and nodded in agreement. Turning to get the bag from the base of the bed, she set it down in front of her and started to unzip it. Reid smiled an excited smile when he saw the contents of the bag. He could see flowery and glittery materials inside and the purple fluffy makeup bag that Garcia kept her makeup in. JJ reached in, and pulled the bag out.

"So!" she said, with a decisive little pat on his leg, "You wanted to look nice for Morgan coming in…"

Reid's eyes filled with tears, and he nodded, giving her a grateful smile. He hung his head a little.

"I just fffeel so ugly!" he whispered.

"Sweetie, you're not ugly!" she assured him, "And don't let Morgan ever hear you say that!"

He smiled shyly and looked down at the bedsheets.

"You're not ugly, sweetie…" she said again firmly, "You could never be ugly!"

He hung his head and started to cry and she found herself leaning in to give him a hug. It was a little awkward because of the angle, but he allowed her to pull him close and rock him a little.

She couldn't help thinking that this was one of the weirdest things that she'd ever had to deal with. Part of her wanted to laugh because of how ridiculous this was, but another part could see that this was truly heart-breaking. He genuinely thought that he was a woman, and all he wanted was to feel pretty for his boyfriend! Any woman could understand that!

She reached in the bag and pulled out the new pyjamas that she and Garcia had bought for him. They were a pair of extremely girly pyjamas, something similar to what Garcia would wear herself, but obviously a good few sizes smaller. They'd gone to the 'Long Tall Sally' store to buy them. There was also some underwear that they'd done their best to get in sizes that would fit him.

Reid looked at them and gave a relieved little sigh.

"Th-thank you" he said, trying to lift his hand to pick them up. He gave a frustrated little huff, when his hand wouldn't do what he wanted it to, and gave up.

"Can you… hhhelp…" he asked, with a shy little smile, "Help me p-put them on?"

JJ looked decidedly worried. It wasn't like it was something she'd never seen before but she knew how embarrassed the real Reid would feel about this. He wouldn't want to get undressed in front of her under any circumstances, so she had no doubt that she should refuse.

"I'm not sure…" she said, "I… I think we'll need to get a nurse? …Honestly …I …I'm not sure I can move you on my own."

Reid peered down at his own body, looking very depressed at the realisation that she was probably right. He could hardly lift his arms, so he wouldn't be able to help her much with the changing.

"Y-yeah… okay" he said, nodding sadly. "That… that's okay…"

"C'mon!" she said, opening the makeup bag and pulling out an array of tubes and tubs and makeup brushes. Part of her was kind of excited about this. What girl doesn't want to put makeup on their male friends just for the fun of it? And if it helped to cheer him up, then all the better.

"I might not be able to help you get changed…" she said, "But I can do your makeup! Right?! Let's make you feel a bit better, shall we?!"

ii.

Reid sat in the bed waiting for Morgan to walk through the door. He was so nervous he could feel his heart racing a little and his palms were sweating. 'It's just Derek' he said to himself, 'Your Chocolate Adonis… The man you love… and who loves you… Calm down!'

He plucked a little nervously at his new pyjamas and gave a relieved little smile. JJ had got a nurse to come in and help him get changed, and he was feeling much better now that he was wearing something a little more feminine. The bra was helping too. He just felt a little more 'himself' and more able to deal with seeing Morgan.

He glanced at the doorway again before nervously lifting the little compact mirror that JJ had left for him. He angled it without lifting it, just enough to see his face. He gave a sad little smile. It wasn't great, but JJ had done her best with the makeup, and it was definitely an improvement! He sighed at the sight of his short blonde hair that they hadn't been able to do much with, and his tired and sunken brown eyes, but he couldn't stop the smile that curled at the side of his mouth when he saw the dark pink lipstick on his lips. JJ had bought it for him as a gift and it was a very pretty colour. He just hoped that Morgan would think so too.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just before 9pm, so he knew that Morgan would be there soon, but time seemed to be ticking past incredibly slowly. Rossi had popped in around dinner time to bring him some homemade food, (a lasagne he'd whipped up himself), and to check that he was okay. Reid had come in too for a while, which he'd thought was nice, but he did wonder why the young genius had been acting so strangely. Baby Cakes had been decidedly standoffish, which he couldn't quite understand, and he'd just kept staring at him. It was very weird!

After they'd left, he'd just sat there fidgeting nervously, and glancing at the door every time someone walked past. He couldn't figure out why he was so nervous about this. Morgan was his boyfriend after all, and he knew in his heart that Morgan still loved him, no matter what he looked like. At least he hoped that he did!

It was just that he felt so unattractive and vulnerable lying here in this bed, and Morgan seemed to have done a disappearing act since yesterday, which wasn't doing much to build his confidence. He just wanted to see him again, and kiss him, and know that things hadn't changed.

He looked at the clock on the wall again, and saw that Morgan was already ten minutes late. He started to get even more nervous. Maybe he wasn't coming after all?!

He wondered if something had happened in the weeks that he'd been asleep, and maybe that was why Reid had been looking at him so strangely. Maybe Morgan had cheated on him, and had a new girlfriend now, but maybe everyone was too scared to tell him? Maybe that was why he hadn't wanted to kiss him yesterday?! Maybe that was why he wasn't here now?!

The thought absolutely terrified him, and he stared at the doorway, willing Morgan to appear. He needed his Chocolate Thunder more than anything right now!

iii

Morgan stood in the waiting area just down the corridor from Reid's room and leaned against the wall trying to get his nerves under control. He didn't know how he was going to do this! Garcia had come as far as the entrance of the hospital with him but then she'd left him on his own! The team had agreed that he had to go in there on his own. Garcia couldn't be the third wheel in this messed up relationship if she was supposed to be Reid. The new 'Garcia' and Morgan needed some time on their own to sort things out!

He'd made his way up to the floor that Reid was on as slowly as he possibly could. Now that he was here, he was stalling out in the hallway, and dreading the moment that he had to walk in there. This was an absolute nightmare! He'd promised everyone that he would do his best to play along with this, but none of them understood how hard this was going to be for him. They all thought it was simply a matter of acting, and playing the part of the doting boyfriend. They didn't know that he didn't have to act. They didn't know that his feelings for Reid were real. They couldn't know that this was breaking his heart.

"Okay, you can do this!" he said to himself, under his breath. "It's no big deal… Just a couple of guys hanging out… Nothing has to happen…"

He walked up the hallway and dithered outside the door again for a moment. "Okay, come on!" he growled at himself, "Get it together, Derek!" He blew out another big breath and walked through the door with a big smile plastered on his face, hoping that it wouldn't look fake.

"Hey, Baby Girl!" he called out, "H-how you feeling?"

He did his best to hide his shock. They hadn't warned him about the makeup and the clothes, so the sight of Reid sitting there in 'Garcia style' makeup threw him a little… just for a moment. It had to be said, JJ had done his makeup quite tastefully, and had even styled his hair into a very feminine pixie type hairstyle. The little butterflies at the sides were very Penelope and that made him smile a little more. Weirdly enough, he didn't look unattractive. Maybe a bit odd… but sitting there in his girly pyjamas, he was even a little bit cute… in a slightly disturbing way.

"How are you, sweet cheeks?" he asked.

"Morgan!" exclaimed Reid, smiling sweetly, and struggling to lift his hand to hold out to him. "I've… m-missed you!" he said, tearing up a little, "I …n-n-need you here."

Morgan took his hand and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead again. The words 'This is so weird!' repeated endlessly, over and over in his head, and it was taking everything he had to hold it together. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry… He wanted to run away.

He looked down at Reid's big sad eyes and tried to think how he'd behave if this really was his boyfriend… He needed to pull himself together and do this for him! No matter how ridiculous it seemed.

He lifted Reid's hand and kissed it. "I've missed you too" he said, pretending that it really was his boyfriend that he was talking to. "You gave us all such a scare! Don't do it again! I can't lose you!"

'This is so wrong, this is so wrong, this is so wrong…" repeated over and over in his head, as he looked at Reid smiling up at him.

Reid shifted a little bit to try to sit up straighter and said "Kiss me?"

Morgan's eyes widened as he realised that it had come to this already. How was he going to get out of this now?!

'It's just a kiss…" he reasoned with himself, "Just a peck on the lips… it's no big deal… like an actor in a play'

He could feel his heart hammering with excitement. He wanted to kiss him. Now that Reid had said those two little words, he couldn't tear his eyes away from those lips of his. He wished that the man didn't have lipstick on, of course. That just made things weird.

But this was wrong, wasn't it?! Surely, this was like making fun of someone with a brain injury? Like taking advantage of him, or something?!

…But what was he to do?! He was here now, and Reid was expecting it. The team wanted him to play along with this. The doctors wanted him to… Didn't they?!

'Fuck!' thought Morgan. He was so confused!

"Kiss me?!" repeated Reid, as he smiled up at him.

'Okay' he thought to himself, "You don't have a choice! …Just do it! Do it! Just lean in and do it!'

As his lips connected with Reid's, his stomach gave an excited little flutter, but he couldn't help wondering what he was getting himself into. Where was this going to end?! How could he ever untangle himself from this now without really hurting him? Or getting hurt himself for that matter… What kind of person would do this?!

Reid smiled at him as their lips parted and gave a happy little sigh. Much to Morgan's surprise, the younger man managed to shift himself over in the bed to make room beside him.

"S-stay?" he asked, gently patting the bed and smiling brightly. "The n-nurses said… it would be okay."

"Oh… Uh…" stammered Morgan. "Well, uh…"

He was completely lost for words. The team had made it very clear that they needed him to do this, to stay with him, and make Reid feel safe and loved. He wanted to do it for him, if he was completely honest, and maybe he wanted it for himself as well… but he was scared. What if he couldn't walk away when the time came? What if he couldn't let him go?

"Please?" said Reid, looking at him with big puppy dog eyes.

That was it. He couldn't say no to that! He began to pull back the covers and toed his shoes off.

'What are you doing?!' he screamed at himself in his own head, as he climbed into the bed and lay down beside him. 'What the hell are you doing?! You're not seriously doing this! …Seriously, man?! This is ridiculous! …What are you doing?!'

Reid leaned his head against Morgan's chest, and closed his eyes with a contented little sigh, unable to really move much more than that. Morgan looked down at Reid, breathing in the smell of his body and wondering at the sense of 'home' that being this close gave him. He knew right now that he never wanted to be anywhere else! That thought made him tear up a little.

"Love you" whispered Reid, as he snuggled in against him a little sleepily, "My Sculpted Hunk of Chocolate Love…"

He suddenly began to laugh. The thought of Dr Spencer Reid using those words was just too funny.

"Oh god!" he chuckled, "I love you too, Pretty B… I mean, I love you too, Baby Girl."