"OK then Agent, I hope you take this the right way but I'd rather not see you again," the doctor said with a grin as he walked Parker out to the waiting area. She forced a smile in return. She'd heard that quip from quite a few ER doctors. "Just make sure you keep the wound…"

"Clean and dry until the stitches come out. And yes I'll remember to take the full course of antibiotics," Parker filled in. It was a routine she was familiar with.

"And don't forget you have a week's supply of painkillers," he added. "I know you're tough, but you were shot." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and simply thanked him and headed towards JJ.

"Sorry about the wait," she apologised as she approached her colleague. "The doctor seemed intent on making my stitches a work of art!"

"It's fine. How are you doing?" JJ asked.

"I told you – I'm fine," Parker repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

"It's OK if you're not. That was pretty scary out there," JJ continued.

"This isn't my first time in the field," Parker retorted, a little more sharply than intended. JJ pursed her lips and nodded.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, I'm sorry," Parker shook her head. "You're just looking out for me and I'm just being cranky."

"Morgan's on his way so we'll be back at the hotel soon. Hotch wants us both to take it easy tonight," JJ informed her, to avoid an uneasy silence.

"I'm not going to argue with that," Parker yawned.

"Me neither," JJ agreed. It had turned out to be a long day. "By the way, I haven't thanked you."

"For what?"

"I didn't see him until you shouted and he was aiming right at me. You probably saved my life," JJ explained sincerely.

"Well I was hardly going to keep it to myself," Parker remarked, brushing off JJ's thanks. "And it was my fault we were still in the street."

"You still stopped me getting shot," JJ stressed. She really was grateful and dreaded to think what could have happened if she'd been accompanied by someone less attentive or with slower reflexes.

/
/

Half an hour later Morgan appeared in the quiet ER to collect his colleagues. His eyes darted past JJ, who was reading the latest information Garcia had provided on her tablet, to Parker, who had fallen asleep stretched across several seats. While he was still wary of the young agent, it always shook him when one of their own was hurt.

"Hey, Morgan," JJ greeted him, looking up from her tablet.

"Are you guys ready to go?" he asked, his eyes lingering on Parker's sleeping form. JJ nodded.

"Parker," she called gently, lightly shaking the agent's outstretched leg to rouse her from her remarkably deep sleep.

"Mmmmph," Parker groaned sleepily, but slowly opened her eyes as she remembered where she was. Forgetting her injury, she used her left arm to pull herself upright and immediately winced and let out a small moan.

"Are you OK?" JJ asked, quickly standing up to help her. Parker nodded as she tried to block out the newly intensified throbbing.

"It was still numb before I fell asleep," she explained. "It's not now." Both JJ and Morgan smiled sympathetically.

"Have you got painkillers you can take?" Morgan asked. Mole or not he didn't want to see her in pain. Parker nodded again.

"But they'll make me drowsy."

"Good job you're not operating any heavy machinery tonight then," Morgan quipped with a cheeky grin. Parker shook her head.

"I don't want to be out of it when we're on a case. I'll just get some ice when we get to the hotel."

"Parker, take a painkiller," JJ instructed in the same firm but kind tone she had used earlier. "You're not working tonight and we can keep an eye on you." She could understand Parker's desire to stay in control but she could also see the younger agent's pain.

"OK," Parker agreed reluctantly.

"Do you need a soda? Or some water?" Morgan asked, already starting towards the vending machine.

"Thanks, either would be good," she replied, surprised by his helpfulness. Perhaps she'd been too quick to judge Morgan. He returned with a bottle and Parker quickly swallowed two of the tablets she had been prescribed.

"Ready to go?" Morgan asked while JJ hovered protectively around Parker as she stood up. Parker nodded and as they headed out to the SUV, she felt glad that there was the possibility of proper sleep in her near future.

/
/

"So what's she like then?" Morgan asked, as they drove along the dark and quiet roads.

"Derek," JJ chastised, glancing back to Parker. From the moonlight that lit up the otherwise dark vehicle, JJ could see that the young agent was fast asleep but it still didn't seem right to be having this conversation in her presence.

"She's out for the count. I just want to know what you think of her."

"She seems nice," JJ replied reluctantly.

"Nice?" Morgan pressed for more detailed information.

"She's sweet. Stubborn – so you have that in common with her – but she seems easy to get along with." JJ watched Parker in the rear view mirror for any sign that she might be awake.

"No suspicious calls back to Strauss then?" he asked with a slight grin. JJ didn't dignify his question with an answer.

"She probably saved my life today."

"Seriously?" His eyes momentarily left the road so he could look JJ in the eye.

"Yeah, I didn't even see the gunman." Morgan couldn't think of an appropriate response. "You should give her a chance," JJ continued.

"I will. It's just…" he paused to think of the right words. "You have to admit there's something off with her transfer. She's so young and has hardly any experience of our kind of work."

"She's here to learn," JJ pointed out.

"Even so, it was so sudden and unexpected. It's not that I don't want to trust her but…" his sentence trailed off and hung in the air between them.

"I know," JJ stated. "Hotch feels the same."

"And you?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "But either way, we have nothing to hide from Strauss." Silence fell over the vehicle as Morgan contemplated JJ's statement. He hoped she was right.