Morgan returned to the hospital four hours later feeling very refreshed from his shower and nap. He had never missed his bed as much as he did last night.
He reached his friend's room quickly and quietly opened the door, in case Reid was asleep.
"He fell asleep about 45 minutes ago," Garcia whispered from the chair by his bed, knitting something purple.
"When'd you get here?" Morgan asked in a low voice. "I thought Hotch and Jack were going to stay until I got back."
"Jack fell asleep right around when I got here so Reid told him to go home," Garcia replied.
"Oh," Morgan said, thoughtfully. "I didn't even think of Jack needing a nap."
"When you start having some kids of your own, you'll remember only too well about naps," she told him. "In fact, you will wish for them to come every moment of the day."
"Have you been talking to my momma?" he joked. "You both seem to have baby Derek's on the mind."
"Only if those baby Derek's are baby Garcia's, too, Hot Stuff," she flirted.
"Only in your dreams, Baby Girl," he chuckled.
She sighed with mock sadness.
"I think I'm going to get going," she said after a moment. "I need to get cooking. I'm making sure Reid eats well when he gets home so it is going to be casserole central in my kitchen for the next few days."
"I'm sure he'll love it," Morgan assured her. "Skinny kid needs some fattening up."
"Ain't that the truth," she agreed. "Tell him I'll visit him again soon and that I love him."
"Alright," Morgan promised. "I will."
"Bye, Chocolate Thunder!" Garcia said brightly as she left the room.
Morgan shook his head and laughed quietly to himself.
He took the seat she had just been occupying and picked up on of the books on the bedside table. It was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. He flipped it open and began reading for lack of anything else to do.
He hadn't been reading very long when Reid began moaning in his sleep and turning his head from side to side.
"No," he moaned. "Don't hurt Henry…do anything you want to me…"
"Reid, come on, man," Morgan said. "Wake up."
Reid's breathing was getting faster and his heart monitor was beeping wildly.
"Please," the sleeping man whimpered, "Please, don't."
Reid began thrashing around violently, screaming and crying.
"Spencer!" Morgan shouted. He grabbed the younger man's shoulders and held him down firmly.
"Let go of me!" Reid screamed, his eyes opening but not really seeing. "LET GO OF ME!"
"Spencer, its Morgan, man. Wake up!" Morgan shouted, ignoring the nurses standing at the door.
"Morgan?" Reid said, with a scratchy voice, finally seeing who it was.
"Yeah, Reid," Morgan said, gathering his tearful, frightened friend into his arms. "Just me. Just plain old Derek Morgan."
"I thought that it was him," Reid said in a nearly inaudible voice. "Someone was holding me down and I thought he was…" The abused young man broke off, fresh tears cascading down his cheeks and falling onto Morgan's shirt.
"I'm sorry for holding you down and scaring you," Morgan said with a guilt laced voice, "but you were going to hurt yourself. You were thrashing around and screaming and I didn't want you to hurt yourself any more than you already are."
Reid sniffled loudly and pulled out of Morgan's embrace. He still had tears in his eyes and trailing down his cheeks but he scrubbed them roughly away.
"Thanks for waking me up," Reid said softly as he lay back down and turning on his side. He didn't want Morgan to see the red flush blossoming on his face from the embarrassment he felt about crying on the older man's shoulder like a terrified child.
Morgan knew that there wasn't anything he could say to Reid to make the younger man feel better. There were no words to remove the pain and shame. He knew that better than anyone.
"I know you aren't asleep," Morgan said when Reid was silent for over 10 minutes.
"So?" Reid retorted.
"Well," Morgan said, "it seems kinda silly for us both to be sitting here not saying or doing anything."
"I don't feel like saying or doing anything right now, Morgan," Reid muttered.
"Come on, Reid," Morgan urged. "Let's do something. Cards or TV or-"
"Would you shut up?" Reid burst out angrily. "I said I didn't want to do anything."
Morgan was shocked. Reid never got angry and lashed out. In the years that he had known Spencer Reid he had seen him act this way only a handful of times.
"I-I'm sorry," he apologized, still shocked at Reid's reaction to his words. "I-I was just trying to-"
"You know," Reid interrupted him, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to go back to sleep."
"O-ok," Morgan said, confused. "I'll be quiet."
"Actually," Reid said, still looking away from the older agent, "why don't you leave? I'm going to sleep for a while."
"Reid," Morgan began but he didn't get to finish his thought.
"Leave!" Reid shouted.
Morgan was at a loss for what to do or to say. He couldn't understand what he had done to upset his friend so. Sure, he had pushed him a little to do something besides lay there silently but he was just trying to distract the tormented man from reliving his torture over and over. He did that for years and he knew no good came from it, only more pain and anguish.
"Leave!" Reid repeated more insistently.
Morgan reluctantly rose from his chair and walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned to look back at his friend who still wasn't facing him.
"If you want me to come back in," he said softly, "have one of the nurses come get me. I'll be in the waiting area down the hall."
Reid didn't respond so Morgan sighed and exited the room.
As soon as he heard the door click shut and Morgan's footsteps fade, Reid let the anguished sobs escape his lips and hot tears of misery cascade down his cheeks.
