Chapter 9

Morgan peeled into the driveway of his house. He'd been under the speed limit, just barely. He was so tired that he knew if he spent more time than he had to behind the wheel he would inevitably fall straight to sleep.

The case had been exhausting, even if it had ended quickly. It wasn't physically exhausting, but the mere idea that he would lose somebody close to him had been so terrifying it had mentally drained him of all the energy he possessed. Even after having been proven wrong, and after Reid had told him that there was no such thing as someone who could tell the future, Morgan was extremely tired.

It had taken the team's combined efforts to make sure the genius remained in his room for the rest of the required period of observation. The doctors had been at their wit's end with their reluctant patient. It had only been until Hotch had threatened to make Reid stay an extra week if he didn't cooperate that the young man had finally settled down, although he'd grumbled a great deal.

Morgan chuckled just thinking about it. Reid could be such a baby sometimes, but he was grateful that the young man was on the team. Reid had become an important part of the group of profilers, and his insight had been vital to many of the cases they had worked on over the years. At least now that the boy was out of the hospital he'd be easier to deal with. The doctors had kept him for observation one night, and then the team had been able to board the plane and head back to Quantico.

Morgan had been quiet on the way back, watching the rest of his team with a relieved smile. It was good to know that the fortuneteller had been wrong. He hadn't lost someone close to him, they were all still there with them. Nobody could tell the future, as Reid had told him. It was impossible.

Still thinking about that, Morgan opened his car door. A happy dog was there to greet him. Morgan laughed at Clooney's efforts to jump up and lick his face. He kneeled next to his pet and scratched his belly fondly. "Hey, boy, how are you doing?"

Clooney waved his tail and let his tongue fall out of his mouth. He barked and yipped, looking excited. Morgan wondered what had made the dog so happy. Clooney was used to Morgan leaving and arriving often, wasn't he?

Then, Morgan realized that Clooney wasn't looking at him at all. In fact, the dog was staring at a large van across the street from him. Morgan frowned. He would have usually noticed a large moving van on his street, especially when returning from a case. He must have been more distracted than he thought.

As he looked across the street, he noticed some men taking a large couch out of the neighbor's house. An old woman, Mrs. Parsons, came out right behind them. "Mind my couch, it's an antique!" she said shrilly. The old woman looked rather comical with her tiny wrinkled figure next to the large muscular men. She was actually rather nice, but very careful with her possessions. Morgan was surprised to see her moving. She'd lived in that house for years.

"Good evening, Mrs. Parsons," Morgan called politely to her, holding onto Clooney's collar as he watched the men put the couch carefully into the van. "Are you going somewhere?"

Mrs. Parsons looked at Morgan, squinted, and then rifled through the pockets of her sweater. Triumphant, she pulled out a pair of glasses. As she settled them on her nose, she recognized the profiler and brightened. "Derek!" she said, beaming almost as much as she did with her grandchildren. "This is a nice surprise! I was beginning to get worried that I wouldn't get to say goodbye to you!"

"Mrs. Parsons, you're moving?" Morgan asked her. He was still wondering why she would give up her house after having lived there almost her entire life.

Mrs. Parsons nodded and looked over at the men, who were headed back inside. "Careful with the piano!" she called at them. "It's from the 1800's!" Then she turned back to Morgan. "Yes, dear. My daughter thought it a good idea, especially since I'm getting on in years and all. She's invited me to stay in her place, in Florida."

Morgan's eyes widened. Clooney was straining at his collar, and the old woman scratched the dog behind his ears. "Ma'am, the neighborhood will miss you," he said.

"I'm sure you will," the old woman said with a smile. She pulled out an old dog treat from her pocket and fed it to the happy creature. She had two dogs herself, and always seemed to be baking some sort of special dog food. "And you will too, won't you?" Clooney just wagged his tail in reply. The old woman looked back into Morgan's face. "It's for the best, young man," she said. "I don't expect you to understand. I'm just not the woman I used to be."

Morgan nodded. Mrs. Parsons began to walk away, a smile on her face. "You take care now, you hear?" she called back. Morgan laughed and waved at her, beginning to walk into his house. As he pulled out the keys to his front door, the words of the fortuneteller drifted back into his mind. 'Derek Morgan, within the next week you will lose somebody close to you. Say your goodbyes while you still can, for they will be gone forever, you will never see them again.' That was it! That was who the fortune was referring to!

Mrs. Parsons was technically close to Morgan, since she lived across the street. She was moving, so it was doubtful that Morgan would ever see her again. The fortuneteller had never said anything about death, Morgan had just assumed it was so.

Shaking his head at his own overactive imagination, Morgan allowed himself a smile as he walked into his house. Clooney dashed inside and jumped onto his favorite couch. The profiler sat himself down next to the dog and scratched his back. "We're ok, boy," he said, laughing. "We're all right."


(A/N) The end! Yup, this is it! After keeping you hanging for so long, I've finally finished this story, and I hope you liked the way it turned out. I enjoy surprise endings, as you can probably tell. Anyway, yeah, that's it for this story, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Special thanks, as always, to my faithful and wonderful reviewers: TheMysteriousGeek2345, jenny crum, red2013, 20000WPM. You guys are the absolute best! Also, thanks to everyone who added this to their Alerts or Faves. It was thanks to all of you that I finished this story! I hope you liked it, and thanks for sticking around so long!