1x10 - 'The Popular Kids'
Reid is having nightmares and turns to Morgan for help as they investigate the possibility of a murdering Satanic cult.
"Easy there tough guy, have some coffee with your sugar!" Morgan teased as he passed Reid on his way to the sink.
"I need something to wake me up," Reid replied. Morgan blinked.
"Late night?" he enquired as casually as he could.
"Very," the unaware Reid replied. Morgan slowly poured some coffee into his cup, a stony expression spreading over his features. Reid glanced at him, saw it, and correctly interpreted it. "Not that kind of late night."
Morgan forced himself to grin without any of the relief flooding his system.
"So," he turned the conversation away so that Reid would stop looking at him with such an unreadable expression on his face. "What does keep young Doctor Reid awake at night?" hearing the flirtatious tone to his own voice, Morgan quickly covered it up the only way he knew how: teasing. "Wait, let me guess. Memorising some obscure textbook?" Reid turned to face him sceptically. "No, no, no. Working on cold fusion? No, no, I got it, I got it! Watching Star Trek … and laughing at the physics mistakes." He chuckled at his own joke. Reid shook his head in bemusement.
"Actually, there aren't that many scientific errors in Star Trek, especially considering how long ago it was made." Morgan's smile began to fade. "There are certain improbabilities but not that many outright errors."
Morgan struggled for a response – Reid's intention – and finally settled for patting Reid's shoulder and saying; "Right."
Reid smiled wryly. He caught Morgan's arm as he was about to leave, seemingly wrestling with his mouth before he blurted out;
"Do you ever have dreams?"
Morgan felt his stomach turn over quickly as he tugged his arm back, unsteadying the doctor.
"I'm sorry?" he replied, stunned.
"I guess err … nightmares would be a more accurate description."
Relief and worry cascaded onto Morgan in equal doses. He stepped a little closer to Reid in concern and glanced at the too-sweet coffee he was holding.
"Is that what's keeping you up?" he deduced.
"I used to get them occasionally, but lately, it's like I have them every night," Reid replied.
"What are they about?"
"This," Reid responded too quickly, having anticipated the question. He glanced around the bullpen. "What we do." Morgan wanted to hug the younger man close; his tone was heartbreaking. "Do you have nightmares?"
Morgan hesitated. After their recent … moments, he couldn't divulge that kind of information. It was too much, too close, too soon.
"Reid, I'm not sure if I'm the right person for you to talk to about this," he replied calmly but frostily.
Reid frowned a little. "Why not?" he demanded.
Morgan shook his head. "It's just, err …" he broke off. He'd always fought to keep people at arms length, and why? Because trust needs to be earned, and no one had done enough. He shook his head again. No one. "Did you ask Gideon about it?"
Reid was the one to look away and shake his head. A tiny thrill went through Morgan: Reid valued his opinion before Gideon's.
"No."
"You should," Morgan replied softly, in a voice full of conviction. Reid gazed back at him, wondering why Morgan was refusing to help him.
"Hey!" Elle said as she walked past the pair. "Hotch wants everyone in the round-table room." She glanced back, and narrowed her eyes at the pair of them. "Is something up with you two -?"
"No!" Reid replied quickly and hurried past her. Elle shifted her gaze to Morgan, telling him silently she knew there was something. He watched Reid disappear from view before following, wondering at the snap in Reid's voice.
...
Reid realised in a moment where Hotch had got the information, and he looked round at the tall, dark and handsome Derek Morgan. It felt strange to look at him without the rush of unexplained emotions. Anger, red hot and all-consuming, was an unpleasant change, and it wrong-footed Reid. He looked back at Hotch, and kept his chin ducked.
...
"Morgan!" Reid called out, his voice tinged with anger. "You knew I didn't want to tell Hotch about my nightmares." Morgan approached warily.
"Reid, that's something they need to know about."
Reid's eyes flashed. "What do you mean, they?"
"Hotch and Gideon," Morgan replied.
Reid gaped for a moment in shock. "You told Gideon too?" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, and it's ok, Reid –" Reid spoke over him angrily.
"What if they think I can't do my job?" he exclaimed. "What if they want to pull me off the team?"
Morgan shook his head firmly. "They won't." Reid scoffed.
"Oh yeah, how do you know that?" he spat out angrily. Morgan sighed deeply and spread his hands wide.
"I just do," he replied, and he knew it was a lame answer. He hurried quickly over the rough ground, and Reid slid after him.
"You had no right!" he called after Morgan. "I – I confided in you!" Morgan sighed deeply. "You know, this is exactly what happens when I trust someone!" Reid ranted. "It gets thrown back in my face!"
Morgan reacted on impulse.
"Mine started six months after I got into the BAU."
Silence hung between them. Reid was shocked by the statement, and Morgan was shocked that he'd made it.
"Yeah. Mine." Whether Morgan said that to assure Reid he was telling the truth, or to tell himself that he was really trusting Reid, he didn't know or care. He moved to sit on the edge of their car and ran his fingers over his shaven skull. Reid approached, pushing his hands deep into his pockets, waiting for the rest of the story.
Morgan folded his arms defensively across his chest.
"We were working a strangler case in Montana. Four victims. Me, I was still pretty young at the time, so I was feeling myself. I was cocky; I was arrogant," Morgan scowled with self-deprecation. The memories of that case still stung bitterly. "The locals, they didn't have anything, so I stepped up. I said, 'I can nail down a profile for you just as soon as I get what I need'."
Reid nodded softly. "More victims," he murmured.
Morgan made a noise of agreement, glaring at the floor. The memories resurfacing were exceedingly painful and if it were anyone but Reid that he had to go through this for –
"She was found the next day. So I went down to the scene to do my thing. And as I was looking over the body, that's when I saw them." Morgan looked up at Reid, and didn't know how to react to the sympathy shining out of the other man's face.
"Her eyes, Reid," Morgan whispered, his voice hoarse with inner pain. "They were wide open. And there was something different about them; it was like they were looking right at me. Like she knew. I asked for a victim. Well, here she was. That's when they started for me."
Reid nodded.
"Night after night I would fall asleep and I would see those eyes." Morgan was surprised by how easily the words continued to flow. Therapy must work after all. "They were dead eyes. Accusing eyes."
Reid shifted uncomfortably but continued to lap up every word.
"And it got to the point where it was happening even when I wasn't asleep. Reid, everywhere I went, I saw those eyes."
"What did you do?" Reid asked quietly.
"Gideon." The single word softened the air. "He knew: I didn't tell him! I was like you. I didn't want anybody to know. He just … he knew." Morgan shrugged. "And he sat me down and he … he just kind of talked me through it. I still have the nightmares to this day, just not nearly as often. But when they come back, I know how to handle them better."
Reid took a tentative step towards Morgan.
"What did he say?"
Too much, Morgan's mind screamed –
A car drew up alongside them, to Morgan's relief and Reid's disappointment.
...
"Reid! Reid!" Morgan cried as Corey grabbed the thin man and pointed a revolver into his soft brown hair. Morgan's own gun was aimed at the high school jock a second later. A second too late. The knots were back in his stomach – tied even tighter than they had been in Texas.
"Corey!" he called, but Corey shook his head.
"You've got it all messed up!"
Reid screwed up his face, hands spread in surrender.
"Don't be stupid," Morgan encouraged.
Corey moved the gun until it was right under Reid's chin and Morgan's heart skipped a beat. "She wasn't supposed to be with him," Corey tried to rationalise. "It was his run! He runs it every day – not her!"
Morgan took a deep breath. "Corey, listen to me. We can fix this. But you gotta let Reid go."
Corey shook his head. "I never meant to hurt her, but make no mistake. I will shoot your boy right now."
Morgan's soul screamed as the image of Reid, his Reid, dead, eyes open, filled his mind. "No you won't," he declared, rejecting the thought before he vomited.
Corey pulled back the hammer with audible clicks.
Reid swallowed fearfully.
"'Tempt not a desperate man'," Corey taunted, pressing the cold barrel into Reid's cheek. He gazed at Morgan, who ground his teeth together. "Put the gun down!" Corey shouted.
"Ok," Morgan exclaimed, spreading his fingers. Reid's life was too valuable for a stand off that he could lose. "You win."
"Drop it," Corey ordered coldly. "Drop the gun!"
"Ok," Morgan tried to soothe, obeying as he crouched carefully and lowered the gun to the leaf covered dirt beneath his feet. "I'm putting the gun down. You're in control, Corey. Let him go." He almost begged.
Corey looked anguished; out of control.
"'For the evil is man's best force. Man must become better and eviller'," Reid quoted loudly.
Morgan locked his eyes on to the thin face.
"What?" Corey asked.
"That's what this is all about, right? Zerathustra, the super man? 'There is no moral obligation for killing someone if you are superior to them'? But Nietzsche was speaking metaphorically about evolving as a species!" Reid protested, and Morgan knew what he was doing.
"You're just a horny kid who wanted to get rid of the cheerleader's boyfriend," he taunted.
"No!" Corey shouted.
"Yes!"
"No! That was never my intention –" the gun swung to aim at Morgan, and Reid reacted. He pushed the gun out of the way, forcing its barrel upwards and a bullet was shot at the sky. Morgan immediately dived forwards, pinning Corey – and Reid – to the ground. He wrestled the gun away and punched Corey; a hard, brutal hit across his face, stunning the boy, who lay silently with unfocused eyes.
Morgan reached a hand out and grabbed Reid's bony shoulder, panting. The wonderful rush unknotted Morgan's intestines and he smiled joyfully. Reid had more lives than a cat!
"You alright?"
Reid was breathing deeply too. "What happened?" he exclaimed. Morgan gestured to Corey, whom he held with a hand around the boy's throat.
"Him bringing us down here was way too much of a coincidence," Morgan explained, and Reid shook his head.
"No, I got that. Did you have to tackle us both?" the indignation in his voice made Morgan chuckle. Now, the incident was just a joke. But seconds earlier …
"You're welcome Reid," Morgan replied. He looked up and their gazes locked. There it was, that urge to lean forward and claim Reid, but Morgan didn't. He was quite content to just gaze at Reid's delicate features and allow them to comfort him.
And then, sirens had filed the air, the moment was broken, and Morgan was dragging Corey over to the police cars while Reid collected both his breath and his mind.
...
Morgan sat down heavily on his bed, but something stopped him from crawling into it. With a sigh, he opened his phone and pressed speed dial three.
"Morgan?" the voice of Doctor Spencer Reid floated down the line.
"I just wanted to know if Gideon helped with your nightmares?" he asked, and almost heard Reid smile.
"Yeah, he helped me." The silence hovered. "Was there something else?"
Yes. So much that Morgan wanted to say. It was on the tip of his tongue. Yes. Yes. Yes, Reid, there is. I was worried when you told me you were having nightmares. I was terrified when Corey grabbed you. And now, I'm nervous about what's going to happen next.
"No," Morgan replied with a sigh. "Nothing."
He hung up and lay back. He'd said nothing … he would never say anything. And in a few weeks, the chance will have passed, and they'll just be Reid and Morgan again. Nothing more. Nothing.
NB - Yeah, 'cos every time Morgan makes that decision, it lasts! Lol I'll probably combine a the next few episodes, they're very thin on the ground! I hope you like this. I considered putting in something physical, but decided that having their interaction be purely emotional would show that their feelings are getting stronger and stronger ... hopefully. Did I pull that off? Comments are gold! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this already =]
