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"He can't feel his legs. He can't feel his legs! The doctor said this would happen, we warned us," Garcia wailed, crying into Emily's arms. "He's paralyzed. Our chocolate hottie is paralyzed!"

Emily had nothing to say. Or, rather, if she did say anything, the rest of them would detect the tremor in her voice and she would cry as well. So instead, she stayed silent as her friend's tears soaked through her shirt.

Reid was still looking at the up-side of the situation—maybe he wasn't paralyzed, maybe it wouldn't be permanent, etc.

"Garcia," Hotch said softly, "the doctor is just taking a look. It could be nothing."

Trying to calm herself, Garcia pulled away from Emily and took deep, shaky breaths. "Right," she tried to agree. "Right, could be nothing. Could be nothing. Right." She repeated over and over again. But in her heart she knew that something was wrong. The doctor had expected this, and now it was happening.

No, it couldn't be happening. Hotch was right; nothing was wrong. Nothing could be wrong. He was already shot twice—wasn't that enough drama for one day?

Emily shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. There was absolutely no way this could happen to Morgan, she reminded herself. Morgan was the strongest and most fit person she knew. He was the one to kick his way into houses and tackle the unsubs.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice told her that physical fitness could not have any affect on a bullet, but she pushed that thought away. Because nothing could happen to Derek.

Rossi was pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. He was so incredibly confused. Although the rational part of his mind was saying that Derek was permanently handicapped, the rest of him wouldn't allow it and truly believed that he would be okay.

JJ sat with her head resting in her hands, her breathing too steady and her body too still to be normal. She was controlling her emotions so that her team wouldn't profile her, and wouldn't be able to see the guilt eating her up.

Hotch watched as Garcia attempted to calm herself, and pretended not to notice Emily's discomfort. He ignored Rossi's internal struggle and honestly didn't notice JJ's. Attempting not to profile his team, he sat down and crossed his legs and arms, trying to physically and emotionally close himself off. His team was falling apart around him, and there was nothing he could do.

But he did believe what he told Garcia. The doctors had not said anything specific, so why jump to conclusions?

Denial, he realized. Denial. He and his team were in denial. This could not be happening to Morgan, they were all thinking. This could not happen because they were in denial.

The first of the five stages of grief.

CMCMCMCMCMCM

"Hello, BAU." Dr. Young greeted.

"How is he?" Prentiss asked, her words running together with Garcia's "Is it permanent?"

"Wow," Dr. Young breathed. "I don't know if it's the job or what, but you guys are pretty tense."

"So...he's okay?" Hotch asked.

Dr. Young looked thoughtful. "The job, I'm guessing. Now, you're profiling me."

"He's fine?"

"Just a side-affect of the morphine. It will take a lot of work and physical therapy, but eventually he will be able to move almost as well as before."

"Almost?" Garcia's face fell.

"Eventually?" Rossi repeated. "How long are we talking here?"

"Breathe," Dr. Young reminded. "Yes, Garcia, he will be almost as good as new. It will take a lot of hard and painful work, and he will never be 100 percent, but I'd say he will make it to at least 90-95 percent mobility. And, Agent Rossi, it will take a long time. Normally, I'd say years and years, but seeing as how Agent Morgan is so persistent and stubborn, maybe just a few years."

"Years." Hotch repeated. "Are you saying that after a few years, my agent will only be able to walk?"

"Agent Hotchner, this is good news. I'm saying that your agent will be fine! What else do you want from me?"

Hotch's eyes narrowed. "How do you know our names?"

"Oh, while I was in there, Agent Morgan told me all about you guys. All about you guys," he added suggestively.

"What did he say?" Emily asked.

Dr. Young shrugged. "Sorry. Doctor-patient confidentiality."

Emily snorted.

"Miss Prentiss, some respect would be appreciated."

Ignoring that, JJ asked if they could see him.

"Of course!"

"What did you say about us?" Garcia ordered.

"I don't know what you mean," Morgan said, the huge smile on his face suggesting the opposite.

"I hate it when people talk behind my back," Garcia growled.

"Baby-girl, what could I say about you that's bad?"

Garcia smiled. "Good point."

"Come on, Morgan," Prentiss pleaded. "What did you say?"

"Jesus, what the hell did the doctor tell you? Because I honestly didn't accuse any of you of anything. Don't worry, Reid, I kept your secret," he winked jokingly.

"Anything you want to tell us, Doctor Reid?" Garcia played along.

"Nope. Nothing I want to tell you," Reid joked as well.

"Are you sure, Spence?" JJ tried.

Reid just stared at her. "No." One short, sharp syllable.

JJ nodded slowly and looked at the ground.

Morgan wondered what was going on here. Why was JJ so down? She looked...humiliated, guilty, and hurt.

Then he realized. Were they blaming JJ for what happened to him?

Hotch's phone rang. "Strauss," he informed. "Maybe I should take this outside. Uh, you should probably come with me."

The team nodded as they left.

"Hey, Penelope, don't be in such a hurry to leave," Morgan said.

"Hmm?"

"Penelope Garcia," he stated, "the beautiful blonde one. Probably wearing some ridiculous outfit consisting of lots of colors that matches her hair."

"Do I need to get the doctor?" she asked, worried.

Morgan laughed. "Girl, I already told the doctor this." Garcia realized that this is what he told Dr. Young, so she let him continue. "She is the only one who really understands me. When I need someone to call, she's the one. When I need someone to talk to, she's always there. I can count on her to remind me, and the rest of my team, to be human. She reminds me how to be happy. She reminds me to love, even when this job steals away all my emotions except for hatred and disgust. Penelope Garcia, the funny, smart, emotional one. Penelope Garcia, the technical analyst."

Tears filled her eyes. "I'm not emotional," she joked.

"Of course not, baby-girl. Now maybe you should get back to the team before they think something's up."

She nodded and turned around to leave.

"What did I miss?" she asked as she approached.

"Strauss hired a therapist for us, which I denied," Hotch informed.

"Of course," Garcia giggled, but then she saw the upset and uncomfortable looks on the teams' faces. "What aren't you telling me?"

Hotch took a deep breath. "We have to start work again tomorrow. She just informed me that she has hired a replacement for Morgan."

Please, please, please review! Not sure what I think about this chapter, but I haven't updated in a while so I'm putting it up. I may change it, I may not. Depends.

Thanks for reading!