The smell of curry wafted through Emily's apartment, hanging in the air from the Indian food Morgan had brought by that evening. The take-out containers sat empty on the countertop, and Morgan pulled two sodas from the fridge, sat down on the couch and handed one to Emily along with her vial of pills. "God, I love painkillers," Emily groaned.

"Maybe too much." Morgan said as Emily popped two in her mouth.

"Don't worry about me," Emily said. "I'm a responsible adult."

"Like Reid?" His sobering observation made them both look at bright orange bottle with disgust.

"I'm not abusing them, Morgan. Right now, I need them. Next week, I probably won't, and then I won't use them."

"It's just…I worry."

"I know. But I've been there before. It's not my first ride on the Oxycodone express."

"Okay. So, what do you want to do?" Morgan asked, stretching out his legs on the coffee table.

"Movie night. Go pick one out." She motioned to the DVD tower next to the TV.

Morgan got down on his knees and quickly read the spines of the assorted DVD. Every so often he would chuckle at her choices. "RENT?" He asked. "I didn't peg you for a musical girl…and here's Phantom of the Opera…Geez, Emily, can your choices be any more random?" He skipped the stack of romantic comedies, and pulled another case out like he had found a treasure. "You up for a little ultra-violence?" He was holding A Clockwork Orange.

"No, that movie gives me the creeps. I like Beethoven too much."

"Alright." Morgan said, still searching. "Captain America?"

"Sure. Adventure and eye candy is always a good combination."

"So that's why you like working with me," Morgan joked as the DVD slid into the player.

"The captain's humility isn't bad either," Emily zinged back, smiling widely. "Now shut up and watch the movie." She snuggled into the cushions, hugging one to her aching stomach, and Morgan settled in as well, watching the opening credits roll.

Morgan was startled awake an hour later by explosions blazing orange across the screen. For a second his mind was fuzzy, but he soon realized where he was. He turned to Emily, "Why didn't you…" but he stopped short. She was asleep too, sprawled half on and half off the couch. He chuckled to himself, turning the volume down so she wouldn't be disturbed.

Ten or fifteen minutes later, while Captain America performed yet another round of show-offery, Morgan looked over at Emily again. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and she was muttering under her breath. "Emily?" He asked tentatively, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. She reacted immediately, flinching and moving away as her frantic eyes wrenched open. An errant foot him in the stomach and she slapped his hand off of her shoulder as she was scrambling and shrinking into the corner of the couch. Curled into a ball, she took a deep breath and began to register her surroundings. Morgan was frozen, crouching motionless by her side, hands extended and his face shrouded in concern. "Nightmare?"

Emily nodded, still breathing heavily. "Just a nightmare," she repeated. "It's okay, I'm okay." She unpeeled herself from the edge of the couch and stood up, pacing and stretching. Morgan paused the movie and sat down, watching her. She cracked her back and flopped down next to him, lying back again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, and it had nothing to do with you, or getting shot."

"You remember what I said?"

"Yes. But please, just let this go. Trust me, it does not involve you." She was regaining her usual dominance, taking control. She sat up straight, looking him in the eye. "I know you said to trust you, and you'll trust me…This is where I need you to trust me to take care of myself."

"Alright."

"Alright?" It surprised Emily that he didn't protest; she watched him with growing suspicion.

"Okay. You're right, this goes both ways."

"Okay."

"Movie?" Morgan asked, reaching for the remote. Emily only nodded; internally, she was still trying to reign in the blind terror that had struck her dreams. The memories never stuck around long, but the feelings they brought always stayed buried in her mind, just waiting for her to fall asleep so they could come back and menace her again.

Emily walked out of the hospital, a wide smile blooming on her face. Morgan, who had driven her to the appointment today, put his sunglasses on. "I take it that means good news?"

"Give me the keys, I'm driving," she responded, waggling her open fingers.

"You're cleared?" Morgan asked, surprised. "What happened to three weeks?"

"I bribed him." She teased. "What do you think? The doctor said he would call Hotch, and I can go back to work tomorrow. Limited to desk duty, but still… and I can drive now, he took me off oxycodone."

"Well that's good news. Can you travel?" They started walking back to the car.

"No, I can't fly for another two weeks. Until then, I'll stay back with Garcia."

"Eh. Soon enough, you'll be back." They had reached the SUV, and Emily walked to the driver's side door with Morgan.

"I want to drive." She said.

"When did you take your pills last?"

"Before I came. Just give me the keys!" He held them out of her reach, jingling them temptingly.

"Then they're still in your system, and I get to drive. Climb in." Emily groaned but lifted herself into the passenger seat.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Just when I move, or breathe, or eat. You know. It's definitely not as bad as it was, though. Mainly just uncomfortable now."

"Hence the limited duty."

"Yeah, I'm not going to be kicking down doors any time soon. I asked the doctor if I could shoot, and he said that was fine, so I'll be at the range most of the time."

Morgan chuckled. "Is that really what you missed the most?"

"Well, I certainly didn't miss the paperwork. And everyone on the team has stopped by at some point since I've been home, so there was no reason for me to miss you guys.

"Well, you can go to work tomorrow, but you get to go home right now…and nap." There were rings around her eyes, and she yawned every ten minutes. "I take it the nightmare didn't go away?"

"No."

"The Bureau shrink is going to have a field day with you." Morgan laughed. "Remember, you still haven't completed the mandatory evals."

"Eh. I can pass those with my eyes closed. I came back from the dead, remember? I can do anything."

"Have you ever actually tried being honest with them?"

"No. Why would I do that?" She said it humorously, but it didn't take a profiler to detect the bitterness steeping underneath.

"Sometimes, they can help."

"Have you ever been honest with a therapist?"

"Not the bureau therapist, but yes, I have had my head shrunk a time or two." His eyes were glued to the road, decidedly focused on the task ahead instead of the woman at his side. They rode in silence the rest of the way back to the apartment, the silence fluctuating like a seismograph from awkward to comfortable and back again. "So…I'll see you at work tomorrow," he said, already pulling away from the curb.

"Bright and early." She said, watching him drive away. "Finally."