Two chapters in one day! YAY! Sorry that both of these are kind of short, I'm just trying to produce multiple chapters, because I'm leaving Wednesday and won't be back home until Monday. Hope you enjoy!~
`Reid looks down at his hands, realizing he's shaking. Morgan lets the silence continue the entire drive, only looking at Reid after pulling in to Reid's driveway. Morgan lets out a loud sigh. Reid was shaking, and he had tear stains on his cheeks.
"Reid, I need to know what you know. About Bridie and me." The genius lifts his head to look at him, sniffling and wiping a tear. He shrugs at Morgan.
"Nothing really. Just that you work together. I see it, you know. I know there's some type of bond with you guys. I haven't figured out what it is yet. I thought maybe I could tell Bridie I knew so she would tell me. Instead, I made her so upset she kicked me out." Reid runs his hands through his hair. "How do I fix this, Morgan?" Morgan rubs the kid's arm.
"You need to know the truth, Reid. Look at me," Morgan forcibly pulled Reid's face toward him. "Bridie kept secrets from you. Because these secrets, well, she knew they'd hurt you. That bond we have, Reid? That's a bond formed by something she and I have in common—parenthood." It takes a minute for the light to hit Reid's eyes, but Morgan sees the shock there. Reid sputters, but Morgan cuts him off. "That's right. I'm Sebastian's dad." Reid pulls away in disgust.
"So you just left her to struggle with your son?" Reid's anger is turning to rage, and Morgan groans.
"Kid, do you remember that month where I didn't talk to anyone about my personal life? Not JJ, not Emily, not you… not even Garcia?" Reid nods.
"But you talked to Rossi all the time. Always in secret, and we thought that maybe… well, maybe you had an addiction like I did. But then after that month, you were fine." Morgan raises his eyebrows, waiting for Reid to put two and two together. The kid looks at Morgan, his warm, chestnut eyes filled with recognition. "That was the month you found out she was pregnant." Morgan just nods.
"When I got the phone call from her, the last thing I expected was her to tell me she was pregnant. That we were pregnant. After all, Reid, it was a one night stand. As bad as that sounds, we only spent a night together. And she was pretty messed up—and not just on alcohol." Reid looks down, feeling uncomfortable. He knew that Bridie had been an addict—mostly heroin, but she would do anything she could get her hands on. Morgan sighs. "Rossi pulled me aside one day and told me he knew. He told me that she was his daughter, and that she wanted to keep this all a secret. She was ashamed of me, that she had fallen so far she gave up ethics and morals." Morgan's voice shakes, and Reid puts a consoling hand on his arm. "Before I knew it, I was in the delivery room with her. And there was our beautiful baby boy. Reid," Morgan pauses. "You haven't known true fear until you think you're going to lose your child. Sebastian was born at 31 weeks—they thought he had brain damage. His lungs and heart were underdeveloped. By some miracle, he survived. And I swore to Bridie I would be there for him no matter what. That package I brought over? Those were books—god, Reid, the kid is smart." Reid smiles at Morgan. He knew now, and it made him feel empowered to finally know the truth. Morgan sighs. "God, you probably hate me. I would hate me if I were you. I'm your best friend, your protector. Yet I never bothered to tell you I'm the father of your girlfriend's son." Reid lays a hand on Morgan's shoulder.
"No, I get it. I really do. Thank you, Morgan. Now I know why she didn't tell me, why she was so scared when I opened that door." Reid takes a deep breath. "We have to go back. I have to apologize." Before he can say anymore, Morgan cuts him off.
"Calm down, killer. I learned the hard way that Bridie has a long cooling off period." Reid frowns, feeling useless now. "Right now, let's go get some coffee and some lunch. I know a special little place. Oh, and you might want to be ready for a verbal attack—Frankie probably knows what happened already, in which case you need to be on top of your game." Reid smiles at his best friend; Morgan always knew what to do, and it was comforting. Morgan starts the car, laughing at Reid. "Take that dopey smirk off your face; we're going for a guilty puppy dog look or something like that." The two share a moment of laughter before they fall in to the comfortable silence of their friendship. In less than 15 minutes, they became closer than they had in close to nine years.