I spent all day Saturday at Morgan's place, crying, talking, trying to figure things out. We didn't solve much, and so we decided that maybe we shouldn't jump straight back in. We decided we'd take it slow; I'd go out with him and the team again, we'd talk and text more like we did before we were together, maybe grab a drink or lunch here and there. Slow.
On Saturday night however, we had a few drinks at his place, and then we ended up sleeping together already. It wasn't a part of our plan but alas, it happened. I left early Sunday morning before he woke and spent the day at my apartment, doing anything I could to keep myself from thinking about it. Today at work, I showed up earlier than usual because being alone in my apartment gave me time to think about it, and if I wanted to keep my distance to begin with then I needed to not think.
We were in the conference room by ten, and we theorised about the case that we were given like every other time. I avoided looking at Morgan for now, because if I suddenly interacted with him again like I did the others, they would know that something was up. JJ hated him at the moment. Garcia, Reid, and Hotch were all disappointed in him and the way things turned out, but they kept it to themselves. Rossi wasn't too thrilled with having him around as much but that was just because he was too protective of me. I wondered how they'd all react if we got back together at some point, or the Red Cell team. Gina was never a huge fan from the beginning, but she despised him now. Mick and Prophet didn't particularly enjoy his company anymore, Sam stayed way out of the situation.
We were only going up to Baltimore, Maryland, just about an hour and a half drive away. This meant Hotch insisted we drive, as it wasn't too far and we could avoid the hassle of readying the jet. Garcia offered to patch both cars into a call with her at the same time so we could discuss the case like we would on the plane, and we were heading to the two SUV's downstairs before long.
Morgan and Hotch were both driving a car each, Rossi and JJ went with Hotch, Reid and I with Morgan. We only discussed the case for a half hour of our drive before we ended the call and were left with only those in our car. Reid had been talking facts for a straight twenty minutes now. "Reid, for the love of god, please give it a rest." I closed my eyes as I massaged my temple softly to try and ease the headache that had come up. He apologised quietly and began texting once his phone buzzed. Gina, I assumed, by how he smiled.
"Are you okay?" Morgan asked me quietly.
"I just have a bit of a headache; I'm fine. Thanks." I smiled at him weakly and looked out the window.
"About the other night…"
"Reid is right there." I stopped him from continuing.
"What happened the other night?" Reid asked curiously, locking his phone and looking between us from the middle of the backseat. I glanced at Reid and then back to Morgan with warning in my eyes. No one needed to know what was going on. "Are you two back together?"
"No." We both said at the same time.
"Then what happened the other night?"
"Let it go, Reid." I looked at Morgan again with hard eyes and shook my head. He cleared his throat and looked back to the road. The remainder of our drive was spent in silence. When we got to the Baltimore police station, Reid questioned Morgan again about what happened the other night when he thought I wasn't listening. Clearly Morgan thought I wasn't listening too, because he told Reid about what happened through the whole weekend and asked him to keep it to himself. It irritated me, but I knew if the roles were reversed, I would have probably told JJ, Garcia, and Gina by now. I let it go as I entered the precinct and followed the sound of JJ's laugh. "How did you guys get here so much faster than us?"
"Hotch took a shortcut." Rossi said as he sat down with a file. I saw Hotch setting up a board with the little detail we had at the moment, and JJ lay a few things out on the table. "Did your drive go okay?"
"What do you mean?" I sat down beside him and threw my bag into the corner of the room.
"With Morgan…"
"Oh…yeah, it's fine. We're fine now."
"You're fine now? You don't care at all anymore about what happened?" JJ raised her eyebrows in doubt as the boys walked in to join us.
"Did I not go out with the team? Have I not been social again? I'm fine." I rolled my eyes. She shook her head and still had doubt written across her face, but Hotch interjected before she could speak again, telling us that we need to get started on the case right away.
We started with the lead detective greeting Morgan, Reid, and I before Hotch split us up into three groups. Morgan and Rossi to the latest dumpsite, JJ and Hotch to a potential witness home, and Reid and I to the home of the latest victim's boyfriend.
The case felt longer than it was. It wasn't hard, per say, but it was just draining. I slept the whole drive home and I woke up this morning in Morgan's bed. I sat up and stretched my neck as I looked around the room. My clothes were folded on the drawer across the room and I was in my bra, underwear, and one of his shirts. I got up and changed back into my clothes quickly before walking out and down the hall towards where I heard coffee brewing. "How did I end up here?"
"I tried to wake you up last night when we got back to the precinct but you were out cold, refused to wake up. I just put you in my car and brought you here. I'll take you to get your car whenever you want." He handed me a mug of coffee and I sipped it.
"Sorry." I apologised quietly as I sat down at the counter island. He dismissed my apology and sat beside me with his own mug. A few minutes of silence past before I spoke again, "I heard you tell Reid."
"…Sorry. I know you didn't want anyone on the team to know but the kid is the only person I can talk to at the moment."
"I know, it's okay," I smiled at him reassuringly, "I'm sorry that they're not being nice to you."
"It's my own fault." He shrugged his shoulders as he stood back up and made his way back around the counter, "Are you hungry?"
"No, thank you." I sipped at my coffee as I watched him begin to cook up eggs. With his back to me, I let myself smile as I watched him. I really had missed him, but I needed to take it easy; I needed to trust him again before I could even think about being with him again. After a short while of silence, he sat a plate in front of me with scrambled eggs and a buttered piece of toast. I looked up at him, "I said I wasn't hungry."
"I know, but you didn't eat last night so you're going to eat those."
I looked into his eyes to stand my ground, but I gave in rather quickly. I sighed as I lifted the fork, "Thank you." I spoke quietly. I ignored the victory smile on his lips and began to eat slowly as he sat back down beside me. He asked if I had plans for today and when I said I didn't, he offered to take me to a movie. It seemed a little bit too soon to be going on dates already, but I accepted the invitation anyway, because despite being with him most of the weekend and then all week in Baltimore, I still missed him. I had no doubt that I was still madly in love with him, but that wasn't enough for the moment. Besides, I didn't even know if he really did love me or if he wanted to, and that was the only reason he was trying so hard, or the reason that he slept with Tsia in the first place. I didn't understand how you could betray someone you're in love with like that, but then I thought of Tsia. She always found a way to manipulate people into doing whatever she wanted. For all I knew, Morgan really didn't intend on hurting me, but maybe Tsia persuaded him into it. However, she also could have just done nothing but show her interest and he went for it. It was something I'd never have answers to, I guess. I didn't want to ask about it because that would just upset both of us.
My phone buzzed between us and I glanced at the text from Clyde. Morgan cleared his throat after looking at the contact and he looked at me, "Can I ask you something?"
"I didn't sleep with Clyde." I knew exactly what he was going to ask. He nodded and smiled at me, "I also didn't sleep with Mick despite his jokes about it with Prophet, they're just being immature. I have not been with anyone else."
He nodded again, "Okay," A short while of awkward silence passed before he spoke quieter, "You probably won't believe me but neither have I, since…"
I looked at him but he was moving eggs around his plate slowly; he looked almost sad. "I believe you." I kissed his cheek and stood up. I took my plate and now empty mug to the kitchen sink. I rinsed them and put them into his dishwasher. I walked back to stand across from him, "Well I'm going to head home, shower, change, etcetera. Text me if you decide on a movie and I'll meet you there. Don't worry, I'll get a cab to my car."
"I can take you."
"Enjoy your morning." I shook my head.
He rolled his eyes, "Fine. I will text you with movie details, and I will pick you up."
I smiled and leant over the counter. I pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "Bye." I found my go bag and my handbag in the living room. I took them on my way out and rang JJ as I walked down the path. The busy streets of the area were only a few blocks away, so I decided to walk there and hail a cab instead of calling and waiting for one to show up. JJ picked up my call before long and I asked her what she was doing later tonight. She didn't have plans, and so I invited her over to my place for dinner; that way I could avoid spending another night at Morgan's place. I contemplated inviting Garcia and Gina too, but I wasn't really feeling the whole group thing; just JJ for tonight would be fine. Maybe I could hint to her about Morgan and see if she catches on, yells at me, or lets it go.
Morgan had taken me out to lunch first and then to a movie. Afterwards, he stopped at a café to grab us both a coffee, and then he drove to a nearby park. We wandered around the large area for a while before we settled on a park bench under the shade of the trees. We talked about anything that came to mind, and he made me smile and laugh like he used to do all the time. I saw him look at my hand at one point and I know he considered holding it, but he decided against it; he didn't know how comfortable I was with that yet. Instead, I intertwined my fingers through his and rested them on my knee.
"I knew something had changed between you two again." I heard Rossi's voice. We both looked to Morgan's right and saw him approaching us, Mudgie walking by his side. He was holding the leash and a tennis ball, and he raised his eyebrows at us.
I groaned quietly, "We're just working things out."
"Yeah, looks like it." He looked at our hands. I loosened my hand on Morgan's to let go but he tightened his, so I left it there.
"Please don't mention this to anyone on our team or the Red Cell team? It's all a little intense right now and we don't even know what's going on." I shook my head.
"She's scared it'll mess everything up like it did when we split," Morgan rolled his eyes, "Touchy subject."
"Well, I'm just walking through; don't let me stop you from "working things out". Stay safe, kids." He kept walking past us and he threw the tennis ball in front of him. Mudgie ran to get it and I looked back at Morgan. He smiled reassuringly and I dropped my head to rest on his shoulder. I needed to leave soon to get some things for dinner tonight and clean up a bit before JJ came, but I could stay just a little longer.
