Morgan was lying on a large bed, but it wasn't his own. He looked around the room at the wooden walls, which held paintings of lakesides and mountains that were eerily familiar. He couldn't place it at first, until he heard a voice that he would never forget.

"Derek? Where are you?"

He was at the cabin. His cabin. Carl Buford's cabin. His heart started racing, adrenaline pumping as he shot to his feet to find an escape. He spotted a window and immediately dashed for it, as he heard loud footsteps somewhere else in the cabin. He tried to open the window, but it didn't budge.

"Derek, come here!"

He desperately clawed at the window, hearing as the footsteps slowly got closer. It took a few seconds of panic, but he eventually realized that there was a hook at the bottom of the window keeping it closed. As quickly as he could, he unhooked it and wrenched the window open. The smell of the outdoors, freedom, hit his nose and he let out a breath of relief.

"Derek I won't say it again!"

He pulled himself up on the windowsill and hopped out of it. His feet touched grass and he smiled. He did it. He escaped. He just needed to run and he'd be free…

"Fine. I guess I'll just have to get acquainted with this little cutie." Carl's deep voice yelled.

Morgan froze. He couldn't mean-

"Daddy!" Spencer's scream invaded his ears, and his breathing picked up again.

Without any hesitation he climbed back through the window, into the cabin that haunted him. He tore through the house, chasing his son's cries. He eventually found himself in the cabin's main room. Carl Buford stood in the center, a large hand holding on tightly to the back of Spencer's neck, who had tear tracks on his red cheeks.

A disgusting grin grew on Buford's face when he spotted Morgan. "There you are, Derek."

"Daddy!" Spencer cried, shaking with fear.

"So you're a daddy now?" Carl looked down at the little boy in his grip and his sadistic smile grew. "I've heard he's already taking it up the ass-"

"Shut up!" Morgan yelled. "Let him go!"

Buford ignored his interruption, his thumb starting to gently rub the side of the boy's neck. He turned to Morgan with a smirk on his face. "Like father like son I suppose."

"I'll kill you." Morgan growled.

"No you won't." Carl tutted, tightening his grip on the boy, who let out a pained whine. Morgan tried to move, but found his feet shackled to the floor. He started struggling, trying desperately to get free and save his son. Buford chuckled darkly and moved to a chair behind him, dragging Spencer onto his lap.

"You can't kill me, Derek. You're weak, remember? Never able to stop me from having my way with you-"

"I was just a kid back then you bastard! I got bigger and stronger, and I can protect Spencer now!"

"Hmm, I don't know about that. You don't seem to be doing a very good job protecting him…" He spun Spencer around so that he was straddling his lap and ran his hands up and down the boy's arms. He visibly shivered. "Is your daddy doing a good job protecting you Spencer? Is he a good daddy?"

Spencer strained his neck to look behind him at his dad, before turning back. "No…" He whispered, almost too quietly for Morgan to hear. But he did, and the answer shattered his heart.

"He didn't keep me safe from The Man and he let me hurt myself. He's a bad daddy. I hate him."

"That's what I thought." Carl smirked. He moved one hand to the boy's thigh and the other under his shirt, feeling his smooth skin.

Spencer immediately started squirming, pushing at the exploring hands. "Stop… no touching please..."

"Still some fight in this one, huh?" He looked over at Morgan. "I don't like that. I like my boy's pliable, don't I Derek?"

"Don't-" Morgan started, but he cut himself off with a sharp inhale of breath when Buford pulled a wine bottle seemingly out of thin air. When Carl opened it, the smell of Helgeson wine attacked his nose, and he put his hand to his mouth in an effort to not get sick.

"Spencer, want some special juice? It's really yummy." Carl asked, waving the bottle in front of the boy.

"Special juice?" Spencer questioned, sounding incredibly innocent. Carl nodded. "Okay..."

Buford put the bottle to the boy's lips, and Spencer took a tentative sip, and immediately made a face of disgust. He went to pull away, but Carl grabbed the back of his head and forced him to down some more.

Morgan was screaming, yelling, begging him to stop. He watched on as Spencer sagged against the larger man, the alcohol hitting him unrealistically fast. Carl began exploring the boy again, and Morgan doubled his efforts to escape his shackles.

"That's better." He moved to talk into Spencer's ear, keeping eye contact with Morgan. "Do you want to go swimming Pretty Boy?"

Spencer's eyes were glazed and he hiccuped before speaking. "I don't have a bathing suit..."

"That's okay. We can go skinny dipping."

"Skinny dipping?" Spencer questioned, not knowing what that was.

He was no longer in any condition to resist, so Carl began undressing him, pulling off his shirt. Tears leaked from Morgan's eyes as he pulled desperately at the shackles. He couldn't let Carl do that to Spencer. He couldn't let him hurt his son. He needed to protect him. He needed to protect Spencer.

With a particularly strong pull, the shackles broke, freeing him to move. He ran forward as quickly as he could, and punched Buford hard across the temple. He fell from the chair with the force of the punch, Spencer falling with him. Morgan quickly pulled Spencer to him, who was of no help, barely aware enough to hold himself up.

"You bastard!" Buford yelled. He grabbed the now empty bottle of wine as he got to his feet. "You're gonna get it now…"

"I won't let you hurt him." Morgan growled, trying to back up with Spencer behind him, but Spencer was stumbling and unable to walk.

Carl hit the bottle against the wall, shattering it, leaving it as a sharp and threatening weapon.

Morgan was conflicted, he couldn't leave Spencer to fight Burford, but he couldn't escape with him either…

He was forced to make a decision as Buford charged at them. Morgan quickly got down on the floor, pulling Spencer underneath him so he was shielding the boy with his body.

He let out a strangled scream when he felt the first hit of the bottle. It slashed into his skin over and over, leaving gashes that burned like fire. The onslaught of pain just kept coming, Buford never letting up. Morgan tried not to make any more sounds despite the searing pain, so as to not scare his son.

"Daddy!" Spencer yelled.

"Shhh… it's okay baby, you'll be okay. I won't let him hurt you…" Morgan reassured through gritted teeth.

"Daddy wake up!" Came Spencer's voice again, though it sounded farther away this time.

"Daddy!" Spencer yelled one final time.

Morgan shot up in the hospital bed, drenched with sweat and breathing harshly. He looked to his left to find Spencer sitting up, a concerned look painted on his face. He pulled the boy into a crushing hug. Spencer yelped at first, surprised by his dad's action, but quickly hugged him back.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Morgan asked, trying to speak calmly despite his panic from a few moments before.

"No, not this time." Spencer responded into his chest. He had woken up with nightmares 4 times since the first one with Rossi and Garcia. "You were moving and talking in your sleep. And you sounded upset so I woke you up."

Morgan released him from the hug as he cursed himself for waking up his son who needed sleep so desperately. "Oh I'm sorry for waking you up baby."

"S'okay." He looked his dad over, who was still breathing a little harshly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He breathed. "Just a nightmare."

Spencer's eyes widened slightly. "You get nightmares too? What was it about?"

Morgan hesitated, not really wanting to disclose his secret, his pain. But he went ahead anyway. "When I was younger, there was a man that hurt me similar to how Hobb's hurt you."

"There was?!" Spencer exclaimed, definitely not expecting his protector to go through something like he did.

"It wasn't as… bad… as your abuse, but it still hurt me. His name was Carl Buford, and I thought I could trust him, but I couldn't. He took me to his cabin and gave me alcohol, and then he abused me… sexually."

Spencer nodded knowingly. "And he was in your dream?"

"Yeah. I was back at his cabin, and he was trying to hurt you." Spencer's eyes widened at the admission. Morgan was quick to reassure him. "But don't worry. I would never let him hurt you."

"I know. I'm safe with you." Spencer said happily

Morgan gave the boy a strained smile, as his brain was refusing to believe Spencer's words. How could he be safe with him if he couldn't even protect him from Hobbs in their own house? And couldn't even notice when his son was self-harming and not sleeping?

Spencer clearly noticed his dad's internal struggle because he cocked his head to the side with a searching gaze in his eyes. He moved to kneel in front of Morgan so he was looking him in the eyes and put his little hands on his dad's cheeks.

"You protect me. You are the best daddy ever and I am safe with you. You saved me from The Man, and gave me food and a home and a family and love." He said with an unwavering voice. He leaned in and kissed his dad's forehead. "I love you, daddy."

Morgan teared up as his son spoke, amazed by how determined and strong the usually scared child sounded. He pulled him into a hug, which Spencer melted into. "I love you too, Spencer. I love you so much."