It was utterly quiet on the end of the building where he was being held. Being a federal agent he knew it was for his own protection but the silence was unbearable and he was aware of every passing second. His thoughts were constantly on Garcia flashes of her lying on the floor with a crimson puddle blooming around her still pale body haunted his waking moments and sleep had been impossible. Morgan

had been given pain medication by the paramedics last night, which had worn off hours ago and his head was throbbing. His lunch still sat untouched on the foot of his cot; it had replaced the breakfast that had also gone uneaten.

Officer Packard quietly made his way toward the cell at the farthest end of the building confident that he would not be discovered. There was only one prisoner housed on this floor kept secluded from the other inmates for his own protection. As he got closer he fumbled with the keys to the cells that he held in his hand. His nerves were getting the best of him but he wanted to teach this man a lesson for hurting such a kind innocent woman…and upsetting Tara putting her in danger as well.

"Why did you do it?"

Morgan flinched at the unfamiliar voice. Slowly he opened his eyes and pulled himself to a sitting position.

"Excuse me?" He said drowsily.

"I said, why did you do it?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"We have a witness that says otherwise!"

"Look man, are you even supposed to be down here?"

"Don't worry about where I'm supposed to be! You hurt that woman and you threatened my girl!"

"Your girl? Maybe your girl is the one who's responsible for all of this!"

"Shut up!"

Packard shoved the key into the lock and turned it.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to show you what happens when you hurt innocent women."

Morgan could see that the young man was nervous yet determined to prove a point, not necessarily to himself but to someone else perhaps. Morgan watched as he slowly approached him as if he weren't really sure what his next move should be. Whatever it was, Morgan wasn't going down without a fight. He had nothing to lose and his situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

Det. Grant glanced at his watch and then out into the large room where all of the other detectives sat busy at their desk. The rookie should be back from his appointment now as he rose from his chair and headed toward the door.

"Excuse me agents, my officer should be back by now. I'll go get him."

The others nodded as he closed the door behind him. The detective headed over to one of his senior officers who was engaged in a conversation with an administrative assistant who'd come to drop off reports from the coroner.

"Jerkins!"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Where's Packard? He should be back by now!"

"Yeah, he grabbed the keys and headed to lock up."

"Lock up? He's not assigned there! Did he say anything?"

"No Sir! He just walked in didn't say a damn thing, grabbed the keys and kept walking."

"Shit! Grab the sergeant and the FBI agents and follow me downstairs!"

"On it Boss!"

"Think about what your about to do, man! I'm not just going to let you hurt me without a fight!"

Morgan slowly stood keeping his eyes on the man. He watched as the man slowly reached for his service revolver.

"I've got to make Tara feel safe again. You took that away from her!"

"Tara? She was supposed to be visiting my house last night! She's Penelope's friend!"

"And she saw you shoot her! You would have shot her too if she hadn't been hiding in the hallway!"

"No way! I didn't do this!"

The young man reached for his cuffs with his other hand and then threw them on the cot.

"Put them on!"

"Hell no!"

"Put them on or I'll blow your brains out! Your choice."

"I'm not doing it! You're already in trouble for being here; if you fire that gun everybody in this precinct will come running!"

"I don't want to hurt you but you've got to be taught a lesson!"

"She's using you! She's the shooter not me!"

"Shut up! You're lying, she…she…"

"She what? Loves you? C'mon man, she doesn't even know you! You don't know her, just put the gun away and get the hell out of here!"

"PUT ON THE CUFFS…"

Suddenly, Derek lunged for the gun in the younger man's hand quite to the surprise of the officer. Derek grabbed his wrist holding the gun away from his body and twisting and jerking the man's arm forcing him to grimace in pain. Derek then grabbed the gun and tossed it out of the cell. Then with another swift move he had the man on his knees with his face forced roughly onto the small cot next to the handcuffs. Derek stood behind him still twisting his arm into an unnatural position, which solicited another louder yelp of pain.

"What are you going to do now?"

"You're hurting me!"

"Just like you were going to do to me, right?"

"You won't get out of here, you know that!"

"Let him go, Morgan!" Hotch yelled.

Morgan didn't move except to twist the man's arm further behind his back.

"Morgan!"

Morgan kept his focus on his would-be assailant not budging. He could here more footsteps joining the others but still he would not release him.

"Agent, please! Let him go!" Grant pleaded.

"He was going to hurt me! She…sent him to teach me a lesson! Is that right, officer!"

The rookie didn't respond he simply gasped out of breath and in severe pain as his arm was twisted tighter behind his back. The other officers drew their guns and aimed them at the distraught agent willing to shoot him to protect their fellow officer.

"No! No! Put away your guns!" Rossi yelled.

The older agent placed himself in front of the armed officers with his hands in the air. Reid quietly and unnoticed stepped into the cell and next to his friend.

"Morgan." He said in almost a whisper.

Morgan glanced quickly at his friend and back to the terrified man. Then Reid gently placed his hand on Morgan's and began pulling him away from the man. Reluctantly, Morgan released him and Reid pushed him against the wall and took a stance in front of him placing his hands on Morgan's shoulders until the others could pull the young man from the cell. The other officers slowly holstered their weapons. Hotch, Rossi and JJ quickly entered the cell and surrounded their teammate while the others slowly filed out of the area.

"I'll give you all a minute." Detective Grant said as he stepped hallway down the hallway to wait.

Reid released Morgan and led him over to the cot where he sat fighting to control his emotions and his tears. He wasn't going to let them see him cry as he focused his sights on the dingy tile floor.

"Hey, you okay?" JJ asked concerned.

Without a word he shook his head from side to side as he ran his hands over his head.

"I need to see her." His voice was eerily calm.

"She's in a coma, Morgan."

"Please! JJ, I need to see her! I didn't shoot her but whoever did is going to try again!"

"We know; we have armed officers and agents around her. Nobody's going to get to her." Hotch added.

"What happened just now? Reid asked.

"I don't know. He came in and said he was going to teach me a lesson. He said Tara saw me shoot Garcia…She's the UnSub, Hotch! She shot Garcia it's the only thing that makes sense!"

"We know, Morgan, but we have to be able to prove it!"

"Get me out of here, I'll prove it!"

"You're not going anywhere, for now!"

"What? I'm innocent! I didn't do this! Hotch, you know I couldn't do this!"

"I know, Morgan but we've got to do this by the book. Besides, your safer in here anyway."

"Are you kidding? Did you not see what just happened? That man came in here with a gun to do…whatever…and you say I'm safer here?"

"Listen to me, you've got to trust us that we'll catch this woman!"

They all watched as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. They knew that their next bit of information would send him through the roof.

"We believe our eyewitness is Carl Buford's daughter."

Potomac General –

The incessant beeping seemed to get louder, closer and more irritating. Everything felt heavy; her arms, legs and it was as if she'd been wrapped tightly in a blanket. She wanted to open her eyes but it was a struggle to send the command from her brain to her eyes. No matter how hard she tried nothing seemed to work. Where was she? Was it some dark cave or tunnel? She needed to tell someone, anyone, Derek, what had happened. She was certain that she was screaming but no one could hear her. Still, the steady beeping kept grating on her nerves…if she could just get a hand free to… reach it and turn it off…to throw it against the wall and celebrate as it crashed into a million pieces onto the floor…

It had been a busy morning at Potomac General. Federal agents and uniformed local PD had been roaming the halls all night and morning keeping a close watch on the room at the end of the hall. Melody had been assigned the room for today and she felt a little nervous. The poor woman in the bed had been shot, some were saying by her boyfriend, and now she lay in a coma fighting for her life. Melody didn't know the woman but she felt for her and the constant beep of the monitors gave her a sense of comfort as she began her rounds.

As she finished making notes in her patient's chart she noticed a change in the monitor readings and then from the corner of her eye she saw movement, ever so slight but movement nonetheless. She rushed to finish up hoping that this was a sign of improvement. Then as she took one final look down at the pale blonde haired woman she looked straight into deep brown eyes that were filled with a thousand questions and brimming with tears.

"Where am I?"