Hey, sorry that this chapter was a bit later in coming than the previous ones, but it's a little longer to make up for the delay. Hopefully some of you out there are still enjoying it. Thanks again for the kind reviews. The ideas in this story are mine, but of course the show and its characters are still not.

And Still We Smile

Chapter Five

"The double grief of a lost bliss is to recall its happy hour in pain."

- Dante

"Hey ya, Hot Stuff," Garcia greeted, seeing Morgan sitting alone at a table as she entered the hospital's cafeteria. Her voice was muted from the outrageous flirtation it usually carried, but she still tried to keep it light, for both of their sakes. "Mind if I join you?"

"You know there's always a seat open for my Goddess," he replied, turning on his foolproof thousand-watt smile and patting the chair next to him.

She laughed outright, having known he would make her feel better amidst her worry over Reid. Plunking herself down across from him instead, she giggled and teased back, "I think I'd rather gaze into those sexy brown eyes of yours for awhile."

It was his turn to chuckle; a deep, rumbling, masculine sound from low in his chest, and the smile that accompanied it – all perfect white teeth against mocha skin – the two of them together nearly unmanned her normal wit. Garcia felt herself warm all the way to her toes in Derek Morgan's glow, though she'd never dare admit it, even to herself. Instead, she reasoned that something else must be making it hard for her to breathe all of a sudden.

"Fair enough," Morgan said easily, winking at her and leaning back in his seat. "I can watch that devilish mind of yours work better from here anyway."

They began to eat in companionable silence, both realizing that it was the most at ease they had felt since this whole mess began. Though neither of them took the banter they tossed back and forth too seriously, each valued the other as a welcome relief from the almost stifling seriousness they worked under. Talking to each other was a chance for a slight break; a moment to relax and a reason to smile.

More than anything, right at the moment anyway, they were both incredibly focused on eating. As they had gone nonstop until they found Reid and knew for sure that he was going to be alright, it had been quite some time since either of them had last ate.

Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in Morgan's eye as he polished off the last of his sandwich and fries. "Easy, Woman," he chided teasingly, grinning from ear to ear now. "Go any faster on that cinnamon roll and you'll choke on it."

She swallowed, smiling serenely as though she hadn't even heard him and then breezily replied, "I'd watch it, Cupcake," she warned, an evil gleam in her eyes as well. "Keep poking fun of my long-deprived sweet tooth, and I'll tell you exactly how much blubber you just layered over those abs of yours with the French fries I just watched you inhale."

"Touché," he conceded, shaking his head in disbelief. That was one thing about Garcia that never managed to stop surprising him. She was so quick – always ready with a comeback. It was almost funny to try to come up with a challenge for her, and then watch her respond so easily that it was clear she never had to wonder what to say.

As they finished and stood to take their trays, Morgan noticed her forehead crinkle up in a thoughtful frown. It was an expression she very rarely wore on her sunny face, and he noticed it immediately. "What's going on in that pretty blond head of yours?" he asked, trying to question her lightly instead of prying.

"I'm not completely sure," she started, looking him right in the eyes seriously, and then shaking her head. "I'm not actually a big, bad behavioral analyst, and I'm probably imagining things." She gave him a lopsided smile, trying to make him forget it, and then started to walk again.

But he stopped her easily, catching her by the elbow and slowly turning her back to face him. "Pen, wait," his voice was soft, questioning. "Let's hear what it is. You've got instincts that are just as valid as anyone else's. What is it, Baby Girl?"

She paused a second longer, studying him as she decided to speak up. But his prompting convinced her to go ahead. "It's probably silly, but I thought something seemed off with Reid when he woke up a while ago and I was talking with him. I know he's just been through something terrible and he won't go right back to normal, but I felt like he was being evasive. Like there was something he wanted to tell me and couldn't, or else that he was hiding and didn't want me to know at all. That may not make much sense, but it's wasn't a feeling I usually get from Reid, and there it was."

Morgan stared at her, taken aback by her perceptiveness. It was exactly the way he'd felt back at the scene as he'd helped Reid to the ambulance – like Reid wasn't telling him something; was hiding from him. It was nice to hear that someone else had noticed. "Mama, I think you're developing some mad skills, hanging out with us profilers all the time."

She beamed at him as they left the cafeteria at last. "You know it, Sweet Cheeks."

But she grew serious again as they headed back for Reid's floor. "Derek," she finally asked, as timidly as he had ever heard her speak, "do you think there's still something wrong with him? Is he not okay?" She'd honestly half-hoped he'd laugh her fears off as crazy worrying and tell her Reid was just fine now.

Morgan met her eyes and sighed tiredly, saying, " I don't know what it is yet. But you're right, something is off, and we're going to have to deal with it if we truly want to get Reid back."

- - ----

Meanwhile, Reid had awakened again to find JJ at his side this time. He could hear Gideon murmuring quietly in his restless sleep on the room's other bed, and he studied JJ for a moment while she was still unaware that he was awake. Her beauty was obvious to anyone who bothered to look, though he had never spoken this recurring thought to anyone. Her silky blond hair fell over her shoulders, shielding her face, as she leaned over the book she was reading.

Something about her, despite that she'd seen and dealt with all the horrific and despicable cases the rest of them had, still seemed so open and kind. She could be tough when necessary, and certainly when she dealt with the press, she was all business and professionalism. But, at times like this, when she was alone and unaware, there was still a soft gentleness about her. She hadn't formed the permanent hard exterior the others had, not completely. And just then, that comforted him immensely. Someone ought to get to keep just one small shred of innocence.

He was glad that it was her sitting there just then, he needed someone to simply be there, calm and soothing, which she could do. Morgan sensed something was wrong, he knew Reid was trying to hide from him. Hotch would try, but having his boss hovering over him would make Reid feel like he needed to be up doing something, getting back on the job. Gideon would be studying him much too closely, probably reading his mind. Garcia would be attempting to cheer him up when he just couldn't yet, and he didn't know Prentiss well enough to be comfortable with her one on one. Yes, he was glad he had JJ right now. She wasn't a profiler; wouldn't pick him apart, maybe she'd just talk to him, give him a pat on the hand or a smile.

She looked up as his eyes were still fixed on her, and she jumped, startled to discover that his brown eyes were open and watching her read. "Spence, you're awake," she said needlessly, smoothing back her sheet of blond hair and smiling at him. "How do you feel?"

He started to answer her, then noticed that her forearm was covered almost from wrist to elbow in stark, white bandages. Was that from tangling with Hankel's dogs? How had he not noticed earlier when she'd crawled in the ambulance with him that she was hurt?

"JJ? Are you okay?" he asked, concern making his voice go a notch higher. He nodded to her arm, his eyes betraying his obvious upset.

She followed his glance, then shook her head, trying to brush it off lightly. "It's not serious," she assured him. "No rabies or anything. They just cleaned it up and are keeping it covered for a couple days while it heals."

He let out a relieved breath, but his eyes looked guilty. "The dogs attacked you after I took off. I heard you scream, and that's when I headed back for the barn." He paused, then continued, "But as you know, I didn't get there. I can't believe I left you like that."

She reached out to take his hand, her touch light, but warm and caring. "Don't do that to yourself, Spence," she said, hating to see him blame himself for her injury when he'd been through so much worse. "You may be a genius, but you can't know what might happen in every single situation life will throw at you. If I'm going to be in the field with you guys, I'll have to be able to hold my own. And hey, it's nothing that won't heal."

He smiled back sadly, aware that he could no longer assume that she, or himself, or anyone on this team that he felt were his family, would always manage to come through their cases safely. But he finally felt himself let the blame for this one go. This hadn't been he or JJ's fault. With a hesitant, feather-light touch, his fingertips ghosted over the bandage on her arm, feeling her still solid and intact beneath the wrapping. A small hiss escaped her lips after a few moments, and he drew back quickly, realizing it must be tender and berating himself for touching her when he should have known it would hurt.

"You're sure you're okay?" he asked uncertainly.

She nodded, letting a little laugh escape to convince him. "That third mutt managed to sink a bite into me while I was fending off the other two. But I think he got the worse end of the deal."

Reid smiled, acknowledging her jest, and that he realized she did know how to handle herself, and leaned back against the pillows. He didn't want to think about what had, and what could have, happened to her. He didn't want to have mere memories of good times, like the laughs they'd shared that time at the Redskins game, their many card games on the plane, and the surprise party at the office for his birthday that he knew she'd been considerate enough to plan. He wanted everything to be okay again. "I'm glad you're alright," he said.

She laid a hand on his forehead, gazing into his eyes for a long minute before she responded. "Same for you," she whispered. "Let's make sure we stay that way."