Pain-Chapter 7

Therapy

"...First therapy session to follow! Creative title, right? :) Thnx for reading everyone!"

Derek Morgan never went home the first night they came back from their case. He called a neighbor who was more than willing to take care of his dog before escorting Reid home. Reid was quiet the entire car ride, making him a little nervous. He hadn't said a word since the incident in the bar. He just wished that Reid would talk to him.

When Reid and Morgan reached Reid's apartment, Reid opened his door slowly. He was suddenly feeling dizzy, and he couldn't distinguish where the ground started or ended. Morgan slammed his door as he rushed over to Reid's side, seeing his unfocused gaze. "Hey Spencer, you still with me?" Reid nodded in response. "You okay?" A reluctant nod. As Reid tried to find the ground, he slipped and nearly fell hard on his injured knee. Luckily, Morgan caught the upper part of his body before it hit the ground. "Man, you're over-exhausted. You need to get some sleep." Reid just nodded, which made him feel more dizzy, before letting Morgan guide him back to his room.

After Morgan opened the door using the spare key Reid had given him, Reid immediately crashed on the couch.

"Well, at least get comfortable. Go to your room and change. Then you'll already be in your room, so you can sleep on an actual bed tonight. Reid groaned before throwing himself back on his feet. He walked in a daze back to his room and quickly changed. Just as he was pulling his shirt on, he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." he shouted.

When Morgan entered Reid's bedroom, he was in the middle of pulling on his night shirt. He gave Reid a small smile as he plopped down on his bed. "You're staying here, right?" Reid asked hopefully.

"Only if you want me to."

"Good, because I want you to." Reid smiled as he patted his bed, beckoning Morgan to join him. As soon as Morgan laid down, Reid curled up into him as tight as he could. Morgan laid a gentle hand on Reid's side and wrapped the other hand around his chest. Reid's breathing finally relaxed for the first time since the accident, something that made Morgan both happy and sad. He sighed, knowing that he could only hope that Reid was okay...

The next morning, Reid woke up to Morgan petting his hair. He shifted closer to Morgan, signaling that he was awake. "I start therapy today." he said.

"Really? You already made an appointment?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, I figured I should start as soon as possible, you know? That way I don't discourage myself into not taking it." Reid explained.

"Oh, that's good. Do you want me to come?"

"I talked to the therapist for a few minutes after the case; he said that he'd like me to bring someone for support for the sessions. Normally, he wouldn't encourage it, but he said that in my case it'd be best. Since my problems have to do with my job and feelings that the job caused me to have. He said it would be nice to have someone there who was there when the events happened."

"That's sounds like a good plan. I'd be more than happy to come to support you." Morgan mumbled into Reid's hair, laying a gentle kiss on his head. "What time is it?"

"Uh, five in the afternoon." Reid answered, still sounding tired.

"I guess we should get up." Morgan sighed, not wanting to make Reid move.

"Yeah." he mumbled back. Morgan shifted his weight so Reid could get up before following suit. They both took a minute to mentally prepare themselves. It was going to be a long day...

"So Spencer, how long have you and Derek been together?" Dr. Issac asked.

"Less than a week." Reid admitted, getting an approving look from Morgan.

"Really? I would've guessed longer. You two look fairly comfortable with sharing with each other and

seem pretty intimate."

"Well, we both work at the FBI, and I'm pretty sure we've both liked each other for a while." Morgan said.

"But we're just now being an official couple." Reid added.

"Oh, alright." Dr. Issac said, scratching down a note. "I understand there was a bit of an incident on your last case. Tell me about it."

"When we finished our case, our team went to a club with the officers who were working the case with us. While we were there, one of the officers came on to me. He-he was drunk and was clearly looking for sex. He started inching closer to me, so I got up to leave. But then, he grabbed my wrist and said that he wasn't going to let a sexy thing like me leave without getting something. I tried to feign him off, but he pushed me down on the counter and pinned me down by my hips. He started kissing me, but I tried to stop him. The more I fought the harder he pressed me down. He actually left thumb marks on my hips because of how hard he was pressing. At some point, he decided kissing wasn't enough and he grabbed me. After that, he pulled me onto the table and got on top of me. He was about to...about to start taking my clothes off when Morgan came over. He had my zipper down and was trying to pull my pants down when Morgan pulled him off me and started punching him. He was arrested for assault, and then my team left for the jets." Reid was pressing back tears now, feeling almost as violated as he did the first time the attack happened.

Morgan frowned as he looked at Reid's eyes, seeing the unshed tears he was suppressing. He looked at Dr. Issac, as if asking if it were okay if he held Reid. The doctor caught on and nodded, again writing something down as Morgan drew Reid closer to him.

"Before we discuss you scratching problem, I'd like you to tell me what traumatic events you were going through before you started scratching.

Reid let out a shaky breath as he reached for Morgan's hand, glad he had the man there to support him. He explained about the first time it happened; he had been in his final year of college and he had to lock his mother away. He told Dr. Issac how guilty he felt about his decision and his lack of sleep afterward. Then, he described the second event-Tobias Hankel. He told him what Tobias had done to him, and he admitted to taking the drugs recreationally for a few months but had winged himself off them fairly quickly. He said that ,shortly after the incident, his mentor had left him, which made his scratching last longer than before. He told him about the newest incident- which had been triggered by getting anthrax, Foyet ripping apart the BAU, him being shot, and a series of very rough cases.

"The last time it happened is interesting to me, because it wasn't caused by just one event." Dr. Issac started. "In the past, it was caused by a very traumatic event, but not this time, and I think I know why."

"Really? What is it?" Reid asked, hoping to finally get some answers.

"I think it's clear to everyone here that the BAU is a pretty demanding and high-stress job. I think that after year of traumatic experiences accompanied by a bad childhood full of unpleasant memories- like having your father leave and you making the decision to put her in Bennington- has caused you to develop depression. I know it seems too simple to be the answer, but scratching IS a form of PTSD, and depression is commonly followed by the disease. Now, I'm pretty sure that this is the source of your past scratches and your present one, but I'd like to talk about your other experiences- like what happened at the bar most recently- more next week. This week, I was hoping to develop some trust between us, and I think that if Derek comes from now on we'll be okay there. I also wanted to diagnose you fairly quickly to see over the next few session any changes that I note in your behavior. Being behavior analysts, I am sure you both understand that." Dr. Issac concluded.

"If I do have depression, will I be able to work at the FBI still?" Reid asked.

"Yes, but I do suggest you stay off the field for the first three weeks you take your new medication in case of a reaction or other such issues." the doctor answered. Reid nodded in understandment, signing to himself. "Well, that's it for this week. Are there any questions?" Both Reid and Morgan shook their heads no. "Alright then, I'll see you next week."

With that, Reid and Morgan stood up- ready to go home and digest the news...

"...Abrupt ending, I know. Hope your guys are okay with the lack of action in this one- I just wanted you guys to be introduced to the therapist and know whats wrong with him. R&R?"