"...It seems I have some very enthusiastic reviewers...And I love them all! Thnx everyone for sticking in there! Now, brace yourself for the next spout of 'Awesome' that I have prepared for you :) hehehe...Oooh, check out my profile for a contest!...And a virtual Reid cookie w/ angst sprinkles to anyone who guesses where Garcia is taking Reid! "

Pain-Chapter 15

Truth

Spencer Reid sat down opposite of Penelope Garcia, ready to order lunch. He had promised her that he would tell her everything that happened. They were both starving, though, which was the cause to their agreement of talking after they ate.

After a few minutes, Garcia pushed her empty plate off to the side and diverted her attention to Reid, who was picking at his food.

"What, is there something wrong with your sandwich?" Garcia frowned.

"No, it's just...I'm not that hungry." Reid sighed. He really did want to eat the sandwich, but he felt like he was going to puke if he did.

"Sweetie, I thought you were hungry. If you weren't, we didn't have to stop."

"Ah, I was, but I lost my appetite. I think I'll take it with us, though. It looks pretty good." Reid said with a small, obviously forced, smile.

After a moment of silence, Garcia continued talking, ready to start their conversation. "Let me see your stomach." Reid nodded before pulling up his shirt with shaking fingers. He lifted it up so only Garcia could see, having a feeling that the owner wouldn't appreciate him having his shirt lifted up. She let out a small gasp as she took in the black and blue on perfectly pale skin. "Did he.." Garcia started before lowering his voice, "kick you?"

"Yeah Garcia, he kicked me." Reid confirmed as he lowered his shirt back down. "It's a lot worse than it actually is..."

"See, the problem with that statement is that it happened." Garcia intercepted.

"I know." Reid whispered.

"Then do something about it, Reid. Let me help; talk to him about it...Just...just do something." Garcia sighed, clearly frustrated.

"I don't know what to do, though. I-I haven't even told you half of the story yet, Garcia. There's so much more to this than a few kicks and bruises." Reid said.

"Yeah, like what?" But before Reid could answer, Garcia shook her head. "You know what? Never mind. Just...just start the story from the beginning. Start what had caused this whole thing to happen to begin with."

Reid started by explaining what he was planning on doing with Morgan- making love. He told Garcia that both of the were still awake, and Morgan had called. He invited him over so that they could make love, and he patiently waited for his boyfriend to come over. When Morgan finally arrived, he let him in and guided him into the bedroom. From there, everything started off fine, but he was beginning to change his mind. He thought that they were taking things too fast, and he wanted to back out. When Morgan kept going, though, all he could think about was the attack at the bar, and that's when things got rough. Reid didn't tell Garcia what Morgan had called him, knowing that it wouldn't do any harm or good in the situation. He spared as many gruesome details as he could without making her suspicious of holes in his story.

When Spencer had finally finished, almost an hour had passed. Garcia watched with a look of horror, grief, sadness, and anger all throughout the retelling. She suddenly wished she hadn't had remade Spencer live that night over again, but at the same time she was glad he had let her in.

"So, Derek has...anger management issues?" Reid nodded to confirm. "And when you two were in bed, and you told him to stop, he just sorta lost it and snapped?"

"I-I think what made him angry was the situation, not me. I mentioned he had been sexually assaulted when he first joined the BAU, and I think I reminded him of how he felt when he was...when he was..." Reid just couldn't find it in him to say 'raped'. He never wanted the word to be associated with Derek Morgan. Ever. Sensing his inner conflict, Garcia motioned for him to carry on. "I think he was afraid that he had made me the victim, and he felt like that UnSub. If- if we both wouldn't have put so much thought into what was happening-"

"No, Spencer. Don't go there. This isn't your fault. It would have happened eventually, and you couldn't have stopped it. I know that it technically wasn't Derek's fault either, but can you forgive him? I don't want an answer now, but I know that you will eventually, and so will Derek. You need to stop thinking about it for a little while and have some fun, though, or you're going to lose your mind."

"Thanks Garcia." Reid said, wiping away a single tear. "I-I think this may have been a good idea, after all."

"Oh sweetie, you know that's why I'm here." Garcia smiled. "Now come on, we have to hit the road soon if we want to be to our final destination by tonight." With an agreeing nod from Reid, Garcia and Reid started back towards the car, both of them feeling a little better than before...

Derek Morgan feigned a smile as he waved good-bye to his family. They had to leave back to the airport if they were going to make their flight to Chicago on time. As soon as they left his driveway, his smile disappeared and his face hardened. He already missed his Spencer, and he wanted so badly to touch his hair right now, just to know that he was still his. He knew that wasn't going to happen, though. He had messed up too badly.

In truth, he hoped that Spencer didn't take him back. He deserved so much better than him. Although he loved Spencer more than anything or anyone in the world, he didn't want him to stay with the man who had hurt him after he promised Spencer they didn't have to make love if he wasn't comfortable with it. He had hurt Spencer, something he had said he would never do, and he didn't think he could live with himself for doing that.

A knock on his door jolted Morgan out of his thoughts. He sighed before pulling the door open.

"We need to talk." Hotch said, marching past Morgan with all the authority of a commander in the army.

"What about?"

What happened next took Morgan by surprise.

Hotch whipped around and smacked Morgan across the face- hard. Then, he pushed Morgan down on his couch, preparing himself for a fight. "I am so done playing games with you, Derek! We both know what this is about, and the sooner you admit it, the easier this will be on you.

"Hotch, I don't know what-" Morgan's attempt to talk earned him yet another slap.

"Shut up and listen to me!" Hotch demanded. "You hurt Spencer, and that's not acceptable. What you did was wrong, and we both know that you know that. You need to get your ass in gear and stop hiding in your house and talk to him already! Do you know what this is doing to him? Do you know how he feels right now? He WANTS to forgive you, but he can't do that if you're sitting down on your couch wallowing in self-pity! He loves you, Derek, and you love him. You need to go find him and work this out before I take care of it myself! No one wants to see you two break up, trust me. I've never seen either of you so happy in the time that I've known you than when you're with him. Are you going to let him go, or are you going man up and take care of this? Prove to him that you're going to change. Make him understand you know what you did was wrong and that it'll never happen again."

"I don't deserve him, Hotch." Morgan growled back. "I don't want him to take me back!"

"Like hell you don't! And he loves you, Morgan. You're not just punishing yourself by keeping away; you're punishing him!" Hotch shot back. When he saw Morgan was about to argue again, Hotch slapped him. Again. "Think about it, Morgan, and if you still feel that tomorrow, I'll let it be." Then, for safe measures, he slapped Morgan one more time.

"Thanks." Morgan muttered. Even if he knew that he deserved more than that, Hotch's slaps hurt like a bitch.

"Your welcome." Hotch murmured back, unamused. Then, he left without another word.

'Damn, what am I going to do?"

"...Dont forget to guess where theyre going! And not 1, not 2, but 3 slaps. Have no fear- theres more :) Thnx for reading! R&R?..."