"What? What do you mean we cant' see him?" Garcia screeched.

"The doctors told us he was going to be fine. What happened in the last fifteen minutes?" Reid asked.

The nurse looked at the three not knowing how to delicately tell them that their friend did not want to see them. They'd been waiting for hours, neither of them had gotten any sleep and the confusion on their faces was totally understandable.

Rossi squinted and leaned in focusing on the young woman's nametag before he began to speak.

"Meaghan, is it?"

"Yes."

"Meaghan we don't understand; what's going on? Has he taken a turn for the worse?"

"Mr. Morgan is stable and as the doctor said earlier, he's expected to make a full recovery."

"Then what?" Garcia asked impatiently.

"He said he wasn't feeling well with the swelling and bruising, he didn't want to see anyone."

The three looked at each other then at the troubled woman before them. Clearly she was new at giving out unpleasant information.

"He said he didn't want to see anyone. He was pretty adamant about it in fact. That's all I know. I'm sorry."

Garcia couldn't believe her ears. How could Morgan not want to see them, not want to see her? They were best friends and they'd seen each other at their worst. It had to be more to it. She wasn't going to accept this foolishness from him without some sort of explanation.

"I don't care what he said, I'm going in that room so he can tell me to my face that he doesn't want to see me!"

Garcia moved to head toward his room until the nurse stepped in front of her. Shocked Garcia looked at the young woman like she had lost her mind.

"Excuse me, ma'am but if you try to enter that room I'll have to call security and have you escorted out of the hospital!"

Stunned with her mouth open, Garcia stared at the petite nurse before her. For a second Meaghan had shocked herself that she'd actually made such a bold move. She'd never been confrontational and the blonde looked like she could take out a Mac truck if she needed to. Luckily Reid and Rossi intervened.

"Garcia, I know you're upset but the nurse is just doing her job." Said Rossi.

Meaghan took this as an opportunity to excuse herself from the group.

"Thank you, Sir. I'll be around for a while if you have any questions."

"Thank you Meaghan." Reid added.

Rossi gently pulled Garcia out of the hallway and into the waiting room. She was fuming and hurt and confused.

"I don't understand! Why won't he see us?"

She began pacing the room while Reid and Rossi watched not knowing what to say.

"He probably thinks we're mad at him and blame him for what happened! I told you we shouldn't have left!"

"Garcia, there's no way we could have predicted this." Reid began.

"So what do we do now?" She asked.

"We go home and wait until he's ready to talk to us, that's what." Rossi answered.

"What? No! He needs us! He shouldn't be alone!"

"I understand your upset, Kitten but we've got to honor his wishes right now."

She looked at her friends she was confused; he'd never leave her in a hospital alone, ever! Morgan would be at her bedside and would put a bullet in anyone who tried to make him leave. Now she was being asked to leave him alone. She wasn't buying the excuse they were given, not at all. He was lying in that bed wallowing and blaming himself for the kidnapping of the boys. She wasn't going to stand for it.

"Yeah Garcia we should leave." Reid began.

"I'm not leaving!" She began. If you two want to leave go ahead but I'm staying! I'll sit in this waiting room all day and all night but I'm not leaving until I see him, period!"

The two men knew that look of stubborn hard-headed determination. The look on her face, bright red with anger, told them to back off and to leave her alone. Reid swallowed hard as he had a vision of being erased by his friend, his life lying in shreds on some cyberspace floor and his existence being transformed into the figment of his own imagination. His friend had the power to make it all happen and more with just one keystroke.

To demonstrate her decision, Garcia grabbed an old magazine and plopped herself in a nearby seat and crossed her arms looking into the eyes of Reid and Rossi. Shrugging their shoulders the two men took the seats on either side of her and waited.

Home of Will and JJ La Montagne – later that afternoon –

Will had just tucked Henry in for a nap and joined his wife in the living room as she was ending a phone call. He was concerned when he saw the look on her face.

"What's got you looking like you just lost your best friend?"

He sat next to her and took her hand in his.

"That was Reid." She began. "He's at the hospital with Rossi and Garcia."

"How's Morgan?"

"The doctors say he's going to be fine."

"But?"

"He doesn't want to see anyone?"

"What? Why?"

"Reid says that he was serious about not having any visitors. Garcia thinks it's because he doesn't want to face us."

"I think you were right earlier. He thinks we blame him for what happened."

"But we don't and we've got to convince him of that. We've got to go talk to him!"

"JJ, you just said he didn't want any visitors."

"Will, we've got to do something!"

"And we will but right now all we can do is wait until he's ready to talk to us."

JJ leaned her head on Will's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her pulling her close and they sat in silence with thoughts of their friend.

Home of Aaron Hotchner –

"Thanks, Dave." He said into phone.

Hotch sat on the couch as he watched his son play nearby. He ended his call and leaned back and sent up a silent prayer of thanks for having his son returned to him unharmed. He'd been in contact with the other team members but he hadn't gone to visit Morgan yet and according to Dave, Morgan was refusing to see any of them. He knew Morgan and this reaction was no surprise to him. This was a time when their family would have to bond together to help Derek pull out of the funk that he had allowed himself to fall into. It wasn't going to be easy because he was proud and stubborn but nonetheless, the rest of them would have to do whatever it took to make him realize that they were there for him and that they didn't blame him for anything. As he continued to watch Jack he got and idea so without another thought, he picked up his cell and called JJ.

Potomac General Hospital – Evening –

Morgan stared at his uneaten dinner. It slightly resembled meatloaf but it could have been anything. He didn't remember filling out a choice from the menu but it didn't matter he wasn't hungry. Time seemed to creep by and he had even begun to look forward to the nurse coming in to check his vitals. He was exhausted every time he tried to sleep a nightmare would haunt him. He'd managed to amass a large collection of them over the years but this one was by far one of the worse. He wanted to see Jack and Henry to make sure they were okay. With his self-imposed exile from the team he hadn't heard anything about them.

The dull pain in his gut was now beginning to increase to a small roar and he knew that Meaghan would be in shortly with more medication. Morphine had become his friend over the last several hours it was the only thing that kept him numb and enabled him to get a little sleep before the dark memories jerked him awake.

Rossi and Reid had volunteered to make a food run to the deli at the end of the block. Garcia wondered if it was just an excuse to get away from her and her unbearably foul mood. She stood and stretched then looked around to notice that the hallway was empty of staff; the petite little nurse that was charged with Morgan's care was no where to be seen either so she headed toward his room. If he thought she would accept his demand to be left alone then he was crazy!

Morgan felt his body relax as the drug flowed through his veins. He welcomed the heaviness that seemed to swallow him in a warm tight embrace and he let himself drift off to sleep.

Garcia slowly pushed the door open quickly stepping inside. He was asleep and so she walked toward the bed and stood looking down at her friend, the steady up and down movement of his chest reassuring her that he was alive.

"Miranda, go get those brats!" Chester yelled.

He saw the young woman disappear from the room as Barker paced back and forth around the room holding a large sharp knife. Morgan tried desperately to break free. Barker and the other man kept laughing and taunting him.

"See, Agent Morgan, this is all because of you! I'm going to gut those little boys like fish! Then I'm going to gut you!"

"No! Don't touch them!"

Jack and Henry's screams pierced his ears as Miranda and another man drug the hysterical little boys back into the room.

"We're working the case, Uncle Derek! We promise!" Jack yelled.

"Why didn't you save us?" Henry cried.

"I'm sorry Jack! Henry, I'm sorry!"

There was so much blood, pouring over their pajamas and the screams…the blood curdling screams were too much! He didn't want to see the gapping holes in their chests but he couldn't close his eyes.

Barker and his friends kept laughing louder and louder. Then suddenly they disappeared just as Hotch, JJ and Will came into the room; the horror in their eyes, the sorrow, the anger...and the blame...he had no answers for their question, repeated over and over again like an echo…'why?'

She watched her concern increasing as his peaceful sleep slowly then quickly morphed from calm to slight agitation to all out fitful struggle as he moved around in the bed his breathing increasing. She was well acquainted with his nightmares and this was a bad one. So, she took his hand squeezing it firmly. She could feel him fighting to wake up and she leaned down close to his ear and with her other hand brushed the side of his face softly.

"Derek, Derek, it's me Penelope. It's okay, you're safe now."

"Jack! Henry! I'm sorry! So sorry!"

"Come on, Baby…come back to me. It's okay wake up! Come on, come on."

His eyes sprung open the all to familiar look of horror front and center. She continued to soothingly brush her hand down the side of his face. She ignored the question in his eyes as she smiled at him.

"Garcia?"

"I thought I told you, ma'am, no visitors!"

Garcia turned around toward the door to see the angry face of Meaghan, the nurse. Morgan increased his grip on her hand as he too looked toward the door.

"I'm going to have to call security if you don't leave now!"

Garcia felt her face flush with anger at this little woman who obviously didn't know who she was and what she could do to her especially when it came to the man laying in this bed.

"You don't understand…"

"No, you don't understand, I have strict orders from Mr. Morgan that there are to be no visitors."

"Oh really, now? Well let's just ask Mr. Morgan what he wants, shall we?"

Exasperated, Meaghan crossed her arms and tilted her head shooting a look at Morgan waiting for him to confirm his wishes.

Penelope then turned back to him looking deeply into his still haunted eyes.

"Derek Morgan, you know I love you right? But unless you tell me with your own mouth that you want me to leave, I'm staying right here! So, tell me, right now what you want me to do!"

Morgan returned her stare past the anger and the confusion and the concern. She was his light in the dark places that he often found himself. She had always called him her hero but she'd saved his life too many times to count. There was so much he wanted to tell her even though deep down he believed she already knew. He couldn't ask her to leave, he needed her to stay, she was his God-given solace after all and he'd been a stubborn fool to think he'd get through any of this without her. So, he pulled her hand to his chest and held it over his heart and mustered up enough strength to say the only thing he could say,

"Stay."