AN: Okay, so I've decided to expand this story, as I think there is more to tell. However, I've also decided to try something challenging for this piece. This story is going to become my 'challenge piece' so to say. As I come across prompts that I think I can base a chapter around, I'll add to it. The first two chapters use prompts from Chit Chat on Author's Corner's Fortune Cookie Friday Prompt. I'll be looking at the forum for other prompts, and I'll also be willing to consider prompts sent to me by PM if anyone wants to send me any. Hope you all enjoy the story!

Prompt: Fear is just excitement in need of an attitude adjustment

As Morgan stopped the vehicle at a red light, he glanced over at Reid. His friend had his eyes closed as his head rested against the seat. There was still beads of sweat on Reid's forehead, though his face didn't look flushed as it would be if he were running a fever. His arms were folded across himself, and Morgan didn't miss the expression of pain that was on Reid's face.

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital instead," Morgan suggested, glancing back at the traffic light.

"No!"

The intensity of Reid's reply took Morgan by surprise. It was too much of a protest for an idle suggestion.

"Calm, down," Morgan said calmly, as the light turned green. "It was only a suggestion."

Reid rested his head against the seat again and closed his eyes. "I'll be fine. I'm just feeling a little under the weather," he said.

Morgan didn't reply as he wasn't sure what reaction he could expect from Reid if he pressed the issue. Would the kid get out the next time that he stopped to car at a traffic light? Would he demand that Morgan pulled the car over? Or possibly just go completely silent on him?

There was a time that Morgan could pretty much predict Reid's reaction in almost any situation. A time when he could find the right things to say to get the kid to talk to him. These days, there was no telling what reaction you might get from him. He could go from talkative and upbeat to withdrawn and sullen in a matter of moments. And though Morgan hadn't thought it possible, Reid seemed to have lost weight.

The rest of the drive to Reid's apartment building was silent. Reaching the place, Morgan found an empty parking spot along the street and pulled his vehicle into it. As Reid took off his seatbelt, Morgan took the key out of the ignition.

"What are you doing?" Reid asked.

"Walking you up to your apartment," Morgan replied. "And don't bother trying to argue because it won't help."

Morgan opened his door and climbed from the vehicle. As he started around the front of the vehicle, he half expected to hear the slamming of the passenger side door, given Reid's outburst at the suggestion of the hospital. Instead, the door closed with only a soft thud. Stepping up onto the curb, Morgan kept a close eye on Reid.

Reid was moving slowly. He still had his arms folded across his abdomen and appeared to be shivering. Morgan followed closely, wanting to offer help, but feeling that it wouldn't be well accepted.

~Something is definitely wrong with him and I don't think he's simply caught a bug or something,~ Morgan thought as he followed his friend up the steps of the apartment building. ~And I'm afraid I know exactly what the problem is. The trick is trying to figure out how to get through to him. How to help him. The first step is to get him to admit the problem to me, but I almost fear that confrontation. Fear pushing him further away. And what if I'm wrong?~

As the two agents entered the building, something his father use to tell him came to mind.

Fear is just excitement in need of an attitude adjustment.

His father had first said those words to him the first time he had taken his son to the public pool for swimming lessons. Six year-old Derek Morgan had been afraid to get into the pool to even attempt to learn. Morgan remembered just staring at his father, not following his words at all. Remembered his father smiling as he knelt in front of him.

"Think of it this way, imagine that you already knew how to swim. That you were competing in a race and were winning. How would you feel then?"

"Happy."

"Exactly. But its still the same activity. You're swimming but how you feel about the activity has changed. Instead of fearing it, you found enjoyment is it. Do you understand now?"

"Not really."

"You will someday. Right now just remember that once you learn to swim it won't scare you so much."

Morgan smiled as he thought of his father's words. His father was right, he had one day understood what his father had been trying to tell him that day. Fear arose from the unknown. Once you knew what a situation held, you could better control how you felt about that situation.

~I need a better understanding of what is going here in order to help Reid. I can't just deny a possibility because I fear it.~ Morgan thought, now following Reid down the hallway to his apartment.

Morgan almost walked into his friend, when Reid suddenly stopped walking, leaning against the wall.

"Reid?" Morgan said, resting his hand on the younger agent's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Reid replied waving Morgan off. "It's just a muscle cramp."

It was a few moments before Reid moved from his spot near the wall. Though he didn't touch the younger agent, Morgan hadn't backed off and as Reid finished the walk to his apartment, Morgan was right behind him. Reid pulled out his key, and fumbled with it as he tried to put it in the lock.

"Here, let me . . ."

"Lay off, Morgan," Reid yelled, pulling his hand away from Morgan's reaching hand. The younger profiler then turned to face him, and Morgan saw anger in his eyes.

"Wow, just calm down," Morgan said, calmly, knowing Reid's reaction was inappropriate for the situation.

Hearing another door open, Morgan looked across the hall to see a head peeking out from the door, Reid's shout having attracted his attention. Reid followed his friend's gaze and saw the concerned look on his neighbor's face.

"Everything is okay, Mr. Hall," Reid replied. "Really. This is one of my co-workers."

Mr. Hall remained silent. He gave Morgan a close look, glancing up and down. The FBI agent looked back at the man, debating on whether he should pull his credentials out or not. Finally, Reid's neighbor closed his apartment door and Morgan let his gaze go back to his co-worker. Reid was trying to put the key in the lock once again. Finally getting the key in the slot, he turned it and pushed the door open, stepping into his apartment. Morgan followed, not waiting for the invitation that he knew was not going to be forthcoming.

The first thing Morgan noticed was the blanket and pillow on the couch. "Have you been sleeping out here?"

Reid ignored the question. "Thanks for giving me a ride home, Morgan. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Morgan turned to face his friend. Reid was standing a few steps in the door, his bag still hanging on his shoulder, arms folded across his stomach and not looking at all well.

"I can stay tonight if you want," Morgan suggested, hoping phrasing it that way might make the other profiler more receptive to it.

"I can take care of myself, Morgan," Reid replied.

"I'm not trying to imply that you can't but your obviously not feeling well," Morgan told him. ~Or sleeping well,~ he added silently, a quick glance at the couch.

"If you want to mother someone, go pick someone else," Reid replied.

"I'm not mothering anyone," Morgan said. "I'm just trying to look out for a friend."

"I've been looking out for myself practically since my father walked out on my mother and me. I don't need you," Reid told him, reaching out and pulling the apartment door open. "Leave."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want anyone to find out where your keeping your stash," Morgan replied, without thinking. He saw Reid's eyes cloud with anger at his words.

"Are you calling me a drug addict?" Reid asked his voice cold with anger.

"What if I am? You're definitely not yourself. Missing planes, lashing out at co-workers, and mood swings that rival either of my sisters when they're going through PMS."

"I told you, I did . . ."

"Quit the lying, Reid. I'm sick of it," Morgan told him, taking a few steps closer to him.

Morgan wasn't sure what kind of reaction he was expecting from Reid, but it definitely wasn't the one he got. Before he realized what was happening, he felt the sting of Reid's open palm on the side of his face. Acting on pure reflex, Morgan reached out and grabbed Reid's wrist in his hand. He suddenly became aware of just how skinny and frail his friend's wrist felt in his grasp. Seeing a wince of pain on Reid's face, Morgan immediately released his wrist and then headed for the door.

It wasn't long before Morgan was once again behind the wheel of his SUV. As he pulled the door closed behind him, he didn't go for his keys. Instead, he slammed his hands down on the steering wheel in front of him, out of pure frustration.

~Man, I really screwed that up. Why did I let him get to me like that? Getting into a fight with him isn't going to help anything and yet that's exactly what I let him provoke me into,~ Morgan thought.

He kept seeing the wince of pain on Reid's face as he had held the younger man's wrist in his own.

~Did I hurt him?~ Morgan questioned as he looked over at the building he was still parked next to.

Knowing that he couldn't leave things the way they had ended, Morgan took a couple of calming breaths before getting back out of the vehicle. He doubted that Reid would accept an apology right now, but he knew he had to make it tonight. If he didn't, things would only get worse.

In the apartment, Reid stared at the open door that Morgan had just stormed out of. It was like he could still feel Morgan's hand around his wrist, and his palm stung from when it had made contact with the side of Morgan's face.

~I can't believe I did that. What's wrong with me?~ Reid thought as he stumbled toward the door to the apartment. He wanted to call his friend's name but he couldn't find his voice. Not that it mattered, as he didn't see any sign of Morgan as he looked out in the hallway.

~You've really screwed up this time,~ Reid told himself, as he grasped the door and pushed it shut, fumbling with the lock without really realizing what he was doing. He turned and leaned back against the door, feeling worse than he did the times that he had lashed out at Prentiss.

If he had a best friend, then Morgan was it. Morgan was the one that he could always count on. The one he knew would be there through anything.

~Not now, ~ Reid told himself. ~You've probably just pushed away the one person who could have helped you through this.~

Giving into the tears that were threatening to fall, Reid sank to the floor. The physical pain from the withdrawal symptoms right now was nothing compared to the emotional pain he was feeling.

There was a knock at the door.

"Reid, we need to talk," came Morgan's voice through the door. There was a pause, another knock followed by the sound of the other profiler trying the door knob.

~I wish I hadn't locked the door,~ Reid thought as he listened to Morgan knock and call his name again. He wanted to let his friend in but couldn't find the courage or strength to actually get to his feet and open the door.

His cell phone rang. Instead of reaching for it, Reid drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. The phone stopped after three rings and then was replaced by Morgan's voice.

"Okay, Reid, I know you're right there as I can hear your cell phone ringing, so I'm just going to say what I came up here to say. I'm sorry, Reid. I let my anger get the best of me, and I shouldn't have done that. Whether you want to admit it or not, you need my help, but the things I just said and did, they're not helping either one of us. If you can't forgive me right now, I understand, but I needed to apologize. Needed you to know that I'm still here for you. I'm not giving up on our friendship. I'm not giving up on you, Kid, no matter how hard you try to push me away."

Reid listened to his friend's words and only felt guiltier. ~I should be the one apologizing. I hit him and just because he was telling me the truth. This is all my fault. I'm not thinking straight. Every time I try to go without the drug I only end up hurting someone I care about.~

Reid got to his feet. Instead of opening the door though, he walked across the living room. Headed for the bathroom where he knew relief was waiting for him.