AN: Thanks to LoveForPenAndDerek for suggesting the prompt I used in this chapter! I appreciate it as well as the other suggestions I got. Still need more if anyone would be so kind as to send other prompts my way. Hope you all enjoy.

Prompt: Tomorrow, you promise yourself, will be different, ye tomorrow is too often a repetition of today. Author James T. McCay

Gideon looked up from the crossword puzzle he was working on to find Hotch staring past him. Glancing over his shoulder, the federal agent found that Hotch was looking in Reid's direction. The youngest member of their team was sitting alone at a corner table in the restaurant, a plate of food from the buffet sitting in front of him. Though he normally would have sat with either him or Hotch, or the two girls, Reid had once again chosen to isolate himself from the group.

"You're wondering if we should go join him, aren't you?" Gideon asked, turning his head to look at his friend and co-worker.

Hotch let his gaze shift from Reid to the man sitting at the table with him. "Am I being that obvious?"

Gideon shrugged. "Just to those who know you well," he replied. Both men knew that meant everyone on the team. "I thought we both decided that the less we know about what is going on with him, the better everyone involved would be."

"We did," Hotch said with a sigh. "I'm just starting to wonder if that was the best decision."

"Morgan appears to have taken an interest in the matter," Gideon commented. "Let's just be patient and see if he can handle things. In fact, I'm sure he'll probably end up sitting with Spencer whether he's wanted or not."

"And if he doesn't."

"Then you and I can move to that table if you'd like."

"Maybe we should have never let him try to handle this on his own. Perhaps we should have stepped in as soon as we saw the signs," Hotch said, his gaze back on his youngest team member. As he watched, he saw Morgan approaching the table and taking the seat across from Reid. The younger agent didn't even bother to look up.

"We both tried talking to him, remember. He kept insisting everything was fine. Short of making it official and ordering a second psych eval, which I will remind you any one of us on this team could fake our way through, there wasn't much else we could do. His job performance, while not up to his normal standards, hasn't really suffered any."

"I'm just worried."

"Everyone on this team is. Let's give it some time and see if Morgan can get him through this."

"So we just sit back and watch?" Hotch asked, in a tone that clearly said it was a course of action he was not at all happy with.

"'Tomorrow, you promise yourself, will be different yet tomorrow is too often a repetition of today, '" Gideon said softly.

"Yeah, well what took place this morning is definitely not something I want to see repeated," Hotch replied, picking up his coffee cup as Gideon returned to his crossword puzzle.

Prentiss watched as JJ stabbed a piece of fruit with her fork. The blonde had been quiet since they had arrived at the restaurant but the dark-haired agent could tell that the incident back at the hotel had her friend troubled. Having been on the receiving end of one of Reid's outbursts, she could understand. ~And JJ is closer to him than I am, so I imagine she feels even more hurt by it.~

"It'll blow over," Prentiss said in a reassuring tone.

"Oh, I know it will. I know that wasn't him so I'm not taking it personally," JJ replied, looking across the table at Prentiss. She saw the disbelieving look that Prentiss gave her, as the other agent took a bite of her scrambled eggs. "I'm not," JJ told her, with more conviction in her voice this time again. "I'm more hurt by the fact that I know something isn't right but he won't talk to me about it."

"Maybe he's trying to protect you," Prentiss said.

"I'm the one that should have been protecting him better. If I had been there to back him, then none of that mess that happened in Georgia would have happened."

"You don't know that," Prentiss told her, hearing the guilt in the other woman's voice. "Hankle may have ended up taking you both or you could have both been killed. Besides, it's not like you didn't have your own hands full dealing with those dogs."

JJ felt a shiver go up her spine at the mention of the black dogs. She had never been overly fond of dogs, but she had never been scared of them before. Now she found herself changing her route to avoid crossing paths with people out walking their dogs when she was out walking in her neighborhood or walking in the park.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right JJ? I know we've talked a bit about what happened down in Georgia, but if you still need to talk . . ." Prentiss asked, having seen the slight shudder from her friend.

"I know," JJ said. "I'm fine, really I am. I just wish I knew that the same could be said for Spence. I don't know what has gotten into him lately, and he's lost weight. He's going to make himself sick."

"We just need to be patient. Make sure he knows we're here for him when he's ready to accept our help."

"So we just sit back and watch him self-destruct. I don't like that option."

"It's either that, or be prepared to be the recipient of a whole lot more of those outbursts like this morning. I have a feeling that isn't something you want to do. Not to mention he's even more likely to accomplish what he's trying to do."

"Which is?" JJ asked, though she already knew what Prentiss was going to say and was just trying not to admit it herself.

"Trying to push us away. Convince himself that no one is there for him."

"Why?"

"Because it makes the way he feels easier to justify in his mind," Prentiss told her. Though the dark-haired agent had seen this behavior before in people she had known. Had seen it work and had seen the people who cared about them stand fast and not let their friend or loved one push them away. The question was - what was causing his behavior? What was it Reid was hiding? She had tried not to ponder those questions too much, as she was fairly certain she didn't want to know the answer to them.

She looked at the back of Morgan's head a few tables away as he sat with Reid. Morgan was blocking her view of her other co-worker but somehow she could still picture what Reid looked like right about now, looking lost and not making eye contact with the dark-skinned agent.

~I'm more than happy to let Morgan try to handle the situation, ~ Prentiss thought, Reid's words about her not really knowing him echoing through her mind. ~I just hope Morgan can get through to him.~

Though she didn't have much of an appetite, Prentiss returned to her breakfast as the two women fell silent. Looking across the table at her friend, she could see how miserable JJ still was and from the lackadaisical way she stabbed at the fruit she had gotten for her breakfast, Prentiss had a feeling JJ's appetite was as lacking as hers was.

~Why do I have a feeling this is going to be one long plane ride home?~ Prentiss thought as she stabbed some more of the scrambled eggs on her plate.