Prompt: "Everything in this world exists to wear you down" from Bleach Magna

Thanks to The Laughing Mann for providing the prompt!

Morgan walked into Reid's bedroom to retrieve the ice pack. The x-ray had revealed no fractured bones in Reid's hand. Eric had finally let them leave, giving Reid instructions to ice his hand frequently for twenty minute intervals until the swelling went down.

Reid had drifted off into a restless sleep. Walking over to the bed, Morgan reached down to retrieve the ice pack. He was debating on whether or not to wake the younger man up, when Reid sat quickly up in the bed with a gasp. Reid's eyes darted around the room as he took in his surroundings.

"You're okay, Reid. It was just a bad dream," Morgan told him, sitting down on the side of the bed. He reached a hand out, intending to place it on Reid's shoulder but the younger men drew away from him.

"I'm fine," Reid told him, laying back down on the bed. The younger man turned onto his side, his back facing Morgan.

"Was in another nightmare?" Morgan asked softly, looking down at his friend.

Reid gave no indication that he had even heard the question. Instead, brought his feet up, curling his body up into a fetal position.

"Reid, come on. Talking about it will help," Morgan said. He paused, waiting for a reply. He didn't receive one. "Are you not talking to me because of the suggestion that you talk to a professional?"

Once again, Morgan waited for an answer that was not forthcoming. The older man cursed silently at himself for making that suggestion. He had known that it wouldn't go over well with Reid. That the younger man wouldn't really consider going to talk to some stranger and put in his place, Morgan had to admit that he probably wouldn't want to either. Still he worried that he wouldn't be able to give his friend the support and help that he needed, and had felt compelled to share that fear with his friend. Also, there had been the off chance that Reid would take him up on the offer. Unfortunately, the only thing he had seemed to accomplish was to get Reid mad at him.

Morgan sighed. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be ready to listen," he told the younger man standing up and walking toward the door.

Morgan paused in the doorway. He looked back at the bed, hoping that Reid would change his mind. That he would share with him whatever it was that had disturbed his sleep. Reid hadn't moved however. With a sigh, Morgan left the doorway and headed for the kitchen to put the ice pack back in the freezer. As tempting as it was just to walk out of the apartment in frustration Morgan knew that he couldn't do that.

~Doing so will be like an admission that I'm giving up on him. Everything that has been gain will have been lost and when Reid goes back to the drug it will be my fault. As frustrating as dealing with him is, he is my friend and he needs me whether he wants to admit it or not, ~ Morgan told himself.

He put the ice pack in the freezer, poured himself a glass of soda and then retreated to the living room. Placing the glass on the coffee table, Morgan stretched out on the couch. He'd give Reid some space and let the younger man calm down some. What he wouldn't do was leave the younger man alone especially as it wasn't that Reid was ignoring him altogether - he was just back to not talking about what was bothering him.

~I only hope that giving a bit of time he'll get over being mad at the suggestion I made, ~ Morgan thought as he stared up at the ceiling.

The dark-skinned profiler placed a hand behind his head, as he tried to let his body and mind relax. His body cooperated, the lack of sleep over the past week having taken its toll. No matter how he tried though, his mind wouldn't follow. He kept replaying the events of this evening in his head as he tried to figure out what he could say or do to get Reid to open up to him again.

Reid listened to Morgan's footsteps fade away as he had finally left the room. Curled up on the bed, what he wanted to do was call out for Morgan to stop. Wanted to tell his friend all about the dream. Recount to Morgan about how he was back in that shack in Georgia with Tobias hovering over him, needle in hand. Then, as the needle sank into his arm, the face had changed to Gideon's face and the needle was plunging into his arm again, and again - each time by a different teammate.

~What did it mean? ~

Reid wanted nothing more than to recount those events to Morgan and make them seem less real. Longed to hear Morgan tell him that is was only a dream. That was all he needed to hear from his friend. He didn't need some clinical analysis of the dream and to be told what dream analysis said it meant. Though he might not know what the dreams meant he did know that they were his mind's way of dealing with the torture he had gone through during those days. The last thing he wanted to hear was to the fake concern of some psychologist while they presented a cold analysis of events that they didn't really understand. Oh, they might try to understand but they couldn't - not really. After all, they didn't know him. Didn't know what it was that he had gone through, and recounting his ordeal down in Georgia again like he had to the bureau's psychologist so that he could get clearance to return to work, was not something he was going to do. Reliving it in his mind was bad enough.

~Maybe Morgan doesn't understand everything either but at least he knows what I went through? ~ Reid thought. ~Instead of getting angry with him, why didn't I just explain that to him? Morgan would understand. He'd understand now if I were to go talk to him, ~ he argued, as Morgan's words replayed in his head about him being ready to listen when Reid was ready to talk.

Still, Reid couldn't find the strength or the courage to uncurl from the ball he was in, and search out his friend. Laying there, refusing to close his eyes lest the images from the nightmare come back, Reid listened closely to the sounds of the apartment. There weren't many - in fact the only sounds he heard came from Morgan's movements in the other rooms. Heard footsteps getting louder as they moved back toward the bedroom.

Reid found himself hoping that they would keep getting louder. That Morgan would come back into the bedroom and he could explain things to him. They didn't though. The sound of the footsteps disappeared, and Reid figured his friend had settled himself on the couch.

~At least I haven't heard the front door open and close. I know not answering him, hurt his feelings. I wouldn't blame him if he had left, ~ Reid thought, at the same time acknowledging that he was glad Morgan hadn't left. Somehow, at least knowing that his friend was still in the apartment was a small comfort.

~Still, how much more will our friendship take before it is damaged irreparably. How much more will Morgan take, ~ Reid thought, even as he wondered why Morgan hadn't walked away from him already. ~Or maybe he has. Maybe I just didn't hear the door? ~ Reid wondered, the doubt in him feeling heavier.

Feeling a sudden need to know for sure that Morgan hadn't left, Reid finally uncurled from the ball. Placing his sock clad feet on the floor, he slowly got to his feet. Still, the sound of his footsteps seemed to echo in his ears. ~Or perhaps it's just in my head, ~ Reid thought to himself as he walked toward the still open door of the doorway.

The sudden urge to simply slam the door shut and retreat back to his bed crossed his mind, though he was pretty sure that doing so would only serve to anger his friend further. ~If he hadn't left yet he would then, ~ Reid said, thinking that thought with conviction. Part of him already feared he was going to find an empty apartment beyond the doorway.

Perhaps it was that fear that made him jump slightly as he saw Morgan peer over the back of the couch as he stepped through the doorway and into the living room.

"You okay, Reid?" Morgan asked as he sat up on the couch.

"You're still here?" Reid asked instead of actually answering the question.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Reid shrugged his shoulders. "Just figured that maybe you got tired of dealing with everything and left."

"Unless you can find a way to actually physically throw me out of this apartment, Kid, I'm not going anywhere no matter what you say or do."

"You will. Eventually everybody does," Reid said, quietly before turning around and heading back into the bedroom.

Reaching the bed, he collapsed onto, burying his head in one of the pillows. He was hoping to block out the light without actually closing his eyes.

Everything in this world exists to wear you down.

Reid remembered his Dad saying those words when he was younger. Like most things revolving around his father, he had banished them from his conscious thoughts. As they rose to the surface now though, he acknowledged the truth in them and just like the nightmares and everything else was slowly chipping away his resistence he knew the same was happening to Morgan.

~He'll only take so much and then he'll leave. If my own father couldn't stand to be around me how can anyone else? ~