Prompt: The Last Samurai suggested by RoseLaurel

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Morgan turned off the TV, causing the scenes of the movie The Last Samurai blink out of sight. He hadn't really been interested in the movie, but it had at least been something he and Reid could agree to watch. As Reid was now asleep, curled up on the part of the couch Morgan was not occupying, Morgan didn't plan on finishing the movie. He looked over at his sleeping friend. The kid looked peaceful and Morgan wasn't about to wake him up just to move from the couch to his bed because chances were Reid would have a hard time falling asleep again and the kid needed rest more than anything else right now.

Carefully getting to his feet, Morgan reached for the afghan draped over the back of the couch. Covering Reid with it, he then made his way quietly to the kitchen. A glance at the display on the microwave told him that it was just nearing eight-thirty at night, which meant it was still early enough to make the call he had been waiting for the opportunity to make all afternoon.

Morgan leaned against the counter, his back to the wall as he peered through the gap between the counter and the cupboards above int the living room. He had two purposes for taking up this position. Foremost, he wanted to stay alert to any possible nightmares that might disturb Reid's slumber. Secondly, he really didn't want the younger man to overhear the phone call he was about to make, hence the reason Morgan had put it off this long.

Flipping open his phone, Morgan soon found the desired number and placed the call. Putting the phone up to his ear, he listened as the phone rang on the other end. Just when he thought he was going to get the voice mail his intended recipient picked up.

"Gideon," came the somewhat annoyed sounding reply of the older profiler.

Morgan wondered what he had interrupted even as he responded. "Hey Gideon. We need to talk."

"Reid?" Gideon asked, the annoyance suddenly replaced with concern. Morgan was relieved to hear the change of tone.

"Yeah," Morgan replied. "At this point you're the only one that hasn't come to see him."

"I stayed away because I thought that was what was for the best. Our last interaction didn't go so well. The last thing I want to do is make a bad situation worse."

"Yeah, Reid mentioned things didn't go so well the last time you talked. Things are different now though," Morgan said, carefully avoiding any outright talk of Reid's drug problem. He knew Gideon was aware of what was going on, they all did, but the less that was outright said about it, the safer it was for everyone involved. "The two of you need to talk things out. However, from what I can gather, Reid's afraid that you won't want to talk to him. Look, Gideon, I don't know what happened between the two of you but I need to know that if I encourage him to go to you that you're going to be there to support him."

"Of course I will. I told him as much the last time we talked."

"Okay. That's all I needed to know," Morgan replied, relieved by the answer. Reid needed all of them right night, especially the man he considered a mentor.

"Look, Morgan, I'm out at the cabin this weekend. Why don't you bring him out here tomorrow? The change of scenery would probably do him good."

Morgan nodded, though Gideon couldn't see the gesture. "That's a good idea. He's sleeping right now, and the last thing I want to do is to wake him up. Could you call in the morning? I think it'll be better if the invitation comes from you."

"Of course," Gideon replied. "How's he really doing, Morgan?"

"He's doing better, but we're not out of the woods yet. I've definitely made some mistakes and at times I don't know what I should say or do. That scares me because I don't think it would take much to lose all the ground we've gained."

"You'll be fine," Gideon assured him. "You are after all the one that finally got through to him."

"Thanks, Gideon," Morgan said, the words of assurance making him feel a little more confident. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Morgan ended the call and returned the phone to its clip. He returned to the living room. Reid was still asleep, no signs of distress marring his features. Morgan quietly moved the armchair a bit closer to the couch, and then settled in it, his feet propped up on one end of the couch. It wasn't long before he had drifted off to sleep.

A scream cut through his slumber, causing Morgan to sit up quickly. The lamp that had been left on illuminated the room, revealing that Reid was now awake too. The younger man was sitting up on the couch, knees drawn to his chest and arms wrapped around his legs. Though his face was hidden from view, Morgan had no doubt that he had just awoken from a nightmare.

Getting to his feet, Morgan moved over to the couch sitting behind Reid.

"It's okay, Kid. It was just a bad dream," Morgan told him softly, reaching out to place a hand on Reid's back.

Reid made no response but he also didn't draw away from the touch. Morgan remained silence for a bit, giving Reid time to collect himself. After a few minutes he spoke again.

"You want to talk about it?"

Reid managed to shake his head in response without really lifting it. There was a short moment of silence between the two before Reid spokes. "They're the same nightmares over and over again. Why keep talking about them?"

"I don't know, Kid, but talking about them is supposed to help."

"I just want to forget about them."

"I know you do. They'll go away. You just need time. It's just your mind trying to process the ordeal you went through down in Georgia," Morgan said, trying to sound reassuring though he half-expected Reid to start telling him he was wrong and start quoting some study that he had read recently.

Reid remained quiet though, and Morgan felt a bit disappointed. Not that he wanted to hear about what some study said about nightmares, he didn't really care about that but at least Morgan felt that it would make things seem more normal. Reid not spouting of statistics or talking about some report didn't seem like Reid.

The two sat in silence for a while - Reid unwilling to talk and Morgan not knowing what to say. Finally, Morgan broke the silence.

"Why don't you go to your room and try to go back to sleep?"

"It won't work."

"Reid, it was just a nightmare. You're in your apartment and Hankel is dead - he can't hurt you anymore."

"I still see him."

"Not sleeping isn't good for you," Morgan said calmly.

"I'd rather stay here," Reid replied softly. "At least when you're near I'm not afraid to close my eyes. The nightmares at least stay away until I actually fall asleep."

"Then I'll stay in there with you. Sleeping in a chair is just as easy in there as it is out there. Come on, Pretty Boy."

Reid let himself be helped up and lead to the bedroom. It wasn't long before he had fallen back asleep, this time in his own bed. Morgan sat next to the bed, having drug the easy chair into the room. Like the night before, the dark-skinned profiler realized that he wasn't going to get much sleep, though for a different reason.

Last night, Morgan had found drifting off into a deep sleep impossible because of the situation between him and Reid. He knew the younger man was upset with him and that something had been keeping him awake. All Morgan had wanted to do was comfort Reid knowing that the kid needed the sleep. Not being able to had kept him awake with worry.

Tonight, worry was still keeping him from falling asleep. This time though it was Reid's admission about not being afraid to close his eyes with Morgan near. Those words only reinforced what he had told JJ earlier about feeling that he needed to stay with Reid a bit longer despite the exhaustion he was feeling himself. The last thing Morgan wanted to do was be the reason that Reid lost ground in this battle. If he could help keep the nightmares away a bit longer by just being near then he wasn't about to go anywhere.

Exhaustion and worry were soon fight an even battle, and Morgan found himself dozing off only to wake up, with a start, moments later. Still, Reid slept peacefully. Leaning back in the easy chair, Morgan propped his feet up on the bed, trying to get comfortable. Like he had told Reid, not sleeping wouldn't be good for him and if he was going to drive them out to Gideon's cabin the next day, then he needed some rest. Morgan closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind of all his thoughts and worries so that sleep would come.

Morgan found that task quite daunting. Just as sleep would start to claim him, his mind would register some kind of noise that would bring him back to wakefulness. Looking around the room, he would find everything in order and begin the process all over again.

Not sure how many times he had almost fallen asleep, Morgan found that the noise that had woken him up this time hadn't been imagined. Reid was tossing his head back and forth, a look of fear on his face. Placing his feet on the floor, Morgan leaned forward in his chair. Reaching out, he placed a hand on Reid's forehead. It took a few moments, but the touch seemed to have a calming effect, and like before the restlessness passed.

~Keeping the nightmares at bay. Even if that's all my presence here accomplishes at least it's something, ~ Morgan thought, as he leaned back in his chair once again, propping his feet up on the bed.

Finally, sleep claimed Morgan once again, though it was a sleep that would be disturbed by concern for his friend's well being several times that night.

The sun was nearing its zenith, as Morgan drove toward Gideon's cabin located in the wilderness of Virginia. The older profiler had kept his word and called Reid that morning. Morgan had seen the surprise that had crossed Reid's face when he had handed him the phone, saying it was Gideon, as Reid still hadn't bothered with turning on his own cell phone. Morgan hadn't heard even Reid's side of the conversation as he had retreated to the kitchen. About ten minutes later, Reid had come found him, holding out the phone and quietly asking him to drive him out to Gideon's cabin.

Reid hadn't said another word since making that request. Morgan had let the silence go, knowing that Reid probably had a lot going through his head. Now, halfway to Gideon's cabin, the silence was starting to wear on him, almost as much as the tapping fingers on the door, and the bouncing leg of the nervous young man sitting in the passenger seat.

"What's going through that head of your's right now, Kid?" Morgan finally asked, breaking the silence.

There was no immediate answer. The car only got more quiet as Reid stopped tapping his fingers on the door. Taking his eyes from the road momentarily to glance over at Reid, he saw the younger man was now fingering the shoulder strap of the seat belt nervously. Morgan returned his eyes to the road, wondering if he should say something else or leave the kid be.

"I'm thinking about everything that could go wrong," Reid finally said. "Since I joined the BAU, Gideon's done so much for me. He and Hotch both really. I never would have made it through two weeks in the BAU let alone through the two-year probationary period if it wasn't for the two of them but it's been different with Gideon. He's opened up to me more than Hotch has and I felt like I could go to him about anything - well at least up until the last few months. I've ruined that now. Things can never be the same between us. Between any of us, really."

Morgan thought the words over and realized the truth in them. He also knew that no matter what any of them did, things were going to change. There was no blame in that change. It was just a part of life.

"Change is a part of life, Kid."

"I know but this time . . . this time I hurt a lot of people, and though I want to take back words and actions that I did - I can't. I feel like I let Gideon down. Like I let all of you down."

"No, Kid. We're the ones who failed you. What you went through down in Georgia, no one could recover from that on their own but we let you push us away and attempt to."

"It's my fault. I didn't ask any of you for help and then when you all offered it I was so messed up that I pushed you away."

"You did ask for help, Reid. I see that looking back now. I see all the silent cries you made both before we started offering help and then every time you declined an offer. I should have pushed harder and I'm sorry I didn't. I'm sorry that it took until that case out in San Francisco for me to finally understand."

Out of the corner of his eye, Morgan saw Reid reach up and swipe at his eyes.

"I just want my life back, Morgan," Reid said, his voice trembling with emotion.

"You'll get there, Kid. We've come a long way and you're almost there. You'll talk things out with Gideon and then soon you'll be back at work. That's when things will feel normal for all of us."

Reid nodded, not trusting himself to be able to get words out if he attempted to speak. Looking out the window, he tried to draw strength from Morgan's words, knowing that whatever happened today he wouldn't face it alone.