2007 - Washington D.C. Area:
Once again, the weekend found Morgan at one of his properties, working to get his mind off of the last case he had worked. Though he hadn't been able to sleep much at the hotel last night, he hadn't even bothered with trying to rest this morning when the team had gotten in. The fact that they had been able to found the kid alive had him too keyed up. After all the horrors they saw on this job, it was always good to see one that had a positive ending to it. The memory of the parents when they had been given back their child was one that he would hang onto. Something to remember when things didn't go so well, which he knew would happen sooner rather than later.
So instead of heading home and trying to get some sleep, he had stopped at a twenty-four hour diner and ordered a light breakfast and coffee. He knew six a.m. was way top early to drop in on Garcia to see how she was doing, so he hung out at the diner until a more reasonable hour. When he decided it was late enough that his Baby Girl wouldn't bite his head off when he showed up at her apartment, he ordered a blueberry muffin and two coffees to go.
After spending a few hours with Garcia, he had headed for the townhouse that he had just about done. All he had left to do was the last coat of paint and then look for anything that needed touched up. His real estate agent had called yesterday saying that the potential buyer, whom he now knew to be Agent Rossi, may be by later today to look at the place again. He knew that Rossi's daughter had gotten into town but had yet to meet her. Morgan had to admit he was curious to find out what she was like. To find out if she took after her father. If Rossi planned on looking at the place again, that probably meant that his daughter would be with him.
Reaching the corner of the last wall he had to paint, Morgan pulled the roller away from the wall. He took a couple of steps backwards and looked around at his handy work. It wasn't a bad job if he did say so himself.
Morgan started cleaning up the painting supplies, hoping to have the house in a semi-ready condition when Mrs. Davis got here with her clients. He had just finished cleaning the paint from the roller and the brushes when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen he saw that it was Reid.
"Hey, Kid. What's up?" Morgan asked, hoping desperately that it wasn't work related, though usually calls from JJ or in a rare instance Hotch indicated that. The next thought that crossed his mind was that his friend had managed to get himself into some kind of trouble. Morgan was suddenly starting to wonder if he should have pushed a little harder when it came to Reid. The older agent knew that something was still bothering him, but had let it go. It was his experience that pushing too hard usually resulted in the younger agent drawing into himself more.
"Are you busy?" Reid asked, hesitantly.
Morgan got the feeling that Reid didn't want to impose on him and yet there was something very important on the young genius' mind. The fact that Reid was seeking him out meant that his friend was ready to talk. More importantly, Morgan knew that this had to happen now, while Reid was willing to open up. If they postponed it at all, Reid would just withdraw back into his own world again and getting him to talk would be downright near impossible.
"Nothing that can't wait until later," Morgan told him. "What's on your mind?"
"I need to talk to you about something. I need some advice."
"Okay. I'm listening."
"No, not . . . I don't want to talk about this over the phone. Can we meet somewhere?"
"I'm at one of my properties. Why don't you come over here," Morgan suggested.
"Okay," Reid agreed. "What's the address there?" Reid asked.
Morgan gave him the address he was at and ended the call. The dark skinned agent was left wondering what it was that Reid wanted advice about and if it had to do with his strange behavior the past couple of weeks. The kid had been quiet and more withdrawn than he had been, like what he had been like following the Hankle case and then Gideon's departure. Like himself, he knew that Reid tended to keep things bottled up inside. Tended to try to deal with things on his own. That worried Morgan, who knew from personal experience how much things that you bottled up could eat at you. Morgan figured Reid had learned to keep things inside due to his childhood. Dealing with the bullying at school and then needing to be strong for his mentally ill mother. Though he often referred to him as Kid, Morgan knew that in a lot of ways, Reid was older than himself, having been forced to grow up fast. Even faster than he himself had, following the death of his own father. At least Morgan's own mother had been strong enough to provide her children with the love and support they needed following that tragedy. When his own father had walked out, Reid had suddenly found himself as the one that needed to provide the support for his mother.
Reflecting back on things now, Morgan supposed it was only natural that Reid had tried to deal with the aftermath of what Hankle had done to him on his own. Always having been the one to give the support for so long, he hadn't known how to accept that support from anyone else, let alone ask for it. Though Morgan himself had made attempts to reach out, it had been new territory for him and those attempts had failed. He thought about Reid's confession on the plane coming back from the case in New York.
~ "For the first time, I know. I look at them and I know what they were thinking and I know what they were feeling right before…"~
Sure he had tried to give Reid some advice. Told him to use that experience to be a better person and a better profiler. What did he really know about that though? What did he know about being held captive? Of being tortured mentally and physically? Of being drugged against his own will?
He had noticed Reid's uncharacteristic behavior in the months that followed. They all had. The lame excuses Reid had often given for what he did. No one chose to really talk about it though. Oh, Morgan was sure JJ had probably made some attempts to talk to Reid and so had Gideon, as Morgan had later found out but then Gideon had left. Had walked out of their lives so abruptly that it had came to a shock to them all. He had seen the confidence that Reid had seemed to have regain, crumble once again. Morgan had talked things over with Prentiss, and she had made an attempt to reach out to Reid, though she had admitted afterward that she didn't know if it had done any good, and so Morgan had made his own attempt to talk to Reid.
Believing that Gideon's departure was the source of Reid's problems, Morgan had chosen to start the conversation by bringing up that topic. Hoping a confession of his own might get Reid talking, Morgan had told the younger agent how the senior profiler's departure had made him feel. That he had felt betrayed by someone he had trusted and looked up to. How he had wondered if the team could continue without the veteran profiler. The tactic had worked, as not only had Reid opened up more about his feelings following Gideon's departure, but had confided in Morgan another secret. It was then that Reid had confessed to him his struggles with drug use following the ordeal in Georgia. Confided that he had started going to NA meetings at Gideon's prodding and that with the older profiler gone, his resolve to beat the addiction was wavering.
Morgan had never felt more guilty about anything in his life. He had felt like a horrible friend for not stepping in sooner, despite Reid's protests that it wouldn't have mattered. That he wouldn't have been ready to accept help then. It didn't take long for Morgan to realize that it didn't really matter if that was true. That feeling guilty wasn't going to help anyone. The only thing that mattered now was that he be the friend that Reid needed now. That he showed him support and made sure that Reid stayed on the right path.
Morgan had done just that. Had been there through a couple of setbacks. Through the phone calls and visits at all hours of the day. Morgan had thought they were past all that. Even Prentiss had commented that Reid seemed more like his old self. Like he was before Georgia. That was until these past couple of weeks. Morgan desperately hoped his friend wasn't using again and hated himself for jumping to that conclusion first.
The sound of a car door slamming, brought Morgan from his thoughts. Going to the front door, he saw Mrs. Davis, Rossi and another woman get out of the car parked in the driveway. Morgan could see a slight resemblance between Rossi and the new woman and figured that it was his daughter.
~She's pretty too,~ Morgan thought, admiring the view. Though admiring is all he would ever do. Somehow he didn't think Agent Rossi would care too much for him flirting with his daughter.
"How's the house coming along, Agent Morgan?" Rossi called out as Morgan stepped out the front door.
"I'm just about done with it. Once this last coat dries all I have to do is any touch ups and I'm done with this house," Morgan answered, coming down the steps.
"Agent Morgan, this is my daughter, Lt. Amber Rossi. She's with the U.S. Coast Guard. Amber this is one of my co-workers, SSA Derek Morgan."
"It's nice to meet you, Lt. Rossi," Morgan said, shaking hands with her.
"Likewise, Agent Morgan. It's good to be able to put a face to the name," she told him.
Morgan nodded not sure what to say. It surprised him that Rossi would have mentioned him to his daughter. Morgan wondered what he would have said about him, he and Rossi having already had a few tense moments between them in the short time that had passed since the older profiler had returned to the BAU.
Morgan offered to show them around the house. Leading the way into the house, he led the group upstairs first. As they walked through the house, Morgan tried to make small talk with Amber Rossi. He found that she was much more open than her father was. Not wanting to seem too forward though, Morgan kept his questions to more neutral topics, questions about school and career.
After showing them around the house, and asking questions, the group said their good-byes. Morgan stood at the door, watching the three visitors head for the car. As they reached the car, Morgan noticed Reid walking up the drive toward the house. Amber Rossi spotted him at about the same time and changing directions, met Reid part way.
Though he couldn't hear the words said between the two of them from where he was, it was obvious to Morgan that the two of them knew one another. There was the fact that Amber had walked to meet him. The recognition and surprise on Reid's face as she walked toward him. There was also the easy way which Amber Rossi hugged Reid. Morgan didn't miss the stiffness in his co-workers body language as he hugged her back. Morgan didn't need to be a profiler to see that Reid was uneasy about something with the situation.
Amber and Reid talked a few minutes before walking back to the car. Reid quickly kissed her cheek as Amber got into the vehicle, and then closed the door, stepping back and giving her a final wave. Morgan watched as he gave Agent Rossi a small nod of acknowledgment as he started walking away from the vehicle. The gesture was returned as Reid continued walking toward the house.
"Hey, Kid," Morgan said, as Reid reached the front steps. The older man was holding the screen door open for him. "Take it the two of you have met before?"
"We were at Caltech at the same time," Reid replied.
Morgan could tell it was a bit more complicated than that but he decided not to press the issue right then. Reid had called him for some reason and Morgan didn't want to take the chance of saying or doing something that might keep him from talking about whatever it was that had prompted him to call Morgan in the first place.
"Why don't we go sit out to the back porch," Morgan suggested as Reid stepped inside. "No reason to be smelling wet paint when it's a nice day outside."
Reid nodded his consent though he didn't say a word. They walked through the bottom floor of the townhouse and onto the back porch. Morgan gestured for Reid to take the one chair that he had out on the porch. As the younger man sat down, Morgan went to the porch railing and pulled himself up so that he was seated on the railing facing his friend.
"So, what's on your mind?" Morgan asked, when it was obvious that Reid wasn't going to start talking on his own. He watched his friend as Reid played with the strap of his ever present messenger bag that he had sat on the ground at his feet. "Come on, Reid, you called me."
"This is ridiculous. I'm not some teenager anymore," Reid said, not looking up at him.
"You can talk to me about anything," Morgan told him, catching himself before using the nickname of Kid for the younger agent. Given Reid's previous comment, he wasn't so sure that would be the best choice right then.
"A few years ago, before I came out east for FBI training, I was involved with someone. I guess you could call it a serious relationship though both of us were tentative about it. I was very unsure about what was going on, and what to do, which I'm sure doesn't come as surprise to you," Reid said.
Morgan had to smile as he listened to his friend talk. Reid still looked lost when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. That hadn't changed. Morgan also felt a wave of relief wash over him. He'd much rather be helping Reid deal with relationship issues than to find out his friend was struggling with the drug addiction. Girl troubles was something he was much better equipped to deal with.
"The girl I was involved with was what you might call a flight risk," Reid said, as he continued to lay the situation out for his friend. "She had seen both her parents struggle with multiple marriages over the years. The idea of forever wasn't exactly something she believed in. Yet there was something between us that neither one of us could deny. Despite the fact that neither one of us were sure of what we were doing or really wanted it, we fell in love. At least I think it was love."
"What happened?" Morgan asked.
"We both had dreams that didn't exactly coincide. I had my eyes set on the FBI and she had her eyes set on the Coast Guard following graduation. Things were hard enough for us when we were living in the same city, a long distance relationship was out of the question. Neither of us wanted it so we went our separate ways. I never really forgot about her though and we did stay in touch as friends. Now, it seems our career paths are bringing us back together again. She wants us to try making it work again."
"That's good," Morgan said smiling. If anyone deserved a decent girl in his life it was Reid. He noticed Reid's expression didn't look all that happy. "Unless you don't feel the same way. Have your feelings for her changed over the years?"
Reid shook his head. "No. My feelings for her have never changed. I've even thought about giving up what I have here and moving to where she was stationed over the past couple of years. Especially after what happened down in Georgia but I guess the idea of walking into the unknown held me back. I mean if it didn't work out I'd have to start over on my own. Not something I was looking forward to doing again."
"Then I don't see what the problem is," Morgan told him.
"What happens when she's reassigned? Do we just break up again? I don't think I can watch her walk out of my life a second time."
"Reid, it sounds to me like this woman means an awful lot to you and if she's showing interest in getting back together, she obviously cares about you. That doesn't happen all that often. As many dates as I've gone on, I've never found that. You're getting a second chance at this, you'd be stupid not to try to make it work. As for what the future holds, worry about that when you get to it. Don't go borrowing trouble. Don't go condemning the relationship to failure before you even have the relationship going again."
Reid finally looked up. As his gaze met Morgan's, the older man could see the question there before Reid even voice it. "Then you think I should go for it?" Reid asked, and Morgan could hear the need for advice in the question.
"Yes, I do. If you still care about her after being apart for the last few years, then its worth taking a chance on it."
"Even if there are other, complications?"
"I told you Kid, worrying about what the future holds isn't worth it."
"I'm not referring to that. I'm talking about current complications," Reid told him.
Something suddenly made things click for Morgan. It seemed so obvious to him now. The way Reid had acted that day after coming out of Rossi's office. How nervous the kid was around their new teammate? Amber Rossi's comment about being able to put a face with the name. He had assumed that Agent Rossi had mentioned him at some point. Though that thought had surprised him he hadn't dwelled too much on it. Now, he had a feeling it was Reid who had talked to Amber about him. Then there was Reid's comment that he had gone to Caltech with Amber Rossi and of course the fact that both Amber and Reid's, as of yet, unnamed girl both were members of the Coast Guard, all added up to one thing.
"It's Rossi's daughter isn't it? That's who you're in love with?"
"Well, I'm not sure in love with is the right choice of words. I mean I care about her but I don't know if I would use that word."
"I don't care what word you want to use, she's the one you're talking about?"
Reid nodded.
"Yeah, I would say that could cause some complications. Does Rossi know?" Morgan asked, even realizing he knew the answer as he asked the question. There had been absolutely no look of surprise from the older profiler when Reid and Amber had been together outside.
Reid nodded again. He then rested his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees. "Man, if this doesn't go well, Agent Rossi is going to shoot me."
Morgan thought of his own thoughts when he had first seen Amber Rossi. He now had another reason she would be off limits. Knowing how Reid felt about her, he wouldn't jeopardize his friendship for a girl. Somehow though, he had a feeling Rossi would rather have his daughter involved with Reid than with himself. Still, if his daughter got hurt in this relationship, Morgan was pretty sure Rossi could make things very uncomfortable for Reid at work. Not to mention how would Amber and Reid being together effect the dynamics between the two federal agents on the job? Would Rossi even be accepting of the relationship or would he start making things hard on Reid? It was a possibility, though one thing Morgan was sure of, Rossi wouldn't physically harm the younger profiler.
"You're overreacting," Morgan told him.
"I've been hearing that a lot when it comes to, Agent Rossi," Reid commented. "And he already hated me before he knew I was involved with his daughter."
"Rossi doesn't hate you, he just doesn't know how to take you, which is true about a lot of people when they first meet you."
"Thanks a lot," Reid muttered.
"Come on, Kid, you know what I mean," Morgan said, seeing that Reid was taking his words more to heart than he had intended. "And those who don't take the time to get to know you don't know what they're missing."
Reid still didn't look up nor did he say anything. Morgan watched him closely, trying to figure out what to say to him. Before he could think of anything, Reid finally spoke up.
"I can't lose her again, Morgan. I know that. I just don't know what to do."
"Just be yourself, Reid. Don't worry about who her father is. Don't worry about what may or may not happen. Be yourself. Show her how you feel about her. If Agent Rossi has a problem with the two of you, then let him deal with it. Don't let it affect you. You and Amber are both adults. How the two of you feel about each other is the only thing that is important."
Reid finally looked up. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to face Agent Rossi at work if anything goes wrong."
"If it comes down to it, I'll protect you, Kid," Morgan said lightly. He was trying to lighten the mood some but he also meant the words. He'd stand by Reid no matter what the outcome of this situation was. If Rossi had any intentions on making Reid's life difficult then he was going to find himself facing Derek Morgan.
"Love is a pretty special thing. I saw that with my parents. Though I might give a different impression to people on the outside, I hope I find what the two of them had eventually. Sounds to me like you think this girl is pretty special, so don't let anyone or anything get in your way."
Reid nodded but didn't say anything. Deciding the mood was too serious for his liking, Morgan spoke again.
"Amber seems like a pretty nice girl. When are you going to properly introduce us?"
"When I'm sure you're not going to try to steal her away," Reid replied, finally smiling.
Morgan placed his hands over his heart. "You wound me, Kid," he said lightly, glad that he had gotten his friend to lighten up a bit.
"We'll talk about it if I survive dinner with Amber and Agent Rossi tonight," Reid told him. If he was going to be with Amber, Reid knew he couldn't hide it from the rest of the team for long. Nor did he want to. Still, he wasn't quite ready for them all to know just yet.
It was six o'clock that evening when Amber found herself standing in the hallway outside of Spencer's door. They had agreed upon seven o'clock for dinner and Amber was hoping she wasn't intruding by showing up early. It would be nice to spend some time with Spencer before her father joined them.
Amber knocked on the door and then waited. It wasn't long before Spencer was opening the door for her.
"Hi, Amber. Come on in," Spencer said, stepping aside to allow her entry into the apartment.
"I hope I'm not imposing. I thought it would be nice to spend a bit of time just the two of us before Dad joined us."
"You're presence is never an imposition," Reid told her, closing the door behind her. He took the shawl that Amber had slipped off from her and hung it on the coat rack. "Is this the one I bought you the first Christmas after we met?"
"Yes. Surprised I still have it?"
"Honestly, yes," Reid told her. "I started dinner. Why don't you come join me in the kitchen?" Reid suggested.
The two friends headed across the living room to the kitchen area of the apartment which was separated with a counter top. Amber found herself looking around Spencer's apartment. It seemed much like she had thought it would. Much like his place back in LA had been like.
The place was neat and organized. Though on the smaller side, it didn't have a crowded feeling to it. There were several book cases, all of them filled with books. The desk against the one wall had covered with open books, loose leaf papers, and a currently closed lap top computer, a computer bag sitting on the floor leaning against the desk. The desk also had a framed picture of Reid and his mother.
"How is your mother doing? The last I heard from her was the birthday card she sent me back in September," Amber said, as she climbed up on a stool at the bar as they entered the kitchen.
"My Mom sent you a birthday card?" Reid said, pausing in mid-step and looking at Amber. It was the comment that took him by surprise not the question preceding it.
"Birthday and Christmas cards actually," Amber responded. "I do the same, usually writing a little bit of a note in them when I do. I didn't see the harm in it and I've always liked your mother."
"She likes you too," Spencer admitted. "She often asks about you when I talk to her. Would you like something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine thank-you," Amber replied and Reid washed his hands, and went back to his dinner preparations. "Do you still write to her every day?"
Spencer nodded as he placed the pork chops and other ingredients into the pan that had been warming on the stove.
"Spencer, you did what you had to do to protect her. Her illness was getting out of control. Thankfully nobody got hurt that night, and it worked out but who could have known what would have happened the next time."
"I shouldn't have turned my back on her."
"You didn't. You never have. You got her the help that she needed and then let her know that you care about her every day. Even when she was angry at you for committing her, you never returned those feelings. You patiently waited for her to accept her new situation and then showed her that you still loved her and continue to do that everyday with the letters you write to her."
"I just feel like I should've done more. Should be doing more."
"You're a caring, loyal, loving son and that's enough. So many people commit their family members to places like Bennington and then never have any contact with them. I know you're aware of that and that you could probably quote me statistics right now," Amber said, seeing the small smile that came to her friend's face. "You're the exception to that and it shows you care."
Spencer nodded, not sure at all what to say. Though he had resisted her presence in the whole situation at first, Amber had stood by his side through that whole ordeal in Vegas when he had finally committed his mother to Bennington. She had cancelled her ski trip and spent Spring Break with him. Had been his source of support through it all. Had been the light house that had kept him from getting lost in the sea of guilt that he constantly found himself in. He didn't think he had ever told her that.
"I think I would have let the guilt eat away at me over the years if it hadn't been for you," Spencer said, looking over his shoulder at her. "I'm not sure I ever thanked you for that."
"Not in words, but I've known."
"Why?"
That one word encompassed a lot of questions. Why had she stayed even when he had told her to go that night? Why had she given up her ski trip to help him figure out the mess his family life had become? Helped him research places? Shown support through those first months? Always been there to listen whenever he needed to talk?
"At first, because I realized that week that I was falling in love with you. Later, it became more than that. I made a promise to your mother that first time we went to Bennington to see her."
Spencer looked at her in surprised. Neither his mother nor Amber had ever even hinted to him about any promise between them. Though on some level, he guessed he should have known.