As Morgan came out of the bathroom after his shower, he found Reid leaning against the headboard of the bed. He had a clipboard in resting on one bent need, and was busy writing something. As he wasn't wearing any shoes, the mismatched socks were visible.

"Hey, I thought you were coming with me," Morgan said, walking past Reid to his own bed. He sat on the end of it and grabbed his shoes.

"I changed my mind. You don't get to see your sister often. I figured you'd prefer if I didn't intrude."

"It's not an intrusion," Morgan replied. "Besides, Becky invited both you and me to her place for dinner when I called to tell her that we weren't leaving town until the morning. You agreed, so she's expecting the both of us. Now get your shoes on, Kid."

Sensing that Morgan wasn't going to take no for an answer, Reid sighed and put the clipboard down on the bed beside him. Sitting up, he slid to the side of the bed and reached for his shoes which were under the bed.

It wasn't long before the two were in an SUV, headed toward the base.

"This is one drive, that is really starting to get old," Morgan commented, having lost track of the number of times he had driven back and forth between Fort Knox and their hotel.

"I'll just be glad to not have to get up at five thirty tomorrow morning."

"You mean you didn't hear? Hotch decided we're going to leave at six tomorrow morning."

"Haha," Reid responded, hearing the amusement in his friend's voice. Hotch had told them the departure time was nine am and Reid knew he wouldn't have changed it on a whim. "You know, just the couple of days I spent at basic camp gives me a whole new appreciation for our soldiers. I'm not sure I could adjust to that kind of life style permanently."

"Yeah, you'd have to actually match your socks."

"That's not what I meant," Reid replied, looking out the passenger side window at the scenery that was going by.

"Yeah, I know that," Morgan replied, growing serious. "Military life is a different way of life. So much of your life is dictated by rules and regulation. I don't know how Becky does it sometimes. She's talking about not resigning when her contract is up in November."

"Really? She seems content with her job to me."

"She does like it, but she says she doesn't get to see her family enough. She wants a little more freedom as to when and how often she can visit us."

"The two of you could see each other more often then," Reid commented. "Did she say what she'd like to do?"

"No. I would imagine she'd join a police force somewhere though," Morgan replied.

The two continued chatting the rest of the way to the base. After passing through the gate, Morgan followed the directions Becky had giving him to her quarters. The route took them past the barracks where Reid had been staying while undercover.

"Did you get a chance to talk with that cadet you were with this morning?" Morgan asked. "What was his name?"

"Ned Fergenson," Reid replied. "No, I didn't get a chance to though I'm sure someone explained things to him. It's probably for the best. After all, I wasn't really who he thought I was, now was I."

Morgan nodded, letting the subject go, sensing that Reid didn't really want to talk much about it.

The rest of the ride to his sister's place was quiet. Reaching the place she was renting on base, they got out of the vehicle. Reid followed Morgan up to the door.

"Hi. Come on in. I just started dinner. I left headquarters a little later than I had planned."

"It's not a problem," Morgan replied as he stepped inside. "Neither one of us has made any other plans for the evening."

"Do you want some help with dinner?" Reid asked, following Morgan inside.

"Are your culinary skills better than my brother's?"

Reid wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Before he had a chance to say anything though, Morgan spoke up. "All three of you are never going to let me live that down are you?" Rebecca shook her head no, with a grin on her face. Morgan looked over at Reid. "Unless your cooking experiences have involved the fire company, then she'll consider you better than me."

"I can safely say that I've never had to call the fire company as a result of my cooking," Reid answered, curious as to what the two siblings were referring to but afraid to ask.

"Then I'd be glad to have your help," Rebecca replied. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable in the living room," she told her brother, pointing in that direction. "I don't even want you in my kitchen while I'm using the stove."

"Love you to, sis," Morgan said, smiling at the playful banter. "Maybe I can find something good on the television."

Reid followed Rebecca into the kitchen. "Fire department?" he asked, once he knew he wouldn't be overheard by his co-worker.

Rebecca smiled. As the two continued with the dinner preparations, she told Reid about the incident in the kitchen the one time that Derek had tried to help with baking their mother's birthday cake.

In the living room, Morgan had settled himself of the couch. He flipped on the television and started surfing through the channels. He had no desire to watch the evening news. With his job, he saw enough bad stuff in person. He didn't need to see it on the television to. Most of the regular programs he didn't normally have time to catch so he had no clue what the premise of the series was about. He tried to find a decent movie. He watched parts of a few movies, but none of them caught his interest. Finally giving up, he got to his feet and headed to the kitchen to see how the dinner was coming along.

He heard laughter before he got to the kitchen. Walking into the room, he found his sister and Reid leaning on opposite sides of the counter that separated the kitchen from the small dining area. Reid had his back to him, but he could see Rebecca's face and saw the genuine interest and amusement there, instead of the faked interest that he had seen plenty of times when someone was talking with Reid.

Morgan smiled. He was glad that Rebecca and his friend seemed to be getting along well. ~Is it just friendship or is something more going on?~ Morgan found himself wondering again. He was about to leave the two along again, when Rebecca noticed him.

"Hey, Derek. Dinner is about done," she told him, glancing at the timer that was on the stove.

"Smells good," he responded, as Reid turned his head to look over his shoulder at him.

Before long, the three were sitting at the table dishes out the food. The conversation flowed easily as they enjoyed the home cooked meal. All work related subjects were avoided for the night. Morgan learned a few things he hadn't known about Reid even after working with him these past few years and vice versa, as the two siblings told several stories about one another. Some embarrassing and some just humorous.

"Why don't the two of you make yourselves comfortable," Rebecca said, nodding toward the small living area, after they had finished eating. "I just want to take this stuff into the kitchen and I'll join you."

"I can help you," Morgan told her, as he got to his feet.

"I've got it. It will only take me a few minutes."

As Morgan and Reid headed into the other room, Rebecca started clearing the table. It didn't take long to get everything into the kitchen and piled on the counter. She was just about to go join her guests when she heard footsteps. Turning she saw her brother walk into the room.

"I was just about to come join you."

"Well, how about I help you wash those dishes first. Reid is out on your couch. I think the events of today finally caught up to him."

"Okay, then. I never did like leaving the dishes sitting for long."

"Yeah, I think you get that from Mom," Derek told her. "You wash and I'll rinse and dry. I don't want you complaining I didn't do a good enough job cleaning them," he said lightly.

With them working together, the dishes that dinner had generated were quickly done and put away. The two siblings then settled themselves at the counter, a cup of coffee in front of each of them.

"So, you and Reid seem to be getting along pretty well," Morgan ventured.

"He's a nice guy," Rebecca told him. "And we've actually got a few things in common. I've enjoyed talking with him."

"That's good. The kid needs some more friends in his life."

"And you want to know if there's something more between us then just friendship, right?" Rebecca said, before taking a sip of her coffee.

Derek ducked his head, a smile coming to his face. "Guilty as charged."

"I honestly can't say one way or the other," she told told him. "Spencer isn't the type I guy I usually date."

"That's for sure," Derek commented.

Rebecca shot her brother a look. Derek held his hands up in surrender, indicating that he wasn't

going to say anything more on the subject.

"Spencer and I plan on staying in touch and see where things go. We both have our careers and there is the long distance factor. We'll see what happens," Rebecca said, with a shrug of her shoulders.

Derek knew his sister well enough to know she was hoping that this relationship would turn out to be more than friendship. His feelings about the prospect were conflicted. On one hand, he would be happy for the both of them. On the other hand, if things didn't work out he could very well end up in the middle of a bad breakup.

"What, you're not going to tell me that I can't date one of your friends this time around?" Rebecca asked, surprised by her brother's silence.

"Why should I? You'll date who you want to date."

"That's never stopped you from giving me advice before."

"Yeah, and the guy you were interested in that time was a jerk."

"He was your friend."

"He was still a jerk when it came to women. I never could keep track of who he was seeing." Derek told her. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Honestly, I think I'd be more worried about Reid getting hurt than you." Morgan saw the surprise on her face. "Reid's a good guy. I know he would never intentionally hurt you and he'd never cheat on you. He is actually the type of guy that I think you deserve. Just like I think you're the kind of person he deserves in his life. Like you said though, there are things in both of your lives that would present obstacles. If you two were involved and it didn't work, I think it would be harder on Reid than on you."

"I'm surprised to actually hear you admit that," Rebecca said, who was use to Derek being the protective older brother when it came to her boyfriends. He had given more than one the third degree when she had met them.

"What can I say, I've matured since the last time you introduced me to a guy you were dating."

"You scared the last one I introduced to you away."

"I was just joking around when I told him I was going to arrest him. How was I suppose to know the guy had a warrant out on him for an unpaid speeding ticket?"

"I hate to admit it, but you probably did me a favor. I know the girl he ended up marrying and she ended up finding him with her sister two weeks into the marriage."

"See. I'm just looking out for you. Sarah didn't have anything good to say about that guy you were seeing last year. The rodeo guy?"

"Oh, is that right. Did she mention that she was the one who set me up with him."

"No, she didn't mention that part," Derek said with a laugh.

The two siblings continued talking as they finished their coffee. After finishing his coffee, Morgan got to his feet.

"Much as I don't want to, I think its about time Reid and I head back to the hotel. Your day starts early and we have a flight to catch," Morgan told her.

Rebecca nodded. She had enjoyed spending time with her brother. She didn't see him nearly enough but that was just the way life was. She knew that she wouldn't want to give up her career to change that and neither would her brother. Yes, she was coming up to another decision point in her career when her current contract ended but for now, she was where she needed to be.

Rebecca held her arms out for a hug. Derek quickly embraced her, holding her close for a long hug.

"Stay safe," he whispered to her before letting her go.

"You too," she told him, as the two stepped apart.

Morgan headed for the living room to wake up Reid so they could head back to the hotel.

"How long have we been in Kentucky?" Prentiss asked, as she followed Hotch onto the jet the following morning.

"Six days," Reid replied from behind her.

"What, no hours and minutes?" Prentiss asked, jokingly.

"I didn't think you'd want that accurate of an answer," Reid told her, as he took a seat on the bench seat.

"Don't ever change, Spence," JJ said,rubbing his head as she walked by him.

"I can't wait until my hair grows back."

"Until then, maybe we should all rub your head before every case for good luck," Morgan said, reaching out to do the same thing JJ had just done. Reid ducked out of his way before he could and Morgan sat down on the seat next to him.

"Don't even try it," Reid told him, as Morgan poised to try it again.

"Might work better than the lucky rabbit foot my training officer gave me my first day on the Commack police force," Rossi commented, walking past the two of them and taking an empty seat facing Hotch.

"The rabbit foot didn't work well, I take it?" Prentiss ventured from where she was sitting at the front of the jet.

"Guess it depends on how you look at it. I got shot my first day on the job."

"And how can you possibly look at that as being lucky?"

"I'm still here aren't I," Rossi replied. Prentiss nodded. "Course the rabbit foot ended up in a trash can as I was leaving the hospital that night."

The team went about getting settled for their flight back to Quantico. When they were ready, Hotch let the pilot know. It wasn't long before the plane was taking to the air. As they headed toward home, the members of the BAU found things to occupy themselves during the trip.

Rossi had taken out a book, and was reading it. Hotch had joined JJ and Prentiss at the table and the three were playing cards. Morgan had put his headphones on and was listening to music. Seeing that the others were occupied with their own activities, he took the head[hones off and glanced over at Reid, who although he had a notepad sitting on his lap, and pen in his hand, was staring off into space.

"Reid," Morgan said, to get the younger man's attention. Reid looked over at him. "So what did you think of Becky?"

"She's a nice person."

"Nice. That's the best you can come up with."

"What do you expect me to say?" Reid said defensively. "She's easy to talk to. Has a good sense of humor."

"And she's pretty," Morgan said, adding words to Reid's answer. Reid face turned red as he looked away from Morgan. "Uh-huh, I thought so."

"Yes, I think she's very pretty," Reid admitted. "Let me guess, this is where you tell me to stay away from your sister."

"Now why would I do that? She could do a lot worse than you," Morgan told him.

"Thanks, I think," Reid said, confused by his friend's response.

"Just remember who you'll have to answer to, if you ever hurt her," Morgan said, a playful grin on his face. He put his headphones back on and leaned back in the seat.

Reid glanced over at him. He was trying to figure out how to take Morgan's last remark. Reid wasn't sure if he had been serious, or had been teasing him as the older agent seemed to enjoy doing. He looked away from Morgan, and out one of the windows of the jet. He reached into his pants pocket and felt the folded up piece of paper that was there.

Reid knew what was written on that piece of paper. Didn't need it to remember the number and email address that was written on it. He had kept it anyway as a reminder of what the future might hold for him. Only time could tell. One thing he did know though, thinking about that possible future was much better than dwelling on the horrors of the past.

One week later:

Prentiss looked up from her computer as Morgan sat down at his desk near-by with a sigh. He had a cup of coffee in his hands, and it looked to Emily as if it hadn't helped to wake him up yet.

"Late night?" she asked.

"Yeah," Morgan replied before taking another sip of his coffee.

"Did the blonde go home or stay at your place?" she asked. When Morgan looked at her, she smiled innocently. "Had a dinner date of my own. I saw you leave with her."

"She left around one, if you must know," Morgan told her. "And that is all the details you are going to get."

"Details about what?" Reid asked as he entered the bullpen area of the desk.

"Nothing important," Morgan replied. "I tried calling you to join me for a drink last night but your phone was busy."

"Must have been talking to someone," Reid replied, lifting his bag over his head.

"He probably did you a favor. You might have not picked up the blonde if Reid had tagged along," Prentiss teased.

Morgan ignored her jab. "Someone?"

"Yeah. So what's this about a blonde?" he asked, in an attempt to change the subject, as he sat down at his desk.

Morgan smiled, realizing exactly what Reid was doing. He also had a feeling he knew what it meant.

"Hey Spence, this came for you," JJ said, breaking up the conversation the three of them were having. She stepped down into the bullpen and walked over to Reid's desk. She handed him an envelope.

Reid took it from her. The envelope was addressed to him care of the BAU. Looking at the return address he recognized the name, but was surprised to hear from him.

"Who is it from?" Morgan asked.

"Cadet Fergenson," Reid replied.

"Guess he thought you two had some unfinished business between you," Morgan said.

"Yeah, guess so," Reid answered, absently as he opened the envelope.

Morgan and Prentiss exchanged a look, both silently agreeing to let Reid read the letter in silence. JJ was already headed back to her office.

Taking the piece of paper out of the envelope, Reid unfolded it as he leaned back in his chair, already reading the letter.