A/N: Here's the next chapter guys! Yes, I know I said there'd be a little more romance/smut in this one, but I may have not put any in again... fret not, there will DEFINITELY be some in the next chapter! Oh well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.
The ride to the hospital in the ambulance was a long one, particularly for Reid. After the initial dose of morphine, Morgan had refused any and all medication. Reid didn't understand this, especially when Morgan kept wincing in pain. He didn't talk for the entire ride, except to mutter a quick "I'm okay" whenever Reid would give him a look of concern.
Those looks made Morgan's heart ache. He hated doing this to Reid, making him worry so much. He had never seen the younger agent so anxious or so scared- and it was his fault.
When the ambulance pulled up to the hospital, the EMT's tried to make Morgan get into a wheelchair, but he pulled away.
"At least let me walk in there," he said harshly. The EMT was not happy, but he relented after seeing the expression on Morgan's face. Morgan allowed Reid to take his good arm and put it around his shoulders, leading him into the hospital with JJ and the EMT's following. They led him into an examination room, where a doctor was waiting.
"Thanks," the doctor said, and the EMT's walked away. "You were lucky," he continued, as he removed the bandage to examine Morgan's shoulder. "Just an inch over and it would've lodged in your shoulder."
"He will be okay, though?" Reid asked quickly, concern clear in his voice.
The doctor smiled. "He has lost quite a bit of blood, and I'll want to keep him overnight for observation, but he should be perfectly fine." Reid and JJ both let out sighs of relief. "If you follow me," the doctor said as he re-bandaged Morgan's shoulder, "I'll lead you to his room."
The doctor led the three agents down the hall to a thankfully single room. He opened the door and, after helping Morgan climb into the bed using his one good arm and hooking up the heart monitor, left. He moved over to one side of the bed, patting the free space with his hand. "Come sit with me, guys," he said.
JJ and Reid obliged instantly, slowly sitting down next to Morgan so as not to jostle his shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, Derek," Reid said.
Morgan smiled at him. "I told you I was fine, kid," he replied. "You don't need to worry about me so much."
"I know," Reid said. "I know I shouldn't worry about you so much. I know you can handle yourself perfectly fine and I've never worried about you so much before, but I- I couldn't help how I felt. I don't know why, but I was so, so scared you wouldn't come out of there."
JJ gave Morgan a look, telling him he really needed to talk with Reid. She then got up from the bed, pulling out her cell. "We promised Hotch we'd call him when Morgan had seen a doctor," she said. "I'll go out in the corridor, leave you guys alone. And don't worry, I'll call out when the others arrive so you don't get caught."
When JJ left the room and closed the door behind her, Morgan reached out and took Reid's hand. The younger man instantly moved closer to his injured lover, his entire body radiating both concern and relief at the same time.
"I don't want you to worry about me anymore, Spencer," Morgan whispered, putting his own hand and Reid's over his heart. "I'm perfectly fine."
"But your heart is racing," Reid pointed out, the heart monitor showing the rapid beats clearly.
"That's only because I'm with you," Morgan said, smiling. "Happens every time I see you, every time I hear your voice. Every. Single. Time."
"Same here," Reid replied, embarrassed.
"You know why that is though, kid?" Morgan asked. "That's what happens when you love somebody so much, they mean more to you than anything else in the world. That's how I feel about you."
Reid didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever said anything like that to him before- nobody had ever felt like that about him before. "Why?" he finally managed to say.
"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, confused.
"Why do you love me?" Reid said. "You could have anyone in the world, and yet you chose me. Women were- and still are- throwing themselves at your feet, and yet you chose a man- me. I guess I'm just… confused. I still can't fathom this."
"Spencer," Morgan said. "I know exactly why I chose you. You. You are just the most amazing person I have ever met. I chose you because of who you are, because of everything about you. Don't you ever put yourself down like that, okay? You deserve to be happy- I'm just honoured that I'm the reason you are."
Morgan's words had brought tears to Reid's eyes. "I guess that's why I was so worried about you today," Reid realised. "Because I love you so much."
"I love you too, pretty boy," Morgan replied straight away, leaning closer to Reid and kissing him lightly, gently. He lent back against his pillow and sighed. "I'm going to have to stay here tonight."
Reid sighed sadly and looked down. "I don't know… I don't know how I'm going to sleep without you there, even with how tired and sore I am right now."
Morgan let out a small chuckle. "I completely forgot about that," he said. "How on earth did you manage to help me walk in here?"
"I completely forgot about how- how my body felt. I was too busy worrying about you," Reid confessed. "But now that we're talking about it… I don't feel so great."
"Lie down with me then," Morgan suggested, looking up at Reid.
"What if the others show up?" Reid asked, but he slowly lowered himself onto the bed until he was lying beside Morgan.
Morgan intertwined the fingers on his good hand with Reid's. "I honestly don't care right now. And besides, JJ said she'd warn us when the others get here."
The two men remained where they were for a while, absorbing each other's warmth and love. They definitely needed this- it was going to be a long, lonely night.
Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. Morgan and Reid were about to spring apart, when JJ said, "It's only me, guys! I've just got someone on the phone who wants to talk to Morgan!"
JJ pushed open the door and saw Morgan and Reid lying together on the bed, instinctively lying as close together as possible and with their fingers still linked together.
JJ smiled from ear to ear. "Seriously, you need to see these two," she said into the phone. "They are so in love and so cute together, I don't know how the rest of the team haven't seen what's going on already."
"It's Garcia on the phone, isn't it?" Reid guessed.
"Yes," JJ replied, handing the phone to Morgan. "And she says don't you dare move until the team gets here. Unless you want to, of course, but she highly doubts that."
Morgan chuckled and took the phone from Garcia. "Hey, baby girl," he said. "It's was Hotch's choice who to send in, not mine okay? Yes I'm fine, it's just a graze. Girl, I already explained all of this to Spencer, do I have to do it again?"
JJ laughed and looked at Reid, who looked perfectly content just lying there on the bed. "You need to tell the others, you know," she said.
Reid sighed. "I know," he replied. "We both know. It's just- we don't know when to do it. At least not until we get back to Virginia."
"I understand," said JJ. "When I first started seeing Will, I didn't want anyone to know. But all of you already knew, and you all welcomed the relationship."
"I know you understand," Reid said. "But- but this is me and Derek. We aren't exactly in a typical relationship."
"The others will be accepting of this, Spence," JJ added. "They will welcome it, like they did with Will and I."
"But like you said, JJ, we all knew about you and Will," Reid pointed out. "What's to say the team doesn't know about Derek and me already?"
"They probably don't think it's even possible, for the same reasons you can't see why Morgan loves you, and vice versa." When Reid gave JJ a confused look, she added, "Especially in the world of relationships, you two are polar opposites."
Reid nodded to JJ in agreement as Morgan hung up the phone. "I'm telling you, that girl is a piece of work," he said, handing JJ her phone and moving closer to Reid again.
"The team's gonna be here soon," JJ said.
"Well, you go keep watch then," Morgan said as he snuggled into Reid's side.
JJ sighed and shook her head, but did what she was told. The two men just lay on the bed for a moment before Morgan spoke up. "You were talking to JJ about whether we should tell the others," he said.
Reid nodded, and swallowed before speaking. "I think- I think we need to do it soon," he finally managed to say. "I mean, Prentiss is starting to get suspicious, and you never know about Hotch and Rossi. For all we know, they could've already figured it out."
"I agree, kid," Morgan said. Reid looked at him, slightly shocked. "We do need to tell them soon, if we want to tell them before they figure it out themselves. But when?"
"I want to at least wait until we get back to DC," Reid answered. "Telling them about us now would make for one very painful and embarrassing flight."
"Yeah, they'd be grilling us the entire way home," Morgan realised, shuddering at the thought. "Hey, you do realise that my sore shoulder means we won't be able to… do anything for a few days?"
Reid couldn't help it; a disappointed expression crept onto his face, which made Morgan laugh. "I can't believe it, pretty boy," he said. "You're actually going to miss having sex with me, aren't you?"
"Ssh, Derek, not so loud!" Reid hissed. "And yes, of course I'm going to miss it, I'm pretty sure you already knew that." Reid was kind of shocked to admit this; he'd gone almost thirty years without having sex, and he'd only had it once. The pain his entire body was in should've convinced him to never have sex again, but it didn't. Reid's body still ached for Morgan's, just as strong as it had before they'd had sex- maybe even stronger. Maybe since he'd gone for so long without having sex the first time, Reid wanted to do it again even more.
Morgan laughed again. "Yeah, I did," he replied, putting a hand to the side of Reid's face. "I'm going to miss it too. You're the best I've ever had."
Before Reid could open his mouth to speak, there was a knock on the door and JJ's voice floated into the room. "Morgan!" she called out. "The team is here to see you!"
Reid and Morgan sighed and regretfully moved apart, Morgan shifting into the centre of the bed while Reid got up and sat in the chair beside him. "Come in!" Morgan called.
The door to the room opened, and JJ led Prentiss, Hotch and Rossi into the room. "Hey there, Morgan," Prentiss said. "How are you feeling?"
"He's refusing anymore pain medication," Reid announced.
"That's because I don't need it, kid," Morgan argued. "I'm fine." Almost as soon as he said this, he winced and the team started towards him. "Okay, I'm in pain, but it's not that bad. Really. I'll be out of here tomorrow."
"Really?" Hotch said sceptically, turning to look at Reid.
"That's what the doctor said," Reid replied. "It's pretty much just a really bad graze- he's lost a lot of blood and his shoulder will hurt. But he will be fine."
"Well that's a relief. We need Morgan back kicking down doors, or Reid's gonna have to do it," Prentiss joked. Hotch, Rossi and JJ started laughing, while both Morgan and Reid looked embarrassed.
Hotch was the first one to sober up. "You shouldn't have taken off your earpiece, Morgan," he said in his usual gruff voice. "It was reckless."
"I know it was," Morgan replied. "I just- it seemed like the right thing to do at the time." Only JJ and Reid heard the hidden meaning behind his words. It probably hadn't been the right thing to do in terms of stopping Watson, but it had been the right thing to do to stop Reid from worrying.
The team stayed in the hospital room with Morgan for a while, talking and laughing. When the bed-ridden agent began to yawn however, the team fell silent.
"We should be getting back to the hotel, then," Hotch said. "We're flying back to Quantico as soon as Morgan is cleared to leave."
"I am kinda jealous of Reid, though," Prentiss remarked. "He doesn't have to share a room tonight."
"I'm sure pretty boy is gonna miss me," Morgan laughed. "Aren't you, Reid?"
"Oh yeah," said Reid sarcastically, causing the team to start laughing again. "I'm totally going to miss your snoring."
"I do not snore!" Morgan retaliated. "Whereas this kid doesn't get enough of rattling off facts to us while he's awake- oh no. He actually says them in his sleep."
Morgan's words set the team off even more; they were all in hysterics. "Seriously?" Reid said. "I actually do that?"
"Yes, you do, Reid," Morgan replied. "You really, really do."
"Okay," said Hotch, managing to pull himself together. "Now we've really got to go."
The team all said their goodbyes to Morgan, and began moving towards the door. Reid wanted to stay longer- in fact, he wanted to stay all night- but both he and Morgan knew that that could blow the entire secret before they were ready.
"JJ?" Morgan said, as the blonde agent was leaving behind the rest of the team. "Wait for a second, will you?"
The team moved out into the corridor, but JJ stood in the doorway. "Tell Spencer that I'm really, really going to miss him tonight. I won't be able to sleep properly without him beside me. And the fact telling in his sleep? I actually love that- it's adorable. Hell, I love him. Tell him, won't you?"
JJ smiled. "Of course I will, Derek." She gave him one last wave before following the others out of the hospital.
Reid didn't talk the entire way back to the hotel- his mind was on Morgan, in the hospital without him, alone and in pain. He wanted so much to be there with him, but they both knew that that was not a good idea, not when they weren't ready to tell anyone about their relationship yet. Luckily nobody noticed or attached any significance to Reid's silence- they chalked it up to exhaustion, like the rest of them.
Hotch and Rossi murmured a brief 'goodnight' to the other three agents before heading to their room down the hall. JJ, Reid and Prentiss paused outside their doorways.
"You okay, Reid?" Prentiss asked. Maybe somebody had been paying attention to his silence.
"I- yeah, I'm fine," Reid replied. "Just tired, you know? I just need to sleep."
"If you're sure you're okay…" Prentiss still looked like she didn't believe Reid, but opened the door to her room. "You coming, Jayje?" she said, turning to the blonde.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec, okay?" JJ said. Prentiss was about to open her mouth, but seeing the look on JJ's face she entered her room and closed the door behind her.
"Spence," JJ whispered finally, when she heard the shower in her room turn on. "He is okay, you know."
"Yeah, I know," Reid replied absently, not looking at JJ. His mind was definitely elsewhere.
"He'll be back to you tomorrow," JJ assured Reid, placing a hand on his arm. "Then you guys can do whatever the hell it is you do."
"I know he's going to be fine. I know he'll be out of hospital tomorrow. It's just… I worry, yeah? And I've gotten so used to falling asleep with him right there beside me. I don't know if I can sleep without him there," Reid explained.
"I knew you loved Morgan," JJ said. "But until I saw how you reacted to what Morgan was doing inside that house, I had no idea how much you loved him." Reid remained silent- he didn't know what to say. "Morgan- Derek- told me to tell you something. He told me he's going to really miss you tonight, too. He's not going to be able to sleep properly, either. And he loves it when you tell facts in your sleep- he thinks it's cute." JJ smiled, as she remembered Morgan's face when he'd been telling her that. "And he loves you."
Reid looked directly at JJ, and she saw the tears gathering in his eyes. "Thank you, Jayje," he whispered. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep."
Reid walked into his room and closed the door behind him, trying to compose himself. It's just one night, he thought to himself. You can sleep without him there for one night.
Still, when Reid had gotten changed and climbed into bed, he felt that something was missing. The extra weight in the bed, the warmth radiating from Morgan's body… how could he have become so used to that in such a short time? Reid closed his eyes, and tried to imagine with all his might that Morgan was lying there beside him.
"I love you, Derek," Reid whispered into the darkness. And miles away in the hospital, also trying to sleep, Morgan was whispering the same thing to Reid.
A/N: So there it is, guys! Next chapter they will at least arrive back in DC, so there will definitely be at least a little smut. And can't Morgan be so sweet when he wants to be? :) As always, please review, I really wanna hear what you guys think and it makes me feel so awesome!
Note from Diamond Cobra: "does anyone actually read these things?"