Chapter Six

Morgan sighed as he pulled his SUV back into the hospital parking lot. Just as he was leaving Reid's room Doctor Smith had remembered to inform him that Reid would be taken for a second scan to check that the bleeding from his spleen had completely stopped, therefore he would not be back for a while. That had suited him just fine, as it gave him plenty time to get back to the hotel and grab some clothes for his friend. As much as he enjoyed teasing Reid he knew that he was an overtly private person and would appreciate being out of the hospital gown and in something a little more familiar.

As soon as he hit the road he used the hands free system that Garcia had set up in all of the SUV's to call Hotch and update him on the situation. All he had to do was say his boss' name and system recognised the word and put the call through immediately.

"Hotchner." Came his boss' serious tones. Morgan remembered that his voice has lost it's edge that it had gained the night before.

"Hey Hotch, it's Morgan." He had answered and before he could say anything else Hotch interjected.

"How is he?" A tinge more emotion had made itself known in his voice.

"Well considering what's happened he's doing good, looks like crap but I think he's good. He's pretty irritable at the minute though but then again that could be the coffee withdrawal." He tried to joke whilst simultaneously skirting around the main issue. "Doctor Smith came in to talk to him so I left to go and grab Reid some clothes."

"What aren't you telling me Morgan?" Hotch almost demanded. That man never missed a beat, Morgan had thought at the time.

Damn profilers, he had cursed the situation rather than Hotch himself. Just once he wished he could get away with hiding things. He needed to take some pointers from Reid who seemed to be the most adept at lieing through his teeth and getting away with it. "I only managed to speak with him for a couple of minutes but it wasn't great. It must be a complication of the concussion but the kid can't remember anything between going to the library and waking up this morning."

Hotch had sighed heavily after cursing. "That makes it damn near impossible to identify who did this to him then."

He frowned. "How so?"

"Before I go any further I think you should call Garcia after this. She wasn't exactly amused that nobody had called her last night to inform her what had happened." That first sentence had been enough to send the fear of God through him. However, overriding the fear of Garcia's wrath was the immense shame he felt at not calling one of the most important women in his life. He would have a lot of making up to do with her. Before he could think of ways to say sorry Hotch continued. "I had her check the footage from the security surrounding the library, the police department and even the main road. Every single camera was out for around five hours. They didn't even catch Reid going into the library initially and as he can't remember anything we don't have any scrap of information to go on."

Rather than cursing himself, he tried to look at the other options that remained open to them. "Have his clothe come back from processing? Surely taking a hit that hard would have dislodged some paint." He phished.

"I checked first thing and they had nothing new to give me. However, they told me to expect the results within the next few hours. Look, we'll worry about the fine details later, we have an unsub to catch and Reid needs to rest and recover. Spend an hour or so more at the hospital but I'll need you back at the station. We need as many minds on this one as we can. Something just doesn't feel right." Hotch paused as Morgan agreed with him. "And Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"Call Garcia. I'm sure you'll be able to smooth things over with her." Morgan heard the relief in the voice on the other end of the line. Hell hath no fury like Garcia scorned, after all.

"Roger that." And he disconnected the call. He had waited until he had pulled up before putting through a call to Garcia. For this he disconnected his phone from the car and held it close to his ear. This was personal. It took an unusual five rings to connect.

"Peneolpe Garcia."

This isn't going to go well, he thought to himself as he noted the sadness in her voice. "Hey, how's my baby girl?" He said trying to force the nervousness out of his voice.

"Don't you dare baby girl me, Derek Morgan!" She shrilled, making him pull the handset away from his ear. "How could you not tell me?"

"What can I say Garcia? We were all exhausted last night. I was gonna call you as soon as we got back but I fell asleep." He explained quickly. "You know that beside my mom and my sisters you are the most important woman in my life and I would never deliberately leave you out, I promise you that. I'm sorry."

There was only silence on the other end. "I understand. I'm just worried." She sighed. "How is he?"

"He's banged up and he's obviously in pain but he'll recover soon enough. He can't remember anything about the accident though."

"I'm going to say that I'm thankful for the little things, like the fact that he is alive." She tried to lighten the mood but there was still tension in her voice. "He isn't going to take the memory blanks well, is he?"

"I don't baby girl but he didn't seem to bad when I left him." He smiled. He was truly thankful to have this woman in his life. "Listen, I'm outside of the hotel now to pick some things up for him. What do you say I grab a laptop and you can set up a video link and talk to him yourself?"

"You my chocolate Adonis could give our resident genius a run for his money." She giggled. "That would be great, thank you."

"Ok sexy mama I'll speak to you soon." He ended the call and entered the hotel. He had located Reid's go bag soon enough and quickly showered, deciding that he would have enough time. Fifteen minutes later he was back in his vehicle and starting the engine up.

Unfortunately, he had been caught up in the rush our traffic. The population of Pasadena were on their way to their day jobs. After a forty minute drive her found himself pulling into the exact same parking space he had been in earlier. He reached behind and pulled the black go bag forwards and grabbed the long strap of the battered old satchel. JJ had left it in the car the previous night. He slung the satchel over his shoulder and carried the other bag by its handles. He wiped sweat from his forehead. Great, today is shaping up to be as hot as yesterday. However, it wasn't long before he was walking the blissfully cool corridors of the hospital. As he neared his friend's room he heard raised voices. He paused and listened.

"You are being deliberately detrimental to your own health Mr. Reid." Came Doctor Smith's measured tones. Morgan could tell he was having a hard time holding back. "I can overturn your decision if I see fit."

Reid snorted. "Firstly, it's Doctor Reid." Morgan gulped. He must really be angry, he never pulls rank like that. "And secondly, if you see fit? I assume you are referring to whether I'm mentally capable to make that decision. I believe your argument is void by the fact that I can hold a perfectly intellectual debate with you on the matter. I would also like to remind you doctor that you have sworn the Hippocratic oath." As his tirade continued his tone of voice rose a few decibels higher. "I know my body well enough to know that taking anything but NSAID's will do more harm than good!"

There was a pause before a reply came through gritted teeth. "I'll come back later when you've calmed down Dr. Reid." Doctor Smith exited the room with a face like thunder. "Agent Morgan." He acknowledged as he stormed past.

Derek frowned and decided to try his luck with Reid. It wasn't like his friend to lose his temper so violently. "What was that about?" He enquired as he bent down to stow away the bags just under the bed. He completely missed the sudden paleness his friend's skin taken and the way he clutched his head in pain. Morgan's head snapped up as soon as he heard vomiting. "Whoa are you okay? Do you need me to go and get someone?"

Reid placed the bowl down on the side table and lay back down against the pillows looking absolutely spent. "I'm fine. Just a headache."

Once he was sure that Reid was as he said he was he sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to the bed. "Care to explain what that was with the doc?"

"Speaking to me like I'm five years old." He sighed and closed his eyes. "He was trying to make me change my mind about the pain medication. I shouldn't have yelled at him like that but he just wouldn't listen to me."

"Would it be so bad?" Morgan broached the subject carefully. "I mean it would make you more comfortable for a start."

Reid turned his head and looked at him with weary eyes. "Morgan, I appreciate your concern but if I had been an alcoholic would you say to me: Have one sip of brandy, just to take the edge off?" He reasoned. "I know I'm not strong enough to fight it a second time."

"I get it Kid, I do." He surrendered holding his hands up. "I just, we all hate seeing you like this."

"You're getting soppy in your old age Morgan." Reid closed his eyes once more but he was smiling.

Morgan chuckled and suddenly his cell phone buzzed, indicating he had a message. He unlocked the screen to see that it was from Hotch: Change of plan. Get back to the station as soon as you can. Another body has been found.

Sorry everyone but I've had A LOT going on believe me. And I also apologize that this is indeed a filler chapter but things should start moving from now on. I love the support you guys give me. tannerrose05 your reviews put a much needed smile on my face.