Morgan lightly tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel as he cruised north on I-495, approaching the Maryland line. The traffic was heavy but not stopped, and given that they were looking at roughly an eight-hour drive to Attica, NY the federal agent was thankful for the moving traffic. He could only hope that their luck held, as he wanted to be well rested for the custodial at Attica Correctional Facility the following morning.

George Cabanna, a serial arsonist who terrorized the city of Cincinnati fifteen years ago, had consented to answering questions for the bureau's ViCAP. Cabanna had set ten fires at colleges and universities in the city, killing eight of his ten intended victims. His victims had all been students who had brought allegations against professors at the schools. In most cases, those allegations had died with the student. After his conviction, Cabanna had been given a life sentence and sent to a medium security facility in the Midwest. After killing a prison guard at the prison he had been at, the criminal had been moved to Attica Correctional Facility. Now, approaching the twelfth anniversary of his first victim's death, Cabanna had finally agreed to talk about his crimes, and reveal his reasons for setting the fires.

The sound of Reid's phone ringing split the silence in the vehicle. Out of the corner of his eye, Morgan saw Reid take the phone from the small compartment in the door handle, glance at the screen before hitting a button and return the phone to its resting place. It was the fourth time the younger agent had gone through those motions since they had left Quantico.

"I sure hope that wasn't Hotch," Morgan commented casually.

"Like I would be ignoring calls from our unit chief." Reid countered.

"So who keeps calling, Kid?"

Reid hesitated in answering. Just when Morgan thought, he wasn't going to receive an answer to his question the genius spoke up.

"Ethan's been trying to get a hold of me this morning and I know exactly what he wants."

"The class reunion?"

"Yeah. I know he's going to try to convince me to go. Today is the last day to RSVP though, so if I can just avoid him for that long then things will be okay."

"Until he comes back from the the reunion and starts telling you stories about it. You'll start to wish you had gone. I know from experience, Kid. I had friends who tried to talk me into going to my five-year reunion, but I skipped it because I was embarrassed about where I was in life. Yeah, I may have been in the Northwestern law program but that wasn't where I had pictured myself being when I graduated high school. Hell, I had no intentions of even getting a law degree. Four years of college, a bachelor's degree, and getting drafted to the NFL - that was my plan. Of course the knee injury my sophomore year killed that dream."

"Um, our exit is coming up here on the left," Reid said, having been focused on the road signs.

Checking the lane for other traffic, Morgan moved the vehicle over to the left lane in preparation for taking exit 38 for the north spur for I-270.

"Anyway, since I was feeling sorry for myself, I skipped the five-year reunion. For a month afterwards, any time I had a conversation with any of my old high school friends they would bring up something that had happened at the reunion or tell me what an old classmate was doing. It made me wish I had gone and I don't want to see you have those same regrets."

"Somehow, I don't think that is going to happen," Spencer muttered softly, though the words were loud enough for Morgan to hear.

As the exit was coming up fast, Morgan couldn't spare a glance over at his friend as he guided the vehicle onto the I-270 North Spur.

"So, catching up with Ethan has no appeal to you? It's been about two years since the two of you caught up with each other in New Orleans."

"Yeah but I don't need to go to a high school reunion to catch up with Ethan. We could catch up any old time."

"But you won't," Morgan commented.

Reid felt annoyed at the older agent's assessment but remained since as he recognized the truth in the words. Over the last couple of years hed had made plans with Ethan several times, but something always seemed to get in their way and one of them had to cancel.

"Look, Kid, you hardly ever take vacation time and this job is stressful."

"I had some time off not too long ago."

"Because you were getting over having Anthrax. That doesn't count!" Morgan told him, tapping the brakes and suppressing the urge to cuss as a red pick-up suddenly swerved into the lane right in front of him. "Especially since you came back before Dr. Kimura wanted you to."

"She signed the release for me to come back."

"Under protest," Morgan countered. "I know because she called me to tell me to keep a close eye on you."

"My doctor called you?" Reid asked incredulously. "Why does everyone insist on treating me like a child? I was fine; I didn't need you to follow me around! Although, now it makes sense why I couldn't even get a coffee without bumping into you."

"Reid, I was only trying to look out for a friend. I already thought I would lose you once, and I didn't want to face that again. Don't be mad, Kid."

Reid glanced over at his teammate, who had a worried look on his face despite trying to pay attention to the traffic. Reid sighed before he spoke. "Anyway, it's over with now. But Morgan as much as I appreciate your advice, I don't miss anyone from high school, and I'm certain they don't miss me."

"So you don't miss them Kid, that's fine. But show them that you've grown. Hell, show off for once. Let them know that Spencer Reid is not that same twelve-year-old. He's a highly trained FBI agent with multiple doctorates. If for no other reason, do it to prove to yourself that you beat them, Kid."

Reid remained silent for a while, staring out the window while he considered Morgan's words. He understood where his teammate was coming from, but his life during high school had been hell and Morgan knew that. Morgan was the only one who knew that, actually. So why would he want Reid to return and see those same faces, the faces that had jeered and haunted his nightmares for years?

~ Maybe he forgot about the incident with the football team. I did only mention it that one time, and it was during a case, ~ Reid contemplated, wondering if he should bring it up. After all, that incident was the main reason he didn't want to go to this reunion. He didn't want to face Rick Lambert or any other member of that football team.

"Morgan, considering that I was the youngest in my class by at least five years, what makes you think that my degrees would mean anything to them? Besides, I haven't seen or heard from any of them in years – I don't think I'd miss anything. Why are you pushing this?"

"So much for the easy sailing," Morgan said, pressing down on the brake as the traffic came to a standstill. Morgan took advantage of the situation to catch Reid's gaze, "Because despite the fact that you haven't had contact with any of them, they still affect you, Reid. You can't forget what they did. I know you can't, but at least go back, show off, and give yourself some closure. And I know you need it, Kid, you can't tell me you went unarmed after a troubled highschooler, who had a gun I might add, without feeling something. Otherwise, you wouldn't have blocked our shot."

~He didn't forget, ~ Reid thought as Morgan returned his gaze to the cars in front of him. The genius considered his friend's words carefully, especially as they came from the one person in his life whose opinion meant the most.

They crept forward a bit more. Reid watched as Morgan craned his neck trying to see what was going on up ahead of them.

"So much for making good time," Morgan muttered.

Reid's cell phone rang again, and looking down at the screen he saw Ethan's name and number. Feeling eyes on him, Reid looked to his left. Sure enough, he found himself staring into the dark orbs of Derek Morgan. Those eyes seemed to be daring him to answer the phone.

With a sigh, Reid answered the call. He looked away as he placed the phone to his ear.

"Hey Ethan," Reid said easily.

Reid heard Ethan's casual return greeting, immediately followed by the question he had been dreading.

"Yeah, I've made up my mind. I guess I'll be seeing you in Vegas," Reid replied, refusing to look to his left where he was sure Morgan was wearing a smug smile. Once again, Derek Morgan had managed to convince him to do something he hadn't wanted to do.

Derek Morgan propped a pillow against the headboard of the hotel bed and leaned back. It had been almost seven by the time they had reached Attica, NY thanks to the traffic jam caused by a vehicle fire. After checking into their hotel, the skies a threatening grey, he and Reid had grabbed dinner at an all night café, the closest restaurant to the hotel. By the time Morgan had pulled the SUV into a parking space at the hotel, a thunderstorm had let lose a downpour. Not appreciating the drowned rat comment that Morgan had tossed his way, Reid had stalked off, bypassing the elevator for a three-flight walk up to their rooms.

The custodial was scheduled for nine the following morning, and Morgan planned on relaxing this evening after the day on the road. He had showered and changed into his pajamas - a pair of sweat pants. Now, as he idly flipped through the stations, Morgan wondered what Reid was up to and tried not to imagine helping the younger man out of the wet clothes he had last seen him in. Thoughts like that would only frustrate him, although he could imagine Garcia telling him to just get it over with and tell Reid how he felt already.

~No. We're friends and I won't jeopardize that friendship, ~ Morgan told himself, as he let the tv settle on some cheap scary movie. With the thunder and lighting outside, the scary movie seemed to fit the mood.

As he watched, Morgan couldn't help but grumble about the stupidity of the heroine wandering around the forest alone. Of course, upon hearing a noise she goes looking for the source of the sound instead of running as fast as she can in the opposite direction.

"Lady, you deserve to get whatever the UnSub has planned for you . . ." Morgan muttered as the main character walked right toward where the guy with the axe was hiding

Morgan heard a scream and for a moment it didn't make sense. The heroine had not yet met the killer. He was suddenly alert as he realized the scream was from nearby.

~That sounded like Reid, ~ Morgan thought, grabbing his gun from the drawer of the end table next to the bed. The sound of the heroine screaming came from behind him as he hurried out of the room.

Concerned for his friend's safety - because while Reid could be jumpy, he was rarely vocal - Morgan didn't bother with knocking on the door. Kicking in the door, Morgan burst into the hotel room with his gun leveled in front of him and his eyes sweeping the room for the danger. He didn't see anyone at first but then he spotted a gun being pointed at him over the top of the furthest bed, along with the top of a familiar brunette head.

"Whoa! Hey Reid, it's just me," Morgan said, putting his hand up quickly but not yet making any other movements. The thought of trying to explain just how he had come under friendly fire in a hotel room while on a custodial did not exactly appeal to him.

"Morgan? What the hell?" Reid replied, his voice showing his relief as he placed his gun down on the bed. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I heard you scream," Morgan replied, flipping the safety of his gun back on.

"I didn't scream," Reid said defensively, as he slowly started to get to his feet, his gaze focused on Morgan's bare chest. "I yelled and you would've too, if you had dropped hot coffee on yourself."

Morgan found his gaze drifting downward. Sure enough, the front of Reid's pants was dark with a wet stain; presumably the coffee. Looking away quickly, Morgan spotted a cardboard cup of coffee lying on the floor, the rest of its contents seeping into the carpet.

"How did you manage to drop the cup? You cling to your coffee like a life preserver," Morgan joked, trying to ease the tension of the situation.

"Very funny," Reid replied, clearly not amused.

"Where did you get coffee from anyway?"

"There's an all-night coffee shop next door."

Morgan smiled. "Leave it to you to find the local coffee shop," he commented.

Reid glanced at the door behind the older profiler. "I'm going to let you explain that to the hotel manager," he told him, waving a hand to the door.

Morgan looked over his shoulder at the door. ~So much for a relaxing evening, ~ Morgan thought. With a sigh he headed toward the room's phone to put in a call to the front desk.

An hour later, juggling two cups of coffee from the all-night coffee shop Reid had mentioned, Morgan walked into his hotel room. The sounds of the shower running told him where Reid was.

The hotel manager had not been happy when he found out that ne now had a broken lock on one of the doors thanks to an impulsive FBI agent. However, Morgan had been able to smooth things over by promising to fix the lock himself the next afternoon before heading back to Quantico. Unfortunately, there hadn't been another empty room available for Reid, so the two FBI agents were left to share Morgan's room, an arrangement that Reid had clearly not been happy about.

Letting the door shut behind him, Morgan walked over to the desk and set down the two coffees. He took off the windbreaker he had been wearing in case it started raining again, and hung it on the back of the chair. Then, pulling his T-shirt over his head, Morgan tossed it onto the end of his bed. As he picked up his coffee cup there was a flash of lighting followed shortly by a rumble of thunder. Another storm was heading their way.

As he headed for his bed, Morgan heard the shower cut off. He settled back onto his bed and picked up the TV remote, - flipping through the channels once again - looking for something interesting.

"Reid, I got you a cup of coffee," Morgan called out as he let the TV settle on a local station giving the news.

Morgan took a sip of his own coffee as Reid's 'okay' came drifting out to him.

Reid stared into the mirror, looking at his reflection. His bare torso was visible and the young genius noted just how skinny he was. His ribs were faintly visible, nothing like the muscular build which he had admired on Derek earlier, despite the start that the older agent breaking through the door had given him.

~I'm skin and bones which is why even if he did swing that way, I wouldn't stand a chance with him, ~ Reid thought dejectedly.

Looking away from the mirror he pulled the flannel pajama bottoms and white T-shirt on. Another quick glance didn't make him feel any better about his image. The clothes, baggy for the purpose of comfort, only made him look skinnier.

Reid had been hoping to be in the bed and under the covers before Morgan returned to the room. After Morgan's call to him about the coffee, he knew that wasn't going to be possible. Now he would have to go out there, in his pajamas, under Morgan's scrutiny. Reid wasn't sure why it bothered him so much but it did. Staring at the doorknob, Reid hesitated going out into the room.

~If Morgan hadn't broken the lock on the door to my room, I would be happily over there, without having to worry about this, ~ Reid thought.

Before he could get the courage to move, the room was plunged into darkness as a loud rumble of thunder sounded.

"Just great," Reid muttered, though secretly thinking that at least the darkness would hide his physique form his teammate. Unfortunately, his heart was pounding in his chest. He hated the dark.

"It looks like the storm knocked out the power," Morgan called out from the other side of the door. His words got louder as he spoke as if the dark-skinned profiler was heading in his direction. "Are you okay, Kid?"

"Yeah, fine," Reid replied, quickly hoping his voice wasn't revealing the nervousness he felt.

Reaching out blindly, his hands found the doorknob. Turning it, he pulled the door open, relieved to see a shaft of light. Morgan was standing outside the door with a flashlight.

"I wasn't sure where your flashlight was."

"It's in my bag," Reid replied, stepping out of the bathroom while trying to stay out of the direct light of the flashlight.

The two made their way to where Reid's bag was sitting, Morgan continuing to hold the light while the younger man found his own flashlight.

An hour later the power had still not come back on. Setting the alarm on his phone, Morgan closed the files he had been looking at and sat them aside. Reid was reading a book by flashlight in the other bed.

"I think I'm going to call it a night. I want to be well rested for tomorrow. Somehow despite agreeing to meet with us, I don't think Cabanna is going to make this custodial easy."

"I'm sure it won't be too bad," Reid replied idly, not looking from his book. ~It can't go worse than the one with Hardwick, ~ he added silently.

Morgan said something Reid didn't quite catch as he turned his flashlight off and settled down under the blankets. Ten minutes later Reid decided to follow suit. After marking his place in the book, Reid set it on the table between the two beds. He settled down in the bed, trying to position the flashlight, which was still on, next to him so the light would be visible to him but not disturb Morgan.

"Aren't you going to turn that off?" Morgan asked sleepily a few minutes later.

"I wasn't planning to, no," Reid replied, his cheeks growing warm despite the fact that he had long ago admitted to Morgan that he was afraid of the dark.

Moments later Reid felt something small but heavy hit the bed beside him.

"In case the batteries die in yours," Morgan said lightly.

Finding the object, Reid found that Morgan had tossed him his flashlight. Reid wasn't sure if he was angry or touched by the action. He finally decided to not comment and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.