AN: So this chapter wraps up the events of the reunion. I'm thinking one more chapter after this to wrap up some other things. I just want to say thanks to all who have read and especially to those who took the time to alert, fav or review this story. I appreciate it all!

Spencer Reid laid in the soft hotel bed in Morgan's room alone, his head resting on a pillow on which the smell of Morgan's aftershave still faintly lingered. The lamp between the beds illuminated the room in a soft glow and the sounds from the direction of the bathroom revealed where the other room's occupant was. Reid shivered slightly. Now that Morgan wasn't pressed up against him, Reid was realizing how cool the room was. He idly wondered how high Morgan had set the air-conditioning unit as he got up and pulled back the blankets on the bed. Perhaps he was being presumptuous in thinking that Morgan wanted him to stay, but Reid had no desire to return to his own room right then - no matter how much warmer it was.

Reid was settling in under the blankets when Morgan came out of the bathroom. Leaving the light on in the room, Morgan pulled the door most of the way shut. As he headed for the bed, a shaft of light came from the cracked door.

"Is that going to be enough light for you?" Morgan asked, waving a hand in the general direction of the bathroom.

Reid smiled, touched that Morgan even remembered that he didn't like the dark.

"It'll be fine," Reid replied.

"Are you cold?" Morgan asked as he made his way between the room's two beds and sat down.

"It's a little cooler in here than I'm use to," Reid admitted quietly.

"I can turn down the air," Morgan said, moving to stand back up.

Reid quickly reached out for Morgan's arm, catching the older man's wrist. "It'll be fine. It's your room. Keep it at the temperature that you're comfortable with."

Reid felt Morgan's searching gaze on him as the older man looked over his shoulder at him. Finally, as if deciding that the issue wasn't worth an argument, Morgan reached out with the hand Reid didn't have a hold of and turned out the lamp. Letting go of Morgan's wrist, Reid tucked his arm back under the blanket. The next thing the genius knew, Morgan was laying beside him and gathering him into his arms. Involuntarily Reid felt himself tense up. Being held close by someone was a strange feeling to him at this point in his life.

"I'm sorry," Morgan told him, reluctantly beginning to relinquish his hold on the younger man.

"No, don't," Reid told him pleadingly. As uneasy as the gesture had made him feel he still had a desire to have Morgan close to him. To be able to feel the warmth from the older man's body.

"I don't want to make you feel uneasy," Morgan told him softly, pausing in his movements. Reid could hear the hesitancy in the older man's voice.

"I'm just not used to it," Reid told him, wanting to reach out and pull Morgan's arm back down around him but hesitant to do so. Frightened really. This was all so knew to him. Yes, he might have had relationships with other people, other men, before this but they were nothing like this. The emotions involved hadn't run so deep. When they had left, he knew going on wasn't going to be hard, but if Morgan left . . .

Reid didn't even try to put that possibility into coherent thoughts. He knew it would be opening himself up to the same hurt that had followed his Dad and Gideon walking out on him. Could he really survive going through that again? Perhaps he should cut his loses now before he got in too deep. Then he thought about how Morgan's lips had felt on his skin . . .

"You can't get use to something unless you experience it," Reid said instead.

Reid's felt Morgan's arms encircle him again, pulling him back against the older man's strong body. Reid felt a gasp escape his lips as memories of being tied to the goal post came back to him. He quickly reminded himself that not only wasn't he back in high school but he wasn't on the football field either. He was in a hotel room with Morgan, a man that he trusted with his life on a regular basis, and he had nothing to be afraid of. Banishing the demons Reid tried to make himself relax.

"You're safe with me you know, Pretty Boy," Morgan said softly, his mouth close to Reid's ear as he maneuvered the younger man closer to him so that Reid's head was nestled on his shoulder.

"I know," Reid replied, willing himself to relax into Morgan's embrace. At least the chill had left him now with the warmth of Morgan's body heat added to that of the blanket.

There was so much more Reid wanted to say, but he couldn't find the words. Found it hard to banish the actions of the football team both from high school and from tonight. Couldn't forget how humiliated he had felt tonight when he had heard Morgan's voice in the dark even as relief had flooded through him. He hadn't wanted to feel so helpless in front of the person he loved. The one person whose opinion of him mattered the most to him.

~How can he really love me? ~ Reid asked himself, thinking that Morgan deserved so much more than what he could offer him.

"You know it's not too late, Reid," Morgan said, breaking the silence.

"Too late for what?"

"To press charges. Kid, even if you weren't a federal officer, what they did to you tonight was battery. They shouldn't . . ."

"Morgan, no. Please, it's not worth it."

"Kid, I hate what they did to you. You shouldn't have been subjected to that and I realize that it's my fault . . . "

"It's not your fault. You had nothing to do with their actions."

"I shouldn't have encouraged you to go. I'm sorry."

"This wasn't your fault. I never should have made that accusation," Reid said quickly.

"You were right though," Morgan said. In the dim light he could see Reid start to open his mouth to protest. Reaching out he pressed one finger gently against Reid's lips in a silence gesture. "Seriously Kid, can you honestly tell me you would have gone tonight if I hadn't pressed the issue?" Morgan asked, removing his finger.

"Well, no."

"I promise not to interfere again," Morgan told him, resting his chin against the top of Reid's head.

"Then you'll let what happened tonight go?" Reid asked, still afraid that Morgan might insist on trying to get him to press charges. He knew how protective the older man could get over the people he cared about.

"You won't hear another word about it from me, Pretty Boy," Morgan told him.

"Good. I don't want to ruin anyone's life. It's not worth it, especially when other people could get hurt other than Rick and his friends," Reid said, thinking of Rick's wife and any possible kids the two of them might have. It wasn't right for them to suffer for this. Closing his eyes, Reid tried to relax once again. Both men were silent for a bit before Reid spoke again. "Tonight wasn't all bad you know," he ventured. His thoughts drifted to Alexa. He might not have the same feelings for her as he once did, but knowing that she regretted her part in the incident in high school made him feel better. "I talked to Alexa Lizben tonight. She apologized to me."

"At least someone involved learned something over the years."

"She's got a son who is in a situation similar to what I went through in highschool. I gave her my card and told her to have him call me. Hopefully knowing someone is on his side might help him through it."

"That's what I love about you, Pretty Boy. Everything you've been through and you still want to try to help others. It takes a big person to care about others that much, especially when they've done something to hurt you."

"I just don't see how ruining more lives can benefit anyone," Reid said softly, feeling his cheeks flush under Morgan's words.

"Please don't ever change," Morgan told him, tightening his hold on Reid a bit more.

Morgan was rewarded by Reid snuggling a bit closer to him as he finally closed his eyes, trying to put the events of the night behind him. Tomorrow he would visit his mother once more before taking an afternoon flight back to D.C. The only thing that concerned him right now was what would happen between him and Morgan once they returned home. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Reid decided to try enjoying being held by the man he loved tonight and worry about the rest later.

In the front seat of the rental car, Morgan watched Reid disappear through the front doors of Bennington Sanitarium as he pulled out his cell phone. Hitting the number one, he put the phone up to his ear as Garcia's number dialed. He had a task that he wanted to take care of while Reid was visiting with his mother, and in order to complete that task he needed Garcia's computer skills.

"Hey, Hot Stuff! Everything okay?" Garcia asked, as she answered the call. Her next comment had a hint of teasing to it. "I was going to call last night to check up on you but I was afraid I might have interrupted something."

"Things are fine, Baby Girl," Morgan assured her. He chose not to comment on the last part of her conversation knowing the gushing that the technical analyst would go into. "However, I need your help with something."

"Anything for you my Chocolate God."

"I need the address and number for a Rick Lambert. I can tell you he went to high school in Vegas but I can't be sure he actually still lives in the city," Morgan told her.

Morgan would prefer to have his planned conversation with Rick face-to-face but he had a limited time frame in which to accomplish that which meant he wanted the number in case the guy wasn't home.

"Do I want to know why?" Garcia asked. From the tone of her voice Morgan could tell that the computer genius already had part of her attention focused on the task.

"It would probably be better if you didn't."

"Can't you go on a trip without getting involved in something that normal people don't have to worry about?" Garcia asked, a trace of worry revealing itself.

"Don't fret, Mama. This isn't anything dangerous. Just some unfinished business that I need to take care of," Morgan told her.

Though he planned on keeping the promise he had made Reid last night, Morgan wasn't about to let Rick Lambert off the hook quite as easily as Reid was. He had told Reid that the genius wouldn't hear anything else on the subject from him, and Morgan intended to uphold that end of the deal. What he hadn't promised was that he would let the matter completely dropped. The former high school foot ball player had hurt Reid not once but twice, and Morgan was going to make damn sure that he didn't hurt him a third. Though he couldn't do anything officially without involving Reid, the Chicago native planned on making sure that Rick Lambert wouldn't go anywhere near his younger co-worker again.

Garcia didn't make an immediate reply and there was silence on the line as she did her work. Within minutes she was given Morgan the information that he had requested.

"Thanks, Mama. You're the best."

"You only say that because it's true," Garcia commented cheerfully. "So how's my junior G-man doing?"

"He's fine, Garcia."

"Are you sure, because you kind of hung up on me kind of quickly last night and then you never did call me back so I thought something might have been wrong."

Not about to tell the computer tech what had happened at the reunion, Morgan decided to give her some information that would ease her mind and stop her from asking more questions about what had caused him to end the phone call so abruptly the night before.

"I took your advice last night, Baby Girl, and told Reid how I felt about him."

Morgan held the phone away from his ear as Garcia squealed in delight.

"And?" she asked excitedly. Morgan knew exactly what she meant by that one word.

"You were right, he does have the same feelings for me," Morgan told her, knowing that some form of the phrase 'I told you so,' would be forthcoming if he allowed her to speak. Not really wanting to hear the words he rushed on. "You've got to keep this quiet for me right now though, Baby Girl. This is new territory for us right now. We don't want a lot of people knowing until we've had time to sort things out ourselves, especially given certain rules within the workplace."

"My lips are sealed," Garcia promised. "Although, I'm so happy for the both of you. It's about time you both stopped pretending."

Morgan smiled at the comment. "Thanks, Sweetheart. And thanks for the information. I'll call you when the flight gets in later tonight."

"Okay. Take care and don't do anything I wouldn't do," she added.

"Bye, Garcia," Morgan replied, smiling as he ended the phone call.

Morgan put his phone away and then entered the address he had received from Garcia into the rental's GPS system. Reid might want to just let things go, but then he wasn't Reid. His heart wasn't quite as big as the young genius, especially when it came to people who had hurt people he cared about.

Before long he was pulling up in front of a house on the outskirts of the city. Morgan double checked the address before getting out of the car. Walking toward the house, he took in the idyllic white picket fence bordering the small yard. Pushing the fence open, Morgan noticed a hula hoop and red kick ball in the grass. Reid's words about other people other than Rick and his friends paying if he pressed charges came to mind, and Morgan understood them now. It still didn't keep him from striding toward the front door and ringing the bell.

It wasn't long before a short, redhead of average build was answering the door. "May I help you?" she asked, pleasantly.

"Is Rick Lambert in?"

"He is. And you are?"

Morgan took out his credentials. It was the one way he knew to get Rick Lambert's attention. "Derek Morgan. I've got a few questions for him."

The woman's face paled as she turned and looked into the house. "Honey, a fellow from the FBI wants to talk to you," she called. As she turned Morgan got a glimpse of two children, a boy and a girl, sitting on the floor in front of a board game.

It didn't take long for Rick to appear. His look of confusion went to one of panic as he recognized Morgan.

"Mr. Lambert, would you mind stepping out on the porch for a few minutes?" Morgan asked, not wanting to say what he had to say in front of the man's family.

Rick nodded. Leaning down, he gave his wife's cheek a kiss. "Don't worry," he told her, stepping out of the front door and pulling the door shut behind him. As soon as the door clicked shut Rick addressed Morgan. "This is about last night, isn't it?" he asked, to which Morgan gave a quick short nod. "Look, I was drunk. I wasn't thinking straight but the other two were only following my lead. If there are any repercussions from this, I'll take responsibility for it. Leave Larry and Ned out of it."

The fact that Rick was trying to protect his friends raised the guy a half a notch above pond scum in Morgan's opinion. Still, the guy was a father. Any doubts about Reid's choice to let this go had left Morgan when he had spotted those two kids. Still, he planned on saying what he had come to say.

"If it was up to me, I would have arrested all three of you last night," Morgan told him, his voice cold and hard. "The only reason I didn't is because of Reid. He still doesn't want to press charges," Morgan continued, hearing an audible sigh from Rick as he said the words. "However, I'm here to tell you that I don't condone what you and your pals did last night or fifteen years ago. They're the actions of a bunch of cowards. Out of respect for Reid, I'm not pressing the issue but I'm telling you right now, and you can let your two pals know that this applies to them too, that if any of you get within ten feet of him again, I'm the one you'll answer to. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah. Perfectly," Rick told him, his eyes not leaving Morgan for an instance.

Morgan turned to leave, but paused and turned back. "Here's something for you to think about. How would you feel if you found out that some bullies from school had done to your son what you did to Reid in high school? How would those two children in there react to knowing what their father had done not only when he was a kid himself but even now when he's supposed to be a responsible parent?"

"You're not going to say anything to my wife and kids are you?"

Morgan shook his head. "I wouldn't do that to them but your actions don't just affect you anymore. Perhaps you should remember that next time you getting to hanging with your buddies," Morgan told him.

With that said, Morgan turned from the house and strode toward the waiting rental. He didn't bother looking back. Like Reid, all he wanted to do was put this whole incident in the past and look forward to the future - his future with Spencer Reid.