Once at the hospital the girls were taken away and Reid had to literally force Morgan into the waiting room to talk with the police, and away from the poor nurses he was terrorizing by constantly demanding information. Morgan reluctantly complied and began recounting his version of events – from the girls leaving them and being stopped by the bar, to the text and their actions from that point on. His voice was practically shaking with anger towards the end of his account and his eyes glistening brightly.

'I should have been there. I should have protected them...' Morgan stated hoarsely once the two agents had been left alone.

Reid shook his head sadly, 'Morgan come on, you know how irrational that is. You know that's not how it how it works.'

'I know, but I saw them take those shots and instead of focusing on making sure they were okay, or even on the creep to make sure he didn't go after them, all I could think about was how Hart did the right thing... I –' he paused shaking his head. 'I'm still proud because she was able to keep the other two safe, but her methods leave a lot to be desired. Her job is to know better than this.' He turned his haunted eyes to meet his friend's gaze. 'She could have got herself killed... if I had read that text any later, or didn't have service or something... Anything could have happened out there... '

'But she is alive, Morgan. She's alive and she's going to be alright because you did check your phone in time, and when you got that message you almost flew out of that bar. You can't think like that because no matter how many 'what if's' you can think of, the reality is she's alive and being cared for as we speak.' Reid squeezed his shoulder gently in support before taking a seat right next to him. 'She's going to be okay Morgan, she really is.'

Morgan's only response was to drop his head into his hands and sigh.

***break***

A little while later, once Kevin had arrived and Will called and briefed on the situation, a Doctor came into the waiting room with an update – JJ and Garcia had woken up and were feeling up for visitors. The drug in their system had been identified as Rohypnol, just as they had suspected; Hart was moving in and out of consciousness and was still being assessed. It was time to go and speak with the girls.

As they entered the double room Kevin immediately rushed to his fiancée's side, embracing her warmly whilst murmuring about how worried he'd been. Reid had sat at JJ's bedside and taken her hand comfortingly, asking how she was feeling. Morgan had frozen in the doorway, staring blankly into the room.

'Where's Hart?' JJ's whispered question pulled everyone's attention and Morgan finally focused on something. 'I don't... what even happened?' The girls winced at the anger blazing in Morgan's gaze as he raised an eyebrow almost tauntingly at them.

'You were drugged, and extremely lucky. Didn't the Doctor tell you? You've had your stomachs pumped and –' Kevin started.

'Yes, we were told that. We just... neither of us can remember anything. We said goodbye to you guys and then it's a blur.' Garcia interrupted. 'And where is Hart? You still haven't mentioned her – was she drugged too? Is she okay?'

Morgan's cold glare focused on her, unable to control the fierce anger building at her words. 'No Penelope, Hart was not drugged. Unlike some people she managed to use her brain, let alone her experience with criminals, to figure out that accepting a pre-bought drink from a complete stranger was a bad idea. How could you be so stupid?! You can't seriously be that naive after everything we've seen and been through!'

Garcia had been shocked and hurt when he had failed to use one of her pet names, and was now ready to burst into tears at his harsh words. 'Were we really so stupid?' she thought desolately, sharing a pained look with JJ who had a single tear moving slowly down her cheek. They were both so ashamed by their apparent actions.

Morgan simply scoffed, unable to sympathise at that particular moment in time. 'You have no idea how lucky you are that Hart was with you. She recognised how dangerous the situation was and managed to get rid of her shot without drawing the bastard's attention. Lucky really since he later followed you out to the parking lot – waited just long enough for the drugs to kick in I imagine.' Morgan shook his head in disgust at the thought, turning away from his co-workers to stare out the window.

Reid took his cue to take over the explanation, proceeding in a significantly calmer manner after smiling sadly at Morgan's tense form. 'Hart managed to get you safely into the car and locked you in so he couldn't get to you. She sent Morgan a message telling him you needed help and... we're not clear on what exactly happened before we got there but –' Reid looked away from the girls' horrified faces and focused on Morgan's now trembling form, sighing before putting his head in his hands. 'She wasn't in great shape when we arrived, it looked like he'd just hit her head against the car door... She's still being assessed by the Doctor, she should be alright - though I imagine she'll have a concussion and I know they've taken her for x-rays for her ribs and wrist. We're just waiting for news now.'

Both girls were in tears, they couldn't believe it. The thought of what could have happened to them if Hart hadn't been there – it was terrifying! their naivety had come at a terrible price – they were so anxious to see their friend to both thank her and apologise wholeheartedly. 'In the meantime...' Garcia thought as she slowly pulled herself together and focused on her best friend. Morgan had not moved since he had taken his at the window, his shoulders had become still once more and the only indication that something was wrong was his tightly clenched fists hanging by his sides. Garcia was still hurt by the way he had spoken to her but now she understood.

The whole team had noticed the way Morgan acted around Hart over the last few months; he was overprotective, less cocky – in short, he was besotted. And now because of their behaviour she had been injured and risked far worse at the hands of some disgusting low-life. She completely understood how angry he must be. The worst part though, was that he would probably feel guilty for his harsh words – when in reality he was right. She could see it happening already; his shoulders had dropped, his fists relaxed and his whole body appeared to droop in defeat.

'Derek... I-'

'I'm sorry.' Morgan stated before turning abruptly and leaving the room, attempting a reassuring nod at Reid as he passed. Reid shook his head, apologised to the girls and left them with Kevin to go after his friend – he needed him more in that moment and that was all that mattered.