Happy New Year to you all! Hoping your holidays were awesome! Going back to season 4's "Amplification" episode for this one, and jumping in with Dr. Reid. Enjoy!
"We must take care of our families, wherever we find them." -Elizabeth Gilbert
"Knock knock."
My eyes open slowly when I hear the familiar voice of my teammate and friend. I feel my brows furrow in confusion - wasn't it Morgan who had been here before? Or had he left? When did Emily get here?
"Hi," I croak when I realize I haven't said anything, and she's looking at me with a fairly high degree of concern.
"Hi yourself," she says, leaning on the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," I reply, trying to sit up a little bit in my bed.
She holds up a hand to halt my action. "Don't get up on my account," she says with a half smile.
I smile sheepishly and settle my head back into the pillow. As much as I'm trying to fight it - my eyelids feel heavy, and the desire to sleep is rather strong.
"I heard a rumour you were looking for some jello," she says as she steps into the room, her gaze settling on the evidence Morgan left behind - the empty container on the table, spoon still sitting in it.
"Yeah," I reply, my voice still croaking. "Morgan ate all of mine."
"Sounds about right," she says with a shake of her head. "Good thing I managed to snag you a couple extras," she adds with a smile, pulling two containers from her pocket.
I feel a smile tug at the corners of my mouth at her gesture. We hadn't started out in the best of circumstances with me struggling to get a handle on my drug addiction in the early days of her time on the team, but she had quickly found a place in the team and we had grown to become friends shortly thereafter.
"Thank you," I say, reaching forward to take the containers from her.
"No problem," she says with a smile. "Hospital stays are tough enough as it is; there's no reason you should have to give up one of the few perks just because Morgan forgot to eat before visiting."
I smile at her words. I had always liked jello…
"So what's the prognosis, doctor?" she asks, sitting down in the chair that Morgan had vacated whenever he left. "How long are they gonna keep you in here?"
"Another couple days," I answer. "It depends on how quickly my body recovers."
"And how much Morgan flirts with the nurses," she adds drily. My eyes follow her gaze to find Morgan leaning on the counter and chatting with some of the nurses. "You better hope they don't like him too much, or you may find yourself in here a bit longer," she quips.
We sit in silence for a minute as we both watch the so-called player in action. There is no question that he's turned on the charm, based on the expressions of the nurses. If they weren't attracted to him before, they certainly are now…
"God, does he do that everywhere?" she asks, her face shifting to a grimace.
"Aside from the first year we worked together, yes."
"Wait," she says, her gaze swinging back to me. "You mean Derek Morgan wasn't always like…" she trails off, apparently searching for the right word, "...that?" she finally settles on. Given his nature now, it's not surprising that she sees him as a so-called "player".
"He was pretty professional the first year we worked together, actually. Even wore a suit and tie every day to work."
"Seriously?" Emily says, her brows rising in surprise. I can't say I blame her. His style has relaxed significantly since those early days, and it's rare to see him in a suit and tie these days. That's more Hotch's wardrobe.
I nod. "Yeah."
"Wow. I never would have guessed."
I shrug. "He's not as bad as you think he-"
"No, I know he's not a bad guy," she interrupts. "He's just so…"
"Charming?" I suggest.
She shrugs in reply, apparently unable to find the correct sentiment. "It's funny to imagine him in a suit. Was he as stiff and professional as Hotch is?"
I let my mind wander back to the early years of working with Morgan. He had been a different person then, with his suits and strictly professional demeanour. It had been easy to see why he went after his JD and had risen quickly through the ranks of Chicago PD only to be recruited by the Bureau. He still had elements of the Morgan we all know now, but for the most part I'd seen him as another version of Hotch. Gideon, of all people, had been the maverick of the team back then.
"Not quite to the same degree, but yes. He was more likely to follow rules then."
"Morgan following procedure. I never thought I'd see the day," she says with a laugh.
"Change is inevitable," I say in reply. I find myself wondering what Emily was like a few years back. She had already changed from when she first joined the team, but I wonder how much she's changed since her early days in the Bureau.
"I suppose so. What about you, Dr. Reid? What were you like in those early days?" she asks with a grin.
I shrug and offer a slightly sheepish smile. "I don't think I've changed all that much, actually. In small ways, perhaps, but in the grander scheme of things...not so much."
"Maybe you're right," she says with a small smile. "Your hair is the same length."
"It is?" I say in surprise. I hadn't realized.
She nods. "It got a little long last year," she teases, "but you're back to where it was when we first met."
"Oh. Well, now I feel bad that I don't really remember what your hair was like," I admit.
She laughs heartily. "What, you can't use that eidetic memory of yours to tell me what shoes I was wearing?" she teases, a wide grin on her face.
"I tend to focus my eidetic memory on pages of text and diagrams," I reply, feeling a tinge of embarrassment spread to my cheeks.
"I was just teasing, Reid. Hey, do you mind if I have one of those?" she asks, pointing to the containers of jello she'd brought me.
"First Morgan, and now you? You guys know that I'm the patient here, right?"
"That's no way to thank the person who brought you the jello in the first place," she says, arching an eyebrow. I smile sheepishly. "Besides, I'm sure I can sneak you a couple more cups before I leave."
"Which flavour?" I relent, holding out a spoon.
"Oooh, I'll take the strawberry, please."
I hand over the requested container and grab the remaining green one to enjoy myself - lest Morgan make another appearance and steal it away.
"So you don't think you've changed?"
I shake my head. "I don't think so, but I wouldn't be the best person to ask."
"Best person to ask what?" Morgan asks as he enters the room. His entry to the room is timely, to say the least. What is it they say? Speak of the devil and he doth appear. Although most use the slightly altered form - speak of the devil and he shall appear. Largely rooted in superstitious beliefs in the Middle Ages, the idiom's meaning has-
"Whether Dr. Reid here has changed much since the early days of his time in the BAU," Emily says, interrupting my internal monologue.
"Oh, pretty boy has changed all right," Morgan says with a grin as he tousles my hair before sitting down in a chair on the opposite side of my bed. I turn slightly away, shielding my jello from him. As much as he and Emily tease me about it - I really do want some jello...
My brows furrow. "I have?"
"Definitely," Morgan says confidently. "You're a lot more confident these days. Not so attached at the hip to Hotch."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Morgan shrugs. "You were practically Gideon's shadow at first, and when he wasn't there, you were Hotch's shadow."
I open my mouth to respond, but realize quickly that he's right. I had tended to stick with them back then. I had been young, and they had provided guidance and been my mentors.
"See, even he can't argue with me," Morgan says with a cocky grin, meeting Emily's gaze.
She scoffs. "You know, I wouldn't be talking too much smack there, Morgan."
"Oh? And why not, Prentiss?"
"Because I have it on good authority that the suave Derek Morgan with a devil-may-care attitude hasn't always been that way…" she finishes with a knowing grin.
"Pretty boy, why you gotta spill my dirty little secrets like that?" he says with a shake of his head.
I just grin widely at his words. "And where's my jello?" he asks, looking at the container in my hand, and the one in Emily's.
"Oh, as if you haven't had enough already," Emily quips.
"You wound me, Prentiss. That's just mean."
"I just speak the truth, Morgan. Quit stealing the patient's food, you mooch."
I feel another smile tug at the corners of my mouth as Emily and I share a look. I find myself incredibly grateful to have friends like Derek and Emily. Somehow, despite having just come close to dying and almost seeing a dangerous outbreak take place, they have me laughing.
It's been a tough year for us all, and with our occupation it's likely that it won't get any easier. But as hard as it's been for each of us individually, we've been there for each other and have helped share those burdens. Like a family. When I joined the BAU, I never imagined I'd also gain good friends - and ultimately a family. That had been a happy bonus, and one that I'm more and more thankful for every day.
So...enjoy the jello humour? Like seeing Reid give Prentiss a peek into how Morgan was before she joined the team? (I always found his early days so entertaining when compared to the later years - full suit and everything!)