A/N: Again, not much plot development in this one. It's more of an emotional roller-coaster (for all involved). The actual story will start progressing more again soon as I am aware it needs to come to an end at some point. Hope you all enjoy.

Prentiss sat at her desk, staring at paperwork, much like she had for the last few days. The downsized team had been told they would be left free to assist with the potential dismantling of the trafficking ring that had been uncovered as a result of Reid's kidnapping. But so far, no progress seemed to have been made and their involvement had not been requested. So there she was, trying to drag out yet another report to lunchtime.

She absent-mindedly picked at her fingernails. Reid's voice and worried eyes echoed in her mind. You only do that when you're stressed. Sighing, she stood, grabbing her empty mug and headed for the coffee machine.

The office had been uncharacteristically quiet over the last week. The shock waves from recent events had dispersed and left behind an eerie stillness in their wake.

Prentiss surveyed the office, taking in the disturbing number of empty desks. Desks that, if the world was a fair place, should still be occupied by their owners. But the world isn't a fair place. That there was such a need for a Behavioural Analysis Unit at all was a testimony to that fact.

She stood for a short while, deep in contemplation about how quickly things could change. How lives could be so brutally ended or ripped apart in such a small space of time, leaving behind a devastating feeling of emptiness and hopelessness for the future.

She found herself thinking of victims they had saved, and those they hadn't. She supposed this is how they or their families feel once the BAU walks away and their job is done.

We walk away like it never happened. Ignore the destruction, the heartache, the hopelessness. I guess it's karma that makes it our turn to experience it.

Letting out a long breath, she walked slowly back to her desk, taking a detour by Reid's as she went. Obsessively and needlessly, she straightened and dusted the row of books that were already neatly lined up across the surface, a habit she seemed to have acquired over the last few days. She wanted to keep it nice for him. She didn't want him to eventually return to some preserved time capsule from the day his life was irrevocably changed.

She thought she may do something nice upon his return, perhaps a plant?

Yeah, because a plant is really going to cheer him up. She thought, dryly.

Finding her mind wandering down negative roads for what felt like the thousandth time that week, she shook her head a little and took a sip of her coffee.

Her gaze was drawn to the double doors as she spotted Rossi and his temporary team entering the bull pen.

Ah, people. She thought, with a some relief.

The relief was short lived when she saw Rossi's stony faced expression and the sheepish looks of his two colleagues trailing behind. She watched as he silently and very deliberately headed straight towards the mezzanine and into his office, shutting the door behind him. The blinds soon followed.

Furrowing her brows, she looked to the two agents, Pearson and Newton. They had both sat down at their desks and seemed to be in hushed conversation. Pearson was displaying obvious signs of concern, confusion and a little frustration, taking glances over to the office that was now a fortress.

She smiled to herself.

The classic David Rossi introduction.

As much as they all loved him now, it had been a long and bumpy road getting to know the BAU founder. He was slow to trust, quick to irritate and largely skeptical of their abilities as a team. She did not envy the pair. The fact that it was the last place he probably wanted to be at this moment would not be making it any easier on them.

Pearson caught her eye and Newton's followed his gaze, quickly turning round when she realised she'd been seen. Both of their heads then ducked down as if suddenly lost in some complex paperwork.

Emily's lips tightened.

That was weird.

"Emily!"

She jumped ever so slightly as the firm female voice cut into her thoughts. She turned to see a slightly bemused JJ looking at her. "You okay?" She asked curiously.

"Ah, yeah." Prentiss answered with a smile, shaking away her daydream and gesturing over to the other team. "Seems like Mr. David Rossi might be up to his old tricks again." She nodded up to his office, JJ followed her gaze and grimaced.

"Urgh, poor guys. I do not envy them right now." She answered with some amusement. The previous stubbornness of Rossi was a scar they all wore. But, a necessary stepping stone to something altogether worthwhile.

"Hey, you're looking better." Emily said with a smile. Glad to see that JJ appeared brighter and more rested.

"I'm feeling better. Finally had a good night's sleep last night. Works wonders. I think Will was just about ready to put me down himself if I didn't stop fidgeting all night." She laughed.

Prentiss smiled a little again, masking a painful look of understanding.

"So-" Prentiss quickly changed the subject, "you as bored as I am?"

JJ nodded with a pained expression.

"Ooooh yeah… I found myself looking through Spence's book collection earlier. Then reminded myself that nothing is that bad."

Emily guffawed, moving towards her desk and picking up a book titled "Quantum Decision Theory and Complexity Modelling in Economics and Public Policy." A mock horrified expression graced her face.

"Oh my." JJ's eyes opened wide. "We've really gotta talk to Hotch."

"Yeah." Emily spat out.

Almost on cue, Hotch emerged from his office and looked towards the two women.

"Emily. Can I have a word?"

"Saved by the bell." JJ joked. "Let me just-" She reached towards the book in Prentiss' hand "take this away for your own sanity."

"My saviour." Prentiss sighed with a sideways smile to JJ.

Hotch had already returned into his office, leaving the door open. JJ watched as Prentiss headed up to the mezzanine and entered his office, closing the door.

JJ sighed, looking down at the book in her hands, stroking its spine with a fond smile on her face. She moved to sit in Reid's chair, leaned back and hugged the book against her chest.

Prentiss' brows furrowed at the darkness her boss was sitting in but didn't mention it. She had noticed he been keeping himself isolated recently. More so than usual. So to find him sat in a dark room with only one small source of light wasn't particularly surprising. Concerning, perhaps.

She made her way to the chair opposite, not waiting for an invite. Hotch's gaze was cast down at paperwork on his desk, but she suspected he wasn't really taking it in. His eyes had a somewhat faraway look in them, his tired face was drawn into a troubled expression.

"Sir?" She said gently.

Hotch blinked a couple of times then looked up at her, a split second of surprise crossed his features before it was replaced with his usual tight mask.

"Emily." He answered, clearly before he'd had opportunity to prepare himself for what he was going to discuss with her.

"Is… everything okay?" Prentiss asked carefully.

Picking up the file in front of him, Hotch closed it and returned it to the pile to his right. Prentiss casually wondered how many times that file had been opened and returned to that pile already this week.

"Yes, everything's fine. I just wanted to talk to you about Reid's statement." Prentiss' face dropped into a frown and she nodded. "Agent Nick Field was in here earlier pushing to get Reid's account of what happened." He looked exasperated.

"He is aware of why we haven't pressed him, isn't he?" Emily's irritation was clear.

"Yes, but frankly, I think his sympathy only runs so far. He believes that Reid's statement could be a key piece of evidence in his investigation."

"He doesn't know that." Emily started indignantly. "And pushing Reid at this stage could just send him backwards."

"I know." Hotch said quietly, making Prentiss pause. He was obviously struggling with this. "But I understand his point. There are victims out there who need help. And Reid has already been given an inordinate amount of time."

"Inordinate compared to what?" Prentiss looked bemused. "What is it? One day for a wound, three days for a bullet and five days for rape and torture?" She blustered, clearly infuriated.

Hotch's face twitched uncomfortably.

"Emily." He warned.

She sighed heavily, trying to collect herself.

"Sorry…." She rolled her eyes looking for the words. "I just hate that doing the 'right' thing here…" she trailed off.

"Could mean doing the wrong thing for Reid." Hotch finished with a nod. He understood her position completely and didn't want her to think for a second that he didn't. "He's said he will take it to the top. There's nothing I can do."

Prentiss nodded thoughtfully.

"Does he at least know what he's walking in to?"

"I will give him a full brief at some point this afternoon. He's watching the tape as we speak."

Prentiss sucked in a breath through her teeth. She had hoped that tape would never see the light of day again.

"Urgh." She shook her head, trying to relieve herself of the images that were flashing up.

"I want you to sit in on the interview." Hotch said simply.

Prentiss' mouth opened, dumbfounded.

"Me?" She looked unsure.

"Well, you're the obvious choice. He needs someone in there who can keep their emotions in check. And I think it would be better for him if that person is a woman."

Emily didn't answer, her gaze was cast down at the desk. Hotch's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Is that okay?" He asked gently.

"Yes of course, Sir." Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet. She damned her reputation for compartmentalisation.

Hotch silently scrutinised her for a few moments.

"Are you alright?" He asked kindly.

Tear filled eyes came up to meet his. He was a little taken aback.

"This is hard." She said honestly, nodding slowly, a tear slipping out down her cheek. After a long pause, she wiped it away, taking a deep breath her walls quickly came back up. "But I can do it."

Hotch stared at her for a few long moments, feeling incredibly guilty. His options in this situation were limited.

"Okay." He replied, incredulously.

Prentiss stood, indicating she was done with the conversation. Another tactic Hotch knew was a defence mechanism. He followed her lead towards the door.

"Emily." Hotch moved towards her as she came to a stop. "Thank you." He said kindly, his usual scowl present. Prentiss simply nodded mechanically. "If you need to talk…" Hotch probed.

She gave a tight lipped smile.

"Thank you, Sir."

She turned and left the room.

Hotch stood for a few moments, depression and concern overtaking him. His team was clearly in need of support and he didn't know how to provide it. It was more obvious in some than others.

Garcia wore her emotions on her sleeve and she had often broken down into tears over the last week to bemoan the treatment of her friend and the images she had seen on the tape.

JJ was a little more discreet, but she was looking exhausted. Her usually bright blue eyes were clouded, almost grey. She tried her best to keep her mood up, but it was obvious it was a façade.

He knew Emily wasn't a robot, and that feelings ran deep with her. For her feelings to leak out, even a little, through the dam she had so carefully constructed, showed exactly how much this was affecting her.

The only person who seemed to be coping was Dave. But he hadn't seen him for a few days as he was straight back into a case. It wasn't surprising to him that his old friend was able to move on easier than the others. He knew it had affected him at the time. How could it not? But he also knew that Dave's attachment to the team wasn't quite as strong as the rest. Dave tried to keep it professional. And, if Hotch was completely honest with himself, Reid, on the face of it, did not appear to be one of Rossi's favourite people.

He shook that thought away feeling instantly remorseful for having it. You didn't have to be best friends with someone to be affected by a situation like this.

I'm probably just jealous that I don't have the same ability to focus.

Hotch sighed and closed his door again, locking himself away once again in the safety of his cocoon. He moved back to his desk and picked up that file again. Eyes unfocused, he stared at it, wishing he could just coax his brain to take in some of the detail.

Suddenly he threw the file across the room in frustration. His frustration only partially satisfied he stood up, swiping his arm across at the mountain of files to his right. They went sliding off the desk hitting the floor hard. Papers glided across the room as if giving the middle-finger to say 'we'll make you regret this later'. His anger reached its peak and he launched a stapler across the room, hitting it hard against the filing cabinets.

Resisting the urge to scream madly, he stormed over to the sofa in the corner of the office and dropped down, head in hands.

Morgan inserted the key into his front door and turned, pushing it open wide. He dropped Reid's bag onto the floor in the hallway and turned round to look at his younger colleague, arms open wide and a smile on his face.

"Welcome home."

Reid gave an awkward smile and limped his way in through the front door.

"Thanks."

"Now I want you to treat this place like it's yours. Mi casa es su casa, what's mine is yours."

Reid was doing his best to mask his frustration at the fact that he was not returning to his own home. He was grateful to Morgan, he really was. But this wasn't his home. It would never be.

Reid looked around at the modern décor, the large staircase in front of him, the light that poured in through the windows. Morgan's tastes couldn't be further from his own. He'd only been in there two seconds and he already felt out of place. Like a rusty antique in a shiny chrome cabinet.

Sensing Reid's discomfort, Morgan gestured to the living room.

"You wanna sit down?"

"Sure." Reid moved slowly into the living room. It was clean, crisp and modern again. The walls were white, lit up in areas with sterile blue strip lights, a large flat screen TV took up a huge space on the wall and a sizeable white leather sofa wound its way around the space. It all seemed quite clinical, aside from a framed photo of Morgan's father on the wall.

Morgan watched Reid take in his surroundings, he looked like a fish out of water. The brightness of the surroundings only served to highlight the dark bruises on Reid's face and body. He was picking out bruises he had never noticed before. Faint finger marks on his neck and wrists, even a faint bruise on his ear. His eyes grew soft as he watched his friend limp over to the sofa and lower himself down with a wince. Morgan didn't think he would ever get his head round how someone could do all that to his friend.

The mood in the room was odd. Despite how well they knew each other, Reid had never been to Morgan's home and that fact was painfully apparent at this moment. An uncomfortable silence took over as Reid feigned appreciation of the room and Morgan stood wringing his hands, trying to think of something to say.

This was a new step in their relationship. One Morgan had been keen to take previously but never quite knew how to broach. Reid was not a one for invading people's personal space. He kept the privacy of others like he liked his own, private. This would be a big, scary step for Reid and Morgan knew it.

He sat down on a comfortable brown leather chair next to the sofa, looking at his colleague.

"You feeling okay about this?" He asked kindly.

Reid looked around again, his fidgeting hands giving away his discomfort.

"Erm, yeah. It's err…. nice. I'm sure I'll be very comfortable."

Morgan gave him a look.

"Look kid, you don't have to lie to me. I know this isn't exactly what you wanted."

"Well, no, but…." Reid trailed off, unable to finish that sentence without potentially offending his older colleague. "I am grateful." He added for reassurance.

"You don't need to be grateful, Reid. You just need to get better."

Reid's brows furrowed and he nodded. He was unsure where to even start with that one.

Morgan stood and went to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Reid asked quickly, almost nervously.

This caught Morgan off guard. He laughed a little, startled.

"I'm just gonna get you a drink. Doc says you need to keep drinking fluids and no, coffee does not count."

Reid nodded and Morgan left the room. It seemed uncomfortably quiet aside from the sound of an oversized clock ticking on the wall. His chest tightened with discomfort and he found his foot tapping a little to relieve it. The lack of things to look at or interact with was disconcerting. He rocked back and forth a little to ease the tension that was building in his body. It was a comfort, something he used to do a lot but in recent years had become less and less necessary as he found more 'socially acceptable' ways to self-soothe.

Morgan quietly stood at the entrance to the living room, two glasses of water in his hands watching his friend sadly. He'd always been aware of Reid's autistic tendencies. Despite never being 'officially' diagnosed, it was clear to anyone who spent any time around him that Asperger's was way more than a remote possibility.

During the first year of Reid's employment with the BAU – with a small nudge from a protective Gideon who was sick of seeing the frustrated looks he was giving the kid everyday – Morgan had taken the time to do research so he could better understand his colleague.

He had learned a lot and, unbeknownst to Reid, had put that research into practise everyday he worked with him. Until, of course, their relationship became more natural, the respect became second nature and Morgan actually grew to like Reid as a person, not just a walking textbook.

Morgan had witnessed the huge improvements in Reid over the years, seeing more confidence in his ability to maintain eye contact, his decision making skills, his understanding of social cues amongst many other things. These were the jigsaw pieces that had slotted into place to make Reid one of the best profilers he had ever worked with. With the potential, in his opinion, to become the very best the BAU has seen.

To many, Reid is an enigma. A person that, on the face of it, wouldn't be capable of much more than intellectual enterprise. That, Morgan mused, is what makes him an extremely dangerous adversary to any unsub. A prime example of 'don't judge a book by its cover'.

Reid had become an expert in manipulating the expectations of psychopaths and sociopaths in order to walk them into revealing parts of themselves that they never would with someone they deemed a threat. He'd seen many an unsub fall on their own sword in a battle of words with Reid. But never did it make him overconfident. He always knew there was more to learn. Where Morgan became comfortable, even cocky with his own abilities, Reid was always looking for ways to improve and look at things differently.

Morgan supposed his natural lack of understanding of the world around him at times was a blessing. Instead of being restricted by social norms, he examined all of the social spectrum with curiosity and none of it shocked him.

Looking at Reid rocking back and forth on the couch like he used to so many years ago now made him nervous. How much of Reid's progress had Jason potentially undone? How much confidence had been stripped away? How much had Jason 'shocked' him?

Morgan knew Reid's make-up was going to make this a difficult path to walk. He'd already seen signs of severe overstimulation over the last week and he didn't even dare to think about how Reid got through Jason mauling him when even a simple handshake was often too much for him. The thought of it made him sick.

Morgan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, plastering a smile back on his face.

"Here you go." He said cheerfully, choosing to ignore the slight jump Reid made upon hearing his voice. He handed the water to his friend.

"Thanks." Reid took it gratefully.

"Drink that and I'll give you a tour." Morgan sat in the chair again, drinking down half of his water in one go. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Morgan had finished his water and was looking at Reid curiously. He hadn't touched his drink and his gaze was fixed on the candle in the centre of the coffee table.

"You okay?"

Reid's broke his staring contest with the candle and looked at Morgan.

"Yeah." He responded, almost questioningly.

"You gonna drink that?" Morgan smirked.

Reid rolled his eyes a little and made a show of lifting it to his lips, much like he'd seen his Mom do on many occasions in the past when people were watching her take her meds. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, his thoughts clearly taking over.

"Reid?" Morgan leaned in. "You alright?" Reid didn't answer.

Concerned, Morgan moved to take the glass away from him. As soon as his hand met the glass, Reid's let go in a panic.

Reid's body automatically took him away from Morgan and further up the couch, almost crawling backwards. The glass dropped to the floor.

"Shit." Morgan swore under his breath.

Reid looked at Morgan as if seeing him for the first time, following his gaze he looked down at the glass on the floor.

"Oh god, I'm sorry." He quickly sat up and moved to pick up the now broken glass.

"Leave it."

Reid was still awkwardly fishing bits of glass from the floor. "No, I really should-"

"Reid." Morgan said firmly. "I'll sort it in a minute." He removed the glass from Reid's hands.

"I'm really sorry." Reid's eyes were wide and genuinely upset about the mess he had made. Morgan headed to the kitchen to dispose of the broken shards.

When he returned he extended his hand out to Reid. "Come on, let's do that tour."

Reid gingerly took it, his face still flooded with guilt. Morgan helped him up. He gestured Reid back to the hallway. As Reid slowly moved past him, he ran a hand down his face.

This was not going to be easy.

Morgan had showed Reid all around the house. Reid seemed happy with his bedroom and en-suite set up. He was clearly relieved to know he was going to have his own space and hadn't evicted Morgan to the couch.

As Reid slowly made his way back down the stairs, Morgan stopped in front of him right near the bottom, turning round.

"Now, you have your own bedroom and bathroom. But, I think there's something else that a young genius with an IQ of 187 might need in order to stop himself going crazy while he's holed up at his wildly attractive friend's house." Morgan said with a beaming smile, taking a joke glance at himself in the mirror on the wall.

Reid's lips quirked up a little, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Follow me." Morgan said with a mischievous smirk.

Reid's brow lifted in curiosity. Morgan led him to a door off the hallway and stood back, waiting for Reid to catch up. He gestured to the door handle. "Go ahead."

Reid squinted his eyes at him slightly, trying to figure out what he was up to. He reached for the handle and opened the door.

His eyes landed upon a room filled floor to ceiling with full bookshelves. His mouth dropped open. Morgan smiled upon seeing Reid's reaction. Reid was clearly floored.

Limping unsteadily into the room, Reid tried to take it all in.

The room was still modern and fairly clinical but the books, both young and old, aged it. He looked around. Some of the books were clearly his but many of them appeared to be ones he didn't own. Quite a few he hadn't even read before. In the corner of the room was his chess board on a turn table. In the other a comfortable chair for reading. On a clear space of the wall was a whiteboard for making notes and a desk complete with notepads and writing utensils.

His eyes welled up. He had never in a million years, expected this.

"So… what do you think?" Morgan asked, completely unable to contain his delight at the expression on Reid's face.

Reid tried to speak, but his mouth didn't seem to be able to move right now.

"Reid?" Morgan looked at his stunned friend questioningly.

Reid turned to look at him, eyes wide, clearly still in shock.

"Earth to Reid?" Morgan said, jokingly.

Not knowing what he could possibly say, Reid clumsily launched himself at Morgan, grabbing him into a tight hug. Morgan stumbled back slightly, completely caught off guard by the reaction. He breathed out a laugh as he wrapped his arms around Reid's back in response.

"So you like it then?" He laughed, mid-hug.

"Thank you." Reid spoke through now obvious tears, he didn't seem to be letting go of the hug. It obviously meant more to him than Morgan would have ever realised.

"Well, it's not just me." He said, patting Reid on the back. "Thank the team too for the heavy lifting."

Reid finally let go of Morgan and wiped his eyes.

"You all did this?" He asked in amazement.

"Oh yeah." Morgan walked over to one of the bookcases. "Now this shelf is the important shelf. We each picked one of our favourite books for you to read. And we want honest opinions of what you think."

Reid moved over to the shelf and ran his hand along it. "Wow." He breathed out with nothing short of astonishment. His eyes welled up again. "I can't believe you would do this for me." He said, staring at the 6 books next to a framed photo of him with the team.

"Oh. There's one more thing." Morgan left the room. Reid turned around to find Morgan returning with 5 hampers, full of assorted candies, nuts, chocolates, coffees.

Reid broke out in a hitching laugh, his emotions caught in his throat.

"Garcia?" He smiled, his voice breaking.

"What do you think?" Morgan laughed, feigning difficulty with the hampers and placing them down in the corner of the room.

Reid was still taking in the room, like a child who had received his first ever Christmas present after years without.

"I can't believe it."

"Well, if you've gotta stay here then I want you to feel at home. This is your space. You come in it whenever you feel like it. I'll pop my head in from time to time, but if you wanna be in here all day, then that's your call. All I want is for you to be comfortable."

Reid was in disbelief that Morgan would go to this much trouble for him. He really had no idea just how much this meant to him. Reading and playing chess weren't necessarily things that excited him at the moment, but this environment was familiar. Comforting. A little haven in a place where he didn't think he'd find one.

Reid shook his head, completely overwhelmed.

"Morgan, I…." No words could do it justice.

Morgan just smiled at him, his eyes full of understanding.

"I know, kid." They held each other's gaze for a few moments, then Morgan looked away as his eyes started to glisten. "Okay, I'll leave you to it. I'll be watching TV if you need anything."

Reid nodded, his mouth still slightly open in shock. The door closed and he looked around again in a stupor. He found his way to the chair in the corner and sat. He took a deep, shaky breath as tears ran down his face.

JJ knocked cautiously on Hotch's door, two files in her hand. When there was no response, she cautiously opened the door to take a glance in.

She found her boss on his knees, gathering files and papers from the floor. Coming in quickly and closing the door behind her, her eyes widened.

"God, what happened?" She asked, concerned.

Hotch didn't look at her and appeared slightly irritated by the intrusion.

"The pile tipped over." Hotch said curtly, continuing to organise the mass of files and sheets and reassemble the pile on the corner of his desk.

JJ looked around, taking in the errant file on the other side of the room, the stapler in the middle of the floor and the dent in his filing cabinet. Choosing not to mention them, she placed the two files in her hand on his desk and knelt down to assist.

"Let me help you."

"There's no need." Hotch said quickly.

She ignored him and continued.

Irritation flashed in Hotch's features again and he stopped tidying and stood up.

"JJ, what do you need?"

Taking the signal for what it was; an indication to stop, she sighed and brought herself back up to standing.

"May I?" She gestured to the chair.

Hotch nodded and they both sat down.

"Pearson and Newton just gave these to me." She pushed the two files in Hotch's direction. "They are the reports from their most recent case in San Antonio." Hotch looked at her curiously. "I….." She really didn't want to say this. "I think you need to read their accounts of the arrest."

Without saying a word, Hotch opened the files and flipped to the arrest reports. JJ waited as her boss took in all the information from the two reports. She watched the look of concern wash over his features.

"He froze up, Hotch." JJ summarised. "They came to me because they are concerned."

Hotch still said nothing. JJ's mouth dropped open, unsure what to do or say.

In an attempt for any sort of reaction, JJ continued. "Do you want me to talk to him?" She knew it wasn't appropriate, and she really didn't want to but she felt like she was pulling teeth.

"No. I'll deal with it." Hotch said, complete certainty in his voice.

"Okay." JJ said, slightly relieved. "They didn't want to get him in any trouble. They are genuinely worried about him."

Hotch held up his hand, gesturing that he had heard enough.

"I'll sort it." He said finally, not taking his gaze away from the papers.

"Okay." She responded with a hint of confusion. She clumsily stood up from the chair moving towards the door, part of her waiting for Hotch to say something else.

He didn't. She gave one final perplexed look towards her boss. "I'll just….." She reached towards the door handle. "Yeah." She left the room almost in slow motion.

Garcia was sat at Morgan's desk, a big smile on her face.

"So? Did he love it?" She asked eagerly down her cell phone. Her hand tightened into a little excited fist as she nodded at Prentiss who beamed back at her.

"Really?! What did he think of the books?" She listened intently. She smiled again at Prentiss. "Awww…"

She continued listening then gasped, her voice going soft, her eyes glistened with tears. "Oh my sweet, sweet boy." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "Well you, my Chocolate Thunder, have just made my month….. Okay! Talk to you later. Love you both!" She ended the call with a satisfied grin on her face.

"He liked it?" Prentiss asked with a smile.

"Oh Emily, I can't..." A tear ran down her face and she waved her hands in front of her eyes trying to stop crying. "He gave Derek a hug…. A hug." She emphasised. "A big one…. He said he couldn't stop looking at it all. He nearly cried!"

Prentiss' face lit up.

"That's amazing, Garcia. I knew he would love it."

"It's no more than our boy genius deserves."

Garcia noticed Prentiss' eyes head towards Hotch's office. JJ seemed to be paused outside Hotch's door for a few moments then walked out into the bullpen appearing troubled and slightly dazed.

Garcia's expression dropped into one of concern. "Jayje? Are you okay?"

Her brows furrowed. Prentiss' wheeled her way a little closer to the other desks, watching JJ curiously.

"Yeah." She answered, not sounding entirely convinced herself.

Garcia quickly stood and dragged her towards the desks. "Sit!" She said, guiding her into Reid's chair. Garcia was starting to look very worried. "Jayje? What is it?" Her voice was slightly panicked.

"Garcia, it's okay. Just-" She motioned for the pair to come closer so she could speak quietly. "I'm concerned about Hotch." She said in muted tones.

"Oh no, why?" Garcia asked quickly, her mind already running down numerous bad roads.

"I'm pretty sure when I went in there, he was tidying up files he had thrown across the room. It also looked like he'd thrown a stapler at his filing cabinet."

Garcia's mouth dropped open.

"That's not Hotch." She said in shock.

"Well, it has been a tough week for him." Emily said, shrugging her shoulders. "I think I'd have thrown a few things by now too."

"Yeah, me too, but…." JJ trailed off.

"But what?" Emily asked.

"It's Hotch." She shook her head. "He just doesn't do stuff like that."

"Well, he's not had the best news today." Emily said in an understanding manner. JJ and Garcia looked at her questioningly. "Agent Nick Field from the trafficking task force has been pushing to get Reid's statement and he's been none too gentle about it from what I understand."

"Oh." Garcia said sadly.

"Well that would explain it." JJ shrugged.

They all went silent for a few moments, deep in contemplation.

"We're all scared aren't we." Garcia said in a soft and shaky voice. "That things might never be the same."

They both looked at her. It was a hit in the gut.

JJ looked to Hotch's office and then to Rossi's. They weren't just scared, they were terrified.

Within two minutes of leaving Reid in his 'library', he had popped his head into the living room to ask Morgan if he was okay to take a shower.

Morgan had kicked himself a little. Of course that would be the first thing he would want after over a week in the hospital.

He grabbed him some towels and escorted him upstairs to make sure he managed okay. Reid didn't seem keen on the fuss but Morgan wanted to make sure he had everything he needed.

Morgan had then returned downstairs to the sound of the water running and switched on the TV. He had his cheerful chat with Garcia and before he knew it, his exhausted mind was dozing off into a much needed sleep.

That was nearly an hour ago. When Morgan stirred and looked at the clock, the water was still running.

His stomach did a flip as he realised. Butterflies pooled in his chest. Trying to remain composed he calmly walked up the stairs and knocked on Reid's bedroom door.

"Reid?" He received no answer. Trying again without success, he decided to gently push open the door. He cautiously stuck his head in; finding the room empty and the bathroom door closed. The sound of the shower water was still splashing against the tiles.

Gingerly knocking on the bathroom door, Morgan tried again.

"Reid? Everything alright? You've been in there a long time." He listened carefully for any response. He received none.

"Reid? If you don't answer me, I'm gonna have to come in, man." He apprised. Waiting for another 30 seconds, he still received no response. Now he was starting to panic.

"Okay Reid, I don't wanna do this, but I'm comin' in." His hand went to the door handle.

"NO!" An agitated Reid answered from the other side of the door. Morgan quickly pulled his hand away. "Don't come in, don't come in!"

"Reid? I just wanna know if you're okay. You've been in there for over an hour."

Again, there was no answer. Morgan knew he was going to have to be forceful now. There was no reason Reid could provide for still being in there that equated to anything positive at this point. Worrying images flashed through his head.

"REID! I need you to turn that water off and come out here or else I'm coming in." After a further twenty seconds or so, the water was stopped. Morgan sighed with relief.

"Reid?" He called out gently. Suddenly something hard hit the door. "Shit!" Morgan exclaimed and forced it open. He tripped on a shampoo bottle as he entered in a panic. The room was full of boiling hot steam, he could barely see.

He caught sight of what he thought was Reid sat in the base of the shower, huddled in the corner. He was suddenly hit with another bottle that was violently launched towards him.

"Get out! GET OUT!" Another bottle was sent his way, hitting him square in the face. That one hurt.

"For god's sake, Reid!" Morgan pushed forwards regardless, frustration taking over. He needed to see him. He needed to make sure he hadn't done anything stupid. The steam was clearing now and Morgan could see him wrapped in a large towel on the floor of the shower, his skin was red raw and bleeding in places.

"Oh my god." Morgan reached down and pulled him up by the arms, despite Reid's insistent shouts to not touch him. "What have you done?" He dragged him out of the shower, horrified that he had let this happen. He pushed him into the bedroom. As he went to let go, Reid elbowed him square in the jaw. He fell back against the door frame, spots dancing in his eyesight for a few moments.

Reid froze, a shiver of dread ran down his spine.

Morgan shook his head, clearing his vision then landed his gaze on Reid.

Reid was looking at him wide-eyed. Frozen on the spot one arm wrapped around his partially uncovered chest, the other clutching the towel, desperately trying to maintain some dignity.

Any anger that was in Morgan at that moment dissipated upon seeing his friend's appearance. For the first time he saw the marks that had run down Reid's neck continuing onto his shoulders and chest, complete with multiple bite marks, bruises and scratches. He stared in shock for a few moments, his breath taken from him.

On top of these marks, Reid was bleeding in places where he had clearly scrubbed until the skin broke. Almost all of him was raw from either scrubbing or water that had obviously been way too hot.

Morgan's voice broke.

"What have you done to yourself?" He said, devastated.

Reid's wide eyes darted away in embarrassment and he tried to make his way past Morgan and back into the bathroom. He blocked his way with an arm across the door.

"No, not a chance."

Reid darted back at the movement of Morgan's arm and found himself backing into the corner of the room, like a caged animal.

Reid's ability to speak was lost somewhere along the pathway to utter panic. His fight or flight was kicking in so much that he became frozen to the spot. Unable to do or say anything.

Morgan ran a hand down his face, feeling helpless. He closed the door to the bathroom behind him. He then went into Reid's drawers to pull out some clothes. "You're gonna get dressed then you're coming downstairs." He went across the hall to place the clothes in a different room. The whole time Reid watched him very carefully.

Right now Morgan was way too panicked and shocked to manage his own mood appropriately. He pointed across the hall to a spare bedroom without a bathroom. "Go into that room and get dressed." He said firmly.

When Reid made no movement, he grabbed him firmly by the shoulders and manoeuvred him. Reid tensed hard.

"Morgan, please." He whispered. Reid's legs didn't appear to be working properly so Morgan had to pretty much force him across the hallway. Once in the room, he turned him round to face him.

"I'm giving you 5 minutes." He checked his watch. "If you're not out by then, I'm comin' in."

Morgan left the room and closed the door behind him heading back into Reid's bedroom.

Suddenly the adrenaline left his body and his hands started shaking. He collapsed down onto the end of Reid's bed and ran his shaking hands over his scalp. Taking a deep breath in and out he tried to calm himself.

He kicked himself for his lack of gentleness in handling the situation. But he genuinely didn't know how else to handle it. His emotions got the better of him and his shock and frustration at Reid for doing this to himself when he was already so hurt took over. Even now, he couldn't picture how else he could have dealt with it. He had to get in there to get Reid out of there. His safety was more important than any feelings at that moment.

He headed to the bathroom and picked up the three bottles that had been thrown by his friend. He returned them to the shelf in the shower. He picked up the sponge, the rough side appeared to be slightly stained with blood.

Morgan huffed out a breath, shaking his head. He knew what this was and he was so angry with himself for allowing it to happen.

Reid had been trying to scrub away every inch of Jason from his skin. He sincerely hoped that Reid felt like he'd succeeded. He checked his watch.

One minute.

Morgan looked in the mirror for a short while. He looked exhausted. He stared hard at himself.

"You can do this, Derek Morgan…. You can do this."

Looking down at the sink, doubts were severely creeping in. Had he bitten off more than he could chew? His nerves were shot. He would do anything for Reid. He knew that much. But was the anything that he could provide going to be enough? Was he strong enough to handle all of this? At this moment, he really didn't know.

Reid's emotions were scarily unpredictable, which made him a danger to himself and Morgan was unsure that he could adequately navigate the minefield in order to keep him safe.

He splashed some water onto his face to cool off. The heat in the bathroom was smothering. Looking at the shower settings, Reid had set it to near full heat. Morgan's eyebrows furrowed. That had to have hurt.

Taking another few short moments, he breathed deeply. His hands were starting to calm down now and the shaking began to subside. He checked his watch, wiped his face with a towel and headed across the hallway.

"Reid?" He called. "You ready?" No answer. Not messing around, Morgan continued. "Right Reid, I'm coming in."

He opened the door cautiously and peeked his head round. Reid was sat on the end of the bed, now dressed. He wore a t-shirt that appeared to be two sizes too big and some comfortable sweatpants. Garcia had obviously felt that comfort was key when packing Reid's bag. He couldn't look less like himself if he tried. His wet hair fell down in lose curls down the front of his face.

Morgan tilted his head in order to see his friend's face. His sad gaze was fixed on the floor.

"Reid?" Morgan tried gently. Reid's gaze did not falter. Morgan wondered if he was deep in some flashback. He warily put his hand to his shoulder. "Kid?"

Reid tried to pull his shoulder away, but Morgan's hand stayed firm.

"Come on. I need to have a look at those." He said, referring to the grazed patches of skin all over his body. His neck in particular was a mess.

When Reid made no move, again, Morgan pulled him up by the arms, more gently this time.

Reid's scowled in irritation but he didn't resist.

Morgan directed him slowly down the stairs and into the living room, sitting him down then headed into the kitchen and returned with a first aid box.

Placing himself down next to Reid on the couch he felt him tense. Morgan eyed him guardedly. He didn't much fancy another elbow to his jaw.

"Reid? Let me have a look at those." He went to move some of Reid's hair away from his neck and Reid smacked his hand away.

"Just leave me alone." He bit back, his irritation spiking.

"Reid, you're bleeding." Morgan tried to coax some understanding out his friend. "At least let me-"

"No." Reid's answer was firm and left no room for argument.

Morgan sighed.

"Okay." He surrendered, placing the first aid kit in Reid's lap, he moved himself back to the chair he had been sat in earlier.

He watched as Reid's hand came up to wipe away some water tracing down his neck. Reid gave little reaction when he realised it was actually a small amount of blood. He simply opened up the first aid kit with shaking hands, took out a sterile wound dressing and held it against his neck.

Morgan didn't know what to say. The guilt was eating away at him. How could he have been so stupid?

Reid had been in his house less than two hours and he already looked worse than when he arrived. Morgan hadn't even thought that was possible. He could only be grateful for the fact that Reid appeared to have left his previously stitched wounds alone. A trip back to the hospital to re-close them would have been mortifying.

"I'm sorry." Morgan said, his voice filled with emotion. Reid looked at him quizzically. "I shouldn't have let this happen." Morgan dropped his head into his hands.

Guilt danced across Reid's features. His mind was finally starting to calm down allowing his emotions to properly reconnect. He had been so focused on removing every trace of Jason, he'd gone numb. It was only now that he was starting to realise his skin was severely stinging.

"It's not your fault." Reid whispered.

Morgan looked at him, surprised. This was the first truly coherent response he had received. He swallowed, needing to ask the question that was terrifying him most of all.

"Were you trying to hurt yourself, Reid?"

Reid appeared to consider his answer for a few moments, licking his lip.

"No." He said gently. "I just…" He took a deep breath. "Wanted to feel… clean."

His brows lifted in upset, his eyes glistened with tears.

Morgan closed his eyes, sadness flooded his chest. He remembered that feeling well.

Carefully, Morgan leaned forward.

"And did it help?"

"No." Reid breathed out. He then looked Morgan dead in the eye. "I don't think I'll ever feel clean again."

Morgan blinked a couple of times, trying to stop a tear escaping. He couldn't counter that.

"How about I get you a pillow and you can have a lie down?"

Reid looked exhausted. And lost. So lost.

He nodded.

Morgan went to a blanket box in the corner of the room and pulled out a pillow and blanket. He placed the pillow down on the end of the couch and directed Reid towards it. Reid obeyed, lying down on his side, his hand still to his neck. Morgan threw the blanket over him then stroked his head.

"Get some rest. We'll talk about this later." What he meant was, they would talk about the new ten minute shower rule he was going to put in place from now on. But Reid didn't need to know that right now.

Reid had already closed his eyes. His mind giving in to clear emotional exhaustion. Morgan took him in for a few moments, his eyes drawn to the arm that was still holding the dressing against his neck. 'MINE' glared back at him. Taunting him. Jason might be dead but he would live on forever in Reid's flesh. His jaw tightened and he moved to pull the blanket over it.

Reid stirred a little. "I hit you. I'm so sorry." He mumbled tiredly.

"Don't sweat it, kid." Morgan replied gently.

"I'm turning into him." Reid frowned, his eyes still closed.

Morgan was suddenly crouched down next to Reid and stroking his head again, as though comforting a child after a nightmare.

"No, no you're not." He whispered soothingly. "You're Spencer Reid. You're kind; thoughtful; gentle; caring; funny." He heard Reid's breathing become heavier as he drifted off into sleep. "Don't you ever forget it, kid."

He stood up, satisfied that Reid was now asleep and dropped back into his chair. He rested his head back and stared at the ceiling in a trance, feeling completely helpless.

The extreme roller-coaster of emotions over the past two hours genuinely frightened him. He had been more than prepared for a long, difficult road. Or at least he thought he had. He'd been there for him consistently at the hospital, not realising this had already depleted his waning energy levels.

For the first time, he worried about his abilities. What would be the cost? It's only the first day and he was sure to see improvements as time went on. But what if he didn't? What if Reid kept spiralling, dragging Morgan down with him? What if instead of pulling Reid out of the black hole of trauma he was stuck in, he simply sucked him in with him? Who would save them then?

Squeezing his eyes shut, Morgan tried to rid his head of the negative thoughts, but they just kept coming over him in waves. He was overwhelmed. He should have known better than to think he could deal with all of this single-handedly.

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he went to the first person he could think of and sent a text.

"Babygirl. I need you."