Morgan was started awake by a sharp scream. He snapped to attention and focused on the young agent sleeping next to him on the couch part of the plane.
"Hey, hey, it's ok kid," He quickly reached out a strong arm to brace Reid as he lurched forward, seemingly waking from a nightmare. Reid looked up at him with frightened eyes and Morgan put a gentle hand on his shoulder. JJ, Prentiss, Hotch and Gideon stared silently from their seats across the aisle.
"Reid, you ok?" Morgan asked, meeting his eyes.
Reid made a weak sound and nodded, settling back into the couch. Morgan picked up the blanket that had fallen to the floor and tossed it over Reid's freshly casted foot. Reid gave him a grateful look but didn't, our couldn't, say anything.
Morgan leaned back with a yawn. It had been a long night for all of them and they were all happy to finally be taking Reid home to Quantico after having rescued him from Tobais Hankel. He hadn't said much on the long drive from the cemetery to the hospital where they had taken him to be checked out. They had cleaned him up, bandaged a few wounds and put a cast on his foot, but it had been no easy task. Reid had panicked when the hospital staff started to touch him and he'd eventually had to be sedated. They had initially wanted to keep him overnight, but Gideon had convinced them that the team could care for him. They had warned them that Reid would be in and out of consciousness and probably not fully aware of what was happening for several hours. The ordeal had ended with Morgan carrying an unconscious Reid up the jet bridge and laying him on the plane's couch, where he had posted himself to stand guard over his traumatized friend.
Morgan forced a smile as Reid made eye contact with him in an attempt to put him at ease. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but nodded off before he could.
"It's ok," Gideon said, locking eyes with Morgan, "We did it. He's ok now."
Morgan nodded and tried to go back to sleep, but kept feeling the need to open his eyes and check on his charge. He heard JJ approach from behind and realized she was handing him a plate with a sandwich.
"Eat," She handed it to him, "I know you're hungry."
He took the plate and watched as she brought another plate full of sandwiches to the rest of the team. When he looked back, he saw Reid watching him silently.
"Kid, you hungry?" He asked, realizing he had no idea how long it had been since the kid had eaten. Reid nodded, signaling understanding. Morgan extended the plate to him, unsure if he would be able to hold up his own sandwich. To his surprise, Reid grabbed half of the sandwich easily and began to devour it ravenously.
"Alright, pretty boy's hungry," He laughed, "Here, have the rest."
Before he could continue eating, Reid's head suddenly snapped back as if he were about to choke, and he instantly threw up, coating the hooded sweatshirt he was wearing and casting a panicked look at his teammates.
"Whoa, party foul," Morgan tried to make light, taking the plate from Reid and setting it aside, "It's alright, kiddo, hands up."
Slowly, Reid followed instructions and raised his hands so Morgan could peel the hooded sweatshirt over him, careful to contain the mess. JJ got up and took it from him without a word to go rinse it in the bathroom while Morgan silently cursed himself for giving Reid a sandwich- after starving for several days on top of the traumatic ordeal he probably should have started with something easier like jello. Now shirtless, Reid frantically attempted to cover the scrapes, bandaged wounds and track marks covering his pale and bruised body while Morgan dug through Reid's bag looking for a new shirt.
"That was the last clean one," He muttered, then moved to his own bag and produced a clean hoodie. He motioned to Reid to put his hands up once again and noticed the needle marks as he helped his sedated friend into the warm shirt. The others watched silently, noting how gently Morgan cared for his young friend, unable to help being touched by this demonstration of his affinity for Reid. The smaller man was practically swimming in Morgan's hoodie and took the team aback to see just how small and childlike he seemed. They soon noticed that Reid had started to shake and they weren't sure if it was from being cold or from fear.
"Here, try this," JJ poured a small amount of Gatorade into a little cup and handed it to Reid, "Drink it slow, see if you can keep it down."
Reid took a few sips but his hands shook so much that Morgan ended up holding the cup for him. He gasped out a hoarse, "Thank you" when he finished, drawing attention from the others as this was the first time since the hospital that they'd heard him speak. Morgan made eye contact again, hoping he would say something else, but all he could manage was a soft whimper. Without a word, Morgan reached out his hand and squeezed Reid's bony fingers. Reid squeezed his hand back before falling asleep.
The next time Reid woke up he was dimly aware of his teammates bustling around on the plane.
"Reid," He heard Morgan's voice and felt a hand on his shoulder, "We landed. We have to get off the plane."
He managed to nod his head, confused. He had vague memories of being driven to the hospital and the staff there manhandling him, but he was struggling to keep track of what was happening.
"Is he going to be able to walk?" He heard Prentiss ask Morgan, "Or do you want me to help you carry him?"
"No, I got it, I got it," Reid stammered. He attempted to stand up but his body wasn't cooperating and he felt himself slide back into the couch.
"Here we go, kid," Morgan said easily, lifting Reid up to lean on his shoulder. Between his wounded foot and sedation, Reid wasn't a ton of help, but tried emphatically to make it across the plane before finally giving in and leaning on Morgan for support. He felt cold air and a new jolt of fear as the plane door opened and his team helped him out of the plane and into Morgans car. He didn't know why he was afraid, but he couldn't stop the rising lump in his throat and felt himself start to shake. He tried to tell himself that he was safe. He was still fuzzy on exactly what was happening but he was with his team and wasn't restrained so to told himself that logically, he is fine. But logic didn't' stop the gnawing fear in his stomach. He was dimly aware of the others hugging him and wishing him well as he sat in the back of what he was sure was Morgans car.
"You ok, Kid?" Morgan asked from the front seat. He nodded frantically but could see that Morgan knew he was not ok.
"It's alright, Reid, just stay calm," Morgan coached him, "I'm taking you home right now and I'm gonna stay with you. Ok?"
Stay with you, ok? Reid repeated the words in his head trying to make sense of what was happening. He struggled to hold onto the words long enough to process their meaning. He felt himself fading and eeked out a soft wimper as he tried to fight it but eventually lost the battle and drifted back into blackness.
