A/n: hi, all. It has been forever since I last write a fanfic, but given how Shemar Moore left the show and has not been mentioned during this terrible spencer ordeal, I felt it was my obligation to write a fill-in scene. I hope I gave ALL the characters justice.

Set just after 12x15 – Alpha Male

"Emily…?" Derek Morgan answered, as he hit the CALL button on his cell phone.

"Morgan."

Derek immediately got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What is it? A bad case?"

"Something like that," she responded. There was something tragic in her tone of voice that threw him. He put the phone on speaker and set it down on the bedside table next to the stuffed bear, and then carefully placed his son in the crib, staring at his delicate fingers curled into a tiny fist. He wouldn't trade this new life for anything, as much as he missed his BAU family.

He picked the phone up again and slowly stepped out of the room, closing the door. Derek had made a promise to himself that he wouldn't bring Hank into the serial killer world. The world was dark enough without ruining the innocence of a child, his child. There was plenty of time for the reality of life later on.

"You need help?"

"Reid does."

"Not coping?" he guessed. Some cases were just too harsh for the kid with the brilliant mind.

"Would you cope in prison?"

"Pri- WHAT?!" his voice came out loud and shaken.

"It's a long story. You got time?"

"Yeah, I got time!" he stated matter-of-factly.

I am always going to be by your side. I am only a phone call away.

The promise he made to the genius echoed in his head, as he tried to grasp what Emily was saying. His own mind was only gathering bits and pieces from her words. Reid's mother. New Mexico. Drugs. Mr. Scratch. Arrested. Murder. Prison.

Derek sighed heavily and collapsed into the arm chair, running a hand over his shiny bald head. How had he not been there for him? How had he not been called earlier? Perhaps if he had been at the sentencing, he could have prevented his bail from being denied, spoken to the judge, anything to keep the kid out of prison. He didn't belong there. He wasn't built for a place like that.

Derek's chest tightened.

"I would have called earlier, Morgan. But we had so much happening, there was barely time to blink an eye, and the cases didn't stop. You remember how it is?"

Derek nodded, even though she couldn't see him. Yeah he remembered, but it still hurt to be left out of the loop on this one. He may not have been able to see his family every day, but he still would have dropped an atom bomb on the city to help any one of them.

"We're doing what we can," Emily explained. "For now, we just have to find Mr. Scratch and prove that Reid is innocent."

Derek cleared his throat to stop himself from getting choked up. "The rest of you doin' okay?"

"Keeping busy," Emily answered. "Garcia had a visiting schedule made up."

The original baby girl.

"You have to make an appointment but I really think Reid could really use a friendly face."

"Yeah."

"I'll send you the details."

"Thanks Emily."

"How is Hank?"

"Perfect."

"The wife?"

"Perfect."

He could hear the smile in Emily's voice as she replied, "Keep in touch. Bye, Morgan."

Suddenly his wife was at his side, a gentle arm wrapped around his shoulder. "Baby, did something happen?"

"Spencer is in prison for murder," he said, dumb-founded. Of course he didn't do it, Derek didn't believe that for a second. His boy genius was not capable of harming a human being. In all his years of working in the FBI, the things he had seen, endured… his aim was to save people, even those who were unworthy of being saved.

Spencer Reid was NOT a murderer.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. I'm gonna find out."

…

Reid could barely believe his eyes when he sat down across from his greatest mentor. His hands started shaking as he gazed into the familiar face. His eyes stung and he blinked. "Morgan…" he whispered, feeling the need to say his name out loud.

"Hey! None of that, kid," he warned in a scolding tone, scanning the room to make sure no one was watching. "You don't want them to think you're weak. You can't show weakness."

"I am weak," he said pathetically. "I'm scared."

Derek stared at him across the table. "I know," he nodded. "But right now you need to use that beautiful genius brain of yours to keep you strong. You hear me? You cannot break in here."

Reid nodded. He understood. There were dozens of inmates waiting for him to weaken, waiting for a moment to be alone with him so they could destroy his spirit, the innocent boy wonder. Reid had been fighting against them, but he was only one person and Calvin, while helpful, couldn't be there every second of everyday.

Sure, Reid had been beaten and bullied to terrible extents as a child, but these were now grown men he had to contend with. It was a new game entirely. Different rules applied in prison than they did on the outside.

He knew he had to be strong, but now that he was sitting across from Morgan, he remembered how safe and easy life was outside these walls and he was desperately home sick for his family, for his mom.

"You got enough books?" Morgan asked.

"I don't have book privileges in here, but Calvin Shaw is helping me out. He plays chess."

Morgan smiled. "Kicking his butt, no doubt."

Reid shrugged. "I'm not concentrating as well as I usually do."

"You need anything?"

"To get out of here," he stated. He winced as the words left his mouth and the pained expression etched across Morgan's face. He hadn't meant to worry him.

"We're working as fast as we can, Reid," he promised.

Reid nodded. "I know."

He kept remembering the devastated faces of his BAU family when he was dragged out of the courtroom in handcuffs. He couldn't even imagine his own expression.

"You can do this, Reid. You can hold on. You have to hold on. We'll get you out of here."

"I know." He had to believe that, because what other choice did he have?

"I love you, kid," he whispered only loud enough for Reid to hear.

"Love you."

And then Morgan got up and walked out and Reid felt his heart break into two clean pieces, and it took everything he had not to scream his name and beg Morgan to get him out of that place and take him home to his family.

But he was already gone.

What he didn't see was the man on the other end of the fence, collapse against his car and shatter into a blubbering mess.

…

"My delicious sugar…" she smiled weakly.

"Hey, baby-girl."

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hey, none of that! I cried enough already. I see you cry, you'll set me off again."

"How is that beautiful mind?"

"He's ok," he lied. Derek wasn't convinced that he was, or that he could be. It wasn't a place for pretty boys who spat statistics and measured distances for the sake of it. It was built for hard core criminals who had no compassion and empathy. Derek opened his arms and forced a smile. "Get over here, woman!"

Garcia basically flew at him, wrapping herself against him so tightly, they may as well have been one flesh. He missed this girl like crazy, her stupid inappropriate greetings when he picked up the phone, he missed her eccentricity and crazy clothes and bright smile. He missed it all, but he still couldn't feel that sense of magic that she always brought him when they were together, when she stopped by the house to play with her Godson.

Their everything-they-do-is-magic was missing.

Derek sensed she felt the same, because her quirkiness was none-existent. She was simply a woman with grave concerns.

They felt sick with worry over their golden boy. It would be three months before the knots in their stomach and the overwhelming fear building up inside, would have any chance of going away.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it and it wasn't a disappointment.

Reviews are GREATLY appreciated.