A/N: Hello, again! Here's the long awaited second chapter. Sorry it took so long! -cowers- Don't hate me! My muse was being mean! -coughs- That being said, I own nothing. CBS owns it and won't share! -pouts-
Reid's heart had sunk into his stomach. This proved he was right. Someone was out to get him. He took a shuddery breath, trying to keep his composure. Falling apart wouldn't help him, or the case. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Morgan. "What…what are we going to do?" His voice was shaking slightly.
Morgan had curled his fist around the note and was glowering at it. His gaze softened when he looked at Reid. "We'll find whoever's doing this and put them where they belong. Away from you." His voice was steely and determined. He pulled out his phone and dialed Hotch's number. "We found a note in the room. There should have been no way they could have known what room he'd be in." he was silent as Hotch spoke. "All right. Got it." He turned to Reid and closed his phone. "Hotch said to try to get some sleep, and we'll look at it in the morning."
Reid stared at him. "Someone's coming after me…and he expects me to be able to sleep, like nothing's wrong?" He sighed, but went to his go-bag and pulled out his pajamas. He then went off to the bathroom to get changed.
Morgan flopped onto the bed, worried. This really wasn't good. He silently made a vow to catch the son-of-a-bitch and make them pay. He jumped when his phone went off. "Morgan."
"Hello, my chocolate Adonis. How's our boy?" Garcia's chipper, yet worried, voice came into his ears. Morgan pondered how to word what he was going to say. Garcia was not going to be happy when she found out what was going on.
"Uh, not too good. We found a note in the hotel room when we got it. 'I'll see you soon, Dr. Reid'. He's been freaked ever since. Hotch told us to sleep on it, but I doubt he's sleeping anytime soon."
"Someone. Is. After. My. Boy. Wonder?" Her voice was deadly. Morgan could almost picture the look on her face.
At that moment, Reid walked out of the bathroom, in flannel pajama bottoms and a long t-shirt. The pants hung low on his thin hips, which amused Morgan slightly. He took one look at Morgan's face and frowned. "Garcia?" His voice was low. He shuddered when Morgan nodded.
"Yeah, Garcia. But, it's not like we're gonna let them get him." He was slightly amused, as he watched Reid walk over to the opposite side of the bed and curl up. "Baby girl, I'm gonna try to get some rest before we have to go digging. 'Night." After her good night, he hung up and settled next to Reid. He gently laid a hand on Reid's shoulder.
"I'm scared, Morgan," Reid admitted in a small voice. He was facing away from Morgan and didn't turn after he spoke. His hands were fisted in the sheets to keep them from shaking.
Morgan patted his shoulder. "I know, pretty boy, I know…" His tone was soothing. "We'll catch whoever's doing this. We always do."
Reid sighed, and fell silent. He stayed like that for a while, before finally drifting off to sleep. His sleep seemed peaceful at first, so Morgan allowed himself to drift off.
"Morgan! Please! Help me!" Reid's screams jolted Morgan awake. Reid's body was thrashing as he continued to scream. Morgan shook him a few times.
"Reid! Reid, wake up!" Reid's eyes flew open, and locked onto Morgan, startled. He then sat up rapidly, dropping his head into his hands. His stomach rolled and he swallowed back the nausea. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"S…sorry for waking you…" His voice was small and full of shame. Morgan froze for a moment before grabbing Reid's chin and forcing him to look at him.
"Don't ever apologize for waking me. We're friends, and you'd do the same damn thing if the roles were reversed. I don't ever want to hear you apologize for that again, you hear me?" He held Reid's chin tightly, his gaze firmly locked on the smaller boy.
Reid nodded slowly. "Yeah…" His gaze fell back to the bed and he sighed. "I'm just so tired of this…of the nightmares, the cravings that come with them…I'm just so tired…" He shifted so his back was against the headboard and wrapped his arms around his knees. He looked so small at that moment.
Morgan sat up and wrapped an arm around Reid, pulling him close. "Have you thought about taking a leave of absence?" He knew it was a stupid question, but he had to ask anyway.
"And have something happen? No way." Of course. Reid had the strange idea that if he wasn't there, something would happen to the team. He was the team's 'target', as he'd explained once.
Morgan snorted. "Well, maybe you should, especially while this is happening." He felt how tense Reid was, despite his attempt at comfort. He sighed inwardly. There was no way in hell either of them would be getting any sleep now. But, Morgan would have rather been getting no sleep and helping Reid, than sleeping and Reid be suffering on his own.
"We both know that won't happen," Reid pointed out. He felt horrible about waking Morgan up, but was glad it was Morgan rather than Hotch or Rossi. He shifted and rested his head against the headboard, thus resting his head against Morgan's arm. He closed his eyes briefly. He then opened them to stare at the faded white ceiling, thoughtfully.
Morgan glanced over at Reid and frowned. "What's going on in that brain of yours?"
"I…" Reid stopped for a moment and took a breath. "I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to tell the rest of the team…I know they're going to want to know everything, but I'm not sure if I can relive it again…" He kept his eyes turned towards the ceiling. He fought to keep his breathing even.
"Garcia's already close to flying down here and flipping out," Morgan informed him, grinning slightly. He then turned serious again. "You're right, they will want to know, but you've got to know they won't think any less of you." He shifted to get a better look at the younger boy. "And I know how hard it's gonna be," he added.
Reid closed his eyes against the emotions welling up. He had to stay strong. He was an FBI agent for God's sake! This happened years ago, it shouldn't still be affecting him like this! It frustrated him, the fear of something like that happening again, and the feeling of helplessness.
Morgan saw the emotions swirling in Reid's eyes before they closed. "Pretty Boy, you really should take off, at least during this case," he nearly pleaded. He was worried about Reid's mental state.
"I can't. You know the likelihood of the killings escalating if I'm not here." He sighed, not sure what he could do. He was just so tried…
Morgan frowned. Reid was right… He chewed his lip for a moment, pondering whether to suggest sleeping again. He knew it'd probably be useless to try. He shifted and pulled out his phone. Hotch had said to meet back at nine…and it was already four thirty nine. Sleeping now would be pointless and they'd be more tired if they slept.
Reid noticed Morgan pull out his phone and frowned. "If you want to sleep, you can, and I'll just look over the files some more…" He loosened the grip he had on his knees and shifted.
"If I sleep now, I'll be more tired when I need to get up." Morgan stretched his legs out and grinned. "And you know I'm right." He stretched, cracking his shoulders at he did so. He snorted at the offended look Reid gave him.
"Do you know how unhealthy that is?" Reid sounded like a scolding parent, which was funny. He folded his arms and frowned.
"Yeah. Not my fault my shoulders crack." Morgan was secretly amused, but he pretended to be serious at least. He grinned briefly then raised an eyebrow. "Want to look over the files again? See if maybe something catches you?"
Reid shrugged and went over to the table. He still looked exhausted, but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He flipped open the files and began looking the victimology over. "I want coffee…" he grumbled under his breath.
Morgan grinned. "Of course you do." He also leaned over the papers and began searching through them. Their work was silent for a long while after that.
Reid had zoned in on one house number. 5813 Madison Drive. …Why did that sound so familiar? He frowned for a moment, before realizing that it had been a 'haunted house' for years. He shuddered slightly, knowing he'd have to go there.
"Have something?" Morgan had noticed Reid's shudder and leaned over to glance at the paper. Nothing he saw seemed at all useful. He just hoped they'd figure something out soon. He pulled the folder he was looking at closer.
"The house in this file was an old haunted house, or that was the story, anyway," Reid murmured. His phone started going off, signaling that it was time to head back to the station. He dropped his head on the table and groaned. "God…So tired…" He lifted his head and stood, going for his go-bag. He pulled out some clothes and hurried off to the bathroom.
Morgan just grabbed a shirt out of his own go-bag and threw it on, wadding the dirty shirt up before throwing it in the go-bag. He then sat on the bed and flopped backwards, waiting for Reid. He closed his eyes, tempted to sleep. He didn't mind helping Reid out, he knew Reid would do the same for him, but he was still going to be tired.
Reid hurried back out and grinned. "Morgan, Hotch will yell if we're late, nightmare or no nightmare." He dug around in his back and found the small MP3 player that Garcia had bought him as a gift the previous Christmas. He put a headphone in and turned it on, pressing the button to make it go to the next song. He had it on shuffle and perked up when violin music flowed into his ear. He'd found the Celtic Woman's version of You Raise Me Up, something Prentiss had told him to look up.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.
His heart clenched briefly, thinking of Gideon. He then realized just how much that related to Morgan, and their relationship, especially now. He smiled a bit at that before Morgan finally got back up and walked over to him.
"What're you listening to, Kid?" Morgan listened to it for a moment before making a face. "Classical, girly music," he proclaimed, teasingly.
"It's not classical; there are words, as well as other things that make it modern." Reid was amused at Morgan's opinion. He waited until Morgan pulled the headphone out and dropped it before going to grab his jacket. He waited for Morgan to be ready after grabbing the files. Once Morgan was ready, he hurried out the door and back to the car. He settled in carefully and closed his eyes. He desperately needed coffee before explaining everything to the team. There was bound to be an explosion, especially since he knew he'd need to have Garcia on the phone.
The moment Morgan killed the engine; Reid unbuckled quickly and sped inside, making a beeline for the coffee. He fixed a cup and sipped it, sighing blissfully. "Mm…sugar…"
Morgan followed him to the coffee, needing it to wake himself up. He laughed softly at Reid. "You are one day going to go into a diabetic coma, Pretty Boy."
Reid frowned. "I am not!" He huffed, feeling the caffeine begin flowing through his system. He sighed, not at all thrilled. He didn't want to have to explain his past with Alexa. He steeled himself and walked over to Hotch. "I, ah…I think I have a lead, but I need to explain some background first, so could you gather everyone? I'd even like Garcia in on this," he added.
Hotch nodded and silently gathered the team. Reid pulled the note out of his pocket, thankful he'd remembered to grab it. He smoothed it out, almost obsessively, before laying it down for the rest of the team to see. He then sat down and waited for them to get Garcia online.
"Hiya Kiddo!" Garcia chirped. "Boss-man said you had stuff to tell us?" Everyone turned to look at him and waited.
Reid flushed, but began talking regardless. "All the victims look similar, which we all know. But, I noticed that they all look like a girl I went to high school with, named Alexa Lisbon. Alexa helped, along with her friend Harper Hillman, get me out behind the field house, where the entire football team was waiting. They tied me to a goal post and left me there." He paused to take a breath, an opportunity in which Garcia decided to speak.
"They what? When I get my hands on them, they'll wish they never laid a hand on you, G-man!" Her voice was laden with anger and promise.
Reid laughed, a bit fearfully. "No, no! That's not why I'm telling you this! Let me finish. All the girls look like Alexa, almost identical. I'm thinking it's either someone she knew or someone that hated her. Also, when Morgan and I went to bed last night, we found the note." He pointed at the note. "So I'm afraid—"
"Doctor Reid?" A female voice cut through Reid's speech. He turned around to look, and his eyes widened.
"G-man? Who's calling on you?" Garcia's voice was loud, and still slightly angry. She frowned at the look on Reid's face. "G-man!"
The girl standing there brought back so many memories for the young profiler, none of them good.
He stepped forwards and extended a hand. "Hello again."
A/N: Dun dun duuun! XD Yay more cliffies! Also, you people see the address? The numbers mean something. And the first person to tell me what they mean, whether it be in a PM or review gets a free request. :D I'll post the winner on my profile. Also, random amount of Morgan/Reid cuteness? I'd say so. XD Hope you enjoyed!