As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives. – Henry David Thoreau

- – - – - – -

"Is he gonna be alright?"

"Yes, Agent. He's suffered a severe concussion, but there is no apparent brain damage at this point. We'll have to keep him here for the next day or so just to observe him, and once the doctor gives him the all-clear, he's free to go home and continue with his work. Though, he is not to work in the field for two weeks. Another head injury at this point in time could have very serious consequences, it's not worth the risk." Debbie, a nurse, flashed an optimistic smile in Derek's direction as she checked over Reid's vitals.

Morgan nodded weakly and flashed a half-assed smile in the nurse's general direction, his eyes still fixed on his now-sleeping coworker. Reid was like a little brother to him, and as sappy and stupid as it sounded, Morgan fell second to only Garcia when it came to stress levels caused by the genius' frequent hospital trips. He'd always been the unluckiest of the team. The kid was too brave for his own good, and it terrified Morgan sometimes.

Like today, for instance.

The case they'd been working on had been pretty standard, by their measures – there was a guy who was running around and strangling prostitutes, only to then position their dead bodies in a prayer-position. It was fairly easy to figure that he was religious and delusional; he was easy to catch, and they caught him quickly.

They did not, however, anticipate just how far into a psychotic break their unsub really was.

It all happened so fast.

(It's funny, hearing those words slip his own mouth, after watching them pour from the people he helps on a daily basis.)

The guy's house was small, dingy and piled with clutter and filth. Their team was in the middle of clearing the house when it happened. Reid was just about to announce that his area was clear, when suddenly, his voice was cut off by a sickeningly loud thud and a yelp that slipped from his chapped, bitten lips. The unsub had been hiding behind a stack of boxes, lying in wait for his chance to strike. Reid had copped a baseball bat to the back of his head, knocking him out almost instantly. Morgan, Hotch and JJ all rushed to the room just in time to gun the bastard down before he really smashed their youngest agent's head in. Reid was alright, the paramedics had arrived quickly and he'd been stabilised with no real fuss. Really, it was simply scary more than anything, watching his little brother's limp body being carted out on a stretcher.

"Mmph..." Morgan snapped out of his semi-trance when he heard a muffled groan from the bed, eyes lighting up slightly as they made contact with a pair of familiar, confused hazel ones.

"Hey, Pretty Boy." he greeted with a more genuine smile. Reid stared at him in confusion for a moment, his eyebrows knitted together as they moved to scan his bright, chemical-scented ward.

"You're in the hospital. You got knocked out, remember? Guy got ya' with a baseball bat." Morgan went on to explain, practically able to see the cogs whirring behind Reid's eyes as he pieced together what had happened.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I remember..." Reid murmured slowly, nodding his head and carefully sitting up, staring at his lap.

"Woah, take it easy, kid. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Like..." he trailed off, reaching up and touching the back of his head gingerly, only to have his hand swatted away by Morgan.

"Hey, no touching. I'm gonna call the nurse, tell her you're awake." Morgan decided, reaching over to grab the buzzer by Reid's bed.

Reid frowned down at his lap, shaking his head weakly and squeezing his eyes shut. Something wasn't right.

His sight was sharp and clear, his brain was processing information at a normal rate, he felt no pain when moving his head or neck, he could feel and move all of his extremities perfectly well, he hadn't the slightest hint of a headache, and he remembered everything that had happened, even remembered feeling the bat hit his head.

There was nothing wrong, and that definitely wasn't right.

He'd just had his head bashed in with a baseball bat, surely that ensured some degree of pain or confusion, right? Reid shook his head again, hoping that maybe if he could shake his brain around a bit, it would jog the headache that he was meant to have and he could get on with recovering. Again, there was nothing.

"You alright, Reid?" Morgan asked, staring at the younger male wearily.

"Well, I mean, yeah. Like, I'm really alright. My head doesn't hurt at all, I feel totally fine." he nodded, biting his lip as he tried to conjure up some explanation for his lack of headache. He knew that some people got over head injuries faster than others, and that his few hours of sleep would have definitely helped his recovery, but still. It just didn't seem right. Morgan stared at him, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was no genius, but he knew that there was something fishy about a lack of pain after an ordeal like that.

"Your name?" Morgan asked, ignoring the 'are you serious?' look that Reid gave him.

Reid sighed, quickly realising that he wasn't going anywhere until he gave Morgan an answer. "Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm 32 years old, my birthday is October 9th, 1981. The president is Barack Obama. I'm a special agent working for the Behavioural Analysis Unit, and I'm guessing that one of you is holding onto my credentials 'cause hospital scrubs don't come with pockets." he said, smiling up at Morgan. Morgan couldn't help but to chuckle, shaking his head slightly.

"Alright, I dunno what I expected from Mr. Eidetic Memory anyway." he grinned, earning a roll of the eyes from Reid.

"Oh, Dr. Reid, glad to see that you're awake. Do you want any painkillers? You turned them down earlier, but you can always change your mind." the nurse offered as she re-entered his ward, only to earn a quick, firm shake of the head from Reid. He'd stay away from painkillers even if he did have a splitting headache.

"I, um... I-I actually really don't need any pain relief. My head doesn't hurt at all, and I don't feel confused, disoriented or sluggish. I even remember everything that happened." he explained, the nurse stopping as a frown formed on her face. The nurse took him through the same set of questions that Morgan had mere moments ago, and he passed with flying colours. It was as if he'd never been concussed at all. The nurse looked as confused as Reid felt about the situation.

"Well, I guess that as long as you aren't deteriorating, that's a good thing. I think you should have a CAT scan just in case though, and we are still required to hold you for at least twenty-four hours." she said, scribbling some stuff down on her clipboard. Reid nodded; he wanted to make sure that there was nothing wrong too, and he was sure that he could get Garcia to slip him in some Indian takeout for dinner later. It wouldn't be his first night in a hospital, he could deal with it. The nurse went to schedule a scan, leaving Reid and Morgan alone once more.

Both remained in a comfortable silence until Morgan's phone began ringing, a smile forming on his face as he laid eyes on the caller ID: Garcia.

"Hey, kid, it's Garcia. You wanna tell her that you're okay? I bet she's dying to hear your voice." he said, looking up at Reid and offering out his phone. Reid flashed a small smile as he took the phone, bracing himself for the impact of Garcia's motherly love and squealing.

"Morgan? How is he?" Garcia immediately blurted out, a smile forming on Reid's face.

"Hey, Garcia, I'm fine." he replied, chuckling weakly as he heard her squeak. He could practically see her smiling through the phone. It was nice, knowing that there was someone like Garcia who would always care about him.

"I was so worried! Boy Wonder, from now on, you're wearing a helmet when you and the crime fighters go out on a case. So, um, how are you? What have the doctors said?" she continued, nerves audible in her voice. Reid almost felt bad for getting bashed with a baseball bat and causing his team so much hassle and worry.

"I'm fine, like, really. No headache or memory loss or anything, the doctors are really confused by my lack of symptoms, but they don't think much of it. I did have a severe concussion, and I have a few stitches, but I'm good for now." he explained, picking at his blanket with his stubby fingernails.

"Well that's awesome, right? I was so scared that you'd have a killer headache, 'cause I remember when you had all those headaches a while back and it was awful and I–" Garcia rambled, only to be cut off by Reid.

"Garcia, I'm fine. Thank you for calling to see if I was alright." he said softly, smiling to himself.

"Oh- I- alright. You're welcome, Reid. If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know, yeah?"

"Actually... well, I, um, I-I understand if you're busy with your computer work or you have other things to do, but do you think you'd be able to drop some Indian takeout down here? I'll pay you back for it, I promise, I just really don't like hospital food and this place smells like bleach and I'm sorta hungry..." he trailed off, biting his lip.

"Reid, be quiet, I'll be there in half an hour. Just your usual, right?" Garcia hushed him quickly,

"Yeah, please. Thanks Garcia." he sighed gratefully, before handing the phone back to Morgan and laying down again, sinking into the soft mattress. Luck really hadn't been on his side lately. He loved his job with the BAU, but it sure as hell had tested him over the years.

"Right, kid, she'll be here asap. You realise she's gonna bring a whole lot more than just 'your usual', right?" Morgan grinned.

Reid rolled his eyes and smiled, nodding his head. It was Garcia, she'd probably come with enough food to last him the rest of his stay and a stack of books to read too.

"Dr. Reid? We're gonna take you to have your CAT scan now, it shouldn't take too long." the nurse announced, bustling around the room as she readied him to be wheeled off. Reid nodded, hoping for nothing more than a hot, fresh Indian takeout to tuck into when he got back.