AN: On the minus side, this last chapter to the story took me forever to write. On the plus side, it's extra long. Enjoy.

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Late the next morning Derek Morgan was sitting on the bed in the hotel room he was sharing with Reid, leaning against the headboard and explaining to Savannah that all flights were canceled out of Asheville and he had no idea when the team would be returning to Quantico. "They released us both this morning, baby. I promise, we're both fine. We're just stuck here until the snow clears out." He listened for a minute and then continued. "No, I promise, no ill effects at all. Reid's going to have his arm in a sling for a couple of weeks, but already he's more annoyed by it than in pain." He paused again. "No, you can't talk to him. He's taking the world's longest shower. He says the one thing he really likes about staying in hotels is that they never run out of hot water." Morgan broke off when he heard a rapping at the door. "Gotta, go, baby, someone's at the door. I'll let you know when we're actually able to take off, and I promise I'll make it up to you when we get back. Love you too." Morgan clicked the button to end the call and eased his way off the bed to go answer the door. Despite his assurances to Savannah, he was definitely stiff and sore from the day before, and he moved a bit more slowly than usual. A second knock came before he got all the way there. "Coming, coming," he called before swinging the door open.

JJ stood there, dressed down in a pair of jeans and a "Visit Lake Lure" sweatshirt. "I've been texting you for the past half-hour," she proclaimed, holding up the cell phone in her hand.

Morgan looked at his own phone in surprise and noticed that there were, indeed, five texts from the petite blond. "Sorry," he quickly apologized. "I was talking to Savannah and I didn't hear the ping. What's up?"

"Hotch wants everyone to meet downstairs for lunch," JJ explained. "He's hoping if we all compare notes on what we found out yesterday we still might be able to figure out what Cherry did with the rest of the bodies. Lahr and Nugent are bringing pizza from the diner since it's apparently the only place in town that's still open."

Morgan nodded, already starting to close the door. "Let me get Reid out of the shower and we'll be right down. He's probably turned into a raisin by now."

Fifteen minutes later the two men joined the rest of their team in front of a blazing fire in the lobby of the inn. Chairs had been pulled into a loose semi-circle around a couple of coffee tables laden with pizza boxes and sodas. Morgan sat in one of the empty chairs at the top of the semi-circle and eagerly grabbed a slice of pepperoni – the so-called breakfast that morning at the hospital had been far below his usual standards, and he was starving. He was three bites in before he realized that Reid was still standing.

"Have a seat, Pretty Boy," he invited, indicating the chair beside him with his elbow since one hand was full of pizza and the other was holding a drink.

Reid looked at the chair for a minute, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Then, seeming to make up his mind about something, he took hold of the back of the chair with his good hand and dragged it over to sit beside Kate. She looked at him with puzzlement. "Not that I mind sitting beside you, but you're going to burn up," she pointed out. "I was already getting too hot." Indeed, Reid had placed his chair directly in front of the fireplace with his back toward the flames.

"I'm good," he insisted, picking up a can and attempting to hold the drink with his left hand while opening it with his right. Kate took the soda from him and popped the top while JJ put a slice of pizza on a plate and placed it on the table in front of him.

"It's a good thing we have a couple of mothers in the group," Rossi commented wryly. Reid looked confused at the declaration but apparently decided it wasn't worth trying to figure out. Rossi noticed that Morgan was also looking confused, but more because Reid had chosen not to sit beside him than because of Rossi's comment.

"Now that everyone's here, let's get started," Hotch suggested. "Since none of us was privy to all the information learned yesterday, I'm hoping that putting it all together will give us some insight into Frankie Cherry's mindset and help us figure out what he did with the bodies of his victims. I'll start."

Hotch, Morgan and Rossi spoke for their groups from the day before, with the others adding information they thought was relevant as the stories unfolded. Much to their surprise their resident genius stayed silent the entire time, even when Morgan was talking about their part of the investigation. By the time Rossi had finished his section with JJ and Shawnda Nugent chiming in as necessary, Reid was sitting with his eyes closed, and the others all secretly wondered if he had fallen asleep. Kate was reaching out to inconspicuously tap his arm when he opened his eyes again and stated plainly, "They're at the farm."

For a minute everyone spoke at once, questioning his reasoning and his conclusions, until Hotch quieted everyone down again. "Reid, explain," he requested shortly.

Reid stood up and began pacing in front of the fireplace. He gesticulated with his good hand, while the one in the sling clenched and unclenched. Apparently the enforced immobility of it caused the young man some degree of anxiety which was translated into even more rambling and gesturing with his other hand than usual.

"It's obvious that they couldn't be in the inn because there's no where that they could be. Hotch and the others examined the place literally from top to bottom, and if they were buried under the floorboards or in a crawl space or something of that nature then someone would have noticed the odor of decomposition at some point during the past ten years, because even if you sprinkle the bodies with lime the smell would become unmistakable after a while, especially during the summer when temperatures in Lake Lure can reach in excess of ninety degrees Fahrenheit. And they can't be at the girl scout camp, I mean the camp that's actually used, for the same reason, so the bodies have to be someplace where people wouldn't notice. Even the abandoned camp is visited by tourists on a regular basis. And, yes, I suppose he could have buried them, but that doesn't really fit with his psychological profile at all. He wanted those bodies, or at least he wanted the people, for something specific, and they wouldn't do him any good buried in the ground. So the farm is the only logical place." Reid stopped and looked around the group as if noticing them for the first time. "You see?" he asked.

The group looked at one another. The team members had bemused smiles, while Lahr and Nugent simply looked bewildered. "Not really," Rossi admitted for all of them. "We were at the farm, Reid, and we didn't see any sign of the bodies."

"You didn't look in the barn," Reid stated matter-of-factly. "That's where they're going to be."

"He's right," JJ realized. "We found Beth Carrigan and saw the Unsub leaving before we actually looked in the buildings.

"Are the roads out to the farm passable at this point?" Hotch asked Sheriff Lahr.

"They're not right now," Lahr replied, "but they will be as soon as I call Jay Mungin to take his snowplow out that way. We should be able to get out there in a couple of hours."

Kate spoke up. "Unless you really want me for some reason, Hotch, I'd just as soon stay here. I'm tough, but a certain someone" – she pointed toward her belly – "has had enough of the cold weather for a while."

The team leader flashed a rare Hotch smile. "I think that can be arranged," he agreed. "It's not like we're going to need the whole team."

"I'm in," Morgan said at the same time as Rossi.

"I can go," JJ offered.

Hotch waved her off. "I think the three of us will be sufficient, along with the Sheriff. But what about you, Reid? You figured it out. Do you want to see if you're right?"

Reid looked at him like he had suggested gravity was a myth. "I know I'm right," he answered matter-of-factly. "Besides, I have some things I need to do here."

Two and a half hours later Hotch had emailed the rest of the team pictures of what they had found inside the barn, right where Reid had said they would be. Deputy Nugent, who had remained at the inn with the rest of them over the course of the afternoon, recognized the scene right away. "It's the talent show," she exclaimed, examining the pictures on JJ's tablet, "from the end of the movie."

Indeed, Frankie Nugent had apparently taken great care to outfit the old barn to match the climactic scene. There was a stage at one end, with tables and chairs arranged in front of it. At each table sat bodies in various stages of decomposition, some relatively fresh, others completely skeletonized.

"There are the dancers," Kate commented, pointing out the bodies arranged backstage.

"Johnny always does the last dance of the season," JJ murmured. "I guess he was just waiting for his perfect Baby to dance it with him."

"Doesn't anybody else find this extremely creepy?" Shawnda Nugent asked.

Kate laughed. "Yeah, of course we do. I guess we're just kinda used to it."

"Maybe I don't want to go into the FBI after all," the young deputy considered.

"I think you'd be great," JJ said, shutting the window on her tablet and cutting off the gruesome images. "Think of all the people we help. And now all those families will get to bury their loved ones."

"Maybe," conceded Shawnda. "I'll think about it. I couldn't leave right now anyway, with the Sheriff already a man down. That wouldn't be fair."

"Speaking of a man down," Kate looked around, "where's Reid? I know he's not looking at this email on his own. He doesn't do computers," she told Nugent.

"It's not that he can't," JJ explained quickly. "He just generally chooses not to. I think he said he was going to take a shower before the others get back."

Kate shook her head and laughed. "He was that sure he was right. He didn't even wait to see. I wonder what it's like sometimes to live inside that head of his."

"Trust me, you don't want to know," JJ stated emphatically.

Four hours later found the team once again gathered in front of the fireplace in the lobby eating now-cold pizza. Lahr and Nugent had gone back to the sheriff's office to deal with finding and notifying next-of-kin, and the rest were waiting for Hotch to finish a phone call he was on. Finally he pressed the end button and addressed his team. "Barring unforeseen circumstances, the runways should be clear by ten o'clock tomorrow morning." This news was met with cheers and a flurry of beeps as most of the assembled group started dialing their own cell phones to share the good news with their loved ones, stepping away from the group in order to be able to speak privately. Only Rossi and Reid remained by the fire.

"I'll bet they've got some cards around here someplace. Might be a good night for poker," Rossi suggested to his younger companion.

"Only if you want to lose," Reid replied, half-seriously.

"You are always so sure of yourself," Rossi admonished.

Reid smiled mischievously. "That's because I always win. You find some cards. I'm going to go grab a quick shower. I'll meet you back down here in an hour."

Rossi cocked his head to one side as he watched Reid head up the stairs. "What's up?" Morgan asked him, sitting beside the older man. "You've got your profiling face on."

Rossi shook his head. "No Savannah?" he asked, pointing to the cell phone Morgan still held in his hand.

"I got to tell her we'll be coming home tomorrow, but she was at work, so she couldn't talk long," Morgan explained.

"Well, Reid and I are planning to play poker in an hour."

Morgan chuckled. "I'll play, but you know he'll beat us, Rossi. The kid cheats."

"Who cheats?" Kate asked, coming up behind them.

"Reid, at poker," Morgan told her.

"Are we playing poker?" Kate asked eagerly. "Count me in."

"Sounds like it's going to be a real game," Rossi said, getting up from his chair. "I guess I'd better go find some cards. Everyone meet back here at eight."

In the end the whole team gathered for the card game. The inn did have a couple of decks of cards but no poker chips, so JJ and Morgan gathered everyone's change together and hit all the vending machines in the place, returning with potato chips, pretzels and Oreo cookies to use as markers. After several hours Reid had, indeed, scraped most of the food to his side of the table. Hotch, Kate and JJ had gone up to bed, but Rossi seemed determined to beat the young genius, and Morgan was amused to watch him try.

"Last hand," Reid finally declared. "I'm exhausted."

"Come on," demanded Rossi, "you've got to give me a chance to win my stake back."

"Your stake is five potato chips, ten pretzels, and an Oreo," Reid pointed out. "I don't think it's going to bankrupt you to let it go."

Rossi eyed him suspiciously. "How do you do it, Reid?"

"Do what?"

"Win three-fourths of the hands!"

"Actually, I've won seventy-nine point two percent of them tonight," Reid replied. "And I'm just that good a card player. I did grow up in Vegas."

Morgan was dealing out the last hand of cards. "Don't look at me!" he requested as Rossi shifted his gaze. "You know he's not double-dealing, because I've been dealing for him all night. I don't know how he does it."

Rossi did managed to win the hand with a full house, jacks over nines, but he had a sneaking suspicion Reid had let him win just to shut him up. "Normally I would help clean up," Reid said, pushing back from the table, "but I'm pretty useless with just one hand. You guys mind if I go grab a shower before Morgan comes up and hogs the bathroom?"

"You should talk," Morgan snorted, starting to put the cards back into their box. "Go ahead, Pretty Boy. I'll be up in a minute."

Again Rossi watched him cross the room and go up the stairs. "Morgan, let me ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"How many showers has Reid taken today?"

Morgan had grabbed a trash can and was busy scraping the remains of the "poker chips" into it. He stopped and looked at Rossi in confusion. "I don't know. He took one this morning before lunch, and I guess he's taking one now."

"And he took one before the game, and JJ mentioned that he took one while we were gone to the farm. Doesn't four showers in one day seems a little excessive?"

Morgan sat back down beside Rossi, cleaning forgotten for the moment. "Yeah, it does. What the hell?"

"Did he talk to you at all about what happened yesterday?" Rossi asked.

Morgan shook his head. "Not really. I mean, this morning I told him that Frankie Cherry had committed suicide, and about how I got rescued, but we didn't really talk about it."

"Do you think he feels guilty about David Cherry dying?"

Starting to clear off the table again, Morgan thought back over the day before. "Why should he? He did everything he could to save the man. Hell, he nearly died going for help. And it's not like Cherry didn't get himself into the situation in the first place."

"I know that and you know that," Rossi said, moving chairs back into their places. "And, intellectually, Reid probably even knows that. But can you think of any other explanation for four showers when he's done absolutely nothing to get dirty?"

"Not really," Morgan admitted again. "So you're thinking it's some sort of Lady Macbeth guilt complex? But why? I mean, Reid has had to actually kill Unsubs before, and he's dealt with it okay. Cherry was just, I don't know, bad luck."

"Just talk to him," Rossi suggested. "Make sure he's okay."

"Yeah, okay Rossi, I will."

Twenty minutes later Morgan was almost to the point of banging on the bathroom door and demanding Reid end another marathon shower session when he finally heard the water cut off in the other room. When Reid came in dressed for bed and drying his hair with a towel, Morgan had a muted football game playing on the television and was nonchalantly leaning against his headboard again. He used the remote to key off the game and asked the younger man, "Feeling better?" as casually as he could.

Reid visibly startled. "Oh! I didn't realize you were up here yet. Did I take too long? Sorry. You can have the bathroom now."

"Nah, I'm good. But I did want to ask you a question."

Reid sat down on the edge of his own bed and started taking out his contacts. "What?"

Now that the moment was at hand, Morgan wasn't sure how to phrase the question. He knew how private Reid was, and if he was suffering some sort of guilt complex chances were that he wouldn't just admit it outright, no matter how Morgan asked him. The older man decided to start with symptoms instead of cause. "You sure spent a lot of time in the shower today."

"Did I? I said I was sorry. Luckily the inn has plenty of hot water, so you can take one now if you want." Reid put his glasses on and started pulling down the covers, apparently considering the matter closed.

Morgan stood up and put out a hand to stop him. "No, I don't meant that. I'm not upset that you were in there so long."

Reid blinked at Morgan, confusion written on his face. "Then what? Look, Morgan, if you don't get to the point soon, I'm going to have to go back in there and take another shower, and my skin is really starting to dry out, so I'd rather not."

"See? There. You admit it."

"Admit what?"

"Reid, you've taken like four showers already today. And downstairs, you wouldn't sit beside me."

The young profiler bit his bottom lip, a sure sign that something was bothering him. "Derek, it wasn't that I didn't want to sit beside you. And, I'll admit, four showers is a little excessive. Maybe it is completely psychosomatic, but what's it hurting, really, if it helps me?" Reid turned away and started again to climb into bed, but Morgan was having none of it.

"Reid, we need to talk about this. You know this isn't healthy."

Dressed in pajamas and rolling his eyes in exasperation, Reid looked more like a teenager than an experienced profiler. "Seriously? They're just showers, Morgan."

"But that's just it. They're not JUST showers. They're symptoms of a deeper problem."

Reid had had just about enough. "What deeper problem? What are you talking about?"

Suddenly Morgan wished he had asked Rossi to confront Reid with him, or one of the girls, or even Hotch. Apparently his best friend was determined to deny that there was anything wrong, and Morgan wasn't sure that he was going to be able to get him to open up and expunge the terrible guilt he was obviously feeling. Drawing Reid down with him, the dark-skinned man sat on the edge of the bed again. He kept his hand on Reid's arm as a gesture of support while he attempted to address the issue head-on.

"Look, Reid . . . Spencer. . . you know that you did everything you could to get help to Deputy Cherry and me as quickly as you could, right?"

"Yeah?" The word was drawn out into a question instead of a statement, the unspoken rest of the sentence being something like, "Why are you asking me this?"

"And Cherry, I mean, I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but he caused the car accident in the first place."

"Uh-huh." Reid was starting to look at Morgan like he was speaking a foreign language.

"So you have absolutely no reason to feel guilty about him dying."

"Right." Reid waited, wondering when Morgan was going to get to the point.

Meanwhile, Morgan thought he had already gotten there. He sat, looking at his friend, waiting for some reaction: admissions of guilt, self-recrimination, possibly even tears. Instead, Reid just continued looking at him, puzzlement on his face.

For several minutes neither of them said anything else. It was Reid who finally broke the silence. "Okay, then. Good talk, Morgan. Can I go to bed now? Because, seriously, I'm going to need another shower if we sit here much longer."

"There! That!" Morgan shouted in exasperation.

"What?" Reid was just as exasperated.

"Why in the world would you need another shower?"

Suddenly Reid understood. "Oh. No. I'm not feeling guilty."

"Then why?"

To Morgan's complete bewilderment, Reid laughed. "I'm cold. You know I'm not used to being out in the snow. The cold gets into my bones, and the only way I can get truly warm again is to take a hot shower or bath."

Morgan was totally flummoxed. "You're cold?"

"Yes. I'm cold." Reid nodded vigorously. "And, like I said, I know it's probably psychosomatic. It's not like my actual body temperature is low. But I get in the shower, I get warmed up, and then I can handle being out and about until I cool off again. That's all. I'm sure the need will go away entirely once I'm away from all this god-forsaken snow."

"You're cold. You're just cold."

"Yes, Morgan, I'm just cold. And I'd really like to get under the covers before all the heat from the shower wears off."

Morgan chuckled softly and moved away from Reid's bed. "I didn't think anyone wanted to get home more than I do, but I guess maybe you've got me beat."

Reid snuggled in under the blankets. "Hotch says tomorrow. Now, go to sleep, Morgan. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner tomorrow will come."

"You sound like my mom."

"An excellent person to imitate. Good night, Morgan."

"Good night, Pretty Boy."

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AN: Well, that's it. If you're interested in knowing about Dirty Dancing, it really was filmed in Lake Lure. The cabin scenes were filmed at an old camp, and the dining room scenes were filmed at the Lake Lure Inn. The farm exists, although it is actually in Virginia. They really did practice at Occoneechee Girl Scout Camp. The farm exists, although it is actually in Virginia. I know all this because I used to be a camp counselor at the camp, and Jennifer Gray and I were both interns at the same theatre company right before the movie was made, and I got to be her stand-in, which isn't nearly as impressive as it sounds but is still kinda cool. So I have walked up and down those steps a million times and danced on that stage, etc., etc.