Criminal Minds fic- Stubborn (Derek Morgan)
Title: Stubborn
Author: 1000traenen
Summary: Morgan just had to prove he’s got a hard head.
Rating: FRT
Prompt: #7- Concussion
Claim: Criminal Minds- Derek Morgan
Disclaimer: Since you don’t see stuff like this on TV, suffice it to say that they aren’t mine.
Spoilers: very brief mention of 1x05 “Broken Mirror”
A/N: For the 2dozenowies comm. Not beta’d, so all mistakes are mine. I did get a little medical help from Webmd.com since my limited VT/CT medical training was 8-10 years ago.
---
He hadn’t seen it coming. Derek Morgan stepped out of the professor’s door into the hallway, then turned to head to the stairs that would lead him to the building’s exit where Reid was waiting for him. So when he passed the water fountain and the bulletin board, he didn’t have a chance to react before he felt…something…hit the back of his head. He crumpled to the floor, his eyes refusing to focus on the body running away from him. He slowly got to his feet, but regretted doing so the second his was upright.
The world surrounding him spun so violently that he was forced to his knees, which wasn’t actually a bad thing as his stomach lurched at the same time. And then there was the cell phone down the hall that just kept ringing…
He managed to get to the wall, where he leaned against it with his head between his knees and his eyes squeezed shut. He vaguely thought that he should call Reid, but dismissed it almost immediately as that meant that he’d have to move.
“Morgan?” he heard a familiar voice ask, though he couldn’t immediately place it. “Morgan?”
Morgan opened his eyes and raised his head just enough to see over his knees. And that’s when he was met by the concerned gaze of…someone he knew who’s name he suddenly couldn’t remember.
He went to shake his head, and immediately got rewarded by literally seeing stars in front of his eyes. So he just lowered his head back down and shut his eyes until things got a little better. He heard the familiar voice again, though he couldn’t make out the words and at the time he didn’t really care. He just wanted to keep hearing that voice.
After hearing his name again, Morgan looked up and finally remembered the name of the person kneeling in front of him.
“Reid?” he croaked out softly.
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but you’re obviously not. What happened?”
“Got hit in the back of head. No idea who did it, though.”
“I only saw one person come out of this building through the front since you’ve been in here,” Reid replied. “We should get you checked out.”
“Yeah,” Morgan sighed, more in displeasure of having to move than the actual doctor’s visit.
Reid stood first and took a step back, watching as Morgan slowly lifted himself off the floor using the wall as a brace. Morgan took a step away from the wall, but immediately went back to it when his feet faltered beneath him. It was a slow walk down the hall, and even slower down the stairs. Once outside of the building, Reid had no other choice than to help a still-unsteady Morgan to the car, where the injured man sat heavily in the car with his head against the headrest and his eyes closed.
“The nearest hospital is only a few miles from here,” Reid noted, getting only a slight wave in response.
Reid tried to make the drive to the hospital as fast and comfortable for Morgan as possible. Once there, Reid made sure Morgan got into the emergency room without trouble, where Morgan was quickly taken into an exam room once Reid identified them both as federal agents. Morgan was placed on a bed while Reid stayed by the door, watching everything intently. And all Reid could do was watch as a doctor and nurse hovered around Morgan while they did their tests.
Once finished, the nurse left the room while the doctor addressed both Reid and Derek.
“We’re giving him something to make him more comfortable,” the doctor said, more to an alert Reid than to a barely attentive Morgan, “but I want to keep him here for a few hours. He can sleep, actually, I want him to sleep. But we’ll be waking him up periodically to check him over.”
“He’s going to be alright, isn’t he?” Reid asked, and even Morgan couldn’t miss the concern in Reid’s voice.
“He does have a concussion, though I don’t see anything particularly worrisome. He’ll stay here so we can keep an eye on him, but he’ll still need someone to keep an eye on him after he’s discharged.”
Reid nodded, then replied, “That won’t be a problem. We’re here with our team on a case…”
“A case that he’s off of,” the doctor interjected, to which Morgan sighed.
“Of course,” Reid agreed.
The doctor then excused himself, leaving Reid and Morgan alone. Reid went to the chair next to the bed and sat, eyeing Morgan again.
“You up to telling me what happened?” Reid asked, leaning forward a little with his elbows on his knees.
“Talked to the professor and got nothing new. I was walking down the hall when I got hit. Couldn’t see who, vision was blurry. I think I noticed a pink shirt though.”
Reid nodded, “I think I saw the same person coming out of the building. I should call Hotch and let him know what happened.”
“You can take off…”
“I think I better stay. Anyway, you’ll need a ride back to the hotel. I’m just going to find a payphone and call Hotch. I’ll be right back.”
Morgan gave him a weak thumbs-up as a reply, then as soon as he heard the door open, and then close behind Reid, he closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep. It wasn’t much later when he felt a hand on his, and he cracked his eyes open to see Hotch in the chair that Reid had vacated.
“Hotch?” Morgan asked, wincing at the sound of his voice.
“Hey,” Hotch answered softly. “How do you feel?”
“Got a killer headache,” Morgan joked. “Where’s Reid?”
“Gideon took him back to the station. He got a little shaken up by what happened,” Hotch answered.
Morgan mulled over that for a second before replying. “He okay?”
Hotch nodded. “He will be. Try to stay awake for a few minutes, okay? A nurse came in a little while ago and said that they’d wake you.”
“How long was I out for?”
“Almost an hour,” Hotch answered, then shifted in his seat. “When you’re released, I’ll take you back to the hotel where you’re staying until we head back to Quantico, and someone will be staying with you.”
“I’m sorry, Hotch. I never saw it coming…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Hotch interrupted.
“I’m not sure what’s worse, this or the Taser.”
Hotch smiled slightly, then said, “It’s all the same to me. And don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re almost always the one who gets hurt.”
And then the door opened, and Morgan’s doctor came strolling in with a nurse in tow. Hotch stood up, moving the chair out of the doctor’s way. The doctor and nurse were only in there for a few minutes, and the doctor looked especially pleased to hear that Morgan had woken on his own, was able to stay awake and have a coherent conversation.
“All in all, things are looking good, Agent Morgan. Keep this up and you’ll be in a real bed soon.”
“Good,” Morgan sighed. “No offense, doc, but this bed definitely wasn’t designed for comfort.”
“Encourages short-term stays,” the doctor replied. “I’ll be back in an hour. If everything checks out, I’ll let you out of here.”
The doctor and nurse left, and Hotch put his chair back next to Morgan’s bed and sat down. “You get some rest…”
“I should’ve been aware…should’ve seen it coming…”
“There was no reason for you to have thought that the unsub would’ve been in the building. Don’t do this to yourself.”
“I screwed up, Hotch. I’m sorry…” Morgan said, and with that, he drifted off to sleep.
The next Morgan knew, someone was tapping the back of his hand and saying his name over and over again. He cracked his eyes open to see the doctor looking down at him, and over the doctor’s shoulder stood Hotch, and Morgan noticed that he was looking concerned.
“I’m up…awake, anyway,” Morgan muttered, trying not to aggravate his thundering headache.
“Took a little while there,” the doctor replied. “How do you feel?”
“Like I got clocked in the head with a brick.”
“Well, everything appears to be normal, so I’m releasing you…with a few conditions, of course,” the doctor said.
“Of course,” Morgan repeated.
“And they are?” Hotch asked.
“He needs rest and a lot of it. He can take ibuprofen or acetaminophen as prescribed on the bottle, no prescription necessary for that. No alcohol, no work…absolutely nothing that can compound a head injury. And someone needs to stay with him for the next few days to look for delayed signs of a more serious problem. Now, that isn’t likely, but it is possible.”
“Already planned for that. We’ve got acetaminophen in his hotel room, and we’ve already worked out who’s keeping him company when.”
“Great…” Morgan muttered. “I haven’t had a babysitter since I was ten.”
“Morgan,” Hotch warned, but Morgan didn’t move to acknowledge it.
“Continuing my streak of concussion patients insisting they don’t need babysitters, huh?” the doctor grinned to Morgan, who only glared in return. “I’ll get your discharge papers started, it shouldn’t be long.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Hotch said as the doctor left the room.
Taking his seat once again, Hotch gave Morgan another once-over. Morgan had closed his eyes, draping the arm without the IV over his eyes, and Hotch knew it was due to a headache.
“Can I get you anything?” Hotch asked when Morgan didn’t move.
“I’ll be fine once I can get into a real bed and shut the lights,” Morgan groaned.
“Soon enough,” Hotch replied. “And in case I forget to tell you at the hotel, you better call Garcia.”
“I’ll try to remember, but if I don’t, I claim concussion as my defense.”
A slight laugh escaped from Hotch, who was finally beginning to feel as if Morgan might really be alright. Morgan’s doctor soon returned, and after the discharge papers were signed and final instructions given, Morgan was released. It was a quiet ride back to the hotel, where Hotch escorted Morgan to his room. After a few minutes in the bathroom, Morgan went straight to bed where Hotch handed him two white pills and a glass of water. Before long, Morgan was sound asleep, leaving Hotch to get an update from Gideon and giving one of his own.
Although he didn’t have to wake Morgan every hour, Hotch had to resist the urge to do just that. He knew Morgan needed his sleep, but he also needed to see for himself that Morgan was fine. Hotch wouldn’t leave the room though, just so he was sure he didn’t miss anything. The only time he allowed himself to leave was just to go into his room and grab some file folders so he’d have something to do.
He was concentrating on one file when he heard the sounds of fabric rustling. He peered up to see Morgan propped up on his elbows, looking around the room sleepily.
“You okay?” Hotch asked, putting the file aside.
“Yeah,” Morgan mumbled. “Forgot where I was for a minute. How’s everything?”
“Quiet. Sounds like the team’s starting to wrap everything up. We’ll probably be taking off for home tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. I can convalesce in my own bed.”
Hotch smiled a little and said, “Gideon added that Reid’s been spouting off concussion facts…a nervous habit, I guess.”
“What’s he got to be nervous about?”
Hotch shrugged, “Maybe he blames himself for what happened to you.”
“No way,” Morgan stated. “I told him to stay in the car since I just had a couple questions for the professor. There was no way for him to know anything was going to happen.”
“I’m just guessing,” Hotch replied, his hands up.
“I’ll have to talk to him when he gets back…” Morgan said, mumbling a little as he laid back down.
“Speaking of talking…I’m reminding you to call Garcia.”
“When I wake up again,” Morgan replied just before he fell asleep.
Hotch returned to his files as Morgan slept. The team arrived a few hours later, and the others checked in on Morgan quietly since he was still asleep. He woke a little while later to find Hotch gone and Reid asleep in a nearby chair. Morgan went to shake his head at the sight, but then remembered what happened when he did that earlier. So he opted to wad up a piece of hotel stationary and toss it at Reid.
“You’re awake,” Reid muttered as he straightened up.
“How’d everything go?”
“Good. We got the unsub, who was the one to hit you.”
Derek shifted onto his side, to make talking to Reid a little less awkward.
“You okay?” Derek asked once he was settled.
“Me? I’m fine,” Reid answered, a little too quickly.
And all Derek had to do was narrow his eyes.
“You don’t blame me for what happened, do you?” Reid finally asked when Derek’s scrutinizing gaze became overwhelming.
“No, I blame the unsub. And myself for not paying attention.”
“I just…” Reid began, then he sighed. “I kept thinking, what if I’d gone with you.”
“Doesn’t matter. Reid, don’t think like that. Look, I’ve got a hard head, you know that.”
Reid nodded slowly, but said nothing. Derek noticed the slight change in Reid’s demeanor, and comfortable with the fact that things were now fine between them, Derek went searching for his phone.
“What are you looking for?” Reid had to ask as Derek continued searching.
“My phone so I can call Garcia,” Derek answered.
Reid, having remembered where Hotch said he’d put it, got up and went over to the bureau, taking Derek’s phone from atop some clothes, handed it over, and sat back down. After settling back down into the pillows, Derek flipped the phone open and used the speed dial.
“Goddess of Modern Technology, how may you serve me?”
“Hey, babydoll, how’s it going?”
“Morgan!” she exclaimed, making Derek wince. Then, after a second, she added softly, “Oh, I’m so sorry! You must have a huge headache.”
“It’s alright, Garcia. Just shows you care.”
“I do care,” she stated. “You okay? Or do I have some…”
“I’ll be fine,” Derek interrupted, then he looked over at Reid and smirked, “I have a hard head.”
Reid nodded appreciatively, and Derek soon ended the call. It didn’t take long for Derek to fall asleep again, and Reid just leaned back in the chair, knowing that before long, Derek would be back to normal, and then everything would be back to their version of normal.
FIN
Author: 1000traenen
Summary: Morgan just had to prove he’s got a hard head.
Rating: FRT
Prompt: #7- Concussion
Claim: Criminal Minds- Derek Morgan
Disclaimer: Since you don’t see stuff like this on TV, suffice it to say that they aren’t mine.
Spoilers: very brief mention of 1x05 “Broken Mirror”
A/N: For the 2dozenowies comm. Not beta’d, so all mistakes are mine. I did get a little medical help from Webmd.com since my limited VT/CT medical training was 8-10 years ago.
---
He hadn’t seen it coming. Derek Morgan stepped out of the professor’s door into the hallway, then turned to head to the stairs that would lead him to the building’s exit where Reid was waiting for him. So when he passed the water fountain and the bulletin board, he didn’t have a chance to react before he felt…something…hit the back of his head. He crumpled to the floor, his eyes refusing to focus on the body running away from him. He slowly got to his feet, but regretted doing so the second his was upright.
The world surrounding him spun so violently that he was forced to his knees, which wasn’t actually a bad thing as his stomach lurched at the same time. And then there was the cell phone down the hall that just kept ringing…
He managed to get to the wall, where he leaned against it with his head between his knees and his eyes squeezed shut. He vaguely thought that he should call Reid, but dismissed it almost immediately as that meant that he’d have to move.
“Morgan?” he heard a familiar voice ask, though he couldn’t immediately place it. “Morgan?”
Morgan opened his eyes and raised his head just enough to see over his knees. And that’s when he was met by the concerned gaze of…someone he knew who’s name he suddenly couldn’t remember.
He went to shake his head, and immediately got rewarded by literally seeing stars in front of his eyes. So he just lowered his head back down and shut his eyes until things got a little better. He heard the familiar voice again, though he couldn’t make out the words and at the time he didn’t really care. He just wanted to keep hearing that voice.
After hearing his name again, Morgan looked up and finally remembered the name of the person kneeling in front of him.
“Reid?” he croaked out softly.
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but you’re obviously not. What happened?”
“Got hit in the back of head. No idea who did it, though.”
“I only saw one person come out of this building through the front since you’ve been in here,” Reid replied. “We should get you checked out.”
“Yeah,” Morgan sighed, more in displeasure of having to move than the actual doctor’s visit.
Reid stood first and took a step back, watching as Morgan slowly lifted himself off the floor using the wall as a brace. Morgan took a step away from the wall, but immediately went back to it when his feet faltered beneath him. It was a slow walk down the hall, and even slower down the stairs. Once outside of the building, Reid had no other choice than to help a still-unsteady Morgan to the car, where the injured man sat heavily in the car with his head against the headrest and his eyes closed.
“The nearest hospital is only a few miles from here,” Reid noted, getting only a slight wave in response.
Reid tried to make the drive to the hospital as fast and comfortable for Morgan as possible. Once there, Reid made sure Morgan got into the emergency room without trouble, where Morgan was quickly taken into an exam room once Reid identified them both as federal agents. Morgan was placed on a bed while Reid stayed by the door, watching everything intently. And all Reid could do was watch as a doctor and nurse hovered around Morgan while they did their tests.
Once finished, the nurse left the room while the doctor addressed both Reid and Derek.
“We’re giving him something to make him more comfortable,” the doctor said, more to an alert Reid than to a barely attentive Morgan, “but I want to keep him here for a few hours. He can sleep, actually, I want him to sleep. But we’ll be waking him up periodically to check him over.”
“He’s going to be alright, isn’t he?” Reid asked, and even Morgan couldn’t miss the concern in Reid’s voice.
“He does have a concussion, though I don’t see anything particularly worrisome. He’ll stay here so we can keep an eye on him, but he’ll still need someone to keep an eye on him after he’s discharged.”
Reid nodded, then replied, “That won’t be a problem. We’re here with our team on a case…”
“A case that he’s off of,” the doctor interjected, to which Morgan sighed.
“Of course,” Reid agreed.
The doctor then excused himself, leaving Reid and Morgan alone. Reid went to the chair next to the bed and sat, eyeing Morgan again.
“You up to telling me what happened?” Reid asked, leaning forward a little with his elbows on his knees.
“Talked to the professor and got nothing new. I was walking down the hall when I got hit. Couldn’t see who, vision was blurry. I think I noticed a pink shirt though.”
Reid nodded, “I think I saw the same person coming out of the building. I should call Hotch and let him know what happened.”
“You can take off…”
“I think I better stay. Anyway, you’ll need a ride back to the hotel. I’m just going to find a payphone and call Hotch. I’ll be right back.”
Morgan gave him a weak thumbs-up as a reply, then as soon as he heard the door open, and then close behind Reid, he closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep. It wasn’t much later when he felt a hand on his, and he cracked his eyes open to see Hotch in the chair that Reid had vacated.
“Hotch?” Morgan asked, wincing at the sound of his voice.
“Hey,” Hotch answered softly. “How do you feel?”
“Got a killer headache,” Morgan joked. “Where’s Reid?”
“Gideon took him back to the station. He got a little shaken up by what happened,” Hotch answered.
Morgan mulled over that for a second before replying. “He okay?”
Hotch nodded. “He will be. Try to stay awake for a few minutes, okay? A nurse came in a little while ago and said that they’d wake you.”
“How long was I out for?”
“Almost an hour,” Hotch answered, then shifted in his seat. “When you’re released, I’ll take you back to the hotel where you’re staying until we head back to Quantico, and someone will be staying with you.”
“I’m sorry, Hotch. I never saw it coming…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Hotch interrupted.
“I’m not sure what’s worse, this or the Taser.”
Hotch smiled slightly, then said, “It’s all the same to me. And don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re almost always the one who gets hurt.”
And then the door opened, and Morgan’s doctor came strolling in with a nurse in tow. Hotch stood up, moving the chair out of the doctor’s way. The doctor and nurse were only in there for a few minutes, and the doctor looked especially pleased to hear that Morgan had woken on his own, was able to stay awake and have a coherent conversation.
“All in all, things are looking good, Agent Morgan. Keep this up and you’ll be in a real bed soon.”
“Good,” Morgan sighed. “No offense, doc, but this bed definitely wasn’t designed for comfort.”
“Encourages short-term stays,” the doctor replied. “I’ll be back in an hour. If everything checks out, I’ll let you out of here.”
The doctor and nurse left, and Hotch put his chair back next to Morgan’s bed and sat down. “You get some rest…”
“I should’ve been aware…should’ve seen it coming…”
“There was no reason for you to have thought that the unsub would’ve been in the building. Don’t do this to yourself.”
“I screwed up, Hotch. I’m sorry…” Morgan said, and with that, he drifted off to sleep.
The next Morgan knew, someone was tapping the back of his hand and saying his name over and over again. He cracked his eyes open to see the doctor looking down at him, and over the doctor’s shoulder stood Hotch, and Morgan noticed that he was looking concerned.
“I’m up…awake, anyway,” Morgan muttered, trying not to aggravate his thundering headache.
“Took a little while there,” the doctor replied. “How do you feel?”
“Like I got clocked in the head with a brick.”
“Well, everything appears to be normal, so I’m releasing you…with a few conditions, of course,” the doctor said.
“Of course,” Morgan repeated.
“And they are?” Hotch asked.
“He needs rest and a lot of it. He can take ibuprofen or acetaminophen as prescribed on the bottle, no prescription necessary for that. No alcohol, no work…absolutely nothing that can compound a head injury. And someone needs to stay with him for the next few days to look for delayed signs of a more serious problem. Now, that isn’t likely, but it is possible.”
“Already planned for that. We’ve got acetaminophen in his hotel room, and we’ve already worked out who’s keeping him company when.”
“Great…” Morgan muttered. “I haven’t had a babysitter since I was ten.”
“Morgan,” Hotch warned, but Morgan didn’t move to acknowledge it.
“Continuing my streak of concussion patients insisting they don’t need babysitters, huh?” the doctor grinned to Morgan, who only glared in return. “I’ll get your discharge papers started, it shouldn’t be long.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Hotch said as the doctor left the room.
Taking his seat once again, Hotch gave Morgan another once-over. Morgan had closed his eyes, draping the arm without the IV over his eyes, and Hotch knew it was due to a headache.
“Can I get you anything?” Hotch asked when Morgan didn’t move.
“I’ll be fine once I can get into a real bed and shut the lights,” Morgan groaned.
“Soon enough,” Hotch replied. “And in case I forget to tell you at the hotel, you better call Garcia.”
“I’ll try to remember, but if I don’t, I claim concussion as my defense.”
A slight laugh escaped from Hotch, who was finally beginning to feel as if Morgan might really be alright. Morgan’s doctor soon returned, and after the discharge papers were signed and final instructions given, Morgan was released. It was a quiet ride back to the hotel, where Hotch escorted Morgan to his room. After a few minutes in the bathroom, Morgan went straight to bed where Hotch handed him two white pills and a glass of water. Before long, Morgan was sound asleep, leaving Hotch to get an update from Gideon and giving one of his own.
Although he didn’t have to wake Morgan every hour, Hotch had to resist the urge to do just that. He knew Morgan needed his sleep, but he also needed to see for himself that Morgan was fine. Hotch wouldn’t leave the room though, just so he was sure he didn’t miss anything. The only time he allowed himself to leave was just to go into his room and grab some file folders so he’d have something to do.
He was concentrating on one file when he heard the sounds of fabric rustling. He peered up to see Morgan propped up on his elbows, looking around the room sleepily.
“You okay?” Hotch asked, putting the file aside.
“Yeah,” Morgan mumbled. “Forgot where I was for a minute. How’s everything?”
“Quiet. Sounds like the team’s starting to wrap everything up. We’ll probably be taking off for home tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. I can convalesce in my own bed.”
Hotch smiled a little and said, “Gideon added that Reid’s been spouting off concussion facts…a nervous habit, I guess.”
“What’s he got to be nervous about?”
Hotch shrugged, “Maybe he blames himself for what happened to you.”
“No way,” Morgan stated. “I told him to stay in the car since I just had a couple questions for the professor. There was no way for him to know anything was going to happen.”
“I’m just guessing,” Hotch replied, his hands up.
“I’ll have to talk to him when he gets back…” Morgan said, mumbling a little as he laid back down.
“Speaking of talking…I’m reminding you to call Garcia.”
“When I wake up again,” Morgan replied just before he fell asleep.
Hotch returned to his files as Morgan slept. The team arrived a few hours later, and the others checked in on Morgan quietly since he was still asleep. He woke a little while later to find Hotch gone and Reid asleep in a nearby chair. Morgan went to shake his head at the sight, but then remembered what happened when he did that earlier. So he opted to wad up a piece of hotel stationary and toss it at Reid.
“You’re awake,” Reid muttered as he straightened up.
“How’d everything go?”
“Good. We got the unsub, who was the one to hit you.”
Derek shifted onto his side, to make talking to Reid a little less awkward.
“You okay?” Derek asked once he was settled.
“Me? I’m fine,” Reid answered, a little too quickly.
And all Derek had to do was narrow his eyes.
“You don’t blame me for what happened, do you?” Reid finally asked when Derek’s scrutinizing gaze became overwhelming.
“No, I blame the unsub. And myself for not paying attention.”
“I just…” Reid began, then he sighed. “I kept thinking, what if I’d gone with you.”
“Doesn’t matter. Reid, don’t think like that. Look, I’ve got a hard head, you know that.”
Reid nodded slowly, but said nothing. Derek noticed the slight change in Reid’s demeanor, and comfortable with the fact that things were now fine between them, Derek went searching for his phone.
“What are you looking for?” Reid had to ask as Derek continued searching.
“My phone so I can call Garcia,” Derek answered.
Reid, having remembered where Hotch said he’d put it, got up and went over to the bureau, taking Derek’s phone from atop some clothes, handed it over, and sat back down. After settling back down into the pillows, Derek flipped the phone open and used the speed dial.
“Goddess of Modern Technology, how may you serve me?”
“Hey, babydoll, how’s it going?”
“Morgan!” she exclaimed, making Derek wince. Then, after a second, she added softly, “Oh, I’m so sorry! You must have a huge headache.”
“It’s alright, Garcia. Just shows you care.”
“I do care,” she stated. “You okay? Or do I have some…”
“I’ll be fine,” Derek interrupted, then he looked over at Reid and smirked, “I have a hard head.”
Reid nodded appreciatively, and Derek soon ended the call. It didn’t take long for Derek to fall asleep again, and Reid just leaned back in the chair, knowing that before long, Derek would be back to normal, and then everything would be back to their version of normal.
FIN