//TW: I've been forgetting to add them sorry but big trigger warning for mentions of miscarriages  and depression// 

The team hadn't heard from Athena in a week.

She had told Morgan and the team that it was to recover from the injuries from the professor, but it was really so she could go through the rest of the forced miscarriage, alone.

Despite them not believing that someone like Athena, who was known to go on a mission even hours after intense injuries, would take a week off from work; the team let her- not knowing that she spent the whole week locked inside her apartment, mostly on the bathroom floor as she bled and threw up more than she ever had in her life.

Her phone remained on mute the entire time, ignoring the knocks on her door throughout the week where she barely had enough energy to move from the bed to the kitchen let alone be able to handle seeing people- least of all Morgan, who naturally wouldn't stop trying to talk to her and checking if she was okay the more she didn't want him to.

It was the day before she was meant to be back in work when she heard a familiar knock at her door again whilst being was led on her cold kitchen floor with bags of now defrosted frozen peas on her shoulder and head as well as a hot water bottle on her stomach that had long lost its heat.

Her bandages stuck to her cuts on her back, unable to change them as much as she should have (or at all) or even move her shoulder, so she had settled for numbing the pain of them with cold bags of veg until she had the energy to sort herself out, which didn't seem like it was happening any time soon. 

The doctor said it would get worse before it got better. but it sure felt like it was just continued getting worse and worse.

The knocking continued too whilst she attempted to cover her ears as the noise that did nothing to help her throbbing head.

"Jesus Christ please just fucking stop knocking!" She attempted to mumble, the frustrated words coming out louder than she intended.

"Athena?" A familiar voice called back.

"Fuck."

"Athena, I know that you're in there- come on, open the door for me" Morgan begged.

"I'm, uh, not here" she called out before realising how dumb of a reply that was, "I mean... I'm a ghost?"

"Athena, please- please let me in, I'm really worried about you" his lack of quip or teasing at her reply was enough to make her close her eyes at his worry in his voice, his genuine care that made everything hurt more when she thought about it, "Athena please.-

"I'm fine, there ya go-" she winced in pain, "-you can go now."

"Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?" 

"What?"

"I've obviously upset you; you won't return my calls, I've knocked here every day and  you won't even speak to me- after the hospital you couldn't look me in the eye-" he let out a sigh, leaning on the door, "-I'm really sorry for whatever I did but could you please just tell me what it is so I can apologise properly? I don't want to be the reason you're in here all alone Athena, just let me apologise- please?"

Athena tried not to let out a cry as she squeaked out a reply, "y-you didn't do anything Derek, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Then what happened? Just talk to me- let me see you- let me help you."

"I can't, I can't look at you or I'll fucking cry dude."

Morgan paused before nodding and stood up from the door with an idea, "then we can both close our eyes, that worked last time, right?"

Athena couldn't help but laugh at his silly gesture that somehow made her feel more comfortable to force herself to sit up, feeling her stomach sting and tingle with every movement that reminded her she hadn't moved more than crawling to throw up in the toilet or the various bowls she placed around her apartment for days.

"Is the door open? I can't see" Morgan laughed as Athena propped the door open to find him stood there with his eyes closed above her, her heart aching as she looked up at his face that she had missed seeing desperately.

"Y-yeah it's open- careful where you walk, I'm on the floor and I'll be pissed off if you stand on me" she slowly crawled back over to her kitchen floor spot, the cold tile soothing as much as they hurt.

"What do you mean you're on the floor? Are you okay?!"  

"Keep your eyes closed- I look more disgusting than usual" she groaned but he had already spotted her, eyes widening in fear of the state she was in before he ran over and knelt next to her immediately.

"Holy shit- why are you on the floor? Are you okay? Your bandages are covered in blood!" 

"Yeah, I've been meaning to change them for a while... guess I just forgot."

"You 'forgot'?! Athena, what the hell is going on? And don't even try to say 'nothing' because we both know you're a better liar than that" He shook his head, pushing down his anger at her not looking after herself and letting his concern take over as he reached out for her hand which only made her hold back more tears. 

"I can't... I can't-" she closed her eyes and shook her head, "fuck dude can you not be so nice to me, please?"

He paused for a moment, reading her face, knowing something was wrong but knowing she wouldn't tell him outright, knowing he couldn't force it out of her, knowing he had to make sure she was okay first.

"Okay... we don't have to talk about it, yet, but would you let me change your bandages at least?" He reached  down to help her up, watching her slowly nod her head against her own will, taking his hand despite her body feeling weaker than it ever had.

He placed his hand her the small of her back and gently pushed her up as she winced in pain, quickly turning to the sink to push her body from him as she threw up.

"Fuck-" s

"Oh my god!" Morgan exclaimed, rushing by her side again and holding her hair back before he looked in the sink, staring at the pure red speckled in it.

"Jesus- Athena is that blood?!" He gasped as she continued to throw up, her only response being a thumbs up to confirm.

"This is no time for a thumbs up! We need to get you to the hospital right now!" He tried to move her from the sink after she wiped her mouth and stood back up with a exhausted pant.

"No, they said this would happen- it's fine, I'm fine..."

"They said this would happen from being stabbed?" Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow, following her to the unopened hospital bag full of bandages before she gave a pained looked that told him not to ask anymore questions.

"Okay fine..." he sighed before stepping towards her, "let's start with your side cut."

His hands gently brushed her sides as she slowly lifting up her top, peeling of the blood-soaked bandage, wincing himself when he saw how much blood was collected around the massive gash.

"It doesn't hurt" she watched his gaze as he cleaned it with a wet cloth.

"It looks like it does, when was the last time you cleaned it- even just in the shower?" 

She tried to think but gave up and just shrugged, too exhausted to form a real response.

"You need to clean these cuts out every day Athena, it's not good to leave it; you could get a nasty infection" Morgan shook his head as he re-bandaged her side and lifted the back of her shirt to do the same to the back cuts which had clotted around the bandages.

"I'm sorry, this might hurt."

"It's fine" she gritted her teeth as he finished pulling the bandages off.

"It's not fine; I don't want to hurt you- hold my hand and squeeze, this is going to sting" he reached his hand round her as he started wiping the blood off, letting her squeeze his hand until he took it back to apply the new bandage strips, hearing her quietly cry to herself as he finished- not from the pain, but from his words.

I don't want to hurt you.

She didn't know why, but that simple sentence set her off more than she realised.

The thought, the knowledge that there was someone who she knew for certain didn't want to hurt her, someone that she knew now she trusted not to hurt her, something she had never had before; it was almost too much to not push her over the edge.

"Hey, hey, hey- what's wrong?" He asked softly, walking around to her face, holding her chin gently to look up at him.

"I-I'm so sorry" she cried as he wrapped his arms around her carefully, "I'm so sorry Derek."

"Don't be sorry, you haven't done anything wrong other than not taking care of yourself- but that's what I'm here for now, I'm here to look after you" he kissed her on the top of her head, but his words just made her cry more, "Athena, come on please tell me what's going on, what happened?" 

She looked away as he tried to meet her gaze, slowly getting off the stool and limping over to the couch where she sat at the furthest point from him until he crouched in front of her, wiping the tears from her face.

"Ow" she chuckled quietly as his thumb brushed her bruised cheek.

"I'm sorry" he went to pull back his hand but she took it and held it to her face with her eyes closed, letting herself give into the need of having him near her, to not push him away, letting him hold her, letting herself be held and feel comfort from it- something she wasn't letting herself feel anymore after what happened, putting a pause on punishing herself.

"You might not want to sit next to me, I may vomit on you" she chuckled as Morgan moved closer to her on the sofa. 

"Worth it."

"That's really gross" she laughed before wincing in pain.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it'll pass in a minute-"

"Athena, please-" Morgan shook his head with not very well hidden concern and misplaced frustration, "-what the hell's going on? You're obviously not okay- please just tell me so I can help you."

"You can't help me, it's all my fucking fault" she let go of his hand and tried to turn away but he took it again gently.

"What happened? Did the professor... did he hurt you before we got there?" Morgan spoke softly, a serious concern to his voice, "because that's not your fault Athena, and you don't have to apologise for that, I need you to know that it's not your fault if he-"

"No, he tried to but he didn't... that's really nice of you though" she couldn't help starting to cry as he gently pulled her into his chest, letting herself move with him, letting herself feel the comfort she didn't feel she deserved, "you're really nice?"

"What happened? Why are you so ill? Is this some kind of flu mutation? Oh god- are you dying or something?!"

"I don't think so, sure feels like it but I'm not" she chuckled at his genuine terrified expression, "you're cute when you think I'm dying though."

"Then what is it?" He moved her hair out of her face, watching her lip quiver as she closed her eyes, "Whatever it is, you can tell me- it can't be worse than the idea of you dying now can it?"

"Okay- I guess I can't avoid this forever" she let out a breath, keeping her eyes closed as she explained the thing she vowed to take to her grave, "a-after the doctor stitched and bandaged me up he said he had to run some tests because of the pain I was still in and... and-"

"It's okay, take your time- it's okay" Morgan comforted; he didn't know what was going on but he knew it must be bad, he had never seen her like this before- even with everything that he had seen her go through, nothing was like this; so overtaken by her emotions, unable to hide them like she was normally so good at doing.

"-And... and he told me something was really wrong" her voice quivered with tears, "l-like really fucking wrong- not just from the professors injuries or even being thrown out of the window before- I was losing a lot of blood and throwing up a lot more than I should have been from a concussion so he had to do more tests, -he came back and told me that I was... that I was kinda... uh, pregnant."

Morgan froze, staring at her before he quickly realised what happened by her use of was.

"Oh."

"Yeah..." she tried not to sob at the realisation in his voice, "H-he said that I had been for a bit without knowing since I wasn't showing or anything, and that during the fight in the Jensen's house, when I was chucked out of the window and hit the ground... well, I guess that's not good for a baby."

Morgan just stared at her as she tucked her chin to her knees, eyes still closed but overflowing with tears.

"I-I just thought it was the concussion or the flu a-and I always get my period late and heavy so I didn't think anything of the blood but... they said that it had been slowly happening for a little bit after the Jensen case, but morphine triggered the start of the full blown miscarriage which is, uh, what's happening now I guess" she shrugged through her tears, struggling to hold onto her usual aloof and unbothered demeanour she always forced even in tough situations as a moment of silence passed between them, a moment almost too much for her,

"A-are you still there? I'm too scared to open my eyes."

"I'm... I'm here, please don't be scared, I'm always going to be here" Morgan gently took her hand as she slowly opened her eyes and saw the tears in his which made her start crying again, letting out a full blown sob as he pulled her into his arms to sooth her.

"I'm so fucking sorry Derek! Fuck I'm so sorry-"

"Please don't apologise Athena, it's not your fault at all, not by any stretch of the imagination- I'm so sorry that you've had to go through this alone, I'm so sorry that this is happening to you, I'm sorry that you felt like you couldn't tell me-"

"N-no, it was my fault, I should have been more careful and not got thrown out of a god damn window or stabbed or the other countless reckless shit I do, I-I should have known somehow or I shouldn't have gotten fucking pregnant in the first place like a stupid idiot that I am- I wasn't exactly the most accommodating host to the thing before the Jensen case, I should have known somehow- I'm so sorry-"

"Stop apologising, you have nothing to apologise for sweetheart- it wasn't your fault what happened, you were just doing your job" he kissed her forehead as he gently stroked the back of her head to keep her close to him, not that she would be moving any time soon, "-you couldn't have known, please don't blame yourself, please don't think I would ever blame you."

"Y-you should be mad at me" she sobbed into his chest, almost inaudible as tears took over against her will, "-you should blame me or be angry and pissed off at me, you have every right to; I'm irresponsible, I'm stupid, I don't have a god damn nurturing bone in my body- I guess it's better than I'm not a mom, I'd be shit, but you, fuck dude, you would make a fucking kickass dad."

"Don't say that, of course I'm not mad at you-" he pulled her closer, wishing she could understand what he was saying, "-I would never be- especially over something like this- none if this is your fault and you're none of those things. Just remember how you were with Nelly- you're plenty nurturing Athena."

"T-that's somehow worse."

"I know, shit I'm so sorry-" he wiped the tears from her cheek, "-I wish you would have told me before so that you didn't have to go through all this alone."

"I-I wanted to tell you, I knew it was selfish not too because it affects you too but I just couldn't... I couldn't have you resent me the way I do myself" she curled her legs into her chest as she sat back but he wrapped his arms around her again.

"I could never resent you; I love you too much for that."

"I love you too" she mumbled into her knees with his arms around her.

"Wait- what was that?" He couldn't help his smile as he sat back to look at her, enjoying her slight chuckle even if it came through still flowing tears.

"You heard me, loser."

"Yeah, I did" he kissed her hand with a smile, a few moments of silence passing before he gently rubbed her arm "how's your stomach feeling?"

"Bad; I thought it would only take a few days but apparently it can keep going for a couple of months which fucking sucks" she looked up at him with a shrug as he scanned her, hating seeing her in pain.

"Have you eaten today? Or at all in the last week?" 

"I had some toast last Wednesday I think, it's just been hard to stand up most days so I've just been on the bathroom floor so I don't have to move to vomit or ya know, bleed" she made a grossed out face at her own body before watching him kiss her hand, needing her to know that he would never be 'disgusted' by her.

"I'm really sorry" he spoke softly, trying to bring any comfort he could to a comfortless situation, "I'll order you some food, what could you eat?"

"I...I honestly have no idea, kinda forgot how the whole eating thing works" she chuckled, lying down along the sofa as he got up and ordered her Japanese food from an app on his phone, knowing it was her favourite.

"It should be here in-" he turned around to tell her it was ordered but spotting her fast asleep, unable to help himself smiling and pulling a blanket over her, letting her rest until her food came whilst he tidied up her apartment that had become increasingly messy over the week; finding she had created little areas on the floor that she could crawl to instead of sleeping on her bed- he was going to make sure she rested properly now, he was going to look after her- he was going to make sure she never had to be in pain alone again.

He knew that for certain as he walked to the bathroom and pulled out his phone.

"Hey Hotch, sorry to call you so late but I need to take this week off- it's an emergency."

"Is everything okay?" Hotch asked through a yawn.

"No, if I'm honest Hotch it isn't..." He let out a sigh, "-Athena... she really isn't doing well and she needs someone to be here for her, she would probably literally kill me if I said that I was taking time off to stay with her but I can't leave her one her own again- she hadn't changed her bandages since the hospital Hotch, they started to seep into the cuts, it was bad Hotch." 

"They could get seriously infected, what's wrong with her? Do you need any help dealing with her?" Hotch shook his head with frustration at her that he didn't realise was very misplaced.

"I don't think she'd be happy if everyone knew but it's... it's not great Hotch. I just... I need to look after her" Morgan nodded, his tone full of determination, "I'm going to look after her."

"Of course, take as much time as you need and please let me know if she needs anything- you're a good friend for looking after her, Derek" Hotch replied, making Morgan pause with a realisation.

Friend? 

He didn't know why he kept forgetting that they hadn't told anyone apart from Garcia about them properly, shaking his head at himself, shaking his head at the fact he hadn't yelled it from the rooftops yet.

"Ah yeah, about that... I think we're going to have to talk about mine and Athena's 'friendship' when I get back to work" Morgan chuckled awkwardly.

"I thought that would be the case at some point" Hotch laughed before falling to a softer tone, "take care of her Morgan- she's... she's a great girl."

"Talking to your mistress?" Athena joked as he finished his call, heading back into the apartment.

"What are you doing up? I thought you were napping?" He tilted his head at her as the doorbell rang.

"I can't really sleep for longer than 5 minutes at a time without feeling like there's an alien in my stomach clawing its way out with a blow torch" she yawned but forced herself to sit up as he opened the door.

"Food delivery for Derek Morgan?" 

"Thanks man, keep the change."

"T-thanks!" The teen said excitedly at the big tip before he left, Athena raising an amused eyebrow at Morgan.

"You do realise you just gave him a $30 tip, right?"

"Wait- did I?" Morgan looked confused before he checked his wallet.

"Seems like you're the one who could use the nap" Athena laughed, pushing herself to her feet- she was right, he hadn't been sleeping properly all week not knowing if she was okay or not, overthinking everything he might have done to annoy or upset her, paranoid if she was in some kind of danger simply from not being near her.

He just smiled and started plating up their food.

"What did you cook me then, chef?" She teased, sitting at the small dining table next to the kitchen- of course she always had time to make a joke, she could barely sit up straight in the chair but teasing Morgan was like breathing to her with how naturally it came.

His laughter that was always there when she was around also seemed to come naturally as he handed her a bowl.

"Katsu curry."

"Ah, family recipe?" She joked as he sat opposite.

"Of course- we all know how good of a cook I am."

"Jesus this is spicy."

"You're finding katsu curry spicey? Gotta get stronger taste buds."

"I can't help my tongue is weak" she laughed before they continued to eat in a comfortable silence. 

Morgan watched as she poked the food in the bowl, only managing a few small bites before she felt sick again, looking so defeated, so numb, so broken. 

"It's okay, we can try a few more bites later" he comforted before cleaning up their plates as Athena's phone rang, but she had gotten used to the sound of the ringing throughout the week so she didn't take any notice.

"You gonna get that?" He tossed it to the couch.

"It's just Garcia; she's called me at least 15 times already today."

"You should talk to her, she misses you" Morgan said as he went into the bathroom.

"If you're going for a shower I should warn you that I might have black mould in my water tank" Athena crawled onto the floor as her stomach began to twist again, making even the thought of walking a task equivalent to skinny dipping in the alps.

"I'm not going for a shower, you are; you need to be clean or your wounds will get infected" Morgan explained as he walked out, pausing when he saw her on the floor and quickly rushed over, helping her stand and taking her to the bathroom, "are you okay?"

"Mmhm, so great; I'm just gonna-" she nodded before she turned and threw up into the toilet.

"Shit- did they say there would be this much blood? This seems like an insane amount" he shook his head, holding her hair back again as he gently rubbed her back, careful of her wounds but needing to bring her comfort in anyway that he could.

"T-they said I might throw up a lot, it's normal I think, it's just my body trying to get rid of..." she tried to explain before throwing up again.

"This definitely doesn't seem normal Athena- how many times a day have you thrown up this week?" Morgan shook his head as he googled on his phone.

"Uh, I don't know- the days sort of merge together" she mumbled between vomits.

"Okay so google is telling me it's normal to throw up during this but it is also telling me that the symptoms could also be dysentery so I don't trust it- I should call Reid, he'll know for sure."

"No!" Athena quickly smacked the phone out of his hand, her head still in the toilet as she blindly waved behind her.

"Why not? He's read like a million medical books, he's bound to know- if you won't let me take you to the hospital at least let me find out how to help you, don't be so stubborn" he shook his head, rubbing the back of her shoulders as she finished vomiting and sat up.

"I can handle it, I'm strong enough- I don't want people to know that I can't handle it... I can handle it- okay?!" 

"Athena, just because you can handle it doesn't mean that you should" he shuffled in front of her and spoke softly, "-it's okay to let people look after you, no one would blame you for anything or think any less of you for what happened."

"I'm fine, I-I've thrown up a lot more than this this week" she sighed before crawling towards the shower slowly, "-I can't tell them, Morgan. I can't look into their eyes and tell them that I did this."

"You didn't do this, you have to stop blaming yourself- it's not your fault" he followed her, pausing as he saw her trying to turn on the water.

"What are you doing?" He couldn't help laughing as she sat fully clothed with the water hitting her.

"I'm showering, duh."

"You need to get undressed to shower."

"I'm just gonna curl up here for a few minutes and then I'll get undressed" she curled into a ball on the floor.

"Keep your head up, I don't want you drowning in the shower."

"That would be so embarrassing" she chuckled before pausing when the pain took over and clutched her stomach before shaking her head and looking at him, "hey, uh can you maybe call Reid? I know I'm fine but just to put your mind to rest and stop you nagging me."

"Of course" Morgan smiled with relief at her letting him help, nodding as he went to leave to call Reid.

"But Derek-" she called out, making him turn back immediately, "-please don't tell him about what's happening, I- I can't deal with that right now."

"How am I meant to ask him for help without telling him what the problem is?" 

"I don't know man, learn to lie or something like a cool person- I do it all of the time."

"Only if you promise to take a real shower- that includes not wearing your clothes like a normal person does."

"Okay pervert, I'll take a naked shower just for you" she joked as he left to hone Reid and try to think of a lie, thinking he would have a few rings to think but Spencer answered right away.

"Morgan?" 

"O-oh hey Reid- you picked up the phone quickly."

"I've had my ringer on high, I thought you might be Athena or something- do you know if she's okay? Have you seen her?" Reid asked, not hiding how he was also concerned with her not being in work like the rest of the group were. 

"Sorry, just me. No, I still haven't seen her" Morgan lied.

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah of course, sorry to call you so late man I just had a quick question. I tried to google it but I thought your genius brain would give me the answer faster."

"Okay- what is it?" He asked through a yawn, making Morgan pause with the realisation that he still didn't know what lie to tell.

"Uh... It's um..." he shook his head to try to think before doing a double take at the card that he remembered the nurse gave Athena sticking out of the hospital bag, "actually never mind man, I've figured it out now- thanks anyway."

"Are you sure-" Reid went to say but Morgan had already hung up and was dialling the nurses number before he could finish his sentence.

"H-hello?" Her sleepy voice answered after a few minutes of ringing.

"Hi, sorry to bother you so late but are you nurse Kimmie?" 

"Can I ask who this is and how you got my number?" 

"Shit, right, yeah of course; I'm with Athena Adams, she was in your hospital the other week- I'm not sure if you remember her-" 

"Athena, of course I remember her- how's she doing?" Kimmie interrupted with a smile to her voice after having taken a liking to her after she had stopped threatening to kill the entire hospital as they cleaned her wounds.

"Um well that's what I wanted to check with you; she took the week off work and wouldn't let any of us see her, she only let me in her apartment about an hour ago and has thrown up at least 3 times since I've been here. She can barely move, is in constant pain and hasn't had the energy to even stand up or eat. I think she's just been led on her floor the whole week- she told me that you said it was normal whilst this was happening but I don't know... it's a lot and I'm just worried about her."

"Are you Derek Morgan?" The nurse surprisingly asked.

"Uh, yeah I am."

"I'm glad she told you eventually, you seem very important to her" she smiled before pausing "so has she been alone this whole week?" 

"Yeah, she wouldn't open the door or answer her phone."

"I told her not to do that" she shook her head before continuing, "do you know how many times a day she's been throwing up roughly? Or how much she has been bleeding?" 

"I don't know, I'll go ask her now" he walked to the bathroom and tapped on the door.

"Athena? I'm on the phone with that nurse from-" he paused mid sentence when he saw her passed out, still fully clothed in the shower with blood swirling around her.

"-Athena! Holy shit!" He yelled, dropping the phone and running into the shower to grab her.

"Mr Morgan? What's happening? Is she okay?" Kimmie called down the phone.

"S-she's passed out! Holy fuck oh my god, shit- there's so much blood!" He exclaimed, quickly picking her cold and bloodied body up, her hair soaked as the water continued to fall on her and he tried to keep her face out of the puddle of water and blood that surrounded her.

"Okay sir you need to get her to the hospital right now- is she breathing?" Kimmie spoke urgently, naturally slipping into her hospital work voice, "Derek is she breathing?"

"Y-yes, barely, it's shallow breaths though- what the hell is happening?!" He tried to listen to her faint heartbeat as he grabbed his phone and keys, carrying her out of the apartment as fast as he could.

"She may have a blood clot- you need to get her to the hospital before she goes into shock; she shouldn't be bleeding that much- there's something wrong-"

"No shit something is wrong! There's so much blood! She's shaking now- Is she going to be okay? She's going to be okay, right? Athena- you're going to be okay baby, okay?!" Morgan panicked, driving 30 miles over the limit as he kept looking at her in the back seat, yelling down the phone in the passenger seat.

"I-I-" the nurse stammered.

"Kimmie, is she going to fucking be okay?!" He yelled, surprised at his anger in his voice.

"I-I don't know! How much blood was there?" 

"In the shower or in her vomit?"

"What?! There shouldn't have been any in her sick!" Kimmie responded with alarming concern.

"What?! It was literally all blood! She said it was normal! She said it had been happening all week- god damn it Athena!" He yelled as he got closer to the hospital, swerving in and out of cars on the highway, ignoring the various beeps and curses thrown his way, "-what do you mean there shouldn't have been any?!"

"I mean that she shouldn't be throwing up blood! It should have just been coming out naturally not through her vomit- I'm calling the Virginia hospital and telling them now!"

"Oh my god Athena" Morgan pulled the car to a skidding stop outside of the hospital doors, carrying her through them as a man yelled at him from the parking lot.

"Hey pal- you can't just park there!" 

"Help! Please- someone help her!" Morgan ignored him and yelled into the emergency room as Athena's body started convulsing in his arms, the nurses and doctors running over and quickly putting her on a gurney, wheeling her further into the hospital away from Morgan.

"What happened?" The doctor asked but Morgan was frozen seeing her body shaking.

"Athena..."

"Give them the phone- I'll tell them" Kimmie called down the phone that the doctor took as they rushed off.

Morgan just stood there and stared, his body unable to move. 

"Sir, would you like to take a seat?" A nurse's voice tried to get through the thoughts of her body convulsing, but it couldn't.

"Sir, you should sit down and let us clean you up- you're covered in blood" she spoke calmly, looking at the blood all over his clothes from carrying Athena.

"C-can I borrow a phone?" He stammered, not feeling his body move until the phone was in his hand dialling Hotch's number.

"A-Aron-"

"Morgan? What's going on? It's 2 in the morning- is everything okay?" 

"N-no, we're at the hospital... Hotch it's really bad, I don't know what to do, it's so bad, I-I-"

"What? Is Athena okay?" Hotch called out, already out of bed and rushing to leave his house the moment he heard Athena was at the hospital.

"T-there was so much blood" Morgan covered his mouth to stop himself sobbing "Hotch, s-she was barely breathing."

"I'm on my way, I'll call the rest of the team- it's going to be okay Derek" he assured as Morgan hung up and continued to stand at the desk with a blank gaze.

"Sir, my colleague is grabbing you a change of clothes- did you want to sit down?" 

"I-I want to see her; can I please see her? Is she okay? Please I need to see her-" 

"I'm sorry sir, you have to wait out here- I'll let you know when we have any updates, please, it might help you to sit down" she ushered him over to the seats where he reluctantly sat, his whole body shaking in fear.

He couldn't stop picturing her led in that shower, covered in blood, he couldn't get the image of her shaking body in the back seat of his car out of his head, he couldn't stop picturing the blood, so much blood-

"Morgan-" Hotch interrupted his thoughts as he came running in, not realising he had been sat there deep in thought for 45 minutes without realising.

He looked up from the floor slowly, Hotch pausing in shock at the amount of blood on him.

"Jesus Christ-"

"I-it was bad Hotch" Morgan spoke quietly as he sat next to him, "it was... it was so bad."

"What happened? Was it her cuts from the professor?" 

"She was... she was pregnant" Morgan tried not to cry and spoke blankly, staring straight ahead.

"W-what?" Hotch said in shock, Morgan simply nodded.

"Did the professor... did he...."

Morgan just shook his head.

Hotch realised then that the pain on Morgan's face made sense now, that the pregnancy involved him too.

"She didn't know" Morgan stared at the floor "she didn't know until the doctor told her last week after the case that the miscarriage started during the fight at the Jamerson house."

Hotch fell silent as Morgan stared at the blood on his hands.

"She didn't want to tell me or anyone so she stayed alone all week, the nurse said that she shouldn't have been throwing up blood but that was all she was throwing up- it was so much blood Hotch... I should have been there."

"It's not your fault Derek, you went to her apartment everyday, you did everything you could have- we're lucky she let you in today."

"What if it was too late?" Morgan looked up from the ground to meet his boss's watery gaze, "Hotch she was so weak, she had to lie on the ground in the shower, she couldn't even get undressed. When I went to check on her she was... god she was just passed out, covered in blood- so much blood."

"I'm so sorry Derek."

"She kept saying that" he shook his head, "she kept saying 'sorry.' She kept saying that it was her fault- I couldn't get her to believe that it wasn't. I think... I think that she knew something wasn't right but... I don't think she cared Hotch, I think she didn't want me to help her, for any of us to."

"It's understandable the pain she's going through, it's traumatic- it's going to be hard for both of you" he looked at him, Morgan did even have to say that he was the father; Hotch just knew.

"I've never seen her give up before, she's the biggest fighter we all know but the look on her face when I walked in... Hotch, it was like she was just waiting to die" he stared forward, Hotch falling silent, unable to form words from the pain in his chest.

"Is she okay? Where is she?" Emily yelled as the group ran in behind her, Penelope still in her pyjamas racing in, "where's Athena?"

"Nurse; I need an update on her now, how are her vitals?" Spencer began quizzing random nurses in a panic.

"Reid, leave the nurses alone- where is she?" Rossi hushed before turning to Hotch and Morgan, "Jesus Christ kid- you're covered in so much blood- are you hurt?" 

"It's not my blood" he replied quietly.

"Oh my god- is she..." Garcia covered her mouth.

"Derek Morgan?" The nurse called from the desk, making him jump to his feet as he raced over to her.

"Yes, Is she okay? Where is she? Can I see her?"

"Oh, I'm sorry- no updates, I just need you to fill out her form for her" she said apologetically, handing him a clipboard and pen, "sorry..."

"Oh, okay..."

"How can there be no updates? Can't they at least tell us what they're doing or what's wrong with her?" Reid paced backwards and forth as Morgan sat back down.

"What even happened?" Emily turned to Morgan who was just staring at the form in his seat, "Derek?"

Hotch looked at him and then shook his head at the group as a way to let them know not to ask him yet which confused them but they complied, Emily nodding and sitting next to Morgan.

"Do you want me to fill it out for you?" She spotted his hands shaking, he didn't respond but simply passed it to her, unable to speak, unable to blink without seeing the blood, so much blood...

The group sat in silence for what felt like years, nobody able to focus on the time but unable to stop feeling how slowly it passed.

"It's light out now" JJ yawned, looking out the window as Emily leant on her shoulder.

"What's the time?" 

"8:45am" Reid eplied from across the waiting room, drinking his 5th coffee since 8am.

"When was she brought in again?" Emily asked Hotch.

"Derek called me around 2am so around then" he rubbed his eyes and looked at Morgan who hadn't moved, still sat looking at the floor with his leg shaking.

"Do you want a drink or something?" Rossi asked but he simply shook his head.

"You have to drink something Morgan."

"I-I can't leave, what if they come out with information and I'm not here? No, I'm going to wait right here" he spoke with certainty through a raspy voice, almost talking to himself.

"Come on sugar, let's go get you some water; the canteen is just down the hall- it'll be okay if you just leave for 5 minutes" Penelope placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing he couldn't say no to her.

"Call me if anything happens" his voice practically begged Hotch who nodded in response as he reluctantly got to his feet.

"Of course."

"How are you doing? That was a dumb question, you're obviously not doing good but I mean- do you want to talk?" Garcia rambled as the two walked.

"I just need her to be okay."

"She will be, she always is" Penelope tried to sound convincing, "she will be okay."

"I'm not sure this time Pen... I'm not sure she wants to be" he shook his head and took a water cup, feeling the cold liquid trickle down his throat into his empty stomach.

"She will be, she has to be- she can't... she can't leave us" Penelope tried not to cry, leaning into the hug Morgan automatically met her with, knowing he had at tell us, knowing it would break her heart like it broke his.

"What happened to her Derek? What's going on?"

"How much longer until they'll come out? Surely, they have anything to tell us" Rossi sighed in frustration back in the waiting room as the group grew somehow more impatient.

"I guess no news is good news in this situation" Emily rubbed her eyes, leaning back on JJ who sipped one of Reid's coffees.

"Did you see her before she went in? Do you know what's even happening?" Spencer asked Hotch who shook his head, "how hurt was she?"

"No, I got here after Morgan brought her in; they rushed her through the doors as soon as he arrived."

"Is a Derek Morgan here?" A doctor walked out of the double doors just when it looked like Reid would combust with caffeine.

"Let me call him-"

"Is she okay?" Reid quickly jumped to his feet.

"Unfortunately we don't have any news as of yet but I need to speak to the- "she began but was interrupted by a nurse running through the double doors.

"Doctor; she's lapsing again- you have to hurry!" 

"What?!"

"What's happening?!" Hotch yelled out at them but they were gone.

"I need you all to sit down- I'll go find out what's happening" the front desk nurse tried to calm them all down as Morgan came around the corner with Garcia.

"What's going on?!" 

"The doctor came to give us an update but the nurse had to call her back- he said that she was lapsing again" Hotch explained slowly to try to process the words himself, an unusual panic flooding him.

"What?!" Morgan yelled and went to run through the doors, making two male nurses have to hold him back.

"Sir- you can't go in there, please sit back down" they said as he tried to push past them, Hotch and Rossi running over and grabbing him, helping the nurses pull him back into the waiting room.

"Please! I need to see her! Let me go to her!" He yelled as tears fell, Garcia covered her mouth to hide her sobs seeing him in such distress, "Athena!"

"Derek, please- just sit down, there's nothing you can do- just sit down" Rossi begged, all knowing that if he wanted to he could have hit them all away, but he didn't want to hurt them.

"I-I need her to be okay, she has to be okay" he put his hands on his head as he dropped to the floor, the nurses let go of him since he wasn't acting 'violently' anymore.

"I know but we just need to wait- charging in there isn't going to help" Hotch tried to calm him down, but Morgan just turned, pushing past him and storming out of the hospital.

"Derek! Where are you going!?" Garcia called after her him but Hotch stopped her.

"Let him go, he needs time to process everything- it's a lot for him."

"What's a lot for him? We still don't know what's happening- does he know something we don't? Why was he even there to help her? Are they friends now?" Emily asked but neither answered.

"I know, I just don't want to leave him alone through this" Garcia replied to Hotch, the two both knowing the real reason Athena was brought in, taking a seat next to each other and waiting with the rest of the group before Morgan walked back in an hour later.

"Hey, how are you doing now-" Emily went to ask but the doctor walked out of the double doors as he walked in.

"Is she okay?" 

"Derek Morgan? You were the one to bring her in, right? The one Kimmie mentioned?" She asked, glancing over at the team before back to him, "would you mind coming with me- alone?"

"Is she okay? What did you mean earlier when you said she lapsed again?" Morgan asked, following her through the halls to where he prayed Athena would be to greet him.

"Miss Adams was in a seriously bad state, more than we initially thought; not only did she had multiple blood clots but it turns out that instead of there just being one baby that miscarried, there was also another that had partly survived the morphine and was taking so much of Athena to survive that it was killing her" the doctor explained as they stopped outside of the room.

"W-what?" 

"She was pregnant with twins Mr Morgan; the other doctor must have missed it because the other, very small fetes was already gone from the fight and he had to focus on implementing the chemicals to finish the miscarriage. Unfortunately the 2nd, and even smaller, one was trying to fight the others miscarriage and morphine she had been given. It was slowly killing her and if you hadn't of brought her in when you did she probably would have been too far gone to help. We had to perform an emergency termination in the middle of her surgery where we were clearing the blood clots which was when her body went into shock, her vitals dropped and I was called back in, we managed to stabilise her long enough to finish the termination and she's currently in recovery and thankfully doing better- she's alive and it looks like we will keep her that way."

"S-she was pregnant with twins?" Morgan stammered, still caught up on everything being told to him, watching as the doctor realised that he didn't know.

"I'm... I'm so sorry sir."

"I-I can't believe it, does she know? Did you tell her? You can't tell her, it'll break her to know" he shook his head urgently, suddenly going into 'protector' mode and panicking about her finding out, pushing past the doctor even before she replied.

"The nurse is telling her now, she's only just become stable enough to-"

"-I'm so sorry mam" Morgan pushed through the doors into a horrific déjà vu.

"Stop! Don't tell her!" He tried to yell, pausing as tears silently fell down her cheeks, slowly walking over to her bed and taking her hand as the nurse left them alone.

"Why didn't you just let me fucking die?" Athena whispered after a while of silence, Morgan quickly wrapping his arms around her to comfort her in whatever way he could.

"You don't really want that" he spoke quietly as he held her, "you wouldn't want that."

"I want anything but this" she whimpered into his chest as he stroked the back of her head for a while.

"I-I'm sorry you got my blood all over you, you look like a shitty Picasso painting" she wiped her nose on her sleeve through an attempted chuckle as she looked at his shirt whilst he smiled down at her.

"You always have time for a little joke."

"Of course, who do you think I am?"

"How are you feeling now?" He crouched down, still holding her hand.

"Like fucking shit" she laughed through the pain.

"I'm sorry" he wiped a tear from her cheek.

"When will I get a fucking break man?" She sighed, leaning into his palm.

"What do you mean?" 

"Just from all this shit, it's one thing after the other. It's the cult and dying twice real quick, being hunted in the woods and then being on the run from the FBI again, being fucking shot twice and being yeeted out of a window and kidnapped again and now this- why is there never a fucking break? Am I just not meant to be happy? Like ever?"

"You deserve to be happy, you deserve it so much sweetheart" he spoke softly, "I'm sorry."

"Obviously not... I've done some shitty things, the amount of times that I've casually lied to a nun is enough bad Karma to warrant all this shit."

"Listen to me-" he gently turned her head to him, cupping her face as he caught her gaze and held it there "-you are the bravest, strongest, most incredible, deserving person I have ever met- it will get better; you absolutely deserve for it to get better, I will make sure it's better- I promise you."

She watched him for a moment before chuckling through her tears of genuine adoration of him, "d-did you run in here to try and stop the nurse from telling me?" 

"Yeah, I don't know why- I just didn't want you to have to know,  obviously you would find out so I don't know why I tried, I just-" he tried to explain.

"Thank you" she interrupted quietly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze of appreciation, "and I-I'm really sorry."

"Stop apologising, you don't need to apologise; like I said before, it's not your fault."

"It still really sucks for you too though, you're allowed to say it sucks- you don't have to pretend to be okay to not make me feel bad, I mean I don't even know if you wanted kids and I'm sure you sure as hell didn't want them with me, I mean I don't even know if we're together or whatever this is so I'm not saying you have to be sad or anything and I-I don't want you to feel like you have to stick around because you feel bad or whatever..." she started to ramble with a sudden nervousness she didn't understand, but he just tucked his hand under her chin with a soft smile.

"It does suck- and I'm really sad it didn't work out, but that doesn't mean it won't work out one day for us if that's what you want- it's... it's what I want, with you I mean, with us."

Athena felt a lump in her throat as he gently stroked her cheek, speaking so earnestly, so truthfully, as if the concept of a lie didn't even exist in that moment.

"But if you don't want that, especially after everything you've been, of course that's fine, I'm not going anywhere- future babies or no future babies, you're unfortunately stuck with me from now on sweetheart" he brought her hand up to his lips before placing the most certain kiss, sealing his promise.

"You're such a loser" she chuckled through tears.

"A loser who you're stuck with" he teased through a wink.

"Yeah but lucky for you I'm like super cool so I think it balances it out" she joked.

"I guess that means we have to stay together- to keep things balanced of course."

"What a shame" she replied with a smile before there was a small knocking at the door as Garcia appeared.

"H-hi."

"Hi P" Athena smiled at her, "do you want to come in?"

Penelope went to speak as she approached the bed but all that came out was a few tears.

"Come here P-"

"I'm so sorry-"

Athena hated hearing that; she knew that people meant well but she was sick of hearing that phrase over and over again throughout her life when they found out the god awful things that happened to her- it never helped, it never made her feel better, it never changed anything.

"It's fine, I'm okay" Athena lied as she kissed Penelope's head to comfort her, Morgan watching her knowing she wasn't.

"How are you feeling? I'm sorry, that was a dumb question-"

"A bit achy, they had to cut me so my stomach's a bit sore but I'm being put on drugs now that they know it's gone which is dope- I love a good hospital drug, and I think I'll get a sick scar to add to my collection."

"What? What's gone?" Penelope asked, looking between the two.

"Uh, Athena the doctor only told me about the whole thing a minute ago" Morgan explained slowly.

"Ah shit, I thought he told the whole gang... my bad..."

"Wait what's going on? Why did they cut you open for a blood clot?" 

"Doctor" Athena called out of the room, keeping Morgan's hand in hers.

"Is everything okay Miss Adams?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I know you're busy but would you do me a favour?" 

"Of course, anything dear."

"Could you tell the group in the waiting room about everything?" Athena requested, making the doctor pause for a moment.

"Are you sure? You don't have to tell them if you don't want- a lot of patients don't."

"They'll find out about half of it from the paperwork anyway since it happened at work- they might as well know it all so I don't have to keep explaining it- or keep remembering my lies."

"Of course... I can do that" the doctor nodded before turning to Garcia who looked lost, "mam, did you want to come too?"

"Garcia, can you make sure they know that I'm okay?" She asked as her friend walked out with the doctor, nodding with confusion before the two were left alone once more.

"This is fucking scary" Athena couldn't help laughing nervously to Morgan once they were gone.

"What do you mean?" He took a seat next to her.

"Just waiting to see how they'll react... that's why I didn't tell you before, I was scared how you would react so I just waited which I guess makes it worse because it prolongs it."

"Is that really why you waited to tell me?" He prompted knowing deep down that it wasn't, knowing that she was just waiting to die.

"Let's... let's just pretend it is" she gave a sad smile, patting his hand and knowing that he knew, the two falling into a few moments of silence before she cleared her throat, "you really should change man, kinda weird seeing my blood all over you."

"I thought it was a good fashion choice" he joked.

"I don't think me or the fashion industry are ready for that bold look."

"I'll get changed when you go to sleep."

"I'm not allowed to sleep until the drugs kick just in case" she shrugged as she led back on the hospital bed.

"Are they kicking in yet?"

"Is the little baggy empty? If so then yeah" she closed her heavy eyes whilst he looked up at it.

"Yeah" he replied as he looked back down and saw that she was fast asleep, unable to stop himself smiling as he continued to hold her hand whilst she slept, pulling up a chair and rested his head forward onto the edge of the bed, the exhaustion taking over before the pain of what had happened could consume him entirely...

Morgan woke up from the brief relief from the pain to the sound of the hospital room door opening, surprised to see Athena walking in.

"What? When did you leave? " He looked towards the empty bed with a yawn before back at her, "how did you leave?"

"You've been asleep for like 4 hours man, a girls gotta pee at some point" she chuckled and passed him the clean clothes the nurses had grabbed for him to change into.

"I really slept that long? Wow" he rubbed his eyes whilst she hobbled back over to the bed and struggled to get in.

"Here, let me help you" he stood up but she playfully swatted his had away.

"I've got this" she smiled before rolling over into the bed, "ta da!"

He chuckled as he sat back down, "very nice."

"I know, I'm full of cool tricks like that" she laughed, noticing that he paused when he saw the open window onto the fire escape, looking back at him apologetically as he sighed.

"Did you try and run away out the fire escape again?" 

"Correction; I did run away and escape again, I made it to the end of the block this time."

"Athena- you can't keep doing that" he shook his head, "you shouldn't even be out of bed.

"But it's so easy" she rolled her eyes, "it's my party trick!"

"You can barely walk, how did you manage to sneak out and get that far without me or any doctors noticing?"

"You forget that my main characteristic is being a sneaky bitch."

"Why did you even try to run away?" 

"The doctor said the team were coming to see me after she had told them and, I don't know I guess I just panicked... I'm used to just running away and going into hiding when that happens, old habits die hard I guess- or is it live hard? I don't know the expression."

"Did you end up seeing them?" 

"Yeah... I ran into Hotch in the street as I was trying to leave- twas awkward."

"So Hotch made you come back?" He smiled with relief, watching her roll her eyes as she remembered their conversation.

"Something like that..."

"Athena?" Hotch looked down at the hospital gowned woman who he had almost tossed to the ground on his way back to the hospital, tilting his head as she awkwardly placed her hands on her hips.

"Uh- Hi Hotch, fancy seeing you here."

"What are you doing out here? How did you get out?" 

"Just going on a little walky..." she tried to step back, "-so I guess I'll see you around."

"Athena."

"Finnnne, I ran away- okay? I googled how to remove an IV, broke the window lock, broke the fire escape ladder lock and climbed down- it's no biggie..."

"It's definitely a 'biggie'-" he rolled his eyes, placing his coffee on the wall next to them to present the full 'disappointed dad' look as he folded his arms, "-why are you running away?"

"I-I don't know" she shrugged, confused as to why she did it herself, "it just seemed right."

"Is it what seemed right or what you're used to?" He asked knowingly, watching her look down at the ground with another shrug before he sighed, "Athena, I'm truly sorry for what you're going through-"

"Can you all stop fucking saying that?" She snapped up at him "god I'm so sick of doctors and everyone saying they're sorry- it's just a word! A stupid fucking word that's meant to make everyone feel better so we can all move on but I-I can't! I fucking can't and I don't know why! I'm really good at ignoring the bad stuff and moving on, I'm really good at not letting the shitty stuff get to me- that's how I made it through my shitty life and how I made it doing the shitty stuff that I did. I was good at it, why aren't I good at it now?!"

"I think it's because you have people who care about you now, people who feel your pain when you're hurt, which makes it hard for you to push it away and ignore it" Hotch spoke softly as he watched her angrily brush her tears away before crossing her arms with frustration.

"Well I wish you guys wouldn't, it makes being an asshole a whole lot harder."

"It makes you human; you're used to going through these things alone and turning to things like running away, isolating yourself or starting a new life as a coping mechanism but you don't have to do that anymore,  and it doesn't make you any less 'cool' or 'badass' that you don't have to that either."

"Don't judge my coping mechanisms."

"Don't push Morgan out because you're scared that he cares about you" he tilted his head knowingly.

"How do you know about us-" she went to quiz before shaking her head, "-god damn profilers."

"I know you care about him" he caught her gaze, "I also know that you were probably secretly hoping that he would react badly so you could have an excuse to leave which is more comfortable than letting him care about you."

"He doesn't deserve this, he deserves better" she dropped her gaze again, mumbling almost to herself before Hotch took her hand.

"Athena, you can still keep parts of you from your old life whilst you create a new life that you want- not one that was made for you. You don't have to drop everything and start over again or be someone else, Morgan isn't going any where if you act like yourself- he knows who you are, we all love who you are- the good and the bad."

"You're..." she took a breath before turning back to head to the fire escape with a chuckle, "you're really good at convincing people to not run away- it's fucking annoying."

"Let's go through the main entrance- you shouldn't climb up a ladder with your injuries."

"I don't want to walk past everyone- plus the doctor will be mad at me for taking out my IV" she frowned as he took her arm and led her to the entrance

"How far did you think you would get? You don't have any shoes on."

"Not gonna lie I don't know but I've gotten further with less clothes- I'd figure it out" she laughed before Reid stopped her in her tracks as she entered the waiting room.

"Athena? What are you doing out here? How did you get outside?"

"Uh, would you believe me if I said I didn't know? Crazy drunken night out sorta thing?"

"Where are your shoes?" Emily asked.

"That I can tell you; they're at my apartment."

"I'm confused- what were you doing outside? How did you get past us?" 

"She climbed down the fire escape trying to run away" Hotch answered, earning a weak smack of his arm.

"Tattle tale."

"You what?!" Reid exclaimed.

"Oh calm down, I didn't go through with it" she walked over and hugged him before he could tell her off again.

"How are you doing?" JJ asked softly.

"Good, I mean not good obvs but... good enough I guess" she nodded, turning from the hug with Reid and immediately being hugged by a crying Penelope.

"Oh- hey again P" she chuckled in the embrace before stepping back and looking around at all of them who had pained expressions of sorrow for her, "okay weirdos that's enough sappy hug time, go back to hating me."

"Athena we're so sorry you're-" JJ went to speak.

"I know" Athena brushed past the conversation that filled her with as much pain as it did confusing rage, "let's just drop it- I only let them tell you so you wouldn't pester me about it, don't make me regret opening up for once."

They all paused, wanting to explain how she shouldn't box it all up, how she should talk about it but just nodded instead, knowing this was what she needed right now.

"I should probably go back to the room before the doctor realises I'm gone and calls the police, which I guess is you...  that would be awkward- anyway you guys should go home and get some rest or I guess go to work since you probably have a case" she went to leave before turning back, "shit, what's my room number?"

"115."

"Thanks Hotch" she smiled at him before pausing, "and... thanks everyone, you don't complelty suck all of the time I guess."

"Awe! She loves us!" Penelope squealed.

"Don't push it- that's the most affection you losers will ever get from me, I still hate this stupid job and you all..."

"Athena?" Morgan interrupted her reminiscing of the interaction she had just had before walking back into her room.

"Mhmm- sorry I zoned out."

"It's okay, I was just asking if I should call the doctor to put your IV back in."

"Oh no it's chill- I got it" she shook her head, pinching her skin and popping it back, "see? I have many talents."

"Extraordinary" he teased through a yawn.

"How was your nap?"

"Good, I didn't even realise I was asleep."

"Those are the best kind of naps" she chuckled "you should go home and get some real sleep though."

"Nah, I'll just steal your bed" he winked, wiggling next to her on the just barely bigger than a single sized hospital bed as she laughed, gently being squished to the side of the bed.

"You're too thick for this bed dude- too many muscles."

"Hey- you like this thickness" he laughed, turning to face her, bodies pressed together, legs intertwined, "how do you look so beautiful right now?"

"Gross, don't you have a job to get to or something? Lives to save or some shit?" She teased, resting her head on his shoulder and letting her eyes feel the full weight of the lack of sleep she needed only when she was next to him.

"This is more important."

"Being a human pillow is more important that catching criminals?" 

"Absolutely, only when it's for you."

"I'm gonna have to report you to Hotch for that" she joked.

"And technically I am catching a criminal right now- look" he teased, wrapping his arms around her.

"Ouch- that was a low blow" she laughed "very true though; just last week I stole a credit card off a guy on the subway and used it to by a smoothie and some new boots."

"Athena you can't do that, and you definitely can't tell your FBI agent boyfriend about it" Morgan couldn't help laughing despite the literal admittance to a crime he just heard.

"I can't help it that I'm good at pickpocketing- it's like trying to get someone to unlearn how to breathe, it's natural for me now" she chuckled before pausing and opening her eyes wide with a realisation at him "wait a minute- did you just call yourself my boyfriend?"

"Did I?" He smirked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "must have been a slip of the tongue."

"You're so lame" she chuckled, letting herself slip into a sleep in his arms- hiding her enjoyment of hearing him say that he was her boyfriend, hiding how much it warmed her heart to have him there with her, how much she needed him- how much she loved him...