"So, what happened with the whole magic wall thing?" Alex asked.

Reid, lying on the little bed thing while the doctor applied casts to his arm and ankle, was surrounded by the four agents who had rescued him and still refused to leave.

"I noticed it as soon as I got down there. The basement was architecturally anomalous- the room was narrower in one dimension than it should have been," Reid explained. "Because of that and the age of the house, I figured it had some sort of system like that. I was hoping for a tunnel, because I didn't know whether he knew about the history of the house, but he didn't so it all worked out."

"What do you mean, history of the house?" Rossi asked.

Reid frowned. "You know, Underground Railroad?"

"The house was part of the Underground Railroad? That's why it had the little hidden chamber?" JJ asked.

Reid nodded.

Alex grinned. "Wow. What are the odds?"

"Not bad, considering that this county has the highest density of existing Underground Railroad homes in the country… which I was telling you all about on the plane ride over here," Reid said, raising his eyebrows.

Rossi blinked. "Oh."

Alex bit her lip, still smiling. "Oops."

Hotch shook his head. "I will make a concerted effort to listen to your history rants in the future."

The door burst open and Morgan walked inside, a somewhat frustrated Garcia in his wake.

"Morgan, are you cleared to move around yet?" Reid asked.

"He's not, but he wouldn't listen to me," Garcia huffed.

Morgan ignored the discussion entirely and stalked over to Reid's bed, leaning over him. "Don't do that again, kid," he said in a dangerous voice.

Reid frowned. "It was my decision."

"It was a stupid one," Morgan growled at him.

"Morgan," Hotch said in a warning tone. "You can have this conversation later. Go back to your room."

"No, Hotch," Morgan growled.

The doctor straightened up, ignoring the emotional tension in the room. "Okay, the casts are about set. You can move around now if you want."

"Great. Can I have some food?" Reid asked hopefully.

"I'll have the nurse bring you something… and, ah, some pants for your friend." She exited the room.

"Okay. Reid, Morgan, you stay here and do what the doctors tell you to. The rest of us are going back to the hotel to get some much-needed rest," Hotch announced.

JJ squeezed Reid's hand one more time, then her and the rest of the team filed out of the room.

Morgan sat heavily by Reid's bed. "Kid, you shouldn't've done what you did."

"I had to," Reid said quietly.

"No, you didn't!" Morgan insisted, quickly gaining in volume. "You didn't have to give yourself up! You didn't have to try to die for me!"

"I wasn't trying to die," Reid replied calmly. "I was just trying to save you."

"Look, kid, it's a sweet gesture, but what in the hell made you think I wanted saving like that?"

Reid snorted. "Morgan, do you really think I know so little about you as to think you'd approve of my decision?"

"If you knew I wouldn't want you to do it, why'd you do it?" Morgan demanded.

"Because I wanted to do it. It was my decision, regardless of what you would've thought about it, regardless of what anyone would've thought about it."

Morgan slammed his hand against the wall near Reid's head, causing the younger man to jump. "Do you get it, man? What if he'd found a different house to hide in? What if it hadn't had a convenient little hidey-hole? What if he'd known about it and dragged you out? Do you realize what would have happened to you? Because it doesn't feel like you're getting it through your thick little skull!"

"Of course I know!" Reid shouted back, startling Morgan in turn. "God, do you think I missed it? Do you think I wasn't paying attention? I've got it, Morgan! I'm well aware of what nearly just happened to me! Every second I sat in that dusty little hellhole, trying not to move too much, to breathe too loud. I was afraid to sleep on the off chance I'd move and make a noise; that he'd find me. If I was afraid of the dark before, I sure as hell am now! I understood the situation quite clearly. I understood it when I volunteered. I knew the team may or may not find me in time, and I knew that even if they did it would be hell. I knew all of that and I went anyway because that wasn't what was important!"

"So why go?" Morgan asked. That was the answer he really needed. "Why go for me?"

"Because the moment I saw your eyes on that screen I knew you would die unless I did. We had no leads, we had nothing. You would be dead in a few hours without medical treatment. In that moment it was suddenly, horrifyingly simple. I volunteered in your place or you died. There was no time for a third choice, no time for any other way. I was the only thing between you and death. And I knew I'd never be able to cope with it if I let that happen. I made a choice, Morgan. It was my choice and nothing that could have happened in that basement could have made me regret it."

Morgan stared into Reid's determined eyes, knowing beyond a doubt that the man meant every word.

Morgan let out a deep breath. "Kid, you've gotta be the bravest person I've ever met."

Reid let out a tired smile. "Not brave. Just stubborn."

"Nah, Spencer. Brave," Morgan
said firmly.

Reid glanced over and felt a smile twitch on his bruised face.

A timid nurse stuck her head in the doorway. "I've, uh, got pants and a sandwich?"

/

When the team returned the next morning, they found Morgan still in that chair, in a hospital gown and badly fitting drawstring pants. Although Reid was fast asleep on the crappy hospital bed, Morgan was awake, staring out the window.

"Hey," he said quietly, not looking over.

JJ put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You guys get everything worked out?"

He shrugged. "Sort of. I think. I dunno." He sighed. "I never wanted anyone to do that for me."

"Did you get some sleep?" Rossi asked, even though the exhaustion on Morgan's face was answered enough.

Morgan shook his head. "Tried. Didn't go well."

"Should you talk to the doctor about sleeping pills?"

Morgan frowned. "No, I'll be fine."

Reid turned over. "Mmmghah?"

JJ handed him a sufficiently sugared coffee. "Morning, Spence. How are you feeling?"

"Better than yesterday," he mumbled, taking a huge gulp of the coffee.

"Well, if a half-naked Derek Morgan bursting into your bedroom won't make you feel better…" JJ said, laughing and smacking Morgan on the shoulder.

"Damn, I wish that happened to me more often!" Garcia said, winking at Morgan.

"Yeah, very funny," Morgan grumbled. "It's not my fault this damn hospital stole my clothes."

Hotch handed him his go-bag and dropped Reid's at the end of the bed. "Rescued it from your hotel room. You two wanna get changed so we can catch the jet home?"

/

Morgan was exhausted, but he knew he'd slip into nightmares if he tried to sleep again. Nightmares of what could have happened, or would have happened if Reid hadn't been quite so lucky. Flashes of Reid's face the way it looked when they found him after Hankel- empty and broken. Images of Reid on the floor of the basement, bloody and destroyed.

It wasn't worth the effort to try to sleep, but Morgan knew he couldn't keep it up forever. He was already over 24 hours with no real sleep.

"Hey, kid?" Morgan asked when Reid passed him on a coffee run.

Reid stopped. "Yeah?"

"Do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Talk."

Reid frowned. "About what?"

"Literally anything. Tell me about… the tax laws of Omaha, or the history of candy corn, or whatever you want."

Reid nodded and sat down beside Morgan, close enough that Morgan could feel his body heat. "The earliest surviving work of literature we have is the Epic of Gilgamesh, from about the 18th century BC. It tells the story of the hero, Gilgamesh…"

/

"Do you think their friendship can survive this?" JJ murmured to Hotch.

He didn't need to clarify what she meant. "Yeah, they'll be fine."

"What makes you so sure?"

Hotch just gestured to the other end of the plane, where Reid was murmuring ancient literature while Morgan snored away on his shoulder.

/

Fin.