Fic: Flight Back (Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan)
Title: Flight Back
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pair: Spencer Reid / Derek Morgan
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
Criminal Minds Main List
Notes: The comments about Morgan`s poker buddies refer to Poker Face.
Quote from the TV show is from the episode The Eligible Bachelor.
Morgan tilted his head to the side to see the book cover. He shimmied closer on the bench. The two day gig without any time for rest had cached up with the team and everyone else was fast asleep before the jet had even left. Just he and Reid were awake, both too chipper to sleep off their exhaustion.
“What are you reading?”
“The hound of the Baskervilles.” Reid mumbled and leaned closer.
“Sherlock Holmes?”
“Haven’t you ever read it?”
“I’ve seen the movie.”
“Which one?”
“How many is there?”
“Twenty-one.”
“The black and white one.”
“Rathbone. Did you know that was the only one of his Holmes movies that explicitly stated Holmes’s cocaine habit?”
“No, I fell asleep halfway through.”
“It`s not that interesting anyway. Apart from the obvious value as a part of film history, it doesn’t really have that many merits as a singular piece of cinema.”
Morgan chuckled. “You should start writing film reviews. People wouldn’t be able to figure out what you actually mean.”
“In layman terms? It was a pretty bad film. Brett’s Holmes was the definitive one.”
“Brett?”
“Jeremy Brett. He played Holmes for ten years in British TV.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
Reid laid the book down on his knees and leaned back against the headrest. “Did you know he lost his wife in the middle of the series? That lead to a serious depression and triggered his bi-polar disorder.” He paused and closed his eyes for a minute. “It’s impressive that he could dive into a role to separate himself from his own mind. Shut out everything for the sake of his work.”
“That’s pretty impressive.” Morgan agreed. He was never quite sure how to react when Reid started talking like that.
“I saw some of those episodes in reruns some time ago. In one episode Holmes said that there’s no escape from the terrors of the mind. It’s horrible.”
“What do you mean?”
“Being afraid of your own mind. Maybe that’s the flipside of intelligence. One side is rational and in control, and the other one is the exact opposite. And neither one of those can exist without the other.”
“Are we still talking about Sherlock Holmes?”
“Actually, I was thinking about my mom. I haven’t seen her for a long time.”
“Do you want to go see her?”
“Not really. She had….. She had an episode couple months ago. They switched her medication and it had side affects. She just went…. you know.”
“You want me to go with you?”
“Seriously?”
“Why not? We could use couple vacation days and have a long weekend in Vegas.”
“You never even met her as my…. well, mine. The only time she met you, you were one of my team members.”
“I still am.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah. Think about it. We can go visit your mom, and then we’ll spend the rest of the rest of the weekend tanning, gambling and rolling in bed under the hot desert sun.”
“Do you know how full all hotels in Vegas are during the weekends?”
“My DataQueen can handle that.” Morgan grinned.
“She could, but I’m not sure if hacking is the answer.” Reid smirked a little bit. “But… I could make some inquiries and see if we can get the time off and check the reservations.”
“Hotch knows the situation, he’ll handle the time off.” Morgan prodded his head on Reid’s shoulder. “Promise me something.”
“What?”
“When we go to Vegas….. Please don’t use the same tricks you used with my poker buddies.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You skinned them. The only thing they had left were the clothes on their backs.”
“That wasn’t my fault! Grown men should know when to stop playing.”
“How much did you win from them?”
“Six hundred…..”
“And they blamed me for hiring a pro. Don’t do that when we go to Vegas.”
“Playing with your friends and playing in a Casino table are two different things.”
“You expect me to believe you’ve never played in a casino?”
“I was a minor when I lived in Vegas.”
Morgan gave him a suspicious glance.
“Fine, I tried some gambling later, when I went to see mom.”
“And?”
“And I’ve been blacklisted by three casinos.” Reid admitted.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing! They just don’t like it when people win too much.”
“How much was too much?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Come on….”
“All I’m saying is that I’ve got a nice little nest egg stashed away for a rainy day. Although that metaphor doest really apply to this, since it applies-”
“Pretty Boy, I can’t wait to be old and feeble.”
“Why?”
“I got my hot young sugar daddy taking care of me.”
“What makes you think I’ll use that money on you?” Reid grinned. “Or are you planning a future as a kept man?”
“Are you saying I don’t have what it takes?”
“No, you definitely have the necessary attributes. And solicitation has long traditions-”
“Babe…..”
“Anyway, that’s for our old age and that’s still far ahead, and you’re never supposed to touch the capital.”
“That explains why you never buy yourself nicer clothes…..”
“Morgan, you are endangering you future as a kept man.”
“I’ll shut up.” Morgan stretched his hands above his head. “So…. Vegas. When are we going?”
“When we can get some time off?”
“Okay.” Morgan agreed.
“And, Morgan….”
“What?”
“Don’t call my mom mother, mama, mummy or anything like that.”
“You call her mom.”
“That’s different. If someone else uses that name she’ll start this half an hour rant about how patriarchal society attempts to label females based on their status in relation to the breeding of new taxpayers.”
TBC