Page 55 of For Rage

Morgan wanted to cry but held it all in. Suddenly, she was ashamed of the thought she'd had—that it would have been better to just die. How had she lost herself like that? How had she given up on herself? She was grateful Derik couldn't see inside her mind.

Still, it made her laugh that Johnson, who she'd loathed the most throughout this case, had technically saved her life in the end.

"I'll be sure to send Johnson a postcard," Morgan muttered, and Derik laughed. “Why’d he try to run, anyway?”

“You’re going to laugh, but apparently, he’d read up on your story and was paranoid he’d get framed too. I wouldn’t have believed him before, but considering we know he’s innocent now, I guess it checks out.”

Derik was right; Morgan did laugh. “Well, getting framed for a crime you didn’t commit is something you’d reasonably want to avoid. I can’t blame him for that.”

Derik laughed, too, his eyes lingering on hers. Silence spread between them for a moment, before Derik said, "You know, you're going to make it.”

"I know,” she said.

She was still in a lot of pain, but her arm and leg felt good enough to wiggle her fingers and toes. She was alive. It was a miracle. Her life had been saved, and she'd been brought back to the place she most wanted to be. She looked up at him and said, "It's you I'm thankful for."

Derik laughed. He touched her hand gently, and they both fell quiet. There was so much they wanted to say to each other, but they both knew it would have to wait. Something else was on Derik's mind too.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner," he said. "I was ... when I crashed, I thought maybe we'd never see each other again."

"But we did," Morgan whispered.

For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Derik pulled his hand away, and Morgan missed the warmth of his fingertips on hers. He rubbed at his neck as he said, "Fink confessed to everything. His aunt took him in after his parents died, but I guess she was abusive."

"He told me," Morgan said. "I listened to his whole damn life story as the poison was killing me."

"That must've been terrifying."

"I was just happy I got a good hit on him."

"You sure did," Derik said. "He nearly bled out, but we resuscitated him. Now, he gets to rot in jail forever."

Jail. Morgan didn't want to think about that now, especially when she was trapped inside this hospital room. She hated the idea of not being able to walk free at any time she needed to. She’d endured too much of that already.

"Tell me I don't have to stay here long," Morgan said.

"No. We just have to keep an eye on you and let your body heal. They're releasing you tomorrow."

Morgan relaxed. Thank God.

They were quiet for a moment and then Derik smiled. "I guess you’ll be glad to get out of here and get back on the street."

"You have no idea," Morgan said, and now, it was her turn to smile. "I know the FBI is risky, but I was made for this job, Greene. Same as you."

"It's in our blood, I guess," Derik said. "Mueller's impressed by you, as always. He'll be thrilled to hear you're awake."

"I'm just glad no one is telling me I'm a disappointment."

"Oh, they would never do that."

She and Derik shared a laugh.

"But seriously, I'm glad to see you back," Derik said, and his face shifted to a serious look. "I was afraid ... I'd lost you."

"Nope," Morgan said. "I'm damn hard to kill. Besides, I have to live with you now, remember?"

"Oh, shut up."

Derik rolled his eyes and laughed, and she knew everything would be okay. They went silent, listening only to the beeping on the monitor.

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