Author's Note: Hello, all our fanfic friends! Several announcements today, so, hang on tight!

This is a post-ep for episode 6x01.

Please, please, please don't forget to get your nominations in for the first EVER "Profiler's Choice Awards. Nomination ballots and rules are at the forum. Don't forget, I'm (ilovetvalot) still willing to write a oneshot of your pairing choosing to the next five people to complete a ballot. This is a wonderful opportunity to give your favorite stories and authors the recognition that they deserve on ff. net. Also, please remember, in the interest of just saying "no" to self-promotion, ilovetvalot and tonnie2001969 are NOT eligible for nomination.

Also, readers & authors, please come sound off on our newest discussion thread. Tell us how you'd feel about the idea of a fanfic based CM Christmas Gift Fic Exchange. We're eagerly soliciting opinions and ideas!

So, please, drop by and get a blank ballot and tell the fanfic community who YOUR favorites are! We'd love to have you!

Message Received

Prompt: One Tree Hill - "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side"

Taking the vacant seat beside a sullen Derek Morgan, David Rossi stretched his long legs out in front of him. "The pilot said we should be cleared to fly in twenty minutes or so," he commented, offering the tall black man a sidelong glance.

Stubbornly silent, Derek merely nodded, keeping his eyes trained on the glass in front of him, separating the airline terminal from the runway. He didn't want to talk, and more importantly, he wasn't in the mood to listen. Not even to a guy as wise as Rossi.

Especially to a guy as wise as Rossi.

"Look," Dave said softly, clasping his hands over his belly and twiddling his thumbs nonchalantly, "I'm aware that you don't much feel like talking right now. That's your right. But I think there are a few things that you need to hear and I'm pretty sure no one here," he said, glancing around at their milling colleagues, "is in any shape physically or mentally to take you on."

"And you are?" Derek grunted, shooting Rossi a scathing glare.

Smirking slightly at the challenging tone in the man's voice, Dave shook his head. "I've shit nuisances bigger than you, Morgan, and lived to tell the tale. Three ex-wives, remember?"

His lips twisting in a rueful semi-smile, Morgan snorted. "I guess you do have that on me."

Nodding in agreement, Dave took a sip of the tepid Styrofoam cup of bad coffee. Hell, where was a Starbucks when you needed one? At this juncture, he'd even settle for the barely-passable Bureau brew. Leaning forward, he chucked the cup in the trash can across from him before settling back in his chair. "You know you were a jack off today, right?"

Sighing heavily, Derek stretched his neck as he cracked his knuckles. "Yeah," he muttered on a quickly exhaled breath. Why deny what was painfully obvious to everyone…including himself?

"Took pot shots at any and everybody that would stand still long enough to take your shit," Dave continued.

"I know, Rossi. I was there," Derek mumbled under his breath, not particularly proud of his less than stellar behavior today. And hearing his sins catalogued didn't improve his opinion of the entire fucked up scenario.

"We all know you were there, Derek," Rossi replied evenly. "You're lucky that you still have all your teeth after the way you talked to Garcia and JJ. I'm fairly certain that Hotch would still like to knock you through a wall and that Reid is plotting ways to poison your coffee with arsenic. And don't even get me started on Prentiss... for a second there this afternoon I was absolutely positive we were going to have to find you a proctologist to dislodge her combat boot when she broke it off in your ass."

"So, explain to me why you're sitting here right now," Morgan demanded, his tone cold and hard.

"Because when the shit hits the fan, I figure you're gonna need somebody on your side," Dave retorted, merely raising a dark brow. "Somebody to remind these folks that the Derek Morgan we've all been forced to stomach today isn't the man you genuinely are."

Hanging his head, Derek inhaled deeply, his brow furrowing as he felt his anger turning to disappointment…in himself . "I was that bad, huh?" he asked quietly.

"You were worse," Dave stated with flat honesty.

Shaking his bald head as he ran his hands over his face, Derek sighed. "I don't know what happened today, man."

"You let personal feelings cloud your professional judgment. It happens to all of us," Dave replied softly, shifting slightly in his seat as memories of Indianapolis floated through his mind.

"How do you do it, Rossi? How do you just not let it affect you?" Derek said, shaking his head in disgust at himself.

"I do, Derek. I've just learned how to keep how I feel separate from what I do. I had to learn how not to let my temper influence my actions. You will, too. In time. Preferably before Prentiss or JJ unload their Glocks in your ass though," Dave shrugged, a grin floating on his lips for a bare moment. "Although, that could make for some funny as hell entertainment."

"You're a real prince, Rossi," Derek growled sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I try," Dave smirked, rising as their flight was called. "And if I were you, I'd try a little harder, my friend."

"Message received," Derek murmured in deference, following Dave toward the tarmac. "Message received."

Finis

Author's Note 2 - Also guys, please don't forget that if you'd like to advertise the awards on your own profile pages or stories, there's a short blurb on my (ilovetvalot) and Tonnie's (tonnie2001969) profile page for you to copy and paste if you choose!

Again, thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting this story!