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A/n here's a bit of whimsical Christmas fun for you. Hope you enjoy it.

Naughty or Nice

"So what are you guys doing tomorrow?" Garcia asked JJ as she cuddled Henry on her lap.

"We're going ice skating in the afternoon if the weather's good. You know that new outdoor place in Alexandria?" JJ said, her large eyes sparkling happily.

"Oh… That's sounds like so much fun." Garcia sighed wistfully as Henry looked at a small book full of pictures of animals that was supposed to teach numbers.

"Jennifer thinks three is too little for Henry to go on skates, but I promised her I'd hang on to him." Will said, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

JJ glared at him, only half seriously. "I just said that three years old is a little young for skating but if you wanted to be there to catch him, I'd buy the skates."

"Actually, skating is very good exercise." Reid inserted as the rest of the team rolled their eyes. "The problem of childhood obesity in the United States is a growing every year, so it's very important that Henry get exercise every day."

"Oh, he gets exercise every day," Will answered, as the others laughed. "He runs me into the ground."

JJ nodded. "Will is amazing. That little boy has more energy than the… Well, than the Energizer Bunny."

Henry held out his book to his dad as they laughed again. Will took the book and replaced it with Henry's favorite toy, a stuffed dinosaur given to him by his God Father on his last birthday.

"Now that was a meal to be remembered." Rossi said, as he finished off the last of his dinner roll.

"Yeah… Thanks for inviting us over JJ." Garcia said as Henry said "Mama…"

JJ took the little boy from Garcia. Reid smiled at the little boy, not noticing how JJ and Emily smirked at each other behind his back.

"Yes… Thank you very much for the wonderful meal Hotch said. "Thank you…" Jack said over a mouthful of his mashed potatoes.

"It makes missing my mama's ham worthwhile." Morgan said with a faraway look in his eyes. "It's too bad that last case kept us all away until tonight."

"I thought that might happen," JJ admitted. "So, Will suggested this get together."

"It's better than being alone." Reid blurted out then went pink. "Thanks JJ."

"I'm glad that Henry gets to spend Christmas with his God parents this year."

Reid looked around the table, full of the debris of a good meal, and the tall tree in the corner of the living room. He loved the open plan of JJ's house. It was homier he thought. It made Christmas seem more like a family holiday than just a day to get through.

"Happy Christmas Eve," Will raised his glass of eggnog.

The others responded in kind, holding up their glasses. Henry looked up and laughed. He said, "Santa…" very excitedly.

"Yes baby boy, Santa is coming tonight." Henry clapped his hands enthusiastically and climbed down from his father's lap to toddle to the tree.

"Daddy, can I go with Henry." Jack said.

"Yes… Be careful with Aunt JJ's tree." Hotch admonished the little boy.

"I will Daddy." Jack jumped down and ran to the living room.

Reid watched the two boys together, and wished for the first time in a long time that he'd had a little brother or sister to share Christmas.

"What are you thinking?" JJ touched his shoulder.

"I'm just thinking that it will be sad when Henry finds out that Santa isn't real." He said as Jack and Henry played.

JJ looked at the other end of the table where Jack sat talking to his daddy. "A little louder Reid, I don't think Henry and Jack heard you." She snapped.

"Yeah… Are you trying to upset the kids?" Emily agreed irritably.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset anyone." Reid said, his face going very red.

"Its fine," Hotch broke in before JJ could say anything. "Let's talk about something else."

"Come on…" Emily said desperately to Garcia and Reid. "Let's get this mess cleaned up."

"Why do I have to?" Reid said.

Emily smacked him on the shoulder. "Why do you think?" She stared him down.

Reid opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by JJ who was getting up from the table. "It's okay Emily…"

"No it's not; you guys did the hard part, so we're cleaning up." She glared at Reid, Morgan and then at Rossi.

"The lady is right," Rossi stood up. "The faster we get to it, the quicker we can have coffee and pie."

CMCMCMCM

"You see…." Harold said. "He should be moved to the naughty list.

"Harold… It's Christmas Eve. The big guy won't take kindly to your shifting Dr. Spencer Reid to the naughty list." Jared reminded the older elf.

Harold harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He said Santa Claus isn't real with little children in the room. You know very well that Section 7, Paragraph eleven of the rulebook says, "If an adult, or child denies out loud the existence of Santa within the hearing of a believing child, he or she shall be moved to the naughty list for a period of not less than five years." He quoted in his high-pitched pompous voice.

"The rule book is archaic. The boss believes in the spirit of the law not the letter. Who wrote that rule book anyway?" Mabel asked shaking her golden brown curls.

"My great, great, great, uncle on my mother's side wrote the book at the boss' request."

"The boss threw out the book centuries ago," said Santa Claus from the door to the big conference room. "The rule book was meant to be a guide not an iron fist."

The elves, nearing the end of their double-checking the naughty and nice lists all straightened to attention as Santa took his huge, carved oak chair at the head of the long table. His kind blue eyes, the color of sapphires, twinkled at them.

"We have to get under way in less than six hours." Santa reminded them. "I need that list finished in two hours or we won't be ready for takeoff on schedule."

The elves turned to stare at Harold who addressed his boss directly.

"Sir, Dr. Spencer Reid said in the hearing of two children, that you're not real."

"I'm aware of what happened." Santa said, his eyes going grave and sad. "You know that Dr. Reid lost his belief in me when he was a very small child. His great intellect overcame the child-like innocence that's within all human beings. He is to be pitied not punished."

The elves nodded gravely, the bells on their red caps ringing merrily. "I still think he should be on the naughty list." Harold argued bravely.

Santa chuckled. "Ho ho ho… Harold, if we moved everyone to the naughty list on your say so, I'd only have coal to deliver and you all would be out of jobs."

The other elves glared at Harold. He met all of their stares forthrightly. "Intellect is no excuse for ruining the magic of Christmas." He insisted.

The elves began to argue rather loudly. Santa let it go on for a few moments then he held up his hands. "My friends… Harold does have a point."

"But Santa -" Holly interrupted, her red hair bouncing indignantly on her shoulders.

Santa held up one finger, his smile wide on his white bearded face. "Perhaps it's time for an intervention." He said.

The others stared around in shock. "Santa?" They all questioned as one, except for Harold who looked very smug.

"Yes," Santa said. "I will intervene in this case."

"But Santa, you haven't intervened in centuries. What makes this Dr. Spencer Reid so special?" Jared asked.

"He has suffered much in his life. He is a good and kind soul that loves his godson and Jack Hotchner. He's a good friend, son and FBI agent. He's saved many lives without regard for his own life. He deserves my intervention." Santa said.

The elves nodded. They all adored Santa and knew him to be a very wise man. They would defer to his judgment.

Santa inclined his head to Harold. "Make the necessary arrangements." He ordered. "We've got less than six hours to go."

CMCMCMCM

Reid arrived home a little after eight in the evening. He put the wrapped presents he'd received from all the team, Henry and Jack under the tree Emily, Garcia and JJ had insisted on setting up for him. The others had tried to get him to open the gifts at Will and JJ's home, but he'd insisted on taking them home so he'd have something to open the next morning.

He flicked on the Christmas lights and the radio after making a cup of coffee. He liked sitting in front of the tree looking at the lights blinking on and off, listening to Christmas music. It was relaxing to count the blinks. Now, he was in the middle of figuring out an equation to predict how many times the lights would blink on and off if, he left the lights on all day on Christmas.

He didn't notice for a few minutes that the room had suddenly got very silent around him. The lights on his tree going out finally got his attention.

"What the -"

A small figure appeared right in front of him with a pop like the cork of a champagne bottle. "Dr. Spencer Reid," The squeaky voice stated.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Harold, elf and personal assistant to Chris Cringle."

Reid laughed despite the fact that a man about three feet tall, dressed in a fur lined green suit and cap, stood in the middle of his living room.

"Did Morgan put you up to this?" He said, forgetting that his door was locked, he lived on the fourth floor and he had a state of the art security system.

"No… I'm here to offer you a once in a millennium opportunity." The supposed elf said.

"Look, I'm going to call -"

The elf snapped his fingers and Reid couldn't move. It was as if his body was trussed up in some kind of invisible plastic wrap, but he could breathe and think.

"Calling your team or the police won't be necessary. You see, Santa Claus would like for you to accompany me to the North Pole."

Reid would've lifted his eyebrows had he been able to move. As it was he just stared at the little man standing between him and the Christmas tree.

"Don't worry… The trip will be short."

He snapped his fingers again and Reid was pulled into spinning golden lights as his living room vanished around him.