Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. Feel free to read and review, but please don't copy.

AN- I re-watched Proof this morning and I was once again struck with the way JJ and Emily treated Reid. Instead of understanding his anger and his hurt they responded with anger, disgusting low blows, and guilt trips. I hadn't planned on writing anything for this episode but after seeing it again, I just couldn't help myself. Someone needed to explain Reid's point of view to the ladies because they just didn't get it. I just hope I do it justice.

Oh, and I changed the end of the episode. Reid didn't show up at Rossi's in this one.

CM

Once the last of the BAU sat down with their plate of homemade Italian cuisine, Rossi raised his wine glass. "And now we eat." He announced.

Garcia wasted no time scooping up some pancetta. "Oh" she groaned. "This is simply heavenly!"

"Yeah, this is one of the best meals I've ever had!" Morgan agreed. "With the exception of my mom's cooking that is."

Hotch nodded. "My compliments to the chefs" he praised.

"We did do a good job, didn't we?" Penelope commented.

"That we did mama." Morgan replied.

"Food always tastes better when prepared with your family." Rossi told them.

Emily huffed. "It's too bad all our family didn't see fit to be here."

JJ patted Emily's hand. "Spence will come around, Em." She assured her friend. "He just has to finish pitching his little temper tantrum first. I swear he's acting just like Henry when he doesn't get his…"

"Alright, that's it! I have had it!" Dave angrily stated, throwing his napkin on the table. Kicking his chair back, he stood and glared at the women. "I have sat back and held my tongue while you two went at that boy but I refuse to do that any longer!"

"Dave"

"No Aaron, they need to hear this." Rossi barked. "And so do you if you thought a simple get together would make everything right again."

"Rossi man" Morgan began. One look from the angry Italian swiftly shut him up though.

Dave planted his hands on either side of his plate and stared at his stunned audience. "You know, I always thought women dealt better with emotions and the whole hurt, comfort thing. My wives certainly did. And JJ you used to be a master of it. Your ability to understand and sympathize with victims' families is one of the things that makes you so good at what you do. But you've turned it off where Reid is concerned. You and Emily both have."

"But"

"Don't interrupt kitten." Rossi scolded before turning back to the targets of his rage. "Emily, you sat on the plane last night and not only attempted to guilt trip Reid into doing what you wanted but you also belittled his pain and you lied to him…again."

"I didn't…"

"Yes you did! You told him that he only mourned the loss of one friend while you mourned the loss of six! But that isn't exactly true, is it Cheetobreath?" Dave growled as he rounded on JJ. "And you! Some of the first words out of your mouth to him was that he was angry because your acting was so good that he hadn't noticed you were lying. The kid took a sabbatical after the funeral; he came to you for comfort for weeks after Emily's death. He was clearly devastated by what happened and you were the one he trusted to help him through it. You were the one that sat there night after night and lied through your ass to him and that's what comes out of your mouth. And before you say it I know you had to keep that secret. And I get it, I do. However, that doesn't give you the right to jump on Reid for feeling angry or hurt or betrayed. And it certainly doesn't give you the right to trivialize it or him."

"That's enough Dave" Hotch sternly told the furious man.

"It's not nearly enough and you know it." Rossi countered. "You've all just brushed his feelings off with a 'oh he's just angry. He'll get over it.' comment. Not one of you even bothered to honestly talk with him about what he was feeling. Not even you Aaron. You told me you took Morgan aside to see how he was faring after the big reveal but you didn't even think about doing that with Reid."

"I had a conversation with Morgan because…"

"Trust is a big deal to him. I know." Dave broke in. "But I also know Morgan is not the only one of this family who has trust issues. Reid does, too. He doesn't trust people easily. He'll be nice and tolerate you and even work closely with you but he doesn't just trust you. You have to earn that trust. Think about how long it took him to really accept Prentiss, Seaver, and myself. Now I'm pretty sure we all know that part of Reid's trust issues stem from his childhood. After his father left and maybe even before, he had to be extremely careful about what he said and did. He couldn't trust anyone for fear of them alerting CPS to his situation. But while that is a huge part of his reluctance to trust people, I get the feeling there is more to it than that."

"There is." Derek informed the group.

"What?" Garcia questioned. "What happened to hurt my Junior G-Man?"

"That's not my story to tell." Morgan replied, grimacing at the thought of that horrible event. "Suffice it to say the bullying he endured went above and beyond anything we ever saw or went through in high school."

Penelope's hand flew to her mouth. "You don't mean…my little genius wasn't, wasn't…"

"No Baby Girl, nothing like that." Derek swiftly answered. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "At least I don't think so."

Rossi frowned, wondering just what the younger agent was referring to. Shoving thoughts of what could have happened to a child Reid to the back of his mind, the senior profiler glanced at each member of his family in turn. "Now are you beginning to understand?" he gruffly asked. "Yes, he's angry and with good reason. But he's also so very hurt. You did the worst thing you could to him; you broke his trust." He scolded. He held up a hand to prevent Hotch from speaking. "And another thing. We are his friends. We're probably some of the first and only true friends he's ever had. Having a close friend lie to you is bad enough but when said friend attacks or belittles you for being angry about it, it becomes even worse. I bet all of us can think of a time a close childhood friend or maybe a family member lied about something important to us and then yelled at us for having the audacity to be mad when their secret was revealed. And I can guarantee we all remember how that felt."

"You're right…about everything." Morgan responded, drawing the other's attention. "Hotch, you took the time to talk to me and I respect you for that. I'm not saying that it doesn't still hurt cause it does but that simple gesture went a long way to healing that hurt. But did you even think to do that with Reid?" He looked at the co-conspirators. "Did any of you think to talk with him, really talk with him to see what he was feeling and why? Or did you just say you're sorry and when he didn't accept that, chew him out for feeling that way?"

"Guys, there's something we're forgetting." Garcia stated. She waited for everyone to look her way before continuing. "Emily was the first person close to him that died. I mean, yeah he lost his dad and Gideon and in a way he lost his mom but they are still alive. And he did have an uncle and a friend die but he was just a little child when those happened. Em is the first friend, the first family member he's lost to death. Think about that for a minute. Then think about the first person close to you that died. Think about how you felt and then think about how you would have felt if that person had come back seven months later and the people around you, the ones you trusted, told you it had all been a lie." She paused a moment and then added, "It's not a good feeling, is it?"

JJ shook her head. "No, I guess not." She admitted. Her pitying expression quickly morphed into a scowl. "But that still doesn't give him the right to…"

"He has every right to be hurt and angry and anything else!" Dave bellowed, slamming his hand on the table to punctuate his statement. He glared at the speaker as he ran a hand across his goatee. "You know what? I'm done. Finish and clean up your mess." He ordered as he headed for the door. "And lock up when you leave. I have a kid out there that needs me." With that, Rossi walked out the door.

AN- Just so you know I don't hate JJ. But that remark she made about him being angry because he hadn't been able to see through her and Hotch's deception flew all over me as did Emily's guilt trip and her belittling him for mourning only one friend.