This is the result of the PYOP challenge for September. My specific challenge was, Character A forces Character B to go to a funeral….a pet funeral. My chosen pairing was Garcia/Reid.
I wasn't sure what to do, before I realized I had an excellent scenario from a previous story, Hamster Dance. Unfortunately, someone had to die to make this story happen. Please give a moment of silence for the dearly departed…..
I don't own Criminal Minds, I do, however, have a bridge I'd like to sell you…..
Mr. Zippy's Funeral
"Oh, no, that's so sad," said Penelope Garcia, looking at her computer screen.
"What's wrong, Garcia?," asked Spencer Reid, who was in Garcia's office helping to read through a massive amount of online conversations. They were hopeful it had some information that would help convict a man they had caught who kidnapped children to sell online.
"Remember Mr. Zippy?," she asked, referring to the hamster owned by Aaron Hotchner's son, Jack. They'd all met Mr. Zippy when Hotch had brought Jack to work, and, unbeknownst to Hotch, Jack had brought Mr. Zippy. Mr. Zippy had subsequently escaped for a brief time before being recaptured, causing significant havoc in the BAU office.
Reid chuckled, "Yes, I do." He still liked to give Morgan a hard time about falling off his chair when the hamster had run under his desk. "Why?"
"Mr. Zippy has, unfortunately, passed away," she answered. "We've been invited to attend his funeral. Poor Jack! Of course we'll be there."
Reid shifted in his seat. He was sorry Jack had lost his pet, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go to a pet funeral. "I don't know, Garcia. We do have a lot to do here," he said, reasonably.
Garcia turned to glare at him. "That poor child has got to be heartbroken. The least we can do is show some support to Hotch and Jack and show up," she said heatedly.
"It says on this email that the funeral will be tonight after work." She nodded decisively. "I'll send an email saying we'll be there," she said, as she typed quickly.
"Garcia, don't," Reid started, and then trailed off as he watched her hit the send button.
"You are going with me, Reid. No arguing. We're going to make Hotch's son feel better," she stated. She knew if she reminded Reid that it was for a lonely little boy, he wouldn't have the heart to say no. As Reid sighed, but didn't say anything, she snuck a look at him. He had a far-away look in his eyes, as though he were somewhere else, mentally. After a moment she said, "Reid? Are you going with me?"
He shook his head, and answered, "Yes, I'm going with you."
She gave his a quick, bright smile. "Good," she said, feeling the less she said, the better it would be. They went back to work.
Reid tried to concentrate on what he was reading. Instead, he found his mind wandering. He felt sorry for Jack, the child had been through a lot lately. He wondered if there was some way he could make Jack feel better. What would make a child who'd lost a pet happy? A new toy? A pizza? What?
Garcia looked at Reid, who seemed oblivious to the work in front of him. He had his chin resting on his fist, with a serious look on his face. Was he trying to think of a way out of the funeral? Garcia knew Reid wasn't always comfortable with dealing with people and emotions, and a pet funeral was not something he would attend without someone making him go. She jumped in her chair as Reid stood up suddenly.
"I'll be back in a while, Garcia," he said, as moved towards the door.
"You're not trying to get out of going, are you? Because I'll be very disappointed in you," she said, trying to sound stern.
"No, no, I'll be there," he answered, as he walked out, "I, uh, just have a couple of things to do before then."
"Huh, what does that mean?" she muttered to herself. Then she shrugged. If he showed up, great. If he didn't, she could think of some very creative things to do to his computer to make him regret not going.
Late that afternoon, the members of the BAU gathered at Hotch's place for the sad event. Jack was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of slacks, and was very solemnly accepting everyone's condolences on the loss of his pet. Garcia looked around. She saw Prentiss talking to Morgan, and JJ talking to Jack. Hotch and Rossi walked into to living room from the kitchen, but Reid appeared to be missing.
"Anyone seen Reid?" asked Morgan, just as Garcia was about to ask the same question. Rossi shook his head, and Prentiss and JJ both said they hadn't seen him.
"He told me he'd be here," started Garcia, then she stopped as someone knocked on the door. Hotch answered it, and it was Reid, looking slightly out of breath, and carrying a bag.
"I'm not late, am I?" he asked as he walked in the door.
"No, we were just about to get started," answered Hotch, as Reid walked over to Jack.
"I'm sorry to hear about Mr. Zippy, Jack," Reid said to Jack.
Garcia stared at the bag Reid was carrying. Was she imagining things, or did it just move? She moved closer to get a better look, and was sure she saw the bag move again. She began to get an idea of where Reid had gone when he had suddenly left her office.
"Thank you, Dr. Reid," answered Jack, who was also looking at the bag Reid was carrying. It was noticeably moving now. "What do you have in that bag?"
Reid opened his mouth to speak, and everyone stared as they heard, "Meow!"
JJ covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter, Morgan rolled his eyes, and the rest of the team just looked on in amazement as a small, furry head peeked out of the bag. "Meow!" the kitten said again.
"Reid!" screeched Garcia, "What did you do?"
"I thought about what you said in your office," he said earnestly, "and you were right. So I went out and found a new friend for Jack," he looked guiltily at Hotchner, who was glaring at him. "That is, if it's okay with Hotch," he finished lamely.
Jack took the opportunity to grab the kitten out of the bag. He started giggling as the kitten sniffed his face, and he hugged the small animal carefully. Hotch, who was ready to tell Reid to take the kitten back, closed his mouth as he watched his son smiling as he petted the kitten, who was purring enthusiastically and rubbing his head against Jack's chin. He smiled at the joy on his son's face, and sighed.
"Yes, it's okay," he said, and was rewarded by a big grin from his son.
Hoping to appease Hotch somewhat, Reid quickly spoke, "I have a litter box, some toys, and kitten food in the trunk. The lady at the pet store made sure I got everything you would need for a kitten. He has his shots, and they also gave me some medication to prevent fleas."
Hotch, who had been smiling at Jack, glared again at Reid to let him know he wasn't off the hook yet. "At least you came prepared," he replied.
JJ, who was petting the kitten along with Jack asked him, "What are you going to name him?"
Jack looked thoughtful. Then he smiled at Dr. Reid and said, "I'm going to name him Spencer."
They all began to laugh, except for Reid, who stood there with his mouth slightly open, at a loss for words.
"Uh, thanks?" he said uncertainly.
"We came here for a funeral," Rossi said. "Maybe we should get Mr. Zippy buried before it gets dark."Jack looked up from his kitten. "Yeah, let's put him to rest."
Jack set his kitten down reluctantly, and walked over to a small shoe box. Everyone followed him as he walked outside, stopping by a small hole that had already been dug next to a rose bush in the small flower garden. He gravely lowered the box into the ground and said, "We are here today to lay to rest our good friend, Mr. Zippy. He was a good hamster. May he rest in peace."
The team all briefly bowed their heads in remembrance of Mr. Zippy. Hotch stepped forward and used the shovel standing there to bury the box containing the remains of the dearly departed. Jack also had bowed his head during the proceedings, but once the box was buried he grabbed Reid's hand and dragged him towards his car.
"What kind of kitty toys did you get for him?" he asked excitedly, the unfortunate Mr. Zippy quickly forgotten. Garcia was standing next to Hotchner, watching as Reid popped his trunk and started handing Jack some bags of kitten supplies.
Hotch chuckled, and said, "I would have told Reid that a new pet was the exact wrong thing to bring if he would have asked, and I would have been wrong. It's good to see Jack so happy. He was really upset when he found Mr. Zippy dead in his cage."
"You're welcome," said Garcia.
"What?" asked Hotch, sounding confused.
"Oh, Reid didn't really want to be here, but I convinced him," she answered.
"I'm glad you did," Hotch smiled at her, and then stopped Reid as he walked past.
"Thanks for thinking of Jack," he told his co-worker.
Reid answered, "I always wanted a kitten. Unfortunately, I'm allergic, so my mother wouldn't let me have one. I hope the kitten makes Jack feel better."
"I think he has," answered Hotch.
"So, you're not mad at me?" asked Reid, hopefully.
"No," replied Hotch, and Reid breathed a silent sigh of relief. "At least not until he either claws the furniture or pees on the floor. Then you might want to worry." He went in the door, leaving Reid standing outside alone.
Reid's face fell, and he muttered, "I didn't think of that." He sighed, and followed Hotch back inside.