A Walk in the Park
CM episode tag (sort of), post Last Gasp
(K+, Reid)
"The soul is healed by being with children."-Fyodor Dostoevsky
The bullpen was dark; the others had already left for the evening after their impromptu celebration of their reinstatement as the Behavioural Analysis Unit. Spencer Reid lingered. He sighed contentedly as he moved the last of his books from a box on the floor. They were replaced back on his desk in the precise order in which they had originally been positioned.
After arranging his little collection of plastic skulls and dinosaurs back in their appointed spots, Reid leaned back in his chair and surveyed his work. His gaze fell upon one of his favourite possessions: a drawing his godson Henry had done of the two of them; holding hands as they walked together through the park. He held it carefully with his left hand and traced along the crayoned likeness of Will and JJ's oldest son with his right forefinger. A smile spread across his face as he silently acknowledged the child's love and thoughtfulness.
He recalled the circumstances under which he'd first received the picture and quickly blinked away the resulting tears that sprang to his eyes. JJ had delivered it to him when he was imprisoned; a reminder that those who loved him stood by him unwaveringly. He'd committed the drawing to memory when JJ had first presented it to him and had counted on that memory to comfort him throughout his captivity in prison. True, Henry hadn't been told exactly where Reid was, just that his Uncle Spence needed his love. And that love had helped sustain him, he thought now, through the months his BAU colleagues had toiled trying to find the proof of his innocence and secure his release from unjust incarceration.
Henry's picture would forever grace his workplace, Reid had decided. The love and loyalty of those closest to him had seen him through the worst times of his life over the years. His teammates, steadfast in their support through so many ordeals including his forced drug addiction, his mother's illness, his imprisonment and subsequent post-traumatic stress syndrome. Even most recently, as he stood up in defiance against the tyrannical leadership of Linda Barnes, they had rallied around his stance and worked together as a team to bring her down.
His finger moved from Henry's image to his own and his smile widened. Although a juvenile rendering, the artist in Spencer recognised that Henry had perfectly captured Reid's depth of feeling for his godson. He remembered the circumstances of Henry's birth, almost ten years ago. It was a glorious reminder that not all childhoods were like his own had been. Loving parents, grandparents and the unofficial extended family of the BAU surrounded Henry, bathing him in unconditional love. Reid felt some of that same love.
He reflected on this for a long moment. True, he acknowledged silently, he had enjoyed teaching; relished the opportunity to impart his vast knowledge on others. It occurred to him that he might even appreciate instructing full time at some point in the future. Shaking his head slightly, his thoughts circled back around to profiling and his newly reinstated position and he told himself, 'No. This is where I belong. At least for now."
Carefully, he set Henry's picture down into its place of honour on his desk. He sat back and admired it again for a moment. A smile washed over him. Reaching for his phone, he decided what was in order for tomorrow was another walk in the park.