Title: Reunion Picnic
Author: slery
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: K gen
Characters: Reid, Morgan, Team
WARNINGS: none
Spoilers: not really
Beta: the-vampire-act
Disclaimer: Wished I owned but sadly, no. Suing will get you one male rescue cat that will need a home if he doesn't stop biting his sisters (seriously).
Summary: FUTURE FIC! Ten years down the road the team is no longer together on the job but they still share a family bond.
Derek pulled the bowl of potato salad out of the box and placed it on the picnic table. Spencer grabbed one of the blankets and lined the bench seat on one side.
"Oh, there are my lovelies." Garcia called out before reaching the table. She pulled Spencer's face down and kissed his cheek. "Where's Emily?"
"She said she was sleeping in because her flight was delayed, she didn't get in until after midnight. Also, she had to make a stop to finish something for her surprise." Derek added as he took the paper plates and utensils from her hands. Kevin placed the cooler with the meat beside the table.
"Is Hotch bringing his grill?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah, he should be here any minute."
"We're here now." Jack said, placing the grilling utensil bag on top of the cooler. "Is that everything, Dad?"
"Yes, you can go play."
"Come on, Spencer. I saw some guys playing chess up the hill when we pulled in." He grabbed the slender man's hand and began pulling him off towards the grassy hill.
"Don't let him gamble, Jack!" Derek called after the mischievous duo.
"You're no fun. I could use some spending money." Spencer followed the teen eagerly.
"We have enough money." Derek yelled back.
"How's he doing?" Hotch asked. He dropped the match and watched the flames catch.
"Pretty good now. It was a real bitch that first week he had to switch to decaf coffee because of this new medication."
"I can just imagine." Emily stepped into the covered area they had chosen for the get together.
"Oh, darlin', you look fabulous. I love the new doo." Garcia grabbed her in a big hug and fluffed the short locks.
"Thanks."
Rossi joined the group and unloaded his box of beverages. "Who's the package for?"
"Spencer, I found some great books when I was in Kent and just couldn't resist. Um, Morgan, there's . . . uh, also a gift to this Old World book club, too." She bit her lip and tried not to smirk.
"Aw, Em. I'm gonna have to buy a new house just for his books. We just weeded out a shelf's worth last month."
"Oh, please. Big, bad Derek Morgan gives him anything he wants as long as it's good for his health." Rossi added.
"Well, he doesn't dust them enough, so it is bad for his health."
"And you melt every time he gives you that sad little kitten face." Garcia teased.
"Oh, shut up and fix the food." Derek added Emily's cookies to the dessert portion of the table.
JJ and Will walked up to the table carrying chips and dip.
"Where's my godson?"
"I left him playing on the swings with Spencer and Jack." Everyone glanced over to see the three boys happily kicking their feet to see who could go the fastest.
Morgan fixed a soda and sat down at the table. He listened to the girls chatting about Emily's latest French boyfriend and Hotch and Rossi giving Will grilling lessons. It warmed his heart to have the whole family together. They kept in touch and did still get together, but it usually only ended up being a couple of them at a time. It was rare that they could all manage to synchronize their time, especially Emily. After she left the bureau to work with Interpol, they had to settle for video conferencing a lot. Spencer loved it when she surprised him with a chat with some mathematics professor or engineering big shot.
It was times like this that Derek could be truly happy again. He had managed to find a wife and start a family only to have it all ripped away when she died in child birth. His little girl lived for a whole month before her heart gave out. He was devastated, but it had led to his and Spencer's friendship growing stronger. The younger man had no family of his own, and he knew how much it hurt to spend your nights alone at home.
That friendship, and the whole team's family commitment, was put to the test when Spencer was finally diagnosed with schizophrenia. He had been hiding symptoms for years, but it finally caught up with him. Derek had taken a desk job the year his wife became pregnant, so he was already staying in Quantico ninety percent of the time. Even though Spencer made the team agree to commit him if things really took a turn for the worse, Derek promised him that he would keep him at home.
Home was one of his houses that he had moved into six months after the funeral, and six months after that Spencer had moved in when his landlord decided not to renew his lease. It later turned out that some of the tenants had complained about the symptoms Spencer had been hiding from everyone else-tearing up the mail, nailing his door shut, screaming at odd hours of the night, and the landlord flipped over the carpeted walls in the bathroom. Derek had gone digging for information and explanations when he helped move Spencer's things. It had been rough for a while when he discovered first hand what was going on, but they figured it out through a few doctors and countless medication trials and managed to become happy again in the process.
He turned his head and looked at Rossi and Hotch laughing at Will's burnt hamburger. Rossi had retired from the bureau three more times but still ended up consulting once a week. He came over twice a week to give Derek a break by having Spencer help him with research for another book. The book might or might never get written, but it helped Spencer have something to focus on and that was worth more than any book tour or accolades.
After Strauss had moved on to bigger and better things, Hotch finally took a promotion that he didn't really want but that turned out to be a great move. It made him happy, and he got to spend time with his son. He even went on the occasional date now.
"Are you daydreaming or just thinking really hard?" Hotch took a seat across from him.
"Just thinking."
Hotch grabbed a chip off of JJ's plate. "Jack's science teacher is fascinated with the theories he came up with in his paper that Spencer helped him on."
"The nuclear fusion one?"
"Yeah, he wanted to know if Spencer would come and talk to the class."
Morgan jerked his attention back to the older man. "What did you say?"
"I told him no. I don't think Spencer could handle going back to high school."
"It would be a really bad idea. That is just asking for trouble, Hotch." He took a drink of his soda.
"I know. Jack was disappointed, but he understands, and you know how much he loves Spencer. There is no way he would do anything that would upset him or cause an episode on purpose."
They were interrupted when Henry came running up to the table. "Derek! Derek!"
Morgan climbed out from the table and grabbed Henry's shoulders while everyone else began standing up. "What is it?"
"It's Spencer. Jack said to come get you."
Morgan and Hotch raced across the field to the swing set where Spencer was trying to hide under the slide while rocking back and forth. Jack had a hold of his wrists and was trying to calm him down.
"It's okay, Spencer. They're just kids." Jack said.
"No, don't let them take me. Don't let them take me." Spencer begged.
"What happened?" Morgan scooted in beside Jack under the slide.
"Those kids over there were playing football and their ball almost hit Spencer in the head. He panicked and said we had to hide so they couldn't take us."
"Okay, I've got it from here."
Jack didn't release the thin wrists. "I'm not leaving him."
Morgan's heart swelled with pride. Jack may have only been sixteen, but he had grown up loving to hear Spencer ramble on about facts, and as he got older and understood more, he absorbed the information like a sponge. The teenager was also well aware of the kinds of people that lived in the world that they put in jail, and he cherished Spencer's willingness to still give of himself. He learned quickly what schizophrenia was and vowed to always be Spencer's friend.
"Spencer? It's Derek; let's go sit down at the table, okay?" Morgan waited for the brown eyes to look at him.
"Don't let them take me." Spencer whispered.
"I won't let anyone take you, I promise."
Slowly they all crawled out from under the slide. Morgan wrapped an arm around the hunched shoulders, and Jack kept a hold of Spencer's hand where he was holding on tight.
Morgan and Jack could hear the two teens talking. "What a freak! Hiding like some baby."
Before Morgan or Hotch could do anything, Jack turned around and faced them. "He is not a freak! He has schizophrenia and he's still a genius. His IQ is higher than your whole class put together . . . and he's my friend." He turned back around and pulled on the hand held tight in his own. "Come on Spencer, we don't want our IQs to fade to their level."
Morgan glanced over at Hotch and saw him beaming like a proud father.
Jack stayed glued to Spencer's side and made sure he ate a decent meal. He continued to calm the older man, but his paranoia continued to get worse. An hour later, the teen pulled the shaking man across the field to where the men were playing horseshoes. "Derek, I think you should take Spencer home." He looked over and saw the tall man holding Jack's hand in a vice grip with his other arm wrapped around his middle, rocking on his heels, and jerking his head to scan the area.
"Thanks, Jack. Spencer, let's go get our things and go home." Morgan handed his horseshoes to Hotch and took Spencer's hand.
"I'll get your things and bring them to the car." Jack said.
"We'll call you tomorrow." Hotch added.
Derek nodded his head and guided the other man back toward their car. Garcia helped Jack put everything back in the box and walked to the car with them.
"I'll bring you some ice cream tomorrow after dinner, Sweetie." She gave Spencer a gentle hug and turned him to look back at the picnic table where everyone was waving to them. Garcia walked him around to the passenger side and buckled him in. She was the only one that got away with treating him like a child. Morgan couldn't argue though; she was also the only one that could always make him smile again, no matter how bad an episode seemed to get.
The drive home was filled with tension, but once they entered the house and made the rounds to check all of the locks, Spencer was finally at ease. He took a shower and crawled into bed to watch some TV. Derek looked in on him once his own shower was finished and found the younger man curled up asleep with Clooney lined up against his back. He sighed deeply. It had been a good day, and this was the first episode in a week, but at least this time Spencer hadn't managed to hurt himself. He smiled fondly and headed to bed. His friend was safe, and he would be happy again come morning.
The End
A/N: I'm looking for a new icon to use when I start posting Job Enhancements. Please see my profile for a teaser from this story, and further down the page a description.