Dear Henry,
Before anything else, I want to tell you that, even if you don't really know me, I know you. Everyone on the BAU does. Your dad sends us footage of your games, pictures of you every year... that was one hell of a kick you made against De La Salle, or at least that was what Morgan said—I'm not a big football person, myself, so I don't really know. But the point is, Henry, that we've all watched you grow from the sweetest baby boy into an amazing young man.
You've probably heard more than enough times that you look just like your mother, and you do—you look like JJ, as much as any son looks like his mother. I don't know if you've ever wondered why no one's ever told you that you look like your father... but you do.
Henry, the man you've called Dad for the past seventeen years is a great man and, I'm sure, a great father, but his DNA isn't the same as yours.
Your father died when you were three years old. He was shot by a desperate, scared boy that was younger than you are now named Alex Rathbone. He was trying to talk the boy down from killing his father and himself. His name was Spencer Reid, and he was thirty years old.
I know that Will didn't want to stay in Virginia once JJ died; you were only five at the time, so I don't know how much you remember of that time, but Will wanted to leave the area as quickly as possible, and that was how you ended up in New Orleans, his hometown. I don't know how much he told you about how your mother died, but I want you to know that she saved a lot of people in her death. It doesn't justify anything—we all know that, here in the unit—but your mother was a hero until the second she died.
I doubt that you want to read any of this, but I felt like it was time for you to know the truth. I think that your mother and Spencer would have wanted it this way.
If you have any questions, ever, please call me or anyone else that knew your mother and Spencer: Derek Morgan, the head of our division, is always reachable in his office; Aaron Hotchner retired more than a few years ago, but I imagine he would like to answer questions about JJ and Reid; Emily Prentiss transferred out of our unit last year, but she was close to your mother.
I hope to hear from you soon, Henry Spencer.
Love,
Penelope Garcia