Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: I had intended Fresh Eyes to be a one shot but had requests to carry on and write the weekend. So here we go, I hope you enjoy.
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Garcia literally bounced into JJ's office. The liaison held up her hand while she finished a call, "Okay Detective Masters, if you'll just send me your files I'll present it to the team or one of the profilers will do a consult for you." She listened for a few moments and Garcia could hear the voice of the rather agitated Detective Masters. "Yes, I'll be in touch, goodbye." JJ ended the call, threw the phone on the desk and exhaled long and slow. "Hi Garcia," she smiled sarcastically, "how's your day."
"Hi," the computer tech said excitedly, her coppery curls flowing around her shoulders, the front sides pulled to the back and held in place by a barrette that resembled a blue dahlia. She was clad today in a royal blue dress, solid at the bodice, but the skirt fell to a garden of yellow calla lilies. "Reid and I came up with a great idea."
"You and Reid," JJ winced suspiciously, "I can hardly wait to hear this."
"That's good because it involves you, Will, and my precious little godson." Garcia told her, her bright smile reaching her eyes, today behind blue framed glasses.
Now JJ was truly intrigued. Her eyes widened. What kind of scheme could Garcia and Reid, of all people, have cooked up that involved the three of them. She pointed to a chair in front of her desk.
Garcia sat, but JJ could see she was so excited about what she had to say that the blond agent doubted the chair would hold her friend for long. "You know we're off next weekend?"
JJ nodded, still unsure where this was heading.
Reid and I thought it would be nice if you and Will could get away, have some alone time since you're so busy trying to plan a wedding, doing this," she indicated the files that seemed to take up every available spot in the office, "and being the perfect mother."
"You and … uh, Reid thought this, did you?" She couldn't imagine anything less Reid-like. He was about as far as it got from a romantic.
"Okay, so it was my idea but Reid is totally on board." She paused for a moment. "Reid's the primary reason I'm doing this."
Concern suddenly showed on JJ's face. "What do you mean Garcia?"
Garcia rose from her chair and closed the door to JJ's office. "Nobody ever knows about this." She waited for JJ to nod. "Reid came over to my place the other night. He's concerned he's not doing enough as Henry's godfather. This is one of those times when he can't find the answer in a book. He didn't have a solid role model as a child. And then you brought those pictures in and went on about the things I bought for Henry."
"It was an effort to make you stop, not to make Reid feel bad," JJ replied.
"I know that and I know I go overboard, face it, it's a personality flaw. Reid wants to be the best godfather he can, he just doesn't know how. He told me he bought Henry some books."
"Yeah, and they happen to be his favorites," JJ told her.
"Reid would be happy to hear that. He didn't want to buy our godson books, but it's all he ever got as a child. It's all he knows." She got up and paced the room. "Did you know he started a trust fund for Henry?"
"No," JJ raised her eyebrows. "I had no idea."
"He told me the other night, puts some away every month and the number cruncher that Reid is, he'd invest it wisely so when Henry's eighteen, he'll have a nice little nest egg."
"I never…" JJ began.
"I told him that was very nice, but Reid needs to see that the best thing he can give Henry is himself."
"You're right Garcia." JJ clasped her hands together and looked down at her desk. "I never gave any thought to what Reid was feeling inside."
"That's okay sweet girl, you've got a lot on your plate. That's why this weekend is so important. You get some time alone with Will to recharge your batteries and Reid gets to bond with his godson. It's win win. And Reid and I found the perfect place."
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"Are you happy about this?" Will asked, as they traveled west from DC to the town of Washington, Virginia. The countryside around the town was beautiful, and in the midst of this natural splendor, sat the Middleton Inn.
"I'm happy to be spending some time with you," she reached over and squeezed his hand. "It was hard to leave my little boy, but harder for you maybe," she said to his profile as he kept his eyes on the road.
"I'll confess to a little separation anxiety. It's the first time my boy and I have been apart," he admitted.
"Look, he's in great hands. They're the two people in this world we chose to care for him if anything happened to us. We have to trust them," JJ told him. "I'll keep in touch with Garcia, just like I do with you when I'm away."
"You're right," he said in his New Orleans drawl, "let's not look a gift horse in the mouth."
JJ was excited to get her first glimpse of the Middleton Inn just outside Washington, Virginia. Reid had informed her that it had been built in 1840 by Middleton Miller, who had designed and manufactured the Confederate uniforms during the Civil War. Sixty-seven miles west of DC it came into view. Beautiful flowers and trees in blossom accentuated the building resembling an English estate on a large grassy knoll with meadows and paddocks for horses. Also, on site were a cabin and cottage, which Reid told her had originally been built to house the slaves, but had been renovated into romantic accommodations. The cottage was to be their home for the weekend. They drove around to the back where vehicles were parked, so as to be unseen by anyone driving by, therefore avoiding marring the stately old world elegance of the inn.
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"What do we do now?" Reid asked Garcia, looking at Henry's empty bowl of food, not entirely sure the toddler had gotten much of it. Most of it seemed to be covering his face, his hands, his bib, the tray of his high chair, and the surrounding floor.
"We wipe off his face and hands, take him upstairs, get him dressed, and then let him go." Garcia explained trying not to laugh at the way Reid eyed his godson. "Here," Garcia handed Reid a washcloth. "Give me that bowl and spoon and you can clean him off."
Reid took the cloth and stared at Henry, seemingly frozen in his position. "Reid, he's a little boy, not an alien life form."
Right now, Reid thought, he might have better luck with an alien life form. He hadn't been this scared staring down the barrel of a gun held by a psychotic unsub. "Kids really don't like me Garcia," Reid finally said.
"Hasn't shown any sign of not liking you so far," Garcia said as she put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. "Hurry up Reid. Nineteen month olds do not like to be kept waiting."
Reid took the cloth and wiped the food off Henry's face while the child babbled happily in what sounded to Reid like a foreign language for which there was no translation. The tiny boy held out his hands and allowed Reid to wipe them.
"Good," Garcia said when he was done and had removed Henry's messy bib. "You take him upstairs and I'll clean up this mess and be up there. I think JJ set out his clothes before she and Will left."
Henry was now fidgeting in his chair to get up and held his arms out to Reid who picked him up and carried him upstairs to his bedroom. He placed the boy on the changing table and Henry spread himself out, as if ready for what he knew was about to happen. JJ had laid out a pair of blue jeans and a blue T shirt and socks. Beside them was a pair of miniscule running shoes and on top of the pile… a diaper.