Wow, didn't think this story would hit the ground running. 13 favs and follows as of the time this chapter was written, which is more than half the follows Downpour- my most popular story- has gotten. I'm happy either way and thank you for your support. Reid will get a little more attention in future chapters, but right now I kind of wanted to show how Aaron and Sean would be in a situation where Spencer was being bullied. Enjoy.

Eight years later:

Aaron drove into the parking lot of the local high school and tried to ignore the growing headache. How did things go so wrong in less than twenty four hours? Yesterday, Sean had made them a delicious breakfast consisting of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs; during which Sean had began teasing Spencer about how he was going to be in charge tonight since Aaron had a date with Hailey after classes. Spencer who had actually slept through a night without experiencing a nightmare was laughing and saying he would be in charge if Sean wanted help on his English homework tonight, which in turn caused Aaron to playfully ruffle his overgrown brown hair and warn against blackmail. Everything seemed fine when Aaron dropped them off at school, his classes at Georgetown had went well, and the date with Hailey had went well. When Aaron had got home that night, he saw Sean and Spencer past out in Sean's bed, and Aaron couldn't help but smile since he had noticed Sean and Spencer actually getting closer. Made sense since Sean and Spencer had been attending the same school and Sean had taken the position of Spencer's bodyguard. Aaron had quietly made his way into the bed as well.

When Aaron had woken up this morning, things were going downhill. Spencer had woken up with what appeared to be a nasty cold and Sean was in a grumpy mood. Aaron had assumed it was because Sean needed to wake up a little more. Thankfully Aaron didn't have classes that day, but he had to cancel his lunch date with Hailey in favor of looking after his twelve year old brother. Haily understood, even came over to watch Spencer while Aaron dropped his fifteen year old brother who was still grumpy to school. When he got home, Spencer was surprisingly acting fussy during the whole time, refusing to take his medicine or even eat. Aaron had to practically threaten to take away Spencer's the overloaded collection of classic books to get him to comply. When that headache was finally over, Aaron had allowed himself to simpy relax on the couch with Haily who had decided to stay and help out while Spencer had fallen asleep. That went out the window around noon when he received a call from the school and was told Sean had gotten into the fight with a couple of football players during lunch. If his girlfriend and younger brother weren't in the same apartment, Aaron would have thrown his phone out of the window and announced a few colorful words.

Now Aaron was still sitting in his SUV, his head resting against the steering wheel, and his breathing heavy. What the hell caused Sean to actually attack someone. Sean was arguebaly the most physical of the three of them; someone who preferred to punch first ask questions later. This was especially true after Spencer had skipped several grades and became a junior in high school at the age of eleven. If Sean or Aaron had caught a whiff of someone using Spencer for only his brains or was even bullying him, Sean would be the first to confront the culprits; and it usually resulted in a brawl. The thing was that Sean was actually smart himself- he was an A/B honor roll student- and knew not to actually attack on school grounds. Aaron still didn't agree with Sean's behavoir- Sean had been grounded and loaded with double chores more times than Aaron could count- but Aaron had to admit that he understood his younger brother's position and even had thoughts of knocking the assholes out himself. Point was, this wasn't what Sean did. He would wait until the assailates were far from school grounds. Something must have really happened to piss him off.

Aaron took a deep breath and exited his car. He stared at school he himself had graduated from from little over eight years ago. He had graduated fourth in his class, was a star football player, received a full scholarship from Georgetown, and had entered into a relationship with Hailey. Everything was perfect, made even more so soon after his eighteenth birthday when he had received his trust and instantly sued for full custody of Sean and Spencer. Aaron's bastard of a father hadn't even put up much of a fight; he pretty much gave the boys to him, telling Aaron that he hoped all of them became broke and on the streets. Pushing away the dark thoughts of bashing his father's head in, even more so when he had saw the fresh bruises on Spencer's back and the black eye Sean was developing, Aaron had done what he planned and gotten a nice apartment outside of Georgetown. Sean had instantly settled into his new life, made new friends, and even started taking up a hobby in cooking. Spencer was a bit more hesitant, and stuck more to his books when he wasn't sticking to Aaron. This became a bit more prominent after Spencer was tested when he was ten and found out he was a certified genius- 187 IQ, could read adult books at 20,000 words per minute, and could even recite them word for word afterwards. When Aaron was honest with himself, he didn't recall one friend Spencer had made. Still, Spencer was getting better. His nightmares were becoming less and less- although he still had them- and he wasn't so shy about showing his genius around Aaron and Sean- Sean had started calling him the Mini Motor after hearing Spencer babble on about random facts for a good few minutes. Aaron would say the biggest step in the right direction for Spencer was when he was offered a chance to be moved up to high school and he had taken it. Sure, Aaron would have to deal with the stress of having his brother going to college at thirteen- Spencer was looking into Caltech and even Yale- but he decided to cross that bridge when he got to it.

"Yes, my name is Aaron Hotchner, I was called in about an incident involving Sean Hotchner," Aaron told the secretary.

"Oh yes, Mr. Trevor is waiting for you in his office," she said and then gestured to the door where Aaron would have to go through. Giving the aging lady with brown hair a nod, Aaron went the direction he was pointed to and entered the room.

Sean was sitting in a chair across from the principal. The black jacket covering his white undershirt as well as his jeans were dirty and torn. Small amounts of blood and scratches were on his face as well as his knuckles, and his brown hair appeared as though someone was trying to rip it off from his head. Aaron couldn't help but flinch at the condition his younger brother was in and then looked towards the principal who also looked slightly appalled but held an expression of sympathy as he motioned for Aaron to take a seat next to Sean.

"What happened?" Aaron asked after he took the suggestion. His brown eyes were focused on Sean who seemed to be content with crossing his arms, slumping in his seat, and glaring at the floor.

"As you were told over the phone Mr. Hotchner, Sean had attacked a group of football players while they were practicing not too long ago," Mr. Trevor began, "It had taken several other brothers, the coach, and another teacher to finally break it apart. Thankfully no one outside the conflict was injured. When the boys were brought in for questioning, the players had said the attack was for no reason, but Sean had told us something more disturbing, and we believe he should tell you."
Aaron turned to Sean who had pulled more in himself, and focused his attention outside the window now. Becoming frustrated, Aaron had grabbed Sean's shoulder and made him turn around. Sean responded with a glare, but Aaron could see that spark in his expression that Aaron had noticed whenever Sean was covering something, or someone.

"Sean, what happened?" Aaron asked in a near growl, giving Sean his own glare was patented for being the scariest thing to see according the boy in front of him. Sean only tried to avoid eye contact, but Aaron wasn't having any of that, "Were those boys picking on Spencer, is that why?"

Sean's shoulder tensed under his hold, and Aaron knew he was right. Aaron looked towards the principal who had given Aaron a nod in confirmation. Feeling his frustration grow even more, Aaron looked back towards Sean.

"Sean, either you tell me, or I go home and ask Spencer," he threatened. Aaron would be getting Spencer's side either way, but he was going to wait until Spencer wasn't shivering his blanket. But if Sean wouldn't tell him and Spencer had been hurt, then he was going to get answers damnit.

Sean again gave Aaron a glare, but then let out a hard sigh, "Yesterday, when you had dropped us off at school, Spencer asked if he could stay after school a little while longer to work on a project in the library," he shook his head, "I told him yes, and to call me when he was done so I can walk back and get him when he was done. He was old enough to at least stay longer after school, Aaron, and I really was going to walk there to walk him back him home."

Aaron's expression was serious as he nodded at Sean to go on, "When dinner came around, I started to get worried and had tried to call him, but he didn't answer. Before you chew me out about not calling you, I should let you know that I was going to after I had checked the library to make sure he just didn't lose track of time. As soon as I reached the school, I was going to cut across the football field to gt to the library, but stopped when I looked at the goal post." Sean took a deep, angry breath, "Aaron, Spencer was tied to it, naked and crying. After I calmed him down and took him home, he told me that they just spent a good two hours just staring and laughing at him."

At that moment, Aaron's mind drew a blank. His grip on his brother's shoulder loosened and he had looked back to the principal who had turned away in embarassment.

"I will be honest in saying that we did not believe Sean at first, but then we received confirmation from another student who had even saw the boys tying Spencer to the goal post, but did not want to report out of fear the same thing would happen to him."

The blank mind was replaced by anger as he then stood up and started pacing, "Are the others being punished?"

"Fighting gets an automated week suspension, but we are in the process of having boys possibly expelled for their crimes." Mr. Trevor explained, "Mr. Hotchner, we do apologize for this. We are aware of how special Spencer is and that we should have done better to keep an eye on him."

"Yeah, you should have," Sean said in a growl himself, but shut his mouth after Aaron shot him another glare.

"But keep in mind, we are taking this very seriously, and we are taking precautions, so this incident doesn't happen again."
Aaron once again gave the principal another look, "I will be taking your word at that, Mr. Trevor, and keep in mind that there will be consequences if you fail on your side. Also, tell the parents of the boys who decided it would be funny to strip my brother and tie him to goal post, that they are lucky that I'm not pressing criminal or civil charges at them, but I do expect their sons to be out of the school if it's decided to not have them expelled."

Aaron swore he could see the principal shiver under his gaze, but he nodded nonetheless. Soon after, Aaron and Sean were in Aaron's car driving home in a tense silence.

"How's Mini Motor anyway?" Sean finally asked after a while.

"Last time I checked, Hailey told him he was still asleep, but was starting to feel a bit warm," Aaron said and then let out a deep sigh, "What happened actually explains the cold."

"He was shivering when I got him home," Sean said in a near whisper, "I made sure he took a hot shower and made him drink some hot chocalte, but I knew that I was really going to deck someone if he got sick over this."
"Or you could have told me." Aaron interjected, giving Sean a pointed look, "Why didn't call me after you found Spencer, or even told me this morning?"
Sean let out his own sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Trust me, Aaron, I wanted to, but Mini Motor begged me not to. You were on your date with Hailey, and he didn't want to ruin it. He also said he didn't want to ruin any chances of you trusting me because of what happened."

Just like Spencer, Aaron thought, "Then why not the principal?"

"That was my original plan. I was going to go first thing when I got to school, but unfortunately the idiot wasn't even in yet, and I didn't get another chance until lunch. Before then, I kept hearing everyone talk about what happened to Mini Motor yesterday, even in front of the teachers who weren't doing anything; so I was pretty much seeing red by the time lunch rolled around and found myself breaking one of the assholes' nose."

Aaron stopped at a light and tried to control his own anger. Forget suing the bullies who did this, Aaron was tempted to sue the whole school for their negligence. Why did it take a near brawl for them to admit their mistake? Better yet, why did a single student who had just put himself in the hot seat to help Spencer tell of the incident, why teachers who had heard people joke and laugh about it come through?

"I'm putting you guys in a different school," Aaron said right after the light turned green.

"Don't Aaron, Mini Motor's going to feel more guilty if you do."
"Well I can't keep sending you two to this school who can't keep an eye on their students."

"Then wait until Mini Motor graduates. He's a senior Aaron, so he doesn't have much time left there anyway. I'm pretty sure the school will actually watch him this time, and I will too. I doubt anyone's going to mess with him when they find out he's the younger brother of the freshman who gave the school's quaterback a black eye. And when he's out, have me transfer, there's this high school I looked up and saw they had one of the best culinary art classes."

Aaron actually wanted to laugh, "You're still advent about being a chef?"

"Yep, you and Mini Motor might be smart when it comes to the non-artsy stuff, but I shine in the kitchen." Sean said with his brilliant smile.

This time Aaron did laugh, "All right, but if another incident like this happens, you both will be pulled out, and I will be suing the asses off them."

"If another incident like this happens, I will just send another few to the hospital."

"Do that and you'll be grounded until you're a senior." Aaron said, his tone serious

"For protecting Mini Motor?" Sean was looking annoyed himself.

"As much as I understand why you do this Sean, hell, the only reason why I haven't is because I'll be arrested and you two will be sent back to our father, I can't allow this." Aaron sighed, "The reason why charges haven't been brought against you is because half the kids you attacked needed a good butt-kicking according to their parents, but soon enough Sean, there's going to be a parent who thinks his or her child will always be an angel and think you're a monster who needs to be locked up."

Sean snorted and rolled his eyes, "Fine, but I won't regret it the next time it does happen."

"I don't expect you to," Aaron finished, "By the way, you're grounded during you suspension and have dish and trash duty for the next two months."

"Huh?"

"Considering the situation, I decided to reduce your sentence," Aaron explained while sending Sean a smirk, "It was originally going to be a month of house arrest and three months of dish and trash duty."

Sean huffed and glared out the window, "Asshole." he mumbled.

"Love you too, Sean."
When they got home, Aaron instructed Sean to get cleaned up and then thanked Hailey with a nice kiss before saying she could go home, so the boys could have a family day. Spencer was awake and reading a Sherlock Holmes book. He was paler than the last time Aaron had saw him and had a look of worry on his face. Hailey must have told him where Aaron had went and knew the truth was going to be revealed. Instead of asking Spencer about the incident, he was still advent about waiting until he was better, Aaron had told Spencer that they were having a movie marathon today and he could make the first pick- Aaron or Sean wasn't surprised when it was the first Star Wars movie- and just spent the rest of the day being lazy on the couch.

Didn't expect this chapter to be as long as I planned, but I'm the type to just let the trail take me as far as it wants. Tell me what you think.