Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

Storyline Rules: There may be violence, mention of drugs and sex crimes -- this is Criminal Minds. All CM characters will remain true to character as I see them. This may be fantasy, but I will try my best to make sure anything presented as fact is accurate.

SETTLING IN

Reid wiped his mouth and set his napkin beside his plate. "Dinner was delicious, Haley, thank you. I hope you didn't go to any extra trouble because I'm here."

Reid sat at the end of the dining room table with his leg stretched underneath, resting on a stepstool under the table and the chair on the other side. Not the easiest position to get in or out of, but about as good as it was going to get. Hotch had changed into jeans and a blue Polo shirt, it always surprised Reid how different he looked in casual clothing.

"Not at all, I love to cook, Spencer. It's just nice to be sure someone's going to be here to eat it."

Hotch started clearing the table and leaned over to give Haley a kiss, "Well, it's a pretty sure thing you'll have me here for the next couple nights anyway, they're not likely to send us out while we're short two team members."

"Two? Was someone else hurt?"

"No, but Prentiss is out until after the shooting review, the mandatory three days off and a sign-off from psych."

"When is the shooting review, Hotch? Will we be doing them at the same time?"

"Wednesday morning, yours is at nine, Prentiss's is at ten. I figured she's in better shape to hang around in the hallway all morning."

"Thanks. She doing okay? This is her first shoot; right?"

"Yeah, JJ and Garcia are inviting themselves over to watch chick flicks tonight." Hotch looked at his watch, "In fact, they should be getting there about now. JJ's supposed to text me with a condition report."

Reid groaned, "So, does that mean Gideon and Morgan are coming over here with martial arts movies?"

Hotch scratched the back of his neck, "Morgan voted for Die Hard. He thought you might enjoy looking at someone who's been beat up worse than you. I have to text them in half an hour to let them know if you seem to be up to it or not."

"Oh, no, I feel bad enough crashing in on you guys as it is, I don't want to drag half the team over here to try to make me feel better."

"Not you, Reid. Them. We all thought we'd lost you; everyone just wants to make sure you're okay. Your choice, do you feel up to it? Let them see you're still breathing.

"Why not? I feel like he looked at the end."

Hotch laughed, "Reid, you look worse than he looked at the end. Do you have anything that's not black and blue?"

"I don't think so. Remind me not to roll the next time I fall off a building."

"How about I just remind you not to fall off any more buildings?"

"That works, too." Reid looked at Haley who was putting plastic wrap over serving dishes, "But I really don't want to put you to any trouble with more people coming over."

"Nah, I don't have any problem with shirtless Bruce Willis and four hunky guys in my living room."

"Four?"

"What?" Haley asked innocently, "You don't think Gideon's hunky?"

Reid was glad he didn't have to respond to that, as both Hotch and Haley were leaving the room with dishes, he sat stunned for a few moments, just thinking. Hunky? She must be joking, or high.

Hotch and Morgan were hunky. Gideon? Well, okay, he supposed. But him? No way. He finally decided she must be teasing him, like when JJ said he was cute or when Elle used to tell him his only problem was being too shy or Morgan telling him he wasn't bad looking. They were just trying to make him feel better about himself, but he had mirrors, nothing but a scrawny kid with too much brainpower there. The perpetual little brother. Not the least bit hunky.

Hotch came back for more dishes, he had his cell phone wedged between his shoulder and ear, "Yeah, Gideon, come on over. No, he knows you're coming. Tell Morgan it's BYOB, last time he wiped me out." He carried a load of dishes out to the kitchen, came back, "Yeah, Morgan, a couple six packs of diet soda for Reid's probably a good idea. Thanks." Another trip, "Hi, JJ. Prentiss wants to see Reid? Sure, come on over, but I am not watching Thelma and Louise, waste of a perfectly good car if you ask me. Yeah, snacks would be good. I don't know, whatever you guys feel like picking up."

Jack watched as Hotch brought the last of the dirty dishes into the kitchen, then looked at Reid, and asked, "Get down?"

"Not yet. Daddy will let you down." Reid grimaced, hoping that was the right answer.

"Please?"

"Sorry, Bud, we both have to wait for Daddy. I'm stuck, too."

Jack tilted his head, "You 'tuck?"

"Yeah, I'm stuck."

"Daddy let you down?"

"Yeah, Daddy will let us down. Just be patient."

"'Kay, me wait, 'Pencer."

Standing in the doorway behind Reid, Hotch stifled his laughter at watching Reid try to communicate with his child.

"Tell 'tory?"

Reid felt panic well up for a moment, the kid wanted a story? From him? He didn't know any kid's stories.

Hotch was about to step in when Jack said, "Cat Hat." He could actually see Reid relax, apparently even geniuses read Dr. Seuss.

"Okay. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss:

"The sun did not shine.

"It was too wet to play.

"So we sat in the house

"All that cold, cold, wet day..."

Hotch quietly slipped back into the kitchen to help Haley finish drying the dishes.

"Where's Jack? He should be screaming to get down by now."

"Reid's telling him a story. I think they'll be okay long enough for us to finish these."

"Great. Think we'll have enough time to get him in the tub before everyone gets here?"

Hotch looked at his watch, figuring how far Gideon, Morgan and JJ would have to drive, "Maybe." Hotch put the last dish in the cupboard and continued, "If you do tubtime while I move Reid, we might make it."

&&&&&&

Author's Notes: Cultural references, if you're American or Canadian you already know these, but since the Net is international:

Chick Flicks - movies made for women.

Die Hard - an action movie starring Bruce Willis.

Thelma and Louise - a famous chick flick where the heroines drive a very nice car off a cliff after a crime spree rather than be arrested.

BYOB - bring your own bottle/booze means that if you want alcoholic beverages at a party you need to bring your own.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss - Fine children's literature.