Prompt: Candy Cane
Pairing: N/A

IV: Candy Cane

It wasn't often that JJ had to bring Henry to work, but when Will said he needed to pick up a shift and her nanny called in sick, that's exactly what she needed to do. After running it by Hotch, she was told that she could work out of one of the empty offices today, so Henry wouldn't go wandering in the bullpen and find something he shouldn't, thus giving him nightmares. When she got a text message from Will that he was downstairs, she got up from her desk, grabbing her badge.

"Mom duty calls?" Emily asked.

She nodded. "A sick nanny and Will picking up a shift for a sick co-worker. I swear, everyone needs to get flu-shots this winter, because they're inconveniencing me."

Emily laughed to herself. "We'll stop by for a visit in a bit. You're working out of Conrad's old office, right?"

"Yeah, it has absolutely no files lingering around, a couch, and a TV to keep him occupied."

"Does Garcia know he's coming?" Spencer asked.

"Oh yes, and she says 'it's my godmotherly duty to come by and spoil my little man'." She shook her head. "As if my house isn't crowded enough by her fulfilling her godmotherly duty."

"Good luck."

After getting Henry, JJ sent out a warning to everyone that they needed to clear their desks, because he wanted to say hi to his aunts and uncles. They all did as they were told and waited for JJ at their desks.

Emily eyed Spencer. "Seriously, how do you have a sweet tooth this early in the day?"

He shrugged, sucking on a candy cane. "Have you not seen how I take my coffee?"

She rolled her eyes. "You stock up on those, don't you, like some sort of crazy person?"

He took it out of his mouth. "It's not my fault they're only available two months out of the year."

"Are you going to share with the little man?"

"Of course." He pulled open one of the drawers in his desk to reveal that it was completely filled with candy canes. "He can have his pick."

"It amazes me that you still have all of your own teeth," she said, shaking her head and reaching over, taking one.

Henry had stopped by Derek's office, as well as seen Hotch and Rossi, and finally made his way to the bullpen. He was sitting on his godfather's desk, swinging his legs.

"Do you want some candy, Henry?" Spencer asked.

He nodded. "Please, Uncle Spence!"

Spencer smiled, moving Henry's legs and pulling the drawer open. "Take whatever you want."

Henry made a face, looking through the drawer and only seeing candy canes, before shaking his head. "No, thank you."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "A kid who doesn't want candy? JJ, what have you done to this poor kid?"

She smiled slightly. "Henry's a little… scared of candy canes."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Show Uncle Spence, Henry."

Spencer looked at JJ, curious, before turning to Henry. He opened his mouth and pointed to a void where one of his teeth had been. "A cane tooked it."

Spencer rested a finger under Henry's chin, getting a better look. "Was that the first one?"

JJ nodded. "The nanny had given it to him before she left. I'm taking a bath and I hear a scream coming from his room. I immediately jump out, throw a towel on, and see him with a candy cane in one hand, his tooth in the other, and he looked petrified."

"...You do know not all candy canes are bad, right?" Spencer asked him.

"Yeah, he'd know. He's had six since he got here this morning." Emily commented.

Henry shook his head again, giving him another 'no thank you' before hopping off of the desk and taking his mother's hand, walking out of the bullpen with her.

"Okay, I've heard of a lot of fears, but candy canes?" Emily asked.

Spencer shrugged. "To each their own, I guess."

A while after Henry had arrived, Garcia had offered to take Henry off of JJ's hands so she could get some work done. After promising that he wouldn't see anything on the computer screens to cause nightmares, she was allowed to take him to her lair. The two of them were sitting on the couch, playing with some of the action figures from Garcia's desk.

"What's this I hear about candy canes hurting my little man?"

Henry set down his action figure, opening his mouth and pointing. "It tooked it!"

She checked it. "Wow, you lost a tooth this early? You're getting all grown up on me!"

He giggled, shaking his head. "No, I not!"

She smiled, ruffling his hair. "You know, it's not the candy cane's fault, buddy. These things happen naturally. When I was about your age? I was eating an apple and lost a tooth. I tried to blame apples, but you know what happened?"

He shook his head. "What?"

"I remembered how super yummy they were and knew I couldn't blame the food for what my body did. Are you really going to give up raiding Uncle Spencer's candy drawer because of one bad candy cane?"

He put a finger to his chin, dramatically thinking, before looking up at her and shaking his head.

"Thought so."

When Garcia returned Henry to JJ, he walked in proudly, sitting on the couch.

"Okay, what did you bribe him with?" she asked, closing her case file.

She shook her head. "Nothing, he just took a previous offer."

"...What previous offer?" She looked over at the couch and saw Henry pulling several handfuls of candy canes out of his backpack. JJ groaned, eyeing Garcia. "Seriously?"

She put her hands up. "I just used logic. He's the one who batted the eyelashes at his godfather."

JJ pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. "What are the odds he'll be scared of those again?"

"I'm not!" he announced, handing one to Garcia for her to open. Once she did, he thanked her, immediately sucking on it and smirking.

JJ exhaled. "When Spencer Reid has kids? I owe him one."