Reid finally relented and sat on the floor with Garcia and Henry, because, like she'd once told Hotch, who could say no to her? Henry brought a soft bean bag toy and handed it to Reid. "Sp-b-sk-ps," he said.

"Garcia?" Reid looked at his friend.

"Spongebob squarepants," Garcia explained.

Reid looked at the toy. "Guy's got a wicked smile."

"Oh Reid, only you," Garcia said as her cell rang. She looked at the call display. "That's Kevin; I have to take this." She rose from the chaos that was JJ and Will's living room and headed for the serenity of the kitchen.

"Hey, mon cher, what did you want?' Kevin's voice came through her cell.

"Oh nothing, just to hear your voice my love."

"Well, you left a text for me to call you now."

"I know that; can't I just miss you?"

"I think there's more."

"Okay," she whispered so Reid couldn't hear her. "I needed a distraction…"

Sure, Reid thought, JJ and Will were off for a romantic weekend. Garcia and Kevin were making lovey dovey phone calls. Emily had a date. He didn't even have to wonder what Morgan would be doing and Rossi was likely working on wife number four. He looked around at all the things on the floor and found himself looking at the nineteen month old for guidance.

Henry, somehow seemed to understand and brought over a pail full of brightly colored blocks. He pulled out two, fit them together and set them on the floor. "Okay Henry, let's build something." I can do that Reid thought as he followed the tiny boy's lead. They continued this as Garcia peeked around from the kitchen. They had a fairly good sky scraper going and Henry would clap his hands with each block they added until he suddenly knocked it over.

"Well, so much for that," Reid said, cognizant of the fact that a toddler's attention span was very limited. He picked through some lettered blocks in a plastic container and found the five he wanted and placed them on the floor. "Look at that. Do you know what that says? It says H-E-N-R-Y." The toddler patted himself. "That's right, you're Henry." He then patted Reid on the chest so he searched until he found the six blocks he wanted. "S-P-E-N-C-E, that's me. H-E-N-R-Y," he pointed to the five blocks and the boy pointed to himself, "and S-P-E-N-C-E."

Henry raised his head and gazed up at Reid with JJ's beautiful eyes and her soft blonde hair, "Pess," he said excitedly.

Momentarily, as he heard the toddler's version of his name, Reid felt as if someone had given him a hard blow to the gut and knocked all the wind out of him. He looked at the innocent child before him and realized in a way he never had before that moment, that JJ and Will had partially entrusted him, Spencer Reid, with this most beautiful and precious part of themselves.

He shook himself out of his reverie to find Henry had, once again, switched gears and had now gotten out a big yellow dump truck. He filled the back with blocks and moved it around in circles a few times then lifted the red handle and the blocks were, once again on the floor. He pointed at Reid who obligingly filled the dump truck and maneuvered it around Will and JJ's living room for a bit, even making the sound of an engine, Garcia noted, before dumping the blocks back in their plastic container. Henry seemed to find this whole procedure most satisfying and the pair went through the whole thing again, this time Henry dumping the blocks into the container instead of on the floor and squealing at his success. Suddenly the truck was no longer of interest to him and he was next holding a book up to Reid. "The Big Animal Book," Reid said, noting that it was one of the books he'd given Henry. "Okay, let's sit on the sofa," he stood, groaning as his knee protested, and lifted the boy to sit beside him while they explored the world of animals. "And there's a dog," Reid pointed to the animal.

"Woof," Henry responded.

"And a cat," he pointed it out to the boy.

"Yow," Henry said.

"And there's a rooster."

"Do do," the boy replied.

"Do do," Reid said hesitantly, "really, not again?"

Garcia, who was watching from the kitchen, had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. "I think he wants you to make the animal noises Reid."

"Oh," Reid replied. He looked at Henry and back at the book, "cock-a-doodle-do," he said blandly.

"Once more with feeling Reid," Garcia said as she began to move around the kitchen, getting bread and a bowl of chicken salad from the fridge in preparation for making sandwiches for lunch. She could hear Reid cooing, chirping, howling, oinking and growling, but when he began to hoot like an owl she almost lost her control.

xxxxxxxx

"I think this is better for him," Reid said as Henry bit into a quarter of a chicken salad sandwich, "easier at least, and less cleanup."

"Yes, and we can be sure he's getting it rather than most of it ending up in other places," Garcia replied as the boy chewed and then took a drink of milk from his sippy cup.

"Oh, he's getting it alright!" Reid told her as he reached for the second half of his three sandwich halves, causing Garcia to smirk.

"JJ always said he was a good eater," Garcia replied.

"Toddlers require forty calories per inch of height." He looked like he was sizing Henry up. "Let's say thirty-three inches, so that would make his daily caloric requirement 1320." The genius prattled on, not giving the calculation a moment's thought, while Garcia was still trying to figure it out in her head and wondering why she bothered as Reid carried on. "With what you had for breakfast, not counting what landed everywhere, but in your mouth, this," he pointed to the half sandwich, the quarter banana Garcia had sliced, raspberries and Henry's sippy cup of milk, "a couple of snacks and the mac and cheese Aunt Penelope's making for dinner, you should slide in just under the wire."

Garcia was about to remark that that was the last thing Henry would be interested in when she watched the boy. He seemed to be in a trance, his quarter sandwich poised half way to his mouth and his eyes fixed on Reid. It was probably the expression they'd all worn the first time they'd heard Reid spout off some of the millions of facts that must be lodged somewhere in his grey matter.

xxxxxxxx

"Garcia, did you put sunscreen on him?" Reid asked as they got Henry ready for his daily trek to Potomac Park.

"Of course, I put sunscreen on him," Garcia tried to control the wriggling child as they got him into the stroller. Reid had insisted that he nap before going to the park rather than after because the UVA and UVB rays were strongest between 1 and 3 p.m.

"Did you get his ear lobes and behind his ears?" Reid reached to check only to have his hand slapped away by Garcia.

"Reid, I told you I put it on," she said as she set Henry's hat atop his head. "You're worse than a Jewish mother."

The threesome reached the park after a short walk with Henry pointing things out and babbling most of the way. On a Saturday afternoon the park was brimming with life, not only with the trees, shrubs and flowers that bloomed colorfully against the green backdrop; but also with people, children playing everywhere, adults sitting on benches chatting, kites flying in the cloudless blue sky, balls and Frisbees being thrown, children hiding from whoever was It and chess players ignoring all of it in quest of victory in their favorite game. Reid thought of his young friend Eric and how they enjoyed moments such as this and suddenly realized that they should perhaps sometimes lift their heads from their chess boards and take in the life all around them.

"JJ says he likes the swing," Garcia said as Reid freed Henry from the confinement of his stroller and lifted him to the small child's swing where he was securely strapped in place. He squealed merrily as Reid began to push him while Garcia sat on a bench nearby. Her cell rang and she looked at the call display. "JJ checking in," she told Reid.

Henry had decided he'd had enough of the swing and when Reid put him down he made a beeline for the sandbox. Reid went to the back of the stroller to retrieve a pail and shovel he'd seen Garcia pack there. He turned around, the pail and shovel sliding from his hands, falling to the ground, forgotten, as he rushed towards the boy.