Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing.

Warning- Some places, dates, and events have been changed to fit the story.

Previously on Criminal Minds- Several minutes and a lot of internal debate later Spencer finally looked up at Hotch and answered. "Rossi, I want Rossi to stay."

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Rossi glanced across the table at his young companion. Seeing the boy distractedly moving the food around on his plate, he sighed. "Eat Reid" Dave ordered.

Spencer jumped, startled by the sudden voice. He turned weary eyes on his friend. "I'm not hungry." He mumbled, pushing away his plate.

Dave's eyes softened. "I know. I've been in your shoes." He replied. "Not the my mother's been shot part mind you but I did go through having my mother critically ill in the hospital. And while it happened a long time ago, I can still remember the fear and worry gnawing in my gut and the nausea that came with it. Eating anything was the last thing I felt like doing."

"Then why are you pushing me to eat?" Reid huffed.

"Because our bodies need the nourishment to live," Rossi answered. "And before you say it coffee is not nourishment."

Spencer scowled at his father even as the corners of his mouth twitched up.

Dave smiled. "Whether you feel like it or not, you have to eat. You've got to keep up your strength for your mother. She's going to need you to be there for her; to help her. And you're going to have to be at your best to do that." he explained. Seeing the dubious expression on his son's face, he tried a different tactic. "Let me ask you this: what would your mother say if she woke up and saw you like this?"

Reid dropped his gaze to the table.

"Come on kid. What would your mom say?" Rossi prodded.

"She, she'd tell me I was too skinny." Spencer quietly answered.

"And she'd be right." Dave stated. He pushed the younger man's plate back in front of him. "Now eat. The last thing your mother needs when she wakes up is to have to fuss at you about your eating habits or lack thereof."

Spencer's eyes shot to Rossi. "You really think she'll wake up?" he asked, his voice full of hope.

"Of course I do." Dave replied with a smile. "From everything I've heard she's a lot like you which means she could out stubborn a whole team of mules."

Spencer snickered. "That's my mom alright." He proudly said.

"It describes you too, Reid." Rossi pointed out, laughing at the pout his words caused. "Did you get that look from your mom, too? Or is that pout just a leftover from your childhood?"

A devilish grin lit up Reid's face. "Actually, mom never could figure out where that pouty face as she calls it came from. She said no one in our family ever made that face but me. She swore I must have picked it up from someone in the neighborhood but I'm thinking maybe it came from someone a little closer." He teased. He absentmindedly took a bite of his sandwich. "What do you think Rossi? Is it nature or nurture?" The look that overcame the older profiler's face sent Spencer over the edge. He knew from pictures Garcia had shown him that the look on the older profiler's face mirrored his exactly. Rolling with laughter, he pointed a shaking finger at Rossi and joyfully crowed, "That's it! That's the look! I got it from you!"

Dave's heart soared. Reid may have been teasing but the simple fact that the boy admitted he'd inherited something from him had Dave over the moon. It meant his son was accepting their father/son relationship; accepting him. And he was… "Huh?"

"I said are you alright?" Spencer repeated. "You kind of spaced out on me for a minute there."

"Yeah, just thinking" Dave replied still smiling like an idiot.

"About what?" Reid questioned, taking another bit of sandwich. "Is it about the case? Did Hotch give you the details on the case they were called back for?"

"No, Aaron didn't tell me a thing." Rossi said.

"Are you sure cause that expression you wearing is kinda freaky?" Spencer told him.

Dave chuckled. "Sorry" he apologized before schooling his features. "Is this better?"

Spencer studied the older man's face for a moment and then grinned. "Yes, that's the signature Rossi look I'm used to."

"Signature Rossi look? Kid, what in the world are you…" Dave broke off as his phone began to beep. He flipped open his cell, shut off the alarm, and stuffed the phone back in his jacket pocket. "Eat up Reid. You've got exactly half an hour to eat, grab a quick shower in the staff lounge, and take your meds before Dr. Doom comes to talk to you. Don't look at me like that youngster! I am not going to be the one to pull you off the man when he tells you you're banned from your mom's room. You are going to eat, shower, change, and take those pills so that doesn't happen. And then after you're next visit, you are going to take a nap. And no you don't have a choice."

Spencer glared at his biological father but did what he was told. He knew the profiler was right. The doctor was just itching for an excuse to stop him from seeing his mother. So he bit back the comment that was dying to come out and tucked back into his food.

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"He's fine, Garcia" Dave assured the worried woman through the phone line. "Really, I make sure he eats and sleeps…that too. I promise I'm taking good care of Reid…it's only been a few days kitten…I know…it's hard but we're working on it. I think Spencer's finally starting to accept that I'm his biological father."

"WHAT!"

Rossi glanced behind him, frowning when he saw William Reid storming towards him. "I've gotta go deal with a little problem. I'll call you back when I'm done, kitten." Flipping his cell closed, he stuck it in his pocket and rounded on the angry man. "Mr. Reid, what are you doing back here?"

William strode right up to the profiler. "So that's why you tried to get rid of me! You want my son!" he roared, going toe to toe with Rossi.

Rossi's expression hardened. "First, lower your voice. You are in a hospital." He commanded. "And second, what I told you the other day had nothing to do with me. It was all about Spencer."

"Don't lie to me." William fumed though his voice was lower than before. He stuck a finger in his foe's chest. "You tried to sell me that bill of goods so I'd disappear and you could slide right into the role of Spencer's dad. Well, I've got news for you. Your plan backfired. I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere."

"There are two things wrong with that statement." An exhausted voice said from behind the two men.

Rossi and William turned to find Spencer staring angrily at them.

"One, you'd have to have actually been a dad for someone to try to usurp your position. And two, you are not staying." Reid ticked off.

"Spencer, I" William began only to be cut off by his son.

"Save it." Reid growled.

"Don't take that tone with me, Spencer." William warned. "I'm still your father."

Spencer shook his head. "No, you're not." He disagreed, shuffling over to the two. "You aren't a father; haven't been one since I was a preschooler."

"I may not have been father of the year material but I've always been your father." William countered.

"Actually that's not true" Spencer said. He leaned against Rossi's side. "You, as it turns out, have never been my father. There was a mix up the day I was born and two babies were sent home with the wrong families." He smiled. "You're not my father. He is."