A big thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, and adds my story to their favorites and alerts. You all own my heart. Just a few notes about this chapter and things remotely having to do with this chapter. First of all, let me just say that I'm going to miss Emily immensely on the show. Thoughts? Let's pretend like she never left. Second, and I may mention this again later, but when I refer to her apartment in this story, I am referring to her old one from the episode "In Name and Blood," with a few modifications since we never see her whole apartment. Since she got a new one, apparently, I didn't want anyone to be confused by my description of her apartment. Third, this is the long awaited chapter where Spencer and Cecilia finally meet. Thank you for being so patient on the journey to this place in the story.
KateEatsCake – Thanks for the review! Side note: your username makes me gleeful every time I see it! I'm so glad you think this is cute! That, too, makes me cheerful! Cute is one thing I've been struggling to keep in this story, despite the heavy context, and I worry I'm doing it wrong. I also struggled with not only getting Morgan and Hotch's personalities right, but molding them to the situation. Your review is very encouraging. Thank you!
SpemilyFan – Thanks for the review! Your review cracked me up. Also, I totally had to go back to the episode where Morgan goes home to find out what exactly he called his mom; I wasn't sure if it was moms, mom, or momma. Therefore, I'm super glad you appreciated that part! There will be more references to finding Taylor and Reid naked in this chapter, because Emily is stuck with the them.
SSAFunbar – Thanks for the review! High five! I was wondering if anyone else said hey is for horses, because we say weird things where I'm from. I am so glad that reference was not lost!
Ceegeeayy – Thanks for the review! You are awesome. Period.
Chapter 11
The Littlest Prentiss
It took a solid half an hour until everyone was situated and Taylor was able to wrangle them out of her sister's apartment. Per Reid's request, they stopped for food against Taylor's wishes. Taylor's wishes were probably best left granted, as she and him ended up fighting over whose food was whose. Thank God they were both in the back seat, as children should be, and away from Emily, who was trying to drive. She figured it best for her to do so since she had gotten the most sleep out of the pair. Plus, the idea of Reid driving scared the pants off of her, and she wasn't about to let Taylor operate a vehicle under such heavy emotional distress.
Off to a rocky start, Emily worried that the road trip from hell was going to ensue. Luckily, she was able to fall into a false sense of security after the pair wrapped up eating, and as they drifted off to sleep half on top of each other. She drove in silence for hours and stopped at not one, but two rest stops without them waking up. She was somewhere near Pittsburgh when Reid unexpectedly started snoring, which in turn woke Taylor and dashed any hopes she had of a peaceful trip. It also made Taylor beg Emily to let her throw him out of the car. Something about the only time she believed she would have peace on this trip was while everyone was sleeping, but he just had to take up snoring and was evil for not snoring during the other nights she had slept near to him. She became immediately leery of Reid and his supposed magical snoring powers of misrepresentation, and that was the least of her problems.
Naturally, immediately after they woke up, Reid had to pee, and right away. Since they had just passed a rest stop five minutes before he awoke, Emily had to get off the road she was traveling to find him a gas station. It took her stopping at three to find one he'd actually go to the bathroom in, and at that he only did it because once he was outside the car, Taylor locked the doors and told him she wasn't letting him back in until he went. This set them an extra forty minutes behind, and for a good hour after that, Emily worried Taylor would murder him. If looks could kill, technically she had. That would be hard to explain to hers and Reid's mutual colleagues. You know, the ones from the FBI.
It was near Cleveland that they stopped and had dinner, nightfall already upon them and dinner coming late tonight. Since they were already nearly ten hours into their trip because of setbacks, rest stops, and the like, Taylor rushed them through dinner, had snatched the keys, and was waiting in the car long before Reid or Emily had finished eating. They eventually took the hint, knowing she was impatient with knowing they had another six or so hours to go, if they were running hard. Most likely, it'd take them more like seven, especially with Reid having to pee at every single rest stop they passed. And at every single one, Taylor tried to convince Emily to leave him behind with no avail. At least she didn't make empty promises or threats.
By the time the reached Chicago, it was after two in the morning. Taylor had taken up driving the last leg of the trip, while Emily got some rest in the backseat, and Reid became the most annoying, ineffective backseat driver from the passenger seat, in the history of backseat drivers. Taylor, upset at how long it had actually taken them to get here, versus how long it said it would take on paper, just wanted to get some rest in an actual bed so she could hit the ground running the next day. She was also largely upset because she knew Reid was being a drama queen when he insisted trip would take fifteen hours one way, and yet somehow it had managed to take them even longer than that, and, according to her, it was all his fault. Therefore, getting out the car and away from him for a little while was of outmost importance to her now.
She pulled over just outside of the city lights and skyscrapers, knowing they were more likely to get a hotel at a better price there, and pulled up to the first place she could find that didn't look all that fancy, and then woke her sister. Her idea of a reasonably priced hotel was everyone else's idea of a seedy hotel, so with Emily back in the driver's seat, they headed down the road further until they ended up somewhere that Reid didn't worry about taking his shoes off inside of, and Emily thought fit the lifestyle she had become accustomed to living.
That was the difference between Taylor and Emily. Although the girls had grown up wealthy, Taylor didn't care about money. She could live anywhere, as long as it had everything she needed and wasn't a hole. If it needed some work, well, that was all right. Emily, on the other hand, didn't necessarily have expensive tastes, but she liked nice things, nicer than Taylor could get by with. Taylor was the kind of girl who was happy with the necessities, where Emily wanted just a little more, although nothing extravagant.
Once inside of the hotel, Taylor almost had a heart attack at the prices they were asking for one room per night. Emily fluffed her aside, pulling out her credit card, knowing this hotel was one of her choice and it was unfair to saddle Taylor with a bill when she would have stayed somewhere that cost half as much. By the time she was done, two rooms were booked.
Emily couldn't foresee Reid being comfortable sharing a two bed room with two women and, quite frankly, she had the fear that Taylor would choose to share the bed with him instead of her, and she just didn't need the thoughts of where their hands were keeping her awake. When Reid tried to hand her a check to cover the second hotel room, she shoved it back at him, letting him know he was doing her a favor by sleeping in the other room, and she was happy to pay for that. If there was even a remote chance of seeing Reid naked again, she wanted to skip it.
Duffle bags of belongings in their hands, they rode the elevator to the fifth floor and reached the outside of their hotel rooms, ones which would adjoin by doors once inside. Emily held the keys in her hand, trying to figure out who wanted to stay in what room, reminding them that they could get to each other if anyone was afraid of the dark, through said doors. This comment was targeted more at Reid, who actually was, in an attempt to comfort him by letting him know he could stay alone, but not really be alone.
Before Emily had a chance to think, Taylor snatched one of the keys from her hand, went inside of the room, and left her sister and Reid to figure things out for themselves. That's not how Emily saw this going, but she had no choice but to accept it while trying to soothe Reid by telling him she wasn't avoiding sharing a room with him, like he must have thought she was going to; she just needed time to think.
The notion had also passed through Emily's mind that if she were to split them between two rooms, it was very possible Taylor would feel more comforted with Emily than with Reid, and she could cry more freely, more openly or deal with whatever emotions she needed to deal with that she didn't get to in the car. So much as she booked two rooms because of Reid, she had done it for her sister, too. She just didn't think she'd still be stuck sharing a room with the occasional snoring stylings of the good doctor.
Despite her best attempts with Reid, he still spent ten minutes banging on the doors between the two rooms, asking for Taylor to at least open it so that he could see her and know she was okay. She told him that she was fine alone, was a big girl, and could take care of herself. And that's when it hit the both of them; Emily first, leaving Reid to figure it out a few minutes later. She hadn't done this to get away from Emily and Reid, she had done this to prove to them, but mostly herself, that she could get through one dark night alone with banging doors from other hotel patrons and the sounds of traffic outside her window, and not be traumatized. She had the security of opening the doors if she needed it, but she was trying not to need it. She was trying to be strong. And when Reid finally figured it out, he climbed into the bed opposite of Emily's and went to sleep, very little snoring included.
When Emily woke up that morning to the sunlight pouring through the windows of the room, the pair having been too tired to think of shutting the curtains the night before, Reid was absent from his bed and the doors between the rooms open. Hesitantly, she peeked through those doors, finding Reid spooning Taylor, and not Taylor lying against Reid, as she had suspected. She was unsure how Reid had become so nurturing, but that didn't matter in the end. What did was that the two of them seemed to be fully clothed, and that was good enough for her eyes.
She left the door open, closed her curtains, and laid back down for more rest. She had considered waking the two, but they looked so peaceful together and were both so in need of sleep that she just couldn't. She knew Taylor had wanted to see Cecilia first thing in the morning, but she also knew that Cecilia was in a specialized morning kindergarten class. If she woke Taylor now, she'd spend the entire morning mentally preparing herself for the afternoon, and since this may be the last decent night's sleep she got for awhile, Emily was going to let her make the most of that. She would allow Taylor to sleep until she woke up naturally, having had her curtains closed and being unaware of the morning sunlight that could be illuminating the room. When she was up and ready, she'd let Emily know.
When Taylor woke, it was as if a tornado gone through the two rooms. She was a drill sergeant, barking out for everyone to get ready faster, and that she'd leave them in the dust if they failed to. It was clear today was about Taylor's needs, but mostly Cecilia's, and she wasn't going to have anyone slow her down. Today was the day she got her daughter back for good, Emily and Reid would make sure of that. Today was the day all her dreams finally came true, while her life did a total one hundred and eighty degree shift. Today was the day that she spent the last five years waiting for, hoping and praying it would come, and now that it was here she wasn't going to waste a second of it with slow people who didn't value her time.
It was just after noon when she gathered everyone in the car, though it seemed so much later. She spent the car ride in the front seat, Emily driving, explaining how things were going to work. She made it clear that she went into the room first to see her daughter, Emily coming in behind her. Reid, however, didn't get the same opportunities as the girls because Cecilia didn't know him, and he understood that. He agreed to stand silently in the doorway and observe, and to back out of view if it was necessary, since it was completely unknown how Cecilia would take to him.
As soon as the car was stopped in front of the house where Cecilia was temporarily living, Taylor was out of the car. Before Reid and Emily had two solid feet on the pavement, she was knocking on the door, having called the social worker ahead of time to let her know she wouldn't be in yesterday due to being held up by "these stupid people who care about her," and making arrangements to meet her as soon Cecilia was out of kindergarten, also letting them know about the plus two that would be accompany her.
When Taylor was let in the house, she did nothing except for go straight to Cecilia, forgoing any casual greetings. The social worker and the state appointed foster parent had headed to gather Cecilia's things, leaving Taylor to bond with her for a little while before they started their journey back home. Home. A place to settle and dwell, where she and her daughter could start a new life. It sounded nice. She only hoped she could make it work.
By this time, Emily and Reid had rushed to catch up with her. They got there just in time to see Taylor happily approach her daughter, who was sitting on the floor with her green and pink tattered blankie in one hand, piling the same blocks up over and over again with the other. This was the first time Reid had seen Cecilia, as he had not been provided with so much as a picture. Watching the way she sat there, so unaware of what was going on, made him sad. It filled his heart with pain for Taylor, as the severity of what she was going to have to deal with hadn't fully hit him until just now.
Unlike Reid had expected, Taylor just stood and watch her daughter play on the floor for a few moments. Her head was tilted, as if she were studying her behavior. What Reid didn't know but the girls did, was that this was a normal routine for Cecilia, who needed that in her life. After she got home from school, she would sit and play with her toys for an hour, before receiving lunch. The blocks were her favorite things of all, something she brought with her from her former home with her adoptive parents. They were the special kind of blocks that were used in occupational therapy and were soft so she couldn't harm herself with them in any way, shape, or form. She also hated the texture of them in her mouth, so she never tried to chew on them.
It took a few minutes before Taylor finally spoke to her, but when she finally decided it was time, she bent down in front of her first, wanting to make her more comfortable by being at her level. She reached her hand out, taking one of the blocks that Cecilia wasn't currently using and holding onto it to get her attention. Cecilia looked in her general direction, but not directly at her, which was confirmation enough that she knew Taylor was there. This was normal for her, but left Reid studying Cecilia so that he could figure out her behaviors himself.
"Hey, Cecilia. Mommy Taylor is here with Aunt Emily." Ever since Cecilia was a baby and Taylor knew she was different, she had always learned to call herself Mommy Taylor around Cecilia. That way, if anything were to happen to her and anyone ask her who she belonged to, she wouldn't just say Mommy, she would say Mommy Taylor.
That would give the proper authorities a good place to start in finding her mom. This worked out perfectly when she was adopted, because it allowed her to not lose the mommy moniker. She could still be Mommy Taylor, while her new adoptive mom was Mommy Alyson. Taylor always felt blessed that her adoptive parents were okay with this, and that they wanted her to keep the name Mommy Taylor, instead of just being Taylor. She was always grateful they were willing to share her so openly.
"Cecilia, Mommy Taylor and Aunt Emily are going to take you home. Do you remember that you're going to your forever home today with me? Are you ready to go home?" Taylor hadn't wanted to say everything to her at once, giving her a few minutes to process the people who she had just told her were there. She knew Cecilia knew who they were, it just took her a minute to process it all.
The same went for what she was saying. Taylor knew that Cecilia understood home. It was something she and her adoptive parents had worked on teaching her when she was little. They wanted her to know that home was a good, safe place. As Reid stood by watching, not expecting a reaction, he became fully surprised when he got one.
It took a good two minutes, but all of a sudden Cecilia began to rock back and forth. It wasn't in a way of angst, but instead in a way of excitement, an expression of a smile nearly crossing her face. Then she brought her hands up as she rocked, bringing them together almost as if she was clapping, but not quite. Taylor and Emily knew this meant she had understood them, and she was ready to leave and go home. Although she couldn't fully process it, she knew enough to be trusting and know it was a good thing. She then began shaking her head back and forth in her excitement. But oddly, she stopped, focusing her eyes straight on one thing and one thing only.
"Cecilia? Cecilia? What do you see?" Taylor had a half smile on her face, trying to figure out what had her daughter so captivated, whereas she normally wasn't. When Cecilia didn't respond by flinching or turning her head, yet instead stopped her movements to fully focus on what it was she was watching, Taylor decided to follow her eyes.
"Reid?" Emily eye's snapped to where Taylor was looking, slowly letting the word slip, just as confused as Taylor was. Who becomes charmed by Reid, anyway?
Emily had spent a fair amount of time with Cecilia when she was a baby and Taylor still had custody of her. She had also spent the last year visiting her on and off, each time Taylor had, in between the trial. She had never seen her focus on anything like this or be so captivated by what was in front of her. Mostly, she just didn't care, and if she did find herself fascinated by anything, it was an object, not a person.
Looking over at Taylor to profile her thoughts on the situation through facial expression, Emily saw Taylor was just as confused. Feeling Emily's eyes on her, she turned her head, stared down her sister for a minute, realized they were on the same page, and then shook her head no. It scared Taylor that she didn't know what was going on, but that wasn't the only thing she had to be surprised by. As with everything else, it took Cecilia a moment to fully process something, but what she processed was something Taylor didn't know how to deal with.
"Reid. Reid. Reid. Reid. Reid. Reid..." Cecilia began to repeat his name, the last thing her Aunt Emily had quietly uttered, over and over again. For someone who didn't know her, they would think she had understood that Reid was the name of the person who was standing there, but this was Cecilia, and she didn't get that. She couldn't.
Reid didn't move from the doorway, nor did he speak. He was surprised by her behavior, and although he tried not to show it, both girls could read him better than that. His eyes became intense, and it was clear he was studying Cecilia. Part of Taylor wanted to stop him, to tell him not to profile her own flesh and blood from her womb, but the other part thought if anyone could find an answer to the way she was acting, it could possibly be him. She knew essentially he was harmless, that he was just observing, but the situation made her uncomfortable.
"Cecilia, I have one of your blocks. Will you play blocks with me?" To try and distract her, Taylor held up a block in her line of vision, but she just moved slightly, enough that the block didn't affect her. She couldn't have cared less about her favorite toy.
"Reid. Reid. Reid. Reid..." Cecilia was unfazed by her own mother, continuing to be fascinated by the man in front of her. Men had never been her favorite specimens, but she sure couldn't take her eyes off of him.
Noting the look on both Taylor and Emily's faces, Reid decided to see if he could at least clarify part of her actions as best as he could, although he, too, was curious about her enchantment of him.
"It's called echolalia. Some kids with learning disabilities will repeat back something they've heard over and over. Most likely because you said my name singularly she was able to comprehend it, and since it was one syllable, it was easy for her to say." He still couldn't get over the way she stared at him, like she was looking right through him and knew all his secrets. It reminded him of when Taylor had told him that Cecilia had done it to her, and that's what caused her to stop her self-abusive lifestyle.
"I know what echolalia is. She normally doesn't do it, though. If she says anything, it's something random. This has meaning." Taylor's voice was soft, but she wanted to bite at Reid. She didn't know why, at least not on the surface, but deep down she was jealous. It was hard enough to get her to say Mommy Taylor once every so often, but for her to be repeating his name over and over hurt her.
"Oh." Reid closed his lips, nodding his head and feeling awkward. Not knowing what else to do, he held his hand up, opening and closing it in a child-like wave, addressing the child whose eyes weren't leaving him. "Hi, Cecilia."
At this, Cecilia lifted herself off of the floor. Within seconds she had crossed the room, landing in front of Reid and wrapping her arms, blankie still in hand, around his leg. Taylor watched in disbelief as her normally unaffectionate daughter showed it toward Reid. Sure, Cecilia would hug every so often, but you had to wait for her to come to you, and she wasn't so forthcoming with her hugs depending on her mood. Since she couldn't reach any higher on Reid, Taylor had no doubt that's what she was doing.
Emily looked at her sister again, gaging what to do in this situation. She knew this had to be uncomfortable not only for Reid, but extremely painful for Taylor, being as her own daughter hadn't hugged her, yet the only person in the house she had never met. She had been so looking forward to this day, and now Emily wondered if that hadn't been ruined by Reid, although unintentionally.
Slowly, Taylor's face turned toward Emily's. Her look reaped of disbelief and sorrow. Tears were the thing she was most trying to force back. The only thing that made the moment a bit easier was that Cecilia had finally stopped repeating Reid's name, as if touching him was now good enough to fulfill whatever it was she needed. Taylor didn't blame Reid, but she wanted to be him, and she was upset he was stealing her thunder, although he hadn't actually done anything. She was beginning to wish she would have left him in Ohio, if for no other reason than forcing them to stop at every rest stop so he could pee. If he wouldn't have drank a ton of coffee, the problem wouldn't have existed.
"Miss Prentiss?" Both Taylor and Emily's heads shot up in a stereo "yes." Emily, realizing the social worker was talking to the younger of the two, apologized quickly, allowing Taylor a moment to pull herself together. "We've gathered Cecilia's things. You're good to take her whenever you're ready."
The befuddled look on the social worker's face, as well as the look on the foster parent's, were obvious. Emily took the lead, not wanting to make this harder on her sister by kicking her when she was down by making her explain.
"That's Dr. Spencer Reid. He's a colleague of mine at the FBI, as well as a close friend of Taylor's. He and Cecilia like each other." As soon as that came out, Emily realized how obtuse it had made her sound. She looked over at Taylor, mouthing an apology. She hadn't helped the situation. Actually, she didn't even know why she had said that. Her brain was obviously up to no good.
At least she had resisted in telling them Reid was Taylor's boyfriend. She could have caused a few problems with that one, causing the social worker to wonder how long the had been together or question her judgement as to who she was going to introduce her daughter to. She didn't want that. If things were finite and serious it would have been different. Now was not the time to talk relationship status when that hadn't been part of the deal of her receiving custody.
"I see that. I just don't remember them meeting before." The social worker's eyes drifted between Taylor and Cecilia, then between Cecilia and Reid, a small smile breaking across her face. She studied Reid and the way he was perfectly fine with what was happening, yet unsure of how to react, knowing the focus was now on him, like everyone was waiting to see what he was about to do.
"They haven't." Taylor reluctantly confirmed, shaking her head and unsure if this would become a penalty against her, or what the social worker was thinking.
"This isn't typical behavior for Cecilia, that I know of." The social worker's voice, as usual, was a bit stern. It was part of her job, Taylor realized, but it made her infinitely impossible to read.
"It isn't." Again Taylor answered her, the same devoid tone, avoiding any eye contact, afraid that any little thing could force her to lose the dream she spent the last five years nurturing.
"It's very encouraging, though." Just like that, with a twist of words and fate, the social worker said the last thing Taylor expected, but the one thing she knew meant she got to take her daughter with her today. Nothing was going to stop her. Cecilia was finally hers again. "So, I bet you'll be happy to get Cecilia to her new home. She could really use some definitive structure. We've tried, but it's been difficult with the unexpected roadblocks being in a foster home often creates."
"I'm going to work with her on getting her on a schedule that she's happy with as soon as we get back to Virginia. I enrolled her in a special needs school, which she'll start next Monday. We'll go from there. My main priority is that she's not just content, but that she loves living with me. All I want is to make her happy." Taylor spoke from the heart, wanting the social worker to know they had made the right decision in betting on her. She was the long shot, she knew, but this was the only thing her hearted wanted so fully, without regret.
"I know that, which is why you ultimately were granted custody of her. I trust you'll hold up to your end of the agreement when six months roll around." It had been a rocky road, and there were several reasons not to grant her custody.
Truth be told, the social worker knew the only reason she had finally conceded to allowing this, but with conditions. Once she saw the way Taylor was around her own daughter, the way that was unmatched by anyone, she knew there was no other home for Cecilia. Although there were requirements she had to meet, the social worker had no doubt she'd jump through hoops if she had to in order to meet them.
"I will. I'll do anything for Cecilia." She knew this was the social worker's way of sending her on her way, telling her she had overstayed her welcome. It was time to leave Chicago in her rearview mirror for good.
"I trust that you will, Miss Prentiss. If I could make a suggestion, I would allow her to keep her blocks with her in the car, along with her blanket. It will help soothe her during the car ride. What are you plans for travel, anyway? Are you planning on driving straight through with her?" Taylor, being short the money she needed in order to stop, hadn't put much thought into it. With having three of them to drive, one of which they hoped wouldn't, it made it feasible.
"No, Ma'am. We're just going to take things as they come. If nothing else, we will be stopping somewhere tonight. If we need to stop more in order to make her comfortable, we will." This was news to Taylor, who automatically assumed they would be driving straight through, trying to make the best out of the trip to get her to her destination as soon as possible. Emily may have had a point, though.
"You'll call me when you stop overnight and when you've reached your destination?" Both sisters nodded, Emily wanting to take the reigns like she had with Taylor during the trial and make everything okay in order to take care of her and protect her. She couldn't do that anymore. She had to give her room to breathe and prove herself as an adult.
"Will do. Thank you for everything." Taylor began to gather Cecilia's blocks, putting them in her carefully crafted bag she had sewn, something she learned to do during the trial to keep her head from exploding or imploding, whichever it chose was funnier.
"You're welcome. I know you can do this, Miss Prentiss. I wish you the best of luck and a safe trip." Once Taylor was sure she had gathered all of Cecilia's things, she removed herself from the floor, prepared to carry her daughter and her bags of things to the car so that they could depart. Cecilia was finally hers.
"Ah, guys, I don't know that we're going anywhere just yet. I still have a child attached to me. If somebody could just remove her...please?" It wasn't that Reid didn't appreciate that Cecilia liked him. In fact, this was more than he could have hoped for, but he couldn't properly express how awkward he felt having a child attached to his leg. He tried to grin and bear it, but it was becoming harder by the minute.
In all the formalities that came with adulthood, Taylor had nearly forgotten that her child was still hanging on Reid's leg. Actually, she was more surprised that she hadn't disbanded herself from there yet. The social worker started to carefully bend down, hoping to get Cecilia to pay attention to her. As soon as she reached toward her, Cecilia began to become upset. She would let out little, short screams that made her sound like she was imitating a banshee.
"No, no, no. Leave her go. I've got this." As her first role of motherhood, her job was to remove her daughter from Reid's leg. This wasn't exactly how she saw that going.
She knew she had to prove herself, or at least that's how she felt. She already saw where attempting to remove Cecilia had gotten the social worker, so she knew she had to go in another way. She bent down to Cecilia's level, but did not try to reach out to her. Instead, she attempted to get her attention.
"Cecilia. Cecilia, you have to let go of Spencer's leg. I mean, you have to let go of Reid's leg." Cecilia didn't look at her. She was too busy looking up at Reid.
Not wanting to confuse her own daughter by giving her a different, harder name than what she had come to identify Reid by, she was careful to correct herself. Although she didn't rationalize things the same way most people did, she was able to see his face and know he was Reid. She connected things by pictures and visuals.
Feeling like she had no other option and that everyone was watching her, waiting for her to step in and take charge, to be the mother, she went to the last resort she could think of. Walking around the opposite side of Reid, she bent down, wrapping her arms around his leg. Emily fought to hold back her laughter, but ultimately had to turn around and cover her mouth. The social worker wasn't fairing too much better. Taylor knew this looked funny, but she was going somewhere non ridiculous with this.
"Cecilia, look at me. Cecilia, look at Mommy Taylor." She paused, giving her the chance to at least glance her way. It took her a little while, but she did, however, the look on her face dictated that she was not happy about it. "I know that you like Reid. Mommy Taylor likes Reid, too. That means we have to share him. You're not being a good sharer right now. Can you share with Mommy Taylor? Cecilia, if you don't share, we can't go home. You want to go home, right?"
"Reid. Reid. Reid. Reid..." It didn't take Cecilia as long as usual to begin to repeat her same mantra over and over. Taylor knew she had one more try left in her before her heart couldn't take it anymore.
"That's right, Reid will be going home with us. Come on, Cecilia. Come to Mommy Taylor so we can go home." Unwrapping her arms from around Reid's leg, Taylor went back to Cecilia, extending her arms to her, but was ultimately ignored. Reid, seeing that this was breaking Taylor's heart, decided he was going to try and help in the best way he knew how and only hope it didn't hurt her worse.
"Hey, Cecilia, why don't we play a game? Mommy Taylor, can I see your bag?" Catching on that he was going to have to be the to break up this party and also observing the way Taylor addressed herself to Cecilia, he tried to wiggle his way toward her with no luck, due to the pending child on his leg.
Taylor took the bag from her shoulder, handing it over to him. He took out two blocks that she had seemed to favor the most earlier and handed it back. Taylor didn't know what he was trying to do, but by now she felt defeated and a bit like the only one who could help was Reid. She was glad he pitched in, yet jealous, which Emily picked up on immediately. She kept her eye on the three of them, making sure Taylor's emotions didn't overcome her. And if they began, she knew the signs and would step in.
"Cecilia, these are neat blocks." Immediately, Cecilia squealed in delight at the sight of Reid moving the blocks through his hands. Her one little hand came up, reaching for them. Taylor stepped back, upset Reid had elicited the response she had hoped to, yet angry at him when he didn't give in and give Cecilia the blocks like she expected he would do so that she would let go of his leg. "Yeah. Yeah, neat blocks, Cecilia. I like them, too, but I don't know if I want to share them now that I have them, but I like to play with other people, so I think I will. Sometimes we have to share things. For instance, I'm going to share my blocks with Mommy Taylor. Here, Mommy Taylor. Would you like to share these blocks with me?"
Reid verbally nudged Taylor on until she came over and took one of the blocks out of his hand. Cecilia squealed again. This time she wasn't happy, though, and began to make a few other displeased noises. Reid kept on the course, now handing the other block to Taylor. It took a little while to render a response, but Cecilia started to give Reid a look as if he had stolen a kitten.
"You want these blocks, Cecilia? Yeah? Well, I shared them with Mommy Taylor now since she's sharing you with me, so you're going to have to see if Mommy Taylor will share with you. I think she will if you'll ask her, but you have to share me with Mommy Taylor, too. If you don't share, too, Mommy Taylor won't share, either, and then we can't go home. You want to go home, right?" Emily tilted her head at Reid's tactic, knowing that he usually did know what he was doing, but he usually upset a few people along the way in doing it. She wasn't sure if she should go in and stop him or if she should just let him go and trust him. She wasn't sure she followed all of that the first time around, either.
Just as Emily was trying to decide what the right decision would be, Cecilia let go of Reid's legs, making an almost comedic huffing sound at him as she did. She and her blankie made their way over to Taylor, her arms lifting up, and her little fingers making a grabbing motion. Instead of giving her the blocks immediately, Taylor grabbed for one of Cecilia's little hands, getting it into hers, and then handing her exactly one block to hold in the same hand as her blankie, since it was all she could handle, keeping the other block for herself.
"All right, Cecilia, are you ready to go to home?" Taylor gave Cecilia a moment for a reaction, and she didn't disappoint. He body began to rock back and forth where she stood, unable to clap this time because both of her hand were otherwise occupied. "Good girl. Mommy Taylor will give you the rest of your blocks in the car for being such a good girl, okay?"
Taylor started toward the door, not wanting to miss the moment of having her full attention and end up with a catastrophe in lieu. She knew she only had a certain amount of time to carry out something she had put in Cecilia's head before she would end up confusing her. Taylor called her goodbyes and thank yous as she walked out the door, Reid and Emily picking up Cecilia's bags and carrying them out behind her.
Although she wasn't sure if she was ready to deal with Reid yet, he caught up to her immediately. You could only walk so fast with a child and it wasn't worth a failed getaway. Heck, Emily had already passed them, too. The miracle here wasn't that Reid had caught up, but that he chose to walk the speed of a mom and child. Taylor knew he had done nothing wrong. He felt like he had. He wanted to talk to her, to make sure they were still okay, because he saw the pained expression that had crossed her face when her own daughter went to him. He knew how uncomfortable it made him, too. He hadn't meant to do that. If anything, he thought Cecilia would run from him, not hug his leg, although it was quite possibly the best hug he had ever gotten, as it wasn't a sympathy hug. It was a sincere one.
"Did you just underhandedly teach my kid a lesson?" Unable to stand the awkward silence as they took the steps together, him a little in the way, Taylor spat out the first non offensive thing she could think of. She didn't want to act the way she normally would around her daughter, knowing that she learned from observing.
"Probably. I don't know." He hadn't thought about how he could possibly be teaching Cecilia to share when he was just trying to remove her from her leg, but now that he did, he realized it was possible he had. He didn't want to dwell on that too long, though. "Taylor, are we okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Why wouldn't we be?" Her voice sounded sincere, but she was short with him, turning to admire Cecilia immediately after saying that. Reid had seen it enough to know it was a distraction technique. She didn't want to deal with this right now; she probably couldn't without becoming very upset, so he wasn't going to push her.
"I'm...sorry anyway." Reid nodded nervously, going past the two to the car, where Emily already was, putting Cecilia's things unto the trunk so they could make their journey home.
"Reid. Reid, look at me." Emily talked to him quietly, using him to shield herself from Taylor's view so that she couldn't see what they were saying, although she was too caught up in Cecilia to notice. "You have nothing to feel bad about, okay? What happened in there was a good thing for Cecilia. It shows she can connect with people and comprehend things, and we didn't know if she could or not. We've worked with her on it, but we never knew if it took. Taylor's upset because she wanted her daughter to do that with her, but she doesn't get to choose that, and neither do you. So don't feel bad and don't let Taylor make you feel bad about this, okay? Do you hear me?"
Reid nodded, but didn't say a word. Instead, he turned for the front of the car. He opened the door to the front passenger seat, a silent understanding that Emily would be driving, while Taylor and Cecilia reconnected in the back seat. He still had the door open, trying to get his lanky legs to cooperate, when problems struck again.
Taylor had let go of Cecilia's hand in order to situate herself to open the car door, as well as help Emily with the booster seat. Cecilia wasn't one to take off; she never had been, as she was too scared. That second of missed contact, however, allowed for her to lunge toward the object of her affection, starting the cycle all over again. By the time Taylor had realized she wasn't at her side and had looked over, Cecilia was already trying to crawl in the front seat on top of Reid. Instead of handling this with all the calm and cool her brain could allow, Taylor finally lost it, snapping at him, although it probably wasn't noticeable to Cecilia.
"Spencer, you may have to pitch in and help here." Her voice, more than anything, was frustrated and sad. She looked straight at Reid, obviously about to cry.
Taylor's eyes pleaded with him, hoping if he decided to nicely be the bad guy, as she doubted he could do it in any other way, that maybe Cecilia would listen to him again. She obviously wasn't getting through. He looked at Cecilia, and then to Taylor. Guilt was already filling his features and Taylor knew he felt bad about the situation, but it didn't make her feel good about it, either.
"Hi, Cecilia. Can I help you get into the car the with Mommy Taylor?" Reid began to move himself out of the car again, very careful to not smash into Cecilia with his legs while doing so. She was still attempting to crawl onto his seat with little success and the blankie she was holding, along with the block, was not helping her grip.
As soon as Reid was in a better position, he reached down for her, lifting her to the side so he could get out of the vehicle. He knew he really shouldn't have picked up an autistic child, as most don't like it, but she seemed okay with it, like he figured she would be since she had been the one grabbing so tightly onto him earlier. Plus, he had no other choice if he wanted to be able to get out of the car. Once out of the car, he went to the back door, only to find that Taylor had already put herself in the car, crawled over the booster seat, and remained huddling in the opposite corner, obviously upset.
"Come here, Cecilia. You want to go play with Mommy Taylor? She has the rest of your blocks, and I know she's going to share them with you. That will be fun." He was trying to sound as encouraging as he could, but mostly he just wanted to make Taylor aware that they were standing at the car door and Cecilia could see her.
"She doesn't want me, Spencer. She doesn't want her blocks. She wants you. You might as well just get in, too." Emily, having just gotten in the driver's seat and picked up on what was happening, reached her hand back over the seat and grabbed for Taylor's. She was surprised when Taylor took it; she thought she was going to push her away or ignore her. She wanted her sister to know she was there for her.
Normally, in any other situation, Reid would second guess everything and ask Taylor if she was sure she wanted him to sit with them, taking up some valuable mother and daughter time. This was different, though, and he knew it, so he didn't question it. He simply lifted Cecilia into the car first, and then followed suit. Taylor didn't look at him, not even when she leaned over to get her into the booster seat and buckle her in.
Once Cecilia was buckled in and Taylor gave Emily the heads up to start driving, she pulled the rest of the blocks from the bag between her feet and gave them to Cecilia, along with the one in her hand. Cecilia liked car rides; she always had, ever since she was a baby. Nothing else mattered to her when she was in the car. Most autistic children hated them, as they pulled them away from their normal routine, but Cecilia had always been willing to drop her normal routine for a trip around the block.
With the car ride being this long, however, Taylor worried about how she would do. If only those blocks in front of her could keep her entertained while she squealed with delight each time the car sped up or started again from a dead stop, they would be all right. She knew, however, that autism dictated that after awhile she would tire of the blocks and the roar of the engine and want to go back to her normal routine. She was already stressed and they were barely five minutes down the road.
Seeing this, Reid reached over, grabbing her hand and trying to let her know he was there for her, and he wasn't going anywhere. Whatever he could do to help, he wanted to. He got the unexpected, though, when she yanked her hand from his, putting it too far back for him to reach again. Emily, seeing this in the rearview mirror, suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Had she done this? Was this her fault?
She wasn't sure if she felt worse for Taylor or Reid, but she started to question if she had done the right thing in the first place by introducing them. She thought if Reid could make it through finding out Taylor had a daughter, this wouldn't be where it all fell apart. She was only human, and this time she may have thought wrong. Unfortunately, for two people who traveled through the pasts that Reid and Taylor had, she worried that wrong thought could be the last thing either could handle and it would be all her fault.
