One day early for you, kids7hot2.

Chapter 21

When Jason and Dave come back, I don't turn to them or uncover my head. I feel the bed dip as one of them sits on the edge of it.

A hand is placed on my back, then Dave's voice says, "Alex, sit up, son. We need to talk."

Hesitantly, I sit up but I can't look them in the eyes.

"Alex, where did you get these pills?" He asks.

"I-I can't tell you."

"I was afraid you would say that." Dave exhales and stands up. "Alright son, until I can figure out why you think you need medication, consider yourself grounded. And this time…this time you're sticking with me every waking moment of every day."

"Yes sir," Since I can't tell him the truth there's nothing else I can do besides resign to my fate.

Dave goes over to my suitcase and takes out a pair of my pajamas. He hands them to me and says, "Get dressed. Jason, gather the team in the library. We need to have a talk."

David and I enter the library together. I keep my mouth shut and stay close by David's side as we walk over to his chair. I'm too ashamed to make eye contact with Spencer. I notice that Jack isn't in the room. Aaron must have put him to bed before coming.

Dave sits in his chair beside Jason and I stand behind him, looking awkwardly at everything in the room except for the brother I betrayed.

"Everyone," Dave starts slowly. He gazes down at the pill sack in his hand then his eyes avert to the team. "These were found in Alex's possession today." He holds the bag up and I look up to watch Spencer's reaction. His eyes widen with recognition. "Now, he has been with me since his return so I know he did not acquire them on his own. That means these belong to someone else. Someone in this house."

"Um…I'm confused." Penelope speaks up. "What's with the old sack-thingy?"

"Well, Penelope, inside this 'old sack-thingy' are pills. More specifically, Dilaudid."

"Oh…my…"

The team becomes quiet. They look between each other in confusion.

"Wait a minute," Derek speaks out. "You're not suggesting that any of us gave them to him, are you?"

"The thought never crossed my mind." Dave admits. "But I do know that these belong to one of you, that's why Alex is so unwilling to disclose where he found them. He's trying to protect whoever they belong to but I believe he's doing more damage than aid."

"And you want the owner to come forward." Aaron proposes.

"I do."

All eyes fall to Spencer. Spencer doesn't look at anyone though; that's a dead giveaway of his guilt.

"Spencer," Jason nearly whispers. He has the eyes of a concerned father; the eyes I see from Dave whenever we talk about Dalton.

I can't see his eyes, but I hear the sniffle come from Spencer and I assume he's trying his hardest not to cry.

"I…I haven't taken any of them." He admits.

"Aw, pretty boy," Derek exclaims, wrapping his arm around Spencer's shoulders. "Why?"

"I found them hidden deep in my closet…right after Alex was taken. I didn't throw them out because…I thought I might need them to…to cope."

"To cope?" Derek questions.

Spencer gives a halfhearted smile. "You guys forget that I'm no longer the baby of the family. I have someone to protect now too. Alex is my little brother and when he was taken, I felt as if I failed him too."

So, Spencer blames himself for my mistakes as well. Do I really have that effect on people?

"Spencer, why didn't you come to me?" Jason asks. I can see the pain in his eyes. It's the first time I've seen him react with such emotion.

"Everyone was so busy looking for Alex I didn't want to bother you. Besides, finding him was more important than-"

"Than saving you from going through a relapse?" Jason barks. "You don't get to decide how important your life is to us!"

Spencer and I both cringe at the rise of Jason's voice.

"B-but I didn't want to distract from finding Alex. I was going to tell someone if I felt like I was going to relapse but it never got to that point. I never took any of the pills because I didn't want to be as irrational as I was when I was taking them. I wanted to be as level headed and focused as I could be to help find him."

"That doesn't matter, Spence." JJ chimes in. "You're our family too and if you're hurting we have the right to know."

"I know. I'm sorry. But I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own. And I did."

Derek removes his arm from Spencer's shoulder with a pissed off look on his face. "Dammit, Spencer you're not on your own anymore. You haven't been for years. Haven't we made that clear enough to you?"

Spencer gets quiet. I see his shoulders slouch and his eyes lower to the floor. I feel bad that he's catching so much heat but I feel that if I try to step in right now, I'll only make things worse for us both.

"It's…it's not as bad as you all think." Spencer finally speaks up again. "I didn't take any and I didn't relapse."

"But you were planning to." JJ says in her 'Agent' voice. I can tell she's just as upset about this as Derek is. "Why else would you take the provision to bring the pills all the way up here to the cabin with you? Why would you keep them for so long after Alex was found unless you still planned to take them at some point?"

Everyone's on edge waiting for Spencer's reply. I see the shuddering sob move through his body and I feel ten inches tall. I feel as if everything's my fault again. Everyone's pains and problems are my fault. If only I had left the pills where I found them. I'm sure Spencer would've gotten rid of them eventually and none of this would be happening right now.

"I'm sorry everyone." Spencer apologizes.

Jason stands up and my attention redirects to him. He has a look of determination in his eyes. Like a solider about to open fire. I can tell he's trying to cover his distress with this false bravado.

"I'm sure you are sorry, Spencer. I'm also sure you and Alex understand that until you both realize that the world doesn't rest on your shoulders, you are both grounded. We are here to help and if you have a problem or if you suspect someone else does, you come to one of us and we work it out together, as a family. You do not try to hide it and you do not try to handle such serious matters on your own. Do you understand that?"

"Yes sir," Spencer and I answer together.

"Good. Now…it's been a long evening. I think you boys should retire."

Spencer stands to leave and Derek stands with him. "C'mon, pretty boy. I'll go with you."

As the two walk out of the library, Dave says, "Aaron, could you take Alex to bed. I think Jason and I need to talk with the girls in private."

"Yes, Dave, of course. Let's go, Alex."

I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I'm sure Aaron's gonna scold me for not telling someone about the Dilaudid sooner but on the other hand, if I stay, I could somehow end up getting the paddle again. I decide to go with the lesser of the two evils and follow Aaron out the library.

Aaron walks me upstairs without a single word. He follows me to the bathroom and stands by the door while I brush my teeth but he doesn't say anything. I go back to my room and Aaron follows silently behind me. When I climb into my bed, Aaron sits on Dave's bed and stares down at the floor, thinking. About what, I don't know. But I can take a guess.

"Are you mad?" I venture to ask.

Aaron's eyes ascend until he's looking me in the eyes. "No. Why would I be mad?"

Seriously? You don't know. "Because…because I knew about the Dilaudid but I didn't tell anyone."

Aaron gives a half quirked smile that confuses me. "Yes, but I understand why you did it. You knew that if someone found out Spencer was possibly taking Dilaudid again, he'd be in trouble. You were trying to protect him. I also assume that's why you pocketed the pills in the first place; to keep him from taking any."

"Y-yeah but…you don't seem to be stressing about the situation as much as Dave and Gideon are."

"Yeah, well, that's because I know they will take care of this. I give all the responsibility to them on this one."

"Wait, so…are you saying that you don't care what happens to Spencer?"

Aaron's eyes cut sharply at me. "Don't be stupid." He growls. "Of course I care about Spencer. But it's like I've told you, Dave and Jason are the heads to this family and if there's a problem that they think they can handle without my or anyone else's interference, I become completely submissive and let them handle things their way."

"Oh…so…you just don't argue against them at all. Even if you think someone's being punished unfairly?"

"I've never known them to dish out a punishment unfairly but if I do so happen to disagree with their final word, I will make my grievances known."

"Then what happens?"

Aaron exhales in exasperation and answers, "Usually a family meeting containing all parties directly involved in the dispute. It's actually more work than it's worth so I try to avoid arguing as much as possible."

"But-but…you punish Derek and Emily. And you're always threatening to spank me."

"And your point is?"

"If you're so submissive to Dave and Jason, why not just let them dish out all of the punishments to everyone?"

"That's not how this family works, Alex. Jason and Dave are the heads to the family, that means they reserve the right to punish any of us but that doesn't mean the entire burden falls upon them. If JJ or I can handle a situation, we will. And of course, anyone can punish you. If we put the responsibility of keeping everyone in hand on just two people, Jason and Dave will become overwhelmed."

"Oh, I see. So…are you really not mad at me for not telling?"

Aaron laughs and shakes his head. "Nope. We've all done something stupid for the sake of a sibling. The first time JJ and I got in trouble with Jason was because we were caught in a lie together. Actually, it was more like, I lied for her and she lied for me."

"What about?"

"Uh, well, it's kind of a long story."

"I've got time."

"No you don't. You should be trying to go to sleep. It's late and you know how cranky you get when you don't get enough sleep. I've kept you up long enough as it is."

"That's not fair," I pout and turn away from him. "Asshole,"

The room is silent for only a moment afterwards before I hear Aaron say, "Alex, considering how you're sleeping on your stomach when you usually prefer your back, I'm justified in assuming that Jason spanked you while you two were talking alone, am I correct?"

I groan at the reminder. "Yeah, so."

"So that means you are well enough to be spanked after all. Good. Because if you don't straighten up this attitude of yours we'll see just how sore your bottom can get before the night is over."

I squeeze my pillow and give it a small punch. "You're being unfair. All I did was ask why you and JJ got into trouble with Jason and you're acting like I set fire to the house or something."

"I'll set fire to your behind if you don't settle down and go to sleep."

Tears of frustration burn my eyes. "I hate you, Aaron Hotchner." I say then bury my face in the pillow and try to smother my tears away.

I try to ignore the sound of Aaron moving around the room but I can't ignore it when he sits on my bed next to my head. Teary eyed, I look up to him puzzled and afraid.

Aaron rests a hand on my head, surprising me with his gentleness when I expected him to have me over his lap right now.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I let my temper get the best of me. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Don't cry."

Sorry? Don't cry? Since when does Aaron apologize for threatening to spank me? This is weird. Wait…is he dying? Am I dying? Oh god, I'm dying, aren't I?

"Now close your eyes and go to sleep. I promise tomorrow we will talk all you want."

I nod and lie my head back down on the pillow.

Just then, we hear my phone ringing on the nightstand. Automatically I reach for it. I'm caught off guard when Aaron beats me to it. I'm even more surprised when he answers it.

"Hello, Neal," He drones. "Agent Aaron Hotchner. It's pretty late to be calling Alex, don't you think?"

Neal. I reach for the phone but Aaron just bats my hand away.

"Alex is asleep. If you want to talk to him, maybe you should try calling at a more appropriate time instead of in the middle of the night like some sort of rebellious teenager."

"No," I bark. I sit up and try to wrestle the phone from his hands but he quickly pins me over his lap. I struggle against his hold but he quickly and effectively pins my arm behind my back to keep me from moving very much. "Give me back my phone." I groan.

Aaron moves the phone from his face and growls lowly, "Alex, settle down right now. You're behaving like a child. You know it's too late to take calls. If you don't calm down, I'll take proper advantage of your current position."

"No, please Aaron." A tear falls from my eye at the thought of not being able to talk to Neal. We've spoken every day since I got back and every night he calls to say goodnight. Even when he's had a busy day and can only find the time to call in the middle of the night when I might be asleep, I wake up just to hear about his day and tell him goodnight. But now Aaron's trying to ruin our evening ritual. "Please, Aaron. Just-just give us five minutes. I promise I'll go to sleep right after without arguing. Please,"

Aaron grunts and lets me sit up. "Well Neal, it seems that Alex has woken." I smile broadly as he hands the phone over to me. "Sixty seconds," He murmurs.

"Hello, Neal."

"Hey, baby. I'm sorry for calling you so late. I didn't realize it was such an inconvenience on your part. I am so sorry." Neal's words rush out and are filled with grief.

"It's okay, Neal. It's no problem. How was your flight?" I say trying to ease his guilt.

"Rough. I got stuck behind a crying baby and the guy beside me kept falling asleep on my shoulder. I hate commercial airlines. Are you sure it's okay that I call you so late?"

"Yes, Neal. I told you, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Tell me about your brother." I look at Aaron and say, "I've heard older brothers can be real jerk-weeds sometimes?"

Aaron cuts his eyes at me and my smile widens with satisfaction.

"Jerk-weeds?" Neal asks. I can hear him laugh on the other end of the phone and I laugh too. "Do adult FBI Agents still use the term Jerk-weed?"

"Well, I would tell you what I really think of them but…I have company."

"Oh, you mean Agent Hotchner. Why did he answer your phone anyways? You two sharing a room?"

"No, he was just passing by when he heard it ringing. Now he's trying to rush me off the phone because we plan to get up early tomorrow."

"Oh yeah. What for?"

"Early morning run. He doesn't want me to be late. You know how these senior agents are about punctuality."

"I don't know about every senior agent but I know the ones on your team terrify me. Especially Agent Hotchner. That guy gives me the chills every time we meet."

"What, Aaron? He's a pussy cat." Aaron's eyes narrow and I stifle a laugh.

"Yeah, right, a pussy cat. How was your day? Miss me?"

"Always, baby. Without you here to distract me, I've had to cause trouble of my own to stay busy."

"Trouble? You just can't keep your nose clean, can you? That's it. The next time we're in the bath, you and I will have a heart to heart about your trouble-seeking agenda."

"Oooh, I like the sound of that. I like our heart to hearts."

"Yeah, well, you won't like this one…much."

"Neal, you're making me blush in front of my boss."

"Oh really. Then I guess it'll be a bad idea for me to go into full detail about said bath."

As if automatically knowing the perfect time to cock-block, Aaron taps his wrist signaling my time is up. I want to ignore him but I have a feeling that would just end with me being embarrassed over the phone.

"I'm sorry, lover-boy, but I've got to go. My boss is being a jerk-weed."

"Ha, of course. Tell Agent Hotchner I apologize for waking you and tomorrow I'll call earlier. It's not like I have work to keep me busy anyways."

I laugh then Aaron cuts his eyes and frowns, trying to rush me off the phone again. I roll my eyes and say, "Goodnight, Neal."

"Goodnight, cutie."

I hang up and Aaron takes the phone out of my hand. "Alright, kid. Now go to sleep."

Satisfied, I lie back down and close my eyes. "Night, Aaron. Thanks."

"Night, kid."