The young boy was still sitting in front TV, now watching some show about a talking yellow sponge.
"You say sowwy?" Henry asked his godfather.
"Yes, I did," Spencer answered the child.
"Good," Henry said with a nod of his tiny little head. It was all that JJ and Spencer could do not to laugh out loud at the serious, adult look on the toddlers face.
They sat down on the couch behind the boy and watched a bit of the sponge's daily activities at some fast food restaurant.
When the next episode of the same show came on, Henry got up and crawled onto the couch. He settled himself into his godfather's lap and rested his head on the man's chest.
"S'eepy time," Henry mumbled as his blue eyes were obscured by his eyelids slipping closed.
Spencer saw JJ staring at them and felt like he should explain.
"When we were- in the shed," he whispered, a slight tremor in his voice, "this was how he slept most of the time and, well, we spent almost all of our time like this, really. We just had this…little cot, so there wasn't much room plus, we both…felt better, I think, when we were sitting together. "
JJ's eyes welled up again but thankfully for the brown haired man, no tears fell.
The blonde was silent for a moment, looking at her sleeping son in his godfather's lap.
"Did Henry-" she broke off, biting her lip before continuing. "Did Henry see anything that ha-happened to you? He's had a few nightmares but all he ever says when we wake him up is 'Unca 'pesser, Unca 'pesser!' We've asked him what they were about but he just says that they're about you. I was hoping you could shed some light on what he might be dreaming about."
"I don't think that he did," Spencer said slowly, "but I can't be sure. Mich- he, he made Henry stand in a corner facing the wall with his ears covered and I told him not to look but I can't be sure that he didn't. I could- couldn't watch him while I was…otherwise occupied."
"Was he there when," she started hesitantly. "Was he there when Michaels was…"
She trailed off, not wanting to voice the awful crime that had befallen her younger "brother" and friend.
"No," he said, looking into her eyes so she could see that he was telling the complete truth. "Before…that happened, the guy came and took him away. I don't know where exactly he put Henry, though. You would have to ask him."
JJ breathed a sigh of relief but the man wasn't quite finished.
"He saw me…naked," Spencer mumbled. "Right after the last time that he…the day you guys found us. That's when I got my ankle broken and I couldn't get to my clothes. I always made sure to cover up my wounds as much as I could," he said quickly, as if he wanted to assure his friend that he had done everything in his power to protect her baby's innocence. "Henry had to bring them to me and I am sure he got a pretty good look at…everything that had happened to me. I was really bloody when Morgan and Hotch got to me.
"He could be dreaming about that," the young genius posited, "or he could be dreaming about when he saw me get st-strangled."
JJ gasped softly, her hands flying to her mouth while more tears filled her eyes.
"He- he saw that?" she whispered, wishing desperately that she had misheard.
He nodded sadly, inwardly feeling the guilt tug at his heart.
"I guess that Mi- he heard the team or something and ran out to us," Reid said, looking down at his angelic godson, " because he ran in, breathing erratically before he jumped on me and put his ha-hands around my throat, screaming that I wasn't going to get away with killing his brother. I heard Henry crying and I tried to get him off of me, I swear, but he was stronger than me and I had lost a lot of blood throughout the time I was there plus I had a broken arm and leg that I could barely move.
"Then Morgan came in," he continued, a haunted look taking over his eyes, "just before I blacked out and I was so happy because that meant that Henry was safe, even thought I was going- going to d-die."
JJ let out a quiet sob, unable to keep the tears of sadness, horror, and love for the incredibly strong man in front of her at bay any longer.
He kept on, barely even hearing JJ's tears. Now that the story (or, at least, part of it) was coming out, it was like he couldn't stop.
"Morgan pulled him off of me and I think he hit him," Spencer Reid tried to remember the hazy incident, "but I can't be too sure; everything was still a little…unreal. Then I heard a gunshot and Mich- he fell and I saw Hotch with his gun out but he holstered it and he went over to Henry and picked him up. Then Prentiss said there were ambulances coming and, well, you know basically what happened after that."
JJ was still sobbing into her hands so as to muffle the sound in an effort not to disturb her baby's slumber.
"It might be a good idea to take him to a child psychologist," Reid suggested quietly, patting JJ's shaking shoulder. "They might be able to find out what he is dreaming about and figure out how to help get rid of them."
JJ was still too emotional to speak so the only answer she gave was a nod of the head.
After JJ had calmed down, the pair sat quietly, soaking up each other's company and comfort.
Ten minutes into their silent vigil, Reid felt something fall onto his shoulder. He looked to his shoulder and saw that JJ had fallen asleep. Up close, he could see carefully concealed bags under her eyes. She obviously hadn't been getting much sleep, probably due to Henry's nightmares. Coupled with her crying jag only minutes earlier, it was no surprise that she had exhausted herself.
That is how Morgan found the pair an hour later when he got back from the grocery store. JJ's head still rested on the youngest team member's shoulder, who was lightly and absentmindedly stroking his sleeping godson's head.
"Hey," Morgan said quietly, "everything ok?"
"Yeah," Reid replied, just as quietly, "JJ and Henry were just a little tired."
"Yeah, I can see," the coffee skinned man chuckled.
"Oh, hi, Morgan," JJ mumbled at that moment, lifting her head from Reid's shoulder and yawning. "Sorry for falling asleep on you, Spence. Guess I was more tired than I thought."
"Don't worry about it," he responded, feeling slightly awkward now that JJ was awake. It was comforting to see the motherly blonde but he hated having to pretend that he was ok when he was so far from it.
"I brought home some lunch since it's almost noon," Morgan said, walking towards the kitchen to take the bags of groceries into the kitchen.
When he came back through the living room to go get more bags from the car, he continued, "I hope you feel like fried chicken. We've had just about every kind of take out recently. There's macaroni and cheese for Henry; I didn't know if he could eat the chicken but there's plenty for all of us if he can."
While Morgan went to get the rest of his groceries, JJ went to set the table and get them drinks.
Once the lunch was on the table and the home's owner had brought in the groceries, placing the perishables in the refrigerator, JJ got her sleeping son from his place still in his godfather's lap. Reid gimped after them and the group was soon eating a tasty lunch of fried chicken, potato wedges, macaroni (for Henry), and corn on the cob.
Not long after the meal was finished and JJ had helped do up the dishes, she and Henry took their leave. The little boy was acting very tired and was beginning to get cranky, despite the nap he had had before lunch. He gave his beloved "Unca 'pesser" and hug and a sloppy baby kiss that lifted the man's mood slightly before settling into his mother's hold on him and closing his small blue eyes.
"Take care of yourself, Spence," JJ whispered as she hugged him gently before she took the toddler to the car and drove away.
