Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. I do not own anything you recognize.
AN-
Previously on Criminal Minds- "We're in Vegas." Morgan informed the tiny agent. "Welcome home, kid."
CM
Garcia watched out the window of the jet as JJ outfitted the Dodge Durango they would be using while in Vegas. Seeing the media liaison stand and give her the thumbs up signal, she waved and then hurried over to the curtained off area at the back of the plane. The tech analyst knocked on the panel beside the blue curtain and called out, "Are you guys almost through in there? We've gotta go!"
"Hold your horses Baby Girl! We'll be out in a minute!" Morgan hollered from the tiny bathroom.
"Better hurry it up my Bathing Beauties! Hotch will be P-O'ed if he calls and we're not at the station!" Penelope relayed, chuckling at the scuffling sounds coming from behind the curtain. They definitely needed to fix a changing spot for Reid. The bathroom was way too small to accommodate the toddler and his helper. Hearing the bathroom door open, Garcia turned to see the curtain part and Reid shuffle out, trying to fasten the button on his pants. "Here Sweetie, let me get that for you." She bent down and swiftly buttoned the boy's pants. "There you go, my Junior G-man. You're all set."
"Fants" Spencer said. Reaching up, he took the tech analyst by the hand and started pulling her towards the front of the jet. "Tome on, let's go."
"Hold on there Quick Draw! You don't wanna forget this." Derek called as he stepped out from behind the curtain, diaper bag in hand.
Reid ran back to Morgan and took the offered bag. "Fants, Mowgan"
"Anytime, Short Stuff" Morgan replied, ruffling the little boy's hair. "Now let's get going. We've got work to do." The muscular profiler ushered Garcia and Spencer out of the jet. Following the two down the stairs, he kept an eye on the toddler in case his friend tripped. Once they made it safely down the stairs, Derek stepped up beside the others and together they made their way over to JJ and the waiting SUV. He lifted Reid into the back of the vehicle before going around to the back of the Durango. After stowing the toddler's bag in the trunk, Morgan walked to the driver's side of the SUV and climbed inside. Fastening his seat belt, he frowned at the argument he heard coming from the back seat. Glancing into the rear view mirror, he saw Reid sitting in the middle of the bench seat with his arms firmly crossed.
"Spence, you can't sit there. You have to be in a car seat and you know it." JJ scolded.
Reid shook his head. "I tan't wide in fat now. We'we on a tase."
"It doesn't matter." JJ replied.
"Yes it does. How would we expain it to the peace?" the toddler challenged.
"Spence, I'm not fighting with you about this. Just get in the seat, okay?" JJ urged.
The littlest profiler shook his head.
"Spencer Reid, get your butt in that car seat right now." Derek ordered. "Do not make me come back there."
Eyes widening, Spencer gulped at the angry tone in his friend's voice. Grabbing the seat belt, he hurriedly unbuckled it. Standing on the bench seat, the youngster climbed into the car seat and pulled the straps down, clicking them into place.
Nodding his approval, Morgan started the vehicle and pulled out of the parking spot. Glancing back at his charge, he was surprised to see the boy's tear filled eyes looking down at the diaper bag that he was hugging to his chest. Derek sighed. He hadn't meant to make the kid cry. He'd just wanted to get him into his seat so they could leave. Feeling like a dog for scaring the toddler, the profiler set things right. "Reid, you okay, kid?" he asked, frowning at the shaky nod he got in reply. "You know I'd never hurt you, right?"
"I kn,know" Spencer quietly responded, wiping a hand across his eyes.
Derek remained unconvinced. The wetness of the toddler's eyes and the sniffling spoke volumes. Clearing his throat, the young man spoke once more. "I'm sorry, Spencer. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." he apologized.
"It's otay" Reid replied. "You didn't do anyfing wong. I should have jut got in the taw seat."
Needing more, Morgan asked, "Are we okay, kid?"
"Uh huh" Spencer said, grinning mischievously as an idea hit him. "What's a mattew, Mowgan? Do we need to tiss and mate up?" He puckered his lips and made smacking noises before dissolving into laughter at the look of shock on his friend's face.
"Why you little…you are dead meat, youngster." Morgan threatened.
"Wiiight, I'm sooo stawed." Reid mocked, faking a yawn.
"I'm telling you, man. you are going down." Derek warned. "No one beats the master."
"Jut teep telling youwself fat." Reid fired back.
"Boys, that's enough" JJ sternly scolded even as her lips quirked up in a smile. "Do I need to separate you two or are you going to behave?"
"We'll be good, JJ" Morgan promised. "Right, kid?"
"Yeah, we'll be good." Spencer echoed, crossing his fingers behind the diaper bag he was holding.
"Good, now let's get back to the matter at hand." JJ said. seeing Morgan wink at the toddler, she sighed. "Morgan?"
"What?" Derek innocently asked. Chuckling at the exasperation on the media liaison's face, he drove out of the airport. The young man turned left onto the highway and headed for the police station.
CM
A grim faced Hotch and Rossi walked into the Las Vegas police department a couple of hours later. Standing in the doorway of the station, they swiftly surveyed the room before heading towards the door labeled Captain Sturgess. They had only made it a few steps when the door opened and a short, stocky man stepped out. The man with thick, black hair walked straight over to the profilers and held out his hand. "You must be Agents Hotchner and Rossi. My men said you were on your way." Sturgess greeted, shaking the men's hands. "We've set up conference room three for you with everything Agent Jareau said you'd need."
"Thank you, Captain" Hotch replied as they started walking across the station. "We appreciate your cooperation."
"Agent Hotchner, you have our cooperation, our resources, and anything else you need. I just want this guy caught before another child goes missing." Sturgess told the BAU leader.
"We'll do our best." Hotch assured, stopping at the open conference room door.
"Alright, I guess I'll take my leave. Let you folks get to work." the Captain said. He turned to go back to his office, took a couple of steps, and then turned back to the agents. "Oh, just one thing: I'd appreciate it if you'd tell your agent not to sit on the table. I'm not worried about the table. There's no way he could break it. The kid can't be more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. I just don't want to see him hurt if he falls off it."
"I'll see to it that he gets down." Hotch replied. He shook the captain's hand once more and then turned and walked into the conference room. going over to Reid, who was sitting criss cross on top of the table, the BAU leader carefully scooped the toddler up and set him on his feet. "What on Earth possessed you to sit on the table, Reid?"
"I, I had to. I touldn't weach the map." Spencer explained, pointing to the evidence board on the far side of the room.
"Oh, I see" Aaron said with a frown. He searched the room for a smaller table or file cabinet or any other piece of furniture the boy could use. Finding nothing, he thought for a moment before deciding on the only course of action left. "Well, you can't sit on the table. If you were to fall, you could be seriously hurt. And there's isn't anything else you can use so you'll just have to work on the floor."
"What? I tan't do fat!" Reid objected, glancing at the floor in disgust. "Do you know how many gewms awe on a foow?"
"It'll be alright, Spence. We'll put a couple of blankets down for you to sit on." JJ suggested. "Okay?"
Spencer sighed. "Otay" he resignedly agreed.
"Good, now that that's settled, let's get back to the case." Hotch directed, turning to the agents gathered around the table. "What do we know so far?"
"Well, for starters, none of the boys showed any signs of torture or abuse. In fact, there wasn't a mark on them except for a tiny bruise at the injection site. The fathers, however, had cuts and bruises covering their bodies. From the different stages of the bruising, we can conclude that the men were tortured for days before being killed." Rossi reasoned.
"The three boys were also dressed…"
"Wait, fwee?" Spencer gasped. "But, but, I fought…"
"Stanley Pierce and his father were found this morning at Maple Hill cemetery by the groundskeeper." Hotch reported.
"He's escalating." Morgan surmised. "That means we don't have a lot of time before he takes another child."
"If he hasn't already" Prentiss added.
"Focus, people" Hotch ordered. "We need to concentrate on what we know. that's the only way we're going to solve this case. So, what else do we have so far?"
"The torture of the fathers indicates the unsub is angry at men for some reason. They may represent his own father, one that was abusive." Prentiss theorized. "Beating them could be his way of fighting back."
"But fen why tate the boys?" Spencer asked.
Emily shrugged. "Maybe he thought he was saving them."
"But didn't the kids all live with their mothers? If their fathers were abusive, wouldn't have mattered. They were safe with their mothers." Morgan pointed out. "Why wait till they were away from the abuser?"
"Unless abuse wasn't the motive" Rossi voiced from his spot by the window.
"What are you thinking, Dave?" Hotch questioned.
"Look at the families, Aaron. All the parents got divorced in the past two years and in all three cases, the mother was awarded full custody of the child. This looks more like someone who's angry at the fathers for not being there." Rossi deduced.
"Or not protecting them." Morgan added.
"What's would be the twesser(stresser)?" Spencer curiously inquired.
"He could have just lost his own son in a custody case." Prentiss threw out.
"Or maybe his son was injured or killed while in his mother's care" Rossi hypothesized. "He could feel guilty for not being there for his son. the fathers could be substitutes for himself."
"Good thinking" Hotchner said before turning to the tech analyst who was furiously typing on her laptop. "Garcia, what have you found? Have you been able to narrow down the list of who might be at risk?"
"Afraid not, Boss Man" Penelope said, not taking his eyes off the screen in front of her. "Of the almost 60,000 households that have children, 4,918 are households where the mother is the only parent. 3, 479 of those are divorced households and 2,309 of those have a single male child as the dependent. And 1,913 of them were divorced in the last year and those are just the statistics for Vegas, sir. If you add in all the single family households with male children from surrounding counties, we're looking at least double that number. I can't narrow it down any more than that without more information."
"You might not have to" Reid softly said, coming over to stand behind the tech analyst.
"What do you mean, Sweetie?" Garcia asked.
"Fewe is a way we tould luwe the unsub out." the little boy replied before looking up at the BAU leader. "We know he's looting fow his next vittim. I tould be, be bait."
Hotch responded immediately. "No" he firmly stated.
"But Hotch, I tould…"
"I won't allow it." Aaron interrupted. "First and most importantly, it's too dangerous. With the size you are now, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself if something went wrong. Secondly, how would we explain using you as bait to the police? They see you as an adult, remember? And lastly, we're not even sure if the unsub would see you as a child. Since he's connected to your work, he may view you as an adult, too."
"Agweed, but it would till be wowth it to twy." Spencer said.
"Not to me it wouldn't." Garcia disagreed.
"I'm with Pen. nothing is worth risking you getting hurt again." JJ put in.
"The girls are right." Morgan agreed. "I don't think any of us could handle sending you out there. Not after everything that's happened lately. There's gotta be another way."
"Afraid you've been out voted, kiddo." Rossi told the disgruntled toddler. He patted the little boy's back in sympathy. "We'll just have to come up with another plan."
"Alright, let's see if we can't narrow our list down. Prentiss, JJ go talk with the victims' family. Find out if they saw anyone or anything suspicious the days before their son went missing. Reid keep working on the geological profile. The rest of us will go back over all the evidence collected so far. There has to be something!"
"Yes sir" the group answered. The team dispersed and quickly got to work.
CM
JJ and Emily slowly walked back into the station. After talking with all three of the grieving mothers, they had nothing more than when they started. The ladies hadn't noticed anyone or anything out of place in the days leading up to the kidnappings. They could only hope that the others had discovered some clue to the unsub's identity. Stepping into their temporary headquarters, the two found Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi submersed in the evidence folders for the three crimes. Turning their gaze to the youngest member of their team, the two ladies threw a hand over their mouth in an attempt to stifle their laughter.
"What's so funny?" Morgan asked, looking up from his folder.
Putting a finger to her mouth in warning, JJ pointed over to the littlest agent's workspace.
Curious, Derek glanced over, lips turning up at the sight of the toddler sacked out on his stomach on top of the map he'd been working on. Chuckling, he got up and walked over to the sleeping boy. He carefully took the marker out of Reid's hand before picking the youngster up. Morgan walked over to the couch by the far wall and gently laid his friend down. Taking the blanket Emily handed him, he then tucked it around the toddler. "Sleep well, kiddo" he whispered ghosting a hand down the toddler's cheek. Turning, Morgan crept back over to the table to find a very unhappy JJ glaring at Hotch and Rossi. "What's going on?" he asked.
"I can't believe you guys didn't even think to feed him! He should have had lunch an hour ago!" JJ quietly fumed.
"Sorry JJ" Derek sincerely said. "I guess we were so immersed in the case, we forgot all about the kid's new routine."
"Please tell me you at least took him on a bathroom break." Emily groaned.
"I did." Garcia stated. "We went a couple of hours ago."
"We're sending out for take-out. You folks want anything?" Captain Sturgess asked as he walked into the room, stopping as he noticed Reid asleep in the couch. "He alright?"
"Dr. Reid's will be fine. He's just sleeping off a headache." Hotch assured the captain. "As for the take-out, we'd love some."
"Chinese, okay?" Sturgess questioned.
"That'd be great. Thanks" Rossi replied.
"Seven Chinese dinners coming right up." the captain said.
"Make that four." Hotch corrected. "Agents Morgan and Garcia will be taking Agent Reid back to the hotel. They can get something to eat while they're out."
"Okay" Captain Sturgess agreed. "Anything else I can get for you folks?"
"No, thank you captain" Hotch replied.
"Alright, I'll send someone in with the food as soon as it gets here." the captain told them as he turned to leave.
"Thanks" Rossi called after the man.
Once the captain left, Hotch turned to the rest of the team. "Morgan, I want you to take Garcia and Reid back to the hotel. They can work from there." Hotch instructed.
"Okay" Morgan answered. "You got any suggestions on getting him out of here without the while police force seeing me carrying him?"
"That's easy." Garcia piped up. "Get the truck and pull it around to the back. "The back entrance is in the same hallway as the bathrooms. I can carry him out there without anyone seeing."
"Make sure you get him something to eat when he wakes up." JJ told them.
"Don't worry, I'll see to it that our little snuggle bunny gets a balanced meal." Penelope assured her friend.
Snickering at Reid's latest nickname, Prentiss peeked out the blinds on the glass door. "Pen, the coast is clear. You better go while you can."
"On my way" Garcia replied. She gently scooped the sleeping toddler into her arms and hurried over to the door. "Still clear?"
Emily nodded. "Take good care of our genius." she whispered as the tech analyst walked by.
"I will." Penelope promised. Giving the team a wave, she walked out the door.
AN- Geez, writing case fic is a lot harder than I thought. Good thing it's not going to be a long case. Oh, and fyi: the statistics for divorce are totally made up.
