A/N: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its Characters. No Beta, all mistakes are my own. Will post every two to three days. Thank you for reading.

Special Thanks To: Hippiechic81, tannerose5, Diane, Dextolan, Sherryola, Jesuslover123, ahowell1993, pallyndrome, L.E.A.H437, Ludub, fishtrek, spxxxxx, and Driftwood Dragon.

A/N: No slash or pairings. Kid-Fic, De-aged Fic, Team/Family Fic.

Warning: Rated T for violence, language, child abuse.

A/N: I want to make one thing very clear. There are no romantic feeling between Spencer Reid and Aaron Hotchner in this story. Their relationship is strictly paternal here.

"Garcia calm down!" Hotch spoke sternly into the phone. The unit chief was pacing back and forth as he tried to ring in their wayward tech analysis. Rossi was seated in the courner reeading a book out loud to Spencer who was still sleeping soundly. He held an amused smirk which altered the sound of his voice.

"How can I be calm. My baby genius is stuck in the hospital without any stuffed animals or even a get well soon card! Do you understand how wrong that is?! Not one of you thought to get him a gift, so I will have to make up for it. I am at build-a-bear right now but U need to know whether to get him a classic bear or some other animal. I have already picked up his favorite chocolates and some flowers and cards for each of you to sign, but he needs a stuffed animal!"

"Garcia, I doubt a stuffed animal is going to make his feel better..."

"That shows what you know."

"Garcia!" He spoke in a dangerous tone that really didn't scare her at all.

"Just let me talk to him..." She said, ignoring his warning.

"He's sleeping, and even if he wasnt he still isn't talking." Hotch said thickly. None of the team were happy about Reid's voluntary muteness. While they all understood on a psychological level, it didn't stop it from hurting.

She sighed in an exaggerated manner. "Fine, I'll just get him a dog because their bear selection is just dreadful. But if he doesn't love it, its on you." She said in a huff before hanging up the phone.

Hotch looked down at his phone in relief. Before she left, Garcia had given each member of the team an earful about the proper way to treat an injured team mate. She dragged Morgan off with her as she headed to the mall. He made the mistake of suggesting they go to the gift shop, a suggestion she clearly believed was some kind of crime. She also decided that one gift was not enough and sent Emily and JJ to target with orders to not come back until she was satisfied with their loot.

Fortunately they had already gathered all of the evidence needed for Spencer's case and as a team had identified the necessary information to give to Spencer. They were just waiting until Spencer was more coherent to explain it all. As of right now, Reid had barely been awake for the last 32 hours. His exhaustion mixed with the drugs kept him sleeping or groggy. Doctors reduced the dosage a few hours back and started providing non-narcotic pain relief. They assured the team that Spencer would be much more aware the next time he awoke. They also planed to discharge him the next morning.

"What am I going to do with her?" Hotch asked the room, eliciting a small chuckle from Rossi.

"I happen to agree with her, the room is far too bare and the gift shop sells overpriced crap. Oh the joys of a small town hospital." Hotch sent his a dry look that clearly showed he wasn't amused.

"Then why aren't you out shopping with her?" He asked.

"I did, I just didnt feel the need to leave the room. Besides, Spencer seems much calmer when we read to him."

"Thats true enough." Hotch said with a roll of his eyes. "So what did you get him?"

"For the child, I have a series of books on their way. I figured he'd have enough sweets and stuffed animals to last for a while. The books will give his a welcomed return to normalcy." Rossi replied smugly.

"Your right, good choice." Hotch replied. Rossi sent him a look that clearly said, 'was there really any question to that?' Hotch smiled. "wait you said for the child?"

"Yes I did." Rossi replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I wanted Reid to have a surprise... once hes back to his normal self." Rossi stated incrediously.

"Dave..." his tone held warning, which made Rossi snort.

"Alright fine, I had a new coffee machine as well as serial packages of Spencer's favorite coffee in bean form sent to his apartment." He said at last.

"Your kidding?"

"Nope, even got the landlord to place it inside the apartment." The look on Aaron's face seemed to satisfy the veteran profiler.

"Wont the coffee loose its flavor?" Hotch asked after a moment.

"I thought about that, thats why the coffee will start a monthly delivery in 6 months."

"The gift that keeps on giving." Hotch stated, impressed by Rossis initiative and planning. Spencer would definetly appreciate it. Even if its months before it actually happens.

"He deserves it, not just after what happened this week, but really the situation as a whole." Rossi shrugged. Its not like he didn't have the money.

Hotch simply smiled, stifling a yawn.

"You really should head back to the hotel for a few hours. You can't keep running on fumes."

"I'm fine."

"And I'm a fairy Princess." Rossi replays with a snort.

"I need to be here, Dave." He replied, his voice thick with emotion.

"He'll be okay"

He gave rossi and incredulous look, "last time I left he had a panic attack."

"Your exhaustion isn't going to help him..." Rossi reasoned.

"I can sleep here." He argued with a slight shake of his head

"But you wont."

Before either could argue more, Emily and JJ returned. They didnt speak, they just started pulling things out of bags and setting them round the room. JJ had a beautiful bouque of Lilys and Carnations that she placed in the window. Alone with a homemade card that Henry had made and Will had faxed over that morning. Emily was pulling out a soft throw blanket and laying it carefully over Spencer's body. She smiled satisfied at the purchase she bought on a whim.

Before Hotch could ask about the blanket, Prentiss spoke, "Spencer doesn't like the texture of hospital sheets. 'They feel scratchy'."

Aaron smiled, Garcia would be pleased. Speaking of the bubblely tech goddess, she stumbled into the room, followed by Morgan, who at the moment looked more like. pack mule. He dropped the three bags he was holding, as wel as the Build-a-bear box on the bed. The weight shifted Spencer's bed just enough to jolt the child out of sleep. He moaned softly as his eyes fluttered. The profiles all got very quiet.

Spencer looked around his room in wonder. His entire team was surrounding him, smiling brightly. He wanted to smile back, but after everything he put them through, how could he. He couldn't smile and pretend he hadn't hurt them. He felt so guilty. How could he face them. Not only was he responcable for JJ getting hit. He made Hotch do something unthinkable. Not to mention how he treated them before any of this happened. How could they ever forgive him.

The team watched as a smile formed before quickly dropping. For a moment hey had hope he would talk. Luckily, Garcia refused to be put off. She scurried over, grabbing the build-a-bear on the way. Before anyone could say anything she thrust the box into his open and confused arms. He looked up at her with a raised brow.

"Open it." She mouthed, giving his hand a little pat. He eyed the box warily. Just do it Spencer, it will make them happy. You owe it to them.

He carefully pulled back the tabs and reached in. His fingers grasped something soft. Carefully he pulled out a Fluffy husky stuffed animal. The dog was wearing a purple sweater vest and had on a pair of glasses. What's more was a pair of black converse style shoes on all four paws. The onsomble didn't work at all but it felt so Reid like that the boy couldn't stop the smile. The team let out a soft breath of relief.

"Thank you" he whispered so softly that they weren't sure if he actually said it or not.

"Oh sweety," Garcia swooned, dipping down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. He winced slightly at the touch but didn't pull away. "You are very welcome sweet pea."

She pulled away the box and placed a new bag on his lap. This one was full of all his favorite candies. He smiled politely and nodded his thanks. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the gifts. He just had other things on his mind.

Guessing his feelings, Rossi spoke, "So we found some things out... if you think you're ready." He stated. Spencer was thankful, Rossi was asking him what he thought he could handle, not what everyone else expected he could.

He nodded, but Rossi just gave him a pointed look. It was clear what he meant, if you're really ready, you'll talk. Spencer thought about that. He wasn't refusing to talk because he was traumatized, at least he didn't think he was. No! It was a mixture of things, first his guilt keeping him quiet, then there was the physical pain, his face was a mess of bruises and his fractured cheekbone sent a dull throb through his skul; It hurt to talk. Yeah that's it, just guilt, I'm not traumatized. Okay, perhaps it did involve the trauma, but thats besides the point, he knew he needed to know, and if it took talking... Well, then thats what he'd do. He took a few deep breaths before turning to the team. He swallowed thickly and spoke, "Im ready."

"Okay," Hotch spoke sternly, he nodded at the others who positioned temselves around the room. "Garcia, do you mind starting?"

"No sir," She stated, taking a deep breath. "To start, William's business partner was attempting to pin multiple legal malpractice cases on William. As far as I can tell, he was innocent, but his partner had planned on using the slander to take over his share of the company. He was looking to gain several million if he could get William out of the picture."

"You mentioned he wanted you to sign papers?" Hotch asked, Spencer noddded in response, but he was still confused.

Garcia continued, "Unfortanetly, William did not have the time to argue his case." She hesitated and glanced at Hotch. The unit chief nodded for her to continue, "He had prostrate cancer, by the time the doctors found it, it had already spread to distant lymph nodes and organs. He was terminal and would likely die within six months."

"William confirmed that much in interrogation." Morgan added softly. He and Rossi had little trouble getting information out of of the man. They had enough evidence that William didn't bother denying it. He did however take the time to taunt the agents. Saying things that neither Rossi nor Morgan dared to repeat. Rossi figured they were lucky Hotch wasn't there.

The team watched Spencer carefully, the child shook his head slowly, tears rimed his eyes. He swallowed thinking, "I still dont understand. The papers?"

Rossi cleared his throat. "He wanted to sign his share of the company over to you. The best way to screw over his partner was to give up his claim to someone else. Someone he couldn't sue."

"Why would he give the company to me?" He asked, clearly confused.

"You were the only one he could. He didn't trust the other lawyers in his company to have his side. The Reid name however can seize control without having passing the bar. He made sure of it when they wrote up the legal paperwork."

"So all of this, was to fuck over his business partner?!" Spencer exclaimed. If his anger wasnt evident by volume or language, the frantic beeping of the monitor showed it clearly.

"Spencer calm down." Hotch ordered sternly. Reids eyes snapped over to the other agent.

Emily took a deep breath, "No Spencer, thats not the only reason." He turned to her, fire in his eyes. "We found a journal in his hotel room..."

"And?" he asked, not bothering to try patience.

"He knew he didn't have much time left..." Spencer looked at her expectantly. She turned to JJ who shook her head. "He wrote often about how you..." she really didn't want to say it, but his look told her she had to. "he believes you ruined his life, he wrote that it would have been better off had you never been born and since he unfortanetly needed you, he took this opportunity to screw over his partner as well as use his last chance to make you pay for your mistakes. 'Better then letting the bastard who ruined his reputation him take it all'." She quoted the journal in a quick manner, clearly just wanting to get it all out.

"I see..." Spencer said quietly, the wheels turning rapidly in his head. "Anything else?"

"Um... we found evidence that his partner was illegally tampering with Williams cases. He will be disbarred. William has already been disbarred as he now faces assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder charges. His partner didn't have any family and William lost his rights, you will inherit the entire company." Garcia said in a false cheerful tone.

Spencer nodded. "Thank you." He said in a clear, cold voice that made his team shiver. With that he turned from the team. His eyes locked on the flowers in the window. He clutched his stuffed dog tightly to his chest.

"Spencer?"

"I'm okay, I just... can I be alone?" He asked in a small voice, they could hear the sob building in his throat.

"Of course." Rossi stated before motioning for the rest of the team to leave the room.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed, more will reveal itself in time. Sorry about the delayed posting. Please R&R!

A/N: I just got a new job so things are going to be hectic for a few weeks, I'll try to maintain my current posting, but I apologize in advance if I take longer then normal.