(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters)

Thank you to everyone still reviewing this story.

I checked on my view count the other day and you guys are so awesome! I just wish more of you would get the courage to review. I really do read everyone's reviews and I try to PM every reviewer. It's your support on these stories that keep me writing them, it's the only thing I get from doing them ;)

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Anyway, I must first apologise for the length of this chapter... it is much too short. But next chapter will be up Tuesday and I promise it is longer.

Dave had dropped into work the day before, consulting on something with Garcia before handing over Spencer's practically dead teddy bear, Gary.

Most of the next morning and afternoon were spent with Spencer glancing around nervously, not talking and just generally acting out with concern.

When the doorbell finally rang Dave hurried to it, praying the bear had been an easier fix than he'd initially assumed.

Rossi opened the door and grinned at Garcia who held up a much better looking teddy bear. "One mended bear at you service," she said.

"Thank you so much," Dave said with a sigh and a relieved grin. "He's going to love you forever for this."

Penelope couldn't hold back a squeal of excitement and she gave the bear over to Dave. "I can't wait until I can hug and kiss him and just..." Garcia scrunched her face up adoringly. "Squeeze him! Anyway, I should be getting to work soon. I hope he'll be ready for me to meet him soon."

She gave a longing look past Dave's doorway before nodding and stepping back. Dave hesitated, looking back inside the house before he called for Garcia to wait.

Penelope swivelled around.

"Let me just grab him," Dave said. Penelope's eyes lit up as Dave stepped back and called for Spencer.

There was a small voice from somewhere in the house and the the tapping of bare-feet on the floor. Dave opened the door a little wider to reveal Spencer at his side. Spencer glanced at Penelope and quickly grabbed ahold of Dave's leg, sending a look of betrayal up at Dave. It was quickly swiped from his sweet features when Dave handed him Gary.

Spencer took the bear slowly, gaping at how good he looked. He ran his hand over the bear's back where his father had previously yanked and torn the teddy-bear wide open.

Penelope and Dave smiled at the boy's reaction.

"Good isn't he?"

Spencer nodded.

"Penelope fixed him up." Dave motioned to the woman on the other side of the doorway and Spencer looked up shyly at her. He gave a small smile, Gary clenched between his hands.

"Thank you," he whispered, one arm reaching around to hold onto Dave's leg.

Penelope gave Spencer a toothy smile, unable to contain her happiness.

"No problem, sweetie."

Dave glanced down at his watch and winced. "I'd love to talk more but uh..."

Penelope looked down at her phone and squeaked. "Yea... I should... thank you, I'll see you soon. Bye, Spencer!"

Spencer offered Penelope a small wave while Dave called after her, thanking her.

Once her car was gone, Dave shut the door and turned to Spencer.

"Doesn't he look great?" he said. Spencer nodded with a wide smile.

"Yea! He's all fixed!"

"Yep, all better and clean, now you can play with him all you like without stuffing coming out."

Spencer nodded excitedly, looking up and down the hall. "I need to show Aaron," he said.

"Check our bedroom," Dave said, heading to the kitchen while Spencer sprinted down the hall.

Spencer found Aaron coming out of his and Dave's room.

"Look, Aaron!" He held Gary up to Aaron. The bear was still the same old Gary, with his gentle blue fur and pokey ears, but his back had been stitched neatly and Penelope had plumped him back up with stuffing.

Aaron leaned over and gave Gary a poke. "Wow," he said. "He looks like new."

Spencer beamed and turned Gary to face him. "Yea," he said happily. "Just like new."

Spencer hugged the bear to his chest before scampering down the hall and into the lounge where Jack was watching TV.

Aaron stood back up, a smile on his face. He met Dave in the kitchen who was also grinning.

"She did a good job?"

Aaron nodded. "She did really well, especially since she had a time limit."

"She gets things done," Dave said. "And Spencer said hi. I think that was the best payment Penelope could ask for."

Aaron laughed and shook his head. Garcia was always so easily pleased.

"So," Dave said, leaning over the couch and grinning at Aaron. "Everything's gone through," he said. "Spencer is officially our foster child. For now. We're technically his guardians too, since William signed him to us but that wasn't going to hold much longer, especially since all rights are revoked from Reid."

Aaron set down his book and grinned. "That's great."

"Yea... adoption will be better but that's going to take a bit longer, especially with William's case." Dave paused, stepping around the couch. "That's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Aaron narrowed his eyes as Dave took a seat. "Is this anything to do with what you've been doing in your office lately?"

Dave gave a guilty nod. "I may have been using Penelope's computer skills too."

Aaron shook his head. "Out with it then," he said. "Clearly it's important."

Dave pressed his lips together and turned his face toward Aaron, an expression of guilt bruising his features. "You remember we looked into Ashley's mother?"

Aaron nodded.

"Well... we think William killed her."

"Dave..." Aaron hesitated, shocked by the statement, before he frowned. "I know William Reid was a cruel man but he was also a coward, he-"

Dave raised his hand. "Hear me out. Penelope and I have gone through a lot of this together and it makes sense. Ashley's mother, Kim, and Reid were having arguments regarding the child payments for Ashley which William hadn't been paying. Penelope found emails and texts, none of it good. Kim also found out about William's debt. In one email she threatened to tell Diana. It was sent just a week before her death."

Aaron pressed his hand to his face thoughtfully.

"The gas system in Kim's apartment had been tampered with. After her death William helped to clear things up, paperwork, possessions. He inserted himself into the investigation."

Dave paused, watching the information sink into Aaron.

"You're still just making assumptions," Aaron muttered.

"I'm not done," Dave said. "Before Diana's death she'd been sending emails to Ashley. She told Ashley she was scared of William, that Spencer was in danger. She'd been given the wrong email though, they all went to an offline account of Ashley's. Diana even mentioned that William was keeping secrets from her, going off at night. Then she died."

Aaron rubbed a hand down his face. "David, I want to believe you but we have no proof except those emails and they aren't clear."

"I sent it to the lawyers who are looking over Reid's case, trying to build a better one against him."

Aaron scoffed then. "You have been doing a lot behind my back."

"It's not like that," Dave said, his voice heavy with guilt.

"Look, we need to focus on Spencer, that's our job, rather than work out whether his father killed his mother," Aaron said with a huff. He instantly regretted the words when he saw Spencer's shadow in the doorway. Aaron opened his mouth but at the sight of Spencer's trembling bottom lip he couldn't find anything to say. Dave turned, following Aaron's gaze to see Spencer and he grimaced when he saw the fearful expression the boy held.

"Spencer?"

"Did daddy kill mummy?"

Aaron hesitated, looking at Dave who was watching Spencer.

"No," Aaron said finally, glaring back at Dave when the older man frowned at him. "Your mummy... she took too many pills and it made her very sick."

Spencer was holding his mended Gary and he lifted it to his chest. "Yea... daddy gave mummy too many of her special pills," he said quietly as if it was a total normal scenario.

Aaron raised his head slowly. Dave was staring at him with wide eyes.

"What did you say, Spencer?"

Spencer pulled on the new thread poking from Gary's arm.

"I gave mummy her pills cus she was tired, but daddy came home and gave her some more." Spencer frowned thoughtfully. "Daddy gave her lots more," he mumbled. "Mummy was too tired... I thought they were just helping her."

"Oh my god."

Spencer had started crying as soon as Dave questioned him regarding his mother's death. It had taken nearly an hour to calm him down enough for the two fathers to get a single word out of him.

Dave and Aaron didn't need to speak to one another to know that they still had work to do. Dave knew he couldn't leave things as they were, Diana needed justice, as did Kim and Ashley and especially Spencer.

Jack was confused by the whole ordeal but he was quite happy to snuggle under a blanket beside Spencer while Aaron put a film on TV.

Spencer lent against Jack, his fingers gripping the older boy's arm while Jack listened out for his parents.

"-that poor kid... he knew-"

"-didn't understand. Poor thing."

"We can't...-" Jack craned his neck. "Won't understand. When he's older maybe..."

Jack glanced into the hall just as his dad walked past, pausing momentarily to peer in at the boys. Jack scowled when he saw the anxious look on his father's face. He looked down at Spencer who sniffed every so often but seemed unaware of what was happening all around him.

Jack sighed and leaned into Spencer, letting the boy press into his warmth. There was only one thing he had to worry about right now, and that was that Spencer was happy... that's all Jack really cared about.

Like I said, way too short. This will be the last arc to the story. I estimate around... five or six chapters to go until I shut the book on this story.

Thanks for reading.

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Stay safe during these times and see you Tuesday.