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

Had to reupload this due to technical issues. I'm not sure why it's not showing up on the main page but it's starting to really bug me.

Sorry for the delay. I'm more annoyed at myself. but... MY A-LEVELS ARE FINALLY OVER!

I'm going to be better.

Thanks Ludub, ahowell1993, iluvhotchme, fishtrek, Emobunnyme, AZCatmom, poohbear123, Anon2215, Aja85, Daisyangel, Ash59, lilyflower101, Fangirl44, RookBlonkorules, IR, Astrahan, Sarry22, and Diana for all the reviews! You guys are amazing.

Keep on reviewing.

Enjoy!

Previously:

He should've just died, she thought cruelly. The boy's face filled her head and her anger escalated.

This was his fault. As his smug smile crossed her eyes Debra grunted and let her fingernails sink into her palm. She wanted to cut that smile from the child, she wanted to tear at his throat. She wanted all the pain in the world to be inflicted on that evil toddler.

She wanted revenge.

Breakfast was just as frustrating for JJ and Aaron as it was most mornings. Henry and Jack were persuaded from the TV screen by a trip to the park while Spencer talked JJ's ear off until she too persuaded him to have breakfast with the promise of a Doctor Who marathon.

Aaron slid a plate holding a steaming pop tart across to Henry and he dodged past Jack as the boy walked by while pouring milk onto his fruit loops.

"Can you do that at the table?"

"I'm done now," Jack said, leaving the milk uncapped on the counter as he spooned cereal into his mouth on his way to the front room.

"You're eating it at the table- Jack! Get back here!" Hotch called and he was answered with a loud groan before Jack came stomping back in. Aaron turned to Spencer then. "Cereal, Spencer?"

"Cheewios, peas, but I Tan pouw dem," Spencer added. Aaron rolled his eyes but handed the boy a bowl and the box of cereal. Spencer proceeded to stick his tongue out in concentration and pour in the cereal managing to only spill a few pieces over the table. He motioned for Hotch to hand him the milk carton but he shook his head.

"I'd rather not wipe the floor," he muttered as he poured out a generous helping of milk into Spencer's bowl.

"Too much!" Spencer cried, waving his arms in annoyance and glaring at Aaron.

Once breakfast was finished and cleared away, with JJ waiting for Spencer to finish, as usual, the boy's grabbed their coats and toys to take to the park. Spencer took the opportunity to start his promised marathon; he lay on the rug in front of the TV, a pillow supporting his still painful hip, his eyes piercing the TV and shaking his head in disbelief when an alien lunged at the doctor.

Hotch was grinning at him from the doorway. He sighed when his phone beeped and reached into his pocket while shaking his head in amusement at Jack when he attempted to use his baseball bat on a lonesome pillow, discarded on the floor.

He glanced briefly at his phone and felt his smile fall.

"Do you think it will rain? I'm not sure whether to put my warm coat on or my-" JJ started as she hobbled out of the closet with an armful of coats, scarves, and hats. She paused when she saw the blank look on Aaron's face.

"We have a case," he deadpanned. JJ sighed and shrugged off her coat.

"I'll call Sean," she said, taking Aaron's phone from his open palm and stepping into the kitchen.

Aaron peeked back into the front room where Jack and Henry were talking excitedly with Spencer too engrossed in the onscreen battle to notice. He looked over at JJ as he heard "hey, Sean, it's JJ. Yea... can we ask a favour," and a deep sigh escaped his lips.

"Boys," he called. Henry looked around but ignored Aaron's call, opting to commence a sword fight between his foam sword and Jack's bat.

"Jack. Henry, Spencer, come here please," he called again, this time he used his 'boss' voice that seemed to work best on Anderson.

"But dad!" Jack whined as he shuffled into the hall. Henry followed without complaint but Spencer didn't move.

"Spencer!"

"But de doctow is about to altew de 'pace time tontinuum so dat he tan save-"

"I won't ask again," Aaron boomed, cutting through Spencer's rambling.

"But daddy, he's about to save de planet!" Spencer pleaded, glancing back with a pout.

"I'm pretty sure he will," Aaron said and Spencer unexpectedly and quite literally growled like a wolf, though he sounded more like a frustrated puppy. Jack laughed loudly while Spencer got unsteadily to his feet and limped over, putting real emphasis on his limp to show Aaron how much of an inconvenience he was putting him in.

Once Spencer was stood between the older boys, (his eyes still bobbing behind him to see if the doctor had succeeded) Aaron folded his arms and pursed his lips into a thin line. "Me and Mommy have to go to work."

A mirage of emotions passed the kids' faces, Spencer looked overjoyed whereas Henry's face took on a disgusted expression and Jack looked downright heartbroken.

"Wait, what about the park?!" Henry cried, dropping his knight's sword on the floor and gazing at Aaron with a desperate look.

Aaron shared a quick glance with JJ ho had just hung up the phone and nodded at him as he wrung his hands together. "Sorry, buddy, duty calls."

"Oh!" Jack whined as he threw down his baseball bat and stormed upstairs with Henry at his heels. Hotch watched after them and then turned back to Spencer who was still stood with his hands behind his back.

"So whewe awe we going fow dis won?" He asked, a confident smile shining on his face.

"Us, not we," Aaron corrected, and Spencer's arms fell at his side and his mouth dropped open.

"What?!"

"You're still on sick leave."

"But you pwomised!" Spencer cried, his eyes glaring at the floor. Aaron dropped to his knee and put a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"Spencer, you're not ready to come back."

"I Tan 'till help."

"No, Spence. You're staying here," JJ said, putting her foot down on the subject. Spencer backed away from Hotch's hand and sent them both glares that looked too cute to be taken seriously.

"Oh, yea!" He declared with a frown. "Who's gonna loot aftew me den! You tan't leave me all on my own," Spencer mocked, rolling his eyes comically. Aaron grinned and straightened up.

"Your favourite Uncle is coming over."

Spencer looked up at Aaron who was smiling slyly.

"And if you ask real nice he'll take you to the park."

Hotch watched with a grin as Spencer stomped off in the same fashion as Henry and Jack.

"Oh, that was cruel," JJ hissed. "Sean's on his way," she added quickly before Aaron's lips found hers and silenced her.

"Sean!" Jack cried, practically throwing himself down the stairs to get to the man in the doorway, a duffle bag hanging off his shoulder.

"Jacko! Good to see ya, bud!" Sean dropped his bag to grab the boy before he collided into his legs.

Henry slunk down the staircase and narrowed his eyes at Sean. "I thought Daddy was coming to get me," he muttered. He looked over at his mother who scratched the back of her head. She looked over at Aaron as he shut the door behind Sean. Their eyes met momentarily and Aaron coughed uncomfortably.

"Your dad's sorting a few things out," he explained. It wasn't technically a lie; Will was probably busy packing boxes with his snake of a girlfriend. Perhaps she could disguise herself in the tall grass in California, JJ had thought, that way she could slither into other people's lives and try to ruin them.

"We gotta go," JJ said urgently, throwing her bag onto her shoulder and planting a kiss on Henry's cheek. She pecked Jack's forehead and caught Spencer to give him similar treatment. She then placed the toddler in Sean's arms and whirled out of the door.

"Be good boys!" She cautioned and she hurried to the passenger seat. "C'mon Aaron, the team will be waiting."

Spencer watched them go with an expression of longing and he reached out his hand to the retreating car. Sean took the motion as the boy missing his parents but in reality, Spencer just really really wanted to work the case. Sean hitched Spencer up and put a comforting arm around him as he motioned for Jack and Henry to get a move on.

"Come on kids, if we're quick enough we might be able to get the swings first."

"Higher!" Jack ordered as he kicked his feet impatiently against the dirt ground. Sean switched from Henry to Jack and gave the older boy a hard shove before going back to Henry. Spencer let his little legs swing in the air patiently while he watched the boys go higher and higher.

"Keep that goin, Jack," Sean called over Jack's cheers. He moved back to Henry when his eyes snagged on Spencer who he had left in a baby swing which was only swaying gently in the light breeze. Sean suddenly felt incredibly guilty for not giving Spencer as much attention as Jack and Henry.

"I'll be back in a minute, Henry."

"Aw!" Henry whined as he tried to keep up the momentum of the swinging.

Sean hurried over to the baby swing and pulled Spencer's swing back, making sure the toddler was holding on.

"Sorry, buddy," he muttered as he gave Spencer a gentle push. Spencer looked back and smiled softly. "You're just so quiet and your brothers are so demanding."

"Seeeean!" Henry wailed, hanging back on his swing which had slowed and Sean rolled his eyes.

"See what I mean," he chuckled to Spencer who was gripping the safety bar.

"Uh-Huh..." Sean gave Spencer a harder push and the boy squeaked. "Um.. not too high," Spencer whimpered. He swallowed thickly when he saw how high up he was getting. Sean caught his swing and slowed it down.

"That better?"

"Yep, fanks."

"No problem, buddy, you just remember to tell me if I do something wrong."

Jack got bored of waiting for Sean and he hopped off mid-swing while Henry gaped at him in awe. "Let me try," he said as he attempted the same technique. He leaped off the swing and landed awkwardly on his hands and knees. Jack snickered at him on his way to Sean and Henry grumbled about not being fair before scrambling to his feet and hurrying up to Sean.

"Can we take Spencer on the slide now, uncle Sean?" Jack asked, looking hopefully from Sean to Spencer who was still trapped in the baby swing, despite his best efforts at escape. Spencer nodded but Sean rubbed the back of his neck apprehensively.

"I think maybe I should take Spencer up there myself," he muttered and Jack groaned.

"We will help him up."

"He can sit on my lap," Jack added. "And I'll hold him real tight, I promise."

"Hmm," Sean grumbled. He decided to put Spencer out of his misery and pull him from the baby swing but he didn't set him on his feet.

"You boys go on, we'll catch up."

Sean watched the boys run to the climbing wall, Henry taking the ladder while Jack scaled the wall.

"What do you wanna do, buddy?"

Spencer looked up at Sean curiously and then glanced over at the tall metal slide at the top of the climbing frame. It looked like an accident waiting to happen in Spencer's expert opinion. He doubted he'd stay on the death trap especially considering out of the 44,000 accidents that occur in parks on average, 80% of those are due to a fall and a further 21% caused solely by slides.

Sean was looking down at Spencer patiently waiting for an answer. Spencer slowly shook his head at the slide before his eyes settled on an empty seesaw. He considered the probability of an accident while sat on that and it seemed pretty safe, with a mere 4% of accidents happening on said equipment.

"Tan I go on dat?" He asked with a sweet little smile. He fluttered his eyelashes like all the kids in movies did when they wanted something and he grinned mischievously when Sean sighed and gave a nod.

"Course you can, Kiddo, want me to go on-"

"I tan go on it awone," Spencer interjected quickly. Sean's brow bunched up a little and Spencer gave him an innocent look which seemed to convince the older man.

"Alright, I'll watch from the bench. You just give me a shout if you need anything," Sean instructed as he placed Spencer on the seesaw seat. He released him and took an anxious step back, his hands held out before him. "You okay there? Is your side hurting?" Sean asked and Spencer shook his head although he could feel a dull throb in his hip bone that was thrumming harder beneath his skin. He gave Sean an awkward thumbs up and pretended to play, kicking his feet on the ground which sent him up a little into the air before falling back down and repeating the process. It seemed to satisfy Sean and Spencer allowed himself to think.

The boys were at the top of the climbing frame, waving at Spencer before throwing themselves down the metal panels. Spencer gaped at them, pausing in his soft swaying to make sure they were okay. Both boys jumped to their feet and started up the ladders to go back down the slide. Spencer released a breath of relief and went back to light bouncing.

A little boy wandered over to Spencer, a stray alphabet spaghetti 'B' sticking to the fabric of his sweater and his face grubby and in need of a wet wipe of some kind of tissue to clean up the crusty stains on his face and beneath his nose. He was easily bigger than Spencer, his woolen sweater sleeves were partially pushed up to reveal pudgy whites arms and chubby little fingers that were also sticky and orange from spaghetti. Spencer instinctively shuffled back on the see-saw when the boy got close.

"Hi," The boy said and he smiled eagerly, his chin tucking into his neck, giving him a double chin made of puppy fat. He had a smile full of teeny tiny teeth and a lot of gum. He ran a finger under his nose and Spencer grimaced when he wiped his suddenly wet finger in his light green pants. "My name's Nathaniel. I have a chicken. Do you like chickens? My chicken's called Smokey," the boy announced proudly. Spencer just stared back at him from his seat on the see-saw; do you also have ADHD? Spencer thought. Sean was watching intently from the bench with a smirk on his face. "What's your name?" The obnoxious boy asked.

"Spencew," Spencer mumbled after a moments pause.

The other boy looked thoughtful for a moment before gazing back at Spencer. "I've never been friends with a Spencer before," he put in. Spencer raised an eyebrow apprehensively as he looked the boy up and down.

"Good," he muttered and he went to swing his leg off the seesaw when Nathanial put his filthy hand on Spencer's leg to stop him. Over on the bench, Sean sat up slightly, ready to get involved.

"Don't go," the boy whispered. Spencer glared at Nathaniel's scarily disgusting hand before raising his glare to the boy. His frown fell when he saw the desperate look in Nathaniel's surprisingly sweet blue eyes.

Nathaniel glanced around sadly and pouted at Spencer. "I don't have any other friends," he admitted quietly.

Spencer suddenly felt terrible and he stopped struggling to get away and looked at the boy. He really wasn't that bad; if he had a quick wash and combed his thick brown hair that nearly tickled his nose and kept falling in his eyes, then he'd look rather presentable, perhaps even considered cute.

"Would..." Spencer bit his lip, wondering if he really wanted this grubby little burden to stick around. "Would you lite to p'ay wid me?" He asked swiftly and he hoped his burning cheeks would be put down to the cold weather. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the rejection, for the sting and then the empty feeling of isolation.

"Sure! My dad nearly made me fly on one of these," Nathaniel exclaimed as he mounted the other end of the see-saw and gave it a little test bounce while perched on it.

"People tan't fly," Spencer put in with an endearing frown. Nathaniel giggled and shook his head.

"I nearly did, only airplanes can fly. Oh and Superman."

Spencer rolled his eyes and let out a sigh; this was going to be fun.

"I'm gonna sit now. Hold on, I always make my teddy go over our hedge when I play on my see-saw at home. I wanted to get Smokey to fly for real, cus he has wings but mom said no." Nathaniel slowly lowered himself onto the seat but paused and grinned over at Spencer before calling, "I think I scared Smokey too! He pooped out an egg when I said it and then he kept running away from me."

"I don't think Smotey's a boy-" Spencer started but he was cut off when Nathaniel jumped onto the other end of the see-saw.

The sea-saw flung upward and Spencer had to grasp the handle to stop himself getting bucked off from the plaything. It reminded him of the one time he'd tried horse riding and had unwittingly climbed on a young, untrained mare. Spencer looked down at Nathaniel who was giggling happily back at him. Spencer knew he was light but he hadn't expected to be skyrocketed up. Sure, Nathaniel carried a little extra weight on his small bones but he didn't look that heavy.

"Sorry!" Nathaniel yelled. "Mummy says I eat too much candy!" The boy pushed off the ground and Spencer felt himself heading back down to earth. It lasted only a moment before he was thrown back up. He clung to the see-saw with his open arms and gaped at Nathaniel and then at the suddenly far away ground.

"What a-about youw Daddy?" Spencer quaked, his arms purchasing for a better grip.

"Daddy gets me candy!" Nathaniel announced proudly, pushing off the ground again. "He's always getting in trouble because he brings me lots of cake. He sent me a Twinkie home once."

Spencer scowled softly. Sent? Why would he send his son food? It seemed a little extreme even to Spencer's standards.

Nathaniel kicked off and Spencer managed to stretch his toes to the ground before going up again.

"Daddy is always away, so he gets me all my favourite food when he's home."

"Whewe does youw Daddy go?"

"He's a soldier!"

"Oh," Spencer whispered. He looked down at the handlebar on the seesaw and searched through his mind for what to say next in a situation like this. Nathaniel continued to bounce playfully and like a stray puppy, he cocked his head a Spencer.

"Whatcha thinkin?" He asked with a little laugh. Spencer looked up and rolled his eyes; this kid sure knew how to change a subject.

"Um," Spencer mumbled dully. "Just finkin 'bout... what... what's on TV," he blurted as he swung up into the air and stayed there. Nathaniel looked up at him with a grin.

"My favourite show is Peter Rabbit!" He shouted. "What's yours?"

"Um... Doctow Who," Spencer yelled back and the confused puppy stare was back.

"Who?"

"Doctow Who," Spencer replied.

"Doctor What?"

"Who."

"Huh?" Nathaniel held the seesaw at a balance so Spencer was looking back at him. "You're really strange," he added and Spencer folded his arms, his bottom lip sticking out unhappily.

"Doctow stwange is a tompletely diffewent pwoduction," he muttered too quietly for the other boy to hear.

"I like you, Spencer," Nathaniel said and Spencer raised his eyes slowly, his face gaunt with surprise.

"Y-you do?" He gasped.

Nathaniel nodded proudly and sweeping his legs off the seesaw he said, "Yep. We could be best friends."

"Best friends," Spencer repeated in a small whisper. Nathaniel nodded again and hopped off the seesaw which sent Spencer crashing back to the ground. Luckily he managed to hold on and keep his backside from slipping off.

"I gotta go now. My moms making Mac and cheese and then we're gonna call my daddy," Nathaniel explained to the small boy who was shimmying off the seat, clumsily flailing for a moment before catching himself.

"Otay...Bye," Spencer said and before he knew it he was engulfed in a hug.

"Bye Spencer who likes Doctor something or other," Nathaniel giggled before he darted off to a woman near the gate. Spencer watched him go for a few seconds before hurrying back to Sean.

"Making friends, Spencer?" Sean chuckled as Spencer stumbled over his cheeks growing redder.

He shrugged and scrambled up onto the bench beside Sean. He peered up at the older man and then at the boys who were on opposite sides of the climbing frame shouting to each other and pretending to wield swords.

Sean watched him with intrigue and grinned as Spencer's eyes trailed to the gate where the other little boy was waving. Spencer raised his hand and gave a small self-conscious wave before the boy hurried after his mother. Sean glanced at his watch and let out a sigh.

"I better be getting you boys home," he put in and Spencer's small yawn confirmed it.

"Otay," Spencer surrendered.

Sean lifted Spencer up into his arms making sure not to wrap his arm too tightly around his hip.

"Jack! Henry!" He bellowed up to the climbing frame.

Spencer put his hands around his mouth to mimic a megaphone.

"Henwy! Jack!" He yelled.

Both boys whipped their heads down at the figures waiting at the bottom of the climbing frame. Jack looked back at Henry with a smirk. "Bet I'll beat you down," he challenged rushing towards the fireman's pole.

Henry grinned and dashed for the slide. "No way, Jack!" He shouted. "First to touch Uncle Sean wins!"

Jack didn't reply, too busy hopping past other kids and ducking under the ropes obscuring his path.

Spencer watched with an amused grin as Henry launched himself down the slide just as Jack's feet hit the ground.

"Wun, Untle Sean," Spencer whispered mischievously. Sean raised his eyebrows at the toddler but followed the order, racing off towards the gate before the boys got to them.

"Hey! No fair!" Henry wailed having been just a meter from Sean. He glanced back at Jack who was gaining on him.

"Slow down, Sean!" Jack called desperately as his feet almost slid out from under him.

Sean got to the other side of the gate and held his hand up to Spencer for a high five as the other two boys lagged behind.

"I win, I win!" Henry cried when he smacked Sean's knee. "I touched uncle Sean first!"

"That's only 'cus I let you," Jack muttered, folding his arms as he trudged alongside them.

Sean shook his head and shifted Spencer on his hip. "Pretty sure this little guy won in that case."

Henry gaped at Spencer and like Jack, his arms crossed over his chest. "I was still second," he grumbled. "Which means Jack is the loser."

"You're the loser," Jack snapped back; his and Henry's narrowed eyes met across Sean as they walked either side of him.

"No, I'm not!"

"Boys," Sean hissed.

"He's being mean to me," Henry whined. Jack walked backward so he was facing Henry and stuck his tongue out. "See!"

"Jack, don't do that," Sean chided, twirling the older boy back around.

"He started it."

"Did not!"

"Yes, you did! He did didn't he Sean?"

"No I didn't; I didn't uncle Sean, did I?"

Sean shook his head and sighed quietly. "Give me strength," he mumbled. Spencer laid his head tiredly on Sean's shoulder and also sighed at the arguing boys.

"You called me a loser first."

"Well you lost, so you are a loser!"

"Only because I went slower. I could've gone way faster."

"Nu-Uh!"

Sean carded a hand through Spencer's hair as he sent angry looks at the older boys. "I don't mind babysitting you," Sean whispered to Spencer who looked up with innocent eyes. "But I am not babysitting all three of you again."

Rossi poured over his file for a good ten minutes, glancing up at Aaron who was half-heartedly examing his own version, his eyes flickering up at the window before blinking as if forgetting what he was doing and then going back to the file. Rossi cleared his throat his eyes still drawn to the file. He noticed Aaron lift his head and consider him in the corner of his vision.

"'Demon Debra' as Spencer coined her, is facing trial in two weeks. She hasn't got a great lawyer and from what I hear; she's not going to fare well. Maybe 10 years," Rossi said slowly, licking his finger and turning over the paperwork in his hands. Aaron looked out of the window with a pleased expression.

The rest of the team were sat close to each other, discussing the case in hushed voices.

"What's happening to the children?" Hotch mumbled absently.

Rossi sucked his teeth and looked over his file.

"Crawford house has been shut down," he announced.

"I don't understand how it was running for so long anyway," grumbled Hotch.

"Mrs. Whinton may have been cruel but she knew how to run the place."

Aaron grunted; he didn't care to hear about the women who subjected Spencer to ill-treatment.

"The other children are being transferred to a new home, some are being put into emergency foster homes," Rossi said as he lowered the file and eyed Aaron. The unit chief nodded minutely his eyes gazing out of the window thoughtfully. "What else is on your mind? You have that face that Spencer always gets when he's thinking."

Aaron raised an eyebrow at the Italian.

"What? You spend a lot of time with the kid."

Aaron shook his head. "I think..." he glanced around quickly at the other agents on the jet who all seemed to be distracted. He leaned closer to Rossi and let his file drop. "Keep this between us for the time being."

Rossi nodded and gestured for Aaron to continue.

"I had a call from Mrs. Reid's facility."

Dave's face grew darker.

"They said she's deteriorating."

"Oh... have you told-"

"No," Aaron said quickly his eyes skirting around the occupied seats. "I'm not sure how to break it to him yet. I want to take him to see her though. As soon as I can."

"Do you really think that's wise?"

"If she's running out of time then he has to go see her. He'd regret it if he didn't, but I know he'd want to."

"You want me to tell him?" Rossi asked and Aaron shook his head no.

"It's probably best if I told him."

Rossi sighed and pulled his file back open. "Kids not having much luck is he."

Urgh! Why do I have such bad writer's block!? It's killing me!

Anyway, I know that was boring but I needed a little filler after all's that's happened.

Please review. That you all for your continued support. Love you all!

Tomorrow (nope, today, because I didn't get this finished quick enough for yesterday) I have the day off so I'm going to try and do as much writing as possible.

See you someday...hopefully soon ;)