A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed and added the story to their alerts. The support is greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.

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"You have an idea, Reid," Garcia said.

"When doesn't he," Morgan piped up?

Reid ignored Morgan. "Yeah, I heard on the radio earlier that there's a Christmas dinner planned at a homeless shelter near here but they don't think they can pull off a very good one because their volunteers can't get there due to the snow. It's only a few blocks from here so if the SUVs won't make it we could just walk. What do you think?" He looked around at the others.

"I think that's a very good idea Reid. We've got nothing to do so we might as well help out if we can," Hotch said with the others nodding their agreement.

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The trip to the shelter had been arduous. The team had decided the vehicles would not make the trip so they dressed for the elements and set out for the five block journey that ended up seeming like a mile. Walking through the deep snow was difficult. The wind was bitterly cold and the windchill values were reaching danger levels. The gusting wind blew snow in their faces that quickly froze as the scarves they had covering them were insufficient against the harsh conditions. When they finally opened the door to the 5th Street Shelter, they were relieved to have found a haven at last.

The part of the shelter that could be seen was a fairly big room with eight large tables all surrounded by chairs. On the far side were three windows that on a sunny day would flood the room with light but on a day like today, when only the blustery conditions outdoors were visible, the windows almost tended to make the room dreary. To offset the dreariness someone had set up a large Christmas tree. It was wrapped in vibrantly colored garland and lights. The boughs were laden with many different ornaments from gleaming glass to painted wood to homemade ones done in needlepoint. Long twisting ribbon cascaded down from bows near the top branches. A beautiful white angel rested atop the tree as if she presided over all that took place there. The smell of pine permeated the room. Someone had also looped garland underneath the windows adding to the festive air. There were poinsettias on every other table with beautiful candles on the others. The team noticed that there had been a lot of care put into bringing the season into this room for those who visited.

A woman came rushing up to them. "Oh my goodness, how cold you look, come in, I'll get you something hot to drink." She led them to some chairs. "Sit here near the heat; I'll get you something hot. You get warm." She left them and the team was grateful to sit near the heat and feel warmth at last. The middle aged woman returned with a tray loaded with steaming mugs of hot chocolate that the team accepted eagerly. The woman was clad in navy slacks and a red turtleneck sweater which contrasted with her jet black hair, cut short and worn off her face. "I'm Dot Henry by the way, Merry Christmas to you all.

"Merry Christmas to you as well," Hotch said, "I'm Aaron Hotchner," he introduced the rest of the team, explaining that they were stranded here due to the weather.

"Oh, and you've come for the Christmas dinner. It won't be for a few hours. We're very short on-"

"No, ma'am, you don't understand, we're not here for the meal," Rossi said, indicating the team. "We came to help. We heard you needed help. Our hotel is not far away so here we are."

"Help," a look of disbelief crossed her face," You're here to help. Oh thank God," tears filled her voice. "God bless you all." She looked at JJ. "Have I seen you somewhere before," she asked?

JJ was used to this. "You probably saw me on TV. I did the press conference after-"

"Oh," Dot's mouth gaped open, "You're the people from the FBI who saved those poor children." The team nodded. "Oh, God bless you again. You did such a wonderful thing for our community and here you are unable to be with your own families at Christmas."

"Well that sometimes happens in our job," Hotch informed her, "But here you are, away from your family, doing this wonderful thing."

"Yes, we had our dinner last night. I just feel I'm blessed with so much; I should give a little back. Anyway, there's a lot to do. Only one other volunteer managed to make it here and we were wondering how we'd manage."

"Well then, put us to work," Emily said, taking off her coat. The others did likewise and Dot led them to the kitchen.

The kitchen was a large warm room for which the team was thankful. It was filled with the aroma of roasting turkey. Three stoves stood along one wall with shelves above them that held pots and pans of all shapes and sizes. Another wall was dedicated to a large sink and counter space where cupboards held dishes. There was a stack of unwashed dishes sitting by the sink. A large refrigerator stood against a third wall. A center island which at the moment was loaded with potatoes, carrots, peas and beans finished off the room.

"We've spent most of the morning getting the turkeys stuffed and in the oven. There are all these potatoes that need peeling and vegetables need to be scraped and cut for cooking."

Emily washed her hands and went over to the potatoes and set to work. Garcia and JJ followed suit and attacked the vegetables. Another middle aged woman entered the room; her grey hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and Dot said, "Look Gloria, help has arrived." Dot explained who the newcomers were and Gloria had to hug each of them, thanking them for what they had done for those children.

"Do you know how to make salad young man," Gloria said to Reid.

"Yes, I think I can handle that," Reid replied, following the woman to a small table with two chairs that sat near the refrigerator. "Here are all the ingredients you'll need, there's a knife and an apron. Reid washed his hands as well and set to making the salad.

Hotch had been given the task of slicing pies while Morgan and Rossi did dishes from last night's meal. The phone rang and Dot went to answer it. She returned looking rather grim.

"What's wrong Dot," Gloria looked concerned?

"That was Wes; he's not going to be able to get here. He was trying to shovel himself out and he had a bad attack of angina. They got it under control with nitroglycerine, thank God."

"Who's Wes," Morgan asked?

"He was going to be our Santa. I don't suppose one of you would consider-"she looked pleadingly at the men.

"I'm kind of out of the question," Morgan said.

"I can't stick one of those beards to my face. With my beard, it won't work," Rossi added.

Dot looked back and forth between Hotch and Reid. Reid and Hotch looked at each other. "Why don't you flip for it," Gloria suggested.

"Sounds fair to me," Morgan said, giggling and searching in his pocket for a coin. He flipped the coin and said, "Call it Hotch."

"Tails," Hotch said, sighing heavily.

Morgan looked at the coin, "Tails it is, you lose Reid or should I say Santa," he giggled again, putting the coin back in his pocket.

"Now just a minute," Reid jumped up from his chair, "How do I know it was tails, you didn't let anybody see the coin. We should flip again. Hotch and I should both see the coin," Reid protested.

"No Reid," Hotch said, "I think that was fair, don't you trust Morgan."

"Not in this, I don't."

"Reid," Morgan groaned, "You wound me man."

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Reid had finished the salad and was in a panic over having to play Santa. "I don't know how to be Santa. I have no experience of Santa," he told the group.

"What do you mean Reid, did your parents not allow you to believe in Santa," Emily asked.

"No, they were fine with me believing in Santa, it's just that I figured it out so what was the point," Reid explained.

"You figured what out," Garcia was curious.

"I mean, I looked at what they were saying Santa did and I knew there was no way. Reindeer cannot fly. It is not aerodynamically possible. Then there's the time factor. A supersonic jet could not make it to everywhere in the world in one night so how could a fat man in a sleigh. Santa fitting down a chimney is not possible. I looked at measurements and there is just no way he's fitting. I added it all up and came to the conclusion that Santa was a myth."

"How old were you when you came to this conclusion Reid," Rossi wondered.

"Four," Reid answered.