Title: Try Again

Author: Kadeeleigh

Rating: Mature/Explicit language and situations

Pairing: Hotch/Reid Slash

Summary: A chance to re-write history

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters residing in the world of Criminal Minds…I just like to take them out to play.

This story has been expanded, freshened up and fleshed out...enjoy the newness

The following Friday, Hotch called an unexpected team meeting.

JJ entered the conference room with a concerned look on her face. She moved to Hotch quickly, and addressed him in a whisper. "Sir? I have nothing pending..."

"Its okay. Just take a seat, JJ." Hotch smiled slightly, and motioned towards the round table. He had also invited Garcia, who was so nervous that she had brought a stuffed elephant with her...which she was clutching tightly. When JJ sat beside her, she relaxed noticeably.

Reid had finally been cleared for duty, and this was the first time that they were all back in the office together. Without Spencer, the rumors, that had begun with Morgan, persisted. Aaron had spent the last few days acting particularly annoyed, which deflected much of the innuendo that might have been expected. Now that his lover was back to work, they were ready to address their situation head on.

Aaron cleared his throat, and paced the room carefully. "It has come to my attention that the team has been spending more than a little Agency time and resources investigating rumors concerning myself and Spencer." He purposefully made eye contact with Morgan and Garcia.

The two Agents lowered their eyes in guilt, as Hotch continued. "Spencer and I are here, right now, to clear up any misconceptions about our relationship, and address any rumors that are currently causing issues within the team."

Aaron continued to pace. While the others were listening to the gravity of their supervisor's speech, Spencer began to giggle. Aaron threw an irritated look at his lover, then shook his head with a smile. "Apparently...you have something to say...Spencer?"

Suddenly, Reid went from amused to guilty. "Hotch, I wasn't trying to interrupt...I laughed because you were looking especially authoritative, and it made me think about that thing a couple of weeks ago..."

"Spencer!" exclaimed Hotch with an embarrassed grin. "We are not here to discuss...that."

At this point, everyone at the table was staring at their supervisor in shock.

Hotch sat down in the last available chair, and started to chuckle as he turned to his lover. "I gather that you've decided to lead this portion of the meeting? I understand...go ahead. It's in your capable hands."

The team was familiar with all of the young genius's quirks and tics, but they had never seen them affect him all at the same time. Once Aaron had taken his chair, Reid began to bounce and wiggle his knees. His fingers began to move, and continually attempted to push non-existent hair behind his ears. Hotch chuckled again, and leaned back into his chair. "Go ahead, Genius..."

Finally, Reid's unconscious movements stopped, and he became the man that Aaron loved. He sat taller in his chair, and finally looked into his teammate's eyes. Both Hotch and Rossi relaxed, as the younger man began to speak. "Aaron and I are both aware that there have been rumors amongst the team in regards to our relationship." The young man continued to make eye contact as he continued. "From your perspective, whatever you may have noticed has only been going on for a few days..."

Morgan finally interrupted. "Are you gonna tell us that he has been taking advantage of you for longer than that?"

"Derek!" interrupted Garcia. "Let Spencer talk."

Morgan stood aggressively. "I'm sorry, Baby Girl, but..."

Reid knew that is was his time to take control of the room. "Derek...sit the fuck down. This situation is not a joke, and I am so, so tired of trying to pretend that your concern regarding my love life isn't demeaning and disrespectful. Aaron and I have found ourselves in a situation that we can't handle on our own, and we need help. Are you planning on being part of the solution, or part of the problem?"

oOo

"Seven days ago," continued Spencer, "something happened to Aaron and myself. We can't explain it, nor do we know how or why it happened...all we know is that we went to bed on Friday night..."

"Together?" asked Morgan with a growl.

"Yes, Derek...we went to sleep together...in the same bed...in the same house. I even think there may have been some spooning going on. Shall I continue, or do you need more details?"

Derek looked chagrin, and shut his mouth, while the women giggled to themselves.

"...but when we woke up on Saturday, we found ourselves four years, seven months and four days in the past."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Pretty Boy?" began Morgan.

"Derek...let the Kid talk." said Rossi sharply, before nodding at the young genius to continue.

"We have all of our memories of the past four and a half years, but to you," indicating the team in front of him, "none of it has happened yet. As you can imagine, lots of things can happen in that amount of time. One of the things that happened...during that time...was that Aaron and I fell in love."

There was a stunned silence at the table. Hotch and Reid glanced at each other and smiled in anticipation of what they knew was about to happen.

Suddenly, Garcia screamed and jumped from her chair. "Oh. My. God! How romantic is that!" yelled the woman before pulling Spencer into a gigantic bear hug. "I knew it! I could just tell that there was something different about the two of you! And when we saw the kiss..."

The two other female agents were grinning, and offered congratulations to the couple. Suddenly, Morgan stood angrily from the table, sending his chair slamming into the wall. He looked at the rest of the team, incredulous. "What kind of bullshit is this? You two are crazy to think that we're gonna buy any of this."

"Derek!" shouted Rossi sternly. "Sit down and hear them out. Please!"

The muscled Agent shrugged his shoulders in defeat, retrieved his chair, and sat down roughly, grumbling to himself.

Hotch noted Morgan's arms, crossed over his chest in a defensive posture. He sighed to himself, realizing that this limited cooperation was as much as he could expect...for now.

Now it was Aaron's turn to address his team. His demeanor became serious, as he began to speak. "Spencer and I are happy that your are all...mostly...understanding regarding our relationship. It is, what it is, and its not going to change...or come up for discussion in any way." growled Hotch while he stared directly at Morgan.

Rossi could see that tempers were running high. He stood and put a gentle hand on his supervisor's shoulder. "Let me take it for a while."

oOo

Addressing the team, Rossi recounted his initial disbelief. "...but they asked me to trust them, and I do trust them...implicitly. I gave them the opportunity to prove it, and they did. I have no doubt that what they are saying is the truth."

Emily shook her head. "Hotch, Reid...you know I love you guys, but this is a little far-fetched. I would feel a whole lot better if there was a way to prove what you're saying..."

Hotch looked at Reid, and nodded. "Emily..." said Spencer. "I am gonna give you two names...Lauren Reynolds and Declan Doyle. How many people are familiar with Lauren's whereabouts or where Declan attends private school?"

The self-confident brunette was suddenly quiet. Her eyes traveled from Hotch to Reid and back again. In almost a whisper, she lowered her head. "Okay, I believe them."

JJ's eyes grew wide. "So you knew about the Anthrax attack? You let it happen?"

Emily placed a comforting hand on her friend's arm. "I think I see the problem. JJ...they couldn't have stopped it. If there had been a police presence in the park, he would have waited and come back later. More people might have been infected..."

Hotch nodded sadly. "The entire scenario would have been out of our control, and we would've lost the only advantage that we had...knowing exactly how it was going to play out."

"So...the first time...did Pretty Boy get exposed?" Derek asked quietly.

Reid grinned. "Yea, Derek, I did. That's why Hotch had us put on the protective gear. But the first time, I exposed myself. You never made it into the room."

JJ looked down at the table and frowned. "Does that mean that we couldn't have changed what happened? All of this knowledge you say you have and its useless?"

"No JJ." said Reid quickly. "We did change things. The first time, only four of the twenty five park victims survived. What we did, saved nine more people...four of them children. We were able to get the antidote to the CDC much more quickly, and we saved lives."

Aaron surveyed his team. "JJ...I understand how affected you were by this case...we all were. Spencer could have died. We went into this blind, with only the hope that we could make it better...and we did."

Hotch rubbed his hands over his face before continuing. "Now that we know that our actions can actually have an affect on the outcome of our cases, we need fresh eyes and fresh input. For the next few months, things become highly personal for Spencer and myself. I'm afraid that we are going to have a hard time being objective..."

Their team looked at them in confusion, before Reid spoke. "In fifty days, The Reaper is coming after Aaron."

oOo

By the time the two Agents returned to Aaron's apartment that evening, they were exhausted.

Hotch, Reid and Rossi had spent several frustrating hours attempting to convince the others that they were indeed sane, and in need of help...help that didn't include medical intervention. While it was obvious that Prentiss was convinced, she had remained mute during the remainder of the conversation. Morgan on the other hand, had made up his mind that "this time travel bullshit" was just a cover for the real issue...Aaron's victimization of the defenseless genius.

"Do you have any idea how much effort it takes for me NOT to have my boyfriend beat up Morgan?" asked Reid as he threw himself on his lover's couch.

Hotch laugh as he made his way into the kitchen to forage for a meal. After several minutes of hunting, he came up empty handed. "I had no idea how much you've spoiled me. You always do the shopping..."

Spencer smiled. "We both cook. We've never had designated roles."

"No, but I never realized how much your shopping influences my culinary prowess. I'm a horrible person." He put his hands to his face and rubbed vigorously.

"Aaron? Hey, Aaron, talk to me. Something else is bothering you. I can hear it in your voice. What is it?" said Spencer as he patted the couch next to him.

Hotch left the kitchen and sat next to lover. "Do you ever get the impression that the reason Morgan is so angry about our relationship is because he likes you?"

Reid stared at his lover carefully. "What does this have to do with the lack of food in your refrigerator?"

"It has absolutely nothing to do with that." Aaron smiled warmly, before becoming pensive. "Do I take you for granted?"

Spencer was confused. "What the hell are you talking about.? Are you worried that I might find Derek's irrational obsession with my virginity...enticing?"

Hotch lowered his head. "No...maybe?"

Reid's eyes opened wide. "Oh my god...are you jealous? Of Morgan?"

"I'm not jealous. Not really. I guess that I just never noticed how he looks at you...until today. He acts possessive, and both times he found out about us...he seems, for lack of a better word, hurt."

Reid contemplated Hotch's words. "Aaron...he may be hurt. He may feel something for me that goes beyond what he would consider appropriate. In my opinion, he views me as a child that he can protect from the dangers of real life. The fact that, not only am I a sexual being, but that I'm attracted to men, confuses that abused child in him."

Aaron relaxed into his lover's embrace. "You're probably right...No, you're always right. He just seemed very possessive."

"Aaron...I have never, ever considered dating Morgan. Yes, he is attractive, and he has, in an off-handed way, helped to increase my self esteem...but...I have only ever loved you." Spencer took the opportunity to squeeze his lover tightly before continuing. "I love you, and I will continue to shop for our groceries and read bedtime stories to Jack, and make love to you. I have only ever loved you."

Hotch kissed his lover passionately. "I can't believe how much I love you, Baby."

oOo

The two men woke the following morning, comfortably entwined.

Hotch slid from beneath his lover. "Sleep for a few more minutes...I'll put the coffee on."

Fifteen minutes later, Reid stumbled out of the bedroom in a pair of sweats, fussing with his hair. He smiled as his lover handed him a fresh cup of coffee, sweetened to perfection. As he plopped himself onto the couch, there was a knock at the door.

The two men looked at each other quizzically. Aaron went to the door, grabbing his gun protectively. He opened the peephole, then relaxed considerably, and turned to his lover. "It's the team. You may want to throw on a shirt."

Reid ran quickly into the bedroom, while Hotch opened the door. Standing at the forefront was Prentiss. "Sir." she said with a submissive nod. "Rossi and I convinced the team that the two of you aren't crazy, and definitely know certain things...that you shouldn't know."

"And we're here to help, Sir!" said Garcia as she pushed her way into the apartment. "...and we brought pastries!"

Hotch smiled as he ushered the team. "Thanks, all of you for your support." Pulling Prentiss aside, Hotch spoke directly to his Agent. "Emily...Spencer feels terrible that he was abrupt with you yesterday. He was feeling the strain of the situation."

Prentiss nodded and grinned. "Was that the strain of time travel, or the strain of having to tell Morgan that you and he were a couple?" Both Agents laughed heartily. "Well, despite how he did it, he definitely got my attention. If you know about Declan, then something really bad happens...happened? Whatever."

Hotch touched her arm gently, guiding her to the table. "I understand your concern, Emily, and we'll make sure that you're prepared."

As the rest of the team assembled at Hotch's dining room table, Reid snuck quietly out of the bedroom. He was still wearing his sweats, but had added a tight, blue t-shirt emblazoned with an outline of the Tardis. Still trying to tame his new shorter haircut, he continually ran his fingers through his hair, until finally Aaron intervened. "It looks fine, Babe...leave it alone."

Reid smiled up at his boss, and took a seat at the table. Hotch grinned, and grabbed Spencer's coffee cup from the coffee table. He watched his lover take a sip, and frown. "Do I need to re-heat it?"

Spencer beamed. "Yes please!"

Aaron chuckled. He took the mug from the young genius and walked to the kitchen. The others at the table stared in shock. Spencer noticed the looks, and turned beet red...before trying to hide his face.

By the time Hotch had warmed the coffee and returned to the table, the women were teasing Spencer unmercifully. Seeking to defuse the situation, Hotch cleared his throat. The girls stopped their giggling at once, and sat at attention. "Spencer," commanded Hotch. "I put all of our charts and time lines in your messenger bag. You left it in the SUV. Can you go find it, so we have something tangible to discuss?"

The young Doctor nodded gratefully and scooted out of the apartment. Aaron smiled after him, until he was sure that the young man was out of earshot. Once he was satisfied that Spencer would not overhear, he turned to his Agents with anger in his eyes. "Spencer is a full grown man, and I will not have you treating him like a teenager on his first date. He loves all of you like family, but frankly your lack of respect is appalling. He is neither your little sister nor your little brother...he is a decorated Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he is your peer. You are all more than aware of his socialization and confidence issues..."

JJ began to speak, before Hotch cut her off, by raising his hand. "This is all new, I understand. But we need him whole and confident. He has the eidetic memory, not me. We definitely don't need him sitting around suppressing the urge to crawl under the table at any moment. Are we all on the same page?"

Slowly, nods of embarrassment rounded the table. "This is difficult for us too. We never hid our relationship from you guys. You have all known about us since the beginning, but, remember, we dealt with your reactions almost a year ago." Aaron took a moment to look directly at Morgan. "It wasn't easy for Spencer then...there were judgments made, along with certain threats...and I will not stand for any repeat performances."

Aaron's face softened into a smile as he continued. "Fortunately, we all grew. I grew to embrace my romantic side, which sometimes includes reheating coffee to make my partner smile. What I know for certain is that over the time that we have been together, Spencer has grown into a more confident, self assured individual. I will not allow you to undermine that."

Seeing that his message was understood, Hotch nodded in affirmation at his team, and took a seat, moments before Spencer returned.

The young genius, enthused about his work, laid the paperwork out on the table.

oOo

Hotch took the floor again and began to pace. "I have a very limited knowledge of science fiction literature, but since living with Spencer, I am slightly more aware of movies and television shows of that genre."

The team laughed at the thought of the young genius forcing their supervisor to watch Star Trek or Doctor Who.

"I do know," he said with a pause, "that there can be both practical and moral implications to consider before making changes to established events."

"The butterfly effect." stated Prentiss with an understanding nod.

"I have no idea what that is." said Morgan with a laugh. "I prefer my entertainment with way more car crashes and fine ladies...computers and robots are no where to be seen."

JJ smiled at Morgan. "The butterfly effect is the theory that anything that you do in the past affects the future...that stepping on a butterfly in the past, can create a domino effect of events..."

"...resulting in the death of your grandfather, before your father is even born...no father, you don't exist." added Rossi.

Morgan's eyes grew wide. "You guys think about this stuff for entertainment?"

"The point is," continued JJ, "...if we want to attempt to change things, we have to accept that your time travel is more like Quantum Leap..."

"...to put right what once went wrong!" screamed Garcia in agreement.

"Exactly!" said JJ with a smile.

"Rather than Back to the Future, where one kiss...or lack there of...had life or death consequences." Proud of himself, Rossi sat back in his chair.

Prentiss giggled suddenly. "Does anyone else feel like we should re-watch Timecop? It seems so apropos."

Garcia swooned a bit. "Oh, god. Do you remember that scene when Van Damme did the splits across the kitchen counter?"

Both Emily and JJ smiled and nodded at Garcia's reference.

Spencer suddenly stood up, with a look of concern on his face. "Timecop? Timecop! Aaron! You fell asleep, but that was the movie that Jack and I watched the night before all of this started! At the end of the movie, Van Damme is able to change history, and save his family!"

Hotch looked confused. "Are we saying Jack did this?"

Reid looked at his lover with resignation. "Jack wants his mother back..."

"And you two are cops..." added Morgan with a glimmer of understanding.

Satisfied, Garcia pulled out her laptop. " Okay, Quantum Leap it is!"

oOo

Leaning over Spencer's shoulder, Morgan pointed at the time line in front of him. "You have this calendar colored like a rainbow. What does all this mean? Especially these days down here...they seem to cross over each other..."

Reid nodded in agreement. "Those are the important days that we need to deal with. I used primary colors for any cases we need to address. See how the Tuesday is red, and then Wednesday is purple...that means two things happened that day, indicated by the addition of blue, which carries over to Thursday..."

"Spencer...it would probably be best if we just explain what happened during that four day period of time." said Hotch gently.

"Right, Aaron...I understand that, but what I was trying to do is see if we can move that red case up some...so that it can be resolved sooner..." the young man's tics began again, in full force.

The team got silent, and Morgan squeezed Reid's shoulder firmly. "Pretty Boy?"

"What is the red case?" ask Rossi carefully.

Spencer stood and stared at his lover in fear. "I can't, Aaron. I don't want to go there again, and I won't. We need to get another agency to solve this, before it gets to the BAU..." With that, Spencer ran out the front door, slamming it behind him.

All eyes were on Hotch.

oOo

"...and after we found the shoes...over 80 pairs...we realized the magnitude of what had been going on at the farm."

A few minutes later, Reid had quietly re-entered the apartment and joined the others at the table. Adding to what information his lover had already imparted, he continued. "We have to figure out a way to get the Detroit PD to take Hightower seriously...now, rather than later. If we do that, we can save his sister, and stop him from ruining his life."

If we can do that, we'll be able to focus on Foyet's attack." agreed Rossi with determination.

As the other begin to throw out suggestions that would call attention to the Detroit disappearances, Morgan sat down next to his friend. "Reid...I want to apologize."

"Honestly, Morgan...there's no need. I understand. We threw a lot of information at you guys all at once..."

Derek smiled and shook his head. "Not about all this shit...though I still haven't wrapped my head around most of it. No, I'm sorry how I reacted to the news about you and Hotch."

Spencer grinned. "You actually took the news much better this time. The first time you found out, it almost came to blows."

"I threatened Hotch? Asked Derek curiously.

The young genius giggled. "Well, yea you did do that...but I convinced him not to beat the crap out of you. No,I was actually thinking about later, when I was ready to beat the crap out of YOU. You can be a real dick, you know that, right?"

"Well, kid...I apologize in advance." Morgan rubbed his bald head vigorously before continuing. "Okay, kid...you've told us about the first three days here on the calendar, and no one seems to be concerned about this one...it's green...obviously blue, plus yellow...another case and another event?"

Spencer brightened a bit. "That case worked out well. We caught the Unsub before he could harm his target."

Derek knew his friend well. "If that was all that happened, then why is it green, instead of yellow?"

Suddenly, the two men realized that Hotch was standing behind them, listening in on their discussion. "I colored it green." said Aaron.

Both men looked up at their supervisor. Spencer shook his head and smiled. "That wasn't necessary Aaron. It could hardly be consider an event..."

"I consider you getting shot an event. Sue me." Hotch placed a delicate kiss to the top of his lover's head and walked away with a smile.

Spencer could see the shock in Morgan's eyes. "In one three day period Hotch was stabbed and you got shot?"

The whole team stared at the young genius, and Hotch chuckled from across the room. "See, Babe...other people consider that an event too!"

Reid smiled. "Thank you all so much for your concern, but compared to everything else, getting myself shot is not even on the radar."

Suddenly, Emily, who had been studying a map of Canada, raised her head. "What if we go camping?"

Morgan looked at her in confusion. "Camping, camping? Like tents and sleeping bags, camping?"

Her eyes got brighter. "Exactly! The team is due some time off...what if we decided to take a team-building camping trip...in Canada! I've been reviewing this area surrounding the Turner farm. It's public land. There are hiking trails, hunting areas, you name it. It's public...that means we can camp!"

"I thought that we were trying to get the Detroit PD involved?" asked Rossi warily.

JJ started nodding her head in agreement. "Emily is right! Even if we do manage to get the missing people on the their radar, the evidence isn't in Detroit...its in Canada."

Reid smiled. "They have a great point, guys. If we can't get Canadian law enforcement out to the Turner farm, Hightower's sister, and all the other potential victims will still go missing...we have to shift our focus to Canada."