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Will's eyes flicked to Henry's face. His son's eyes were fluttering open just as they had when Henry had been a baby and was waking up from a long nap.
"Henry!" JJ cried. "Please wake up for mommy."
Will clasped Henry's hand as though it were a life preserver keeping him afloat on the high seas. "Son," he croaked. "Wake up, you've slept long enough."
"Daddy," Henry croaked. "Where am I?"
JJ grabbed Henry up in a tight embrace that had the little boy squirming a bit in her arms. "Hi little man," She greeted on a sob.
"Why is mommy cryin'?" Henry asked Will. "Did I do something bad?"
Will laughed and wiped tears from his eyes. "No, you didn't do anything bad. She's very happy you're awake."
Henry frowned and JJ smiled at him, as she passed her hand under her eyes. "See, no more tears."
"How come we're here?" Henry asked. "I wanna go home now."
Will hugged him carefully so as not to disturb the leads still attached to his son's chest. "You have to stay here for awhile. The doctors have to make sure you're okay."
"I'm not sick." Henry countered looking very annoyed, which nearly made Will laugh.
"Do you- "JJ began and then looked up at Will who nodded at her. "Do you remember what happened little man?"
Henry's little lip began to tremble. "I fell in the water," he said.
"Yes, you did," JJ agreed, blinking back her tears as she stroked the hair back of his forehead. "It's okay… You don't have to talk about it."
"It was scary and cold." Henry said. "I saw some light, like my Snoopy light in my room, but more and Uncle Spence was there."
"He was?" Will asked.
"He saved you from the cold water." JJ said," and Uncle Derek too." She hugged Henry close. "You're okay Henry. You had to sleep for a long time, but you're okay now."
"Can I have Robbie?"
He asked JJ about the stuffed velociraptor dinosaur toy Reid had given him for his last birthday.
"I thought you might ask for him." JJ said. She reached down and pulled the toy out of a plastic bag she'd brought with her from home.
Henry grabbed the toy and held it close in his arms. "Thank you Mommy. I love Robbie," he said enthusiastically. "Uncle Spence said he would take care of me."
"He did?" JJ asked as guilt turned up in her stomach.
"Yeah, he said if I was scared, to hold Robbie and he'd chase away the scary stuff."
"I think your Uncle Spence is right." JJ said.
Will reached over and squeezed JJ's arm. She blinked hard against more tears. "Why don't you go find him? I'll call everyone else," he said quietly.
She leaned over and kissed him briefly on the lips. Henry said. "Eww… Mommy that's gross."
Will began to laugh and JJ smirked at her son. "One day you won't think it's so bad." His father informed him while Henry only made disgusted faces.
"Stop giving him ideas." JJ slapped Will's arm. "He's only three."
Will winked at her. "Go on and find Spencer," he repeated.
"I'll be right back." JJ promised Henry."
"Hey Jennifer," Will called out as she opened the door. "Look at your watch.
She gave him a look and checked her watch. It said ten minutes after midnight. It was Christmas.
"Merry Christmas cher," he said.
"Same goes," she said and left the room to find Reid.
Reid awoke from a dream involving bells, little tinkling bells of silver that wouldn't stop ringing in his head as they played Sliver Bells repeatedly. When his eyes flickered open, the sound finally resolved itself into his ringing cell phone.
He fumbled, nearly knocked the phone to floor and answered it with a bark. "What do you want?"
"Spence?"
"JJ," he rubbed at his eyes, which were gritty and burning.
"Henry's awake."
He sat up, instantly awake and alert. "He is?"
"Yes, please come back to the hospital. I know Henry would love to see you."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
He snapped on his bedside light, squinting against the light. He threw back the covers and stumbled out of bed, dizzy from the lack of sleep and the headache that still lurked behind his eyes. He grabbed for his shirt as excitement got his blood moving. His little godson was awake and it was seventeen minutes after midnight. Christmas was here and for once, he believed in Santa and the miraculous Spirit of Christmas.
Garcia was just pulling up in Esther when Reid parked his car in visitor parking. He waited for her in the cold night air that didn't seem to bother him now that Henry was awake. "Hey baby cakes," she said happily.
"Hi Garcia," he hugged her when she grabbed onto him.
"Is that all you can say."
"Merry Christmas," he said because he knew that's what she wanted to hear.
"Merry Christmas to you; our godson is alright," she said unnecessarily.
He began walking with her to the entrance of the hospital. It was a very cold and clear night and he could actually see a few stars. One star was particularly bright in the sky. He pointed it out to Garcia. "See that," he pointed out to her. "That's Jupiter. It's visible to the naked eye all through December from about seven pm to 4 am when it sets."
"It is beautiful, but it's cold out here." She shivered and stamped her feet. "Let's go inside. We can see the star later."
"I'm going to show it to Henry." Reid said excitedly.
Garcia smirked at him as they made their way carefully across the snow and ice that streaked the black top. She held onto his arm and he smiled back at her. She didn't look as if she'd been sleeping. As always, she was dressed in vivid color, this time red and green for the season with a Santa hat on top of her blond curls. It made him feel warm in the cold air to know that some things never change.
Morgan and Rossi were in the family waiting area when Reid and Garcia walked in. JJ was there talking to them. She jumped up and ran over to him. She hugged him so tight he had to push her back a bit. "I'm glad Henry's okay."
Her cobalt blue eyes sparkled with happiness. "The doctor said there's no brain damage. You were right about the cold water and hypothermia. The doctor said it probably saved his life and his brain. He seems to be okay and wants to play."
"Of course he'd wake up ready to go and we're all exhausted." Rossi interrupted sarcastically, but he was smiling at the same time.
JJ laughed. "Yeah, he keeps asking if he can go home, if he can get out of bed. He's also very concerned that Santa won't come."
"Well there is an easy way to fix that." Garcia said.
"How?" Reid wondered.
"You and Will go home, get his presents and his stocking, while Reid and I keep him busy."
"I'll help too." Emily said from the doorway.
Other than a red spot on her cheek, Reid couldn't tell she'd been sleeping. She smiled at him and he felt his face get a little warm.
"Hello," he squeaked.
"Hey," she greeted him with a smirk. "Did you get any sleep?"
"I'm fine," he insisted.
He looked around to see everyone staring at him. "What?"
"I called Agent Hotchner." Will inserted into the uncomfortable silence. "He's going to come in later in the morning after Jack has Christmas."
"Oh I'm so happy this didn't ruin his Christmas." JJ said. "Everything worked out."
"As I knew it would." Rossi informed all of them.
Emily reached over and smacked his shoulder. "You weren't so confident yesterday." She reminded him.
"That was yesterday. It's after midnight on Christmas Eve which means that anything is possible."
JJ grinned at him. "I feel like I should have a glass of champagne for a toast," she said.
"I think that can be arranged as well." Rossi said thoughtfully.
"You can't bring alcohol into the children's ward." Reid said, looking appalled.
"When have I ever played by the rules?" Rossi asked him seriously, but with a twinkle in his eye.
Morgan clapped him on the back. "Way to go man," he encouraged.
"I don't think -" Reid began to say.
"Why don't you go distract the kid and let Rossi and I get this party going." Morgan said.
Reid put his hand over his eyes. If he didn't think about it too much then the possibility of Morgan and Rossi planning a Christmas party in the hospital wouldn't scare him to death.
"Come on," Emily took one of his arms as Garcia grabbed the other. "Let's go play with Henry."