Disclaimer: I do not (yawn) own Criminal Minds
A/N: Thanks again for all the support.
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Evan was telling his father about Spencer and the team coming to the school to teach self defense. Reid told William about Evan's poor attempts with Bethany because he was afraid to hurt her. "So you have a girlfriend," William asked?
"Well Dad, she's a girl and she's a friend, so I guess…Oh I don't know," the boy responded. "Oh, and don't you look at me like that Spencer. You were just as bad with Allie at first."
"It appears you both do pretty well with the ladies. Your girlfriend is very lovely Spencer." At the look of confusion on Reid's face he said, "I saw her when you were in the ICU."
Murray came and informed them that time was up. The brothers stood up. William looked at them, asking, "Will you come again sometime?"
"I'd like to Dad but I guess it depends if they'll let Spencer in. They almost didn't this time. Once I'm sixteen, I'll be able to come in on my own. Do you think we can come again Spencer."
"We'll try," Reid responded. "Try and stay safe Dad."
"You too son."
"Okay, bye Dad," Evan said tearfully, hugging his Dad again.
"Bye son."
As the brothers went through the visiting room doors, Reid looked back at his father. William nodded his head and winked.
The drizzle was still falling as Reid and Evan made their way back to their rental car and got in. When Evan said nothing, Reid asked, "Are you okay."
"N..no," the boy said, shaking his head as tears spilled down his cheeks.
Reid reached over and took his little brother in his arms and held him until his tears subsided.
"That was some family reunion, huh," Evan said, still sniffling.
"Yes it was," Reid replied through his own tears. "Yes it was."
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He arrived at his apartment after taking Evan home and thought about the visit with their father. The animosity his father felt for him seemed to have lessened. Perhaps Lloyd Graham had been right, that his Dad needed time to reflect. He thought of what his father had said about Gideon and the letter he'd left and he remembered another letter from his childhood.
He pulled the old wooden box out of the back of the closet and brushed off the dust. He opened the lid, the hinges protesting some due to disuse, and surveyed the meager cache nestled therein. There was a sonnet his mother had written before her schizophrenia had laid claim to that creativity. There were two unused tickets to a magic show. His father had bought them but had left before the performance. They were starting to fade and yellow with age; the flimsy cardboard had long ago puckered from the moisture of his tears. He couldn't for the life of him, think why he had saved them. There was a white handkerchief with the initials W.R. which, for a long time, held the scent of his father's favorite aftershave. He put it to his nose knowing that the scent would be gone just like his father had been. Lastly he found the letter his father had written to him. He'd found it in his room after his father had left. He looked at the familiar words in his father's handwriting and momentarily the pain was new again. He closed the lid and then returned the box to its hiding place. If only it were that easy to lock the memories away.
He wiped at the tears in his eyes. Could things change? Did he have it in him to forgive? Could there be a chance for him to have a relationship with his father? He was tired. He headed for his bedroom. Those were questions for another day.
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"Garcia," Reid said, poking his head into her sanctuary. "Have you got a few minutes."
The computer technician was dressed this day in a tunic Reid thought contained every color of the rainbow, a pink skirt and pink platform shoes. Her blonde hair was held back with a pair of zebra combs. She swiveled in her chair to look at him. "For you sweet thing, I have all the time in the world. Come in and tell me your problem."
"I want you to look someone up for me."
"Allie doesn't have something going on the side, does she," Garcia laughed.
"No, this has nothing to do with Allie, Garcia," Reid said seriously.
"Oh I know sweet…Oh never mind, what do you need."
"I need you to look up a man named Chico Mendez from Chicago, currently a guest at Leavenworth."
"Okay baby cakes, give me a few minutes and you will know him better than he knows himself."
When Reid got back to his desk, he picked up his telephone receiver and punched in an extension.
"Questioned Documents, Allie Graham, technical analyst," came the greeting when the phone was answered.
Good morning technical analyst Allie Graham, this is Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid," Reid said brightly into the receiver.
"How did it go with your Dad, you never called?"
"It was late when the plane got in." Reid explained, "And after I took Evan home and talked to Janice about what happened, it was even later."
"You still should have called me. I wasn't sleeping anyway. So what happened," Allie asked suspiciously.
"Are you still having nightmares? Why didn't you call me, I would have come. You know that."
"I'm okay, so what happened?"
"Nothing extraordinary, Evan just got his eyes opened to the prison system. It frightened him a bit at times. Anyway, I'm calling because I have a couple of documents that need to be looked at, are you swamped down there?"
"Not swamped, no," Allie responded. "I can at least give you a cursory evaluation, of course more in depth testing will take some time."
"No cursory is fine for now I think, I'll be right down," he hung up the phone and grabbed a brown envelope and headed for the elevator.
Reid arrived at the QD lab and handed the envelope to Allie. She gloved and removed the contents. "They're airline tickets," she looked at Reid like he was from outer space. "What do you want to know about them?"
"Just examine them closely and let me know what you think, I'll wait," Reid said nonchalantly.
"Oookay," Allie looked at the tickets more closely. "They're tickets to Calgary," she said, "For next week." She looked at Reid.
"I know that, I looked at them. I need a more detailed analysis," he responded.
She turned back to the tickets and something fell out from between them. Allie picked it up. "It's a brochure for Lake Louise. Do you want me to examine it too?"
"Well," Reid replied, "Maybe you could look at that later but first concentrate on the tickets."
"Was this found on a dead body?" Allie whispered.
"Will you just examine the damn tickets?" Reid said with exasperation. "Please."
Allie turned her attention to the tickets again when the phone beside her rang. She answered it in her usual courteous, professional manner. "Oh, yes agent Parkinson, I do have the results of that, just a moment, let me get my notes." She ran over to her desk, looking back at Reid, "Sorry," she whispered.
While Reid waited his cell phone rang, "Reid."
Hey sweetcheeks, got the lowdown on your boy," Garcia's perky voice reported.
"Okay, Garcia, let me have it."
"Chico Mendez," Garcia began, "Born Chicago, May 9th, 1987 to Juanita Mendez. No father listed on the birth certificate. Mother seems to have left shortly after the baby was born and Chico was raised by his grandmother, one Cecelia Mendez. No problems with the law until he became a member of a gang, los Guerreros. He was arrested for participating in an armed robbery of a liquor store. Clerk, Howard Montgomery was killed and a customer Phil Simmons was injured. Mr. Simmons, as it turns out, is an IRS agent, so it became a federal case. Chico didn't do the actual shooting, in fact he wasn't even in the store and was not in possession of a weapon but he took the fall because he wouldn't give up his gang member friends. He was sixteen but charged as an adult. Boy, if it wasn't for bad luck, this kid wouldn't have any at all. His lawyer was a PD, fresh grad of Columbia law, named Julie Crest and it was her very first case against a seasoned federal prosecutor named Ted Wyman. The judge, Harold Epstein is also known as the hanging judge hence Chico is now serving fifteen to twenty in Leavenworth."
"Whew, thanks Garcia,"
"Anytime sweet thing, over and out."
Dad was right, Reid thought, Chico doesn't belong there.