wDisclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

A/N: Winding down on all the drama. The mood is lightening a bit, mostly due to 'Daddy Hotch'

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"Reid, please eat your vegetables…" Hotch sighed, cleaning his plate off in the sink. He glanced back at Reid, watching the young man sit back down with a sigh, looking at the little pile of broccoli that had come with his tv dinner. It had only been four hours since they'd left Morgan's, and he was already thinking about grounding Reid, as if he were some sort of kid. He'd never seen Reid act so…stubborn. It was disconcerting, and Hotch didn't know how to deal with it. There was a moment of silence, and then Reid spoke up.

"I don't like broccoli." Hotch dropped his plate into the sink with a clatter, putting his hand up to his face.

"It's good for you." Hotch was sure he'd had this conversation before, with a much younger person.

"It's disgusting." Yes, Hotch had definitely had this conversation before, with his son.

"Reid, you're worse than Jack. Please, just eat it." Hotch turned around, folding his arms across his chest, daring Reid to argue. Reid just stared at his broccoli, wrinkling his nose, obviously fighting with himself as to whether or not he should continue the argument. He gave a resigned sigh and began eating the broccoli. Relieved, Hotch walked out of the room, taking out his cell phone. He went upstairs to his room, dialing the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi…Morgan. Are there any types of vegetables that Reid actually likes?" Hotch asked. He didn't want to talk to Morgan, he was still angry, but he didn't want to have to argue with Reid every time he made dinner. There was a pause on the other line.

"Corn, salad. Asparagus. He'll eat the vegetables in tv dinners, except for broccoli." Hotch made a mental note to never get broccoli tv dinners again. Without another word, Hotch hung up, shoving the phone into his pocket. "I might have to learn to cook," Hotch muttered to himself, running his fingers through his hair. Just then his phone rang, and he took it back out.

"Hotch." He said, his voice short.

"Hotch? Morgan said Reid's with you. What's going on?" Prentiss sounded professional, as always, but a little tired.

"Yeah, Reid's here. I-" It would be so easy to tell Prentiss that Morgan had hurt Reid, and let her tell the others, letting them direct their anger towards him, and ruining team dynamic in the process, but Hotch knew that Reid wouldn't want that, and that it would make him feel even more awkward around the team after everything that had happened. But what to tell her? "Morgan was driving Reid nuts. You know how he can be. Reid needed a calmer environment."

"Oh…but, it wasn't Morgan's idea to go out for drinks last night…Hotch, me and JJ asked him to go out. We should have just visited them at home. I got out of hand, I'm sorry." Hotch frowned, unsure of what she was talking about. What else had Reid been through last night?

"Emily, I haven't heard about any of this, so you're just going to have to tell me what happened."

"We asked them to come and have drinks with us at a bar. I was…really drunk. And Reid was in a really good mood when he came in, but then I blurted out that he'd been raped…I think I really upset him…god, I was acting so stupid…I need to apologize to Reid and Morgan…god, I can't believe I made out with Morgan…"

"What? Emily…" Hotch paused, closing his eyes and calming himself down. "Never mind. He's had a long day, but I'm sure he'd like to talk to you. Could you come over tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I'll see you two tomorrow."

Hotch hung up, and walked back down stairs, and found Reid curled up on the couch on the side, watching a program on the Science channel outlining String Theory. He looked mildly bored, and Hotch was fairly certain he already knew the material the show was presenting. Taking a seat in the large easy-chair in the corner, Hotch waited for a commercial before addressing Reid.

"Spencer, why didn't you tell me about what happened with Emily at the bar?"

"Hmm? Oh, right, that." Reid sat up, pushing his hair out of his face. He stared at the tv for a couple seconds longer, before turning to Hotch, looking tired, with dark rings under his eyes, despite the fact it was still early. "I guess I forgot. It was no big deal, really."

"Emily called, and told me what happened. I wouldn't blame you for being upset."

"I'm not upset at Emily," Reid snapped, glaring at Hotch.

"I didn't say that, Reid. You of all people should know that it's possible to be upset, without being upset at someone." Hotch waited, and sure enough, Reid dropped his glare, staring down at his mismatched socks.

"She kissed Morgan," Reid muttered. It took all of Hotch's experience as a stone-faced lawyer and FBI agent not to roll his eyes. Since when had Reid become so attached to Morgan? It didn't seem right, after what he'd seen last night, but reprimanding Reid for having feelings for Morgan didn't seem right either.

"You shouldn't be surprised at Morgan's lack of judgment." At that, Reid turned to Hotch, rolling his eyes.

"It wasn't a matter of Derek's lack of judgment. I saw what happened. Emily was drunk, and she practically lunged at him. He just pushed her off, so it wasn't his fault."

"Okay, if you're sure." At least he could rule out cheating from the list of mistakes Morgan had made with Reid. "But you were still upset about it." Reid shifted, swallowing.

"Yeah, I guess so." Reid admitted softly. "I wasn't mad at either of them, I knew it wasn't anyone's fault. But seeing it just…I don't know, made me feel like, maybe I wasn't good enough. I'd never gotten that…um, affectionate with him. It made me feel like I wasn't enough for him. I know it's illogical, but I couldn't help but feel that way." Reid pulled his legs up onto the couch, pulling them against his chest, looking devastated. "And now...now I've made things even worse. I really messed up, Hotch."

"No, Reid, you didn't," Hotch consoled, getting up and walking over to the couch. He sat down, and after a moment of thought, put a hand on Reid's shoulder.

"So you think I was right to have led Morgan to believe I wanted to have sex with him?" Reid asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He wouldn't look at Hotch now, staring tight-lipped at the tv.

"No…" Hotch conceded, shaking his head. "But you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. You made a mistake. All that matters now is getting past it." Reid nodded, so Hotch decided to drop the subject, for the time being. Giving Reid's shoulder a gentle squeeze, he stood up. "I'm going to the store, is there anything you need?" Reid just shook his head, staring at the floor again. "You sure? I could get…" Hotch paused, mentally going over a list of acceptable comfort foods that Reid might like. "Ice cream?" Reid glanced up at him, looking curious, and a little bit happier than before.

"What kind?"

"What kind do you want?" Hotch asked, keeping the exasperation out of his voice. Surely Reid knew he wasn't getting the ice cream for himself. Still, it was endearing to see him perk up over something as simple as ice cream. It reminded Hotch of how young Reid was sometimes.

"Ummm…" Reid looked away, biting his lip, as if picking the wrong ice cream flavor could hold some sort of dire consequence. When he looked back up at Hotch, he seemed uncertain, tilting his head to the side. "Could you get Moose Tracks?" Hotch nodded, and turned away, grabbing his jacket as he left the room. As soon as he had turned his back to Reid, he'd allowed a grin to plaster itself to his face, unable to push it away.

Once the front door of the house closed, Reid jumped to his feet, and ran to the guest bedroom, snatching his phone off of the dresser. He bit his lip, and then dialed Morgan's number, putting the phone to his ear shakily.

"Spencer? Why are you calling me? I just saw you a couple hours ago…"

"Ummm…sorry, I just wanted to talk to you," Reid answered sheepishly.

"Spencer…" Reid bit his lip, not liking the tone of voice Morgan used. "I thought about it…I don't think we should…you know. Be in a relationship." Reid sucked in a breath, and sat down on the bed, shaking his head.

"Oh…okay. If…I mean, if that's what you want."

"I'm sorry, Spencer…I just don't think I could live with myself if I did something to hurt you again. I just want you to be happy, and I don't think you can be happy with me."

"But I was happy with you! Well, not last night, but most of the time…" Reid stopped, not wanting to sound desperate. He paused to think for a second before he continued. "How about a date?"

"What?"

"I'm asking you out on a date. Will you go out with me? I'm not asking for any sort of commitment, just a date."

"Spencer, I don't see how that's any better…"

"Just a yes or no would be fine. Will you go out with me?"

"No."

"W-what?"

"I said no, Reid. I won't go out with you."

"Fine." Reid then snapped the phone shut, ignoring the sense of failure he felt. He had really hoped that would work. He sat in his room, silently, until he heard the front door open. Setting his cell back down on the dresser, he walked downstairs and sullenly began to help Hotch put away the groceries, before going out to the living room, sitting down to watch tv. Frowning, and wondering what could've happened to end the good mood he'd left Reid with, Hotch followed him into the living room, carrying two bowls and spoons, and the gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream. He watched Reid stare blankly at the tv, before it clicked, and he sat down.

"You talked to Morgan." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, sir." The sarcasm was back, but Hotch ignored it, shoveling ice cream into one of the bowls.

"What did he do to upset you?"

"I asked him out, and he said no."

"Maybe it's for the best," Hotch muttered, pushing a full bowl of ice cream towards Reid. He hoped he wouldn't regret letting Reid have so much sugar before bed, like he usually did with Jack, but he had a feeling Reid wouldn't be jumping off the walls as Jack did. Or at least he hoped. Reid ignored the comment, and took the bowl of ice cream, sitting back and taking a big bite, and then grimacing, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his head. Hotch began putting ice cream into his own bowl, letting out an exasperated sigh. "You shouldn't eat so fast, it'll give you brain freeze," Hotch remarked, blandly. Reid opened his eyes, glaring at Hotch.

"Stop treating me like a kid, I can get brain freeze if I want to," Reid grumbled. Hotch began eating his ice cream, ignoring the comment, and then noticed a small smile tugging at Reid's lips, his eyes suddenly brightening.

"What is it, Spencer?" he asked, annoyed.

"Nothing," Reid muttered, focusing his attention onto his ice cream, the smile turning into a restrained grin. "It's just a little amusing to see the SAC in a tee-shirt and jeans, eating a bowl of ice cream." Hotch gave into the urge to roll his eyes. He would've expected a comment like that out of Garcia, or Morgan, but not Reid. However, instead of letting the comment pass, and trying to keep on the serious mask he always wore, he decided to give into Reid's good mood.

"Just don't tell anyone I eat ice cream. I think it would ruin the intimidating effect I have on unsubs if they knew."

At this, Reid nearly choked on a mouthful of ice cream, swallowing it before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

"I guess I can't tell them you have a sense of humor either?" Reid laughed, smiling brightly as he curled into the couch.

"I don't think they would believe you if you told them," Hotch answered, smiling at Reid.

They spent another hour quipping little jokes at each other, the mood becoming lighter, and lighter, until Reid started yawning, saying he wasn't tired, that he wanted more ice cream…It made Hotch miss his son, in an odd way, and so he wasn't surprised when he stood, grabbing both empty bowls and said, "Alright, time to go to bed. Brush your teeth and wash that ice cream off your face."

Reid made a face at him, looking slightly annoyed that he was once more being treated like a kid. "It's only seven."

"And you were up late last night, and it was a long day. You need some sleep."

Reid groaned and stood, shaking his head. "Fine, I'll go to bed. See you in the morning."

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TBC…

A/N: Whoa…got a little out of hand with Hotch's dad-ness, but I really couldn't help myself there. Hopefully I will be forgiven for making Hotch so…daddy-like.