Undercover Family
I would love to hear your opinions and look to working further on the story.
I do not own or have connection with the "Criminal Minds" program or its characters.
Chapter 17.
The girls left the room with a credit card that they didn't know how much they could charge on, but they didn't care, they were going shopping.
They go out and head north to the shopping center there and pass by several stores with clothes for adult females, the girls go in and look but didn't see anything that interesting to them. They stepped into a fur store and looked at some of the beautiful coats. They went into a home décor and then many clothes stores. It was like a woman's dream, to be able to just walk down the street and go into any store that you wanted to. At the him and her store, Penelope tried on this pretty dress with lots of bright colors and a wild pattern. She decides to buy it and uses the credit card for the first time. The ladies continue to shop; they go to Victoria's secret and to Filene's bargain basement. They find perfume and scents, lingerie and bedding, you name it there was nothing that escaped the eyes of our intrepid shoppers. At about 1:00, they get to the American Girl place and go into the restaurant there and have lunch. The little girls in them then begin to look around at all of the dolls and accessories that this store has. Should they get a doll? Aren't they adult women really who should get clothes and makeup and perfume and all those things that women like?
But can any woman really turn down that doll, which looks like them or reminds them of when they believed in fairy tales and Cinderella. Remember, our ladies are older now, they've seen some horrible things in life. Penelope keeps her little gnomes and trolls and little friends around her office to remind her of the good in life. That's one of the great strengths that she offers to this team. Jennifer is the youngest of the women and yet she has the strength of giving and providing for the team. She connects them to the outside world and helps them to remain grounded. Emily has had the tragedy of losing friends and loves. She has grown up rootless, without really having a firm basis of land to call her own, even in her career she had never had a true team of which she felt a part of. When she became a part of this group, she felt like an outsider for a while, but she knows that this is where belongs and that she is part of this family. The experience of being a little girl again has given her familial roots. She wants an American Girl Doll.
In the doll store, Emily actually chooses the doll that is called Emily; she is the blonde British friend of the 1944 historical doll Molly. She buys her some outfits for her and a set of pajamas that has a set for the doll and a set for her. Jennifer chooses the doll called Kit; she is a blond girl with a short bob and is the historical doll of 1934. She buys some outfits and a set of pajamas that has a set for her to wear too. Penelope buys a doll called Kirsten, a blonde Swedish immigrant of 1854, she buys her a few outfits and a nightgown set, but the little girl nightgown will fit Emily.
The girls decide to buy momma a doll too, they choose the new historical doll call Rebecca, a brown haired Russian immigrant of 1914. The girls buy her some outfits too. The girls also go around and look at the outfits for the other historical dolls and the girl of today dolls and choose some outfits from the different collections. They would love to buy some of the accessories and furniture, but know they can't get those on the train home.
It is about 2:00 and they know they have to start heading back to the hotel, but they haven't gotten anything for the guys. So they stop the department stores in the area get some toys for the boys. For Aaron, they decided to get something that would probably drive momma crazy, a set of musical instruments like mariachis, drum and tambourine. They got him some cute soft toys and pull along toys. For Spencer, they got a pirate ship and a circus set and a book of dinosaurs with pjs. For Derek, they got a set of card and tricks books to learn from. They also got harry potter action figure set to play with. For David, they got a game of Battleship and a thumb piano. By the time they got all the toys and stuff they bought. It was almost three and they were still several blocks from the hotel. The girls had a lot of bags and boxes to carry but they made it to the hotel with everything they had.
Getting to the elevator, they struggled with their boxes and bags. A man was walking by and offered to help, usually the girls would be more cautious about strange men, but they were tired and ready to be in the room, so they accepted his help to take the stuff to their door. When they got to the door, he looked at it and said, "Oh, you must be the three daughters of the woman with four sons."
Penelope, suddenly wary, said, "Excuse me, what do you mean?"
The man responds, "I mean that I helped your mother earlier coming up from the pool with two boys in her arms and two others carrying a slew of toys. The boys looked like they had enjoyed their swim."
JJ says, "So you met momma? Why was carrying two boys, usually she just carries the baby?"
The man says," Well, it looked like the baby was sleeping and the other had been crying and was very tired."
JJ says, "Crying, why would he have been crying?" Penelope opened the door and the girls came rushing in with the man joining them carrying many of the bags and boxes. The boys see them come in and go to help bring the stuff in and see him.
David says, "What are you doing here?"
The man says, "I'm here helping your sisters bring up their shopping loot, hopefully they left stuff for others to buy."
"Well, you brought it in, you can leave now." He turns away from the man. Momma comes out of the bathroom where she had just finished bathing Spencer to get the pool chlorine off his body and out of his hair. Spencer was nude, they had not taken any clothes in, when he looks at the man, and he squeals and runs back into the bathroom.
Momma says, "Well, hello again. Is there something we can do for you?"
"No, I just saw these damsels with a lot of boxes and bags and thought I would help them bring it to their room, I didn't know they were your daughters."
"Oh, well, thank you for your kindness and yes these are my girls. It looks like you bought out the store girls; did you leave some for others?" The girls laugh at this and say that a lot of things were left in the stores. The boys were not so charmed by the man. Momma looked for some clothes for Spencer and handed them into the bathroom to him. He comes out and looks at the man, he doesn't remember him, but he sees the way the guys are looking at him. He looks at the man the same way, with suspicion.
Momma finds this an interesting experience, the girls are charmed but the boys are suspicious. Is this how many children of single parents act toward a new person in their parents' life? Are her agents being children right now or FBI agents? Maybe a little of both? Everyone is distracted when Aaron wakes up and sees the situation in front of him. What is happening? Who is this man? The man looks at the baby in the crib looking at him.
"Well, hello little one, it is nice to see you with your eyes open. I was helping your sisters bring up their boxes and bags from their shopping trip. I met your mom and brothers earlier, when I assisted them in bringing in you and the pool toys. Did you have fun in the pool earlier today?"
"Mommy?" She goes over to the crib and lifts her little man out. He puts his thumb in his mouth and looks at him with suspicion as he grabs on to her.
"It seems all of your boys don't like me, which is okay. Let them be protective of you and hopefully their sisters and each other. You have a good family. Maybe when you are ready to date, you'll think of me." He hands her a business card. She looks at it and smiles shyly at the man.
"I'll think about it. Thank you for helping my girls." They shake hands and he leaves.
JJ says, "Okay, what was the rudeness all about?"
Derek responds looking at David, "Were we being rude?"
David says, "I don't think so, just protective of our momma and some man that we don't know."
Penelope pipes in, "Are you kidding me? That is a ridiculous statement. Momma can take care of herself and she doesn't need you or anyone else to do protect her, nor do we." Momma just sat down after changing Aarons diaper and watched this interaction between her children.
Derek says, "Look, daddy just died and she doesn't need another man trying to take his place." Our agents are trying to maintain their roles in the family.
JJ responds, "Is that what you thought, that he could daddy's place, nothing could ever take his place. It doesn't matter who else comes into momma's life. He will always be a part of her life, because she has us and we are a part of her life."
Derek says, "I just don't like the man. Why would he be interested in a woman with seven children, one of them in diapers and another just barely out of diapers?"
Spencer says, "Hey, I am not just out of diapers."
Derek, "You wear pull-ups which does mean barely out of diapers and to some people that doesn't even mean that. He was just creepy that's all. I didn't like him. I don't want momma dating anybody." He goes very quickly into the bathroom. It is clear that Derek has some issues about momma dating.
Momma goes to knock on the door and asks Derek if she could come in. He opens the door enough to let her in. She puts Aaron down on the floor; he is still wearing just a diaper. Momma goes into the bathroom to talk with Derek.
She sits on the closed toilet lid and he sits on the edge of the tub.
"Okay, tell me about the first man your mother dated after your father died." He looks at her in surprise, how much does this woman know about their real lives? "You were ten years old and feeling alone, even abandoned."
"Mom started dating a man not very long, less than a year; she didn't date him very long. But when she did it was like all she had time for was him and what he wanted. It looked like she was forgetting about Dad and it hurt so much because he wasn't there and then she didn't seem to be there. The man she dated didn't really want to know her children and so we never got to go anywhere with him or get to know him well. Every time she went out with him, I felt kicked in the stomach. It only lasted three months and she didn't date again for almost two years. She has never remarried, I don't think she even dates now, but that first guy, it was hard to see him with her and he tried to convince her to completely forget about dad. I hated that man and for awhile I hated mom too. But that didn't last long."
Well, that's good." He looked at her quizzingly. "That you didn't hate your mother for very long. It sounds like your mother got smart after that first guy. Too many women get lonely and want that man again in their lives and when that happens, a lot of times they will just go for the first guy that asks them out. Too many wind up with them or continue to search for the jerks who like to prey on recent divorced women or widows. That is a very vulnerable group of women, who miss the adult man, but aren't really ready for the sexual or long term commitment. They want to feel wanted again, they know they are needed by the children or their workplace, but they still feel the need for themselves that they are beautiful and wanted by a good man. It makes them vulnerable to the creeps out there, who prey on that. They make them feel wanted but only so they could have sex with them, not a life. Those are the men who don't spend the time with the children or spends too much time trying to win the children over with their charm and good graces."
"The dogs of men."
"Yeah, I guess you could call them that." Momma and Derek continue to talk about his relationship with his real mother and the men who did come into her life.
In the meantime, out in the room, the kids are finding things to do. The girls have not gotten out their shopping goodies yet, because they want to wait for momma and Derek to see what they have. They are playing a game on the bed. David and Spencer are playing with the cars that momma had brought from home. They invited Aaron to join them, but he said no. He wasn't very comfortable right now. He didn't like the fact that momma hadn't dressed and he was just wearing a diaper. He felt ashamed and humiliated by his team seeing him this way.
"David, could you find me some clothes to wear." David looks at Hotch, who looks at him so endearingly.
"I don't know where momma keeps your clothes."
"But you could check the suitcases and stuff."
"I don't think I should; momma might get mad. Besides you look fine, you don't need anything else on, unless you're cold. Is that it baby, are you cold?"
"No, I am not cold. I am actually very comfortable temperature wise. I just don't like running around without clothes on." He walks over to the girls. "Garcia, I need some clothes, find me some."
"Excuse me, you don't need to talk to me like that and you look fine the way you are. Nice and cool for this hot day."
"I am wearing just a diaper and I don't like that. I want to wear some clothes, find me some." His voice is getting higher and angrier and he is trying to put the fierce boss man into it. He is trying to express his want for clothes as an adult because right now he feels that way. Adults feel shame when running around in just their underwear, babies don't care. Remember, shame is something that is learned, it is not a natural emotion to have. Aaron gets mad and starts to look for clothes to wear. He goes to the dressers that have drawers in them and starts tugging and pulling at them. He finally gets one open and sees clothes in there and starts to pull them out trying to find something to fit. There was nothing. He goes to the next drawer and the same results happen. Finally, every drawer in the room is open and the contents of them were spilled all over the place and not one of them had something for the boss man to put on.
He gets mad, sits down in the middle of the room and screams.