Who is the Victim Here
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 Twenty-Four.
The three men wake up the next morning feeling stiff. The only one confused in the morning is Aaron because he didn't realize that the other two were holding him until he woke in their arms. Sean then had his hands full with cleaning up both men because Spencer needed to be changed and have his rash taken care of and then Aaron needed to be changed and dressed and then fed his bottle. While Aaron had his bottle, the rest of the team arrived and they began to talk about what they were planning for the day.
Morgan says, "We didn't find anything at the place Prentiss and I went yesterday, the man said that he hasn't seen the brother since he left the prison six years ago. There are two more we are going to check out today and then we can go visit Rossi."
"We can hopefully find out where the brother is if not be able to arrest him at this time. "Says Prentiss.
A knock is heard on the door and Sean gets up to answer and on the other side is Angie.
"Hello," she says, "can I come in." The man hugs her.
"Please come in and why aren't you in your hospital bed."
"I don't have tests over the weekend, so I decided not to stay. I have that option. I didn't want to sit in a hospital bed and be bored. I can be bored at home just as easily, but I came here first."
"I am glad to see you."
"Is there a problem, Sean?"
"I have to talk to my brother about what he did yesterday and I don't really know how to discipline him for being disobedient." This was all talk between only these two people.
"What did he do?"
"He went down into the dungeon when I told him that he shouldn't and to delegate to his team and agents. He freaked and Morgan had to carry him back up. He hasn't come out of the fear since."
"What do you mean?"
"I look at him right now and I see him reliving it. He hasn't spoken since then. Before then, he was beginning to walk and was talking well and being more of an adult. But since 11:30 yesterday morning all I see is the baby." She reaches up and gives comfort to the man seemed upset about once again losing his big brother.
"Well then maybe I can help." She comes in and says hi to the team. She sits down next to Aaron and places her hand on his leg. He looks at the hand and then lifts his head to the face looking at him. He reaches for her and the two hug fiercely. They break apart and look at each other in the eye and the others in the room decide it was time to leave and give them some privacy.
She says, "I heard you were disobedient yesterday."
He looks at her and slowly nodded his head and quietly says, "I'm sorry. I thought I could handle it but I got there and all I could see was me and that cage that wasn't there. I can't forget now and I am so scared now. He is going to get me again and this time I won't escape him. He is my master." She cups his face in her hands and looks at him straight.
She says, "He is not your master, you have no master. You are the most strong, capable, loving and gentle man that I have ever known, even over my brothers. I need you to come back from where you now because you have responsibilities. Your son needs you, your brother needs you, your agents need you and I need you." The man hears her words but is still in the grip of hearing that man calling him puppy and to get in your cage. He just wants to forget. How can he forget? He looks at her and does the most spontaneous thing he can think of. He kisses her.
She pulls away from him after the kiss and says, "If you think kissing me is going to get you out of being punished by your disobedience yesterday, think again."
"No, I didn't think that. I just wanted to forget about that man and kissing you seemed the best way for me to do that." She smiled at him for that. This man makes her feel so protected and loved. Something of a new feeling for her and she is not sure how to respond to it. He is the one needing protecting and to be loved and taken care of. He is the one needing a hero but his innate quality is to be the hero. How can you protect the protector?
"I need to go and see David. I am worried about him and need to make sure he is going to be okay and I heard they had to kill Susan to save him. I need you to be strong."
"I want to go see Rossi too so can we do my punishment after we get back? I really don't want to be squirming in my seat."
"You think your punishment will be a spanking?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe in spanking babies."
"Sometimes you need to make an exception for adult babies." She places her hand on his cheek and he pulls her close to him.
Sean breaks into this moment and says, "I have every intention of punishing my big brother for doing something I told him not. To. Do. But we can wait until this afternoon after seeing David."
Putting Aaron in his stroller the agents, Sean and Angie head to the hospital to see David and invade his room en masse. Angie goes to the side of his bed and strokes his head and he opens her eyes to look at her.
"Hello handsome how are you feeling?" she asks him.
"I feel like I have been through a blender."
"I saw your body and it looks like that too. I thought I told you to take care of yourself and not let this happen. I am very disappointed that it happened but grateful that you are alive." She bends to kiss him.
The agents express their statements to that same effect. Morgan and Prentiss head out to check out the other contacts and Garcia gets Angie's permission to head back to her place and do research on the computer since she now knows the keys and passwords to get in. Sean takes Aaron out of the stroller and sat him on the edge of the bed next to David and the men held eyes and hands in mutual respect and understanding of each other. JJ is taking the train back to D. C. to see her son and check on any cases that may have come in. Spencer feels mildly out of place because he wants to work but doesn't feel quite up to it just yet. So he just sits in the corner of the hospital room and reads one of the several books that he took from Angie's.
Angie, Aaron and David talk throughout the morning until Sean takes Aaron to give him a late morning bottle and have him take a nap in the day room. Spencer gets changed at this time and spends the rest of the morning in the day room while David takes a rest and Angie just sits in the room and looks after her brother. When lunch time comes, it seems all of our men are awake again and Angie assists David in eating his lunch, she didn't have to, but he let her anyway. Sean has Spencer feed Aaron while he and Angie went out of the hospital to get themselves and Spencer some lunch. When they arrive back with the food, Sean takes over holding Aaron while Spencer ate. That afternoon, Angie stays at David's side while he rests and the men go back to the hotel room where Sean makes Spencer and Aaron take naps and also rested.
Later in the evening, the men go back and see David again. It appears that he is doing very well; most of the damage was dehydration and the muscle and skin damage from the whippings, but the doctors' plan on sending him home on Monday. Morgan and Prentiss come also but the places they went to were duds again, the man is still being elusive. Garcia found more contacts that they will be able to check out while she was on the computer at Angie's. Our agents all go back to their hotel rooms and Angie goes home for the night.
At the hotel, Sean gets his men ready for bed, but has still not forgotten that Aaron needs to be punished for his disobedience of the day before. He has never had to punish his brother before but he is currently his guardian and is responsible for his actions and keeping him safe. His mistake was in trusting him or was it a mistake? Shouldn't Aaron be able to make that choice or is he not ready for the choices like that? Sean ponders these questions. Is Aaron ready to go back to work on a limited basis? Can he make the decisions to lead his team and guide his agents to a good conclusion? Is the decision that he made yesterday an example of that or just a man's own ego to show that he is in charge of his own life and can make his own choices? Was Aaron going into the dungeon a good choice? If the way the man is acting now is a result of that choice, then no, the choice was not good. But is it deserving of punishment, if so what kind?
Aaron breaks into Sean's reverie by mildly touching his face, Sean looks down at his brother who is drinking his bottle and looking at him with a question of penny for your thoughts on his face. His response, "My thoughts are about punishing you for what you did yesterday by going down into the dungeon. Are you happy now that you know what my thoughts are?" Aaron closes his eyes and then opens them again wondering what his brother's decision was. "I haven't made my decision yet. If it were your decision to make in this case how would you deal with the person who did what you did?" Aaron shook his head slightly to say he cannot answer because each case must be taken on its own merits and he cannot make that decision for himself. "I didn't think you would answer. Just let me think and you just drink your bottle." He looks up and over to the other bed at Spencer, who was just reading another of Angie's books. "Are the books any good, Spencer?"
The man looks up and says, "Actually these are books that I have never even heard of and I'm finding them quite interesting. Angie has a library of rare and not so rare books of every genre and type you can find and none of the books are brand new. From what I read in her files and on her library computer, she gets them from estate sales and used book stores. She has completely catalogued the entire library and the rarity of many of the books is amazing. Most of the books in her library I have never even heard of except in bibliographies. I look forward to reading the entire library. From the sheer number of books that she has, it will take awhile even with how fast I read. I am having fun."
"When was the last time you went to the bathroom?"
"I don't remember." He goes back to reading with a mild squirm.
"Maybe you should go."
"I don't need to go." He squirms a little more. Sean puts Aaron down on the bed and gets up to go to Spencer. He looks down and Spencer looks up at him. "What? I don't need to go to the bathroom."
"I know you don't need to go to the bathroom." Spencer nods his head and goes back to reading. "You already went and need to be changed." Spencer looks up.
"I would know that wouldn't I. I do have control of my bladder and know when I need to go."
"Get up Spencer and let's clean you up." Sean walks to get the diaper stuff out; he has made a changing table out of the long dresser in the room. He looks around and Spencer is still sitting on the bed.
"I don't need to be changed, I am not wet." He squirms again. Sean just looks at him. He walks over to the bed that Spencer is sitting on and the man scoots to the furthest end of the bed that Sean is walking towards.
"Spencer, stop acting like a child and let me check your diaper." He walks around the bed to the other side to get the man. Spencer scoots to the other side. Sean is now getting mildly irritated and pulls on the bedspread to pull the man towards him. Spencer squeals and tries to get away, but Sean is able to reach out to grab the man's ankle. He pulls and Spencer is in front of him. Sean reaches down and lifts him up, Spencer squirms and tries to get down, Sean smacks his backside several times to stop the squirming. Spencer stops and starts to cry instead. At the changing table, Sean lays the man down and pulls off his pajama bottoms and begins to remove the plastic pants and the very wet diaper. Sean cleans the man and puts lotion on the rash and puts a dry diaper and plastic pants on him. He takes off the pajama top and instead puts one of Aaron's sleepers on the man. He carried him over to the bed with Aaron and goes to remake the other bed. Aaron takes Spencer in his arms and comforts the still crying 'man'.
Sean looks at the two men on the bed, one is already crying and now he has to make the other one cry, could he feel any worse. He walks over to the bed and sits down and pulls his big brother over to him. He begins to remove his sleeper and notices the wet diaper. He removes the diaper completely and places his brother over his lap; Aaron has already started to cry. He knows that he did wrong but to be spanked like this was so humiliating to him, Sean puts his hand down on his older brother's bottom. SMACK. "You will." SMACK. "Never disobey." SMACK. "Me again." SMACK. "When I say." SMACK. "That you do not." SMACK. "Do something." SMACK. "You will not do it." SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.
The cries are heavy and deep as Sean picks up his brother and holds him in his arms, rubbing his back and rocking the man. Spencer comes over and leans against Sean, who lets the man in and comforts him too. Sean has come to realize that right now he has two very little boys with him and he is daddy to both of them. After a few minutes, he sets Aaron off his lap and gets up, picks up Aaron and goes to clean him and put a fresh diaper on him. He puts him in his sleeper and goes back to the bed with Spencer still on it, sniffling. Taking a tissue, he has the boy blow his nose and then sits with both laying on either side of him and starts to read the book that he has been reading to Aaron for the past week. Spencer gets caught up in it as well and both boys are asleep after a few chapters.
Sean carefully gets off the bed and prepares himself for bed. He lies down on the other bed but knows that he will wake up in a few hours and move over to the other bed when Aaron starts having his bad dreams. But he tries to get a few hours of sleep alone.
