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-Seven.
Very early Saturday morning
Someone is crying and whimpering which wakes up all those who are not doing so. Sean goes into the nursery and takes his brother out of his crib. He takes the whimpering man to the rocking chair and begins to sing softly and rocks him. Angie and David look on at this picture of sweet comfort. Angie realizes now why she couldn't help him; she didn't realize that every night he remembered the torture. He might have had the dreams when he was with her but she did not know because she would wake him up to feed him before the dreams began and she didn't hear the whimpering. She thought it was for something else. It is at this moment that she realizes that she cannot see this man again. She doesn't want to know the baby and she doesn't expect the man to return from where he has hidden himself. The hero was gone she believes.
Later that morning, she tells Sean that she was heading back to New York and would not be returning. If he needed anything or if Spencer wanted books, then she would send them but she would not be coming back here again. She tells this to David as well and he understands and will continue to love her as his sister.
Sean asks, "What about Aaron? I know that you love him, can you just leave him?"
"I have to Sean and I do love what I have seen of the man and what I know of the history of the man and what he has done. But that person in there is not the man I love. I adore the baby but I want the man and he is hiding. You can take care of the baby fine, you are doing a good job and don't need me to interfere with that. I am still assessing the overdose of the drugs on Spencer's system. I would appreciate if you could still report on his bodily functions and emotional actions, so that we can determine what the future may be for it. It may be permanent, it may work its way completely through at any time. The drug is still in his system is all I can tell you right now. Have a blood test taken each week for me to assess, the labs at the agency should do fine and maybe have him also discuss how he feels about it to the psychiatric center. You also need to take care of yourself. Take a day off for yourself at least once a month, have someone else take care of the boys. Sometimes caretakers forget to take care of themselves. You will do neither man any good if you get too exhausted." She turns to leave the apartment and then turns back and says, "If Aaron ever should come back and wants to see me, he needs to come to me dressed as a man, walking and ready to take me out to dinner for surf and turf. He had better be able to eat with me. Otherwise I don't want to see him again." She leaves with tears in her eyes leaving a trio of men having the same tears.
Later that day, David hasn't gone home yet so he is helping Sean prepare the boys for their time outdoors. Sean likes to take Aaron to the park for fresh air and sunshine and now that Spencer is part of the family he is to be included in the walk. Spencer is being a problem again in that he doesn't like the fact that he is going out to play in the park wearing a diaper and plastic pants under the jeans that Sean puts on him. This is the first Saturday with the Hotchner boys and he doesn't know the schedule that Aaron lives by. That in the late morning, the boys go for a walk in the park and then home for lunch and a nap. Spencer will have to accommodate himself to that schedule if he wants to be with the Hotchners and have Sean take care of him. He tries to convince Sean to allow him to stay home alone. Sean will not accept that, if he wants him to take care of him than he follows the schedule and realizes that he will not be left home alone. Spencer finally gives in and the four men at the apartment leave. David did not have to go with them but he thought a good walk would be good for him as well.
When the boys get to the park, Sean walks around the park but doesn't usually stop, since Aaron doesn't get out of the stroller, he is only about the level of a 10-month-old except in his intelligence. But since he doesn't walk or run or play on the swings or anything, it is mainly just walking around that the brothers do. But they now have Spencer, who is a slightly older child for Sean, so they go to the playground and Sean tries to encourage Spencer to play on the equipment. Spencer looks at him a little funny but goes to the swing set and starts to swing, David goes and pushes him. It is an interesting sight but Sean goes over and takes over for David who goes back and rocks the stroller back and forth, while Sean helps his other little boy play. After a little bit, Spencer does begin to really enjoy playing. He went to every piece of equipment on the playground while Sean watched and gave him a boost if necessary. Sean thinks of Spencer in this case of about two and half years, so he tries to get him to play that way. It doesn't take too much to do so. This is a man who struggles with being a man but doesn't know any other way. He didn't really have a childhood of play and imagination. He had too many adult responsibilities at too young of an age. Sean wants him to have some fun. David and Aaron watch on at the sidelines.
After about an hour of play, Sean tells Spencer that it is time to go home for lunch. Like any little child Spencer says, "I don't want to go yet. I want to play." Sean takes him off the slide and takes him by the hand over to where David and Aaron were. Aaron was already napping in the stroller. Spencer struggled a little against Sean because he wanted to play some more. Sean instead lifted the man off his feet and started to carry him while David pushed the stroller for home. Spencer did not like this at all and struggled to get down. Sean asks, "Are you going to walk like a big boy home?" Spencer looks at him and hangs his head down and says yes. Sean puts him down but keeps a hold of his hand.
They get back to the apartment and Sean takes Spencer to the bedroom to change his diaper and then fixes lunch for him and David. He then takes Aaron out of the stroller and changes his diaper and feeds his hungry brother his bottle. David comes in and takes over for Sean in feeding Aaron so that Sean can eat something too. After Spencer finishes lunch then he goes to play with the toys in the living room. He knows he is tired but doesn't want to take a nap but Sean has other ideas for our little boy. When he has finished lunch, he cleans up the kitchen and then goes to take his little boy from the toys to his crib. Spencer weakly fights him but is actually too tired to do. After Spencer is in his crib then comes to get the baby in David's arms, who is already asleep but that doesn't bother Sean, who picks him up and puts him in this crib for his nap.
David goes home while the boys are napping and Sean lies back in the recliner to get some rest himself. When a few hours later, Aaron cries out for Sean, Spencer did not cry out, he just sat in his crib waiting for Aaron to wake up. Spencer did not want to wake him up. Sean came in and found both his boys awake; he goes to Aaron first since he is the one crying. He picks him up and changes his diaper and then puts him in the living room on the floor and goes back to the nursery to take Spencer out of his crib and changes his diaper and then takes him to the living room to play with the toys. The two babies begin to play together, until Sean comes in with a snack for the both of them. He puts the sippy cup of grape juice and animal crackers on the floor next to the rocking chair and Spencer comes and sits there to eat and drink his snack. Aaron gets picked up and Sean sits in the rocker with him drinking his bottle.
When the boys finished their snacks, they go back to the toys and begin to play together, but after a while Aaron decides that he wants the toy that Spencer is playing with instead of the car that he has. Spencer isn't giving it to him but Aaron grabs it anyway. Spencer yells and grabs it back. Aaron screams as he goes for the toy again. He hits the back of Spencer as the boy moves away from Aaron to keep the toy to himself. Aaron crawls behind him. Spencer then stands up and goes to the other side of the room and climbs on the sofa and screams, "You can't have my toy." Spencer is crying because Aaron hit him.
Aaron gets frustrated and screams because he wants it. He just sits there and starts to cry. It is at this moment that Sean finally comes in and sees what his boys are up to. He had been listening to the screams and yells and finally thought he should check it out when he hears crying. Spencer is on the couch holding his toy like it was the most valuable thing in the world and crying. Aaron is sitting on the floor crying and upset because he can't have what he wants. Sean goes to Aaron first, picks the baby up and walks over to get a toy similar to what Spencer is holding and goes to the rocker. He begins to rock him and puts the toy in his arms. Aaron did not really want it but he looked at Sean's face and kept it in his arms while he began to relax and stops crying. Sean looks down at his brother and says, "Feeling better." Aaron nodded his head. "Then tell me what that was about." The man looked perplexed at what Sean was asking. "Do you know what you just did?" The man shook his head in confusion. He looks over to what Spencer is doing and wonders why he is looking at him that way. It seems that our man had an episode of disassociation from himself. He doesn't remember what he did. Spencer just looks at him mad and upset and holding on to the toy.
Sean takes Aaron and puts him down by the toys again and he begins to play with the toy he was playing with earlier. Sean goes over to Spencer and picks him up from the sofa and takes him to the rocker in the dining room and sits with the boy. Spencer looks at him and asks, "What happened to Hotch? Why did he try to take my toy?"
Sean explains to him that sometimes Aaron breaks and acts completely out of character of who he is. The psychiatrist doesn't know why yet but we just have to be patient and gentle with him. He doesn't remember acting this way. When he acts like a real baby. It is weird but I have hope that eventually we will get our real Aaron back. We just have to be patient.
Spencer is still angry with Aaron even if Aaron doesn't know why; Spencer stays away and plays alone with a group of toys. Aaron tries to apologize but Spencer is having none of it. Spencer stays mad all evening long. Tonight Sean feeds Aaron while sitting on the sofa and puts a movie in to watch with the boys. He has Aaron on the left side of him and Spencer comes to sit on the right side of Sean.
The boys watch the movie and just enjoy being next to 'daddy' Sean.
