Disclaimer: See chapter 1
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Will opened the door to the cottage and the couple was immediately transported into quaint old world charm. "This is beautiful," JJ said eyeing the red brick fireplace and the camel back love seat that faced it with a coffee table in front of it that held a vase of red roses. The fireplace was flanked by bookcases full of books. A little table and two chairs sat off to one side near the windows that looked over the grassy knoll and the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond.
Will had opened the door to the other room on the main floor. "Wait until you see this," he said as JJ came toward him.
She looked in the room, a marble bath with a Jacuzzi for two. "Oh my God," she remarked as she eyed the room. Scented candles added a romantic atmosphere.
There were stairs leading up to a loft bedroom that maintained the old world charm with a queen sized sleigh bed covered with a hand made quilt. The windows up here gave the same picturesque scenery as the downstairs ones. JJ had been leery when Garcia had suggested this. She spent so much time in hotel rooms as it was. Her off time shouldn't be spent in one, but this was no ordinary hotel room. It was an oasis in the desert made for two. "Pinch me," JJ said as she winked at Will.
The phone in the room rang and Will answered it, listened to the caller and then replied. "Alright then, we will, thank you." He turned to JJ. "That was the front desk. Whoever booked the cottage arranged for in room massages. All we have to do is let them know when we want them."
"I think," JJ said as she put her arms around Will's neck, "we'll have to leave Garcia and Reid to their own devices more often."
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"Uh… uh, Garcia," Reid said as he stared at the diaper like it was a ticking bomb about to go off. "Garcia," he said again a little louder.
"Sorry Reid," he heard from downstairs. "I got a phone call. Just go ahead and start without me."
"Start without you!" He squeaked as he eyeballed the toddler who'd begun to fidget, likely trying to tell him mommy or daddy would have had him dressed by now.
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"So, what was this big text to call you ASAP?" Emily's voice came through Garcia's cell. "Don't tell me something's gone wrong." Emily looked at her watch, "Already!"
"Nope," Garcia said as she sat in one of the kitchen chairs with her feet up on one of the others. "I just needed a distraction so that Reid has no choice, but to deal with Henry all by himself."
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Okay, this wasn't rocket science he told himself as he removed Henry's pajama bottoms, leaving Henry's bottom on the soft plastic pad on the table with wipes on the shelf underneath. He supposed that was what he was expected to use. He looked at Henry on the change table and again at the door, still no sign of Garcia, as he undid the tabs on the diaper. His eyes watered as his nose scrunched. His theory that Henry wasn't getting much of his food because of all the mess he made flew right out the window when he saw… and smelled what was waiting for him. "My God, you're not even two yet!" He wished now he could snap on some latex gloves like he wore at a crime scene. Though this was no crime scene he noted, just evidence that Henry's digestive system was working well which was a good thing he told himself. He pulled a moist wipe from the container, looked at the size of it and looked at Henry's diaper before reaching in for a handful and proceeding with the cleanup while he squinted and his mouth and nose contorted. Once he was finished he disposed of the diaper in a pail in the room, cleaned his hands well with some more wipes and applied a new one, taking special care to note he had it the right way around, and realizing he may have overdone it with the powder once the white cloud made him start to cough. There, he told himself, the hard part was over. The rest would be a piece of cake.
Beads of sweat had started to trickle down Reid's forehead as he was snapping the last Velcro snap on Henry's shoes in place. Why, he thought, had he gotten the idea that dressing his godson would be easier than changing the diaper? It appeared that Henry had wanted to be anywhere, but here with his godfather, getting dressed. He had squirmed and tried to get away from Reid and the little arms that Reid was attempting to put into the sleeves of Henry's T shirt were going in any other direction. Getting tiny feet to go cooperatively into little shoes was worse than trying to thread a needle with string.
Garcia poked her head into the room, "How's it going?"
"Fine," Reid replied sarcastically as he finally set the restless toddler on the floor and he quickly tottered out of the room. "Where were you?"
"I told you, I got a phone call. Emily's got a date tonight. She's having a fashion 911 and she needed some advice. We should go keep an eye on him." She turned and headed down the hallway.
"I'm so glad you could help her," Reid called after her as he took Henry's pajamas and put them in the hamper and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. Emily had a fashion emergency, he thought, and she'd called Garcia!
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"What do we do now?" Reid asked when he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, literally almost tripping over a busy Henry as he went by, his tiny legs wheeling a toy with a bright blue seat, yellow handlebars and red wheels. It appeared to be equipped with lights that flashed various colors and a horn that honked…loudly. "I guess pedestrians don't have the right of way," he noted to Garcia who began to giggle.
"Not to a toddler, didn't you have one of those when you were a kid?"
"No Garcia, I told you, I had books. I was reading by the time I was two," Reid sat down on the opposite end of the couch from Garcia. "I read books like Moby Dick before I was five."
Garcia looked at her friend and her heart filled with sadness. He really hadn't exaggerated. He hadn't played. "Well," she said, "we're just going to do things backwards." She got up from the sofa noticing Henry had tired of his ride along. She dragged his toy box to the middle of the room and pushed the coffee table out of the way. "Come on Reid, down on the floor. We're going to play."
"Play! Play with what?" Reid asked, still in his place on the couch.
"Whatever we find," she put her hands in the box pulling out piles of toys that caught Henry's attention and he toddled over.
Reid remained on the sofa as he watched Garcia in all her colorful brilliance plop down in the middle of the floor with Henry. She smiled at the boy and her eyes widened as one thing after another came from the box and Henry would squeal with glee at the sight of each one. He, Dr. Spencer Reid, playing with toys; he'd never heard of anything more ridiculous he thought as he watched her empty the last of the contents of the toy box onto the center of the floor.
She looked up from her spot beside Henry. "Do not make me come over there Dr. Reid!"
