Disclaimer: See chapter 1
A/N: Last chapter folks. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing and encouraging me to go forward with the one shot.
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Reid wasn't sure what woke him first, the loud crack of thunder or Henry's piercing shriek. He jumped from his place on the sofa and rushed in the direction of the boy's cries, forgetting, in the darkness, that he wasn't in his own home, and banged his good knee on JJ and Will's coffee table. "Oh f…" he left the word unfinished as he scrambled to find a light and make his way to Henry. Surely Garcia would be there by now. He was aided in his quest by a bright flash of lightning, which illuminated the room enough that he found a table lamp and switched it on. After giving his eyes a moment to accommodate to the light, he headed for the stairs.
"It's okay baby, it's okay," Garcia was saying to Henry when he entered the room. She gently jiggled the wriggling child in her arms and spoke softly to him, but none of it seemed to calm the boy as he put his arms out to Reid and tried to wiggle from Garcia's grasp. "Looks like he wants you," she said as she handed the crying child over to his godfather.
"It's likely because I'm a guy and he's used to Will always being here," Reid replied. "Hey Henry," Reid tried to think of something to calm the frightened boy. "Look at this," he picked up one of Henry's stuffed animals from his crib, but the boy just pushed it away, seemingly wanting nothing to do with it. He looked to Garcia in a stretchy flowered pajama top with mauve bottoms, but she only shrugged her shoulders as one more flash of lightning, accompanied by a loud clap of thunder sent Henry's screaming up another notch. Reid bit his bottom lip, looked around helplessly, and finally sat in the blue glider rocker. "Okay Henry, you know the thing about storms is, you just have to wait them out, and so, we'll sit here and wait it out." He balanced the boy on his lap and his puppy dog eyes looked pleadingly at the child. "What about your animal book?"
Garcia left the room in search of the book while more lightning and thunder sent the shrieking still further. Soon Henry would be screeching louder than the thunder itself, she thought.
"It's just a loud noise Henry, nothing to be afraid of. Ben Franklin went out in a storm like this with a kite almost three hundred years ago, and found out about electricity; so, now we have lights so Henry's not scared," and Uncle Spence for that matter, he whispered under his breath. "Well, technically, that was Thomas Edison, but that's for another day. Anyway, the thunder can't hurt you; it's just a loud noise because the heat of the lightning makes the air in the clouds expand and contract which causes a vibrating tubular effect, like a drum that you would hit and it would make a big boom."
Garcia stood, silently leaning against the door jamb, the animal book in hand, watching Reid explain the intricacies of thunder and lightning to a nineteen month old. The surprising thing was, Henry had stopped crying and was watching Reid closely as he spoke, his breathing hitching occasionally and tears still glistening on his pink cheeks. Garcia set the book beside Reid on the table and, without a word, backed out of the room. "Okay Henry, here's your animal book." She heard him say as she walked down the hallway. "Do you want me to read it to you. My mommy used to read to me, even when I could read myself. She said it was the best way." Garcia visited the bathroom and returned to her bed in the guest room. In between the flashes of lightning and the rumbling thunder, she could hear Reid, barking, howling, quacking, and honking, the most unorthodox of lullabies, she thought, as she fell asleep.
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The sun was streaming brightly through the bedroom window when Garcia opened her eyes, birds chirped, and the only evidence of last night's storm was the occasional puddle that would soon be dry. She hadn't heard anything from Henry the remainder of the night, so, Reid's animal imitations must have done the trick. After a trip to the bathroom, she went to look in on Henry. The light was still on. Reid must have left it on for Henry after he'd put him down. She looked into the room to find Henry's crib empty; the small boy snuggled into Reid's arms in the rocker, both fast asleep, their mouths wide open with Henry's animal book on the floor at Reid's feet. Well, Garcia told herself as she headed for her room. This was definitely a Kodak moment.
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Reid had Henry on the change table contemplating the fact that he'd had more than his fair share of diaper duty but Garcia said she had to make breakfast. Well, he could pour Cheerios in a bowl, couldn't he? He'd just removed his godson's wet diaper when the boy chose to let go of a fresh spray. "Henry!" Reid squeaked as he scurried to cover the spout with the diaper as a squirt just missed his face. "That was not very funny Henry." The boy's giggle told his godfather he thought otherwise. Reid continued getting the toddler cleaned up changed and dressed, which, fortunately, was not as taxing as the day before. Now his turn; he headed for the bathroom and his own morning ritual, this time thinking to close the door to prevent the inquisitive toddler from escaping. Once done, he lifted Henry, who ran his hands along Uncle Spence's cleanly shaven face. "Come on Henry; let's go see what Garcia's got for us."
What Garcia had for them, Reid noted when they entered the kitchen, was scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh buttermilk biscuits and a pot of glorious coffee. He could get used to this, he thought, as he secured Henry in his high chair.
"Sweetcheeks, you have him dressed already," Garcia remarked. "Aren't you the quick study?"
"Always have been," Reid said, yawning as he filled a mug with the steaming brew from the pot on the counter and headed for the sugar bowl while Garcia dished out breakfast.
"Make sure it's not too hot for him," she warned as she handed Reid a bowl of scrambled eggs for Henry.
Reid blew on it a few times, then put it in front of Henry. "Try to hit your mouth today, okay," he said as he sat down and dug into his own bacon, eggs and biscuits. Henry, it seemed, felt it necessary to provide a running commentary during the meal. What scared Reid was that he was beginning to think he understood him.
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The blue Altima pulled into the driveway and Will grabbed their bags while JJ rushed into the house to find Henry and Uncle Spence building a rather impressive castle of blocks while Garcia sat on the sofa knitting. "Mama," Henry forgot about the castle, knocking it over in an attempt to run to her arms.
"Hi sweetheart," JJ said, kissing him on the forehead. "Did you have fun with Aunt Penelope and Uncle Spence?" In answer he turned and pointed to his godparents. "How was he," she asked as Will entered with their bags and Henry squealed, "Dada," holding his arms out to his father.
"He was a very good boy," Garcia said, "a little afraid of the thunderstorm last night but Uncle Spence managed to get him calmed down. So, did you have a good time?" She set her knitting aside.
"Garcia, it was the best," JJ said. "I don't know how to thank you. We love this little one more than anything, but," she tweaked Henry's nose, "the time alone was wonderful and the pampering we got… I can't imagine what you guys must have paid for that."
Will looked at the floor as he carried Henry into the room. "We usually don't let him play with everything at once you guys."
"So he got a little spoiled too," Garcia replied. "It's good for the soul every now and then."
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JJ carried Henry down the stairs while Garcia followed closely behind. "I guess he's too excited to nap," JJ said. "Maybe he'll settle in early tonight." She put Henry down on the floor. "Henry," she took a wrapped box from Garcia. "Can you give this to Daddy?" The toddler took the box and JJ pointed at Will. "Give it to Daddy." Henry toddled over and placed the box in his father's hands. "Say Happy Father's Day," JJ said but Henry just looked confused.
"Thank you son," Will said, giving the boy a kiss and proceeding to open the card and then the present. When he opened the box he found a mug with a picture of himself and Henry and on the other side it said, I, followed by a big red heart, Daddy. "Thank you so much," he looked up at JJ then kissed his son again on the forehead and ran his fingers gently over his soft blond hair.
"Henry," JJ said and the child came back to her. She gave the boy the envelope she was holding. "Can you give this to Uncle Spence?" She pointed to Reid and Henry toddled over to hand him the envelope.
"W…what's this?" Reid asked, holding up the envelope.
"Well open it and find out," JJ replied.
Reid opened the envelope to find a card. The picture on the front was in the sepia tones of an old photograph and is showed a man's finger and a tiny hand clasping tightly to that finger. Happy Father's Day Godfather, it proclaimed. He opened the card and read the simple words printed there.
I am so lucky to have you in my life
to look up too…
to learn from…
and to love
It was signed "Henry" in JJ's beautiful handwriting but on the upper part of the card were scribbles in red crayon.
Reid was quiet for the longest time. "Spence," JJ said at last, concern evident in her voice.
He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Th…thank you, this is the nicest thing." He raised his eyes from the card and looked at the boy, still standing there, baffled by the quiet that had suddenly descended over the room. Reid reached over and caressed the child's blond hair, much like his father had. "Henry, I know you won't understand this, but I'll tell you again when you're older and again when someday you might doubt it, that I'm honored and proud to be your godfather and I will always love you and be there for you, no matter what."
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Reid entered his apartment and threw his go bag on the floor. He'd have to repack it for work tomorrow he told himself but instead he reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the card. Cards had never meant much to him, he'd gotten so few in his life. He read it again and smiled. Maybe he could teach Henry chess someday. He set it on his entertainment center and then stood back and looked at it like one looks at a masterpiece hung on the wall, checking it for perfect placement. Garcia had given him a small album of candid shots she'd taken of him and Henry throughout the weekend, which he retrieved from his go bag as well. He sat on the sofa and looked through them again. Garcia had been right, he had looked happy when he was playing in the sandbox. Perhaps she'd been right. Perhaps he'd needed to see the world as Henry saw it, through fresh eyes. He set the album on his coffee table, grabbed his go bag and headed for his bedroom.
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He reached up to the top shelf of his wardrobe, as he did every year, and, as every year, he told himself he wouldn't. He took the wooden box to the living room and opened it. One by one he took them out and laid them on the table until he had all ten. The first ones were store bought and then later they'd been hand made for a while, then store bought again, ten Father's Day cards. Why did he do this to himself every year? Was it to torment himself because he wished things could have been different? He reached out his hand and fingered each one, reading the words he knew by heart until the phone jogged him from his thoughts. "Hello," he choked into the receiver.
"Dad," he heard the voice on the other end. "Dad, it's Spencer."
