Here's the next chapter!

Aaron felt so ashamed, he felt so weak, Dr. Reid said he was supposed to feel better, so why didn't he? He almost thought he could actually trust him, now he was beginning to question whether he truly can or not. Although he will admit, being physically comforted in the man's arms was nice for a change, he couldn't remember the last time someone held him, it was most likely when his parents were still alive. Spencer continued to gently console him with assuring words, and by now, Aaron desperately wanted to just pull away, but his inner consideration was keeping him from doing so, he didn't exactly want to come off as rude to the only person he kind of felt safe around, even if he's on the thin side. Finally, it seemed his eyes have finally dried out, it took a good fifteen minutes though. Reid glanced down at the boy and asked. "Do you feel better?" Honestly speaking, Aaron didn't feel all that better appearing as weak as he did crying in the arms of a near complete stranger, but for some reason, hearing his kind, soft voice did, it seemed strange how the young agent's voice is calming to him like it is, he didn't quite understand it, but it was nice to hear nonetheless.

Eventually, Aaron did pull away, he returned to his chair, clasping his hands together and resumed staring at the table, his stoic eyes were still red from the tears. Reid sighed quietly at this, he really thought he had actually gotten to the teen, but perhaps it was all wishful thinking. Aside from the color of his eyeballs, he looked just like he had when the team first arrived at the station, Spencer swallowed, at least he had some more light on the matter about Foyet, but he also had some questions, such as why did Foyet kill only his family but not him, what was so special about Aaron that he actually let him live, but claiming that he'll be back for him? He didn't want to think about the young man befalling the same fate that his family did, and despite the trauma he's dealt with, he still deserved to live, he was still growing, he should get to have a life, and keep it too. It looked as if he wasn't going make any more progress with the silent child, Reid rose up from his chair and slowly made his way to the door. "Thank you, Aaron, you were a really great help." Aaron shot up when he saw the young doctor about to leave. What is he thinking? The man gave him some of the best comfort he's ever had in a long time, and he just shuts him out like that? And now he's leaving, his soothing voice and all. If he steps out that door, you may never ever see him again. Stop being so stubborn, Aaron! Do something, quick!

"Wait, s-stay with me... please?"

With an eyebrow raised, Spencer spun around to see Aaron looking up at him from his seat, his hands were off his lap and now clinging the edges of the table, his stern eyes were wide with worry, his body language read 'tense'. Surprised by his change in character, Reid asked. "You want me to stay?" Aaron suddenly looked embarrassed, he pursed his lips and gazed down. "It's okay, I don't have to leave, I won't go if you don't want me to." Spencer said kindly, the boy maintained his position but he nodded slowly, Reid couldn't help but smile a little. Clearly, he was doing something right, he never has been much of a kid person before, with the 'Reid effect' and all, but Aaron actually wanting him to stay with him was certainly not expected. Going into profiler mode, he could tell that all this was hurting the teen's pride, he's probably never asked for somebody to keep him company like this before, what Aaron needs to realize that it's okay, it's nothing to be ashamed of, but how exactly could Spencer explain this to the boy? He's gotten him this far already, he didn't want to say something that might push Aaron back to the state he was once in.

A knock came at the door followed by it opening and revealing Gideon, who smiled at Aaron, the teen eyed him wearily and shuffled closer to Spencer, this made the Unit Chief's smile grow bigger. "I trust you two are getting along fine?" Reid wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and nodded. "Did you need something Gideon?"

He shook his head quickly. "Oh, no, I was just going to let you know that the rest of us are going to look over the crime scene."

"Okay, you don't need me to come, do you?" Spencer asked, his own hand could feel the tension increase within Aaron's body.

"Nope, I think me and others will be fine, your presence seems much more needed here."

"Okay, thank you, sir." Reid nodded and Gideon closed the door, leaving him alone with Aaron once again. The young man turned to Spencer and asked. "So, who was that again?"

"That was my team's leader, Jason Gideon." Reid answered. "He's the one responsible for helping me join the FBI."

"I see." Aaron acknowledged. "Could I ever join the FBI?"

"Sure, maybe someday." Spencer replied.

"Maybe that Mr. Gideon could help me like he did you?"

"Mm, probably. Though, you're still kind of young to join the FBI yet."

"Aren't you young too?" The teen cocked an eyebrow.

Reid held back a snicker at the kid's smartness. "Technically, yes I am, but thanks to my intellect, and Agent Gideon, I was still able to join, even though I failed the physical test."

"I'm guessing you're a genius?" He mused.

"Well, I, um, I don't want to freak you out or anything, but I do have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and the ability to read 20,000 words per minute, so-"

"So I was right?" He cut him off.

"Seems like it."

A mere shy of a smirk formed on Aaron's face. A quiet session soon followed, leaving the air awkward and a little thick, neither of the two said anything more for a moment until Spencer cleared his throat once. "So, Aaron, what are your interests? Do you like sports?" The boy shook his head silently. "No? What do you like then?"

"I don't really know." The young man said honestly.

"Oh." Reid frowned. "No favorite animals, movies, nothing?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure." A distinctive growling sound was heard, Spencer could tell that it was the teen's stomach. "Have you eaten recently?"

Aaron thought for a short while, no actually, he hasn't eaten yet today, mostly because he didn't really want to, he'd been feeling very low, life in an orphanage was not pleasant for a fourteen year old when all the other kids are barely half his age. That, and the feeling of loneliness he's managed to hide fairly well so far was starting to finally get to him.

Spencer almost didn't recognize himself when he asked the boy that, because usually, it's one of his teammates always trying to get him to eat, especially when on cases. Reid had always been thin, though part of that was from not eating enough back then, when taking care of his sick mother took a real took on him at the time. It was surprising that he actually grew as tall as he did.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Aaron's stomach growl again, only this time, louder and longer, but the boy made no effort to do anything about it. "Oh, here." Spencer reached over and grabbed the chocolate covered donut from the table and handed it to the presumably starved teen. Aaron eyed it for a moment before he wordlessly retrieved it from the young doctor's hand and took a bite. It was then he realized how hungry he truly was, he scarfed down the rest of baked good within thirty seconds. Once that was gone, he looked around for more to eat, Spencer quickly handed him the small bag of chips and Aaron ripped it open and gobbled them too. "You really were hungry." Reid observed. Shame swept across Aaron's face and he refused to make eye contact with him, a habit that Spencer himself admittedly has.

Aaron probably isn't used to having a father figure around, considering it was ten years ago when he last had one, his own dad. In a way, Reid could relate to that, his father walked out on him and his mother a couple decades ago, though he didn't quite know what it's like to watch your parents both get killed, he at least knew what it was like not having someone around to call 'dad'.

Wait... did he just refer to himself as a 'father figure' to a teenager? Reid couldn't believe it, considering he was far from a model parent, in fact, he never once dreamed of ever having a charge of his own, much less a woman, that simply wasn't his thing. While he did have experience on taking care of other people, such as his mom, though she was an adult, not a traumatized child, and taking care of a younger person was a whole new deal, he couldn't imagine himself ever replacing Aaron's father, whatever he was like, but as far as he knew, the teen has warmed up to him like nobody else in a long time.

Exactly how difficult would it be to take care of young Aaron Hotchner? Spencer only knew from reading on how typical teenagers tend to behave, but that doesn't mean Aaron would be like that, he already mentioned thoughts of joining the FBI someday, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Reid had plenty of funds to support another life, plus his apartment did have a second bedroom, and there's no doubt that Penelope Garcia, the team's technical analyst back in Quantico, could find a school worthy for the boy.

Hold on... now he's actually considering adopting? Maybe he really was going crazy, but it sure sounded like a good idea, even though he hasn't known the kid that long, and his teammates would most likely be shocked to learn that their youngest, Dr. Spencer Reid, socially awkward genius, was planning to take a teenager under his wing.

Yes, the job he does is demanding, but during the weekdays, Aaron would be at school anyway, and besides, Garcia would probably adore the young man and would not hesitate to watch over him when the team went on cases. As he pondered more and more, it seemed to him that this could work out after all.

A knock at the door startled both him and Aaron, it was Gideon again, who obviously had returned from the crime scene that he and the others went to check out. "Reid, it's getting late, we should head over to the hotel." He said. Confused, Aaron looked back and forth between the two men. "Wait, what?" Spencer glanced at his watch and his eyes widened to see that it was almost 10:00 PM. He sighed, he didn't want to leave Aaron alone at the station.

"You're leaving?" The teen asked, a hint of comprehension in his voice. Reid swallowed thickly, he wasn't sure how to explain, or what to even say at all. Jason could sense this as an idea popped in the BAU leader's head. "You know Reid, if you want, I could have Morgan bring in your go-bag and you could spend the night here with Aaron."

Spencer nodded quickly. "Yeah, that would be good you had him do that, thank you." With a smile, Gideon disappeared behind the door. Aaron released a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding. He wasn't sure what it was about Dr. Reid that made him feel... what would the word be...? Comforted? Safe? Loved? He tapped his chin in thought, he was so used to keeping himself distanced from others, but Spencer was something new, someone he actually liked having around, and it puzzled him. He would normally act cold or be completely silent in order to keep people and their constant sympathy away, but, not this time apparently.

A tall, dark, muscular man entered with a long bag in his hand. Aaron shot him a suspicious look before turning to Spencer who simply patted his shoulder. "It's okay, he's just a colleague of mine, his name's Derek Morgan."

"Nice to meet you, Aaron." Morgan greeted with a wave, he figured the boy wasn't quite ready to shake hands just yet. He handed Reid his bag, he was thanked and he left the room to follow the others out to their vehicles so they could head over to their hotel.

Later on that night, Spencer and Aaron were situated on two separate couches with blankets and pillows provided by the station, neither were aware that the other was lying awake, each in their own deep thoughts. Reid was imagining how things would be if Aaron was under his care, while the teen wasn't so sure if he even wanted to go to sleep, for fear that he might have a nightmare, wake up screaming or worse, crying in the presence of a man he barely knew. It wasn't that he felt Spencer would think of him differently if he did, it's that he has a pride that he prefers to keep intact, and that would be shattered if he was awakened in tears.

Drowsiness was becoming harder and harder to fight off, Aaron glanced over and could hear Dr. Reid snoring lightly. He finally admitted defeat and allowed his own eyes to fall shut, if a bad dream was coming or not, he would just have to find out.

Little did Aaron know, that he would have one of the best night's sleep he's had in a long time.

To be continued...

Since Aaron is orphaned and he's under protection, I just feel that he would be staying at the station rather than the orphanage, since he would be safer there with a man running around who is an immediate threat to him.