Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. Disney World is not mine either.
AN- Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers. I'm back at home now. I won't know anything until after the scan Wednesday but I'm pretty sure everything will be okay. Thank you once again!
Previously on Criminal Minds- Readjusting his hold on the toddler so that the boy's injured ankle was supported, the BAU leader followed the others down the street to the closest available station. It looked like their fun day had come to an end.
CM
Sitting on the steps of the first aid station, Rossi sighed. The BAU's outing had been ruined and it was all his fault. He never should have let Reid check out the fort alone. If he'd just stayed with the kid instead of sitting down to rest, they wouldn't be here right now. Glancing around at his three friends' worried faces, he knew he needed to apologize for spoiling their day. The senior profiler cleared his throat and waited for them to look his way before saying, "I'm sorry. I never should have let the kid outta my sight."
"It wasn't your fault, Rossi. Those two little brats are the ones that hurt Reid." Emily told him.
"She's right. If you want to lay blame, it belongs on frick and frack's shoulders, not yours." Garcia agreed.
"But if I hadn't let him go off without me…"
"Then those little cretins would still be running around harassing other kids and sooner or later they would have hurt somebody way worse than a sprained ankle." Prentiss pointed out. "I'm not saying I'm happy Reid got hurt but I'm thrilled we managed to stop two little brats from becoming lifelong bullies."
"You really think they'll stop?" Rossi asked.
"Are you kidding? Those boys probably won't set one toe out of line for months." Garcia replied. "Not after that talk Morgan had with them. My Prince Charming scared the bejeezus out of those two."
Any comment Rossi might have had to that was cut off as the door to the station opened and Hotch and JJ walked out.
"Well, what's the verdict?" Morgan asked as he stood and went over to the couple.
"It's just a bad sprain." Hotch informed the others. "They wrapped the ankle and said to keep it elevated and ice it to reduce the swelling."
"I'm otay guys, weally." Spencer assured, smiling up at his team mates. "I'm weady to wide some mowe now."
"The only thing you're going to be riding is the truck. We're going to the hotel." Aaron declared as he started back the way they had come.
"What? No! We tan't leave! We jut got hewe!" Reid protested. He wasn't about to let his friends' day of fun come to an end because of him.
"Spencer, you heard the doctor. We have to keep your ankle elevated." Hotch reminded. "It won't be if we're carrying you around the park."
"I tan hold it up." Reid suggested, raising his leg up until it was straight out. "See?"
"Spence, you can't keep your leg like that all day. Sooner or later you'll get tired and have to put it down." JJ explained.
"We tan, tan uhh, sit on a bench and west when I get tiwed." Reid proposed. "Peas, Hotch"
Hotch ran a hand through his hair. He hated being put in the position of being the bad guy. He wished he could acquiesce to Reid's plea but he wasn't willing to take a chance on the boy's injury becoming worse just to keep toddler happy. Nodding to himself, Aaron opened his mouth to tell Reid his decision, only to stop as Rossi spoke up.
"What about a compromise?" Dave offered, glancing between his two colleagues.
"What do you have in mind?" JJ questioned.
"Simple. Lunchtime is only a couple of hours away so why not stay till then? That would give us time to see a little more of the park and go on a few more rides. I'm sure we could keep Spencer's ankle elevated that long and with all the eating establishments around here, there should be plenty of places to get a small bagful of ice." Rossi explained. "Then after lunch, we'll head to the hotel so the kid can rest a while."
"Sounds good to me" Emily seconded. "What do you say, guys?"
Reid mulled the offer over for a few moments before asking, "Tan we tome bat to the pawk aftew I west?"
"I don't see why not." Derek replied. "I'm sure we can rent a stroller for you when we get back."
Grimacing at the idea of having to be pushed around like a baby, Spencer slowly nodded. "Otay" he agreed, knowing it was the only way to get the others back in the park to enjoy the rest of their day.
"What about it, Aaron? You in?" Dave inquired.
"I'll go along with the plan on the condition that Spencer takes an aspirin with lunch." Hotch countered. "I can tell his ankle's hurting whether he wants to admit it or not."
"Fine" Reid huffed, crossing his arms. He was really starting to dislike being a kid. Everyone seemed determined to make him do what they thought was best for him.
"Great!" Garcia cheered. "Let's get going! We can go on that huge riverboat or go see what those buildings over there are or there's a creepy looking house up ahead that looks like fun. What do you guys think? Where should we go first?"
"Bafwoom" Spencer called, reaching out for Morgan. He liked and respected Hotch, but there was no way he was letting his boss help him use the toilet. It was embarrassing enough having Morgan help.
Chuckling, Derek took the toddler from the BAU leader, being very careful of the child's injured limb. "Next stop bathrooms" he announced as he hurried towards the side of the building where the restrooms were located.
CM
Once Spencer finished his business, the team walked across the cobblestone street and boarded a beautiful, white riverboat. Going to the back of the boat, they took a seat on the benches directly in front of the giant paddlewheel. They felt the ship pull away from the dock and slowly inch forward as the wheel began to turn.
"Did you know fat the fiwst twial wun of a wivew boat was in sev'nteen eighty sev'n?" Spencer rattled off. "Or fat the fiwst U.S. wivew boat patent was in sev'nteen eighty eight to a tompany talled Bwiggs and Long'tweet?"
"Spencer, what'd I say about statistics?" Hotch sternly asked.
"Sowwy, it just lipped out." Reid apologized.
"No harm done this time. Just be more careful in the future." Hotch warned.
"I will, H-daddy" Spencer replied.
"Hey youngster, how about putting that big brain of yours to good use and figuring out where we should go next?" Morgan challenged before turning to Rossi. "You've still got the map, right?"
"Yeah, it's right here." Dave replied, pulling the wrinkled paper out of his pocket. He unfolded the map and smoothed it out and then set it across Reid and Hotch's laps. "Here you go, kid."
Spencer swiftly found the riverboat dock on the park map. Placing a tiny finger on their location, he meticulously studied the surrounding area before pointing to a nearby building and announcing, "Let's do this one next!"
Derek gazed down at the spot that had toddler so excited. After glancing at the number for the attraction, he looked over to the side at the map key, groaning as he read the name. "The Hall of Presidents? Really man?"
"What's wong wif fat?" Reid asked. "It will be eduta'nal."
"Pick something else Spencer. We came here to be entertained not educated, remember?" Hotch prodded.
"But it'll be fun." Spencer protested.
"Listening to robotic Presidents making speeches is not my idea of fun." Morgan told the toddler. "Besides, we deal with more than our share of politicians at work. The last thing we need is to sit and watch fake ones."
"He's right, kid. We're here for a break. We don't need to be reminded of our jobs." Rossi agreed. "I think you should choose something a little more entertaining."
"But, but…"
Seeing his youngest agent's pleading eyes and sad expression, Hotch sighed. He couldn't not take the boy to an attraction he was so obviously excited about. After all, this little vacation was supposed to be for Reid's enjoyment, not theirs. "I'll make you a deal, Spencer. You stick to our agreement and ride in a stroller without complaint and I'll go to The Hall of Presidents with you this afternoon." Aaron proposed.
"Deal" Reid replied, smiling up at the older man. He looked at the map again and quickly pointed out the old house up the street from the dock. "Tan we do fis one?"
"You sure you wanna go in The Haunted Mansion youngster? I bet it's going to be dark and scary." Derek teased.
Reid rolled his eyes. "It'll be fun unless you'we too tawed?" he tossed back.
"Oh, it is on, kid!" Morgan told the toddler. "Just wait till we get inside and then we'll see who's gets scared."
"You'we on!" Spencer agreed. Feeling the boat bump the dock, he held his hands out to his friend. He was ready to get in that haunted house and prove Morgan wrong.
Hotch gently handed the toddler to Morgan before standing and following the duo towards the middle of the ship where the exit was located. After disembarking, they quickly walked over to the Haunted Mansion entrance and got in the rather short line.
Reid looked around, smiling at the sight of the old timey horse drawn hearse complete with invisible horse. Glancing at the other side of the line, he found a row of tombstones. Reading the inscriptions on the various graves, he giggled.
"What's so funny?" Emily asked.
"Wead fose" Spencer instructed, pointing out the tombstones.
Emily and JJ both gazed over in the direction Reid was pointing. Noticing the epitaphs on the graves, they read through them chuckling at a few. "Those are really…Whoa! Did you see that? The eyes on that tombstone just opened and the head moved!" JJ gasped.
"This is so awesome!" Garcia gushed. "And we haven't even gotten inside yet. I can't wait to see what's laying in wait for us there!"
"Looks like you won't have to wait any longer" Rossi commented as the door to the house opened and they were ushered inside along with many others. They were led into a small almost circular room by the "butler" who then closed the door behind them.
'This definitely looks like a place that would be haunted.' Morgan thought as he scanned the dusty, old room. Overhearing a couple of teenage girls talking about what was going to happen next, he frowned. As much as he loved teasing Reid about his fear of the dark, he really didn't want to see the kid scared especially in the state he was now. Glancing down at the toddler, he decided to warn him. "Hey, Reid" he whispered. He waited for the boy to look at him before continuing. "Those girls said that somebody's going to talk for a few minutes and then the lights are going to go off. Okay?"
"I'll be fine, Mowgan" Spencer huffed.
Feeling the toddler lean into him, Morgan tightened his hold on the boy. "I know, Pretty Boy. But just in case, the girls said to look up when the lights go off so if it starts to get to you, look up. There must be some form of light up there."
"Otay" Reid agreed. Hearing the ghost host begin his speech, the little boy frowned as he felt the room moving. Gazing around, he noticed the portraits on the wall were stretching. He watched in fascination as the seemly harmless pictures grew to show creepy death scenes. Chuckling at a couple of the pictures, he almost didn't notice when the host stopped talking. The scream right before the room plunged into darkness was hard to miss though. Leaning even closer to his friend, Spencer quickly looked up, wanting some light. A lightning flash lit up the ceiling for a moment. The hanging body it illuminated made the toddler shut his eyes tight.
"You can open your eyes now, Spencer. The lights are back on." Derek informed the boy moments later. Ruffling the toddler's hair, the older man followed Garcia through the short hallway and onto the ride. He settled Spencer between them and propped the child's foot on his lap.
As the "doom buggy" moved through the mansion, the three friends laughed at the banging doors and the portrait eyes that seemed to follow them. The floating crystal ball, moving armor, and hand coming out of the coffin had them rolling their eyes. The house seemed to be more corny than scary. The three were starting to regret coming on the ride but then the doom buggy went up the stairs and turned revealing another room. Looking down at the large room, they were surprised to see a multitude of holographic ghosts. They hadn't expected the ghosts to look that realistic after the silliness of the hallway. They glanced from one spot to the next oohing and ahhing at the ghosts dancing, eating, and playing the organ. There were even two ghost portraits that were having a duel. From there they made a trip through an dust covered attic filled with more ghosts. Their ride then went down the "stairs" backwards before turning to reveal a graveyard scene complete with more partying ghosts. Just as they rounded the corner of the cemetery, the ride suddenly stopped. Hearing their ghost host voice telling them to be patient and that the ride would start up again soon, they calmly sat back to wait.
Reid tensed as the skull popped out from behind the tombstone for the third time. The scene was starting to remind him of a place he didn't really want to remember; a place and time he'd done his best to bury. Stuck for the moment, he tried to focus on something else but despite his best efforts images of Charles and the cemetery in Georgia began flashing through his mind. He shivered as the musty smell of the dirt, the feel of the shovel in his hands, and a gruff voice demanding that he confess his sins assaulted his senses.
The shaking of the tiny body beside her had Garcia glancing down. Seeing Reid staring blankly ahead, she frowned, wondering what could have scared her junior G-man. Following his gaze, she looked out at the cemetery and quickly put two and two together. Jumping into action, Garcia scooped the terrified boy up and set him in her lap. She wrapped her arms around Reid and hugged him to her chest. "It's okay sweetie. You're safe." She cooed. "They can't hurt you anymore. I won't let them. Shhh, I've got you."
Morgan rubbed Spencer's back in comfort as the boy continued to tremble. He prayed that they'd get the ride working fast before the boy had an all out panic attack. The kid had been through more than enough already. As soon as he finished that thought, the ride jerked to a start. Breathing a sigh of relief, Derek kept his focus on his young partner.
Hotch and JJ laughed at the short, plump ghost that mysteriously appeared between them in the mirror. Wondering what hitchhikers the others got, they looked in the mirrored wall at the buggy beside them. They immediately became worried when they saw Reid curled up in Garcia's lap. "What happened?" Hotch called out.
"Later" Morgan answered not taking his eyes off the boy in his care.
Nodding, Hotch turned his attention back to the ride. He waited impatiently as the ride inched towards the exit. After what felt like hours to the seasoned profiler, the lap bar lifted and he climbed out onto the rolling walkway. He rode it to the end and then carefully stepped off before turning to the others who were just walking up. Taking up position beside Morgan, the BAU leader softly asked, "What's wrong with Reid?"
"Flashback" Morgan whispered.
"Flashback? Of what? We haven't been to a…" Hotch suddenly stopped as the answer hit him. "The cemetery"
"Yeah" Morgan replied as they stepped off the inclined walkway and into the store. He hurried through the store wanting to get Reid as far away as possible. He led the way out of the store, down the path, and through the gate only stopping when they got to a group of benches near a brightly colored small house.
Hotch took a seat next to Garcia who was still cuddling the toddler in her arms. "Spencer, are you alright?" he asked.
Brushing the back of his hand across his tear filled eyes, Spencer sat up and peered up at his boss. "I'm *sniff* otay" he responded, giving the man a watery smile.
"Are you sure?" Hotch questioned, reaching out to take the boy.
"Oh, no you don't." Garcia growled, scooting away from the older man. "You guys have been hogging my sweet baby the whole day. It's my turn to carry him for a while."
"Garcia, you talk like I'm some toy you don't want to share." Reid groused. "I'm a person not a doll."
"Whatever you say my Cabbage Patch Cutie" Penelope playfully said.
"Oh man! You asked for that one." Derek joked, chuckling as the toddler stuck his tongue out at him. Garcia always did have a way of making people smile.
"Don't listen to him, sweetness." Garcia instructed as she stood and started walking away. Turning back to the others, she called back, "Are you guys coming or what?"
The rest of the team exchanged amused looks before following the tech goddess. A short time later they stopped between two rides to check them out.
"Ooo, look girls! Small World!" Penelope squeed. "That's every girls' dream ride!"
"Isn't that the one with all the dolls from different countries?" Emily asked.
"Yeah" JJ replied, taking a step closer to the attraction entrance. "I've always wanted to ride through it. I've heard it's absolutely beautiful."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Garcia enthusiastically hollered.
"Whoa, wait a minute Baby Girl!" Morgan protested. "That's a girl ride. There is no way we're going in there. Right guys?" Getting nods of agreement from Rossi and Hotch, the young man grinned. "See?"
"That's okay. Spencer will go in it with us, won't you my Baby Alive?" Garcia cooed.
"Nuh uh! You're not getting me to go in there!" Reid argued as he started trying to wiggle out of her grasp.
Going over to the tech analyst, Hotch quickly took Spencer from her before the toddler could fall. Settling the youngster on his hip, he glanced around searching for a solution to their little problem. It didn't take very long for him to come to the perfect resolution. "Alright, here's what we'll do. You three go ahead and ride Small World and we'll ride this one." He suggested, pointing to the building on the opposite side of the street. "We'll meet back here after the rides."
"Sounds okay to me" JJ conceded. "I guess we'll see you in a few then. Come on girls. Let's go get in line."
The guys waited until the three ladies disappeared into the building before turning and walking over to the line for their ride; Peter Pan. They quickly made their way around the twisting and curving path until they found the end of the line and then settled in to wait.
Reid sighed as Rossi glanced his way once more. He could tell the older man was feeling guilty about him getting hurt even though it wasn't his fault. And he just couldn't let his friend keep up that line of thinking. He needed to have a private talk with the older profiler to let him know he wasn't to blame and he knew just how to do it. Seeing that they were almost to the ride, Spencer patted Hotch's chest to get his attention. "I want to wide with Wossi." He announced when his friend glanced down.
"Alright" Hotch replied, handing the toddler to the shocked older man before following Morgan onto the ride.
Dave carefully stepped onto the moving walkway and then climbed into their boat. He placed Reid down on his left so the little boy could lay his injured leg on the seat. Keeping an arm wrapped around his youngest colleague's shoulders so the kid wouldn't fall out and get hurt again, he placed the other hand on the lap bar to steady himself as their boat took to the air through an open bedroom window. "Well, would you look at that? We're flying over London, kid." He said.
"Uh huh" Reid replied, not even bothering to look. Refusing to be diverted by the view, he took a deep breath and began. "It wasn't youw fault, you know."
Rossi shook his head. He should have known the boy would see right through him. Still, he wasn't about to let the kid downplay his part in the toddler's injury. "Reid, if I had just gone to explore the fort with you, you wouldn't have gotten hurt." He reasoned.
"Yeah, but fat doesn't mate it youw fault. I tould have let the boys pay wif the gun intead of telling fem no." Spencer pointed out.
"Why did you refuse, anyway? Were you having that much fun?" Dave curiously inquired.
"No, it wasn't fat. I only started paying wif the gun tause an old touple was walting by." Reid replied, as he nervously started playing with the hem of his shirt. "I, I just…Bullies wuled my whole chil'hood. Moving fwough stool so fat meant the bullies were always a lot biggew fan me so I didn't tand a chance of defending myself. I was too afwaid of getting pounded. I ummm, I guess I jut wanted to tand up to the bullies fow once."
"Can't blame you for that, kid" Dave said, patting the toddler on the back. "Though I don't think it was wise to take on two boys that were both twice your size."
"I tould have taten fem. Aftew all, I know exa'tly whewe to tit to do the mot damage." Reid proudly stated.
Grimacing at the thought of being kicked there, Rossi stared down at the little boy. "You wouldn't!" he challenged.
"Yes I would" Spencer responded, grinning from ear to ear.
"The academy teach you that?" Dave asked. "Cause I don't remember that move being part of the self defense lessons."
Reid shook his head. "Gawcia showed me fat a few monfs aftew I joined the team. She said she didn't want me to get hurt tause I touldn't defend myself."
"I should have known." Rossi muttered as the ride came to an end. Once the lap bar rose, he scooped up Reid and carried him off the boat and over to where Hotch and Morgan were waiting for them. They then went out of the building to meet up with the rest of the team. Spotting the ladies standing in front of a souvenir cart across the street, they made their way to them. "Did you ladies have fun?"
"Oh, it was wonderful! Everything was so bright and colorful and all the children were just precious!" Garcia gushed. "You just don't know what you missed!"
"I've got a pretty good idea." Derek muttered, glancing at the display of Small World shirts and dolls on the cart.
"What about you guys? Did you like Peter Pan?" JJ questioned as she tried a blue Mickey cap on Spencer.
Resisting the urge to snatch the cap off his head, Reid nodded. "We flew jut lite Petew, mommy!" he shouted, clapping his hands for the cashier's benefit.
"That's great, baby" JJ replied, taking the toddler from Rossi. She paid for the cap much to Spencer's dismay and then turned to the others. "We have just enough time for one more ride. Anybody have a preference?"
"Well, there's the flying elephants, the carousel, some movie, or a Snow White ride" Emily ticked off.
"Which one do you want to ride, Spence?" JJ asked.
"Now White" Reid immediately replied. He had no desire to ride the other two. They were baby rides. Besides, both of those were outside where everybody could see them. At least on an indoor ride, it would just be the team which meant he could be himself.
"You guys go ahead. I think I'm going to go over to that restaurant and save us a table. It looks like they're filling up fast." Rossi told the others.
"I'll go with you." Emily piped up. "I'm more than ready to sit down and relax for a minute."
"Alright" Hotch agreed. "We'll come find you after the ride."
Emily and Rossi walked over to the fast food restaurant and got in line behind a crowd of other vacationers. After looking over the posted menu for a few moments, they selected some snacks to munch on while they waited for the others. Taking in the length of the line and the small percentage of empty tables, Rossi quickly decided they needed to change tactics. "Prentiss, you go ahead and get us a table before they're all taken. I'll get the food." He suggested.
"Okay" Emily replied. She got out of line and hurried towards the next room where the tables were located. Grabbing a booster seat for Spencer, she slipped around tables, chairs, and people to a large table in the far corner of the room. She set the booster seat in a chair and then sat down in the chair beside it to wait.
AN- Getting bored, yet?