Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. Disney World is not mine either. I do not own anything you recognize.
Warning- One more short disturbing scene involving a child in this one. For those of you who would rather not read that part, I put ** in front of that scene and ** at the end so you can skip it if you'd like.
Previously on Criminal Minds- Taking a tiny hand in his, he could only hope that Spencer would sleep until the exam was over and he was safely back at the hotel.
CM
The mood in the waiting room was a somber one. Emily, JJ, and Penelope sat in one corner of the room alternating between nervously talking and moments of anxious silence while Morgan made circuit after circuit around the tiny room. Rossi, who was standing across the room from the rest of the team conversing quietly with a pair of police officers, would have looked calm and collected had it not been for the stuffed Ewok clutched tightly in his hands. Each person was lost in thought, attempting to figure out what they could have done differently to prevent the youngest member of their family from getting hurt. Any little noise had all five agents looking over at the doorway, hoping to see their missing team members.
Emily glanced at her watch with a sigh. It had been over an hour since they'd gotten to the hospital and there was still no word on Spencer. Needing to do something, she stood and shuffled over to the ancient coffee machine. She put a few coins in the coin slot and pushed a button. Hearing the swish of the double doors followed by the scuff of shoes on linoleum, the profiler looked up, her coffee forgotten.
"Family of Spencer Hotchner?" a short, chubby nurse called.
The BAU team was at her side immediately, pelting her with questions. "Is Spencer alright?" "How is he?" "Can we see him?"
The nurse held up her hands for silence. "If you'll just follow me, the doctor will answer all your questions." She informed the worried family before turning and walking over to the double doors. Pushing a button on the wall, she waited for the doors to open and then strode through.
The profilers as well as the police officers followed the nurse down the hall and into a small conference room where a petite female doctor was waiting for them.
"Good evening folks. I'm sure you're anxious to hear about Spencer, so if you'll just have a seat, we'll get started." The brown haired doctor told the group. Taking a seat at the head of the table, she waited until the others were seated before beginning. "Let me start by saying that physically Spencer is fine. Aside from a couple of finger-shaped bruises on his side and the sprained ankle his father said happened earlier in the day, there are no physical injuries. There were absolutely no signs of sexual assault. We did perform a rape kit just to be on the safe side but it only confirmed what we already knew. Spencer was not raped." She explained. Seeing the relieved looks, she took a deep breath and pressed on. "That said, Spencer did not escape unharmed. I'm afraid you have one troubled little boy on your hands. He is terrified of all strangers, regardless of their gender. Spencer panicked anytime the nurse or I came near him. We ended up having Mr. Hotchner hold Spencer down so we could sedate him. I didn't want to do that but it was the only way we were going to be able to examine him. I recommend getting him to a therapist as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, doc. We'll make sure Spencer gets whatever help he needs." Rossi firmly stated. "Is there anything else we need to know?"
"There is one more thing. As you probably already know, the clothes Spencer had on are now evidence so he'll need something else to wear home. If you don't have anything to change him into, I can have a nurse bring you something for him to wear."
"We're one step ahead of you, doc." Emily announced, holding up a shopping bag. "We stopped by a store in the park and bought him a pair of pj's on our way out."
"Good, I'm sure Spencer will be more comfortable going home in pajamas than stiff hospital scrubs." Dr. Klein replied.
Brushing a stray tear away, JJ smiled at the doctor. "Can we, can we see him now?" she asked.
"Certainly" Dr. Klein agreed. Turning to the officers, she said, "Gentlemen, I know you're eager to interview the father but you need to wait. Mr. Hotchner collapsed after the exam. He's in no shape to be questioned right now."
"Is Aaron okay?" Rossi asked as the group stood and started for the door.
"Mr. Hotchner is going to be fine." The doctor assured them. "I think he was just a little overwhelmed. The last few hours have been very hard on both of them." She led them out of the room and down the narrow hallway, stopping at exam room three. "Here we are. You can take Spencer home as soon as Mr. Hotchner is feeling up to it."
"Thanks doc" Morgan sincerely said. He shook the doctor's hand and then followed the others through the door.
Once inside the girls made a beeline for the exam table, where Spencer was peacefully sleeping. Setting the bag on the end of the bed, the three pulled the pajamas and a clean pull-up out of the bag, slid the sheet off the toddler, and silently went to work.
"Aaron, you alright?" Dave worriedly asked as he stepped up beside the younger man. "You're as white as a sheet."
"I'm, I'm fine. I just n-need a minute." The BAU leader stammered.
"Okay, just sit tight. The girls are getting Spencer dressed and then we'll get you both home." Rossi told the trembling man. He laid a hand on Aaron's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Turning to Morgan, he whispered, "Watch him." before going over to the exam table.
JJ quickly and carefully pulled the long sleeved pajama shirt onto the sleeping boy while Garcia and Emily worked together to put the pull-up, footie pajama pants, and shoes on the youngster. Once that was done, JJ threaded the toddler's arms through the sleeves of his jacket and carefully zipped it up. "Okay, Spencer's ready to go now." She informed Rossi.
"Not quite yet, he's not." Dave disagreed. He laid the stuffed Ewok on the toddler's chest, grinning as a tiny arm immediately snaked around it. "Now, he's ready."
Shaking her head, JJ gently picked up the sleeping baby, cradling him to her chest. "You guys help Hotch. I've got Spence." She instructed. She watched Morgan and Rossi help a shaky Hotch to his feet and then turned and led the way out of the room.
CM
Emily unlocked the tree house door and walked inside. She held it open for the rest of the team before closing and locking it. Going over to the couch, she took a seat beside Hotch. The young woman ran a critical eye over the BAU leader. "Maybe you should go lay down with Reid. You're still looking a little pale." She suggested.
"I'm fine, Emily" Hotch muttered, running a weary hand across his face. "Besides, I don't think Spencer would react well to waking up and finding a male presence in the room. I think it would be better if one of you ladies stayed with him tonight."
"I'll stay with him." JJ volunteered as she walked back into the room.
"Good" Aaron said with a nod.
"Hotch, what happened out there man?" Derek asked from his perch on the arm of the recliner. "How'd that creep get a hold of Reid?"
"That was my fault." Aaron quietly admitted. Hearing his friends begin to protest, he swiftly silenced them with a look. "It was my fault. Spencer didn't want to stay in the stall with me while I used the facilities so I let him stand right outside the stall where I could see his feet. No one…"
"YOU LEFT HIM ALONE!" Morgan hollered, wincing when he remembered the sleeping toddler in the other room. Lowering his voice, he growled, "How could you? We trusted you to keep him safe?"
"We were alone in the bathroom." Hotchner explained. "I didn't think…"
"That's right! You didn't think!" Derek ranted as he jumped up and started pacing once more. "Come on Hotch! You of all people know what can happen!"
"Stop it, Morgan! This wasn't Aaron's fault." Rossi defended. "And I won't have you saying otherwise."
"But he, he…"
"Rossi's right Derek. This isn't on Hotch." Emily agreed. "You want someone to blame, blame the jerkwad that took Spencer."
"Morgan has a point." Aaron insisted. "If I had kept Spencer with me, none of this would have happened."
"You can't know that for sure. If that creep really wanted Reid, he would have just found another way to take Spence." JJ pointed out. "Or worse, he would have gone after another child, one whose parents weren't as attentive as you and Rossi."
"JJ's right Boss Man" Garcia chimed in.
"But that doesn't excuse the fact that I left him alone." Aaron reiterated.
"It sure as hell doesn't!" Derek fumed.
"That's enough! Nothing we do or say now will change the fact that Reid was kidnapped. It happened. We have to deal with it. End of story." Dave voiced. "Sitting around laying blame isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to focus on helping Reid through this; to do that we have to work together as a family. And I don't mean a dysfunctional one."
"Yeah, you're right" Morgan agreed. He glanced over at Hotch and apologized. "Sorry man"
"It's okay Morgan" Aaron replied.
"Alright, now that we've all kissed and made up I think we need to hit the hay. The next few days are going to be tough on all of us. We'll need to be at our best if we're going to get Reid through this. And we will get him through this." Rossi determinedly stated.
"You're right. We should at least try and get some sleep while we can." JJ agreed.
The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Rising from the couch and recliner, the group said their good nights. The ladies headed to the different bedrooms leaving Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi alone.
"Hotch, you can have the second bed. I'll take the couch." Derek offered.
"Thanks, but I think I'll sleep out here. I'd like to stay close just in case." Aaron answered.
"Okay, if you're sure." Morgan said. "Night, Hotch"
"Goodnight" Aaron replied.
"If anything happens and you need us…"
"He'll come get us." Dave finished. "Now come on, let's go so Hotch can actually get some sleep." Grabbing the younger man's bicep, he started tugging him out of the room.
Shaking his head as the two sniped at each other all the way to their room, Aaron sat back down on the couch. Unwilling to sleep, he picked up the Disney park guide book Garcia had found and settled in for what was sure to be a long night.
**CM**
Spencer startled awake. Shivering at the images from his nightmare, the toddler glanced around the pitch black room. He could tell he was at the tree house even though he didn't remember the ride back. His last memory in fact was of Hotch holding him while the doctor approached with a syringe. He blushed as he recalled the screaming and fighting he'd done. He couldn't believe he'd acted like a baby in front of his boss. Speaking of Hotch, where was he? Reid doubted his friend would have left him alone after the little display he'd put on at the hospital so he had to be close. Deciding to check the rest of the room, the little boy flipped over on his back, groaning as his backside touched the mattress. Cursing doctors and their affinity for sharp instruments, Spencer quickly turned on his left side face only to find himself face to face with the pedophile from the park!
"Hello there, my little one. I was wondering when you'd wake up." The muscular man said. Seeing the toddler open his mouth to scream, he clamped a hand over the child's mouth. "None of that now. Not that it would do you any good. Your friend's not coming to your rescue. I made sure of that." Grinning manically, the pedophile brushed a stray tear off the boy's cheek. "You and I have some unfinished business to attend to. But don't worry little one. I won't hurt you…much." With those words, the maniac yanked the blanket off the bed and took hold of the toddler's pajama pants. Terrified of what was to come, Spencer screamed!
**CM**
Refusing to be taken without a fight, Reid lashed out, landing a solid punch to…
"JJ?" Reid squeaked, wide eyes bouncing from his friend's face to the well lit room around them. Seeing no sign of his tormentor, the frightened toddler dropped his head back onto the pillow. Realizing it was only a nightmare, he sat up and threw his arms around the JJ, sobbing.
"Shhh, it's okay Spence. You're alright. It was just a bad dream." JJ soothed, slowly rocking the crying boy.
Spencer melted into JJ's embrace. Soaking up the comfort he so desperately needed, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, clinging to his friend.
JJ continued to rock and murmur reassurances as the crying slowed before tapering off. "You want to talk about it Spence?" she softly asked. Getting a shake of the head in response, she smiled. "Okay" the profiler whispered. Feeling the exhausted toddler lean more heavily against her, she rocked a few more minutes and then turned to lay the boy back down. JJ stopped as tiny hands latched onto her shirt. "Spence, it's okay sweetie. I was just going to lay you down. I'm not leaving you."
Unwilling to act like a baby in front of his friend, Reid reluctantly let go of the shirt and allowed JJ to put him down. Once on the bed, he quickly rolled onto his side when his sore behind reminded him of the heavy handed doctor he'd encountered earlier. Fisting his eyes, the youngster glanced around the room warily, trembling as images of his abduction and nightmare flashed through his mind. That's when it hit him that something, or rather someone was missing. Reid peered up at JJ through sleepy eyes. "Whewe's Hotch?" he asked, twisting his fingers in the hem of his pajama shirt. "He's mad at me for getting taten, isn't he?"
"Hotch isn't mad at you, Spence." JJ firmly stated. "He just thought after what happened, you might feel more comfortable with a female in the room with you."
"You don't have to lie, JJ. I'm not a child." Reid whispered. "Hotch has evewy wight to be angwy wif me. If I hadn't wefused to tay with him, none of fis would have happened."
"Okay, you know what. That's it!" JJ grumbled. Picking up the toddler, she strode to the door. Throwing it open, she swiftly made her way over to the couch where a wide awake Hotch was reading. She handed the little boy to the surprised man. "I've had enough! You two want to play the blame game all night, you can do it without me. I'm going to bed." With that, the media liaison stomped off, disappearing into the girls' bedroom.
Stunned, Hotch watched the upset woman leave the room before turning to the child in his arms. "Care to tell me what that was about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ummm, I'm *YAWN* not suwe" Reid answered. Fisting his eyes, he let out another yawn.
Seeing the toddler fighting to stay awake, Aaron decided any more talking would have to wait till morning. He adjusted his hold on Spencer before standing and shuffling across the room and into the bedroom. Going over to the bed, the young man gently laid his charge down and covered him up. He leaned over and kissed the little boy's forehead as he tucked him into bed. "Good night Spencer." He whispered.
Whimpering at the loss of contact, Reid sat up. "Hotch, do you fint it would, I mean tould you?" He stammered, nervously brushing a stray hair out of his face. "Nevewmind"
"What is it, Spencer?" Aaron questioned. Sitting down beside the small boy, he began rubbing the trembling child's back.
Leaning into the touch, Reid sighed. Unwilling to lose that comfort, the toddler shoved the adult part of his brain to the side and for once in his life asked for what he needed. "Tan you tay wif me till I fall asleep?"
Aaron smiled. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." He told the youngster. Pulling back the blankets, he laid down on the bed before picking up the toddler and settling him on his chest. "Go to sleep Spencer. You're safe now." he whispered. Aaron rubbed the boy's back until his breathing evened out in sleep. After watching the baby peacefully sleeping for a while, the young father closed his eyes and drifted off himself.