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.
AN- I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who reviewed anonymously since I couldn't reply to their reviews. And a special thank you to Welchjac for the wonderful idea!
Previously on Criminal Minds- After watching the baby peacefully sleeping for a while, the young father closed his eyes and drifted off himself.
CM
Glancing up from his book as the bedroom door opened, Hotch stood, intent on protecting Reid from whoever might come into the room. He relaxed as Morgan peered around the corner before stepping inside.
Derek silently crept over to the bed. Looking down at the peacefully sleeping toddler, he smiled. "He sleep okay last night?" he whispered, keeping his attention on the little boy.
"No, I'm afraid not. Nightmares had him up every couple of hours or so." Hotch quietly explained. "The last one was so bad he was physically sick afterwards."
"Poor kid, meeting up with that creep was the last thing he needed." Morgan groused as he carded a hand through the little boy's hair. Catching Hotch yawning out the corner of his eye, he frowned. It looked like Reid wasn't the only one that didn't get much sleep. "Why don't you go in the other room and sleep a little longer? I'll stay here with Reid."
"I'm alr…" A massive yawn cut into his fib. Seeing Morgan's pointed look, he caved. "Fine, I'll go. But if he needs me…"
"I'll come get you. Promise. Now get going before Spencer wakes up. One look at you looking like that will scare the bejeezus out of him. You look like something Emily's cat coughed up." Derek teased.
Shaking his head at his friend's remark, the BAU leader carefully climbed off the bed so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping charge. He slowly shuffled over to the door, stopping as he opened it to look back at his friend. "Thanks Derek" he softly called before walking out the door. Stepping into the living room, Hotch noticed Rossi closing the front door. "Who was that?" he inquired.
"Oh, that was Jim, the security guard that took you and Spencer to the hospital yesterday." Dave replied as the two men went over to the couch and took a seat. "He just wanted to check on Reid, see how he was doing. And he also wanted to let us know that he'd scheduled a character breakfast for us later this morning."
"Character breakfast? What exactly is that?" Prentiss asked from her spot in the recliner.
"Apparently it's a special breakfast for the kids. Families eat while some of the Disney characters come around to the tables and sign autographs, pose for pictures, that kind of thing. Jim said it's a pretty big deal here." Rossi explained.
"It's a nice idea but I don't think Spencer will be up to it. He didn't get much *yawn* sleep last night." Hotch told the older man.
"Sounds like he's not the only one" Emily commented.
"Aaron"
"I know, I know, I'm going." Hotch grumbled. Standing, he shuffled towards the empty bedroom.
"Night, Hotch" Prentiss called, getting a wave in return. She waited for the exhausted man to disappear into the other room before turning to Rossi. "So, what'd you wanna do?"
CM
Spencer woke to the sound of humming and a hand rubbing his back. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he glanced up to find Morgan smiling down at him. "Mowning, Mowgan" he greeted, returning the man's smile with a grin of his own. "What time is it?"
"It's almost nine, kid" Derek replied.
"Nine!" Reid gasped, sitting straight up in bed. "I should have been up houws ago! Why didn't you wate me?"
"Calm down, Reid. You needed sleep so we let you sleep. Simple as that." Morgan soothed. "Besides, it's not like we have anyplace we have to be."
"But, but"
"No buts youngster, we're on vacation, remember? That means we get to sleep as long as we want." Derek told the little boy. Seeing the skeptical expression on his friend's face, he shook his head. "Come on Reid, you can't tell me you've never slept in before."
"I know, it's jut I wanted to go bat in the part. Fere's till so much to see and we wewe having a good time and I jut, I want…" Spencer took a deep breath before whispering, "I want fings to be lite fey wewe befowe he, he…"
"I know man, I know" Morgan softly said. Scooping the toddler into his arms, the profiler enveloped him in a hug. Hearing muffled sobbing, he started rubbing circles in the boy's back as he slowly rocked back and forth. "Shhh, it's okay Reid. I've got ya." He comforted, tightening the embrace. A creak across the room made him look up. Seeing Rossi peering at them, he shook his head in warning. He knew Spencer wouldn't want an audience for this. Switching his focus back to the upset youngster in his arms, Derek started humming as he rocked, hoping the lullaby would sooth his traumatized friend.
CM
Emily looked up when JJ and Garcia bustled out of their room. Seeing their matching bright orange shirts, she let out a whistle. "We don't have to worry about losing you two today." She quipped. "We could probably find you in the dark with those shirts on."
Dave groaned as he took in the Disney characters on the shirts with the words 'You can't scare me, I work at the BAU' written around it. "Don't tell me you made shirts for today, too?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.
A Cheshire cat grin lit up the tech analyst's face as she flounced over to the couch and plopped down beside her co-worker. "Of course I did, Handsome. I couldn't have us going out in just anything." She told him. "I put different characters on these, though. See JJ has Princess Minnie and I've got Princess Daisy." Reaching into the large bag she had, Garcia pulled out two more shirts. "Emily, I knew you'd have a stroke if I put a princess anything on your shirt, so I searched for something more your style. Hope you like it."
Emily glanced at the image of Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas and snickered. "This is great, Pen." She complimented.
"And for the sharp dressed man, I made this." Garcia said, passing the shirt to Rossi.
Dave stared at the grinning face of Captain Hook for a moment before looking at the tech analyst in confusion. "May I ask why you chose Captain Hook?"
"Isn't it obvious? Hook had a thing for fancy clothes and his appearance all through the movie Peter Pan." Garcia explained. "Kind of fits you, don't you think?"
Rolling his eyes at the snickering coming from JJ and Emily, Rossi quickly changed the subject. "What about the others? What did you put on theirs?"
"Well, I put mad scientist Mickey on Hotch's shirt since he's the team leader and Mickey is like the head of the Disney characters. And Derek's shirt has Donald Duck dressed like the devil cause he's…" Garcia broke off as a blush crept up her cheeks. "And Spencer's so cute and cuddly as a toddler but he still has his mischievous side like when he helped Morgan pull off that prank yesterday. So I got him this."
Dave grinned at the tiny orange shirt adored with vampire Stitch and a rather odd looking jack-'o-lantern along with the caption 'You can't scare me, I'm a genius.' That grin dropped as an image of the toddler's terrified face flashed through his mind. Sighing, he hoped the BAU's resident genius would be feeling better when he woke up. He'd do anything, including wearing Garcia's horrendous creation, to permanently wipe that look off the kid's face.
CM
Sniffling, Reid ran a hand across his face before reluctantly pulling away from Morgan. "I'm, I'm sowwy" he apologized, looking down at his hands.
"Spencer, look at me, kid" Derek ordered. When the toddler made no move to comply, the young man took hold of the little boy's chin, forcing his head up until they were eye to eye. "You have nothing to be sorry for, understand?" he firmly stated. Getting a slight nod in reply, he smiled. "Good. Now what do you say we get you bathed and dressed so we can get to the park."
"Weally? You'll talt the ofews into going?" Reid asked.
"Leave it to me, kid." Morgan assured as he stood bringing the child with him. He grabbed a change of clothes for Reid before taking him into the bathroom. The muscular man helped the little boy pull down his pants and settled him on the toilet. He then started the bath water while he waited for his friend to finish. Once Spencer was done, Morgan transferred him to the tub, smirking at the kid's wince as his behind came in contact with the tub. "Sore, short stuff?" he teased.
"Shut up" Reid groused, splashing water at the older man.
"Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?" Derek playfully huffed. Dropping his hand into the water, he flicked a handful back at the boy. Morgan managed to avoid the return volley of Spencer's by ducking behind the shower curtain. He tossed an answering volley back, scoring a direct hit to Reid's face.
Spencer wiped the water out of his eyes and glared at his opponent. Snatching the wet wash cloth from the side of the tub, he chunked it at his friend, giggling in glee as it landed on top of Morgan's head. From then on it was an all out water war with both sides attempting to soak the other first.
A knock on the door a little while later brought the impromptu war to an end. Not wanting any one to see the water logged floor, Morgan quickly hollered that they would be out in a few minutes. He swiftly washed the toddler's hair as Reid took care of the rest. After they were both finished, Derek lifted the boy out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. He grabbed another towel for himself and then walked out into the bedroom. Seeing the orange shirts on the bed, he chuckled. He gently set Spencer on the bed. "Dry yourself off and get dressed." he instructed as he pulled his own shirt off. He toweled himself dry and pulled on the orange shirt Garcia had no doubt left for him. Turning to the toddler who was sitting on the bed in nothing but a shirt, he shook his head. Realizing the clothes he took into the bathroom would be soaking wet, Morgan went over to the dresser and pulled out another pair of pants, socks, and another item. Tossing them onto the bed, he asked, "Think you can handle dressing by yourself?"
"Yes" Spencer replied with a nod. Looking down at the clothes, he was shocked to find a pair of character underwear in the stack instead of a pull up. Thrilled, he swiftly snatched them up and put them on, grinning from ear to ear. "Whewe did you find fese?" he inquired as he pulled on his pants and socks.
"You've got the girls to thank for that. They searched every store they saw until they found those for you. They even bought four packs to make sure you had enough to last a while." Derek explained. Kneeling down, he slid the little boy's shoes on his feet and then scooped him up. "Ready to go?"
"Ready" Spencer answered.
"Well then let's grab the others and hit the road." Morgan said. He strode over to the door and opened it. Stepping into the living room, the profiler smiled to let his anxious colleagues on the couch know things were okay.
"You have an accident there, Morgan?" Dave teased, pointing to the wet spots on the younger man's pants.
"Something like that" Derek muttered. He handed a snickering Spencer to Garcia and then headed to his room to change. "Be back in a minute" he called over his shoulder before disappearing into the bedroom he shared with Rossi.
"What did you do?" Garcia asked the giggling boy in her lap.
"Nothing" Reid innocently stated.
"Uh huh, not buying it, now spill," Emily pressed.
"What? Can I help it if the wet wash cloth I was using accidently flew out of my hand and landed on Morgan's head?" Spencer said, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
"You, you didn't" Penelope started before bursting into laughter.
"Way to go, Reid!" Emily praised, high fiving the youngster. "I just wish I could've seen his face!"
"Whose face?" Derek questioned as he and Hotch walked into the room.
"Why yours my muscled merman," Garcia replied.
"Merman?" Morgan repeated staring at the snickering group on the couch. Realizing what they were laughing about, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, so he told you about our little water war, huh?" he asked. "Did he happen to mention that I won?"
"Sure you did, Morgan" JJ said, the disbelief clear in her voice.
"I did." Derek retorted.
"Uh huh, teep telling youwself fat if it mates you feel bettew." Reid teased, turning beet red as his stomach chose that moment to make itself known.
"Sounds like I'm not the only one hungry." Dave concluded. Recalling their breakfast invitation, he glanced down at his watch to make sure they still had time to get there before deciding to tell the littlest agent about it. Hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake, he started his explanation. "Hey, Reid, one of the security guards dropped by earlier. He told me he had made breakfast reservations for us at a restaurant in Epcot. It's a character breakfast so it might be a little awkward for you. But Jim said they had the best breakfast food in any of the parks. And that some of the food is even grown there. What do you say? You feel up to it?"
Spencer looked into the eager eyes of his friends and then nodded, even though the mere thought of food had his stomach doing flips. He knew if he passed on the offer, the rest of the team would be upset and he couldn't allow that. He'd messed up their vacation enough as it was. He refused to spoil what little time they had left to enjoy themselves.
"Are you sure, Spence? We don't have to go out. We can always make something here." JJ suggested.
"I'm suwe. I want to go in the part." Reid assured her and everyone else.
"Okay, if you're sure" Aaron hesitantly agreed. After the night his youngest agent had had, he found it hard to believe that the young man wanted to go back out in a crowd of strangers. "But if you change your mind at any time, just let us know and we'll come back here."
"Alright, let's go, Short Stuff!" Morgan teased as he took the toddler from Garcia. He quickly went over to the stroller and settled the little boy inside. Seeing his friend glance around the stroller before looking longingly towards the bedroom, the older man frowned, wondering what was wrong.
"Forget something?" Dave asked from behind them. Walking up to the stroller, the profiler handed his young friend the stuffed Ewok he'd retrieved earlier.
"Fants, Wossi!" Spencer exclaimed, clutching the toy to his chest.
Smirking at the childish display, Derek walked to the back of the stroller and grabbed hold of the handle. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Spencer Express is now departing!" he called over his shoulder as he headed for the door. A knock on said door stopped the profiler in his tracks.
"I'll get it." Rossi volunteered. Stepping around the stroller, he cautiously made his way to the front door and peered out the peep hole. Recognizing the security guard from the day before, he smiled and opened the door. "Jim, what brought you back here?" he asked.
"Morning again, Agent Rossi, I was hoping I'd catch you guys before you left for the day." Jim greeted. "I have a couple of things I forgot to give you earlier."
"What is it?" Morgan asked, coming up to stand beside Rossi.
"Well, me and the other security guards were talking last night and we feel horrible about what happened because we let that pedophile into the park yesterday. Now, we know that there's nothing we can do to make up for our mistake, but we wanted to do something for the little guy." Jim explained.
"Jim, what happened yesterday was not your fault." Dave cut in.
"But we let him come into the park." The security guard argued.
"Did you know he was a pedophile?" Derek questioned.
"Well, no but him coming in alone should have told us something was wrong." Jim countered.
"So, you never have anyone come to the park alone?" Emily weighed in.
"Sure we do. Hundreds of people vacation alone at the park. And then there's the business dads. More often than not, their families get to the park first, and then the dads join them there later." Jim told the profilers.
"If that's true, how could you possibly blame yourselves for what happened?" Dave inquired.
"I, well, umm, I get it." Jim stammered, shaking his head. "But it doesn't make me feel any better."
"I know" Emily whispered, patting the man's shoulder. Deciding to change to a hopefully happier subject, she gave the man a slight smile. "Wanna tell us what you and your buddies cooked up?"
"Oh, yeah" Jim agreed. "Well, the guys and I were going to take up a collection for the kid; give him a little extra money for something special. But then as word spread among the employees, more and more people wanted to do something to help. So we put our heads together and came up with what we thought was the best solution. Each employee or group of employees would do their own thing. We thought several little surprises might be better for the little guy. But then we had the problem of how the others would recognize you. I didn't want to give out your name or where you were staying for safety reasons. So we came up with these buttons." The security guard pulled a bag of round buttons with Mickey Mouse dressed as a peasant and the words The Brave Little Tailor below him. "We figured you guys could wear them while you're here visiting. That way the employees will know who you are and can do something special for your little one if they want to."
"You don't have to do this you know?" Rossi told the man as he took the buttons.
"I know. But we want to." Jim replied with a smile.
"Thank you" Hotch said.
"You're welcome sir." Jim answered before turning to Rossi. "Oh, and there's one more thing. The couple that was talking to you yesterday was really upset about what happened. I let them know the baby was okay and they were relieved. But they both insisted on getting a couple of things for Spencer."
Looking out onto the deck, Rossi did a double take. "That's a couple of things? It looks like they bought out a whole store!"
"I tried to tell'em they were going overboard." The security guard informed the shocked man. "But they didn't listen. Ever since the Petersons lost their little girl a few years back, they've come once a year and done random acts of kindness while they're here. You know, things like paying for another family's supper or leaving baskets of treats at hotel room doors, that kind of thing. I think it's their way of remembering their daughter."
"Jim, we can't accept this. It's too much." Dave stated.
"You have to. It'll break their hearts if I send it back." Jim said. "Please?"
Rossi glanced at the others before nodding his head.
"Great!" Jim exclaimed, breaking into a grin. Turning, he walked over to the four giant boxes on the deck. He and Rossi hoisted one up while Hotch and Morgan struggled with another. After depositing the boxes in the living room, the men went back for the other two.
"Well, I've got to be going now." Jim told the family once the last box was safely inside. Looking down at the baby, who was curiously gazing over at the new addition to the room, he chuckled. He went over to the boxes and after reading the labels, opened the one closest to the door. Pulling a couple of items out of the box, he stuck them behind his back and walked back to the stroller. "That Ewok of yours looks lonely, kiddo. I think he needs some friends." He said, pulling another stuffed Ewok and a stuffed Mickey out from behind his back and handing them to the surprised toddler.
"Fant you" Reid whispered, taking the toys and setting them beside him.
"Yeah, thanks man" Morgan echoed.
"Don't thank me. That's all the Peterson's doing. But I'll be sure to thank them for you." Jim said, shaking Morgan's hand before turning to leave. "You folks have a great day."
"You too, Jim," Rossi called. He watched the man bound down the stairs, hop into one of the short, security trucks, and take off around the corner. Glancing back at his friends, he smiled. "Get a move on guys. I'm starving!"
Snickering at the older profiler, the rest of the team filed out of the house. They hurried over to the bus port and sat down to wait. Minutes later, the bus to Epcot pulled up and they climbed aboard. After a short bus ride, the BAU arrived at their destination. They stepped off the bus and walked down a long path to the entrance of the park. They quickly got their bags checked and headed to the ticket terminal. Once their tickets and fingers were scanned, the group hurried around the giant geodesic sphere and across the park to the building housing the restaurant where the character breakfast was being held.
Leading the way inside the building, Morgan followed the signs to the Garden Grill restaurant. Getting to the entrance of the restaurant, he stopped short. "Uhh, Rossi, the restaurant's rotating." He muttered.
"So it is." Dave agreed as he walked around the younger man and up to the podium where a waitress was waiting. "Hotchner, party of seven"
The fifty-something waitress looked down at her papers for a moment before finding their reservations. "Ah, yes here it is." She intoned. Smiling, she glanced up at the family, eyes widening as they caught sight of the buttons. Her eyes went immediately to the toddler in the stroller before dropping back to the papers in her hand. Motioning another waitress over, she quickly regained her composure. "If you'll park your stroller over there, Melissa will show you to your table."
"Thank you" JJ said, picking up Spencer. Rolling her eyes at Mickey and the two Ewoks stuffed into Garcia's bag, she waited with the others for Morgan to return from parking the stroller. Once he got back, the profilers followed their waitress to their tables and ordered their drinks.
"She forgot to give us the menus." Emily pointed out after the waitress walked off. Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, another waitress appeared with a tray full of food. She set down frying pans bursting with eggs, hash browns, and a casserole, plates of bacon, sausage, and ham, and a bowl filled with the biggest strawberries she'd ever seen. "Never mind"
Spencer looked over his choices. He wasn't sure his stomach could handle anything but he knew if he didn't at least put something on his plate, the others would be on him in a heartbeat. After mulling things over, he finally decided on the strawberries and that strange casserole. That way he could claim to not like the new casserole if anyone noticed him not eating it. Acutely aware of all the people surrounding them, the young profiler resigned himself to playing a kid. "Untle Mowgan, tan I have some tawbewwies and tassewole?" he asked.
"Sure kid" Derek replied. He spooned a small portion of casserole on the toddler's plate before spearing a couple of the largest strawberries. He set the now full plate in front of the boy with a smile. "There you go, Spencer."
Staring at the food, Reid gulped. He wasn't sure he could do this, but he knew he had to try for his friends' sakes. Picking up his spoon, he dipped it into the creamy casserole, picking up a tiny bit. Taking a deep breath, he tentatively brought the spoon to his mouth and took a bite. Spencer waited for his stomach to rebel. But it surprised him by grumbling loudly for more. He took another small bite of the casserole, licking his lips at the wonderful taste. Feeling his stomach calm even more, he dug into his food, finishing in minutes. Still hungry, he held out his plate to Morgan. "Mowe tassewole, please?" he asked.
Staring in shock at the cleaned plate, Derek shook his head. He'd never know the kid to eat much of anything let alone ask for seconds. Taking the plate from the boy, the young man loaded it down once more and set it down in front of the toddler. Seeing the youngster dig into his food, he smiled. It looked like it might be a good day after all.
AN- For anyone interested, the recipe for the casserole is on my profile page. And they do serve it at Disney. It's just nowhere near as good as homemade.