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- Sensitive subject involving a minor ahead.(Sorry, I did not see this coming) Read with caution.
AN- Okay, this won't happen often, but this one wouldn't leave me alone. So here it is.
I've gotten several comments about Reid's speech so here's a list of his substitutions: r becomes w, th becomes f, and c, k become t. He also leaves the "s" off any s blends. Hope that helps.(cause his speech trouble isn't going away.)
Yuki and Lalala thank you for your reviews.(I wish I could have replied to you personally but since you reviewed anonymously I was unable to.)
Previously on Criminal Minds- Shutting the cell, Hotch turned to his friends, all traces of his earlier smile gone. "That was Strauss."
CM
Emily carried an extremely red faced Reid out of the bathroom and gently sat him on the bed. She went over to the dresser, pulled out a couple of items, and tossed them beside the toddler. "Okay, do you need some help changing or have you got that covered?" she asked.
"I've *yawn* got it" he replied. Grabbing the pull-up off the pile, he threw it back at her. "And I'm not weawing fat. I don't need it."
Emily picked up the discarded pull-up from the floor and walked over to the pouting boy. Kneeling in front of the bed so the two of them were eye to eye, she sternly said, "You've got a choice, Grumpy. You can either put these on yourself or I'll put them on you. Either way, you're wearing them. Got me?"
"Fine" Reid huffed, snatching the dreaded clothing from his friend. "Just turn *yawn* around" he added, making a spinning motion.
Rolling her eyes at the toddler's modesty especially after she had just helped him in the bathroom, Emily turned and stared at the wall, smirking at the muffled curses coming from the BAU's resident genius. Hearing the boy call 'I'm ready' a few moments she frowned. There was no way Reid could have changed that fast unless he left off one very important piece of clothing. Emily turned around, already knowing what she was going to find. Seeing Reid's pajama bottoms hanging loosely around his waist confirmed her suspicions. She put her hands on her hips and scowled at the youngster. "Where is it?" she demanded.
"Where is what?" Spencer innocently asked, his puppy dog eyes out in full force.
"You know what. Now, where did you put it?" Prentiss growled as she walked over to the bed and started searching. Spying a lump under the blanket beside the boy, she swiftly reached under the covers. Pulling out the hated undergarment, she held it up and turned to Reid. "Alright, you asked for it." she said, grabbing the toddler by the leg.
CM
"No! Top it!"
All eyes snapped to the closed bedroom door. "I think I better go check on Spencer and Emily." Hotch told the others as he stood.
"Sit down, Aaron. I'm sure Prentiss can take care of whatever is going on in there. You don't need to go see about them." Rossi ordered, pinning the younger man with a stern look. That goes for you too, Morgan." He added, his gaze never leaving Hotch. "Let Emily handle it. We have some important matters to discuss."
"Like that phone call" Penelope added. "What did Strauss want, sir?"
"Please tell me that witch isn't calling us back already." JJ angrily muttered.
"I wish I could." Aaron regretfully said. "She said she was sending the jet tonight and that we are to board by no later than ten tonight. She's expecting us to be at work bright and early tomorrow morning."
There was a slight silence before the room exploded with the sound of yelled cursing and threats.
CM
"Don't give me that look, Mister. I warned you what would happen if you didn't put them on yourself." Emily scolded, eyeing the toddler who was trying his best to glare at the young woman. Ignoring the staring, she pulled down the covers on one side of the bed. "Now turn off the constipated puppy look, lay down, and take a nap."
"I'm *yawn* not a baby. I don't need a, *YAWN* a nap." Spencer protested even as he sleepily fisted his eyes.
"Riiight" Emily scoffed. Scooping the toddler up, she gently laid him down and tucked the blanket around him. "Sleep. Now." She ordered, scowling as the little boy immediately threw the covers off and sat up. "Reid" she warned.
Spencer shook his head. "No, I tan't leep. Peas, don't mate me." He pleaded as a tear ran down his face.
Worried, Emily took a seat beside the toddler. Her worry sky rocketed when her strong, independent friend climbed into her lap and threw his arms around her. "Hey, what is it, kiddo?" she asked, rubbing the boy's back. Getting no answer, the profiler scooted the youngster back a little so she could see his face. "This is more than just not wanting to take a nap. What's wrong, Reid? Why don't you want to go to sleep?"
Spencer swiped a hand across his tear streaked face. "I tan't leep 'tause, 'tause he, he'll be fewe." He softly whispered.
"Oh sweetie" Emily exclaimed, wrapping the little boy in a warm embrace. "Nightmares, huh?" Getting a slight nod, she tightened her grip. If she ever got her hands on the man that caused this, she'd tear him limb from limb. Feeling a shiver run through Reid, she quickly refocused on the matter at hand. "You know, when I was a little girl and I'd had a really bad day or I was having nightmares, I'd get all my stuffed animals and put them in the bed with me. After that, I could sleep. They were like my shield against the nightmares."
"But I'm not a tid. I'm *yawn* a gwown up." Reid pointed out as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
"Doesn't mean you couldn't try it?" Emily replied. Seeing the skeptical look on her friend's face, she sighed. "Look Spencer, we all have nightmares sometimes. We just have different ways of dealing with them. I eat my weight in ice cream and then snuggle up with my cat, Sergio, Dave drinks or hunts, Hotch throws himself into his work, and JJ has Will and Henry to help her through it. And then there's Morgan. I have it on good authority that he snuggles with Clooney when he's having nightmares." Feeling the toddler shake his head, she smiled. "Oh yes he does. Garcia told me that a couple of years ago. Look, the point I'm trying to make is that we all have our ways of coping with the nightmares our job brings. And since we don't have any dogs or cats for you to snuggle with, why not try my way? Nobody will think any less of you for it."
"You *YAWN* you weally fint it will help?" Reid asked, blinking his eyes open once more.
"Positive" Prentiss answered.
"Otay" Spencer agreed, raising his arms.
Emily picked the toddler up and walked out of the bedroom. "Excuse us a minute" she told the other team members as she made a beeline for the stroller sitting by the door. Once there, she grabbed all the stuffed animals off the seat and headed back to the bedroom. Stopping in the doorway, she glanced at her friends. "Okay, you can resume your conversation now."
CM
"Well, that was different." Derek commented, staring at the closed doorway.
"Isn't Reid supposed to be sleeping?" Garcia asked.
"A little hard to sleep with the racket you guys were making" Dave pointed out. "Guys, I know Strauss demanding our return tonight is crappy but we don't have a choice. She wants us back at work tomorrow, we go. But we'll leave after we've shown that little boy in there the best day he's ever had."
"Agreed," Morgan stated. "And I know the perfect way to end the day. Come on, Pen. You and I have someplace we need to be."
"I'm ready, my Dapper Devil" Garcia teased as she stood and took his arm. "Lead on my sweet!"
"Aaron, JJ let's go. There are a few things we need to pick up before we leave tonight, too." Dave said.
"Okay, just let me tell Em we're going out." JJ replied. She walked over to the bedroom and slowly opened the door. She crept into the room and over to the bed where Prentiss was lying with Reid snuggled up to her side.
"Don't say a word" Emily whispered.
"I wouldn't think of it." JJ quietly answered, crossing her fingers behind her back. "I just wanted to tell you Pen and Derek went out a few minutes ago and Rossi, Hotch, and I are headed out, too."
"Alright, lock the door for me. I don't think Reid here is planning to let go anytime soon." Emily said as she tenderly brushed the toddler's stray bangs out of his eyes.
"You've got it." JJ whispered. Leaning over, she kissed the baby's forehead before walking out of the room.
CM
Hotch peered into the bedroom, grinning at the sight of Reid almost buried under an enormous pile of stuffed animals. Stepping into the room, he looked over at Emily who was sitting beside the bed. "Reid having a sleep over?" he quietly joked.
Putting a finger to her lips, Prentiss stood and walked into the bathroom, motioning for Aaron to follow. Once they were both inside the tiny room, she closed the door part way and rounded on the smiling man. "That's not funny, Hotch." She growled. "Reid was terrified of going to sleep. He said he didn't want to close his eyes because that man would be there. I told him about how I used to pile my stuffed toys around me to keep the nightmares away. That was the only way I got him to lay down."
Aaron sighed. He had been afraid of that especially after the nightmares the boy had had the night before. "Did it work?" he asked.
"No, he's been up twice so far." Emily told him. "But that's not the worst part. The second time wasn't just an ordinary nightmare, it was a night terror. He was crying and begging for the man to let him go at first but then it changed. Aaron, he started saying, 'no daddy, please don't'. Then all the sudden he screamed and just about jumped off the bed. He, he was crying and, and whimpering and flailing around and I, I" she ran a hand across her face. "I couldn't wake him up."
"I'm so sorry, Emily. I knew I should have stayed." Hotch muttered, drawing the upset woman into a hug.
"No, it's alright, Aaron. I'm okay." She assured the older man, breaking out of the hug. "I just, I, do you think Reid's dad really, really…"
"I'm afraid so." Hotch answered, his face betraying his emotions for once. "After they got back from checking into the Riley Jenkins case, Dave told me about something Reid said under hypnosis. He said Reid remembered being in bed listening to his parents arguing and that when the arguing stopped, his father came into the room. Reid then started saying he didn't want to be there so the doctor took him to the next morning. At the time, Dave wondered about it but he put it off to Reid believing his dad was a murderer and so did I. Evidently, we were both wrong."
"God Aaron! He was just a baby when that boy was killed! How could anybody do that to a baby!" Prentiss growled.
"I don't know but…" he stopped, cocking his head to one side. Hearing the soft whimper again, he threw open the door and hurried to the bed. Taking a seat on the edge, he found two, wide brown eyes staring up at him. "Hey buddy, did you have a good nap?"
Fisting his eyes, Spencer nodded. "Hotch, I, I kind of had a, ummm, a…" he stammered, dropping his gaze to his lap.
Knowing immediately what the boy was trying to say, Aaron rushed to assure him. "It's okay, Spencer" he said as he picked the boy up. "We can take care of that. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Walking over to the dresser, he swiftly grabbed a change of clothes for the toddler and headed for the bathroom. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll get a snack before we go back out."
"Otay" Reid agreed around the thumb in his mouth.
Aaron set the bundle of clothes on the toilet seat and then turned on the taps. He checked the temperature of the water before plugging the tub. Helping Spencer finish getting undressed and in the bath, the BAU leader could only hope this latest revelation wouldn't be the straw that broke the camel's back.