Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. I do not own anything you recognize.
AN- First, a huge thank you to everyone reading this story. And a special thanks to the folks who have taken the time to leave a review.
This chapter has been driving me crazy. I just can't get it to flow the way I want it to. But I've made y'all wait for two weeks now and that isn't fair to you. So, I fixed it the best I could and here it is. (Still don't like it though)
Previously on Criminal Minds- "Shhh, unless you want your butt to feel like your head," Penelope threatened. Feeling the toddler still, she smiled. "I thought you'd see it my way." she mumbled. She slowly began to rock back and forth as she one handedly worked the computer. Spencer was asleep in minutes.
CM
Hotch pulled into the empty parking spot beside the team's other Durango and cut the engine. Grabbing the plastic bag from the console, he opened the door and stepped out. After locking the vehicle, he followed Morgan and Rossi across the parking lot and past a row of wooden rocking chairs to the double doors of an old timey looking store. Pulling them open, the trio strode into the restaurant and up to the podium where a white haired waitress was waiting. They stopped long enough to ask for directions to their table and then made their way around tables and other patrons to the long wooden table at the back of the room.
Glancing over at Reid as he took a seat at the table, Rossi whistled. "You really did a number on yourself, kid." He stated, taking in the bruising peeking out from under the white bandage practically covering one side of the toddler's forehead.
"It's not as bad as it looks." Hotch told his colleague as he sat down beside the small boy. Looking down at his charge, the profiler carefully studied Spencer's face before asking, "Are you feeling alright? You're head's not hurting, is it?"
"No, I'm otay" Reid fibbed.
"Good evening everyone, my name is Becky. I'll be your waitress tonight." a brunette around JJ's age greeted. "Can I get you folks something to drink while you look over the menu?"
"That'd be great." Rossi answered. "I'll have coffee."
"One coffee, got it. How about the rest of you?" Becky asked. Looking to each person, she quickly and expertly wrote down their drink of choice. Promising to return shortly with their drinks, she turned and walked away.
"What took you guys so long?" Emily asked once the waitress was gone. "We were getting ready to order without you."
"Sorry, that was my fault. I stopped at a store up the street to get this." Aaron replied, handing a white, plastic bag to Reid.
Curious as to what his boss would deem so important, Spencer reached into the sack. Pulling out a colorful, paperback book, he turned it around to see the title. "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," he read, his bottom lip poking out as the meaning hit him.
"I got you something, too, Short Stuff." Derek said, ruffling the boy's hair. Taking something out of his back pocket, he handed the long, thin object to the pouting toddler.
"A Fwyswattew?" Spencer questioned, staring up at his best friend.
"Yeah, that'll beat back those big, bad blankets the next time they try to grab you." Morgan teased with a huge smirk on his face.
Spencer's bottom lip began to tremble as his friends laughed at Morgan's joke. He didn't think it was the least bit funny. He'd fallen and busted his head, had another accident, gotten the crap scared out of him by a crazy doctor, and been stitched up. All in all he'd had a miserable day. Reid knew his friend was just teasing but he was tired and his head was starting to hurt again. He didn't want to be teased, he wanted to be comforted but everyone was…that thought cut off as he noticed one member of the team frowning. Protector found, the toddler swiftly slid off the booster seat and onto the floor. Ducking under the table, he maneuvered around the team's legs as well as the table legs as he hurried towards the comfort he needed. Coming out from under the tablecloth once he got to one end, the little boy ran around the back of a chair and right up beside his frowning friend. Tear filled eyes looking up at his protector, the youngster slowly raised his arms. "Up" he softly demanded.
Rossi's eyebrows shot up as he took in the obviously upset toddler by his side. Leaning down, he scooped up the boy. His worry increased as Reid wrapped his tiny arms around his neck and buried his face in Rossi's shoulder. "Hey, what's all this, buddy?" he asked, as the tiny body began to shake and Dave felt tears wetting his shirt collar. Getting no response besides a tightening of the arms around his neck, Rossi decided to get the toddler out of there. Reid wouldn't want an audience for this. Pushing his chair back from the table, he quickly stood. "Excuse us a minute." He mumbled before hurrying out of the restaurant.
"Umm, Hotch what just happened?" Emily asked, staring at Rossi's retreating back.
"I'm not sure." Aaron confessed. "I think we upset Spencer."
"I'm gonna go…"
"You people should be ashamed of yourselves for picking on a little baby like that!" an elderly woman scolded as she shuffled by their table. "That was just plain mean! You young'uns need to learn some respect. Why, I've got half a mind to teach the lot of you a lesson!"
"Ruthie, come on we have to be going." a tall, stooped man softly instructed, taking the angry woman by the arm. "I'm sure these kids have learned their lesson. Right?"
The stunned group of agents nodded.
"I should hope so." Ruthie growled. She glared at the team for a moment more before allowing her husband to lead her away. Her mumblings about 'young people these days' continued to assault the profilers' ears until the couple turned a corner and disappeared.
Morgan's mouth dropped open in shock at the old lady's monologue. Glaring at the now empty restaurant doorway, he growled, "That old…"
"She's right, guys" Garcia interrupted, nervously twisting her napkin in her hands. "I mean, think about it. If that had happened to Henry or Jack, you wouldn't have even thought of teasing them."
"But they're kids. Reid's an adult." Derek pointed out.
"True, but he's a grown up in a toddler's body and toddlers get upset easily. Spence is acting just like any three year old would." JJ responded with a sigh. "We really should have seen this coming. His emotions have been all over the place, just look at all the times he's sought comfort from one of us or cried since he was turned. Those are things he never would have done before. His mind may be working on an adult level, but his emotions are more in line with a toddler."
"JJ's right" Penelope agreed. "We need to be more careful what we say and do around him."
"That's a tall order, Baby Girl" Morgan said, running a hand across his face.
"I know, but we have to do it." the bubbly blond replied. "And it won't be that hard. We've already adjusted our schedule to make sure he eats three meals a day, takes a nap, and goes to bed early. This is just one more thing we need to add to our list of Baby Reid Rules."
"Baby Reid's Rules?" Emily chuckled. "Girl, you better not let him hear you say that."
"Why? My little Hugs a Lot Bear won't mind." Garcia replied.
Groaning at the newest nickname for Reid, Morgan ran a hand across his bald head. All the lighthearted talking didn't change the fact that he'd made his best friend cry. The expression on the toddler's face had been heartbreaking and the older man wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off the kid's face. Now. Pushing his chair back from the table, he said, "Speaking of Reid, I'm just gonna go see if he's…"
"Sit down, Derek. Spencer needed some time and that's what we're going to give him." Aaron firmly stated. "He'll be alright. Dave will make sure of it."
"He better" Morgan muttered, retaking his seat. Glancing across the restaurant at the windows, he could only hope that Rossi would be able to set things right.
CM
Dave quietly sat and rocked the crying toddler in his arms. Ignoring everyone and everything around them, he focused on soothing the boy. He slowly ran a hand up and down Reid's back as he'd seen Hotch do on other occasions. When that didn't magically stop the sobbing, he decided he needed to switch tactics. An idea immediately came to mind but the profiler wasn't sure if it would work or not. He argued it out in his head before quickly coming to the conclusion that it was worth a shot. So Dave did something he'd seen JJ do to comfort an upset Henry: he sang. And to his amazement, it worked. Reid's crying slowly tapered off until only the occasional hiccup could be heard. Rossi rocked and sang for a few minutes more before stopping the chair's momentum. He gently tugged the youngster in his lap back a little so he could see the tear stained face and asked, "Feeling better?" Getting a shaky nod in return, he smiled. "Good" he said offering a napkin he'd snitched off the table to the sniffling child. After Reid had wiped his face and blown his nose, the older man tossed it in the direction of the barrel doubling as a trash can. "You feel like telling me why you gave my shirt a bath?"
Spencer looked up at his friend, eyes widening as he took in the mess on his stylish friend's collar and sleeve. "Oh man, Wossi I'm so…"
"Kid if the next word outta your mouth is sorry, I will turn you over my knee and give you something to be sorry about," Dave warned. Seeing the younger man's gaze drop to the ground, he sighed. Reaching down, he gently grasped the little boy's chin, nudging it up until they were eye to eye again. "You didn't do anything wrong so you have nothing to be sorry for, understand?"
"Uh huh" Reid replied with a nod.
Rossi waited for the boy to explain his actions but his charge remained quiet. "Come on, kiddo what made you so upset?"
"I, I jut" Spencer began before stopping with a sniff. He lowered his gaze to the ground once more before admitting, "It's tupid."
"I highly doubt that." Rossi countered. When the small profiler still didn't talk, the older man decided to try coming at it from a different angle. "Okay, how about I tell you what I think?" he offered. Seeing the toddler curiously peek up at him, he forged on. "I think you're tired, you're hurting, and you've had a crap day. You needed someone to comfort you but instead Morgan and the others made it into a joke and that upset you. And I also think that you responded the same way any other three year old would."
"I'm not fwee. I'm a gwown up" Reid argued, crossing his arms. "Mowgan teases me all the time. I shouldn't have twied lite a little tid."
"I've got news for you, you are a little kid." Dave pointed out. "And little kids cry when they're upset. You've been around Henry and Jack enough to know that."
"But I'm not a tid." Spencer reiterated.
"I don't think your body got that memo." Rossi said. Noticing the boy's pout, the older agent sighed. "Look Reid, your body is reacting the way a three year old would. It stinks but you're going to have to deal with it. You're stuck in this body until the new year. But I want you to know that even when you turn back, it's still okay to cry. We'll all be there to lend an ear or a shoulder when you need it."
"Weally? Even you?" Spencer asked, his eyes full of emotion.
"Of course, my door is always open. You can come to me anytime." Rossi assured his charge. "I'll have to take a pass on the sitting in my lap part once you're grown again though. Strauss would probably freak out if she walked in and saw that."
Spencer giggled. "I don't know. It might be wowf(worth) it to see fat."
"True" Dave stated, smiling down at the toddler. Getting a dimpled grin in return, the older man decided it was time to get back to the rest of the team. "You ready to go back inside?"
The smile dropped right off Reid's face. "Not weally" he whispered.
"Reid, Reid son look at me." Dave ordered. He waited for the toddler to gaze up at him before saying, "The people in there are your friends. They understand you're going through a lot and they're not going to think any less of you because of it. And they're certainly not going to tease you about it. They try that and they'll have to go through me first."
"Even Mowgan?" Spencer asked.
"Even Morgan" Dave answered, as he stood and slowly headed for the entrance. "Morgan will be sorry if he does though. He doesn't stand a chance against the he-man of the Indiana Jones Stunt Show."
Laughing at the memory, the two friends made their way back inside.