Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. I do not own anything you recognize. Don't like, don't read.

Previously on Criminal Minds-"Agent Hotchner! Police in Winchester just called! They've got him!" Captain Sturgess hollered.

CM

Reid leaned back against the couch and rubbed his eyes. He hated to admit it but his little eyes just couldn't handle staring at page after page of typed print. And his toddler body definitely wasn't ready to sit still for long periods. He yearned to get up and move around…again. Spencer refused to give into the urge, however. It was imperative that he focus all his attention on the case. Everything else would just have to wait. It wasn't like he had a lot of room to move in anyway. There were only so many laps he could make around a hotel room without losing it and he'd passed that mark an hour or so back. The tiny agent shifted a little hoping the motion would quell some of the nervous energy thrumming through his body. 'No such luck' Reid thought as he started fidgeting. 'If only there was something I could do to…' his brain screeched to a halt as his eyes landed on the queen sized bed across the room. The monkeys in Hotch's book had expended their energy jumping on a big bed like that one. Wondering if his bed was as springy as theirs, the youngster quickly shook his head. 'Get it together, Spencer. It's a fictional story. Monkeys don't have bedtimes and they certainly don't jump on beds. Focus on the case.' Sighing, the BAU's resident genius looked back down at the paperwork scattered around him. He had to find…his attention drifted back to the bed. 'Maybe if I jumped in the middle of the bed' he chopped off that thought, rolling his eyes. 'Quit day dreaming, doofus' he mentally berated himself. Reid turned his attention to the folder in front of him once more. Everyone was counting on him and he wasn't about to let his team down. No one else was going to die because of him. With his mission in the forefront of his mind, Spencer dove back into his work.

Glancing at her small charge, Emily let out a sigh. She knew her friend couldn't help the way he was acting but all that wiggling he was doing was making her antsy. If they didn't get Reid out of this hotel room soon, they'd be peeling him off the ceiling. Shaking that ridiculous image out of her head, the profiler picked up the next folder from her stack of possible suspects and opened it. Emily had just begun to read when she was startled by music blasting from her cell phone. 'I love you, You love me, We're a happy family' "Spencer" she growled, glaring at the toddler who was trying and failing not to giggle.

Reid kept his eyes firmly glued to the paper in his hands, pretending to be absorbed in his work even as his shoulders shook with laughter.

"I am so going to get you for this." Emily promised before flipping open her phone. "Prentiss"

"There's been a change of plans. Morgan will be covering the lunch shift instead of me. Rossi and I are headed to Winchester. A man was caught breaking into a young boy's bedroom there last night. After attempting to question him for the last twelve hours, the police finally decided to call us in. Hotch explained.

"I'm not even going to ask why they didn't ring us immediately." Prentiss muttered, sneaking a glance at Reid, who wasn't sitting on the floor anymore. Scanning the room with her eyes, she quickly located the toddler walking over by the bed. Rolling her eyes at the boy's choice of track, she tuned back into her conversation with her boss. "Do you think this could be the guy?"

"It's a possibility" Aaron replied. "The MO fits. It was a single parent household like the others. And he broke in after the boy went to bed and his mother's male friend came over. But he wasn't one of the men on our original list. Garcia is looking into him as we speak."

"How did they catch him? Did a neighbor see him? Were the police watching the house? Where they just in the right place at the right time or what?" Emily asked.

"Actually, the police aren't the ones who took him down." Hotch stated, the smile clear in his voice. "He apparently picked the wrong house this time. It turns out the man the unsub saw enter the house wasn't the mother's boyfriend. He was her Tae Kwon Do instructor. He was meeting with her to practice before she tested for 2nd degree black belt this weekend."

"Oh my *snicker* you mean they…"

"Kicked his ass" Aaron filled in.

"That has got to be the best take down story ever!" Prentiss crowed, still laughing. "Wait till I tell…SPENCER REID! Get down from there this instant!"

"Prentiss? Prentiss, what's going on?" Hotch questioned.

"Sorry for yelling in your ear, Hotch." Emily apologized. "Everything's under control now."

Ignoring his friend's last statement, Aaron pressed for more information. "Emily, what was Reid doing just now?"

"Don't worry about it. You just concentrate on…

"Prentiss, report. Now" Hotch ordered.

Emily sighed. She didn't want to get Reid in trouble but she knew she had no choice. "Spencer was jumping on the bed, sir" she replied.

Hotch pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have known. He took a moment to calm himself and then said, "Put Reid on the phone."

"I can handle it, Hotch." Emily assured her boss. "You don't need to…"

"Yes, I do. Now put the little trouble maker on the phone." Aaron told the raven haired profiler. Getting the required "yes sir", Hotch mentally prepared his lecture while he waited for Reid to come on the phone. He hated playing the disciplinarian but he couldn't let this infraction slide by. Spencer could have fallen and busted his head open or worse. Evidently, he'd been too lenient with the boy. He'd soon rectify that. After this scolding was over, Spencer wouldn't think of setting so much as a toe out of line.

Taking the phone from Emily, Reid shakily held it up to his ear. "H, Hotch" he timidly said.

The fearful tone in the toddler's voice overrode the scathing lecture Hotch had planned. Reminding himself that he was dealing with a child's temperament, not an adults, the BAU leader instantly adjusted his scolding. Softening his voice, Aaron began. "Spencer, were you jumping on the bed just now?"

"Y,yes s,s,siw" Reid stammered, "I, I was wowting(working) and I, I touldn't be till and, and fen I saw the bed and I…I needed to move and I…I'm sowwy!"

"Spencer, you need to calm down. Can you do that for me, buddy?" Aaron coached over the boy's ramblings. Hearing the youngster take in a stuttering breathe, the surrogate father nodded. "That's it Spencer. You're okay."

Reid sniffled before quietly asking, "H, Hotch awe you m,mad at me?"

"No Spencer, I'm not angry with you. And though I'm not pleased with your actions, I do understand them. I know it's hard on you being cooped up in that room twenty-four, seven but I need you to hang in there just a little bit longer, okay? Think you can handle that?" Hotch inquired.

"Yes siw" Reid replied. "I'll be good."

"No more jumping on the bed?" Aaron questioned.

"No siw" Spencer answered, adamantly shaking his head.

"Good, then I don't have to worry about you falling off and bumping your head." Hotch teased, frowning when he didn't get so much as a giggle out of the boy. "Spencer, are you okay?"

"Yes siw, I'm going to go bat to wowt(work) now. Hewe's Emily" Reid told the older man before handing off the phone.

"Hotch, what the hell did you say to him?" Emily quietly ranted as soon as Spencer was out of ear shot.

"I told him it was okay." Aaron replied, resisting the urge to call the profiler on her attitude.

"How could you? I told you I'd…wait, what?" Prentiss stammered.

"I said I told Reid I wasn't mad at him and that I understood how hard this was on him." Hotch reiterated. "Why? Is he upset?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'll handle it." Emily assured her boss.

"Are you sure? I can always…"

"Go with Rossi, Hotch" Prentiss interrupted. "I'll smooth things over for you."

"Thanks, Emily" Aaron said, stopping beside the team's SUV. "I'll tell Morgan to take you two to that fast food chicken place a couple of blocks from our hotel for lunch. It's a school day so it shouldn't be crowded and they have an indoor play place. It should be safe to turn Spencer loose there for a while, especially with you two keeping an eye on him."

"That would be wonderful." Emily stated.

"It's settled then. I'll have Morgan pick you up in an hour." Hotch informed the young woman. "See what you can do about Spencer's mood before then, alright?"

"You've got it, Boss" Prentiss replied.

"Oh, and one more thing: You might want to change your ring back tone. "I'm a Barbie Girl" isn't exactly appropriate for an FBI agent." Aaron said, laughing at the muffled cursing coming from the other end.

"Why that little! I'm gonna…No, no sir…I know…Yeah, I'll be careful…" After ending the conversation with a promise on both sides to call if they found anything, Emily closed her cell phone and set it back on the dresser. Glancing over at her charge, she noticed he was now sitting with his back to her. She watched with a frown as the toddler's hand came up to swipe at his face every few seconds. Hating to see her friend upset, the profiler mulled over possible ways to cheer the youngster up before settling on one. With her plan formulated, she grabbed a couple of folders and took a seat at the end of the bed.

Spencer wiped the moisture from his eyes once more. He pushed the conversation with Hotch to the back of his mind and focused on the papers in front of him. He needed to see if…a hit to the back brought him out of his thoughts. Turning, he glared at Emily. "Top it" he demanded.

"Stop what?" Prentiss innocently asked, keeping her eyes on her paperwork. "I haven't done anything."

Spencer raised an eyebrow at the obvious fib. He sent one more glare the older agent's way before turning back to his work. He knew the answer had to be…another swat to the back had him seeing red. "Twit(quit) it!" he shouted.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Emily smoothly lied as she twirled the edge of the pillow case around her fingers. She didn't dare look up from her work, knowing she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if she did.

Huffing, Spencer went back to his work once more or at least he pretended to. Watching his nemesis out of the corner of his eye, the toddler waited for her to swing and then rolled out of the way. "Fat's it! You asted fow it!" he growled. Running around the coffee table, he snatched a pillow off the couch and launched himself at a surprised Emily. And the pillow war was on!