Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. I do not own anything you recognize.
AN- Nice readers please cover your ears. Folks who don't read disclaimers listen up: DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ! Simple as that.
HOWEVER
If you choose to ignore the warning and read and then flame, at least have the GUTS to SIGN IN to do it instead of taking the COWARD'S way out by replying anonymously with a name that may or may not be yours.
End of rant
Previously on Criminal Minds- Running around the coffee table, Reid snatched a pillow off the couch and launched himself at a surprised Emily. And the pillow war was on!
CM
Derek Morgan whistled as he stepped off the elevator and started down the hall of their hotel. He was thrilled Hotch had finally relented and was allowing their youngest member to leave their stuffy hotel room for a while. Derek couldn't wait to get Reid to the restaurant so the kid could run around a little bit. The boy had had cabin fever for days now and while he understood why the confinement was necessary, keeping the energetic toddler trapped in the tiny space had been torture. Thankfully, the jumping on the bed incident had caused Hotch to rethink his stance on the situation and give the kid a break. Derek just hoped Reid would take him up on the offer. Spencer had been working almost nonstop since the last murders and Morgan was pretty sure his friend wasn't going to stop working without a fight. The seasoned profiler really hoped he was wrong though. He had no desire to play disciplinarian that was Hotch's role. But he would if he had to. Making it to Reid's hotel room door, Derek readied himself to for the argument ahead and then knocked on the door.
"Coming" Emily called. Weapon in hand, she cautiously walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Seeing her friend's smiling face, she holstered her gun before opening the door. "Hey Morgan" she greeted, "You're late."
"Yeah, I got caught in…*WHACK!* "What the…" Derek exclaimed. Staring down at the site of the hit, he found a smirking Spencer raising his pillow back for another blow. "Why you little…you're gonna pay for that one youngster!" he jokingly told the toddler as he reached for the boy. Laughing as the boy shrieked and then turned and ran, Derek gave Spencer a head start before chasing after him. He easily caught the tiny profiler and scooped him up. "I've got you now!" he crowed, tickling the boy's stomach.
"T-t-top it!" Reid stammered between giggles. His tiny hands came up and pushed at the attacking fingers as he bucked and writhed in the older man's hold.
"Sorry kiddo, no can do. You haven't said the magic word." Morgan teased, gently tossing the toddler onto the bed so he could continue his tickle attack with both hands.
"P-p-peas!" Spencer managed to get out, tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard.
"Peas? Ewww, that's definitely not the magic word." Derek said, making a face. "Try again, Short Stuff."
Shaking her head at her two friends, Emily slipped into the bathroom to clean up a little. After using the facilities, she ran a brush through her hair and fixed her make up. Once she finished, she stepped out of the bathroom to find the tickle war still in full swing. She was tempted to let the fun continue but taking in the toddler's red face, Emily decided she needed to step in before things got out of hand. "Morgan, that's enough. Stop before you make him wet his pants." She warned.
"Whoa!" Derek exclaimed, quickly pulling his hands back. "No playing water hose, Squirt!"
"H-ha, h-h-ha" Spencer breathlessly muttered. He lay still for a moment to catch his breath and then slowly sat up, giving his friend a mischievous grin. "You know what fey say. Pay bat's a bi…"
"No you don't!" Morgan said, covering the toddler's mouth. "No saying curse words if you're going out with me."
"Going out?" Reid repeated, his eyes lighting up at the prospect. "I tan go out? But I fought(thought) Hotch said I had to tay hewe."
"Hotch said he thought it would be alright for you to get out for a little while. He gave me orders to escort you and Emily to the chicken place up the road from here." Derek explained.
"Oh" Spencer sighed, his face falling. He'd thought going on meant he'd be taken some where he could run around. Still, going out to a restaurant was better than nothing.
Morgan bit back a smile. "Did I forget to mention the play area inside the restaurant?" he innocently questioned.
Spencer looked up at his friend. "A pay awea! Tool!" he shouted. Grabbing Morgan's hand, the toddler yanked on it. "Tome on! Let's go!"
"You heard the kid. Get moving, Pokey" Emily teased, swatting Derek on the back as she passed him. Taking Spencer's other hand, she led the way out the door.
CM
Agents Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi walked into the Winchester Police Department and looked around. Spotting the Sheriff's office across the room, they strode over. Hotch knocked once before opening the door and entering. "Sheriff Baxter, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner and this is SSA David Rossi." He introduced, shaking the short, plump man's hand. "We were told you had a suspect in custody that may be linked to our case."
"Yes sir" the Sheriff replied. The 50 something balding man moved to the door and motioned for them to follow him. "He was caught last night in a little boy's room over on the East side of town. I figured he was responsible for the killings in Vegas so my boys and I tried to get him to talk. But he hasn't said a word 'cept to ask for some water." Opening a door on the left, he held it for the profilers and then followed them in. Looking through the one way mirror at the young suspect, Sheriff Baxter shook his head. "We've pretty much left him alone all morning. We've only gone in to give him water and a little something to eat and a couple of bathroom breaks." The Sheriff glanced over at the agents before starting for the door. "I guess I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, just ask."
Aaron resisted the urge to sigh. He hated when local law enforcement took matters into their own hands in an attempt to "break" a big case. He knew they meant well but they usually only ended up making things harder for his team. Instead of voicing his thoughts, however, Hotch took a more diplomatic approach. "We appreciate your help, Sheriff. Agent Rossi and I can take it from here though."
Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Sheriff Baxter nodded once and then walked out the door.
Rossi waited for the Sheriff to leave before turning to his boss. "How do you want to play this, Aaron?" he asked.
"According to Garcia's information, the only way to get him to talk is to make him think we sympathize with him." Hotch told his friend and fellow agent. "I'll go in first: talk to him father to father. See if I can get him to admit to anything."
Dave nodded. "Just be careful" he warned. "That guy looks awfully familiar."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you've seen him around the police station or the hotel?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe" Rossi answered with a shrug. "Or maybe the knowledge that he works at our hotel is just making me think I've seen him."
"Somehow I doubt that" Hotch said. He glanced from his friend to the young suspect in the next room before going over to the door. "If I haven't gotten anywhere after half an hour, we'll trade off."
"Understood" Rossi agreed. He watched through the glass as the door opened and Hotch strode through.
Aaron walked into the interrogation room and took a seat across from the suspect. "Mr. Remington, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. I understand you were caught breaking into a house by the home's occupants. Is that true?"
The young suspect remained silent, refusing to even look at the FBI agent.
"Mr. Remington?" Hotch started before softening his voice. "Kyle, I understand. I do. You lost your son twice; first in the custody battle with your ex-wife and then to her boyfriend who beat Kyle Jr. to death for wetting the bed."
"You don't understand nothing." Kyle growled, glaring at the profiler. "How could you?"
"I understand you're angry with yourself for not being there; for not being able to protect him." Hotch profiled.
"I should've fought for custody. Should've told her no when she said she wanted to move to North Carolina with him." Kyle admitted. "If I'd just fought her, my son wouldn't have been hurt. It's my fault K Jr.'s dead."
"Mr. Remington, it's not your…"
"IT IS MY FAULT!" Kyle screamed. Leaping out of his chair, the furious father swept the folder full of papers off the table before advancing on the BAU leader.
Hotch jumped to his feet right after the suspect. "Calm down, Mr. Remington" he instructed as he slowly came around the table. "You don't want…" he easily side stepped the punch aimed at his face. Grabbing his assailant's arm, he swiftly pulled it behind the man's back before slamming his suspect into the wall face first. "You just made a serious mistake. Assaulting a FBI agent is a federal offense." He ground out.
Two uniformed officers raced into the room with Rossi right behind them. They hurried over to the corner where Hotch had the enraged man pinned to the wall. "We've take it from here, sir" Officer Jenkins told Aaron.
Hotch made sure the officers had control of the suspect before releasing him. "Take him to a cell to cool off." He ordered. "No one talks to him. Understand?"
"Yes sir" the officers replied.
Rossi waited for the cops to escort the suspect out of the room before approaching his friend. "Are you alright, Aaron?" he softly asked.
"I'm fine, Dave" Hotch replied, straightening his tie and suit jacket. "We'll give him a couple of hours to calm down and then try again."
"Why don't we grab a bite to eat while we wait?" Dave suggested as the two started for the door. "I saw a buffet restaurant on the way in. What do you say? You up for some home cooking?"
"Sounds good" Aaron answered. "I'll inform the Sheriff and then we'll head out.
Dave nodded, stopping at the end of the hallway. "I'll go get the car and drive it around to the front while you do that. Meet you there in a couple of minutes?"
"Absolutely" Hotch said. The two profilers went their separate ways, both mentally preparing for the interview to come.
CM
Spencer stared in awe at the jumble of pipes and tunnels in front of him. "Fis is a pay pace?" he asked.
"Yeah" Emily answered as she led him over to the shoe station. "See, you can climb through the pipes and tunnels to get to those slides or you can play in the ball pit. You just have to take your shoes off first."
Reid glanced up at his friend. "I have to tate off my shoes?" he squeaked.
"Afraid so, kiddo" Prentiss said, fighting the urge to laugh at the pout that appeared on the toddler's face. "Come on, it's not that bad. You'll still have your socks on."
"But, but…"
"You don't have to play, you know. You could always sit at the table and wait for the food." Emily suggested.
Spencer adamantly shook his head. "No, fat's otay. I'll tate off my shoes." He said, as he plopped down on the floor. He quickly pulled off his shoes and tossed them in an empty cubbie. "Tan we go pay now?"
"You'll have to play by yourself, Handsome. I'm not allowed to play on the equipment." Emily stated, pointing to the height sign.
Spencer read the sign and sighed.
"Go on and play." Prentiss urged. "I'll stay right here and watch. Promise."
Reid glanced from the play area to Emily and back. "Otay" he replied. He gave Emily a dimpled grin before running over to play equipment and disappearing into one of the yellow pipes.
An amused Emily watched as her tiny charge climbed, jumped, and slid his way around the play place. The energetic toddler raced through the tunnels, only stopping to look through the port holes in the top pipe and wave at the raven haired profiler. Smiling, she waved back to the boy.
Morgan walked across the restaurant, searching for a table close to the play area. Spotting one in a corner beside the glass wall enclosing the playground, he hurried over to the empty table and set down his tray full of food. Not wanting to stop Spencer so soon, the profiler spent a few minutes setting the food, drinks, and silverware on the table. Once that task was finished, Derek slowly shuffled to the open doorway of the play area and stuck his head in. "Soups on" he called.
"Coming" Emily answered back. Sighing, she trudged over to the slide, making it in time to catch Reid at the bottom. "Time to eat, Spencer" she announced.
"But I jut tawted(started) paying!" Reid whined.
"You can play some more after you eat." The young woman told the toddler as she led him over to the shoe station. Picking up the boy's shoes, she swiftly slipped them on his feet before scooping him up. Emily carried the youngster to their table and gently deposited Spencer in his booster seat.
"Having fun, kid?" Morgan asked, frowning as the toddler started stuffing chicken nuggets in his mouth. "Hey, slow down man! Where's the fire?"
"Tan't" Spencer replied, spraying the table with bits of chicken. "I gotta…" The rest of his statement was cut off by a coughing fit.
Derek swatted the toddler's back a few times as the boy coughed and coughed. It was over in seconds but those seconds had been more than enough to scare the crap out of the older man. Seeing the child reaching for his chocolate milk, Morgan picked it up and handed it to his friend. He watched Reid take a small sip and swallow it before speaking. "You okay, Pretty Boy?"
"Y-yeah" Spencer rasped. "Somefing jut went down the wong way."
"That's what happens when you eat too fast, Spencer." Emily told the little boy.
"She's right, Kid. You've gotta take it slow. No more wolfing it down." Derek scolded. "'Sides, there's no reason to hurry. There'll be plenty of time to play after you eat. We don't have to rush back to the room or anything."
Reid eyed his friend skeptically. "Don't you have to get bat to the peace tation?" he asked.
"Nope, there's nothing for me to do there, at least not until Hotch and Rossi finish interviewing the suspect in Winchester." Morgan explained. "Afraid you're stuck with me for the next few hours."
"But what about…"
"But nothing, I'm staying and that's that." Derek countered. "Now, eat before your food's cold. Oh, and try to actually chew your food this time."
Rolling his eyes at the last comment, Spencer took a small bit of one of the nuggets and mouth open, made a show of slowly chewing up the piece.
"You're eating chicken, not seafood. Close your mouth, dude." Morgan admonished with a chuckle.
Spencer snapped his mouth shut before reaching for his drink and taking another sip. He then set his milk down and dug back into his food, slowly this time.
CM
Hotch and Rossi watched as the prisoner was brought back into the interrogation room. They took a few minutes to observe the man as he sat waiting. He looked a little calmer but the seasoned profilers could tell by his body language that he was extremely nervous. Hoping to use that to their advantage, they gave the suspect ten minutes alone. Rossi then left the viewing room and proceeded to the other room. He opened the door, walked the couple of steps to the table, and took a seat.
Kyle looked up as the profiler entered. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the older man. "You're, you're the man that carried that dude into the hotel the other night!" he accused, pointing a finger at the profiler.
Keeping his surprise at the comment hidden, Rossi gazed over at the man and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I did no such thing. The only person I've carried into a hotel was my co-worker's son and he's a toddler."
"But, I saw you! You came in with that blonde and you were carrying this really tall, brown haired guy! He was so tall, his feet were dragging the ground!" Kyle disagreed. "I know what I saw! The video cameras might have showed a baby but they were wrong. You must have messed with them somehow."
"Mr. Remington, you're mistaken. Yes, I carried a sleeping baby into the hotel the other night. But Spencer was just that a baby. There was no tall brown haired man." Rossi fibbed.
"But, but…"
"Mr. Remington, Kyle, why don't we change the subject, huh?" Dave suggested. "Let's talk about why you're here."
"I, I was just…" Kyle started before realizing his mistake and clamming up.
"Just what? Come on son, help me out here. I know you were caught breaking into a child's room. I also know about what happened to your own son. That had to be a horrible thing for you to go through. I've never had a child but I do have a nephew. You saw me carrying him the other night. If he had been put through the things your son had, I'd be furious! I'm not sure what I might do if something happened to him." Dave carefully stated. "I won't say I understand because I don't. I've never been in your position. I'm hoping you can help me with that. Help me understand what happened, Kyle. Help me understand why you did what you did. Were you angry at yourself for what happened to your boy?"
"Of course I was mad at myself!" Kyle hollered, slamming a cuffed hand on the table. "It was my fault! If I'd just fought her, K Jr. wouldn't be dead!"
"Is that why you tortured the fathers before killing them, Kyle?" Rossi gently prodded. "They reminded you of you?"
"They, they deserved it. They needed to feel what their boys were going through. What that monster was putting them through." Kyle growled.
"But what about the mothers? Didn't they…"
"It wasn't their fault! They didn't know what was going on. Didn't know until it was too late." Kyle broke in. "She wasn't responsible. It's the father's job to protect the children, not the mothers."
Rossi nodded, pretending to agree. "There's just one more thing I don't understand. Why did you kill the boys, Kyle? Why not kill the men hurting them?" Kyle glanced up at him then and the look on the young man's face took his breath away. It was the same look Reid had worn after the attack at Disney.
"He, he said nobody'd believe me if I told and he was right. He was a big man in the, the town. He could do no wrong in their eyes. They praised him for taking in my mom and me; for treating me like his son. The folks I told just chalked it up to me being an ungrateful brat. They never even questioned him about it; just scolded me for making up stories." Kyle explained. "I did those little boys a favor. They were just like me. I could have video-taped those men doing, doing that to those boys and the people still wouldn't have believed it. Those boys are better off where they are. At least now they're safe. They won't have to go through what my b-boy, what K Jr…" Kyle dropped his head onto his crossed arms and cried.
Rossi glanced over at the mirror with a sigh. He patted the man on the shoulder before standing and leaving the room. He'd gotten what he came for.
AN- I know I'm behind on answering reviews. So, I've decided I'm not going to write anymore until I catch up. I'm hoping it won't take long but I'm also in the middle of teaching and taking a class. This wouldn't be that bad if the teacher didn't keep adding to what we have to turn in, not to mention telling us at the last minute when she does change things. Anyway, I'll get through them as fast as I can 'cause I really want to get back to the writing part.