Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. I do not own anything you recognize.
AN- Thank you for all the well wishes! Baby Nova is now home and doing fine. I've put a picture of her(with her mom's permission) on my LJ if you'd like to see her. you can get there through my profile.
Previously on Criminal Minds- "Okay then let's get to cooking!" Rossi exclaimed.
SPN
Morgan and Rossi looked up as a black Durango roared down the drive, stopping alongside Rossi's red F-150 extended cab. Seeing the driver's door open and Hotch step out, the two smiled. "Impeccable timing as usual" Dave commented.
"Yeah, we were just about to get started." Derek added, pointing to the large box in the bed of the Ford.
Walking up beside his friends, Aaron glanced at the box and frowned. "A trampoline? Really, Dave? Have you given any consideration into who will use it once Reid is big again?"
"As a matter of fact, I have." Dave replied. "I'm sure Henry will be more than happy to come play at Uncle Morgan's house. Jack will too once he and Hailey are back. And then there's all the little mini Morgan's that will be running around here sooner or later."
"Whoa! Do not go there, Rossi." Morgan warned. "There are not going to be any mini mes."
"Uh huh, I'll remind you of that in a few years." Rossi teased as he pulled the long box out of the truck bed.
Grasping his end of the cardboard box, Derek hoisted it up and slowly started walking backwards. "Afraid you're in for a long wait, man." he informed Rossi. "I am nowhere near ready to settle down with a wife let alone have kids."
"What about you, Dave? Think you'll ever try again?" Hotch inquired.
"No, that ship sailed a long time ago" Rossi answered as they stopped at the backyard gate.
"Don't be so sure Rossi" Morgan countered once they started moving again. "I've seen the way you are with Reid and Henry. You'd make a good dad."
"Thanks but I think I prefer to play the doting uncle." Dave said. "I like being able to spoil them and then give them back."
"I hear ya." Derek agreed as they stopped and set the box down. Crouching down, he ripped open one end and carefully dumped the contents out. Picking up the instruction booklet, he held it up. "Okay, who's the supervisor?"
"That would be me." Dave responded, taking the booklet out of the younger man's hand. Seeing Hotch open his mouth to protest, he held up a hand. "I bought it so it's only fair that you two put it together."
"You buy that, Hotch?" Morgan asked.
"Not for a minute" Aaron replied, picking up one of the steel beams. "But since Dave is the oldest, I think we should let him have the easy part. After all a man of his advanced years shouldn't be doing any kind of hard physical labor."
"Yeah, I'd feel terrible if the old geezer got hurt because we made him help." Derek joked.
"Keep it up and this old man is going to come over there and kick both your asses." Rossi growled, smirking at the younger men's shocked expressions.
"Hotch, did Rossi just threaten us?" Morgan gasped.
"I believe he did." Aaron answered as he slid two pieces into place. "Think we should we do something about it?"
Morgan shot Rossi a wicked grin. "Later, I wanna get this thing built and in place before Reid wakes up." he decided.
"Good thinking" Hotch said. Picking up a couple more pieces, he glanced over at Rossi. "Alright Dave, what's next?"
"Next? Oh, let's see." Rossi muttered as he stared down at the paper in his hands. "Okay, here we go." After checking to see what Hotch and Morgan had already done, the senior profiler scanned the directions until he found his place. Reading the next step aloud, he watched the two men quickly set to work.
SPN
Reid slowly awoke. Sitting up, he sleepily fisted his eyes as he glanced around the room. He was surprised to find himself alone. He couldn't remember the last time that had happened. Figuring Morgan and Rossi had to be busy, he shrugged. 'At least I can take care of my business in private.' He thought as he threw back the covers and slid off the bed. Padding across the hall to the bathroom, he quickly used the facilities, changed clothes, and washed his hands. He walked down the hallway to his slide and slid down to the living room. After crawling out of the pillows, Spencer made his way to the kitchen. Finding it empty as well he went over to the French doors and looked out one of the windows. Seeing Morgan, Rossi, and Hotch in the back yard building something, he let out a relieved breath. While he was enjoying his time alone, he liked the security of knowing his friends were just a shout away if he needed them.
SPN
"There we go. All done." Morgan announced as he popped the last spring into place.
"Not quite" Rossi countered. "We still have the enclosure to set up."
"Enclosure?" Morgan repeated, looking at the netting on the ground. "I don't remember trampolines having that when I was a kid."
"It's an extra accessory to make it safer for children. The enclosure is supposed to keep kids from falling off and getting injured." Hotch explained.
"Oh" Morgan said. "So we don't really need to put it on then?"
"Derek, this is Reid we're talking about." Rossi reminded him.
"The enclosure, it is." Morgan decided, picking up the equipment.
SPN
Spencer watched the men work for a few minutes before deciding he was thirsty. Unwilling to bother the others, he walked over to the refrigerator and after a little struggling, opened it. Spying a pitcher of water on the top shelf, he frowned. It was a bit out of his reach but if he stood on his tiptoes, he should be able to get it himself. Plan made, Reid got up on his toes and stretched as high as he could. His fingers barely brushed the edge of the water jug. Refusing to give up so easily, the toddler stepped up on the bottom of the refrigerator to give himself a height advantage. Holding onto one of the shelves to keep his balance, Spencer got back up on his toes and reached for the pitcher again. Catching the side of the container, he painstakingly pushed it closer and closer to the edge of the shelf. Once it was close enough for him to touch the handle, the toddler wrapped his tiny fingers around it and pulled. The heavy jug slid off the shelf and started falling. Quickly realizing the water pitcher was too heavy to hold with one hand, Spencer released the shelf he was using for balance and reached up to grasp the container with both hands. The little boy swayed as he tried to hold the jug and his balance at the same time. Unfortunately, it was one thing too many for the toddler. Before Spencer knew what was happening, his foot slipped causing boy and pitcher to tumble backwards!