Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. I do not own anything you recognize.
Previously on Criminal Minds- Before Spencer knew what was happening, his foot slipped causing boy and pitcher to tumble backwards!
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Rossi ran a critical eye over the finished trampoline and enclosure. "Looks good, gentlemen" he complimented. "Reid's going to love it."
"Speaking of Reid, we better head inside." Morgan instructed, starting for the house. "The kid's probably already awake and wondering where we are."
"Probably? You mean you don't know?" Hotch questioned. "Didn't you bring the baby monitor with you?"
"No, it's still in the house. I didn't think we needed it." Morgan replied.
"Didn't think? Derek, you never leave a child Spencer's age unattended, not even when they're asleep." Aaron scolded as they went up the back porch steps. "Anything can happen."
"If we were talking about a real toddler, I'd agree. But this is Reid. The kid's still a genius. He can handle being alone for a little while. I'm sure he's just fine." Morgan stated. Opening the back door, he walked inside just in time to see the toddler hit the floor.
"SPENCER!" all three men yelled, rushing to the fallen boy's side.
Derek was the first to reach the soaked toddler. Dropping down beside Reid, he quickly placed a hand on his friend's chest to prevent the struggling youngster from getting up. "Be still, man. We need to check you over before you get up." he advised.
"I'm fine, Mowgan" Spencer protested. He sighed as the older man's hands continued searching for injuries.
After determining that the toddler hadn't injured himself, Morgan picked the boy up and set him on his feet. The fear he'd felt for his friend dissipated leaving fury in its wake. Standing, he crossed his arms and glared down at the tiny profiler. "What the Hell were you thinking, kid?" he angrily asked.
Teary eyed, Spencer shifted from foot to foot nervously. "I, I was jut twying to get some watew." He replied. "I'm sowwy. I'll tean up the mess."
Hotch put a hand on the little boy's shoulder, stopping Reid in his tracks. He turned the toddler around to face him before speaking. "Reid, what on Earth possessed you to try such a foolish stunt?" he growled. "You know better! You could have been seriously injured!"
Spencer's head snapped up at the tone in his boss's voice. He was confused. Why was Hotch upset? It was Morgan's floor he had messed up. Tuning in to his superior's lecture, the toddler scowled as the words "too little" and "need assistance" slipped from the older man's mouth. He couldn't believe Hotch was scolding him like a little kid! He was an adult for goodness sake! He might be small but he was far from helpless. He could handle little things like getting a glass of water without crying for help. Anger began to form as the older man continued to scold the tiny agent. It grew and grew until Reid couldn't hold back anymore. Balling his fists, he blurted out, "Shut up, Hotch! Jut shut up! It was jut a dwint of watew! I may be showtew than usual but I'm not an invalid! I tan do fings myself! I don't need you holding my futin' hand!"
Silence fell over the kitchen as the three men stared in shock at the fuming toddler. However, it didn't last long. Recovering quickly, Hotch spun the little boy around and landed a hard swat to his backside.
Spencer exploded. "Top smating my behind!" he hollered, stomping his foot. "And top tweating me lite a tid! I'm a gwown up!"
"Are you sure about that, Pretty Boy?" Morgan questioned, grinning mischievously. "Cause from where I'm standing, you look like a toddler in the middle of a temper tantrum."
Angry and hurt by his friend's teasing, Reid lashed out. He kicked the older profiler in the shin…hard. Seeing Hotch reaching for him again, he swiftly sidestepped out of the way. "I am a gwown FBI agent." He reminded, ducking another attempt to grab him. "Tweat me lite one!"
"You want to be treated like one of my agents? Fine. I want you to go into the living room." he ordered. "I'll be there shortly."
Spencer's mouth dropped open. "A time out? You'we giving me a time out?" he hollered.
"No, I'm doing exactly what I would do if any of my agents acted like you're doing. I'm removing you from the scene." Aaron gruffly corrected. "You should know that. It's not your first time or have you forgotten the Owen Savage case?"
"Fine!" Reid growled. Turning, he stomped out of the kitchen. Making it to the living room, he climbed up on the couch. Muttering angrily to himself, he swung his legs back and forth, hitting the sofa with each swing. The mini profiler sat for only a few moments before feeling the need to move. Jumping down, he angrily paced back and forth as he fought to get his emotions under control. He couldn't believe Hotch had scolded him like some errant child! And in front of Morgan and Rossi no less! Hotch had gone too far! Yes, he was a toddler now and he needed help sometimes. But that didn't mean he needed a hand with every little thing! He had to draw the line somewhere or before long Hotch would be insisting on dressing him. Shaking his head to rid himself of that thought, Reid decided pacing wasn't helping. It was just making him angrier. He needed to go somewhere and calm down so he'd be ready to deal with Hotch. Looking at the front door, the boy made a snap decision. Spencer glanced in the direction of the kitchen to ensure his friends weren't coming and then hurried to the door. Standing on his tip toes, he grabbed the door knob and slowly opened the door. The still wet toddler took one more look back before disappearing.
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Hotch deflated the minute Reid left the room. Walking the two steps to the island, he dropped onto one of the stools surrounding it. The BAU leader rubbed his temples before gazing up at his colleagues. "Was I too harsh with him?" he asked.
"I don't think so." Dave replied, joining him at the counter. "Reid could have been seriously hurt. If that pitcher had been glass, we'd be sitting in the ER waiting room right now."
"Rossi's right, Hotch. Reid's got to realize that there are certain things he just can't do right now." Morgan chimed in.
"I don't think that explosion was about getting a drink. This meltdown has been building since he was shrunk. Going from totally independent to dependent would be hard on anyone but it's especially hard for Reid. The kid has basically been on his own since he was ten, maybe even earlier." Rossi told the others. "Actually, I'm kind of surprised it took this long."
"So, what do we do?" Morgan asked after several minutes of silence.
"I'll talk to him." Hotch sighed as he started to get up.
"Sit down, Aaron" Dave ordered. "Give Reid some time to cool off before you go in there."
Nodding, Hotch sat back down. He picked up the salt shaker that was sitting nearby and started absentmindedly rolling it in his hands.
Deciding that they all needed something to take their minds off the situation, Morgan trudged over to the small desk in one corner of the room and opened the top drawer. He pulled a small colorful box out and went back to the island. "Wanna play a few hands while we wait?" he asked, holding up the deck of cards. Getting twin nods, he swiftly shuffled the cards and dealt them out. Picking up his hand, Derek hoped the game would be enough to calm everyone's nerves.
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Spencer bent over with his hands on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath. It took a couple of minutes but he finally managed to slow his breathing down to a more normal rate. Straightening back up, the toddler glanced around the wooded area for a place to rest. Even though he'd only been walking for half an hour, he was beyond tired. Spying a rotted tree trunk lying on the ground, he shuffled over. After prodding different parts of the wood, he gratefully sank down onto it. Shivering, he cursed himself for forgetting to grab his jacket or drying off for that matter. Then again he was beginning to regret going out for a walk in the first place. Hotch was gonna blow a gasket when he found out the tiny profiler had gone out alone. Spencer would be lucky to see the outside world by Christmas once his boss got through with him, not to mention the fact that he wouldn't be sitting comfortably any time soon. Shaking his head, Reid decided it was time to head back. He was tired, cold, and feeling incredibly stupid right now. Pushing off the log, the toddler wearily got to his feet and began the long hike back home.
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"Read'em and weep!" Derek crowed, laying down his hand. Chuckling at his companions groans, he raked his winnings over to the already enormous pile of pretzels in front of him. Snagging one of the salty snacks off the top of the pile, he popped it in his mouth. "Mmmm, victory has never tasted sweeter."
Rolling his eyes at the younger man, Hotch dropped his cards on the table and stood. "On that note, I'll take my leave." He announced. "There's a little boy in the next room I need to have a talk with."
"Go easy on him, Hotch" Morgan urged. "The kid's having a tough time of it."
"I know. Don't worry Morgan, I promise I'll use kid gloves. No pun intended." Aaron replied, patting the worried man on the shoulder.
"Oh man, that was bad!" Derek groaned.
Laughing, Aaron crossed the room and out the open entryway.
"Five bucks says Reid uses that look of his on Hotch and gets himself out of trouble." Rossi challenged.
"You are on, Rossi! There's no way Pretty Boy's getting out of this with his butt intact." Morgan surmised.
"In that case double or…" Dave broke off as Hotch stormed back in the room. "Aaron? What's wrong?"
"Reid's gone" Hotch announced.
"What do you mean gone?" Morgan asked.
"Are you sure he isn't upstairs somewhere?" Rossi threw out.
Hotch shook his head. "I already checked." He informed them. "The front door was open when I walked in the room. I went out on the porch and even walked around the house but I didn't see him anywhere."
"Shit!" Morgan growled, slamming his hand on the table. He jumped out of the chair and rushed over to the coat rack beside the back door. Snatching Clooney's leash off one of the hooks, he opened the door. "I'll go get Clooney. He'll find Reid in no time."
"We'll meet you out front." Hotch instructed, already heading for the living room.
Muttering several choice Italian words, Rossi climbed out of his chair and followed Aaron through the kitchen and living room and out the front door. They hurried down the porch steps, stopping at the vehicles. Noting the frantic expression on his friend's face, Dave put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Don't worry Aaron. We'll find him." he assured.
"He doesn't even have his coat, Dave?" Hotch ground out, holding up the tiny jacket.
Grimacing at the idea of the boy being out in the cold in wet clothes, Rossi speed walked over to his truck. Opening the driver's door, he grabbed the emergency blanket out of the back and slammed the door. Tucking it under one arm, he stepped back over to Aaron's side.
Morgan and Clooney ran around the side of the house and up to the other two profilers. "Is that Reid's jacket?" he asked.
"Yes, why?" Hotch questioned.
"Let Clooney sniff it." Derek suggested.
Aaron held the coat out to the lab, keeping it still as the dog sniffed all around it. Clooney let out a loud howl before bounding off towards the road with the three profilers hot on his heels.
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Spencer shivered as he worriedly gazed around the area. Nothing looked familiar. He had thought he'd walked in a straight line but he must be mistaken otherwise he'd have made it to the road by now. As it was he wasn't anywhere near the road. The only things around him were trees and more trees. Whimpering when he heard a scuffling noise in the bushes ahead of him, the toddler quickly looked for some place to hide. Spying a hollowed out space in the trunk of a nearby tree, Spencer back-walked towards it, keeping his gaze on the moving bush. Making it to the tree, the tiny agent scanned the hole before crawling inside. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his shaking arms around his legs. Dropping his chin onto his knees, Spencer sniffled. He wanted to go home.