Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing.
WARNING- DO NOT try this at home. It doesn't take much power to really hurt someone.
AN- Thank you to everyone reading and especially to the ones nice enough to leave a review. I didn't want to leave you hanging so I worked most of the day on this one. Just a little fluff to start the weekend.
Previously on Criminal Minds- "Sorry kiddo, I can't do that." William replied as he lunged for the boy. Grabbing the collar of the terrified toddler's shirt, he scooped the boy up and raced for the exit.
CM
Spencer screamed at the top of his lungs as he kicked and punched his father. He fought for all he was worth but it was no use; he was just too little to do any damage. He didn't give up however. He knew once his father got him into the main part of the museum, his chances of escaping would go down dramatically. Anyone seeing the two would assume he was a toddler having a tantrum. No, he had to make a get-away now while they were still in the empty hallway. Reid racked his brain for anyway out of his situation. Remembering the self-defense Morgan had been teaching him, the toddler swiftly took in his position and picked the appropriate move. Not wanting William to know something was up, the little boy continued to scream and kick with all his might as he readied to make his move. Taking a steadying breath, he uncurled his fists and flattened both hands with his fingers touching each other. He held his left hand horizontally and set it against William's neck, making sure his pinkie was on the man's windpipe. Before the older man could react to the touch, Spencer put his right hand vertically and, using it as a hammer, slammed it against his left.
William immediately dropped the toddler and grabbed his throat as he struggled for breathe.
Falling, Spencer tucked and rolled like Morgan had taught him. Rolling into a standing position, he took off running. He had to get to Hotch and the others before his former father recovered and caught up to him.
CM
"What's them taking so long?" Garcia huffed as she stared at the cafeteria entrance. She turned pale as a horrible thought came to mind. "You don't think anything happened to them, do you?"
"Relax, Pen it hasn't been that long." JJ assured her friend.
"Yeah, they probably had to stop and ask directions or something." Morgan suggested even though he knew better.
"Stud Muffin, this is Reid we're talking about. He memorized the museum layouts a month after he got to Washington." Penelope pointed out before shuddering. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."
"I'm with Garcia." Dave said, much to everyone's surprise. "My exes didn't even take this long in the bathroom. I'm going to look for them."
"Hold up. I'll go with you." Morgan called, pushing back his chair.
Before the two men could set off, a museum employee came up to the table. The old man with the salt and pepper beard went straight to Garcia. "Excuse me miss, is your name Penelope Garcia?" he asked.
"Yes" Garcia replied, nodding her head. "Why?"
David, the museum employee, replied, "You folks need to come with me. We have a little situation." Turning, he headed for the entrance.
Exchanging worried glances, the family got up and hurried after the large man. The group made their way across various rooms and corridors. They went through the employees only door and down a hall before stopping at a door marked conference room. Following David into the room, they were shocked to find Prentiss holding an ice pack to the back of her head.
"Em!" JJ and Garcia exclaimed as the two rushed around the long table to their friend.
The men took one look at their injured friend and rounded on the museum employee. "What happened?" Dave demanded.
"And where's Spencer?" Aaron angrily questioned.
"If you folks will have a seat, I'll…"
"What happened?" Derek growled, taking a step towards the older man. When the employee remained silent, he huffed. "Do not make me repeat myself."
Nodding, David held up his hands. He knew he was supposed to wait for his boss to get there but he wasn't willing to risk his health and he was certain not explaining would do just that. "A visitor found your friend here on the floor in front of the ladies room. She had suffered a blow to the back of the head and was unconscious. The little boy wasn't there." he explained. Seeing the four men start for the door, he quickly added, "We have a group of employees searching for him and the museum's on lock-down until further notice. If he's anywhere in this museum, we will find him."
"We'll help." Hotch said.
Knowing the man wasn't asking for permission, David did the only thing he could; he agreed. "I'll let our people know."
Nodding, Aaron turned to his friends. "Morgan, you and Will start at the cafeteria and back track to the restrooms. If Spencer got away, that's where he'd head. Dave and I will check the exhibits around the restrooms."
"Got it." Morgan answered, opening the door. "Come on Will."
Hotch watched the two leave and then turned his attention to the ladies in the group. "JJ and Garcia, stay with Prentiss. We'll use our cells to check in."
"Okay" JJ said. She pulled out her phone and placed it on the table.
"Find him, Hotch" Emily pleaded.
"Don't worry. We will." Dave assured the hurting woman. He gave the frantic ladies a smile before rushing out the door after Hotch.
CM
"Any sign of him, Morgan?" Hotch worriedly inquired. Pacing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Alright, start over. We must have overlooked an area. Spencer has to be here somewhere. No, he's still in the museum. The security guards checked the parking lot video and no one matching his description was seen. I know but…Morgan, we're wasting time. Go over your search area again. Understand? Sorry…I know just check again alright. Good, call me if you find anything. Will do." The young father pocketed his cell and leaned on the railing around the Mercury capsule. "Where is he, Dave?" Aaron anxiously asked as he stared around the giant open room. "We've searched the entire museum and there's been no trace of Reid."
"He'll turn up." Dave optimistically stated, patting the younger man on the back.
"It's been two hours." Aaron needlessly pointed out.
"I know." Rossi conceded as they started another circuit of the room. Passing a family with a small toddler, he smiled and waved at the little girl who shyly hid behind her mother. Dave stopped in his tracks. Snapping his fingers, he turned to Hotch. "I think we've been going about this the wrong way." He said.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"We assumed Spencer would head to us and he probably did start our way." Dave surmised. "But he wouldn't have gotten far. I mean think about it. If you saw a child Reid's size running through the museum scared and alone, you'd try to help him, right?" He waited for an answering nod before continuing. "And considering Spencer's track record with strangers, he probably react by running away from them and…"
"Hiding" Hotch finished. He frowned. "But if he was hidden, we still should have found him when we conducted the search.
"Not necessarily" Dave disagreed. "With his tiny size, Spencer can easily squeeze into the tiniest crevice. We need to go back and check behind, under, and around every exhibit and piece of furniture in this place."
"Let's go! We'll start by the bathrooms!" Aaron ordered, already heading towards the restrooms.
The two men sprinted back to the place they'd last seen the toddler. Splitting up, they began scouring every exhibit. They looked around and behind the aircrafts and other equipment before getting on their hands and knees to peer under each piece. Once all the exhibits in the immediate vicinity had been thoroughly examined, the profilers moved on to the next section of the enormous open room.
Half an hour into the search, Aaron began to worry that they wouldn't find Reid. The kidnapper could have taken him out of the museum before the search began. After all, the video cameras didn't cover the entire parking lot. Plus there weren't that many places to hide and they had performed a room to room search of the place. If he were here, they should have found him by…his thoughts ground to a halt as he spotted a tiny blue tennis shoe sticking out from under the exhibit of a B-24D nose section. Dropping to his knees, Aaron leaned down and glanced under the aircraft piece. "Spencer!" he hollered, reaching for the toddler.
Spencer startled at the sound of his name. Whimpering, he scooted further into his hiding spot.
Aaron flinched at sight of the quaking toddler. Retracting his hands, he softened his voice and called, "Spencer, Spencer son, it's me Hotch. Come on buddy. You're safe now. Rossi and I are right here."
Hearing the quiet voice and comforting words, Spencer risked a glance up. He cracked his eyes open a little and peered at the spot the voice originated, his breath catching as he saw a very familiar face smiling at him. "Daddy!" he cried. The toddler slid on his belly to his father figure's waiting arms.
Aaron scooped up the little boy and hugged him tightly to his chest. "Spencer! Thank God!" Aaron exclaimed, kissing the trembling toddler's forehead. "I thought I'd lost you!"
"D-d-daddddy! He, he, an-and Em-Emi-Emily, and, and fen I, I…" Spencer stammered, wrapping his arms and legs around Hotch.
"Shhh, Spencer, it's okay. You're safe now." Aaron soothed as he began rubbing the little boy's back. "Calm down buddy, you're going to make yourself sick. Come on, slow it down. Breath with me. In…out…in…out" Hotch coached, exaggerating his breathing to help the little boy. After several minutes, the toddler's breathing finally started to slow to a more normal rate. "Good job, Spencer" Aaron praised, patting the youngster on the back. Spotting Rossi still searching on the other side of the room, he hollered, "Dave, over here!"
Rossi raced around and through the crowd of visitors until he reached his friends. "Spencer, you have no idea how good it is to see you, buddy." he sighed, ruffling the toddler's hair. Hearing muffled sobs, he frowned. "Is he okay?"
"I think so." Aaron replied as he started walking. "Let's get him to the others. We can check him out there. Oh, and call Morgan. Let him know we found Reid."
"Okay" Dave replied, glaring at growing crowd around them. Taking the lead, he pushed their way past the nosy onlookers. Once in the clear, he quickly ushered the father and son through the museum, past the employee only door, and down the hall to the conference room. Opening the door, he stepped aside to allow his friends to enter first.
"My Junior G-Man!" Garcia yelled, jumping out of her seat and rushing over to the trio. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" Her happy smile fell as the little boy flinched away from her.
"Is Spence alright, Hotch? He didn't get hurt, did he?" JJ questioned as she walked over. She stopped several feet from the group so she wouldn't scare the toddler any more than he already was. "Spence, sweetie are you okay?"
Spencer turned his head to look at his concerned friend. "I'm o-otay, JJ" he quietly answered.
"Are you sure, kiddo?" Emily asked from her spot at the table.
"Emily?" Reid gasped, lifting his head off Hotch's shoulder. "Emily! You'we otay! I fought he, he…"
"I'm alright, Reid." Prentiss quickly assured before the boy could get worked up again. "It'll take more than a little bump on the head to take me out."
"Spencer, you said he. Was it a man that knocked Emily out?" Rossi questioned. "Did you know him or was it a stranger?"
Spencer nodded. "It was, was W-W-William." He revealed.
"Your father?" Will asked. Getting a nod, he headed for the door. "I'll be back."
"I'm going with you." Morgan said, falling into step beside the enraged Cajun. They got to the door the same time it opened and two police officers walked in.
"I heard you found the little guy. Is he alright? Did he say anything about what happened?" Jim, the taller of the two officers questioned.
"Physically Reid's fine. He's just a little shook up." Aaron answered.
Jim nodded. "Good" he said before sighing. "Listen, I know this has been a scary experience for him and that he's frightened but I really need to ask him a few questions about…"
"Now?" Garcia shrieked.
"Penelope" Aaron warned, motioning towards the trembling toddler in his arms. He then turned his attention back to the security guards. "I'll allow you to talk to Reid but if he gets the least bit upset, I will end the conversation immediately."
"Understood" Jim agreed. Keeping his distance from the wide-eyed toddler, the older man smiled. "Hey there kiddo." He greeted. "My name's Jim and I'm a police officer. See?" he pointed to his badge. "I heard something bad happened to you and your Aunt Emily. Can you tell me about it?"
Sticking his thumb in his mouth for comfort, Spencer tightened his grip on Hotch and nodded. "Bad man h-h-hit Aunt Em-Emily and, and she falled down." He stammered.
"What did the bad man do when your aunt fell down?" Jim asked.
"He, he twied to, to get me but I runned a-away." Spencer explained, wisely leaving out his little self-defense move.
"Reid, did you know the man that tried to get you?" Jim questioned.
Spencer shook his head before burying his face in Hotch's shoulder.
"I think this interview is over." Dave said.
"Sir I really think…" Jim cut off as a muffled sob reached his ears. "I think that's all for now." He reached in his pocket, pulled out a card, and handed it to Hotch. "If he says anything about the man, please give me a call."
"We will." Aaron promised, handing the card to Rossi.
"Bye Spencer, I hope you feel better." Jim softly said before turning and leaving the room.
"I don't know about you guys but I'm sick of this place." Emily stated as she stood and headed for the door. "Let's go back to Morgan's. It's more fun there."
"Yeah, you boys promised us a Lego rematch, remember?" Garcia cheerfully told the others.
Catching Spencer knuckling his eyes, Dave smiled. "I think the rematch is going to have to wait until after naptime." He observed.
Aaron chuckled. "Time to go home." He whispered. Grabbing Spencer's jacket out of the stroller, he gently put it on the toddler and zipped it up before slipping on his own. The father then took hold of the stroller handle and started for the door.