Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and all its characters belong to CBS. I own nothing. Feel free to read and review, but please don't copy.
AN- There are two new stories that are intriguing. "He Never Listens" by Gibbsgirlie08 has Reid turned into a 7 year old. The second one is not child Reid but it's still a great read so far. It's called "The Good Life" by Lostintranslationagain.
"Teen Spirit" by LoveChilde is a story that has Reid as a child. But it's not a Reid centered fic. All the agents, except Rossi, are kids. I've heard it's good.
Previously on Criminal Minds- Hotch snickered. "Just make sure you shut the door before you start your torture. I don't want Spencer woken by Derek's reaction." He ordered as the older man headed for the adjoining room's door. "Oh and Dave" he called. "Remember to get a picture."
CM
William Reid angrily flipped through the morning paper. After spending days far from home, he was still no closer to getting his son to agree to meet his fiancé then he had been when he'd first arrived. In fact, he hadn't even seen his son or grandson since their close encounter at the museum. He figured they had gone out of town on a case. At least that's what he'd told Julia last night. That excuse wouldn't hold up much longer though. William had been telling her that since the first night. He had to find a way to talk privately to his son and get him to see reason. The boy had to…his thoughts ground to a halt as an article caught his eye. "Special agent Jason Gideon was killed in a drive by shooting Saturday in Franklin, North Carolina. The FBI agent was one of the co-founders of the bureau's elite BAU unit and had been a member…" he read, grinning more with each word. Finishing the article, he tossed the paper onto the bed and snatched up his cell. He had airline reservations to make and a fiancé to call.
CM
Hotch massaged his forehead as he waited for the coffeemaker to finish brewing. After a long nightmare filled night and early morning, all he wanted to do was crawl back under the covers and sleep the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible; for him, that is. The young father glanced over at the bed where Spencer was peacefully sleeping. Seeing the tuft of brown hair peeking out from under the blankets, he smiled. "At least one of us is getting some shut eye." He thought. The snick of a lock snapped his attention to the adjoining doorway. As soon as he saw Rossi and Morgan step through the threshold, Aaron held a finger up to his mouth and motioned them to the couch. Once the men nodded, he grabbed his mug and filled it with the freshly brewed coffee before slowly shuffling over to his friends. "Morning" he quietly greeted, dropping onto the sofa.
"That bad?" Morgan asked, glancing worriedly at the blanketed lump that was Spencer.
"Yes" Aaron answered with a yawn. "I ended up giving him a dose of that anti-nausea medicine JJ brought with her."
Dave winced. "Like the nightmares weren't enough torture" he grumbled.
"Yeah, and his day's not going to get any better either." Derek added, rubbing his neck in frustration.
"That reminds me. I talked to the funeral director this morning. He agreed to a private viewing." Rossi told the others. "It's set up for eleven o'clock this morning."
Aaron looked at the bedside clock and sighed. "Alright" he wearily said. "We'll let Spencer sleep another hour before waking him up. Hopefully, he will be able to stay asleep that long."
"I'll go tell the others." Morgan volunteered. Standing, he crept over to the bed, carefully peeled back the covers, and ghosted a hand down Spencer's face. "Sweet dreams, Pretty Boy" he whispered. After glancing back at the boy's guardians, Derek strode across the room and out the door.
Dave sighed as he studied his sleep deprived friend. "Aaron, you look like crap. Why don't you go in the other room and get some sleep? I'll handle things here."
Hotch shook his head. "I don't think I could sleep if I tried." He honestly replied.
"Okay" Dave said. "Go take a shower then or go downstairs and get some breakfast. You need to get out of this room for a while. Take a break and let someone else shoulder the responsibilities for a little bit."
Aaron glanced from Rossi to Spencer and back. "I shouldn't lea…" he began, stopping at the expression on his friend's face. "Alright, I'll go. But I refuse to go farther than the shower. I need to be close just in case."
"I'll take what I can get." Dave responded.
Chuckling, Aaron quietly walked over to his go bag and pulled out a change of clothes. After getting what he needed, he went over to the bed. The father kissed his son's forehead. "Sleep well, buddy" he softly said. Sighing, he reluctantly shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door.
Dave sat and watched Spencer sleep for all of a minute before getting up and going over to the bed. He couldn't stand to be that far away from his son any longer. The older man slowly lowered himself onto the bed beside the sleeping toddler. Sitting back against the headboard, he smiled as Spencer snuggled closer to him. "I've gotcha kiddo." He whispered, wrapping an arm around the little boy. "Daddy's gotcha."
CM
Two SUV's pulled into the deserted funeral home parking lot and rolled into the spaces closest to the front door. After the engines cut off, the doors opened and the BAU family, minus Will and Henry, climbed out. The somber group trudged up the stairs, across the porch, and through the door of the brick building.
"Good morning agents!" the funeral director, Robert McKay, greeted. Extending his hand, he shook hands with each member of the family. "Everything is ready. If you'll just follow me." He led the way to the room the group had visited the night before. Stopping at the threshold, he turned to the grieving party. "We don't have to transport Mr. Gideon until half an hour before the funeral." He informed the family. "So you may take as much time as you need."
"Thank you, Mr. McKay" Rossi replied, shaking the man's hand once more. "For everything."
"It wasn't a problem, sir. Apparently, Mr. Gideon was afraid this might happen when his time came. He left instructions with his lawyer, who is also his executor, that his team and any other FBI agents were to be allowed a private viewing if for some reason, they could not attend the visitation." Mr. McKay explained. "His lawyer, Mr. Anderson, made sure I was aware of the possible problem and how his client wished it to be handled."
"That sounds like Jason" Aaron said, rubbing Spencer's back when the boy's hold on him tightened.
Mr. McKay nodded. "I'll give you some privacy. If there's anything you need, just let myself or one of my staff know." He instructed. "Would you like me to take the little one to our children's room?"
"No, thank you" Dave politely declined. "He hasn't been feeling very well so he'll be staying with us."
"I understand." The funeral director replied. "I'll go now. Take your time and I'll see you when you're through."
The team nodded before slowly stepping into the small room that housed their friend and former mentor's casket. The family stayed back as Hotch walked up to the coffin.
Screwing up his courage, Spencer turned his head enough to peer at his former father figure. "He, he loots li-lite he's lee-leepin'." He stammered, sniffling.
"Yes, he does." Aaron agreed as he mentally thanked the funeral home employee for doing such a great job with the makeup.
Swiping at the tears that were streaming down his face, Reid reached out to touch his mentor only to quickly retract his hand.
"It's alright, Spencer. You can touch him." Aaron told him, lightly patting Gideon's chest to show the boy it was okay.
Reid hesitated a moment before reaching down and placing his hand on top of Gideon's. "H-h-i Gid'on!" he stuttered, clasping the cold hand. "I, uhh, I, I" Spencer took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts as best he could and began again. "I miss you. I'm going to mi-miss y-you. Fat prob'ly seems, seems twange(strange) tause I haven't s-seen or talted to you. But you, you wewe my f-f-fafew fig-figuwe fow a long t-time. Y-you tawed(cared) about m-m-me when, when no one else d-did." The grieving boy stopped for a moment before continuing. "And fen one day y-you wewe jut g-g-gone. You le-left me when I need, needed you most jut lite my weal fafew did. I was weally angwy at you fow fat. But fen I, I wealized it was the job you wewe wunning fwom, not m-m-me. I fought y-you'd deal wif what was bofewing you and, and tome bat lite you did befowe. But when time went by and, and you d-d-did-didn't tome bat, I adjuted(adjusted) to life wifout y-you. I figuwed you'd tall me. You always talled me when, when you wewe away. But y-you didn't tall. Now I'll ne-nevew get a chance to talt to you tause you'we, you'we gone. I tan't pwe-pwetend you'we going to tome bat anymowe. All I tan do is say good bye. Good, goodbye Gid-on. I, I lo-love you." Overwhelmed by grief, Spencer buried his face in Hotch's shoulder and cried.
Reid's speech moved his friends to tears. Even the men couldn't hold back after hearing that their youngest had still been waiting for Gideon to come back to him. The family hurried over and surrounded father and son, wrapping the two in a group hug. They stayed that way for a long time, each taking comfort from the others. The family only broke apart when the folding door slid open and the funeral director walked inside.
"Agents, I know I said you could take as much time as you wanted but a problem has come up and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Mr. McKay apologetically stated.
Rossi grimaced as he swiftly deduced the problem. "Stephen's here, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is." The funeral director replied. "Normally, I wouldn't ask you to leave but after last night…"
"It's alright. We were almost through anyway." Emily told the flustered man.
"Good. My mortician is walking Mr. Gideon through the schedule of this afternoon's events and the procedures associated with them so you have about five or ten minutes to finish up and make your way out the front." Mr. McKay instructed before scurrying back out the door.
Not wanting a scene, the rest of the team quickly said their goodbyes to their long time friend and colleague and hurried out of the funeral home. They climbed back into their vehicles, gunned the engines, and headed for the hotel.
CM
Will looked up in surprise as the door to his room opened and an upset JJ trudged in. "Are you alright, Chere?" he asked.
"Yeah" she replied, sitting next to him. "It's just hard, you know?"
Will threw his arms around his wife and held her close. "I know Chere. I know." he comforted, giving her a peck on the cheek.
A grinning Henry tottled over to the two and climbed into his mother's lap. "Loot Mommy! I mades a pi'tuwe fow you!" he excited said, proudly holding up his scribble filled sheet.
JJ carefully took the paper from the toddler. "It's beautiful, baby" she praised. She enveloped him in a hug before adding, "We'll have to hang this on the fridge when we get home."
Henry solemnly nodded. Over his mom's shoulder the little boy peered out the window, growing excited when he saw what was happening across the parking lot. "Mommy! Mommy! Tan we go wide the go tawts!" he hollered. "Peas!"
"Henry I'm not sure…"
"That's a wonderful idea, Sweetie." JJ cut in. "Go get your shoes and jacket so we can put them on, okay?"
"Otay!" Henry enthusiastically agreed. Sliding off his mother's lap, he raced across the room to retrieve his shoes.
Once he was out of earshot, JJ looked at Will and offered an explanation. "Rossi thought it would be a good idea to get Spence out of the hotel. If he's occupied with other things, he won't have time to dwell on Gideon or the funeral."
"I can see the logic in his idea but I'm not so sure it's going to work. Reid had a hard enough time yesterday. The closer it got to time to go, the quieter he became." Will reminded as he slipped on his shoes. "It's going to be awfully hard to get his attention focused on anything besides his deceased mentor especially after this morning's visitation."
"I know but we have to try, otherwise Spence will just sit in his room and think. And thinking about things is a very bad idea for him right now." JJ countered.
"I know. I didn't say you were wrong, Chere. I just said it was gonna be hard." Will corrected.
"Uh huh, right" JJ teased, putting Henry's shoes on and tying the laces.
"I did." Will defended.
A knock on the door brought their teasing to an end. Knowing that meant the rest of the team was ready to go, JJ scooped up Henry while Will grabbed the boy's version of a go bag and they walked to the door. After taking one last look around to ensure they hadn't left anything important, the family left the room for what they hoped would be an enjoyable time.
CM
After a disastrous visit to Fun Factory and a nightmare filled nap attempt, the hour the BAU had been dreading finally arrived. Dressed in their Sunday best the family filed into the small chapel. They followed the funeral director down to the front pew where the other pall bearers were seated. Rossi, Morgan, and Hotch with Spencer clinging tightly to him sat down beside the other men while the rest of the family settled into the row behind them. The group sat quietly as they waited for the service to begin. They took no notice of the towering stained glass windows or the intricately carved wooden podium. Their eyes rested solely on the gleaming blue casket in front of them.
Finally, the minister stood and stepped up to the podium. The man, who had probably never even met Gideon, delivered a generic eulogy before opening the floor to anyone who wanted to say a few words. Hotch and Rossi both spoke as did the woman whose life Gideon had saved. The minister said a few more words and then a lady, who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, mangled the song "Amazing Grace", bringing the service to an end.
Hotch stood with the rest of the pall bearers. He kissed Spencer's forehead before turning to the girls and Will. The father pried the little boy's fingers from his shirt and, ignoring Garcia's outstretched hands, passed the crying toddler to Will. With his son in good hands, Aaron strode over and took his position beside the coffin.
Will cradled Spencer to his chest as he watched his friends wheel the casket holding one of their family members down the aisle and out of the chapel. Standing with the rest of the mourners, he waited for Stephen to leave before sliding out of the pew and hurrying outside. He took Reid to his truck and attempted to settle him in his car seat. Spencer, it seemed, had other plans. He held tightly, fisting Will's shirt and refusing to let go. Unwilling to upset the boy further, the young man handed his wife the truck keys before climbing into the back seat, settling the crying toddler in his lap, and strapping them both in.
JJ secured Henry in his seat and then climbed into the driver's seat. She turned on the truck, turned on the lights, and backed out of the parking space. She took her place behind the pall bearers' vehicles as the procession slowly made its way out of the parking lot and onto the highway.
"Look at that!" Penelope exclaimed, breaking the silence in the SUV. "All those cars on the other side are pulling over. Why are they doing that? Did something happen on their side?"
"That's their way of showing respect, Garcia." Will softly explained. "They'll pull back onto the road once the funeral procession has passed."
"You mean they're going to sit there until every one of the mourners' cars has gone by?!" Garcia incredulously questioned.
"Yes ma'am" Will replied.
"I think that's nice." JJ commented as she turned into the cemetery drive.
"Oh, I do too." Penelope agreed. "It just took me by surprise is all."
"I can understand that. It is kind of hard adjusting to another part of the country. The first time I saw a funeral procession in DC, I tried to pull over and almost got rear ended." Will related. "And that wasn't the worst slip up either. You should have seen the looks I got when I took food over to a neighbor's house after his wife died."
Garcia snickered. "Let me guess. He thought you were trying to poison him."
"Something like that" Will answered. "Luckily for me, his wife's sister was from Georgia. She explained things to him for me."
JJ parked the truck and turned to her passengers in the back seat. "Sp…Reid, are you sure you want to go to the graveside service? We can always stay here if you're not up to it. Hotch and the others will understand."
Spencer's red, puffy eyes met JJ's. "I, I'm otay." He assured the worried woman. "I want to go."
"Alright" JJ hesitantly agreed, though she wanted nothing more than to put the vehicle back in drive and take the grieving boy far away from this depressing place. Unbuckling her seat belt, she started to get out of the SUV only to be pulled back into the cab. "Pen, what are you doing? We have to go."
"We can't." Garcia replied, keeping her hold on the blond's arm. "Everybody stay where you are. No one gets out. Understand?"
"What's going on, Pen? Why can't we get out?" JJ questioned.
"Look over there." Garcia answered, pointing to a huge monument on the left. "That's why."
"What's…Oh no! I don't believe it!" JJ gasped.
"What? What's wrong, Chere?" Will demanded, scanning the cemetery and seeing nothing amiss.
JJ turned her worried gaze on her husband and the toddler on his lap. "William Reid is here."
AN- We really do pull over for funerals, at least in my part of the South. Most even turn down their blaring radios. It's a really nice gesture and it is very much appreciated.