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- I haven't been to Santa Land yet. I'm just going by pictures I've seen on the internet so please excuse any inaccuracies.
Oh and Morgan's about six months older than Reid so that makes him about 3, 3 and a half.
Previously on Criminal Minds- Taking control of the stroller, Hotch started pushing it down the lane to Santa's house. He just hoped the visit with the jolly old elf went smoothly.
CM
The BAU family walked over to the stroller parking next to Santa's house. After setting the brakes on the carriers and picking the little boys riding in them up, the group headed around to the front door of the house.
Spencer gazed up at Santa's house in awe. The long cabin home with decorative green shutters and roof had a rounded balcony. Flowerboxes full of the most beautiful flowers the boy had ever seen sat under every window. Colorful Christmas lights covered everything from the fences on either side of the house to the railing around the balcony while animatronic elves made snowmen on the side lawn. And the inside was even more beautiful. Garland hung around the room trim and mantle in the front room. An enormous Christmas tree stood in one corner of the room. Old fashioned ornaments filled the branches many of which reflected the shimmering lights racing around the evergreen.
"Oh, this is simply gorgeous!" Penelope squeed, snapping pictures of the handcrafted snow globes lining the mantle.
"It definitely looks like Santa's house." Will muttered. In his opinion the place had gone overboard with the decorations. But seeing his son and Spencer's matching dimpled grins, he wisely chose to keep those thoughts to himself.
The family walked through a short hallway and into a giant ball room that was decorated to look like a winter wonderland. Animatronic figures skated on a frozen lake on one side while kids and elves made snowmen and had snowball fights on the other. The front of a stable created the backdrop for the scene. Robotic reindeer watched the goings on through windows on either side of the building. And smack in the middle of all the action was the big man himself.
"Santa! Santa!" Henry hollered when he caught sight of the man.
"That's right baby! That's Santa." JJ told the excited toddler as they walked down the white pebble pathway to the meet and greet area.
"Henwy see Santa?" the youngster questioned.
"Yes, Henry's going to see Santa." JJ replied. "Reid and Derek are going to see him with you, okay?"
"Yea!" Henry squealed, clapping his hands.
Making it to the small, white gate, the family stopped to wait for their turn to see the man in red.
Once the tiny girl in the pink dress skipped off to her family, JJ set Henry on his feet beside Spencer and Morgan. "Okay Henry, go with Reid and Derek to see Santa." She instructed.
"Otay mommy" Henry agreed. He took the other boy's hands and the three went through the gate and started towards Santa.
Spencer's eyes grew wider with each step they took. "He's just a man. He's just a man. He won't hurt me." He quietly mumbled, trying and failing to control the escalation in his breathing and heart rate the situation was causing. The panicking boy made it as far as the bottom step of the porch before stopping. "I, I tan't do f-fis." He confessed.
Morgan frowned. "What's wrong, kid? Santa's just a…oh" he said as he realized the problem. Derek winced, wishing he could scoop his little brother up and hug all his fears away. But he couldn't even lift the kid in this puny body so he'd have to settle for the next best thing. Morgan dropped Henry's hand, walked around to Spencer, and threw his arm around the frightened mini profiler. Pulling the younger boy into a hug, he whispered, "It's alright, Pretty Boy. He's a good guy. Garcia checked him out last night. Besides, I'll be right there beside you. Nobody will dare mess with you."
"I, I know, I jut…"
BAM!
All three boys jumped at the unexpected loud sound. Terrified, the two younger ones raced back to their family and hid behind their daddy's legs.
"Sorry" an elf called from one of the windows. "One of the reindeer knocked over the bucket of feed."
Morgan huffed at the statement. 'Like the kid hadn't been scared enough,' He thought. The mini agent glared at the sheepish looking man in green for a moment before turning to smile at his two frightened comrades. "Hear that guys? It was just a bucket. Come on! Let's go see Santa!" he called, waving them back.
Henry and Spencer peered at the older boy from the safety of their hiding place and vehemently shook their heads.
"Come on guys! It's okay!" Morgan yelled. Getting head shakes once again, he sighed. He guessed if he couldn't convince them with words, he'd just have to try another approach. Turning, he confidently strode up the steps to Santa and climbed into his lap. "Hey Santa, my name's Derek." He stated with a grin.
Seeing his friend happily chatting with the jolly old elf was all the encouragement Henry needed. He let go of Will's leg and ran through the gate and up the steps. Stopping at Santa's feet, the toddler raised his hands. "Up, peas" he sweetly stated.
Santa quickly scooped the youngster up and settled him on his free knee. Wrapping an arm around both boys, he started going through his normal spiel.
Hotch watched the two boys interact with Santa while he waited for the arms around his legs to loosen. When several minutes went by without the grip easing, he leaned down, pried little fingers out of his pants legs, and picked his upset son up. Cuddling the little boy to his chest, Aaron rubbed soothing circles in the trembling back. "Spencer, I know you're scared and that's okay but I want you to listen. That Santa is safe. Garcia did a thorough background check on him last night." He explained.
A barely audible 'I know' was breathed into his neck.
Aaron sighed. The incident at Disney had evidently affected Reid more than he'd thought. Vowing to have the discussion he'd been putting off with the youngster, the father turned his attention to the matter at hand. "Don't you want to go sit on Santa's lap with Morgan and Henry? He's going to give them a goodie bag with candy." He bribed. A tightening of the arms around his neck was his only answer. "How about if I go with you? Will you go then?"
"Why don't we all go?" Dave suggested. "It'll make a great family picture."
"Yeah, we need one with my Mini Muffin in it." Penelope chimed in.
"What do you say, buddy? You're not going to deprive Garcia of a photo with her Mini Muffin, are you?" Aaron asked the amusement clear in his voice.
Spencer lifted his head from his daddy's shoulder and glanced around at his family surrounding him. They all looked so hopeful he couldn't find it in himself to say no. So Reid gave them the barest of nods and reluctantly agreed.
"Alright! Let's go!" Garcia cheerfully shouted. Ignoring the gawks she was getting, the bubbly blond swiftly led the way to the boys and Santa. "Good morning, Santa" she greeted as she stepped up beside the man and put a hand on Morgan's tiny shoulder. "I'm Penelope Garcia and I've been a very good girl this year."
"Yes you have." Santa replied, playing along. "And what can Santa get you for Christmas this year?"
"Well" Garcia began as she squeezed Morgan's shoulder. "I'd really love to have…"
"Pen, there are children around." Emily reminded after catching the look in her friend's eyes.
Penelope rolled her eyes but swiftly changed her answer. "As I was saying, I'd like to have a new Christmas outfit with matching jewelry."
Santa chuckled at the innocuous request. He could only imagine what her original response would have been. "I think Santa can handle that." he answered and then turned twinkling eyes on the small boy in his daddy's arms. "What about you, son? What would you like Santa to bring you?"
Spencer laid his head back down on Hotch's shoulder before responding. "A tuffed aminal" he said around his thumb.
"Just a stuffed animal? You don't want anything else?" Santa inquired in amazement.
Reid shook his head.
"Okay then. Santa will see to it that you get your wish." Santa told the boy. "Anybody else?"
"I think we're good." Rossi declared.
"Well then, gather around so we can get a family picture!" Santa instructed. He watched the group to get into position around his chair with a frown. "What about you, little one? Don't you want to sit on my knee with your friends?"
Spencer adamantly shook his head.
"Okay, I guess we'll just…"
"Wait, I've got an idea." Will interrupted. Walking over to the girl manning the register, he pointed to an item inside her podium. "Could I borrow that for a minute?" he asked.
Tracy, the teenage photographer's helper, looked to her boss before nodding. "Sure, here you go." She replied, handing the green hat with dangling bells to the Cajun.
"Thanks" Will said. He hurried back over to his friends, knelt down on one knee beside Santa's chair, and placed the elf hat on his head. Turning, he held out his arms to Spencer. "Come on kiddo. Sit on my lap for the picture so you can be with Henry and Derek."
Spencer eyed Santa warily for a moment before allowing Will to take him from the safety of Aaron's arms. Feeling Will and Morgan both put an arm around his shoulders, the little boy melted into their embrace. Nothing could get him now. The mini agent looked up at the photographer and did his best to smile for the souvenir pictures. However, as soon as they were complete, Spencer climbed back into his father's waiting arms.
"Good job, boys" Santa praised. "Now there's just one more thing I need to do. I always give a treat to all the good little boys and girls that come to see me." The man reached into his gigantic red sack and pulled out three plastic bags filled with candy and prizes. "Here you go. One for Derek, one for Henry, and one for Reid." He ticked off.
Spencer's eyes went wide. "He, he knows my n-n-name!" he stammered, the fear coming back full force.
"Relax, man I told him your name when you guys were walking up here." Morgan quickly explained.
"Oh" Spencer replied, dropping his head on Aaron's shoulder.
Knowing the boys were had to be getting tired by now, the BAU leader hurriedly put an end to the conversation. "We have to be going now. The little ones need to eat before naptime." He told the group. "Boys, what do you tell Santa?"
"Fant you!" Henry and Reid chorused, drowning out Morgan's 'Thank you'.
"Bye boys! Be good and I'll see you Christmas Eve!" Santa called after the family. It was rare for him to have such sweet, selfless children. He wished more children were like those three. It would sure take a load off…a squealed 'Santa!' drew him out of his thoughts. Looking up just in time to catch his next visitor as he jumped into his lap, Santa turned back to his job.
CM
Dave checked his map for directions and then started down the path that would lead them to the park's eating establishment. He took them back past the theater and down the lane to the right. He had almost made to the last turn when Henry sudden shout of "Loot!" stopped everyone in their tracks. Glancing over at the snow framed window filled with stuffed animals, he groaned.
"Mommy! Mommy! We's go in fewe!" Henry hollered, pointing to the gift shop.
"I don't know, Henry. It's getting late and we haven't eaten yet." JJ hedged.
Aaron looked from his son to the shop and back with a smile. "I'm with Henry. Let's go look for a minute." He told the shocked group. "The restaurant's probably crowded right now anyway."
"Yea! Henwy shop!" the littlest member of the group cried as they walked over to the store.
Spencer curiously scanned the room as they entered. Spying a round shelf covered with all kinds of stuffed animals, he glanced up at Aaron. The boy patted his dad on the chest to get his attention and then hesitantly asked, "Tan we, umm, tan we get somefing?"
Aaron smiled. "Of course you can buddy. You should always pick up a souvenir or two at a park." He replied, setting the boy on his feet. "You and Morgan go pick out what you want, okay?"
"Otay" Spencer answered, the thought of a treat having over rode his fear for the moment. Grabbing the older boy by the hand, he drug Morgan over to the animal shelf. Once there, Reid slowly circled the shelf, studying each animal carefully. Five laps later, the toddler finally settled on the perfect one. "I want fis one." He announced, showing his best friend the stuffed reindeer. "Which one awe you getting?"
Derek opened his mouth to tell Reid he wasn't going to get a stuffed animal because they were only for babies and he wasn't a baby. Seeing the happy expression on his friend's face stopped him though. There was no way he was doing anything to wipe that look off the kid's face. Besides, it would look really odd to the employees if the team got something for Henry and Reid but not him. So Morgan decided he had no choice but to bite the bullet. He quickly glanced at the shelf before picking up a stuffed polar bear. "I think I'll take this one." He said. "It looks kinda like those bears in the soda commercials."
Both boys took their prizes to their family. Hotch and Rossi paid for the toys plus a few other items and then herded the group out of the shop and over to the restaurant. The ladies searched for a table and got the boys settled while the men ordered lunch.
"Here you go boys, three Lil Elf meals with chocolate milk." Rossi said, setting the boxed meals in front of the three children.
Tummy rumbling, Spencer picked up his hot dog and bit off a small piece. "Mmmm, fis is good." He said, spraying the table with tiny bits of food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Spencer" Aaron reminded as he took a seat beside his son.
"Yes siw" Reid answered before taking another bite of his meal.
Smiling at the now happy little boy, the adults tucked into their food as well. In between bites, the group discussed where to go next and what else they might want to see and do before they had to leave to go home. They all knew time was not on their side. The trickster may have fixed it so they had time off but they knew that ruse wouldn't last too much longer and the family wanted to do as much as they could before that happened. Starting with…
"Boys, would you like to go back and ride the rides once you're finished eating?" Aaron asked.
"Yes!" all three hollered.
"Okay then, finish your meals and we'll go." He advised.
"I'm finished." Spencer declared, stuffing the last French fry into his mouth. Snatching up his milk, he downed it in one gulp and then turned pleading eyes on his father figure. "Tan we go now? Peas?"
"We'll go when everyone is done." Aaron replied, keeping his gaze firmly on his meal. He knew if he looked into the little boy's puppy dog eyes, as Garcia had so aptly named them, he'd be hard pressed to say no.
"Otay" Spencer sighed, the disappointment clear in his voice as well as his face. Hugging his newest plushie, the little boy settled in to wait.
Seeing the expression on the boy's face was all it took to get the adults moving. They quickly dug into their meals, finishing in record time. Then after a super fast clean up, they sat the boys back in their strollers and hurried across the park to Fun Land.
Several minutes later the family walked through the entrance to the ride area of the park. They made their way through the growing crowd to the Rudicoaster stroller parking. "Okay, Spencer, we're here!" Aaron announced. When he didn't get an immediate reply, the father frowned. "Spencer! Derek! We're at the roller coaster!" he loudly stated.
No response.
Worried, Aaron bent down next to the stroller and peered inside. He broke into a grin at the sight of the two mini agents sleeping with their heads leaning on each other and their stuffed toys firmly in their grip. Standing back up, he carefully turned the stroller around. "I think it's time to go." He quietly informed the others.
"Definitely" Will agreed, glancing down at a peacefully sleeping Henry.
"Let's go put the kiddies to bed." Dave said. He snapped a couple of quick pictures of the three and then led the way to the park exit. It was time to head to the hotel.