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- Sorry guys, I've just gotten really busy.

While I'm still a little hesitant to suggest a Reid centric story, I think this is one I am reasonably sure will remain Reid centric.

The BAU Baby by ashlovesCM

Previously on Criminal Minds- Spencer's eyes widened. "Tome on! Huwwy!" he hollered. He grabbed Hotch's hand and the two ran for the dining room.

CM

"Bath time Henry" Will announced as he sauntered into the living room.

Henry paused midstride to stare mournfully at his dad. "But I's paying on the lide wif Weid." He protested.

"Sorry buddy" Will apologized, scooping the toddler up. "You have to take your bath and go to bed now. You can play with Reid tomorrow."

Henry's lower lip began to tremble. "But I's not *Yawn* tiwed." He argued even as his head dropped onto his daddy's shoulder. "Tan't I pay wif Weid a little longew?"

"Yeah, can't he play a little longer." A voice seconded from the staircase. "After all he can't go to bed yet. I just got here."

Henry's eyes snapped to the stairs, his frown morphing into a grin when he saw who was walking down them. "Untle Gabe! Untle Gabe!" he hollered, pointing to the brown haired being. "Loot Weid! Untle Gabe's hewe!"

Morgan hurried over to Reid and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. While the trickster had done nothing to hurt his friend, he still wasn't comfortable having the being this close to the now tiny profiler. "What are you doing here, Gabe?" he questioned.

"Relax Conan, I just came to check on the kid; make sure he was still in one piece and having fun." Loki explained before gazing down at said child. "You are having fun, right?"

"Well" Spencer began, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

The trickster glanced up, glaring at the adults in the room. "Okay, what did you do?" he demanded.

"Fey didn't do anyfing." Spencer assured the aggravated being. "It's jut, the 'wet…di-wetow (director) said I tan't go bat to wowt till next weet and, and I wanna wowt. I don't lite sitting at home while evewyone else is at wowt."

"Is that all?" Gabe scoffed. He snapped his fingers and grinned. "There, all fixed. You start back to work tomorrow. Anything else?"

Spencer nodded. "Uh huh" he replied, pinning the smirking being with the puppy dog eyes of doom. "I tan't weally have fun wifout Emily. She tan't run or pay or nofing tause of hew leg. Tan't you heal hew, too? Peas?"

Henry gazed up at the trickster with his own set of puppy eyes. "Pwetty peas?" he pleaded. "I wanna pay wif Aunt Em'ly, too."

Gabe staggered back a step, holding both hands up to shield his eyes. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Not the eyes! Turn'em off! Please!" Screwing up his face, he slowly began sinking to the floor. "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

Giggling at the trickster's antics, the two boys raced over and jumped onto the being's back. They wrapped their arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Untle Gabe no melt." Henry ordered. "Him tay and pay wif Henwy."

"Well in that case" Loki said, standing back up as a smile split his face. "I'm good. Just no more sleepy puppy eyes. Got it?"

"Uh huh" Henry agreed.

"I won't use fem on you again." Spencer assured the trickster before smirking and adding, "as long as you heal Emily."

Gabe spun his head around so he could look the boy hanging on his back in the eye. "Dude, you drive a hard bargain." He huffed.

"Does fat mean you'll do it?" Reid excitedly asked, trying not to be grossed out by the being's head being on backwards. He'd seen worse after all.

"Sure shrimp" Loki agreed. He twisted his head back around and focused on the injured woman. Raising his arms, he began to chant. "Abracadabra, sugar and spice make this lady oh so nice!"

A plume of smoke rose up causing the group to close their eyes. When they opened them again, they were shocked to see…"Emily? Is that you?" JJ gasped.

"Gabe, change me back right this minute before you're missing a very important piece of your anatomy." The little pigtailed girl threatened, stomping her foot.

"I don't know. I kinda like…"

"Gabe" the five year old growled, advancing on the smirking being.

"Okay, okay" Loki responded, backing up a step. "Geez, not much of a jokester, are ya?"

The indignant girl raised her fisted hands. "I'm giving you to the count of three to change me back." she furiously advised.

"I'd listen to her if I were you man. Little or not, you do not want to be on her bad side." Morgan told the trickster. "Trust me."

"Fine" Gabe conceded. "Abracadabra, dirt and grit. Make this girl fighting fit." He recited before snapping his fingers.

Emily looked down at her adult self and let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you Gabe" she said. "I owe you one."

Smirking, Gabe waggled his eyebrows. "Well then how about you and I go in the back room and…"

"Gabe, there are children present." Hotch interrupted.

"Spoil sport" Loki muttered under his breath, glaring at the man. Getting a hard look in return, the trickster gulped and swiftly switched his focus back to the raven haired beauty he was trying to woo. "Think I could get a little k…"

Metallica's Enter Sandman suddenly blasted through a floating radio startling everyone.

"Seriously?" Loki scoffed. "Of all the times you pick now!?"

"Turn it off!" Dave hollered above the blare of the music. When his command wasn't heeded, the senior profiler stalked over to the angry man and swatted his shoulder. "Gabe! Turn it…" He broke off as the ear splitting music faded out. "That's better. What was that, anyway?"

"That was my Winchester alarm." Loki answered, bending so the two boys could climb off his back. "Apparently one of them has done something stupid and I need to go fix it." He turned to Emily. "I'll have to take a rain check on that free pass, Sweet Cheeks."

"I'll sweet cheeks you." Prentiss growled. She stalked over to the irritating being and made a grab for him. Her hands caught nothing but air, however, the trickster disappearing before she could get her hands on him. "Ugggh! He is so infuriating!"

"Aunt Em'ly otay?" Henry quietly inquired, drawing the angry woman's attention.

Emily smiled at the worried little boy. "Aunt Emily's fine Sweetie." She assured the tot. "In fact, Aunt Emily's feeling so good, she's going to help you with your bath. Would you like that, Henry?"

"Uh huh!" Henry enthusiastically responded, reaching out for the raven haired woman.

"Then let's go!" Emily said as she took the excited child from Will. Glancing down at the other little one in the room, she held out her free hand. "You wanna come, Reid?"

Spencer shook his head. "No fants" he answered. "I'll wait fow Hotch."

"Alright" Emily conceded. Turning, she hurried up the stairs with her charge.

Aaron walked over and patted Reid on the back. "Come on buddy. Let's get your bath taken care of so you can hit the sack." He suggested. "You have a long day of work ahead of you."

"Sounds *yawn* good." Spencer agreed. The tiny profiler took Hotch's hand and the two slowly trudged up the stairs.

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Spencer shot up in his bed. Panting, he warily scanned the darkened room. 'It was just a dream. It was just a dream.' He mentally chanted. Grabbing the edge of the blanket, he drew it up to his nose as he continued to glance around the room. Seeing the shadows move and twist worsened his trembling. Berating himself for being afraid, he closed his eyes only to snap them back open as an image of the witch from the movie appeared. Reid knew it was stupid to be afraid of an imaginary character but he couldn't help it. For some reason, he was sure the witch was coming to get him. He could feel her getting closer and closer. Eyes darting from one side to the other, Spencer attempted to get his voice to work. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. A floor board creaked sending him into a panic. His eyes snapped to the far corner of the room. And there she was; a dark shadow standing in the corner. Breathing heavily, the little boy stared at the black blob willing it to go away. But it didn't. It only grew, reaching out a gnarly old hand to get him. That was Spencer's undoing. Leaping off the opposite side of his bed, he dashed around the bed and pounced on the air mattress Hotch was sleeping on.

Aaron awoke with a grunt as something heavy landed on his chest. Opening his eyes, he found himself face to face with a very terrified Spencer. "Spencer? Spencer, what's wrong?" he asked, enveloping the boy in a loving embrace.

"The witch! She's gonna get me!" Spencer muttered, burying his face in his daddy's chest.

"Witch?" Hotch repeated.

"Yeah, I know it sounds tupid and fat witches awen't a'pposed to be weal but, but I saw hew and she's gonna, gonna…NO!" Spencer threw himself off Hotch's chest. He scurried under the covers before latching onto Aaron's night shirt. "Don't let hew get me!"

Aaron frowned, wondering what could have set Spencer…an image of a horror movie cover flashed through his mind. Sighing, the young father pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd had a feeling this would happen. "Spencer, come on out. There's nothing there." he assured the frightened youngster.

Two chocolate brown orbs peered out from the blanket. "Iiiiis too, she's in the cow-cownew(corner)." he stammered, pointing a shaky hand at the foreboding corner.

"Spencer, that's just the corner bookshelf. See?" Hotch said, shining the flashlight he'd wisely left by his bedside on the corner and illuminating the bookcase full of books.

Spencer gazed at the bookshelf for a moment before shaking his head. "But, but hew hand. I saw hew hand weaching fow me."

"Where?" Aaron questioned.

"Fewe" Reid answered, pointing to the window.

"Buddy, that's just a tree branch swaying in the wind." Aaron explained, wrapping an arm around the still trembling boy.

"Fewe's no witch?" Spencer timidly asked, bringing his head out of the blankets.

"No witch" Hotch replied, shaking his head. "You just had a nightmare because of that horror movie."

"Fat doesn't mate sense." Reid argued as he scooted the rest of the way out of the covers. "I've seen plenty of howwow movies wif Mowgan and Emily. We always laugh about fem. And I've gone home and lept in my 'pawtment by myself aftewwawds and I nevew had a nightmawe 'bout fem. Why would fis one be diff'ent?"

"It's different because you're in a child's body. Movies like that scare children. That's why they're rated PG-13 or R. They aren't meant for children." Aaron explained. "And while your mind knows it's just a story, your body still reacted like the toddler you are."

"But the witch…"

"Spencer, you and I both know there is no such thing as a real witch, right?" Aaron asked.

"Well, there are people who practice the art of wiccan and they call themselves…"

"Spencer" Aaron warned. "Are there real witches who cast spells and hurt people or not?"

"Fewe's not." Reid conceded in a tiny voice. "But knowing fat doesn't mate me feel any bettew."

"I know." Aaron consoled, rubbing the little boy's back.

"Tan I, tan I leep wif you?" Spencer softly inquired.

"Of course you can buddy" Aaron answered, smiling down at his son. He lifted the boy up and settled him on his chest before wrapping the blanket around the two of them. "Go to sleep buddy. You're safe. I've got you."

Feeling safe and secure in his daddy's embrace, Spencer stuck his thumb in his mouth, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.