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Previously on Criminal Minds- The group shared a look before running out into the sun. It was time for some fun!
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"Beat ya!" Morgan crowed, tagging the pole that served as their finish line. With a triumphant shout he began his victory dance.
Spencer rolled his eyes. "You, you al-ways w-win." he panted as he came up beside his dancing friend. "I wanna do somefing else; somefing fat's fun fow evewbody."
"Me too" Dave seconded from where he was sitting on the ground. "I've never enjoyed running races."
"But…"
"Sorry Morgan, but it looks like you're outvoted three to one." Hotch said, patting the boy on the back.
"You too, Hotch" Derek huffed. "I thought you liked running."
"I do." Aaron replied. "But we've been racing for the past ten minutes and I'm tired of it now. Besides, those swings and spinny chairs are calling my name."
"Spinny chairs! Yes!" Spencer hollered. Jumping up from his spot by Rossi, he raced over to the playground and climbed onto one of the yellow plastic seats fastened to red poles. "Come on Hotch! Hurry!"
Smiling, Aaron ran over to the younger boy. He gave Reid a push to get him going before hopping on the seat next to him. The five year old pushed off with his feet to get his chair moving and then pumped his legs to keep it going. Giggling gleefully, the tiny agent rode the spinning seat round and round until he became so dizzy he fell off. "That was fun!" he proclaimed.
"Fun? Fat was awesome!" Spencer corrected as he staggered back to his feet. Grinning from ear to ear, he wobbly made his way to his spinny chair and attempted to climb back on. After a few unsuccessful tries, he finally managed to get on the oval shaped seat. "Hotch, tan you give me a push?"
"I'll do it." Will volunteered. He set Reid's chair in motion before getting on one of the few free seats. Pumping his legs as he'd seen Hotch do, he rode the spinny chair around and around. When he finally fell off, he looked over at JJ and said, "We are so getting some of these for the backyard."
"Absolutely" JJ agreed as she climbed onto her own seat. Snickering, she set her seat in motion, joining the rest of the team on the fast ride.
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Once the children got tired of the spinning chairs, they moved on to the plastic rock mountains and then the swings. They raced each other to see who could go the highest the fastest. Much to the boys' dismay, it was Garcia and Emily who tied for the win.
Spencer slid off his barely moving swing and trudged away from the swing set. Turning back to his friends, he sought out his daddy. "Hotch, I'm hungwy!" he called.
"Me too! Me too!" Henry hollered, jumping up and down. "'Mon Weid! We go 'side and tell mommy we's hungwy!"
That took the wind out of the playing children's sails. They quickly slowed their swings enough to jump off and rushed over to the two little ones.
"Hotch" JJ whispered. "What are we gonna…"
"I don't think we have to worry about fixing something." Emily broke in. Pointing to a spot behind the profilers, she smiled. "Look!"
The family spun around, grinning at the sight of the giant red and white checkered blanket spread out on the grass and the nine small picnic baskets sitting on top of it.
"Lunch is served!" Morgan cheerfully announced.
"Yay! We'we pitniting!" Spencer hollered before dashing towards the blanket with Henry right on his heels.
The rest of the group exchanged glances and then hurried after the two boys. Making it to the picnic blanket, they each claimed a basket and plopped down behind it. They opened the woven baskets, shrieking with delight at the wonderful meal tucked inside. Each one was different; the foods being the favorites of the person the basket belonged to.
The children pulled out chicken legs, sandwiches, pizza, and gyros and started munching away.
After all the kids had had their fill, the picnic blanket and baskets disappeared only to be replaced by a row of the softest beds the group had ever seen.
Fisting his eyes, Spencer grabbed Hotch's hand and pulled him over to the nearest bed. He clamored on, sighing at the incredibly soft cushy feel of the mattress. Spying his stuffed Ewok, the little boy crawled over to his prized possession and picked it up. Laying down, he hugged his Ewok to his chest, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and snuggled into Hotch's side. Spencer let out a contented sigh before closing his eyes and drifting off into dreamland.
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After naptime and a quick snack, the BAU kids surveyed their new playground. The landscape had been transformed while they slept. With the exception of the spinny chairs all the equipment was gone; replaced by eight shiny power wheel vehicles. And off to one side was a kickball field complete with bases and a fence.
Deciding to try out the electronic cars, trucks, and four wheelers first, the group rushed over to their new toys.
JJ jumped into the driver's seat of the pink Barbie jeep and called, "Come on Henry! Let's go for a ride!"
Henry toddled over to the jeep and with some help from Will climbed into the passenger seat. "Bye bye" he said, waving at his daddy.
"Bye Henry" Will replied. He watched his family drive away before turning and sprinting over to the four wheelers. Leaping onto the closest one, he roared after JJ and Henry.
Whooping, Morgan and Emily climbed onto four wheelers and took off with Garcia following in her purple princess car.
Dave chuckled at the trio. They were acting like the little kids they appeared to be. Turning to his companions, he grinned at the sight of Aaron eyeing the last four wheeler longingly. Knowing the younger man wouldn't take it due to his perceived responsibility for their youngest, the senior member of the group decided to step up and take the load off his friend. "Hey Spencer" he called. "Which vehicle should we take?"
"We? You want me to ride with you?" Reid curiously asked.
"Of course" Rossi responded. "You don't really expect me to drive myself, do you?" He grinned. "Now come on. Which one is our new ride?"
Spencer carefully studied all of the remaining vehicles before pointing to the cherry red corvette. "Fat one!" he declared.
"A perfect choice" Dave praised. "Let's go my little chauffeur. We have places to go and things to see."
Reid ran a few feet and then stopped and looked back. "What about Hotch?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm sure he'll find something to ride." Dave answered. He winked at his old friend. "Right Aaron?"
"I think I can manage that." Hotch replied before racing over and jumping onto the last four wheeler.
Spencer stared slack jawed at his surrogate father.
Dave snickered at the expression on the boy's face. "Quit your gawking and come on, Reid." He ordered. "We're getting left behind."
"What? Oh" Spencer stammered. Seeing Rossi starting for their car, he hurried to catch up. The tiny profilers climbed into their ride and raced off. They had a team to catch!
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When the group was through riding, they parked their respective vehicles and made their way to the kickball area. They swiftly broke into two teams and took to the field.
Hotch slowly rolled the ball to Henry. He watched the tot kick at the ball, accidently stopping it with his leg. The father waited for Henry to start running and then shuffled forward to get the ball, making sure not to reach it until the little guy was safe on first base. Smiling at Henry's excited jabbering, Aaron took the kick ball back to the mound and turned. Seeing Morgan step up to the plate, he reared back and rolled the ball as hard as he could.
Spencer watched wide eyed as the kick ball came sailing his way. Yelling "I got it!", he ran towards the rapidly falling ball. With his attention fully focused on the playground ball, he never heard Rossi's shout or saw him running his way. The two boys collided, heads banging together.
Spencer sat stunned for a moment before bursting into tears. Jumping up, he raced over to his father and barreled into the slightly taller boy, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
Aaron quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around his crying son. "It's okay Spencer. You're alright." He soothed as he tried to get a glimpse of the injury. "Let me see." The worried father softly instructed. He pulled the youngster back a little, frowning at the red mark and already swelling goose egg he could see on the boy's forehead. "Come on Spencer. Let's go inside and get you some ice."
The family watched fascinated as five year old Hotch morphed back into his grown self.
The now adult leader scooped up his crying little one before striding over to the other boy who had been involved in the collision. "Dave, are you alright?" he asked.
"Y-yeah" Dave replied with a sniffle.
Seeing his friend fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall, Aaron held out a hand. "Come on Rossi. I think you better come in with us." He instructed. He waited for the youngster to get up and then took him by the hand and led him across the yard and into the kitchen. Sitting both boys at the table, Hotch grabbed two of the child sized ice packs they'd purchased when Spencer had first been de-aged, wrapped them in towels, and handed them to his charges. "Here, put this on your head."
"Thanks" Rossi said, wincing as the cold pack made contact with his sore head.
Holding the ice pack to his hurting head, Spencer slid out of his chair and climbed into Hotch's lap. He leaned back against the man's muscular chest and let out a sigh.
"Better?" Hotch questioned as he began rubbing the tot's back.
Spencer started to nod but thought better of it. "Uh huh" he whispered, closing his eyes and snuggling closer.
The action brought a smile to Hotch's face. Spencer seemed to have no problem with his little boy role anymore. He glanced over at his other charge who was trying and failing to appear alright. That was exactly what Reid had done in the beginning. It had taken a while and a lot of reassurances to make the youngster okay with all the emotions and hugging that came with childhood. A sniffle broke through his reminiscing. Seeing Rossi discretely swipe a hand across his face, Aaron grinned. It looked like someone else needed comforting. "Come 'mere Dave" he directed, dragging the flustered five year old onto his free knee and wrapping an arm around the struggling boy. He was comforting Dave whether he wanted it or not.