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- Thank you for bearing with me. Real life's problems have kind of ganged up on me and my family lately. Hopefully, everything will be resolved soon.
The book Diana reads is The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.
Previously on Criminal Minds- Once they had enough ready, the ladies added some Hershey's Kisses to their trays and then carried them out of the kitchen. There was still a lot of work to do before morning.
CM
"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Jack hollered as he pounded on all the bedroom doors. "SANTA WAS HERE! WAKE UP! WE'VE GOTTA OPEN OUR PRESENTS!"
Henry and Spencer were the first ones to answer the call. They scampered out of their rooms and over to their friend. Bouncing on the balls of their feet excitedly the two youngsters quickly joined in the game. The three boys raced back and forth banging on the doors and shouting out the news that Christmas day had arrived.
One by one the adults filed out of their bedrooms. Yawning and stretching, they watched in amusement as their little ones danced around the Christmas tree oohing and ahhing at the brightly colored presents. Smiling, the grown-ups swiftly gathered around the tree.
"Are you guys ready to open your presents?" Will asked.
"YES!" Jack and Henry enthusiastically replied.
"No, wait! Fewe's a note!" Spencer countered. He pointed to an envelope clipped to the top of the tree. "We need to wead Santa's note fiwst!"
"Yea! Wead the note! Wead the note!" Jack and Henry chanted as they jumped up and down.
"Alright" Dave agreed. He reached up and carefully plucked the reindeer and elf covered envelope off the tree. After pulling it open, he extracted and unfolded the letter. "Dear Jack, Henry, and Spencer, Merry Christmas! Santa knows you're on vacation right now and that you don't have a lot of room in your luggage for toys so I split up your Christmas presents. I've left some here beneath this tree and the rest are under your tree at home waiting for you. I promise I didn't forget anything. Some of your surprises were just too big to fit on a plane. So those are at your home. You, my lucky little boys, get two Christmases! I have to go now. I still have half a world of homes to visit before morning. Be good and Santa will see you again next year. Oh, and thank you for the cookies and milk. They were delicious! Love, Santa"
"Two Christmases?!" Jack squealed. "We get two?! Cool!"
"Tool!" Henry repeated.
"Do you know what else is cool, Sweet'ums?" Garcia inquired, pinching the littlest Jareau's cheek. "There are presents over there just waiting to be opened."
"Tan we open fem now?!" Henry excitedly questioned.
"Of course you can bud" Will answered before holding up a red and white hat. "Just as soon as you three pick someone to be Santa's helper."
"Untle Mowgan!" Spencer shouted, smirking when the two other boys echoed the name after him. He snickered at the WTF expression on his best friend's face. His snickers turned into an all-out belly laugh as Will plopped the Santa hat on an unhappy Morgan's head. Unable to let a teasing opportunity pass him by, Spencer got his giggling under control enough to holler out, "Tome on Untle Mowgan! No gwumpy titty face!"
The adults cracked up at the mispronunciation.
Henry gazed up at the guffawing group like they'd grown another head. The curious tot waddled over to his father and tugged on the laughing man's pants leg. "Daddy, why is you laughing?" he innocently asked.
"We, we're just h-ha-happy." Will managed to get out.
The youngster's question as well as Will's answer caused more cackling. It took a while but the adults finally managed to get themselves under control. They wiped their eyes and then ushered the little boys over to the tree.
Once the kids had found spots to sit, Morgan sauntered over to the pile of presents. He looked them over before picking up three brightly colored boxes. "Here you go youngsters!" he exclaimed as he handed each boy a gift. "These are from Santa!"
Jack, Henry, and Spencer hurriedly ripped off the wrapping paper of their first presents, squealing as they uncovered three different stuffed Dalmatians. Hugging their new toys to their chests, the boys took the next gifts and eagerly dug in.
Wrapping paper flew as the children tore into present after present. They made over each and every toy, book, and piece of clothing they received. In mere minutes the enormous pile was down to the last three gifts.
"Okay kiddos, these last presents are from your parents." Morgan informed the boys as he set the rather large packages in front of the excited little ones. "So be sure and tell them thank you, okay?"
"Otay" the three agreed before quickly ripping the Disney themed paper off their presents.
"Loot! It the mon'wail!" Henry shouted, pointing to the picture of the electric monorail on the box. "Fant you mommy and daddy!"
"You're welcome Honey" JJ replied as she hugged her son. "I thought you'd like that."
"Me do" Henry enthused.
"Cool! I got a Lego pirate ship, and a bunch of pirates!" Jack shouted, holding up his loot for all to see. He ran over and jumped into his dad's arms. "Thanks daddy! This is awesome!" He reached over and draped an arm around his mother's shoulders. "Thank you too mommy!"
"You're wel…"
"What'cha got there Pretty Boy?" Morgan queried.
"It's a din'sauw chess set." Spencer responded without looking up from his prize. He ghosted a hand over the box of the handcrafted set.
"Do you like it Spencer?" Diana questioned. "Your Uncle Dave and I thought you would enjoy it since you are so captivated by chess and the age of dinosaurs."
Spencer pushed himself up and toddled over to his mom. "It's pewfe't." he told her. He hugged his mother and then kissed her cheek. "I love you mom."
Diana kissed her son's forehead. "I love you too baby." She whispered. "Now what do you say we clean this mess up so we can go to the park?"
"Sounds good" Spencer replied with a dimpled grin.
"Alright everybody, you heard Diana! Hop to it!" Dave commanded. "The sooner we clean up, the sooner we get to the park!"
"Yes sir!" Morgan and Emily answered giving the senior profiler a mock salute.
"Cute brats" Rossi good naturedly grumbled. "Now get to work!" He watched as his family jumped into action; well all but one. Seeing their littlest member staring down at the wrapping paper with a woebegone expression on his face, Dave frowned. "What's a matter, Henry?" he asked as he walked over to the tot.
Henry looked up at his Uncle and sighed. "I miss Untle Pence." He revealed. "Him always payed(played) papew fight wif Hen…" A piece of wrapping paper hitting him in the side of the head cut him off. He glanced around before smiling at the grinning culprit. Keeping his eyes on the suspect, Henry picked up a scrap of wrapping paper and chucked it at the other boy. He giggled when the projectile hit the youngster smack in the face. "I got you Weid!" he crowed.
"I'm gonna get you Henwy!" Spencer shouted, tossing another piece his godson's way. Feeling something hit the back of his head, the mini profiler spun around. Spying Jack reaching for another piece of wrapping paper, Reid quickly grabbed the closest scrap and threw it at the boy. Sniggering as the weapon hit its mark, the youngster excitedly snatched up another piece.
Not about to be left out of all the fun the adults grabbed handfuls of torn paper and joined in the war.
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After the impromptu war and a rushed clean up, the family bathed and dressed for the day. They ate at the hotel's restaurant before boarding a bus for Animal Kingdom. While riding to their destination, the kids and adults joined in the Christmas sing-a-long one of the other visitors had started. They had managed to sing Jingle Bells, Ten Little Angels, and Here Comes Santa Claus by the time their bus pulled up in front of the park.
Jack, Henry, and Spencer hopped down the bus' steps and took their mom and dad's, or in Reid's case uncle's, hands. And then together the family made their way into the park.
"Look!" Jack shouted, pointing to an animal in the enclosure on the left. "What's that, daddy?!"
"Fat is a giant anteatew." Spencer announced. "It's 'pecies name is Twida'tyla which means fwee fingews. Fey weally have five on each paw but the fwee middle ones have extwa long tlaws. Fey use feiw tlaws to mate a hole in the ant beds and fen fey 'tit(stick) out feiw tongues to get the ants. Fey tan 'tit feiw tongues out two feet to get feiw suppew."
"Cool!" Jack breathed out.
They watched the anteater shuffle around for a few more minutes before moving on to the next animal.
"Loot mommy! A mingo!" Henry hollered.
Jack pulled his parents over to the fence and then turned to Spencer. "Reid, why are flamingos pink?" he questioned. "And how come they stand on one leg?"
Spencer grinned. "Well you see Jat, f'amingos awe pint betause fey eat shwimplite twustaceans. Fey…"
The grown-ups stood by proudly as the littlest profiler rattled off fact after fact about the tall pink birds. He had their boys as well as several other children captivated by his speech. Even some of the other parents had tuned in. Of course, there were the usual stares and slack jawed expressions but the family ignored them. The muttering under their breath didn't bother them either. Well not until…
"Stupid know it all" a beer bellied man grumbled loud enough to ensure he was heard.
Diana scowled at the slight. She couldn't stand it when people made negative comments about her baby; she wouldn't stand for it. After checking to ensure Spencer hadn't overheard the fool, the furious mother stormed over to the big bully of a man. "Excuse me sir but you do realize that the phrase stupid know it all is an oxymoron, don't you?" she growled.
The hulk of a man glared at the tiny slip of a woman. "You calling me a moron?" he gruffed.
"No, I'm merely stating a fact." Diana replied. "One cannot be stupid and a know it all. Those are at opposite ends of the spectrum which means that term is an oxymoron."
The angry man straightened as much as he could from his slouch so he could loom over the loud mouth woman. "How dare you!" he shouted, garnering everyone's attention. "Who the Hell do you think you are calling me a moron?! No woman is gonna call me a moron and get away with it?!"
"Is there a problem here?" Rossi calmly inquired as he walked over and got between the two.
The beefy buffoon turned his attention to the man in front of him. "Yeah, we got a problem." Jake answered. "She yours?"
"Yes" Dave replied in the same even tone.
"You should teach your bitch better manners." Jake demanded, taking a step closer to Rossi. "She needs to learn to keep her mouth shut around her superiors."
Dave bristled at the ignorant caveman's statement. He adopted a defensive stance and then with Aaron and Derek flanking him butted heads with the cretin. "Okay first Diana is a lady, an extremely intelligent lady." He corrected, forcing himself to keep his fisted hands at his side. "You are not her superior. SHE is superior to YOU in every way and I refuse…" He caught the fist aiming for his face and in a lightning quick move had the much bigger man's arm twisted behind his back.
At just that moment two security officers rushed around the corner. They immediately took control of the scene. One secured the struggling man's wrists with zip ties while the other pulled Rossi to the side. After a quick conversation with the profiler and watching the confrontation via Garcia's cell, the security officers led the brutish chauvinist away.
Excitement over the BAU family went back to enjoying Christmas Day. They searched every nook and cranny of the park for animals. And each time they stopped to study an animal it was Reid that Jack and Henry turned to for answers. By lunchtime they had found and learned about almost every animal in Animal Kingdom.
Aaron chuckled as three growls sounded. "I believe it's time to find a restaurant." He stated.
"Alright, let's see" Morgan muttered as he scanned the map. "There's a nice sit down place in Dinoland not too far from here. We could eat and then let the boys play there for a while."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Will commented. He scooped up his son and hoisted him onto his shoulders. "Lead the way."
"You've got it." Derek agreed. He glanced at the map once more and then headed to the restaurant with his family.
CM
After a nice lunch and a short playtime at the boneyard, the group split in two. Dave and Diana took the boys back to the hotel for naptime while the rest of the gang stayed in the park to ride the roller coasters and other attractions that weren't meant for little ones. They rode all the fast rides at Animal Kingdom and then park-hopped to the one park they knew Spencer would never want to go to again. At the studios they picked a direction and started around the park riding everything they came upon. They were half way through when the text came saying the boys were awake and that they wanted to go swimming. Smiling, the men and women hurried to the exit.
CM
The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming in the indoor pool and playing on the hotel's rather large playground. It wasn't until suppertime that they boarded a bus again. This time though the family got off at the marketplace instead of a park. They then walked through the crowded lanes to the dinosaur themed restaurant they had gone to the first time they were there. After signing in, the moms and dads took the boys into the Build-a-Dino shop for one last treat.
Spencer looked over all the dinosaurs twice before picking up a wooly mammoth skin and a multicolored Diplodocus. "Fis one is fow me and fis one is fow you." he said, handing his mother the colorful dino.
"How beautiful!" Diana exclaimed. "What a wonderful Christmas present!"
"Tome on mommy. We have to pit a sound now." Spencer urged as he pulled her over to the sound station. He glanced at the buttons before pointing to one. "We mate ouw own mommy!"
"An excellent idea my sweet boy!" Diana seconded. She opened the build a sound drawer and picked up two cloth boxes. She handed one to Spencer and held the other one up to her mouth. "Let's record messages to each other."
"Okay!" Spencer enthusiastically agreed. He thought for a moment before recording the perfect message for his mother. He waited for her to finish and then they traded sound boxes and proceeded to the stuffing station.
Once the dinosaurs were stuffed, dressed, and paid for and supper had been consumed, the family went back to the hotel. They allowed the boys to play with their new toys for a little while before calling them for their bathes.
Spencer knuckled his eyes as he toddled into the bedroom he was sharing with his mom. He might be exhausted but he refused to sleep. This was his last few hours with his mom and he wasn't about to miss a minute of it. He'd still need to go through their bedtime routine though. His mother would expect that. So Spencer shuffled over to his bag and grabbed the book he'd originally brought for Hotch to read to Jack. Luckily Aaron had purchased a copy the day before so Spencer didn't have to share. Happy to have the storybook the tiny profiler trudged over to the bed and climbed up beside his mother. "Mommy wead fis one?" he asked.
Diana glanced at the front of the book and scowled. "Are you sure you wish to hear this story?" she queried. "Wouldn't you rather listen to something with more substance?"
"No, fis one please" Reid politely requested.
"The Kissing Hand it is." Diana announced. She snuggled her son into her side, opened the book, and began reading. "Chester Raccoon stood at the edge of the forest and cried."
Spencer let his mother's voice wash over him. Snuggling closer to his mom, he blinked open eyes he didn't remember closing. He yawned and fisted his eyes fighting sleep with all he was worth. But it was no use. His eyes slid shut and he drifted into dreamland.