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Growing Up Again	By : hatochiisai Category: 1 through F > Criminal Minds Views: 21443 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I make any financial profit off of writing and posting this work.

Chapter List
- 1-Re-Birth
- 2-Age 1
- 3-Age 2
- 4-Age 3
- 5-Age 4
- 6-Age 5 & 6
- 7-Age 7
- 8-Age 8
- 9-Age 9
- 10-Age 10
- 11-Age 11
- 12-Age 12
- 13-Age 13
- 14-Age 14
- 15-Age 15
- 16-Age 16
- 17-Age 17
- 18-Age 18
- 19-Age 19
- 20-Age 20
- 21-Age 21
- 22-Age 22
- 23-Age 23
- 24-Age 24
- 25-All Grown Up
- 12
- 13
- 14
Thirteen Years Old

Hotch’s first three thoughts when he awoke was, ‘dammit, Spencer’s in bed with me again!’, ‘Oh good, his bruises healed fast!!!’ and ‘… he needs a hair cut again…’

The long, dark brown hair was falling past Reid’s shoulder blades now, almost halfway down his back. Smiling slightly, he strokes the long hair.

“… Mrrrhhh…” Reid grumbled.

“Good morning.”

“Mmmm…”

“What are you doing in here?”

“… what does it look like I’m doing?”

“Spencer.”

“Nhn.”

“You’re supposed to be sleeping downstairs.”

“Can’t make me.”

“Do you really want to test me?” Hotch asked, frowning.

“Have you been able to keep me out yet?” Reid shot back, lifting his head and rubbing his eyes. Hotch glared, and Reid smirked. Then the boy got out of bed and shuffled off to find a new pair of glasses, and some new clothes. Hotch just sighed and went to get dressed. When he came downstairs, Reid was already eating cereal and playing video games.

Hotch went to make his own breakfast, and then headed into the study, booting up his computer. Only half an hour later, he was on a web cam profiling session with the team, who was filling him in on what they had found out over night, and he filled them in on what had happened the previous day with Spencer.

“Is he okay?” JJ asked.

“He’s fine.” Hotch nodded. “Hardly a mark on him today. Needs a haircut, though. It’s halfway down his back.”

“Awww…” Emily cooed.

“Can we see?” JJ asked.

“I don’t want to encourage him to come in here when we’re working…” Hotch said, slowly.

“Oh, come on, please?” Emily asked. “We won’t discuss the case when he’s in the room, I promise.”

“… Alright.” Hotch relented, and turned. “Spencer?”

“Yeah!”

“Come in here, please!”

“… What?” the team heard the child ask.

“The team wants to say hello.” Hotch told him, and rolled his chair back to allow Reid to climb into his lap.

“Hi guys!” Reid called, grinning and waving.

“Oh my God, LOOK at him!” JJ gasped, grinning. “Spence, you’re so CUTE! How old are you now?!”

“Twenty five.”

“… He’s thirteen.” Hotch chuckled.

“Hey! Alright!” Morgan cheered. “The teenage years! You’re halfway done growing up again, kid!”

“Look at his HAIR!!! Turn around, Reid!” Emily said, and Reid twisted about at the waist.

“It IS long.” Rossi grinned.

“Maybe Garcia can come over and cut it tonight.” Hotch suggested.

“Okay.” Reid agreed, amiably. “Where are you guys?”

“Tuscon.” Rossi said.

“What’s the case?”

“Nuh-uh, Little Man.” Morgan chuckled, shaking his head. “We’re not telling. You are NOT helping.”

“But I—“

“No.” Hotch said, firmly.

“But I’m thirteen!”

“And these cases are rated R, not PG-13.” Morgan said.

“And some of them are X rated.” JJ snorted.

“I’m twenty five!”

“You’re twenty five and thirteen.” Hotch said. “You can help out when you’re twenty five and twenty one.”

“WHAT?!”

“MAYBE twenty five and eighteen.”

“But R rated is for seventeen!”

“I’ll make you a deal.” Hotch said, and Reid turned to look him in the eye. “If you can talk Strauss into letting you work—“

“WHAT?!”

“—then you can help.”

“That’s not fair!!!” Reid howled.

“She’s my Superior. If she says you can work, you can work. If she says you can’t, then I can’t over rule her.”

“But Hotch!”

“You want to call her right now?” Hotch asked, offering his phone.

“You’re an asshole!” Reid howled, getting out of Hotch’s lap.

“You watch your language or I’m taking away your video games.” Hotch ordered, pointing a finger at Reid.

“This is not FAIR!!!” Reid complained.

“Do you want to call Strauss or not?” Hotch asked.

“… DROP DEAD!!!” Reid shouted, and stormed from the room.

Hotch just chuckled, shaking his head.

“Be glad that this will only last for a week or so, Aaron.” Rossi chuckled. “Consider it practice for Jack’s teenage years.” Hotch visibly winced at that, making the team laugh.

“Will he run away again?” JJ asked, concerned.

“After yesterday? I doubt it.” Hotch snorted, then glanced out the window. “… I’m wrong. There he goes.”

“Uh oh.” Emily laughed. They watched Hotch stare out the window, and a moment later, his eyebrows shot up, and a grin crossed his face.

“Aaaand here he comes.” He said, and picked up the web cam. The team’s view of the room spun, and then they were looking out the window. And Reid was charging up the side walk as fast as he could, a little black poodle on his heels, barking angrily. He scrambled over the four foot stone wall surrounding the front yard and landed in the shrubs.

“I should go get him.” Hotch chuckled. “Later.” And he set the camera down on the desk and left the room. He headed out to the front yard and walked over to where Reid was struggling to extract himself from the bushes. The poodle was on the other side of the wall, bouncing up and down and barking.

“You okay there?” Hotch asked, looking down at Reid.

“… I’m stuck.” Reid confessed. Hotch grinned and offered a hand. Reid took it, and Hotch pulled him out of the bushes. “I HATE that dog!” The child spat, and Hotch took him inside, leaving the dog to bark his head off. Reid flopped onto the sofa with an angry huff, and picked up the Xbox controller, un-pausing his game. “Aaron?”

“Yes?”

“… what if the team isn’t home by tomorrow?”

“What do you mean, buddy?”

“Tomorrow is the Bureau picnic… we were gonna go.”

“Oh. Well, we can still go.” Hotch said, walking over.

“… Won’t be any fun without the team.” Reid mumbled. Hotch smiled, laying a hand on the child’s head.

“Well… if they’re not home in time, we’ll have our own picnic when they DO come back, okay?” He offered. Reid just heaved a heavy sigh and made his character leap off of a roof and assassinate an innocent guard walking by below him. Hotch leaned over and kissed the top of Reid’s head.

“… I love you.” Reid whispered, and Hotch smiled.

“I love you too, buddy.”

“… Go help the team.”

“Alright. I’ll try to get them home by tomorrow.”

“… Thanks.” Reid whispered.

“Are you okay?” Hotch asked, now frowning.

“… Yeah.” Reid shrugged. Hotch frowned, walking around the sofa, taking the controller from Reid and sitting down next to him.

“Spencer… talk to me.” Hotch said. Reid stared at his lap, chewing his lower lip. A moment later, a single tear rolled down his face. “Spencer?!” Hotch asked, now worried. A moment later, Reid slumped over to the side, ending up leaning against Hotch. The man held him, running a hand up and down his back.

“Spencer, what is it?”

“I don’t know…” Reid wailed. “Nothing! Everything!!!”

“Well… which is it?” Hotch asked, frowning.

“… I’m tired of this!”

“Of what?”

“I wanna be normal again! Or… I mean… MY normal!”

Hotch chuckled. “You wanna grow up again?”

“YES!!!”

“Oh, Spencer…” Hotch sighed, hugging him and rocking him. “I’m sorry, baby…”

“I wanna work with the team and I wanna sleep in bed with you and I wanna have sex with you and—“

“Spencer… please…” Hotch winced.

“And I want you to hold me and kiss me and not feel like a pervert and—“

“Thank you, Spencer, that’s enough.”

“AND I MISS MY MOM!!!” Reid suddenly blurted. Hotch blinked, startled. But then he hugged the boy tightly.

“I’m sure you do.”

“I DO!”

“I know. I believe you…”

“Why did this have to happen to me?!”

“Well… Can I be honest?”

“Yes…”

“I think you are the best person it could have happened to.” Hotch said, and Reid sniffled and sat back, staring at the man. “First off, you’re the youngest. It would take you less time to grow up again.” Hotch explained. “It’s taking you three weeks. It would have taken me five to six weeks to get back to normal. It would have taken Dave eight weeks. It would have taken JJ four weeks, and she’s a mom. Henry would need her to be his mom during that time. And Morgan would have taken four to five weeks. And who would have re-raised him, huh?”

“… Garcia probably.” Reid said, smiling a bit.

“And Emily?”

“Her mom?”

“Maybe… But Spencer… I also think that out of all of us, YOU had more of a right to have a second childhood than any one.”

“I dunno. It’s not like any of us DID have a normal childhood.” Reid pointed out. “Your dad abused you… Morgan lost his dad and then Buford… Emily lived all over the world…”

“And you had a mentally ill mother and a dead beat dad who abandoned the two of you. You graduated high school and started college at twelve.”

“… Well… yeah…”

“Well yeah!” Hotch insisted, and Reid gave him another smile. Hotch hugged him tightly, then kissed the top of his head. “You’re halfway through this, Spencer. Just enjoy it.”

“I just feel so… useless now…” Reid confessed. Hotch smiled at him, petting his long hair.

“Well… let me see if I can do something about that.” He said, and went to the study, Reid blinked after him, then returned to his video game. About fifteen minutes later, though, Hotch came back with several pieces of paper, and a box of crayons. Reid gave him a look.

“I don’t do coloring books.” He said, annoyed.

“I know that.” Hotch chuckled, sitting down and handing Reid a roll of tape. “Here. It’s not a coloring book . Put these papers together with some tape. It’s a map of Tuscon. And here are the locations of the abduction and dump sites.” He handed Reid another peice of paper, and then the crayons. “You want to help? Make me a Geographic Profile.”

“… Really?” Reid gasped, clutching the crayons with wide eyes.

“Yup.” Hotch confirmed, and a brilliant smile bloomed on the boy’s face.

“Thank you! Thank you so much, Hotch!” And he flung his arms around the man, hugging him tightly. Hotch chuckled, kissing the top of Reid’s head and ruffling his hair.

“You’re welcome, kiddo. I love you.” And he left the child to it.

And by lunch time, Reid was done with the geographic profile. While the boy made macaroni and cheese in the kitchen, Hotch presented the geographic profile to the team. And when Reid spent the rest of the day playing video games, Hotch worked with the team.

And that evening, while the pair were arguing over what to have for dinner, there was knock at the door. When Hotch opened it, Garcia stood there with some Italian take out. Reid poked his head around Hotch.

“Hey boys.” She said grinning. “The team is on their way home!”

“YES!” Reid shouted, leaping up and punching the air. Garcia grinned.

Garcia smiled at him. “We’re heading to the picnic at around ten or eleven. And Rossi promised that he remembered he’s supposed to make you your lunch.”

“Awesome!” Reid grinned, and scrambled into the kitchen as Hotch stepped aside to let Garcia in.

“Can you cut his hair after dinner, Penelope?” Hotch asked as they followed Reid into the kitchen.

“Sure.”

“Not as short as last time!” Reid said quickly, scrambling into his chair.

“Alright.” She nodded with a grin.

And after dinner, while Hotch and Garcia cleaned up, Reid went to shower. He returned in an overly large T shirt that fell almost to his knees. Garcia then took him to Jack’s bathroom, sat him on the counter, and combed and cut his hair, after renewing her promise to not to cut it TOO short. And when he was all finished, he took her by the hand and tugged her out to the sofa in the living room, insisting that she stay for a movie and dessert. Hotch had pulled an apple pie and ice cream out of the freezer and brought it out to the pair.

“Oh. Thank you so much, sir.” Garcia said, while Reid just shoved a large spoonful into his mouth.

“Thank YOU.” Hotch said with a smile. “I’ve really appreciated your help.”

“You are EVER so welcome, my liege.”

“Penelope.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve been AMAZING.”

“… thank you, sir.”

By the end of the movie, Reid was fast asleep. He was curled up with Garcia on the sofa, and she was gently stroking his hair, smiling down at him. Hotch turned off the television as the credits rolled, and Garcia looked up at him. Hotch just smiled and leaned over, scooping Reid up into his arms. The boy mumbled and squirmed slightly, then seized Hotch’s shirt in a tight grip mumbling “I wanna stay with you…”

Hotch sighed, drooping. He really didn’t want to fight with Reid over this again. Garcia smiled slightly and opened her arms. Hotch smiled and set Reid down on the sofa again, and Reid blinked blearily up at Garcia.

“Hey there, Junior G-Man.” She cooed, kissing his forehead while Hotch went to shower and change.

“I don’t wanna be alone…” Reid whimpered.

“I know. It’s okay. I’m right here…”

“But… But Aaron… He…”

“Shhh…” Garcia shushed him, wrapping a blanket around Reid that she had taken off of the back of the sofa.

“If you go out in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…” She sang softly. “If you go out in the woods today, you’d better go in disguise… for every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain because, today is the day the teddy bears have their picnic.”

When Hotch came back downstairs, Garcia was standing by the front door with a smile, and Reid was fast asleep on the sofa.

“Thank you.” Hotch whispered, letting Garcia out. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night!” She hissed back, and Hotch closed and locked the door behind her before creeping back up the stairs and locking the bedroom door behind him with the dead bolt, determined to break Reid of sleeping in the bed with him until he was at LEAST twenty one again!
- 12
- 13
- 14
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Growing Up Again