CM-fic
Title: Small Favors and Big Surprises (1/5)
Author: ice_ziggee
Rating: FRC (Fluff)
Pairing: Hotch/Reid.
Other characters (this chapter): JJ, Will, baby Henry.
Beta: holdur I owe you big time, THANK YOU!!!
X-posted at cm_hotch_reid & criminalxminds
Summary: Hotch does Reid a favor.
**
"Friendship is an arrangement by which we
undertake to exchange small favors for big ones."
- Charles De Montesquieu
January 24th, 2009
JJ and Will´s house, Saturday at 7pm.
"JJ, are you sure this is a good idea?" Reid asked nervously as he watched two of his friends get ready to leave the house.
"Spence, you´ll be fine," JJ reassured the young man as she slid her arms into the coat her fiancé held out for her. "You know where everything is and I assume your numbers if anything comes up."
Reid chewed the inside of his cheek nervously. "I don´t know anything about babies," he said trying to convince one of his closest friends what an awful idea this was.
JJ walked up to him with a smile she used on every stubborn officer they came across. "I´ve seen you with Henry, you are wonderful and beside, I saw the baby book on your desk."
"Garcia gave me that… and… it was for a profile," Reid stammered.
"And you´re a lousy liar," JJ chuckled. She set her hand on his upper arm. "You´re going to fine, just trust your instincts."
Reid´s eyebrows shot upward as he looked pleadingly at JJ. "Actually, men lack the maternal instinct that most woman…."
Setting the tip of her finger on his mouth to shut him up, JJ said sternly; "Don´t even try it." She pulled her finger away as she seemed to have quieted Reid down. "We´ll be home at eleven at the latest."
Will walked over to them. "Spence, you worry too much," he drawled and gave the young man a good pat on the shoulder, "Ready, sweetie," he asked JJ who nodded in return.
Nodding toward the fidgeting young man in his living room, Will shot him grin before following JJ out of the house and closing the door behind him.
Reid was left alone in the house with a two month old.
Reid slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor, his head hung down in worry over the responsibility that he´d been forced to take on as Garcia had called in sick. He took two steps into the nursery and stood on his toes in order to peek into the crib on the other side of the room. Sleeping on his back was baby Henry, his hands splayed out from his torso, his chest rising and falling in a way that eased the young man´s mind.
Upon returning to the living room, Reid got comfortable on the sofa and reached for his messenger bag, pulling out the baby book Garcia had given him. Glancing through it wouldn´t do any harm even though he had every technique memorized. As he turned the pages his eyes darted to the baby monitor on the table next to him.
A small cry startled Reid from the last pages of the book. He looked at the monitor that indicated the rise and fall of the cries in multi colors. Reid took the stairs two at the time and rushed to the nursery.
"Hey, there… Henry," he whispered to the baby who stopped crying at the semi-familiar voice. Reid lifted the baby into his arms, careful of supporting the head. JJ had told him that Henry would probably stay awake for about half an hour before wanting another bottle and that he should use that time to change him and talk to him. Reid set the baby down on the changing table, his eyes locked with the baby´s blue ones and he smiled awkwardly.
"Ummm… I need to change your diaper," Reid told the infant. The only reply was Henry moving his hands to his mouth, staring at the odd man above him and kicking in delight at the attention.
"Henry, I think… umm… you need to lie still for this part," Reid mumbled and reached for the snaps by the feet on the baby´s coveralls. As Henry´s feet got free his kicking increased, making it difficult to reach the snaps on the body suit. He got kicked a few times but got the snaps undone.
He removed the diaper and put it in the small trashcan next to the table. Pulling some baby wipes from the box next to him, he awkwardly patted down the child´s bottom and front. To his horror the child went completely still and all of a sudden a small fountain rose from the baby as he emptied his bladder. Reid jumped away with a yelp.
When the shower died down, Reid quickly returned to his post. "You made everything wet," he exclaimed as he pulled more and more wipes from the box in an attempt to dry up the mess. The baby book had said nothing of sudden showers from infants.
As Reid tried to put the diaper on him, Henry rubbed his nose and gave a small whine to indicate his discomfort.
"No, it´s okay," Reid said to the whimpering child, "I´m just not very good at this." Giving up on the diaper, he grabbed a towel that lay under the box of wipes and wrapped it around the child´s lower half. Clumsily picking up the baby he mumbled, "I told your mom this was a bad idea." Henry cried out his agreement.
Heading downstairs and to the kitchen, Reid desperately tried to comfort the crying infant. While the bottle heated he walked around shushing and talking, but the only result was fiercer crying from Henry.
Henry didn´t want the bottle. No matter how hard Reid tried to put the teat into his mouth or caress it against his cheek like the book said, he didn´t latch on. Reid sat with him on the couch becoming more desperate as the crying increased.
"Henry, it´s your bottle," Reid tried with a broken voice, "Don´t you want your bottle? Please, take your bottle."
Henry´s body came stiff in his arms as he cried out in a high pitch tone, his arms flying out from his small body and his feet stretched as far as they could. Almost losing his hold on the baby, Reid set it next to him on the couch and if possible, Henry´s cry just came out louder.
He was almost in tears when he realized he couldn´t handle this. He´d always been able to hand the baby over to someone else if it got fussy in his arms and he really didn´t know how to take care of such a small person. JJ and Will deserved a break and ruining their date was a last resort.
The only other person he could think of to call was Hotch. It was a logical decision Hotch was the only other parent he knew. He quickly pulled out his cell and hit the speed dial for his boss.
"Hotchner," came through the handset when Hotch picked up.
"Hotch, I think… sssshhhhh… I think I need some help," Reid almost yelled into the phone as he stared at the shrieking baby.
"Reid?" Hotch asked.
"Yeah, I´m babysitting Henry, and he peed and he went all stiff and he won´t stop crying." Even Reid could hear the desperation in his voice.
"Did you try to hold him and talk to him?" Reid could have sworn that Hotch was holding back laughter.
"Yes, I´ve tried everything I can think off but nothing is working."
"Change him? Give him a bottle?" Now Hotch was definitely chuckling.
"I tried to change him but he peed and now everything is wet. He doesn´t want his bottle… He just cries." Reid looked at the miserable child on the sofa next to him and shushed at him one more time. "Please, Hotch… ummm… I don´t want ruin JJ´s date and I…"
"I´ll be there ASAP."
"Thank you," Reid breathed out in relief and sniffled as he hung up.
He took Henry again into his arms and tried to make the baby as comfortable as possible while he waited for rescue. The infant didn´t seem to like his attempts as his loud cries only stopped to draw in a new breath for a long cry of discomfort.
Thirteen long minutes later there was a knock on the door and Reid let his boss inside. "Here, you take him," Reid said as soon as Hotch had pulled his jacket off and thrown it over a nearby chair. He stepped into Hotch´s personal space and carefully set the baby in his arms. Reid quickly stepped back and put his hands in his pockets. Hotch smiled at Reid. Reid wasn´t sure if the older man was smiling at his relief of being free of the child or if he was smiling at Reid´s discomfort around the baby. Reid noticed how easily Hotch cradled the baby and patted his bottom as he rocked him slightly and a small hint of envy settled in him when Henry seemed to agree with this method.
"Where´s the nursery?" Hotch asked.
"Upstairs," Reid said and walked ahead up the stairs and led them to Henry´s room.
Hotch carefully set the baby down on the changing table and unfolded the towels. "You really made some mess, little guy," Hotch said to the baby as he started undressing him. Henry had quieted down and was now intensely studying this new face in his vision.
Reid watched him as he pulled one limb at the time through the sleeves. "I don´t understand why JJ insisted on me babysitting, I don´t know anything about taking care of babies."
"You are his Godfather, babysitting comes with that title." Hotch carefully pulled the top from underneath the child´s head.
"The book said nothing about peeing outside their diapers," Reid said desperately.
Hotch stopped midway of pulling Henry´s arm through the baby suit and gave Reid a puzzled look. "The book?"
Reid realized he´d said too much and became self conscious as color rose in his cheeks. "Garcia gave me a book about childcare, I guess it was a joke."
"No, Reid," Hotch said patiently and resumed his task, "The book is just a guide, each child is different. While some are fussy all the time and perhaps sleep in short intervals, others are very good and can sleep for six hours a night."
Reid wasn´t so sure. He watched as Hotch pulled the suit from underneath the baby. "You´re good at this," he stated and found comfort in the knowledge that Hotch seemed to know exactly what to do.
"I´ve had some practice. That´s all it takes," Hotch said and flashed him a small, relaxed smile. "We have to give this little guy a bath. Can you run the bath water? Just lukewarm."
"Uhhh, sure," Reid answered. The book had indicated something about testing the bathwater with your elbow. He went to the bathroom and saw a small tub inside the large bathtub. Rolling up his sleeves he mixed the water and he carefully filled it until it was one quarter full. "Ready," he announced as he entered the nursery.
He watched Hotch pick the child up with ease and carry him to the bathroom. Once there, Hotch turned around and handed the baby to Reid. "Get a good grip on his left shoulder and let the head rest on your arm," Hotch told Reid as he moved away. "When you lower him into the water, carefully put his toes in first so he´ll get used to the water and then slowly lower him in."
Reid swallowed, a small panic settled in as he might drown the baby. He gave Hotch a quick glance. "You´ll tell me if I´m doing something wrong."
Hotch smiled at him. "Of course, but you´re doing fine."
Reid set the baby in the water. Henry didn´t even flinch and Reid breathed. Hotch handed him a washcloth and Reid stroked the baby down. Hotch kneeled beside him and a small chuckle came from him as Henry kicked in the water, splashing a little. Feeling all kinds of warm with the older man mere inches away, Reid focused on the small wet baby in his hands instead of the way Hotch was smiling and playing with the baby.
"Jack loved to take a bath when he was a baby. Sometimes we bathed him in the middle of the night if his being extra fussy. It seemed to soothe him," Hotch said and moved his fingers in front of the baby.
The young man turned his head in surprise, but quickly returned his attention to the task at hand. "Babies are much more work than I anticipated," Reid stated.
"Yeah," Hotch agreed with a chuckle, "but in the long run it´s worth every bit of it."
Hotch found a large towel and kneeled next the tub with it over his arms. Reid lifted Henry into his arms and folded the towel over Henry´s body, leaving his small face exposed.
Back in the nursery, Hotch dried the small body and then held out a diaper to Reid.
Taking a small step backwards, Reid sent him a look of doubt. "What?"
"It doesn´t take a genius to put a diaper on a baby," Hotch claimed and obviously was trying very hard to hold back laughter. "If you´re going to babysit on a regular basis, you´re going to have to know how to change a diaper. I can write down instructions if you think that will help." Hotch couldn´t hold his laughter in any more.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Reid pouted taking the diaper and switching places with the other man. Hotch set his hand on Reid shoulder and gave it a short squeeze before pulling it back as to make sure he hadn´t meant any harm with the joke. The warmth of the hand gave him a strange reassurance and Reid smiled shyly and turned his attention to the task at hand.
"Take his ankles in one hand. Carefully, put a finger between them so you won´t hurt him," Hotch gently told Reid.
"Now lift up his bottom and slide the diaper under him. Ease him down and pull the diaper up between his legs."
As soon as Reid let go of his feet, Henry started kicking in all directions, making it hard for Reid to get to the diaper. "Use the side of your palms to gently push his legs apart," Hotch instructed and Reid followed his instructions to the tee. A small smile of relief broke out when he finally managed to fasten the flaps.
Handing him a new set of PJ´s and a clean bodysuit he´d found in a dresser on the other side of the room, the older man talked Reid through dressing the baby. Standing side by side Hotch gently helping him tuck and hold limbs when he seemed stuck.
"He won´t break," Hotch said when Reid struggled to get the left arm into the sleeve. "Just give the elbow a little push and it should slide right in."
"I know," Reid said as the fingers peeked from the sleeves. "Infant´s bones are mostly made up of cartilage which is very soft and flexible. As the infant grows older the cartilage is replaced by bone cells and making the bones…hard. When a baby is born it has approximately three hund-"
An elbow was shot into his side and Reid looked up to see a smiling Hotch. He´d been rambling again. "Sorry," he said and turned his attention back to baby. He finished pulling the shirt down and turned the baby onto his side, as Hotch had taught him, to pull down the back.
Feeling accomplished when the baby was finally dressed, Reid gave Hotch a short smile and Hotch returned the favor, giving him a small pat on the shoulder. "You two get comfortable," he pointed to a rocking chair in one corner, "and I´ll heat up a bottle."
Reid picked up the baby and cradled him in his arms. Carefully taking a seat in the chair, he automatically started rocking them. He looked down at his godson, terrified that the infant would start crying again. He touched the small palm and Henry instantly wrapped his fingers around it. Grasping reflex, Reid thought, but found it strangely comforting to have the child holding his finger.
"When you´re older I´m going to teach you how to play chess," Reid spoke softly to the baby and gave him a genuine smile. Henry seemed fascinated with him as he stared at him with curiosity.
"Or maybe I can take you to the park and push you on the swings. Give you some ice cream, but we won´t tell JJ because you haven´t had your dinner yet," Reid shook his head over the silliness, but he knew talking to infants was important for their brain development.
Henry stared at him and all of a sudden his face lit up in a bright smile, as if to answer this odd man. Even if Reid knew that the baby was only mimicking his expression he couldn´t hold back a small chuckle and a sincere smile. "Yeah, I knew you´d like that."
Hotch chose that moment to reappear with a warm bottle. Reid accepted the bottle and carefully put the teat into Henry´s mouth. Instantly the baby started sucking, still staring at the strange man above him.
"Ever want any kids of your own?" Hotch asked and looked down at them with a smile.
Shaking his head, Reid glanced up at him before quickly setting his eyes back on the baby. "No, I don´t think so."
"Why not?" Hotch asked as he set his hand on Reid´s shoulder. "Relax, or you´ll get a headache fast."
Letting out a long breath, Reid relaxed his shoulders before getting more comfortable in the chair. Hotch took a seat on the floor, settling against the changing table and watching them.
Reid focused his gaze on the baby while he gathered his thoughts. When he spoke he knew he was just quoting statistics. "There is a 15% chance that I could inherit my mother´s schizophrenia and 10% chance that my child would."
The only sound in the room was Henry´s quiet sucking.
"I´m not sure I could…" Reid didn´t trust himself to finish the sentence and glanced at Hotch who nodded his understanding.
The hard work of feeding and the earlier outburst along with the bath had exhausted the tiny body and Henry soon fell asleep in Reid´s arms. Hotch talked him through the burping and Reid couldn´t help but smile as he felt the air leave the small body tucked into his shoulder.
Reid laid Henry carefully down in his crib and gently set his blanket over him. The baby let out a long sigh of contentment in his sleep and Reid hid a timid smile.
Back downstairs, Hotch grabbed his jacket and Reid looked at him with surprise. "You´re… uhmm… leaving?"
"Reid, you´ll be fine. He´ll probably sleep for the next four to six hours."
"And if he wakes up? What am I supposed to do?" Reid replied worried.
"Exactly the same thing you just did. Hold him, talk to him, and see if he needs a new diaper." Hotch slipped his jacket on and opened the door.
Reid looked down, chewing the inside of his lower lip, his hands going around his torso before he gave a small nod to Hotch.
"I´ll see you Monday," Hotch said with a small smile.
"Thank you… umm… for everything," Reid mumbled as Hotch walked out the door.
"Anytime, Reid," Hotch said and waved at him as he hurried down the stairs.
Reid watched as he got to his car before closing the door behind him.
Reid tidied around the best he could before folding himself into a recliner in the living room watching television after making sure the baby monitor was on. At quarter to eleven, he heard JJ and Will return home.
"Hi," she said cheerfully as she walked into the house. "How did it go? Was he fussy?"
"It… ummm… went okay,"Reid said and dug his hands into his pockets.
"See, I told you you´d be fine," JJ said with a wide smile and set her hand on his upper arm. "So when are you going to babysit again?"
"In five years, maybe," Reid said seriously but his answer made JJ and Will laugh.
"I´m just going to run upstairs and check on him," Will drawled out and gave Reid a quick wave. "Thank you very much for sitting with him."
JJ walked Reid to the door. "I owe you one," she said quietly with a smile. "Thank you."
"Don´t mention it. I´ll… ahhh… see you Monday," Reid replied awkwardly. He opened the door and JJ nodded at him.
"Good night, Spence."
"Good night, JJ."
Chapter 2
Free Hit Counter
Author: ice_ziggee
Rating: FRC (Fluff)
Pairing: Hotch/Reid.
Other characters (this chapter): JJ, Will, baby Henry.
Beta: holdur I owe you big time, THANK YOU!!!
X-posted at cm_hotch_reid & criminalxminds
Summary: Hotch does Reid a favor.
**
"Friendship is an arrangement by which we
undertake to exchange small favors for big ones."
- Charles De Montesquieu
January 24th, 2009
JJ and Will´s house, Saturday at 7pm.
"JJ, are you sure this is a good idea?" Reid asked nervously as he watched two of his friends get ready to leave the house.
"Spence, you´ll be fine," JJ reassured the young man as she slid her arms into the coat her fiancé held out for her. "You know where everything is and I assume your numbers if anything comes up."
Reid chewed the inside of his cheek nervously. "I don´t know anything about babies," he said trying to convince one of his closest friends what an awful idea this was.
JJ walked up to him with a smile she used on every stubborn officer they came across. "I´ve seen you with Henry, you are wonderful and beside, I saw the baby book on your desk."
"Garcia gave me that… and… it was for a profile," Reid stammered.
"And you´re a lousy liar," JJ chuckled. She set her hand on his upper arm. "You´re going to fine, just trust your instincts."
Reid´s eyebrows shot upward as he looked pleadingly at JJ. "Actually, men lack the maternal instinct that most woman…."
Setting the tip of her finger on his mouth to shut him up, JJ said sternly; "Don´t even try it." She pulled her finger away as she seemed to have quieted Reid down. "We´ll be home at eleven at the latest."
Will walked over to them. "Spence, you worry too much," he drawled and gave the young man a good pat on the shoulder, "Ready, sweetie," he asked JJ who nodded in return.
Nodding toward the fidgeting young man in his living room, Will shot him grin before following JJ out of the house and closing the door behind him.
Reid was left alone in the house with a two month old.
Reid slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor, his head hung down in worry over the responsibility that he´d been forced to take on as Garcia had called in sick. He took two steps into the nursery and stood on his toes in order to peek into the crib on the other side of the room. Sleeping on his back was baby Henry, his hands splayed out from his torso, his chest rising and falling in a way that eased the young man´s mind.
Upon returning to the living room, Reid got comfortable on the sofa and reached for his messenger bag, pulling out the baby book Garcia had given him. Glancing through it wouldn´t do any harm even though he had every technique memorized. As he turned the pages his eyes darted to the baby monitor on the table next to him.
A small cry startled Reid from the last pages of the book. He looked at the monitor that indicated the rise and fall of the cries in multi colors. Reid took the stairs two at the time and rushed to the nursery.
"Hey, there… Henry," he whispered to the baby who stopped crying at the semi-familiar voice. Reid lifted the baby into his arms, careful of supporting the head. JJ had told him that Henry would probably stay awake for about half an hour before wanting another bottle and that he should use that time to change him and talk to him. Reid set the baby down on the changing table, his eyes locked with the baby´s blue ones and he smiled awkwardly.
"Ummm… I need to change your diaper," Reid told the infant. The only reply was Henry moving his hands to his mouth, staring at the odd man above him and kicking in delight at the attention.
"Henry, I think… umm… you need to lie still for this part," Reid mumbled and reached for the snaps by the feet on the baby´s coveralls. As Henry´s feet got free his kicking increased, making it difficult to reach the snaps on the body suit. He got kicked a few times but got the snaps undone.
He removed the diaper and put it in the small trashcan next to the table. Pulling some baby wipes from the box next to him, he awkwardly patted down the child´s bottom and front. To his horror the child went completely still and all of a sudden a small fountain rose from the baby as he emptied his bladder. Reid jumped away with a yelp.
When the shower died down, Reid quickly returned to his post. "You made everything wet," he exclaimed as he pulled more and more wipes from the box in an attempt to dry up the mess. The baby book had said nothing of sudden showers from infants.
As Reid tried to put the diaper on him, Henry rubbed his nose and gave a small whine to indicate his discomfort.
"No, it´s okay," Reid said to the whimpering child, "I´m just not very good at this." Giving up on the diaper, he grabbed a towel that lay under the box of wipes and wrapped it around the child´s lower half. Clumsily picking up the baby he mumbled, "I told your mom this was a bad idea." Henry cried out his agreement.
Heading downstairs and to the kitchen, Reid desperately tried to comfort the crying infant. While the bottle heated he walked around shushing and talking, but the only result was fiercer crying from Henry.
Henry didn´t want the bottle. No matter how hard Reid tried to put the teat into his mouth or caress it against his cheek like the book said, he didn´t latch on. Reid sat with him on the couch becoming more desperate as the crying increased.
"Henry, it´s your bottle," Reid tried with a broken voice, "Don´t you want your bottle? Please, take your bottle."
Henry´s body came stiff in his arms as he cried out in a high pitch tone, his arms flying out from his small body and his feet stretched as far as they could. Almost losing his hold on the baby, Reid set it next to him on the couch and if possible, Henry´s cry just came out louder.
He was almost in tears when he realized he couldn´t handle this. He´d always been able to hand the baby over to someone else if it got fussy in his arms and he really didn´t know how to take care of such a small person. JJ and Will deserved a break and ruining their date was a last resort.
The only other person he could think of to call was Hotch. It was a logical decision Hotch was the only other parent he knew. He quickly pulled out his cell and hit the speed dial for his boss.
"Hotchner," came through the handset when Hotch picked up.
"Hotch, I think… sssshhhhh… I think I need some help," Reid almost yelled into the phone as he stared at the shrieking baby.
"Reid?" Hotch asked.
"Yeah, I´m babysitting Henry, and he peed and he went all stiff and he won´t stop crying." Even Reid could hear the desperation in his voice.
"Did you try to hold him and talk to him?" Reid could have sworn that Hotch was holding back laughter.
"Yes, I´ve tried everything I can think off but nothing is working."
"Change him? Give him a bottle?" Now Hotch was definitely chuckling.
"I tried to change him but he peed and now everything is wet. He doesn´t want his bottle… He just cries." Reid looked at the miserable child on the sofa next to him and shushed at him one more time. "Please, Hotch… ummm… I don´t want ruin JJ´s date and I…"
"I´ll be there ASAP."
"Thank you," Reid breathed out in relief and sniffled as he hung up.
He took Henry again into his arms and tried to make the baby as comfortable as possible while he waited for rescue. The infant didn´t seem to like his attempts as his loud cries only stopped to draw in a new breath for a long cry of discomfort.
Thirteen long minutes later there was a knock on the door and Reid let his boss inside. "Here, you take him," Reid said as soon as Hotch had pulled his jacket off and thrown it over a nearby chair. He stepped into Hotch´s personal space and carefully set the baby in his arms. Reid quickly stepped back and put his hands in his pockets. Hotch smiled at Reid. Reid wasn´t sure if the older man was smiling at his relief of being free of the child or if he was smiling at Reid´s discomfort around the baby. Reid noticed how easily Hotch cradled the baby and patted his bottom as he rocked him slightly and a small hint of envy settled in him when Henry seemed to agree with this method.
"Where´s the nursery?" Hotch asked.
"Upstairs," Reid said and walked ahead up the stairs and led them to Henry´s room.
Hotch carefully set the baby down on the changing table and unfolded the towels. "You really made some mess, little guy," Hotch said to the baby as he started undressing him. Henry had quieted down and was now intensely studying this new face in his vision.
Reid watched him as he pulled one limb at the time through the sleeves. "I don´t understand why JJ insisted on me babysitting, I don´t know anything about taking care of babies."
"You are his Godfather, babysitting comes with that title." Hotch carefully pulled the top from underneath the child´s head.
"The book said nothing about peeing outside their diapers," Reid said desperately.
Hotch stopped midway of pulling Henry´s arm through the baby suit and gave Reid a puzzled look. "The book?"
Reid realized he´d said too much and became self conscious as color rose in his cheeks. "Garcia gave me a book about childcare, I guess it was a joke."
"No, Reid," Hotch said patiently and resumed his task, "The book is just a guide, each child is different. While some are fussy all the time and perhaps sleep in short intervals, others are very good and can sleep for six hours a night."
Reid wasn´t so sure. He watched as Hotch pulled the suit from underneath the baby. "You´re good at this," he stated and found comfort in the knowledge that Hotch seemed to know exactly what to do.
"I´ve had some practice. That´s all it takes," Hotch said and flashed him a small, relaxed smile. "We have to give this little guy a bath. Can you run the bath water? Just lukewarm."
"Uhhh, sure," Reid answered. The book had indicated something about testing the bathwater with your elbow. He went to the bathroom and saw a small tub inside the large bathtub. Rolling up his sleeves he mixed the water and he carefully filled it until it was one quarter full. "Ready," he announced as he entered the nursery.
He watched Hotch pick the child up with ease and carry him to the bathroom. Once there, Hotch turned around and handed the baby to Reid. "Get a good grip on his left shoulder and let the head rest on your arm," Hotch told Reid as he moved away. "When you lower him into the water, carefully put his toes in first so he´ll get used to the water and then slowly lower him in."
Reid swallowed, a small panic settled in as he might drown the baby. He gave Hotch a quick glance. "You´ll tell me if I´m doing something wrong."
Hotch smiled at him. "Of course, but you´re doing fine."
Reid set the baby in the water. Henry didn´t even flinch and Reid breathed. Hotch handed him a washcloth and Reid stroked the baby down. Hotch kneeled beside him and a small chuckle came from him as Henry kicked in the water, splashing a little. Feeling all kinds of warm with the older man mere inches away, Reid focused on the small wet baby in his hands instead of the way Hotch was smiling and playing with the baby.
"Jack loved to take a bath when he was a baby. Sometimes we bathed him in the middle of the night if his being extra fussy. It seemed to soothe him," Hotch said and moved his fingers in front of the baby.
The young man turned his head in surprise, but quickly returned his attention to the task at hand. "Babies are much more work than I anticipated," Reid stated.
"Yeah," Hotch agreed with a chuckle, "but in the long run it´s worth every bit of it."
Hotch found a large towel and kneeled next the tub with it over his arms. Reid lifted Henry into his arms and folded the towel over Henry´s body, leaving his small face exposed.
Back in the nursery, Hotch dried the small body and then held out a diaper to Reid.
Taking a small step backwards, Reid sent him a look of doubt. "What?"
"It doesn´t take a genius to put a diaper on a baby," Hotch claimed and obviously was trying very hard to hold back laughter. "If you´re going to babysit on a regular basis, you´re going to have to know how to change a diaper. I can write down instructions if you think that will help." Hotch couldn´t hold his laughter in any more.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Reid pouted taking the diaper and switching places with the other man. Hotch set his hand on Reid shoulder and gave it a short squeeze before pulling it back as to make sure he hadn´t meant any harm with the joke. The warmth of the hand gave him a strange reassurance and Reid smiled shyly and turned his attention to the task at hand.
"Take his ankles in one hand. Carefully, put a finger between them so you won´t hurt him," Hotch gently told Reid.
"Now lift up his bottom and slide the diaper under him. Ease him down and pull the diaper up between his legs."
As soon as Reid let go of his feet, Henry started kicking in all directions, making it hard for Reid to get to the diaper. "Use the side of your palms to gently push his legs apart," Hotch instructed and Reid followed his instructions to the tee. A small smile of relief broke out when he finally managed to fasten the flaps.
Handing him a new set of PJ´s and a clean bodysuit he´d found in a dresser on the other side of the room, the older man talked Reid through dressing the baby. Standing side by side Hotch gently helping him tuck and hold limbs when he seemed stuck.
"He won´t break," Hotch said when Reid struggled to get the left arm into the sleeve. "Just give the elbow a little push and it should slide right in."
"I know," Reid said as the fingers peeked from the sleeves. "Infant´s bones are mostly made up of cartilage which is very soft and flexible. As the infant grows older the cartilage is replaced by bone cells and making the bones…hard. When a baby is born it has approximately three hund-"
An elbow was shot into his side and Reid looked up to see a smiling Hotch. He´d been rambling again. "Sorry," he said and turned his attention back to baby. He finished pulling the shirt down and turned the baby onto his side, as Hotch had taught him, to pull down the back.
Feeling accomplished when the baby was finally dressed, Reid gave Hotch a short smile and Hotch returned the favor, giving him a small pat on the shoulder. "You two get comfortable," he pointed to a rocking chair in one corner, "and I´ll heat up a bottle."
Reid picked up the baby and cradled him in his arms. Carefully taking a seat in the chair, he automatically started rocking them. He looked down at his godson, terrified that the infant would start crying again. He touched the small palm and Henry instantly wrapped his fingers around it. Grasping reflex, Reid thought, but found it strangely comforting to have the child holding his finger.
"When you´re older I´m going to teach you how to play chess," Reid spoke softly to the baby and gave him a genuine smile. Henry seemed fascinated with him as he stared at him with curiosity.
"Or maybe I can take you to the park and push you on the swings. Give you some ice cream, but we won´t tell JJ because you haven´t had your dinner yet," Reid shook his head over the silliness, but he knew talking to infants was important for their brain development.
Henry stared at him and all of a sudden his face lit up in a bright smile, as if to answer this odd man. Even if Reid knew that the baby was only mimicking his expression he couldn´t hold back a small chuckle and a sincere smile. "Yeah, I knew you´d like that."
Hotch chose that moment to reappear with a warm bottle. Reid accepted the bottle and carefully put the teat into Henry´s mouth. Instantly the baby started sucking, still staring at the strange man above him.
"Ever want any kids of your own?" Hotch asked and looked down at them with a smile.
Shaking his head, Reid glanced up at him before quickly setting his eyes back on the baby. "No, I don´t think so."
"Why not?" Hotch asked as he set his hand on Reid´s shoulder. "Relax, or you´ll get a headache fast."
Letting out a long breath, Reid relaxed his shoulders before getting more comfortable in the chair. Hotch took a seat on the floor, settling against the changing table and watching them.
Reid focused his gaze on the baby while he gathered his thoughts. When he spoke he knew he was just quoting statistics. "There is a 15% chance that I could inherit my mother´s schizophrenia and 10% chance that my child would."
The only sound in the room was Henry´s quiet sucking.
"I´m not sure I could…" Reid didn´t trust himself to finish the sentence and glanced at Hotch who nodded his understanding.
The hard work of feeding and the earlier outburst along with the bath had exhausted the tiny body and Henry soon fell asleep in Reid´s arms. Hotch talked him through the burping and Reid couldn´t help but smile as he felt the air leave the small body tucked into his shoulder.
Reid laid Henry carefully down in his crib and gently set his blanket over him. The baby let out a long sigh of contentment in his sleep and Reid hid a timid smile.
Back downstairs, Hotch grabbed his jacket and Reid looked at him with surprise. "You´re… uhmm… leaving?"
"Reid, you´ll be fine. He´ll probably sleep for the next four to six hours."
"And if he wakes up? What am I supposed to do?" Reid replied worried.
"Exactly the same thing you just did. Hold him, talk to him, and see if he needs a new diaper." Hotch slipped his jacket on and opened the door.
Reid looked down, chewing the inside of his lower lip, his hands going around his torso before he gave a small nod to Hotch.
"I´ll see you Monday," Hotch said with a small smile.
"Thank you… umm… for everything," Reid mumbled as Hotch walked out the door.
"Anytime, Reid," Hotch said and waved at him as he hurried down the stairs.
Reid watched as he got to his car before closing the door behind him.
Reid tidied around the best he could before folding himself into a recliner in the living room watching television after making sure the baby monitor was on. At quarter to eleven, he heard JJ and Will return home.
"Hi," she said cheerfully as she walked into the house. "How did it go? Was he fussy?"
"It… ummm… went okay,"Reid said and dug his hands into his pockets.
"See, I told you you´d be fine," JJ said with a wide smile and set her hand on his upper arm. "So when are you going to babysit again?"
"In five years, maybe," Reid said seriously but his answer made JJ and Will laugh.
"I´m just going to run upstairs and check on him," Will drawled out and gave Reid a quick wave. "Thank you very much for sitting with him."
JJ walked Reid to the door. "I owe you one," she said quietly with a smile. "Thank you."
"Don´t mention it. I´ll… ahhh… see you Monday," Reid replied awkwardly. He opened the door and JJ nodded at him.
"Good night, Spence."
"Good night, JJ."
Chapter 2
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