Growing Up Again

Eight Years Old

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Hotch woke first, yawning and stretching, and then looking down.  And sure enough, Spencer was in the bed with him.  He sighed and shook his head, but smiled, leaned in and kissed his cheek.  Reid sucked in a deep breath, and blinked open his brown eyes.  Hotch smiled.

 

“Good morning, Spencer.”  He said, gently.  “Time to get up.  We have a big day ahead of us.”

 

“Where are we going?”  Reid asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes before putting on a new pair of glasses, this pair held together by tape and glue in the middle…  Hotch hadn’t been pleased, but they were the best pair from when Reid was nine…  the pair from when he was eight was in pieces…

 

The pair got out of bed and Reid shuffled out of the room to go get dressed.  When Hotch finally made it downstairs, Reid was already sitting at the table, eating some cereal.  Hotch joined him, and finally, they were getting buckled up in the car.

 

The drive was an hour and a half, and eight year old Reid seemed content to listen to the Classical music station the entire way, amusing Hotch with the random odd little fact or statistic that was triggered by the sight of something they drove past.

 

But finally, they arrived.

 

“Old MacDonald Farm?”  Reid asked, quirking a brow.  “You have to be kidding me.  Are the owners’ names REALLY MacDonald?”

 

“It’s owned by Annalise and Robert Durham.”  Hotch said.  “Annalise’s maiden name is MacDonald.  And it is her old family farm.”

 

“…  Okay.  As long as it’s REALLY their name.”  Reid said calmly.  “…  CHICKENS!!!”  Hotch jumped slightly at Reid’s sudden delighted shout.  The boy turned to grin up at his caretaker, then turned to look back at the flock of chickens pecking at the ground.  “And COWS!!!  What else do they have?!”

 

“You’ll see.”  Hotch said.

 

“I can see them!?” Reid gasped.  “Up close?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“…  Can I touch them?”

 

“We’ll find out, okay son?”

 

“YEAH!!!”  Reid gasped.  Hotch was pleasantly surprised.  His adult lover would have hated this…  But the child was all ready to go.  Hotch parked in front of the little farm house, and a woman about age sixty walked out in a dress that felt to halfway between her knees and ankles, and she was wearing an apron.  She wore little sandals, and had her hair up in a bun.

 

“You must be Mr. Hotchner.”  She greeted, walking over and holding out her hand.  Hotch smiled and accepted it. 

 

“I am.  Pleased to meet you.”

 

“And YOU must be Spencer.”  She turned and shook Reid’s little hand.  “Welcome to the family farm.  I’m Annalise.  Just call me Anna.”

 

“What kind of chickens are those?!”  Reid demanded to know immediately, swiveling about to look at the chickens again.  Anna grinned.

 

“Well,”  she said, grinning at Hotch, “I have two kinds of chickens here.  You see they’re kept separate.”  And she showed him how one type of chicken, a reddish brown kind, was kept in the field on the north side of the road, and a flock of black and white chickens on the south side.  “See that handsome rooster there?  That’s my baby, Chanticleer.  He’s a New Hampshire chicken, as are those hens with him.  And these lovelies here are Dominique chickens.”

 

“Cool…”  Reid breathed.

 

“You ready to get started?”  Anna asked.

 

“What are we going to do?!”  Reid asked, bouncing around excitedly.  Hotch chuckled, at this energetic enthusiasm.

 

“Well,”  Anna said, taking the little boy’s hand and leading him across the farm, “I’m going to show you how to take care of all the animals!”

 

“Even the horses?!”

 

“Even the horses.”  She confirmed.  “would you like to try riding one?”

 

“…  Can I?!”

 

“Ask Mr. Hotchner.”

 

“Can I, Aaron!?”  The boy begged, whirling and looking up at his caretaker.  The man smiled at the shine in the child’s eyes.

 

“Sure, buddy.”

 

“YES!”  Reid cheered, jumping up and punching the air.  Anna smiled in delight at the child’s happiness.

 

“We can do that after lunch, then.”  She said.  “Because we have a lot of chores to do!”

 

“Where do we start?!”

 

“We wash our hands, grab some warm water, clothes, a pail and stool and head to the barn!”  She said.  And so the trio did.  And when they arrived, there were five cows waiting to be milked.

 

“We’re gonna milk the cows?!”  Reid gasped, eyes wide in amazement.

 

“Yes we are.”  She said with a smile.  “Now.  You two will watch me milk Janet, here—“

 

“Her name is Janet?”  Reid blinked.

 

“Her name is Janet.  And then you two will milk the others.”

 

“Okay!”  Reid gasped, and moved to squat next to Anna to get a good look at what she was doing.  She picked up one of the clothes, dipping it into the bucket of warm water.  “First, you wanna clean her udder.”  She said, wiping down the swollen udder.  Reid made a funny face.  “Then, put the pail underneath it…”  Reid moved in and scooted the pail under the udder.  “Thank you, dear.”  Anna said with a smile.  “Now, take the teats into your palms,” she demonstrated, “Then squeeze, pressing it between your thumb and forefinger, like this.”  Reid’s eyes lit up when she gave the teats firm tugs, squeezing, and streams of milk shot into the pail.  “Find your own rhythm.”

 

“And…  and you milk the cows twice a day, right?”  Reid asked breathlessly.

 

“that’s right.”  She said, smiling down at the child beside her.  Hotch smiled, moving to kneel beside Reid to see how the woman was milking the cow.  He reached out and placed a hand on the child’s head stroking his hair.  Reid turned and blinked up at him, then smiled and turned, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist in a hug.  Hotch smiled and kissed the top of his head, curling his own arm around narrow shoulders.

 

Finally, Anna was finished, and she monitored the pair as they chose their own cows to milk.  Hotch chose one named Bella, and Reid chose one named Marian.  Anna knelt down beside Reid. 

 

“If your hands get tired and you want a break, just let me know, okay, sweetie?”

 

 

“Okay.”  Reid nodded, carefully cleaning the udder.  “It feels funny!”  Anna grinned at him, then watched him begin the milking.  But after several tugs, nothing was coming out.

 

“AH!”  Hotch yelped, jumping as he managed to get milk to shoot into the bucket.  Reid crinkled his nose, making a face.  He wasn’t used to people figuring things out before him…

 

“Here…  let me help.”  Anna said, reaching out and covering Reid’s hands with her own, guiding his fingers.  Reid blinked, concentrating on what he SHOULD be doing.  “There we go…  see?”

 

“Uh huh.”  Reid nodded. 

 

“Okay…  try again.”  This time, Reid frowned, and then jumped and grinned as milk splashed into the bucket.

 

“I did it, Aaron!”  He cheered, and Hotch grinned.

 

“Good job, buddy.”  He  answered, looking over the little boy.  Anna smiled at the pair, then plucked the digital camera from Hotch’s coat pocket and snapped some pictures of them, first startling, but then pleasing Hotch.

 

He soon found that milking a cow could be quite the workout, but he did manage to finish, and covered the pail with a cloth.  Then he went to see how Reid was doing.  The little boy was obviously tired, and Anna had set herself on a stool on the other side of Marian and was helping him milk.  Hotch moved and knelt behind Reid, kissing the top of his head and helping him finish the cow.

 

“Good job!”  Anna complimented when they finished.  “would you like to rest or—“

 

“Let’s finish milking the cows!”  Reid cheered, carrying his stool over to the next cow, where he settled down, shoved a pail under her and cleaning the udder before he started milking with tired little hands.  Hotch and Anna exchanged grins.

 

“Help him with Bonnie.  I’ll milk Denise.”  Anna said and Hotch nodded, setting up his stool on the opposite side of the cow to his eight year old charge.  The trio milked the last two cows, Reid gasping out facts about cows and milking between gasps of breath, which kept the adults smiling.  Finally, when they were done, they washed their hands and looked at their five buckets of milk.  Anna and Hotch each took two, and Reid scuttled alongside them with the fifth, taking care not to slosh the contents out on the ground.  When they got to the house, Anna’s husband, Robert, met them and took the milk, shaking hands with Hotch, and kneeling down to shake hands with Reid.

 

“Y’all did a good job.”  He said, checking how much milk they had managed to get. 

 

“Alrighty.”  Anna said, looking at Reid.  “Now, while Robert milks the goats, we’re going to go feed the chickens!”  Reid perked right up, all traces of fatigue from milking the cows vanishing.  Hotch smiled and shook his head.  A few minutes later, he and Anna were walking across the farm with Reid between them, holding his hands.  In their other hands, they were carrying buckets of feed.  The chickens came running.  Holding the bucket in their arms, Hotch lowering his for Reid to reach every moment or so, they scooped up hands full of feed and began to scatter it around on the ground, watching the chickens run amok, pecking at the ground.

 

Things went smoothly with the Dominique chickens, but when Reid tried to pat one of the New Hampshire chickens, Chanticleer let out a throaty crow and the next thing Hotch knew, Reid was screaming and running across the lawn, the rooster at his heels.

 

“CHANTICLEER!”  Anna shouted, obviously shocked at the sudden aggressive move from her rooster.  Robert came walking around the side of the house and caught Reid as he ran by, lifting him into the air with a booming “Whoa!  Where’s the fire?!  Oh…  Chanticleer, you stupid…”  and he aimed a kick at the bird, who dodged and ran back towards the other chickens.  Anna howled at her husband for trying to kick the rooster, but the man just walked over, holding a couple of wire baskets in one hand and Reid in the other.

 

“How about we let Anna finish feeding the chickens.”  Robert was chuckling at the child under his arm.  “I could use some help collecting the eggs!”

 

“REALLY!?”  Reid gasped, eyes widening as his glasses slipped down on his nose.

 

“Really!”  Robert announced, and carried Reid towards the chicken coops and the hen house.

 

Hotch and Anna watched him go.

 

“You really are an Angel from Heaven for that boy, Mr. Hotchner.”  She said, turning and looking at him.  Hotch blinked, surprised.  “God bless you for doing all of this for him, the poor lamb.”  He was now confused.  She smiled.  “Miss Penelope told me all about it when she called to make your reservation.  She’s a sweet lady.”  She then turned and looked back at Reid.  “How any father could abandon a child, much less such a sweet, intelligent thing like little Spencer…  His mother must be heart broken, being separated from her little boy, locked up in that hospital.”

 

Hotch’s mind raced as he pieced together what Garcia must have told Anna.

 

“He has no family.”  He finally said.  “I couldn’t just let him go into the Foster Care system.  He’s…  a very sensitive child with…  special needs.”

 

“They all are, Mr. Hotchner.  But the fact that you’ve taken that poor little thing in…  He loves you like his own daddy.  I can tell.”  And she smiled up at him.  “Why don’t you go with him?  I’ll finish up with this.”

 

“thank you.”  Hotch said, and headed for the chicken coop.  He stepped into the hen house, and smiled at the sight of Reid with Robert, reaching under an annoyed looking chicken and pulling out some lovely brown eggs, setting them carefully into the basket. 

 

“Now, you let me get the eggs from HER.  She’s mean.”  Robert said when Reid walked over to another chicken.  And sure enough, she was pecking Robert’s hand the entire time he was taking her eggs.  He scolded her playfully, making Reid laugh.  Then Reid grabbed Hotch’s hand and pulled him over to another chicken and showed him how to get the eggs from under the disgruntled bird.

 

When they finally emerged from the hen house with dozens of eggs in the wire baskets, they were surprised to find that it was almost one in the afternoon.  Anna was waving them into the little farm house, and when they came in there was lunch on the table.  Anna cheerfully lifted Reid up at the sink to wash his hands, and then set him on a chair at the table. 

 

“Here we go.”  She said with a smile, setting a plate down before him.  “Eat up before the farm gets crazy.”

 

“Gets crazy?”  Hotch asked, washing his hands at the kitchen sink.

 

“We got a school field trip comin’ in this afternoon.”  Robert said.  “Can be hard to keep the kids corralled.  Especially when they decide it’s fun to chase the chickens.”  And he snorted, scowling.

 

“Alrighty…  dig in, everyone.”  Anna said, sitting down.  Reid sized his glass of lemonade and nearly drained it right off the bat before taking a big bite of his sandwich.

 

“Mmm!”  He announced, happily.

 

“You like that turkey?”  Anna asked, and Reid nodded.  “Well good!  Butchered it and cooked it myself!”  Hotch and Reid both froze, and looked down at their sandwiches.  Robert snorted into his own sandwich, trying to hold back the laughter.

 

“We got turkeys out back.”  He said.  “You’ll get to go feed them after lunch.”

 

“…  Return the favor, hm?”  Hotch drawled, holding back an amused smile.  “Spencer, eat your lunch.  It’s okay.”

 

“…  Okay.”  Reid mumbled, and nibbled at his sandwich.  By the time lunch was over, he seemed to have forgotten all about the morbid announcement of where the lunch had come from.  He happily helped carry the dishes to the sink, and then Hotch took him to the bathroom.  When Reid was finished and Hotch was sure that hands were washed, they followed Anna out back.  And sure enough, there was a small flock of geese and turkeys.  Reid took off running, eager eyes on the large birds.

 

“Spencer, be careful!  Geese bite!”  Hotch called after him, and Anna grinned, watching as five honking geese began running in their awkward waddling way, and the turkeys ran in the other direction.  Reid went after the geese after shooting the turkeys a nervous, and maybe guilty, look.  And so Anna carried the bucket of feed towards the turkeys and began feeding them, while Hotch anxiously followed Reid, who had chased the geese into the pond.  Once they were in the middle of the body of water, still honking indignantly, Reid turned and ran at Hotch, leaping into his arms.  Hotch smiled, standing with the little boy in his arms.

 

“What wasn’t nice.”  Hotch chuckled.

 

“Why?”  Reid asked. 

 

“This is their lunch time.  And you chased them away.”

 

“…  Oh.”  Reid said, drooping slightly.

 

“Come on.  Let’s go feed the turkeys.”  Hotch said, pressing a kiss to the little boy’s head before setting him down and watching him run towards Anna.  He pulled out the camera and snapped a few pictures, like he had been doing numerous times a day, every day.  He was grateful for Garcia’s offer to make a scrap book of Reid’s second childhood, and Hotch had to admit…  this was something he wanted to treasure and remember forever.

 

Reid helped Anna feed the turkeys, and eventually the geese came out of the pond to eat as well.  After that, they fed the pigs (Reid kept his distance from them) and then, finally, Anna led Reid to the corral where three horses were.  Reid was clutching Hotch’s hand tightly, dragging him as fast as he could.  Hotch just trotted after him, amused.  Anna knelt and gave Reid a halved apple, and showed him how to hold it before clicking her tongue to get the attention of the horses.  One perked up and turned his head, then lumbered over.  His nostrils flared as he took in the scent of the boy and the apple, and then with a gentle swipe of his soft lips over Reid’s palm, the apple was gone.

 

“This is Thundercloud.”  Anna said.  “He’s a seventeen year old Lusitano.  I hear you’re very smart…  can you tell me what his color pattern is?”

 

“Dappled Gray.”  Reid answered, calmly.  Hotch smiled slightly as he watched.  “…  Do I…  get to ride him?”

 

“If you like, and if Mr. Hotchner says it’s okay.”

 

“Aaron?!”

 

“Of course you can.”  Hotch nodded to the child, grinning as his face lit up instantly.

 

“Have you ever ridden before?”  Anna asked.

 

“Yeah!  In Wisconcin when I was…”  Reid trailed off, and Hotch froze.  Reid had been abducted at the Utah-Nevada border and taken to Wisconsin.  He had been drugged, inducing amnesia, where a country veterinarian had then tried to turn him into his dead son.  In the weeks he had been with the man, Reid had learned to ride horses.  Hotch was praying that the apparently eight year old child wouldn’t go off on a rant about where he had ridden horses before.  But instead, Reid met Hotch’s gaze, then turned and looked up at Anna.  “But… it was just a pony ride.  It was a Shetland pony, I think.  And we just walked in circles…”  Hotch smiled and gave the boy an approving nod.

 

“Well, this is a bit different from a pony.”  Anna said.

 

“…  I’ve done a lot of reading!”

 

“It’s different from reading, too.”

 

“I know.”  Reid chirped.

 

“So.  First, we’re going to saddle him up.”  Anna said, and taking Reid’s hand, led him to the barn.  Inside was a side room.  It smelled musty, like dirt, hay and old leather.  The horses’ tack hung neatly on the walls.  Each set had a little metal tag on it, with the horse’s name engraved on it.  Reid was able to gather the bridle, while Anna got the saddle and blanket.

 

“Do you know how to saddle a horse?”

 

“Yeah!”  Reid gasped, and she led him over to a large tree stump, helping him up onto it.  Thundercloud moved over to them, snuffling over Reid’s pocket, looking for a treat.  Reid giggled and pat the horse’s neck, watching as Anna tossed the blanket over Thundercloud’s back, and then laid the saddle over it, shoving it up into place.  Reid watched her bring the girth strap up under the horse’s belly, and buckled it.

 

“Okay…  can you do the bridle?”  she asked, and Reid nodded.  He placed the bit into his open palm and pressed it against the horse’s lips.  The horse opened his mouth and accepted it, playing with it a bit with his tongue and teeth.  Reid carefully placed the straps of the bridle in place and buckled them.

 

“Very good.”  Anna praised, and Reid beamed.  “Ready to mount?”  Reid nodded, and she helped him scramble into the saddle on the horse’s back.  Reid immediately took up the reins, and gave the horse a kick in the sides with his little feet.  The horse began to walk forwards.  Anna walked beside it, talking to little Spencer, who was grinning widely.  They walked around the paddock and when they passed, Hotch could hear Reid in a full on rant.

 

“—And did you know that Appaloosas have striped hooves, and that the Arab nomad tribes through that Palominos were bad luck?!  And in ‘The Black Stallion’ by Walter Farley—“  Hotch just chuckled and shook his head.  From across the paddock Reid’s shout suddenly carried back, “Man ‘O War!!!  One of the greatest racehorses EVER!!!  Born March 29^th, 1917 out of Mahuba, and by Fair Play!”  And then his voice quieted and settled into a normal speaking volume.  Anna was sending Hotch a look of amazed amusement, and he just shrugged.  Then, Reid suddenly shouted “YEAH!!!”  And kicked the horse he was riding.  The beast snorted, and then broke into a trot.  Reid started laughing as he was bounced up and down in the saddle.  Anna yelped and chased after him, eyes wide. Hotch’s eyes widened as well when the bouncing started to tilt Reid sideways.  And then it happened.  The boy toppled from the horse and onto the ground.  The horse stopped and turned around, walking over and nudging the child with his soft nose, whuffing over him.  Hotch head leapt the fence and he and Anna reached Reid at the same time.  The woman was pale and shaking.  Hotch reached out and turned Reid’s shaking body over.  And when he did, Reid burst out laughing.

 

“That was so awesome…”  the child managed to get out.  “Can I do that again?!”

 

“Oh, sweet Mary and Joseph.”  Anna gasped weakly, settling back onto her heels and touching her fingers to her forehead, down to her chest, and then from shoulder to shoulder.

 

“Uh, I think you’ve scared poor Mrs. Anna enough, Spencer…”  Hotch said, lifting the child into his arms.  Reid just grinned and reached out, petting Thundercloud.

 

“Thank you for letting me ride him.”  He said politely, smiling at Anna.  She gave him a thin smile in return, still quite shaken.  Then, the heard the roar of a large engine.

 

“And there’s the school bus.”  Anna said, smiling. 

 

“Well…  I guess that’s our cue to leave.  You’ll have your hands full enough.”  Hotch said, putting Reid down and letting him get the other half of the apple to give to Thundercloud.  “Thank you SO much for letting us come out here.” 

 

“My pleasure, Mr. Hotchner.  You’re an angel for that boy.  Bless you for taking him in like this.  He’s such a sweet child.”

 

“Yes, he is.”  Hotch nodded, then turned and caught Reid when the boy hurled himself at the man.  “Ready to go home, buddy?”

 

“No!”  Reid announced, and Anna laughed.

 

“You come back and visit me anytime, sweety.”  She said, and Reid leaned over and gave her a hug.

 

“Thank you.”  He said, and she kissed his cheek.  Then she walked them back to their car as the elementary school kids piled off of the bus, and she stood and waved goodbye as they drove away, until they were out of sight…

 

“Did you have fun, Spencer?”  Hotch asked.

 

“Yeah!!!”  Reid gasped.  “…  Can we get a horse?!”

 

“…  Uh…  Well…  Once you go back to work, Spencer…  we won’t really have time for a horse…”

 

“Oh…  yeah…”  Reid sighed.  “…  Okay…  How about a chicken?!”

 

Hotch just chuckled and turned on the radio, and by the time they got home, Reid was fast asleep.  He carried the little boy into the house, got him bathed and in pajamas, and managed to keep him awake long enough to eat a small dinner.  Then he carried him into Jack’s room and tucked him into bed.  Reid was asleep in seconds. 

 

And so Hotch headed upstairs, showered, got into his pajamas and then went to his study to check his e-mail.  He stayed up for several more hours reviewing the case that the team was currently working on, and got to bed at around midnight…  he was so exhausted, he almost didn’t make it all the way to bed, but he was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.  Only a few minutes later, Reid snuck into the bedroom and curled up beside him, going back to sleep.  The pair slept soundly through the night…