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Normally, after a case, Hotch would wrap up his reports, send a final text or call to Haley, and then take the given time to get as much sleep as he could. Instead, Haley has been dead for nearly two years now, and he was stuck not being able to sleep after the most recent case. It wasn't pretty when children were the main target of murder, but it's worse when you discover that it was a pair of foster parents that were the suspects, people who were supposed to protect these kids, not killing them.
Hotch glances away from the open window he was leaning against and looks over his shoulder. Most of the team was spread out around the plane, sleeping with a forgotten book in their hand, bundled in a blanket, or lying with earbuds still connected to their ears. The only other one still awake was the new agent, sitting across the table and simply staring down at his lap.
Reid wasn't exactly new, but he was the newest addition to the team, only joining a few months prior. There was still a lot to learn about him; the kid kept most personal things in his life a secret. Anything they know is mainly about his intelligence. Despite this, Hotch has noticed him warming up to them a bit recently, and he hopes it's a trend that will continue.
Hotch clears his throat, licking his lips before glancing over at Reid again. "Why aren't you getting some sleep, Reid?" he asks, trying to keep his voice on the quiet side. The agent looks up in surprise. "You usually curl up on the couch. You're not."
The younger shrugs, rubbing his hands together. "It's, uh- it was a tough case," Reid says quietly. Hotch doesn't speak, simply raising an eyebrow to beckon him to continue. "I- you- do you remember that case in West Bune, Texas? You- you told me that cases are always hardest when you relate to them," he explains. Hotch simply nods. "I- I guess I just related to this one too much," he chuckles quietly. "I was in the foster system for a while."
"You were?" Hotch asked, a bit shocked at the revelation. "For how long?"
"A long time," Reid chuckles. "I was kept at an adoption agency for the first year of my life, but it closed after that, and I went into after that," Reid takes one of his hands out of his lap and rubs his shoulder. "I guess the only time I wasn't was when I went off to college. I have no clue how that paperwork got done, but I was never officially adopted by anyone."
Hotch looked over sympathetically. "I'm sorry. Twelve years is a long time," he tells Reid. "I guess- I guess I related to it a bit, too. Maybe that's why I can't sleep."
"How so?" the younger asked, tilting his head. "Were you adopted?"
"No," Hotch says simply. "I- I related more with the biological parents. They- they couldn't keep their kid, right?" Reid nods. "My wife, Haley-" he swallows. "She passed a few years ago."
"I'm sorry," Reid interrupts.
Hotch nods and takes a deep breath. "We were so stupid when we were younger," he smiles. Hotch shakes his head. "When we were seniors in high school- we were both seventeen- Haley got pregnant. My child," he admits. The guilt is heavy on his tongue, and maybe it's because he's never told anyone this before, the only people knowing being his family and friends at the time. "Haley didn't want an abortion, and I wasn't going to force her, but we both knew that we couldn't keep the kid. We gave it up for adoption."
He presses his lips together and looks down. "I guess that's why we never had any kids, y'know?" He looks back up and smiles. "She always said that she wouldn't have another until she found him."
"It must be rough not knowing," Reid mentions.
"Yeah," Hotch agrees, laughing lightly. "Yeah. I don't know his name, or where he lives, or who adopted him- I can only hope that he's ok," Hotch says.
Reid nodded silently. Hotch can feel his foot begin bouncing underneath the table, but he doesn't mention it. "I- I don't know my parents, either. They were never on file. I was told that I was just dropped off at a church doorstep," he grimly speaks. "Say- you said that you were 17?" he assures.
"Mhm. Don't know if it was more stupid to give him up or for it to have happened in the first place." Hotch adds.
Reid blinks. "And you lived in Virginia? Manassas?" he asked to which Hotch nodded. For a second, he almost wondered how Reid remembered such an insignificant fact, but then he realized that it was Reid, and there wasn't much that the kid didn't remember. "If- If I asked you about the name of a person, do you think that you could help me?"
Hotch shrugs. "I mean, I could try my best but, Reid, there's-" Hotch shakes his head, eyes dancing around the plane's interior. "There's a ton of people in Virginia. I mean, what's the chances that I know this name?"
"Roy Brooks."
His eyes snaps from the wall and straight to Reid's face. He looks for the lie on his face, the sick, twisted joke that his agent was trying to tell, but even his profiling skills can't detect anything but desperation and hope. "You better not be joking, Spencer."
Reid blinks a few times. "I- I'm sorry, I-"
"Where did you hear that name?" Hotch asks, and it suddenly feels like more of an interrogation than the two most closed-off agents opening up to each other.
"Do you know him?" Reid asks.
Hotch takes a second to realize that maybe the kid actually isn't messing with him and breathes. "Roy Brooks is my father-in-law, Haley's dad," he explains. "We're not- I don't talk to him much anymore because he never liked me. Not after- not after Haley got pregnant." He looks at Reid's eyes, but they look more lost than anything. "He mainly took care of the baby. Why?"
"Roy Brooks-" he mutters, taking a small note out of his pocket. The paper looks like a tag on a gift bag, but the hole that string was fed through was much thicker, and the paper was more of a worn-out cardboard. At the bottom was his father-in-law's name signed in pen. "-was the name of the person. Who- who left me at a church."
"What year?" Hotch asks.
"1987," he says. "That's- that's why I asked. You're- sir, you're seventeen years older than me," Reid stumbles over his words. "The church- the church was, uh- Saint Peter's. In Manassas."
Hotch huffs, his right hand flying up to rub his chin. "God," he sighs, dropping his head into his hands. "That's everything- that's absolute everything. It's all correct, and you're right here- you've been here this whole time-"
He doesn't realize that he wasn't paying attention until he feels someone press into his side. He looks up and notices that Reid is no longer in front of him, but sitting at his side, his eyes a bit watery. He looks at Hotch's tears, fighting the instinctual downturn of the corners of his mouth and lets air out of his nose.
"You're my son?" Hotch asks, turning in his seat.
"Twenty-three years," Reid says. "Never thought I'd find you."
Hotch huffs. "You thought so? I had Garcia look, and she couldn't find anything." Reid laughs, wiping at his eyes with the palms of his hands. "God- can- can I hug you, Spencer?" he asks.
Reid nods, opening his arms. "'Course, Dad," he says teasingly.
He keeps the younger pulled close against his chest for a few minutes before he leans back, letting Reid get more comfortable in his arms. He can tell that the man is getting pretty tired now, so he shifts his arm so that it won't be uncomfortable for either of them. "Is it- it's funny," he speaks. "This doesn't feel different than before. I think- I think I've seen you like this for a while now," Hotch admits.
"That's good," Reid whispers. "That's good, because I've accidentally called you Dad to Morgan and Prentiss before," he jokes. Hotch laughs, and Reid smiles at the feeling of the vibrations of his chest. "Y'know, Rossi told me that you have a soft spot for me."
"He's right," Hotch replies, surprisingly admitting to it. "And it's only going to grow from here."
Reid smiles and presses his head further into Hotch's shoulder, and he doesn't realize how fast comfort could put him to sleep until now, when they're both out within minutes.
Morgan wakes with a groan after someone flicked him in the forehead. He opens his eyes to see Prentiss standing over him with a grin. "Wake up," she whispers, yanking on one of his earbuds. He swats her hand away while she laughs.
"We have about thirty minutes 'till we land," JJ says from her seat. "Rossi thought we should wake everyone up."
Morgan nods and looks around for the presence of his other co-workers. "What about Hotch?"
Prentiss nods. "He's next." She gets up and moves to walk over to the table, but she pauses before she reaches it.
"What?" Rossi asks from his seat. "Did he run away?"
Prentiss's mouth opens for a moment, before she shuts it, simply pointing to the figure at the table. "I think you have to see this for yourselves," she says, waving her hand and encouraging the other agents to join her. With a huff, Morgan pushes off of the couch, joining the others in waking over to Prentiss. Sure enough, he's just about as shocked as Emily at the sight. Reid and Hotch- the newest agent and their emotionally constipated boss- were cuddling, sleeping, with Hotch's arm wrapped protectively around Reid's shoulders.
"Well, I knew he liked the kid, but damn," Rossi says. "Someone's got to send a picture to Garcia."
JJ bites her lip, taking her phone out. "Oh, already on it," she says, snapping the image before clicking a few buttons and shoving it back into her pocket. "What could've caused this?"
"I have no clue," Morgan whispers, completely bewildered. "This is miracle level things. I gotta' put this on my list of things you won't believe until you see it," he says, walking away.
Prentiss stills for one last moment before turning around and sauntering back to her seat. "You can add another one for me," she says. "I wonder how either of them are going to explain this," she adds, and honestly, Morgan cannot wait to hear the stuttered explanation to why Hotch was giving someone a hug.