Moving Forward

Part 54

Spencer Reid's POV

Jennifer is now sleeping. Emily went back home to take a bath and give Oliver a bath. She said Hotch would probably take a shower too! Everyone went back home to let me alone with Jennifer. I called Sandy earlier and she said she's on her way to the hospital with the kids. They can't wait to see their mother! I'm beside Jennifer's bed, watching her sleeping. She's so pretty! I hear the door opening and Hope and Jaeden arrive running, followed by their grandmother.

"Shhh! Hope, Jaeden, don't you see your mother's sleeping? Come hug your father," I whisper.

They come in front of me and I hold them both against me.

"How's she doing?" Sandy asks.

"She's doing pretty well. Doctors said she could leave maybe tomorrow or the day after. She'll have to rest for a month or two, though."

Sandy gives a sad look to her daughter.

"I thought I'd lost her too..." She sobs.

* * * * * * * * * *

Emily Prentiss' POV

"Let's go, buddy! It's time for a bath!"

"No, Mommy. I don't want to take a bath."

"C'mon buddy."

"No. I want to go under the rain with Daddy."

"Does Daddy want? If he doesn't want, you'll have to take a bath because I'm not going in the shower."

I hear Oliver yelling at Aaron to ask him if he can take a shower with him. Then, he comes back running.

"Daddy said yes!"

"Okay, little boy. Come with me, we're gonna pick up a pajama."

We walk to his bedroom. There are toys everywhere on the floor and in his bed.

"Oliver..." I sigh.

"What wrong, Mommy?"

"You'll have to clean your room after your shower, okay? There are toys everywhere. And you know what Daddy and Mommy think of that, don't you?"

"Yes..."

"Great. What pajama do you want? Do you want your Batman one?"

"No, I want my Banana one!"

"So let's take it," I declare picking up his Minions pajama.

We get back in the bathroom and Aaron is already there, waiting for his son to come in the shower with him.

"So... I heard your bedroom is a mess?"

"Yeah, Daddy..." Oliver says, looking down and feeling guilty.

Aaron looks at me and sees that I'm really tired.

"Daddy will help you to clean your room after, okay? Because Mommy needs some rest."

Oliver nods. He takes off his clothes and gets in the shower with his father. I take off my clothes and gets in the hot water of the bath I filled up earlier.

Oliver and Aaron finish to clean themselves before me, so they get out and Aaron help Oliver to clean his room as I continue to relax in the bath. A few minutes later, I hear my boyfriend calling me.

"Honey! Oliver is ready for his story time!"

"I'm coming!"

I get out of the bath and put on my pajama. Then I walk to my son's room.

"So, what story do you want to hear tonight?"

"This one," he declares, showing the book he wants to read.

"The Little Boy and the Stars?"

"Yes!"

Aaron sits on the rocking chair while I sit on the corner of Oliver's bed.

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy who dreamed of being a star amongst the stars. He was spending his time, head in the clouds, staring at the sky. He was wishing to go in the space, where he could touch the stars and walk between constellations, playing and staying with them forever. He didn't know how to reach this black immensity, shining in the obscurity, but he was trying. Once, he was jumping on a trampoline and he jumped so hard and so high that he touched a cloud. But it wasn't enough. So he took a plane and flew through the clouds so fast and so far that he reached the limit of the atmosphere. But it wasn't enough. So he wanted to get in a rocket to get into the stratosphere and to penetrate in the dark and cold space. But there was no free space for him because he wasn't the only one dreaming of going this high: taller people, older people, and richer people had already saved their seat for a long time. So he was looking at the rocket getting higher in the sky, one by one, in a blast of fire and smoke, and each time, a lonely tear was flowing down the little boy's cheek. One day, he was sat on a rock, his eyes following the white panache in the back of the rocket and sighing for the umpteenth time, he heard a voice next to him: "This rocket isn't going to the moon. It's not enough to reach the stars." The little boy turned back and saw an old man with a long white beard who was standing with the help of a gray and crooked stick. "How shall we do?" he asked, impatient that the old man brings him the solution of the riddle that was disrupting his thoughts. This one, contrarily, asked him a question: "What are the three things a star is made of?" The little boy thought for a moment and responded: "A star, it floats in the space, it shines in the dark and it guides the lost travelers." So the wise man explained to the little boy that to float to the emptiness of the space, he had to be very lightweight: "To be as aerial as a cloud, you need to have nothing in your pockets; you need to offer everything you own to the ones who have nothing. To lighten your soul, you have to have nothing weighty in your heart; you have to share your happiness with the most unfortunates, your courage with the looser and your innocence with the unkind people." Then, he told him that to shine in the darkness of the space, he had to be very bright: "To be as shiny as a star, you have to deeply believe in you; imagine yourself as precious as gold, as pretty as diamond and as powerful as the sun." Finally, he concluded by saying that to guide those who don't have landmarks anymore from the depth of the space, first he had to find the direction of kindness and to avoid the unkindness one: "To show the right path, you have to have the seven qualities of goodness; you have to be kind, respectful, helpful, obedient, generous, humble and thankful." But the old man had forgotten to tell the little boy that to accomplish all these things, he needed a lot of time. The little boy was also an old wise man with a white beard standing with the help of a gray cane when he successfully became a star amongst all the stars, present every night at the same place, shining in the dark, guiding those who lost hope, reassuring them by his unchangeable present, ensuring to the infinite, tireless and caring."

I close the book and I kiss Oliver's forehead.

"Good night. Sleep well. Sweet dreams. I love you."