The Keeping of Words | Spencer Reid

27| As Long as I Can

She loved watching Spencer and Henry together. Henry was such a sweet kid, and he clearly adored his godfather. The attachment was mutual, Spencer was always happy to see him. Naturally, they were both ecstatic when JJ asked Spencer to babysit so she and Will could go out for a date night.

"You'll come with me, won't you?" he had asked her. At first she wasn't sure if she should, but he assured her that JJ had already given him permission. They arrived at the home of the LaMontagnes just before dinnertime.

"You're a lifesaver, Spence," JJ said on her way out the door. "You know where everything is. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

"Just try not to need anything," Will added.

"Uncle Spencer!" Henry was over the moon at the sight of him, charging down the hallway to greet him.

Spencer knelt down to give him a hug. "Hey little guy! How are you?" The blonde boy just grinned. "Henry, do you remember my friend Bianca?" She crouched beside the pair so he could see her better.

"Hi." Henry waved at her. They had met once before, when she'd gone to dinner with the rest of the BAU's extended family.

"Hello, Henry. It's nice to see you. Is it okay if I stay over here with you?"

"Can we still build the solar system?" He looked at Spencer expectantly, his blue eyes huge.

"You bet we can!"

Only then did the boy give her approval to stay. He took to her quickly, seemingly have decided that if she was a friend of Spencer's, she was okay.

Bianca helped Henry to paint tiny models of the planets while Spencer set up an elaborate mobile-like structure with sticks and a hot glue gun. The boy enthusiastically explained the planets to her, proud of what his godfather had taught him. For her part, she couldn't help but feel attached to Henry, sweet and curious as he was. There was an inherent innocence about him, a bliss she hoped he would retain with the passing of years.

While the planets where drying on a sheet of newspaper, they served a gourmet dinner consisting of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, tater tots, and sliced strawberries.

Every few minutes Henry held up one of his chicken nuggets to show Spencer. "What's this one called?"

"That's a stegosaurus."

"What about this one?"

"That's a tyrannosaurus rex!"

After receiving and repeating each name, he would unceremoniously bite off their heads. When the dinosaurs were officially extinct, he wanted to get right back to the solar system. The entire model was built to scale, and Spencer easily converted the measurements he had memorized into inches and centimeters in order to properly space the strands of fishing wire. She helped Henry to attach the planets to the string with expert care, and when it was finished they hung the mobile from the stairs with a thick bit of masking tape.

Henry was then ready to play superheroes. Bianca had to laugh at his definition of a superhero, as Spencer explained their game to her. Henry got to be Reid, and Reid got to be Carl Sagan, and they solved crimes with "science magic." It was decided that if Spencer got to be Sagan, Bianca could be Eleanor Roosevelt. The trio raced around the house together, Henry taking the lead. While they were hunting their fifth and final bad guy, she and Spencer turned the corner at the same time, colliding with each other and tumbling to the floor. She sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

"Are you okay?" Henry sat down next to her, concerned blue eyes blinking wide.

"Of course! No worries, Hen- er, Dr. Reid. I just hit my head, that's all." She didn't want the boy to worry about her, but Henry turned to "Carl Sagan", unconvinced.