What Happens Next

X. Family Time

"Come here! Come here! I'm gonna get you," Reid teased chasing Grace through the hallway. He grabbed the girl, causing her to scream excitedly. She giggled and he dropped to his knees dipping the girl over his side. 

"No!" She yelled, pulling away from him, "no teeth!"

"Grace, if you don't brush your teeth then we can't get you to school and then your mommy will be very mad at me," Reid protested, releasing the girl to a standing position. 

"No!" 

She crossed her arms and stomped her foot, but made no effort to run away. 

"Why not?" He asked, remaining on her level.

"I want to stay home! I want to play with you and Henry!" 

"Hey. I promise you, when you come home from school today I will play with just you," Reid said, holding out his pinky finger to the girl, "but you have to brush your teeth, and you have to go to school."

"Fine!" she yelled running down the hall to the kids' bathroom. 

Reid heard Henry walk through the front door and called out to him "Thanks again for driving him!"

"No problem uncle Spence!"

"Stop calling me that," he sang, encouraging the young man to call him by just his first name.

"Yeah whatever," Henry called back.

Reid dressed and readied the girls for school, and after chasing them down and wrangling them into the car, he dropped them off at school. He returned to the house, finally alone with Henry and Sandy in peace. 

Henry brought his grandmother breakfast, and Reid worked with him to ensure the woman would eat. She kicked them out angrily after finishing only half of her bowl of oatmeal and the two men were left to talk in the kitchen. 

Reid rinsed and stocked the dishwasher, while Henry searched online for a couch to fill his new apartment. 

"You know, on the day you were born, I promised your mom I would get you into whatever school you wanted to and now you're in your junior year at Penn State. You didn't even need my help," Reid laughed. 

"Well what can I say," henry shrugged staring into his phone, "I guess I am my own genius."

"Of course you are."

"Shouldn't have doubted me uncle Spence," Henry grinned. 

"Shut up," Reid said with a smile.

Henry's laugh rapidly turned somber, and Reid at the sight of his godson's smile turning to a frown he leaned his arms on the granite countertop and asked the man what was wrong. 

"I don't know. I guess I'm just worried about my mom. I know I'm only a couple hours away but," he lowered his voice, "grandma has never been like this before."

"I know, it's hard. I'm sure you're scared but your grandma is doing okay right now, and I'll be here for your mom if things get worse. Don't let it get in the way of your education."

"Yeah," was all Henry could say.

"Yeah," Reid responded, slapping his hand on the counter and turning away, "I'm gonna go shower."

In the bathroom, Reid sat on top of the closed toilet seat and stared at his phone. He turned on the screen and unlocked it, before opening the phone app and turning off the phone and repeating the process all over again. After a solid few minutes of wrestling with the idea of calling his wife he finally pressed her name. He shut his eyes tightly and pressed call, nervously raising his phone to his ear.