Take a stand

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING THESE CHARACTERS ARE CBS PROPERTY!

In this story Reid is a few years younger than his character on the show.

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS THE SPANKING OF A CHILD DO NOT LIKE DO NOT READ!

Spencer Reid Ph.D. was a brilliant, loving, caring young man. But sometimes the young man part of him overpowered the brilliance that he had. Today was one of those occasions. It had started out just like any normal BAU day….

Spencer entered the BAU bullpen and headed straight to his desk, he dropped off his shoulder satchel and passed three of his closest friends without even an acknowledgement of their presence.

"Hey, Reid!" Emily yelled out as she watched him enter the alcove of a break area and grab the pot of coffee.

Morgan, watching Reid bypass all of them, followed him into the break area. "What's got'cha so bothered kid?" Morgan asked as he put his hand on Reid's shoulder.

Reid, deep in thought, jumped at the hand on his shoulder. "Damn it Morgan! Give me a break, can't I even get a cup of coffee without someone wanting to check on me! You know what! Screw You!" Reid yelled as he stormed off to his desk. Little did Reid know that Hotch and Rossi were standing on the walkway above, getting ready to call a team meeting when they witnessed the whole blow up.

"Reid! Office! NOW!" Hotch growled out as he watched Reid's shoulders slink down as he passed his desk and head toward his office. There were times when he felt more like a father of a crew of teenagers than the supervisor of some of the most spectacular minds in the FBI. As Reid entered the office, he watched David Rossi, enter and close the door.

Spencer took a deep breath. This was not good, not only was Rossi in here, but they had closed the door. "Look…"

Hotch knew what was coming and he wanted to get his two-cents in first. "Sit down, Spencer." Hotch watched as Spencer looked at him and then to Rossi before sitting down. "I know that things have been a little tense lately, but I can not have that kind of behavior in this office. If you have a problem, you can deal with it like an adult, but the yelling and cursing is childish and I will not tolerate that, understood."

Reid fumbled with the opening of his shoulder satchel as he listened to Hotch get on to him like a child. The anger that was brewing in him just finally boiled over and he snapped. Reid stood to his feet and clenched his fist. "Fine! Maybe I act childish because you all treat me like a CHILD! It's always, how are you Spencer? Are you ok Spencer? Do you need anything, Spencer? I don't hear the rest of the team being asked all those questions."

"Now Reid…" Dave said in his smooth baritone voice, trying to diffuse the tension in the office.

"No, now Reid, as if you were talking to an 8 year old. I am 24 years old. I live in my own apartment, my coffee maker exploded all over me this morning, I had to change clothes, I missed my normal bus stop and I….." Reid argued back.

Hotch knew things were getting out of hand and he needed to wind this down now. "Spencer Reid, you will sit down now!" Hotch emphasized that by putting his hand on Spencer's shoulder and applying pressure. "Now listen and listen well! I am sorry if you feel like we treat you like a child, but truth be known, sometimes you act like one. If the others ask you if you are ok, or need anything, it is not out of a sense of belittling you, it is in the sense of taking care of their younger brother. So, I will talk to the others about laying off a little, but you will behave yourself like an adult or I will step in…..and you know what that means." Hotch said as he crossed his arms over his chest and raised his brow. Rossi had watched the whole thing and didn't have a clue what Hotch was hinting about, but what ever it was, it made its point.

Reid nodded his head in acknowledgement of what Hotch was threatening. "Yes, sir."

"Good, now conference room in 5 minutes, new case in Georgia." Hotch said as he walked over to his door and opened it for Reid, a sign that he was free to go.

Rossi watched as Reid walked out the door and when he knew he was out of hearing range he turned to Hotch and asked the one question on his mind. "What did you mean by step in?" Rossi asked with a quirked brow.

Hotch closed the door and went to stand in front of his desk. "When Gideon brought Reid onto this team he was just barely legal, a young 21 years old. Gideon had explained to me the great asset that Spencer could be to this team, but he relayed also his troubled past."

"Spencer had a troubled past, as in trouble with the law or what?" Rossi asked.

"No, more like, dad left him a 8 years old all alone, trying to figure out how to manage high school while still a child, but most damaging was the fact that Spencer's mom is a schizophrenic, who many times forgot she even had a child. There were days when Spencer was the only adult mind in that house. Spencer had to make the difficult decision to institutionalize his mom when he was 18. He couldn't manage her and try to keep a job. So when Gideon brought him in on the team, it was under the understanding that Gideon was a direct mentor to him. Gideon had observed Spencer during his academy days, and knew that he was still emotionally immature. So Gideon decided to take the step up and help guide Spencer through normal things that a father would do."

"AHHH! Now I see why Spencer was so devastated but Jason's sudden departure. He was like a father to him. So Gideon had to put his foot down sometimes, but how?"

Hotch was pulling on his sleeve as he tried to hope Rossi understood what he was saying. "Well, for minor infractions, like staying out too late, drinking and coming in hungover, he might ground Reid for a few days, but for more major issues, such as deliberately disobeying a direct order, or putting his self in danger, Gideon took a more, shall we say, biblical approach to him."

Rossi's eyes widened as what Hotch was trying to say hit him. "So you are saying the proverb, spare the rod and spoil the child."

Hotch just nodded his head. "Yeah, Gideon never spoiled that child. So, that's that. But don't say anything to Reid. Now, let's go brief the team."