14Second part as promised, I still have 45 minutes until it's too late to submit it. I just couldn't leave the first chapter as it was since it had nothing to do with the actual resolution, only talking about past ones. And for that I apologize.
We'll get to the fluff here. Reid is not with Hotch in the couple sense, but again the reader may read into it however he or she may wish to. Slash was not my intention with them.
And thanks to those that faved the chapter. And don't hate me for Morgan calling Reid, I can't leave him out.
Disclaimer: Same as previous chapter. I also don't own Dog the Bounty Hunter, which is a good thing. His wife scares the bejeebers out of me…
Don't Judge A Book by Its Cover
The ability of someone to choose and arrange the details of their creative field guided by a vision is a major hallmark of a genius. ~ John Briggs
December 31st, 11pm
"How much longer?" Jack chirped, climbing up onto the couch with his father while watching him turn the channel to find something worth watching for an hour. He looked over to Reid who had been skimming through his phone, only to see a frown appear on his face. "Spencer, if you frown then your face will stay like that."
"Hmm?" Reid smiled, turning toward Jack for a brief second as he closed his phone for the second time in a five minute span. He remembered his mother saying the same thing when he was a kid, causing him to walk toward the now seven year old before picking him up carefully. "Sorry, I was just waiting for a call from someone. We have an hour left until the New Year and your father is apparently trying to find something to watch."
"We have the news until 11:30, Dog the Bounty Hunter marathon all night…" Hotch shook his head, quickly turning the channel. "A Lady Gaga concert… Garcia is probably watching that one with JJ and Prentiss. Justin Bieber will be on the countdown also…"
Reid made a face of displeasure, soon chuckling a little as he felt Jack's arms move around his neck. He didn't really like whoever this Justin Bieber person was, he had heard some of his music before or what could be called music, by accident while looking for a classical station while travelling down the interstate toward Morgan's house once.
"Anything but that!" Reid laughed, hugging Jack gently. "Spare an innocent seven year old. Why don't we watch the news and then turn to the last half hour on a channel that doesn't have Bieber? Or we can find something on the kid's channel."
"Good idea. I'll find something on the kid channel for Jack to watch until 11:30. News isn't really appropriate, in case something comes up that will upset him." Hotch replied, turning the channel before seeing Spongebob on TV. "There we go, Spongebob."
Jack cheered, hopping out of Reid's arms before he took his seat on a chair near the TV. He focused on the episode while he heard his father and Reid talking behind him, but he didn't really care about what two adults had to talk about.
"You never told me your resolution, Reid." Hotch spoke, looking at the younger male as he moved to sit down on the couch. He was thankful that he didn't kneel down to Jack's level, even though it had been two years since Reid was shot through the knee. He could see a slight limp though.
"And what is yours?" Reid asked, looking at the other as he heard Jack laugh at something Spongebob did with a chubby pink starfish that was apparently named Patrick. He watched as Hotch sat next to him.
"The same as it is every year." Hotch replied, watching the clock for a few moments before turning his attention back to his subordinate. He could a little bit of apprehension behind hazel eyes, along with something else he couldn't place. "Now are you going to tell me, or will I have to see what has you so distracted?"
Reid shook his head, checking his phone one more time as he noticed that the time was ticking down. He looked up to see Hotch watching him, a light grin crossing his lips. "Fine… I'll tell you. It was to find someone that appreciates me for who I am, not for my intellect. I know everyone is either imposed by my IQ, or thinks that I know everything… and I quite honestly do not know everything."
Hotch nodded, listening to the younger man's resolution. He thought back to when he first met Reid, and his confession to Gideon while the young genius was held captive by Tobias Hankel, drugged and beaten. He understood the reasoning behind it, and didn't really know what to say. Or how he could do something about it without breaking the boundaries they already had between superior and subordinate. Or even the sort of father, son relationship they had slowly started to form after Gideon's abrupt departure.
"Can I tell you something Reid?" Hotch asked, unintentionally slipping into his unit chief tone instead of friend and mentor tone of voice. "When you were being drugged, beaten and held captive by Tobias Hankel I confessed something to Gideon that you may or may not already know."
"What was that?" Reid asked, occasionally looking at the clock. Seeing that there were now ten minutes left, and since Spongebob was now over he turned the channel back to the station the news was on so he could catch the weather and sports reports.
"I told him that I often took advantage of you for your brain." Hotch replied, the tone of his voice now sounding like when he spoke with Jack about something that bothered him at school. "And that was true… you are so intelligent, we don't often think about how you really feel about other things. We forget that you are just as human as the rest of us… only much smarter. Who wouldn't be envious of someone that got doctorates at such a young age? And who has an IQ greater than Einstein?"
"That is what spawned my resolution actually…" Reid admitted, turning toward his boss while he heard the crowds cheering in the background. He ignored some of the talking, although he felt his heart sink slightly as he heard Dick Clark speaking before it went back to Ryan Seacrest.
"I bet it did." Hotch offered a rare smile, putting an arm around the young genius's shoulders as he turned toward the TV. "And I wanted to apologize… I know the rest of the team respects you, and we all love you. You're hard not to like, and I even overlooked that outburst when you and Morgan had that prank war."
"I think of everyone as family, or a little more in some aspects. It hurt me when Gideon left, and you hurt me when you went along with the lie about Prentiss's assumed death," Reid started, biting his lip lightly as he looked up at his boss. "But I know that you did it to protect her… and she did tell me that we would have been in danger if Doyle was led to us. But I just couldn't stand not knowing she was alive…"
"That is in the past, but unfortunately with your eidetic memory you can't forget anything that we have said or what anyone has done." Hotch replied, having to smile as Jack started to speak up once Ryan Seacrest introduced Lady Gaga.
"What he- heck is she wearing?" Reid asked, almost laughing as she appeared to be either a black lightbulb or an odd black octopus hybridized with a lightbulb. He was thankful that she had clothing on, but never would understand her outfit.
"Beats me." Hotch chuckled before turning his attention back to Reid. "Do you accept my apology? Now I see that you are more than an IQ, you are indeed a human being with real feelings. And you have come a long way from the 21 year old kid that Gideon brought in, you are now 30 and know a lot more than I ever did at your age. You are more confident in yourself as well. And I honestly do respect you, Reid."
"Thank you, Hotch." Reid spoke honestly, looking up at the older male with a genuine smile on his face. He soon turned back to the TV as he saw Lady Gaga standing by the switch to lower the ball, soon hitting it as the clock started to count down from a minute. "And I do accept your apology. I'm glad that you do respect me for more than my IQ and degrees."
"Any time." Hotch replied, smiling as he stood up from the couch along with Reid as Jack joined them in watching the ball start to drop on the TV. "10…9...8… 7…. 6… 5… 4...3… 2… 1… Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year daddy! Happy New Year, Spencer." Jack smiled, hugging his father before he was picked up. He giggled as his father kissed his forehead, causing him to kiss him back on the cheek. "Love you, Daddy. Oh, and Happy New Year mommy!" He added as he looked up toward the ceiling.
"Happy New Year, Reid." Hotch spoke, offering the young man a one armed hug as Reid returned the gesture. He had to laugh as the young genius's phone finally rang, he knew who it was. But so far he didn't let anything slip to the new director.
"Happy New Year, Hotch." Reid smiled, soon walking off to the guest bedroom before closing the door behind him. He was glad that the day had actually ended much better than anticipated, and he actually met one resolution. Now he just had to work on a few others he had planned.