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Alex twisted her blazer in her hand for a minute before slowly straightening her blazer, taking a deep breath and knocking on Strauss’s door.
“Enter,” a sharp voice called.
Alex pushed the door open and walked in, clearing her throat carefully.
“Ma’am, I’d like to ask you for permission for my younger brother to spend the next few nights here in Roosevelt.”
“Your brother? And why is your brother not at home?”
“My brother, Spencer. He is a freshman here, he got a full academic scholarship. He’s 10. He is normally in Lincoln with Aaron, but Aaron is in hospital and Spencer is scared. And he’s on antibiotics so I’d rather he be here so I can ensure he takes his meds when he needs to.”
Strauss raised an eyebrow.
“So how come one sibling has the surname ‘Miller’, one ‘Hotchner’ and one ‘Reid’?”
Alex tried to keep her voice steady, “I came here first. Aaron and I are Irish twins, so I’m a year above. As you may know, Aaron had some behaviour problems as a freshman, so our parents chose to use my mother’s maiden name, Hotchner, for him so that his behaviour didn’t reflect too badly on me.”
“And Reid?”
“Officially his name is double barrelled, Spencer-Reid Miller. But he didn’t want to only share a surname with one of us, and he didn’t want people to think he was only accepted because of family relations, so he just uses Reid as a surname.”
Strauss raised her eyebrows, scepticism colouring her features.
“And why is he on antibiotics?”
“Spencer got tonsilitis so has antibiotics for 7 days. Aaron is in hospital with an ear infection, he had tonsilitis but it spread to his ears. He’s not well.”
Strauss paused for a minute before walking to her office door, “Amanda, find Emily Prentiss and tell her to come here.”
Alex waited in awkward silence until Emily came in, genuinely unable to tell if Strauss believed him or not.
“Bug is asleep, Hailey is keeping an eye on him,” Emily said to Alex, immediately noticing the worried look on her face.
“Miss Prentiss, I called you here, speak to me.”
“Sorry Ms Strauss, I just thought Alex would be concerned about her baby brother since she left him with me and now I’m here without him,” Emily snapped, then in a forced polite tone, “What do you want, ma’am?”
“Alex wishes for Mr Reid to sleep in her bed for the week. How do you feel about that?”
“Of course Bug can stay, I was kinda expecting it when Aaron went to the hospital. Poor kid freaks out when Aaron is gone.”
“And you’re okay with a male sleeping in your room?”
“It’s not like it’s a grown man, Alex’s kid brother is hardly gonna be creeping. And Bug definitely needs his big siter to comfort him right now.”
Strauss nodded slowly, still looking suspicious, but then Emily had just confirmed the sibling status without prompting, “Permission granted.”
***
In the dorm, Spencer was tucked into Alex’s bed, cheeks flushed bright red.
“Alex, you sure he shouldn’t also be in the hospital?” Emily said, looking concerned.
“I’m sure. Although I may see if Charlie can take him for a few days if his fever gets any higher.”
“No B’rdy. Don’t send me ‘way,” Spencer mumbled, trying to sit up.
“It’s okay, bug, I’m not sending you anywhere, just calm down, you’re fine, you’re safe,” Alex shushed him, brushing his hair off of his sticky forehead.
There was a knock on the door and Emily opened it to reveal Hailey.
“Hey, I’ve got a bag of Marshmallows for Spencer, whenever I have tonsilitis it makes me feel better. Not at all scientific, but I thought he may like them anyway. I…” Hailey flushed a little at this, “I also have a couple of bottles of liquid painkillers, cherry flavour, I am horrible at swallowing tablets so my mom sent me here with loads of the stuff just in case. But I thought he may appreciate it if his throat is yucky.”
Alex paused for a moment then hugged Hailey, “Thank you so much. That was so thoughtful of you.”
“Um, can you not mention it to Aaron. I mean, you can say I bought stuff, but not the can’t-swallow-tablets thing. I don’t want him to think I’m stupid or babyish.”
A hoarse voice came from the bed, “It’s called phagophobia and is very common. It’s nothing to be embarrassed by.”
Hailey laughed slightly, “Thank you, Spencer.”
***
Erin Strauss did not spy on her students, neither did she snoop into their lives. However, she did investigate blatant lies.
“Jason,” She marched into Gideon’s office, barely pausing to knock, “One of your students is sleeping in Roosevelt for the next few days.”
Gideon looked up, “Okay, which one?”
“Spencer Reid.”
“Right… Remind me which one he is…” Gideon’s voice trailed off.
“Jason. The ten year old. You should know all of your students by now!” Strauss was beyond exasperated at this point – she had freshmen more responsible than Gideon.
“Ah right. Right. Is he staying with his sister then? I believe she’s one of yours?” Gideon moved a couple of pieces of paper on his desk, “Yes, that’s it. Alex. Alex, Hotch and Spencer are siblings,” Gideon held up a yellow sticky note with a coffee stain on the corner, “And Aaron is in hospital right now?”
Strauss raised an eyebrow, maybe Gideon, despite his lack of organisation, actually knew information she didn’t, “Yes, Aaron is in hospital. And Spencer is staying with Alex.”
“Yes, that makes sense. He’s small, his sister will make sure he’s okay…”
And with that, Gideon returned to a particularly aggravating crossword he was attempting to solve, leaving Strauss to see herself out.
“Morgan, no balls in the entry hall,” She snapped at Derek on the way through, catching it deftly, “You can retrieve this from my classroom on Monday.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Derek’s face darkened but he didn’t comment any further.
A few minutes later, Strauss stood outside Emily and Alex’s door, trying to listen to what was happening on the inside.
“I know, bug. But this will help,” Alex was clearly coercing Spencer into doing something.
“It tastes too orange… and a little green… and I don’t like it!” The child wasn’t talking sense, so the fever bit must be true.
“So that’s the sinny thing, bug?” Emily, Strauss presumed.
“Synaesthesia, and yes”
“Baby, you can have a marshmallow after to help get rid of the taste, but you need the antibiotics,”
A moment later, Strauss heard coughing followed by, “Good job, baby. Have some of your water then the marshmallows are yours.”
Strauss returned to her office, unsure of how her investigation should proceed.
***
The next day was a Sunday and Erin Strauss spent more time than she cared to admit eavesdropping on the conversations happening in Alex’s room.
First, Elle had checked in, seeing if Spencer needed anything. She had chatted for half an hour before leaving, saying “Next year we need to see if your brother can move to Roosevelt, Al, he’s so cute.”
“No, I wanna stay with Bubba,” Spencer had cried, and Strauss had spent the next half hour hearing Alex try to calm him down.
Hailey had visited, bringing a teddy bear and some soft drinks for Spencer. Strauss heard Emily teasing her.
“Hailey, are you getting stuff for Spencer to get Hotch to go out with you? Win over the baby brother and his sister all in one!”
“No, I feel sorry for Spencer. Feeling icky is bad enough at home, being at school and feeling icky really sucks. Even staying with his sister, it’s still school.”
“I’m just glad he’s not stuck in the infirmary, I’ve seen more cosy prison cells. Seriously, who designed that place?”
Strauss almost smiled at Emily’s comment. While obviously the infirmary wasn’t designed to be attractive, even she had to admit it was a little too clinical.
Miss Garcia and a friend Strauss had yet to meet (but heard referred to as JJ) turned up mid afternoon, Garcia carrying a stack of fluffy blankets and pillows large enough to almost make Strauss leave the hiding spot she’d found. JJ carried two bags and was shooting Garcia exasperated looks.
When the girls entered the room, there was a fair bit of squealing, followed by a shushing from Alex.
“I’ve bought my best blankets for Spencer, he’ll be super snug in no time. OOOH! And I bought a dressing gown for him online. It has a puppy tail and ears!”
JJ had spoken up then, “I have a bag from James. It has some fever reducer, some of those headache sticker things you put on your head, there’s a thermometer and some throat spray that should numb his throat. And David has sent some pasta for him. Apparently it’s ‘Italian Penicillin’ which I’ve never heard of but apparently has star shaped pasta.”
At that point, Strauss gave up and returned to her office, she had stuff to do.
***
The next morning, Alex checked Spencer’s temperature and gave him his antibiotics before leaving for class.
“Okay sweetheart, remember you can text me at any time if you need help. Your temperature is down so you should be okay, just get some sleep. I’ll be back at lunch to do your next antibiotics.”
“And if necessary, I’ll bunk off of some lessons to be with you, bug. Then Alex’s attendance will stay good,” Emily offered, getting a feeble giggle from Spencer.
“Promise you’ll call if you need anything? Okay, snacks are on the table, you have drink. Anything else?” Alex checked her list in her head before promising to be back with some breakfast soon.
As soon as the girls left, Strauss stepped out of the shadows and entered the room. She did a double take seeing Spencer – of course she knew he was ten (if it weren’t for his exceptional grades she’d have had him removed from the school months ago) but she had forgotten just how small ten year olds really are.
“Spencer Miller?” She said, trying to catch him off guard.
“Yes ma’am?” Spencer struggled to sit up.
“I was just checking in to make sure you were okay being alone, I may check in later.”
Spencer gave a puzzled frown as she left again. Perhaps his fever had returned without the thermometer noticing?
Two hours later, once Alex had been and gone with breakfast and was safely in lessons, Strauss seized another chance.
“Spencer Hotchner?”
“Technically not my name, but yes ma’am?”
“Technically?”
“Mother’s maiden name… like a bank security question…” The child was clearly tired, but the story lined up.
“I just wished to ask you a few questions. Who was it with Aaron on parents weekend?”
“Aunt Victoria and Uncle Andrew. And Sean,” Spencer mumbled, eyes glazed.
Against her better instincts, Strauss leaned forward and touched his forehead.
“Spencer, I believe your fever is back. You are coming to my office until lunch when your sister is back.” Strauss all but pulled the boy out of bed, picked up a blanket and pillow from the bed and some of the snacks and a bottle of drink from the bedside cabinet, “Come on, don’t dawdle.”
Spencer found himself tucked onto the sofa in the corner of Erin Strauss’s office, shivered and sweating simultaneously. After checking the notebook page Alex had been logging Spencer’s medicine doses on, Strauss gave him another dose of fever reducer, followed by a marshmallow (her eavesdropping had paid off, she was pleased to note.)
“So how come your guardian is listed as Charlie Blake?” Strauss asked in one final bid to find the truth.
“Parents live out of state. Charlie and Ned live close. Birdy and James are dating. So Charlie signs stuff if I need medical things because she can get to a hospital quicker,” Spencer explained, teetering on the edge of sleep.
“Sleep, Mr Miller, you clearly need it.”
Watching the small boy fall asleep, Strauss frowned for a minute before returning to the emails on her computer she had yet to reply to.
At lunch time, she kept an eye out for Alex Miller, calling out as she passed.
“Miss Miller, your brother is sleeping in here. His fever spiked when I checked on him, so I moved him here to keep an eye on him. I’ve signed you out of lessons for the rest of the day so you can take him back to your room, he clearly needs you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Alex said, surprised, then saw her medicine log, added to neatly in Strauss’s precise cursive.
“And I hope Aaron recovers soon. And Miss Miller, please don’t catch anything from your brothers, I don’t think Miss Prentiss would cope.”
As Alex carried her sleeping brother out of the room, expertly balancing everything else, Strauss returned to her computer to update some files on the system, she couldn’t believe that the admin team hadn’t registered them as siblings.
Maybe she’d have a word with them about that oversight…