Two Dimensions [A Criminal Minds fic]

Chapter 1

The year is 2005. On one side of the world, a small boy watches his father from the kitchen window as he burns a blue button-up shirt in a small campfire he has made. The boy wonders why his dad could possibly be destroying one of his favourite shirts when his mother walks into the kitchen and stands with her son, placing her hand on his shoulder to turn him away. He watches her with huge brown eyes.

'What is Dad doing?' the boy asks curiously. 'You gave him that shirt last year. Doesn't he like it anymore?'
His mother pulls him away from the window. 'Don't look out the window, Spencer.' She murmurs firmly. 'Go play in your room.'

The child is still curious, but knows he shouldn't question both his parents at the same time. It leads to bad consequences.

Heading up to his room, the boy turns to look over his shoulder, where he can still see out the kitchen window. He watches as his father turns to look at his son, with a smirk forming on his rough features. He mouths something at the boy, but he can't quite make out what it is -- all he knows is that that look his father gives him scares him enough to run the rest of the way to his room.

*****

At the same time, but across the other side of the country, a tiny girl stands by her father's side, both of them dressed in black from head to toe. Her father looks down at his small daughter and grips her hand tighter, regretting the fact that his little girl will grow up without a mother.

The casket is laid down in front of the two of them, with the girl's mother lying inside though she cannot see her. Her father lays a yellow rose onto the smooth black wood and gestures for his daughter to do the same. When she does, a tear leaks down her cheek.

'Will Mummy ever come back?' She asks softly, though she is afraid she already knows the answer.
Her father doesn't reply, and instead brushes away a tear the girl didn't even see on his cheek. He lifts her up, resting her on his hip, and tells her that her mother is happy now. The girl simply wonders how he knows.

There is a man standing on the other side of the casket, holding a small boy not unlike the way the girl's father is holding her. The boy blows a kiss to the casket, waving goodbye.

The girl wonders who they are. The man in the sharp black suit is crying, though he tries hard to hide it. 'Say bye, mommy,' she hears the man whisper to his son, and he waves again.

The girl is confused. The woman in the casket is not the boy's mother; she's hers. So why is the boy here? Why is he saying goodbye?

During the funeral service, the girl didn't understand much of what was going on, but she knew that it was her mother who was dead and her mother was in the casket up the front. She starts to get angry.

'Daddy,' she whispers, tugging on her father's hand. 'Who is that?' She points to the boy and his father, but he pushes her hand down as he sets her back on the ground.
'It's rude to point, tiny.' He says hurriedly. 'I'm sure they're just friends of your mother's.'

'But the boy called her mommy!'

'Well, then, maybe the boy's just confused.' Her father tries to pull his daughter away, but she clings to his hand and digs her small feet into the muddy ground.

'The man said she was the boy's mommy!' She insists.
'Well then the man is confused too!'

He tugs her away, aware they are starting to make a scene. No matter; there are plenty of crying babies who have disrupted the service anyway.

'You're hearing things. You're crazy, child.' He says angrily, picking her up again. 'It's time to leave.'
'No! Daddy!' She thrashes forcefully against his back, begging to be let down. 'I want to know who they are! Who are you?' She screams at the man as his son, who are now staring at her as if she is a wild beast in a cage. 'Who are you?'

They are both silent as she is carried away while she kicks and shouts. After a minute, when the graveyard is almost out of eyesight, the silence is broken.

'Ashley!' The man yells. 'Ashley!'
The girl twists in her father's grip. 'He knows me.' She gasps. 'He knows me, Daddy, he said my name! I need to know who he is!'
'Ashley!'
'Who are you?' She screams back, as her father shoves her into their car parked outside the cemetery. 'Who are you?'

'Ashley, get in the damn car and shut your mouth. You don't know him, he's just a crackhead, alright?' Her father growls, slamming the door.

The girl trembles. Her father is the nicest man in the world. He's never spoken to her like that before.
The car ride home is awkward and silent. They're both exhausted from crying and confused about the man. Ashley won't forget him.