never let school interfere with your education [ota; mtw]

[numbersnfigures]

A great deal of noise came from a cabin not far from the library. Spencer Reid was moving desks around at what was to be the new school. The Weasley twins had been so kind as to somehow produce a number of desks which looked exactly alike. Strange, he thought, but there was nothing about the woods that he would classify as ordinary. He had

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[didntblink]

Spencer had been working on the school since the idea came up that dinner, and Aaron was glad to see Spencer having something good to work at. And though this place threw a lot at them, forced their hand in many ways, this school was something that Spencer and others were making happen. It also made him think of Jack. Aaron had gone longer than this without seeing Jack before, back when Foyet was alive. And this time, as far as he had any reason to believe, it was not his son in danger. And if time were for him as it had been for the others, then Jack didn't even have to miss him. It was a strange thought but mildly comforting that Jack possibly still had him...somehow. It didn't make sense, but a lot didn't.

Right, that was why Hotch often didn't go into the school area, but there was plenty of noise, and his mind had already traveled down the dangerous path. Well, there was still- Hotch walked into the cabin, face as even as always. "How is the school coming?" Aaron asked.

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer turned at the sound of his boss's voice. Hotch always seemed strangely out of place here. He was always so meticulously put together, and the woods seemed to strip that away. Sure Spencer had seen him on rural cases when he had dressed more casually, and had seen him completely undone on several occasions, but this place was different. It was like camping without any gear or supplies. It was survival.

"I seem to have an appropriate amount of hardware. I'll next need to work on curriculum and determining whom exactly my pupils are going to be."

In a place where survival was paramount, school almost seemed inconsequential, but Spencer had read enough research to know that this was what the kids needed - something in their lives that was stable.

[didntblink]

Aaron checked out the classroom, which had more desks than he had anticipating seeing. They were practically the same, potentially more on that if he inspected. But he had seen wooden schoolrooms before, in many states. Those had always been tied into a case and completely functional. However, he chose not to think about any of those cases at the moment. They were hardly comforting. But his time in the woods rarely led him to happier lines of thought. None of what had happened, none of the joys, had made him forget that they were being held captive their against their will.

"Have you chosen how to structure the classes?" Hotchner asked. The children were of different ages and with different abilities. Hotchner had taught courses before, for the FBI, but Jack was the only child he had worked with on classwork. It was a good idea, he knew, both from the studies about stability and seeing it help Jack.

[numbersnfigures]

"I'm still in the process of determining that."

Spencer brushed his damp hair out of his face. It was starting to get long again.

"Research shows that younger children respond more to hands-on type learning, though I'm not sure if I would be good at that form of instruction. I always learned by reading."

He was practically the definition of "independent study".

[modernholmes]

Conan's attention had been attracted by the sound of moving furniture. He makes his way over to the cabin in question and peers through the door.

"What are you doing?"

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer turned to find the young boy he had spoken to just inside the barracks several weeks ago. He seemed to be very independent for a boy his age.

"Setting up for the school that JJ and I hope to run for the children in the barracks."

[modernholmes]

[He steps the rest of the way into the room and looks around curiously.]

I see. She did mention that to me.

[numbersnfigures]

"Did she?"

Spencer sat down in one of the desk chairs and examined the boy. His speech was highly advanced for his age.

"Think you'd be interested in coming?"

[fullbodycyborg]

"Are those school desks?"

Motoko folded her arms in the open window and peered inside at Spencer and the the contents of the room. She looked amused and curious at whatever he was doing.

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer glanced up and smiled at the woman he remembered from his conversation at the stream.

"Yes. I'm hoping to open a school for the minors once I get a few more things sorted out."

[fullbodycyborg]

"Aren't you sweet." Motoko didn't look at him but was busy inspecting the room.

Heaving herself up into the window by her arms, she effortlessly pulled her legs between her hands like an athletic and let her feet land on the floor. The wooden floorboards creaked a bit under the weight of her synthetic body. Now leaning back at the window from inside, the Asian woman finally did look back at him and her smile widened into a proper greeting.

"A school, hm. Seems like a lot of work in a place like this. Isn't it a bit of an odd choice?" Motoko tilted her head to the side and regarded him. It was a genuine question and not judgement, it seemed.

[numbersnfigures]

It had been a lot of work. Thankfully JJ and the rest of his team had been giving him a bit of a hand when they could.

"Going back to school is a normalizing experience that's often recommended for children to return to relatively quickly after they experience trauma. Unfortunately, with limited resources, this place won't be a lot like their normal schools, but at least they'll have somewhere to go every day and something to think about besides the fact that they're trapped here."