#dad!spence

"why you awake but mama is not?" genevieve asks, wide hazel eyes sparkling with the genetic curiosity passed down from her father. her hair is absolutely unruly, sticking up in every direction, astronaut pajamas rumpled from a good night's rest.

spencer finds himself smiling, increasingly endeared by her every single day. he can hardly believe he'd helped create such a human—perfect in every way, all the best parts of both of you, gentle and curious and utterly adorable. he just hopes he's good enough to keep her that way, hopes he doesn't taint her perfection.

"s'cause mama's really tired. she deserves some rest," he whispers, fingers absently tracing a line down your arm.

genevieve blinks, the beginnings of a pout on her lips, "but... i want mama awake."

"i know, but that wouldn't be very nice, would it? i don't think she'd be happy 'bout that."

before genevieve can complain, spencer speaks up again.

"hey. wanna see a little trick?"

her eyes widen, curious as ever as she nods, scooting closer.

"okay. look how mama reacts when i do... this," he whispers, leaning over you and pressing a featherlight kiss to your temple.

genevieve watches in awe as you immediately tilt your head up—subtle enough to go unnoticed, apparent enough for the pair of geniuses to smile—in search for more affection.

genevieve can barely contain her giggles as she watches spencer do it again, and again, on your forehead, the tip of your nose, your cheek. each time, your head tilts just a tiny bit closer to his, leaning into his touch even in sleep.

"wanna try! can i? please?" genevieve practically bounces in her place, failing at keeping her voice down to a whisper. spencer is very glad you sleep like the dead.

he smiles, "sure, sweetie. jus' be gentle, okay?"

genevieve nods, super duper seriously, tilting her head, and spencer's heart feels too big for his chest. it's the exact mannerism he's loved in you for years. the way she tilts her head to the side, the tiniest wrinkle between her brows as she focuses so very hard on your face.

slowly, genevieve leans in, pressing a clumsy kiss to your cheek.

and you do, in fact, slightly tilt your head up.

she places pudgy little hands over her mouth, trying to stifle her delighted giggles, finding her mother so receptive to affection to be the sweetest and most entertaining thing.

For a while he had considered leaving the BAU to raise her but it seemed fate had stepped in when Y/N told him she wanted to move to DC and everything fell into place. Her work schedule was the complete opposite of his. As a freelance writer, she had about as much flexibility as she could want, allowing her to be there for every school concert, every science project, and every story time. 

As much as Spencer hated being away from his daughter, he knew that she was safe with his best friend when he was called away. Spencer continuously showered Y/N with thanks, never understanding how much she valued this time with his daughter. Annabel had taken up residence in her heart and showed no intention of leaving. And if Y/N was completely honest with herself, she knew Annabel wasn’t the only one. 

Although Spencer was her best friend, she had always been able to recognize how attractive he was and constantly felt a simmering jealousy towards the girl at the other end of the love story she knew he’d one day have. That feeling had always been there, lingering but it had grown to a new height when she moved in with Spencer and Annabel. There was a fire in her heart that called for him despite all of her attempts to settle it. Y/N loved him with all over her heart. But it didn’t matter. She would never say a word, content to burn to ashes in her desire if it meant she could stay a part of their little world. She was sure he couldn’t possibly feel the same way and yet her heart shattered at the thought of Spencer finding someone else to share his life raising Annabel with.

~~~~

Coming home to them had to be the best feeling in the world. After a long week of investigating dead ends and running in circles, opening their apartment door to see Y/N watching over his daughter was like falling into a warm cushion of love. Spencer felt a smile pull at his lips for the first time in nearly a week as he set his things aside and joined Y/N in his daughter’s doorway. 

“Hey,” he breathed out quietly watching Annabel sleep as he wrapped Y/N in a tight hug desperate to have the comfort of home even closer to him. 

Spencer gently unwound himself from her body so they stood next to each other in silent observation of the peaceful sight before them. 

“Hi,” Y/N responded with a smile, simultaneously loosening and tightening at the feeling of Spencer’s arm still gently draped around her waist, pleasantly echoing the too quick hug. She couldn’t help but lean into his touch. 

“Thank you,” Spencer whispered to her and the cool air that surrounded them. 

“Oh shush,” she lightly swatted at him in response, “I’ve told you, you don’t need to thank me for anything. I love that little girl with my whole heart.”

He turned to face her with a smile, sleep softening his features but doing little to hide the blatant appreciation on his face, “You’re amazing- you know that right?”

“Of course,” she teased with a light laugh, pulling him away from the doorway and into the living room where they could be a little louder. Her own tiredness made Y/N strangely confident as she held his hand in both of hers. 

But he didn’t mind- not by a long shot. A large smile filled his face as Spencer let himself enjoy the enveloping feeling of safety and comfort without his usual anxieties. 

“How are you?” Y/N asked once they were both plopped on to the couch asking not in formality but with genuine interest and concern. 

Spencer nodded slightly before answering, “Everyone got home safe….”

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, the light pressure alleviating some of the stress that had been sitting in the pit of his stomach the past several hours, “Just because it’s over doesn’t mean it’s gone.”

“I just…” he shook his head at the floor, “The things they saw, what he did to them that’s going to stay at the forefront of their minds until the day they die. If you or Annie had to even just see the things that happened to them- I can’t even imagine it.”

“Spence…” her heart tightened at his words, “You did everything you could for them. It will always be a part of them but because of you and the team, it won't be their entire stories.”

Spencer smiled sadly and leaned his head against her shoulder, exhaustion taking over, “Tell me about you and Annabel.”

Y/N reigned in her excited pride about the last week before she began, “Well, we only have a chapter left of James and the Giant Peach, she’ll be really happy you’re here to finish it with us.”

A smile danced on Spencer’s lips as his eyes bobbed shut and he leaned more of his weight against Y/N and the couch. 

“On our way back from the library, Annabel saw a street performer playing a violin and has been learning anything and everything about them since then,” love and joy seeped through every word and Y/N did nothing to hide it enjoying the way Spencer smiled with his closed tired eyes. 

“Did you know that the word violin comes from the Latin term vitula which means female cow?” He said without making any move to open his eyes. 

Y/N laughed softly, trying her best not to shake the doctor leaning against her, “Actually I did. Your daughter told me yesterday morning before school.”

Spencer’s smile tightened with pride. 

~~~~

The sun rose over their peaceful Saturday morning, sending streams of light through the windows to dance on the hardwood floors. These were the kinds of memories Spencer held tight to while he was gone. He pictured it like a photo folded up in some corner of his mind, tainted by the warm sun and worn at the edges like a well read book. 

He could hear Annabel shuffling around her room before he saw her. All of a sudden it was like a flip had switched and the little girl came bounding from the room frantically looking around before she let her hope run wild. It was like night and day when she noticed him standing in the kitchen. She bounded towards him with outstretched arms.

“Dad!” her voice was light and happy and Y/N watched as Spencer pulled the little girl up into an embrace. The pure joy shown through to the best version of Spencer. Bright, happy and with his daughter in his arms. 

“I missed you so much, bug,” he brushed a hand over her hair holding her tight against him.

“I missed you too,” Annabel said against the fabric of his shirt. 

Gently setting her down, Spencer watched her face light up with stories she wanted to tell him.

“Oh!” Annabel brightened again, taking Spencer’s hand and pulling him towards the kitchen table, “I saw this lady playing the violin when we left the library! She just kept playing and playing and the bow and her hands moved so fast. I wanna learn how to play the violin so I’ve been reading about them and writing stuff down.”

Spencer sat in a chair and pulled his daughter on to his lap, content to listen to her tell him anything and everything she cared about.

Y/N smiled at the two of them loving every moment and interaction more than she could verbalize. Eventually she eased herself from the sofa pulling Spencer’s purple scarf from the shelf and wrapping it around her neck, “I have to go meet with the publisher visiting from New York.”

“Wait-” she spun around quickly to face Reid, “Do you mind printing out the new chapters of my manuscript? I want to start editing soon.”

He nodded in response like she knew he would. Y/N hated leaving during these kinds of moments which were often far and few between but as freeform as her job was, there were some things that were unavoidable. Annabel waved her off not even turning to look as she engrossed herself with sharing everything she had learned over the past several days. And Spencer- he turned to smile at her, Annabel still in his lap. Y/N couldn’t help the tug in her heart that yearned for something more, some sort of goodbye that involved more than just a kind smile. Before her mind could muddle with any more complicated feelings, Y/N returned the smile and crossed the doorway out of the apartment.

“Oh! Oh!” Annabel's face shown bright and she counted facts on her fingers, “Did you know that the violin is 500 years old? The first modern violin was in Italy during the 1500s but it probably originated from the lyre and something called a rebab.”

She rambled in a familiar fashion and Spencer beamed at his daughter. She was everything he could have hoped for and so much more. Annabel truly was a mini Spencer through and through and as much as it scared him to think she would inherit his insecurities and struggles, there were moments like these when his heart soared to find himself in another person and know that Annabel would never have to grow up feeling that she was alone in her tendencies or fascinations.

He hugged Annabel against him, “I just love you so much, bug.”

“With your whole heart?” Annabel questioned absentmindedly tracing patterns with her finger over the notes and drawings she had made of the violins. 

“Absolutely,” he answered, studying her notes.

“That’s what Y/N said moms do,” Annabel continued innocently finally turning to face him, “She said that mommies love their kids with their whole heart no matter what.”

She roughly quoted the words she had heard last night, further proving to Spencer that she had at least partially inherited his memory.

“That’s true,” he answered, nodding slightly.

Annabel slumped against him, “Why don’t I have a mommy? Everyone at school has one and my friend- Marina, she even has two mommies.”

Annabel’s tone had changed slightly and he heard a familiar yearning in it that he recognized from his own childhood. The quiet desperation for something every other kid in the world seemed to have other than you. He did his best not to let her words weigh too heavy on his heart. It was natural for a child to want what they didn’t have, especially if it seemed to them that everyone else had it but he still hated it. Spencer wanted her to have everything, to never feel like she was missing out. He wanted to stuff her heart full of love until it poured out.

“Well,” Spencer began precariously, “In order for you to be born, I had to get some help from someone else. She made you in her tummy for me so that I could have you without needing a mommy there to help me.”

“I know,” Annabel whined slightly, frustrated that she couldn’t get her point across, “I know that’s how I was made but why don’t I have a mommy now? If there are families where the mom and dad can decide they want to go get a baby without making one, why can’t there be a mommy who decides she wants me like how you decided?”

A pain twinged near his heart as he searched for some magic word he could say to make it all better.

“I know it’s not always easy, bug, but I love you so much and Y/N and I will always be here for you,” Spencer attempted to answer.

Annabel leaned her head against his chest, “Do you think Y/N would be my mommy? She goes to all the concerts and meetings that the other mommies do.”

“I don’t know,” Spencer answered honestly, brushing his fingers through his little girl’s hair in an effort to soothe her, “Maybe someday but that’s a big job and she already does a lot for us. I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

Annabel sighed leaning further into him.

“Do you want to go get ready for your sleepover with Henry and Aunt JJ?” he offered, trying to buoy her spirits. She nodded solemnly and rose from her spot taking her dad’s hand in hers as they headed towards her room.

~~~~

“Long nights of writing a story that flows like water till the sun rises and being able to dream of that book while the sun’s away- careful, you might tempt what remains of the twenty-four year old version of me.”

He hadn’t meant to read her emails. It had started out innocent enough, Spencer opening her computer to print the new chapters of her book for her. It had started out this way but once he saw her open inbox and the message she had left for the publisher from New York, he couldn’t help himself. 

More than her name signed at the end of the email, what shook Spencer was the truth in her words. They were Y/N’s words through and through, every phrase painted and signed in her unique way. It wouldn’t have felt out of place in one of the manuscripts she kept precariously stacked on her desk.

Long nights? Dreaming while the sun’s away? Something pulled taut inside of him as he pulled the unwritten reason she couldn’t live out the fantasy she described in the email. There was no writing all night and sleeping all day. Not when she had to be up to make lunches, take Annabel to school, and all the other mundane tasks that conflicted with the romantic dream of her life as a writer. 

As much as Spencer wanted to deny the picture Y/N had painted with her words, his mind couldn’t bridge the cavern of truth that lay there. This was the life she had described to him in college when they both sat outside drunk on exhaustion during finals week. This had been what got her through every bullshit assignment and misogynist professor. It had been her dream as long as he could remember.

A dream that she had set aside to come change his daughter’s diapers with him in DC. 

Worry pulled his muscles tight. Y/N wouldn’t leave, would she? Not when he had just promised Annabel that she was dependable, that she would always be there. Spencer knew that Y/N had changed her life to move in with him and his several months old infant all those years ago but he had believed her everytime she told him that she was content with the arrangement, that she didn’t mind. It all came crashing in on him how much she had given up just for the sake of helping him with his infant daughter. Y/N had shattered a version of her life to be there with him, a version she could never get back. It would be natural for her to want it back. To want something other than life in a cramped apartment with him and his daughter. 

His mind spun with fear and anxiety, stray thoughts running into each other until they turned into a dizzying ball of anxiety. Spencer moved to the living room and sat on the couch glad JJ had already come to pick up Annabel. Whatever this crisis amounted to, Annabel didn’t deserve to bear the weight of it.

~~~~

It had been his apartment, his and Annabel’s, but over the years she had slowly leaned what had been Spencer’s dark academia styled apartment into something brighter and more lively. Y/N wasn’t a maximalist by choice necessarily, but she had a way of accumulating objects. Something cute she had seen waiting in line at the grocery store, some obscure item she had seen on Pinterest. But what she collected more than anything was books.

There were books on nearly every surface, leaving just enough room for the apartment to still be livable for two adults and a seven-year-old girl. Books on coffee tables, books on counters, books stacked in piles on the floor. Together they had long surpassed the carrying capacity of the shelves, leading books to spill out on to every available space and ultimately providing Y/N’s cat an easy way to bound from every piece of furniture in the apartment without having to step on the floor.

There were books on every topic any of them had found fascinating during any point of their lives. Books on gardening from when Y/N had grown fascinated with growing herbs, books on dinosaurs from when Spencer had wanted to impress Jack and Henry with less known facts, books from every stage of Annabel’s life. 

The books told a story, albeit a messy one. One where the three of them danced from fascination to fascination sharing their interests and passions with each other. It was a beautiful story and one Spencer hoped would never end.

As much as Y/N enjoyed the detailed accounts of obscure places and creatures that filled the apartment, he knew her true love was fiction. That was what filled her bags wherever she went and often covered her entire bed. These were the books she laughed and cried to. Ultimately that was who she was underneath the biographies and historical novels he and Annabel managed to surround her with.

She was a storyteller.

Her mind spun with stories picking them out of her brain like cotton candy and he couldn’t see it. He couldn’t see it and he couldn’t appreciate her the way she deserved to be.

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night,” the words passed through Spencer’s lips as Y/N crossed through the doorway and began to unwind his purple scarf from her neck.

“Sitting in the dark quoting Eleonora?” Y/N questioned, eyeing him through the shadows of the apartment, usually she was able to keep up with his strange language of phrases and quotes but this was different, “Are you going for a Poe thing today? Just promise me you won’t run off and go marry your thirteen year-old cousin.”

He twitched slightly at her words, beginning to recognize how strange he was being but continued sitting on the couch solemnly watching her in a passive attempt to memorize the way she moved and spoke as if he could ever forget it.  

Spencer could barely see the way her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she moved to join him on the couch, taking a similar position to where she had sat the other night, “Are you okay?”

“Are you leaving?” he asked suddenly, regretting the fact that he couldn’t add “me” to the end of the sentence. For all the years they had spent in that apartment together he still couldn’t claim her in that capacity. If she left, she wouldn’t be leaving him, she would simply be leaving.

“What?” Y/N asked in genuine curiosity, perched on her knees on the couch facing him and internally begging him to do the same.

“Are you leaving to go to New York?” he rephrased the question. Something in him burned and wanted out. He was mad and tired. Mad and tired with himself for letting them both play house together for seven years while his heart screamed at him to do absolutely anything other than let things keep moving forward as they were.

“What are you talking about?” her voice rose in a similar fashion, exasperation and confusion painting a new expression on her face.

“Are you leaving for your ‘Long nights of writing a story that flows like water till the sun rises and being able to dream of that book while the sun’s away?’” Spencer threw her words back at her with an unwarranted venom.

She traced her words back to their source and tried to catch up to whatever train of thought Spencer was spiraling on, “Are you talking about my emails with that New York publishing guy who keeps begging me to work for him?”

Spencer’s silence reverberated through the room giving Y/N a fair impression of the truth, “He emails me a couple times a year, I was just being polite. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then why didn’t you tell him no,” he finally turned to her eyes brightly lit with a fire she couldn’t place. A fire that was blazing and passionate, but laced with anger.

“I’m going to!” she stood from the couch and began to pace, as if she could retrace his steps this way, “God, Spence. Why are you so mad?”

“I’m mad because you lied to me,” he scraped the bottom of the barrel finding anything he could blame her for in an attempt to settle the fire that raged inside him, “You told me this was enough. You told me that you didn’t mind spending your days with me and Annabel!”

Y/N shook her head aimlessly gawking at whatever deranged story he was trying to tell himself.

“But-” Spencer paused momentarily to dampen down the flames escaping him, “You told him that you were tempted by his offer. That you wanted ‘long nights writing and sleeping all day.’”

His eidetic memory misquoted the words, striking a match against Y/N’s exasperation, “And since you read my emails, you should know that I also told him that was what I wanted when I was twenty-four. Look around you, Spencer. Neither of us is twenty-four anymore!”

She scoffed slightly before saying the words that finally drove him to his breaking point, “I mean for fuck’s sake, Spencer. You have a seven-year-old daughter now.”

“You’re right,” whatever was boiling inside of him came to a simmer, “I do have a daughter. A daughter who has become so attached to you that she wants you to be her mother and she deserves a mother like you but I know sure as hell I can’t ask that of you.”

“Oh my god!” Y/N called out running a hand through her already tousled hair, “is that what this is all about? You feeling guilty about wanting me to be Annabel’s mom?”

“No, no-” he cut her off suddenly, voice tainted with desperation, “I feel guilty because I want you to be my wife!”

~~~~

Whoever said that first kisses were electric was terribly wrong. If anything it was magnetic. Once they started falling into each other they couldn’t stop, every emotion tearing through their bodies simultaneously. Every passion and reservation that had been so delicately balanced between them came crashing down. Their lips locked again and again barely leaving time for breath as their magnetic force pulled them back together again and again. Y/N had a thousand thoughts racing through her head, a thousand questions she wanted to ask but any slight inclination she had to pull away from Spencer was immediately stifled by the crashing wave of another kiss.

Spencer pulled her closer and closer to him until he was pulling her up towards his own lips wanting every touch, every breath to be shared leaving no room for the space they had both continually put between each other. Her fingers twisted in his hair desperately holding on to the very real feel of him in her hands. The eager push and pull of their bodies wasn’t particularly conducive to balance it seemed, as they tumbled onto the couch in an awkward bundle of intertwined limbs. They were one. They were whole and even without words they both knew they were in love.

No one ever mentioned how exhausting it was. The emotional overload and frenzied limbs making quick work of all remaining energy and stamina. They slowed together melting into a collective mess of rapid heartbeats and heated breaths. Melding together into a ball of love on the couch. Spencer leaned his forehead to hers, taking solace in the moment he knew would be forever seared into both of their minds.

“Do you know-” he heaved a heavy breath out, “how long I’ve wanted to do that?”

“Sixteen years,” she gave her own answer to the question, finding it rang true when he smiled and pulled her impossibly closer to him.

His laughter gentle and pleasant, leaving his mouth in warm breaths and dancing on the side of her check, as they both relished in the weight that had left their chests and hearts, “I’ve loved you for so long, so stupidly long.”

“Me too,” her hand brushed through his soft curls as she examined him in this new context. 

“I loved you when you decided to read the entire Harry Potter series in a weekend,” his paused to interject his words with soft kisses trailing up her arm, “I loved you when you sat with my mom and talked about Margery Kempe for three hours straight,” another kiss, “I loved you when you sent me letters from Nevada everyday for a year,” he had made it to the top of her shoulder, “I loved you when I saw you hold my daughter in your arms for the first time,” Spencer planted a kiss in the crook of her neck and sent a shiver through her entire body, “I have loved you every single day since I first saw you sitting on campus against a willow tree with a pile of books.”

He pulled back from her to look into her eyes, “I have wanted this for so long. I don’t know what you want now or what you’re ready for in terms of a relationship but whatever you want, whenever you want it just let me know and I will give you the entire world.”

Her hand was soft and smooth when she brought it to the side of his face and finally whispered, “I want to be your wife.”

A familiar light sparkled in his eyes with liveliness and all the spontaneity Spencer Reid could manage.

“Well let’s go then,” in a swift movement she hadn’t been remotely anticipating, Spencer scooped from the couch and pulled them both up with her in his arms. She yelped in surprise at her new position and Spencer’s ability to carry her like this.

“What are you doing?” Y/N cried out with a laugh as he began to carry her towards his room.

“We’re getting married,” he laughed, the playful light in his eyes shimmering with even more brightness.

“In your bedroom?”

“No,” he crossed into the room and set her on his bed before looking over his shoulder at her, “This is just a pit stop.”

“A pit stop?” she echoed voice still light and her smile apparent in her tone.

“There’s something I want to get for you,” Spencer trailed of slightly as he began rummaging through his things. Y/N pushed herself up from the bed to get a better view of what he was doing. Eventually he pulled a small velvet box from a drawer and tossed it to her. 

In a miraculous display of coordination, Y/N caught it and held the small box in her hands with a slight tilt to her head, “What is this?”

“Open it,” he leaned against the dresser watching her with a careful gaze.

Sending him one last questioning gaze, Y/N eased the box open to reveal a golden ring with a red gemstone set in the middle of it, “I still don’t understand.”

“It was my grandmother’s,” Spencer began to explain, “My mom gave it to me a little after you moved here, she said she thought I might need it.”

“Seven years ago?” she asked.

“Seven years ago,” he nodded, “She’s always believed there was something between us.”

Y/N studied him doing her best to make sense of the words he was sharing with her, “Well, I guess she wasn’t wrong there.”

Her eyes trailed down to the ring, the red gem sending bits of light bouncing around in the box.

“You don’t have to take it,” Spencer started, “We don’t have to do anything right now or ever for that matter. I just-”

Y/N shook her head slightly and stood bringing the box with her, “I already told you, I want to marry you.”

The corner of his smile leaped up again as he took the box from her and pulled the ring from its place. Slowly, as if he still expected her to change her mind, he took Y/N’s left hand and slid the ring onto her finger.

“I like that,” he whispered to the quiet between them.

She smiled down at the ring on her finger, “Me too.”

~~~~

“When I decided to use a surrogacy program to have my Annabel I did so because I thought I would never meet the love of my life. I was right, in a way. I had already met her.”

The sun was warm on everyone’s skin but the breeze managed to cool everything to a comfortable temperature. It wasn’t exactly a speech but Spencer still managed to speak with a clear and confident quality to the large table of people at the party. It mostly consisted of BAU members, past and present, with a few family members dotted here and there but it was just right. 

The party had been Garcia’s idea. There was little point in anything too formal when Spencer and Y/N had eloped the night after they confessed but seeing everyone they cared about gathered in one space with pleasant easy grins on their faces was absolutely worth it. 

He smiled to everyone but his eyes locked on hers as he continued, “I did the whole family thing a little bit backwards, having a baby, then watching you become my daughter’s mother and now marrying you. It’s a little strange but I can’t find the energy to care when it got us here.”

Y/N beamed up at him, the sun and his words warming her heart to an easy glow. 

“I love you and I’m so glad we finally got here,” he finished with a bright smile on his face. Y/N stood and leaned in to kiss him with as much love and joy as she could manage here in front of their friends and families.

“I love you too,” she said, cupping his face in her hands.

he would never say anything to you, he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable so you decided to take matters into your own hands. normally you would've been more respectful of jj and will's space but you couldn't help yourself. it was a feral NEED to have spencer in you, right there and then.

of course, you waited for the boys to go to bed, you were calm as you read them their bedtime stories and checked for monsters under their beds. you were even calm for a good 30 minutes after lights out - just in case. but when spencer came back out to the living room, giving you a thumbs up to indicate that the kids were in fact asleep you lost all composure.

you push him against the soft couch, your legs straddling his thighs and your hands against his face. he's looking at you - noticeably surprised, amused and aroused all at once. there's a small exchange of words, wherein you tell him you need him inside you before you lose your mind - and he tells you to take what's yours, and you do - you pull him out of his pants and push your panties aside and sink down onto him.

it's confusingly euphoric…the feeling of him inside you touching you exactly where you needed him and the twisted knowledge that your closest friends could walk in at any moment. spencers holding you close, his fingers in your mouth to keep you quiet as one grips your hip to help you move. your thighs burn from the impact of bouncing up and down but so worth it.

He hadn’t put her down since except when she was being cleaned and you fed her. Spencer never knew it was possible to be in love more than he already had with you, but he didn’t mind being proven wrong from time to time. The love that bursting from his chest was like a garden of fireworks in July, warm and exciting and merry. It was impossible for him not to smile every time his eyes landed on his sleeping daughter in his arms, her tiny mouth yawning every now and then. Her nose really resembles yours, he thought, and he couldn’t be happier.

Spencer made a mental note to call your parents and send a letter to his mom. Taking tons of pictures too for them to see.

But for now, he just wanted to sit down and relish the moment. You were sleeping soundly on the bed, exhausted from the long hours of labor and nine months of growing an absolutely beautiful human being. Spencer made sure to be quiet and careful with his movements to not wake you up, determined to let you get a peaceful sleep after antagonizing days of lack of sleep.

He never knew it was possible for him to reach this point in life. To think about it, he never knew it was a possibility or even an option for him before you walked into his life unprompted. Spencer always liked to think about it as a gift straight up from Gods above, not that he ever told you that out loud.

A quiet and gentle knock on the door bursted out his bubble. Spencer blinked as he quietly shuffled towards the door with his daughter still in his arms, reluctant to let her go in fear she would crumble into dust and everything was a mere figment of his imagination. He didn’t make it halfway through the room before the door was gently swung open, a familiar face peeked through the gap with a soft smile.

“Hey, boy wonder. Heard that the newest member of The Reids was born this morning,” Garcia greeted him with a soft smile. She wore a blue outer with a white dress underneath that reminded Spencer of Cinderella’s fairy godmother. The thought made him grin. “Oh my God, is that her?”

“Hey, Garcia,” Spencer made sure his voice was quiet, careful not to stir his daughter and you from slumber. “Come here, meet Aika.”

Garcia shuffled towards him and Aika in his arms, her heels clicking against the floor. Spencer noticed the team quietly let themselves into the room, quiet and no words exchanged as their eyes landed on your sleeping form. Even then, you were still stirred awake from sensing another presence other than him and your newborn baby, smiling when you caught the sight of the whole team in your room. And Aika must have sensed another presence in the room she was not familiar with and started to wail.

Spencer cooed, “Shhh. It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just your aunts and your uncles.” Softest of voices reserved for her, rocking her back and forth in vain attempt to ease her fear of unfamiliar presences. Everyone cooed and awed at the sound of her wailing, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the sound of his heart cracking in his chest at the sight of her crying.

Your hands immediately reached for Aika, an exhausted yet happy smile on your face as Spencer gently placed her on your chest. Her wails immediately quieted down and turned into soft whimpers and sobs, melted right away at the first contact of your skin as if it soothed her from any worries the world might offer. Spencer’s heart was aching from the sight alone, happiness blossoming inside his chest like flowers in the spring and he swore he would turn the world upside down if it meant his daughter and you were happy and safe.

Morgan pulled a chair next to your bed, “Hey, mama. How do you feel?”

You scrunch your nose. “Sore, but happy,” you sighed happily as Aika curled up on your chest, nodding off. “She’s really fond of giving her parents surprises.”

“Figure as much,” Emily nudged your shoulder gently, a wide smile on her face. Spencer noticed that a presence of a child near the team tends to fish out their best smiles, soft and happy and warm. It wasn’t the first time they were near children, but it was only now he took notice. “Given that her parents love to give us surprises too.”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head. “Would you like to hold her?”

Emily nodded, excited with the prospect of holding your newborn but also scared at the thought of holding one. Spencer stood right next to her immediately, reminding himself that he didn’t need to freak out at the sight of his baby in another person’s arm beside him and you.

“Careful, watch her head,” Spencer grimaced.

“Be gentle, Prentiss,” Morgan joked, standing up to see Aika closer in Emily’s arm. Emily’s face was a flashing mixture of awe and concern.

“Hush, I know, I know,” Emily shot him a mock glare, lips twitching into a smile. Aika blinked her eyes towards Emily briefly before she fell back into her peaceful slumber again, as if she didn’t just cry her hearts out minutes before. “Hi, Aika. Auntie Em here.”

“She’s beautiful,” JJ breathed. Her knuckles gently caressed Aika’s cheek and cooed at the sight of her leaning into her touch. She turned around slightly to address you, “She has your nose.”

Spencer grinned and nodded in approval, glad that someone beside him noticed the little quirks and beautiful resemblance between you and Aika. Everyone made a round to greet Aika that was sleeping soundly in Emily’s arm, loving and adoring with their soft voices. It was such a thrilling and relieving fact that Aika was born with so many people who love her already.

“A baby girl for the first time after three boys,” Rossi mused after he greeted Aika, “I have the feeling she will be spoiled rotten by every one of you here.”

You and Spencer shared a look while Garcia snorted, “Please, I spoil everyone equally.”

Laughter rang through the wall, warm like summer breeze and familiar like an old sweater. Hotch announced that he will head down to the cafeteria to grab something to bite, and everyone followed him with the exception of Emily. Rossi announced about paying for everyone’s food — that includes yours and Spencer’s — and a loud cheer was out and faded as they took a sharp left turn towards the hallway.

Morgan was halfway out the door when you called him, “Morgan, can you stay here for a little while?”

“Yeah?” he turned around slowly, walking back in with eyebrows furrowed together. “What’s up?”

Spencer glanced at you and you nodded at him. There had been a lot of conversations between you and him regarding this decision. An honor that both you and him would love to give. “So, we’ve been talking a lot,” Spencer glanced at you. “We both agree and would love to have you and Emily as Aika’s godparents.”

“You kidding…” Emily trailed, surprise painted clearly in her face. Spencer scooted next to her immediately, hands hovering right below Aika in fear she might have dropped her out of surprise. “I— wow. Really?”

You nodded. “Yeah. What do you say?”

“I’ll be honored,” Morgan replied almost immediately. His voice was soft and gentle, a little bit strained too, Spencer thought that he might cry and burst into tears any time. “Thank you.”

“Wow. Aika, did you hear that? I’m your godmother,” Emily whispered, delight laced thickly in her voice. “We’ll team up together to prank your parents once you’re old enough.”

“Please don’t install any evil streak on my daughter!” you slapped Emily’s side gently and laughed. “If anything happens to either me or Spencer, it’s your duty to make sure that Aika is loved and her voice is out to be heard by the world.”

“And as her godfather, my first order of business is to make sure that her parents are safe and sound to watch her grow up.”

Spencer smiled, even Aika made some quiet baby noises as if she was agreeing with her godfather. Morgan made a smug comment about how he was right and Aika is agreeing with him. Relief washed Spencer like a wave crashing the shore, calm yet strong enough to knock him. Aika was born into a world filled with people who loved and will love her, and with love she shall live.

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