The Sentient Orange

You mesmerized him then, and you kept doing it every single day since he had basically moved into your little house.

Their latest victim was a teacher here and your coworker, so he was extra motivated to solve it as quickly as he could. You weren’t exactly friends with Aubrey, the murdered woman, but you weren’t enemies either.

“Looks like you’ve been here before,” Emily smiled as he confidently took a turn and walked up the stairs.

“I saw the map,” he mumbled as he stopped right at the door.

The truth was, he had picked up you and Theo so many times in the last few months that he could draw a map with his eyes closed. He knew your classroom was on the ground floor, second door to the left, and Theo’s was on the other side of the hall. But he would come up here for his French lessons every Tuesday.

The conversation with the principal was short but successful, giving them a few new leads that needed to be studied.

Spencer was about to thank his lucky stars that he hadn’t crossed paths with you yet, even though he desperately wanted to make sure you were okay, when they heard the loud ring and the hall suddenly filled with kids.

He looked around carefully as Derek and Hotch joined them after talking to some of the other teachers.

“Mr. Henderson said the victim was nervous the last few days. Extra jumpy. She had a note on her windshield a few days ago, but they assumed it was just a student prank,” Emily said quietly, looking around. The last thing she wanted was for some barely-teenager to overhear them.

Spencer opened his mouth to add his thoughts when a little body ran right into him and wrapped tiny arms around his waist.

“Spence! Hi! Are you here to pick me up? Mom said you’d be busy, but you’re here!”

Big blue eyes looked up at him hopefully as Spencer put an arm around the boy, exhaling nervously. At least he knew your son was safe.

“Hey, buddy. No, I’m here for work, I’m sorry. But I’ll try to pick you up from soccer practice tomorrow. How does that sound?” he asked, smiling at him while holding him steady against his body.

Hotch stilled, looking between his agent and the child. Morgan’s jaw dropped slightly, and Emily’s expression became a mix of shock and confusion.

“Alright...” Theo sighed, looking around the hall. “Mom said she’d be here soon. She doesn’t want me taking the bus today.”

“I’m sure she planned something fun for the two of you then,” Spencer nodded, smiling down at him, trying to cheer him up a little.

Reid knew how much Theo loved taking the bus with his friends after school.

“Can I call you tonight? Mom wasn’t sure. She said you might be too busy.”

“You can always call me, buddy. I’ll be waiting for your call,” Spencer smiled warmly just as you approached them.

Reid looked at you with those puppy eyes, immediately noticing the nervousness in your expression and the way you fidgeted with your fingers.

“Hi, baby. Is everything alright?”

You looked at him and then at the three other agents, biting your lip uncertainly.

“Hi. Yes, everything’s fine.”

“We’re here for a case,” Spencer explained softly. “You have nothing to worry about. We’re just talking to some people who worked with Aubrey.”

He wrapped his other arm around you and kissed your forehead. You relaxed instantly at the gesture, melting slightly into his side.

“Baby? Buddy? What are we missing here, Reid?” Derek’s voice cut through the air as he stared at the two of you dumbfounded.

Hotch seemed to shake off the initial shock, but Emily’s eyes bounced back and forth between the three of you.

Spencer sighed as he looked up at them with a shy smile, refusing to let go of either of you.

“This is my girlfriend, Y/N, and her son, Theo. Guys, this is Emily, Derek, and Hotch.”

“Girlfriend? Son?” Derek blinked at him before you could properly introduce yourself.

“Yeah. For a few months now,” you confirmed with a smile.

Theo bounced excitedly between the two of you, thrilled that he finally got to meet Spencer’s coworkers.

“Seven months, three days, and fourteen hours officially,” Spencer corrected.

You giggled at his response and shook your head before focusing back on the three agents.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. I guess the secret’s out.”

This was definitely not how you expected to meet his friends.

You had planned on inviting them over once you finished your backyard garden and hosting a barbecue, not running into them after a full day of classes in the middle of a busy school hallway. You probably had marker stains on your shirt and glitter on your cheek from the art projects you did with the first graders.

Theo, on the other hand, looked mesmerized as he took in the guns peeking out from their belts.

“Woooow, are you cool agents like Spence? You chase bad guys?”

You couldn’t help but smile softly at your son.

“Yes, sweetie, these are Spencer’s friends, and they’re working right now, so we’re going to say goodbye and let them do their jobs, okay?”

You took Theo’s backpack and threw it over your shoulder.

Spencer immediately took it from you, shaking his head.

“I’ll carry it to your car. See you guys in a minute?” he asked, waiting for a nod from Hotch before he started walking away with one arm around you and his other hand wrapped around Theo’s smaller one.

“Hope to properly meet you soon,” you called over your shoulder with a smile before turning back toward where Spencer was leading you.

“Alright, I knew he’d been different these last few months, but who would’ve thought our Spencer would be a stepdad in the making?” Emily asked as she watched the three of you walk away.

“Alright, man, what the fuck?” Derek looked at Spencer, clearly hurt by the secret family his friend had kept hidden from them.

“I know, I know. But I’m not sorry,” Spencer admitted. “I needed to make sure it was going to work out before I introduced you guys. And I was planning to. At the FBI family picnic next month.”

“I get that. But for half a year? A woman with a son? Are you sure, brother? Those are big shoes to fill.”

He studied Spencer carefully, noticing how protective his posture had become, like he was physically ready to shield you and Theo from any criticism.

“I love her,” Spencer said simply. “And I love Theo. I just... needed them to be mine for a little while before I shared them with anyone. And yes, Morgan, I’m sure. They walked into my life accidentally, and since then, I can’t imagine my life without either of them.”

His voice softened with affection as he spoke about you and Theo.

“So... now that the secret’s out, are you bringing her to Rossi’s on Friday?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, I guess so. If she wants to. I need to tell JJ too. Maybe she can bring the boys so Theo has someone to play with.”

“I’m guessing she already knows by now. Morgan made Garcia run a background check on your girl,” Emily teased.

Reid looked at his friend in horror.

“You did not.”

“Oh, but I did,” Morgan grinned. “And I like what I learned about Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N.”

He opened the door to the black SUV so they could head back to the office.

“Or maybe I should say future Mrs. Reid?”

Every morning he told himself he was being stupid. Every night he touched the small velvet box hidden inside his jacket and thought about you anyway.

It had happened during a supply run outside Alexandria. It was just like any other day. Just another abandoned house slowly being swallowed by time and nature. Broken windows, collapsed furniture, dust coating every surface.

Daryl had only entered because Aaron wanted canned food from the kitchen cupboards.

Instead, Daryl found the ring upstairs. A tiny velvet box hidden inside a bedside table drawer.

He almost ignored it completely, but then he opened it.

And there it was.

A simple ring with a small diamond that still caught the afternoon sunlight somehow despite years of dust and ruin. Daryl stared at it for a long moment. The old world felt strange sometimes. He found ghosts everywhere.

People who once loved each other enough to promise forever. Most days Daryl thought forever was a dangerous thing to believe in.

Then he thought about you.

About your sleepy smile every morning when he returned from runs. About the way you automatically reached for him. About sitting on the porch together after dark while you rested your head on his shoulder, fingers interwined. About how Alexandria finally felt like home because you were there. And suddenly the thought appeared so naturally it nearly stole the air from him.

Marry her.

Daryl immediately shut the box again.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered to himself.

Yet somehow the ring still ended up in his pocket. The problem was that once the idea existed in his mind, it refused to leave him alone.

By the second day, Carol noticed something was going on with him. Mostly because Daryl kept absentmindedly checking his pocket every five minutes.

“You’re acting weird,” Carol Peletier observed casually while chopping vegetables.

“Ain’t.”

“You nearly walked into a wall earlier.”

Daryl grunted and Carol narrowed her eyes.

 “Oh my God.”

“What?”

“You’re going to ask her to marry you.”

He looked genuinely horrified.

“Keep your damn voice down!”

Carol gasped dramatically. 

“You are!”

“Shut up.”

“You found a ring, didn’t you?”

Daryl stared at her silently, Carol placed a hand over her heart.

“This is the best day of my life.”

“It ain’t even like that.”

“You have carried around that expression for three days straight, Daryl. You look like a frightened raccoon.”

“A what?” He scowled deeply.

“You heard me.”

Carol spent the next several days being completely unbearable. Every time you walked into a room she smirked at Daryl like she knew a secret.

Which she did.

Daryl considered throwing himself off Alexandria’s walls at least twice.

Meanwhile you remained blissfully unaware, mostly because Daryl still acted normal around you.

Well.

Mostly normal.

You noticed the increased staring and the fact he kept opening his mouth like he wanted to say something before changing his mind. One evening while sitting together on the porch outside your house, you finally nudged his shoulder lightly.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothin’.”

“You’re terrible at lying.”

“Said I’m fine.”

You studied him carefully, he looked nervous, which almost never happened unless something truly mattered to him. You reached over and took his hand gently.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Daryl’s chest tightened painfully, that was exactly the problem, because he loved you so much it genuinely frightened him sometimes.

That night he barely slept, and by morning he had decided two things.

First, he was absolutely going to ask you.

Second, he might actually die from the anxiety beforehand.

The opportunity arrived unexpectedly later that afternoon, most of Alexandria gathered near the centre of the street helping repair fencing after a recent storm.

You stood nearby sorting tools while laughing at something Glenn said.

And Daryl suddenly thought, If I don’t ask now, I never will.

His heart hammered violently.

“Hey,” he muttered.

You looked over immediately, smiling the second you saw him.

There it is, Daryl thought helplessly.

That damn smile.

“You alright?”

“Yeah.”

He absolutely was not. Daryl rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms against his trousers before glancing around.

Too many people.

Nope.

Absolutely not.

“Can ya come with me a sec?”

You tilted your head curiously but followed him without question, Daryl led you behind one of the quieter houses near the edge of Alexandria where the noise from the others faded into the background.

“What’s wrong?” you asked, worried, you have never seen Daryl like this before. Daryl turned towards you. Then immediately forgot every single sentence he had prepared.

Brilliant.

“Daryl?”

He swallowed hard, his fingers fumbled nervously inside his jacket pocket before pulling out the small velvet box. Your eyes widened instantly.

“Oh.”

Daryl stared firmly at the ground, he was too afraid to look at you in the eyes.

“Found it on a run.”

You looked down at the ring before looking back at him, he was still staring at the ground.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

Daryl’s heart pounded so hard he genuinely thought he might throw up, finally he forced himself to continue but he still couldn’t look at you. 

“Been carryin’ it around.”

“Why?”

Daryl finally looked up at you then, his blue eyes were full of something so open and vulnerable it made your chest ache.

“Cause I kept thinkin’ about you.”

Daryl rubbed a hand nervously over the back of his neck.

“Ain’t got some big speech planned or nothin’,” he admitted roughly. “Don’t really know how ta do this right.”

“You’re doing fine,” you whispered, he laughed a little under his breath.

“Nah. Prob’ly not.” Then his expression turned serious again. “But I know I wanna wake up next ta you every day I got left.”

Tears immediately filled your eyes Daryl stepped closer.

“Know the world’s all messed up now. Maybe rings don’t mean much anymore.”

“They do,” you whispered shakily as his thumb brushed nervously against the edge of the box.

“You make this place feel good.” His voice cracked slightly. “Make me feel good.”

Your heart completely melted.

“And I…” He exhaled shakily. “Hell.”

“Take your time.” You smiled, you could only imagine how difficult this was for him. He was never a man of many words. Daryl looked at you with so much love it nearly hurt.

“Will you be my wife?”

Silence.

Daryl’s entire body tensed immediately. Then you started crying, his eyes widened in panic.

“Oh God. Was that bad?”

“No!” You laughed through your tears instantly.

“You cryin’ seemed bad!”

You grabbed his jacket quickly before he could spiral further.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes!”

Relief hit his face so hard it almost looked painful, you were sure a huge weight fell off his shoulders just then.

“Oh thank Christ.”

You burst into laughter while he shakily slid the ring onto your finger. It fit surprisingly well.

“There,” Daryl muttered softly, staring down at your hand like he could not believe it. “Mine.”

Your entire chest warmed.

“Your wife,” you corrected gently.

Daryl looked absolutely wrecked emotionally by those words.

Then he kissed you, with overwhelmingly tenderness.

One hand cradled your face while the other settled firmly against your waist like he needed to keep you close.

When you finally pulled apart, both of you were smiling helplessly. Unfortunately, neither of you realised Carol had followed him.

“Oh my God!”

You jumped, Daryl groaned. Carol stood nearby looking ready to explode with excitement.

“I knew it! I knew it!”

“You were spying on us?!” Daryl snapped.

“Yes,” Carol replied easily. “And I regret nothing, that was so cute.”

Then she spotted the ring on your hand and immediately screamed loud enough to alert half of Alexandria. Within seconds, people started appearing around the corner.

Glenn looked delighted, Maggie gasped happily, Rick blinked once before grinning.

“Holy shit,” Glenn laughed. “Daryl proposed?”

“Everybody shut up,” Daryl muttered, already turning red.

Too late.

The entire street erupted into celebration, yet through all the noise, Daryl only looked at you. Still staring at the ring on your finger like he could barely believe this was real.

“You happy?” you whispered, Daryl looked back up immediately, then he cupped your face gently.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Got everythin’ I ever wanted.”

And honestly? You felt exactly the same way.

~Masterlist~