Title: Developments and Changes Part 1: Sharing the News
Author: Trista Groulx
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, it belongs to its creator, network, writers, actors and actresses who bring it to life.
Summary: Prentiss and Reid are getting ready to welcome their new baby, but first they need to tell a few more people, and deal with a few more bumps, but mostly fluff.
Notes: This is in my Prentiss/Reid series, starting with Wedding Date Blues. There are only a few more of these left then I'm trying something new, same pairing more drama I promise.

Reid and Prentiss entered Bennington's, Reid was holding her hand, trying to reassure her. The last time they had seen Diana was after her stroke, and she hadn't remembered that they had been married. They went over to the nurses station.

"Good morning Doctor Reid, we didn't know you were coming today," one of the nurses said smiling.

"I wanted to surprise her. How is she doing?" he asked.

"She's doing very well, she's got her mobility back since the stroke, but her memory is still affected."

"All right, thank you for the heads up."

"Is your wife going in with you?"

"Yes, of course she is. We need to tell her something."

"All right, well good luck. Mister Gideon left about an hour ago, so she should be relaxed."

"Thank you."

They walked toward her room. His hand was on the small of her back. He knocked gently on the door. Reid was holding Prentiss' hand. He was nervous about telling his mother about the baby. Mostly because he was not sure that they would get the same reaction they would have before she had had the stroke. Diana looked at her door, and her face lit up when she saw her son standing there with his wife, at least she thought that the woman was his wife.

"Spencer!" Diana's face lit up when she saw him. "And – Emily?"

"Hi Mom, yes Emily," he said smiling.

"Hi Missus Reid," Prentiss said softly.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Diana asked her daughter in law.

Emily couldn't help but smile. Her hands went to her slightly protruding belly. She was glad that Diana had noticed it. She always liked it when people noticed that she was pregnant. One people figured it out they usually thought she was only a few weeks along, and were always surprised that she was more then half way trough. She wasn't surprised that Diana had noticed, she was a lot like Reid in the way she saw the world.

"Yes, there is," she was grinning. "I'm pregnant."

"I thought so, a mother just knows. How far along are you?"

"Thirty weeks."

Diana couldn't believe her ears. Thirty weeks was three quarters through the pregnancy. She was shocked that she was only learning about this development now. Her son had never kept anything from her before. She tried not to look hurt, but she was upset about this. She knew that she forgot about Emily at times since the stroke, but she never thought her son would keep anything from her.

"Thirty? Spencer! Why am I just finding out about this now?"

"We just found out ourselves, and this is the first time we have been able to fly down to see you," Reid defended. "I couldn't tell you this in a letter Mom."

"All right, I believe you. I wish I had looked that good when I was thirty weeks pregnant. I was such a mess with Spencer, I was off my medication, and that made me gain so much weight, besides the pregnancy weight. But I think Spencer was well worth all the misery went through."

"Misery?" asked Reid, surprised.

"Spencer you may have been my perfect child, but that doesn't mean that getting you was easy for me. You were parked in my uterus and I thought you might never leave! You were over a week past your due date and I was still in labour for thirty hours. But then I got to hold you for the first time and none of that mattered anymore. I had my perfect little boy."

Prentiss always loved to watch the way Reid would blush and squirm when his mother would dote on him. She thought that it was sweet how much his mother loved him. There were times when she wished her own mother would be like that. She couldn't help but smile at the look on Reid's face. He got slightly pale, just like he would when Prentiss would wince when the baby would kick too hard. Reid hated it when his wife was in pain, and he coudln't take it away. Sometimes he felt like the pain she was in from the pregnancy was all his fault, and would feel guilty.

"I hope that you are not in labour that long Emily," Reid mumbled. "I don't think I could stand to see you in pain for that long."

"Even if I am, our baby will be worth it," Prentiss assured him. "You'll get through it Spencer, just like you always do."

"Thank you for having faith in me. I'll try my best to be there for you. I don't want to miss that."

"You know Spencer your father had trouble staying with me through everything," Diana explained. "I should have known then that we might have had a few problems then. He said he would have liked it better if we lived a time where men had nothing to do with the delivery room."

"I think it's going to be interesting, after all I want to see how a new person comes into the world," Reid explained. "Even if I'm a little bit unsure about all of this, I still want to be there for Emily."

"I know you will be there," Prentiss smiled. "Do you think you can go find me some tea?"

"Sure, Mom would you like some at the same time?"

"Yes, please, Spencer, thank you," Diana replied.

Spencer left in search of tea for his wife and mother. He knew that would both want a decaf tea of some sort, and they had asked him to leave because they wanted to talk about something he wasn't supposed to be involved in. He hoped there would be something good in the kitchen. Prentiss was glad she got to be alone for a few minutes with Reid's mother, she wanted to talk to her about the pregnancy, her own mother wasn't that open about it. Diana looked at Prentiss, taking Prentiss' hand gently.

"What's on your mind Emily?" Diana asked her daughter in law.

"It's Spencer. He's read all of these books about what to expect during pregnancy, but there are still parts of it that freak him out. I want to help him but I don't know how."

"Books don't do a very good job of explaining how a child moves as it is growing inside a woman. He was never exposed to it when he was growing up. He's an only child with no aunts or uncles. Until Haley and JJ had their sons he had never been around children."

"So what do I do?"

Prentiss wasn't surprised that he hadn't been around children before. For a man who hadn't been around kids growing up he certainly had picked up on everything quickly. S he found it a little sad that Reid had no cousins. She always thought that he may have babysat for neighbourhood kids. Then she realised that he was always so ahead in school he probably didn't have time to have any kind of after school job.

"Just help him, and nudge him in the right direction when he's doing something wrong. I still remember the letter he wrote me after Henry was born, and he was asked to be the godfather. He was so excited because someone trusted him with their child. He explained how he could practice what he learned about children on someone else's child before he had any of his own. This is all new to him Emily, and things that are new can sometimes be scary even for someone as smart as Spencer."

Emily nodded. "I think I understand. But is he going to be all right in the delivery room, if baby kicks make him uncomfortable I can just picture him fainting when I'm labour."

"He might be a little unsure about everything, but he loves you enough to stand by you."

"How do you know that? I want him there but I don't want him to uncomfortable."

"I know that because I know my son. I see the way he looks at you. He wants the same thing for you as you want for him. The difference is that although he unsure about everything right now, he's fascinated by it. He is learning how everything really happens as he goes. Normally he can figure it out before it happens, and that's what is making him so uncomfortable."

"I never really thought about it that way before. I'll just have to keep helping him through everything."

"You're doing a good job of it. But if he misses the delivery then he will miss the end, and that will bug him, so he will stay with you. I know Spencer he will be there holding your hand and getting you whatever you need the whole time."

"I don't know why I am so worried about all of this. I know logically that he's going ot be fine, and he's not going anywhere. I've seen him with Henry he is so sweet. I just keep thinking maybe it will be different because we are having a girl."

"It's normal to be nervous the first time you become a parent. The only difference will be that she will have him wrapped around her tiny little finger at hello. So I'm going to have a grand-daughter?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I should have mentioned it sooner. We still haven't chosen a name yet, Spencer just calls her Amorino whenever he talks to her. He talks her telling her silly stories every night before we go to bed, it's so sweet. He says he wants her to know his voice."

"That sounds like Spencer. I have some of his old books from when he was a baby. I'll find them so he can read to her."

"Thank you," Prentiss laughed. "He will be thrilled to do that. He says he doesn't remember reading children's books when he was young, so he says he's not sure what he should buy for her."

"I'll get him started. He doesn't know that I kept them when I moved here. I can't believe that you are thirty weeks along."

"You'll believe it when you feel her kick, she's getting pretty strong."

"May I?" she asked, Prentiss nodded, and Diana put her hand on Prentiss' belly. "She is very strong, which means she is probably healthy."

"I like to think so. It's so different when it's you that it's happening to you. I've felt my friends' babies kick, but it's so strange when you start to feel it yourself."

"I remember that with Spencer, he was very active, there were times where I wondered if he would ever sleep."

"She does like to move a lot, but I've found that when Spencer tells her stories, usually about him growing up, it calms her down enough that I can sleep."

"He's so considerate. I always tried to teach him to treat women a certain way. I'm glad that he listened."

"I am too, he's one of the sweetest guys I know," Prentiss explained, grinning.

Reid came into the room with two mugs in his hands. He handed one to his mother then the other to Prentiss. He never liked it when people got quiet when he went into a room. It usually meant they were talking about them. Even though it was his wife and mother he was still uncomfortable.

"Were you talking about me?" he asked.

"No," they both replied at the same.

He blushed a little. "Thank you for lying. I hope you like the tea."

"Thank you Spencer," said Diana, as he handed her her cup first.

Reid handed Prentiss her cup. "It's prefect Spencer" she assured him after she took a sip.

"What do you think, Amorino, that's better then all the coffee mommy likes to drink."

"You're on about my coffee intake?" Prentiss asked.

Diana laughed. "Spencer she is your daughter, she will probably come out with a coffee mug and ten sugars in her hand. Did you know he has been drinking coffee since he was eleven Emily?"

"Eleven?" Prentiss asked surprised.

"How did you know that!"

"I'm your mother Spencer, I know these things."

"Why would you start drinking coffee at eleven?" Prentiss asked, confused.

"I was in high school, my classmates were all drinking it I wanted to fit in, not that it helped."

"I learn something new about you every day, Spencer."

"I need some rest, Spencer," Diana said softly. "If you are still in town tomorrow I'd love to see you again."

"Sure Mom, it all depends on if there's a case, but we'll try our best." He kissed his mother's forehead. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too Spencer, now go find something to eat."

"I will," he chuckled.

The two of them left the sanatorium where Diana lived. They were both relieved that she had not been upset by the news. She was doing a lot better now that she was home. They drove back to their hotel.

End part one

Notes: I figured that Prentiss and Diana needed a little bit of bonding time. Plus I like to think about little poogy-baby Reid lol. This whole thing is just basically tying up the lose ends before the baby is born, the next four parter in the series will be the baby actually coming.