AN: No need for hate towards me or the shippers. Don't like Reid/Seaver? Don't read it. And no, I don't own Criminal Minds or anything related to it. If I did, Seaver would have continued on the series.

For the first time in months the team was in a state of calmness. The last two weeks were physically and mentally exhausting, traveling from city to city, state to state, each case worst than the last. Even Hotch was starting to show signs of wearing off, along with verbal complaints of his team members. Afraid of a massive melt down occurring with the best agents of the BAU, Strauss pulled some strings and guaranteed one whole month of doing "mandatory paper work" for the team, which basically meant that they could stay home for most of their time as long as they sent a handful of reports to her desk every week.

Hotch and JJ were enjoying some quality time with their respective families. Rossi and Morgan were around with their own love conquests. Garcia and Emily were hitting the bars, putting behind all the drama they've experienced the past year. They felt like they were on vacation, which technically it was true. Being workaholics as they were, they knew that all this freedom would end soon, by their own choice probably, so they decided to make the best of it as long as they could.

A week passed before they realized that they had no idea what was Reid up to. He was sending all of his reports to Strauss by email, a weird thing considering his preference for paper instead of a document program. A seven days break was unusual in so many ways, that the realization that they lost touch with one of their colleagues for such a period of time was weird and... well, unsettling to say the least. They knew he wasn't hospitalized, since none of them were notified of anything. But still, he wasn't answering his phone and, when they would send him text messages, Reid replied hours later with no more then 5 words.

JJ was the first to come up with some sort of a plan to check up on the genius without making it look like they were being overly-protective. They set up a dinner party at Rossi's hou... mansion for the next evening, and since he was no longer answering their calls, Morgan, JJ and Garcia were going to pass by his apartment making a face-to-face invitation. Of course it was forced, three people showing up on his front door pretending to be fine with their friend's sudden disappearance, but they were too anxious to think of a better plan.

The three agents met outside Reid's building shortly after lunch, just so, in case Reid asked, they could say that they were having lunch nearby and decided to "take the chance to invite him to Rossi's dinner". Yeah, so spontaneous.

They got into the elevator, discussing again about what Reid would look like.

"I don't know, maybe like Dracula after years of starvation", started Garcia.

"No need to be so dark baby girl".

"Sorry Morgan, but I kind of agree with Garcia on this one. He's probably locked up in his apartment, under the covers, ignoring the rest of the world with a technical book about vampirism on his hands". Despite her words, JJ was doing the best she could to ignore the stubborn image of Spencer lying in a pool of blood with knives stuck all over his body that kept popping up on her mind.

"JJ, he would read something like that in one afternoon". Morgan was trying his best to keep it cool, but he was losing territory.

"Yes Morgan, our Junior G-man is capable of reading any piece of challenging literature in less time it would take any Goth teenager girl to read Twilight. JJ was not being literal, thing which you are doing at this moment, which is making me more and more frustrated because I can't understand how you can act like that while..."

"Ok, ok! Calm down hot mama, I'm just as worried as you all are. I'm just thinking that, maybe, he is suffering with his insomnia again, you know, after the last month that wouldn't surprise me".

The bickering continued until the elevator cabin got to Spencer's floor, and it was time for JJ to break the argument.

"Ok you two, we're here. Let's at least try to act natural. We can form theories about Spence's state of mind later".

The trio walked towards Reid's apartment door. The building's front didn't look fancy or anything, so it was a little hard to grasp how big it actually was after you entered it. Each floor had the same scenario, with white floors and small vases filled with flowers hanging from the shining walls. Every little inch of the building's interior was impeccably clean, an understandable choice coming from a guy like Reid. After 3 whole minutes nervously looking at each other, Garcia took the initiative and rang the doorbell. The guard down the entrance already knew the three FBI agents, so at their request he didn't call Spencer to tell him he had visitors.

It didn't take much before they heard a voice... not Spencer's voice though. Steps were heard coming down the stairs and towards the door. They waited as the person looked through the peephole.

"Garcia?", a feminine voice came from inside the apartment. The door flung open, and utter shock was the only thing you could see on the trio's faces. "JJ and Morgan too! Wow, it feels like ages since the last time I saw you all". Then she looked up the stairs and called, a little louder "Spence! Come down here!"

The owner of that voice was none less than Ashley Seaver, the last person they would imagine to find at that exact moment. But that was not the shocking part. What really made the visitors stop breathing, was Seaver's clothes. Not her clothes, per say, but the large and loose white shirt, which was not doing a good job in hiding her black underwear. Her hair gave away the fact that she had just woken up, and some purple/red "marks" could be seen on some interesting parts of her white skin.

She was about to start hugging them all when she noticed their eyes directed towards her torso. After a brief moment of confusion, her cheeks turned into a bright red shade.

"Oh... I'm... I'm sorry. I though that the maid had forgotten her keys again so I didn't bothered to put on some proper clothes". Just then, they saw Reid coming down the stairs, wearing a pair of jeans and a black shirt, with his hair still a little wet.

"Hun, do you know were are my glasses? I think you threw them somewhere around here last night". He finally looked towards the door, "Garcia what... JJ? And Morgan! What are you all doing here?". He looked at their still mesmerized expressions, and then at Ashley's bright face. "Oh... sorry I didn't come to the door first. I was finishing taking a shower". Then, a little uncertain, he said looking at the embarrassed blond in front of him, "Ash, why don't you go take a shower? I can handle things from here".

"Yeah, you're right. I'll be right back. And I put your glasses on the coffee table in the living room last night". She headed towards the stairs again, just stopping to give Spencer a brief kiss on his cheek. Just as she reached the first step, she looked at the scene behind her with a worried look.

"A moment? More like 30 moments, minimum". That was the only thing Spencer could think of saying after some pretty awkward moments standing at his front door, being the target of three very hard-to-understand looks. But that half-hearted comment was enough to snap JJ, Garcia and Morgan out of their confusion. Which caused three really loud outbursts.

"Last night?!"

"Hun?!"

"Proper clothes?!"

Which was shortly followed by a second, more elaborated, mutual outburst.

"She slept here?!"

"You actually said 'Hun'?!"

"Was that your shirt?!"

And finally, the final one. This time, the trio not only screamed, as they all took a step towards Reid which somehow made the door behind them actually close shut.

"You two are going out?!"

Reid's only reaction was to look a little confused at them, before saying "Why are you so surprised?"

Garcia took the leading role "Oh, I don't know. Maybe, just maybe, because you never, and I say never, mentioned anything about going on dates with our dear miss Ashley Seaver, or with any other girl, as a matter of fact. And I'll use some of my deduction skills here, and say that this has been going on for quite a while now, hasn't it? I mean, if she's taking a shower here, she probably has a change of clothes in your apartment. And she knows when your maid comes to clean, and you asked her where your glasses were! This is something only old married couples do! How could you not tell us? After we were worried sick about your lack of communication this past week!"

Morgan took Garcia's short break for air and followed up, "Reid, how could you not mention anything about this to any of us? I mean, look at her man! One would think that getting a girl like that to come home with you is quite the reason to brag at your working place. C'mon Reid, it's not like this is an everyday think for you!".

At that point they were all at the living room, with Reid pressed between his sofa and three of his best friends. JJ didn't do anything beside stare angrily at Spencer.

"Ow, calm down there! Let me explain! First, I'm sorry, I really am. I should have said something about it sooner, it's just that it happened so fast! After Ashley was transferred, we kept going out as friends. Until one day... it just happened, and it felt so natural. I was so caught up in this new relationship that I didn't want to ruin it by putting pressure with friends and family all over us. And second, Morgan that was a little offensive".

"'Relationship'?", that was JJ's turn to speak. "So now you are in a relationship with someone we already knew, and you think it's okay to hide it from us?!", she took a long breath and looked away from him, "How long?".

"I wasn't hiding I just wasn't ready to...".

"For how long Reid?", JJ used a so-pissed-at-you-right-now-voice which no one remembered ever hearing it coming out of the petite woman's mouth before.

A little surprised, Spencer only said "About two months". And silence was reigning in the apartment once again. Reid couldn't remember when was the last time he saw his friends in such a lost for words.

Garcia saved the day again, "I... I never felt so angry and happy at the same time". She looked like someone who had just heard that the release of their favorite movie was announced only for the next year. "Reid I love you, you know that. And I'm so happy for you two! I mean, I remember how you used to behave around Ashley, you know, that happy and shy glim in your eyes, a goofy smile every time she entered the room. You're addicted to that kick-ass goddess's voice, aways asking for her opinion and challenging her to come up with a profile on her own. And her too! Coming up with excuses to be by your side every investigation, asking a million of things like an apprentice would to her master, even putting through with your constant blabbering and...".

"Baby girl, you're the one blabbering now".

"Sorry, I'm just so emotional. You two are so cute together... I wish I knew about it sooner!". And with a sudden burst of pure happiness she hugged Reid, then pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Ow I have to call Emily! She will be so happy!". And the tech genius start walking towards the kitchen, with her phone already on her ear.

Morgan was laughing at Garcia's mood change before looking at Reid, "I think she's right, I'm mad at you pretty boy, about keeping something like that from us for so long. But I finally understood those purple bags under your eyes you were having after each case, spending some quality time with your girl right?".

Spencer couldn't help the obvious blush that came up to his face, "Yeah... and I'm really sorry about the confusion here. I promise that, as soon as everyone is gathered again I'll tell you a resumed story of everything that happened".

"Nah ah, I don't want you leaving any detail behind. And that reminds me, we came here to invite you to Rossi's dinner party tomorrow night. You can take Seaver with you".

"So the three of you came here just to invite me to a party, huh?".

"Well, you weren't answering your phone. And your texts weren't revealing much either. Since we were having lunch nearby we...".

"Morgan, why would you come around here to have lunch? My neighborhood isn't close to any of you".

JJ finally found her voice, "Morgan, give up. Spence, we were worried about you! You disappeared from our lives with no warning. Need I remind you that we usually see each other every day. That wasn't normal".

"I know. It's just that, both our works kept us from seeing each other for days, so we needed some time to ourselves, just the two of us. That's why we decided to forget about everything for a while. I'm sorry I worried you guys".

"It's fine pretty boy. And for what I saw greeting me today a few moments ago, I guess you two have been busy", Morgan was wearing his best knowing smile that only helped to brighten Reid's already embarrassed face.

"Oh Morgan, stop that". JJ was smiling, but Spencer could see that something seemed forced.

"Hey, I was robbed of two months of teasing the boy wonder here, justice is on my side now. Anyway, I'll check up on Garcia, she's taking to long with her girl talk with Prentiss". Morgan gave a little punch on Reid's shoulder, "I'm happy for you kid". He gave some steps back and looked at JJ, then back to Reid. With a last sympathetic smile he went off to find Garcia.

"Soooo...", Reid started. He was having some difficulties to understand what was going on on JJ's mind, which was giving him an unsettling felling at the bottom of his stomach. He and JJ had some sort of deep brother/sister bond, which made them able to read each other's mind when necessary. Their friendship was a little shanked after the "Emily's death" incident, but they were able to turn things around. The look on JJ's face was worrying him. She was the last person he though who would be mad at him for hiding his new relationship status, since she was the only one in the team who he told about his dates with Ashley... although he left the most important details out.

"I'm sorry I still didn't say how happy I am. I'm just taken back, you know... hiding something like this from me. I just... after Emily's return I knew we weren't as close as before but I didn't know you actually stopped trusting me". Oh, so that was it. She looked hurt.

"JJ...", Spencer looked surprised. "Of course I trust you. You're the one I trust the most in the BAU, you know that. But me and Ashley, we were taking it slow. We wanted to see if we actually had a shot of making this work, before running around telling about this to everyone. Jayje, you know this felling. That's the same reason why you didn't tell us about Will until you were pregnant with Henry, even though some of us already knew". He smiled at her, showing he wasn't angry, but he expected her to understand why he did what he did.

JJ sighed. She knew that. She actually understood. But there was something about this whole thing... "I fell like I'm going to lose you somehow". She didn't notice the words coming out of her brain and escaping through her mouth until she saw Reid's smile grew bigger.

"Jennifer, I'm sorry to let you down, but as Henry's godfather, Will's friend and your residential genius at the BAU, I'm not leaving you any time soon".

The blond agent couldn't help but smile. She hugged her best friend and hold on to him. "I know. Thank you. I'm glad you're not in a pool of blood, stabbed to death".

Spencer's look was amused, "Well, I do try to stay away from deadly objects".

"Oww, look like we are all happy here aren't we?", Morgan's voice came from the hallway. He and Garcia were smiling like two kids on the amusement park.

"What can I say? I'm just relieved Spence finally found someone who can stand through is constant babbling".

"Only because I have the means to shut him up occasionally". Ashley was coming down the stairs. Her blond curls were a little wet, yet they were flawless around her neck. She was on her own clothes this time. A black jeans and a blue shirt. Her eyes gleaming with happiness. "I'm glad to see the mood changed". She looked at Spencer, "You told them...".

"Don't worry, they know. Now we won't need to write those letters anymore".

"Letters?", Morgan raised his eyebrows.

Ashley reached them and stood beside Reid. Like a reflex, he put his arm around her waist. Garcia couldn't help a smile forming on her face. "Yeah, we were talking about how to tell you about our... situation. So we though about going on a one month long vacation oversees and write each one of you letters describing what was going on".

Garcia's smile dropped. "Letters? Seriously Reid? Weren't you using an email to send your reports to Strauss? Don't we already live in a technological society which provides us with better means of communication than trees tears?".

"First of, Ashley was the one sending the emails. And second, letters have been efficiently transporting messages between different societies for ages. And the fact that they weren't so easily attainable made people value the chance to send letters to their family and friends, different from emails which are constantly used for meaningless subjects as..."

"Enough you two! Really, you can discuss about society's means of communication later, in any other time I'm not around".

"Thank you Morgan. Changing the subject. Ashley, we came here with the pretext to invite Reid to have dinner at Rossi's tomorrow night. And now you're requested there as well, as Reid's plus one". JJ smiled at the blond in front of her.

"Of course, we'll be there. I've been hoping for a chance to see the whole team again. Should we bring anything?".

"No don't worry about it. Rossi will certainly take care of the food and we already took care of the wine. Just make sure you two show up at his door at 7 p.m., not one minute after".

"Ok then. Now, do you guys want some coffee? I know I need some before I'm fully awake". Spencer said while walking towards the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it Spence. We just wanted to invite you to Rossi's". JJ saw the evil glim on Garcia and Morgan's eyes. She knew it wouldn't take long before the awkward questions start.

"No no no no, sorry my blond shorter angel, but I'm tired of walking around the city. A cup of coffee right now is more then welcome". Garcia would not let this chance slip by.

It didn't take much before Reid understood JJ's concern. Unfortunately, Ashley was oblivious to the couple's machiavellian intentions, "Good. Let's go, I'll handle the coffee machine. Unless you all want your coffee 50% sweeter than the nutritionists recommend", she gave Reid a teasing look and headed to the most used machine in Spencer's kitchen.

Reid sighted, "I can't help it. It's part of who I am". And with a resigned look to JJ he said, "At least the caffeine will help me us survive what's to come".

Almost four hours had passed before the three agents left the couple alone at the apartment again.

"I think you just had an advanced lesson of how to torture your team members", Reid said after noticing Ashley's red face. He was getting worried, the blush on her cheeks was lasting for quite a while, though he knew there was a good reason behind it.

"I don't think I'll be able to stay alone in the same room with Morgan and Garcia ever again". She was still looking at the door, smiling, while her face returned to its normal grace. "Am just glad JJ was on our side".

He walked toward her and hugged her from behind. "I know. But that's who they are. They can't help themselves. Which makes me wonder what is going to happen tomorrow night". He kissed her neck softly.

"Hummmm...", her eyes closed. "I prefer to think that Hotch and Rossi's presence will keep them grounded".

Reid laughed with his lips still touching her neck. "It's so cute how naive you are when it comes to my team".

She turned herself around and put her arms around his neck. "Now I'm naive huh?".

"Only when it comes to judge the personality of people you like". His eyes got darker as she pressed herself against him. "It doesn't apply for your hidden talents".

He didn't give her time to respond as he crashed his lips against hers with a passionate kiss.

Cheesy ending... I know. Now hit me with suggestions, useful ones if possible. Hope you liked it :)