Surprises

A Criminal Minds Fanfiction K+

#8 in the Spencer/Melissa series

(Reid/Original character Melissa Martin Reid)

"Life is full of surprises"- John Major

"The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us."—Ashley Montagu

He sat on the BAU jet in a seat next to fellow agent Jennifer Jareau and lowered his voice as he asked her,

"You're sure?"

She smiled as she nodded, sipping her drink. "Honestly, Spence, it'll be great, just you wait."

They were en route home from their latest successful case in Oregon, and Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid was seeking his best friend's opinion about a surprise he was concocting for his very pregnant and now bedridden wife.

"I thought you were on leave Reid?" Agent Tara Lewis asked as she dropped into the seat across from them. She had two fresh cups of coffee in her hands and she leaned forward, offering one to him. He accepted gratefully before teasing her,

"We just spent two days on a case and you're just noticing now that I'm here?"

"To be honest, I completely forgot about the leave until I turned my phone on just now and the calendar beeped to remind me my vacation time next month's been cancelled. And when I remembered why, it just jogged my memory."

"Yeah, I am but Cruz asked me to just help out on this one case."

"It's a good thing he did. None of the rest of us would ever have figured out that coded clue in Humphrey's papers," Lewis told him.

He smiled at her and shook his head, "You guys woulda got it."

"Ten years from now maybe," JJ laughed for a moment then grew serious. "You know, we could have emailed you copies of those papers, you would've been able to do this from home, don't you think?"

Reid considered this for a moment then concurred. "Yeah, I suppose."

"We'll mention it to Cruz, Spence. You really should be home with Melissa."

"I know. You're right. And after," he paused, not wanting to actually bring up the subject of his wife's kidnapping, "what happened last month, I really shouldn't be leaving her anymore 'til after the babies are here."

"I'm gonna make Garcia promise to upload any necessary files to you at home from now on. No more coming with us until little Derek and little Penelope are here," JJ vowed.

Lewis' brow furrowed. "You're naming those babies Derek and Penelope?"

Reid shook his head vigorously, "Absolutely not. JJ, stop!" he laughed.

"Did you guys pick names yet, Spence?" JJ asked.

He took a sip of the coffee, set the cup down on the table and sighed. "Melissa wants to name our son Spencer. I really do not want that but," he leaned forward and made a face like he was about to impart a huge secret, "I find it almost impossible to say no to anything Melissa wants, you know? She's been through so much, I feel, I don't know, petty wanting to deny her this."

"Then don't. Spencer is a fine name," Tara told him.

Senior Supervisory Agent David Rossi chose that moment to drop down into the vacant seat beside Tara.

"Are we naming the Reid babies?" he asked, because I have a suggestion for the boy. Smiling, he fixed Reid with a glance and said "David Aaron Derek" after your three favourite colleagues."

Tara punched him in the arm playfully "Spencer Junior is apparently the frontrunner."

Reid laughed and sat back, shaking his head, "You guys are absolutely no help whatsoever."

"What are you talking about, Spence? I'm helping you with the surprise, am I not?"

"What surprise?" Tara asked, "More surprises?"

Reid shook his head again and JJ dropped the subject. Lewis was perceptive enough to realise Reid didn't want to pursue this avenue and changed the subject,

"So. I am dragging my butt to my mom's place for the weekend. Haven't seen her since I got taken on full time here, and want to let her know. You guys have any plans?"

Rossi sipped his drink and replied, "I'm writing another book. Going to do some research this weekend."

"Sounds good, Dave," she acknowledged, then turned to Reid and JJ, "What about you guys?"

"Well, Will's working Saturday. Haven't thought ahead any more than that yet," JJ answered her.

"It'll depend on how Melissa's feeling I guess. I might just take Anna out for a while, just to give Melissa some peace and quiet," Reid contributed.

"That's so thoughtful," Tara commented.

They all settled in for the rest of their flight home and landed in sunny DC late Thursday afternoon. Rossi dismissed them all, insisting they'd been debriefed earlier on the plane.

"I'll go back to the office and file our reports," he said, collecting files from them all, "See you Monday morning." He paused then looked at Reid, "And see you, well, whenever."

He strode off and Lewis said her goodbyes and headed to her car.

JJ and Reid walked together to Jareau's vehicle. After stowing their bags, they climbed into the SUV and JJ drove off.

"So, tomorrow morning?" Reid asked.

"No problem. I'll take the kids to school. Will's home with Michael. 930 am, right?"

"Yes. You're sure this'll be okay?"

"Absolutely! See you after Melissa's doctor appointment then."

Fifteen minutes later, JJ pulled into the Reids' driveway. Spencer took his house key off his key ring and handed it over to her. "The alarm code is 140412. Took your advice and had the house alarmed after last month."

She nodded her approval. "Be better if it was a finger swipe though, wouldn't it?"

"It actually has that too, but the digital code is for instances like this, JJ."

"All right then, it's set, we'll see you some time after Melissa's doctor's appoint—oh, wait Spence. I know! Remember we were trying to figure out how to make it take longer? Take her out for lunch after. Make it like a special day for her."

He considered this for a moment and nodded, "It'll make this even more a surprise, won't it? If she thinks I'm up to something, the lunch out might be that." Opening the car door, he stepped out, picked up his go bag, his messenger bag and the enormous stuffed bear he'd bought in Oregon, and told her "Thanks again, see you tomorrow."

He waved goodbye from the front steps, set down his luggage and the bear and sent a text ('everything is all set'). After deleting the message, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and made sure his hands were full with his luggage and the bear, and then rang the doorbell, hoping Melissa would buy the hands full as a viable excuse for not using his key.

He heard Muttli bark from in the house and waited for a moment before ringing the doorbell again. Another few minutes went by and the door wasn't answered and suddenly Spencer's heart went to his throat. Why wasn't Melissa answering? He worried.