Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except for the original creations; this writing is not for profit and is only meant as enjoyment for other readers.

Dr. and Mrs. Reid.

Spencer and Jennifer.

Spence and JJ (or was it JR?)

Mrs. Spencer Reid.

She rolled the names around in her head. Behind her, Penelope and Emily were straightening their dresses out and adding the final touches – earrings, a hair ribbon, a quick swipe of lipgloss.

"JJ?" Emily said, her voice soft. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face her raven-haired friend. Emily smiled, but her eyes were questioning. "Are you ready?"

JJ took a deep breath. "I only want to do this once," she confessed, gesturing to the window outside of the lovely country home where her wedding was about to take place. Even if it was a small, private ceremony, the planning had been extremely hard between case work, and the expenses had gotten a little out of hand. It wasn't a bad experience, but she didn't hope to repeat it.

"You're marrying an amazing man, JJ," Garcia chimed in. "You will never have to do this again except when you decide to renew your vows." She smiled softly, holding out the bouquet of light purple calla lilies and white roses for JJ to take.

"I know," she acknowledged. "I'm just... scared." It was a confession that she had not yet made to anyone, and she'd been hiding it well behind the stress of making the wedding plans come together properly.

"Oh, my darling," Garcia cooed. She swept JJ and Emily both into a hug, and they stayed like that for a few seconds. The three of them were roused from their brief moment of comfort as there was a sharp rap on the door.

"JJ, are you ready?" the voice asked through the window. The door cracked slightly and Derek Morgan stuck his head in. Instantly, his eyebrows raised. "Oh my," he said, a grin playing at his lips. He pushed the door the rest of the way and entered the room. "Turn around, let me get a look at you," he said, making a spinning motion with his finger.

Penelope and Emily released JJ from the group hug and she did as she was asked, the strapless Pnina Tornai mermaid dress grazing the ground gently as she twirled. "Do you like it?" she asked. Only Prentiss and Garcia had seen it; she'd kept it (and the price tag) a secret from everyone else. Where their ceremony had been small, the dress was a luxury she allowed herself.

"I do, indeed," Morgan said, his eyes traveling the length of the gown. "And I don't even want to know how much you paid for it. Hopefully our baby girl here found you a good deal," he said, reaching over to wrap an arm around Garcia with a fond glance at her.

"She is a little bit of a fast talker, isn't she?" JJ asked, causing the room to laugh in accord.

"Okay," Prentiss said. "I hate to cut this tender moment short, but I can see Spencer down there and he's starting to fidget. He's got that look on his face like he thinks he's about to get stood up." She glanced up from the window and started to usher the group to the door.

As JJ made her way down the aisle, she couldn't help but think that she had never imagined standing in this position. When she'd met Spencer, he'd seemed so awkward, frightful, almost anti-social in so many ways – but over the course of their relationship, he had totally blossomed. He was still inherently the same, but it was almost as though he had come into his own, and within him he possessed a sort of lion's strength that few people ever got to see. His team, of course, knew his value, but for outsiders, it was hard to imagine the timid doctor with the long, mousy brown hair and doe eyes ever having that sort of confidence or commanding presence.

"You look..." Reid trailed off, his brown eyes wide with amazement as his bride came to stand beside him before the minister. "Exquisite," he finally decided, though JJ knew he'd gone through every word he knew, trying to pick the best one.

JJ smiled, closing her eyes and thanking his compliment, almost forgetting to give Emily her bouquet in the process. She did so just as the minister had cleared his throat and everyone had seated themselves. As the elderly father began to speak, JJ felt her his words become drowned out, replaced only by the beating of her heart. She could feel her hands begin to shake and tried to slowly clasp them behind her back to prevent herself from fidgeting.

She felt Spencer's warm hand atop her own, and glanced over at him quickly. He took her right hand in his left, twining his fingers through hers. "It's okay," he mouthed to her, and gave her hand a light squeeze. She could feel herself calming simply by his touch, and that was when she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she had made the right choice.