Hello, my furry friends! It's been a long time, I know, but I'm hoping that it will be worth the wait for you all. I'm glad to be back, though. Welcome back to the Ariel Reid 'Verse, and I hope you all enjoy your stay.

As usual, the only things that I own are the plot and Undiscovered Nemesis.

Spencer Reid was waiting anxiously the entire day, hoping with every fiber of his being that they wouldn't get a call-out. Not today of all days.

Because if he missed tonight, Ariel was going to kill him. And where she was concerned, that was never an idle threat.

Finally it reached five o'clock, and he shot up from his desk, almost falling over in his rush to leave.

Morgan laughed. "What's the hurry, pretty boy?" the older man asked teasingly, but Spencer just rolled his eyes.

"I would have thought that you of all people would know what today is." the young genius replied as he hastily shoved his things into the messenger bag that he had carried for as long as anyone could remember.

Morgan laughed, but didn't deny it. Although, if Reid had been paying just a little bit more attention, he would have noticed the slightly awkward look on his friend's face.

It only took another minute or two for Reid to finish packing up the last of his paperwork, and then he was heading for the door. Morgan let him get most of the way there, before calling out, "Be careful, kid! We don't want any more baby geniuses just yet!" Then he laughed as the kid tripped over nothing in his attempt to turn around. The poor genius was bright red, and kept tripping over his words.

"Shut… shut up, Morgan. You don't - you don't know what you're talking about." he stammered. "Bye."

Morgan couldn't stop laughing at his friend's reaction, but it only got worse when JJ came by.

"What was up with Spence when he left?" The blonde woman asked. "He seemed like something had really messed with his head."

That made him snort a laugh, and he smirked. "Yeah, you could say that."

The communications liaison narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to pull the information from Morgan's mind through force of will alone.

8888

"Hey chica, the G-man is here!" Katerina Simms called out from where she sat in the living room. Her dyed orange hair was a source of great amusement for her nephew, Michael, who was sitting on her lap, pulling at strands of it. She winced, gently untangling his chubby hands from her chin-length style, signing as she spoke. "No, Michael. That's not nice."

The four-month-old child just gave her a gummy smile, before reaching out and yanking on her hair again.

The door opened then, and Kat smiled as her old friend entered the room, making a beeline for his son. "Hey, Spencer." she greeted, handing over the child to his father.

"Hi." he said, giving her a warm smile. "Where's Ariel?"

"She's upstairs." Kat said, pushing past him to make her way into the kitchen, pulling a bottle out of the fridge. "Just finishing getting ready. Any idea where you guys are going?"

Spencer shook his head. "None at all, actually. I should get changed, though." He handed Michael back to Kat, before heading up the stairs.

"Hey." she called out, making him stop in his tracks as he turned to look at her. "Didn't you get her roses?" she asked with a completely straight face. Spencer scowled.

"Are you ever going to let me forget that?" he asked, and Kat laughed.

"Nope!" she said, still giggling slightly. "How could you have not known she was allergic?" she asked, and he sighed, rolling his eyes at their old debate.

"I was sixteen!" he protested. "It was our first date!"

"Mmhmmm." was all that Kat would say in reply, shaking her head. "Right. Get up there."

8888

"Ariel?" He called out, stopping in the doorway of their bedroom. "Ari-bear, where are you?"

"I'm in here, killer." Ariel Reid called out from the master bathroom. "Your clothes are on the bed." He turned and looked at their bed with its black-and-gray comforter, and groaned playfully when he saw what was laying on it.

His wife leaned backwards enough so that only her head and shoulders were visible through the doorway. "Shut it, you." She teased. "Put it on."

He grumbled a bit more, but they both knew it was just for show.

8888

"Ready to go, killer?" Ariel called, and both Spencer and Kat looked up from where they were sitting at the kitchen table, talking.

"Wow…" Kat whistled. "Damn girl."

"What?" She asked, spinning around with a smirk on her face. "Is there something on my face?" she had lined her eyes with black, and had painted her lips red, looking like she had stepped out of a pin-up poster. Her hair had been curled and pinned up, and she wore a dress that he had never seen before. It was baby pink and floor length, with a slit up the side and no sleeves.

If it wasn't for the row of roses tattooed on each arm, he would have sworn that Ava Gardner had just walked into their kitchen.

He crossed over to Ariel, pulling her close to him and cradling her face in his hands, kissing her long and hard. When he pulled away, she gave him a breathless smile. "I'm guessing that means you like the dress."

8888

They made it halfway through the night without anything going wrong. The ship that Ariel had booked them on was a triple-decked monstrosity, covered in lights and pink-and-red streamers. It was beautiful in its own way, but Spencer's favorite part was how it felt. Once they stepped onto the boat, it was like they had been transported back in time. It was themed around the 1940s, which meant lots of fancy dresses and suits, and a lack of technology that made him grin. Although, he thought dryly, Garcia would have a heart attack if she knew that.

He had left his wife's side for only a few minutes, to get them some drinks while they took a break from dancing. He was only gone for five minutes at the most, but when he got back there was someone else there.

8888

"Ari Ross!" A man's voice called out, and Ariel stiffened. "Is that you?"

She turned to face him, plastering a confused look on her face. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't play games, doll. Its not attractive," the man said, putting an arm around her shoulders. Unfortunately, she recognized him. He was an agent from another recording studio, who had made multiple attempts to get her to quit the band and come work for him as a solo act. Of course, she had no interest in doing that. But he didnt seem to be willing to take a hint.

She pulled his arm off of her shoulders, frowning at him. "I'm sorry, I have no idea who you're talking about. Now please leave me alone."

"Oh, come on, doll!" He cried, acting offended. "Don't be like that. Of course you're Ari. You got the tattoos an' everything."

That was when she nearly sagged with relief, hearing a familiar voice behind her. "Get off of my wife." She turned around then to see Spencer glaring at the agent. It was in that moment that she could see exactly what he was like in the field… and it was kind of sexy.

"Your wife?" The agent asked, looking surprised. "Ari Ross is your wife?"

"I keep telling you." She said, moving to stand next to Spencer. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Look," Spencer said, keeping his voice low. "Leave now, and I won't have you arrested for harassing a federal officer."

The agent backed away slowly, holding his hands in the air, but he still didn't seem convinced. "What, she's a fed?" he asked, sounding skeptical. Spencer shook his head, moving his jacket slightly to the side to reveal his badge.

"No, I am." He said, correcting the man. "Now please leave." the agent left almost immediately, and the young genius turned to look at his wife in concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked, checking her over. "Did he hurt you?"

She was shaken, but still managed to answer him. "I'm fine, sweetie." she reassured, but then looked at him sheepishly. "Just… can we go home now, please?"

Spencer smiled, slightly relieved. He was getting tired - there was only so much dancing that he could do, after all.

"Of course, Ariel." he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Let's go home."

8888

The next morning, Morgan couldn't help but laugh when he saw the grin on the kid's face. "I'm guessing that last night went well?"

The younger man blushed slightly. "It was fun." he admitted.

"What did you do?" Prentiss asked, joining in the conversation. Spencer's expression turned slightly nostalgic.

"We danced." he said simply. Unfortunately for him, the others didn't take it that way.

Morgan actually choked on his coffee, while Emily just stared at him in shock, completely ignoring the older man's spluttering. When he was finally able to regain control, he looked at his friend in surprise. "Way to go, kid!" he said, smiling at Reid.

But Reid just looked confused. "What? Why would you…" he trailed off, realizing what the others thought that he meant.

He turned bright red in a matter of seconds. "What?" He managed to stutter out. "Guys, no, that's - no, that's not - that's not what I meant…"