Title: Dark Angel
Author: Trista Groulx aka dustytiger
Rating: T like the show to be safe
Disclaimer: I am currently a starving artist, I play with these characters to help with my boredom between projects. NCIS and Criminal minds belong to a laundry list of other people who are not me. Please don't sue.
Summary: Starting with their twin daughters' first birthday we see how Reid and Abby found each other and happiness.
Notes: This part wrote itself first. I was gonna try to make it a self contained stand alone, but it didn't work. So I hope you like it. The title is of a song by Blue Rodeo but I like the Whitehorse version better. This will be about ten parts, and I'll update daily. It's the same timeline as now but I ignore the non farting hippo Bert. I actually have pretty decent chapter lengths for the first time in a while so let me know what you think!

Abby smiled as she put down the pink frosted cake on her daughter's high chair try. She couldn't believe it had already been a year since they were born. She had two daughters, mirror twins named Kylie and Corinne. Her brothers were there to celebrate, along with her work family. Unfortunately their father, along most of his work family weren't there. As much as they hadn't wanted to miss it, the couple had agreed they wanted the twin girls to be able to celebrate their first birthday on their birthday, even if that meant seeing them over a computer screen.

"Only one cake?" asked Bishop.

"No, there's one for each of them, next year Kylie will get hers first. Just because they were born five minutes apart doesn't mean they are not two people. They each get their cake, and they each get their birthday song sung without sharing when they're with their family," explained Abby.

"All right."

The group began to sign first to Corinne, then Abby came out with the second cake and sang to Kylie. The two girls had blown out the candle on their cakes and had already gotten their hands into what was mostly pink icing with white cake inside. Abby had hoped to hear from her husband by now, she hadn't wanted him to miss this, even though it was being taped, it wasn't the same. She looked toward the door hearing it opening, she wasn't expecting anyone else.

"Surprise!" she heard six voices proclaim.

As much as she didn't like surprises this was a good one. She hadn't expected her husband and his team to be back in time for the birthday party but now she knew why she hadn't heard from them. She was upset that she hadn't waited just a little bit longer for the cake, but she didn't want to have two cranky tired babies to sooth on her own at bedtime.

"Spencer!" she exclaimed. "I thought you weren't going to be home 'til tomorrow."

"The plan changed," he explained. "This is better than crowding around a computer screen."

She kissed his cheek. "Yes it is you just missed their cakes."

"Maybe their first birthday wish came true?"

"Spencer," she whispered, that was what she had already thought, but he didn't often say stuff like that.

The two girls were squealing and bouncing in their high chairs, still playing with their cakes.

"They missed their Daddy so much," she told him, kissing lips softly.

"I missed them too."

He went over and kissed each of their cheeks, whispering happy birthday to each of them. He didn't often show this side of himself to anyone else, but it had been nearly a week since had seen them, and it was their birthday. Kylie offered him her cake covered hand. He smiled and took some of the frosting from her finger. Corinne then did the same. There was something so innocent and sweet about the exchange. Almost everyone took pictures.

From the first moment he saw them he had been smitten. The two little girls had their daddy wrapped around their little fingers. Abby loved watching them interact and those moments made her fall in love with him all the more. As private as he was, he would let his guard down with his daughters. He carefully washed each of their hands, wishing they were still small enough to hold at the same time when they were excited.

"Well I know you both want your daddy," Rossi told them. "But your godfather wants to hold one of you."

Rossi was one of their godfathers, Gibbs was the other, while Garcia and JJ were their godmothers. Since Abby had known Garcia long before she had met Reid it seemed only natural to choose one of her closest friends. Rossi picked up Kylie who started to giggle, while Reid lifted Corinne up into his arms, and she quickly cuddled into him.

"I missed you too, Corinne," he whispered.

"Don't let her fall asleep like that," Abby warned. "They still have presents to open, after I warm up the lasagna for everyone."

"No need for that," Morgan assured her, putting pieces onto plates. "Rossi's lasagna tastes just as good cold."

"Somewhere my nonna and my mamma are giving me hell for this." Kylie began to giggle. "So you think that's funny, do you?"

"I can take her while you eat if you'd like, Dave," Abby told him.

"My sisters have ten kids between 'em, Uncle Dave's got this. One arm for the bambino and one for cibo, it loses something in translation."

"All right," she laughed. "Thank you for making the lasagna it took a huge weight off my shoulders."

"I'm Italian it's what we do, we feed people."

She playfully smacked DiNozzo. "Why don't you ever cook for us?"

"The food preparation gene must be passed down through the mother cause I can't even make boxed pasta."

Rossi muttered something Italian under his breath. "Sorry little one," he whispered to Kylie who giggled at him and reached up to touch his beard.

They soon went into the living room to open presents. Both girls seemed more interested in throwing wrapping paper than in the gifts they were receiving.

As much fun as it had been to have their family there, it was nice to have the house to themselves. Abby was cleaning up the kitchen, and the twins were on the floor playing with some blocks.

"How about I put them to bed tonight?" Reid suggested.

"Thank you Spencer. All the food is away we can clean up more in the morning."

He picked up Kylie with ease, she was always a snuggle bunny. He changed her diaper and put her in a sleeper before he put her in her crib. He then went to get Corinne who crawled away from him giggling. Abby just watched, not wanting to get up from the couch; she loved watching them together. Reid smiled and soon picked up Corinne who fussed, and tried to cry crocodile tears as he changed her diaper and her clothes. He put her into her crib and she stopped fussing. He picked up a book and began to read it to them, showing them the pictures. They were both standing up watching him, so he laid them back down and read them another book before he left the room, and shut the door part way.

"They're both asleep," Reid told her joining her on the couch.

She curled up to him. "They had a big day."

"I think it's possible that our family may be a little too generous sometimes."

She looked around the living room. "You might be right. I was planning to go through their stuff to donate some of it anyway."

"That's a good idea, I don't think anyone would be offended if gave a few of those toys that the girls never play with to someone who will."

"Did you have any trouble getting them down?"

"They didn't want to go to sleep, but after I read them a second book they were both out. I can't believe they're a year old already."

"I know, sometimes I wish we could just pause everything. Like today when they saw you coming in the door, they were so happy."

"It wasn't just me they were happy to see," he laughed.

"Both of them stared at you first, and got your attention."

He shook his head. "All right Abby."

"For a man who has read so much about child development you are sometimes blind to the unique developments of your own sweet little cherubs. They were happy to see everyone, but they were happiest to see you because you're their daddy. It's why they both said Dada before Mama, and it's fine most girls have special bonds with their fathers, and I think it's sweet."

"When they started to babble they were simply making sounds not using our names as such. Now they know who we are when they say Mama and Dada but it would be nearly impossible to decipher which sound they learned became a person first."

"Spencer!" she sighed. "I love you very much but I wish you'd just turn off that giant brain of yours once in a while."

"It's not exactly something I can control. I try to see the world as you do but sometimes I can only be myself."

She kissed him softly. "And I do love who you are, really, but sometimes when it comes to the girls I just want to see you be a gushing daddy who doesn't need to find out the reason why they're doing something."

"I can't turn that side of me off any more than you can stop taking photos of them and sending them to everyone every day."

"All right, but you still have something very special with them and it's amazing to get to watch it grow, even if they can bamboozle you sometimes."

"Books help with their brain development and word comprehension," he told her. "You can't spoil a child by reading to them too much."

"Okay I'll give you that one."

"Why don't we call it a night early?" he suggested. "You had a lot to do today, and I need my own bed after this case."

"Penny told me that it involved kids. It's bad enough people hurt other adults, but to hurt an innocent little kids, that's just beyond awful."

"It's hard, I always thought it would be harder after they were born, but in some ways it's easier because I know I have a family to come home to."

"I'm happy we both found that, I didn't realise I was missing anything until I had it and I wonder now how I lived so long without this."

She hugged him tightly. He kissed her lips softly before they went into their bedroom. Sometimes he was still amazed to have her in his life. On cases he would wake up thinking that it was all a dream until the fog cleared. He really had a wife and two daughters who he loved more than anything else in the world. She even told him she felt the same way. Since having her in his life he wondered if there really might be something more out there after how long he had waited to have a family.

"I miss this so much when I'm away," Reid told her.

"Me too."

"Sometimes I think I want to do something different, and there are cases like today where I realise that being away from my family can help someone else's and it would be selfish to leave."

"Spencer you have such a huge heart. It's hard for all of us, but this is what you do. You're good at it, and while you can probably get any job in the world, the universe knows you should be where you are."

"Thank you for understanding Abby."

She kissed his chest near his heart. "You support my job just as much, don't forget that."

"I love you."

"I love you."

Notes: I hope you liked this, the next part goes back to them meeting. Let me know what you think heart.