Matters of the Heart
This is my piece for ilovetvalot and Tonnie2001969's first Criminal Minds fanfic challenge.
Pairing: Reid/Garcia
Genre: friendship/family
Summary: Reid needs some advice, and Garcia needs company
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"Penelope, you know I think of you as a sister, right?" Spencer asked quietly, leaning on the door to her hospital room. Penelope opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him.
"I'd better hope so, muffin," she smiled before patting the mattress. "Come, sit; I need someone to talk to other than my overprotective husband."
Reid approached the bed cautiously, his worry evident on his face. "Are you sure?"
"Sweetie, I'm pregnant with triplets, not invalid or breakable. Trust me when I say it'll be a welcome respite from Derek and his hovering." She had been on strict bed rest in hospital since developing pre-eclampsia at 26 weeks, and the doctors didn't want to risk anything happening to the three Morgan offspring before they were born. She was currently enjoying week three of her forced detention, and was bored out of her mind.
Spencer smiled and sat down next to her, obviously fretting about something. "What can mama help you with today, Boy Genius?" she asked, putting on a happy façade.
"It's about Austin," he whispered cautiously. "I… I think I love her," he finally admitted. He stared at the floor for a moment longer before looking up into Penelope's eyes.
Penelope smiled widely. "Finally, Junior G-Man; it's taken you long enough to realise something the rest of us have known for a while!"
Spencer flopped back onto the pillows Penelope was leaning on, momentarily throwing her off balance. "The odds of you already knowing something I just realised…"
"Sugar, shut up," Penelope giggled. "Matters of the hear aren't covered by statistics, so don't even try and go all rational on me; my pregnancy hormones and I won't allow it!"
Reid grinned sheepishly and sighed, letting his head fall further into the pillows propping Garcia up. "Fine, you win," he gave her the victory – it was hard to argue wit a pregnant woman's logic, especially when she has the power to electronically destroy you, given the opportunity and appropriate incentive.
Garcia smiled triumphantly and shifter her position slightly, wincing as she did so. "Are you okay? Should I call the doctor? Do you need help?" Reid fretted. It was his first solo visit and didn't have his own chaperone to calm him down.
"Settle, petal," Penelope hushed. "One of them has decided to use my bladder as a trampoline and the other two are fighting. Nothing to worry about, they're staying in here until I hit 34 weeks," she smiled, rubbing her belly with one hand and Reid's hand with the other. It was enough to trigger more statistics from him.
"Garcia, studies show no matter what the mother's intentions are, her unborn child and/or children have their own agenda…"
"Hey, doll face, shut it!" Penelope demanded again. "You're not making me feel any better!" Spencer wisely chose to shut up then, instead pulling out a deck of cards from his messenger bag, intending on using them as a distraction, for both of them.
He dealt their hands, choosing go fish, and they played steadily for a few moments until Penelope broke the ice again.
"So, you and Austin, huh?" she waggled her eyebrows at him. "You gonna share?"
"Garcia!"