I got a few begs for this story an I was inspired to write just a little more, so I thought I'd post that too and add to it. :)
"Congratulations, Dr. Reid. You're eleven weeks pregnant."
Those words seemed to be stuck on repeat in his mind. Spencer couldn't seem to get past them. He'd been lucky Alex was there to take the paperwork from the doctor and to ask questions and get answers, because Spencer's mind was stuck on that one sentence and he couldn't seem to focus on the outside world. It was kind of like when he was focused on something for work; he pulled inside of his head, focused entirely on that one thing while the outside world shut off. He'd been known to walk into people or interrupt conversations when doing that because he was so focused on what he was thinking he paid no attention where he was going or what was happening around him.
When Alex led him out to the car, Spencer followed silently, his mind still racing. How could this happen to him? How the hell could this have happened? They'd used protection, hadn't they? Yes, yes they had. He remembered reminding Remy, remembered watching the man stretch to his dresser and root around until he found one. They'd been so impatient, barely able to wait. Spencer remembered helping him slip it on, driving them both a little crazy. That memory washed over him and he shuddered a little. No, he didn't need to think on that part of things. Focus, idiot. Focus! It wasn't like he didn't know that a condom could break. Of course he knew that. But why him? Why now? Why this timeout of any other time?
He stayed quiet as Alex drove to the local Wal-Mart. When his brother said he'd be right back, Spencer stayed in the car, staring out the window and thinking. What was he going to do now? How was he going to tell Remy about this? It didn't even occur to him to keep this from the other man. There was no way he could do something like that. Remy had every right in the world to know. How badly would it mess up their already strained friendship, though? Ever since that night, their friendship had been different. Just as Spencer had known it would, it had messed up everything. They'd sent the occasional email, but they hadn't spoken on the phone like they usually did. Usually they spoke at least once a week for sometimes a couple hours, just to catch up with one another. It was part of their routine that Spencer had come to rely on over the years. Remy was his best friend; talking to him was just a part of life. Yet now, now they didn't do it. Now, things were strained, all because of one drunken night. And things were about to get even worse.
What about work? Was he going to be able to stay at work like this? JJ had worked straight up to the end of her pregnancy. Granted, she wasn't out in the field in the sense that they were. She'd traveled with them but she'd stayed behind at the stations where it was, well, safer for her. But he was a field agent, which naturally required him to go out into the field, outside of the station. If he did that, he put the baby at risk. It was one thing to put himself at risk but another entirely to put an unborn child at risk. Even if he was willing to take that risk, which he wasn't, his boss definitely wouldn't be willing. Aaron would restrict him from the field most definitely. Would he make him go on leave, though? Or restrict him to Quantico?
Maybe they would let him stay on the team, but bring on someone else. Someone to fill in for him until such time as…what? There was more to this than the immediate future. What about once the child was born? If Remy didn't want to be a part of the child's life, then Spencer would be alone in this. Well, not technically alone. His brothers would never let him be alone, nor would his friends. But he'd be a single parent. Sure, Aaron was managing to do it, but he had Hayley's sister to keep Jack. There was no one that lived nearby that would be open to be a full time caregiver for Spencer. Not that he'd want that anyways. He didn't want a child of his growing up not knowing him.
If Remy did want to be a part of the child's life, what would that mean for them? Splitting time back and forth between here and New York? Or moving to one place or the other? Even then, Remy was still part of the X-Men. There were times he'd have to leave on a mission at the drop of a hat. That meant that one of them would have to be willing to be a full time parent.
No matter which route he took, all of this was spelling out one thing. He was going to have to leave his job. The only other option would be to give the child up and he absolutely, positively refused to even entertain that notion. Oh, God, what was he going to do for work? Maybe there was a position he could take in Quantico that would keep him at home. Some way to still work, to still keep himself doing something. He wasn't the type to just have nothing to do. He had to work, somehow. There were plenty of departments that could benefit from his mind. He'd been consulted for many things over the years. When he first applied at the Bureau, plenty of departments had wanted him despite knowing that he was Gideon's protégée. There had to be something he could do.
The sound of the car door opening caught Spencer's attention and he looked up to see Alex sliding into the driver's seat, twisting to put a bag behind him on the seat. He looked over and saw Spencer watching him while he straightened back out and shut his door. "I got the vitamins your doc prescribed and I picked up some saltines, some ginger ale and some of those gross ginger snaps you like so much."
Despite himself, Spencer felt a small flare of humor. "Aren't you just domestic sounding?"
Alex cocked an eyebrow at him before rolling his eyes. "Yeah, well don't get used to it. I'm getting you home and dumping you in bed and that's the extent of my niceness today. I'll have to go blow something up just to feel manly again."
A vibration in Spencer's pocket took him away from any snarky comment he might've made in return. He pulled his phone out and, seeing it was Derek, flipped it open and hit speaker out of habit. "Reid."
"Hope you're feeling better, kid. We've got a big case."
Spencer's attention sharpened on his phone. "What do we have?"
"Child abduction in Newport, Oregon. Seven year old boy. Mom went into the store to grab something, turned around for a minute she swears and he was gone when she turned back."
Looking to Alex, Spencer said "The Bureau, quickly." Then he turned back to the phone. "What's the clock look like?"
"We're lucky, we got in fast. It's only been one hour and thirty six minutes."
"Add on five hours for flight time, round about, and it'll be around seven hours, adding time for random variables, by the time we get there." Spencer said quickly. He winced when his throat, sore from so much throwing up, protested the continued speech. He really needed to drink a little something.
"Round about. Hey, Reid, Hotch says he's know you're sick, but with Seaver still new around here, if you're up for it we could really use the extra hands. If you're not up for it, he understands. We can't afford to get everyone sick, you know."
"No, no, it's fine. I'm already in the car anyways and I keep my go-bag in here. I'll be there shortly."
"Just head straight to the jet, we're on our way there. We'll brief you on the rest en route. See you there, kid."
When Spencer hung up the phone, his mind was already racing with statistics and information, hurrying ahead to the case. He didn't think about Alex's reaction. But he got to hear it a second later. "What the hell, Spence? You can't seriously be thinking about going out on a case, can you? You just found out you're fucking pregnant and you want to go out in the field? Are you stupid?"
"Hm?" Turning, Spencer cast Alex a curious look. Then his face cleared a little as what Alex had said sank in. "Oh. They'll keep me around the station with me being so nauseous. Don't worry, Alex. The risk for myself on this case is minimal. Would you drive a little faster, though? Time is of the essence right now." Considering the topic closed, Spencer laid his head back on the seat, trying to force down the sick feeling in his stomach. "We're lucky we're only one point five hours into the twenty four hour window. Forty four percent of child abductions die within the first hour, seventy five percent die within the first three, and virtually all of them are gone within twenty four hours. That's why there are procedures in place for situations like this, so we can respond appropriately in the small window of time we have."
"And you guys are like, the best of the best. So why not let them handle this? You need to take care of you. What good will you be if you puke all over the things you're trying to work on?"
The mention of puke was enough to have Spencer wincing. "Stop that. I'll be fine, Alex. I thought Scott was the overprotective brother, not you. You're acting very strange today. Very domestic and parental. It's starting to scare me." Giving him a mini glare, he added "Knock it off."
Alex growled and gripped the wheel tighter. Though it was obvious he didn't like it, he took the exit needed to take them toward the jet to meet with the others. "I swear, I don't know how Scott does it. You're a stubborn fucking bastard."
Mind already back on the case, Spencer waved a hand in his direction almost absently. "It's a Summers trait."
The rest of the car ride was quiet. When they pulled up at the airstrip, Spencer saw that the others were already there. He hurried to climb out of the car, going to the trunk to grab his go-bag. Alex met him there, his bag from the store in hand. "If you're going to go, at least take the shit I bought with you. Maybe it'll keep your stomach calm." He thrust the bag at Spencer, who took it and put it inside his messenger bag. Alex sighed and glared at him. "And take your vitamin every day, you hear me? And don't forget to sleep and eat. The doc said you're underweight."
"I think you need to see the doctor." Spencer said with a shake of his head. He picked up his go-bag and shut the trunk, watching as a last SUV pulled in with Dave and Ashley inside of it. Ignoring them for the moment, Spencer looked at Alex one last time. "I'm telling you, I'll be fine, Alex. You're more than welcome to stay at my apartment while I'm gone if you're going to be in town, but if you break anything, I'll strangle you, and please replace any food you eat." Pausing, Spencer cocked his head thoughtfully. "If I have any. I haven't been shopping recently, so my stocks are probably rather low. Now, I'll call when I'm on my way back home to see if you're still here."
"You'll call me tonight or I'll fly out there and punch you." Alex threatened.
Spencer's response was to roll his eyes. He made a sound of surprise when he was suddenly grabbed in a headlock and Alex ran his knuckles over his hair before quickly letting go. "Go to work, pidge. Talk to you tonight."
Straightening his hair, Spencer glared at him and turned to hurry toward the jet. He saw Dave and Ashley right by the stairs, grinning at him. Flushing slightly, Spencer smoothed his hair a little more. Dave gestured for him to proceed them up the stairs, grinning as he teased "Good to see you feeling better, kiddo."
Spencer snorted and hurried up the stairs. "That's not exactly what I'd call it."
"I don't think I've ever seen that man before." Ashley said behind him. "A good friend of yours, Reid?" The question was asked in a friendly, teasing sort of manner. With as new as she was to the team, Ashley had never heard about Alex or Scott, seeing as how Spencer still hadn't told anyone else at the Bureau. Only his team knew about them. Well, the team minus Ashley. The topic simply hadn't come up before. Now, he scowled, dropping off his go-bag in the luggage area. "Absolutely not." He answered her. "On a good day, he's my brother. On a bad day, he is the bane of my existence and an absolute moron. Today is one of those days." He said the last part as he stepped into the main area of the jet where the rest of the team was waiting.
Derek grinned up at him. "Bane of your existence and a moron? You must be talking about Alex."
"Yes. He dropped me off." Spencer rubbed a hand absently over his stomach as he made his way to the couch. Forget one of the seats, he wanted the couch. Then he could curl up in a corner and hopefully get rid of this nauseous feeling. He really, really couldn't afford to throw up right now. When Aaron passed him files, he settled in and was preparing to read when Aaron said "Are you sure you're well enough to do this, Reid?"
His usual answer would've been 'I'm fine', but he couldn't make himself say the words, so he opted instead for an edited kind of honesty. "I'm not the best, but so long as I stick to the station I should be fine. I can still provide assistance from there, however."
"All right. If at any point you feel you can't handle it, tell me." And with that, Aaron turned and started the briefing.
