And then she woke up, bathed in sweat as the recurring nightmare of her dreams had interrupted any semblance of slumber for the fifth consecutive night. Resigning herself to the knowledge that she'd be unable to get back to sleep yet again, she got up and made her way into the kitchen to make a cup of herbal tea.
"He's just too cute for words, isn't he, Penelope?" Melissa Reid asked as she and her friend waved goodbye to Savannah Morgan, standing on her front porch with baby Hank Spencer in her arms. Penelope Garcia started her car, checked the mirrors, and then took a second to wave at mother and son before steering out into the sparse traffic on the road.
"Yours will be too!" she foretold, dropping down the hand that had been waving at the Morgans to softly pat the belly of her companion.
Melissa smiled as she nodded in emphatic agreement. "Baby Reid will be cute. And smart like Daddy," she affirmed.
"Mom's pretty smart too," Penelope pointed out.
"Have to be to keep up with Spence," Melissa laughed. "Thanks so much for bringing me along to visit them, Pen. Hank Spencer is so adorable; he actually reminds me just how much fun a baby can be. Anna was a doll. But this one," she paused and ran her own hand protectively over the slight bulge in her abdomen, "this one will actually have a Daddy right from day one."
"The Daddy of all Daddies," Penelope enthused. "Spencer is going to be the most fabulous father ever."
"I really appreciate you agreeing to do this, Reid," Aaron Hotchner told the younger man as they walked through the bullpen towards Hotch's office. "I owe Mateo a couple favours, this is really helping me out." Their boss, Section Chief Mateo Cruz had requested Hotchner and at least one subordinate attend a law enforcement recruitment seminar in Las Vegas. Knowing that Special Agent Spencer Reid hailed from Vegas, Hotchner had decided to ask Reid if he'd like to go along.
"Cruz has authorised the jet for the trip, Reid. I'm thinking we'll have plenty of downtime. You could visit your mother. And," he paused briefly before adding, "If she's up to the traveling, you could bring along the new Mrs. Reid too. Give you some time together since the rest of the team is going to be off." He gave Reid a slight smile and continued, "I'll remember this when it's time, and give you some extra time off when your baby arrives."
Reid weighed this over in his mind as Hotch motioned him through then closed his office door and the two men sat down by his desk to go over the plans for the seminar.
