It had been a week since their meeting with Ms. Greenway and both Spencer and Derek were getting rather impatient. Logically, they knew that it would take time for their applications to be reviewed, and probably even longer for a decision to be made because of their profession. It was Friday, and they weren't working a case at the moment. Derek knew that now was as good a time as any to talk to the rest of the team.
He got up from his desk and headed for the bullpen. He smiled when he saw Spencer sitting at his desk, flying through files faster than should be possible. He walked over and sat on the edge of Spencer's desk. "Hey, Pretty Boy."
Spencer looked up at him and smiled. "Hi."
"So, I think we should talk to the team." Derek said, lowering his voice to not be heard by others.
Spencer pursed his lips, but nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right."
Derek nodded and started to go around, asking the other team members to meet them in the conference room. Spencer closed the file on his desk and headed up there to wait for the others. It didn't take long for everyone to be seated around the round table, looking curiously at each other. Derek followed Garcia, who was the last to enter, and moved to stand in front of everyone. Spencer was sitting down, looking around anxiously.
"So, Spencer and I have something we'd like to discuss with all of you." Derek stated.
They all looked from Derek to Spencer.
"We've started on the process for adoption." He continued.
"Are you serious?!" Garcia looked from Derek to Spencer. "I get to be an aunty?"
Spencer grinned and looked down at the table. Derek chuckled. "Yes, Baby Girl, you get to be an aunty."
The rest of the team, who had been silent, started to all talk at once.
"You guys, that's great!" Emily smiled.
"Spence!" JJ yelled.
"Congratulations." Came from Hotch, although Derek could see him fighting back a smile.
Rossi just sat there, an amused grin on his face as he watched the team flutter about. Derek finally decided it was time to take back the reigns of this conversation.
"Guys!" He shouted. Everyone quieted. "We met with the agency on Monday, and our application is being reviewed. We just wanted you all to know because, well, your family." An 'Aww' came from someone, he's pretty sure it was Garcia. "Also, we have no idea if they'll call you guys to ask about us, but if they do we wanted to give you a heads up."
They all nodded. "I get exlusive Aunty Privileges though, right?" Garcia asked.
They all laughed. "Of course, Baby Girl." Derek grinned.
They had just sat down to dinner when Derek's phone started going off. He glanced at Spencer and saw the same look he knew he was sporting. He crossed his fingers and hoped it wasn't a new case. He glanced at the caller ID and saw an unknown number. He slid his thumb across the screen to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Derek? It's Ms. Greenway." Said the voice on the phone.
"Oh, hello!" He greeted her. He looked over at Spencer and mouthed Ms. Greenway. Spencer mouthed back Speaker phone. Derek pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the button. "What can I do for you, Ms. Greenway?"
"Oh, nothing, dear. I just wanted to let you know that your application has gone through." She said happily.
Derek and Spencer smiled at each other. They were going to be parents!
"That's fantastic news!" Derek replied.
"Yes, it is!" Ms. Greenway agreed. "Would you boys be able to come down tomorrow and start looking through some of the files we have?"
"Files?" Derek asked, confused.
"Yes, we have you look through the files first so that we can pull the kids out of their foster homes or the orphanage. It's easier than just bringing all the kids in at once." She explained.
Derek nodded. "Oh, well, that makes sense."
"So are you available tomorrow?" She asked again.
"Yes, we are!" Derek assured her. "What time should we be there?"
Spencer woke up early on Saturday. He couldn't sleep and had gotten rather tired of tossing and turning. He slipped out of bed and headed downstairs to start a pot of coffee. He leaned against the counter, lost in thought, while he waited for it to finish. He had been thinking about what kind of child would be a good fit with him and Derek. If they adopted an older child who had already started to develop personality and likes, they'd need to at least be interested in a few of the same things. Right? Otherwise how would they have anything to talk about.
Spencer was pulled from his thoughts by Derek's voice, softly calling to him from across the kitchen. "Pretty Boy, I could hear you thinking all the way upstairs."
He ducked his head. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize, baby." Derek stepped closer to him and eyed him. "You're thinking about the kids." Spencer nodded and then voiced his earlier thoughts. Derek watched him speak with a furrowed brow. "Spencer, we'll find one who's right for us. And we might not even adopt an older kid, what if absolutely fall in love with one of the infants or toddlers?"
"True." Spencer murmured. "I guess I'm just overthinking everything again." He reached for a mug. "You know how I am."
Derek chuckled. "You do tend to do that."
Spencer glared and playfully shoved Derek before retreating to his makeshift library. He could probably finish a book or two before they needed to leave.
Derek and Spencer walked hand in hand into the same dull gray building they had visited earlier that week. The same woman sat the receptionist desk and smiled at them as they entered. "Hello! Glad to see you back!" She greeted.
"Glad to be back!" Derek smiled.
"I'll let Ms. Greenway know you're here." She took off her headset and placed it on the desk before getting up and walking down the hallway.
She returned a few minutes later, Ms. Greenway in tow. "Ah, gentlemen! You made it!" She beamed. "You can come on back." She waved to them.
They followed her back to her office and took their seats across from her. She grabbed a small stack of files from the corner of her desk and handed them to Derek. "These are a few of the kids we have right now. If you'd like to meet any of them, we can set it up. If not, we can start with some other files."
Both men nodded in unison. "Alright, thank you, Ms. Greenway." Spencer smiled.
"I'll leave you to it, then." Ms. Greenway stood and exited her office, giving them some privacy to talk.
Derek set the files down on the desk, then picked up the first one. "Alex Miller, Age eight." He read. He leaned closer to Spencer to show him the picture of the little boy. It looked to be a school photo. "He's in third grade and has listed his favorite hobbies as 'soccer and coloring'."
Spencer smiled. "I could get into coloring."
"Yeah?" Derek laughed. He put the file down. "Let's go through the rest."
They looked through the rest of the files and narrowed down the pile to three. Alex Miller and two little girls, April Johnson and Wendy Lopez. They had just finished going through Wendy's file when Ms. Greenway walked back in.
"Have we decided on anyone?" She asked cheerfully as she plopped herself down in her chair.
"We have." Derek smiled and handed her the three files.
She glanced at each and smiled. "Alright." She set them aside. "I'll call their foster parents and see when they can come in. I'll let you know and we can set it up."
The men thanked her and headed back to their car. "I'm excited." Spencer said as they walked across the parking lot.
"I am, too, baby." The darker man smiled at his partner.
