Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, raspberry dreams, and CrystalVixen93 for reviewing chapter 3.

Also a huge thanks to vampire and inuyasha lover 13 for your touching review.

Shout out to tannerose5 for telling me that she likes the surprising revelation that I'm going to reveal in this chapter since she mentioned that she could actually see it.

Since it's mentioned that the status of Hotch's mother is unknown, I'm going to have it that she died when Clarissa was 17.

There's a reference to Elephant's Memory in this chapter, but with having Spencer's late uncle Gordon being a police officer let's just say that there's a twist to the incident.

This chapter starts on December 23rd of 2000.

Spencer smiled as he watched Clarissa rush over to her oldest brother to hug him as he made his way to Hotch and Clarissa while he carried their carry on bags.

"Even though I saw you over a week ago, I missed you Aaron." said Clarissa.

"You were the one to pick Yale." said Hotch as he hugged his baby sister tightly to him and nodded at Spencer who finally reached them.

"Thanks for having me spend Christmas with you guys." said Spencer quietly.

"No one should spend Christmas and New Years alone." said Hotch as he took Clarissa's carry on bag.

"I know, and my academic adviser offered for me to spend Christmas with him and his family. Let's just say that he's pleased that I found someone who will get me to take a break from studying while hanging out with someone who's my age." said Spencer as he headed towards baggage claim with Hotch and Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was leaving Dulles with Hotch and Clarissa when Hotch noticed Spencer taking in the sights of Washington DC.

"Ever been to DC before?" asked Hotch.

"I have since my godmother lives in this city and she works for the FBI in the BAU. Dr. Blake specializes in linguistics and she was talking about introducing me to you and Gideon at some point, and I haven't told her that I met you yet." said Spencer.

Hotch realized that Dr. Alex Blake is Spencer's godmother.

"You're the godson that Agent Blake has mentioned since I've started working with her." said Hotch.

Spencer nodded at Hotch to indicate that he's correct.

"She doesn't reveal my name at all since she wants to keep me safe." said Spencer.

"So are you planning on surprising her?" asked Hotch.

"I am since she was another person who invited me to spend Christmas with her." said Spencer.

Spencer and Clarissa followed Hotch into Hotch's and Haley's house, and Spencer looked around the living room that was decorated for Christmas.

"You have a nice house." said Spencer.

"Thank you." said Hotch.

At that moment Haley entered from the kitchen.

"Welcome, Spencer." said Haley as she gave Spencer a hug.

"Thank you for letting me stay." said Spencer.

Haley looked at her sister in law.

"Why don't you show Spencer the guest bedroom." said Haley before looking at Spencer, "I just put clean sheets on this morning, and there's clean towels in the guest bathroom."

"Thank you." said Spencer as he picked up his luggage.

"This way Spencer." said Clarissa.

"Lunch will be done in 10 minutes, so please go wash up." said Haley.

10 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Haley were sitting around the dining room table, and Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"When is Sean arriving?" asked Clarissa.

"He's arriving before supper tonight." said Hotch.

Haley looked at Spencer.

"Is there any dietary issues that I should worry about?" asked Haley.

"I'm lactose intolerant, but I do have antacids with me." said Spencer.

"So no creamed spinach?" asked Haley as she thought about that being included during dinner.

"Correct." said Spencer.

"Then what's your favorite side dish?" asked Haley.

"Peas." said Spencer.

"Then I will make sure to make them for you." said Haley as she made a mental note to give him two helpings at dinner.

An hour later Spencer rang the doorbell to Doctors James and Alex Blake's house, and Alex's eyes went wide when she saw Spencer. She instantly pulled him into a hug.

"Hi aunt Alex." said Spencer as he hugged his godmother back.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't make it to your aunt and uncle's funeral, Spencer." said Alex.

"It's OK, but I wasn't alone the entire time since someone you met before was there for me." said Spencer as he gestured at Clarissa.

Alex noticed Clarissa and motioned both 19 year olds to come inside and remove their jackets, hats, and boots.

"I see that you met my godson at Yale, Clarissa" said Alex as she smirked when she saw Spencer and Clarissa holding hands, "And I'm glad you finally got yourself a girlfriend, Spencer."

"I didn't meet Clarissa until November 30th since she saw me sitting on a bench in tears, and she wouldn't let me be alone, causing me to join her and Hotch for lunch." said Spencer.

"Spencer never revealed that you're his godmother until today." said Clarissa as she accepted a hug from the woman who helped her get into Yale.

"Thank you for being there for my godson." said Alex.

"You're welcome Alex." said Clarissa.

Alex looked at Spencer.

"So you met Aaron?" asked Alex.

"I did, and I also met Jason Gideon when he came up for Clarissa's birthday." said Spencer.

"So you're thinking about going the FBI route when you're finished with college?" asked Alex as he thought about how she got her godson into linguistics during the visits that she had with him.

"Gideon told me that he told the Director about me, but I have to wait until I'm 21 to get into the academy." said Spencer.

"And you still have those degrees to work on. I already requested time off to come to watch you earn your 2nd PhD." said Alex.

At that moment Spencer heard the voice of his godfather.

"Who's at the door, Alex?" asked James.

"Come look." said Alex.

James came into the foyer and smiled at Spencer.

"You have definitely grown since the last time I saw you Spencer." said James as he hugged Spencer.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, Alex, and James were sitting in the living room, and Alex looked at Spencer.

"Where are you staying?" asked Alex.

Clarissa decided to speak up.

"Aaron, Haley, and I agreed that Spencer should stay in the guest bedroom at my brother's house." said Clarissa.

"You're always welcome to stay here, Spencer." said Alex.

"I know." said Spencer before he started telling his godparents about how college was going and about the grief counselor his academic adviser is having him see.

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa returned to the Hotchner house, and Hotch who was reading looked at his sister and Spencer.

"How did your visit with your godparents go Spencer?" asked Hotch.

"They told me that they already made arrangements to attend graduation in May." said Spencer.

"And I'm planning on attending your graduation too, Spencer." said Clarissa.

"Are you excited about attending MIT next fall?" asked Hotch as he thought about Clarissa telling Spencer that he shouldn't cancel his plans to attend MIT in fall of 2001.

"I am, and Clarissa and I agreed that we will make our relationship work despite being one state apart." said Spencer.

"So what are you going to do during summer break?" asked Sean.

"We're going to spend as much time as we can together before I have to move up to Cambridge." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Well I'm glad that you two are going to make the relationship work when you start at MIT." said Hotch.

"Me too." said Spencer.

Two mornings later, Spencer and Clarissa stepped into the living room together when Haley stopped them.

"You two didn't notice something above the doorway." said Haley.

At that moment Spencer and Clarissa noticed the mistletoe that wasn't there the day before, and Spencer pulled Clarissa into a gentle kiss on the lips before Clarissa noticed a smirking Sean.

"I take it that the mistletoe is your doing." said Clarissa.

"Yes." said Sean.

At that moment Hotch came into the room with a garbage bag.

"Who's ready to open presents?" asked Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa quickly made their way to sit on the living room floor, and after a few minutes of opening gifts Spencer was surprised when a big box was placed on his lap and he noticed that it was from Clarissa before he started to open it. His eyes went wide when he saw a leather messenger bag and a note from Clarissa.

WITH HOW TATTERED YOUR CURRENT MESSENGER BAG IS, I DECIDED TO TAKE THE LIBERTY AND GET YOU A NEW ONE FOR CHRISTMAS.

LOVE,

CLARISSA

"I've been meaning to get to get a new one." said Spencer as he leaned over to give Clarissa a peck on the lips, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." said Clarissa as a gift was placed on her lap and a minute later she realized that Spencer got her a gold locket.

"Open it." said Spencer.

Clarissa opened the locket and gasped when she saw a picture of her and Spencer together in the locket.

"That was the first picture you took of us together, and that locket will keep me with you when I move to Cambridge next August." said Spencer.

"I love it, Spencer." said Clarissa as she gently kissed Spencer on the lips while Sean made a playful gagging noise before Clarissa glared at her brother while Spencer blushed a bit.

"You two are so cute together." cooed Haley.

Spencer's face turned even redder while Clarissa blushed a bit before Hotch handed Spencer a box.

"This is from me." said Hotch.

Less than a minute later Spencer grinned when he was holding up an FBI t-shirt.

"I thought that this should help motivate you since you're deciding to go down the FBI route." said Hotch.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"And tomorrow I'm planning on taking you to a shooting range so I can start giving you lessons." said Hotch.

Spencer slightly smirked.

"My uncle has already taught me all about gun safety and how to shoot a gun." said Spencer.

"How good are you?" asked Hotch.

"I do better with a revolver than a law enforcement issued glock." said Spencer.

"Good to know, but I'm still taking you to a range so I can get to know you a bit better." said Hotch

The following afternoon Spencer and Hotch were leaving the shooting range, and Hotch looked at Spencer who was looking at the paper target he had with him.

"In the academy that would be a passing score, but they also use use paper human targets." said Hotch.

"Uncle Gordon already taught me that shooting in places that would incapacitate rather than kill is better since that brings a chance of a trial. Also he made sure I learned how to defend myself after a bullying incident happened that caused him to arrest a few classmates and have them registered as sex offenders since some of them were already 18." said Spencer.

Hotch decided to pull into a parking lot of a park so he could listen.

"If you don't mind, would you please tell me what happened?" asked Hotch.

"I already told Clarissa, so I might as well tell you since this incident will be found in the background check that the FBI will do on me." said Spencer as he took a deep breath before continuing, "When I was 11, I was sitting in the library doing my homework since my uncle was running late from picking me up from school, and he told me to wait there for him since he would come inside the school to pick me up." said Spencer and he started to tell the story about Harper Hillman approaching him before being led to the football field where he was stripped naked, and how his uncle found him with the principal who was furious and told everyone to come inside the school so his uncle called for some back up to help him out while the principal contacted parents to come to the school, "And after that incident, the principal agreed to my uncle's decision on having one of the officers at my uncle's precinct be with me at all times to avoid a law suit that my uncle threatened for not doing a good job protecting me." said Spencer.

"Did you have counseling after that incident?" asked Hotch.

"My uncle made sure that I went to counseling, and during that time the child psychologist realized that I have Asperger's syndrome since she saw in school reports that teachers were noticing the signs." said Spencer.

"At least you're not letting your Asperger's syndrome from following your dreams." said Hotch.

"My aunt told me that I would be doing great things in my life, and I know that I want to help people with my intelligence." said Spencer as his phone vibrated and he saw a text message from Clarissa.

HALEY AND I ARE ALMOST DONE COOKING SUPPER. ~ CH

"Clarissa just sent me a text telling me that it's almost time for dinner." said Spencer.

"Then we should probably head back." said Hotch as he started his car back up.

The next day Spencer was up before anyone else, and he decided to head downstairs and make breakfast for his hosts and Clarissa. Just as he was putting breakfast on the table Hotch, Haley, and Clarissa entered the kitchen together.

"You didn't have to make breakfast Spencer." said Haley as she took in the sight of pancakes, bacon, and shredded hash browns from scratch.

"Sometimes I find cooking relaxing." said Spencer as he started fixing himself a plate, causing the others to fix themselves plates.

"Sometimes I'm jealous of your metabolism, but it could be all that sugar laden coffee that you drink is the reason you're too skinny." teased Clarissa.

"My brain practically runs on glucose due to how active my mind is." said Spencer.

A minute later everyone was sitting at the table eating their breakfast, and after eating a few bites Haley looked at Spencer.

"This is so good." said Haley.

"I have to agree." said Hotch.

"Thank you. My aunt taught me how to cook at an early age, and I actually find cooking relaxing since it's basically chemistry since my aunt once told me that I just have to follow the instructions while cooking the food properly and I will always have edible results." said Spencer.

"That's a good analogy." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

Four days later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in the Hotchners living room with Aaron and Haley watching the ball drop on TV, and when it was officially 2001 Spencer kissed Clarissa while Aaron kissed Haley.

"Happy New Year, Clarissa." said Spencer.

"Happy New Year, Spencer." said Clarissa.