Summary: Emily can't bail on another Girls' Night Out, and luckily, one of her team members steps up to help her out.
Emily glared at her phone, frustrated. She had given Ashley the weekend off, because there were no cases that immediately needed the team's attention, and they would have the entire weekend home, anything else pending. It was looking like she'd have a weekend in watching movies with Elena until she remembered that she had promised Garcia a girls' night weeks ago. She wasn't going to bother Ashley after giving her the time off, considering she spent so much time with Elena, and every person she called asking if they could babysit was busy. It was starting to look like she'd have to cancel on Garcia for the third time in a row, and she knew that was never an easy thing to do.
"Is something wrong?" Spencer asked.
She looked up and saw that he was still working on his case file. Sighing, she nodded. "What gave it away, the body language, the groaning, or the fact that I kicked my trashcan about four times in the past half hour?"
"All of the above." He set down his file, turning his attention to her. "Anything I can help with?"
She shrugged. "I have plans tomorrow night that I forgot about with Garcia, but considering the weekend is actually ours for a change, I told Ashley that she could have both days off and be away from Elena."
"Ah, and now you don't have anyone to watch your daughter on a Saturday night?"
She pointed a finger at him. "Bingo. I've called every single one of her friends' parents, and they're all busy or have family plans. I tried my mother, and she's apparently busy, so now I get to deal with cancelling on Garcia, which never goes over well."
He winced, then chewed on his lip, deep in thought. "...Or I could watch her for the night?" he suggested.
She looked at him, eyebrow raised. "You would watch my daughter on a Saturday night just for the hell of it? What's the catch?"
"No catch, honest." He sat up straight in his seat. "You need help, I don't have plans this weekend, and I'm willing to step in and watch her while you have some time to yourself."
"...Reid, have I told you lately that I love you?"
He looked at her, confused. "No, and considering the fraternization rules, I don't think you should."
She laughed to herself. "You just saved me from a very disappointed Garcia, and in turn, a Garcia guilt trip. Believe me, I owe you one."
He gave her a shrug. "If that's the way you want to look at it. What time should I be at your apartment?"
She checked her calendar. "Girls' night starts at 6:00, so if you could get there around 5:30, it would be great."
"I'll be there. Anything I should bring?"
"Considering she's a huge fan of yours? Just yourself."
Emily was finishing getting ready when there were a few successive knocks on her front door. She shook her head, putting in her earring and turning to Elena in the living room.
"Ladybug, can you grab that for Mommy, please?"
The little girl nodded, putting the bookmark into her book and getting up, walking to the front door and checking the peephole. "It's Spencer!"
She laughed to herself. "I know, now can you please answer the door?"
"If you want." She reached up, undoing the lock on the door and pulling it open, stepping aside. "Mommy says you can come in, she's not done getting ready yet."
"...Thank you." He stepped into the apartment and set his bag down on a chair.
Elena looked at him briefly before returning to the couch, picking up her book and reading again.
Emily walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, double-checking that she included everything in her purse that she needed.
"Okay, Reid, ground rules," she started, zipping up her purse. "She knows most of them, which makes your night easy. Dinner is?" she asked, turning to Elena.
"In the oven, just have Spencer heat it up, and it's enough for two," she answered, eyes still on her book.
"She takes her own bath at-"
"Seven thirty or eight, depending on when I remember, but no later than eight."
"And bedtime?"
She sighed dramatically. "It's Saturday, so 9:00. Is Spencer going to read to me?"
"That's really up to him. You could ask?" she said, putting her purse over her shoulder.
She set down her book in her lap and turned to Spencer. "Are you going to read to me tonight… please?"
Emily smirked. "At least she tacked on the 'please'. What do you say?"
He raised an eyebrow before turning to Elena. "Is it okay with you if I read to you tonight?"
"Uh huh."
"...Then I guess yes."
This answer seemed to satisfy her and she went back to her book.
Emily looked back at Spencer. "My phone's on if you need me for anything, and I should be back around 11:00 or 12:00, but don't quote me on that, because we all know that JJ isn't the best with time when someone's watching Henry, and considering I'm out with her? Who knows what could happen. She's pretty easy to take care of and mostly keeps to herself, just be sure she eats dinner and takes her bath, and for the rest of the night, you can just leave her to herself to get some reading done."
"That sounds pretty simple. Any other rules I should know of?"
She thought to herself. "Sergio's out on the fire escape, just be sure he makes his way in before she goes to bed, because he likes to wander in her room at night. Other than that, eat anything you want in the fridge, if you'd like wine, it's in there too, and just, I don't know, do whatever geniuses do on Saturday nights."
He smiled. "Sounds great. Enjoy yourself, and if you feel the need to check in?" He took his phone out of his pocket, turning up the ringer. "I'll know."
"Ladybug, I'm leaving," she said, eyeing the couch.
Elena set her book down carefully before running over, wrapping her arms around her mother's middle and hugging her as tightly as she could. "Bye, Mommy."
Emily rested a finger under Elena's chin and pulled it up, leaning down and giving her a kiss. "Love you, ladybug."
"Love you too, Mommy," she said, squeezing her again. "Have fun."
She rubbed her back. "You too."
Once Elena returned to her book again, she focused her attention back on Spencer. "Once again, thank you so much for doing me this favor. I know you say I don't owe you anything for this, but if you ever need anything further down the line, just call and I'll be there."
He gave her a thumbs up. "It's fine, now go on and enjoy your night out. Considering how much work has put us through lately, you need it."
She smiled appreciatively, patting his arm, before tucking her phone in her pocket and walking out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.
Spencer turned to Elena and saw she was fully immersed in whatever she was reading. He knew then he was in for a much easier night than he'd ever had with Henry, considering Henry constantly wanted attention and to play games.
Shortly after Emily had left, Spencer sat down beside Elena. "What are you reading?"
She closed the book, showing him the cover.
"Is it good?"
"Uh huh, it's about a girl who has magical powers, but her family's too mean to notice that she's special and they just think she's stupid, so she plays tricks on them. Then they send her to school and she meets an awesome teacher who notices how special she is, and I'm almost at the end. I'm pretty sure Miss Honey is going to adopt her."
"That sounds like a great story. Have you read any of his other books?"
She nodded. "I had to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for school, and Mommy and I watch the movie a lot."
"The original one, or the newer one?"
She stuck her tongue out. "The original. The newer one's fun, but it's wrong!"
He laughed softly. "I have to agree with you there. Do you have it?"
She put up a finger, counting out her pages. "Can we watch it when I finish the last twenty-seven pages of my book?"
"I think I can wait that long."
Emily glanced down at her phone an hour after she'd left the house.
"Something wrong?" Garcia asked, taking a sip of her drink and eyeing Emily.
She shook her head. "It's been over an hour and I haven't gotten any texts or calls from Reid. Should I be worried?"
JJ gave her a look. "He's not panicked and you're worried? I've watched Elena before, she's the world's easiest child to watch. She reads, she wants to watch a movie, she eats dinner, she bathes, she goes to bed. I don't know how he could possibly run into trouble. If it was Henry and it was this quiet, I'd be worried, but Elena? Definitely not."
She put up her finger, calling Spencer and putting the phone to her ear.
Garcia scoffed. "Really?"
"I'm a mom and my daughter's with a new sitter, leave me alone."
Spencer reached over the arm of the couch, grabbing his bag and taking out his phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, Reid, it's me," she said, running a hand through her hair. "How's everything going?"
"It's going great, actually." He looked over at Elena, who paused the movie. "We had dinner not too long ago, she finished reading Matilda, and her reading that book led to a discussion of Roald Dahl. We got to talking and decided to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, because it's the superior of the two."
She smiled. "So I guess things are going pretty smoothly?"
"Indeed. After the movie she's going to take a bath, I'm going to read to her, and she'll go to bed. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Please?"
He held out the phone to Elena. "It's your mom."
Elena took the phone, holding it to her ear. "Hi, Mommy!"
"Hey there, ladybug. Are you having fun with Spencer?"
"Yes! He's fun. We talked about books and reading and school and he let me finish my book and we're watching you and me's favorite movie."
"So I heard. I'll be home after you're in bed, so I'll get my I love you in right now. I love you and good night."
"Good night, mommy. I love you too." She hung up, handing the phone to Spencer. "Talk about paranoid. Mommy was thinking you'd do a bad job."
He raised an eyebrow. "She said that?"
She shook her head. "No, I just know it."
After the movie finished, Spencer turned to Elena. "Can you go take your bath while I call your mom and calm her fears that I've set the apartment on fire, or something equally as bad?"
She nodded, putting the DVD back in the case and setting it down, before grabbing her pajamas from her bedroom and walking to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Spencer smiled, taking his phone out of his pocket and calling Emily.
She grabbed her phone off of the table, checking the caller ID and picking up. "Reid? What's wrong?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, but thanks for your overwhelming faith in my child-watching skills."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'll admit it, I'm paranoid and it has nothing to do with you, honest. Now, rewind. Hi, Reid, how are you?"
"Fine, thank you." He sat on the couch, leaning back. "We just finished watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and right now, she's taking a bath."
"You didn't have to bribe her or anything? Usually she tries to suck another few chapters out of me before bed in exchange."
He shrugged slightly, realizing the gesture was pointless. "She just did it right away, though I think she's going to try something when she gets out."
She raised her eyebrows, impressed. "This is going to be my last call tonight, I'll see you when I get back to the apartment. If she asks for a story before bed, just read her anything in her room, and whenever she passes out, tuck her in and close the door, leaving it open just a little bit. She shouldn't wake up after that, but if she does, read her another story and let her fall asleep at her own pace."
"Emily, I've babysat before. Believe me, everything's going to be fine."
She sighed. "Right, sorry. You're a new sitter and I don't doubt your skills. I'll see you in a few hours."
"I'll see you then, and I'll pass on your 'I love you's and 'good night's to her since she'll be asleep when you get home."
She smiled. "Bye, Reid." She hung up, turning to JJ. "You're right, he's kind of the perfect sitter."
"Told you so."
Elena came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, brushing her hair. "Spencer, can you read to me?"
He smiled. "I don't see why not. Whenever you're ready, pick a book and meet me in your room. Deal?"
She thought about it before nodding. "Deal!"
He waited in the living room while Elena finished her hair and put it in a ponytail, then ran to her room and browsed through her bookshelves .
"Spencer, I'm ready!"
He got off the couch, walking to her room and sitting on the floor beside her bed. "What are we reading tonight?"
She handed him a book. "This please!"
He raised an eyebrow, looking at the chapter book. "The whole thing?"
"That would be fun, but no - just one or two chapters. Mommy always says that's more than enough."
"Your Mommy is very smart." He opened up the book to the first page and started reading.
Looking down when he was halfway through the second chapter, he saw her fast asleep. Smiling to himself, he put a bookmark into the book and closed it, setting it on her nightstand. He then tucked her in, grabbing her blanket off the floor and putting it beside her. As instructed, he left the door open a little and went back to the living room, opening his own book.
There were several phone calls from Emily over the next couple of hours, and it got to a point where he put his phone on silent just so he wouldn't worry about waking Elena with his ringtone. When his phone would vibrate, he'd pick it up and assure her that everything was fine and there weren't any problems, then tell her he'd hear from her when she called back to check in again. When the phone calls finally stopped, he put his phone into his bag and knew that she must have been on her way home.
He was on the couch, reading, when he heard her key in the lock. Closing his book, he put it into his bag and got up, putting the bag over his shoulder, gathering his things to head out. She closed the door behind her, locking it, before turning around to face him.
"Too many phone calls?" she asked, setting her keys on the hook by the door and hanging up her jacket.
He shook his head. "Believe it or not, the second time I watched Henry, JJ was much worse."
"Second? Not the first?"
"The first was that ladies night where you three experimented with 'the green fairy', so I didn't get any phone calls."
She smirked, setting her purse on the counter. "How was she?"
"It was like she wasn't even here, to be completely honest." He adjusted his shoulder strap. "She read, we talked about Roald Dahl, we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, she bathed, I read to her, and she fell asleep, just like that."
She raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Wow, she must like you."
He shrugged. "I guess so. If you need me again, it definitely won't be a problem, she was really easy to watch and take care of."
"I'm glad I can count on you. Do you want a drink or something before you head out?"
"I'll be fine, I'm just going to head back to my apartment and get some sleep."
"Once again, thank you for sacrificing your Saturday night to do me a favor. I really appreciate your help. I'd say I'd return the favor, but considering? I guess I'll just thank you again."
He laughed to himself. "And again, I'll say it wasn't a problem." He adjusted his bag one last time before looking at her. "I'll see you at work on Monday?"
She nodded. "I'll be there after I drop her off at school. I'm sure she'll spend the day bragging about her awesome new babysitter."
"Something tells me that's not quite how she's going to spend her school day, but thanks." He gave her a smile before walking out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.
She looked around the apartment and noticed that he'd straightened up with his free time. Shaking her head, she smiled, glad that it had been an easy night for the two of them. Considering she had nothing to do to clean up, she saw this as the perfect opportunity to get herself ready for bed. Lying down, she stared up at the ceiling, and slipper her eyes shut. If nothing else, she now had someone that she could trust her daughter with, should plans fall through again.