There were worse ways to spend your afternoon than showing someone around the workplace. It was a job that Spencer felt probably would've gone a bit quicker if he'd been showing around anyone else besides Gabriel. The archangel – and wow, was it hard to think that word in association with this being! – was quickly proving that he could talk and joke more than anyone Spencer knew, and that included Derek. Gabriel kept up an almost constant running commentary on pretty much everything. He cheerfully greeted everyone they went past, asked some of the most ridiculous questions, and got way too excited when they chanced upon a small birthday party happening with some of the analysts.

Spencer still had no idea how Gabriel managed to charm two slices of cake off of them so quickly. But somehow they both ended up leaving with a slice apiece. At that point, well, who was going to argue against a piece of cake?

If there was one part of the whole ordeal that Spencer didn't want to think about – his ears were still recovering – it was taking Gabriel in to meet Penelope. It was sort of his own fault; he should've better prepared himself for it. Five minutes in Gabriel's company should've told him that he was just the type of person Penelope would get along with. Loud, happy, cheerful, a touch flamboyant in ways, and constantly teasing. The fact that Gabriel had called him about seven different names – not a one of them Spencer or Reid – should've been another clue. They were barely in Penelope's office for thirty seconds before Gabriel caught sight of a book lying on her desk and was jumping forward, loudly exclaiming about something. Whatever it was, Penelope understood, and she spun around to immediately start chatting with him, her eyes bright and a grin on her face.

The only thing that saved Spencer from the dynamic duo was the buzz of his cell phone in his pocket. Spencer had never been more grateful to get a text than he had been in that moment.

It took some effort and a bit of raising his voice before he managed to cut through the conversation the two were having. When they looked up at him, he almost took a step back. "I, um." With one hand he gestured over his shoulder towards the door. "I've got to go. Rossi sent me a message and he needs to speak with me in his office. Would you mind escorting Agent Engel back out to his desk when you two are done? Hotch was going to get it set up for him while I gave him the tour."

"Sure thing, sweet cheeks!" Penelope said cheerfully.

The nickname made Spencer wince and Gabriel grin. That grin spelled nothing but trouble and Spencer was eager to get away before anything happened. At the same time, he still wasn't sure about Gabriel, even after everything the archangel had told him. Spencer was extending a lot of trust here. Leaving him alone with one of his teammates, especially one that wasn't up to defending herself against even a normal opponent, let alone an archangel... it felt wrong.

Something of that must've shown on Spencer's face because Gabriel's expression shifted and became just a bit more open behind the mask that Spencer hadn't even realized the other had pulled up. "We'll be on our best behavior, kiddo. I promise I'll be good."

"Oh, now, where's the fun in that?" Penelope teased.

Spencer left the office to the sound of laughter.

He made his way down to Dave's office and briefly entertained a wish that he was at home. Being inside of his own space right now sounded wonderful. Away from everything and everyone. There'd been enough emotional talks today. He'd had one with Derek and then one with Gabriel. The last thing he wanted was to have another. If it were anyone else, Spencer might've found a way to put it off. But this was Dave. There was no way Spencer could put it off with him. Especially not when the things going on involved him.

The curious looks he earned from JJ, Emily, and Derek when he made his way through the bullpen and didn't head towards them told him that he was likely going to have even more questions and conversations waiting for him. Great. Just, great.

Dave took one look at him when he poked his head in the door and immediately rose up from his chair. In seconds Spencer was being led towards a chair, the door firmly shut behind him. The blinds were already closed as if in anticipation of this. Spencer didn't care. He was absurdly grateful to sink down into the comfortable chair and accept the glass Dave pressed into his hands.

"You look like crap." Dave said bluntly. He took a seat on the edge of his desk, right in front of Spencer's legs, and braced his hands on either side of him.

Spencer huffed out a laugh and rubbed a hand over his face. He took a sip off his drink – which turned out to surprisingly be scotch and not the coffee he'd expected – in the hopes it 'd help steady him. "Sometimes I'm reminded of the reasons why I used to keep myself away from people."

"What's going on?"

There was no way that Spencer was going to get away with not explaining all this. Not only was it something big in their lives, both of theirs, it was something that was going to affect their day to day lives. Gabriel wasn't going to be just popping in now and again. He was here to work with them. That meant they'd see him constantly. Even if Spencer had been willing to keep all this secret – which he wasn't – it would've been impossible. So, holding on to his glass in an attempt to steady himself, Spencer took a deep breath and started to tell him everything. "Do you remember the last case that we were on? While Morgan and I were out getting coffee, I happened to run into someone…"

It took a while to tell Dave all of it. Unlike with anyone else, here with Dave there was no need to skimp on details. Spencer laid it all out for him. Running into Gabriel, their connection in the past, all of it. He didn't hide any of the details on what Gabriel was. Spencer had always made sure that Dave knew the truth about what was out there. For a while, there'd been a toss-up whether Dave would become a hunter instead of going into law enforcement.

By the time Spencer was done he'd emptied out the cup that Dave had given him and he was slumped down slightly in his chair. There was too much going on in his head, too many things for him to think about or focus on, and because of that he couldn't seem to focus on any of them.

Dave seemed to be suffering the same problem. He was actually openly gaping at Spencer, mouth open ever so slightly and his eyes a bit wide. Usually Dave was rather good at keeping his emotions under control. Right at the moment, he couldn't quite hide them. "You've got to be kidding me." Incredulousness lay heavy over his words. "You believe he's telling you the truth? That he's really Gabriel?"

"Yes." Spencer rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and brought that hand up to his face so he could rub at his temples. "I've encountered enough angels in my existence to know without a doubt that they exist and to know that no one would be imprudent enough to claim to be an archangel unless they actually were one. I have no doubt that he's who he says he is."

It might've amused him at any other time to watch as Dave made the sign of the cross. While Spencer wasn't extremely religious, he knew that God and angels existed, just as he knew other gods existed as well. He had tried to raise Dave as best as he could, with the options presented in front of him for the man to pick the beliefs that he felt comfortable with. As such Dave didn't have just one religion that he clung to, but a mishmash of different ones. The time they'd spent in Italy had helped cement a few of his beliefs, though. "The archangel Gabriel." Dave breathed out, still looking stunned. "I can't believe it's actually him."

Sighing, Spencer pushed his hair back from his face. "It is. Though, I'd try to refrain from continuing to mention his name. If I remember correctly invoking their name in such a way, especially with such reverence, could be considered prayer. While I imagine he's learned to tune those out to an extent, the fact that we're in the same building as him might make it a bit more difficult for him to ignore. You keep calling out to him and he's likely going to be privy to every word of our conversation and that's something I'd like to prevent from happening, thank you very much. There are some things I'd rather he didn't know."

There was a slightly proper edge to Spencer's words there and a ghost of an accent that he knew would sound British if he let it take over his words. Living as long as he had meant Spencer had spent a lot of time in a lot of places. Spend enough time in any one place and you're bound to start picking up on the accent there. His original accent from home had been lost, long ago. But certain moods brought out certain accents. When he was trying to control himself and keep calm, it tended to turn his words a bit more proper, bring out the English side of him. When he got comfortable with family – namely Dave – it brought out a touch of the Italian. Spencer hated it. He wished he could keep the American accent he'd worked so hard on. Dave, however, loved it, the little traitor.

Dave made a low humming sound at Spencer's words, though he didn't comment on the tone. Instead, he carefully asked "Does he...?"

"No." Spencer answered immediately. "No, he does not, and for now I think I'm going to keep it that way." If Gabriel proved anything like the angels that Spencer had met in the past it wasn't going to bode well for the immortal once Gabriel found out the truth. Angels didn't take well to a soul that had found a way to stay on earth without ever rising to Heaven or sinking to Hell.

Though Dave didn't know the major details about Spencer's time with angels, he knew enough to nod his understanding. "Do you know what you're going to do?"

Once more Spencer sighed. He twirled his glass in his hand and stared down at it as he tried to gather his thoughts together. "What can I do? He's here and apparently assigned to our team. There's no changing that. What's more, I feel he's being honest behind his reasons for being here. At least, for the most part. It's just... the risk here is huge. He could bring this all down around me if he wanted. Or he could get bored and vanish tomorrow. There's no certainty."

"He really gets to you, doesn't he?"

"He confuses me."

A smile touched Dave's lips. "Well from the sound of it, you're going to have plenty of time to figure him out."

That had Spencer groaning and dropping his head back. He didn't want to have to do this. He didn't want to have to come to work each day and put on even more of an act than he already was. Spencer was going to have play his part for his teammates, play a part around Gabriel, as well as seemingly teaching the archangel of justice all about human justice. What on earth had he signed himself up for here? "The idea of starting over is very tempting right now." It wouldn't be the first time Spencer had packed his bags and left when things got too risky.

"Is that what you want to do?" Dave asked him. His voice was normal; no hint of judgment anywhere in it.

Still, Spencer couldn't help but feel it anyways. He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for the brief second it took to gather his composure once more. Quit being a coward. When he opened his eyes again, he lifted his head and looked at his son, at the man who had taught him what it was to live again. "No, David." The words were softer than before, just a bit gentle. "No, I don't want to go. I like the life I have here. Even if it's not perfect, I like being able to have friends and to spend my time with you. I'm not going to let the possibility of trouble chase me away from my home."

"Good." Dave looked almost proud of him in that moment. He straightened up from his desk and Spencer took his cue from him, pushing up so that he was standing as well. He went easily into the embrace when Dave reached out for him. Normally Spencer wasn't the touching type of person. Too many personal sensory issues, too many memory triggers, too much discomfort and too little trust made him shy away from being touched more often than not. But he made exceptions. Dave was always an exception.

Spencer held him close and let himself just enjoy the embrace for a moment, offering Dave a bit of comfort. No, Spencer wasn't going to go anywhere. He wasn't going to run. This was his home. This was where his family was. And Spencer was going to do everything he could to keep all of them safe, no matter what happened.

CXCX

The workday seemed to take even longer to pass by. Spencer tried and failed to focus on his work. It was exceedingly difficult when he had a new teammate that sat where Derek's old desk used to be, back before his friend had gained an office. What made it worse was that Gabriel seemed intent on charming pretty much everyone and he took advantage of the afternoon to work on charming both Emily and JJ. And Spencer couldn't even call him on it because there was technically nothing for Gabriel to do today except get to know the team. There was no real work for him to do yet. Plus, getting to know the team, and them getting to know him, was good. It'd make it easier for them all out in the field.

Unfortunately, thinking about that only led Spencer to thinking about all the other things that needed to be done to make things easier in the field. How much did Gabriel know about working on a team? How well was he going to handle having to do things a human way? He was an archangel – they sort of ran on their own set of rules. Would he be able to do things the human way? Would he be able to stand by and let human laws take care of things?

By the time the day ended, Spencer was very much ready to head home.

He didn't even get a chance to get up from his desk before he had his teammates calling out to him. They'd gone over to the coffee pot earlier and Spencer had noticed Emily, Derek, Gabriel and JJ all talking, taking note of how much Gabriel was getting along with everyone – was it that he was actually getting along with them, or was there something else, some misuse of powers Spencer needed to worry about? – but he hadn't paid any more attention than that. Now, though, Derek was calling his name as Spencer pushed up to his feet.

Spencer tried not to sigh as he pulled the strap of his bag up over his head to rest on his shoulder. He followed the wave of Derek's hand and made his way over to the group.

"Hey, Reid." Derek said the instant that Spencer was close enough to hear him. "You should come out with us. We're gonna take Engel here around, show him the town."

"Get him drunk." Emily chimed in with a grin.

Gabriel was leaned back against the counter by the coffee pot, his mouth quirked up in that smirk that seemed to be permanently etched there. His eyes, however, were watching Spencer carefully, the look there full of questions Spencer wasn't all that ready to answer.

Movement at his side warned Spencer just seconds before JJ's arm slid around his waist and she leaned in against him. She was another of those rare people able to get away with touching him. Or, well, Spencer sometimes thought it was more that she was better able to read when he was accepting of a touch and when he wasn't, and when it was okay to push it a bit. She'd worked to learn what his limits were and that made it easier for him to relax into her touch. "C'mon, Spence. It'll be fun. You can come keep me company."

Spencer remembered then that Will and Henry were on a trip to visit family, one that this last case had prevented JJ from joining them on, and likely she was feeling kind of lonely. That in and of itself was almost enough to get him to agree. Almost. "I'm sorry. I've actually got plans for my evening already." He said, not even wincing at his own lie.

There was something in the way that Gabriel was looking at him that told him the archangel wasn't believing his words; which was sort of funny in its own way because the rest of the team obviously did believe him. Derek was grinning broadly as he reached out and gave Spencer's arm a light smack. "Pretty boy, you got a date and you didn't even tell me?"

The blush that caused wasn't even fake and really only helped back up Derek's statement. "Of course not!" he said, hating just how much his voice came out sounding like a squeak. But that only made them believe Derek all the more and it took a few minutes of dealing with teasing before Spencer was finally able to extract himself from the group. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" he called out as he beat a hasty retreat.

He had hoped he'd made a clear exit. That he could finally just get out of here. Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped into the elevator, he turned around and felt his stomach drop as he saw Gabriel jogging towards him. "Hold up a sec." Gabriel called out, and Spencer reached a hand out to make sure the doors didn't shut because he was far too polite. Gabriel flashed him a grin and hurried inside. "Thanks."

The elevator ride was uncomfortably awkward. Spencer found himself fidgeting most of the way down. It didn't get any better when they reached the lobby. Instead of going off his own way, Gabriel started walking outside with Spencer.

Spencer couldn't help himself. He turned to look at Gabriel as they made their way out the door and gave him an accusing glare. "Are you following me?"

To his surprise, Gabriel immediately grinned and replied "Only a little." He pushed the door open and held it there so that Spencer could get out before letting go of it. "I kind of wanted to see how long it'd take you to say something. You held it in pretty well, bucko. But, mostly I was just heading out to my car."

"You drive?" Somehow, Spencer had a hard time seeing that. Few supernatural creatures with the ability to teleport – or fly, in the case of angels – would even know how to drive, let alone willingly do it.

"Yep!" Gabriel said, drawing the sound out to make the 'p' pop. He stopped at the point where they'd have to split – the garages in one direction and the bus stop in the next. As he stood there, he looked Spencer over from head to toe, not even trying to hide his survey. Whatever he saw had the lines on his face softening a little. His smirk was more smile now, less trouble. "Why don't I give you a ride home, kiddo? No funny business, I promise!" He held his hands up, trying and failing to look innocent. "I'm not looking to cause trouble. But you look like a bus ride is the last thing you need."

The idea of not having to ride home on the bus did sound amazing. Spencer's headache was still threatening him and he didn't want to have to deal with the noise and chaos and crowdedness of the bus. There were always too many people on there in the evening, all of them talking too loud and too close, and the drive always went slower than normal from evening traffic. Being able to skip all that and ride home in a car had quite the appeal. Yet, at the same time, he wasn't sure he was up for the conversation that Gabriel would likely want to have. "I… It's been a long day, Gabriel."

"I get that – I really do. Like I said, no trouble here. I promise, no more soul sharing. You wanna chat, we can chat. If not, I've got no problem unwinding with a bit of quiet. I just need you to talk enough to tell me where you live and that's it."

His words held a sincerity that Spencer could easily hear and it brushed away any of his reservations. He let out a small sigh that was only half frustration – the other half was relief – and nodded his head. "That'd be great, thank you."

It was easy to fall into step at Gabriel's side. Despite their differences in size and stride, they stayed easily beside one another. Gabriel didn't even seem to mind moving quietly. He had his hands in his coat pockets and was strolling along like it was the most casual thing in the world. His easy acceptance of things only served to put Spencer a bit more on edge. How was he so relaxed? It's because he's not the one with a secret still hidden. He was blunt about who he is – you're still hiding it.

The change in footsteps had Spencer paying attention once more to where he was going. When he saw the cars in front of them, he knew exactly which one they had to be heading for. Almost against his will he found a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "That's your car?"

"That's my handsome boy." Gabriel said proudly. He stopped at the side of a Mustang that had to be early to mid-sixties and was painted a flashy candy apple red. It was old, a classic, a bit ostentatious looking, and seemed to suit Gabriel perfectly. The fact that he called it a handsome boy instead of a girl the way that most people did only served to make Spencer even more amused.

Just because Spencer didn't drive all that often didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate a good car. When Gabriel opened the passenger's door for him, Spencer folded himself down into the seat and took a moment to admire everything around him while he buckled himself in. He waited until Gabriel had come around and slid in behind the wheel before he asked him "Was this something you've always owned, or did you simply snap it up along with the rest of your cover here?"

His question didn't seem to bother Gabriel at all. The archangel pulled out a set of keys from his coat pocket and put one into the ignition. "I own it, actually. There are times when it comes in handy to blend in with you humans."

"Yes, because this car seems the perfect type to blend in."

Gabriel chuckled, low and husky, and Spencer worked hard to not show any of his reactions to that sound. Something as simple as a laugh should not be able to sound so devilish and attractive all at the same time. Then he started the car up and the sound of the engine drowned out everything else for a moment. Spencer let himself relax down into his seat as Gabriel pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the road. The only things they said to one another after that were for brief directions to Spencer's place. After that, the car fell silent, and Spencer was surprised to find it was honestly relaxing to ride beside Gabriel. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Spencer knew there was no real chance of an accident with an archangel behind the wheel. Gabriel wasn't going to let them crash. Not to say an angel couldn't want to hurt him for some reason or another. He'd met enough angels to not be sucked into the faulty ideals that most humans had. But he knew enough to know that if an angel wanted to hurt him they weren't going to do it through something ridiculous like a car wreck.

There had to be something more, though. Close proximity to grace, maybe? Or just some natural, soothing aura that angels exuded? Whatever it was, it had Spencer's muscles relaxing and his headache slowly fading away the closer to home that he got. Instead of wanting to escape the instant he got to his apartment, Spencer found himself almost sad when they pulled in. That had been the quietest and most peaceful ride he'd had in a long time.

Gabriel smoothly pulled his car into a parking spot and put it into park. He didn't turn it off, though. Just let it idle as he turned to smile at Spencer. In the soft glow from the nearby street lamp, Gabriel's face looked softer than before. Gentle, even. Like this ride had maybe relaxed him as much as it had relaxed Spencer. "Here you are, kiddo. Home sweet home."

"Thank you." Spencer's smile was shy, but it was honest.

Chuckling, Gabriel arched an eyebrow at him. "Don't sound so surprised, Doc. I told you, no funny business. You seemed like you needed the quiet."

"I did." More than he probably realized. The quiet had done wonders for relaxing the tension that had been building all day. "I just, you don't quite seem the type for quiet." He shrugged and ducked his head a little, hoping that he hadn't offended him.

The sound Gabriel let out was a strange mix of a snort and a laugh. "Yeah, I get that a lot. You know what they say, Dr. Reid. Don't judge a book by its cover." Those warm eyes ran over Spencer again before settling back on his face. "You of all people should know that."

Spencer ducked his head down, suitably chastised. "I'm sorry."

Silence fell over the car and Spencer snuck a look up to see Gabriel's eyes had gone just a bit wide and his body was still. His mouth was open ever so slightly in what looked to be surprise. Seeing it, Spencer furrowed his brow, curious despite himself. "What?"

"You apologized." As if realizing how he sounded, Gabriel paused and cleared his throat. His expression cleared again, looking less surprised now and more relaxed like it had been moments ago. If Spencer hadn't glimpsed it, he never would've known he caught the archangel off guard.

Was it really that big of a deal that someone apologized to him? Spencer had been the one in the wrong, making judgments he shouldn't have made. It was only right he apologized for it. Why would hearing it surprise Gabriel?

The car went quiet for a moment, only the quiet wasn't as easy as it had been before. There was an awkward edge to it that had Spencer shifting around a little. He realized as he did that he was still buckled and he quickly moved his hands to remedy that. Time to get out of the car and quit lingering, Spencer. "I should let you go so you can meet up with the others. Thank you for the ride home, Gabriel. I appreciate it."

"No problem. See you tomorrow, Dr. Reid."

As Spencer got out of the car and made his way to his apartment, he found himself smiling. Maybe… maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.