A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry about the long-ish wait; summer brings out the worst of my laziness. I know you're all going to hate me after this, because I'm going camping for five days and I won't be able to update until I get back – but don't fret, I plan to update right away, because I now have a better gist of what's going to happen in the story from now on. A big thank you to all who have favourited and subscribed to this story, and also for all of your lovely reviews. Hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy! :)

Over the next few days while the team was away on the case, the energy between Reid and Prentiss started to change. Reid had taken JJ's advice – he was being completely himself, but he also took the time to make many small, yet thoughtful gestures towards Emily. Although he was trying to win her over, his gestures were always sincere – he was simply being polite, not kissing up.

Meanwhile, Emily was subconsciously growing more and more fond of Reid as the days went by. He gave her lots of tips and helpful information, and just did little things that made her life one heck of a lot easier. She found herself looking forward to work and becoming bored and restless when she was left by herself.

Soon enough, the team had arrived back in Quantico. Emily was glad to see everyone; the BAU was eerily different without the rest of them around. She got a pleasant surprise when Rossi slipped her a discreet "congratulations". At about the same time, Reid was approached by Morgan. "We need to talk," he said bluntly.

Reid attempted to act naïve. "About what?"

Morgan simply rolled his eyes at him and led him down the hallway to the lounge area, which was currently vacant. They sat down at one of the tables. It was reminding Reid a bit too much of the scenario in Hotch's office.

"Are you gonna tell me how this happened?" Morgan started.

"How did you find out?" he asked, wondering if it had been Rossi or Emily that had told him.

"Rossi told me," he replied. "Why didn't you tell anyone before?"

Reid looked down at his lap. "I was embarrassed. We both were. I don't know when Emily found out that she was pregnant, but we hadn't been talking for a few weeks. I only found out the day before you left for the case."

"When Hotch called you both into his office?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I had no idea. I just assumed that she felt the same way that I did, and that she was just keeping her distance. I didn't think she was hiding anything."

Morgan studied him. "Have things gotten better between you?"

"Yeah, a lot better, actually. I think we're starting to become friends again."

"Have you decided what you're going to do about the baby yet?"

"Well, at first, Emily wanted adoption... but she ended up changing in her mind. So we're keeping it," he said with a small smile.

Morgan raised his eyebrows. "Really? She just changed her mind?"

Reid looked from side to side, confused. "Uh, yeah."

"Did she tell you why?"

He thought back to their conversation. "No, not really. She just said that she thought that maybe adoption was the wrong idea, and that everything happens for a reason..."

Morgan's surprised expression turned into a devious grin. "Well that's saying something, isn't it?"

"It is?"

"Okay, look. She's carrying your child. If she couldn't handle being constantly reminded of you, she would've gone through with the adoption. But she didn't. If she really hated you, she wouldn't have changed her mind."

"So she doesn't hate me. It doesn't mean that she wants to be with me," he stared at the ground.

Morgan looked at him with his eyebrows raised. "Do you want to be with her?"

He did not look up.

"Reid?"

He said nothing for a moment. "I just want us to be happy," he said, barely whispering.

Morgan waited for him to continue.

"I just think that things would be so much easier for us if we were together..."

"It wouldn't be easier at work," he pointed out.

"I know she doesn't want to risk losing her job, but... wouldn't it be worth it, though? For us to be a real family?"

Morgan frowned in concern. This was a tricky situation. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"Well... no..."

"Then that's what you need to do. If she is that important to you, then you need to let her know how you feel. If it doesn't end up working out between you, then... maybe it's not meant to be."

Reid thought about this for a moment. "You're right. I'll talk to her soon."

Morgan shot him one of his rare smiles. "Congrats, kid."

He returned his smile as he got up to leave. "Thanks a lot, Morgan. You really helped."

After Emily had gotten home from work that day, she found herself getting into another one of her restless moods. She flopped down onto her bed and just sat there for a while, pitying herself for feeling so bored and lazy. After a few minutes of pondering, she picked up her book, and attempted to read a couple of pages, only to end up putting it down shortly after. She just couldn't find the energy to concentrate on the words. Growing increasingly frustrated, she turned on her TV and tried finding something to watch. She flipped through the guide and suddenly stopped at some kind of pregnancy show.

Ah, what the heck, she thought, and put it on. It showed a pregnant woman who looked pretty far along, with her husband. They were talking to their doctor about their labor procedure. She had been watching the show for less than a minute when her mind wandered off into thought about her own pregnancy. She was living alone - which was fine now - but what would it be like in the later months of her pregnancy? What would happen when she went into labor? Would she have to wait for someone to pick her up and take her to the hospital? What if she somehow injured herself at home and was unable to help herself? A million bad scenarios flashed through her mind, until suddenly, she had an idea.

Emily reached over to her night table and started digging through the assortment of random items that filled the top drawer. At the bottom, she found a couple of extra keys to her apartment. She picked one of them up as she started dialing a number on her phone.

Meanwhile, Reid was also at home, doing nothing constructive. He couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with Morgan, and about how he would soon confide to Emily how he felt. He wondered how he would bring it up, and what her reaction would be. His train of thought was abruptly jolted to a halt when his cell phone started ringing.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered to himself as he glanced at the caller ID and answered the call.

"Emily?"

"Hey, Reid. Do you have anything going on tonight?"

"No, I don't. Why, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if maybe you'd want to come over here for a bit. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Was he hearing things? "Yeah, sure, I'll be right there."

He hung up his phone and grabbed his keys, unable to believe what had just happened. He didn't have any idea as to what she wanted to talk about, but this was a perfect opportunity for him to tell her what had been on his mind.

Not long after their conversation on the phone, Reid arrived at Emily's apartment.

"Hey," she said as she let him inside. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," he said with his trademark timid smile.

"Do you want a coffee? Tea? Anything?" she asked him as she led the way to her kitchen.

"Nah, I'm good, thanks," he said, and the two of them sat down at her kitchen table, facing each other. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Emily laced her fingers together and stared at the table. "I was just thinking about how I'm living by myself... and that it'll probably start being more difficult for me as the months go by, and I think you should have this."

She reached into her pocket, pulled out the key, and put it on the table in front of him. He picked it up, and then looked at her.

"A key?"

"It's a spare for my apartment," she explained. "Just in case anything were to happen."

Reid studied the key, and thought for a moment. It was now or never.

He looked back up at her. "Emily, this is stupid."

She was suddenly taken aback at this. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you ever realized how much simpler it would all be if we were together?"

This time, she was really taken aback. "Reid, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you see that I care about you? That I want you to be happy?"

She just stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock and her eyes filled with bewilderment.

"I love you, Emily. I want us all to be happy together, as a family."

Her eyes were now filled with tears. "God, I can't do this," she choked out, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Why not? Is it because you don't love me?"

She looked away from him, not being able to answer, and also trying to keep her tears from spilling over.

His voice softened slightly. "I know you do, Emily. You pretend like you don't, but deep down, you do," he said, feeling himself becoming slightly emotional as well.

"You're right. I do love you," she said almost inaudibly. "But I can't be with you. Not in these circumstances."

"So what if we have to pretend at work? It shouldn't matter. I don't want to leave the team, but if it meant being with you, I would."

"I know, but... what would happen if something went wrong between us, and we were both out of work? What if I couldn't find another job? I'm sorry, but when it comes down to it, I can't afford to be taking risks here, despite how I feel," she attempted to explain.

"Emily, how are they going to find out? What they're concerned with is what happens at work. They can't stop us from seeing each other in our own homes, like we are now. They can't stop us from having feelings."

Emily was still fighting back her tears. "Please, Spencer, you have to understand where I'm coming from," she pleaded.

Reid stopped short. She had never called him Spencer before. He slowly rose from his chair while Emily walked over to him.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," she hoarsely whispered.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Emily," he said. She could see that his hazel eyes were filled with pain. He kissed her softly on the forehead, causing two tears to escape her eyes, which were squeezed shut. Seconds later, she heard the door click shut, signifying that he was really gone.

Emily lingered there for a moment as more tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She could still feel his lips on her forehead. It took every muscle in her body to get her to walk to her bedroom. She immediately collapsed onto her bed, grabbed one of her pillows, and clutched it tight to her chest. Her stomach clenched as her conversation with Reid started to replay over and over in her head. Soon enough, the tears were streaming down her face nonstop. She buried her face into her pillow as she stifled her cries and letting her grief overcome her, her body shaking unsteadily.

After her tears had run dry, she just lay there, clutching her pillow, her head pounding painfully. Why did everything have to be so unfair? Oh, how she really did want to be with Reid. How she longed for him to be there, holding her, wiping her tears away. Telling her that they were going to get through it, telling her that he loved her. But all of this was just a fantasy. She was alone, as she had been for so many years, trying to convince herself that she didn't need anyone.

Reid had been her friend for a few years now. He was one of the few people who could make her smile. He was awkward, like she was. He knew all about her, and he could always tell when she was upset. He always confided in her, and she liked that. Here was this wonderful man, the father of her child, confessing his love for her, and all she was doing was pushing him away. She hated herself for it. She was too afraid of letting him in, of actually relying on someone for once. It had been like this for as long as she could remember.

She pulled herself out of bed and changed into her pajamas in somewhat of a trance-like state. She washed all of the makeup off her face and rubbed her red eyes with cold water; they were sore from tears. She then found some Tylenol. She swallowed a capsule, in hopes of helping her headache. Exhausted and sore, she heaved herself back into bed, hoping that the feeling of her heavy heart would subside overnight.

Things had definitely not gone as well as Reid had expected. His intentions had not been to hurt her, of course... but the truth was that he had ended up feeling hurt himself. Emily was the only person he knew who didn't try to belittle him, or make him feel like a little kid. He knew that she hadn't been trying to hurt him either, but it was just frustrating him that they couldn't be together without having some kind of complication. He hoped that she would change her mind eventually, but maybe it would be best if they both concentrated on work for a while.

Once again, things had become awkward between Reid and Emily. They both masked their feelings well, and rarely talked. Emily no longer felt happy anymore. She only felt sad and empty all the time. Reid felt the same way. He noticed that she had started biting her nails again. She missed Reid so much that she could barely stand to look at him, or even think of him. Every night she cried herself to sleep. Reid missed her just as much, but he hid it well - even though it was so painful for him to see her upset and worried all the time.

Days later, Emily was woken up early in the morning by her alarm clock, a few hours before work. She turned off the alarm and just lay there for a few minutes, feeling drowsy and dreading work, as per usual. It didn't take her long to figure out that there was something wrong. She turned on her bedside lamp, throwing her covers off. As she got out of bed, she was overcome by a wave of dizziness, and had to grab the wall just to keep herself steady. It was then that she noticed that her sheets were soaked with blood. Panicking, she looked down to see that her nightgown was also soaking with blood, right before the dizziness over came her. Everything went black.