a/n: Hello. This is my first Criminal Minds fanfiction story. I would very much appreciate any thoughts and or criticism. I want to thank everyone who reviewed and who put this story on alert and added this to their favorites; it means a lot.
I probably should have said this in the beginning; I am not a natural English speaker, English is not my first language. I'm very sorry for any mistakes. If you do find anything wrong, please let me know. I'm trying to edit as much as possible. I have a friend who helps me but even then I know we don't catch everything.
disclaimer: (see profile page)
"Good morning sister, have a late night?" Ava said, smirking as she watched Darcy take a seat across from her.
"Yes," Darcy replied, taking a sip of the fresh coffee Ava passed towards her. "Urgh, this is bloody awful. How much sugar did you add to it?"
"None, you're gonna get diabetes."
"Oh hang you, give me the blasted sugar!"
"Grouch."
Darcy poured a generous amount of sugar into her coffee and mixed the beverage. She blew and took a sip. A wide grin spread over her face.
"I simply love coffee."
"You're hopeless."
Darcy shrugged her shoulders in response and looked around her. She was sitting at a table in a cozy kitchen with bright yellow walls. There were pots and pans of varying sizes lining the counters that wrapped around the room. On the stove were cookbooks propped up by various grocery items.
"Anyways…dish. Give me the details," Ava said eagerly, nursing her own drink.
"Wipe that look off your face; I don't mean late night like that."
"Sure."
"What time is it Sissy?"
"Half past 8," Ava replied. "What time did you come home?"
"No clue. My plan landed near 12. Spencer met me at the airport," Darcy said, smiling at Ava.
"And…"
"And we talked. It wasn't awkward or anything either. It felt natural, lovely in fact."
"That's great Della. You're blushing again."
"I never blush."
"Not on sets maybe, but you are now."
"Are now what?" A voice to their right said loudly.
Morgan walked into the kitchen, a barley awake Reid behind him.
"Are now just waking up I see, good morning," Darcy said quickly before her sister could say anything.
"There's nothing good about it. He," Reid said, pointing a finger at the dark skinned profiler and taking a seat next to Darcy. "Snores like a jackhammer."
Darcy and Ava laughed.
"Told you baby," Ava said after receiving a kiss on her cheek from her beau.
"Hey, don't disrespect me in my own house," he said with a mock glare.
"Don't give me that, you know it's true," Ava said with an equal glare.
"Hello," Darcy said to Reid and offered him her coffee. "Sugar to wake up?"
"Yes please," Reid said with a grin and took a drink.
"Is your family awake Derek? I haven't had the pleasure of meeting them yet," Darcy said to Morgan.
"No, only my mom is here. My sisters are both married and at their own places. My mom likes to sleep in on the holidays, before all the craziness starts."
"But not when there's guests of course," a woman said coming into the kitchen.
"Good morning mamma," Morgan said, getting up from his seat to plant a kiss on his mom's forehead.
"Good morning baby boy. Aw, this must be Miss Della Darcy; my, so beautiful," she said and stretched at a hand towards the model.
"Thank you m'am, you're too kind. It's a pleasure to meet you. You have a wonderful home here, thank you so much for the invitation," Darcy replied, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Oh and such manners, must run in the family," Mrs. Morgan replied smiling at the sisters. "How was your trip to Greece Ms. Darcy?"
"Please, you can call me Della or just plain Darcy. Greece was beautiful, thank you."
"That's good. Who would like some breakfast?"
"You don't have to go to the extreme for us Mrs. M. We can fend for ourselves," Ava said.
"I'll just take some more coffee and I'll be good," Reid said, taking another drink from Darcy's mug.
"Oh no you don't," Mrs. Morgan said with a small huff. "You're as skinny as a model—no offense Della—you both could do with some fattening."
Morgan and Ava laughed at a mortified Reid and Darcy.
"I have a high metabolism," they said together.
Everyone laughed.
"Hello? Anyone home?" A voice called from the living room.
"In here honey," Mrs. Morgan called.
Reid watched from his seat at the table as Sarah, her husband Tyron, and their newborn son Lionel entered the kitchen.
"Hi mamma, how are you?" Sarah kissed her mother on the cheek.
"Good hun. Stir this, I want to hold my grandson," Mrs. Morgan handed Sarah the spatula and took the baby from Tyron.
"Hey man, how are you?" Tryon said sitting across from Reid.
"Good. What about you?"
"We're doing alright. Sarah has her hands full with the baby and I'm doing my best to support us."
"Noble."
"Hi Spencer, sorry, I didn't see you there in the corner. How are you doing? I hope my brother isn't being too much of an a-"
"Language," Mrs. Morgan interrupted, rocking the baby gently in her arms.
"He's as malicious as always," Reid said with a smirk.
"Who's malicious? Hey Ty, sis," Morgan said, coming into the room.
"They're talking about you man," Tyron replied as Morgan sat next to him.
"They? You too? You're supposed to have my back kid," Morgan said to Reid who shrugged his shoulders innocently.
"Oh shut up Derek," Sarah said with a roll of her eyes.
"Hey Sarah!" Ava called out, walking into the room with an unhappy Darcy behind her.
Ava moved towards Sarah and they shared a sisterly hug. Darcy followed and held out a hand.
"Hi, my name is Della Darcy."
"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Sarah. The man next to Derek is my husband Tyron and that's my son Lionel with my mom."
"Hi there," Darcy said and shook Tyron's hand. "He's a cute baby," Darcy added, looking over at Lionel.
"And very stinky; I think someone can use a diaper change," Mrs. Morgan said.
"The baby bag is in the living room ma," Sarah replied.
Mrs. Morgan left the kitchen and Darcy moved towards the bench where Reid was sitting.
"Hey Derek, can you help me get the stuff out of the car?" Tyron said standing up.
"Sure," Morgan replied and they left the kitchen.
Ava and Sarah started talking amongst themselves. Reid looked up at a silent Darcy.
"Darce?" He called out to her.
"Hmm?" She said looking down.
"What's wrong?"
"I," she said hesitantly.
Reid patted the seat near him and scooted over for Darcy to sit down.
"I'll tell you later," she whispered, sitting down and pointedly looking over her shoulder.
"Okay."
"Thank you though," she said and offered him a small smile. "What are you doing in here?"
"Nothing really. Mrs. Morgan and I were talking about some things."
"What things?" Darcy said taking a sip of the tea he offered her. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer. I don't mean to be noisy," she added.
"No it's alright. We were talking about the different dishes she would be serving and Christmas."
"Christmas, my favorite holiday; besides Halloween of course."
"Halloween's my favorite too."
"Really? Why?"
"My mom would read me "The Raven" and "Frankenstein" every year. And then we'd spend the whole day writing and sharing ghost stories."
"That's so sweet. I wish I could have done that with someone growing up."
"Why do you like All Hallows' Eve so much?"
"It's the same day as my birthday," Darcy replied with an impish grin.
"Really? That's good timing," he said, grinning back.
"Hey Della," Ava said as she walked over to the couple on the bench.
Darcy didn't look up at her and answered, "What is it Ava?"
Ava tried in vain to catch her sister's eyes.
"Can you guys watch the pot for us? I want to show Ava some stuff around the house. We'll be gone for a while, the recipe is on the counter," Sarah said, noticing how the women struggled with each other.
"Sure, we got it," Reid said, intervening.
"Thanks Spencer. We'll try not to take too long," Ava said finally.
"Don't worry about it," he replied, brushing them off.
Once the women left, Darcy stood and walked towards the pot. She stirred it and picked up the recipe card.
"Its cranberry sauce," Darcy said, looking into the tall pot's contents.
"Be care-" Reid tried to warn.
"Ow!" Darcy yelled, jumping back from the stove.
She had leaned against the oven, burning herself.
"Are you alright?" Reid asked, quickly getting up and moving to stand beside her.
"No matter how many times I do that, it still hurts," she replied sourly. "Blimey, that scorching hot," she added, brushing at her jean covered thighs.
"The turkey is in the oven," he offered in a way of explanation.
"I wish I would have known that before," she said, throwing the spatula on the stove in anger; splattering a small amount of sauce.
"You have some," he said, pointing to her cheek.
"What? Where," she said, swiping at where he pointed, but missing.
"Here," he said, poking her gently where the sauce splashed.
"Thank you," she said, wiping the spot away.
"No problem."
"Okay," she said, card still in hand. "The recipe says once it starts bubbling; lower the flame to the lowest heat and add the sugar and spices."
She pointed to three canisters gathered together behind him. He watched her add the first two.
"3/4 cup of maple syrup and a tablespoon of ginger."
"You don't have to-" he began to ask.
"To measure it with a tool? No, I've been baking for a good seven years now. Knowing certain amounts comes after lots of practice. Besides, in a sauce like this, it is always best to eyeball things and alter it according to taste. Here," she said and handed back the vanilla extract. "You try."
"What? No, I don't know how to-"
"It will be a learning experience then," she said taking his hand and holding it over the pot. "We want to add just a teaspoon first, a little of this goes along way," she said and let go.
"A teaspoon, okay," he replied. He dipped the bottle down for a second and lifted it up. "How's that?"
"Very good," she said, mixing it and taking a taste. "A teaspoon isn't that much to measure so it's a good start."
"Thanks," he said giving her a mock hurtful look.
Unconsciously, he dipped the bottle again.
"I wasn't trying to take away from you're accomplishment," she said, laughing softly.
"That's—oh hell!" He cried out. "That's not good…," he added, jerking his hand and bottle away from the pot.
"What?"
He handing her the bottle. "I accidently poured some more in," he admitted sheepishly.
She tasted the sauce and pushed her bottom lip out, deep in thought. She started to look through the spice rack in the corner besides the fridge. She swiveled it a few turns and picked a small jar; black peppercorn. She dumped a few in her hand.
"Use the spoon to crush these," she instructed him.
He grabbed the tasting spoon, holding the bottom of her hands, and pressed it on top of the pepper. He grinded it as best as he could until she told him to stop.
"Okay, that should do it," she said, sprinkling it into the pot. She turned off the flame and gave the sauce a taste. "Yes, loads better. Here," she said, and gave him a sip.
"That taste really good."
"Black pepper cures everything," she said dramatically. "Crisis averted."
"Really?"
"In some cases," she admitted. "Most times I would add more salt but I think the pepper gives it something extra."
"Very nice."
"Hey guys, where did Sarah and Ava go?" Mrs. Morgan said, coming into the room.
"Around the house somewhere. Come on Spencer," Darcy said, taking Reid's hand.
"Where are you two going?"
"Spencer's going to give me a tour of Chicago. Cranberry sauce is done," she replied.
"Have fun!" Mrs. Morgan called out.
Reid offered her a wave as Darcy led them out and towards the living room.
"Do you really want me to give you a tour?" he asked her as she put on her coat.
"Absolutely. I can't think of any other way I would want to spend my time in Chicago."
Once they were ready to leave, she held out her hand and he took it.
Reid and Darcy spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon wondering around Chicago.
They found a local park deserted. The couple played on the swings, challenging each other to jump from the air to see who could land farther. Reid ended up winning by a good two feet. After that, they pushed each other on the carousal until they stumbled off, dizzy.
They visited Buckingham Fountain next much to Darcy's delight. Reid recited to her about the history behind the landmark while they watched a water and lights show.
After that, they walked through a farmer's market, sampling different fruits and other organic produce.
They made their way back to the park, running through giant piles of leaves and trying to build a makeshift hut of branches and the ruined piles. They chased each other around the slides and playground equipment.
Catching their breaths, they made their way under a tree to rest. Darcy laid her head against Reid, and after a moment's hesitation, Reid wove an arm around her shoulder. They talked quietly to one another, about everything and anything, from favorite foods to profiling.
Eventually, their adventure caught up to them and they started drifting asleep.
15 minutes later, a cell phone went off. They bumped heads scrambling for their phones.
"It's Morgan," Reid said laughing and answering his phone.
"Arse, tell him to let us be," Darcy said, perching her chin on Reid's chest and staring at him.
"Excuse me?" Morgan said through the phone.
"I pushed speaker by mistake," Reid replied.
"What do you want Derek?" Darcy said laughing.
"Oh, of course it's you who said that," Morgan said, directing his comment to Darcy. "Take it back and get your butts back here. Dinner will be ready in two hours and everyone wants to play touch football."
"I don't want to play," Darcy whispered.
"We're tired, so we'll both pass thanks," Reid answered to Morgan.
"While I'm glad you guys are getting along really great. A, I don't need to know you're getting dirty, and B, too the hell bad," Morgan said with a snicker.
"Shut up Morgan. That's not what I meant," Reid replied quickly, going red.
Darcy raised an eyebrow at him. He shook his head.
"Whatever you say man, see you guys soon. And hurry up; Ava is worried about you Della."
"Codswallop. Tell her I say to get stuffed!"
"What did she say!" A woman's voice called out over the phone; it sounded very much like Ava.
"Nothing!" Morgan and Reid said together.
"We'll be there soon, bye," Reid said in a rush and hung up his phone.
He stared down at an angry Darcy.
"What's the matter Darce?" He asked gently.
She smiled softly at hearing his nickname for her.
"It's pointless really," she said, wrapping her arms around him.
He responded by holding her tighter against him. "Tell me," he pleaded.
He could tell something was eating her up inside. There had been a palpable change in the Darcy's and Ava's mood after breakfast.
"Our mum is sick; she fell into a coma a few months ago," Darcy said after a few minutes. "The doctors say she will never wake up. I want to pull the plug, the less she should suffer. But Ava is being adamant about keeping her on life support. The doctor called after our breakfast meal for a status update. My sister and I had large argument about it."
She closed her eyes to stop any tears forming. Reid brushed the hair away from her face.
"I'm so sorry," he said finally.
"Thank you. I've already accepted it. I know that sounds cold hearted, but we talked about it one day, years ago. She told me if anything ever happened to her and there was no hope, she wants to be let go. But since there's no written proof of that conversation…"
"It makes everything complicated," he concluded for her.
They sat under the tree, each lost in their thoughts.
"We really should get going, as much as we don't want to," Reid said, releasing his hold.
"We wouldn't want to offend the rest of the family," Darcy said agreeing.
They moved apart from each other. Reid stood up first and offered his hand to Darcy. She took it gratefully and she let herself be pulled up. They started to walk hand-in-hand when Darcy stopped.
"What is it?" Reid asked.
Darcy wrapped her arms around Reid's neck. Pressing herself against him.
"Thank you, for everything," she whispered in his ear.
When they pulled apart, Reid bent his head and kissed the side of her lips as she had done to him on their first double date.
They smiled at each other and made their way back to the Morgan's; hand-in-hand, fingers intertwined.
