A/N: I thought about it long and hard. But as I went through this story I came to a decision that somehow it feels like this particular baby wants to end here. I'd love to keep writing but I feel that if I'd add any more length I'd be stretching this thin, so… (sighs)

BUT, before letting you get to the conclusion… THANK YOU, with all there is in me, for that load of reviews you've delivered! (GLOMPS) I still can't believe that so many of you have enjoyed something that I've written. So thank you!

Awkay… It's go time, no? (takes a deep breath) I really, really hope that this final bit won't end up being a disappointment.

Epilogue

August 13th, 2013

Anyone daring to try and stop him would've been trampled as a man burst through the hallways of a hospital. He didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to the bizarre looks members of staff gave him, nor did he hear the voices trying to stop him. His heart hammered somewhere very close to his throat and his blood rushed with a speed that couldn't possibly be healthy.

Please, please, please…!

It seemed to take for ages before he finally reached his destination. As soon as he did he heard a familiar voice that made his raging heart jump with relief. " … perfectly fine. Just stitch me up, okay? I want to get this case wrapped up and go home."

At that moment the thunder of terror transformed into such rage that made the man's skin crawl. His eyes narrowed before he finally revealed himself and roared out. "Derek Anthony Morgan, you just had your head rammed to a wall of bricks! There's no way in hell you'll be leaving this hospital tonight!"

Both the young intern with long, brown hair and huge blue eyes tending to Derek and the older agent gawked at him. "What… are you doing in Alabama?" his partner managed to sputter in the end. If it wasn't for the still oozing wound on the side of the man's head the utter bafflement might've been amusing.

Spencer's breathing pattern changed while rage kept bubbling still. A much too familiar stinging sensation made itself known in his eyes. It was only a matter of time before… "Where else am I supposed to be when Hotch calls me and announces that you've been injured and at the moment on your way to a hospital, unconscious?"

Derek winced. "I was hoping that he wouldn't call you."

Seeing the dangerous flash in Spencer's eyes the woman swallowed, getting up so fast that she swayed. "I'll… give you two a couple of moments alone." With that she fled the scene as fast as she possibly could.

Spence barely noticed, nor did he realize that the tears were running as he went on with his rant. "What the hell were you thinking, going after the UnSub all alone?! He could've…!"

Derek lifted both hands, blinking rapidly to clear his head. "Hey, Spence, slow down, okay? Slow down. What about Mattie?"

"He's with Savannah. Do not interrupt me when I'm upset with you!" His voice broke and he had to swallow a couple of times. "He… He could've killed you, do you understand that? If JJ hadn't appeared when she did he would've! I… I could've…!" And at that the words faded away completely. Tears kept rolling while he gasped, not managing to pull in even a single proper breath.

Derek had most likely been told to stay in the bed. But nonetheless the man was right there, his arms wrapped tightly around him. One hand rubbed soothing circles to his back while the other caressed his hair. "Shhh, pretty boy… Everything's okay. I'm fine."

Once again Spencer saw red. He squeezed his partner harder than would've been necessarily healthy and felt a twinge of guilt when the man hissed in pain. "You're in a hospital with a serious head injury!"

He could actually hear Derek's smirk. "Baby, I don't think that a mild concussion can be classified as a serious head injury." The man sighed, pulling him closer. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

Spencer sobbed once, finally starting to calm down although fear was still swirling inside him. "Good." He then frowned, his chaotic thoughts finding something new to focus on. "Where… are the others?"

"At the station, wrapping up the case. I told them that I don't need a group of babysitters."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "You don't. You need a collar and a leash." His breath shuddered while he buried his face into his loved one's chest. "I… I really thought that I'd lose you, for a moment."

Derek sighed, kissing his head. "Baby, I already told you that I'm…"

"Let me finish!" he snapped with a nearly childish tone, wiping his eyes. "I… I thought that I'd lose you, and I… I started to think about all those things that we'd never get." He swallowed, his head still speeding a million miles per hour. "When you come back home… I think that you should pack up Clooney and your stuff and move your things to my apartment."

For a couple of seconds it was quiet. Too quiet. Then Derek chuckled. "So it took me getting a concussion to make you realize that you're finally ready to move in with me?"

"Shut up", Spencer muttered through a teary chuckle. He closed his eyes and inhaled Derek's familiar scent. The man's hold on him was so comforting that he melted into it, no matter how upset he still was. "I'm so glad that I'll be getting back to work next week. Clearly you need someone to watch over you at all times to keep you from getting yourself killed."

Derek snorted. "I love you too, Spence."

December 22nd, 2013

When Spencer and Derek promised to spend the Christmas with Derek's family they knew better than well that it wouldn't be entirely easy. Things with Sarah were still tense and awkward although she'd no longer made effort to try and break up the two of them. They knew that it'd take a long time before there'd be even a shred of trust between Spencer and Sarah. But Fran was excited to see Matthew again and they were both eager to spend time with Desiree's tiny miracle. And so the family of three packed their bags and headed to Chicago.

In the rental car they'd gotten from the airport Derek could just feel how tense Spencer was. He wondered if Matthew, who seemed to be focused on his sketch book, sensed it as well. In the end he took his partner's hand and squeezed tightly. "Whatever she says or does… We're a family, now. Don't ever forget that."

Spencer looked at him with extremely serious eyes and nodded. "I won't."

The tension, however, didn't ease the slightest when they parked outside Fran Morgan's house to see that Sarah was already there waiting from them, a nervous look on her face. The men glanced at one another and made a silent agreement to talk to her before coaxing Matthew out of the vehicle. No distance of five steps had ever felt as long as the journey they made to the woman.

Derek heard Sarah swallow before she spoke quietly. "I'm… really glad that the two of you came." She looked at Derek. "I've missed you."

Derek sighed. "Sarah…"

She shook her head as a sign that she wasn't finished. This time she focused on Spencer. "Treat him right, do you understand? Give him all the love that he deserves."

Spencer nodded extremely seriously. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes. "I will."

Sarah nodded, obviously believing. "Good." A second or so later she took out a small gift, handing it towards the genius. "I… felt like I should give you this."

Appearing wary Spencer opened the gift slowly. What he found made his eyes first widen, then water slightly. The gift was a picture that'd been taken when the Morgan women visited them in the summer. It was all of them, Matthew included, sitting on a couch, pressed close to each other to fit into the picture. A family.

Spencer looked at Sarah with genuine happiness in his eyes. "Thank you."

To both their surprise Sarah smiled. "Merry Christmas, Spencer."

There was no knowing what would've been said or done next for just then Desiree rushed out of the house. There was a tiny, warmly wrapped baby in her arms and a huge smile on her face. "You have no idea of how much I've missed you!" she exclaimed, giving both men as tight of a hug as she could with the baby in her hold. She then focused on her child. As she inched the blanket they were able to see a extremely beautiful baby girl who looked at them with huge dark eyes. "Monica missed her favorite uncles, too."

During the holidays they took an album full of pictures. Smiling faces. Soft touches. Slowly mending wounds. Matthew sitting underneath the Christmas tree for about ten seconds before his experiment managed to make it crash to the floor. Matthew, Spencer and Derek all firmly focused on a puzzle, sitting far closer to each other than the child should've felt comfortable with. Derek and Spencer having fallen asleep side by side on the living room's floor, with Matthew not too far away. Derek carrying a wide eyed Spencer up the stairs, with the genius' lips open for a flood of protests. And finally all of them together, with no worries or shadows in their eyes.

The expanded family had a long road ahead of them. But perhaps, just perhaps, there was hope.

July 24th, 2014

In the team's familiar jet Derek woke up without any immediately evident reason and frowned, not wanting to open his eyes right away. Someone was snoring. Two voices were talking – Aaron and Alex Blake, he suspected. And then he caught the soft sounds.

Opening his eyes slowly he discovered Spencer who was practically leaning against him. The genius was completely mesmerized by his cell phone and smiling widely.

Derek's eyebrow bounced up. "I really hope that you're not just reading a text from some other guy." He wished that he would've sounded more playful than he did. Cursed jealousy.

Spencer shivered slightly with surprise but the smile didn't falter. The man leaned closer still. "Savannah just sent some footage", the genius explained. "Take a look."

His heart jumping slightly with eagerness Derek leaned closer. In an instant he found out just where the look on Spencer's face came from. He was having a similar.

Spencer's cell phone's screen was tiny and the footage wasn't exactly top quality but he could still distinguish what was happening. With a great deal of concentration Matthew was putting together the 1000 pieces puzzle Derek got him for last Christmas. That wasn't what his attention locked on, though. It was the picture that lay right beside the child. It represented the boy, Spencer, Derek and even Clooney, all of them gathered close to each other.

"I can't believe this…", he whispered, baffled, touched and a little bit choked up.

Spencer smiled but the man's eyes seemed thoughtful. "You've been in his drawings for a really long time now, Derek. And every evening he won't go to sleep without hearing your voice, even if during our cases it's only through the phone." The genius frowned. "Are you… crying?"

Derek wiped his eyes, only to discover that his beloved's prognosis was the correct one. Oh, great… "I just… He's really grown on me, you know? It feels good to know that I mean so much to him in return." His eyes narrowed although the tears in them ate away the desired effect. "If you tell Rossi about this you'll spend a month on a couch."

"My lips are sealed." Spencer swallowed, appearing very nervous all of a sudden. Almost terrified. "I'm… glad to hear that you're happy about this, because… Well, I've been waiting for the right time, and it's our one year anniversary…" Out of words, the genius reached out towards his satchel. The man's hands shook while he pulled out something. Very official documents.

Derek frowned, his stomach knotting all of a sudden. "What is this all about?" When Spencer didn't answer he decided to find out. What he read from the documents made his eyes widen and his heart hammer madly.

Adoption documents.

"It's not easy and it's only going to get harder as Mattie grows up. But… We're a family, Derek." He'd never seen the kind of a look on Spencer's face that he did then. No matter how many times he'd seen his lover naked the man had never been that exposed. "I… I want to make it official."

There was no way Derek could've spoken a word without breaking down into tears. That's why he chose to take action. He leaned forward, crashing his lips firmly against Spencer and holding on with all there was in him. With that one kiss he shed out absolutely everything there was in his body and soul.

In the end he leaned as close to his partner's ear as he could.

Spencer responded with giving his hand a firm squeeze. Derek was almost sure that he smelled tears. It felt good to know that they were those of happiness. Only the fact that the team was present kept him from claiming Spencer right there and then.

And so they continued the journey towards home, back to their son.

Towards a distant unknown that didn't feel so horrifying anymore.

Quite far away a undeniably beautiful woman with long, red dyed hair opened her TV to discover a familiar face on a press conference that'd taken place earlier that day. She paid barely any attention to the announcement that the BAU-team had just helped capture a serial killer who'd brutally butchered ten children. Nor did she notice the teary face of the mother who managed to get her son back. All she saw was Dr. Spencer Reid.

He looked healthy. Far too thin, but healthy. Peaceful, almost. Happy.

Lila Archer smiled, even though there was a touch of melancholy in her eyes.

Arms wrapped around her from behind, making her shiver with startle and pleasure. "'Having regrets?" a deep, sensual voice inquired.

Lila shook her head, the smile remaining. And she meant it. "We would've only made each other miserable. We wouldn't have loved each other the way we were supposed to." She sighed, leaning towards the man behind her. "I just… Whenever I look at him I miss Mattie a thousand times more than I usually do." She didn't even try to hide her sadness. She'd lost track on how many times she'd almost called Spencer, revealed that she was no longer an actress, that she led a perfectly normal life. The change of career had felt like waking up from a nightmare. If only she'd had the chance to see her son even once but she'd given up on that privilege a long time ago.

He kissed her hair and caressed her although he must've known that no amount of gentle touches would take away the pain of a mother who couldn't be with her child. "You did this for Mattie. To make sure that he won't have confusion and chaos in his life. Never forget that. They're taking a good care of him."

Lila nodded slowly. Her eyes strayed towards the way Derek remained as close to Spencer as possible, to the matching rings. "They make a good family."

"Yeah, they do." A hand caressed her belly. The slightest bulge could just be seen. "And we will, too." There was a gentle kiss. "Now let's go. We're already late."

Lila turned off the TV and followed the man, convincing herself into not looking backwards. Matthew was happy, she felt that with every fibre of her being. He'd have a good life. For now that was enough, no matter how her heart was breaking.

And one day she'd tell the tiny being inside her stories of the amazing big brother Mattie who'd saved his mom from a life of unhappiness and two men from the shadows hiding in their eyes.

End.

A/N: I can't understand why but I feel close to tears right now. (sighs) You can't even imagine how much I've loved writing this story. And now it's come to an end.

Awkay, before
I start babbling any further, please let me hear your input! Was this story any good, at all? Now's your chance to speak out your minds. (glances hopefully)

THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart and soul, for believing in this story and staying on board through the entire roller coaster! You guys are really precious to me, ya know? (HUGS) So thank you!

I'm afraid that it's time to go now but I hope that I'll see you with other projects. (gives puppy's eyes) For now, adios and take care!

'Luv ya!

Guest: It seriously means a lot to hear that, you know? And it makes me feel almost childishly proud, too. (chuckles and hugs) I really hope that the final bit won't please you any less!

Colossal thank yous for the review!

Bomih Suju: Don't worry, I understood you just fine! (nods and hugs) I'm thrilled to hear that you've enjoyed the story thus far. Here's hoping that the final bit manages to hit home as well.

Monumental thank yous for the review!