Layla made it home around 8:30, an hour after she left Spencer's. She snuck into the house as quietly as she could and hurried upstairs. It wasn't that difficult due to Elliot having some of his friends over. The old men and their wives were sitting around the parlor, talking about old people things.
She knew that Spencer was probably a little worried, so she texted him that she made it home before turning her phone off completely. She was still getting text messages and phone calls from her parents. At first, she thought it was just her father until her mother called and left a message as well. Jasmine also sent a text about how all she wanted for her birthday that year was for their family to be back together, for everything to go back to the way it was. Layla, for the first time ever, scoffed at the communication. How could Layla be so pathetic to let these people ruin everything good in her life. She had been having a great day with Spencer, only for a mere phone call, they weren't even physically there, to send her into hysterics. How could she expect herself to take care of three babies when she couldn't even take care of herself.
Layla frustratedly picked up the clothes she had left lying around in her room, tossing them into the hamper next to the door. Her bathroom was pretty clean, aside from more clothes on the floor. The mirror wasn't her friend at that moment. Her hair was sticking up in places where it shouldn't be, her eyes were puffy and bright red. Her mascara had bled down her face in dramatic, black tear tracks, smearing where she had wiped the tears away. She turned away in disgust.
She pulled off her jacket, laying it over the bathroom counter, as it laid down, she saw the corner of the strip of pictures from the sonogram. The paper felt thin in between her fingers as she pulled it to from the fabric. She couldn't make out that they were babies from the pictures, they just looked like little beans chilling out in her uterus, but it made her smile either way. She moved back into her bedroom and set the strip down onto her nightstand.
She decided she'd get them a little bigger and frame them, maybe start a scrap book sort of thing. Maybe they would appreciate it when they were older. Layla didn't have any baby pictures or scrapbooks to look though. The only pictures Layla had from childhood were the yearly school photos, and Christmas card covers that her parents sent the rest of the family to make it look like they were the perfect family. Layla wasn't going to let that happen this time around. These kids would have happy and healthy childhoods, it didn't matter what happened, she wouldn't tolerate anything less.
This was her train of thought as she showered, the hot water giving her the bravado to come up with a plan. She would tell Elliot tonight, like she had originally planned, she'd probably tell her uncle when he came to visit for this 'cookout', but that was it, everyone else could find out when she was no longer able to hide it, it wasn't going to be easy, but she was going to give it her all. Hopefully the restraining order would go though, and it would make her parents think twice about harassing her. Those were the only things that she could think of at the moment, her thoughts were scattered and tented with a little too much anger to make much sense.
She turned the showerhead off about 20 minutes later, stepping into a pare of sweat pants and a black tank top, she tucked the strip of pictures into her pocket before going down stairs. There were still some people left, but it looked like they were on their way out. Layla got to work on some spaghetti, it was quick, easy and didn't take a lot of forethought. Elliot came into the kitchen after the last couple left.
"How was work?" Elliot asked, sinking down into a kitchen chair. Layla chewed on the inside of her cheek, not turning around from the stove.
"I uh…" even though she felt like shit and it would never be a good time to tell him, she couldn't go back on her plan so soon. "I didn't have to work today." She said. "I had a doctor's appointment." She poured the noodles into the boiling water and grabbed the cullender from inside the cabinet before setting it down in the sink.
"Is everything alright?" Elliot had all of her counselor appointments on a calendar in his office, so he wouldn't schedule anything at the same time, he didn't remember her having one for today. "I thought your next appointment was Friday."
"Not that kind of appointment." She sighed, turning around and leaning against the counter. She crossed her arms over her chest and admired the grain of the dark wood flooring. "I, um…" She blew out a long breath of air. "I'm pregnant." She said, the words were almost painful coming out of her mouth. She saw the look of confusion on his face, confusion and shock. Out of everything that could have come out of her mouth, Elliot would have never guessed pregnancy, it wasn't even in the realm of possibility as far as he was concerned. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, he couldn't think of anything to say, he hadn't ever thought of this situation or how he would handle it if it did happen.
"Are you sure?" It was the only thing that came to mind as an appropriate response.
"I had a blood test done two weeks ago and I had a sonogram today." She watched his face closely, looking for anything that would point to him being upset or angry. His face held an array of emotions, and she couldn't pick out any one thing from the display.
"The father?"
"Remember the guy I met at the bar?" She ran her hand though her wet hair, "I…I had gotten really drunk and I don't really remember how it happened but…it happened."
"Does he know?"
"Yeah, he went with me to the appointment today." It felt good to get if off her chest, to know that she didn't have to hide it from him anymore. It felt weird to keep something from him.
"So, he's taking responsibility?"
"Yes, he's…he's taking responsibility." She took another deep breath, moving to the table and sitting down across from him. "I just, this wasn't supposed to happen, I shouldn't- I don't even remember going home with him…but I did and now I'm in this mess and it couldn't have happened at worse time…but he's supper sweet and nice and he's…"She held her head up on the palm of her hands.
"Layla, you understand that if you don't feel ready for this, you do have options."
"I can't get an abortion, I already thought about that, and Spencer doesn't want me to get one either." She licked her lips, lifting her eyes briefly to look at him. He didn't look disappointed, or angry. She couldn't read any emotion on his face. "I'm scared." She admitted, "I don't know how my parents are going to react when they find out, and they will find out, and I don't want to…" She trailed off, not wanting to go into that much detail.
"You don't want to what?" He asked.
"I…This time should be about you." She said, brushing her hair out of her face, "all you do is worry about me and focus on me and you really need to take care of yourself right now…I don't want to take the attention off of you at all."
"Layla don't worry about your parents, we're going to get that all taken care of. And don't worry about me, I can take care of myself, I have for a long time." He assured, trying to get her to meet his gaze. "How far along are you?"
"10 weeks."
"See, it happened before I was even diagnosed." She still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Layla look at me."
"I'll support you no matter what you decide to do." She stood up to check on the food. "This guy, Spencer. Have you and him come up with any kind of plan? Like who's paying for what? Babies are expensive."
"No, we haven't talked about that." She said softly, straining the noodles. "I think we're both still a little in shock. The sonogram…" She took another deep breath. "there's more then one baby." She stirred the sauce. "Triplets, my doctor is referring us to a specialist while I still see him once every two weeks." When she turned around from the stove, she saw that look of serious shock on his face, he couldn't hide it.
Layla pulled the pictures out of her pocket and handed them to him. From the look on his face, she knew that he didn't quite understand what he was looking at, not that she could really blame him. She moved to stand behind him, her hands crossed tightly over her chest. After a few moments she the death grip on her arm go and reached over his shoulder. "That's baby A, he...um she? They are the biggest…" She moved to the one on the bottom of the frame, "baby C, just a little smaller then A, and then B. The smallest." She stuttered though the sentence. "The doctor said they had good heartbeats and they looked healthy." Elliot looked up at her over his shoulder.
"Three?"
"Three." She confirmed. His face basically mirrored how she felt while she was at the doctor's office. Elliot didn't know what to tell her. She looked calm, somewhat scatterbrained, but she was like that on a normal day. It was clear to him that she had accepted what was happening.
"Have you told anyone else?"
"Just Marissa, Aunt Macy and Spencer, and now you. I don't really want to tell anyone else. Not until I absolutely have to." She said, moving back to the stove to stir the sauce again. "Everyone else will probably tell my parents and I don't want them to know anytime soon." Layla was surprised by how good it felt to tell Elliot, she was shocked that she was able to keep herself composed enough to get though everything. It was a step forward.
"I understand." Elliot said, he loved all of his children dearly and it had been very difficult to cut off Jasmine, especially after losing his wife, at the time he had to continually remind himself that Jasmine could take care of herself, she made the abundantly clear, his debt to her as a father was paid in full the second she became a independent member of society, Layla on the other hand, didn't have anyone in her corner, she needed support that her parents refused to provide whilst going out of their way to strip her of any support she managed to gain. Elliot didn't know where he went wrong with Jasmine, but he did, and he needed to pick up the pieces they had broken off his granddaughter. He couldn't bring himself to cut off his other daughters though, even though they were just as terrible to Layla, he couldn't handle it. He justified it by calling them out when they were mean.
"I won't tell anyone unless you give me the express permission to do so." He said. "And I know that Macy won't either." Layla nodded.
"Thank you." Layla made his plate and set it down in front of him. She made her own and sat down again.
"Three babies…" He shook his head in disbelief. "One baby is hard enough, if I'm remembering correctly."
"Yeah…" She sighed, "I'm sure it won't be easy. But it is what it is and all I can do is try and make the best of it."
000
The following morning, Spencer went into the work with the intention to act like everything was normal, that wasn't what happened. He hadn't been able to sleep the night before until about 5:30, which caused him to sleep through his alarm and he ended up being late for the subway and had to hail a cab, only to realize he had left his wallet, the last place he could remember having it was Layla's car, it must have fallen out of his pocket, then it started to rain so his hair was stuck to his face and neck and his clothes were soaked. He hadn't even had enough time to make himself coffee for the commute, overall, today just wasn't his day.
When he finally made it to work, he changed into a pair of clothes he had in his emergency go bag before heading to get a cup of coffee, he sent Layla a text about the wallet on his way. Morgan seemed to have been waiting for him at the coffee pot. "You good?" He asked casually. Spencer nodded, jumping 8 packets of sugar into his mug before drowning the bitter liquid in creamer. He shook his wet hair out of his eyes and tasted the coffee. Morgan could tell that pushing anything probably wouldn't end well. Garcia didn't have that same foresight.
"What happened to you yesterday?" The only thing that had kept her from calling him was J.J. telling her to give him some space. Spencer looked at her like a deer caught in headlights.
"Doctors appointment." He answered. It wasn't a lie, but he couldn't just tell her that he hadn't been doing anything, it would be quite obvious that he was lying.
"Are you okay?" She worried, he didn't look as bad as he had a few months before. He looked tired but that was about it.
"I'm fine." He brushed past the two of them and moved to his desk. Morgan and Garcia shared a look before Morgan followed behind at a comfortable distance. Spencer sat in the chair, and tired to open the files on his desk with a clear head and give it all his attention, but the second he opened the file and was greeted with a picture of a dead toddler, he found himself closing it.
Pretty soon he would have three toddlers running around. How would he be able to protect them from things like that? From serial killers and sociopaths and sadists. He knew the statistics and the chances of them getting targeted, but those numbers rose higher when concerning his line of work.
He ran his hand down his face, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes and tried to push Layla and their growing children out of his mind, but it didn't help with how Layla left the night before. She did text him, and that took away most of his worry, but she didn't respond to him when he texted her back. He tried to assure himself that she was probably avoiding her phone due to the constant phone calls that were coming in.
"Pretty boy…" Morgan watched the younger agent sigh and rub his temples. "How much sleep did you get last night?"
"An hour."
"An hour?" Morgan wanted to make a late-night joke but the look on Spencer's face made him think better about it. "Does it have anything to do with Layla?" Spencer's head shot up.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because she's the only thing that's changed in your life recently, that I know of at least. What happened? Did you two get in a fight or something?"
"No…." Spencer said, he looked around the bullpen, noticing Emily and J.J. over by the coffee pot with Garcia. "I…" He huffed again. "Layla's pregnant." He said, he needed someone to talk to. Needed someone else to know. Morgan nearly spit up his coffee.
"She's what? No, Reid! First rule of a one-night stand is protection! You double bag that shit man." Spencer frowned at his wording, it didn't make sense.
"I don't remember if we did or not."
"Obviously you didn't! Are you sure it's yours? I know you like her but sometimes, girls mess around and pin it on the dude that's the best off."
"Yes," Spencer said carefully, "I'm sure, all of her number match up and I believe her."
"Why do you believe her?"
"Because I'm pretty sure she's really bad at lying. You can read all of her emotions on her face like a book. She also doesn't have the self confidence to sleep around."
"She slept with you." Morgan pointed out, "girls are sneaky man."
"I believe her." Spencer said more forcefully. "I'll get a paternity test after they're born…but I can't just treat her like they aren't until then, I need to be there unless I have proof that they aren't mine."
"They? As in you don't know the gender yet or as in more then one?" Morgan leaned back in his chair, his brain not being able to grasp the information provided. Reid? The kid having a kid? It was just unreal, he couldn't picture it. Spencer mumbled something under his breath. "Huh?"
"Three." He repeated, his voice rising slightly. "There's three of them."
0000
After telling Morgan about the pregnancy, Spencer was able to relax a little bit. Morgan on the other hand was trying to wrap his head around it. Spencer with a baby? Spencer with three babies? It was freaking weird.
After about an hour into paperwork, Spencer's phone vibrated, Layla name and a text filling the screen. I found it. She messaged in reference to the wallet, it vibrated after another second, I pass you on my way to work, I can come drop it off. She added.
It's okay, I can get it after work. Spencer responded.
What if you have to leave, wouldn't you need it. I won't be able to bring it after I get to work. It's fine really, I'll leave a little earlier. I don't have to be there until 12:30 anyway. Spencer frowned.
Alright. He sent back.
"That her?" Morgan questioned.
"I left my wallet in her car, she's going to bring it in a few hours." Spencer said.
"Your girlfriend?" Emily questioned in a teasing manner, she had joined them about half an hour ago. Spencer's face reddened.
"She's not my…" He would have said she wasn't his girlfriend but was that true? She said she wanted to try dating, but did that mean they were together? Or did they need to have another conversation to make that official? Or was he just overthinking it and they were together?
"You're thinking awfully hard over there." Morgan said.
"She's not your what?" Emily chuckled, slightly enjoying the embarrassed look on his face.
"Leave him alone guys." J.J. said, setting a pile of case folders down on Morgan's desk before dividing them up amongst the agents.
"She's coming here though." Emily said. J.J. raised her eyebrows.
"She's dropping off my wallet, I left it in her car." He said, eagerly taking the files, hoping that they would drop it. Emily took pity on Spencer and settled with giving J.J. a look. Morgan did to, knowing there was a lot more going on between Spencer and Layla.
They left him alone after that, all of them catching up on paperwork that they knew would overwhelm them again the second they got back from another case. It was a never-ending cycle. Spencer's eyes were hurting after an hour and he was developing a rather painful headache. He attributed this to his lack of sleep, add in the level of stress he was currently experiencing, it was no question as to why he wasn't feeling good.
Layla texted him at about 11:30, and instead of having them send her up, he decided to meet her down in the lobby. He didn't think she would appreciate getting bombarded by his coworkers and he knew she wasn't going to be able to stay for long. She could meet them when she was ready, well when both of them were ready. It wasn't hard to find her when he got off the elevator. She was the only one that wasn't in a suit.
"Hey!" She smiled at him, her smile dimming when she saw the bags under his eyes and messy hair. She herself wasn't feeling that well, she'd spent the majority of her morning bent over the toilet, throwing up her dinner from the night before. She pulled her purse from underneath her arm and dug around in it for a few seconds before pulling out the wallet.
"Hi." Spencer took the wallet.
"You look exhausted." She said.
"I…uh. Didn't get much sleep last night." He scratched the back of his neck. She gave him a sympathetic look.
"Was it…was it the thing?" She glanced around, knowing that he probably wasn't going around and telling all his coworkers just yet. He automatically looked down to her stomach. He could barely make out the bulge underneath her navy-blue and white striped skirt and matching navy-blue sleeveless blouse she had tucked inside.
"No…yes. I don't know." His eyes didn't move. "Did you know that triplets happen in 1 in 5000 conceptions. It used to be 10,000 but after IVF, it has become far more common, even still, only 1/3 of them occur naturally without the help of any fertility drugs or services."
"I knew they weren't common." Layla answered, readjusting the strap of her purse, "but no, I didn't…I was reading online last night about…I guess what to expect. I'm a little worried about how many triplets are born with really low birth weights and how long they're going to have to stay in the NICU." She sighed.
"We're just going to have to keep on top of everything, make sure the doctors are on top of everything." He said. Layla nodded, rubbing her arm like she was cold, her eyes looking at the ground. "How are you feeling? I probably shouldn't have let you drive home last night."
"I'm fine." She took a deep breath, "after I texted you, I turned my phone off and took a really hot shower, which always helps."
"Stress isn't good for the babies either."
"I know, but there's honestly not much else I can do besides what I'm already doing. I'm sending the text messages to my lawyer today after work. He told me not to block them so he can keep building enough evidence for a harassment charge."
"Why don't you leave that phone with him so they can keep calling, but you get a new phone number, so you don't have to listen to it."
"We don't have enough money coming in for a whole new phone plan." Just thinking about money gave Layla a headache. All of Elliot's social security went towards his insurance and any left-over hospital bills. Layla was the one paying all the bills with her entry level waitressing job.
"I'll pay for it."
"No, Spencer, you really don't have to do that, I'm fine, I'll be okay." Spencer frowned.
"You said that your father showed up to your house-"
"It's only happened twice, and once the Lawyer starts putting some pressure on them, I'm almost positive they'll leave me alone in person. They'll probably still call but…"
"Or it could cause them to escalate."
"I think you're a little paranoid due to the nature of your job. There isn't anything special about me or my situation."
"It's not about being special Layla-"
"I should really get to work, and I don't want to distract you." Spencer could see the beginning of anxiety starting to take control.
"Layal…" He glanced around, making sure no one had noticed her presence, "why don't you have Leo with you?"
"I don't take him to work with me. It's just not sanitary and I'm usually fine at work." She blew out a deep breath. "I'm okay, really." She pulled at the ends of her hair, twirling it slightly. "I…I'm fine." She forced a smile. "I really should be going though. Maybe you could call me when you get off if you're still in town?"
"Okay, but-" She kissed him on the cheek.
"Okay, talk to you later." She almost ran away from him.
00000 Five Days Later 00000
Spencer and Layla spoke briefly every day. Sometimes their conversations would extend for an hour or two, other times they were exchange a few text messages throughout the entire day. Layla found it easier to talk to him over the phone. Maybe it was because when they were together, it felt like he was reading into every little thing she did, but on the phones, it was easier to keep her emotions and thoughts in check.
Lucy planned her family BBQ for a month out, giving everyone time to request off of work or make the necessary travel arrangements. Layla was a little paranoid, she already had to get new clothes and she had no idea how much bigger she was going to get between then and now. Elliot was more than supportive though. He made it clear to both Lucy and Angela that they needed to call or text before they came over, making it seem like he was never home and that it would be a waste of their time. Work was starting to get difficult considering they didn't make the uniform in any other sizes then extra small, that and the smell of the food was starting to make Layla even more sick than usual.
Layla did tell her other friends though.
"You're what?" Linda's house wasn't big, just a tiny little two bedroom but it was the main gathering spot for the adults. It used to be Layla's, but they felt bad about keeping her grandfather up sometimes, so they moved locations. You could have heard a pin drop.
"I'm pregnant." Layla had come to terms with it, and since the one person she'd been worried about already knew, telling other people, especially her friends, didn't seem like such a huge hurtle. Linda squealed and the look on Noah's face told Layla that Marissa probably already let the cat out of the bag on that one. Josh laughed out loud, while Linda squealed.
"Pregnant? Like had sex? With who?" Josh asked. Noah chuckled but covered it up with a cough. Linda's hand moved quickly as she used it to smack Josh upside the head.
"Layla is a catch, and anyone would be lucky to have her." Marissa didn't bother covering up her laughing as Josh rubbed the side of his head.
"I didn't say she wasn't, I just find it hard to believe that Layla would be sleeping with anyone."
"He's right though." Noah agreed, "Layla isn't exactly the poster child for sleeping around and she probably would have told us if she was dating someone."
"Yep, lets just talk about her like she's not right here." Marissa said, crossing her legs and giving her husband a dirty look. Noah shrugged, not feeling bad in the slightest.
"It's fine Marissa. And all of you are right, and I did have a one-night stand, well I guess it's not really a one-night stand anymore, but, his name is Spencer and he's staying." It felt weird for her to be talking about another person like that. She's dated before, right around the time that she went to live with her grandfather, but she quickly realized that she hadn't been in the best mind-frame for dating and broke things off.
"Marissa, have you though about anything for the baby shower?" Linda asked.
"I think it's a little early to be planning a baby shower…" Layla said, looking between her two friends.
"No, its not," Linda said, "the sooner we start planning, the better it will turn out, you're not going to have to worry about a thing. The only thing you'll have to do is show up and open presents," Layla had a feeling that Linda would go straight into party planning mode. It didn't help that her family owned an event coordinating business . "Oh my god," Linda clapped excitedly, "you should have an gender reveal party to!"
"I don't know…."
"Have you had a sonogram yet? How far alone are you? I thought you were gaining weight, but I didn't want to say anything. You're just so tiny."
"Um, almost 11 weeks." Layla reached into her purse she had siting next to her feet on the floor, digging around inside for the photo strip. Handing it off to Linda when she found it.
"Oh my god! There's three of them?"
Thank you guys for all your reviews! Thank you for reading, i hope you all are enjoying it!