Chapter 11: The A Team
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites from the last chapter. I am very glad you are enjoying this side of Spencer and of course adorable Henry! Please enjoy this chapter as well.
JJ smiled as she opened the door to reveal her boss.
"Hello, Hotch. We are very glad you could make it. We will serve dinner as soon as everyone gets here," JJ turned her attention to Jack. "Jack, Henry is in the living room watching tv if you would like to join him." Jack's face lit up as he raced to find his friend.
"Spencer is in the kitchen prepping." JJ said as she lead her boss into the kitchen.
"Hey, Hotch." Spencer said distracted with his back turned to them. He wa setting his table to accommodate the many guests.
"This was a great idea,Spencer. It has been a while the team has been together away from cases." Hotch encouraged. Spencer turned to give Hotch a tight-lipped smile in thanks.
"He's been like this all afternoon. He wants everything to be perfect." JJ said with a laugh.
"As long as the team is together, that is all that matters." Hotch promised uncharacteristically showing emotion.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Hotch offered.
"No, I think we are good. We just have a few more things to do." Spencer responded. The doorbell rang again. JJ dismissed herself to answer the door.
"Emily!" JJ gasped when she saw her friend.
"JJ, as usual, I missed you!" Emily said as she pulled the blonde in for a hug.
"Spence and Hotch are in the kitchen." JJ said as she walked with her friend to meet her boyfriend and boss in the kitchen.
"Emily?!" Hotch asked incredulously. Emily smiled at her former boss and friend.
"Hello." She said with her smile still on her face. It did not take Spencer too long to pull the brunette into a tight hug.
"Thank you for coming. You made it even better." Spencer whispered into his friend's ear.
"Anytime, Spencer, you know I am always here for you." Emily promised. Spencer smiled.
"I missed you, Emily." Spencer said as he pulled back. Emily just laughed because Spencer seemed so much happier and more comfortable around people, and she knew exactly why. He had finally gotten JJ. After many nights that she had spent with him at the bar after a long case where he would try to accept his damned love life, he had gotten the woman he loved more than anything in the world. If only JJ could know the way he talked about her. Emily, on the other hand, had a whole other set of love life problems. She looked over at Hotch who smiled and hugged her.
"Emily, it's so nice to see you." Hotch said with an actual genuine smile on his face.
"It feels like it has been forever, but I just saw you guys at the hospital." Emily pointed out with a small chuckle.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Emily asked JJ and Spencer as they were frantically shuffling around the kitchen trying to do last minute preparations.
"Me as well." Hotch offered once again.
"Will one of you go check on the boys? I do not want them to wander off outside. Dinner will be served as soon as everyone gets here." JJ asked.
"Sure. I haven't seen either of them in so long." Emily said almost excitedly as she exited the kitchen.
"God, I miss working with her." JJ said as she started pouring wine into the wine glasses. The doorbell rang again.
"Hello, Pen and Derek! Dinner will be served as soon as Dave and Alex get here. Make yourselves at home, but there is a surprise in the living room." JJ hinted as she went to finish pouring the wine.
"Oh, thank you, Aaron." JJ thanked her boss when she noticed he had finished pouring the wine for her. Normally, when they were off official duty, the team called each other by their first name and saved the last name basis for business to help humanize their relationship. JJ sat placed a wine glass at each place on the table. She placed two extra wine glasses at the kids' table, but she poured grape juice into those.
"The kids deserve a special treat as well." JJ told Spencer as he shot her a weird look. The doorbell rang again. Before JJ could make her way to the door, she was interrupted by Spencer who had just finished preparing the steak and food on plates.
"Allow me." Spencer said as he went to answer the door.
"Hello Alex. Thank you for coming. Uh, JJ and Hotc-Aaron are in t-the kitchen, and Penelope and Derek are in the living room which is just straight ahead. Our former coworker Emily is here, and I am excited for you to meet her. You will love her. She is visiting from England. I hope that's okay. Please, make yourself at home. Dinner will be served as soon as Rossi gets here." Spencer rambled, and Alex chuckled.
"It is good to see you too, Spencer." Alex smiled as she patted his shoulder. Alex decided to join Aaron and JJ in the kitchen.
"Hey, Alex. Dinner is ready. Dave just likes to be "fashionably" late to these get-togethers." JJ said with a smile and a roll of her eyes. Despite her words, the doorbell rung.
"Dinner time." JJ sing-songed as she made her way to the door.
"Hello, Dave. Nice to see you. We are all about to eat, so you can follow me into the kitchen." JJ's voice was rushed; she was really hungry. Preparing the food was torture when she couldn't immediately eat it. Dave followed her into the kitchen. No one noticed, but Emily and Dave shared a secret smirk when their eyes met.
"Thank you everyone for coming. It means a lot to JJ and I. Before we eat, JJ and I would like to tell you, since you are our closest friends, that we are pursuing a relationship." Spencer stuttered. Derek immediately busted out laughing. Eventually, everyone at the table except for JJ and Spencer was laughing. Spencer and JJ looked horrified while Henry smiled ear to ear.
"What's so funny?" Spencer asked worriedly to JJ. She just shrugged and took a bite of her steak. She practically moaned when she finally put the piece of delicious food in her mouth.
"God, Spencer, that's so good." She said. Everyone was still laughing.
"I told you I could cook." Spencer said with a rare smirk. She just shrugged and took another bite.
"Alright, alright. What is so funny?" Spencer's insecurity was pouring out into his words.
"We are a team of profilers. We have known this for a while." Dave told Spencer. Spencer's mouth immediately made an "O" shape.
"Well, at least my man is finally gettin' some." Derek said with a slap on Spencer's back. Spencer, Emily, JJ, and Aaron all froze at Derek's words. At first, Derek was confused, but then he realized what he had said.
"Oh, god." Derek moaned as he stood up to exit the kitchen.
"So, Spencer did a great job on this steak." JJ commented trying to get the elephant out of the room. Plus, the people who were not aware of what JJ went through were confused and suspicious.
"I mean, I could do better, but you did pretty well, kid." Dave said as he himself took another bite.
"JJ, you did a fantastic job with the macaroni and cheese." Alex said as she herself took a bite of the pasta.
"Thank you, peaches, for the vegetarian route." Penelope said as she reveled in her salad.
"Anything for you, Pen." JJ said with a smile.
"Exactly how long have you two been together?" Alex asked JJ. Spencer stood up to go talk to Derek after squeezing JJ's hand under the table.
"Unofficially about two months." JJ said with a proud smile while watching Spencer leave.
"Spencer, I am so sorry." Derek started pacing the back porch. Spencer had escorted him to it so they could talk in private.
"It is not a big deal, Derek, I assure you, but please watch that around her. She still is having a hard time…" Spencer trailed.
"I can imagine, man, I'm sorry. I feel like such a dick, but you two really haven't done anything? And she's been living in your apartment for how long?" Derek asked incredulously.
"I don't know if she will ever be ready…" Spencer became discouraged.
"This sucks for her. She didn't deserve this. She is one of the best people I know, and he had to go and fuck everything up for you two." Derek was raging.
"Please, Derek. Kids. Language. I do agree, though. It's really hard because I want to, but I can't. Plus, when she finally is ready, I am so inexperienced in that area;I don't want to screw up. I love her, Derek, and I don't know what to do." Spencer said as he plumped down on a chair.
"You aren't a virgin, are you?" Derek asked.
"Not exactly. I've only been with one girl one time, and that was back at Caltech. I am pretty sure it was only out of pity, too." Spencer admitted. It was finally nice to admit his fears out loud to his surrogate brother.
"Listen, man, I think that you are going to be fine. It is going to take time. Hell, JJ has been through so much this year that who knows how long it may take her. The thing is, you love her so much that eventually everything will work itself out. As you know, sex isn't the most important aspect of a relationship, but it is an important one. You two will make it. Just give her more time and be there for her. Like you have been." Derek advised.
"Thank you, Derek. You're always there for me, and I appreciate you so much. I do love her, too, more than anything in the world." Spencer rarely admitted out loud. He swallowed thickly and licked his lips after the statement. They both made their way back.
"Anyway, while you two rudely walked off," Penelope scolded to the two men who were sitting down. "Dave said that he had a very important announcement to make." JJ rubbed Spencer's thigh under the table for comfort, and he took her hand tightly.
"As you know, I have many connections in the hiring part of the bureau, and it turns out they want to add an extra agent to their most successful team, which is the BAU obviously. After many phone calls and tons of paperwork, I have secured the spot for our very own Mrs… Prentiss." Dave said with a smile. He and Emily shared a smirk again more publicly.
"You're coming back?" JJ asked excitedly.
"I am coming back." Emily promised her friend. Everyone had a big smile on their face, even Alex who had befriended Emily quickly.
"When is it official?" Spencer asked Emily.
"It is effective in ten days." Emily confirmed. Aaron rose to his feet.
"I propose a toast. This year, we have been through hell and back as a team… as a family," Aaron was interrupted by many 'amens'. "Still, we kick unsub ass, and we have moments like these. I want to propose a toast to each of you. Spencer, who is intelligent and witty but always a loyal and understanding friend. JJ, who is compassionate and empathetic but can surprisingly do a fair amount of ass kicking despite her good nature. She will do anything in her power to be there for you. Derek, who is goofy and aggressive but an amazing listener when you need him. Penelope, who is radiant and lively and will make you laugh no matter how rough your day is going. Emily, who is resourceful and generous and will cross the world, quite literally, with one call. Dave, who is charismatic and quite arrogant about his cooking but offers some of the best advice. Alex, who is new to the family, but is wise and nurturing, and will be there for you no matter what time of day. I am so proud to be this team leader, and I am so proud of everyone sitting at this table. Please, toast this hard-working team." Everyone clanked their glasses together and shared a smile.
"I am not arrogant about my cooking. I just now how to nurture the food into perfection and want everyone to be aware of that." Dave said pointedly as he took another sip of wine. Everyone just chuckled and enjoyed the rest of their meal. The team just shook their heads an snickered.
"Mommy, is Emily moving back?" Henry asked as he ran to stand between JJ and Spencer.
"Yes, my love, she is." JJ said with a big smile as the words sank in. Henry ran over and surprised Emily by throwing his arms around her. Emily gasped and returned the hug tightly with a smile.
"Who wants pie?" Spencer asked as he pulled the Dulce de Leche pie from the oven. The rest of the night was spent celebrating the team and all they had accomplished.
"That was a great idea, Spencer. We shall do this more often." Aaron said with a small, tight-lipped smile.
"I enjoyed it. Thank you for helping clean up." Spencer said as his boss and his sleeping boy left the apartment.
"Baby." JJ said as she found Spencer in front of the front door.
"Yes?" Spencer asked.
"That was a great idea." JJ said with a kiss on Spencer's cheek. Spencer immediately turned to face JJ, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.
"Mmm I love you, JJ." Spencer moaned into her ear. This sent a pang in JJ's heart.
"We need to talk, Spence." JJ said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the sofa. She sat really close to him and played with his hair.
"First of all, I love you. I love you more than I have loved anyone in my life, and I don't want you to ever doubt that." JJ promised Spencer, who shot her a weird look.
"Spencer, I do want you to 'get some.' I love you, and I want to show you that." JJ said. Spencer swallowed thickly.
"JJ, please stop. Derek didn't mean anything by it, and this doesn't change anything. I promise you, JJ, everything will work itself out. It is going to happen when it happens. I don't need to 'get some' to be happy. All I need is you." Spencer admitted as he swallowed thickly and licked his lips.
"I love you, Spence." JJ said as she laid her head down on his lap.
"You and Henry are my entire world, JJ." Spencer admitted as he pulled her against his chest.
"I don't want him to leave in two days." JJ admitted to Spencer. He sighed.
"I know baby, but Henry needs his father. Will and Henry will have a good time, and we need to find a permanent place for Henry to live while he's gone." Spencer reminded her as he played with her hair.
"He's just never been away from me for so long." JJ groaned.
"I know, my love." Spencer said as he kissed the side of her neck lightly. JJ smiled.
"Take me to bed?" JJ asked as she wrapped her hands around his neck. Spencer obediently picked her up and carried her into his bed. He laid down beside her and pulled her into him.
"I love you." They said simultaneously for the first time, and it was like the stars had finally aligned. They were going to be okay. Their jobs and friends were okay with them, and they smiled in each other's arms. For the first time in what seemed like forever, they were both genuinely happy.
Author's Note: Cheesy? Yes. A filler chapter? Debatable. Fluffy? To the max. I had the hardest time writing this. Please leave a review on what you think.
I'M BRINGING EMILY PRENTISS BACK! (Because they should have done this on the show.) Since this is an angst-theme, there is several problems that will arise. I am just allowing them to revel in their happiness for a little while.
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