The morning of Christmas Eve, Spencer woke up before Morgan. That, in and of itself, was a surprise. The younger man lay in bed for a while, just relishing in the comfort and quiet. He was curled against Morgan's side, one leg thrown over Morgan's, his hand resting over Morgan's heart, his head on his shoulder. Morgan had one arm around his waist, keeping him close. Sleepily Spencer nuzzled in. Nothing ever felt better to him than lying in his lover's arms. Here he felt loved, protected, cherished. Here, he felt so many things he had never felt with anyone else.
Eventually he felt Morgan start to stir. No matter what, that man's internal alarm clock was set on early. That little bit of predictability about him made Spencer smile. He snuggled in closer as he felt Morgan wake and planted little kisses on the side of his neck. A low humming sound vibrated Morgan's chest before he turned his head down, allowing Spencer to capture his lips for a kiss.
When they broke apart, the two were smiling. Morgan's eyes were barely cracked open, not fully awake. "Mornin, pretty boy."
"Morning." Spencer returned. He stretched just enough for another slow, sleepy kiss.
Bringing his other arm over, Morgan pulled Spencer even closer to him. The young man didn't mind. "How long you been awake?" Morgan asked.
"Just a few minutes."
"Mm. You could've woke me."
A twinkle entered Spencer's eyes as he tipped his head back up to look at him. "I know. I was contemplating it. Then I remembered that your mother is as early a riser as you and, quite frankly, I don't need a repeat of that moment with Desi in the kitchen. At least it was just your sister that heard us. I don't need your Mom hearing too."
The chuckle Morgan gave shook the two of them just a little. Amusement danced over his features. "Does that mean you're denying me while my family is here, Spencer? That's harsh, man."
"We might be able to figure out something." Smirking, Spencer brought his face back to Morgan's chest to snuggle once more. "If you're good."
Any return comment Morgan was going to make was interrupted by a muted clang coming from down the hallway. It only took them a second to figure out what it was. "Ma's making breakfast." Morgan said with a happy sigh.
This time it was Spencer's turn to chuckle. Carefully he extracted himself from his boyfriend's arms and sat up in bed. He stretched his arms over his head, trying to work out any kinks he'd got while sleeping. He heard Morgan groan lightly and felt the weight on the bed shift. Knowing what was coming, he jumped to his feet at the side of the bed, spinning his head to grin at Morgan, who was half sitting up, one hand stretched to where Spencer had just been. The grin he wore was mischievous.
Laughing, Spencer grabbed his sweats, yanking them on over the boxers he'd worn to bed. "Uh-uh, Derek. I don't think so."
"You don't play fair, kid."
Spencer arched an eyebrow at him. "I was unaware that was a requirement."
"It's on, now." Morgan sat up and swung his legs off the bed, his grin turning sharp.
Before Morgan could do anything, Spencer shot off toward the bedroom door, having seen his lover's intent in his eyes. His laughter echoed behind him and he could hear Morgan's deeper humor following him. The young man wasn't a fool; he raced into the kitchen, heading straight to the coffee pot and throwing a smile to Fran. She smiled back at him, starting to speak, when Morgan raced into the room.
Morgan took one look at Spencer, then over to his mother and back to Spencer again. Raising one hand, he pointed a finger at his lover, who was trying to smother his grin as he got himself a cup of coffee. "This isn't over, Spencer."
"Hm?" Spencer added sugar to his coffee and lifted his mug, hiding his smirk behind his cup.
"That's a low blow, using a man's Mama against him. You think it means you're safe cause you ran in here with her?"
Spencer barely had time to read the look in Morgan's eyes and set his cup down—not wanting it to get spilled—before Morgan stepped forward and grabbed his hips, yanking their bodies against one another. One of his hands came up to fist in Spencer's hair, pulling his head back and down just enough that Morgan could claim his lips. Spencer reacted instinctively. His hands came up to grip in Morgan's pajama pants and his body arched into him even as a moan slid past his lips. Sensation overwhelmed him. Morgan's warm body against him, that hot and demanding mouth on his and that delicious pull at his hair that left him aching and needy.
When Morgan finally broke their kiss, Spencer could only stare at him, slightly dazed. He didn't even notice Desiree and Sara had come into the kitchen as well. His eyes were locked on Morgan's dark ones, which were looking at him with lust and humor. "I always win, pretty boy." He leaned in and nipped at Spencer's lip before letting go of his hair. The older man moved him, chuckling when Spencer stumbled on weak knees. Then Spencer found himself sat down in a chair while Morgan left the room, saying he was going to go take his run.
For a long moment Spencer just sat there, staring at the pattern in the wood on the table. It wasn't until he heard the laughter behind him that he started to wake up. Blood instantly rushed to his cheeks. He turned his head, finding the three Morgan women watching him in amusement.
Sara walked over to the counter, grabbing Spencer's coffee cup and bringing it to set by him. "Here, Spencer. You look like you could use a stiff drink, but it's still early in the day for that. You'll have to settle for coffee." She teased him.
He blinked down at the coffee and then back up at her. Slowly his brain was coming back to life. Damn, that man knows how to turn me on like the flip of a switch. Damn him for doing that to me! I'm going to kill him for this he thought to himself. Then, he corrected that thought No, I'm going to, how does Garcia put it? Jump his bones. I'm going to jump his bones and THEN I'll kill him.
Sara took a seat beside him, a coffee cup of her own in her hands. He hadn't even realized she'd moved away, or that the other two women had moved to the stove to make the rest of breakfast and grant them a little privacy. They both knew what Sara wanted to do. Once the boys had been in bed, the girls had talked for a few hours in Fran's room.
"Um, Spencer?" Sara interrupted his train of thoughts. Blinking, he turned to look at her. With a little sigh he picked up his mug and took a drink. Between Morgan's attack and the lack of caffeine, he wasn't at his best yet. But he tried. "Yes?"
"I, um, I wanted to say something to you. It's kind of important to me and, well, I need you to just listen for a bit and let me get this out, ok?"
Now that had a sobering effect on him. Spencer sat up a little straighter, curling his legs up on the chair so that he was cross legged. He cradled his cup between both hands, taking one more bracing drink before giving her a nod. Part of him didn't want to hear this, but the other part could see that this was important to her.
She gave him a slightly nervous look before she started talking. "The thing is, first and foremost, I owe you an apology. You've been nothing but kind to me since I came in the house and I've been, well…"
"A brat?" Desiree supplied from the kitchen. Fran smacked her with a spoon and the girl quieted down.
A corner of Sara's mouth quirked. "Brat, yeah. That's one word for it. The point is, you didn't deserve it, Spencer. You didn't deserve those things I said about you or the way I treated you or…or any of it. Honestly, you seem like a great guy, and you make Derek happy. Happier than I've ever seen him. For that alone, I should have been willing to give you a chance. I'm sorry I didn't. It's just…" Here she trailed off, looking down at her hands, "You just…I mean…"
A little piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Spencer and he spoke without thinking about it. "I remind you of someone, don't I?" he asked.
Sara looked up with surprise. Her mouth dropped open for just a second before she closed it and bit her lip. The heartache that swam into her eyes was answer enough.
Never had Spencer been a very tactile person. Being with Morgan had helped him fix that some, but he still preferred not to touch or be touched. Right then, he knew that it was what Sara needed. He reached a hand out, taking hold of one of hers. She let go of her mug with surprise and let him hold her hand. Their eyes locked.
Spencer gave her a gentle smile. "Someone hurt you. My hypothesis, based off of the comments that you said to me, is that he was a rather intelligent person. Maybe not like me in looks, but more that he was intelligent. He probably lorded it over you, made you feel inferior. You would say something to him and he would look at you with such pity for what he considered your stupidity."
Tears were standing in Sara's eyes now. "Yes." She whispered.
"In the end, you found that he was only using you. He left you for someone else, but not before making you think it was your entire fault that he was leaving. Because you weren't smart enough, weren't pretty enough, just weren't good enough. He was wrong, though. It wasn't you, Sara. It never was. It was always him. You were just his victim in this."
When Spencer saw the tears start to spill down her cheeks, he gave her hand a squeeze. All of his attention was focused on her and so he didn't see Morgan standing in the entry, listening and watching.
"So this is what profiling is like, huh?" Sara gave a watery laugh. "You could look at me and just see all this. See what a fool I was."
"No, no." Spencer rushed to reassure her. He let go of his cup with his other hand and brought that hand over so hers was sheltered between his. "That's not what I see when I look at you at all, Sara. Do you want to know what I see when I look at you? What I've seen from the start?" He waited for her to nod before he continued. "You're a kind girl, first and foremost. The angry words you said to me always put a pained look on your face as if you hated saying them. You're loving and loyal. Family is the most important thing for you. You are smart, no matter what this man told you. You also have a big heart. You're a beautiful, kind, intelligent girl that some man is going to be very lucky to have in his life one day. Just because this one was too stupid to see it doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there who is right for you."
"I thought he was the right one."
"You've got to have someone who loves your body. Who doesn't define you, but sees you. Who loves what he sees. Who you don't have to struggle to be good enough for." Spencer quoted. He smiled at the look she gave him. "That's Deb Caletti from The Secret Life of Prince Charming. It's true, too. And one day, you'll find that."
Bringing her free hand up, Sara wiped at her cheeks and gave a watery chuckle. "Look at me." She said with a smile. "I was supposed to be apologizing to you and here I am, a total mess." She squeezed his hand before rising to her feet. The two let go of one another. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go clean myself up." She said. But before she went, she stopped and turned, bending enough to give Spencer a hug. "Welcome to the family, Spencer. I'm going to be proud to call you my brother." And then, like a flash, she took off down the hallway.
Spencer stared after her, feeling something inside of him heal just the tiniest bit. He felt a hand settle on his shoulder and looked up to see Fran smiling down at him. She said nothing, only gave him a smile so warm and loving that it warmed his heart.
A sound from the entryway finally alerted him to Morgan's presence. Dressed in his running clothes, Morgan moved over to him. As Fran stepped away, Morgan put his fingers under Spencer's chin and tipped his head up. "That was a nice thing you did for her, pretty boy. Thank you."
As Morgan went off to go take his run and the other two women continued to make breakfast, Spencer drank his coffee and smiled.
By the time five o'clock rolled around, the Morgan clan and Spencer had piled into Morgan's truck and had made their way over for dinner at Dave's house. When they pulled up, Spencer saw the others were already there, their cars parked out front. He leaned forward and reached to the front to smack Morgan's arm as his lover turned the car off. "I told you that you'd make us late!" he scolded.
"Aw, we're not really late, Spencer." Morgan argued while he climbed out of the car.
Spencer got out as well, helping Fran step down first and then offering his hand to the other two girls. "What are we then, Derek?" He shot back at him.
As he came around the hood, Morgan grinned at him, sticking his arm out for his mom to take hold of. "We weren't late. The others were just early, kid."
Laughter followed them up the walk and to the front door. When Spencer knocked, it didn't take long before the door was opened. JJ stood there, grinning happily at them, dressed in a festive red dress with a green belt on. "About time you got here!" She cried.
The group moved inside, exchanging hugs and laughter before she led them to the living room. Jack and Henry were playing on the floor, racing cars around and laughing. Garcia sat with Kevin on the couch, the two of them laughing over some story that Emily was telling. Dave, Aaron and Will were over by the sidebar, serving themselves some hot buttered rum.
When the new arrivals were seen, everyone rose to hug and greet them. Fran, Desiree and Sara were welcome easily by the crowd. Morgan gave his hugs on the way to the tree, where he took out the presents in the bag on his back and set them with the others under the tree. Spencer found his arms full as he was hugged by one person after the next. He couldn't help but laugh when Garcia hugged him. The woman was definitely festive in her red and green dress, ornament earrings, and with a bright red bow in her hair.
"Welcome to bedlam, kiddo." Dave teased him, wrapping him in a tight hug. "You're looking good."
"Thanks, Dave." Ever since Dave had unofficially 'adopted' Spencer, he'd insisted the younger man call him Dave instead of Rossi. In Dave's words, he was now part of the Rossi 'brood', so he couldn't call him by his last name. Spencer stepped back from the crowd and smiled a little to himself as he watched everyone talk and laugh all at the same time. He was part of quite a few 'broods' now. Dave's adopted you as a nephew and brought you into the Rossi brood. Derek's family has made you part of the Morgan 'clan'. Then you have the BAU family. You're not just Spencer Reid anymore. You don't have just your mom. You have so much more. It was a pleasant feeling.
Dave stepped up and clapped his hands to call everyone's attention. "Now that we're all here." He called out, grinning. "Let's eat!"
That was met with a unanimous cry of agreement. The party was moved into the dining room and everyone was settled around the table. There was no surprise when Dave took the head, but it made Morgan laugh out loud when the senior profiler pointedly told his 'nephew' "You sit up here by me, kiddo. Come on."
Once everyone was in their seats, they bowed their heads at Dave's request for the Christmas prayer. The Italian words washed over Spencer, warm and sweet. He had a feeling he was the only other one at the table who understood what Dave was saying, but all of them felt the warmth of the meaning as Dave thanked God for the blessings they had and the family they were.
As soon as the prayer was done, everyone dug in. It was one of the first meals Spencer had shared with this many people that he could recall that he didn't feel nervous or uncomfortable. There was no nervous twitching or self-conscious head bowing or anything like that. He listened to the stories that were told of past holidays and he laughed with the rest of them.
This is what family is supposed to be like Spencer thought to himself as he picked at a roll. Looking around the table, he memorized all the faces present, storing this memory away. This was a memory he would cherish for all time. This was what Christmas should have been like when he was a kid. He felt Morgan's hand settle on his thigh under the table and he smiled over at him, seeing his lover defending himself in some story with Desiree about sneaking into their presents when they were kids. Fran was staring at them both with a scolding look on her face and the others were laughing.
At one point as everyone was finishing their food, Henry escaped from his mom, running around the table to come over to where Spencer was. The doctor didn't miss a beat, picking the kid up and depositing him on his lap with a reassuring smile at JJ, silently letting her know that it was ok. She winked at him and went back to talking with Aaron.
"Uncle Penner." Henry tugged on his shirt to draw his attention. When Spencer looked down, the young boy gave him a stern look and demanded "Story. Story time!"
"Story, huh?" Flicking a finger over his Godson's nose, Spencer smiled at him. "You've got better manners than that, Henry. What are you supposed to say?"
The little boy heaved a huge sigh before he turned his puppy dog eyes on Spencer. "Pwease?"
Chuckling, Spencer gave him a brief hug. "I supposed I could. Would you like to hear 'The Night Before Christmas'?"
"Oh, please, Uncle Penner!" Jack cried out.
Garcia clapped her hands and leaned around the others to look at Spencer. "Yeah, Reid! Read to us!"
And so Spencer found himself on the living room couch, a kid on either side of him, the rest of his family sprawled around Dave's enormous living room. It took Spencer a moment to clear the nerves out of his throat at having such a large audience. He settled back, tucking Henry underneath one arm, even putting his other arm around Jack, who surprised him by snuggling in just like Henry did. Spencer closed his eyes and started the story he knew by heart. "T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…"
At some point in the story he saw a flash go off and knew that Garcia or someone else had snapped a picture. Honestly, he didn't mind. He just kept reciting, his warm voice filling the room.
When the story was done, Henry clapped his hands, demanding "More!" much to everyone's amusement.
"Why don't we sing some carols before the presents are opened?" Fran suggested. She was eyeing the piano in the corner. "I assume someone knows how the play that beautiful piano?"
The others were surprised when Aaron rose and offered her a smile. "I do."
It charmed Spencer to watch his boss settle in at the piano, Jack sitting beside him on the bench. The others gathered close, standing beside and behind the piano. Morgan and Spencer moved behind it, their arms resting on the top. JJ, Will and Henry stood to one side of Aaron while Dave, Emily and Garcia stood on the side by Jack with Kevin stepping up behind Garcia and putting an arm around her waist. Desiree, Sara and Fran moved to join the boys behind the piano. They made a perfect circle.
"What should I play?" Aaron asked the crowd.
Jack answered quickly, requesting "Jingle Bells!"
And so it was that the BAU team and their families found themselves singing Jingle Bells as their friend and Unit Chief played on the piano. Song after song they sang, smiling with one another, enjoying the love around them. After they finished their fourth song, Will turned toward JJ and took Henry from her. "Sing for us, Cherie. I love listening to you sing."
JJ flushed but she smiled at him. "Fine, but I'm not singing a solo." She announced cheerfully. Quickly she made her way around the piano to where Morgan and Spencer were. She nudged Morgan out of the way with a laugh and stepped up to take his place by Spencer's side, her arm going around his waist. Realizing what she was planning, his cheeks heated and he started to shake his head. "Oh, no. No, JJ. No way."
"Oh yes, Spencer." She looked down at Aaron and didn't give Spencer time to argue. "Play Winter Wonderland, please, Hotch."
The music started and Spencer felt JJ's grip tighten on his waist. There was no way he was getting out of this. JJ started out singing first, her voice sweet and light and warm. "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening. In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight. Walking in a winter wonderland.
Spencer glared at her but he sang the lines that came next, shocking everyone in the room as his beautiful tenor sounded. "Gone away is the bluebird. Here to stay is a new bird. He sings a love song, as we go along. Walking in a winter wonderland."
They looked at each other and sang the next lines together. "In the meadow we can build a snowman. Then pretend that he is Parson Brown. He'll say: Are you married? We'll say: No man. But you can do the job when you're in town."
This time when Spencer sang, his scowl was gone. He wrapped his arm around JJ's shoulders and held this woman who was like a sister to him close to his side. "Later on, we'll conspire. As we dream by the fire. To face unafraid, the plans that we've made. Walking in a winter wonderland."
JJ tipped her head to smile back at him. "In the meadow we can build a snowman and pretend that he's a circus clown. We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman, until the other kids knock him down."
Together, the two finished the song. "When it snows, ain't it thrilling? Though your nose gets a chilling. We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way, walking in a winter wonderland. Walking in a winter wonderland. Walking in a winter wonderland."
Applause filled the living room. Fran stepped up to Spencer's free side. "Oh, sing us another one, honey!" She told him happily. "You've got a beautiful voice. Can you sing us one more?"
"Just one last song before we do presents." Aaron told them. He smiled fondly at his son's head. "I've got to get short stack here to bed before Santa comes."
Seeing all the eager faces turned to him, Spencer blushed, but he couldn't do anything but agree. "Of course. There is one we haven't sung yet. Hotch? Could you play Silent Night?"
As the piano filled the room again, Spencer let the words pour past his lips, closing his eyes as he put himself into the song. He opened them again, looking at the faces around him, enjoying the way they were smiling as he sang. JJ moved over to stand with Will again, one of his arms lifting to tuck her against his side and her arm coming up to wrap around him and their son. Emily and Garcia were smiling at one another and Kevin was holding Garcia from behind. Morgan stepped up to stand behind his Mama and Spencer, putting his arms around their waists, and the girls stood by their mother.
Dave moved to stand on Spencer's free side, grinning at him in a happy, proud sort of way, his eyes taking in the room like he was the pleased patriarch of their group. Jack snuggled in to his Daddy's side while Aaron glanced over at Emily, the look exchanged between them not lost on the genius. So much was there in that look, though he doubted either one was ready to admit it to the other.
As the last of the lyrics faded and the music ended, Spencer smiled widely at his family. This was turning out to be the best Christmases ever.
A/N Sorry this took me so long to get up. On the plus side, it's longer than normal! I almost split it but then I decided, naw, I liked it all running together :D I have no excuse for taking so long except that other stories were demanding to be written. I know, I know. I started on a little one-shot that'll come after this story, lol, and then the story after that. Also, two new ideas I had. One of a group kidnapping (reidcentric, of course. Sorry I can't help with the Reid whump!) and one where Reid is a surprise daddy. Hmmmmm. LoL anyways. Hope you enjoyed this and the next chap, the last, should be up soon! Thanks all for your reviews, they were wonderful!