Two weeks later

"So you've been accepted into the FBI Academy?" asked Emily shocked. It wasn't that she didn't know Spencer Reid was an intelligent man, just that she didn't believe he had the right qualifications for the FBI Academy. As far as she knew he had never gone to college, because he had been taking care of his brothers and sisters and while there was nothing wrong with that at all you needed a good university education in order to get into the FBI Academy.

"Yes, I have," Spencer told Emily detecting that she wasn't exactly pleased at this announcement.

"What made you want to join the FBI?" Rossi asked not really all that surprised, as he had known that Aaron had been keeping something close to his chest refusing to say what it was and Rossi had believed it had something to do with Spencer and he'd been right about that, so no he wasn't surprised.

"I just decided I needed change," Spencer said being completely honest. "Being a healer, well, I'm just tired of dealing with, certain aspects of it, and to tell you the truth I was bored. Healing just doesn't exactly hold a thrill for me anymore, although it was a nice safe option while my siblings were still so young, since I was their only means of support. Now however, even the youngest Hudson and Bronwyn are all grown up and out on their own, so it won't matter if I'm gone for days at a time. All my siblings now have lives of their own and while we will always be close and they'll be home for visits, they're basically out of my life and responsible for themselves. Both Aaron and I believe I will be a great asset to the BAU and he's intending to call in numerous favors to make sure that's where I'm placed."

"Yes! You will be a great asset, Spence!" JJ practically squealed throwing her arms around her brother in all, but blood.

"Yes, I agree," Rossi said looking at Hotch who was smiling a little at JJ's reaction. "I've always thought that you would make an excellent member of our unit, but since you were so happy with what you were doing...I never pressed. I'm also willing to call in some favors along with Aaron's to make sure you get placed in the BAU if needed. With both of us calling in some of the favors we are owed you should be placed with us, once you graduate from the Academy."

"Thanks, Dave," Hotch told his friend who winked at him by way of reply.

"What about a college education though?" asked Emily. "As far as I'm aware you've never been."

"Got several degrees online," Reid told Emily smiling at his friend. "I had to do something while my siblings were at boarding school nine months of the year, not to mention when Aaron was working to stop from being bored, so I now have PhDs in mathematics, chemistry, engineering and B.A.s in psychology, sociology and philosophy."

"And they accepted online degrees?" asked Emily shocked knowing that more than a decade ago most places never would have accepted degrees that were gotten online, especially not the FBI. If the FBI were accepting online degrees now she really needed to get with the times.

"So long as it's from an accredited university then they do now," Spencer said, "and I got mine from the Caltech online site. According to the site so long as you get your degrees online from an accredited university, because you have other commitments like taking care of your family, it apparently shows dedication, loyalty, determination to better yourself and that you're good at multitasking."

"That's a lot of degrees in what 10 years?" asked Morgan.

"Actually it's closer to 12," Spencer said, "as I started long before I met Aaron. I could have had them been done much sooner, but I had to spend some time with my family after all, especially in the summers when they were home from school."

Emily stared at Spencer in shock for she had known he was intelligent, but not that intelligent. To complete 6 university degrees in just a dozen years and it had only taken so long because Spencer had taken time off to spend with his family was utterly amazing. Emily thought Hotch was right Spencer would fit in with the BAU, like, a puzzle piece that fit into a jigsaw.

"I just completed my last one a few months back and I don't plan on getting anymore at least not right now," Spencer said.

"I would think 6 would be enough for anybody," Rossi commented with a smile, just as amazed at how many degrees, Spencer had gotten in only a dozen years, even if he had known for years that Aaron's mate was extremely intelligent.

"Anybody else definitely," Hotch commented with pride in his eyes, "but not for Spencer. I guarantee you when they do an IQ test at the Academy it will be genius level. I won't be surprised if it was 170 or over and I wouldn't be the least astonished if it was at least near 200 or even over that. I mean he started out as really intelligent, but he reads so much in his spare time, not to mention faster than I've ever seen and remembers everything, that his IQ quotient is bound to have gone up at least ten points over the years and I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than that."

"I would say so since I definitely don't know anybody else who has six degrees," JJ said. "Most people only get one and it takes them 4 to 6 years depending on what they want to become and some who are really intelligent might get two, but not six."

"Well, it helps that I read really fast," Spencer offered, "and as Aaron said I remember everything I read. The average American adult reads anywhere from 200 to 300 words a minute, but I read considerably faster than that."

"So are you sure you're ready for the rigorous training at the Academy?" Morgan asked his friend, even though he already knew the answer, but he had his cover to keep, as the rest of the team didn't need to know what Hotch and Spencer had asked his baby girl to do or even that the two of them had known of the plan for weeks.

"Yes," Spencer said with certainty a determined glint in his golden brown eyes. "Aaron has been helping me to make sure I'll be ready for the physical portion, because the academic portion isn't going to be any trouble for me and that isn't meant to brag I'm just stating fact. He's been giving me tips as to what to expect and helping me train. I also workout on my own and there's a fully equipped gym on the fourth floor."

"There wasn't a gym when we toured this house," JJ said.

"That's because I bought the equipment, after that so I could keep in shape and so Aaron could as well, without having to go to the gym."

Spencer didn't mention he had done it, to help him lose the baby weight from his second pregnancy and at that time had done it as much for that reason as to keep in shape. Now though, ever since he'd had his last set of sextuplets, he needed to use the gym to stay trim, as he no longer had his metabolism where he could eat anything he wanted and never gain an ounce.

"It's on the other side of the hall from the nursery and it has everything you would expect in a gym, weights, treadmill, elliptical machine and stationary bike."

Emily was impressed in spite of herself, because she knew that exercise equipment of top quality was hundreds of thousands of dollars and since hadn't even mentioned the cost that must mean he hadn't even thought about it, which in turn meant that it was probably just a drop in the bucket of the money that he had. Come to think of it his college education online couldn't have been cheap either and in fact had probably been double then if he had actually sat and attended the classes on a campus. She had better accept the fact that so long as Spencer passed his training at the Academy he was going to join the BAU, as both Hotch and Rossi were going to make sure of that, but what this meant was she was going to have to be very careful not to let her crush on Hotch show when he was around and she had been lucky that Hotch himself either hadn't noticed or chosen to ignore it, even if she wasn't sure which, since he was really good at concealing what he was thinking and not showing his emotions.

"Dinner everyone," Hotch said coming back into the living room. He had quietly slipped out of the living room to make sure that his dinner didn't burn and now it was ready.

"It smells delicious Hotch," Garcia said sniffing the air appreciatively.

"Thank you," both Hotch and Spencer said together causing everyone chuckle, since the two of them sounded like twins at the moment.

"Aaron and I cooked it together," Spencer told everyone.

"I wish I could cook like this," Emily said sniffing the air appreciatively. "I'm afraid that's one thing I'm not very good at and I usually just order out or fix something very simple that I can't possibly mess up, like pasta."

"I could give you lessons," Rossi offered before Spencer could. "I'm a pretty good cook myself, but then I'm Italian and we know how to cook a meal."

Rossi was well aware of the huge crush that Emily Prentiss had on Aaron, even if she had never made it obvious, as she knew that it would never go anywhere, not even if Spencer was suddenly killed for some reason, for Shifters never remarried after their True Mates were gone and in fact often killed themselves within a very short amount of time. Besides, though he had never admitted it to anyone he had fallen in love with the intelligent, and spunky daughter of Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, although he had never said anything and he wouldn't so long as he was sure that Emily's crush on Aaron remained.

Rossi couldn't really blame Emily for having a huge crush on Aaron Hotchner, since he was the kind a man that every woman drooled over, he was handsome, confident, definitely an alpha male, which a lot of women went for, but he was also nice, compassionate, kind, and although he had a temper he very rarely lost it, although he could get annoyed. Rossi had watched amused more than once as women tried to get his attention and although Aaron had never made it obvious he did subtly display his wedding band in some way so that most women would get the message. Of course, it was known that he was married to a another man or at least mated and a lot of women assumed that they could get his attention and Aaron would leave his mate for them or at last have sex with them if they showed him their cleavage, but only because they didn't really understand what that term meant. If those women were half as smart as they pretended to be they would have done their research and found out that when a Shifter found their True Mate they would never look at another in that way, even if their mate was to die. Once a Shifter found the other half of their soul there would be no other—ever.

Rossi well knew that Hotch and Spencer had never had a formal ceremony, but they had gone through the Shifter wedding ritual, which had been enough for them. Even if Aaron and Spencer did decide to go through a Normal wedding ceremony, that wouldn't stop some women from trying to get his friends attention, assuming that all they had to do was show off their legs or their breasts and Hotch would fall all over himself to ask them out.

It hadn't happened yet and it never would, but Rossi was amused that women kept trying, even if it annoyed Aaron, which he found even more amusing, even while he also silently sympathized. Rossi hoped that Spencer wouldn't go ballistic when he saw how many women tried to get his mate's attention, but no, on second thought that wasn't like Spencer at all. Rossi was sure that Aaron had warned his mate about it, so that he wouldn't overreact the first time he saw it and he was also sure that nothing would ever come between the two of them, no matter how hard women and even a few other men had tried, all of them Normals of course, and not Shifters, since Shifters could see bonds and would know immediately that Aaron was off limits and already claimed.

"Sure, why not," Emily said grateful for the offer. "Just don't blame me if I burn it. I seem to have absolutely no talent for cooking."

"You just haven't gotten the hang of it that's all," Rossi said. "Almost anybody can cook, if they follow directions."

"We'll see," Emily said noncommittally.

"So why didn't you tell us that you were applying to the Academy?" asked JJ.

"I didn't want to jinx it," Spencer said. "Call me superstitious, but I was afraid if I said anything it wouldn't happen."

"That is superstitious," Garcia's said with a wink at Spencer.

Spencer just shrugged not bothering to give a verbal reply

"We do have some more news," Hotch announced as everybody enjoyed a fine meal, with a fine white wine, rolls, spaghetti and meatballs with asparagus and corn. It was a meal that even Rossi as an Italian seemed to appreciate.

"So what's the news?" asked Garcia, as she sat back patting her tummy because she was stuffed, as the food had been excellent.

"Well, you all know that we've already been through the Shifter ritual that bonded us in marriage, but both Spencer and I are worried that the person that does assignments will assign him to some faraway field office, because they don't recognize the Shifter wedding ritual as valid, so we are asking all of you to attend a ceremony down at the courthouse sometime in the next couple of weeks, as it is only a little over a month before training starts."

"It will look suspicious," Rossi warned.

"We know," Spencer said, "but we don't see any choice, as we don't want some overzealous, idiot bureaucrat to assign me somewhere faraway, because they either don't believe that Shifters have a True Mate, or that we aren't married legally, simply because we did it the Shifter way, which a lot of times is not recognized outside the Shifter community or just because they are against same-sex couples and hope that our relationship will breakup and I'll quit before my career has even begun if they actually do that, even if I did just go through the training."

"And I will to, because there is no way that Spencer and I can be separated against our wills because we all know what happens if that occurs."

"I don't as I wasn't part of the team back when everybody else was told," Emily said.

"Well, to put it simply, a Shifter and his mate cannot be forced to separate as both of them will feel sick and the farther they get from each other sicker they will become," Garcia explained before Hotch or Spencer could. "The bond knows the difference between a temporary separation, like when Hotch or Derek goes out of town for work and someone trying to force a Shifter and their True Mate apart. The gods or the fates or whatever you want to call them don't take kindly to someone doing that and anyone who tries will regret it, because they will unleash their wrath on whoever is responsible."

Emily looked disbelieving, but Hotch nodded in confirmation.

"It has happened in the past where someone wanted another Shifter as a spouse and every bad thing imaginable happened to them until they gave up. One man even ended up dead because he refused to give up on this female he wanted and he kept trying to break the bond between her and her mate until the gods or the fates finally gave up on him getting the point, so the next day he was found dead. No reason was ever really discovered medically why he died and all the medical examiner could find at the time was that the man's heart had simply stopped. There were no signs of a heart attack or a stroke, it just stopped beating and he was only in his thirties and far to young to have died of a heart problem because it was a fine, healthy heart when it was later examined. The authorities at the time believed that he was somehow scared to death, as he had the most horrific expression on his face," Hotch said.

Emily wasn't sure if Hotch was joking or not, but since Garcia was also nodding solemnly without her usual cheerful expression she had to conclude that her boss was being serious and immediately decided that the story whether true or not was not a fate she wanted for herself and so she would never mention her feelings or try to get Hotch's attention and try to think of him as nothing, but her boss and friend, but not anything more than that. Besides, Hotch wasn't the kind to tell ghost stories so there must be at least some truth in the legend he had just related.

"There are many legends of how people have died for no discernible reason and all of them were chasing after a Shifter that either had already found their True Mate, but hadn't performed the ritual or ones that already had, so as Garcia has said there are many legends, most very similar to the one I just told you and some end happily or at least without the death of someone, others don't," Hotch said watching Emily carefully, although he was careful to make sure that no one noticed him doing so.

"Now I'm not saying that Hotch doesn't have plenty of favors he can call in to get me into the BAU and Rossi has been kind enough to say that he'll call in some of the favors he owed if he has to, but you can never tell how stupid a person is going to be and this should prevent that from happening. Really it's just a precaution and neither of us would have bothered if we weren't aware that there's a lot of disgust and outright hate when it comes to same-sex couples, even in the supposedly enlightened 21st century," Spencer added.

"There is, though it's certainly not as bad as when I was a young man," Rossi agreed. "When I entered the bureau they never would have allowed same-sex couples and if someone was gay you either kept your relationship very quiet or you were fired and thrown out of the bureau. Today it is different and the bureau has changed its stance on that, if only because of numerous deaths, mostly Shifters, though a few Normal deaths have resulted as well."

"So when are you going to tie the knot in the normal way?" asked Garcia.

"Sometime on the weekend so long as you guys and my siblings are free, but even if not all the people we want there can make it we're still going to do it, even if we know the suddenness of it is going to look suspicious," Spencer said.

"This will be happening," Hotch added, "before Spencer has to go to the Academy for training, and that's only a month away. We would like all of you there if possible and also Ryan."

"We'll be there," Morgan said knowing that there was no way his wife was going to turn down an opportunity to see her two friends, even if one of them was their boss, get married. His Penelope just loved weddings and occasion, even if she would rather be planning them and participating in them, then just watching. Garcia had known the moment Hotch and Spencer had performed the Shifter wedding ritual, since her species could see bonds, but she hadn't had a chance to congratulate him or Spencer either until they had been invited over to dinner, and he had asked what the occasion was.

When Hotch had just pulled down the collar of his shirt to show off the hickey mark, causing Garcia to immediately congratulate him and then she and Hotch had had to explain exactly why his baby girl was congratulating her boss.

Morgan knew much more about Shifters today then he had back then, as it had been at least six years ago, but that was understandable. Now though he and his baby girl were married and had eight children, or cubs as Garcia called them, which were two sets of quadruplets, three boys and five girls and he loved every single one of them fiercely and would protect them with everything he had. His mom Fran Morgan spoiled all eight of them when she came to visit, which was frequently, as it was much cheaper to buy one plane ticket than it was the buy 10 of them and the children were still a bit to young to behave for a long car or plane ride.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," JJ said hugging Spencer.

"Neither would I," Rossi agreed.

"I'll be there," Emily said.

"I'll call Ryan and see if he can make it, as I would really like to do it this weekend if at all possible," Hotch said.

"Do you have a marriage license?" asked JJ.

"Got one last week," Hotch answered. "It's still good for more than three weeks before it expires."

"Do you want us to dress up?" asked Garcia.

"Casual will do," Spencer answered. "Really we are just doing this to prevent some idiot from separating us supposedly for our own good, as has already been stated, we've already been through the ceremony that really matters and was far more meaningful than this one will be. We're only getting a piece of paper that says we're married, for one reason only and not because it has any real meaning for either Aaron or I."

Penelope was nodding in agreement, Emily noticed and she took that to mean that she and Morgan wouldn't have done a normal wedding ceremony either if they'd had any choice. She assumed in their case that they had done it so that their children wouldn't be considered illegitimate.

"Alright then, you give us the time of the ceremony I'll contact Ryan," Emily offered

"We'll let you know, but it will be by next weekend, even if we have to do it with professional witnesses," Hotch said. "We'd appreciate if you wouldn't talk about this outside this house right now as we're trying to keep it quiet, so that people like Strauss can't interfere supposedly for our own good. If Strauss hears about this she'll bury me in busy work and I won't be able to not to do it. She'll keep me so busy that by the time I get out from under it, it will be time for Spencer to enter the Academy and we would have lost our opportunity. Both of us want this to be a done deal, before people like her find out, because once it is there is nothing she or anybody else can do about it."

"Surely Strauss wouldn't be that vindictive," Morgan said.

"She hates that Aaron is happy all the time and she has a real grudge against him," Spencer said. "I'm only met her half a dozen times and I can't stand her and you know usually I can get along with just about anybody."

"I have to agree that Erin can be a very vindictive woman," Rossi said.

"You have a history?" asked JJ.

"We do, and not all of it pleasant," Rossi said.

"We'll let you know the time of the ceremony, come in jeans and don't bother to get dressed up as it doesn't matter to us," Hotch said.

"You do know that you and Spencer are going to be separated for 20 weeks," Rossi said.

Hotch immediately made a face and Spencer grimaced.

"Believe us we know it," both men said at the same time neither smiling at all.

"We're not looking forward to it," Spencer added putting his head on his mate's broad shoulder and Hotch's arm immediately coming to encircle Spencer's waist, "but we'll get through it and once we do we'll never have to be separated for such a long time again."

"Believe me, if I didn't believe it would be worth it I would never allow Spencer to go to the Academy since there are no visiting privileges," Hotch added. "The two of us will survive this just like we survive when I have to go away for work, although I will admit that this is going to be a much longer separation and harder to endure then the other since I'm only usually gone for a few days at a time."

"I could never do what you're going to do," Garcia said. "Of course, I know I probably wouldn't say that if Derek and I did not already work together."

"But still our situation is very similar to what Hotch's and Spencer's is right now," Morgan said. "You have to stay behind when I have to leave with the team. I'm going to really envy both of them for being able to work together once Spencer passes the Academy, so long as things go according to plan."

"Oh, they will, or the bureau is going to lose me as well as Spencer, as I will quit before I will allow us to be assigned to different departments, Strauss or anybody else be damned," Hotch growled. "If that happens the bureau is going to lose one of its brightest stars before he even has a chance to start. I won't be surprised in the least if our crime solving rate goes up at least 10% within a year and it's already pretty high now."

"Around 80%," Rossi confirmed.

"See if I'm not right and it doesn't go up to at least 90 or 95%, once Spencer joins the team."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it does," JJ said. "We are all aware how intelligent our boy genius is."

Spencer rolled his eyes at JJ silently objecting to the term boy genius and JJ simply grinned at him unrepentant.

"Thanks for dinner, Hotch," Morgan said rising to his feet, "but Penelope and I had better be getting home."

"Of course, give our godchildren a hug and a kiss from us," Hotch said.

"We will," Garcia promised giving her boss a hug and Spencer as well before she and Morgan headed for the door.

~~~The Wizard and the Shapeshifter~~~

20 months later

"I'm sorry Erin, it can't be done," a man with graying red hair said. "I know you wanted to separate Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid by placing Reid in some distant field office, but not only have orders come down from the top, there is also a marriage certificate."

Erin Strauss ground her teeth in impotent rage. She'd wanted a way get at Aaron Hotchner for years. She hated the alpha wolf Shifter with a passion and she thought that going after him through his supposed mate was a perfect solution, especially when she had learned that Spencer Reid had put in his application for FBI training at Quantico. Hotchner had never once given her an opening to try to get at him to either get him to quit or for him to be fired with cause.

"How old is that marriage certificate?" asked Strauss desperately grasping at straws.

"It's dated just a couple weeks before Reid entered the Academy," the man answered. "I would say that's a good indication that the two men knew they could possibly be separated once Reid graduated bond or no bond and so took steps to prevent it. It's no good, Erin. I don't really know what you have against Spencer Reid or Aaron Hotchner, I don't really care. I only agreed to try to find a way to separate the two at least temporarily, because I owed you a favor from way back, but those two have been a step ahead of you from the beginning, so I would think that's a good indication that Hotchner is aware of your attitude and possible schemes and so is taking steps to prevent damage to either him or his partner."

Strauss ground her teeth in rage not happy to admit, even to herself, that Aaron Hotchner was an intelligent man and so it was well possible. She could just imagine him thinking of ways to make sure that he and the man he had taken up with wound up in the same unit. She didn't believe for a minute that Hotchner and Reid were True Mates, but that was only because she didn't believe such a thing existed.

She hated the fact that that man she considered her enemy had been so damn happy for the last 10 years, but at that time there was nothing she could do about it for Hotchner made sure he never did anything that would get him suspended or fired. She had believed if only for a short time that she had hit the jackpot when she had heard that Hotchner's partner had applied to the Academy and that he had been accepted.

She hated to admit it, but Agent Hotchner's partner was a very intelligent man, and apparently he spoke six different languages and also read and wrote them to. She had been getting reports from some of the people she knew at the Academy and what she had read indicated that Reid would be a very capable agent. The instructors had been amazed how he passed every academic test put in front of him with the highest score possible and in less than an hour for each one. The reports also indicated, that while he wasn't the most athletic person at the Academy he passed every bit of training that they could throw at him with a solid score even if it wasn't spectacular, even his gun test. Strauss had learned that Agent Hotchner had called in numerous favors to make sure that his mate was placed in his unit and the instructors had indicated that he wouldn't really fit in any other unit, as the BAU was the only unit that would put his skills and intelligence to use immediately, so even if it was against policy for somebody who had just graduated from the Academy to be placed in such a prestigious unit it was going to happen as his IQ was just around 200, 198 actually and you needed to be intelligent to be a member of the Behavior Analysis Unit, which Spencer Reid definitely was.

Apparently Agent Hotchner's mate, if she believed in such a thing, was a genius if his IQ was any indication. She had to tried to get the higher-ups to see that having two people in the same unit that were in a romantic relationship was a bad idea, but word had come down, that Agent Hotchner had always been very professional and they were sure that Spencer Reid would be the same and if not then one of them could transfer to another unit, but that they needed to be given a chance to prove themselves and they would be given a year of evaluation. Strauss was sure that the two men would prove that they could work together and act professionally the whole time and would give her no legal leg to stand on when it came separating the two.

It looked like her dream of making Hotchner miserable, by placing his partner in some distant field office, even if it was only temporarily, was falling to pieces around her before it had really even had a chance to succeed. How was that man always at least two steps ahead of her? Strauss thought in rage. He was a profiler and good at predicting people's behavior and although Agent Hotchner seemed to basically ignore her, except when they had meetings, that didn't mean that he was unaware of her hatred of him.

In fact, she would bet a considerable amount of money that he knew very well that she didn't like him and he had probably even silently profiled her and then planned accordingly. She would find a way to get at Aaron Hotchner one day, but apparently now was not the time and her plan was not going to go as she hoped. She was going to have to accept Dr. Spencer Reid into the unit if he did indeed get assigned here, which was nearly a sure thing and then she was going to have to wait for an opportunity to present itself.

"What do you want me to do, Erin?" asked the man after a long silence where he had been silently watching as she struggled with her temper, trying to get it under control. "I really can't do much at all, as I will lose my job if I tried, and I might owe you another favor, but if I lose my job I'm not going to be very useful, am I? Besides, it's nearly guaranteed that Spencer Reid will be a part of the BAU upon his graduation and there's nothing I can do to change that."

Even if I wanted to, the man thought silently, actually grateful that he had failed at what Strauss had wanted him to do, because from what he had seen of both Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid they were nice men and he had no idea why Strauss hated Hotchner so much and as had already been indicated he didn't really care, but he was still glad that he hadn't been forced to transfer Reid to some distant office, because from what he knew of Shifters, wolf Shifters in particular, were the very vengeful sort and if his part in Strauss scheme was ever discovered he was sure that his body would never be found, nor would anybody ever be arrested for the crime. He wasn't sure if he believed in the fact that Shifters had one True Mate, but whether he believed in it or not he knew that revenge would be taken against him if anything happened to Agent Hotchner's partner if he'd had any part in it.

Erin hated to admit it, but the man sitting in front of her desk was right, as he wouldn't be very useful if he lost his job.

"You may go," Erin ordered angrily.

The man nodded gratefully and immediately rose from the chair and headed for her office door before she could change her mind and was gone so fast that he almost appeared to vanish before Strauss's eyes.

How was that man always at least two steps ahead? Strauss wondered. She assumed that he and Reid had gotten married to prevent her or anybody else's meddling, because otherwise they would've had a ceremony 10 years ago when they had first met.

You win, this time Agent Hotchner, Strauss thought unhappily knowing there was nothing she could do without risking losing her own position. She would just have to keep an eye out and hope an opportunity presented itself.

~~~The Wizard and the Shapeshifter~~~

"Congratulations!" Hotch told his mate giving him a long hug and kiss. "You passed with flying colors!

"Yes, congratulations, Special Agent Reid," JJ congratulated her friend giving him a hug.

"Thank you," Reid said grinning, as he admired his new badge. "By the way why didn't you tell me when I talked to you last that you were pregnant again? You look like you are at least three or four months along."

"I didn't want to distract you," JJ admitted blushing. "You needed to concentrate on passing the physical part of your training, not be distracted with thoughts that I was pregnant for the third and last time and yes, I'm about four months along."

"So how many are you carrying this time?" asked Reid with a raised eyebrow. He could understand JJ and Hotch's reasoning for not mentioning his friend's pregnancy, but that didn't mean he thought it was the right decision. Still, there was no point of getting mad about it, since it was over and done with.

"Well, the doctor says four, but warned Dario and I that it could be five or even six."

Spencer nodded for the same thing had happened to him during two of his pregnancies.

"I still think you should have told me," Spencer said glaring at Hotch briefly, but unable to maintain it because he had missed his mate so much over the last five months.

Hotch shrugged and simply said, "It was JJ's decision and I warned her that you would be very upset that you hadn't been told, but as she said she didn't want to distract you, so asked me not to say anything and since it wasn't really my news to tell I agreed."

"So do you know the sex yet?" asked Spencer.

"No, Dario and I have an appointment with the doctor next month to find that out, but I'm hoping for at least two of each," JJ answered.

"Well, congratulations, even if I'm finding out, while you're already four months along," Spencer said glaring at JJ who looked unrepentant.

"It will be good to have you on the team," Rossi commented changing the subject, slapping the younger man on the back.

"We need to celebrate," Morgan suggested.

"No, we will not be going to some bar, Morgan," Hotch told his friend sternly. "Spencer and I have been separated for five months, so all I'm intending to do is to take him home."

Spencer blushed knowing exactly what his mate was thinking, although he wouldn't object at all, as he had missed Aaron Hotchner and it had been extremely hard to get through the training because he did miss his mate so very much that the first few weeks were very hard and painful, but he had done it and now it was over and the two would never be separated for such a long time again.

"But Hotch!" Morgan protested. "We need to celebrate Spencer passing the training and getting assigned to the BAU."

"What about a compromise?" JJ suggested

"What kind of compromise?" Hotch asked cautiously

"Just dinner somewhere really nice," JJ said, "tomorrow before Spence has to report on Monday. That way it gives you two a day to get reacquainted and and we can still celebrate Spence's graduation from the Academy and I can't drink anyway with me being pregnant so dinner is a good compromise."

"Alright," Hotch conceded. "You guys make the reservation and text us with the time and place and we'll be there. Now if you don't mind, we're going to head home."

The rest of the team watched as Hotch strode away quickly Spencer following quite happily and keeping stride with his mate easily since both of them had long legs. None of the team left behind wanted to think about the fact that it wouldn't be long before the two of them were in bed having sex like crazed monkeys, since the two had been separated for so many months, but at least now that Spencer and Hotch were back together their boss and friend would stop being so grumpy and irritable all the time.

"You should have known Derek that Hotch was never going to agree to that suggestion," Garcia scolded her husband. "If the two of us were apart for so long getting a drink with friends would not be the first thing on my mind."

"You have a point," Morgan conceded

"Besides, Spence really isn't much of a drinker anyway," JJ pointed out quite calmly. "He's not the type to hang out in bars. Really I've never seen him drink more than an occasional glass of wine with dinner."

"And there's no way that he's going to get drunk right before he starts work on Monday and risk a hangover," Rossi added.

"I'll just have to work on his alcohol tolerance level," Morgan said. "He should be able to indulge in more than a couple of glasses of wine without getting drunk or hungover."

"Just leave him alone," Emily told Morgan, "He's not going to change in that way and I doubt very much that Hotch will let you either. If Reid wants to only indulge in a couple of glasses of wine or beer, then that should be enough for anyone, as not everyone has your alcohol tolerance level and they shouldn't be forced to try to keep up with you."

"Well, at least we'll get to see him more often, now that he's going to be working with us," Morgan said changing the subject knowing that his friends were right.

"Yes, that's true and I'm really looking forward to working with him," JJ said and the others agreed. "We all know how intelligent he is and other people are soon going to realize that as well. I hear that his instructors at the Academy were amazed at his academic performance and we all know that it takes a lot to impress them."

"Yes, I heard the same thing," Rossi said with a grin, as he was rather proud of the young man who had grown so much in the last almost 12 years and he knew that his old protégé was a much happier person with Spencer in his life.

"I'll make a reservation at a very nice restaurant I know," Rossi offered. "They're very exclusive, but the owner owes me a number favors."

"So what's the name of this place?" asked Garcia curiously

Rossi told his teammates as they walked back to their separate vehicles.

"Oh! That's a really nice place," Emily said, "or at least that's what I've heard anyway, since I've never been."

"Well, you'll get to go tomorrow night," Rossi said. "I'm going to get the reservations for seven, make sure you dress up nicely, since it's a very classy place."

"You do know that Spencer wouldn't want us to go to all this trouble for him?" JJ told everyone. "He's a very unassuming guy and you know he likes to dress nicely, but casually and not get all gussied up."

"He can get dressed up for this occasion," Rossi said firmly. "This is a first and we all know it. Nobody before him has been pulled directly into the BAU upon graduation as we all know that normally an agent must serve at least 8 to 10 years in another department or even several, before even being considered for a place in the BAU. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be posted with our unit, just that it has never happened before. He's a very talented young man, even if I know he's too modest to toot his own horn."

The others on the team didn't disagree and each headed for their own vehicle, except for Garcia and Morgan who had of course, driven together.

~~~The Wizard and the Shapeshifter~~~