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Her alarm beeped at 7 am. She groaned and rolled over. Now it was time to pay the price for staying up until 3 am making love.
"Oh man, does that have to be so loud."
She flipped over and smirked at her bedmate. "Time to rise and shine, Spencer. We have to get to work in a couple of hours."
"Don't remind me. I find that I don't want to go to work. I want to stay here and sleep for another ten hours."
"As wonderful as that sounds, you have to get up. It's a very special day." She prodded him in the side and he flinched away.
"What are you talking about?"
She laughed at his irritation. "It's your birthday."
He flipped back to face her. "It's not my birthday."
She reached for her phone and showed him the date. "It's October 21st, which Garcia was kind enough to inform me was the day you were born into this world, thirty-one years ago."
The stunned expression on his face was too much. She laughed until he sat up and said. "I'll tickle you until you scream for mercy."
She slid out of bed and grabbed her robe. "No, you won't because we don't have time for that and you don't want to risk another accident."
He pouted and she shook her head. "Hurry, my love. We'll have breakfast and then I'm going to take you home. If you show up in the same clothes you were wearing yesterday, Morgan will never let you live it down."
He threw off the sheet and stood up. "I can't let that happen, not after yesterday."
"Well, let's get going. You make a tasty picture standing there naked, but I guess I'll have to control myself."
He went rosy in the cheeks and began looking for his clothes. "Don't talk like that," he squeaked.
She laughed and threw him his cords. "It's a good thing we don't work in the same department."
"Why?"
"I just don't think I could keep my hands to myself if we had to spend the day together."
He pulled on his boxers and reached for his shirt. "I have to admit you're right."
She headed out of the room. "I'm going to take a quick shower, and then I'll take you home. We can grab breakfast at your favorite café."
He smiled and tugged on his socks. He usually hated his birthdays, but maybe this one wouldn't be so bad after all.
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Something very strange was happening. He'd made it to work precisely on time, more out of luck than skill. He'd gone to the break room and poured his first cup of coffee. He'd begun to work on a stack of case consults, but his concentration was shot. For the first time in his career, he couldn't keep his mind on his job.
Her fingers were fire on his skin, teasing out gooseflesh all over his back. He trembled, hot and cold at the same time. Her nails bit his shoulders and there was pain, sweet as spring water that stoked the flames under his skin to an inferno that blasted away the last of his control.
"Reid."
He jerked, dropped his pencil and banged his knee on the underside of his desk. "Damn it! What do you want?"
Morgan stood over him grinning. "I just came down to say Happy Birthday, pretty boy. I didn't know you'd be day dreaming."
"I wasn't day dreaming."
Morgan's grin was nearly irritating enough for Reid to tell him to go away, but he knew that wouldn't work.
"I know the difference between when you're in the "Reid Zone," of concentration and when you're day dreaming. Besides, you're blushing."
"I hit my bad knee on the underside of my desk," Reid said very slowly through clenched teeth. "I'm in pain."
"I'm sorry," Morgan said.
"You don't sound sorry at all. Remember, I know you too."
Morgan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on Reid's desk. "I'm just trying to wish a friend happiness on his birthday, but I can see that you don't need it from me. How is Imogene this morning?"
Reid opened his mouth at the same time Hotch called to them from the overhead walkway. "Morgan, Reid, I need you in the conference room now."
"This isn't over," Morgan said.
"Yes it is," Reid replied. "Hotch needs us."
He left Morgan standing there with a smirk on his face, but somehow it didn't matter what his friend thought because nothing could mar his day.
"Hello Reid," Rossi greeted him as he left his office. "How's the wrist?"
Reid looked down at his healed hand. "Actually, it doesn't hurt that much today."
"Good," Rossi nodded. "I'm tired of picking up your slack around here."
Reid grinned in Rossi's direction, the sting of the barb muted by Rossi's answering smile. A day without Rossi's sarcastic sense of humor would be like a day without sunshine, or Garcia without her color. It just wouldn't be right.
"Do you know what the case is today?"
Rossi shook his head. "Nope, I was under the impression that today might be just for paperwork."
He let Reid precede him into the conference room. "Surprise," Garcia and JJ sang out together as they passed through the door.
"Happy Birthday," Rossi slapped him on the back.
Garcia hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Her lips left scarlet marks on his face, "Happy Birthday, sweet cheeks."
"Thanks," he squeaked.
The conference room resembled a party store instead of a place where they talked about blood and death. There was a banner covering one wall that read "Happy Birthday," in all the primary colors. There were matching balloons and streamers, and a cake on the round table.
"It's chocolate," JJ said.
"I'm not wearing a hat this time," Reid said.
He backed away from Garcia who approached with a cone shaped hat with red and blue diagonal stripes.
"It'll be so cute," Garcia cooed.
"Yeah, it'll be cute," Morgan, agreed.
"That's enough," Hotch said, but his mouth turned up just a little. "Let's have cake and get back to work."
"Yes sir," Garcia saluted him.
"And no trick candles," Reid added.
"You're taking all the fun out of this," Morgan complained.
"Too bad."
Everyone laughed except for Hotch. Rossi pulled Reid to the head of the table and handed him a knife. "Fine, get to work cutting the cake."
"Did you know that the tradition of birthday cakes is thought to have started in ancient Rome? The Romans baked flat cakes, with flour, nuts, and honey, that were leavened with yeast. They were served at special birthdays and at weddings."
"The tradition of placing candles on the cake is attributed to the Ancient Greeks, who placed candles on cakes to make them glow like the moon."
"Hey," Garcia prodded Reid. "More cutting and less talking."
"I'm glad I didn't miss the festivities," Imogene said from the doorway.
Reid flushed red and decided to look at the cake instead of at Imogene lest he take complete leave of his senses and kiss her in front of everyone.
"You're right on time," JJ said. "Why don't you take a seat here?"
Reid tried to ignore Imogene when she came around the table and stood next to him as he cut into the round cake with white frosting, his name in red letters and decorated with red roses and green leaves. It looked like his favorite cream cheese frosting from the warehouse store in Alexandria. Even so, the lure of chocolate and cream cheese in his nostrils couldn't overpower the smell of Imogene's perfume.
He lowered his face to her neck and licked her skin over her carotid. The smell of her musky, spicy perfume became the whole world. He breathed it in like ambrosia and sighed. She tasted like honey and it was more intoxicating than any alcohol he'd ever tasted.
"Wake up," Rossi prodded him. "Let's get this show on the road."
Reid jumped and almost knocked the slice he'd taken from the cake off the plate Garcia held.
"Watch it," she admonished him good-naturedly. "I've been looking forward to this for two weeks."
"Two weeks," he squeaked. "Why?"
"Because that's how long we've been planning this," JJ said.
Reid resumed his chore of cutting the cake and avoiding Imogene's eyes because if he looked at her -
"Where's my piece?"
His hands jerked again at Imogene's question, and the knife slipped. Instead of a nice linear cut, the blade slashed diagonally into the cake.
"Hey, be careful," Rossi, said. "Is this your first time cutting a cake?"
"No," he said shortly. "I know how to cut a cake. The knife slipped, that's all."
"No need to get upset, baby cakes."
"I'm not upset," he said testily."
"Alright, let's move on," Hotch said. "We need to get back to work."
"Let's have presents," Imogene said.
Reid glanced at her and she smiled at him. Her eyes drew him in just as they had the first time he saw her.
"I think that's great idea," Garcia agreed. "Mine first."
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"I'm glad that's over," Reid said as he carried a rather awkward pile of gifts to his desk.
"I thought it was fun," JJ said. "I'm just glad we didn't miss it like last year."
He dumped the gifts on the floor next to his desk and sat down with a sigh. "I wish you had. I hate all this attention."
JJ perched on the edge of his desk. "It was my idea. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"It's okay," he smiled for her even though he didn't want to. "I know you're trying to make up for everything that's happened, but I don't enjoy being the center of attention. I'm not good at it."
JJ opened her mouth, shut it and said. "I am sorry to spring the surprise on you. Garcia and I just wanted to make sure you had a good day."
He decided not to tell her that the early morning hours of his birthday were the best part of his day, so far, and that he'd be elated to resume the activities of the previous evening.
"I am having a good day. I'm just not used to celebrating birthdays."
JJ touched the back of his hand. "May I ask something else of you?"
He nodded, but pulled his hand away from her. She flinched, and then her shoulders sank. "Henry over heard me talking to Garcia on the phone about this party. He made a gift for you. I was hoping that he'd wait until you see him this Saturday. He begged me to give it to you today. I know you probably have plans with Imogene, but -"
"It's okay. We do have plans for dinner, but not until 7:30. Why don't I hitch a ride with you?"
She grinned at him. "Thank you, Spence. It means a lot to him."
"It's totally fine. I do want to see Henry."
She patted his arm and stood up. "We better get to work."