"Look at you!" Garcia was already crying, and the wedding hadn't even started. Well, she'd been crying off and on for a while, since "my girl's getting married!" She and JJ were standing with Piper, while Morgan and Hotch had gone to talk to Reid. "You look amazing! I can't believe you're getting married. I'd give you some advice, but you're probably already like, the best wife ever, so... agh, this is so exciting!"

JJ took her hand, calmly saying, "You're going to be fine. It'll be just like before, but you'll be calling each other 'husband' and 'wife'. You'll have your fights and your happy moments, but at the end of the day, you'll always have each other. I know you're going to love it."

Piper sat down, taking a deep breath and looking at the clock. She would be walking down the aisle in a few minutes, seeing all of her friends and family. Lots of people had flown in for the wedding. Even Reid's mother was there, with someone from the hospital that drove with her all the way to DC. She had been by earlier to gush over Piper's dress, to tell her how proud she was that such a wonderful young lady was marrying her son, and to promise that she would always be there for the both of them. She had gone to see Reid too, and had just left when Hotch knocked on the door. "I know I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I want you to see who's giving her away."

He stepped to the side, Reid fixing his tie as Gideon walked in, nodding to them all. He shook Reid's hand, offering some some words of wisdom. "Listen, you're going to have some bad days. But you're also going to have some great days, days you'll treasure for the rest of your lives. You two are meant for each other. I know you'll be able to stick together, no matter what happens. You've always been a strong couple. Now I've got to get over to Piper, and you've got to get to the end of that aisle, young man. I'll see you soon."

Only a few minutes later, Piper appeared on Gideon's arm in the doorway of the church that they had rented, everyone's eyes turning to her. Garcia was crying again, taking as many pictures as she could while wiping her tears from her cheeks. Piper beamed as Gideon walked with her down the aisle. She looked to Reid, who was near tears himself. "Hi," she whispered excitedly as she reached him, taking his hands in her own.

"Hi. You look… fantastic," he smiled, trying his best to whisper as the preacher began to speak.

They exchanged vows and rings, the BAU team leading the applause when they finally kissed. Garcia even stood and cheered, Jack jumping up and down with her from his special seat as the ring bearer. He would be visiting them constantly during the reception, at least until Hotch pulled him back to their table. He would invariably return, though.

Dinner had just been cleared away and it was almost time to cut the cake when Reid stood up, making an announcement. "Hey, uh, hi everybody. I just wanted to say a few things. First, I want to thank all of you for coming, some of you from all the way across the country. I also want to say thank you to Piper, for agreeing to marry one of the most annoying people on the planet. Thank you for being there for so many things, and for being the most incredible, supportive wife I could have ever dreamed of. Thank you for making me think I can actually live a normal life and be happy and… thank you for being so giving, for being so understanding, and being absolutely incredible. I love you, and I always will."

"I love you too, Spence," she smiled, standing to give him a kiss. "You're the best husband I could have ever hoped for. You're the reason I smile so much, and you make every day so much better. I'm so glad I get to hear from you when you're in the field, and I'm always so thankful when you get home to me safely. I was honored when I got to change my name to 'Dr.', and I'm honored now that I can change it again, this time to 'Reid'. I… I love you, Spencer Reid."

She and Reid cut the cake, Garcia making sure that they got pieces and actually ate before the first dance. They spent hours dancing and socializing and thanking people, Reid following Piper around as she said hello and thanked people for being there. He hated having to be that social, but it was for her. So he smiled and made small talk with relatives he hadn't heard from in years and friends of Piper's and people he had thought had disappeared. He tried not to spout off random facts about wedding traditions or things like that, since he knew it would annoy the guests like it did to everyone. He and Piper had been talking about them earlier, so there was some small consolation.

He was relieved when it was finally time for them to go, stopping off at home before their flight out in the morning, first to New York and then transferring to a plane that would take them to Greece. Piper collapsed onto the bed, kicking off her high heels as Chester ran up to them. Reid untied his tie, dropping down next to her after throwing his suit jacket on a chair. "I'm so glad that party's over," he sighed.

Piper agreed. "I loved it. But there's only so many times I can tell my great-aunt Merle that you're not a medical doctor. She keeps thinking you're in pediatrics or something, and that's all she wanted to talk about. At least she didn't ask you to take a look at a mole or something." She yawned, getting up to wash her makeup off and change out of her dress, which she carefully hung in the closet. Reid watched her for a moment before jumping in the shower. "I'm going to go microwave us some leftovers, since we barely got to eat between all the people trying to talk to us. At least Garcia got us some cake."

"Thanks," he called back from the bathroom.

Piper was eating dinner on the sofa when Reid came over with a plate, putting his glasses on. He was already in his pajamas, taking a seat next to her. "Hey. You know, you look nice in a suit and in pajamas... quite a rare quality in a person."

"Hey, I was thinking-"

"That's dangerous," she joked, watching him yawn. "What's up?"

"Gideon gave you away."

"Yeah."

"That's usually something the bride's father does. It's traditional. You've hardly mentioned him, or your mom, since we met," he brought up, taking a bite of his food. "Thanks for heating everything up, by the way."

"My parents died when I was a kid." She didn't say much else, but she could feel his eyes on her, waiting for the answer to a question he didn't dare to ask. Sighing, Piper turned to him. "There's a reason why each one of us went into the FBI. Morgan's dad was a cop who got killed. Hotch was a lawyer looking for something more. You needed a challenge that getting degrees wouldn't satisfy after too long. I'm here because of something that happened when I was a kid. My parents were murdered by a man named Charles Beauchamp. He killed 25 women over 10 years… they never counted my dad in his body count. He saw my mom get killed in front of him, and he killed himself a week later."

"Beauchamp… the Redmond Ripper?" Reid asked, his eyebrows knit together as he tried to remember the case.

"Yeah."

"I thought he was only active in North Dakota."

"He was. I was born there. Moved to Florida to live with with my great-aunt Merle after my parents died, went for my undergrad there, came to DC, did grad school, joined the FBI… I did my best to put it behind me," she explained, Reid taking her hand. "My god, you look exhausted."

"I've got a headache. It's been a long day. But still, how did I never figure that out?"

"I don't tell people. I had Garcia hide it under a ton of other things in my file. It's not a common topic of conversation."

"You don't remember it, do you?" Piper sighed, Reid apologizing immediately. "I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's okay. It's an understandable question. I don't remember much. I was staying at a friend's house, but my dad came to pick me up early in the morning. He said something bad had happened." She closed her eyes, picturing all of the police cars surrounding her house. "There were cops everywhere. He told me not to look, he told me not to go in, but I ran underneath all of the police lines and into the house and up the stairs, right into the room where they had her under a sheet. There was so much blood… dad had just dropped something off with me when she had been killed. I'd forgotten my favorite stuffed animal, and he'd volunteered to bring it so my mom could get some sleep. She'd had a long day at work and… I always used to think that if I hadn't insisted on having that stupid stuffed horse with me, he would've been there to stop him, or to at least fight him off. He would have been ready. But I saw it… there was so much blood, and… one of the detectives tried making me move, tried explaining it as best she could to a five-year-old, but I wanted to stay. I… that's the moment I got obsessed with serial killers."

She opened her eyes again, looking to Reid, who squeezed her hand. "I'm so sorry. I… I'm not sure what to tell-"

"You don't have to tell me anything. They caught him, and he's serving time. There's no death penalty in North Dakota, but at least I know he'll be locked away forever. I've moved through the stages of grief, and I used it to get me here. It's okay, Spence."

"That's why you check on us so much when we're off on cases," he determined. "Why you insist on calling every day, making sure we're okay."

"Sort of. I also miss you and want to hear your voice. Not everything I do is because my family was butchered." She took another bite of her food. "Why don't we focus on making sure we have everything packed for tomorrow?"

"Okay, but if you ever want to talk about it…"

"I'm good, Spence, I swear. Are you okay?" He had rubbed his eyes, blinking hard.

"Fine. I'll be fine once I get some sleep," he promised. "Could you turn one of the lights off?"

"Yeah, not a problem. It's probably from not eating for a while and having to be so social," she reasoned, standing up to turn one of the lights off. She sat back down next to Reid, who leaned his head on her shoulder.

"Thanks." He closed his eyes, kissing her cheek. "I'll be fine, don't worry."