"I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more"
- Angelita Lim

Quantico, VA

Stuck with a cold case, the Behavioral Analysis Unit of FBI sought for other interests. Matt was the only one who didn't seem bored. They had overheard him telling his wife on the phone that he would be home early that evening. Penelope joined them in the bullpen, holding a cup of warm tea.
Luke said aloud what was pretty much on everyone's mind.
"Anybody know why Reid didn't come in today?"
Garcia said,
"Something personal came up"
Tara enquired,
"Is his Mom okay?"
"It's not her. Spence had to go out of town", JJ said, "What for, he wouldn't say"
Luke said,
"Maybe his cute girlfriend sneaked him away for a long weekend"
At that utterance, Matt dropped what he was doing and turned his chair around to look at his co-worker. JJ raised her eyebrows in amusement.
Garcia shook her head at Luke.
"Uh-uh. Way out of your league, newb"
"What?", Luke said, "That's not what I... wait. What do you mean she's way out of my league?"
"For starters, she has a doctorate. And you...", Penelope waved her hand at him.
Fighting a bemused grin, Luke encouraged her with his eyes to finish that sentence. Her hand hung in mid-air. She withdrew it, looking slightly embarrassed.
He knew insulting someone outright didn't come easily to Penelope. So he egged her on.
"She's out of my league because she has a doctorate and I...?"
"That's not... not what..."
Luke shrugged, his shoulders tightening against the white shirt he was wearing.
"You don't have a doctorate. Does that mean you are in my league?"
It was all he could do to not burst into a laugh as she bit her lip, turning a furious shade of pink.
"I...", Garcia pointed at him, looking at the others, "This-this is why I don't come out of my fluff-cave anymore"
Her heels tapped against the floor as she swept past Luke, not responding to the facial expressions of her friends. Matt said to Luke, sounding exasperated,
"Why do you do it?"
Luke just turned in his seat with his back to them, so they couldn't see the lovestruck grin on his face.

Seattle, WA

Monica hadn't been able to sleep a wink. Natalie had invited her to stay with them while she was in Seattle. And she had accepted, to save money on the hotel room and to get familiar with Veronica.
Throughout the night, she found herself checking in on Veronica as she slept. By the time Natalie realised the batteries in the baby monitor had run out, it was midnight, and neither of them was willing to drive to the store. Instead, Monica read a book and kept an eye on the toddler.
'Is this going to be my life?'
Of course not, she reasoned with herself. Veronica was not going to be a baby forever. She would grow. Grow up. Turn into a smart, beautiful kid. Someone who could terrorise Monica just by being a few minutes late in coming home.
'I can do this. I can. I am going to'
She rubbed her eyes, which were tired from exhaustion and from the way she kept them trained on the road. Dr. Reid could be arriving any second. Never had his coming induced such anxiety in her before.
'Patience', she reminded herself.
Folding her arms over her chest, Monica walked along the length of the steps. She sensed something and turned her neck. In a moment, he was within her sight. Her body, her entire being, seemed to relax on seeing him. His easy gait, his perfect hair, his tall form, his excellent intellect, his loving heart - what was she doing to him?
Dr. Reid looked up from his phone towards the building. Monica saw his gaze land upon her and a smile appear on his face. She went to him.
"Thank you so much for coming"
She hugged him. His arm went around her.
"Of course. You okay? Let me look at you"
"I'm fine"
He held and inspected her face anyway. His presence worked like an antidote to her fatigue. They had been apart for too long. On impulse, Monica kissed him. Dr. Reid kissed her back, caressing the side of her face with his fingertips. He pulled away and Monica almost sighed. As he gazed on her again, his expression turned sober.
"You haven't been sleeping. Is everything okay?"
"I'll tell you", she said, "Let's go inside"
Monica held his arm and they walked to the elevator.

Inside Paul's apartment, they were greeted by Natalie. Monica was glad that the widow didn't look as worse anymore. She even managed to give a small smile to her new visitor.
"This is Natalie Bandoni, Paul's wife. Natalie, this is my boyfriend, Dr. Spencer Reid"
"Hi"
Natalie gave him a nod. Her hands were occupied, folding clothes. She picked up a pile of them from the couch and said,
"I'll be inside if you need me"
"Yeah", Monica said.
When Natalie had gone in, Monica took the time to observe Dr. Reid. He was looking around the apartment. His gaze lingered over the packed boxes. He asked,
"Are they moving?"
"Natalie is"
"What about your friend? And Veronica?"
Monica stepped back towards the couch. She kept her voice even. She said,
"Sit with me"
He did. But his face was masked with questions.
"What's going on?", he asked.
Monica didn't stall.
"Paul died"
She paced her words evenly, as Spencer took her hand in his.
"Car accident. Last month. I didn't know about it until I came here"
"I am sorry. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I knew something was wrong"
"It's not that", she said, "When I came here on Monday, Veronica's birthday as you remember, Natalie was a mess. She still is. I just made her take a shower. I talked things out with her and her sister"
Monica shook her head.
"She can't look after Veronica, Dr. Reid. Not in her mental and physical state. More importantly, she doesn't want to. She didn't admit it at first, because she is still grieving for Paul, but she doesn't have what it takes to raise a child. I saw that on the very first day. I made her call her sister. She and I talked to Natalie, made her realise she needed help. She is going to move in with her sister and try AA"
"But what about Veronica?"
Nerves of steel crumbled with the weight of what she had to confess.
"Legally, after Nicole and Paul, and their immediate family, I have a right to claim Veronica as my ward. Since Nicole has no living family in the US, and Paul's family can't look after her..."
"You have to become Veronica's guardian", he said.
Dr. Reid looked surprised. He had the right to be.
If only she didn't know him so well. Perhaps then, she couldn't have detected that slight hint of disappointment in his voice.
Monica took a deep breath.
"I already am. On Thursday, the Court appointed me as Veronica's sole guardian. There were some conditions, since I'm not her kin by blood. Child Services will check in once in a while but that's all"
Confident though she was about her decision, she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes for a long time. She was afraid he would see her actions as a betrayal again. She had kept him in the dark, adopted a child. It would not be too irrational for him to assume Monica didn't value their relationship enough.
"Before you say anything", she began, "I am sorry I didn't tell you. There wasn't much time. Natalie's drinking is getting worse. If I hadn't gone to court, sooner or later Veronica would have been sent to foster care. Nobody wants to take her in. I wish I had come here before. Maybe I could have helped Natalie in time. But, Paul and Nicole made a will when Veronica was born. They expressly stated in it that if anything were to happen to both of them, Veronica would be my responsibility. I signed that document two years ago. And I meant it when I promised them I would honour my commitment. But this isn't about my heroic sense of responsibility or about me being sentimental. Veronica is the child of two people whom I loved very much. I want to do this. I am not asking you to just accept this massive change. I am only asking you to forgive me for keeping this from you for the last few days"
When she looked up, he didn't seem affected by her apology. He only seemed thoughtful. When he tried to pull back his hand, Monica held on to it stubbornly.

Spencer looked her in the eye at last. He asked,
"What did you think my reaction to this would be?"
She said,
"I know you well enough to assume that you wouldn't hate me for doing the right thing, especially when a child is involved"
"But you thought I'd still be upset"
"Yes"
"Why?"
He gave her an incredulous look.
"Why would you think that I wouldn't "accept this massive change"? What makes you think this would affect our relationship adversely?"
"Because it is a massive change. It changes everything about me. The reality is..."
He interrupted her.
"The reality is that I love you and any child that is somehow yours is mine too"
She should have known. Monica shook her head, trying her best not to give in to emotion.
"No. This is not your responsibility. I made this decision and it's completely on me. I can't do this to you"
Spencer almost exclaimed,
"Why do you want to do this alone?"
"I don't", she sighed, "But I can't ask this of you"
Monica passed her thumb over his knuckles. She held onto his hand like it was the anchor to her ship.
"Raising a child is momentous. It's a huge deal. I know you will be a great parent. You will be the best Dad ever. But the truth is we have been dating for only a year. We talk about forever, but we have never actually sat down and discussed it. We don't have a plan for us"
"Here's a plan", Spencer said, "You be Veronica's guardian and I will co-parent her with you"
She warned him.
"This is not going to be as easy as you think"
He gave her a wary look.
"Monica, I get to raise a child with the woman I love. I don't care if it's the hardest thing in the world, I'm going to do it"
"But..."
She couldn't come up with another excuse. There was no plausible reason as to why she shouldn't let him help her raise Veronica.
She asked,
"What if we want to have kids of our own one day? I know you said you don't want kids that are biologically yours but what if we decide to adopt? Or something else"
If she hadn't looked away just then, Monica would have noticed his melancholy smile. When she looked at him again, Spencer's smile was brave. He tucked her hair behind her ear. He said,
"This isn't much different than that"
Monica knew the answer but still she asked,
"You really want to raise a child with me?"
"I do"
"Isn't it too soon?"
He gave her a faint smile. His tone was nostalgic.
"Do you remember the time we went to the Koshland Science Museum?"
'Like it was yesterday', she wished to say.
He went on.
"You dragged me along after I read some of the anonymous feedback my students had left. I didn't want to talk about it, so you tried to take my mind off it. They were putting up an exhibit about Edison, and you argued with the curator that they should be putting up a Tesla exhibit instead. When they didn't listen, you wrote 'Thief' and drew weird, cartoon features on Edison's face on the poster"
She gave a wry smile.
"You were laughing so loud the security guard came and we had to make a run for it"
He nodded, smiling.
"Yeah"
Monica leaned into his hand as he held it against her cheek. Spencer smiled.
"In that moment, I knew. After all I had been through, if anyone could make me happy again, it was you", he said, "This is it for me, Monica. You're it. People spend years with each other and they still don't know if they belong together. I don't need that much time. It may as well be today what is going to happen tomorrow. Let me be with you. I promise I'll be the best parent I can be. I'll be with you and Veronica every step of..."
There was no need for her to hear the rest. Monica leaned forward and kissed him. When she drew back, everything was as it should be.
Monica smiled at him.
"Let's do it", she said.
He didn't look like he believed her.
"Yeah?"
"Yes"
"You sure?"
"Mm-hm"
"Okay"
"Okay"
"There are so many things to consider. Like the fact you only have one bedroom", he rambled on, "And we will have to find a good paediatrician, a day..."
"Slow down, motormouth", she grinned, "You're under my regime now and we are going to do this at a comfortable pace. Don't you want to meet her first?"
Nodding, Spencer broke into a smile so wide his teeth showed. With such an excess amount of happiness evident on their faces, Monica was sure they looked like a couple of kids who had no idea what they were in for.
It didn't matter though. He was by her side. Everything else would just fall in place.

'We are going to raise a child'
Part of him believed it was still a dream. After Maeve's death, he hadn't allowed himself to hope for this. But this was happening. He was going to raise a child, and with no other but Monica.
Veronica couldn't have asked for a better guardian. Monica's strength of character, her kindness, her patience, her intellect, her wit - the child would be benefitting from all of it.
It still niggled him somewhat that Veronica was not theirs in the truest sense. Despite of all he had allowed himself to hope for lately, he didn't resent her arrival in their life. And there was no way he would tell Monica any soon of his recent change of heart. The guilt would crush her. Or make her rush into something she didn't want yet.
He would pretend for now that he had never consulted Dr. Helberg. When the time was right, he would modify the speech he had thought up. He would tell her the little one's presence in their life had made him want kids which were even more like Veronica's Aunt Monica.
Their kids. Siblings for Veronica.
"Hello"
Monica's voice made Spencer look up from the floor. And it was love at first sight.

Holding Monica's hand, not deeming him worthy of a second glance, was Veronica. She bore no resemblance to the woman that walked by her side. The light brown hair, the brown eyes, the round face, and those little hands and feet - how unfortunate were her parents that they couldn't be with this cherub in human form. In their misfortune, he recognised his own luck.
Spencer couldn't stop smiling. Though not in name, he was going to be a parent. At last.
"Hi", he said.
Sitting on the couch between him and Monica, Veronica didn't pay him any attention.
"Look who it is. Say hi to Spencer, Nica"
"Hello, Veronica"
His voice was laden with emotion. Monica took Veronica's curled fist and put it on his face. Veronica looked at him then. Her little fingers spreading themselves on his cheek were no less warm than sunshine. She babbled something in baby-speak, patting his cheek. Spencer grinned, unable to tear his gaze away from her curious eyes.
Monica kissed the top of Veronica's head.
"We are going home, sweetheart"

"Little souls find their way to you, whether they are from your womb or someone else's"
- Sheryl Crow