Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Shout out to Fashionista7 for being the 75th reviewer for this story and also a shout out to fishtrek and criminalmindsrocks for reviewing chapter 14.

I officially hate writer's block and I was busy for a few days when it came to my niece sleeping over or having to babysit her.

Kids can say the darnedest things. I was walking home from the bus stop with a bag of groceries and I greeted my next-door neighbor and his five-year-old son who were waiting for the school bus. The five-year-old little boy told me that I'm gorgeous. I had to gently break it to him that I'm 26 and have a boyfriend, but everyone and I are laughing about the cuteness of my five-year-old neighbor.

This chapter starts a few days after the last chapter 14 on March 6th of 2007, so Spencer, Maeve, and Elle are back in Washington D.C. and have yet to have a team dinner at the Hotchner's while Maeve's 28-weeks pregnant at the beginning of this chapter.


Spencer and Maeve were entering their local animal shelter when a charcoal lab who was about to be taken on a walk outdoors slipped through her collar and ran and tackled the 25-year-old federal agent to the ground and started licking his face excessively.

Maeve started laughing as tears started to fall down her face, "That was unexpected."

"I'm trying not to think about all the germs I've been exposed to," muttered Spencer.

"Zoey, please stop licking the man you just tackled," scolded the volunteer.

Zoey stopped licking Spencer and let out a few whines as she laid down and positioned her head underneath Spencer's right hand.

Spencer who had just used his shirt to clean up his glasses realized that Zoey wanted him to scratch behind her ears started to scratch the dog's ears causing Zoey to start letting out some groans, "Is Zoey always this excited?" asked Spencer.

"Zoey never acted the way she's acting right now during the two months she's been here after her previous owners who consisted of an Iraq war veteran, a wife, and three kids were killed by a robber in their house. Zoey only survived since she was found hiding underneath the bed crying and barking," said the volunteer as she snapped her fingers to get Zoey off of Spencer before one of the male volunteers helped Spencer stand up, "My name is Amy and I'm so sorry about Zoey. She was so depressed after her previous owners died and none of the surviving family members took her in. I never saw Zoey jump onto someone until she saw you and your wife."

Maeve looked at the middle-aged volunteer, "I'm Dr. Maeve Donovan-Reid and the man Zoey tackled is my husband Dr. Spencer Reid."

Spencer looked at the sad eyes that Zoey was giving him, "It's OK about Zoey's behavior. Dogs who have been through a traumatic event can sense when someone else has been through something traumatic too."

"Even though it's not my business, what happened to you?" asked Amy.

"I'm a profiler for the F.B.I. and I was held captive by an unsub a month ago," said Spencer.

"No wonder why Zoey approached you then. She must have sensed that you've been through something traumatic and wanted to cheer you up," said Amy.

Zoey let out a bark as she gave Spencer another kiss while a giggling Maeve took a picture of the scene with her phone before she knelt down and petted Zoey, "Hello Zoey, I'm Spencer's wife Maeve."

Zoey wagged her tail as she saw Maeve's bulging baby bump as she sniffed Maeve's baby bump causing her eyes to go wide when she felt two kicks causing her to give a real grin that showed her white teeth before she gave Maeve's baby bump a few slobbery kisses.

"You must love babies, Zoey. I'm pregnant with twins who will be named Violet Guinevere Reid and Arthur Nathaniel Reid, Zoey," said Maeve.

Zoey barked in excitement.

"Zoey was great with her previous owner's children," said Amy before looking at Zoey, "Do you want Spencer and Maeve to join us on your walk?" asked Amy.

Zoey let out an excited bark causing Spencer and Maeve to join Zoey and Amy on a walk while Spencer and Maeve took turns walking Zoey who walked perfectly for them while she found a huge stick to walk proudly carry during her walk.


A half-hour later, Amy looked at Spencer and Maeve while a grinning Zoey sat on Spencer's lap.

"Would you two like to adopt Zoey?" asked Amy.

Maeve looked at her husband while Zoey licked her hand, "It seems like Zoey picked us to be her new mommy and daddy, so I want to adopt her."

Spencer smiled, "I told you that we'll get any dog you want."

Maeve looked at Amy, "How long will it be until we can take Zoey home?" asked Maeve.

"It's going to be a week before you two can take her home. Zoey just got spayed a week ago and she needs another week to recover before she goes to her forever home," said Amy.

"That works since we'll need to buy Zoey everything she needs," said Maeve before smiling at Zoey who was now sniffing her baby bump, "Are you saying hi to Violet and Arthur?" asked Maeve.

Zoey let out a bark.

Amy laughed, "How far are you, Maeve?" asked Amy.

"I'm 28-weeks pregnant and I have a planned c-section scheduled for May 14th," said Maeve.

"At least Zoey will have plenty of time bonding with you and Spencer until the twins are born," said Amy.

"Which is why we chose to come now instead of after Violet and Arthur are born," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Maeve were filling out the paperwork that would allow them to adopt Zoey as they paid for the fees to adopt Zoey before Zoey started to cry as she watched Spencer and Maeve leave.


The next afternoon, Spencer was sitting at a table in a coffee shop near Georgetown University as he typed a paper he was hoping to publish on his personal laptop that had the webcam covered up with electrical tape when he was about to take a sip of his mug of hot chocolate when someone rested a hand on his shoulder causing him to physically jump and dump the luke-warm hot chocolate he ordered in place of coffee all over his navy blue military-style pea coat that Maeve gave him for Christmas, "Son of a bi-," said Spencer before he turned around and saw Alex Blake who works as an FBI agent in the Hoover Building when she's not teaching forensic linguistics to students at Georgetown University, "Sorry for what I was about to say to you, Alex," said Spencer meekly.

Alex gave Spencer a soft look as she looked at the young man who was becoming a second son to her ever since he started guest lecturing for her, "I'm the one who should be sorry since I touched you without announcing my presence after hearing about what happened to you last month."

"It's OK. Everyone would have been worried if I wasn't exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and jumped when someone was trying to get my attention," said Spencer.

Alex looked at the stain on the navy blue military-style pea-coat that Spencer told her that Maeve got him for Christmas that contained a large stain as she pulled out her wallet and grabbed two twenties, "Please let me pay for the dry cleaning your jacket will have to go through," said Alex before giving Spencer a firm look that she use to perfect on her late son Ethan, "I'm not taking no for an answer, Spencer."

Spencer reluctantly accepted the money, "Fine."

"What did you order? I'm going to replace your drink too," said Alex.

"Hot chocolate since Maeve is making me drink less coffee since she's wanting me to sleep at night," said Spencer.

Alex took in Spencer's thin frame, "I'm going to get you two brownies too," said Alex before she walked away.

A few minutes later Spencer and Alex were sitting across from each other when Alex looked at Spencer, "How have you've been doing the past few weeks?" asked Alex.

"I've been going to therapy daily and Maeve's been talking to me about my nightmares," said Spencer before looking around to make sure that no one would be eavesdropping before he softly spoke, "Despite the nightmares and never being able to handle the smell of fish cooking again, I'm hanging in there. Even though it's a curse to have an eidetic memory right now, I'm grateful that I have the Bible memorized and I knew who Tobias was in the Bible."

"Plus you did a linguistic analysis on the 9-1-1 calls causing you to realize that the man who abducted you was the unsub right when your unit chief was about to send you and another teammate to interview him," said Alex.

"Hotch's glad that I talked him out of having JJ and me to drive an hour to a house in the middle of nowhere to interview Hankel right away," said Spencer.

Alex smiled as she thought about the excitement she felt for Spencer when she learned that he married a geneticist and they were expecting twins when he lectured to her forensic linguistics students about him using linguistics skills to trap the Mill Creek Killer despite the sadness she felt about never having the chance to become a grandmother, "Either way, Violet and Arthur are going to be the luckiest kids in the world to have you as their father."

"Are you sure that they're lucky? Even though I spent two weeks in a rehabilitation clinic getting intense therapy, I'm going to be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms for the rest of my life and I'm going to be having flashbacks that will scare Violet and Arthur when they're born," said Spencer.

"Either way, you'll be a loving father who loves to read to his kids, do magic tricks for them, and encourage them to learn," said Alex before shaking her head as she thought about the younger FBI agent in front of her being her former teammate's nephew, "I still can't believe that you're related to Chief Strauss."

Spencer nodded as he thought about the team his aunt used to work with before he entered the academy in 2003 at 21-years-old, "There are days that I'm still shocked about my section chief being my aunt too, but I'm glad that she's been here for me the past seven months since you know why my mother can't be there for me all the time."

"Even though we've known each other for a few years, don't forget that I'm there for you too," said Alex before looking into Spencer's eyes, "How much longer until you're allowed to return to the B.A.U.?" asked Alex.

"If I keep on cooperating during my daily sessions with my therapist, I'll be returning to work in 20 days," said Spencer.

"Do you think that you're therapist and aunt will allow you to guest lecture for me? I know that Gideon taught at the academy when he was on leave for six months for post-traumatic stress disorder after Adrian Bale," said Alex.

Spencer tilted his head, "I don't think that there will be an issue about guest lecturing since I'm trying to find ways to keep myself busy so I don't try to convince Hotch and Aunt Erin to let me return to work when I know on the inside that I'm not ready yet."

"Speaking of being kept busy, where's Maeve?" asked Alex.

"I surprised Maeve with a gift card to get a mani-pedi at a nearby nail salon as a way to thank her for not letting me shut her out the past few three weeks and to help her get some relief on her swelling ankles from her pregnancy," said Spencer.

"And Maeve told you that you can hang out here while she gets her nails done," said Alex.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"How has Maeve been handling everything since your hospitalization?" asked Alex.

"She's been patient with me the entire time and she's been talking to a therapist too," said Spencer.

"James and I had some hardships and we got through them together by being married to our jobs, but knowing you and Maeve you two are strong to get through this as long as you two keep on communicating with each other," said Alex.


Later on that evening Spencer and Maeve were over at Chief Strauss's house for dinner when Chief Strauss looked at her nephew, "How have you've been doing for the past few days?" asked Chief Strauss.

"I've been having a nightmare every night, but I've been talking about my nightmares with Maeve and my therapist Dr. Moss," said Spencer.

"Good," said Chief Strauss.

"We also found a dog to adopt yesterday and we'll be bringing her home in six days," said Maeve.

Chief Strauss's 10-year-old son Tyler looked at Spencer and Maeve excitably, "What type of dog?" asked Tyler.

"A two-year-old charcoal Labrador retriever named Zoey," said Maeve.

"Her coat must be beautiful," said Chief Strauss's 13-year-old daughter Molly.

"Zoey is very beautiful and it seems like Spencer will be her favorite," said Maeve.

Chief Strauss looked at her nephew, "What happened to dogs not liking you?" asked Chief Strauss.

"Zoey must have sensed that I've been having a hard time recently and decided to comfort me. She was actually crying after Maeve and I left the animal shelter," said Spencer.

Tyler looked at Spencer and Maeve, "Can I please walk Zoey when you're on a case, Spencer?" asked Tyler.

Spencer smiled at his cousin, "Maeve and I already talked about paying you $10 to walk Zoey since your sisters already insisted on babysitting Violet and Arthur when we want to give Maeve's father a break from watching his grandchildren."

Tyler beamed at his cousin, "Thank you."

"Your welcome, Tyler," said Maeve.

Spencer looked at his aunt, "While Maeve and Mary were getting a mani-pedi this afternoon, I ran into Dr. Blake while I was at the coffee shop by Georgetown University working on a paper I was planning on publishing."

"My former teammate who you guest lecture for," said Chief Strauss.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"How is she?" asked Chief Strauss.

"We talked about how I was doing and about the babies before she asked me if it's possible if I can help her with her forensic linguistics classes during the remainder of my time off," said Spencer.

"Dealing with cabin fever?" asked Chief Strauss.

"A bit, but I like the idea of guest lecturing twice a week during the next 20 days," said Spencer.

Chief Strauss thought about the reports that were sent to her by her nephew's bureau therapist Dr. Moss, "Since you've been cooperating with your therapist, I'll sign you off to do some guest lecturing for Dr. Blake."

"Thank you, Aunt Erin," said Spencer.

Recently turned 16-year-old Sarah looked at her cousin, "I have a test in chemistry tomorrow. Can you please quiz me on what I need to know for my test tomorrow?" asked Sarah.

Spencer gave his cousin a small smile, "Sure, Sarah."

Molly looked at Maeve, "I have a test on genetics tomorrow. Can you please help me study, Maeve?" asked Molly.

Maeve smiled, "I will be glad to help you, Molly."

"I have a test on the pulleys in science class tomorrow," said Tyler.

Spencer smiled, "I'll help all three of you prepare for your tests."


30 minutes later Spencer and Maeve were helping Spencer's three cousins study for their upcoming tests.


Four days later Spencer and Maeve knocked on the door of Hotch's and Haley's house when Haley opened up the door and smiled at them, "You two are the first here," said Haley.

"Hotch asked us to come 30 minutes before the rest of the team," said Spencer.

"And we walked the few blocks from our house to here since Dr. Jacobs wants me to walk as much as possible," said Maeve before groaning when she felt Violet and Arthur kick, "Excuse me. Violet and Arthur have been messing with my bladder," said Maeve as she quickly walked towards the direction of the bathroom.

Haley looked at Spencer who was removing his jacket and was kicking off his converse sneakers, "Even though Jack and I have visited you and Maeve daily ever since you guys came home a week ago, how are you doing?" asked Haley.

"I didn't have a nightmare last night," said Spencer.

"That's good," said Haley just as Hotch came downstairs with 16-month-old Jack on his hip.

"Ence," said Jack.

Spencer smiled as he accepted Jack from Hotch as he thought about becoming one of Jack's most favorite people when it came to him telling Jack stories and doing magic tricks for him, "How's my little buddy doing?" asked Spencer.

Jack grinned as he pointed at some blocks, "Ocks."

"You want to play with your blocks?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Jack.

"Then let's go build a tower," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer, Hotch, and Jack were sitting on the floor helping Jack build a tower when Hotch looked at Spencer, "It's good to see you smiling again."

"Every time I see Jack reminds me what I have to look forward to when Maeve has her c-section in 10 weeks," said Spencer.

"At least you and Maeve already have the nursery painted and furniture assembled," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled, "Having a Ph. D. in engineering has its perks since I was able to get Violet's and Arthur's cribs put together in less than 20 minutes."

"I heard that Agent Blake asked you to help out with her classes for the remaining two weeks of your medical leave and your aunt cleared you," said Hotch.

"Is that OK?" asked Spencer.

"You've been cooperating with your therapist, so I have no problem with you helping a professor with her classes," said Hotch.

At that moment Jack knocked down his tower of blocks and started to laugh.

Spencer looked at Jack, "You're a silly boy, Jack."

Jack grinned and giggled at Spencer.

"Who knew that Jack would break the Reid-Effect when it comes to children?" asked Spencer.

"I believe that reading to Jack and doing magic tricks for him did the trick," said Hotch before thinking about the golden retriever named Sandy during the Seattle Stranger case, "Ever thought about getting dogs to like you more so the Reid-effect completely goes away?" asked Hotch.

"Last week Maeve and I started looking at local animal shelters since we talked about getting a pet that Violet and Arthur can grow up with and we ended up meeting a two-year-old charcoal Labrador retriever named Zoey. Zoey instantly fell in love with me when she saw me and tackled me down to the ground and started to lick me," said Spencer as he showed Hotch a picture that Maeve took of Zoey sitting on his lap while kissing him.

"I would have paid $100 to see that scene in person," said Hotch.

Spencer burst out laughing while not knowing that a crying Maeve was hugging Haley as they celebrated hearing Spencer laugh again, "You'll be witnessing Zoey being attached to me when you, Haley, and Jack come over to my house since Maeve and I already signed the adoption papers and paid the adoption fee."

Hotch smiled as he thought about being glad to hear Spencer laugh again, "Seems like Zoey will be good for you."

"I think so too because Maeve and I were the first people Zoey got excited around ever since she was taken to the humane society two months ago," said Spencer.

"Do you know what happened to her family?" asked Hotch.

Spencer gave Hotch a sad smile, "Zoey was at the shelter because her family died during a home invasion and she was found crying and barking underneath one of the beds."

"Zoey must have sensed that you have post-traumatic stress disorder and decided to comfort you," said Hotch.

"That's what the volunteers at the animal shelter think since I told them that I was recently injured in the line of duty and I'm on medical leave for a few more weeks," said Spencer.

"When will Zoey be coming home?" asked Hotch.

"She'll be going home with us in two days since she's still recovering from being spayed," said Spencer before looking at Jack, "What does a dog say?" asked Spencer.

"Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof," said Jack.

Hotch looked at the clock on the wall, "The rest of the team should start arriving shortly."

Jack lifted up a book and looked at Spencer, "Weed."

"You want me to read to you?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Jack.

At that moment Maeve approached them, "Want me to read to you too, Jack?" asked Maeve.

"Yes," said Jack.

A few minutes later Spencer and Maeve were taking turns reading to Jack when Hotch was letting Garcia who was dragging a reluctant JJ into his house.

"Hi JJ. Hi Garcia," said Spencer.

"Hello, Jennifer. Hello Penelope," said Maeve.

JJ glared at Maeve before she walked to the kitchen to see if Haley needed any help.

"How are you doing, Boy Wonder?" asked Garcia.

"I'm doing OK. Aside from going to therapy five days a week, I start guest lecturing for a professor who I usually guest lecture for at Georgetown University on Monday," said Spencer.

"And we'll be bringing a dog we adopted home on Tuesday too," said Maeve.

"You two got a puppy?" asked Garcia.

"A two-year-old charcoal lab named Zoey," said Spencer.

"Why not get a puppy?" asked Garcia.

"I'm 29-weeks pregnant with twins, so Spencer and I decided to find a dog who's already potty trained and received obedience training so I'm under less stress of training a dog when Spencer returns to work," said Maeve.

"Plus there are thousands of dogs who can't find a forever home end up getting euthanize each day so there's more room in animal shelters. So instead of getting a puppy, we decided to live up to my badge and save a dog's life by adopting a rescue," said Spencer.

"Zoey refused to react with anyone until she saw Spencer and tackled him to the ground and started to kiss him. So we had to adopt her since she was attached to Spencer the entire time we interacted with her while she was constantly licking my baby bump," said Maeve as she showed Garcia some pictures she took fo Zoey with Spencer.

"That's so adorable," cooed Garcia.


Two hours later Spencer, Maeve, the Hotchner family, Elle, Emily, JJ, Garcia, Morgan, and Gideon were gathered around the Hotchner family dining room table when Morgan looked at Spencer, "It seems like that you got a lot of sun at the rehabilitation clinic you were at," said Morgan.

"When I wasn't talking to a psychologist, seeing a physical therapist, being visited by Maeve and Elle, or had a rest hour in my room I chose to be outside reading, swimming laps for physical therapy, or horseback riding," said Spencer.

"You know how to horseback ride?" asked Emily.

"My Aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon own a therapy horse ranch outside of Las Vegas, so my uncle Gordon got me on a horse as soon as my mom allowed him to," said Spencer before a soft smile forming on his face, "When I wasn't at school and my uncle forced me to take a break from taking care of my mother or my mom ended up being hospitalized for a few days, I spent a lot of time there before I had to move out here to join the F.B.I."

"Have you gone riding since moving out here?" asked Emily.

"I usually try to go horseback riding at Rock Creek Park once a month," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I'm very excited about teaching Violet and Arthur how to ride as soon as they're big enough to sit on a horse."

Garcia looked at Maeve, "Even though I know that you and Boy Wonder got the nursery ready and have the supplies that are needed, are you anxious to give birth in May?" asked Garcia.

"I am, but I'm glad that I have a gynecologist who I trust to deliver Violet and Arthur safely," said Maeve.

"You and Spencer already know that I've known Dr. Jacobs since college. She'll do everything she can to make sure that you, Violet, and Arthur get through the delivery safely," said Gideon.

"I know," said Maeve.

"Why have a c-section instead of giving birth naturally?" asked JJ.

"Dr. Jacobs doesn't want me to be pregnant past the 38th week, so I scheduled a c-section for May 14th to be safe. If I go into labor sooner, an ultrasound will be done to determine if I can deliver naturally or not," said Maeve.

"Either way, you'll forget how much pain you're in from giving birth when you hold Violet and Arthur for the first time," said Haley.

"My mother told me the same thing," said Maeve.

At that moment Jack took a handful of his peas and threw them at JJ who was sitting across from him.


Two days later Spencer and Maeve were getting their picture taken with Zoey as they held up a sign saying that they rescued Zoey before Spencer and Maeve took an excited Zoey home.


A/N: Yes I did name Spencer's and Maeve's dog after my almost five-year-old Louisiana Leopard Dog Zoey who loves to give everyone kisses while my almost 24-year-old brother is her favorite human even though Zoey ends up sleeping with me at least two/three nights a week since she doesn't like being alone at night.

I used to have a charcoal lab named Cleatus Robert and he was such a sweetheart until having epilepsy caused him to be put to sleep at seven-years-old. Cleatus picked me to be his favorite since he always had me burp him after he drank water while we cuddled with each other every day until he was put to sleep.