Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. The occasional scenes from episodes of Criminal Minds in this story belong to the writers of Criminal Minds and CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Shout out to fishtrek, Astrahan, Guest (I wish that you would include a first name or pen name since you're not logged in), Fashionista7, Daisyangel, criminalmindsrocks, and southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 29.
This chapter starts on October 5th of 2007 and a character celebrates a birthday in this chapter. Teensy bit of M-rated material that doesn't force this story to become M-rated.
Spencer was about to pack up his belongings to head home to his wife, children, and sister when his aunt came over to him.
"I want to give you my early birthday present for you now," said Chief Strauss.
"Why not wait until Tuesday?" asked Spencer.
"This present is only good for tomorrow and Maeve has been spending the past week getting everything you guys need ready for tomorrow," said Chief Strauss as she handed her nephew an envelope.
Spencer opened up the envelope and smiled a bit when it was a receipt for a four-hour-long portrait session at the studio that did Violet's and Arthur's newborn photoshoot.
"I thought that Violet and Arthur could have professional portraits to celebrate them turning five-months-old yesterday while you, Maeve, Violet, Arthur, and Stephanie have your first professional portrait done together as a family for your birthday," said Chief Strauss.
Spencer smiled a bit at his aunt, "Thank you and when they're developed I'll make sure to give you a couple of copies."
"Now go enjoy your weekend off with your family because you and the rest of the team are back on rotation for cases on Monday," said Chief Strauss.
"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer before thinking about his Sunday tradition on going over to his Aunt Erin's house for dinner, "Maeve, the kids, and I will see you on Sunday evening."
"I'll see you then," said Chief Strauss.
A minute later Spencer was leaving the bullpen as he looked over at the wall of fallen agents that had Gideon's photo hung up there despite a rattlesnake killing him since he was one of the founders of the B.A.U.
The next morning Spencer who was wearing blue jeans, a green, and black plaid flannel shirt, and black converse sneakers had Violet who was wearing a striped sweater that consisted of the colors purple, fuchsia, orange, green, white, black, and a golden shade of yellow underneath a blue denim overall dress and purple converse sneakers was sitting on his lap. Maeve who was wearing jeans, a striped sweater that matched Violet's sweater, and black converse sneakers had Arthur who was wearing a green and black plaid flannel shirt underneath blue denim overalls and black converse sneakers sitting on her lap.
The photographer Lenny looked at the family of four who was sitting on a red blanket underneath a tree that was already sporting red, orange, and yellow leaves already on the ground around the family of four as he held up a duck, "Violet and Arthur, look at the duck," said Lenny as he made some quacking noises.
A few seconds later Violet and Arthur started laughing while Spencer and Maeve grinned as their five-month-old twins laughed causing Lenny to quickly take some pictures.
After taking a few photos of the family of four, Lenny then had Stephanie who was wearing a knee-length purple flannel dress that had a skinny leather belt around the waist with brown knee-high boots that had an inch tall heel sit next to her brother and put her head on his shoulder before taking a few pictures after getting Violet and Arthur to laugh again.
10-minutes later the Reid family was back in the portrait studio where Violet's and Arthur's five-month-old pictures were taken of each twin on their own or together while wearing various outfits, pictures of Spencer with one of the twins or both twins, pictures of Maeve with one of the twins or both twins, pictures of Spencer and Stephanie together, pictures of Spencer and Maeve together, pictures of Stephanie with her niece and nephew were taken, and another family portrait involving Spencer wearing a new suit that Maeve insisted that he get fitted for with a brand new sweater vest, Arthur wearing a suit and sweater vest like his father, Maeve, Violet, and Stephanie wearing violet-colored dresses for a formal portrait with a dark gray backdrop.
Later on that afternoon, Spencer and Maeve had just laid Violet and Arthur down in their cribs for their afternoon nap collapsed on their beds.
Spencer thought about the 20 pictures that were taken of him in various poses or combinations with his wife, kids, and sister, "Changing into ten different flannel shirts or dress shirts and into a pair of dress pants for a total of 20 different pictures in the time span of four hours was exhausting."
Maeve nodded, "Changing into five different shirts, a dress, and putting my hair into ponytails or French braids when I didn't leave my hair down for a photo was exhausting too," said Maeve before smiling a bit, "At least Violet and Arthur didn't drool or spit up breast milk on their clothes for the pictures."
Spencer thought about the 60 pictures that were taken of Violet and Arthur that had the twins be along, together, with one of their parents, or their aunt, "While they didn't cry when we were changing them into 20 different outfits for the 60 photos that were taken of them."
"Despite how exhausting this morning was, our relatives here in D.C., Las Vegas and all of our friends and coworkers will appreciate our Christmas card that consists of some of the portraits we pick out for the collage card we're going to be sending out this year," said Maeve before smiling at her husband, "Would you mind doing portrait sessions like we just did every year around Violet's and Arthur's first birthday and your birthday every year?" asked Maeve.
"Even though there will be additional portrait sessions scheduled when we have more kids?" asked Spencer.
"Yes," said Maeve just as a knock sounded on their open bedroom door causing Spencer and Maeve to see Stephanie, "Yes, Stephanie?" asked Maeve.
Stephanie who was wearing a pair of jeans, a flannel shirt that she had rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of western boots that she used her allowance to buy in Las Vegas two months ago looked at her brother, "Before I focus on my math homework so I can enjoy my trip to Williamsburg, Virginia Holly and her family tomorrow, can we please go horseback riding at Rock Creek Park?" asked Stephanie.
Spencer smiled as he thought about the riding lessons his sister started after he took Violet and Arthur to Las Vegas for the first time while he introduced his sister to his mom, Aunt Ethel, and Uncle Gordon who all welcomed Stephanie with open arms despite being furious that William Reid had started another family while being glad that Tanya ran off with Stephanie as soon as she found out about William abandoning his wife and son, "Sure."
Stephanie looked at her sister-in-law, "Would you like to join Spencer and me?" asked Stephanie.
Maeve shook her head, "I'm just going to stay home and help my mom with laundry, so why don't you two go off and do some sibling bonding."
"Why don't you go grab your riding equipment while I change," said Spencer.
"OK, Spencer," said Stephanie.
An hour later Spencer and Stephanie were slowly riding their rented horses through a trail that was part of Rock Creek Park when Stephanie looked at her brother, "Even though I deeply miss my mom, I'm glad that I got to meet you," said Stephanie.
Spencer nodded, "Me too."
Stephanie thought about the worries she had for the past few months, "If dad ever found out that you have custody of me and that my mom died, do you think he'll try to take me away from you?" asked Stephanie.
"If he tries to take you away from me, I'll make sure to drag him to court where I'll tell the family court judge about him leaving me with my schizophrenic mother when I was ten-years-old since he left me in a dangerous situation that could have killed me if I wasn't able to disarm my mom when she had a knife or scissors at me when she had her violent episodes."
"I've been learning about the law in school, and our father should have ended up in prison for child endangerment and lose his license to practice law while your Aunt Ethel and Uncle Gordon should have gotten custody of you while your mother should have been institutionalized," said Stephanie.
"I know, but what matters is that I survived and not become an unsub that my coworkers might have ended up having to catch while I was able to fall in love and start a family of my own before finding out that I have a sister I never knew about," said Spencer.
The next evening the Reid and Strauss families had just finished eating the roast that Chief Strauss and Maeve had prepared together when Chief Strauss got up from the table and looked at her husband, kids, nephew, niece-in-law, and Stephanie who she was treating as a niece, "Stay seated while I go grab dessert," said Chief Strauss as she headed off to the kitchen.
A minute later Chief Strauss entered the dining room with a chocolate cake that had two candles that spelled 26, "Even though your birthday isn't happening for another two days, I thought that we would celebrate your birthday this evening."
Spencer smiled, "Thank you."
As soon as the two candles were lit, Spencer ended up blushing as his wife, sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins started to sing "Happy Birthday" to him while Violet and Arthur who were in the baby swings that their great-aunt bought to sit them in when they're over were babbling along.
After everyone was done singing, Spencer closed his eyes as he blew out the two candles.
After everyone was done eating cake, Spencer ended up opening his birthday presents from his Aunt Erin, Uncle Richard, and his 16-year-old cousin Sarah, 14-year-old cousin Sarah, and 11-year-old cousin Tyler.
After Violet, Arthur, and Stephanie were in their respective nursery or bedroom for the night, Spencer had just gotten out of the shower and entered the master bedroom with a towel around his waist to find Maeve wearing a purple silk teddy he had ever seen before.
"I know that you're birthday isn't for another two days, but I thought that you should open one of your gifts two days early," said Maeve as she walked over to her husband and flicked the towel away, "You won't be needing that."
A minute later Spencer and Maeve were having a heated make-out session in their bed.
The next morning Chief Strauss entered the bullpen to find her nephew quietly talking to his teammates as she entered Hotch's office and looked at Hotch who was watching his teammates from his office.
"How is everyone?" asked Chief Strauss gently.
Hotch sighed as he thought about how Strauss was worried about the entire team who were still in shock over Gideon's unexpected death, "We're adapting and you know that everyone including your nephew and me passed our grief assessments."
"Despite the moments Gideon had, his years of service were appreciated. We're looking for his replacement," said Chief Strauss.
Hotch looked at his youngest agent's aunt in shock, "That was fast."
"Well, the bureau doesn't like to leave posts empty for long. I'd like your input," said Chief Strauss.
Hotch inwardly smiled a bit as he thought about Spencer being the reason why Strauss suddenly went soft over the past couple of weeks, "I appreciate that."
JJ entered the room, "Sir, we're gathering."
"Thank you," said Hotch.
Chief Strauss glanced over where her nephew was sitting, "Please keep an eye on him, Aaron."
"I will," said Hotch.
Chief Strauss left the room causing JJ to look at him, "Is everything OK?" asked JJ.
Hotch just ignored JJ as he headed to the conference room.
A minute later JJ was standing in front of the screen as she pulled up some pictures, "OK, we have four victims in Oregon. Two males, two females.
Hotch took the remote from JJ, "I got this," said Hotch as he looked at his teammates, "Uh, sure. I know that we're all still reeling over Jason's death. And, uh... You know I've known Jason for many years, and I can tell you that I'll always be available to talk if you need to vent. What matters is we're here, and we're gonna continue," said Hotch before he continued briefing.
A half-hour later at Mendel University, Maeve looked at the last picture that was taken of her husband, Violet, Arthur, and herself before the family portrait that was taken two days ago.
Mary looked at her daughter, "You OK?" asked Mary.
Maeve sighed, "I wonder how Spencer is doing today. He and his teammates are supposed to start working on cases again today since his Aunt had him spend a few days on."
"Even though it's been over two weeks since Jason died, are you worried that he'll become depressed again like he was after his abduction and torture eight months ago?" asked Mary.
"A little bit, but thankfully Spencer hasn't been shutting us out while he's been talking to a Bureau therapist too," said Maeve just as her phone rang causing her to see that it was her husband as she answered her phone, "How's it going, Spencer?" asked Maeve.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but I won't be home for my birthday tomorrow. Four bodies were discovered in Portland, Oregon, so we've been called in to help," said Spencer.
"It's OK, Spencer. With you and your teammates being cleared for field duty again, we both knew that there was going to be a 50% chance that you would most likely have to spend your birthday out of town since you've already taken a lot of time off when it came to you getting injured, Violet and Arthur being born this year, finding out about you having a half-sister causing you to extend your paternity leave so you can help your sister out and bond with her, and Jason dying two weeks ago," said Maeve.
Mary grabbed her daughter's cell phone and put on speaker, "Besides, Maeve and I had decided to make your birthday cake from scratch while you can open up your birthday presents from Maeve, Joe, Stephanie, Violet, Arthur, and me when you get home."
"So just focus on coming home safe so we can belatedly celebrate your birthday, Spencer," said Maeve.
"I have to go. I love you and please kiss Violet and Arthur for me while I'll kiss you when I get home," said Spencer.
"I love you too and I promise," said Maeve before hanging up.
Over ten hours later it was 5 P.M. in Portland and a yawning Spencer was fixing himself a mug of coffee when Agent Calvert approached him.
"Tired already?" asked Agent Calvert.
"Had to wake up three times last night to deal with feedings and diaper changes," said Spencer.
"Newborn baby at home?" asked Agent Calvert.
Spencer shook his head as he started to doctor up his coffee, "My wife and I welcomed fraternal twins on May 4th of 2007," said Spencer as he pulled out his wallet and showed Agent Calvert the most recent picture of Violet and Arthur he placed in his wallet.
Agent Calvert noticed that Spencer's son looked just like his father while his daughter had her father's eyes and curls, "They're cute. Did you name them Luke and Leia?" asked Agent Calvert.
Spencer grinned a bit, "I wish, but aside from agreeing that the twins will be dressed as Luke and Princess Leia for Halloween in a few weeks, my wife and I settled on Violet Guinevere Reid and Arthur Nathaniel Reid since we wanted names that dealt with the Arthurian legend since my mom use to be a 15th-century literature professor and lectured about the knights of the round table and Sherlock Holmes because of my wife and I both loving books by Arthur Conan Doyle."
"I don't think that Nathaniel deals with Sherlock Holmes," said Agent Calvert.
"Aside from naming my son after a 14-year-old boy who I got to know during a case before he committed suicide last November, there's also the author Nathaniel Hawthorne and London doctor Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward who lived in a dock house in Wellclose Square was like a Sherlock Holmes sort of place while Sherlock Holmes and John Watson would have admired Dr. Bagshaw's scientific mind," said Spencer before walking away so he could focus on the case.
The next morning Spencer woke up at 4 A.M. Pacific time to his cell phone ringing causing him to groggily answer his phone, "Hello?" mumbled Spencer groggily.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPENCER!" chorused Maeve, Stephanie, Mary, and Joe in unison.
Spencer quickly woke up as he realized that it was October 9th, "Thank you, and I'm sorry that I ended up being out of town for my first birthday as a father."
"I told you yesterday that I'm not mad about you having to be out of town for your birthday yesterday," said Maeve.
"Thank you," said Spencer.
"Technically it's your second birthday as a father because I told you that you're becoming a father on your 25th birthday a year ago today," said Maeve.
Spencer chuckled, "But this is my first birthday with Violet and Arthur here to celebrate my birthday with me."
"Dada! Dada! Dada!" chorused Violet and Arthur in unison.
Spencer's eyes shot open, "Did I just hear Violet and Arthur say Dada?" asked Spencer.
Maeve who had tears streaming down her face in Washington D.C. spoke up, "For the first time too."
Spencer leaked a few tears, "Our children saying 'Dada' for the first time on my birthday will help me get through being on the other side of the country on my birthday."
"When you get home, we'll make sure to celebrate your birthday, Spencer," said Maeve before sighing, "We should let you get back to sleep."
"Even though it's 4 A.M. in Portland, Oregon right now, I just wanted to call you before I leave for school," said Stephanie.
"It's OK that you guys woke up me," said Spencer before yawning, "I love you guys."
"Your sister, Violet, and I all love you too," said Maeve.
"Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada," said Violet.
"Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada," said Arthur.
"Daddy loves you two so much," said Spencer before hanging up.
A couple of hours later Spencer was accepting birthday hugs or pats on the shoulder from his teammates when Hotch looked at him.
"How did Maeve handle you being here for your birthday?" asked Hotch.
"She's not mad at all. After all the time I took off this year and us being an agent down; we both had a feeling that I wouldn't be home for my birthday," said Spencer before his lips twitched a bit, "I'm at least grateful that Violet and Arthur don't understand what birthdays are so far while talking to them on the phone when Maeve called me at 4 A.M. Pacific time to wish me a happy birthday helped Violet and Arthur give me the best birthday present ever."
"What did Violet and Arthur give you?" asked Morgan.
Spencer grinned, "They called me Dada on the phone."
Hotch who was asked to be Arthur's godfather after Gideon's funeral smiled a bit as he thought about being grateful that his godchildren were able to make their father smile on his birthday, "Hearing Jack call me 'Dada' was one of the best moments in my life."
"If only Violet would stop growing so quickly because I'm sad about her and her twin brother already being five-months-old," said Spencer.
Emily thought about Spencer mentioning the four-hour-long session he had at a portrait session over the weekend the day before, "When will we get to see Violet's and Arthur's five-month-old portraits?" asked Emily.
Spencer smiled a bit, "Maeve and I should be getting the pictures by next week Friday."
"All of us including Garcia will be excited to see the pictures," said JJ.
Hotch looked at his youngest agent, "Since it's your birthday, you can decide on if we'll eat breakfast."
Spencer smiled a bit, "Let's go to IHOP."
A half-hour later Spencer, Hotch, Emily, JJ, and Morgan were at IHOP for breakfast.
An hour later Spencer was getting himself some coffee when Agent Calvert joined him.
"What's with the sad face?" asked Agent Calvert.
"Today is my 26th birthday and I have to spend my first birthday as a father away from my wife and kids even though my birthday was celebrated a bit on Sunday," said Spencer.
"Being away from your family on your birthday does suck, but happy birthday," said Agent Calvert.
"Thank you. At least Violet and Arthur too young to know that it's my birthday, but they made my day when my wife called me at 4 A.M. to wish me a happy birthday," said Spencer.
"What did they do?" asked Agent Calvert.
Spencer beamed, "They said 'Dada' on the phone."
"They're five-months-old," pointed out Agent Calvert.
"My mom is a genius, I'm a genius, while my wife is a science genius, so there ended up being a high probability that my children will end up becoming a genius like me," said Spencer just as his phone rang causing him to smile when he realized that his mother was calling him, "Speaking of my mother, she lives in my hometown Las Vegas, Nevada and is calling me right now. I might as well spend a few minutes talking to her." said Spencer as he accepted the call only for his mother to speak before he could say anything.
"Happy birthday, baby," said Diana.
"Thank you, mom," said Spencer.
"Are you in D.C. right now or are you on an adventure in another state?" asked Diana.
"I'm in Portland, Oregon since my teammates and I have been cleared to travel for cases again," said Spencer.
"Then I'll let you get back to work so you can try and make it home before your birthday is over," said Diana.
"I'll call you when I'm back home," said Spencer.
"I love you, baby," said Diana.
"I love you too, mom," said Spencer before hanging up and smiled a bit when he saw text messages from his Aunt Erin, Aunt Ethel, and Uncle Gordon all wishing him a happy birthday.
A short while later, Hotch answered the land-line and put the phone on speaker for Spencer and JJ, "Hotchner," answered Hotch.
Morgan who was at the newest crime scene with Emily spoke up through the speaker, "Hey, that landlady Prentiss spoke to was right to be worried. We just found Patrick Walker dead in a river. And it was exactly what you predicted."
"He found a new place to dump the body," said Emily.
Hotch got up and headed to the board that contained the crime scene photos, "Fire, hanging, asphyxiation. Now we've got a drowning."
Spencer instantly realized why the unsub was targeting certain victims, "I think it's someone who's afraid of drowning."
Hotch looked at his youngest agent, "What do you mean?" asked Hotch.
"Yeah, it hit me when Morgan freaked out when we were stuck in the elevator," said Spencer.
An amused Emily looked at Morgan as she spoke, "You got stuck in an elevator?" asked Emily.
"I freaked?" asked Morgan.
"Well, that's not important," said Spencer before becoming serious, "Here's what is. If you look at the MO's of the victims, what do they all have in common? They could all be classified as anxiety disorders. It's right out of the "Diagnostics and Statistical Manual". It lists five subtypes of phobias," said Spencer.
Hotch thought about Spencer admitting that he developed a fear of needles and a fear of being buried alive after the Hankel case since he was injected with a highly addictive drug against his will while Hankel would have buried him alive if Spencer didn't trick Hankel and grab that revolver and kill Hankel, "Most of these are environmental and situational."
"Exactly," said Spencer.
"So it's all about fear. These people are being killed by their fears," said Hotch as he looked at the crime scene photos.
Two hours later Spencer and Emily were walking around the neighborhood that Patrick Walker frequented at when Emily looked at Spencer who had been managing Gideon's death OK as she thought about how uptight Hotch had been since Milwaukee, "So Hotch is even more intense now that Gideon's dead," said Emily.
Spencer thought about knowing the truth that Hotch left Haley because of finding out that Haley continued to cheat on him and how he and Maeve promised Hotch that they won't tell anyone as he spoke softly, "Yeah, I've noticed."
"Do you think that's going to change?" asked Emily.
Spencer bit his tongue as he thought about Hotch telling him that he'll eventually be telling the rest of the team, "I certainly think we'll find out."
Emily thought about seeing how broken Spencer looked when he came into the conference room with Hotch and Chief Strauss to tell her and the rest of the team that Gideon died from a rattlesnake bite, "What about you? You OK?"
"Oh, I'm-I'm great," said Spencer.
"That's good, but do you want to talk it with someone else who isn't your wife, sister, Hotch, or your Aunt Erin?" asked Emily.
"What's there to talk about, really?" asked Spencer.
"Gideon," said Emily.
"Even though a timber rattlesnake killed him before he could run away, he wrote me a letter the same way my dad did when he abandoned my mom. Leaving me by death is a much different situation than packing up a suitcase before leaving to never be heard from again," said Spencer.
"He addressed it to you," said Emily.
"Yeah, yeah. You know, Gideon stood toe to toe with some of the sickest people on this planet. I think that took a lot of courage until a timber rattlesnake killed him, right?" asked Spencer.
"Yeah," said Emily.
Spencer removed the letter from his pocket, "So, why'd he write this? It's addressed to me, but I'm-I'm not- I'm not the only one that he was about to leave."
"But why is it addressed to you?" asked Emily.
Spencer stayed silent.
"I think you need to read that letter again," said Emily.
"I have an eidetic memory, Emily," said Spencer.
"Ah, yeah, I know, and an I. Q. Of 187," said Emily before deciding to move to a sensitive topic since she knew that Spencer never tracked his father down to tell him that he is now a grandfather to twins or to tell him that he has custody of his half-sister and nobody blamed Spencer for not deciding to track down his father, "but what do you remember about your father?" asked Emily.
Spencer gave Emily a confused look, "What do you mean?" asked Spencer.
"Well, he gave you 10 years before he left, and yet you've erased all those memories. And-it's too painful to the point that you refuse to track down your father and tell him that he has grandchildren. I don't blame you. But then Gideon dies unexpectedly. I think you need to read that letter again, and ask yourself why, of all the people he was about to walk away from, did he only explain himself to one person before he unexpectedly died," said Emily before pointing at Spencer, "You."
Later on that night, Spencer entered the master bedroom to find Maeve wearing lingerie that she never wore before while she held a cupcake that had a lit candle in it, "Hi."
"Since there are 30 minutes left of your birthday, I thought that we could celebrate your birthday since you told me that you were going to sleep on the jet while Violet and Arthur were fed and put in clean diapers 30 minutes ago," said Maeve.
Spencer smiled as he locked the bedroom door and made his way over to his wife who sang happy birthday to him before he blew out the candle and pulled his wife into a passionate kiss.
Meanwhile in Las Vegas, Nevada, William Reid was in his living room with a bottle of 26-year-old malt scotch as he looked at the last picture he had from his son's 10th birthday as he thought about his son happily living his life by working a high profile job for the F.B.I., having a beautiful and intelligent wife, and boy/girl twins who are now five-months-old and were most likely taking after their father as he thought about how much of a coward he is about not having the heart to call his son, "Happy birthday, Spencer."
A/N: Two more chapters until Rossi finally appears!
I had Spencer wear jeans for the picture since he knew to obey his wife and wear whatever she wanted him to wear for the family portrait session that his Aunt Erin paid for.
When I was a baby, I know that I was taken to portrait studio like once a month or every few months since I found professional portraits that involved a one or two-months-old in a Christmas dress made of red velvet with green ribbon trim, when I was four-months-old (I found a professional portrait of my dad and a four-month me and I had a frown on my face), and after I finally had to no longer wear casts after my clubbed feet were surgically straightened. When I became a big sister, my mom had professional portraits done my brothers and me too.