Danielle walked into the bedroom to find Spencer fiddling with the items in his satchel. She smiled at him endearingly. This was the third time in the past hour she saw him checking over the contents inside.

"Are you hoping to find something different in there?" she said playfully teasing him.

He looked up at her with a furrowed brow. She could see the nervous energy pouring out of him.

"I couldn't remember if I put my logbook in there," he said.

"Baby, come here."

Spencer seemed a little confused by her request, but he placed his bag down and walked over to her. As he got closer, she lifted her arms to pull him against her.

"You have an eidetic memory. You know it's in there. Talk to me. What can I do to help?" she said as her fingers toyed with the bit of hair that reached his neck.

"What if something happens and I'm not here? Maybe I shouldn't do this. Maybe I should call Emily and just tell her I need more time or … or maybe I should just resign," he rambled.

Danielle placed her hands on his cheeks, effectively stopping his word vomit.

"Everything is going to be ok. I am trained in defending myself and it's going to take the act of God before anyone touches our little girl," she said.

"I … I didn't mean … I wasn't saying you couldn't defend yourself," he stuttered.

Danielle giggled softly.

"I know you didn't. Look, we'll stay in contact throughout the day. Emily already told you that until you feel ready you aren't expected to go away on cases. That you can work remotely from the office. You're only 20 minutes away if we need you," she said.

"How does J.J. do this? How does she just leave Henry and Michael?" he said getting worked up again.

Danielle giggled again.

"Babe, you aren't leaving us. You are just going to work for a little while. We'll be waiting for you when you get home," she said.

He didn't seem convinced.

"You, come," she said grabbing his hand and dragging him to the bed. "Sit."

He obeyed and flopped onto the edge of the bed. Danielle climbed onto the bed, slipping behind him. Her knees resting on either side of his hips.

"Close your eyes and take deep breaths," she said softly as her hands ran through his messy hair.

He sighed as she worked on releasing his tension. He felt her hands tugging his shirt up, so he allowed her to slip it off. She tossed it to the side before returning her hands to his shoulders. He let out an audible groan at the knot she found between his shoulder blades and neck.

"Relax," she soothed. "Deep, slow breaths."

He allowed himself to give in to her demands. His mind clearing as she continued to work her fingers through his hair and along his skin. After a few minutes, he felt her warm lips press gently to his neck. A smile crept across his face.

"Are you trying to distract me?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Hadn't planned on it, but I just can't seem to keep my lips off of you," she purred as she moved along his shoulder, leaving wet halos.

Spencer turned around and pulled Danielle to him, their lips crashing together feverishly.

"We haven't … done this … in a long … time," Danielle said in between kisses. "I've wanted … missed it … so badly."

"Me too," he grumbled as his mouth trailed along her jawline and down her neck.

He pulled her shirt over her head before pushing her down into the mattress. She felt the weight of his body on top of her as their tongues caressed one another. Spencer broke the kiss as he slid down to focus his attention on her breasts.

Danielle closed her eyes and sighed as he suckled at her skin. She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him against her as he pleasured her. He started moving down her body, nipping at the skin as he went. Just as he reached the hem of her jeans, Danielle stopped him.

"Wait, Spence, hold on," she said propping herself up.

He looked up at her with curious eyes.

"Lock the door," she said.

"Oh, that's a good idea," he said hopping off the bed and trotting to the bedroom door.

Danielle used that time to remove her clothing. When Spencer turned and saw her state, he began quickly fumbling out of his own clothes. He climbed back onto the bed, hovering over her admiring her flawless body.

"You are so beautiful," he said in awe.

Danielle felt herself blush. Even after all this time, he could always take her breath away with just his words. The mood shifted from desperation to admiration. They took their time kissing and caressing each other. Enjoying the feel of one another's touch.

Finally, he pushed his way into her. They both sighed at becoming one. Spencer placed a few gentle kisses to her lips as they stared lovingly at one another. Then he began to move and before long they were both letting out grunts and groans of pleasure. They clung to each other, both sweaty and gasping for air. Until they both reached the peak and crashed over the edge, shaking and cursing as they rode the wave.

When they finally regained steady breathing, Spencer pulled the comforter over their bodies. He pulled Danielle against his chest as he snuggled into her from behind, wrapping her in his arms.

"It's safe to say you effectively calmed my nerves," he whispered before laying a chaste kiss on her shoulder.

"Any time, love, any time," she said with a smile.

"Seriously though, thank you. I don't know what I would do without you," he said. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"You do the same for me. Its why we're perfect together," she said kissing his hand. "Now get some rest. I will not be able to perform the same calming act come 6am."

Spencer chuckled.

"Good night," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back.

The two soon falling into a deep restful sleep.

(xxxxx)

Spencer walked into the office, nervous as the first day he had started there. Only this time he was worried for completely different reasons. If you had told him back then that he would be dating the most beautiful woman in the world and a parent to an amazing little girl, he would've called you a liar.

He still remembered feeling left out when everyone would discuss their post-dating stories. The jealousy he felt when J.J. put him in the friendzone and moved on to Will. The sadness he felt when he realized Lila was never going to call him again and he had only been a distraction to the stress in her life. How lost he felt when he had finally found the woman he thought he'd be with forever and she was killed right before his eyes.

All of these things seemed silly now that he finally had Danielle in his life. He now understood why Derek quit the BAU and Hotch walked away with Jack. Part of him was ready to turn in his pink slip immediately. But another part of him knew he had a unique set of skills that saved lives and he couldn't just turn his back on that. At least for now.

His thoughts were interrupted by a squeal and a flash of sparkles crashing into him.

"Boy wonder! You're back!"

Spencer laughed awkwardly as he wrapped his arms around Penelope.

"We've missed you! It isn't the same without you," she said squeezing him tightly.

"I've missed you too. Where is everyone?" he asked as his eyes scanned the bull pen.

"Meeting in the conference room. It's that time of year for "Morgan-and-Garcia's-fault-it's-mandated" sexual harassment seminar. At least that's what Emily calls it," she grinned as she finally let go of him.

"What a good day to come back," he chuckled as they walked toward the conference room together.

"So, how hard was it leaving? How do you think my girls will take it?" she asked.

"Dani's a rock, of course. She wasn't nearly as emotional as I was," he said as Penelope nodded her understanding. "I'm not sure what Hope thinks. We talked to her about it a lot so she wouldn't worry, but who knows what she'll think. I guess I'll find out when I get home."

"Listen to you," Penelope said beaming. "Home. Ugh, it does my heart so good to hear you say things like that."

"It does my heart good to be able to say things like that," he said as they entered the conference room to cheers and welcome backs.

(xxxxx)

J.J. was sitting at her desk looking through file after file of requests when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in," she called out.

It slowly opened and Spencer popped his head in.

"Hey stranger," she said smiling. "It's so good to see your face around the office again."

"It's nice to be back," he said walking over to her desk and sitting down in front of her. "At least, a little bit."

She made a face of knowing.

"Yeah, it's not the easiest, is it?"

"No, I really don't know how you guys do it. I've been gone barely a full day and I'm a wreck," he said making her laugh.

"I don't want to say it gets easier, but I guess in some ways it becomes less torturous. That being said, I think it's harder on you given the situation. I don't know how I would feel if Henry or Michael had experienced something so traumatic," she said sympathetically.

"I guess the hard part is I don't feel closure about it. I keep waiting for someone to come and take them away again. I don't think …" he stuttered as he swallowed the emotional lump in his throat. "I don't think I'd survive that."

J.J. reached across the table and held out her hands. Spencer gave her a shaky smile as he placed his hands in hers.

"You have been through some of the worst things a person can ever survive. I don't think I've ever told you how incredibly brave and strong you are," she said as he ducked his head and his lip quivered. "I think this time will be different. I think you finally got the family you always dreamed of and this time it won't go away."

Spencer sniffled and shook his head as he fought back the tears.

"I hope so," he said gruffly. "That's kind of why I came to see you."

J.J. tilted her head slightly in question.

"I want to propose to Dani, but I don't know what to do. Can you help me?"

(xxxxx)

A/N: you guys I'm sorry for being such a slacker with my stories! I'm trying really hard to finish this one and Pretty Dark! I promise they will be finished – have patience with me – and spoil me with comments :) xoxo