A/N

Thank you, Hannah .grahamlecter, for your hard work and dedication. You've done a great job as Beta-reader on this and I am extremely grateful. Now that you're finished checking the rest of the chapters, I'm the one catching up!

If you care to leave comments, reviews, or constructive critiques, I'm gracious about it (I promise). I know not everyone will enjoy this story. And there are always better ways to say something, and there are parts of the story that could (and should) be cut out. I get that, but how will I know if the readers don't tell me?

I appreciate those who have given me so much praise, ideas, and constructive reviews. Scoofuls, Szzlebtch, ElleAtGW, knothead, DragonGecko18, LolaD, Bethany, Kelly, IDGAF, and several other guests. I'm sure I've forgotten someone (and am sorry for that).

Thank you, Scooful, I read your review and changed that "memo" and I think it works even better now.

To all, as always, please enjoy the story.

G-Girl

/

/

Chapter 56 - Four Out of Five Ain't Bad

July 3rd

After returning to the office from the airfield, the team members were finishing up their reports, looking forward to the long weekend at Rehoboth Beach.

Spencer planned to stop by the house, where he was going to meet up with Marsha, and they would drive out to Rehoboth together in Susan's Lincoln. Lost in thought, he didn't hear Emily call his name from her office door. Twice.

She tried a third time. "Reid!"

He jerked his head up to see her leaning against the railing and looked around. The room was nearly empty, but those who remained were staring at him.

"Sorry. I was…"

"Obviously working hard on that report. Can I talk to you in here for a minute?" She went back inside her office.

He jumped to his feet and followed her. "Yeah, sure." Hotch sat in the other chair by her desk, smiling. Spencer still wasn't used to seeing him smile. It was nice, but at the same time, it was… unusual. Spencer sat in the empty chair. "What's going on?"

"I was filing the certified copy of your marriage certificate in your personnel folder and this caught my eye, from your time as a trainee at the Academy. Gideon must have put this in here when he was still the Unit Chief." She handed him a sheet of paper. "This is your copy. Normally this is something you wouldn't see."

His eyes widened as he glanced at Emily, then at Hotch. If there was something wrong, neither would be smiling.

Spencer skimmed through it.

FBI Academy, Interoffice Memorandum, April 13, 2004

To: Assistant Director Darryl Mayfield

From: SSA Philip Spencer, Sr.

Cc: SSA Gideon; SSA Cooper; SSA Garrett; SSA Harris.

Re: New Agent Trainee Dr. Spencer Reid.

After much observation and consideration, I am requesting a policy exception for the physical requirements to be granted to Dr. Spencer Reid.

I'm impressed by this intelligent, inquisitive NAT. Only twenty-two, he already has three PhDs and two bachelor's degrees. According to the instructors, with every written test he was given, the trainee finished in record time. One instructor, Agent Bernardi, asked me to serve as a proctor to ensure there was no cheating. Bernardi gave the class an open-book test on topics covered solely in the book. He and I watched as the trainee finished that test, also in record time, without once opening the book. Afterward, when asked, Dr. Reid told Bernardi he had already read the fundamentals of threat analysis and was able, with perfect recall, to give page numbers to the answers, citing an eidetic memory. SSA Bernardi and I were satisfied there was no dishonesty on the trainee's part.

In a meeting with the other Unit Chiefs discussing the assignments of the new agents after graduation, SSA Harris expressed concerns about Dr. Reid's inability to pass the physical requirements of the job. SSA Gideon, who recruited the young man, stated the Bureau should not pass up the opportunity to use Reid's exceptional intellectual gifts where they would have the most impact; in the BAU. Gideon has agreed to mentor him in his unit. If he had not, I would have offered to mentor this impressive young man myself.

Therefore, it is my recommendation this trainee be given the necessary waivers, which was agreed upon by three of the other BAU Chiefs.

BAU-5 SAC, SSA Phillip W. Spencer, Sr.

Spencer's brows rose. "I remember Bernardi asking me about the book after the test, but I didn't know I was being watched. So… Susan's father was instrumental in my becoming an FBI agent?"

Aaron shook his head, still smiling. "No, you did that. But you needed the Assistant Director and at least four of the five Unit Chiefs in agreement, for you to join the BAU, especially at your age… without satisfying the physical requirements. Gideon persuaded Coop and Garrett, but since he recruited you, one of the other Unit Chiefs had to recommend the waivers. I'm sure I saw this memo years ago, but now, well it's taken on a whole new meaning."

Emily stood up. "Why don't you get going? You can show this to Susan. I'm sure she'd like to read it."

He blinked several times to keep his eyes from getting misty. "Thanks. This means a lot." He took a breath and nodded as he got up. "Okay. I'm heading out."

"Are you driving straight there? We're packing it in for the night." Emily closed the folder on her desk, setting her pen on top.

"No, I'm picking up Marsha and driving out with her." They walked out of her office and he went to his desk to pick up his jacket and book bag. "Goodnight, see you guys tomorrow."

"Drive safely. We'll be there before lunch, for sure."

/

Setting everything up at the beach house had been fairly easy. Most of it was routine. Andy had taken the afternoon off to drive out to Rehoboth Beach with Lizette, Susan, and Tiana.

Since Lizette and Andy had the master bedroom the year before, they took one of the queen bedrooms this year. Andy carried his and Lizette's suitcase with Susan's upstairs. Marsha, driving out with Spencer later, offered to keep Tiana with her in the living room.

After arriving that afternoon, Andy brought out the chaise lounges and folding chairs onto the deck from the storage sheds by the side of the house, and sprayed them off, while Susan and Lizette took Tiana with them and made a run to the nearby grocery store. Since the market had Wi-Fi, Susan received Spencer's text saying he and Marsha planned to be there around 11 since traffic was lighter after 8 pm. She replied to him and Marsha, knowing he would be driving.

Send Spencer up the back staircase. I'll let him in

She finished getting everything in the suitcase put away before dinner and went to bed early to get some sleep before he arrived.

Later that night, she got up to use the bathroom and checked the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was 11:10. As she walked back to the bed, she heard tapping on the Sliding glass door leading to the deck. Moving the curtain, she looked out and unlocked it. She let Spencer in with a gust of cool ocean breeze.

"Brrr. I should've put my robe on. H'lo Love." She gestured over her shoulder. "I thought you were going to come up the stairs off the kitchen."

He grinned, seeing her in a white cotton nightgown with buttons down the bodice and a ruffled hem that skimmed across her thighs. "Marsha sent me up the back stairs. Hmm, that's adorable." Susan shut the door and locked it, pulling the curtains closed. By the time she turned around, he had already taken off his shoes by the chair near the door and draped his jacket over the back. Standing beside her, he slid his arms around her and kissed her, talking fast. "I've missed you… you feel good. Which one's the bathroom? Gotta go… long drive… neither of us wanted to stop anywhere."

Susan pointed to the door across from the end of the bed. "Your robe is in there." She hung up his jacket on a hanger on the back of the closet door.

He came out shortly after in his robe with his clothes rolled up in his hands, his keys, phone, and wallet on top. Despite him trying to talk with his toothbrush in his mouth, she understood him. "Here, Love." Dropping his clothes in the hamper next to the dresser, she took the rest and set them on top of the dresser as he went back to finish brushing his teeth. Turning off the bathroom light, he came back out.

"Thank you, Sweetheart." He slid his arms around her and said, "I need sleep, but I need you more. Love you. Missed you."

Susan shuddered against him and led him to the bed. "It should still be nice and warm under the covers. I missed you too, Love."

He kissed her, moving his hands down over her abdomen as he sat on the bed, then bent over and kissed her belly, whispering to the baby. Looking up, he smiled, sliding his hands over her hips, and pulled her closer.

Being away from her for three days, he'd been tempted to satisfy his need for her quickly. Instead, followed her lead, taking their time and the fulfillment was even more intense. It was like going without food for three days, then sitting down for a gourmet meal, enjoying every morsel. Here, the two savored each other; each taste, each touch, and each sensation, exquisite…