A/N

Thank you, Hannah .grahamlecter, for your hard work and dedication. I am extremely grateful.

I appreciate those who have given me ideas, praise, and constructive reviews. And those who are following this story (I'd love to get feedback from all of you).

To all, as always, please enjoy the story.

G-Girl

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Chapter 62 - Birthdays & Thingamabobs

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Watching the movie, Susan laid on her side on the sofa as Spencer absently stroked her hair and arm. His phone chirped in his pocket, so he dug it out and read the text. "Hmm. Garcia's here." He lifted his chin. "Betty? Disarm the alarm, unlock the deadbolt and ask Penelope to come in?" He set his phone on the arm of the chaise.

She opened the door to find Spencer on the sofa, watching a movie. "Thanks, Betty. That's so handy. You're watching A Star Is Born? Where's Susan?"

From the other side of the sofa, Susan lifted her hand. "I'm here."

"Oh, God, please tell me I didn't walk in on anything X-rated!"

"Relax, we're watching the movie, Penelope. I promise."

She walked around the sofa, seeing Susan laying on her side next to Spencer's leg, with her head on a sofa pillow. She sat down on the end. "Well, don't you look cozy…"

While the movie played, they discussed plans for celebrating Spencer's birthday, Andre's gallery opening, and a combination Halloween and birthday party for Susan.

There was a scene with the two main characters naked in a bubble bath. Penelope put her hand up, blocking the screen. "I can't watch this part with you two sitting here. Could you please turn it off?"

Susan asked, "Betty? Turn the TV off? The screen went dark. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you. So, tell me, is Lover Boy here taking you to the Edgar and Moe Muppet Theatre or the reenactment of the someteenth or other century thingamabobs?"

Susan laughed, looking up at Spencer. "The what?"

"The Edgar Allan Poe Puppet Theatre and the thingamabobs she's referring to was the 19th Century Phantasmagoria. And it was ten years ago. I was so excited about it but had to go alone since no one else wanted to go with me. If you and I had been together then, we would have gone and had a great time."

"Hmm, ten years ago? No wonder I didn't hear about it. I was up at MIT. Ooh, hey, there's a company in Alexandria, that runs escape rooms. Three you might like. Sherlock Holmes, Moriarity's Office, and Poe-Ranormal Activity. Poe-Ranormal. Cool, right? Maybe we could do that? Gathering clues, solving mysteries, finding the bad guy? But if the puppet theater or the Phantasmagoria ever come back, we have to go!"

"You got it. Escape Rooms? Yeah... that's a good idea." Holding her hand, he kissed her wrist. "Sounds fun. What would you think, Garcia? We could do something like that."

She wrinkled up her nose. "Your idea of fun... is to do what we do every day? Wait, I get it. Working together on a case with… no bodies, no icky yuck, and no unsubs to catch? Sign me up… Sherlock."

Susan added, "We did two of those as team-building activities for the staff at the center. A murder mystery theme the first time and the second we were locked in a room and had to solve puzzles to defuse a bomb; both were fun."

Spencer nodded. "I could talk to Emily—"

His cell phone pinged at the same time Penelope's phone chirped in her purse. Shaking his head, he picked his up and checked it. "Speaking of Emily… we have a case… in Seattle. I'm going to change and grab my go-bag." He leaned over, kissed Susan, and kissed her belly, then gave her a hand to sit up. "We'll finish planning when I get home."

Penelope stood up as Spencer headed to the stairs. "I'll meet you there." She gave Susan a hug and patted her belly. "If either of you need me for anything while he's gone, let me know?" Picking up her purse from the table by the door, she waved and left.

Spencer came down minutes later, dressed in pants and shirt, his tie loose around his neck as he pulled on his suit jacket. "So much for a day off." He sighed and kissed her again. "Gotta go. Love you." He grabbed his bag and went out the door.

"Come home safe, Love." Susan called to him and closed the door, asking Betty to lock up and set the alarm.

Two weeks later, with the case solved, Spencer came home, happy to have the rest of the week off. The evening before heading to New York, they went out to dinner to celebrate their birthdays and afterward, sitting on the sofa, they opened their gifts to each other.

Susan insisted Spencer unwrap his first. A large frame, with two side-by-side matted prints of her, obviously taken before she started showing. In it, she wore her pink ballet outfit, complete with pancake skirt and a serious expression on her face, with her hair done up in a French braid. The photos were taken at an indoor shooting range. The first photo was shot from the side, showing her standing en pointe, wearing noise-canceling earmuffs and safety glasses; pointing her Glock at the target. The second, a close-up. She was smiling, standing next to the paper target, still hanging on the clip. Bullet holes, in the shape of a heart on the chest area, two bullet hole eyes, and four bullet holes in the shape of a smile. He couldn't help but laugh.

"I love it. Thank you, Sweetheart, I'll hang this in my office. Tell me you didn't pull the trigger while you were up on your toes?"

"No, I only stood like that for Andre to get the picture. I know if I had, the recoil would have knocked me on my butt. It took me two targets to get the bullet holes of the mouth right. I wish you could have seen the looks on the faces of the guys there. They laughed when Andre and I walked in, but not when we left."

"Hmm. I can imagine." He pulled her close and kissed her.

"I'm glad you like it. Marsha kept it at her house for me and brought it over last week."

Spencer handed her a small, square, wrapped box. She opened it slowly and gasped. It was a Rose Gold necklace, with a heart-shaped pendant; charms of their birthstones, Pink Tourmaline, and a blue Tourmaline joined inside the pendant; a lavender Tanzanite charm hung from the point of the heart, representing the baby.

"Honey. It's beautiful. I love it. Thank you." She threw her arms over his shoulders and gave him sweet kisses. Wanting to see her wear it, he had her turn around and hold her hair up so he could put it on.

"The chain is gorgeous… and intricate." She rubbed her fingers over it. "It won't catch in my hair and it's the perfect length."

"And, I can add more gemstones, as we add to our family. The chain style is called wheat, and this may sound weird, but it made me think of you when the sales associate told me." He closed the clasp and kissed her neck, holding her against him. "I'm glad you like it."

"It's not weird at all, Love." Susan shuddered. "Wheat is used to make croissants. You know how fond I am of croissants…" She turned her head and kissed him, holding his cheek in her hand. "… and I'm extremely fond of you."

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A/N

To read about the case in Seattle, go to Side Stories and read The Sea-Tac Strangler. And for even more, continue on and read The Gallery Show, and Spencer's Home Office.

Coming up: Chapter 63 - Lullabies and Guardians

Enjoy!

G-Girl