"Morgan and Savana are that way, we should go say hi," Spencer's voice was in her ear, and Anthea willingly turned away from her conversation with Garcia and stood up, allowing him to tug her through the dwindling guests towards an incredibly good-looking couple. The woman held a swaddling of blankets in her arms, and Anthea realized that must be the baby. However, her nerves had receded by this point, and she was almost looking forward to finally meeting her hosts. Her anxiety seemed to have transferred to Spencer.
Anthea giggled, causing him to look at her in slight confusion. She pulled him to a stop and placed her hands on his shoulders, pulling herself up to his level. "Nervous?" she asked the same question he had repeatedly asked her earlier that day.
Spencer's lips twitched. "On a scale of one to ten?" Anthea nodded. He rested his forehead against hers. "Four."
"Is it the people?"
"A little."
"You know I'm right here."
"And so am I."
"Good," she smiled and squeezed his hand, indicating that they should continue walking. They reached the smiling couple, and she noticed the positively evil grin on Morgan's face.
"Well, well," he rubbed his hands together gleefully and pulled Spencer in for a one-arm hug that made Anthea smile. "Reid's got himself a girl, has he?"
"Derek, shut up," Savana rolled her eyes and turned to Anthea. "It's really nice to meet you, Anthea. Finally, someone who isn't licensed to carry a gun," she rolled her eyes and Anthea laughed.
"It's nice to meet you too. And congratulations," she added. Savana smiled blissfully and Anthea cooed at the little human in her arms. "Oh, he's so precious."
"That he is," said Morgan, the double meaning clear. He drew an arm around his wife and grinned at Anthea. "So you're the mystery lady?"
"Looks like it," Anthea grinned back, however her eyes widened in surprise when Morgan swooped down and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. Savana and Morgan laughed at her expression, while Spencer merely shook his head.
"I promised myself if Reid ever introduced me to his girlfriend I'd give her a proper welcome to the family," winked Morgan.
"Right," Anthea was still slightly dazed, but she snapped out of it quickly. "You named him after Spencer?" she asked, smoothly avoiding a break in conversation.
"He's very important to both of us," said Savana, giving him an affectionate smile. "But if he ever messes with you, come see me," she grinned.
"Or me," added Morgan. Spencer shook his head at his friend's words, and the older man grinned. "I'm kidding. Reid'll keep you happy no matter what, I trust him to do that."
"He makes me very happy, don't worry about that," Anthea stopped making faces at the baby long enough to throw Spencer an affectionate look, which he returned. He excused them quickly after that, practically dragging her away from the grinning couple. When they were a safe distance away, however, Anthea stopped him. "Spencer."
"I thought you wanted to get away?" Spencer's eyes had turned from serene to hunted in a second, and Anthea sighed before tugging him towards a corner, where she was sure they would have a relative amount of privacy. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest, sighing in contentment when he held her tighter.
"Too many people?" she asked quietly.
Spencer shook his head, his hand resting against the back of her head. "It's not that."
"Is it because I'm the first girl you've ever been able to introduce to them?"
Spencer froze. Anthea looked up at him, her eyes wide and utterly innocent. She had no idea the impact her words had had on him, and he didn't want her to know. Not like this. He could be normal for her, at least in this one aspect. He took a deep breath. "I wanted you to meet them, you know that."
She wasn't fooled. Anthea frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"
Spencer sighed. "No, you were perfect," he assured her, and kissed her hair. The public display of affection was so unexpected that Anthea froze for a second, but it was enough for Spencer to notice. He made a sound of frustration, but Anthea grabbed his forearms before he could pull away.
"Don't move," she instructed firmly. "Talk."
They had had this conversation so many times. "I can't be that person for you."
"Not this again, Spencer, please."
"My life isn't all christenings and dinner parties, Thea."
"I don't care."
"It's not going to be this easy to ignore all of that stuff."
"I don't want to ignore it. I want to deal with it. Your way of dealing with it is to ignore it."
He was quiet for a second, but his grip on her didn't loosen and Anthea was grateful for that. When he finally spoke, his voice was small. "I'm sorry I can't be normal for you."
"Oh, Spencer," Anthea sighed and looked up at his stressed face. "Normal is just a label, and I don't care what other people think. I love you, remember?"
"You told me that before you knew what you were getting yourself into," reminded Spencer.
"You're an FBI agent who profiles criminals and tracks down serial killers, of course I knew what I was getting myself into," said Anthea. Her grip on his arms didn't loosen, as if she was afraid he would run away. He hated how insecure she got over him sometimes, but it was his own fault. "You don't have to worry that your craziness is going to push me away. I don't even know why you're worried tonight. We're at a party with your friends. This is what other people call normal."
He cracked a smile at that, and Anthe's answering smile was brilliant. Spencer smiled at her often: in fact, she was sure he had never frowned at her since they had started dating. While she was happy that he seemed to enjoy being around her so much, she knew part of his good mood stemmed from the fact that she had been completely cut off from his work life. Now that she had met his friends, however, separating the two would be difficult. She wondered if he realized what he had gotten himself into.
