A/N: Written for the AO3 Just Married Exchange 2022. Giftee's request was for Spencer/OFC, Fake Marriage - Fake Dating Leads To Real Wedding
Before he bought a car, Spencer did all the relevant research. Something modern would be more reliable, he knows, but nothing he test drove felt right. It's one thing to drive a Bureau car, if he has to, and he avoids it as much as possible, but something he's going to actually own? It has to be just right. The 1965 Volvo Amazon is just quirky enough that he feels an affinity for the car. It's different and underestimated, just like he is.
Unfortunately, today his car doesn't want to live up to the reliability its maker is famous for, and he has absolutely no idea why. It died randomly while driving, and he was able to get it pulled over safely, but that's the only silver lining. At least it wasn't on the freeway, he supposes. He makes the call to the garage that checked the car over when he bought it, glad they have Saturday hours, and they agree to send a tow truck.
It takes an hour before the big flatbed arrives, aligning easily with his car before the driver hops out. Spencer checks for any traffic before joining the driver as he works the controls, angling the deck. The mechanics of it are fascinating in their own way, and he considers quizzing the driver about how it all works before reminding himself that it could be considered annoying.
"I'd let you help, but insurance frowns on that."
He startles, both because the driver had caught on to his interest and because he had assumed the driver was male. With the pause in the machinery noise, it's hard to miss the feminine lilt. Then he finds himself blushing, embarrassed at his assumption. She's as tall as he is and wearing shapeless mechanic's coveralls and a cap with the garage's logo, but that's no excuse, not with his training.
From the way she bites her lip to keep from smiling, she knows, and she's amused, not offended. It doesn't take her long to get the Volvo winched up and secured. She offers him the clipboard.
"It could be a quick fix, so you can fill in your information on the way back to the garage."
"That's fine. If the repair can't be made today, I can always call a friend to come get me." He's certain Morgan won't mind, although it'll probably come with a side lecture about relying on an older automobile.
"So why this particular car?" she asks once they're underway. "Most people who spend that much money on a classic car opt for a muscle car or something flashy. Although I do have to say it suits the young professor motif you've got going."
"I wanted something that I wouldn't see a dozen others like it every time I drove," he admits.
"It's nice to have something less cookie cutter to work on, too."
"You get to work on the cars, too?" he asks, curious.
"That's my favorite part. Don't get me wrong, this big baby here is fun to drive, but runs with it mean sucking up a lot of gasoline fumes and hoping some distracted driver doesn't pancake you while you're helping a motorist. I'm the only one at the garage with the license to drive it, so that means less time in the garage, unfortunately."
She spends the rest of the journey filling him in on the more unusual cars the garage sees. He enjoys the lack of pressure to make conversation, and it's interesting enough that he doesn't feel the need to delve into his bag for something to read. Once they arrive at the garage, she directs him into the small office after unlocking it before she unloads his car.
When he'd been here before, it was during the week, and the garage was much busier, all three bays open and staffed. Today, the only bay in use is the one she opened when they arrived, but it's late enough that he supposes any other workers have gone home since the garage is normally open half a day on Saturdays, and it's past noon. She hadn't been working the day he was here, because he would have remembered her, but the tow truck hadn't been here, either. With no one in the office, he could sit and read quietly, but he finds himself going to the windows that overlook the garage bays and watching instead.
Logically, Spencer knows why he can't settle, because the orderliness of his life has been upended by Gideon leaving. The team is wobbly, trying to adapt and close the gap of having a leader missing, and he isn't the only one anxious about who will replace Gideon. They've managed one case without him, and Spencer still feels adrift without his mentor to bounce issues off.
She straightens from under the hood, wiping her hands on a shop rag and glancing over to the windows. When she catches sight of him, she smiles before heading toward the door. With her cap set aside somewhere, he realizes her dark hair is probably longer than his, just braided carefully to stay out of her way. He recognizes the style from seeing it on servicewomen, and he notes her posture lends itself toward military training.
"It's the fuel pump, so unfortunately, a part I have to order. It shouldn't take more than a couple of days to arrive. I could arrange a loaner if you need it."
"I only drive on weekends, so it'll be fine. Normally, I just use public transportation to get to work." He's as likely to be out of town as at Quantico anyway. "I'll call my friend to pick me up."
"Alright. There's a diner down the street with good coffee and decent food, if you'd rather get lunch while you wait."
"That actually sounds good. Breakfast feels like a long time ago." He remembers seeing the diner when they drove by, which occupies a building he thinks used to be part of a fast food chain before being repurposed to something more local.
She smiles and passes him a business card. "I know you have the information already, but if you ask for me, you'll get even faster service."
Glancing at the card, he returns her smile. "Thank you, Hannah." He starts to head toward the door, but pauses when the sensor dings to alert anyone inside that it's been opened. "I know I've kept you past closing today. I'd be happy to buy your lunch to repay you."
"It's not a problem. I'm on call after hours anyway." Just when he thinks it's a refusal, she shrugs. "No sense in eating a hot pocket alone in the office over paperwork, is there? Let me get out of these coveralls."
When they arrive at the diner, he isn't surprised that Hannah is a regular and well known, not with the garage a block away. The waitress takes his drink order before swishing away without asking Hannah hers, bringing back a coffee carafe and two mugs before he's even had a chance to study the menu. Hannah hasn't even reached for hers, so he figures why not ask the local expert.
"Any recommendations?"
"The Saturday special is chicken fried steak, but if that's a bit too heavy for lunch, they make an excellent BLT."
Spencer opts for the BLT with a side of fries and reaches for the carafe to fill both mugs. She watches in amusement as he sweetens the coffee with a copious amount of sugar.
"Go ahead and make the joke." He can't count the number of times he's been asked if he likes a drop of coffee with his cup of sugar by now.
"Nah. It just reminds me of how my younger brother takes his coffee." She reaches for her own mug, drinking it black. "And honestly, I weaned myself out of the habit when I was deployed."
The mention of her sibling makes him curious, and she seems content to ramble on about her family once he asks. She's a middle child, with three older siblings and four younger ones, which is such a vivid contrast to his own lonely childhood. He's used to the envious twinge by now, but he wonders if he'd be able to relate to other adults better if he'd just had a sibling or two. Then again, if his sibling hadn't been equally overachieving, perhaps they would have just resented him instead of talking about him as fondly as Hannah discusses hers.
When Morgan pulls up, Spencer is a little disappointed to say goodbye. When he slides into the passenger seat, he isn't surprised to see Morgan's gaze following Hannah as she heads back to the garage. She does seem like Morgan's type, at least as far as looks.
"I could give you her number, if you like."
That gets Morgan's attention back to him, and Morgan shakes his head. "Nah, Pretty Boy. Looked like you had a vibe going there, but I wouldn't bother, if I were you."
Startled, Spencer shakes his head. "It was just a friendly chat."
"I'm fairly sure you wouldn't notice flirting unless the woman threw you over her shoulder and carried you off." Morgan looks back to where Honey has paused in front of the garage, talking on her cell phone. She heads toward the tow truck after ending the call, so Spencer assumes she's going out to rescue another stranded motorist. "Although I'm fairly sure she could actually manage that."
Huh. Morgan is usually alert to flirtations, so perhaps Spencer should take him at his word. "If she's flirting, perhaps I'll ask her out when I retrieve my car."
"Doubt the two of you would have enough in common to make it through an actual date."
The casual dismissal stings, and Spencer wonders why Morgan even brought it up at all. "Why is that? Is she too pretty to be interested in someone like me?"
Morgan may call him "Pretty Boy" all the time, but Spencer is well aware that his looks aren't generally what draws women's eyes. They always pass right over him, usually to admire Morgan, but even if Morgan isn't there, they'll look at Hotch first, or even Gideon when he was around.
Most women find him too awkward for their tastes, he knows, but he hadn't gotten that vibe from Hannah. She'd been really comfortable the entire time they'd interacted. He can't really chalk that up to interest in him, though, because he mistook JJ's ease and friendship for interest once, after all.
"Nah, man, it's not like that. I just meant she works in a garage. Can't imagine she'd understand half the things you're interested in."
The explanation doesn't make him feel any better than when he thought it was more superficial and about looks. Initial interest is often about the physical, so if Hannah had been flirting with him, it would mean she found him attractive, right? But sustaining the interest does mean going beyond appearance, and he does struggle with ever getting a second or third date. He doesn't argue with Morgan, shrugging it off and allowing himself to be distracted when Morgan starts talking about his newest remodeling project.
Although he gets the call that his car is ready mid-week, the case in Denver with the former foster kids targeting parents in home invasions keeps him out of town until Saturday. When he calls the cell phone number on the card Hannah gave him, it's late, well past closing, but he figures he at least needs to see if it's okay if he comes to get his car after work on Monday.
"I'm off on Mondays. I could always drop it off for you."
That means telling her where he works, and while he thinks he knows enough about her now to not be overly cautious, he hesitates long enough that she clues in.
"Or it'll be here for you when you get off."
"I'm sorry. It's just…" He sighs, running a hand through his hair as he looks around the office. Everyone's tired from the case, getting things set aside to go home, and he's already got a ride arranged with JJ. "I work at Quantico, so I didn't figure you'd want to deal with all that."
To his relief, she laughs. "I served four years in the Marines, so I'm familiar with Quantico. I get it. Are you still out of town?"
"No, just got back. I was waiting for a coworker to give me a ride home."
"Easier solution. How about I just pick you up? I'm still a Marine reservist, so I've got base access. You can drop me off before you head home, if you're not too wiped out."
"That actually would be convenient, if you don't mind."
Thanking her, he smiles as he tells her where to meet him. Even that isn't a complete admission to what he does for a living, considering the number of administrative personnel that work in the same building as he does. Sometimes he wonders if life would be easier if he was the academic all his degrees would allow him to be. What would it be like to not worry about ulterior motives with everyone he meets?
When he hangs up, Morgan, JJ, and Prentiss are eying him curiously.
"Big plans after work?" JJ asks. "That sounds like you don't need a ride home, after all."
"My car's ready, and she is going to bring it to me, so that'll save you some time."
"She? Who is this she who has you smiling like that?"
Prentiss smirks at him, and he's a little unsettled that she sounds disbelieving. Before he can answer, Morgan speaks up.
"Pretty Boy's mechanic is a six foot tall Amazon he didn't catch on was flirting with him last Saturday."
That spawns a lot of teasing, and he thinks JJ and Prentiss are trying to be good natured about it, but the theme is still the same. None of them believe that someone like Hannah would have anything in common with an intellectual like Spencer. They even follow him to where he asked her to pick him up, which is not the same direction they need to go for their own vehicles. As much as he knows they mean well, it makes him feel like he's on exhibit at the zoo.
At least they don't follow him all the way to his car, stopping before they're in hearing range. He accepts the keys and climbs into the driver's seat while Hannah takes the passenger spot. She looks back at the trio as they drive off and frowns.
"I know this is going to sound like a high school question, but were they bothering you?"
He sighs, keeping his attention on navigation. "Morgan saw us having lunch last week and determined you were flirting with me."
"So they're acting like a pack of older siblings and coming to lay eyes on me?" She laughs, obviously amused by the idea of it. "Should you turn around so I could assure them of my good intentions?"
Spencer actually considers it for a minute. "No, it wouldn't help. They are just convinced we aren't compatible."
"How would they know that? None of them even know me."
He feels heat creep across his skin as he flushes. "They don't think you're smart enough for me."
"Oh."
When he looks over, she's staring out the window, and he can't get a good read on her reaction. He's going to guess offended, because he would be if their positions were reversed. At times like this, he wishes he could spin a white lie as fast as some of the others can.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize for other people's hangups, and it's not the first time I've had the assumption made that working the job I do makes me somehow less than. It won't be the last."
He isn't sure how to reply to that, so they ride in silence all the way to the garage. She reaches into a pocket and gives him the invoice for the tow and repairs, a credit card receipt neatly stapled to the top, before bidding him good night and getting out of the vehicle. Halfway across the parking lot to a sturdy old Ford Bronco, she stops and turns around.
"How do you feel about messing with your coworkers' heads just a little for being such classist assholes?"
Normally, it isn't the sort of prank Spencer would consider, but he remembers the hurt in her voice when she says it isn't the first time someone's thought like this about her. People make assumptions about him all the time, and he's always just let it slide, but this isn't just about him.
"What do you have in mind?"
When she smiles slyly, Spencer gets the impression that his friends are going to regret their snobbery so very, very much.
The thing about lying to your friends, especially friends trained in the level of psychological analysis that his are, is that you absolutely need truth layered into the fiction. They spend Saturday evening planning out the next month over Chinese takeout, and she joins him on his already planned museum visit on Sunday. He makes sure to discuss the exhibit in detail, beyond his norm for a subject he knows only interests him, waiting until their eyes are mostly glazed over and he knows Morgan is close to signaling him that it's too much.
Then he smiles brightly before announcing, "The best part of it was that Hannah found it interesting, too!"
He figured the others hadn't mentioned Hannah to Garcia yet, and it's confirmed when she perks up at the previously unknown name. "Who is Hannah? Did you go on a date?"
There's a little guilt at involving Garcia, but her joy as he tells her about spending Saturday and Sunday with Hannah is soothing. Even after he tells her how they met, Garcia is simply cheerfully happy on his behalf, something that stays steady over the next few weeks.
They alternate their weekend events between "Spencer typical activities" and ones the others would think he'd never enjoy. It's a mixed bag on his reaction to the latter, like the rock climbing gym that he hates, versus the paintball course, which he surprisingly enjoys. After Montana, he explains to Hannah about the open disbelief and harassment the militia directed at him over pizza in his apartment.
"He does have a point, you know. About how you carry your gun. I'm surprised no one at the Bureau has corrected you on it."
Spencer lays his half-eaten slice of pizza on his plate and frowns at Hannah. It's the first time she's mentioned his service weapon, which is currently locked in the gun safe. But after failing his qualification before, he's worried about what someone military trained might have noticed. "I want it where I can reach it easily."
"You're also carrying it at an angle where a misfire is going to be either deadly or worse."
"Worse?"
He thinks about the femoral artery in the thigh, but it isn't until she motions for him to stand and mimics someone grabbing him from behind that the penny drops on worse. The problem now is that he's no longer worried about being insulted for how he handles his service weapon.
Instead, he's hyper-aware of the fact that his very attractive friend is not only pressed against him chest-to-back but has her hand shoved into his front pocket.
"Okay, I understand worse, Hannah," he manages, his voice a little high-pitched as he wriggles away. "You could have just explained."
She laughs and shrugs before reaching out to steal his half-slice of pizza and taking a bite. "Yeah, but you'll never forget what the problem is now, will you? Next weekend, we're going to the range. I'm betting you've just spent too much time trying to qualify with someone breathing down your neck to get really comfortable with your weapon."
Spending time at the range takes precedence over their dates for the next month, and it's not something he mentions at work. He's showing improvement beyond what he thought he could do, and no one at the rural range Hannah drives them out to know that he's law enforcement. They just see the absentminded professor he appears to be, tease him a bit for Hannah adopting him, and let them be. Even with his attention to detail, he loses track of how many times he fires his weapon, both dry and live rounds.
The day he walks into the office with a new holster in the same position as everyone else's, it doesn't draw attention initially. It isn't until they're boarding the plane to Florida that anyone notices.
"That is new," Rossi says, leaning forward as soon as they've discussed the aspects of the case. "Any particular reason for changing your holster and carry?"
"My girlfriend bought it for me. I've been going to the range with her."
"The mechanic? I thought you two broke up?" Morgan says, pausing in the middle of putting his headphones on. Prentiss and JJ both close their books, and even Hotch looks up from the paperwork he's working on.
"Yeah, Spence. You stopped talking about her about a month ago."
Spencer ignores JJ's comment to explain to Rossi instead. "After Montana, Hannah offered to take me to the range with her."
Understanding dawns for Rossi, but he'd been present for the "pipe cleaner with eyes" comment. "Is she a hobbyist or something more serious?"
"Marine reservist," Spencer clarifies. "She served for four years before that, right out of high school."
"A Marine, huh? You've got good taste in women, Reid."
Rossi's good-natured teasing makes Spencer smile. "I'm glad you think so. Certain others are convinced she and I couldn't have anything in common, because of all the degrees I have, while she never attended college and works as a mechanic."
Somehow, he isn't surprised when Rossi turns to eye the rest of the team, who look like a trio just summoned to the principal's office. "Interesting considering I don't have a college degree, either. Is this something specific to Reid or do you have an issue with life experience versus time in a classroom in general?"
Hotch lays aside his paperwork, intent on them as well.
"I just didn't see how the two of them would be compatible in the longer term," Morgan admits. "No offense intended to Reid, but his interests are well beyond even most of us."
"You make me sound like an alien, Morgan, or as if I can't learn to enjoy new things. Or that Hannah can't." It doesn't matter that he and Hannah aren't actually dating, she's still his friend.
"That's not what I meant, Reid. Not what I meant at all."
Morgan sounds apologetic, but Spencer just feels tired of it all. The prank was a bad idea, because it plays into the sense of separation he has from people in general.
"Yeah, well, it sure feels like it to me. I think I need to be alone."
Spencer gets to his feet, going to sit at a more isolated seat and putting in his headphones and pulling out his phone to text Hannah. No one approaches him, and if Rossi or Hotch lectures the team, at least he doesn't hear it. He is paired with Rossi or Hotch for the entirety of the time in Florida, and the others don't approach him.
Once they're back in Virginia, Spencer doesn't linger at the office any longer than it takes to wish Garcia luck on her date. He heads home, just wanting the solace of holing up and ignoring the world for the day off they've been given. Curled up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, he considers ignoring the knocking at the door when it comes, but he isn't mad at everyone.
Hannah is standing in the hallway, dangling bags of takeout like prizes. Smiling for the first time since the morning they were called to the Florida case, Spencer opens the door and lets her inside. She sets the food down on his coffee table, and, to his surprise, she wraps him in a hug. He leans into the embrace, taking the comfort she offers so freely and feels a surge of intense affection.
"Hannah? Could we start over?"
She pulls back, looking confused. He misses the contact immediately, and it occurs to him that while the hug is something new, she's always comfortable touching him. More importantly, he's always been comfortable with her being inside his personal space.
"Start what over?"
"Us. Dating. Me not having the courage to ask you out. Letting other people convince me I'd fail at being with you."
"Not sure I'd go to a guy's apartment on a first date," she says, and it takes him a second to register that she's teasing him. "But I'll make an exception for you."
He decides that since kisses are generally acceptable for a first date, giving in to the impulse to kiss her will be welcome, and he's right. She kisses with all the enthusiasm she does everything else, and he forgets that he was depressed and starving. As long as she'll keep kissing him, everything else can wait.
Less than an hour after Hannah leaves to head home, Spencer gets the call about Garcia being shot. There's something terrifying about Garcia being injured like that, because out of all of them, she's supposed to be the safest. She isn't a field agent, but not being a field agent is probably what made her vulnerable in everyday life in DC.
When Garcia wakes and reveals she knows her attacker, he's horrified. But it gets worse on a personal level once the dust settles and the rogue cop is dead, because Garcia turns pleading eyes on him. Out of all the younger members of the team, she's been the only one who hasn't disparaged the idea of him dating Hannah.
"I don't mean to insult her, Reid, but I would just feel so much better if I knew you were safe. Are you sure everything you know about her is true?"
Spencer would probably be offended if it were anyone else, including Hotch, but Garcia almost died because she trusted the wrong person. Worse, the man was law enforcement, so he understands. Taking a legal pad, he starts writing down everything he knows, starting with her full name.
"Hannah is older than I am, born July 28, 1979, while her father was stationed at Camp LeJeune, the fourth of eight siblings. She served in the Marines after high school, including a tour in Afghanistan. She's still in the Reserves and is up for staff sergeant at the next promotion board. The garage she works at? She owns it.
"Her father is a retired Marine gunnery sergeant and her stepmother is a nurse. They both live in South Carolina, where he owns a construction company, and her youngest brother Nathaniel still lives at home until he graduates high school next May. He got an early acceptance to Georgia Tech to study biomedical engineering.
"Oldest brother is a game warden, married to a high school art teacher, and they have five children. Oldest sister is about to retire from the Marines, is married to a cop, and has two children. The other siblings are all unmarried, and they're a nurse midwife, veterinarian, general contractor, and a junior at UNC Chapel Hill in their nursing program."
When he pauses for breath, Garcia reaches over and steals his pen before dragging him into a gentle hug. "That's plenty, kiddo. How about I skip the background check and maybe we all just have dinner?"
Garcia and Hannah get along like someone designed them to be best friends, and he's not surprised at all when Hannah convinces Garcia to take self defense classes. No one else pushes Spencer, not after what was said after the flight to Florida, and they make it through the holidays without anyone else meeting Hannah. Although he has an invitation to Hannah's family's Christmas celebration, he spends it with his mother, grateful the BAU is free for the holiday and that Hannah understands. There's a part of him that wishes he'd been brave enough to invite her along, but taking her away from her massive, boisterous family holiday seems like an impossible thing to ask when they've only been dating four months.
On the first case of the new year, the victim's father murders the unsub right in front of him, and all he wants to do is get home.
But home isn't his apartment, as safe and snug as it always is. It's after midnight when they get back to Virginia, so he asks Morgan to drop him by Hannah's townhouse instead of his apartment. Morgan has apologized for his behavior, and Spencer is sure that Garcia keeps the rest in the gossip loop, but there's still a distance in their friendship that wasn't there before.
When they pull into the parking lot, Morgan sighs. "For what it's worth, Reid, I know I've apologized, but whenever she's ready, I want to meet Hannah and apologize to her as well. Out of all of us, I have the least excuse for judging someone for their background." He reaches out and squeezes Spencer's shoulder. "I'm really glad you have someone to go home to tonight."
"It feels rather odd sometimes that I'm the only one with that status."
"You deserve it." Morgan nudges him. "Your lady is waiting up for you."
Spencer looks up from where he's staring at his hands, and sure enough, Hannah has the door open. Soft light spills out around her, highlighting her as she smiles their way. He tells Morgan good night, crossing the short distance to the front stoop.
Hannah waves, and Spencer looks back to see Morgan returning the gesture. Then she's drawing him inside, and he'll never unsee what happened this afternoon, but the sense of failure recedes just a little bit further when he's lying in bed, Hannah lying on his chest as she always does, an ear over his heart. She curls into his side, an arm wrapped around him protectively, and he feels such a surge of emotion at how essential she's become to his life.
"Hannah?" he says softly. "Are you still awake?"
"Yeah." She raises her head, smiling down at him.
"I've known how I've felt about you almost since the time you agreed to start over, but saying the words…" He sighs, and she doesn't rush him, just reaches up and cups his face, her touch something he leans into as he always does. "My life has been complicated where emotions are concerned. I don't always know the precise way to express them properly, but I promise to try my hardest to make sure you understand how much a part of my heart you are."
Where he struggles with emotions and actions, Hannah rarely does. Her kiss is gentle, teasing, with little nips where he can feel her smiling. To his surprise, she's blinking back tears, but doesn't seem to be distressed. Instead, she runs a thumb across his lips. "I don't need fancy declarations, Spencer. I need you, just as you are, and I wouldn't have you any other way. I'll let you in on a secret, though. I've been in love with you since you endured an entire day of rock climbing just because it made me smile."
Spencer initiates the kiss this time, determined to show her how much he needs her, letting go of the horrors of the day and falling deeper into the moment with her. He pulls her flush against him, hand at her waist, and delights when she melts against him. Her skin is warm underneath his fingers, and he recalls the earlier instinct that home is no longer a place but a person.
Home is her arms around him and her lips against his. Home is when she presses close to him, breathing in his scent as if she requires it for living, and feeling the trust she has that he'll care as much for her as she does for him.
This is home. This is his future.
It isn't a surprise that he isn't the only one in a relationship for much longer, because JJ and Will finally confirm they're together, but the distance between New Orleans and DC doesn't make it the same. He has no idea how they manage, because JJ is far more affected by cases than he is. It's easier to be her friend these days, now that his mind doesn't want to wrap her friendship into potential for anything more.
But then, there's JJ's pregnancy, and what Spencer dislikes about it is how many veiled hints are dropped his way about future offspring, especially since he and Hannah have been together for a year. While they're in California on the burglary-homicide case, it goes from hinting to outright asking about future baby geniuses.
Spencer shakes his head, sighing. "Perhaps it is time I put the curiosity to rest so everyone can cease speculating. Between my mother's schizophrenia and her birth mother's schizoid personality disorder, we feel there is too high a risk of inadvertently passing along a difficult mental illness to any biological children. When the time is right for both of us, we will consider becoming foster parents and adopting if the opportunity presents itself."
"Reid, neither of you have either illness. Surely the odds aren't any higher than they are for the general population." Prentiss looks saddened on his behalf.
"This isn't something we can go get a genetic test for, not like cystic fibrosis. It's not that we won't become parents one day, but that we have decided on a different path to get there." He closes his file and studies Prentiss. "I don't know that you'll ever understand what it is like to live in fear of your own mind turning on you without your control or permission. I'm still not outside the range where I could develop schizophrenia, and it is a consideration for every future plan I make with Hannah."
"I'm sorry, Spence." She reaches for his hand, squeezing it lightly. "I'll lay off the baby genius commentary then."
He laughs as he returns the affectionate gesture. "Give us time. Nurture is as much a part of intelligence as nature. They just probably won't be babies."
Returning to Vegas floors him, especially learning that the reason that his parents' marriage ended was far more than the illness he thought had done it. Hearing his father's excuses makes him angrier than he thought it would, since he already logically knows what they were. Instead of getting on a plane back to DC, though, he calls Hannah, and unsurprisingly, she's on the first plane out.
He breathes in the scent of her perfume, wrapped in a hug at the airport. They've taken all the other relationship steps, sharing a home, meeting every last one of her massive family, and spending time with the coworkers who serve as his family. But he's held off on this one last step: having his mother and his partner meet. Waiting any longer seems like he's not proud of one or the other, so it's time.
"Spencer? You're back so soon?" His mother smiles despite being puzzled, setting aside her book. When she looks beyond him to the rec room doorway, he can tell the moment she spots Hannah. "Oh, my boy. You've brought your Hannah to see me at last."
"I'm sorry I didn't bring her sooner, Mom," he says, sitting on the couch next to Diana. Hannah comes to join them, settling on his other side but leaning where she can smile at his mother.
"He's never brought a young lady home to meet me before, but I didn't have to meet you to know you were special. Every letter I've received since the two of you started dating painted such an intricate picture of you, and he writes me a letter every day."
Spencer blushes a little, because Hannah knows he writes letters, old fashioned and sent via the postal service, but he's not sure she's ever noticed it's every single day. His mother reaches across him to take Hannah's hand, her expression as happily content as he's ever seen her.
"I am so glad someone finds Spencer as extraordinary as I do," Diana says. "And it's even more wonderful that you're just as remarkable as he is."
Sandwiched between the two most important people in his life, Spencer feels like he can let go of all the turmoil of the last few days. When he snakes an arm around them both, Diana's smile turns knowing.
"I can see your mind turning over so many factors right now, Spencer."
"I was just wondering if it's too cliche to elope in Vegas when it's my hometown. Is it actually eloping in that case?"
He's so used to speaking his mind with his mother that he doesn't register what he's said until Hannah and Diana both start laughing.
"I don't think it's cliche at all to get married where it's easiest for your mother to be part of the ceremony." When he turns to focus on Hannah, she reaches out and cups his cheek. "Asking is traditional, but it does seem rather silly to ask when the answer would never be anything but yes."
Spencer knows that Hannah loves him, and they've discussed the future rather thoroughly. Of course, he knows the answer is yes, but he had planned on something a little less mundane than mentioning eloping in Vegas while introducing her to his mother. The team will have a field day chalking it up as another of his quirks, he supposes.
Diana claps her hands, sounding delighted in a way Spencer hasn't heard from her in years. "That's all settled, so I guess we just need to get your paperwork in order."
It isn't quite eloping, not in the end. Spencer feels like it's unfair to have his mother present if Hannah's parents aren't. He makes the call, figuring he'll surprise her, and keeps her father updated with the plans for the next day. Instinct makes him suggest one of the chapels instead of just hiring an officiant to come to the courtyard at his mother's facility, and he's glad he did when their guests all arrive.
Hannah's entire family has dropped everything to fly to Vegas, and Spencer is fairly certain that if JJ hadn't gone into labor, his entire team would be here, too. They're only missing JJ, Will, and newborn Henry, and thanks to Garcia's tech savvy, they're attending remotely. It's a joyful, boisterous crowd who mingle easily, and Spencer can't help but consider how lucky he is when he looks out at their loved ones and sees his mother and Hannah's standing arm-in-arm as if they've been friends for decades instead of less than an hour.
He and his mother were isolated and abandoned for so very long, circumstances he still cannot forgive his father for even knowing the truth. But as Hannah slides the ring on his finger, he knows without a doubt that neither he nor his mother will ever be that alone ever again.
This is the family he never knew to go looking for, and he's the luckiest man in the world.