"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Hotch asked. Reid sat before the desk a few days later. The rest of the team was in the bull pen, working on the files and paper work accompanying the Detroit case.
"Just a few days," Reid clarified. "We should be back by Sunday at the latest."
Hotch thought about it for a moment. He sat back in his chair, looking him over. "Reid, I know it's not any of my business… but why?"
"I told you, Hotch." Reid sounded slightly nervous. He didn't like lying to his boss. "I want Riley to meet my mother. I haven't seen my mom in awhile and I want her and my girlfriend to finally get to know each other."
"Okay," Hotch replied. "Now why don't you tell me why you're really going?"
Startled, Reid hesitated a moment. "You don't think I'm telling the truth?"
"Well, Reid, if that is your reasoning, I'm going to have to deny your request. You can take Riley to meet your mother in three months when you have vacation."
Reid took a deep breath. He should know better than to lie to a profiler. "I think my parents might be in danger."
"Really?" Hotch asked. He looked concerned.
"My dad showed up in the middle of the night right after our last case. He showed Riley and me some letters that had been sent to him. They sounded threatening… then he told me my mother had received similar ones. Her hospital… had to increase her dosage because she kept having nightmares about me." Reid took a deep breath. Every time he thought about this, it made his stomach hurt. Just the thought of someone wanting to hurt his mother, when he couldn't even be there to protect her, was agonizing. "I asked Riley to do an evaluation on her. There might be something she knows that she can't comprehend because of the meds."
Hotch nodded, but still he seemed reluctant to grant the request. "Are you sure you should be the one to handle this?" he asked.
"It's my parents," Reid stated. "I'm the best one, aren't I?"
"No, Reid. You can't be objective if you and your girlfriend are the ones to investigate this. This is the same as surgeons operating on their children or..."
"-Therapists sleeping with their patients?" Reid asked, smiling.
"I'm serious, Reid." Hotch rarely ever was not serious. "I think the best idea is to report this to the FBI field office and have them look into the case. You can go if you like, but I think the best idea would be to leave Riley here. It's too personal."
Reid nodded. "I understand your reasoning, Hotch, but… I'd rather keep this from getting official for now. I trust Riley more than anyone and if it's someone I trust, my mother might be a little more willing to work with her."
Hotch took a deep breath, pulling a new form out of his desk. "I still advise against it. Regardless, though, this is your personal problem and Riley is not under my authority. I'll have this processed. By this afternoon, you'll be ready to go."
"Thank you, Hotch." He said. He stood and headed to the door. His hand on the knob, he looked back at his boss for a long moment.
"Is there something else you need, Reid?" he asked.
Now was not the best time, he realized. "When I get back from Vegas, Hotch… I'd like to talk to you about… something."
Hotch looked concerned. "Is it serious?"
"It's nothing… life threatening," he assured. "It's nothing you need to worry about or be nervous about… but yeah, it's serious."
"Sit down, then, let's talk about it." He said.
"No, I need to focus on my family right now. We'll talk about it when I get back."
Without another word, Reid rushed out the door into the bull pen. JJ, Morgan, and Emily, supposedly occupied with paperwork, had been waiting impatiently for his return. Upon seeing him appear, they quickly rushed to busy themselves, as if to fool him they weren't interested.
Reid sat down at his desk to work on his own files. He wanted these done before he left tomorrow, that way the others wouldn't have to pick up his slack while he was in Vegas. He'd call Riley in a few hours to let her know they were clear to leave.
After an hour, JJ had gone back to her office and Emily had stepped into the break room to answer a call on her cell phone. Reid had stopped working on his files, his mind a bit too distracted to focus. He was staring off into space, like a kid in high school. This didn't go unnoticed by Morgan either. He wondered if his useless pastime was a direct result of his meeting with Hotch.
"You okay, kid?" Morgan asked.
Reid nodded. There was a long silence and Morgan figured his friend wasn't in the mood to talk. He went back to his work. After another ten minutes, Morgan decided he could use a break and stood up.
"Morgan," Reid finally voiced before he could leave the bull pen.
"Yeah?" He asked, turning back.
"Have you ever been engaged?" He questioned, sounding so random.
Morgan shook his head. "No, I don't think so."
"You don't think so? How do you not know?" He wondered, but he didn't give him time to reply. "Well, have you ever… proposed to anyone?"
Curious, Morgan moved over and sat on the side of Reid's desk. "Where's this coming from, Reid?"
"Never mind," Reid said, standing. "I'm going to get some coffee."
"Oh, like hell you are." He grabbed his arm to stop him. "What's going on?"
He was hesitant to answer. Reid had intended on keeping this secret… just in case things didn't go as planned. Still, Morgan wouldn't leave it alone until he got an answer and if Reid left him in the dark, the rest of the team would know something was up. The last thing he needed was his friends prying into his life over this… or worse, getting the news to Riley.
Letting out a deep, disinclined sigh, Reid reached into the pocket of his sweater vest. He extracted a small, red jewelry box fitting snuggly in the palm of his hand, and set it on the desk. Morgan stared at it a moment before picking it up and opening it.
"Reid…" he muttered slowly. "This is a diamond ring."
Indeed it was. It wasn't anything fancy: a silver band with a several small diamonds embedded in the metal. The statement it made, however, was huge.
Before Reid or Morgan could say another word, another gasp was heard. The two men turned and saw the glory of color and life that was Penelope Garcia having emerged from her cave for something.
"Boys…" she said, amused and curious. "… have I missed something?"
"Yeah, right, Garcia," Morgan muttered, still holding the ring. "Even if I were gay, the man I would want to spend the rest of my life with is definitely not Reid."
"What's wrong with Reid?" Reid exclaimed, a bit more offended than he'd like to admit.
"Nothing, you're a very attractive man. I can see what Riley sees in you," Morgan explained. "You're just… not my type."
"How do you know your type in men if you're not gay?" Reid asked.
"Okay, could someone just tell me what's going on?" Garcia piped in.
Reid sighed again. More people were involved in this than he'd like, but maybe finally saying it out loud would make him more confident. "Guys… I'm going to ask Riley to marry me."
"Oh my God, Reid!" Garcia exclaimed. She rushed over and gave him a hug. Knowing his friends approved made it seem much more possible.
"When did you get this?" Morgan asked.
"The week after we got back together," He said as Garcia released him.
Morgan was amazed. "You've been carrying this around for a year?"
"No," Reid replied. "I usually keep it in my shoulder bag. I didn't want Riley to find it accidentally when I was out of town… but lately… it's found its way into my pocket."
"So when are you going to do it?" Garcia asked.
"I haven't decided yet. I don't want Riley to think I'm being impulsive on this, I want her to realize I've thought it through." He explained. "It has to be perfect… I don't want to lose her."
"You're not going to lose her, sweetie." Garcia said, brushing his arm. "She loves you and you love her. You guys shouldn't exist outside of a fairy tale."
Reid felt slightly embarrassed. "Look, I'd appreciate it if you guys didn't tell the others about this. Especially not Hotch or Emily."
"Why them?" Morgan asked.
"Well… everyone on the team likes Riley, but she and Emily seem to have a special connection. I don't want Emily letting something slip to her; I want Riley to be surprised."
"And Hotch?" Morgan wondered, finally closing the box and setting the ring on the desk.
"You guys know how much he cares about Riley. He thinks of her as his daughter… I want to talk to him about it before I ask her."
"Oh, Reid, that is so sweet." Garcia sighed, still patting his arm. "We won't tell, but you have to promise you'll tell us exactly what happened."
"I promise." He said, smiling.
"Promise what?" JJ asked, walking over.
Reid quickly grabbed the box and slipped it back in his sweater before JJ could see it. "Nothing," Garcia squeaked. "I need to get back to work."
Reid avoided JJ's eyes as he reclaimed the seat at his desk. Morgan rushed off to the break room before she could ask anything. Walking up beside him, she set a folder on his desk.
"Your request for leave was processed," she said.
"Oh, good, thanks," Reid said, not looking up.
"Anything I should know about?" she asked.
He looked to her with what he hoped wasn't a revealing smile. "Nope." He replied.
"Spence," she urged. "You'd tell me if something were wrong, right?"
"Nothing's wrong," He assured her. "I've just got… things on my mind." He looked over the expression on her face and realized JJ didn't look quite like herself. In fact, she looked a bit pale, like she were sick. "JJ, are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I feel great," she expressed, trying to put a smile on her face.
"Are you sure?" He pressed.
JJ nodded carefully, as if she moved too much, she'd vomit right there. "I'm fine."
