The morning of Febuary 14th found the BAU team thankfully at home. They had returned late last night from Syracuse and were prepared to spend the rest of the week drowning in reports. Hotch was busy in his office talking on the phone when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," He called, going back to his conversation. "Well, I'm glad to hear everything worked out..."
Rossi stepped in, closing the door. He waited patiently not wanting to disturb the conversation. "Yes, I'll speak to you soon. You'll be in DC around March, right?... Great, I look forward to it. Bye, Leo, take care."
Rossi was amused. "Leo?"
"Yeah, they finally closed the case, officially. He just wanted to fill me in." Hotch said. "We can finally put this one behind us."
"I'm glad for that." He agreed. "Do you have the coroner report on that case in Bethlehem?"
"Yeah, just a minute." Hotch said, setting the receiver down. He opened his bottom drawer to retrieve the said papers from the sorted files. Rossi stood and stared out the window into the bull pen.
"Oh, now that's sweet." He muttered.
"What?" Hotch asked.
"Morgan sent Emily flowers for Valentine's Day." He informed casually.
"Really?" Hotch asked, interested. The report in hand, he stood from his desk to see for himself. "That's nice. He must really care about her, I don't think Morgan's given a damn about Valentine's Day before."
They watched for a moment as Emily came from the break room, her coffee in hand. She spotted the flowers and read the card. Quickly, she pocketed it as she mentioned something to the others.
"I wonder what lie she told the them." Hotch said, glancing over at his friend.
Rossi let out a small laugh. "I think it's hilarous they think we don't know."
"I have to admit, I am impressed. They've been together over a year now and have managed to stay objective." Hotch said.
"And they seem good for each other." Rossi added, taking the file. "I just wish they'd give up this fake fighting, it's getting old."
"I couldn't agree more." Hotch said with a smile. At that, the men went their separate ways, needing to get back to work.
Meanwhile, in the bull pen, Reid was highly distracted. He was trying to focus on his work. It would be wise to get all these reports out of the way before he went out of town this afternoon. But his mind kept wandering... too excited to do anything else.
His desk phone rang and suddenly he was nervous. He hoped nothing was wrong with anyone he cared about, nor that he was needed for anything serious. He grabbed the phone taking a breath before answering, "Dr. Reid."
"Hello, Dr. Reid," A familiar voice said slowly on the other end.
He breathed with relief and smiled. "Hello, Madam, is there something I can help you with?"
"No, I just wanted to say thank you for my beautiful flowers." Riley said; he could tell she was smiling. "How did you know roses are my favorite?"
"I had a hunch," He shrugged. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day," She repeated. "I've just got one more patient today and then I'll meet you at the unit."
"Great," Reid said, his foot tapped against his go bag, all set to leave on their romantic winter weekend. "I'm trying to finish this paperwork before I go, but no luck yet."
"No cases on the honeymoon." Riley demanded, suddenly so serious. "This is just about you and me."
"I'd better get back to work, then." He mentioned. "But I'll see you in another two and a half hours."
"I'll see you then." She replied. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He answered. As usual, he waited until he heard the line go dead before he hung up. He suddenly had a huge burst of energy and quickly set to work.
A few minutes later, Emily emerged from the break room. She headed over to her desk and was immediately taken by surprise. A large bouquet of yellow roses had been delievered, sitting in the middle of her desk.
"Oh, Emily!" Garcia exclaimed as she and JJ walked over. "Those are gorgeous."
"Yeah..." She said, stunned. Carefully, she set her coffee down and examined the vase of flowers. "They're beautiful."
"Who are they from?" JJ asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, Prentiss," Morgan asked, leaning back in his chair. He pretend to be utterly captivated by this. "Who are they from?"
She gave him an annoyed expression as she grabbed the card. Reid rolled his eyes as he watched the scene. Now that he knew the truth, the fake fighting was really pathetic and irritating.
Emily carefully ripped open the envelope and removed the card. She wanted to grin and giggle and hurry over to that man and plant a heavy passionate kiss on him. But she had to be discreet. .She gave a sad smile and pocketed the card. "My mom." she revealed.
"Oh," Garcia said, disappointed. "Well, that was sweet of her."
"Yeah, she always feels sorry for me that I'm alone on Valentine's Day, which just makes me feel bad about myself."
"Whatever happened to that mysterious lover of yours, Emily?" JJ asked.
She was suddenly caught off guard. Looking at the all too interested girls. "That's ancient history. He and I have moved on."
Gently, she shifted her flowers aside to get back to work. "So... you're going to be... all alone tonight, right?" Garcia mentioned, sharing a knowing glance with JJ.
"No," Emily said, "My television and I have a hot date watching a Friends marathon. Eight hours of Chandler Bing, I can't think of anything better."
"Hmm," JJ said, stepping forward. "Well... I have plans with Will and..." She looked to Garcia, "You're with Kevin... Spence is going out of town with Riley... and Morgan... now, Morgan what are your plans?"
He knew what they were hinting at, but he decided to play along. "I'm planning on hitting the bar and finding a lonely Valentine's Day honey, any objections to that?"
"No," JJ said, "But... if you guys are going to be alone... why don't you spend it together?"
The two glanced at each other, pretending to loathe the very ground they walked upon. "I don't think so." Morgan said.
"Hell no," Emily growled.
"Oh come on!" Garcia cried. "That's it, this has gone far enough! We are so tired of all this damn fighting! The two of you need to make up and just... get over it already!"
"It's not that easy, Garcia." Morgan muttered.
"It's only diffcult because you guys are making it difficult." JJ informed. "Do you even remember what you're fighting about? Because we don't even know."
"All we're saying is no matter what it is... it's not worth your friendship!" Garcia cried. "Please, you don't have to make up now, but... could you at least try to be friends again? At least make an effort to get over this?"
The two met eyes again. Obviously their fake fight was getting to be too much. They couldn't keep this facade up any longer. "Yeah..." Emily nodded, looking away. "I think we can."
"I know I can." Morgan mentioned.
She glared at him as she opened her mouth to say retort, but Garcia piped in, "Good, and you'll start tonight. The two of you are going to spend the night together, no exceptions! And don't you dare think about coming back to work tomorrow unless you're friends again."
With that, she turned and walked out, JJ right at her side. Neither wanted to hear any rebuttal. "Bravo," Reid nodded. "I have to say, I was fooled for a moment there. I really thought you were fighting."
"See how we kept this secret for over a year." Morgan mentioned. He grabbed his empty coffee cup and headed to the break room. Emily waited a moment before following.
"So..." Emily muttered, pretending to busy herself with the items in the cupboard. "Our friends want us to spend the night together."
"I think it's best we don't disappoint them." Morgan said, giving her a wink. "I am cooking you a fantastic dinner with dessert overflowing with chocolate."
"Mmm, I certainly like my chocolate." She growled. "Well, I have some very sexy lingerie I bought just for tonight and I know you're going to love it."
"If you're wearing it, Prentiss, I know I'll love it." He stirred the cream around in his coffee very slowly.
Quickly, Emily checked around. No one was paying them much attention and Reid was the only one in the bull pen. "By the way," she said, "I love my flowers."
At that, she reached up and pecked a kiss on Morgan's cheek, then slipped away before anyone was the wiser. Morgan was glad he was facing the wall, unable to stop the doopey grin on his face.
When Reid opened his eyes the next morning, he saw snow falling outside the window. The curtains were open, letting the soft winter light into the cabin bedroom. It had been a long, wonderful night. Reid and Riley had gotten off the train as the sun was setting and got a cab to the resort where they were quickly escorted to their cabin. Dinner had been ordered, compliments of a few certain BAU members. Reid was so touched by that. The next time his friends asked him to take over some files and reports, he was going to do it without compliant. It was the least he could do.
The rest of the night was absolute bliss. Riley changed into a beautiful white and red nightie right before dinner. They ate before a warm fire on the floor in the living room, sharing bites and stealing kisses from each other. Afterward, the spent hours laying on the rug, surrounded by the warmth of the fire. It was so perfect... just two people completely lost in each other, staring in each others eyes and holding each other close.
But holding turned to kissing, kissing turned to touching, and the night drifted off into passion and lust between the man and woman. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, they snuggled close in bed, drifting into the most restful sleep they'd ever had.
Stretching, Reid turned to lay on his back, the sheets gathering at his navel. He couldn't remember ever feeling this relaxed. As he looked, however, he realized he was alone in the bedroom. Riley's side of the bed was messy, but empty. The smell of coffee and cooking, however, suggested he knew her whereabouts. He decided to wait a few minutes, just see if she came to wake him up.
Ten minutes later, the ajar door was pushed open further. Wearing her silk nightie once again, Riley smiled as she brought in a tray.
"What is this?" Reid asked, sitting up.
"I thought I'd make you breakfast in bed." She replied, setting the tray over his lap. Reid examined the tray. A hot cup of coffee was steaming in the corner along with a glass of orange juice. In the center was a plate was three golden pancakes with butter and syrup.
It looked edible, but it didn't stop Reid's apprehension. Riley nestled right beside him in bed, waiting expectantly for him to take a bite.
He cleared his throat nervous, trying to stall. "It looks good." Reid nodded.
There was a long, tense pause as he stared at the food. "Well..." Riley urged. "Aren't you going to try it?"
"Yes," He said, carefully picking up the fork. "I'm going to try it."
Slowly, he brought the untensil down and cut an easy slice off the closest pancake. It looked soft and fluffy on the inside, and the batter was fully cooked. That was a good sign. At least it wasn't hard as pita bread, like last time.
Lifting the piece up, he carefully took a bite. Riley waited in silence as he chewed and after a moment, a surprised but delighted expression came to his face.
"They're really good." He said as he swallowed.
"Really?" She asked, excited.
"Yes, Sweetheart, I'm so proud of you." He exclaimed. Reid leaned over and placed a congratulatory kiss on the cheek. He had no problem continuing his breakfast.
"Well... I hope you enjoy those because they're the only three of the batch that survived." She grinned, embarrassed, which only made him laugh.
He cut off another piece of pancake, offering a bite to Riley. "This was a lovely surprise, Baby, thank you."
"You're welcome." She said. "I wanted to do something special for you, last night was so wonderful." She reached and pressed a kiss just beside his ear.
"Well... no one's ever made me breakfast in bed before. Though I used to make if for my mom."
"Oh, that's sweet." Riley said.
"Yeah..." He nodded as he grabbed his coffee. "If you can consider a bowl of Cap n' Crunch breakfast in bed."
"Cap n' Crunch?" Riley asked, trying not to giggle.
He turned to her, slightly offended. "I was ten, give me a break."
She laughed, "No, I'm sorry, it's very sweet. It's a good rule of thumb to marry a man who's nice to his mother... even if that mother hates me."
"She doesn't hate you." Reid argued. She gave him an expression telling him a good marriage wasn't based on lies. "Okay, she hates, but she doesn't know any better."
"I know," She smiled, "And it doesn't matter, because you love me."
He reached over for another kiss. "That's absolutely right."
They slowly shared the plate of pancakes and cleaned the plate. The tray was set aside, giving them full access to the bed again. Their arms were around each other, sharing sweet kisses and whispering confessions of love in each others ears.
"I'm so happy to be here with you." Riley said as she leaned over to rest her brow on his. "I love you so much... you make me so happy, Spencer... I know things aren't always going to be blissful and perfect but... no matter what we decide or what we do... if we trust each other and work together, I know we'll be happy together."
Reid stared into her beautiful brown eyes, her warm body right against his naked form. It was incredible to be this vulnerable with another person and not be in the least bit self conscious. He felt the greatest joy in his heart knowing that he was the only one she would ever hold, that no other man would get to experience the joy of sharing a life with this beautiful woman. She had said it herself. She was his - only his - always.
"I love you, too." He finally said, inching closer to her. His hand caressed her bare hip as his lips pecked sweet butterfly kisses on her neck. "Would you like me to prove it to you?"
"Hmm," She mumbled. "Actually, I was thinking I'd draw a bath and experience that jacuzzi tub in the bathroom."
Riley smiled as she so easily pulled from his arms. Reid stared at her in amazement, watching as she walked further and further away from him to the bathroom.
As she reached the door, however, she turned and gave him a smile, "You wouldn't care to join me, would you?"
It was like his mind tried to move his body faster than it was capable. He tried to hop off the bed and hurry after, but had forgotten the sheet was still around him. Reid's long legs were tangled in the fabric, dragging him down to floor with a soft thud.
Riley couldn't help but burst out in laughter. A little flustered, he gathered himself and looked to her with a thoughtful smile. She hurried over, gently kneeling down beside him. She brushed back some of his hair, looking over his handsome face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." He smiled. "I'm great."
Gently, she took both of his hands and stood, helping him to his feet. Once he was safe on his feet, she reached up to give him a quick kiss. Something so simple, and yet it told him all the love she felt for him. "Come on," Riley whispered and walked backwards, leading him into the bathroom. Reid followed willingly.