Chapter 11: Reid's Next Step
The BAU case ended with Morgan arresting a scarred hitman named Giuseppe Montolo who was looking for a target called "The Dirty Dozen." After the case, JJ took Prentiss and Garcia out for a Girls Night Out together. JJ was telling Prentiss and Garcia about Reid's new wedding dream. Prentiss and Garcia were sipping their glasses of wine while listening to JJ.
"...and Spence said that it wasn't Maeve's face he saw when he lifted his bride's veil," said JJ. "It was my face this time."
"Whoa," said Prentiss.
"So that's where you were this time, Jayje," said Garcia.
JJ continued, "He told me I had a huge smile on my face and I said, 'Hello, Dr. Reid.' And Spence smiled and said, 'Hello, Mrs. Reid.' Spence then put his hands on my face and he kissed me so sweetly. I still had my eyes closed when we stopped for air. Then Spence told me that the real reason I was crying in his first wedding dream was because he wasn't marrying me."
Garcia gasped.
"Wow," whispered Prentiss. "What did you say to that?"
JJ tearfully laughed, "I was speechless. I opened my eyes and found Spence down on one knee holding this ring for me."
Garcia started crying happily and Prentiss gasped happily.
JJ continued, "Right there in the park in front of Henry and everybody else there, Spence said to me, 'Jennifer Jareau, I love you very much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?' I cried and laughed and said to him, 'Yes, I will marry you, Spencer Reid!'"
Garcia and Prentiss both wiped tears from their eyes with Kleenex. JJ took a Kleenex to wipe her tears, too.
JJ continued, "Spence placed the ring on my finger. I smiled and said, 'I love you, Spence.' And, he said in his new wedding dream that was the way that I was smiling when he lifted the veil and saw my face. And, you, Penelope smiled and said, 'I now pronounce you happy and happier!'"
"Awww," smiled Garcia.
JJ continued, "I said to him, 'Spence, you've just made my dream come true.' And then, Henry asked us, 'Does this mean mommy is Mrs. Reid now?'"
JJ, Prentiss and Garcia tearfully laughed.
"JJ," cried Prentiss. "That was so beautiful and romantic."
"I know," cried JJ. "I didn't know Spence could be that romantic. I'm so happy, I can't stop crying!"
"Yeah," cried Garcia. "But, I'm glad that I still said to him, 'Kiss her, dummy!'"
The three ladies laughed.
"A toast," said Prentiss.
Garcia and Prentiss raised their wine glasses with JJ's glass of sparkling cider for a toast.
"To Spencer and JJ," said Prentiss. "May they both have many years of love and happiness together."
The ladies sipped their drinks. JJ and Garcia looked over at Prentiss.
"I know," said Prentiss. "When it comes to making toasts, Rossi is the champion."
"No," said Garcia. "That was beautiful, Em. I have a toast to make, too."
The ladies raised their glasses again.
"To JJ's future child," said Garcia. "May he or she be as much fun to raise as Henry is!"
"Awww," warmly said JJ.
"And, to Emily Prentiss!" said Garcia. "We've missed you more than I can ever tell you! Welcome home, Em!"
"Awww," warmly said Prentiss.
"Welcome home, Emily," smiled JJ.
"Salud!" said Garcia.
The ladies sipped their drinks again.
"And now, Jayje," said Garcia. "Tell us about the sex! Satisfy my filthy imagination! I want all the details!"
JJ and Prentiss laughed. JJ started telling Garcia and Prentiss about her first intimate time with Reid when JJ and Garcia's phones received a group text message. JJ and Garcia read the text and they both gasped happily.
"Guys," said Prentiss. "What is it?"
"It's Kate," said JJ. "She's gone into labor!"
"Oh, my God!" smiled Prentiss. "Where is she?"
"Chris and Megan took her to the hospital," answered Garcia. "Jayje, please take us to the hospital! You're our designated driver tonight! And, please, finish your sex story on the way!"
JJ laughed, "Let's go!"
Reid, Hotch, Morgan and Rossi joined Megan, JJ, Garcia and Prentiss in the hospital waiting room. Prentiss and Garcia each drank several cups of coffee to sober up from their drinking in the bar. Because it was the middle of the night, Morgan brought in some blankets and pillows for anybody to sleep with. Megan slept in a couch under a blanket with a pillow. Reid and JJ slept together on a couch in each other's arms under a blanket with a pillow. Hotch and Rossi sat in separate chairs staying awake. Morgan was sleeping in a chair under a blanket. And, Garcia and Prentiss were sitting together on a couch under a blanket, but they were both too wired from the coffee to sleep.
"Em?" whispered Garcia.
"Yeah, Pen?" said Prentiss.
"When JJ reaches the ninth month of her pregnancy," said Garcia. "Let's quit drinking until after she gives birth!"
"Deal!" quietly laughed Prentiss.
Prentiss and Garcia hugged each other. Prentiss, Garcia, Hotch and Rossi looked over at JJ and Reid sleeping so comfortably in each other's arms.
"Dave," whispered Hotch. "Did you have something to do with bringing those two together?"
"I...may have nudged JJ into telling Reid how she felt about him after Reid was shot in his neck, Aaron," answered Rossi.
"Morgan told me and JJ that a fake orderly tried to poison Reid in the hospital," said Hotch. "But Garcia shot the orderly, saving Reid's life."
"And, that's why JJ told Reid that she always loved him when she arrived at the hospital," said Rossi.
Hotch smiled, "And, now they are both engaged and expecting a baby of their own. That was quite a nudge!"
Rossi laughed quietly. 12 hours had passed before Chris came out to them wearing scrubs.
"We have a baby girl!" smiled Chris.
Everybody cheered and took turns hugging Chris. Then Chris led them all into the room where Callahan and her baby were in. Callahan was holding the baby girl in her arms while falling deeply in love with her. Megan kissed Callahan on her forehead.
"Hey, sweet girl," smiled Callahan.
"She's beautiful," smiled Reid.
"Kate," said Garcia. "She's deliciously perfect."
"Thank you," smiled Callahan.
"Congratulations," smiled Hotch.
"Welcome to fatherhood, Chris," said Morgan.
"Thanks," said Chris while putting his hands on Megan's shoulders. "But, with Megan, I was already a father."
"Take a good look, Spence," smiled JJ. "This will be us in 8 months!"
Reid smiled and kissed JJ's cheek.
"Are you going to be okay, Kate?" asked Garcia.
"Oh, yeah," groaned Callahan. "But, I went through 11 whole hours of labor before she came into this world!"
"I know that feeling!" smiled JJ. "But, holding her in your arms right now made it all worth it, didn't it?"
"Yeah," smiled Callahan.
"I know that feeling, too," said JJ.
"What's your daughter's name?" asked Reid.
"Her name is Elizabeth," answered Chris. "She's named after Kate's late sister."
"You...named her after my mom?" tearfully smiled Megan.
Chris and Megan happily hugged each other.
"Awww," warmly smiled Prentiss. "Elizabeth Callahan. That's sweet."
"Actually, Emily," said Callahan. "Her full name is Elizabeth Penelope Callahan."
"What?" smiled JJ.
"Penelope?" said Rossi.
"Me?" surprisedly asked Garcia.
"You," smiled Callahan. "You were the happiest one when I told everybody that I was pregnant, Pen. And, you cared so much about both Megan and Liz after Megan was taken. Chris and I decided to name Liz after you as well!"
"Looks like you have a namesake, Baby Girl," smiled Morgan.
Chris gently took Elizabeth into his arms. Garcia and Callahan gently hugged each other.
"I love you," happily cried Garcia.
"I love you, too," smiled Callahan.
Garcia had a nurse take some group family photos around Callahan's bed on all of her cell phones.
The following weekend, Reid and JJ started doing those baby things Reid was babbling about while he was feeling stoked. They started by going to tell Sandy. Friday evening after a case, they brought Henry over to spend the weekend with his grandmother. Sandy opened the door to her house and happily hugged Henry.
"Grandma," said Henry. "Guess what!"
"What is it, little man?" asked Sandy.
"I'm gonna be a big brother," answered Henry.
"What?..." said Sandy. She looked up at JJ and Reid. JJ put her hands on her belly.
"We're having a baby, mom," smiled JJ.
"Oh, my God!" cheered Sandy while group hugging JJ and Reid. "I'm going to have another grandchild!"
"But, that's not all," said Henry. "Mommy is going to be Mrs. Reid! Spencer is going to be my new daddy."
Sandy was thrilled when JJ showed her that she was wearing Reid's engagement ring. Reid watched JJ happily hugging her mother and then Sandy happily hugged her new son-in-law tightly.
"Welcome to the family...Spence," cheered Sandy.
JJ smiled happily.
"Thank you...mom," said Reid.
That evening in Reid's apartment, the soulmates passed out in bed from hours of passionately making love. Around 2 am, Reid opened his eyes and he looked over at JJ sleeping so peacefully. Reid quietly slipped out of bed trying not to wake up JJ. He put on a t-shirt and his pajama pants and he quietly left the bedroom. He sat down at his desk, turned on a reading lamp and he pulled some brochures out to read when he heard a whistling behind him.
"Spencer?" smiled JJ in a singsong voice.
Reid turned around. JJ was standing at his bedroom door. She had buttoned on one of Reid's shirts as a cover-all. She walked over to him.
"I'm sorry, JJ," said Reid. "I didn't want to wake you up."
JJ sat down next to Reid and she kissed his cheek.
"Lover," said JJ. "Not having you in my arms wakes me up! I need you, Spence. Come back to bed."
"I will in a minute, JJ," said Reid. "I wanted to look at these medical facility brochures, first."
"Aww," warmly said JJ. "For our baby?"
"Uh, no," said Reid. "The brochures for the baby are over here. These brochures are for my mom."
"Diana?" asked JJ. "Is she all right, Spence?"
"She's fine," answered Reid. "These brochures are for medical facilities here in DC. Remember when I told you that my mom was in both of my wedding dreams watching me get married?"
JJ nodded her head.
"Well," continued Reid. "Not only do I want mom here to watch me marrying you, I want to move my mom to DC indefinitely. I want her to be a part of our baby's life."
JJ gasped happily. She ran her fingers through Reid's hair while smiling at him.
"That's so sweet, Spence," said JJ. "What made you decide to make this move?"
"Emily," answered Reid. "She said she's moved back to DC because she didn't want to be separated from any of us anymore. Emily practically said that she cheated herself out of three years of being in our lives. I don't want to cheat my mom out of being in our baby's life. I want my mom to read books to our baby just like she read books to me while I was growing up."
JJ's heart soared from hearing that. She started silently crying.
"JJ," said Reid. "Why are you crying? Are the two of you feeling all right?"
Reid wiped a tear from her cheek with his finger. JJ smiled at him.
"We're both fine, Spence," answered JJ. "It's just this feeling in my heart. You've just made me love you even more than I did before!"
JJ and Reid kissed each other tenderly on the lips. JJ lovingly rested her head on Reid's shoulder for a minute.
"Now then," said JJ while reaching for a brochure. "Let's look at these brochures and decide which facility is best for Diana."
"What are you doing, JJ?" asked Reid.
"Isn't it obvious?" laughed JJ. "I'm helping you pick out a place for Diana to move into. You might be a speed-reader, Spence, but I used to be a press liaison. You know how great I am with paperwork!"
"I appreciate that, JJ," said Reid. "But, you don't have to do this. I need to decide where to move my mom into. She's my responsibility..."
JJ put her left hand on Reid's mouth.
"Hush," said JJ. "No, I don't have to do this. I want to do this! Do you see this ring? Wearing it means that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Spencer Reid. Which means that a lot of things will change. It means we are going to be a team. And, you should know that there's no 'I' in team. After we get married, Henry will no longer be my son. He will be our son. Sandy will no longer be my mother. She will be our mother. And, Diana will no longer be your mother. She will be our mother. Which means she will also be our responsibility."
JJ put both of her hands on Reid's face and she looked deeply into his eyes.
"You've always been Diana's protector," continued JJ. "You've always put your heart and soul into helping Diana because you love her. So, come on, my love. Let somebody who loves both you and Diana help you from now on. I knew what I was signing up for when I said 'Yes' to your marriage proposal. You're not alone in this anymore. We're in this together, Spence."
Reid sat there with his mouth open while speechless.
"Nothing to say?" asked JJ. "That's unusual for you, Spence."
"Jennifer Jareau," said Reid with his voice breaking. "You've just made me love you even more than I did before! Thank you."
JJ and Reid hugged each other tightly. And then they kissed each other on the lips. Reid's mood shifted. He looked into JJ's eyes.
"Jennifer," whispered Reid. "Do you know what I want to do now?"
Reid unbuttoned the top button of his shirt JJ was wearing. JJ giggled as she put her hand on his hand to stop him. She rebuttoned the top button on the shirt.
"Yes, I know," whispered JJ. "And, believe me, we will! But, after we choose a new facility to move Diana into. Trust me, Spence. You said it yourself. We will be lovers for the rest of our lives."
Reid and JJ looked at all of the brochures to choose where to move Diana into. One hour later, they picked out a new place for Diana together.
"That was fun," sighed JJ. "It was nice not looking at photos of murder victims for a change."
Reid put his hands on JJ's face while smiling at her. JJ looked into his eyes.
"Thank you, JJ," said Reid. "You've taken a huge weight off of my shoulders when you shared my mom's responsibility with me."
Reid and JJ hugged each other tightly and they kissed each other's lips gently. JJ's mood shifted. She looked at Reid's face hungrily.
"Speaking of a weight on your shoulders," smiled JJ. "You're breaking the main home rule, Spence!"
"Rule?" asked Reid. "What rule?"
"You mean I didn't tell you before?" asked JJ. "Well, when we get a whole weekend alone while Henry stays with Garcia or my mom, the main home rule is: No clothes allowed!"
"What?" asked Reid.
"Take those pajamas off!" commanded JJ.
"Uh, wait a minute," said Reid. "You're wearing one of my shirts, JJ, so technically, you're breaking your own rule."
JJ said, "I know!"
JJ smiled and she took Reid's hand and placed it back on the top button of the shirt she was wearing.
"Undress me," whispered JJ.
Reid started unbuttoning his shirt JJ was wearing. JJ grabbed his t-shirt with both of her hands.
"Is there anything that we're allowed to wear with this rule, Jennifer?" asked Reid.
JJ pulled Reid's t-shirt over his head.
"Yeah," said JJ. "A smile!"
Reid laughed briefly. JJ looked at his face.
"That's a nice start," whispered JJ.
She grabbed Reid and pinned his back against the nearest wall.
"But, we definitely need to work on that smile!" said JJ.
JJ started kissing Reid passionately. The soulmates spent the rest of the night making love to each other. At the crack of dawn, they were both lying on their sides in bed caressing each other under the comforter while they both were trying to catch their breath. They both started laughing happily in the afterglow of their lovemaking performance. JJ looked at her Spence's face and she kissed his cheek.
"Now, there's the smile I was looking for!" laughed JJ.
Author's note: I apologize to my readers for the long wait for this new chapter. I had a case of writers's block. And, some readers may have noticed that I was using actual aired cases from Seasons 7 through 10 in my story. But, for the last four months I wasn't seeing Seasons 11 and up because my main marathon channel stopped showing CM episodes for four months. And two other CM marathon channels only have Seasons 1 through 10. So, I used some of my stimulus money to buy the CM Season 11 and up DVDs. I am watching them whenever I can to continue adding in actual aired cases for the rest of my story. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.