A/N: I know I said I'd only update a week from now, but I felt like the first chapter didn't give a good enough feel for the story, so I decided to go ahead and post the second chapter. I'm writing ahead (I'm at chapter 4 now), so I'll try to update regularly. Next one will be next Saturday.

Warnings still apply, as does the disclaimer (sadly enough)

Enjoy!

A/N 2: EDIT 11 May 2020: Okay, on to the second chapter. I've actually edited up to chapter 8, and am working on chapter 9. Not too many changes until we get to chapter... 5, I think. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 2:

It had been eight months. Eight months since Reid's team had rescued him and Annabelle an hour late from the unsub's basement prison, and eight months since he'd last heard of her. He'd never talked to anyone about what had happened in that basement, what he had been forced to do. As far as his team was concerned, they had arrived just in time.

After they'd gotten out of the building, Annabelle had pushed away from the ambulance, ran over and pulled him into a brief hug. "I don't blame you," she'd said through her tears, before running back to the ambulance, where her parents were waiting for her.

Not that he'd expected to hear from her again. In fact, this complete lack of presence in the world didn't surprise him. Of course she wouldn't contact the man who had… Why would she? He'd put her through a horribly traumatizing experience. He still worried sometimes, though. He had been tempted a few times to have Garcia look her up and see what she was up to, but he refrained from that. What he had done to her was bad enough, he didn't need to be keeping tabs on her, too.

He didn't think about her often, but when he did, the guilt would come crashing back in force. He felt responsible for her after what he'd done to her.

Reid shook his head and focused back on the now. They had just gotten back from a case in Missouri, and he was exhausted. They still had a veritable mountain of paperwork to finish, but that could wait until tomorrow, tonight he was going straight to bed. Hopefully, he would be able to keep his mind off of this latest case: a sexual predator targeting young, preteen girls.

He bid the rest of the team goodnight and headed home. But when he got outside, he saw something he wasn't expecting. Her back was turned to him, but he could see her long, wavy brown hair. When she turned her head, he recognized her profile immediately.

"Annabelle?"

When she turned, his heart skipped a beat. Metaphorically speaking, of course, as it is impossible for one's heart to actually skip a beat without some kind of heart condition.

Annabelle smiled tiredly at him. "Hi, Spencer," she said quietly.

Reid stepped closer, scanning the area for threats automatically. "Annabelle, what are you doing here?"

She was wearing a thick winter coat, as the season demanded, but when her hands dropped down to her belly, it was still obvious what she was trying to say.

Annabelle was pregnant.

"It's not really a conversation suitable for the sidewalk, is it?" she suggested mildly.

/*/

Reid was naming all the known numbers of pi. It was a habit of his, whenever he got nervous, and having a pregnant woman on his couch certainly qualified as a moment to use this strategy.

For all his mental prowess, he couldn't figure out what to do. Should he make tea or something? Well, it couldn't hurt to make the offer. "Do... Do you want some tea?" He offered awkwardly.

Annabelle smiled. She seemed so much more relaxed than him, when by all means, she should be the nervous one. "I can't have too much caffeine, but a glass of water sounds great."

Reid nodded absentmindedly. "Right...water...," he mumbled awkwardly, heading into the little kitchenette to their left. He opened some cabinets, only to realize that his only glasses were still filthy. He sighed, nothing to it but to use a cup. He made himself some coffee and turned to look at Annabelle while his machine ran. Her posture was relaxed as she leaned back into the couch, but her facial expression told him she was sad, and maybe anxious.

She was staring off to the side, clearly lost in thought, which gave him ample opportunity to study her. Her hands were cradling her belly. She looked to be about eight months along, which was strange. Statistically, most women who were... raped, didn't have another sexual partner for at least another 6 months to a year, but Annabelle didn't seem to fit the pattern. Reid just couldn't figure her out. Morgan would have figured her out by now, he thought irritably.

"Your coffee's ready," Annabelle said without looking up.

Maybe not so lost in thought, after all. Reid got his coffee and handed her a cup of water. It had a joke about the 'element of surprise' on the side, he hoped she wouldn't mind.

She smiled as she saw the mug. "That's funny," she commented.

"Ah isn't actually a symbol on the periodic table, though. Au is gold and Ag is-"

"Silver, I know," she interrupted with a smile.

"Oh, right," he said, sitting down across from her.

An awkward silence settled between them, as neither of them really knew where to start. "I-" "What-?" They started in unison. Annabelle chuckled. "I'll start... As you can see, I'm pregnant..."

Reid looked at her expectantly, thinking she must have a point. But when he didn't reply, she frowned. "How far along do you think I am?" She asked, a little suspiciously.

"About eight months, I'd say. Congratulations. Is it a boy or a girl?" he asked automatically. That was a thing people asked, right? This was normal?

Tears sprang to her eyes, and Reid stiffened. What had he said wrong? Had he offended her somehow?

"No, no, it's okay!" She assured him as she wiped the tears away, and offered him a watery smile. "Stupid hormones," she muttered. "I was too scared to ask the doctor at first. I just found out that it's a boy..." she said with a breathless laugh. She wiped at her eyes as she composed herself. Reid was more than a little confused himself, but decided to keep quiet. Women were confusing.

"You still haven't worked it out, have you?" She asked quietly, a smile playing around her lips.

Reid frowned. "Worked what out?"

"Spencer... it's yours."

"...What's mine?" He asked warily.

Annabelle laughed. "The baby, you idiot. He's yours."

For a moment, Reid was frozen. He seemed unable to process what she had said, and he was not one for brain lapses.

"But-" he stammered. "What?"

Annabelle sighed. "I only found out about it two months after... it happened. I was getting nauseous every day, losing my balance, getting moody... I took a pregnancy test, and went to the doctor, and both said the same thing: I'm pregnant."

Reid was in shock, this couldn't happen, it just... couldn't... "Are you sure it's... mine?" He asked breathlessly.

Annabelle nodded. "I hadn't been with anyone for a long while before... we got kidnapped, and I certainly haven't since. Even my own father scared me for a while, let alone a stranger..."

Reid looked away in pain and guilt. He had never wanted to hurt her, and because of him, she was feeling this way, because of him, she was pregnant...

A warm hand on his knee brought him back to the present. Annabelle had leaned forward and was comforting him. He should be the one comforting her. He covered her hand with his own and offered her a shaky smile. It was the best he could do, considering his circumstances.

Annabelle took a deep breath and pulled back, cradling her belly again. "I told my family this happened because of a one-night stand before the whole ordeal. My parents wanted me to get an abortion, but I just couldn't. Taking away a life for something that wasn't his fault... or his father's," she said with a meaningful look in his direction. "And then when I refused, they wanted me to come live with them." She snorted. "Like I'd give them any more opportunity to run my life and tell me how much more perfect my sister is... But Maryland wasn't... working for me anymore, so I decided to move. I'm half an hour down south, in Fredericksburg now."

Reid frowned. "What about your sister?"

"I stayed with her for a while, after… but while I adore my sister, she's… She always wants to fix everything, she wanted to fix me. And she was still super busy with work, I barely got to see her. And when I did, she was trying to be my psychiatrist instead of my sister."

"What are you going to do now?"

Annabelle sighed softly, running a hand through her long hair. "I don't know… As much as I loved my students, I just couldn't keep teaching. Just thinking of going back to school made me sick with dread."

Spencer took a sip of his coffee, unsure of how to reply.

"Spencer, the reason I came here - other than telling you that you're going to have a son - was to give you a chance to be involved in its – his – life."

For the second time that night, Reid froze and was unable to think of a single intelligible thing to say. "Oh," he breathed.

"If you don't, that's fine. One good thing about having a wealthy family is that I don't really need to worry about money," she said, gesturing vaguely. "But I understand that you need to think about it." She started to get up. Reid quickly jumped up to give her a hand. "Thank you." Annabelle rummaged around in her purse and eventually produced a card. "This is my number. When you've made your decision, call me," she said, moving towards the door.

Before Reid really realized what was going on, she had closed the door behind her and had left him alone in his apartment once more.

/*/

"Reid, what's the matter with you? You've been distracted all day," Morgan commented, pulling Reid from his musings.

"Hmm, what?" Reid said distractedly. "It's nothing; I'm fine."

"Are you calculating mathematical equations again?" Blake called over from her desk.

"Or pondering the influence of the fall of the Incan empire on today's society?" Morgan joked.

Reid frowned. "Why would-?"

"Figure of speech, genius," Morgan interrupted.

Reid's frown deepened. "That's not a figure of speech."

"He's back, ladies and gentlemen," Morgan teased. Reid opened his mouth to retort, but Hotch strode in and interrupted them. "We've got a case," he announced. "Conference room, now."

/*/

"I need to see Dr. Spencer Reid, please," Annabelle asked the receptionist at the BAU.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Uhm. No…"

"May I inquire as to the reason for your visit?" The woman asked, smiling politely.

"Uhm… Personal," Annabelle said, blushing. The receptionist's eyes flicked briefly to her stomach, but - to her credit - the polite smile never wavered.

"Just a moment, please," the woman replied, picking up a phone, presumably to call up.

Spencer hadn't called. It'd been five days, and with her due date approaching, she really needed to know his decision. Annabelle found herself getting annoyed with the FBI agent. It really wasn't that difficult to pick up a phone and call her, was it?

"Ma'am?" the receptionist said, pulling Annabelle out of her musings. "I'll just need to make a copy of your id, and then you can head upstairs," she said kindly.

"Right, of course." Annabelle quickly dug her driver's licence out of her purse and handed it over. As soon as the copy had been made, Annabelle received a visitor's badge and directions to the BAU offices.

Pushing her irritation with Spencer aside - it was probably hormones anyway - she made her way to the elevators. The ride up was uncomfortable, but at least there were no women there to coo at her. Seriously, she was carrying a baby, but that didn't make her one. And it certainly didn't give anyone the right to touch her. Though her extreme reaction the last that happened had given those around her some pause, at least.

The receptionist had said to go through the glass doors in front of her and ask for Spencer, so Annabelle did just that. The first person she came across was a pretty blonde woman.

"You're here to see Spencer?" she asked, clearly surprised. "May I ask what this is about?"

But before Annabelle had to think of an excuse, Spencer strode over. "Annabelle, sorry, were you waiting?"

She smiled at his nervous demeanor. He was kind of cute. "Not at all," she told him. Then she turned to the blonde woman. "Nice to meet you," she said, even though the woman hadn't introduced herself. It seemed awkward not to say anything. Though, now that she'd said it, maybe that was awkward.

This would have been the perfect opportunity for Spencer to introduce her - not that she wanted that - but he just led her away to a small conference room. The blonde woman narrowed her eyes as they walked away, clearly having expected an introduction.

"I'm pretty sure your colleague thinks something's up," she commented as she sat down on one of the chairs. Her ankles had been killing her all day.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, ignoring her comment. It would have sounded rude coming from anyone else, but Spencer just sounded curious and worried. He glanced down at her belly briefly.

"You didn't call," she said, shrugging. Her hands automatically rested on her belly, and Spencer's eyes followed the movement.

"I'm sorry, we had a case, I got distracted," Spencer replied. "You didn't have to come here, you could have called," he said gently, lifting his eyes to hers again.

Annabelle raised an eyebrow. "Okay, first: you never gave me your number, and second: all I do is sit at home all day and watch movies, sleep or go to the library. I was bored."

"Oh," Spencer said. He patted his pockets, and eventually pulled out a business card. "Here."

Annabelle took the card and tucked it away in her purse. "Have you, though?" she asked.

"Have I what?" he asked, confused.

Annabelle rolled her eyes in amusement. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something? I meant, have you made a decision yet?"

"But I am a genius, I have an IQ of 187," he said, looking a little petulant.

Annabelle smiled. "Sure you are." She sighed and repositioned herself in the chair, these days it was impossible to find a comfortable position. "Have you made a decision?" If she was being perfectly honest with herself, she was hoping he would not let her do this on her own. She wasn't sure if she could do it.

Reid paused, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "I'm not... I can't be a dad, I don't know how."

"You think I do?" She asked incredulously. "I don't know what I'm doing half the time. I don't know if I'm taking the right vitamins, if I'm moving too much or not enough, or... I can't do this by myself, Spencer," she sniffed, and wiped her eyes angrily. "God! I hate all this crying! Why do I have to cry all the time?!"

"Well, the most common time for mood swings based on hormonal changes occurs between weeks 6 and 10 in the first trimester of pregnancy, and again during the third trimester, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Research published in 1999 found that higher progesterone levels in the final two months of pregnancy correlated with more mood sw…" he trailed off at her glare. "That was rhetorical, wasn't it?"

Annabelle sniffed angrily again. "Yes, Spencer, it was rhetorical."

Spencer winced. "Sorry," he said. "Just ask Morgan or Rossi, I don't always pick up on social cues," he said as he offered her a tissue.

Annabelle took it gratefully. "I'm sorry. I'm such a mess. I'll be perfectly fine all day, and then something stupid will set me off… Morgan and Rossi, they're your teammates, right? The ones you told me about?" she asked, vaguely recalling their conversation in that basement. The one bright spot in an otherwise horrifying experience.

Spencer nodded. He was about to reply when there was a knock on the door and a handsome black man walked in.

"Reid, Hotch wants us," he said, and then noticed Annabelle. "Who's this?" the man asked curiously, a charming smile at the ready.

"I'll be right there," Spencer replied, ignoring the man's question. Annabelle figured he didn't want to talk to his team about this yet. Not surprising, considering the circumstances. She smiled sheepishly at the man as he raised an eyebrow and retreated from the room in silence.

"I am never going to hear the end of this," he muttered under his breath.

"You don't get out much, do you?" she asked with a grin, taking in his demeanor.

He looked up at her, looking surprised. He probably hadn't thought she could hear. He narrowed his eyes uncertainly. "Rhetorical?"

Annabelle laughed and nodded. "Look, you don't need to give me an answer right now. Do you want to meet up for lunch tomorrow?" she asked. "We could go to S&G over on Potomac avenue, I hear they've got good food."

"Uhm… yeah, sure. What time?"

"Noon's fine. I'll see you there," she replied with a smile, and walked out of the conference room. "Text or call if you can't make it, okay?" she called over her shoulder.

Here's to hoping that he wouldn't forget that last bit. At least the diner had free Wi-Fi…

/*/

When Reid walked back to his desk, he knew Morgan wasn't going to let this go. He wasn't disappointed. "So, lover boy, who was the girl?" Morgan asked with a grin.

"Girl?" Rossi asked, walking over. "Boy genius was talking to a girl?" He teased.

Reid didn't get a chance to reply. "He was talking to a pretty brunette," Morgan said, his grin widening.

"A pretty, pregnant brunette," JJ added with a soft smile. "It seemed very personal to me."

Blake, who had been watching the show with amusement, now spoke up. "Please don't tell me… Reid isn't capable of that, is he?" She joked, feigning shock.

Reid just dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

"Leave him be, we've got a case to solve," Hotch intervened, and made the team go back to their own desks.

"So, a girl, huh?" he asked Reid once they all sat back down. "You're never going to hear the end of this, you know that, right?"

Reid grimaced. "Believe me, that had already occurred to me."