A/N: I honestly think you guys will love this chapter, it was so much fun to write! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I will.

This chapter is dedicated to my best American friend MaryEvH, who is currently one of the most important people in my life and also the reason this fanfic got published (and written) in the first place. She's one of the most amazing people I've ever met and I love her to bits. This one's for you, love!

A/N 2: EDIT 11 May 2020: Okay, this is where stuff is going to start changing. Just so you know, I basically threw out everything after chapter 7, so anything past that is new content. I kept a line of dialogue here and there, but that's about it. This chapter is still mostly the same, but the stuff with the team is definitely different. The way I handled it was kind of dumb, but then, I was a dumb 19 year old back then, so I figure that's allowed.

Anyway, I hop you'll enjoy!

Chapter 5:

JJ clutched the stuffed bunny she'd bought, pausing outside the door behind which she knew Spence and his… and Annabelle were. It was still hard for her to grasp the fact that Reid was a father now. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Annabelle was sitting up in the bed, the baby in her arms, while Spence dozed in the chair next to them, leaning on his hand. As soon as she walked in, Annabelle looked up. She'd been nursing the baby. It was odd that she'd do that with Spence still in the room, even if he was passed out. She must've felt comfortable.

Annabelle offered a tired smile. "Spence said you were coming. Hello Agent Jareau," she whispered, unconsciously glancing at Spence. JJ mentally filed that away.

She smiled back. "Please, call me JJ," she said, keeping her voice down as well. "How's the little one?"

"Extremely hungry," Annabelle chuckled, gesturing to the drinking baby.

JJ went to stand next to the bed to get a better look. "He's adorable. How much does he weigh?" He looked a little small, but then, Spence had said that he was early.

"Thanks, he's 6.2 pounds and 19 inches long. The doctor said he needs to gain a little bit of weight, but he's on the right track, what with the amount of milk he's drunk."

JJ nodded. "It's normal for babies to lose a little weight in the first few weeks. He'll gain some more fat after that, don't worry."

Annabelle smiled, looking down at the baby. "I don't think I could ever not worry, he's so tiny!"

"I know the feeling," JJ responded, sitting down in the remaining chair. "When Henry was born, I worried about every little thing, thinking I was doing everything wrong… New mom paranoia, I suppose. It gets better."

Annabelle looked up, looking grateful. "Oh good, I thought I was the only one… I feel so unprepared…"

JJ snorted. "Trust me, you're far from the only one. It's something every new mother goes through with her first baby."

Annabelle was about to reply, when Spence's head slipped off of his hand, and he jolted awake. "I must've dozed off," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's okay, you looked so tired, I figured I'd let you sleep," Annabelle replied. She moved the baby to the other side, and he quickly latched back on.

JJ had to smile when Spence blushed at the sight and averted his eyes. Coincidentally, this made him realize she was in the room. "JJ!" he exclaimed with a smile, getting up from his chair and coming over to give her a hug.

"I brought this, I wasn't sure if the baby had gotten a present yet," JJ said as she pulled back and held out the bunny.

Spence smiled widely as he took the stuffed animal. "You know, bunnies and stuffed squids are good choices for a baby because they have parts that can easily be grabbed. It's good for developing fine motor skills."

"Spence," JJ interrupted. "Just say thank you."

Annabelle laughed and Spence blushed. "Thanks JJ," he said.

Annabelle leaned over and poked Spence. "Ask her."

"Ask me what?" JJ asked, confused, as Spence seemed to become uncomfortable again. Before he could speak, though, the baby had finished feeding, apparently, and Annabelle handed him over to Spence so she could get dressed properly again. JJ thought that Spence might actually get a permanent blush from all this.

"Well," he said, looking perfectly natural holding the newborn, in a way he wasn't when he'd held Henry. "We – Annabelle and I – talked about it, and we agreed that… We'd like… Do you want to become Matthew's godmother?" he stuttered.

JJ was shocked. "Me?" she asked almost incredulously. When he'd asked her to come visit, this certainly hadn't been something she'd been expecting.

Spence smiled proudly. "I couldn't think of anyone better."

Her throat closed up a little and she had to blink a few times to avoid some waterworks. "Yes, of course I'll become his godmother. Matthew, was it?"

Annabelle beamed from her spot on the bed. "Matthew Christopher Reid. Christopher for my father, Chris."

JJ smiled right back. "It's a beautiful name," she said. "Can I hold him?"

Spence looked over at Annabelle, who nodded, before handing over the baby. Their interaction towards each other was interesting, sometimes seemingly uncertain, other times looking like they'd been friends or partners for years. Her attention shifted as the baby – Matthew – was handed to her, though. He really was a beautiful boy, despite, or perhaps partly because of how small he was.

Spence sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes solely on his son. Annabelle wasn't any different. JJ smiled to herself. Yes, they'd make it just fine…

/*/

Three days later

"Must've been some…whatever you had for you to stay away for three days. What happened?" Morgan asked when Reid walked back into the Bureau three days later.

"Nothing much," he said, and walked over to the whiteboard, studying the information on it. "How much progress have we made on this profile?"

"Not as much as we should have, this guy is elusive," Blake said, walking over to stand beside him. "We missed you around here." The question was obvious in her voice. Reid chose to ignore it.

"Have you checked out other sexual assault cases in the surrounding states? This unsub has most likely experimented before," Reid suggested, keeping his eyes on the pictures in front of him. He was well aware that everyone was staring at him, but he was hoping that if he ignored it, they would stop.

"We got a call, someone just reported a missing child. They were taken from a local park," Hotch announced as he walked out of his office and into the main area.

"How long has the child been gone?" Reid asked, grabbing his bag from where he'd dropped it onto his desk.

"Half an hour, local police is already on the scene. We'll debrief on the way, let's go."

Reid locked eyes with JJ, and she sent him a sympathetic look. He'd always been able to stay focussed on the case, but with Matthew… this was going to be more difficult.

/*/

As it turned out, his distraction had been noted by the rest of the team. While the others continued working on the profile, Hotch pulled him aside.

"You've been distracted, and it's not like you," he said without preamble.

Reid sighed. Through the glass of the conference room, he could see JJ shooting him a worried look. He really didn't have much of a choice, did he? Not that he really knew where to start.

"It's a complicated situation, and I promise I'll explain it fully to the team, but the short version is that I became a father three days ago." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Reid couldn't help a small smile. He was a father. "His mom and I aren't together."

For a moment, Hotch didn't say anything, he just studied Reid's face. "I can't say that I'm not surprised, this wasn't what I was expecting. But we'll discuss it once this case is over. In the meantime… congratulations, Reid," his boss said, smiling genuinely.

Reid grinned at him. "Thanks, Hotch."

Hotch nodded. "Will you tell the team?"

Reid considered the question for a moment. "I'll tell them what I told you. They deserve to know. I just need to let Annabelle know."

"Annabelle is the mother?"

Reid nodded as he walked back out of the conference room, towards the team. While they'd all been focussed on the case during Reid and Hotch's talk, they all looked up now. Reid couldn't blame them for their curiosity.

Since they were working out of their own offices, Reid didn't mind talking to them out in the open like this. "I've been distracted on this case, and I wanted to apologise for that. The reason is complicated, and I'll explain fully after we catch this unsub. But you do deserve to know." He took a deep breath. "Three days ago, I became a father to a little boy. His mother and I aren't together."

For a breath, no one moved. Then; "Wait, what?" Morgan said. "You have a kid you didn't tell us about?"

Luckily, Hotch stepped in. "I know this is a lot to take in, but we do have a case and a missing child to focus on. Reid's promised to explain further after this is all over, so I suggest you keep your questions for that time," he said sternly. He had a point, they couldn't afford to get distracted, not with a child's life at stake.

Rossi was the first to move. "Congratulations, kid," he said genuinely. "I know you don't smoke, so I'll have a cigar on your behalf once this is over." And with that, the tension was broken.

Alex and JJ gave him hugs, Morgan looked like he was swallowing a lot of questions. Garcia hadn't gotten over the shock yet. "You can't do this to me! You can't tell me something like that and not expect me to ask for pictures!"

Reid grinned at her and held out his phone. He had no doubt she knew his passcode, so she could scroll through the handful of pictures Annabelle had made him take.

"I had better be getting copies of those," Blake commented as she sat back down at her desk and pulled her attention back to the map she'd been studying.

Garcia was cooing at the pictures right up until Morgan plucked the phone from her hands. "Okay, baby girl, give the man his phone back, we have work to do." He handed the phone back to Reid with a small smile and a soft, "Congrats, kid."

Whatever was going on, he knew he could trust his team to focus on the case at hand before mobbing him with questions. Not that he was looking forward to that, but at least this way, they'd get a chance to get used to the idea before they could talk to him about it.

/*/

"So, you knew, didn't you?" Hotch asked JJ when they were both seated in the SUV, on their way to the park where the child had vanished. He didn't look at her, keeping his eyes on the road, but JJ had a feeling he could read her completely.

She nodded. "I'm the baby's godmother, but I only found out about Annabelle on the day she gave birth."

For the longest time, Hotch didn't say anything. JJ had no clue what he was thinking.

"What's the baby's name?" he asked suddenly, pulling up at the local police station.

She looked at him in surprise, not having expected him to let go so easily. "Matthew Christopher Reid," she replied quietly.

Hotch took the keys out of the ignition, surveying the scene in front of him. "Fitting," he murmured, getting out of the car. Hotch was hard to read, but she'd seen the small smile on his face. Matthew would have no trouble winning over this team, JJ thought.

/*/

Annabelle had just been released from the hospital, but had decided against calling Spence. Last she'd heard, he was working on a kidnapping case involving a little girl. That was way more important.

What she found when she came home had not been what she had been expecting.

"Mom?" she exclaimed after she'd opened the door to her apartment. "Dad?" Her parents were sitting calmly on the couch, her mother sipping tea. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in here?"

Her dad rose from the couch. "Sweetie," he said, a broad grin on his face.

"Your sister has a spare key, remember? Besides, you just had a child," her mom said with a slight hint of condemnation.

"Yeah, I noticed," Annabelle snapped. "That still doesn't explain what you're doing here." From his place in the car seat, Matthew started to cry. Annabelle groaned; he'd just settled down on the way home from the hospital… "Shh," she cooed, putting the carrier down and picking him up. She ignored her parents and went to her room to feed him. Breastfeeding in front of Spence and JJ was one thing, but it would be completely uncomfortable with her parents in the room.

"Annabelle?" her mother called from the other side of the door. Annabelle was tempted to lock her room and pretend they weren't there, but she figured that was childish.

"What, mom? I'm feeding my son," she snapped back. Matthew whimpered, and she felt a stab of guilt. "I'm sorry, baby," she whispered, quietly enough that her mother wouldn't hear. "Your grandma can be a piece of work sometimes…"

"I just want to talk to you," her mother said, sounding a little annoyed.

"More like order me around," Annabelle muttered under her breath. "It's going to have to wait!" she shouted back. An irritated sigh sounded from the other side of the door, but Annabelle ignored it; her son needed her.

Sometimes she wished her life was just about her and Matthew, that would definitely make things easier. Unfortunately, she didn't really have a choice in the matter. She briefly wondered how her parents had found out that she'd given birth early, because she hadn't called them. She'd left a voice message with her sister Lizzie, but she hadn't replied, so she doubted Lizzie would have told her parents…she wasn't particularly close to them either, despite seeming okay with handing over Annabelle's spare key… Then again, she wouldn't put it past her mother to have had a copy made at a previous date.

When Matthew had nursed on both sides, she went ahead and burped him before going back out to the front of her apartment. "That took you long enough," her mother muttered snidely.

"Yes, well, babies need to eat. You raised two daughters; you should know that," Annabelle said, still somewhat annoyed. "Why are you here?"

"Well, we get a text from you out of nowhere that you've had a baby boy, what did you expect us to do?" Her mom replied condescendingly from her place on the couch.

Annabelle frowned and reached for her phone. She sure as hell hadn't sent a message, so what the hell were they talking about? She scrolled through her conversations, and there it was. A text to her father's phone saying: It's a healthy baby boy!

She sighed. "Spence…"

"I'm sorry?" her mother asked. Annabelle glanced at her and at her father. They thought Matthew was the product of a one-night stand, which is what Annabelle's friends and family thought, but they still wouldn't be happy that she had contacted Matthew's father.

"I didn't send that text, Spencer did,"

"Who?" her father asked curiously. He'd been standing by the bookcase, studying the titles, and – as usual – letting mom do all the talking.

"Spencer Reid, Matthew's father."

"So you named him Matthew? That's a biblical name, since when have you been religious?" her mother snapped.

"I just liked it, okay, it fits his last name," Annabelle said back, trying very hard to keep from snapping or yelling as she put Matthew in his crib.

"Matthew Crawford? How does that fit?"

"It's Reid, mom, not Crawford," Annabelle said before she could stop herself. 'Oh crap.'

It was quiet in the apartment for almost a full minute, except for the baby's quiet breathing. "You gave your son the name of a man you only met once?" her mother asked in a deceptively calm voice.

"I named him after his father," she countered, standing her ground. "Spence is a nice guy, and he's a doctor, it's not like he's a criminal."

Annabelle's mother huffed. "That doesn't make any difference, he still left you after one night and never bothered to check up on you again. Not every doctor is like your sister."

Annabelle rolled her eyes. "Yes, and fortunately, not every mother is like you. I want you to leave," she said decisively.

Her mother stared at her, open-mouthed. "Are you–"

"I'm dead serious, mom. I want you to go, now."

Her mother glared at her for another minute, before turning to her husband. "Chris, we're leaving. It seems we're not wanted."

"Mariah–" Annabelle's father started, but a quick look from his wife shut him up. She stepped through the door and left without another word.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," her father said, heading towards the door as well.

"Dad, wait," Annabelle said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "My son, his name… it's Matthew Christopher Reid."

Eyes tearing up, her dad lifted a hand to cover his mouth. "I love you, daddy," she said, hugging him. "I just wish mom would understand."

Her dad pulled back. "She'll come around eventually," he assured her. He glanced at the bedroom door, seemingly torn between leaving and seeing his grandson again.

Annabelle smiled and went to get Matthew. He was sleeping, but only stirred a little when she picked him up. "Want to meet your grandson?" she asked her dad. He just nodded tearfully. Matthew looked even smaller in her dad's arms. She herself wasn't too tall, but her dad was almost 6 ft 3. Matthew instinctively grabbed for something to hold - in this case, her father's tie.

Annabelle laughed. "He likes you… He takes after Spence, he's so curious about everything…"

"You've stayed in touch then?" her dad asked, whispering so as not to wake the baby.

She smiled. "Just these last two weeks. We've been having lunch together nearly every day, and he brought me to the hospital when it was time."

Her dad smiled, and half-hugged her, being careful of the baby. "Just be careful, sweetie, I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"I'm always careful, daddy," she replied as she took Matthew from his arms. "You should go before mom thinks I'm kidnapping you."

He smiled one last time at his daughter and grandson and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.