A/N: I know, I know, it's a day late, but I had trouble with the ending of this chapter, and then the internet went down... I'm sorry. But at least now you've got a nice, long chapter to read! Also, I've been posting this on AO3 as well!
This chapter is dedicated to a relatively new friend of mine, with whom I had a Doctor Who day today. We watched all of the 9th Doctor in one day! So thanks Liz, you're amazing!
A/N 2: EDIT 12 May 2020: Okay, I've really started rearranging and throwing out huge bits of this, so a lot of this is new/changed content. A little more geeky stuff, and setting up a bit of a routine for Spence and Annabelle. Enjoy!
Chapter 6:
For the past two weeks, his team had been pestering him about meeting Annabelle and his son. He'd explained to them what had happened between them, and, while shocked, they'd been supportive, and hadn't judged him. He'd had to extract a solemn promise from Garcia about not tracking them down, though. All the same, he knew he couldn't stall them forever.
He wanted to keep Matthew to himself for a little while longer. It almost felt selfish, but Reid didn't care. After all, he had every right to keep his own child to himself, didn't he?
"Reid," Hotch's stern voice jerked him out of his thoughts. "Did you hear me?"
"Hmm? Sorry, Hotch," Reid muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Go with Rossi," Hotch said. "We've got another crime scene."
Reid nodded and followed the older agent out of the Billings police station. Montana was a little too far from home for Reid's tastes, and seriously cold. It was winter, and Reid could barely feel his fingers when he stepped outside. Never mind that it was two hours earlier here than it was in Virginia. Garcia had set him up with a skype account and had taught him how to use it, grinning all the way through the lesson, of course. At least she'd promised not to tell Morgan… He'd skyped with Annabelle the day before, to see Matthew, but it wasn't exactly the same. He also hated asking Garcia for one of her laptops because of the teasing she put him through.
"Are you okay, kid?" Rossi asked, getting into the SUV.
Reid sighed, getting into his side of the car. He knew his team was watching him a lot closer than usual. "I'm fine, just tired."
"Being a parent isn't easy, is it?" Rossi said in a sympathetic voice. Reid just hummed, recognising this for what it was: a way to make him open up. He hadn't actually told his team anything personal, not even his son's name, and he'd wanted to keep Annabelle's private life private. He'd told them they could ask her when they met her. Which, of course, prompted them to ask when that would be happening.
All he really wanted was to go back to Virginia.
"Come on, kid, you're going to have to talk to us about this sooner or later, or Garcia and Morgan will just team up and pay that girl of yours a visit," Rossi warned amicably.
Reid groaned at the thought, letting his head fall into his hands. "You'll meet them eventually, just… not yet."
Rossi just nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "I'm just saying… you know how impatient Garcia can be, especially when it comes to babies."
"I know… trust me, I know," Reid murmured, watching the scenery pass by outside the window. He was just hoping for a little more time…
/*/
"Good job everyone," Hotch congratulated as they walked into the Bureau. "I know it's early, but go home and get some sleep, I don't need you until 9 am tomorrow."
"Great, I could use some sleep," Rossi commented, already turning towards the elevators.
"Hang on just a moment," Morgan said, calling his colleague back. "I've got an announcement to make." Hotch raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment, as everyone else just stared in curiosity. "We all know about Reid's little secret, and how he doesn't want to talk to us about it."
Reid felt dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. Oh God, what'd he do?
"Well," Morgan started, but before he could answer, the elevator doors opened and someone Reid absolutely hadn't been expecting stepped out.
"Annabelle?" Reid asked incredulously, basically running over. She was carrying Matthew and had a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. "What are you doing here."
"What do you mean, you sent me a text," she said, pulling out her phone and showing it to him. Reid recognised that phrasing. Morgan. He closed his eyes, there was no stopping it now. "You didn't send it, did you?" Reid shook his head. "Well, serves you right for texting my parents behind my back."
"Hi Annabelle," JJ said with a smile, coming over. The two women embraced while Reid dreaded her meeting the rest of his team, but it was too late, as Garcia had also come over and the rest had just followed her.
Reid took the baby from Annabelle and held him carefully in his arms. He was still a little unsure when holding the infant, but his confidence was growing. "Hey, little guy, did you miss me?" he cooed.
For a little while, he only had eyes for his son, as he swayed gently to get the infant to stop squirming, but when he looked up, he realized that every eye in the room was on him, complete with matching raised eyebrows (Hotch and Morgan) and a dropped jaw (Garcia), and amused gazes (Rossi and Alex). He blushed and shifted uncomfortably.
"Everyone," JJ said, redirecting the attention to her, "meet Matthew Christopher Reid."
Garcia let out a high pitched squeal, and rushed over to coo at the baby. They were all quiet for a while until Rossi broke the ice. "Well, that's a summa cum laude name if ever I heard one."
Alex chuckled and stepped forward. "May I?" she asked, holding out her arms for the infant. Reid was tempted to say no, but figured no one would ever let him live that down, and, after a glance at Annabelle, handed his son over.
Garcia stuck close, explaining that she'd take him herself, but she was wearing too much jewelry for it to be comfortable for the baby. Meanwhile, Morgan came to stand by Reid. "He's a handsome kid, Reid, you should be proud," he said sincerely.
When Reid glanced back at Annabelle, she looked up and smiled encouragingly from where she stood next to JJ. Hotch had been standing a little apart from all the rest, but now came to stand next to Rossi, talking to him quietly. Reid sighed. "I know, I just… I wanted to keep him to myself a little while longer," he told Morgan, keeping his eyes on his son.
Annabelle took hold of the baby again when he began to fuss. "We should go, are you coming, Spence?" she asked as she leaned down to get the diaper bag from where she'd let put it on the ground. Hotch stepped forward to help her, but Annabelle turned away when he tried to hand it to her. "Can you get that, Spence?" she asked.
Reid frowned, but took the bag from Hotch. He filed that reaction away in his mind, and told himself he'd go over it later. They got into the elevator, and – though it looked like Garcia was tempted to come with them just so she could keep looking at the baby – he left his team in the hall. They were probably analysing this already.
Great.
/*/
They walked back to the car in an amicable silence, Reid carrying the diaper bag and Annabelle carrying Matthew. "So, that was your team… They're…"
"Enthusiastic?" he suggested, thinking of Garcia's reaction.
Annabelle smiled. "That's one way to describe them, I suppose," she replied as she put Matthew into his car seat.
Reid smiled to himself. His team was like his family, and he really cared about their opinion. He hoped they'd liked Annabelle. "They're not usually like that," he said casually, getting into the car as well. "They were just excited to meet you."
"I guess I was kind of the team mystery for a while there," Annabelle replied with a grin. "You did drop a bit of a bombshell on them with this."
Reid looked mildly affronted. "Technically, Hotch made me drop that bombshell."
Annabelle laughed. "Hear that baby? Daddy's being a bad example by whining."
Reid shot her look, but couldn't help the smile spreading over his face.
"Come on, Spence, you have to admit that you sounded closer to Matthew's age than your own just now," she teased.
Reid just rolled his eyes playfully, but didn't respond.
They rode in amicable silence for a little while, until something occurred to Reid. "You called me Spence," he said, frowning at her.
Annabelle half-turned in her seat, careful to keep her eyes on the road, while still stealing a glance at him. "Should I not call you that?" she asked quietly.
Reid studied her body language. She seemed relaxed, but her hands gripped the wheel a little too tightly. He understood that it meant that she was tense, but he didn't understand the cause for it. "No, it's okay. Almost no one calls me that."
"Almost?"
Reid smiled. "JJ was the first person to ever call me that."
"I like her, she's nice." As she glanced over, she caught his eye. Slowly, a grin spread over her face, mirrored by the one on his. As she returned her gaze to the road, a soft laugh escaped her.
When they got to her apartment, she told Reid to get the baby and the diaper bag while she opened the door. "Do you want anything to drink before we get started?" she asked, taking Matthew from him.
"No, I'm okay," he replied, following her into the bedroom to the changing table. He got a diaper out of the bag and left it for her to put it on the baby.
Moving back into the living room while Annabelle got Matthew ready for bed, he set up the TV for their movie night. He'd done this for the past few days, and had finally gotten the hang of Annabelle's system. They were watching the new Star Trek movie, at Annabelle's behest, though he was sure they could never trump the old movies.
"All set?" Annabelle asked when she came out of the bedroom. Reid had already gotten the popcorn out of the microwave and was just setting it on the table.
"All systems are go," he joked.
"Alright, Mr. Sulu," she said, playing along. "Take her away!" She snuggled down onto the couch, taking a blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders.
"It's not that cold," he commented as he sat down on the other end.
"No," she agreed with a grin, "but it's a lot more comfy like this." She pulled her legs up onto the couch and leaned down against the armrest. Reid just shrugged and played the movie.
Annabelle and him kept commenting on various scenes, but it was obvious she was tired. She nodded off about halfway through the movie, and stretched out. One of her feet ended up on Reid's lap, but he was too afraid of waking her to move it. He remained where he was until the end credits rolled across the screen. He'd only just turned the TV off when he heard a soft whimpering coming from the bedroom.
Glancing at Annabelle, he decided that she could probably do with some sleep, got up, and went into the bedroom. Matthew lay in his crib, still asleep, but fussing. Reid gently picked the infant up and cradled him in his arms. A look into the crib revealed the reason for Matthew's discomfort. He'd somehow ended up lying on top of his pacifier, and it had been uncomfortable enough to disrupt his sleep.
"It's okay," he whispered to the tiny child, fishing the offending object out of the crib. He made soothing noises as Matthew settled back into a deeper sleep in his arms. Reid stared at the baby in wonder. How could such a small creature mean so much? He'd never felt like this before. His godson Henry meant a lot to him, too, but Matthew… He couldn't even describe it.
"It suits you." A whisper from behind him interrupted his thoughts.
Turning, he saw Annabelle leaning against the doorframe, looking sleepy, but with a soft smile on her face. She looked… pretty, he thought. Then, he mentally chastised himself. He had no right to think of her like that, not after everything he'd put her through. "What do you mean?" he asked, not letting his thoughts show on his face.
Her smile broadened. "Being a father, it suits you."
Reid didn't really know what to say to that. "Thanks?" he replied, a little uncertainly, before turning back and putting Matthew back in his crib, the pacifier now safely in the baby's mouth.
He followed Annabelle back into the living room and picked up his jacket. "I should go home, it's going to be an early day tomorrow."
"Stay," she said, stepping towards him. The gesture confused him, and it must've shown on his face, because she went on. "Stay here tonight."