A/N: EDITED as of June 2020. so, more new content, and a few lines from episode 6 from season 8. Enjoy

Chapter 9:

Morgan was aware of Reid's fidgeting without having to look. The frequent glances were also a pretty big hint that the kid wanted to ask something. But he wasn't about to alleviate his friend's anxiety, so he happily pretended not to notice anything.

Until Blake intervened, that is. "Okay, Morgan, if you don't ask him what he wants, I will," she snapped.

Reid started and Morgan grinned. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Blake sighed in irritation and got up from her desk. "In that case, I'm going to get a cup of coffee. He better not still be fidgeting when I get back."

And with that, they were left by themselves. Grinning, Morgan turned back to the file in front of him, patiently waiting for Reid to burst.

"Can- Can I ask you something?"

His grin turned into a smirk as he turned to his friend. "Okay. From the nervousness and the stalling, I'm assuming this is about a girl. Out with it, loverboy," he said, teasing. He knew whatever he wanted to talk about was probably not easy, what with his situation with his kid, but maybe he could help.

Reid ran a hand through his hair nervously. "You know a lot about houses, right? Would- I mean- could…" he trailed off, seemingly unsure how to ask.

Morgan's smirk melted into something a little kinder. "Hey, whatever it is, I'll do my best to help, kid, you know that. Take your time."

After another deep breath, Reid nodded. "Annabelle wants to look for a house closer to Quantico."

Morgan's eyebrows rose. "As in, together? Or just her?"

Reid actually blushed at that. "Uhm. Together, kind of. But, not like that. We're not… together," he said, emphasizing that word. The whole situation was kind of messed up, but Morgan thought that both Annabelle and Reid had done an admirable job of handling it. The question was, what was going on between them on a more intimate level? He had the feeling that Reid felt just a little more than just friends, but it might just be because they had a kid together. Those dynamics were not something he was very familiar with, and neither was Reid, which made it all a little harder to assess.

"So, you're going to be living together, but you're not romantically involved?" he asked, for clarification.

"Yes," Reid replied, seemingly relieved that Morgan had understood. "I already spend more time at her place than my own, and we both think that Matthew needs both of us. Not to mention that Annabelle only had the one bedroom, and Mattie will need a room of his own before long. Annabelle also mentioned a backyard."

Focussing on the easier part of this for the moment, Morgan nodded. "So, a 3 bedroom house with a backyard. Shouldn't be too difficult to find, why do you need my help?"

"Annabelle is kind of busy with Matthew and looking for a teaching job, so I wanted to get a head start on house hunting, but… I have no idea what to look for…"

Morgan's smirk returned. "You want me to go house hunting with you?" he asked, a light teasing note in his voice. "Why, Spencer Reid, I thought you'd never ask," he said with a chuckle.

"Thanks, Morgan."

"No problem, kid. But you owe me one," he said with a grin.

/*/

"When you said I owed you one, this isn't what I had in mind," Reid said, putting another ball into the machine. Morgan had insisted he come practise softball with him, in the hopes of putting Reid on the FBI team for their upcoming game.

"Hey, you act like this is torture," Morgan said, clearly enjoying Reid's discomfort. "You know, there are people who think this is fun." He walked over to where Reid still stood by the machine.

"Believe it or not, most of my childhood sports memories aren't altogether pleasant."

Morgan sighed, and Reid did feel a little bad about being so difficult about this. But this just wasn't who he was. Luckily Annabelle wasn't a very sports-y person, just going jogging twice a week. "Reid, it's just one game. We need a body; you might not have to play," Morgan reassured him.

Reid jumped at the opportunity "Perfect, can we go now?" he said, already stepping away.

"Reid!" Morgan said. And, though he still looked amused, Reid could tell he was also a little exasperated. "Just humor me." Reid shot him a sheepish look as Morgan held out the bat. "Just take the bat, get up there, and give it a try."

Gingerly, he took the bat and walked over to the cage, trying to copy Morgan's earlier stance.

"You're gonna like this, kid, I promise. And just think, maybe this is something you can do with your little man later on."

Reid made a face. "That's going to be your job."

Pausing, Morgan looked over. Then he grinned. "Damn right. Okay, now see it… and hit it."

He put the ball into the machine and Reid tried to keep his eyes on it as he swung… and completely missed. He could already feel his frustration rising. He wasn't made for this kind of thing. "Okay, first try," Morgan soothed, and took another ball. "Keep your eye on the ball."

Glancing at the ball and the bat again, Reid muttered: "Gravity plus drag coefficient plus- I see what you're saying!" he shouted. "If I can adjust the velocity of my swing…" It was all about controlling the variables.

"What I'm saying is, get out of your head," Morgan interrupted, amused again.

Right, instinct. Which was just your subconscious making calculations faster than your conscious mind could follow. "Right, feel it," he said, loud enough for Morgan to hear.

"Don't think, just feel it."

"Don't think, just feel," he muttered to himself, retaking his stance.

The ball flew at him again, he swung and… missed again.

"Reid, that's not feeling it."

"I'm feeling like an idiot," he complained. He wasn't built for this.

Morgan chuckled, and was about to offer more advice when his phone rang. "Well, today's your lucky day, we just got a case."

"Yes," Reid muttered to himself, putting the bat down gratefully. "Thank God."

"Come on, pretty boy," Morgan said, leading him back to his car.

Pulling out his cell phone, and sent a quick text to Annabelle. She wasn't really expecting him back soon, but he knew she preferred to know where he was.

/*/

Annabelle wasn't surprised when Spence called her later that morning. "We're going to Miami. I'm not sure how long it's going to take, but it'll be a few days."

"Okay, sure. Let me know when you land?" she asked. Matthew reached for her phone, he'd been getting more grabby lately. "I think your son wants to talk to you," she said with a grin, put the phone on speaker and held it out to her son.

"Hey buddy," Spence said, the smile evident in his voice. Matthew gurgled something that vaguely resembled babbling. "That's great, buddy, you want to try to say daddy? Can you say daddy?"

Annabelle laughed. "He's too young to talk, Spence, the fact that he's babbling is pretty amazing. He's definitely your kid. Besides, I'm hoping that the first time he says dada will be to your face, and not to a phone."

"I know," Spence sighed. "I'll call you when we get there."

"Safe flight."

/*/

Annabelle started awake. For a moment, she was a little disoriented. She felt like she'd slept forever, and that hadn't happened since before Matthew was born. Another moment later, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

She was sitting on the couch, a blanket draped over her. She didn't remember doing that. A noise from her bedroom startled her. A familiar voice was murmuring softly, and Annabelle relaxed. As quietly as she could, she got up and went to stand in the doorway. Spence was cradling Matthew in his arms.

"-combination of his psychopathic tendencies and his father leaving him. He never really stood a chance. But you're never going to have to worry about that. Daddy will never leave you or mommy."

Annabelle pressed her hand to her lips. A sob was stuck in her throat, but she couldn't seem to do anything against it. She knew Spence wasn't the type to abandon his family, even if he wasn't in a relationship with her, but to hear him say it like that.

She must have made a sound, because he turned to face her, a sheepish look on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake-"

But she didn't let him finish. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around both him and Matthew as best she could. For a moment, they just stood there, until Spence's free hand came to rest on her back. "I'd never just leave," he whispered.

"I know," she sobbed, embarrassed at her overly emotional response, but unable to stop it. "I know you wouldn't, it's just… hearing you say it… It means the world to me, Spence."

/*/

"Are you sure you want to watch this? Because it might be embarrassing to be seen with the guy who can't even hit a single ball," Spence said, looking supremely uncomfortable as she pulled up at the softball fields.

"Even if you were to fall on your face, I wouldn't mind being seen with you, Spence," she replied, amused. Matthew was squirming in his seat behind her, and she could tell that he was about to start complaining. "I'm just going to feed Mattie, can you get his stroller? I'll meet you out there."

He looked like he would have preferred to stay here until the game was over, but Annabelle just shot him an amused glance. "You might not even have to play. Now go and cheer Morgan on," she said, and went to sit in the back seat while Spence grabbed the stroller from the trunk. Matthew was fussy, but clearly hungry, so he was finished quickly. She had just strapped him into his harness and gotten out of the car when someone called her name. "Annabelle!"

Turning, she saw the rest of Spence's team, plus Will and little Henry walking over. "Hey JJ, what are you all doing here?" she asked, a little overwhelmed. She still didn't do crowds well, but as long as she stuck with JJ or Penelope, she thought she'd be fine.

"Cheering on the kid, of course," Rossi said, smiling at her as he passed her by.

JJ grinned and put her arm through Annabelle's, while Will put Henry on his shoulders. "He's been practising, you know?"

"Seriously? He only told me about it this morning."

Penelope, who had also paused, was looking at her expectantly. Annabelle smiled. "You want to hold him?' she asked, already reaching for the straps on the harness.

"Yes please!" Penelope handed JJ a baseball cap and held out her hands for the baby.

By the time they'd made their way to the bleachers, the rest of the team had already taken a seat, and Spence was behind the fencing. JJ jogged ahead and put the cap on his head, telling him it was from Garcia. The blonde tech girl took one of Mattie's hands and waved it at his daddy. Matthew was pretty much oblivious, but very interested in Penelope's brightly colored necklace. Annabelle made a note to remind her of the dangers of grabby baby hands.

"So, you're playing after all?" she asked, walking up to the fence.

"Promise you won't be embarrassed if I fall?" he asked wryly.

One of his curls was almost in his eyes, due to the cap, so Annabelle reached up, took off his cap, smoothed his hair back and put it back on. His hair was soft, and she immediately wanted to run her hands through it again. "Promise," she said instead, intensely aware of her bright red cheeks.

She quickly turned around and sat in between Penelope and Alex. The former leaned over. "Do you need a fan or are you okay?" she whispered, teasing.

Deciding to tease right back, Annabelle said; "I might need a cold bucket, but I'll be fine." Penelope's eyes widened as much as her grin did, but Morgan was up for bat, and as his best friend, she was obliged to cheer.

Throughout the game, Annabelle felt strangely relaxed, though it helped that JJ and Henry were sitting behind her, and that the seat in front of her was empty. She briefly wondered if the women had agreed on this in advance, but brushed it aside. If they had, it was thoughtful, but if they hadn't, she didn't want to draw attention to it.

Morgan hit the ball into the outfield, and had managed to get to the second base. An agent she didn't know was up next, and Annabelle winced at the cheers coming from a few seats down. Worried about the noise for a moment, she glanced over, but Matthew was now securely in Aaron's arms on Penelope's other side, with his son Jack looking on curiously. Until Henry jumped down from his seat and asked something. Annabelle resigned herself to having her son passed from person to person on the team, but she found that she didn't mind that much. The team was family to Spence, so she trusted them.

By the time Spencer was up to bat, JJ was holding Matthew, and Annabelle was actually having fun. She was literally sitting in the middle of the group, and she felt… safe, in a way that she usually didn't in crowded places. She had no trouble cheering loudly. "Go, spence! You can do it!"

Penelope, now holding a small parasol smirked at her enthusiasm, but Annabelle just grinned back. This was a team full of profilers, she had no doubt that they'd all figured out that she had… feelings for Spencer.

Unfortunately, Spencer struck out. She wanted to go to the bench where he waited with the other players, but she was fairly certain she wasn't allowed, so she stayed put. She did make sure to smile at him when he looked her way.

By the time Spence was up again, the FBI team was only a few points behind the Secret Service. Annabelle didn't know a lot about softball beyond the basics, but she knew the game was practically at an end, and Morgan stood at the first base, so Spence would have to hit the ball, and his it far so that Morgan could make it back to the home base.

She cheered loudly, but she could tell that Spence's shoulders were tense. Suddenly, Morgan called a time out and jogged over to him. Worried, Annabelle got up and stood at the fence, closest to them.

Morgan was giving him a pep talk, and told him to get out of his head. "Spence," she interrupted. "Spence, come here." She walked over to the edge of the fence, and took his hand when he joined her. "You can do it, I know you can. You just have to focus and clear your mind."

"I don't know how to do that, all I can think about are the calculations."

She wasn't really sure how to help, but she wanted to. "Well… maybe think about Matthew. Or… or about me?" she suggested shyly.

A slight blush colored his cheeks, and Annabelle felt a little bit of hope rise. "You can do it, I know you can," she whispered. And then she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek, before retreating back to her seat. She hadn't realized until then that she hadn't let go of his hand up to that moment.

"Come on, kid, back in the field!" a broadly grinning Morgan yelled.

Annabelle was a little embarrassed that all of Spence's friends had seen that, and wanted to shrink into herself. But Spence needed her, so she lifted her head resolutely and cheered him on.

He missed his first two strikes, and Annabelle winced. His shoulders were tensing up again. Then he looked backwards briefly, and she caught his eye. She smiled and nodded encouragingly.

And he hit it!

Annabelle jumped to her feet, along with everyone except Alex, who was now holding Matthew. The ball just kept going as Morgan made it to home base and Spencer ran. And ran.

Someone finally managed to pick up the ball as Spence neared third base. He threw it, Spence pushed those last few yards, jumping to make it…

"Safe!" the umpire declared, and the FBI team almost dogpiled Spence in their haste to congratulate him. Annabelle gratefully took Matthew back as the team - minus Penelope, who was using her parasol to shade Matthew now - congregated at the fence to get to Spence.

He was euphoric, jumping onto Morgan's back, pumping his fist in the air. She'd never seen him this light before. "Did you hear that, baby? Your daddy scored a homerun, and won the game!" she whispered, rocking Matthew gently.

Eventually, Spence managed to disentangle himself from his teammates, and made his way over, accepting a hug from Garcia and holding out his hands for his son. Annabelle easily handed him over.

"Isn't it too hot for him? Is it okay for him to be out in the sun like this?" he asked, frowning slightly.

Grinning, Annabelle adjusted her son's little sun hat. "He's wearing sunblock, and Penelope has been gracious enough to share her parasol from time to time. Though maybe we should give him a bath this afternoon. Or go swimming, that might be fun."

"We're going swimming?" Rossi joked, coming to stand beside Reid and peering down at the baby.

"Uhm, I'm not great at swimming…" Spence muttered.

"Maybe we should limit ourselves to one sport per day," Annabelle agreed. "But we should do that sometime, I want him to be used to being in the water. I used to love playing in the pool as a kid."

Will, with Henry and Jack in tow, joined the little group. "We could meet up some other day, with the kids," he suggested.

The boy's eyes lit up. "I'm going to ask dad," Jack said, and ran off to find his father.

"And now you've started something," Rossi joked. "Good luck with that."

"I'm sure we'll manage," Annabelle chimed in, looking at Spence, who was looking a little overwhelmed again.

He relaxed and smiled back at her. "Sure. Right."