A/N: Thank you to the lovely Guest who posted a review on the last chapter. I was starting to think nobody cares. :') Thank YOU for taking the time to review. It made my day to know you liked my OC. Thanks again!
"The family – that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to"
- Dodie Smith
Spencer observed her in amiable silence. She liked love songs.
"...do you ever think back on old memories like that, and do I ever cross your mind?", Monica sang.
She had tried to get him to sing along as well, but Spencer preferred her sweet tones mixed with those of the music player. Monica steered to the right and informed him,
"We're here"
He had been excited about meeting Dr. Fleming at first. Then it dawned on him in what capacity he would be meeting her - her daughter's boyfriend.
And then there was the rest of the family. From what Monica had told him, the Knights were a tight-knit clan. They got together for lunch every other weekend.
"Dr. Reid?"
She brought him out of his reverie. Spencer grabbed the expensive bottle of Cabernet he had bought for the occasion. They exited the car at the same time. Monica walked over to his side and took his arm, instead of rushing over to her family.
"Monica!"
...who were all awaiting them on the porch.
Spencer took a deep breath. Monica assured him,
"It's not going to be as bad as you think. Come on"
Off they went.
For a family which met up every other Sunday, that was an awful lot of hugging and kissing. Spencer stood at the top of their porch stairs. When the lady with the British accent, Dr. Fleming obviously, had finished kissing her daughter, she turned to him. Monica was at his side again, laying a hand on his chest.
"Everyone, meet Dr. Spencer Reid. This is my Mom, Victoria. My Dad, Ted. This is my sister, Audrey. My sister, Catherine. My brothers, Max and George"
"Hello"
"Hi"
"Nice to meet you"
"Pleasure"
It came as a bit of surprise to him that no one tried to shake his hand. Monica must have warned them against it.
"Pleased to meet you, son. You're all Monica talks about lately", her Dad gave him a pat on the back, "Come on in. Make yourself comfortable"
Spencer held out the bottle to Dr. Fleming. He was a bit starstruck, and it didn't feel right to tell her just yet that he was a fan of her work.
"Um, this is for... thank you for having me over"
She gave him a heartfelt smile.
"Thank you for the wine. Come along. Have a seat"
It should have felt intimidating, claustrophobic even, to be surrounded by so many strangers. But the Knight family wasn't staring at him. Nor were they ignoring him.
"Monica told us you work for the FBI, Spencer", Catherine smiled at him.
He smiled back, politely.
"I do, yes"
Monica was perched on the armrest next to him on the couch. She reminded him,
"Catherine's wife, Elaine, is a firearms instructor at the Academy"
He knew.
"Elaine Dawson"
Catherine asked,
"You know her?"
"I know of her"
Monica had given him a little background on her family members. The surgeon Catherine, the Law Ph.D. Audrey, the ophthalmologist Max - with the exception of Monica's father and George, the Knight drawing room boasted of "doctors". No wonder they didn't feel intimidated or alienated by him.
"Mon said you're a profiler", George made conversation.
"I am"
Mr. Knight raised a finger, trying to recall something.
"I had the occasion to work with one of your agents in '87. I remember 'cause Monica was born that November. Remarkable guy, must have retired by now. David Rossi"
The name brought a smile to Spencer's face. He said,
"SSA Rossi is our Senior Field Agent"
That seemed to make Mr. Knight happy.
"Is he? Great guy. The case was about this serial arsonist. Terrible stuff. We were stumped. But David Rossi solved it in two days"
"He is one of the greatest profilers we have ever had", Spencer said.
Audrey told him,
"I knew your former Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner. I was a senior at Georgetown when he was a freshman"
Max joined the conversation.
"I don't know much about the BAU, but I'm grateful for what you guys do. You take monsters off the streets, save lives"
George chimed in,
"I think it's a bit of an overreach to call serial killers 'monsters'. They are human. Human beings are capable of all sorts of violence. Serial killers just prove that"
Catherine argued,
"But some might say what makes us human is our empathy and compassion. If a person lacks these values, does he deserve to be called human?"
Audrey made a counter point,
"That is what they are though. People. A difference of morality doesn't necessarily disqualify them from being human"
Mr. Knight shrugged.
"I, for one, refuse to believe that humans, or monsters, are beyond redemption. Anybody can change. People are inherently good and kind"
"Oh come on, Dad"
"Dad, please. You say sociopaths don't exist!"
"You're too sweet for your own good, Dad"
Mr. Knight gave a little laugh and beseeched their guest.
"Weigh in here, Spencer. What do you think?"
He thought... he thought he had never so quickly felt at home with a bunch of strangers.
When he looked up gratefully at Monica, she whispered to him,
"See? You're gonna fit right in"
The Knights were a cheerful lot. Everybody seemed to know what was going on in each other's lives. He had a most excellent conversation with Dr. Fleming about her new research. Audrey fussed over Monica, while Catherine playfully poked fun at her. Max and George were thick as thieves; they made him wish he had a brother.
It was a good afternoon.
When they had almost finished with the lunch, Mr. Knight showed Spencer some pictures on his phone.
"That's Monica wearing my firefighter helmet and dancing to YMCA. And this is her during her Gaia phase", Mr. Knight chuckled, "She used to call herself Gaia and tried to talk to rivers and trees, and squirrels…"
"Dad!", she complained, "Stop embarrassing me!"
"It's not embarrassing. You were an adorable little girl!"
Monica threatened her kin,
"Which one of you put my pictures in Dad's phone? I know you did it on purpose for today. If it was you, George, I swear..."
Spencer was enjoying himself more than he could have anticipated. He wondered if he would have been a different person, had he a family like Monica's. He couldn't imagine himself to be an extrovert though.
"Quit putting your hand on his thigh, Mon. Let the poor guy eat"
Monica said over the collective laughter,
"I did not! You shut up, George!"
"We all saw it!"
Another round of laughter. Spencer tried not to join them on it for Monica's sake.
When they had reassembled in the drawing room, Mr. Knight suggested,
"Why don't we all play something? Poker, anyone?"
Spencer looked at Monica with meaning. She said to her family,
"Maybe something else"
Max said,
"How about trivia? We'll use my computer"
"Don't tell me you have a trivia game on your computer, Max. That's sad", Catherine said.
"I'm not in the mood for trivia", Monica said over their voices.
"But you love trivia, Mon", Audrey said, "What's wrong with trivia?"
"Enough chitchat. Trivia it is", George got up, "Mom, pick a category"
"Hm", Dr. Fleming gave it a thought, "Literature"
"All right. Everybody's good with literature? Spencer?", George asked.
"Yeah", he said.
George clapped his hands together.
"Let's do this then. Maxy, bring your sad computer in. Everybody, make teams. I'm with Mom!"
Catherine complained,
"No way! Why do you always get Mom?"
"I called dibs!"
"You can't call dibs on our mother!"
Mr. Knight said,
"Don't worry, Cathy. I'll be on your team"
Catherine gave him a look and announced,
"I'm with Monica"
Audrey interjected,
"Hey, I was gonna pick Monica"
Max came back with his laptop,
"Who wants to be on my team? Anyone except Dad"
"Me!", Audrey said.
"Oh come on", Mr. Knight laughed, "I'm not that bad"
Dr. Fleming patted his hand.
"Darling, don't get them started"
George pointed out,
"That leaves Dad with Spencer. Huh. Spencer, you should know - Dad's is always the losing team"
Monica smirked,
"Not today"
Audrey grinned,
"Somebody's pretty confident about their boyfriend"
George and Catherine "ooh"d, making Monica roll her eyes. Dr. Fleming said,
"Won't we need someone to keep score?"
"I'll do it", Spencer quickly said.
"No way", George said, "Monica's already told us you're a genius. You're playing"
Mr. Knight said,
"I'll keep the score"
"But now we're an odd number", Audrey observed.
Max said,
"I'll tap out. I don't mind"
Dr. Fleming took charge,
"We'll just be wasting time now, reorganizing teams. Let's pick a different game"
"Ooh! Charades!"
"Yeah, charades is good"
"Charades it is"
"That's a game I'm good at"
"Yeah right, Dad"
"Spencer, you don't mind charades, do ya?"
He said,
"No. Charades sounds fun"
"Okay", Max put his laptop away, "Books or movies?"
"Books" was the unanimous answer. Mr. Knight could be heard sighing.
"Now we only need two teams", Catherine said, "How do we pick?"
Dr. Fleming said,
"How about, those sitting on that side and us sitting on..."
George quickly ran across the room and sat by his brother on the couch. His mother laughed.
"Well then, it's me, your Dad, Monica, and our guest of honour"
"Perfect", Monica smiled at him.
Each team had 60 seconds to guess the book's title right. Monica decided to feed Audrey "The Mayor of Casterbridge". Audrey made some gestures about giving a speech and signing documents, but 60 seconds were over before her team could guess it.
Monica taunted them,
"Great start, losers"
The Knight siblings, with the exception of Monica, were putting their heads together to come up with a title. They finally looked up.
George said,
"We're ready. Send us your best performer"
"I'll go", Mr. Knight got up.
The other team laughed. Max said,
"Come here, Dad"
Catherine covered her mouth while whispering the title. Mr. Knight scratched his head and turned to his team. Max started the clock.
Monica was quick,
"Okay. How many words, Dad?"
Mr. Knight gave it a thought.
"Dad!"
He held up five fingers.
"Okay. Five words"
Mr. Knight pointed at his head.
"Skull?", Dr. Fleming guessed.
He thrust his head out and passed his hand under it.
Monica guessed,
"Head. Decapitation. No! Floating head!"
Spencer leaned forward,
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"
"Yeah!", Mr. Knight grinned.
"What the...", Max mumbled.
Mr. Knight gave Reid's shoulder a hearty clap before sitting down. Dr. Fleming kissed her husband's cheek as a prize.
"All right, this one's ours", Monica turned to her team. She whispered to them,
"How about Necronomicon?"
Spencer told them,
"That may disqualify us. Necronomicon isn't a real book. It's only referenced by H. P. Lovecraft in his works"
"You're right", she said, "How about... Cujo?"
"Yes!", Mr. Knight said.
Spencer tried to advise against it, but couldn't. Monica turned to the other team and said,
"We're ready"
They sent George. She whispered the title in his ear and he scoffed.
"Way too easy"
George turned to his team and held up a finger.
"One word", Catherine said.
George got on all fours and snarled. Max exclaimed,
"Cujo!"
"Yes!"
"No way!", Monica frowned.
George got back to his team and taunted his sister,
"Who's a loser now, Mon?"
Spencer tried to make her stop glowering at her siblings.
"It was a good one", he said to her.
"No, it wasn't"
Dr. Fleming said,
"I'll go now"
She walked to her children and bent her head towards them. Audrey put an arm around her neck and whispered the title in her ear. Dr. Fleming nodded and turned to her team. She held up three fingers, then pointed to the third.
"Third word", Reid said.
She nodded and pointed to him. Monica guessed,
"Man. Lover. Handsome. Cute. Smart. Genius. Cop. Doctor? What? Okay. Man. Man?"
Reid looked around at their faces, embarrassed. Catherine and George were grinning at him. Dr. Fleming went on to interlace her fingers and point them at him and Monica.
"Couple. Relationship. Love. Lover! Affair", Monica kept trying.
Dr. Fleming pointed at Reid then George.
"Men? Boys. Boys? No. Boy. Boy?"
Dr. Fleming put her hands together and waved them between Monica and Reid, as if pleading with them.
"Boy? About A Boy! No? No, wait! A Suitable Boy! A Suitable Boy!"
"Yes!", Dr. Fleming gave her a high five, "Good girl!"
Catherine snickered,
"Easy, Mom. The kids aren't there yet"
Mr. Knight said,
"All right. It's our turn now. Team huddle"
Spencer suggested The Chrysalids. Dr. Fleming shook her head,
"That's George's favourite book"
Monica smirked,
"Yeah. And he just might pull his hair out if he doesn't get it right. The Chrysalids it is"
Catherine couldn't act the title out. Sixty seconds passed. Monica told them what the correct title was. Though George didn't pull his hair out, he grimaced and called his sister a "monster".
"You got this", Monica said.
Spencer walked to the other team with his game face on. George and Catherine gave him devilish smiles. He bent his head and Audrey whispered in his ear -
"Rebecca"
That worried him. There was no way he could act that title out. Max warned them,
"Hey, no sign language, you two"
Well, crap.
Monica gave him an encouraging smile nonetheless and Catherine started the timer. Spencer held up one finger. Monica began firing away titles.
"Persuasion. Middlemarch. It. Misery. Dracula. Carmilla. Vilette. No?"
Dr. Fleming tried,
"Nausea?"
Reid shook his head. He wasn't going to lose. He hated losing.
"Hamlet? Carrie?", Monica tried.
Rebecca was one of Monica's favourite books. She had told him that in the library once. Maybe he could try it that way.
"Ivanhoe? Perfume? Emma?"
Mr. Knight tried,
"Matilda?"
Reid pointed at himself, then at Monica. He pretended to read, turn the pages of a book.
"Me? Me and you. A book? Our favourite books?"
He made the shape of a structure with his hands, pretended to pull a book out of its shelf.
"Bookshelf. Shelves. Library?"
Yes! He pointed at themselves again. From his left, Catherine said,
"10 seconds"
He tried but there was no sign that could be interpreted as the word Rebecca.
"9, 8, 7..."
He kept shouting inside his mind - 'Rebecca! Rebecca! Rebecca!'
Her siblings counted in unison,
"5, 4, 3..."
'Monica, it's Rebecca!'
"Rebecca!", she said.
George cursed and slumped backwards on the couch. The Knights gawked at Spencer and Monica. He sat down by her side with a proud little smile on his face. Audrey asked,
"How did you even guess that?"
Catherine teased,
"Telepathy. A lurv connection"
"Sod off", Monica said.
"Actually", Spencer said, "Telepathy may not be impossible after all. A recent experiment by a team composed of scientists from Barcelona and France enabled a man in India to say 'hello' to three different people in France, without using phones, computers or other traditional forms of communication"
Dr. Fleming said,
"Ah. I remember that. Alvaro has a great future ahead of him"
"I'll believe it if you two can do it again", Max teased.
Monica said irritably,
"Are we playing charades or experimenting? Get on with the game"
When it was her turn to enact the title, Monica hoped telepathy was possible. She had heard Catherine say to their siblings,
"Let's give her something dirty"
Audrey wouldn't let them. But this one was not going to be a picnic either. Monica turned to her team. If she didn't do it right, they would lose.
This was medieval literature. She wanted to let Spencer know that. If anyone could guess it, it was him. But how to tell him?
She held up six fingers, then folded her second one.
"Second word", Mr. Knight said.
Monica nodded and made the sign of a book.
"Book. The second word is book", Spencer said.
She nodded again. Then she indicated the fifth word. She pretended to count the number of her team members. She held up one finger, then a second, and then three.
"1, 2, 3?"
"Three?", Spencer saw her nod, "Book, three. The Book of the Three Virtues!"
"YES!"
Her team got to its feet, victorious and proud of it. Dr. Fleming and Mr. Knight gave each other a double high five. And Monica grabbed Spencer by the neck and kissed him.
"Oooh! Get it, girl!", George hollered at her.
She released Spencer amidst undisguised chuckling from her siblings. Poor thing turned red right up to his forehead. Monica smoothed down his shirt on his chest and took a step back.
"Well", Mr. Knight said, "Looks like Monica's celebrated already. Who else wants a drink?"
When the Knight parents came to the door to see their children off, Spencer found himself a bit disappointed. Time had passed too soon when he was with them.
"Spencer", Mr. Knight said, "I hope you can join us again the Sunday after next. My daughters-in-law will be there, and Audrey's husband too. I will plug in my karaoke machine"
Max said,
"Oh, you've got to be here for the karaoke, Spencer. When we were kids, Monica made me, Cat and George play the Pips. And she would be Gladys Knight. The mimicry is almost uncanny"
"Thank you", Spencer smiled, "I'll try my best to be there"
Mr. Knight sighed, taking in the sight of his youngest. Monica was some distance away, conversing with her mother and sisters.
"Boy, am I glad she is finally back here. When she was working for the British, we rarely ever got to see her"
Spencer knew Monica had studied mostly at Oxford, but she had never mentioned working there. He wondered aloud,
"For the British?"
Monica walked up to them just as Mr. Knight said,
"Yeah. Her work with their spy agency, MI5. Or was it MI6? I always get the two confused"
Footsteps halted. Five pairs of eyes shifted from Spencer to Monica and Monica to Spencer. Mr. Knight received a look from his daughter which made him say,
"I... I thought you had told him about it. Oh. My bad, sweetie"