A/N: Many thanks to my lovely Guest reviewer! See the bottom of the page for more notes. Thanks for taking the time to read!

"Love is a spy who is plotting treason,
In league with that warm, red rebel, the Heart"

- Ella Wheeler

The sun had begun its descent by the time they headed home. Monica did not put on any of her terrible 80's music. She drove at her regular speed, not saying anything. Neither did Spencer. When she finally spoke, he listened.
"Are you angry with me? I would understand if you were"
He wouldn't respond. She glanced at him.
"I was going to tell you, I swear"
"When?", Spencer suddenly exclaimed, "When were you going to tell me that you are a spy?"
"I am not, I was. It was a long time ago. They recruited me when I was at Oxford. I was young and I wanted adventure. It really wasn't..."
"Oh my god", it dawned on him, "That gunshot wound on your shoulder - that's not from a ricocheted bullet"
"It is! I was in my freshman year at Richmond before I moved to England. I really got hit by a bullet when I was protesting", she said, "I may have hidden things from you, darling, but I have never lied to you. I am so sorry"
He was trying his best to make sense of it. He had profiled her all wrong.
"How can you be a spy? You are a terrible liar!"
"I wasn't really a spy, you know. I just… I moved information and stuff"
"That is exactly what a spy does!"
"Okay, okay! But it was for a good cause every time. I never hurt anyone. I never killed anyone. Most of it was office work. I couldn't even use my guns without prior permission"
He stared ahead, echoing her words,
"Guns. She just said guns"
"Oh god. I'm just making this worse!", Monica said, "Please. Believe me - it was just a job. I never got anyone killed or hurt. And it's all in the past! I got out for good years ago"
"You worked for MI5. How can you... it's not even your country!"
"Actually... I have dual citizenship"
"Well, that is just fantastic!"
"Please! I don't work for them anymore. And I'm really sorry. I never meant for you to find out this way"
"Did you mean for me to find out at all?"
When she didn't answer, Spencer clamped his hands against his face and groaned. That made her panic.
"I was gonna tell you, I swear! The timing was never right. And then everything started going so well, I didn't want to ruin it"
He sat up straighter in his seat and spoke as calmly as he could.
"What else have you been hiding from me?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing. This is the only thing. And it's irrelevant now. I have no contact with the Service anymore. I'm retired"
"How do I know that's true?"
"Because I just told you. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yeah, my girlfriend who wears Disney onesies used to be a spy and that's all there is?", he said sardonically, "Come on, Dr. Knight. You must have another secret in there somewhere. Lay it on me"
"Don't be like this. Please. I don't want us to fight"
"How the hell am I supposed to trust you again, Monica?"
She gaped at him before saying,
"Oh like you don't have any secrets from me?"
"I don't!"
"Balls! You know you do. Don't make me go there"
"Why don't you enlighten me about these secrets of mine that I don't know about?"
"I don't have to! I'm not gonna overreact like you"
"Overreact? I am overreacting?", his voice rose, "You call it overreacting when almost every woman I come across has some devastating effect on my life?"
"Devastating?! You're comparing me with..."
"And at least I don't overreact every time I see a tree stump! It's like dating an eco-terrorist!"
"What the hell did you just call me?!"
"You know what? Stop the car! Stop the car right here. If I argue with you for one more second, I'll lose my mind! Stop it!"
"Fine!"
The tires screeched as Monica braked the car. She leaned over and opened his door before he could.
"If my presence is so unbearable to you, I won't force you to put up with it!"
"Thanks!", he got out and shut the door.
Monica gave him a look of disbelief, pursed her lips in a tight line and drove out of there. Spencer stood fuming where she had left him.

Monday night -

They had profiled the UnSub to be meticulous to a fault. And he had been caught by the local police while staging his latest victim. It reminded Spencer of when Monica had argued with him, that most serial killers were caught by coincidence.
It sucked.
Sucked!
Fighting with her - sucked.
Not receiving her good morning voicemail - sucked.
Wanting to yell at her and kiss her at the same time - sucked.
Technically, she may not have lied to him. But her secret changed things. She no longer seemed like the innocent botany professor he had wooed in the library. Now she had a past he knew nothing about, unanalysed data that left him with an incomplete profile. Maybe that's why it had hit him so hard. He had profiled her wrong.
Spencer had to remind himself that Monica was his girlfriend, not an UnSub.
When he got off the jet, he saw she had left him 2 messages. But right under her name, there were 3 messages from the facility his mother was at. Diana needed him.

They were useless, useless people. How could they let a paranoid schizophrenic wander off the premises?
"We assure you it won't happen again, Dr. Reid. But your mother is fine. We got a call that she was at your apartment. Our staff must already be on their way back with her right now"
"How could she be at my apartment? She doesn't have a key!"
"A lady called us to say your mother was safe and inside the apartment. She didn't tell who she was"
He tried not to panic.
"Call your people and tell them to stay with her till I get there"

Running up the flight of stairs, Spencer arrived at his door. He turned the key and threw the door open.
"Mom? Mom, are you here?", he closed the door behind him.
Two people, Rodney and Gina, from the facility staff were sitting in his drawing room. And a third.
Monica.
Sitting in the chair.
Looking worse than ever.
Rodney and Gina got up on seeing him.
"We just arrived. Miss Knight brought her upstairs before we could get here. But Diana... she tried to...", Gina broke off, glancing at Monica, "To throttle her. Miss Knight said she recognized her though. Diana realized who she was hurting and she started crying. But she is fine now. Miss Knight put her to bed"
He was before the couch within a moment. Crouching down, he tried to lift Monica's face to check on her throat. His hand shook and Monica took it before he could touch her.
"I'm fine", she gave him a small smile, "It's nothing"
Though the lights were dim, he could make out the angry welts on her delicate throat. His chest constricted with guilt. Spencer rose and addressed the other two.
"I'll bring her back tomorrow, let her sleep it off. Thank you"
Gina nodded sadly and they took their leave. That left him alone with Monica, and the regret he felt.

Closing the door upon the orderlies, Spencer went to the room his mother was in. She was fast asleep, snoring. Monica had covered her with a blanket from his room. If she hadn't found her... his mind was flooded with the possibilities, each worse than the other.
He tried to compose himself and closed the door behind him. Monica sat still on the sofa chair. He walked to her and debated inwardly where he should sit. After watching him for a few seconds, Monica got up.
Spencer said, shoving his hands inside his pockets,
"Thanks for taking care of Mom. I'm sorry she hurt you"
"It wasn't her fault. She was scared and alone"
"What were you doing here?"
Monica evaded eye contact.
"I left you some messages but, you didn't call back. I got really pissed and I came here to yell at you. It didn't feel right to use the key you gave me. So I waited downstairs, on the steps"
"For how long?"
She shrugged,
"An hour maybe"
For once, he was tongue-tied. His body told him just what he wished to do to her, but pride held him back. Monica glanced at her watch.
"It's late. I should go. Will you let me know if she's better in the morning?"
"Who?"
"Diana?"
"Yeah. Yeah, sure"
"Okay. If you need help or...", she tried, "You know"
"Yeah"
She turned to go,
"Good night"
He mumbled,
"Night"
One moment he was watching her walk to the door, the other moment she turned and hit him in the chest.
"You're such a jerk!", Monica hissed through her teeth.
He whispered back,
"Excuse me?!"
"I wait two hours for you on your doorstep. I leave you messages saying I'm sorry and I love you and I couldn't sleep all night thinking about you, and you can't even admit you have trust issues? What is the matter with you?!"
They were speaking in hushed tones.
"What's the matter with me? What's the matter with you?! Why did you not tell me you were a spy? You don't even look like a spy!"
"That's the whole point of being a spy! Incognito!", she whispered, "And you didn't tell me you worked for the FBI until we started dating!"
"It never came up!"
"This never came up either!"
He whispered,
"It's my fault for not asking you if you had any connections with British counterintelligence?!"
"Why is it such a big deal? Jesus! I am not a bloody spy anymore! I wasn't even one of those honey-trappers, if that's what you're worried about. They only hired me 'cause I was in activist circles and I spoke some foreign languages. It was another life. Now I am just a boring, middle-aged botany researcher who saves discount coupons!"
"You're not boring", he frowned, "You are one of the most interesting people I know"
Her shoulders sagged. Monica groaned. She said,
"Why are we still fighting about this? I told you I am sorry. I really am"
Spencer stared at her wary expression. Swallowing his pride, he said,
"Because I have a pathological need to be right, to know everything. And my ego took a hit when I found out there was something I didn't know about you"
Monica's hands landed on his arms. She passed them along his sleeves, looking up at him.
"Everything you need to know about me, you do know. This is me, Dr. Reid. This weepy, bumbling mess before you is me. What I did back then was just a job. It's not who I am"
She held his hand in both of hers.
"You have to believe me - I would never hurt you. And if you don't... if you don't love me anymore..."
Quickly, he said,
"I do. I still do. I just... I'm a little paranoid, with good reason. But I know. You would never hurt me. You... you don't even turn off the lights when I stay over", a reluctant smile appeared on his face, "Because you know I'm afraid of the dark"
Monica sniffled.
"Well... I don't want you to have nightmares. And I get a better look at you when you're naked"
His body leaned forth in relief and embraced her fully. Spencer inhaled the fragrance of her hair. His heart seemed lighter as he said -
"I am sorry"
Monica wrapped her arms around his back. She said after a moment,
"You've made me cry more in the last 24 hours, than I have cried in 31 years"
"I am so sorry"
"It's okay. You're not getting rid of me so easy", she hugged him tighter.
Spencer smiled and closed his eyes, swaying a little with her in his arms. He knew it would make her happy to hear -
"Would you like to stay over?"
Monica withdrew and looked into his eyes.
"Will I get the good loving?"
His dimples showed.
"As good as I can manage"
She said,
"That's more than good enough for me"
Spencer kissed her and led her by the hand to his room. He said,
"Come on. We will have to be quiet though"
"You know damn well you are the loud one"
"Sshh"

A/N: I wanted to cater to the plot-preferring lot of you as well. Monica being a former spy marks the beginning of that plot. I didn't plan for this OC to be a spy. But as I wrote more and more one-shots, it was sort of a discovery. She is fun, well-read, sensible, had a great childhood. Where's her struggle? Why would a character like her be attracted to Dr. Spencer Reid? And it just clicked. He is her normal. The cozy house, the beloved dog, the love for nature, the quiet simple life, and a sweet boyfriend – she treasures all that because she had to struggle for it. Normal is important to Monica, why? Because she hasn't had it for a long time. Suddenly, it made sense. I began dropping subtle hints about it around chapter 4, 'cause a dramatic reveal is of no use unless there is an established backstory.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this light-hearted chapter. It might be the only one of its kind for a while. What's coming isn't exactly pretty. Thank you for your readership. Your feedback shall bring me joy, as always.