"What do you mean it will cost me three hundred dollars if I want a bouquet of hollyhocks?" Reid said loudly, glaring at the woman behind the desk.
"They're not a flower we normally stock. There's not much call for wildflowers, most people prefer perennials or annuals. I'll have to have these flown in special with our next delivery from our fields in Michigan. You're lucky I'm only charging you this much. Do you want them or not?"
"Can I at least pick what colors are sent here?"
"There aren't really many colors. White, pink, maroon, and yellow."
"No yellow, if possible, please." His shoulders slumped as the woman nodded. "Thank you."
"What do you need these flowers for, anyway?" she asked as she put the order in.
Reid sighed, looking down at the countertop. "I found out that I'm going to be a father."
The clerk seemed to be able to read the truth behind those words as her eyes narrowed. "Now I'm wishing that I did charge you more. Are you going to pick these up, or do you want them delivered directly to her?"
He thought for a moment. He wasn't sure if she was going to be at her home, or with Rossi and Garcia, so he settled on the only good option. "I'll pick them up. When will they be here?"
"I'll get the shipment in tomorrow morning. If you come by at eight, you could have them then."
Reid nodded and pulled out his credit card, quickly paying for the flowers. "I'll see you in the morning, then." Turning, he walked out of the shop and sighed deeply. Morgan smiled at him from the truck and he nodded, climbing back in. "I have to come back in the morning. The flowers have to be flown in from Michigan."
"Do you want me to drive you, kid?"
He shook his head. "No, this is something that I have to do on my own. Do you think that she'll be at home?"
Morgan shook his head, not looking at him. That told Reid that he knew more than he was letting on. Reaching out, he gripped Morgan's arm hard, causing the man to look at him. "I can't tell you, Reid. I've been sworn to secrecy."
"So, she's with Rossi and Garcia, then. I'll just head over there tomorrow after I pick up the flowers. She doesn't have to see me, after all. I just have to get them to her." He took in the slight way Morgan's mouth tightened and knew he had called it. Now, he just had to talk himself into actually delivering the flowers.
By the time his alarm rang the next morning, his stomach was churning with nerves. Strangely, Reid wondered if this was what Erin had felt like when she had worked up the courage to tell him about the baby. Their baby.
Stumbling to the bathroom, he took a quick shower before dressing casually in khakis and a blue button down shirt. He seemed to remember that Erin liked blue, that she wore it a lot in the office, and he wanted to wear something that would be soothing to her, for some reason.
Not feeling up to eating anything, he padded out into the living room and pulled out a book. He smiled a little when he saw that he had chosen Rebecca, a book he knew to be Erin's favorite, and he settled down on the couch, reading it despite knowing every word on the page already.
By the time he had finished, he had just enough time to make it to the store when it opened. Getting up, he set the book aside and picked up his keys, heading out. Jogging down the stairs, he soon reached the door and was stepping out into the cool morning air. Shivering a little, he hurried over to his car and quickly drove to the flower shop.
The woman from yesterday was just unlocking the door when Reid pulled up and he rushed over to help her lift some of the boxes. "Surprised that they're so light, are you?" she teased when he almost tossed them out of his hands.
"I had forgotten that flowers were so light," he replied, blushing a little.
"That's okay, thanks for helping me with them." Together, they entered the shop, and he set the flowers down. "It'll take me a few minutes to get the rest of the boxes off the UPS truck, have a seat and write a note to the mother of your child."
He found himself surprised for the second time that morning, and he nodded absently, drifting over to where she had pointed. On the table there were different sized cards, and he picked up a medium sized one and put the pen to his chin, thinking about what he could say to her to make this right.
There are no words to apologize for the way I treated you, Erin. I only hope that these flowers tell you how sorry I am. I only hope that I can begin to rebuild the trust I shattered between us, and that we can reach a place where we can stand being in the same room as each other once more. Mea culpa, Spencer
Sitting up, he looked at the words on the cardstock, and wondered if this would be enough. If Garcia was to be believed, though, she was going to make things extremely difficult for him. As well she should, he supposed, thinking about the way he had treated Erin. Maybe he did need to prove himself worthy to her, to them.
Reid looked over at the clerk and saw that she was wrapping his flowers in a lilac colored paper. The color made him think of Erin and he smiled as he picked up the card and ambled over to the woman. "That looks perfect. Thank you for taking the time to do that."
The woman smiled at him and nodded. "She'll want to get those in water as soon as possible. I've included a few packets of flower food, that should help keep the blooms alive for a few days. I hope she accepts the peace offering."
"It's the first of many hoops I'm going to have to jump through, our mutual friend is going to see to that. Maybe I need to jump through them."
The woman nodded and followed him over to the door. "Anyway, good luck." He nodded and set the flowers on the seat of his car before getting behind the wheel. Reid found that he couldn't bring his mind into focus at all during the entire drive over to the Rossi mansion, and the storm of his thoughts caused him to drive slowly.
Finally, he had reached his destination, and he pulled into the half-moon drive and parked. He stared at the steering wheel for several long minutes, trying to work up the courage to go knock on the door, to face her, to hand over the first part of his apology. "It's now or never, Spence," he muttered to himself, picking up the bouquet and climbing out of the car, taking slow, hesitant steps over to the door. Raising his hand, he knocked firmly three times, wondering what awaited him when the door opened.
