Spencer squirmed awkwardly in his seat as he looked around the room at five hostile faces. The only one who was remotely smiling was Erin, and even that looked more like a grimace as she looked at her children.
"Really, Mom, you're knocked up?"
"Karen!" she replied sharply, slipping her hand off the table. Instinctively, Reid knew to follow suit, hooking fingers with her, offering her support. "I am pregnant, yes. We do not use such disrespectful terms, however."
"But, you let this, this, kid become the father of our little brother or sister. Don't you think that's a tad irresponsible?" Karen retorted, earning nods from Bruce and Tabitha.
Reid let go of her hand, noticing how she flinched at the movement. And then, he brought his hand to rest on her shoulder, a possessive move that did not go unnoticed by the others. "Your mother and I are adults who made a choice. She chose not to make me use a condom because she knew that we were both clean, since that's part of our yearly physicals, and thought that she could not end up pregnant at her age. While it is a statistical anomaly, it happened to us, and I am going to be here for her, even if you choose not to be."
She turned her head and gave him a tremulous smile. Leaning forward, he touched his forehead to hers, listening to her sigh, breathing in the soft floral scent of her perfume. "Are you guys in love?"
Bruce's question caused them both to stiffen and Erin shied away from him, focusing her attention on her plate. Penelope was glaring at him, and he shrugged before looking Bruce in the eye. "That remains to be seen, Bruce. Suffice it to say, I find myself developing deep feelings for your mother. After all, we share a child. And yet, I did something extremely foolish when given the news of my impending fatherhood, and now I have to earn her trust back. Once that is established, then we can see about other feelings."
A heavy silence fell over the room after he had spoken, and Erin still refused to look at him as she picked at her food. After a few moments had passed, though, she slipped her hand back off the table and poked his knee. He took the invitation and clasped her hand softly, running his thumb up and down the back of it.
Finally, though, the meal was done and Erin looked around the table, her eyes so sad when she looked at him. "Spencer and I are going into the living room to talk. Please, do not disturb us."
Penelope squirmed a little under the long look Erin gave her, and he tried to smile at his friend, even though she ignored the gesture. Sighing, he stood and helped Erin to her feet, not surprised when she plastered herself to his side, resting her head on his chest as they made their way to the other room. "Erin?" he asked once they were seated on the couch, and she reached up, resting her fingers against his lips.
"I just need a little time to rest. I was going to break down in there if I didn't escape. I love my children, Spencer, and they hate me right now. My heart, my heart…" Her voice trailed off, and he dropped a kiss onto the crown of her head without thinking. Erin sighed lightly at the gesture, snuggling in closer as she held onto his shirt.
Minutes later, he heard her breathing even out, and Reid knew that she was asleep. Sighing a little, he let a small smile spread across his lips as he began to run his fingers through her blonde hair. He couldn't help but wonder if their baby would be blonde, and the thought of a little girl with Erin's hair running around filled him with happiness. "Is Mom sleeping?"
He looked up to find her son standing in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. Reid nodded and gestured him closer. Bruce gave him a small smile before coming over to their side and then sitting on the floor in front of them. "She loves you all, you know that, right?"
Bruce jerked his head up and down twice, his eyes glistening with tears. "I do. It's just such a shock to find out that she's made a new life, one that doesn't include us completely. She's my mom, you know?"
"I do. I love my mother more than anything in this world." He paused, and then looked down at Erin. "That won't always be true, though. When this baby comes, I will love it the most. I know that this is not the scenario you would have pictured your mother in, but I really want to try having a relationship with her. After I make up for the way I treated her."
Bruce frowned at him. "What did you do?"
"I told her that I did not want this baby, and it would be better if she took care of it. I wasn't thinking straight at the time, and I do not deserve even this small bit of kindness that your mother is showing me." Bruce glared at him, and Reid could see the thoughts crossing across his face.
"If you hurt her again, you won't get a second chance to apologize." The words were full of dark promise, and Reid nodded solemnly.
"I swear to you, on this child, that I will do everything in my power to be everything that your mother needs me to be throughout this pregnancy. Will you swear to make things easy on her as well? She's going to need all three of you by her side as these months go by. She's not at an ideal age to be having a child."
It seemed like the boy hadn't even thought of that, as his eyes grew wide. "Yes. We'll protect her together. I swear." Reid nodded and watched as Bruce leaned in, kissing his mother's cheek. Then he stood and gave Reid one last, searching, look before leaving them alone once more.
"Oh, Erin," he murmured, once more running his fingers through her hair. She nuzzled up against his hand, a small smile spreading across her face. "You need to wake up, Erin. You shouldn't fall asleep on the sofa."
She groaned a little as he started to shake her shoulder, trying to wake her. The smile turned to a frown as she stretched and looked up into his eyes. "What?"
"Are you staying here again tonight?"
She nodded. "Why?"
"You are exhausted. We, well, I'm the cause of that. Could I take you up to your room?"
She nodded, giving him another tired smile. "I would like that, Spencer." Slowly, she got up and then held her hand out. He clasped it and she closed her eyes as she threaded their fingers together. "Follow me."
Reid gave her a tiny nod, keeping a pace behind her, never letting go of her hand until they were on the second floor. "Is this the same floor that Rossi and Garcia are on?"
"Yes. They're at the west end of the wing. My room is on the east end." The way she tightened her grip on his hand told him that this made her immensely happy, and he squeezed out a soft rhythm to let her know he knew. She picked up the pace and turned them to the left, down to a door at the end of the hall.
Opening it, she pulled them over to the bed and then turned to smile at him. "The sun must shine right on you when it comes up."
"It does." She yawned deeply and began to tug her sweater over her head. "Stay?"
The soft question threw him off guard and he blinked twice. Erin's face shuttered a little and he reached out, caressing her shoulder. "Yes." She smiled in relief and then shimmied out of her skirt.
"Thank you. Just, sleep in your boxers." He nodded as he watched her slip off her bra, bending to pick up her skirt. Then she set her clothes in the chair next to the bed and pulled up the covers before crawling beneath them and looking at him expectantly. He took the hint and hurriedly stripped down to his boxers, putting his clothes atop hers. Then he crawled in next to her, his arm coming to rest around her waist. It fit like it belonged there, and she sighed sweetly as she pushed his hand onto her stomach. "In about three months, you'll feel the baby kick."
"It freaked me out when JJ let me feel Henry kick. Do you think that it will be different this time?"
"Perhaps. Seeing as how it's yours." A soft groan escaped her lips. "I'm sorry, I'm going to sleep now." She turned in his arms and nestled close to him, letting her forehead come to rest on his chest. Within moments, she was asleep and he smiled, letting himself relax enough to follow her.
