Author's Note: OK…first things first! Happy Criminal Minds premiere night! I thought the episode rocked! It fed my shipper heart, that's for sure! I don't want to say anymore, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I'll just say...yay!

Second of all…a few have asked, and unfortunately, there will not be a steamy scene in this story, because it's rated 'T.' If you've read my other stuff, you know I don't 'do' T-rated love scenes. LOL The good news is, I'm contemplating a sequel to this story, which isn't something I normally do. It'll be rated 'M.'

The prompt for this chapter was 'Reid babysits and 'enlists' Prentiss's help.' We also wanted to have 'The Reid Effect' appear in the story, and it is included in this chapter.

Don't forget to check out dustytiger's Matters of the Universe.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter!

~Angie

"I can't wait to make you mine."

Reid shuddered as the words he'd spoken the night before came back to haunt him yet again. Had he really said them? It had sounded liked something Morgan would say. Spencer Reid didn't talk like that! He'd never uttered anything close to that in his entire life! Although, he reasoned, he'd never dated anyone like Emily Prentiss before.

There had been Lila, yes, but in the back of his mind, Reid had known it wasn't going to work out long term. Somehow Hollywood and Quantico hadn't seemed to mix. They had their own schedules. He'd been another one of Lila's 'good times.' But in her defense, she'd never led him to believe otherwise.

But Lila wasn't Emily. Lila had always been after a good time, and Emily just seemed to want to be with him. She was confident; she was sexy; she was sure of herself…she was everything he'd ever thought a woman should be.

Except there was something about herthat was different: she wanted him.

But now that he'd gone and said that to her, he was going to have to make good on all that it implied. It implied that he was horny (which he most definitely was,) and that he was about to rock her world. That was the part he wasn't so sure about. If he didn't make her first time with him magnificent, then this was over before it had even begun. That didn't sit well with him.

Emily Prentiss had never considered herself to be particularly slutty, but she was willing now to concede that it was a possibility. She must take every single thing Spencer Reid said out of context…otherwise they'd be in bed already.

"I can't wait to make you mine."

Was that or was that not an invitation for sex? She'd certainly thought it was! Emily nearly growled in frustration. If Spencer Reid was bucking for an award for longest foreplay ever, he was certainly winning. She'd been turned on every single second since he'd accosted her with his lips in his hotel room. And she was getting damn tired of walking around aroused and ready to go at any given moment.

If this was his way of trying to tame her…it wasn't going to work.

"Come on, Henry," Reid tried to persuade the little boy. "If you stop sobbing, you won't choke anymore."

Henry just looked up at him, his lower lip trembling as he hugged his red plaid blanket closer to his chest. Reid couldn't help but think how adorable he looked in his navy blue footie pajamas with little trains on them. And he couldn't understand it…Henry had always seemed to like him before.

He crouched down to Henry's level, and the little boy took a tentative step backwards. "It's OK," Reid assured him softly.

"Mommy," the little boy said in a whisper.

"She's not here right now," Reid explained to the two year old. "She and your dad had plans to go out tonight. Your regular babysitter had to cancel, so she called me to watch you."

The little boy looked at him with sad eyes and Reid winced. "Do you want me to read you a book?" he asked.

The little boy shook his head 'no,' and Reid tried another approach. "Mickey Mouse Club House?" he asked cheerfully, remembering the DVD's he'd seen on top of the entertainment center in the living room.

Henry's expression turned to a glare, and Reid straightened. "OK," he said, holding his hands up in front of him. "I gotcha. No Mickey Mouse Club House," Reid promised.

Henry started sniffling, and Reid watched as the little boy's soft whimpering escalated into sobbing. When Henry's face turned red as he struggled for breath, Reid walked over and scooped him up into his arms. "It's OK, Henry," he said tenderly.

But the little boys tears wouldn't stop.

"Thank God!" Reid said as he flung the front door open .

"What's going on?" Emily asked as she took her jacket off and hung it on the hook by the door.

"He won't stop crying," Reid said.

"What did you do to him?" Emily asked as she followed the sobbing sounds into the living room.

"Nothing!" Reid said defensively. "I just asked if he wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Club House!"

"Well I don't think it was the right question," she said as she patted the little boy on the back. "You OK, buddy?" she asked.

Henry took one look at her and screeched at what had to have been the top of his lungs, then took off running at top speed across the room. He skidded into an unsuspecting Reid causing him to stumble backwards before finally catching his balance and picking the little boy up. "You OK?" he asked.

Henry looked at Emily suspiciously, and then buried his tear-streaked face in Reid's neck with a heavy sigh. Emily looked at Reid in surprise, and he shrugged his free shoulder at her to indicate he had no idea what had just happened.

"He's asleep," Reid said, returning to the living room and flopping down onto the couch beside Emily.

"Why did you call me?" she asked.

"Ashley's out of town on a training, and Garcia and Morgan were going to the movies," he answered.

"So I was a last resort?" she asked.

"No," Reid answered honestly. "That was just luck. It gave me an excuse to call you."

"OK," Emily said, straightening up on the couch. "You have got to stop doing this."

"Doing what?" Reid asked innocently.

"This," Emily said, waving a hand back and forth between them. "Sending mixed signals! You said you couldn't wait to make me yours," she said accusingly.

Reid stared at her with a confused expression on his face; Emily sighed impatiently.

"Apparently you can wait!" She stood up from the couch and began pacing. "You say all of these amazing things, Spencer, about…shopping, and…claiming me. But all you've done is kiss me! And…you know what? I don't care if they are the best kisses I've ever had…I want more, Spencer." She sunk back down onto the couch next to him so close that her thigh pressed against his. "I need more."

Reid couldn't hold back a grin. "The best kisses you've ever had?" he asked smugly.

Emily rolled her eyes. "It figures that's what you heard," she said. "I have to go."

When she moved to stand up, his hand shot out in front of her. "I want you, Emily," he assured her, taking her hand in his. "I want you, so much…" He laughed nervously and turned her hand around, placing a soft kiss on her palm. "That I'm aching for you. But I…I want to do this right."

"What's 'right?'" she asked huskily.

"Definitely not rushed," he said, his lips finding the racing pulse at her wrist. He couldn't help but smile as he kissed his way up to the crease of her elbow.

Emily shivered. "Slowly, then…but…soon?" she asked hopefully.

Reid laughed as his heart soared at her display of eagerness to be with him. "Soon."