The Most Life Changing Thing

Reid and Prentiss

Chapter Fifteen

December 2010

They spent their last day in Vegas going around to see sights from Spencer's childhood: the home he grew up in, the schools he attended, the baseball field where he played Little League. As they walked around a park that he used to go to often when he needed to get out of the house and away from the stress of his mother's illness, Spencer pointed out a spot on sidewalk.

"Right there is where I gave up skateboarding for good."

She chuckled. "I'm guessing you took a bad fall."

"Yeah, and right in front of a group of high school girls. I was already in college but they were older than me."

"And one fall made you give it up?"

"I should have never gotten one in the first place but I figured I wasn't good at organized sports but maybe I could use physics to figure out how to skateboard. But I could barely stay on the thing for more than a minute at a time."

"I was into sports when I was in grade school but then I became one of those teens that didn't do much of anything. I was too busy being cool and trying to appear unaffected, like I didn't give a crap about anything. I went through this Sylvia Plath period." She laughed at the memories. "I think I did most of the things I did back then just to piss off my parents- smoking, drinking, having sex too soon. It was all rebelling against them for what I deemed my sucky life because we didn't live in the States most of the time."

"When did you finally get over that?"

She joked "Who says I have?"

"You're a very successful woman. You aren't still rebelling against your mother's rules."

"In some ways I am. She so badly wanted me to live one kind of life. To run in the same circles she does. To care about crap that I'll never care about. To get married by now. To have children but have nanny so the kids didn't interfere with the career and the social obligations I was supposed to have. Everything she wanted for me I made sure I did the exact opposite. I won't let her control my life ever again."

"Isn't she still controlling you since you feel you can't even consider doing anything that would please her, even if it pleases you too?"

"Are you profiling me right now?"

He thought about it. "I don't think so. I'm just asking the questions that come to mind."

She sighed. "Maybe you're right but it just burns me that she thinks if things aren't done her way then I'm a failure."

"Does it matter what she thinks or does it matter what you think?"

"I don't care what she thinks. I haven't since I was a teenager."

"So you aren't still trying to prove yourself to her?" He didn't wait for an answer before saying "I've seen my father one time since he left me and still I think I'm trying to prove something to him, to this man I may never see again, someone who shouldn't matter anymore but he always will. Parents have this weird hold on us and until we come to terms with them we can't really get over our childhoods. I'm not over mine and it doesn't seem like you're over yours yet either, Emily."

"So what are you saying? I should have called my mother yesterday for Christmas?"

"Maybe calling her would be easier than feeling guilty about not calling for the next year."

"She makes me feel bad about myself and I don't want to allow her to do that anymore because I'm finally in a place where I feel pretty good about my life. I don't want her to take that away from me with just one mean comment or backhanded compliment."

After a moment thinking about it Reid said "Okay."

"Just okay? You aren't going to say I should grow up and figure out a way to deal with my mother finally?"

"No, I'm not going to say that. Its not for me to say. I just wanted you to know that you have someone to talk to about all those feelings. I know it's a touchy subject but keeping it inside just lets it fester, like my feelings about my father did. So the next time you have to deal with your mother, just remember you have someone right here to vent to. Just know you can tell me anything. I'll always listen to you, Emily."

She hugged him. They stood there in the park just holding each other. Emily loved the feeling of knowing he had her back, no matter what.

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They agreed to not exchange Christmas presents until they returned home because they couldn't take wrapped gifts on the plane. The first night they were home they ended up at Emily's apartment.

She was exhausted from the flight and he wanted to get some reading done for his course work so she took a nap, laying with her head on his lap, while he read his books. Later that evening they made some dinner and they finally got around to opening their gifts.

Emily lifted hers and gently shook it. "Hmm, too small to be a book. Too soft to be jewelry. I'm guessing tickets to a play."

He rose his eyebrows at her. "You're not on much of a role with being lucky lately."

She laughed. "Oh you suck! I told you that we're never again to mention my losses at the poker tables. Keep it up and you're going to have to be punished."

"What would that involve?"

"Oh! You have such a dirty mind." She leaned forward and flirted with him, dropping her voice low, "Believe me if I punish you, you will end up sorry when its over."

"Hmmm. I'd still like to test the theory."

She laughed again and then set about opening her gift. Once she saw what it was her mouth gaped open and she breathed out his name in an awed tone. "Reid..."

"I asked myself what you could use the most and I think it's a vacation. I know we just got back from one but seeing family isn't always that relaxing. I know you were worried about meeting my mother so it might not have been the best time for you.."

He had given her two open ended tickets to Greece, meaning she could go at any time she wanted.

"Reid, thank you. This is too much though. It had to be really expensive. I can't believe you did this."

"Both those tickets are yours to do what you want, Emily. You don't have to invite me to join you but I'd like it if you did."

She gave him a look of wonder for a long moment and then started crying. "Crap! I'm sorry. Its just my hormones. Stupid female hormones."

"Did you know there is a difference between the tears a person cries over slicing an onion than over being emotional? When emotion triggers tears there is an increased amount of prolactin, andrenocoriticotropic, leu-enkephalin and potassium."

She chuckled and wiped her eyes. "Fascinating, really. I don't know how I lived so long without knowing that." She leaned close and gave him a short kiss. "Thank you. Now I feel stupid for the gift I got you though."

"Don't. I gave you those tickets because I want to go away with you, not to make you feel like you have to give me something expensive back."

"Good because your gift was pretty cheap compared."

He shook the box. "Sounds like it has a lot of pieces."

"Lets hope you didn't break them just now," she teased.

He opened the box and found a board game. It had a wooden box and small colored gem like pieces. Reid lit up.

Emily rolled her eyes. "I was hoping you'd never heard of this game. I wanted to introduce you to something new."

"I've never played but I'm familiar with Mancala. Similar to chess in Western cultures and Go in Asian ones, this game is typically found in the Middle East."

"I remember playing it with my nanny when I was nine. I wasn't very good but I bet it won't take you long to master it."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Emily. I can tell you really put thought into this and got me something you knew I'd enjoy."

"Better than the scarf I got you last year?"

"That's a great scarf. I wear it all the time."

"I should have just given you a picture of me in only panties." She smirked at him. "Then maybe we'd have gotten here even sooner."

"That would have been rather shocking."

"You would have probably fallen right out of your chair and wondered what the hell is wrong with me."

"I don't think I would have wondered. A picture of a woman in her underwear is a pretty clear sign. Even I could get that one."

"Oh well I couldn't have done that last year because you were still with Austin then and I was still trying to pretend to myself I wasn't jealous that she got to be with you."

"I had no idea you had feelings for me like that back then."

"I didn't really admit it to myself till you and Austin were done but I had feelings for you for a long, long while, Reid."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

She smiled. "I did try flirting with you, I will have you know."

"When?" he asked, skeptically.

"Lots of times."

"You must not have done a very good job because I never noticed."

She pushed playfully at his arm. "Well you are Mr. Oblivious."

He smiled slightly and took her hand. "It would have been nice to be together sooner but I think everything happened at the right time for us."

She looked away. "Sure." She gave him a weak smile. "Hey, I'm starving. How about we go get some dessert?"

"You're starving? We just ate dinner."

"Starving for chocolate." She leaned over and nibbled his ear. "Please. I'll make it worth your while if run out to the store for me?"

"I thought you said we were going to get dessert," he teased. "Now we suddenly turned into me."

"Your half of we is going."

"Semantics."

"Please, you know how I feel about chocolate."

"Okay, yeah. I'll go."

"You rock! Seriously." She told him what kind of ice cream she wanted and he left. After he was gone Emily looked at the airplane tickets and welled up again. Already she was aching for them to one day go on their trip to Europe together, but that would mean she would have to put her faith in Reid to stand by her side through motherhood.

For Emily it was hard to trust anyone with all of her hopes, fears, dreams and heart. Right then she really did want to believe that Spencer Reid was the man who she could give that much trust to though.

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Note- The next chapter finally brings Spencer into the loop about the pregnancy. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this fic so far. Your reviews are the driving force behind me writing this.