Author's Note: Apologies for how long this update took - for some reason, it proved to be really difficult, but I hope it was worth the wait. After this chapter, there's going to be one last chapter/epilogue, then I'm going to wrap up the storyline! As attached as I am to it, I can't keep it going forever.

Shortly after deciding where they would go, the two of them were taking the steps in their relationship to be comfortable with the move. Rather than their usual couple days a week at one or the other's apartment, they decided to swap off weeks to be sure that this move was actually a good idea. For the most part, it was working for them - except when it was Derek's day off and Clooney insisted on them being up bright and early to acknowledge his existence.

Before Spencer fully committed to choosing that college, Derek decided it would be good for the two of them to take a weekend trip up for him to check out the campus, look into the academic programs firsthand and not just base his opinion on research he did and through brochures. He spent the entire tour asking the guide questions and talking to other students about their experiences, noting that while he read reviews online, he wanted to hear from people who currently attend the school.

While he was talking to students and professors, Derek told him he was off to check out the city. What Spencer didn't know was that he had set up appointments to look at a few fixer-upper houses in the area. There was one house in particular he knew had major potential and couldn't wait to get started on. When he got a text message from Spencer wondering what was taking so long, he texted him back that he thought he'd want more time on the campus to check it out and he'd be back to get him in a few minutes.

They stopped at a restaurant nearby for lunch, and Spencer was extremely excited to discuss his campus tour.

"The classroom sizes stay small for individualized attention from the professors, their office hours are extremely convenient for students to come by and discuss assignments, the parking is right near all of the academic buildings-"

"I get that you're happy, but your food's getting cold," Derek told him, pointing his fork at Spencer's plate.

Spencer blushed, mumbling an apology and picking up his own fork, eating.

"So, it's a really good school?"

"The best," Spencer said, swallowing his food. "What did you do while I was falling in love with a campus?"

Derek stretched slightly. "Well, I checked out the housing area, looked around at the local parks for places to walk Clooney, then went on a tour of my own."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He reached into his pocket, taking out a key and tossing it on the table.

Spencer picked it up, inspecting it. "Of a key factory? That's rather anticlimactic. Plus I didn't see anything about a key factory in the area."

Derek mock laughed. "That's actually the key to my next project." He took out his phone, showing the picture to Spencer. "I think while you're taking classes this summer, I'll use my vacation time to fix it up and have it inhabitable by winter."

Spencer stared at the key in his hand before looking back at Derek. "...We have a house?"

"Well, as of right now, we have a three bedroom, two bath work in progress with a big backyard. But come winter? We'll have a house."

"And how do you know this'll work out?" he asked, sliding the key back to him.

"Because the only problem you've had living with me so far is Clooney wanting to go for a walk early in the morning, where you call him an, and I quote, 'dick dog'."

"I do love Clooney. I just don't love him as much before my morning coffee."

"Oh believe me, I've noticed. I take it you weren't a fan of the housing area?"

Spencer quickly shook his head. "I mean, they were okay, but there's so many forms to fill out to take their housing offer, and even worse, we couldn't room together considering a) you're not a student, and b) we're not married."

"The not living together part would suck," Derek said, winking at him. "And what about Daddy Fearest?"

Spencer shrugged. "He'll find out when I feel it's the right time."

"With as little notice as possible, I'm assuming?"

"...Sounds about right to me."

After they'd arrived back home, Derek drove Spencer to his place.

"Now, you're sure it's the right choice?" he asked, parking the car and popping open the trunk, getting out. "If you want to go somewhere else, you can."

Spencer nodded, following him. "It's a great school in an amazing area, it has everything that I want to study, the locale is perfect for you to find a job, whatever you may choose to do, and I definitely think Clooney will be happy with the backyard on the place you picked."

Derek grinned, taking out Spencer's bag and handing it to him. "You really covered all of the bases."

Spencer opened his mouth to respond, but stopped, putting up a finger. "Except one."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He clicked his tongue, looking everywhere but directly at Derek. "I may have written to my mother about the situation, and she may be less than pleased that I'm moving in with somebody she's never met."

"...Okay?"

Spencer dug his house keys out of his pocket as Derek closed the trunk. "And you may be flying out to Vegas with me in a couple of weeks to meet her because according to her, if she doesn't approve, it's not happening," he said in one breath, smiling at him nervously before walking up to his front door, unlocking it.

Derek followed him. "...I'm sorry, what?"

He stepped inside, holding the door open. "Was that not the right way to bring it up?" he asked, walking to his bedroom and unpacking his bag.

Derek closed the front door. "It's a perfectly fine way to bring it up if you want to just dump it in my lap and leave it at that. Your mother, who has threatened doctors with bodily harm if they go near you, wants to meet me?"

"She's protective and wanted to ensure my safety," Spencer said, shrugging and tossing his bag into his closet. "So should I tell her it's a no?"

Derek paused before taking a deep breath, nodding. "You've met my mother, so it's only fair I go out to Vegas and meet yours. When do we leave?"

"A week from Friday."

"...And how do I avoid being threatened with bodily harm and get her to approve of us, and more importantly, get her to approve of me?"

Spencer clicked his tongue. "Just don't imply anything she'd be uncomfortable with and she won't threaten you. And as for her approval… when I figure that one out, I'll let you know. Coming from her womb worked for me, but considering nobody else can do that, it's a mystery."

He exhaled, running a hand over his scalp. "This should be fun."

"Don't worry, I'll prepare you for the worst. Then when she's having a good day, it won't be as bad."

Derek scoffed. "Thanks."

Over the next week and a half, Spencer did everything he could to prepare Derek for the visit with his mother. While on break at the coffee shop one day, Spencer sat across from Derek in a booth, notebook in front of him.

"What was my mother diagnosed with?" Spencer asked.

Derek swallowed the food in my mouth. "It's none of my business, because I'm not a member of the family or one of her doctors?"

"Derek-"

"Fine. Paranoid schizophrenia, and you put her in an institution when you turned 18."

"What does she do to pass the time at Bennington?"

"She gives English lectures to the other patients."

"Literature," Spencer corrected.

"There's a difference?" Spencer gave him a look and he put his hands up. "Sorry."

"What has she been allowed to do lately?"

"Considering her improved condition, she's been allowed to leave the sanitorium for supervised vacations. Recently, she's been to the Grand Canyon and sent you a pretty awesome package. Spencer, we've been over this a billion times over the last week. It'll be fine."

Spencer took a deep breath, closing the notebook and reaching over, grabbing one of his chips and eating it. "It's just… it's stressful."

"And how is it stressful?'' Derek asked, finishing his drink.

"I um…" he cleared his throat. "I've never… introduced someone to my mother before. I didn't even introduce my friends to her when I was a child out of fear for her doing or saying something. JJ managed it one time, but other than that… nothing."

"I wish I'd been that lucky. Unfortunately, I could never go home with someone without a sister or my mom being there."

Spencer sighed, flipping through the notebook before closing it again. "I've been writing to her about you since we met, so I hope that works in our favor. Because honestly, if she doesn't approve, she'll make our worlds a living hell via letters."

Derek clicked his tongue. "Since we met, huh?"

Spencer looked up at him. "What was that?"

"You said 'since we met'. Not 'since we started dating'. How long have you been talking about me?"

Spencer blushed, sinking into his seat. "That's none of your business and covered by mother/son confidentiality."

Derek grinned. "Riiight."

He cleared his throat, motioning toward his watch. "It's time for you to get back to work."

Derek checked his phone. "I guess so." He leaned over, kissing Spencer's cheek. "See you after work?"

Spencer nodded, putting his notebook back into his bag. "I'm picking up Henry and taking him to the park, then I'll be at your place."

"Sounds great." Derek picked up his container and glass, walking to the backroom.

After Spencer had left, Derek walked out to the register, tying his apron.

Penelope nudged him with her elbow. "So, how's it going?"

Derek shrugged. "Not too bad. Stayed at his place over the last week, now we're spending the week at my place, and Friday… I'm going to Vegas to meet his mom."

She gasped. "You get to meet the mysterious Diana Reid? JJ's the only person who's ever had the pleasure… or displeasure, depending on how you look at it."

"Well, according to Spencer, we're not allowed to officially move in together without her approval, so she needs to meet me and approve."

"...And what are you going to do if she asks about you already living in sin?"

He laughed softly. "There is no 'sin', not yet anyway, but if she does? I'll play dumb."

"Shouldn't be too hard," she teased, before gasping, "what do you mean 'not yet'?"

He zipped his lips, tucking the invisible key into his pocket and smirking.

Before Friday, Derek had checked and rechecked his bag at least a dozen times. He was definitely nervous to meet Spencer's mother for the first time, and was worried that she would dislike him. What made him more nervous was the fact that Spencer had never brought someone home to his mother before, so he would be the first, meaning she would be even tougher on him than he originally thought. Spencer tried assuring him that everything would be fine, but he couldn't help but think of the negatives and how they would affect him. If she hated him, she definitely wouldn't approve of the two of them moving in together, and everything they'd done the last few weeks wouldn't matter. When he started stressing about it, he told himself he had to calm down and think about something else, because worrying wasn't going to do him any favors.

He hadn't slept at all Thursday night, and Friday morning he had Penelope drive him to the airport before work.

"So, meeting the Mom," she said, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and glancing at him.

He nodded, running a hand over his scalp. "Yep."

"Nervous?"

"Mhm," he mumbled, looking up as she parked. "Advice?"

She gave him a shrug before clicking her tongue. "Don't piss her off."

He laughed to himself, scoffing. "Thanks."

"Anytime, sugar," she said, winking at him. "Now, the first step is the hardest. Out of my car or I'll be late to work."

"I see you're practicing tough love," he teased, picking up his bag and leaning over, kissing her cheek, before getting out, closing the door behind him.

She put down the window. "Hey, Derek."

He turned around, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

She grinned. "You're going to do fine. Be yourself and she'll love you, I promise."

He smiled, blowing her a kiss. "Thank you, angel."

She caught the kiss, winking at him and tucking it into her pocket before driving off.

He walked into the terminal and saw Spencer standing there with their boarding passes in hand. He stepped toward him, kissing his cheek.

Spencer smiled at him. "Someone's nervous. No witty comment or 'Pretty Boy' nickname to greet me."

"And someone's perky without his morning coffee fix from me… unless his fix of me is going to be more than enough."

Spencer nudged him with his elbow. "Kiss-up. Let's go back to you being nervous."

"...Or let's not, get on our plane, probably sit in front of or behind a screaming child for the entire flight, and get to our hotel to actually get some sleep."

Spencer shrugged slightly. "I slept like a baby. You didn't?"

Derek exhaled, looking at the passes and taking his own. "We should get going."

"I"ll take that as a no."

"Can't hear you," Derek said, walking ahead of him.

Spencer chuckled to himself, following him to security.

When they landed in Vegas, Spencer decided to give his mother's doctor a call while Derek picked up their rental car. Derek saw Spencer walking toward him and twirled the keyring around on his finger.

"Hotel or Mom?" Derek asked, motioning toward his phone.

"Well, it's only 8:00 here so I was thinking maybe we could head to the hotel for a few hours before we go visit her?"

"Sounds good. Care to be my GPS so I don't need to drain my phone battery?"

Spencer nodded. "I think I can handle it. Just no bringing me to casinos to see my 'talents' because I don't want to be kicked out of anymore of them."

"I think we can handle that."

Once they were at the hotel, Spencer was going through the channels on the TV while Derek sat up on the bed, thinking to himself.

"I can hear you thinking," Spencer mumbled, landing on a game show and setting the remote down on the table. "At least get a nap in before we head over, because if you're not already exhausted, being grilled by my mother will make you plenty tired."

Derek mock laughed. "Does she like anything that I could give her and possibly make her love me?"

Spencer thought it over, clicking his tongue. "Well, she loves me, so telling her that we've yet to be intimate beyond kissing and sharing a bed for just cuddling might score you some points?"

"While that may work, I was thinking presents. Books, chocolate, flowers… anything?"

He shrugged. "I definitely wouldn't get her a book. I've gotten her every book by her favorite authors, and even when I did that, she would judge my choices. She's not a fan of flowers, and she never liked chocolates. Looks like you're going to have to win her over the old fashioned way."

"...Damn."

Spencer smiled at him. "Get some sleep. That's the best advice I can give you." He reached for the remote, turning down the volume.

Derek laid back, tucking one of his arms under the pillow and looking at Spencer. "And are you going to catch up on your game shows?"

"I've seen this one before, but maybe after this episode. Now don't make me tell you again."

Derek put up his other hand. "Enough said." He let his eyes slip shut and leaned back against the pillows.

Spencer woke him up a few hours later, shaking him lightly as he set down a cup of coffee with his other hand.

Derek opened his eyes and sighed, sitting up. "This is a change - you serving me coffee."

Spencer laughed softly. "Even better, it's not bad hotel coffee. I went to get you something that actually has taste to it."

"Then it must be love." He took a sip, humming to himself. "Second best cup of coffee ever."

"Let me guess… only to your own?"

"Definitely." Derek looked over at the clock. "Once I finish this cup do you want to head out?"

"Fine by me."

He leaned against the headboard, sipping his coffee and trying to think of the best way to introduce himself, let alone have a conversation with Spencer's mother without her despising him and telling them they couldn't live together.

When they arrived at Bennington, Derek parked the rental car, turning to Spencer.

"Any last minute advice?"

Spencer thought to himself before nodding. "Be careful. Mothers can smell fear in boyfriends." He grinned at Derek before getting out, walking around and waiting outside his door.

Derek shook his head, opening his door. "I'm going to find a way to get back at you for this," he said, getting out and closing it.

"Oh?"

"One of my favorite personal quotes? Paybacks are a bitch."

Spencer took his hand, squeezing. "Come on, you're just delaying the inevitable." He pulled Derek's hand and walked inside.

Once Spencer said hello to some of the staff, they were on their way up to Diana's room. Derek wondered why he couldn't just write to her like Spencer had, or at least introduced himself in a letter to avoid an even more awkward first introduction, and he didn't know how Spencer had talked about him to his mother, so he was definitely going into this blind.

Spencer stopped in front of a door, turning to him. "Deep breath. You'll be fine, she'll love you because she knows I love you, and any mother just wants their kid happy."

Derek nodded. "So it won't be difficult?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying she'll come around if she despises you."

Derek laughed nervously as Spencer reached his hand up, knocking on her door.

It didn't take long for the knock to be answered, the door being opened and Spencer's mother standing before them. She looked the same as she had in pictures he'd seen around Spencer's apartment, just obviously slightly older. She smiled at Spencer and pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back.

"It's good to see you," Spencer whispered to her, grinning.

She pulled back, putting a hand on each of his cheeks. "You look better than last time. Happier."

Spencer blushed, putting his hands on hers, lowering them and motioning toward Derek. "Mom, this is Derek… from my letters. Remember?"

"Of course I remember," she told him, sounding insulted and turning to Derek, looking him up and down. As she looked at him, he glanced over at Spencer, who motioned toward her, mouthing 'talk to her'.

Derek cleared his throat, holding out his hand. "It's great to finally get to meet you, Diana. I'm Derek Morgan, and Spencer has said many wonderful things about you."

"Has he?" she asked, turning toward Spencer.

Spencer put up his hands. "All good things. Now, could we possibly take this in your room and not make it the business of the entire floor that I'm introducing you to a significant other, considering that you say yourself in your letters that they're always looking for something to talk about?"

She nodded. "Of course." She stepped aside, allowing the two of them to walk into her room.

Derek took it in and saw several pictures of a young Spencer around in her room in frames, and on her bookshelves were plenty of photo albums, probably all filled cover to cover. Aside from those, there were a good number of books lining the shelves, all worn from the many times she had read them.

Spencer cleared his throat, motioning toward the couch and walking over. Derek gave him a nervous smile, taking the few steps across the room and sitting beside him.

"Spencer tells me you're content with a mediocre career choice," Diana started, sitting on her bed across from them and folding her hands in her lap.

Spencer's eyes went wide. "No, Mom, I mentioned that he was a barista, he was very good at his job, and he's a very impressive carpenter and handyman among other things, as he spends his spare time flipping houses for the market."

"Not in your first letter," she said, smirking at him, "I believe you called him an 'overconfident, seemingly confused individual'."

Spencer coughed, blushing. "...That was before I got to know him, and what happened to mother-son confidentiality?"

"Oh, I know you eventually came around. The adjectives changed over time," she reached into her drawer, taking out a stack of letters and going through them.

Spencer reached out, taking the letters and putting them back in the drawer. "Mom, that's not why we're here."

"Aren't mothers supposed to embarrass their children when they introduce them to significant others?" she asked. "Not like I'd know, of course. He's the first one that you've actually 'allowed' to meet me."

Derek laughed to himself, turning to Spencer who was slowly turning red. "So," Spencer started, picking up a picture frame, "is this from your outing to the Grand Canyon? I'm sure it was fascinating, as you described in your letters."

"Nice segue," Derek said, looking at the picture.

She nodded, taking the frame from him and setting it down. "Well, Spencer, there are things I would like to discuss with Derek, but I'd rather discuss them in private."

"We are in private," Spencer pointed out. "Just the three of us."

"I understand, but this would be a one-on-one discussion, one a mother can only have with her son's potential suitor."

"But Derek isn't looking for my hand in marriage… not that we've discussed anyway. So technically, he's not a suitor, just someone who cares deeply for me and eventually would like to possibly share a residence," Spencer explained.

She gave him a look. "Are you questioning me, Spencer?"

He paused before sighing. "Not at all. I think I'll go grab us some Jell-O or something," he mumbled, getting up and patting Derek's shoulder, taking a deep breath and walking out, closing the door behind him.

Derek turned to Diana, clasping his hands together and leaning forward. "As I said before, Spencer has said nothing but wonderful things about you. Honestly, he's never had a bad word."

She nodded, sitting up straight. "He's always talked highly about me. And I assume he's told you about his father?"

Derek exhaled. "Trying to buy his son's love several years after his abandonment and thinking it erases everything he's done? Yeah, I've heard about him. He sounds like a real gem."

"Not the best male role model he could've had."

"And that's part of it…" he started, fixing his posture, "that's why I want to get Spencer out of that place to go to another school. I understand he has JJ right next door there, but in that place, it sounds like his father subjects him to conversations with him whenever something comes up involving it. It's not only for our relationship, but I want him to finally be free from him and cut the ties, just like William did with the two of you all of those years ago."

"That's quite the speech," Diana said, eyebrows raised. "How long did you rehearse it?"

He thought it over. "Well, about twenty seconds in my head, and it just sort of slipped out, but I guess it's a good thing I did, because 'meet the parents' is never a fun game and you're never able to get your point across as you want, so I had to do it."

"That's very noble of you, and very brave. As I've heard from some friends, meeting your child's significant other is never a pleasant experience and it ends up being awkward for all involved."

He laughed softly. "That's usually how it is, yes. Though as far as my experiences go, this is definitely number one."

"On the good list, or the bad?" she asked.

"Good," he assured her, "definitely good. I actually have wanted to meet you for quite some time. Aside from the fear of meeting a parent, I wanted to meet the woman who was amazing enough to raise the puzzle of a person that is Spencer Reid."

She gave him a smile. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Derek."

He shrugged, putting his hands up. "It's just my natural charm, I'm afraid. My mom raised me to be a gentleman."

"That she did. I think as long as you swear not to hurt my son, we'll get along swimmingly."

Spencer walked back to the room a few minutes later to hear laughing on the other side of the door. He raised an eyebrow, opening the door and stepping inside, finding his mother with an open photo album and Derek nearly buckled over with laughter.

"What's going on?" he asked, setting a couple of Jell-O cups on her nightstand.

She looked up at him. "Welcome back, Spencer. Derek mentioned to me that his family visited and brought along photo albums, so I thought since you saw his childhood, I'd show him some of yours."

"And I can see why you wanted to keep them secret, but some of these photos are absolutely perfect," Derek said, wiping his eyes and calming himself down.

Spencer shook his head, sighing and sitting beside Derek. "It's great to see that you two are getting along and enjoying my embarrassing childhood together."

"We thought so too," Diana said, smiling and winking at Derek before turning the page in the photo album.

"So… is it okay if the two of us were to move in together?" Spencer asked.

She shrugged. "I don't see why not. Derek has received a few warnings as to what would happen to him if he were to hurt you, but I assume he listened to them."

"That I did," Derek said, reaching for the album and turning it toward him, smiling. "Nice potty picture."

Spencer exhaled. "This is your payback, isn't it?"

"Maybe."

After they said their goodbyes, Derek turned to Spencer. "That went surprisingly well."

"Perhaps too well," Spencer teased, nudging Derek. "Come on, I got you all nervous for nothing. Dinner's on me."

"Well, if you insist," Derek said, wrapping his arm around Spencer's shoulders and walking to the car.

After they got back home, they decided they needed to spend more time together, so Spencer was spending less and less time at his place and more at Derek's with Clooney. When Spencer would occupy himself with online courses to pass the time, Derek went up to their new 'house' and worked on it so he could at least make it inhabitable by the time Spencer started at school up there. Every time he would go up, he'd take pictures so he could show Spencer the progress and keep track of what he had left to do. It was very quickly coming together for him, and he even had Penelope come up with him at one point so he could get her approval. Once she convinced him that she needed a say in the interior decorating, she nodded her approval and pulled him into a hug. Not long before the move, Derek put in his two weeks notice at work with Hotch, and Hotch wished him luck.

Finally, the time came for them to start packing up their places and move up there. Spencer had selected all of his courses for the upcoming semester, and Derek had plenty of job interviews lined up so he could at least find something to do there. First they packed up Derek's house and had everything ready to go, then they moved on to Spencer's place, where they were able to pack up the entire place in a few short hours. Derek had reserved the moving truck for the following morning, and Spencer couldn't have been more excited.

The next day, Spencer was having coffee with JJ while Derek went to pick up the truck.

She exhaled, setting her coffee cup down. "Is there any chance I can get you to back out and stay home?"

He smiled slightly, shaking his head. "Sorry, it's done."

"Not even if I have Henry ask you?"

"...That's playing dirty, and unfortunately, that won't even work."

"Can't blame a girl for trying, though he's going to talk to you before you leave, and I can't control what he's going to say," she said, shrugging and taking another sip. "The Spencer Reid I knew last year was scared of relationships and would never even dream of driving off into the sunset with the hunky stranger he met at the coffeehouse. What exactly happened to him?"

He chuckled. "That Spencer grew up and realized that not all relationships end poorly and that some are worth a little bit of work."

She reached over, patting his arm. "About time," she teased. "Now, please tell me you'll be visiting often, and we can visit anytime?"

"Yes and yes. I printed out copies of my schedule for the upcoming semester, the number for our landline up there on the off chance our cell phones aren't working at the time, and there's a spare key all in here," he said, taking an envelope out of his pocket and sliding it over to her.

She opened the envelope to verify everything was inside. "And what's Derek going to do for work up there? Please tell me he found something."

Spencer nodded, getting up to refill his coffee. "He's starting part time with a company that does a lot of contracting, construction, and things of the such, and hopefully that opens up some doors for him. And I'm sure he'd have no problem picking up some hours at a coffeehouse, though I did make him promise the only customer he'd flirt with is this one," he said, pointing to himself before pouring the sugar into his coffee.

"So things are looking up for both of you. Now the question is, how far has this relationship really gone?"

"JJ!"

"What? I need to be sure you're stable enough to live together."

"It's gone plenty of places and none of them are your concern!"

Penelope walked in, clicking her tongue. "What's got him doing that screechy 'grabs your spine and twists it' voice first thing in the morning?"

"I just asked him how the relationship has… developed."

"Derek won't budge on it, but fear not, the Boy Wonder is crackable," she said, walking over and leaning against the counter.

"And Derek is where?" Spencer asked.

"Finishing up packing his place before he brings the truck here. Now come on, when and where?"

He groaned loudly. "You two are actually the worst. I didn't pry into your couple activities, so why are you in mine?"

"Well," JJ started, "he's said their relationship has gone plenty of places and used the word 'activities', which we all know is code for-"

Spencer shook his head, putting his mug in the sink and washing it. "Derek can't get here soon enough."

When there was honking outside, Clooney ran for the door, barking.

Spencer got up. "Yes, that's Derek, calm down, you'll see him," he said, walking over and opening the door.

Derek leaned in, kissing his cheek. "Morning."

"I notice you left off the 'good'. Is that because of the nosy twins?"

Derek smirked. "Slightly." He looked toward the kitchen. "Do you ladies want to start grabbing boxes of books and bringing them out to the truck?"

Penelope sighed. "Those books alone are going to take us probably an hour to move." She eyed Spencer. "You're lucky we love you, 187."

"...I guess so?" he said, propping the door open and moving boxes so there'd be a clear path for them.

After all of the boxes were loaded in the back of the truck, Derek closed it up, exhaling. "Well, ladies, this is it."

JJ nodded, putting up a finger. "I have somebody who wants to get the first goodbye." She walked over to her place, opening the door and calling for Henry. He quickly ran out, wrapping his arms around Spencer's legs and squeezing.

Spencer smiled, bending down and pulling him into a hug. "I'm going to miss you most, buddy. But I promise that you can call me anytime, and your mommy has a key to my house so you can come by whenever you want."

Derek looked down at him. "We even have a guest room if you want to have sleepovers with Uncle Spencer."

Henry's face lit up. "Can I?"

"You bet." He kissed the top of his head, ruffling his hair. "Be good for Mommy, okay?"

Henry nodded, hugging him one last time before backing up against JJ's legs.

She smiled, looking up at Spencer, exhaling. "What am I going to do without my baby brother around?"

"Torture me from a distance, I'm sure," he said, kissing her cheek and hugging her. "I'll be just a phone call away."

"Or a FaceTime," Penelope added.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, pulling back. "A what?"

JJ opened her mouth, but Derek put up his hand. "I'll introduce him to it."

Penelope hit Derek on the arm "I can't believe you're leaving me."

He laughed to himself, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back, hugging her. "I'll be back to visit in no time. Besides, you need to come up and see the place once it's all done and approve of our 'decorating skills'."

She grinned. "That I can manage." She walked over to Spencer, hugging him. "Goodbye, my favorite genius. Outsmart everyone up there at the fancy new school, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be a problem." He patted her back, looking at Derek and sighing. "Shall we?"

Derek nodded, waving one last time before getting into the truck, starting it.

JJ grabbed Spencer's arm. "Hey, Spence…"

He turned around to her, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

She chewed on her cheek. "You'll have a new nephew soon. Come back for him too, okay?"

"...You're serious?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, Will and I just found out yesterday."

He gasped. "Absolutely. And I'll find him the perfect Halloween costumes. Guaranteed."

She hugged him one last time, leaning in and whispering in his ear. "Be happy, you've earned it."

He nodded slightly, giving her a small smile before waving and walking toward the truck, getting in.

Derek put on his sunglasses. "Ready for the next adventure?"

Spencer took a deep breath, nodding. "This should be interesting."