A/N: When I embarked on this particular part of the storyline, I was aware that I might have lost some of my readers to the great gap between posts and to the thought that I wasn't going to be posting anything more to the timeline. What I didn't expect was to come back to only two reviews in as many chapters. I'm not vain, but I do feel despondent about not getting a more robust response, as I really do thrive on the reviews; not receiving any at all does not encourage me to keep writing and I would really hate to have to stop now thinking no one is really interested in this ending to my longest-running work.

As per the above, I have no one to thank as there were no reviews.

To MissShawnaAlice and wtiger5, thank you doesn't cover fully how grateful I am to have the both of you on board with me; thanks for the flow and the medical advice that made this chapter great!

WARNING: This chapter is definitely not light and fluffy like the two before it, but is filled with emotion and drama. It is also a little longer than my normal offering but that was necessary considering the content.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.

Chapter 3 – The Reid's

Early May 2020

Spencer stopped moving, surprised to find that the world kept revolving around him. He had come inside for a drink after a rush of heat left him feeling light headed while he was talking with several of the dads in attendance. He stumbled over to a chair and sat down, listening to the laughter and shouting coming from the backyard. The triplets' first birthday party was in full swing, complete with a bouncy castle, water slide, clowns and face painters. They had invited the families from the mothers' group Austin had been attending since she had Mackenzie, and of course everyone from the BAU had been invited. And because most people had said yes, their backyard was overflowing with people and so was half of the house. Thankfully the kitchen was clear of people in that moment so he could rest quietly without being asked if he was alright.

Shaking his head with a frown, he got up as the world steadied. Making it to the fridge, he pulled out a bottle of water and headed back outside.

He was immediately accosted by Diana. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! You promised to go down the water slide with me."

Reid crouched down in front of her. "Did I? Are you sure? Because I don't remember saying that I would," he finished as he eyed her suspiciously, knowing she was too little to pick up on the laughter in his eyes. Austin ruffled his hair with a laugh as she walked past with Tabitha on her hip and Diana finally figured out that he was teasing her. Stamping her little foot, she planted her fists on her hips and said indignantly, "Daddy!"

He laughed after a moment, momentarily stunned by how much like her mother she looked in that moment and swept her up, zooming her around the groups of people on the way to the water slide as she squealed with glee. They ended up taking several rides down before Mackenzie interrupted, demanding that he slide with her. Diana kissed his cheek with a giggle and skipped off happily as Spencer bowed to his oldest girl.

"Milady."

She returned a wobbly curtsey. "Sir."

He ended up on the slide for the next hour, taking turns with a bunch of the kids, and eventually one run each with the triplets before everyone gathered for cake. The singing as the cake came out was raucous and joyful as he held Sienna on one hip and Catherine on the other, while Austin stood beside him with Tabitha. JJ brought the massive cake out with three solitary candles, one planted in each third while the photographer for the day stood there with the video camera, capturing the moment for them. They all 'hip-hip-hoorayed the girls and then it was the moment of truth time; could the girls perform in front of a large group of people.

The cheering as the three one-year-old Reid triplets blew out the candles on their cake on cue was easily heard up to six blocks away in every direction.

August 2020

Spencer waved goodbye to the last car pulling away from the front of the house and sighed in relief. He loved his extended family, he really did, but chasing children around the house, especially a super-excited-to-be-four-year-old that he still had running around hyped up on sugar was simply exhausting. He tracked down some painkillers for his headache as the sounds of Austin settling the triplets down with Mackenzie's help filtered through the house. When he turned away from the sink, he jumped slightly to find Diana right behind him.

He eyed her with a mock-suspicious look. "Did you turn into a ninja when I wasn't looking? Cause that was awfully quiet sneaking for you." He lunged at her and started tickling her, turning her silence into peals of giggles as he carried her into the living room. He dropped onto the couch and let her snuggle into him, delighting in her happy sigh as her arms closed around him.

"Daddy, I'm four now."

"Really? Are you sure?"

She giggled at him. "Yes I'm sure."

"Well how can you tell?"

"You told me."

"I did?" She laughed again at the look he pulled, nearly tumbling off of his lap before she settled down. "Okay," he continued. "So you are four now. What about it?"

"Mackenzie said when she turned four, she was allowed to play an instrument if she wanted to. Only she doesn't like music and wanted a basketball set instead. Which is soooooooo boring. So now that I am four, can I play an instrument?"

Spencer eyed the child on his lap as a sense of impending doom settled in his gut. But still, she was right about being allowed to play an instrument now that she had turned four if she wanted to so he took the plunge.

"Yes, you may choose an instrument to learn to play now that you are four."

Diana whooped. "Yes, yes, yes!" She shot him a beaming smile and doom settled more securely within him. "Daddy, I want to learn to play the violin."

Yes, the world as they knew it was going to end.

September 2020

"You're Spencer Reid right? Mackenzie's dad?"

Spencer turned to the woman that had moved up beside him. She was holding a whistle and a clipboard and had a broad smile on her face as she eyed him.

"Yes I am."

"I'm the girls' basketball coach Jeannie Miller. Your daughter is a natural Mr Reid. I've been doing this for about ten years now and at this age it has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with how cute the kids are as they attempt to play. Mackenzie is the first child I have ever seen who can consistently score a basket with at least every third shot she takes."

He grinned with pride as his eyes tracked to where his daughter was taking a shot. "My wife and I decided that at four years of age, she was old enough to play an instrument of her choice but Mackenzie wasn't interested in music. Instead, she asked us for a basketball set. She said she wanted to learn to play, that she'd seen the games on tv and one day she wanted to play professionally. We indulged her and granted her request, thinking she was probably going to lose interest pretty quickly but at least the basketball set was cheaper than an instrument and the lessons that came with it. Three years later, you can see how much interest she has lost along the way."

Jeannie grinned at him. "Yes I can. She's going to be such a joy to coach. I'd recommend getting a season pass Mr Reid, because I have no doubt that years from now your girl is going to be on a national team somewhere and you are going to want to say that you were there from the beginning as she starts winning medals and trophies."

Late November 2020

Snow had come early that year, just a short-lived blizzard overnight, a once in a lifetime opportunity for fun in the snow in autumn, and the whole group had decided to take advantage of it for a tobogganing adventure to their favourite hill. Hours after they arrived, the kids (and some of the adults) were still enthralled with the joy of racing down the hill. Austin had taken a run with each of her daughters, and had talked Spencer into a ride with her before they handed the toboggan over to Mackenzie.

Now they stood and talked at the top of the hill with both sets of Hotchners, the Morgans and Will. Dave stood at the bottom of the hill talking with Brad, the Scotts and the Renhwahs while JJ, Teresa, Kelly, Penelope and Kevin continued to take runs along with the kids, allowing the younger ones to continue to enjoy the thrill of the ride as well.

Austin had been watching her husband for the last few weeks in general, and the last hour in particular. Something was off with him and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Worse, was the thought that she should know what it was but it hovered just outside of her memory. She had asked of course, but Spencer just kept saying that he was fine, when clearly he wasn't. Right now he was pale, his breathing was changing by the moment and he was beginning to sweat, despite the coolness of the day.

Deciding that enough was enough, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Brad, saying she thought something might be wrong and could he come check her husband out. She stayed tuned in to the conversation going on around her as she watched Brad check his phone before he spoke to his group and started up the hill, keeping a careful watch out for the toboggans that frequently raced down past him as he climbed.

She was watching him so closely that she completely missed the signs as Spencer passed out and started tumbling down the slope. Screaming in fear, she didn't hesitate to start running down after him, hearing others behind her even as the group at the bottom of the hill reacted to assist. Brad got to him first, stopping his tumble halfway and quickly clearing his face of snow as he started trying to get a response. Austin somehow managed to stop just short of them, moving closer with a small sob.

Brad shot her a brief look before he resumed his check. "Can someone call 911 for me please? What can you tell me Austin?"

"Not a lot…" her voice trailed off as something twigged in her memory and she moaned in fear. "Oh hell…the tumour!"

"Tumour?"

"Not cancerous. Happened shortly before Kelly came onto the team, so that's why you wouldn't know about it. I've been so stupid! All the signs were there from the last time but I forgot. I forgot and now it's probably back and they'll have to operate again and…"

"Honey, slow down," Emily soothed as she pulled the younger woman into her arms. "The surgery last time was clean and simple. No complications. He was in and out of hospital pretty quickly and back at work in a few weeks."

"Where was it?"

"At the base of his skull, top of his spine," Aaron responded softly.

Brad moved his hands up to feel the back of Spencer's head as Austin watched tearfully. With a heavy sigh, Brad shook his head. "I don't think it is going to be so uncomplicated this time around. Tests will obviously be needed, but what I am feeling back here tells me this thing is huge, and that his spine might very well be compromised. How long are they saying the ambulance will be?"

Penelope sniffled softly as Kevin answered. "They aren't sending an ambulance. We're too far out and it would take too long considering what I've told them. They are sending a medical chopper which will land up in the cleared area where we are parked, so we should all move our cars as far off to the side as we can. The chopper will be about forty-five minutes as it is due to a need to refuel first. Apparently it has been a very busy day for them."

Austin moaned, clinging tightly to Emily as she started crying. "The other week, we were grocery shopping. He said the trolley jostled him, but he wasn't that close to it when he dropped the carton of eggs. And during the week, I found him just sitting on the couch. He wasn't doing anything, and he wasn't in a hurry to move either. He distracted me by pulling me down for a cuddle and conversation, but when we did move, he needed help to stand up and then he was unsteady as he moved. He laughed it off and said he just had pins and needles down his legs, but he wasn't sitting on them. I shrugged off both incidents because he said he was fine. Why did I do that?"

"Because we trust the men in our lives to tell us the truth," Jordan offered softly as she huddled in against Derek.

Emily nodded. "Honey, this isn't your fault. Spencer should have been honest with you about what was going on, especially after the last time. And yes, maybe you should have pushed when you grew concerned, but I know the two of you have same-page conversations on a regular basis, so he should have brought it up and told you he was worried about something. That he didn't is on him. But it is also senseless to lay blame anywhere, so let's just breathe and wait on answers."

Brad nodded his agreement. "You should go and reassure your girls that I will take good care of their father. And you should all work it out among you who will be taking the girls while Austin is at the hospital."

"I'm going to the hospital to sit with Austin," Emily said firmly.

"I also want to be at the hospital while we wait for answers," Derek agreed and JJ chimed in the same as Austin slowly made her way towards her distraught children, standing with the older kids watching over them. She pulled herself together long enough to comfort them all, amused despite her fear to hear an argument breaking out as to who would be looking after her five in amongst the sound of cars being moved. In the end, Esther and Sean won on the principal that they only had the one child to look after, and he had a travel cot that they could easily bring with them to the Reid's house. That settled, Sean took her keys and moved her car for her as she made her way back down to where Brad watched over Spencer.

"I don't like leaving him in the snow with a possibility of frostbite, but I don't want to risk compromising his spinal cord either," Brad was saying as she returned.

"How about making a backboard from a toboggan and some scarves?" Cameron suggested as he knelt next to the doctor. "Then we just need something sturdy to brace his head and neck with."

"That will work," Brad agreed with a relieved smile. "Anyone got some books or small boxes in their cars?"

"Spencer always has several books of some sort in the car with him. I..um..I can go look and see what we have," Austin replied shakily as she unwound her scarf and handed it over.

"I'll do it," Lydia said with a reassuring hug and after handing over her own scarf grabbed the keys and scurried toward the parking area. Austin watched as Brad directed Cameron and Derek in rolling Spencer onto one of the now abandoned sleds. She quickly returned with two thick tomes in her hands. "Will these work?"

"Perfect!" Brad quickly secured his patient with scarves provided by the team. He glanced over at Cameron as he worked. "How did you come up with this?"

"Deployment. We used spare ammo boxes as a c-collar one time when one of my guys got hurt. You use what you've got in the field."

Once Spencer was secured, there was nothing left to do other than wait for the chopper to arrive. She took the time to brief Esther and Sean on all they needed to know, handed over her keys and promised to keep them in the loop so that they could reassures the girls along the way. Sean went to their car and removed Isaac's car seat, then handed over their keys to Emily.

By the time the chopper arrived, the sun was setting and everyone else had headed home with the children. She stood with Emily and JJ on either side of her, and watched as Brad and Derek assisted the paramedics with bringing Spencer the rest of the way up the slope before they carefully moved him from the toboggan to a backboard, replacing the makeshift support around his head and neck with a c-collar. Brad climbed into the chopper which headed off a few minutes after that while the four of them piled into the car and headed back toward the city as fast as they dared while Austin prayed that the situation wasn't as bad as Brad feared.

Early the Next Morning

It was far worse than he had feared.

Brad watched as Austin sobbed heavily in Derek's arms, her heart breaking after being given the news that not only was the tumour inoperable, but the husband she loved more than life was going to die sometime in the next few days without ever waking up. Derek cried silently while he held her and Emily and JJ clung to each other a short distance away.

He lifted a hand and wiped at his own tears as his colleague and friend walked toward him.

"I absolutely hate days like this," Evan Stuart muttered as he turned to look back at what he'd done.

Brad nodded in sympathy, but murmured, "Do you know who Walt Bennett is?"

"Of course," Evan replied. "He's one of the best neurosurgeons in the field anywhere in the world, and is hands down the best in this country."

"He's also a close friend. Would you mind if I send the test results through to him and ask him to take a look at them?"

Evan watched the scene going on down the hall, misery written all over his face. "They have children, don't they?"

Brad nodded. "Five girls. The oldest is seven."

"Send them through to Doctor Bennett. I'll be praying that he can pull off the miracle that I can't."

Brad nodded and turned away, walking down to the nearby window with the pre-dawn view of the city laid out before him. He knew it was incredibly late in Los Angeles, but this was too important to force more than the briefest of hesitations before he hit the call button. He rested his head against the glass as he listened to the ringing sound, relishing the cold as a couple more tears slid down his face.

Walt's voice was groggy, but at least he had answered. "Brad? What are you doing calling me at such a godawful time?"

Brad's voice was hoarse in reply. "A good friend of mine has just been given a death sentence. His wife has less than a week to reconcile becoming a widow and his five girls are shortly going to be fatherless. Considering where the tumour is placed, I was hoping you might look at the test results and give us a second opinion."

"Of course Brad. Send them through and I'll look at them straight away. The email address is the same."

"I remember. Thank you."

He disconnected the call and went to find Evan. His fellow doctor was in his office and already had all the test results attached to an email, along with a few notes. Brad shot him a grateful smile and added in the email address. He fell into a chair as Evan sent the email out and waited quietly, trying not to descend too deeply into a funk as Evan worked quietly across from him. When his phone rang almost an hour later, he flinched before reaching for it. Evan stopped working to send him an encouraging look and taking a breath he answered.

The Next Night

Austin climbed onto the bed beside Spencer, careful of all the leads and cords surrounding him but needing these few minutes to be close to him. Resting her upper body on one arm, she stretched out her other arm to gently stroke a hand through his hair.

"Hey baby. They're a bit uncertain as to whether you can hear me or not, but I am going to talk anyway. Spencer?" She waited a moment, not sure what she expected, but when nothing happened she sighed heavily. "The thing that is killing me the most is that I can't remember whether I told you how much I love you that day. I know I said I love you, but I've been asking myself how much true emotion I put behind that sentiment, or whether I just take it for granted that you will just know how much I mean it.

"Anyway, I remember the last time this happened, with you lying so pale on the bed, surrounded by machines beeping and tubes keeping you alive. You woke up, looked at me and smiled, and I could breathe for the first time since they wheeled you away. So you need to wake up, baby, because I haven't been able to breathe for two days." She dropped her head to his chest, crying for a few minutes before she lifted her head. "Dammit Spence, wake up!"

Sobs tore through her yet again as her head dropped back. Then hands were on her, gently lifting her off of the bed. She was briefly aware of Brad holding her before Derek was there yet again, her rock, even as he himself dealt with his own shattered feelings. He moved them out of the way as a team of medical experts walked in and started prepping Spencer for surgery. She'd been told the chances of success were extremely slim, that the operation that wasn't supposed to be possible was probably going to kill him even faster than the tumour would.

But at least there was a chance, slim though it may be.

Yesterday there had been none.

When Brad had come back to her yesterday, she'd been a mess, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall and her head on Derek's shoulder, still crying almost two hours after she'd been given the news that there was nothing they could do. She would have been crying at Spencer's bedside only they hadn't yet allowed her into the room with him. Emily and JJ had left to share the news with the others so that she wouldn't have to be bothered with it. The only thing to get through her grief was when Derek murmured that Sean and Esther could stay for as long as they were needed.

Brad had knelt down in front of her and gently wiped at the wet drops on her face. Her laugh had been rusty and humourless.

"Don't bother with them, there are way more where they came from."

His smile was sad, the evidence of his own tears threatening to make her cry harder all over again. "I make no promises. But my friend is one of the world's best surgeons and will be flying in from LA first thing in the morning. He wants a few tests repeated from a different perspective, which they are going to do now so they are ready when he gets here, but he is convinced that he might be able to pull off a miracle with Spencer."

Seeing the light of hope is his eyes, she'd thrown herself at him and sobbed yet again. But balancing her terrible grief now was the slimmest ray of hope and that hope had yet to be dashed. She knew she might very well be burying her husband and raising her five girls all by herself regardless of what happened in that surgical room. But for now, she held on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, she could take her beloved home with her one day soon.

Christmas Day

Austin listened to the Christmas carols her girls were singing. Even the youngest three had been taught some of the words and were singing with gusto. Mackenzie had been a little unsure, but Diana had insisted that singing to their dad was the only way to wake him up, so of course she was all in and giving it everything she had. But she'd had to choke back a laugh when she'd overheard the confident four-year-old mutter as she walked into the room that it would be their bad singing that woke him up when he told them to shut it, but wasn't that beside the point?

Spencer had survived the surgery, and Dr Bennett had been pleased with how the marathon session had gone. Her husband's responses to stimuli had been sluggish but there and the tests showed that the tumour had been removed cleanly and the site was draining properly. Everyone had been so overjoyed, though no one as much as her, and she had settled in to wait for the moment when he woke up and she could tell him that everything was going to be alright.

But that moment hadn't come.

Days after the surgery, when Spencer had been fully weaned off of the anaesthetic and should have woken up, further tests showed that he had slipped into a coma. Brain activity remained strong, and he continued to respond to stimuli, but for reasons they couldn't pinpoint, he hadn't returned to them as expected. Almost four weeks later and there was still no change. And though she was desperate for him to wake up and return to her, to them, she contented herself with the knowledge that at least he was alive.

There was still hope.

She continued setting the presents out in piles for each child, smiling sadly as she came across the ones addressed to Spencer. Being here today had been Mackenzie's idea, so that even if their dad 'slept' through the whole event, just by being in the same room with him they could share their traditions as they usually did.

Both the good ones and the bad ones, she thought with a wince as a particularly off key note was strung out.

Finally deciding that enough was enough, and with a last wistful glance at the man lying so still on the bed, she called the girls over to the couch and got the present giving underway.

January

Diana skipped into the room, careful not to swing her violin case too much. Aware her mum and uncle Brad were watching her through the large glass window, she very carefully used the chair beside the bed to climb up without knocking into anything.

"Morning Daddy. Mummy says I'm not allowed to play you anything on my violin, but I figured I could at least bring it in with me. She says that my playing is getting better, but it is still not quite good enough for a wider audience yet. I'm not sure I like hearing that, but she promised to let me play for everyone as soon as I can play and not screech. Her words, not mine."

Muffled laughter drew her gaze to the window, and she waved at uncle Derek who now stood with an arm around her mum while uncle Brad did something on his phone before turning back to her dad.

"On the plus side, I actually played three whole notes without screeching just yesterday. I was so excited I danced around the whole house before Mummy reminded me that my teacher was still here and I should get back to my lesson. But then when the teacher left, Mummy cuddled me and said she was proud of me and that you would be proud of me too." She pushed the case to the end of the bed and rested her head on her father's chest. "Daddy, I wish you would wake up and tell me how proud of me you are. I miss you."

When she turned at her mother's soft touch on her shoulder, she found herself crying as she was gently carried out of the room.

February

"She wants to go left but the opposition is already there. But what's this? She breaks to the right through a gap and straight to the hoop. She shoots, she scores for the win! And the crowd goes wild." She made faint cheering noises as she moved around the room in an approximation of a victory lap before carefully climbing up on the bed.

"Hey Daddy. It's Mackenzie, in case you didn't know. We made the finals, my team and I. Everyone is saying that they couldn't have done it without me. Of course, everyone has also been saying that at seven and eight years old, we aren't really that good at playing, and it is all about the cuteness factor. Clearly they're wrong, because our team is actually scoring points when we play. That's good right?"

She looked hopefully at her father, lying so still on the bed before she sighed heavily. "Daddy, please wake up. I really want you to be there at my first ever finals game. I miss your hugs, and the fun we used to have beating Mum and Diana at all the games we played. I just miss you Daddy...Daddy?"

Pushing back the tears that wanted to fall, she lay down with her head on her father's heart.

"Please God, if you're there, I know my Daddy doesn't believe you exist but my Mummy does. Since you're not allowed to keep him because we need him more, please send my Daddy back to us. Please?"

Late February

"Hey baby," Austin said softly as she walked into the room that had become her second home over the last three months. She kissed him gently and spent a few minutes stroking his hair before she headed for the window to peer out at the light dusting of snow on the landscaped lawns below.

"Another crazy weekend has passed in the Reid household without you. Mackenzie's team won the final; I nearly burst with pride when she stepped up to receive her first ever trophy. And before you ask, yes; I did record the entire game and the triumphant moment the trophy was received. Coach Miller says we should start putting shelves in Mackenzie's room now for all the trophies that are going to follow. I took her advice and spoke to Derek. He spent half an hour arguing with our girl on how it should look. I don't need to tell you who won, do I?

"Diana continues to get better with her violin on a daily basis. She finally figured out the difference in her form between what produces the screech and what makes a note. The notes of course are still choppy, but she is now slowly producing scales as she plays, and she is already planning her first concert for everyone, even though she can't play actual songs yet. You are of course the guest of honour, so unless you are waking up anytime soon, she'll have time to learn a piece or two before her grand debut.

"The triplets are three months off of their second birthday and it is crazy the difference a year has made. Their personalities are really starting to shine through, and I can already tell that Sienna is going to drive us nuts. She has not a single bone in her body afraid of anything. I actually found her attempting to climb a tree after she watched Diana and Mackenzie scramble up before her. The girls started shouting for me and I thought something was end of the world wrong the way they were carrying on until I got out there and figured it out. If you don't count the part where my heart stopped beating for a few moments, it really wasn't that bad. In fact, I was even a little proud of how far she got, though I scolded her anyway in the hopes that I can hold off on her first broken bone for a bit longer.

"Tabitha is the super quiet one…" she stopped talking as a soft groan hit her ears. Turning away from the window, she almost burst into tears to see Spencer with his eyes open and a pained look on his face. Rushing to the bed, she hit the call button and gently stroked his face.

"Hey you. Don't try to move or speak or anything. The doc will be here soon enough." She dropped her head for a moment, wiping up a few tears before she laughed. "Geez Spence, you scared half of my life away with all of this. I know I said not to talk, but promise me that you won't do this ever again."

The look of confusion on his face made her want to shield him from all the poking and prodding to come. His words had her reeling back in shock as pain ricocheted through her.

"Who are you?"

Tears beginning to course down her cheeks, she shoved out of the room past Brad and the others trying to get into the room. She ignored Brad's call after her and made for the ladies' room, locking herself in and wrapping her arms tight around her waist as she sank to the ground. She'd been so sure that when Spence woke up that everything would be a little rocky initially, but the world would be back on its proper axis. Instead, the world was spinning out of control. She stayed where she was until the shaking eased enough that she was sure she wouldn't completely lose it when she stood, washed her face and stepped out of the room to find Brad waiting for her.

He tugged her into his arms and murmured softly, "It isn't unusual for a coma patient to have short term amnesia when they wake up. In Reid's case, his was very short term. He started asking about you a few minutes after you ran out."

A single sob escaped her as she pushed upright and started moving for the room. Brad's hand tugging gently at hers brought her forward movement to a halt.

"There's more Austin. Though we think it might be psychosomatic considering his previous responses to external stimuli, Spencer is currently paralysed and not responsive. He's freaking out about it naturally, and is panicking over the realisation he had that he didn't remember you immediately. He saw how devastated you were before you ran out of the room and it has hit him hard. It didn't help that one of the nurses told him that he'd been unconscious for three months and you'd been by his side the whole time."

She turned back to him with a sad smile. "Nothing you have said is insurmountable. He's alive, Brad, and he has come back to me. And yes, it hurt more than I can put into words that he didn't know who I was; so much so that I needed a few minutes to catch my breath. But whatever he needs now, even if for some reason he is actually paralysed for the rest of his life, at least he has me in his corner. Because I never give up on those I love." Pulling her hand gently out of his, she headed back to her husband's side with a strong determination to affect the best outcome for everyone.

Early March

Two weeks had passed since he had woken up, and he had initially been inundated with visitors, most of whom had cried at least a little to see him awake. The knowledge that he had been in a coma for three months chilled him, though he was far angrier with his memory for the pain he had caused his wife when his initial confusion had kept him from recognising her straight away. Lucky for him this was Austin they were talking about. She'd walked back into his room with a sunny smile on her face and had been unshakeable ever since, convinced that no matter what happened, nothing was impossible.

He was currently on his own for the first time it seemed since he had woken up. And though he relished the quiet, he was just a little scared at being on his own and unable to move. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he desperately wanted someone to come into his room so that he would no longer be alone. Not liking the feeling a bit, since he hadn't felt that way since he was a child, he reached up and pressed the call button, then lifted his hand to where he could see it, shocked that it had actually moved.

He was still staring at it when Evan walked into the room and grinned hugely at him. A few minutes later, they had confirmed that all feeling had returned and he was responding well to stimuli. Evan moved to the end of the bed to make some notes on his chart.

"What got you to try to move today?"

Spencer felt like squirming. "It's going to sound stupid."

"I highly doubt that, considering it moved your progress forward by a huge leap."

He sighed softly. "I was enjoying the quiet of being alone until it struck me that I was also afraid of being alone. I don't know why it hit as hard as it did, but I realised that I hadn't felt that kind of fear since I was a child and I didn't like it."

"So you did something about it. That's good Spencer, and nothing to be ashamed of. Think of the joy on your wife's face when she arrives shortly and you can reach out to give her a hug."

A smile lit his face at the thought, though it didn't last long. "I doubt that I'll be hugging her anytime soon. I feel exhausted by just the little bit you put me through just now, and while I think I could pull up a hug for her, I don't think I'd have the energy to hug anyone else and that would crush the kids."

Evan shrugged. "Then just hold her hand, or turn your head, something small. I bet tears of joy look a whole lot different to tears of sadness."

"On her there is no comparison."

"Well there you go then."

Early April

Austin proudly watched Spencer make his slow way around the room. His physical therapist walked beside him, ready to play catch if necessary, but it was obvious that only his stamina had yet to return as he settled back down on the bench beside her in the therapy room.

"That was amazing babe, great job!"

His tired smile had her gently bumping her head against his shoulder in encouragement as Rafe echoed her sentiment.

"That really was great work Spencer. I know it feels like a marathon now, but keep up that progress you have made over the last few weeks and we'll have you home in time for your triplets second birthdays. Now take a minute to catch your breath and then we'll try something a little more challenging."

Contentment settled over the both of them as he went to set up the next walk with obstacles to be navigated around.

Late April 2021

Spencer watched Austin driving the car that would finally take him home and just knew that he wasn't going to get away with a quiet return.

"Whose idea was the surprise welcome home party?"

Austin flinched slightly and shot him a guilty look. "Derek initiated everything. I did try really hard to talk him out of the party, but he insisted that it was necessary. It's nothing huge or over the top, just the BAU family and lunch and they promised not to stay for too long. I wasn't supposed to say anything, but you look tired and I'm feeling really guilty that I can't just take you home and snuggle down with you for a nap and I guess it showed."

He sighed heavily as he carefully dropped his head back against the headrest, but knowing that it wasn't his wife's fault that he couldn't just sleep when he got home had him holding his hand out to her. She took it quickly, gently lifting it up to kiss the back of it. Then she smiled mischievously at him. "Since we have a myriad of babysitters back at the house, we could always boycott the party and find a hotel somewhere for that nap."

He laughed softly as he relaxed. "Much as I would love to do that, if everyone made something to contribute to lunch, I'm going to feel terrible if I don't show. No, we'll go, though I refuse to act surprised, and we'll kick everyone out early. Besides, I doubt I'll be awake a few hours from now."

She laughed with him and nodded. "Alright. I really am sorry about this."

"Not your fault love." They completed the drive in companionable silence. He snorted when he saw the house with the streamers, balloons and 'Welcome Home' banner and the street surrounded by familiar cars. "That is not a surprise party."

"Maybe they changed their minds about the surprise part. Either that or someone talked Derek out of it."

"I'll kiss whoever that is."

Austin grinned as she pulled the car into the drive. She waited patiently while he eased himself from the car, knowing he needed to reassert his independence after being cared for over the last five months, even if he was unconscious for three of those months and therefore unaware. She also knew that as stubborn as he could be, he would ask her for help if he actually needed it.

The front door was open as they slowly made their way up the walk, Derek leaning against the doorframe with a welcoming smile. That didn't last long as a group of bodies came out shrieking "Daddy!" at the tops of their lungs, pushing his friend to the side as he laughed. Spencer fell to his knees with a laugh of his own and enveloped all five of his girls in one massive hug, glad at last to be home with the chaos they engendered. It took a few minutes to get everyone untangled and moving back into the house, at which point he reached out to Austin for help, grateful that she was there with her warm, approving smile letting him know she was truly happy to help.

"Welcome home pretty boy."

"I believe I have you to thank for forcing me to be social when all I want to do is sleep off the exhaustion of actually leaving the hospital."

Derek shrugged. "We'll invade long enough to see you are fed, keeping your girls distracted so that your food is hot and then most of us will head out."

"Most of you?"

He grinned. "I will stay with my lot to look after your lot while you and Austin sleep this afternoon. We can either leave just before dinner or we can stay as a buffer until the day is over, your choice."

Spencer studied the older man for a long moment, seeing his relief overlying his worry. Reaching out, he enveloped Derek in a hug. Austin smiled at them as she walked into the house, leaving them out on the porch. Derek finally pulled back and shook his head, then gently punched Spencer in the arm.

"Hey!"

"That's for scaring the living daylights out of me pretty boy."

"I didn't ask for that tumour to come back. And I definitely didn't ask for the surgery to put me in a coma. So how is this my fault."

"You were involved."

Spencer grumbled about the unfairness of the situation as they moved into the house. He was grateful as he slipped out of his jacket that the noise was somewhat quiet around him, since loud noises still bothered him a lot. Austin had obviously warned everyone about that, and about not overwhelming or crowding him. He could hear the kids out back laughing as they played, but all the adults were in the kitchen and dining areas waiting to greet him. After making his way around the group, he frowned at Derek.

"Where's Jordan?"

"Home with gastro. I offered to stay home and look after her and she practically shoved me out the door. I was informed that if I stuck around and got what she had she would kick my butt, especially if the boys got sick too. So after making sure that she was resting as comfortably as possible, we left her behind to come over here and celebrate your homecoming."

"I heard a few days ago at the hospital that someone had come to visit a patient and a day after that, an entire ward was quarantined to stop the bug from spreading."

Brad groaned. "Let's not get started on the GI bug going around. It's just about to make the news because of how quickly it is spreading around the city. It isn't that surprising that one of us would get it when they are talking about a one in ten ratio of those afflicted at the moment. The current theory is that this bout is attached to a virus. I'm really hoping they are wrong, but..."

"Enough talk about disgusting bodily functions," Emily interrupted firmly. "The children will be eating outside. We're taking food out to them in a minute and then we can all hopefully eat in relative peace. Then we will get out of your hair because my darling Reid, you look terrible."

Spencer wrapped his arms around Emily and squeezed lightly. "Thanks Em. That sums up how I feel perfectly."

Everyone laughed and moved to take seats around the table, causing him to blink at the realisation that additional table space had been created and extra chairs brought in to ensure that there was adequate space, since their place wasn't normally used as a gathering spot for the whole group. As lunch was served up, Austin explained where all the extras had come from.

An hour and a half later, he was practically asleep on his feet as everyone filed out, hugs coming from all angles as they said goodbye. After making sure that Derek had everything under control, Austin wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him up the stairs and five minutes later, he fell asleep wrapped up in the comfort of being back home and in the arms of the woman who completed him.

End

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