AN: Well, here it is, the last chapter. Hope everyone has had as much fun reading this story as I have had writing it. Thanks to everyone who has added this story to their alerts, favs or have left a review (especially my faithful reviewers who have left one for every chapter!) It's been a great ride!
December- 2007:
David Rossi walked off the elevator on Monday morning, a stack of papers in his hand. The stack was only half as thick now as it was when he had entered the building, as he had been handing them out ever since he had got out of his car in the parking lot. As Agent Anderson walked by, a folder in his hand, Rossi quickly handed him one of the papers.
"If you have any questions you know where my office is," Rossi told him, as Anderson paused.
"Ah, yes, sir," Anderson managed before he continued on the errand he had been sent on.
Agent Rossi continued on his own way, stepping down into the bullpen. He walked over to the desks of his three teammates. Prentiss, seeing his approach, greeted him.
"Good morning all," he said, looking at first Prentiss, Reid and then Morgan. Rossi handed a flyer to both Morgan and Prentiss.
"What's this?" Prentiss asked.
"Information about the Yuletide Ball that is being held to benefit the Children's Hospital. I'm one of the organizers and I would be mighty disappointed if my own teammates couldn't manage to make an appearance."
"I suppose this is a black-tie event," Morgan said, glancing at the flyer.
"Yes it is, and don't bother using the I don't own a tuxedo excuse," the older profiler told him. "I'll rent you a tuxedo if I have to," Rossi added as he headed out of the bullpen.
"How come you didn't give a flyer to Reid?" Prentiss asked.
Agent Rossi stopped, and turned back to face the three of them. Reid had his head bent over a file that was open. "Because, someone else already invited him," Rossi said.
"Oh, right," Prentiss said, realizing she should have realized that Amber would be attending and would've already invited Reid.
Rossi turned and continued on his way. Walking past his own office, he headed for Hotch's. Rossi knocked on the open door, but didn't pause as he walked into his friend's office.
"The annual Yuletide Ball to benefit the Chrildren's Hosptial?" Hotch asked as Rossi held a flyer out to him.
"You know me too well. I figure one of these years I'll get you to attend, though we do appreciate the donations you've made over the last couple of years."
"Well, I don't have the Christmas Party Haley's parents throw as an excuse this year," Hotch said, as he took the flyer. "Will the excuse of not having a date suffice?"
"Not a chance. I can find you a date in that case," Rossi told him, as he sat down in the chair across from Hotch.
"Ah, no thanks," Hotch replied, thinking of who the older profiler might set him up with just for the fun of it. "I have a feeling you've hit the rest of the team up this year, too."
"Working on it. Still have to drop in on JJ and Garcia. Morgan seemed about as enthusiastic as you."
"Well, I'll at least put in an appearance this year," Hotch told him. It was for a good cause and it wasn't like he had any plans.
"Good, you can keep me from doing anything stupid if Amber and Reid get a little too cozy out on the dance floor or something. She is my little girl, after all."
Hotch smiled. "I'll be surprised if Amber gets Reid out on the dance floor," Hotch said, thinking of how awkward the young genius could be in social situations.
"Oh, you might be surprised. You know how us guys get when we're in love. We'll do things we normally wouldn't even give a second thought to."
"You really think they're that serious?"
Rossi glanced toward the open doorway to make sure no one was nearby, even as he lowered his voice a little. "Reid showed up at my house last week, asking for permission to ask Amber to marry him. I think the boy is head over heels."
"Wow," Hotch said. "I didn't think it was that serious."
"I didn't expect him to actually get up the nerve to talk to me before he asked her, nor did I expect it to come up this fast, but I hope it works out for them. I want to see my little girl happy."
"Has he asked her yet?"
Rossi shook his head. "I'm sure I would have heard something if he had. Besides, if how long it took him to actually enter my house is any indication, it will be a while before he gets around to popping the question."
"That nervous, huh?"
"I'm not sure he would have ever gotten up the nerve to ring the doorbell if I hadn't gone out and got him," Rossi said, to which Hotch laughed.
There was a knock on the door. Both men looked over at the door to see Garcia standing in the doorway.
"I've got that information you wanted, sir," the blonde tech said.
"Great, come on in," Hotch told her. "I appreciate you getting that done quickly."
"You're welcome, sir," Garcia replied, entering the office and handing the file she had brought with her to the unit chief. "Anything else you need?"
"No. Not right now, thank-you."
As the technical analyst turned to leave the room, Rossi spoke up.
"Got any plans for the twenty-first?" he asked.
"Ah, not yet. May I ask why?" Garica said, turning to face the newest member of the team.
"Charity event," Rossi told her, holding out a flyer to her. "A ball to celebrate the holiday and gather toys for the kids at the Children's Hospital."
"Awww, that sounds like a really good cause. I'm sure I can find the time to attend!" Garcia said smiling, as she took the flyer from Rossi.
"Great. Think you can persuade a couple of your co-workers to go. Prentiss and Morgan didn't exactly show much enthusiasm for the idea."
"Oh, I can be very persuasive, sir," Garcia replied. "Just leave things to me."
As Garcia left the office, Rossi looked across the desk at Hotch. "Remind me to never cross that woman," he commented.
"A very wise, choice," Hotch replied.
December 22nd around 2:30 in the morning:
The Yuletide Ball had been a huge success, raising a record amount of toys for the children. Rossi and his fellow organizers had been pleased with the results and the outcome of the ball itself. Everyone appeared to have a good time, even Rossi's teammates who had been reluctant to come at first.
Following the conclusion of the event, his teammates had surprised him by hanging around and helping with transporting the toys to Rossi's house. The other members of the organization would be by that afternoon to help with the wrapping and organize the delivery of the toys. Prentiss and Garcia had even offered to help with that part if they needed help. After four years of helping to organize the event, Rossi knew better than to turn down any offer of help he received.
Now, the team was gathered in his living room, still dressed in the clothes they had worn to the ball, though all of the guys currently present had discarded the ties and only Hotch still wore the jacket.
"What do you think is taking those two so long?" Prentiss asked, looking toward the doorway of the living room. Amber and Reid had gone to the kitchen to get hot chocolate for everyone.
Rossi glanced at his watch. It did seem to be taking longer than necessary. "Not sure, but somehow I don't think I want to be the one to go find out. Might get accused on spying on them by my daughter."
"I'll go," Morgan offered, getting to his feet and leaving the living room.
He heard the raised voices before he even reached the kitchen. Morgan paused, not sure if he should interrupt or just go quietly back to the living room. He heard Amber's voice but couldn't make out what she was saying. She sounded upset though. What Reid said afterwards he heard though.
"This is pointless. Everything is slipping right out of our hands."
Again Morgan could hear Amber's voice as she made a reply to Reid's statement. Not waiting around to hear more, Morgan turned on his heel and quietly made his way back to the living room.
"That was quick," Prentiss commented as Morgan entered. "Are they coming?"
"Not exactly. The love birds are having an argument. I came back before I overheard too much," Morgan told them, as he reclaimed his spot next to Garcia on the couch.
"Guess we'll be waiting for that hot chocolate then," Prentiss remarked.
"If one of them doesn't end up wearing it," Hotch commented
It wasn't long before the group heard running footsteps go past the room, followed shortly by the slamming of the front door.
"Well, someone was through with arguing," JJ commented, looking around at those in the room with her.
"That would have been Amber," Rossi said. At the questioning looks he received from his co-workers he continued. "Believe me, I've heard her slam enough doors over the years to know exactly what it sounds like," he told them as he got to his feet.
"Planning on going to talk to her?" Prentiss asked, the tone in her voice sounding skeptical, as she didn't think that would be a good idea.
"Of course not," Rossi replied even as he headed for the doorway. "Dear old Dad is the last person that she wants to talk to right about now. I'm going to go give some advice to someone else whether he wants it or not."
As he finished his sentence, Rossi was walking out of the living room. As the older agent disappeared from sight, Morgan moved to get to his feet, not about to let Reid face Rossi by himself.
"Relax, Morgan," Hotch said, seeing the dark-skinned agent's movement.
"Am I the only one who thinks it's a bad idea for Rossi to go talk to Reid alone?" Morgan asked.
"Trust me," Hotch said, thinking of the conversation he had with Rossi a few weeks ago. He wasn't sure how much his other teammates knew about how serious Reid's relationship with Amber was. Hotch did know, he was the only one Rossi had talked to about it. What Reid might have told Morgan or JJ he didn't know, nor was it his concern. He did however know that Rossi wasn't against his daughter's relationship with Reid. If he said he was going to give Reid some advice, then Hotch knew that was what he was going to do.
Reluctantly, Morgan leaned back against the couch again. An awkward silence fell over the group, no one knowing exactly what to say. It wasn't long before Garcia got to her feet.
"Where are you going, Baby Girl?" Morgan asked.
"I'm going to go see if Amber wants another woman to talk to. I can't just sit here and do nothing," Garcia told them as she headed out of the room. As they hadn't heard an engine start up, the blonde figured Amber hadn't gone to far.
"I'll come with you," JJ said, getting to her feet.
The two women grabbed their wraps from the hangers in the entry way. Spotting Amber's coat, JJ grabbed it from its hook before stepping out into the cold night with Garcia.
"It's snowing," Garcia commented as they stepped onto the front porch.
There were big white flakes, slowly drifting to the ground. The snow had been falling long enough to have covered everything with a thin layer of white. Footsteps went down the porch and across the walk toward the driveway. Following them, JJ soon spotted Amber standing by her pick-up truck.
"There she is," JJ said, touching Garcia's arm gently.
The two women pulled their wraps closer around themselves as they made their way carefully down the steps and over to where Amber stood, her back to them. Reaching her, Garcia laid her hand on her new friend's arm.
"Hey, Sweetie, are you okay?"
Amber nodded, and reached up to wipe tears away.
"I brought you your coat. It's freezing out here," JJ said holding the coat open for Amber.
"Thanks," Amber said, as she slipped it on. She then buttoned it up and stuffed her cold hands into its deep pockets.
"Want to talk about it?" Garcia asked.
"What's to talk about? We had a fight. Maybe this just wasn't meant to be."
"Oh, Sweetie, you can't jump to that conclusion over one fight. All couples argue from time to time," Garcia said. When Amber didn't say anything Garcia asked another question. "What was the argument about?"
"It's stupid really," Amber said, taking a hand out of her pocket to wipe away more tears.
"In my experience, most fights are over something stupid," JJ said. "Those are the ones that should be worked through though before they lead to other problems."
"Maybe he's right. Perhaps we are just too different to make a relationship work. I just don't see the harm in dancing a few dances with guys I know when I'm at a ball, especially when he won't dance with me. It's not like I ignored him all night. I spent a good portion of the night with him at our table. You two saw me!"
"So, that's what this was about. Spence, didn't think you spent enough time with him during the ball tonight?" JJ asked.
Amber nodded. "His comment was something along the lines of I might prefer to date Morgan rather than him. I danced one time with Morgan tonight and it was a fast song."
"I never thought my Boy Genius would join the ranks of the insensitive jerks of the world, but I think he just managed it with that comment," Garcia commented, the anger clear in her voice.
"I'm sure Spence didn't mean what he said," JJ said, trying to play diplomat, despite agreeing with Garcia on the insensitivity of the comment. Still, she had a unique perspective on the situation that the other two didn't. "Jealousy can make people say and do some stupid things."
"Doesn't make it hurt any less," Amber replied.
"I know," JJ said, putting her arm around Amber's shoulders.
"Then again, I said some mean things back to him. Things I don't really mean."
"Yeah, we tend to do that when we have an argument," JJ said. "So that just means the two of you need to calm down, apologize and talk things out."
"I told him he was only using tonight as a convenient excuse to want to end the relationship. That he wasn't serious about our relationship," Amber told them, thinking of the words she had thrown out at Spencer after he had said everything was slipping away. "I don't want to break up again, but sometimes I wonder if trying to make a relationship work is worth it. Lord knows my parents could never figure out how to make it work. Why should I be any different?"
"Just because your parents couldn't make a relationship work, doesn't mean you can't," JJ told her. She thought about the ring she had helped Spencer pick out for Amber. She knew for a fact he was serious about their relationship. His problem was getting the courage to show Amber just how serious. She had told Spence that he needed to propose, sooner rather than later. She was starting to wonder if he had waited too long. "What did Spencer say, after you told him that he wasn't serious about the relationship?"
"I didn't give him a chance to say anything," Amber replied. "That's about the time I ran out."
JJ nodded. Even if she had to knock some sense into that boy, she was going to make sure he attempted to fix this. These two were perfect for one another even if they were both scared of a serious relationship on some level. Something that JJ could definitely relate to.
The sound of a door opening made all three women look up. Reid, still clad in his tuxedo, was standing on the front porch.
"Here it comes. He's going to say its over," Amber said.
"Now, Sweetie, you don't know that," Garcia said, giving Amber's arm a squeeze.
"Amber, we need to talk," Spencer called out as he walked across the porch and started down the steps. All three women cringed as Spencer slipped on the third step. To their relief though he steadied himself by grabbing onto the railing.
"Spence, be careful," JJ called out, even as Amber started back in the direction of the house.
Spencer, looking a bit like Bambi, made his way slowly down the walk. JJ and Garcia stayed where they were, wanting to give their two friends some privacy. Spencer hadn't gotten far when he lost his footing and ending up flat on his back. Cursing the pumps she was wearing, Amber hurried toward him.
"Spence, are you okay?" JJ asked, ready to rush to his side if necessary.
"I'm fine," he called out, as he started to get to his feet.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Amber asked, as she reached him, taking his arm to help steady him as he stood up. "Anything hurt?"
"Mostly my pride," Spencer replied, feeling the heat in his cheeks despite the cold wind that blew. "Look, Amber, about what I said earlier, I'm sorry. I know I said it was okay for you to dance with those guys at the ball, and it was. Just because I didn't want to dance shouldn't mean you can't have some fun. It's just that, well when I think about you with them, it makes me realize how easily I could lose you because I'm not the best dresser, or the guy with all the right moves on the dance floor, nor can I whisper sweet words to you because my brain and tongue can't seem to coordinate when it comes to things like that."
Amber stared at him, unsure what to say. That was most definitely the last thing she had expected to hear from Spencer. Did he really think those things mattered to her?
"This relationship means everything to me," he told her.
"Saying it is one thing, Spencer, but I need you to show me that. Show me that I'm not just setting myself up for the heartache that I've seen my parents go through way too many times. I've told myself so many times that I wouldn't set myself up for a disappointment like that. That I wouldn't let myself fall in love with someone and then somewhere along the line, I broke that promise. I went and fell in love with you. Walking away from you that day on the beach, a piece of my heart stayed with you. I can't keep losing pieces of my heart every time we go our separate ways."
"Amber, that won't happen again. I'll never leave you alone."
"What about our careers, Spencer? We haven't ever discussed what happens when a transfer comes in for either of us. We went our separate ways because of our careers last time. What will make this time any different?"
"This time will be different because I won't choose my career over you. Right now, things are fine how they are. If a year or so down the line you get another posting, I'll come with you if that's what you want to do. What matters is that every time I think about losing you, I think about that night back in LA when we first kissed. Seeing the city lights dance on the water and how beautiful you looked. I knew that night that I had fallen in love with a careless man's careful daughter and have been in love with her ever since. You're the best thing in my life and I'll do whatever it takes to keep you in my life."
Amber was still trying to digest his words when she realized that he was kneeling down on the ground before her. She watched in silence as Spencer reached into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket.
"Amber Rossi, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he said, as he tried to open the small jewelry box he held in his hand. As he fumbled with it, the velvet box fell out of his hand and dropped onto the snow. Feeling his cheeks grow warm, Spencer retrieved the box and finally opened it, holding it out to her.
Amber stood, looking down in disbelief at the ring. This had come out of left field on her, but as she looked down at the ring and the man holding it, there was only one word that was in her mind right now. Just one word that she had to find the courage to speak.
"Yes," Amber finally manage to get out.
As the relief washed over him, Spencer slipped the ring on her finger. As he started to stand back up, once again, his dress shoes slipped on the snowy ground. Amber reached out to steady him, which only ended up with them both ending up on the snow covered pavement. Amber laughed as she looked down at Spencer from their awkward position. Bending her head toward his, she kissed him on the lips.
"Are you two, okay?" JJ asked. She and Garcia were now standing next to the couple on the ground.
"Yeah, we're fine," Spencer said, as JJ helped Amber to her feet and then he got carefully to his own.
"Real smooth there, Bambi," Garcia said, brushing snow off the back of Reid's jacket.
"Congratulations," JJ said, hugging first Spencer and then Amber.
"So which one of you are going to break the news to Agent Rossi?" Garcia asked looking first at Reid and then at Amber.
"I think he already knows," JJ commented, pointing to the house, before bending down to retrieve the velvet box the ring had been in.
All three of them looked in that direction to see what she was referring to. There in the front window, they saw the faces of the rest of the team. For the third time, Reid felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he realize his whole team had been a witness to his less than perfect proposal.
"I'm never going to live this down," Reid said softly.
"Well, staying out here isn't going to help, so how about we get in out of the cold," Amber suggested, slipping her arm around his waist.
As she walked slowly toward the house with the man she loved, Amber had no clue as to what the future had in store for them. What she was sure of, was that right here and now, this felt right. As for what lay around the corner, she and Spencer would face that together. It wouldn't be easy, but then real life never was.