Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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Allie awoke to the early morning sun peeping under the drawn blinds on the east facing window in their bedroom. She looked at the clock on the nightstand, 8am! She sat bolt upright. Had she not heard Joanna in the night? Oh my God, she thought as she jumped out of bed, had her baby been crying and she hadn't woken up? The other side of the bed was empty. Where was Spencer? She ran to the nursery which was empty so she turned and quickly headed for the living room. Spencer sat on the couch, his long legs out in front of him with his feet on the coffee table. On the table beside his feet was an empty nursing bottle and curled up on his chest was Joanna. Both were fast asleep.

Allie's lips curved involuntarily into a smile. She reached out and softly touched the soft brown locks that had fallen into her husband's eyes and pushed them back behind his ear. His chin had dropped forward on his chest and his daughter's head was nestled just beneath it. She loved them both so much. Would her heart ever not melt at the sight of them?

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Lloyd sat once again in the room at Leavenworth reserved for visits from counsel. He'd taken a very early flight from Chicago so he could get this done in time to get a flight this afternoon to Washington where he'd meet with Joan and they'd head to McLean for tomorrow's activities. The door opened and Chico was let into the room. The young inmate looked nervous at seeing his lawyer again so soon, especially early on a Saturday morning. "Mr. Graham," he probed, "is something wrong?"

"No, on the contrary Chico, for maybe the first time in your life, something is very right."

"What…what do you mean sir?"

Lloyd went on to explain in detail about his meeting with Ted Wyman and the plea agreement. "You mean, when I sign this and the judge says okay, I can get out of here?" the stunned inmate asked.

"Not the second that it happens; there are always forms to fill out and arrangements to be made between the court and the penal systems but within a day or so of the plea agreement being okayed by a judge, you'll be a free man."

"You said I have to sign something?" the young man asked.

Lloyd nodded and produced the papers. "Now Chico, by signing this you are saying that you are guilty of being an accessory to felony murder and assault on a federal officer. It will be in your record always. I'm not suggesting for a moment that you not sign it; I'm just making sure you're aware of what you're signing. It's not a get out of jail free card."

"Mr. Graham, I am guilty of that. I was a part of the gang that night but I never hurt anyone. That's the truth. I have to try to get past it now if I can."

"If anyone can do it Chico, you can," Lloyd said as he handed the young man his pen. Chico looked at the pen; it was gold and engraved with the words, 'The Future is Yours.' Chico's hand shook as he signed the plea agreement and handed the pen back to Lloyd. Lloyd put the pen back in his inside pocket but then removed it again. "Why don't you keep it?" he told Chico.

"No, no I couldn't. It's old; I can tell it's special," the young man protested.

"Yes, you're right, it is special. My father gave that to me when I graduated law school. I've kept it all these years through many trials both in and out of the courtroom and through three children. The whole inner mechanism's be changed once from wear. I'd like you to have it."

"No, you should give this to one of your kids," Chico said looking at the hand that held out the pen but he hesitated reaching for it.

"Chico, I have many things that I can give my children and will when the time is right. I think the sentiment on this pen is appropriate. The future is yours to do with what you will. I hope you make the best of it." He moved his hand forward until the young man took the gift.

"Th…thank you Mr. Graham. Nobody ever gave me a gift like this before." Lloyd thought that was probably true.

"You've received a lot of gifts lately Chico, none of them tangible. Someone contacted me a long time ago about helping your grandmother. That led to someone else contacting me about helping you. Miss Crest could have fought me tooth and nail when I blamed your conviction on her but she didn't, she rolled up her sleeves and helped. All these people believed in you Chico and they all hope you can take the gifts they've given and work hard to succeed. I know you can."

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Allie watched as her daughter began to stir. Her tiny hand with fingers so like her father reached up to tap him on the chin. Allie's lips curled as the baby realized that Daddy was not waking up and tougher measures would be required. Her hand came up to his chin again with more force and Allie almost laughed as she saw her husband jerk awake. He seemed dazed for a moment until he focused on the infant in his arms. "Hi sweetheart," he said to the baby. "What time is it?" he asked knowing Joanna would have no idea.

"8:30," came the response from the chair as Joanna began to fuss.

"Hi," he said as he looked at her through eyes that were only half open, "how long have you been sitting there?"

"About half an hour," she told him.

"Uh sweetheart," he said as he attempted to control the squirming fussy infant. "I think she's hungry and that bottle's empty." Allie nodded, rising to go to the couch and sit beside her husband. She undid her nightgown and took Joanna in her arms where the baby latched on hungrily and began to nurse.

"I didn't hear her cry," she said. "That's never happened before. I've always heard her before."

"She didn't cry," Spencer told her. "I heard her making noises. I, uh…couldn't sleep so I got up to check on her. She reached out and wanted me to pick her up so I brought her out here and she finished off the bottle from dinner and I guess we both kinda went to sleep."

"Thank you," Allie said as she gently ran her fingers over her daughter's hair.

"For what?" Spencer asked.

"A good night's sleep."

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"What time are your parents getting here?" Spencer asked as he helped Allie prepare trays for tomorrow's lunch. She had planned a cold cut and cheese tray, a vegetable tray and a fruit tray. "And why are we doing this?"

"Because we're having the team, my parents, Janice, Evan and I think we should invite Reverend Simons," Allie replied. "It's not every day our daughter gets christened."

"I know why we're having the trays," he said as he scraped some carrots at the sink, "but why didn't you just get the trays already made up from the deli?"

"And miss out on all this fun," she laughed as she cut celery into sticks and placed them on the platter. She looked over at Spencer immersed in his task. She supposed there was no time like the present. "So, why weren't you sleeping last night?"

"I guess I was just thinking," he said as he gazed out the kitchen window that overlooked the back yard. He was going to put a swing set out there, maybe next year, with a slide. Joanna would like that he was sure.

"About what?" Allie stopped chopping momentarily to look at him.

"Your Dad's flying in from Leavenworth today and I was wondering how things were going with Chico's case," he told her.

"Why is that bothering you?" she asked.

"I'm the reason Dad's there," Reid began. "I never told anybody except Gideon about what happened between Dad and me. I didn't want Evan to know. Spencer turned from the window and came to sit down across the table from his wife. He was silent for a few moments, and then launched into an explanation of how it was at his insistence that his Dad had taken a plea and that once his father was in prison; it was someone he'd helped put away that had severely beaten William. Allie gasped and grabbed Spencer's hand. She opened her mouth to speak but he raised his hand to stop her. He told her about his visit to Leavenworth with Evan, seeing Chico and realizing the young Latino was his father's protection. "Dad said Chico didn't belong there and I had Garcia look into it and he was right. But instead of helping Chico, I helped his grandmother so that Dad would still have Chico for protection."

"You still care about your Dad, even after all that's happened," Allie said.

"No, it's not that. There's a lot of bad blood between me and my dad but I never wanted him to get beaten like that. I don't ever want anyone to get hurt because of me."

Allie nodded but she wasn't sure if it was the whole truth and if her husband even realized it.

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Spencer was lying in bed reading the latest issue of Science Today while Allie was in the ensuite getting ready for bed. She exited the bathroom and turned off the light. Reid glanced up briefly, then back at his page, then quickly looked up again. Allie was not wearing her usual nursing nightgown. This nightgown was floor length in black lace flowers that left nothing whatsoever to the imagination. Spencer gulped; he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"I saw the doctor yesterday," Allie began, "and she said it was okay for us to, you know, resume sexual activity so when I was out today I bought this," she indicated the nightgown. "But if you'd rather read?"

Spencer threw the magazine on the floor. He was now on his knees on the bed. "Oh wow,' he said, "you are one sizzling hot mama." He flicked his hands toward himself, "Come to papa."

Allie sashayed slowly to the bed, prolonging her husband's agony even further, and then she was on her knees in front of him. They reached for one another instantly, feeling, groping, caressing and touching each other everywhere. The beautiful lace gown hit the floor as did Spencer's tee shirt and sleep pants. They explored each other with lips, hands, tongues and teeth, taking what had been denied them for so long. Spencer paused amidst the raging urgency. "You're sure it's alright. I don't want to hurt you or anything." Allie assured him it was fine before the couple joined as one in a vigorous, sensual and erotic union that carried them both to ecstasy.

In the guest room Lloyd and Joan were lying awake. "Are they doing what I think they're doing?" he asked.

"Yep," his wife replied.

"I guess they'll quit when the baby wakes up," he pondered.

"If they can hear the baby over," she pointed to the ceiling, "that."

"Maybe we better keep our ears open," Lloyd suggested.

"Might as well," Joan agreed, "we can't sleep!