Later that evening, after waking up from their nap to Michaela crying, getting her a clean diaper, and feeding her again, the couple find themselves on the couch, Michaela nestled in Reid's arms, fast asleep.

"You ready for this?" Morgan asked, glancing at Reid with one finger poised over his phone screen. "We can always wait until tomorrow."

"The longer we wait, the angrier she'll be that we kept this from her," Reid said with a soft smile. "Even if we didn't know about Michaela's existence until she was born. Besides, she's asleep and things are calm. And I had time to rest at the hospital. Who knows how dead I'll be tomorrow."

"Okay, fair enough," Morgan laughed as he tapped the button. A few seconds later, the call was accepted and Fran Morgan's face appeared on the screen. Morgan purposely kept his phone held so only his face showed to her. "Hey, Mama."

"Hey, baby," she said with a smile. "It's not like you to video call me. Why couldn't you just regular call me?"

Laughing, Morgan shifted a bit closer to Reid and pulled the phone away from their faces so they both fit but Michaela was still hidden.

"Oh, Spencer's there, too!" she said with a grin. "Hello, Spencer." She brought a hand up to wave in front of the camera.

"Hello, Mrs. Morgan," Reid said sheepishly.

"Oh, none of that," she chided lightly. "How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Mama. Or Fran if it's more comfortable, baby."

Ever since Fran had learned that her son was dating his male coworker, Reid had quickly become like one of her own. A feeling which solidified the longer the two had been together. At a little under a year, she knew the two had something special and Spencer was enveloped further into the folds of the Morgan household. Though she had made it clear Spencer could call her mama just like her own children, she didn't press it and never tried to take Diana's place. Diana was Spencer's mother, absent or not, and Fran would never try to replace her. But that didn't stop her from loving Spencer.

Blushing, Reid nodded. "Fran," he amended. "We wanted to tell you something. Or, I suppose, show you."

"Show me?" Her smile faltered in confusion but not joy as she watched the image shift as Derek changed the angle of the phone. She gasped when she caught sight of the newborn in Spencer's arms.

"Surprise, Mama," Derek called softly, laughing at the wide-eyed look on his mother's face. "Her name is Michaela."

At the sound of her son's voice, Fran's eyes narrowed and her tone became firm. "Derek Morgan, you lift that phone up and look me in the eye."

When he does so, he was still grinning. "Mama, I can-"

"Why didn't you two tell me Spencer was pregnant?" she snapped. She wasn't really angry, Morgan knew. He'd seen angry as a kid. "Your sisters and I could have come to help. I know you've got your teammates but, still, we're family, too, and you didn't tell us?"

"Mama-"

"And we could have thrown Spencer a shower and I could have stayed after the birth to help you both-"

"Mama!" Morgan gave the phone a shake to get her attention. Still laughing, he shook his head. "We didn't know."

Fran's false ire was replaced by confusion once more. "Didn't know what? That we could have done all that? Baby, what do you think family is for?!"

"Fran," Reid called softly and Morgan changed the angle of the phone to show his face, too. "We didn't know I was pregnant," he explained. "We knew I could but there were no signs I was. Not until this morning when she was born when I started feeling severe cramps."

"Oh," she gasped softly, as much in realization as in sorrow that they'd had no idea until Reid was in pain. "She was only born this morning?"

Reid nodded. "You're the first family member to be told. Of course the team knew first because they knew something was wrong when Derek and I didn't go to work but we wanted to tell you as soon as possible."

"Oh, baby, that must have been hard, not knowing what was happening," she said.

Reid nodded. "I was terrified. It didn't make it better when she started crowning. You'd think it would, knowing that's what was happening but it made it worse."

Fran nodded as he spoke, completely understanding. "Having a baby is a big event. It's one thing to prepare to deliver a baby. Quite another to go through such a big change and not know it until it's happening."

Reid nodded then smiled down at Michaela in his arms. "She's not a day old and, despite the circumstances of her birth, I love her and I can't imagine not having her here."

"Oh, sweetie, a baby has such power without realizing it," Fran said with a smile.

Derek snorted in amusement. "Tell me about it. All the commotion her birth caused and she fell asleep right after."

Fran laughed and the sudden sound caused Michaela to startled but Reid soothed her back into sleep. "I'm sorry," Fran said, a bit quieter than they had previously been speaking.

Reid gave her a warm smile. "It's okay."

"Listen, why don't I fly out to Virginia," she said, talking a mile a minute as if she hadn't just accidentally startled her granddaughter. "I could get a flight for tomorrow and be there in an hour."

"Mama, you don't have to do that."

"I want to," she insisted. "This is my first grand-baby. I couldn't be around before, but I can now. I can help out for a little bit while getting a chance to get to know her."

"She's not even a day old," Morgan countered with a laugh. "Unless you want to get to know her sleeping, eating, and pooping patterns, there isn't much to get to know."

"Hush, boy. I can help," she said again. "Besides, I don't get to see either of you often anyway. This is a perfect opportunity to spend some time with my boys, too."

Reid glanced at Morgan then shrugged. "Honestly, I'm a bit nervous about being alone with her. I had help at the hospital and then Garcia came home with us. She's not going to be an easy baby forever… It would be nice to have a mother's help."

Morgan sighed, knowing he was outnumbered, but smiled genuinely at his mother. "Okay, Mama, I guess it's settled. Just text me your flight info and I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

"Nonsense, I can take a cab," Fran said with a wave of her hand.

"No, I can come get you. What kind of son would I be if I didn't greet my mother at the airport?" Morgan countered.

"Such a gentleman," Fran said with a laugh. "Alright, see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Mama."

"Bye, Spencer!"

"Bye, Fran."

With the call ended and the phone tossed gently onto a stack of books on the coffee table, Morgan settled back and draped his arm over Reid's shoulders.

"She's asleep," he said, glancing down at their daughter.

Reid nodded. "Again. It's not uncommon for newborns to sleep up to four hours at a time, four to eight times a day. At this point, she'll only be awake forty-five minutes to an hour between naps. And she was awake to be fed and changed already."

"I suppose we should try to get back to sleep then, huh," Morgan said, pushing himself to stand.

"Take Clooney for his walk first," Reid reminded him, carefully rising as well. "We can't neglect his routines just because of the baby. It's not fair to him and keeping routine will help him adjust to her presence."

Morgan nodded and grabbed the leash by the door. Seeing his master get his leash, Clooney pushed himself up and trotted over, tail wagging. Once the leash was attached, the pair slipped out the front door.

Reid took Michaela to the bedroom and settled her in her bassinet. He stood there for a few moments just to watch her, smiling affectionately. He resisted the urge to lean down and touch her, not wanting to wake her. It was strange, the way life could change in twenty-four hours.

By the time he heard Morgan and Clooney returning, Reid was dressed for the night and settled into his side of the bed. He listened to the sounds coming from the other rooms as Morgan prepared for bed. First, the sound of the running tap signaled Morgan topping off Clooney's water bowl which was followed by the sound of the dog lapping at it. Then, he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he was finished, he led the dog into the bedroom and closed the door. While Morgan shucked off his clothes, Clooney found his spot beside the bed and settled down.

As Morgan slid into the bed, Reid wriggled closer to his side and settled in his boyfriend's arms with a content sigh. His eyes slid closed and Morgan began to slowly rub his hand up and down Reid's back, the soothing action lulling Reid into sleep quickly.

He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep until he was waking up. Just as he realized it was because Michaela was crying and shifting to get up, Morgan was gently shifting him onto the pillows and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Go back to sleep, pretty boy," Morgan whispered. "I got this."

"She might be hungry," Reid mumbled even as he snuggled into his pillow. "Breast milk digests easier so it moves through the digestive system faster which means she'll be hungrier more often. It's not unusual for her to want to eat eight to twelve times a day."

Morgan chuckled at Reid being able to spout out facts even when sleepy. "If that's it, I'll come back for you," Morgan assured as he moved to the bassinet. He began cooing to their daughter as he lifted her up into his arms.

When he left the bedroom with her, Reid's eyes popped open but he remained still. A few seconds later, Morgan speaking in a low, soothing tone to the baby came through the baby monitor. Realizing he must have taken the other half into the nursery, Reid relaxed and closed his eyes again. He could still hear Michaela crying through the monitor though it was beginning to taper into quiet whimpers. After several minutes – in which Reid heard Morgan looking through the dresser for something – the crying stopped. It wasn't long after that Morgan was returning with a sleeping baby and settling her back into the bassinet.

"She needed a new diaper," he whispered to Reid who was watching from his place in bed. "And I changed her out of that skirt thing and into better pajamas."

Reid nodded and watched Morgan settle Michaela then slip into bed. He was immediately wiggling closer to his boyfriend as they both settled in to go back to sleep.

They had to get up a few more times to feed and change her and by morning, both were exhausted. Reid found himself anticipating Fran's visit even more. It would be nice to have someone else to help with Michaela so he could sleep. He hated that he couldn't have his coffee in the morning.

Fran had managed to find an open seat on a flight in the afternoon. She texted Derek to let him know when she'd be arriving. Before leaving, he'd made sure Reid would be okay on his own while he picked up his mother. Despite Reid having fallen asleep before he left anyway and the possibility that he'd likely stay asleep until Morgan returned, Morgan worried about the two of them the entire drive to the airport.

All worry and fear related to his daughter vanished as soon as his mother was pulling him into a firm hug. His mother's presence comforted him. She could help them adjust to having a baby around. And after thinking about it, it probably was a good idea to have someone around for a little while. They'd been thrust into parenthood with no warning. They hadn't had the chance to read and prepare. They'd need someone to teach them and who better than a mother?

"Mama," Derek greeted with a grin as he hugged his mother once she'd come off the plane, giving her a gentle squeeze and swaying slightly. "It's good to see you."

"I've missed you," she replied with a grin.

When they parted, Derek took his mother's carry on bag and they made their way to baggage claim for her to get her other items. They didn't talk about anything significant as they gathered her things and made their way out to his car. After her things were safely in the trunk and they were pulling onto the road, his mother turned her attention to him, grinning brightly.

"I bought Michaela a present," she announced. "I also got something for Spencer. I hpoe he likes it," she added, sounding a bit more unsure.

"Why wouldn't he?" Derek asked, glancing at his mother with a concerned frown for a moment before returning his eyes to the road.

"Well," she hedged, absently peeling a chipped part of her nail polish off, noting she should get them redone. "I know it can be hard to be up and down to feed the baby and not get enough sleep because he's the only one that can feed her. I assume you two are staying away from formula for a while?" At her son's nod, she continued. "And since she was such a surprise, I assumed you probably didn't have a lot of things yet. So I got a pump so he can fill bottles and that way, you - or I, while I'm here – can feed her while he sleeps. Of course, he can still feed her himself when he's awake and ready. I would never take away that bonding experience."

"That's very thoughtful, Mama," Derek said slowly, unsure how he felt about the item. Then again, he wasn't the one who was going to use it or not. "Don't be hurt if Spencer doesn't want to use it, okay? He might want to keep feeding her himself for a while."

"Oh, I understand," she assured with a wave of her hand and a warm smile. "She's so new. I understand if he wants to be with her as much as he can. Are you both on leave from work?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, Hotch gave us a month. Legally, we can have up to three but he knew neither of us would want to stay away that long."

"You both plan to go back?" she asked, frowning slightly. Derek couldn't tell if it was because she was thinking or disappointed in the idea.

"We're not sure," he admitted with a shrug. "She was only born yesterday. We haven't discussed stuff like that."

"Do you want to?" she pressed.

Derek glared as a car pushed its way into the lane without signaling properly then huffed. "I'm not sure yet, to be honest. I think it would depend on what Spencer wants to do. We're either in it together or out together. I don't want to end up like Hotch and Haley. She left because he was always away. I couldn't do that to Spencer if he wanted to quit. But at the same time, if we both leave, what's connecting us to our team anymore? We're family and I don't want to lose that if we both leave," he admitted.

"Don't stay just for them," Fran said gently. "Think about what's best for Michaela. She's the one that matters now. You don't see me or your sisters often but we're still family and we still love each other. If you both want to leave, you will still see them just like you still see us. And," she added with a smirk as she settled in her seat with a little wiggle, "I wouldn't be opposed to moving to Virginia to look after my granddaughter if you wanted to keep your jobs."

Derek sputtered in shock and looked away from the road for a moment to turn wide eyes on his mother before quickly turning back to the road and pressing the brakes as the car in front of him came to a sudden stop and turning without signaling again. He glared at it, wishing he was in an SUV with police lights so he could grab his badge and say something to the jerk.

"Mama," he finally said after a moment, a breathless laugh pulling its way from his chest. "You don't have to do that, you know."

"No, but I wouldn't mind doing it," she assured him. "I won't say I exactly want to because I'll be okay with whatever decision you make and it won't upset me if I don't move here. But I've spent my whole life in Chicago with your sisters. I'd like to see you more."

Derek opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure what to say, before finally settling on a quiet "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Fran said with a laugh. "I haven't decided on anything for sure. That depends on what you and Spencer want."

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, Fran content to look out the window as Derek drove. Derek spent the drive lost in thought, going over all the choices and scenarios their discussion had brought up. If he and Spencer wanted to keep their jobs, Fran would pack herself up and move so she could be with Michaela when they were out of town. Just like that. He knew his mother loved him but for her to do something so big just because they had a baby now floored him.

But what if he and Spencer didn't want to keep their jobs at the BAU and took other jobs? Would she still want to come to Virginia to look after Michaela while they worked during the day? What if she wanted to get a job here, too? Derek couldn't imagine his mother sitting at home all day.

And if he and Spencer did leave the BAU, what would they do? Spencer could be a professor somewhere if he wanted, Derek was sure. The younger man was smart enough and with the five degrees he had, he had his choice of subject to teach. Derek could move to a different unit of the FBI that would give him regular hours so he could be home by five o'clock every night but he couldn't imagine himself with a different team. And if he left the FBI, he couldn't see himself going into law enforcement again. He'd seen too many cops lose their lives and leave behind wives and children.

He idly wondered if he could be happy being a stay-at-home parent while Spencer went off to work each morning. But he wasn't sure what he'd do with himself all day while Michaela slept. They kept the house pretty clean already so that wouldn't last very long. And Derek Morgan did not do soap operas. The only pleasant things he could think of would be seeing his daughter all day and having an awesome dinner ready when Spencer got home each night. No, he finally decided, staying at home wasn't for him.

So what would he do if he left the FBI?

They finally pulled into the driveway and Derek cut the engine. Before he could get around to open the door for his mother, Fran was already out and moving toward the trunk. With a chuckle, Derek opened it for her and pulled out her suitcase while she took her smaller bag. He shut the trunk and preceded her up the walkway to open the door for her.

"He might still be asleep," he warned in a whisper as they stepped into the silent house. Clooney wasn't even there to greet him at the door which furthered his guess that Reid was napping. The dog was probably in his place on the bedroom floor.

When Morgan had bought the three bedroom house, he'd made one of the extra bedrooms into a guest room and the other became his office. His office was now Michaela's nursery since it was the one closer to the master bedroom. It was to the bedroom furthest down the hall that he led his mother.

"I'm going to check on Spencer," he said as he deposited her suitcase at the foot of the bed for her.

"Okay, baby," she said, already opening the drawers on the empty dresser and putting her clothess away.

Derek paused in the doorway, watching her. It seemed like she brought more clothes than was necessary for a week or two. "How long were you planning on staying?" he asked.

"As long as you and Spencer need," she said cryptically, smiling even though she didn't turn to look at him.

Derek chuckled as he left the room and went back up the hallway. The door to their room was partially open and he pushed it a bit further to peer inside. He had to bite his lip to hold back a laugh at what he saw. Spencer lay on Derek's half of the bed and facing the middle, curled around Clooney with one arm draped over the dog's back. Clooney snored lightly, uncaring about Spencer's proximity. Derek could hear Michaela's soft breathing from her bassinet.

He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed at Spencer's back and began rubbing small circles across his back. "Spencer," he called gently. He felt bad for waking his boyfriend when he'd been so exhausted this morning but he knew Spencer wanted to be awake to see Fran instead of making her wait for him to wake up.

Spencer gave a short hum, half a protest and half questioning, and snuggled closer to Clooney.

"Spencer," Derek called again, drawing out his name a little longer and changing the circles to rubbing up and down his spine. "I'm back with Mama."

"Hmkay," Spencer mumbled, a hand coming up to rub his eyes before he turned over and wiggled closer to Derek.

Derek chuckled and began rubbing his hand up and down Spencer's arm since his back was away from him now. "You don't have to get up," he assured quietly. "I'm sure Mama will understand."

"No, I want to get up to see her," Spencer mumbled, still not opening his eyes. "Wish I could have coffee..."

"I know," Derek murmured, removing his hand as Spencer slowly pushed himself upright.

Clooney lifted his head and turned in their direction then inched his way toward Derek and gave his hand a lick before hopping off the bed and trotting for the door.

"I think Clooney is ready to get up," Derek said with a laugh.

Spencer nodded with a soft smile and rubbed his eyes before finally standing. He glanced at Michaela then grabbed the monitor when he saw she was still sleeping, turning it on as he slipped from the room. Derek gently pulled the door closed behind himself and went back to the guest room to check on his mother. Not finidng her in the bedroom, he took Spencer back toward the living room, spotting her at the kitchen island. She had a steaming cup of water and a gift bag sat at the edge of the island.

"Mama?" he asked as the two entered the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"Making tea," she said, holding up the plastic baggie of teabags with one hand, the other pushing a bag into a cup of steaming water with a spoon. "I knew you only had coffee so I brought some of my own." Setting the bag down, she turned a warm smile on Spencer. "Hello, Spencer. How are you feeling?"

"Hello, Fran. I'm okay. Tired," he admitteed, running his hands up and down the baby monitor's sides.

"Well, I'm here to help with that," she assured, reaching across the island to place a hand over his wrist for a moment before straightening and looking at Derek. "Where has Michaela been sleeping?"

"We have a bassinet in our room," Derek explained.

"Is it easy to move?"

Derek frowned in confusion at the question and shrugged. "I'm not sure. Garcia and I put it together yesterday while Spencer was in the hospital. We didn't have to move it much. I'm sure it can't be that heavy. Why?"

"Because we're putting her in the guest room tonight," Fran said. "I'll get up with her and let you two get a full night's sleep."

Spencer's eyes widened and he shook his head slightly. "What if she gets hungry? I'm the only one that can feed her."

"I've brought you something," Fran assured, pushing the bag toward Spencer. "The larger box in the bottom is yours. The smaller is for Michaela."

Spencer blinked at her in surprise then pulled out the smaller gift box and setting it aside to reach the larger box in the bottom. It wasn't wrapped so as soon as he peered into the bag he saw it. Frowning, he pulled it out and set the bag aside to place the box in front of himself.

"A pump?" he asked, blinking at her.

"I'm not trying to take away your time with Michaela," Fran assured. "But I thought, at least at night, it might be beneficial to have some bottles so Derek can feed her and let you sleep," she explained. "It would come in handy tonight as well since I plan to take her for the night."

Spencer ran a finger down each side of the box as he contemplated the pros and cons of using the pump. Logically, he knew it shouldn't be such a hard decision. But it felt like he was giving up time with his daughter. Only a day old and he loved her so much. Feeding time was quiet time where he could hold her close and care for her. So why was he hesitant to use the pump? Because if they had bottles of milk for her, Derek could be the one to cuddle her close and give her what she needed.

"Okay," he said quietly with a nod. "That sounds like a good idea."

Fran nodded with a pleasant smile and gently slid the box away to push the smaller box toward him. "Now, this one is for Michaela. But, of course, she's too young to open it so you get the honors."

Derek chuckled as he watched his mother. She almost reminded him of Garcia. He shifted a bit closer to Spencer as the younger man pulled off the lid of the gift box and pulled out what was inside. It was a onesie with long sleeves that had lipstick prints dotted over the front with the words "Grandma was here" underneath. There was alos a little white hat that had a large lipstick print on it. Derek chuckled as Spencer held it up to look at it.

"Isn't it cute?" Fran cooed. "She might be too small for it now but she'll grow into it."

Spencer lowered it back into the box and sniffed a few times. The sound had the other two frowning but before either could say anything, he was fully sobbing, pressing a hand over his eyes.

"Hey, hey, pretty boy," Derek whispered as he gently coaxed Spencer into his arms. The younger man willingly leaned into his boyfriend, slipping his arms around him and burying his face into Derek's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"I-I'm sorry," Spencer whispered. "I appreciate the help and the clothing is nice and I'm sure I'm going to like having your mom here, really. It's just..." He sniffed and pulled away enough to slip his arms between himself and Derek, curling his hands into Derek's t-shirt and staring at his hands. "I miss my mom. I want her help, too. I want her to see Michaela, too. She's just as much Michaela's grandmother as your mom is." His lip wobbled and he took a few hitched breaths, trying not to cry.

"I know, Spencer," Derek whispered, running his hands up and down Spencer's back. "Maybe we can take Michaela to see her. And even if it's one of those days where she doesn't remember you, I'm sure she'll still love Michaela. Who can't love that beautiful baby girl, huh?" he said with a grin, coaxing a smile from the younger man.

Spencer nodded and brought a hand up to wipe his eyes. "Okay. We can try."

"Good." Derek pressed a quick kiss to his lips then loosened his grip so Spencer could settle into his seat properly.

"I'm sorry," he said again, offering Fran a small smile.

"Oh, honey, it's okay," she assured, rounding the island to stand beside him, holding her arms open a bit. "May I?" At his nod, she gently enveloped him into her arms and pressed a kiss to his temple. "I understand wanting your mother. And never apologize for crying, sweetie. It's normal after having a baby."

Derek's phone buzzed on the counter and the two glanced at it as he picked it up and answered with a grin.

"Hey, baby girl." He paused and his smile fell and his expression became one of uncertainty as he glanced at Spencer. "The team is on their way back," he said.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the wait. I have unsteady hours at work and don't always have much time before work and am too tired after work to do any writing. So I use my days off which have been one at a time before diving back into another stretch of days and since I have so many WIPs, I don't always get very far. But I'm always so happy when I do get another chapter finished!

I don't really know what kind of house Morgan has. I remember one time they were working with the CIA and the one guy brought up an x-ray kind of image of the house and Morgan made a comment that Clooney was on the couch when he wasn't supposed to be or something. So for the purposes of this fic, I'm just kind of tailoring the house to what I need, haha. Also, pretty sure they've never said what kind of dog Clooney is but I always imagine him as a bigger breed. And with tan-ish fur.

Also, I think the way I name the two (Morgan vs Derek and Reid vs Spencer) keeps changing throughout this story. I usually go by surnames except when the two are referring to each other since they're a couple. But adding in Fran, using Morgan's surname just doesn't work well for me since that's her last name, too. So I somehow wound up just going first names completely. So, sorry if the constant changing bothers anyone.

I'm also not 100% sure how Fran acted in the series since she was only in one episode and it's been a long time since I've seen it so I'm just kind of making her my own. I've only seen one other fic that even had her in it, so...