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Warning: See my profile and the first chapter

A/n thanks to all of your well wishes, and all the emails, and pms you sent to me. I'm doing better. I'm still going slow with typing, but it is getting better. I have to wear the brace for another three and a half weeks, but I'm in less pain. So thanks again for all your support.

"How did you know I'd come here?" Emily asked the back of his head.

He turned around and just looked at her for a minute.

"Oh right, I keep forgetting we're profilers. It strikes me at the oddest times. "

"Well, we did promise each other that we wouldn't profile one another." He reminded her.

"True," She took a slow step closer to him as though he might run away like a spooked colt. "Your next door neighbor sent me here."

"Mrs. Turner is a bit of busy-body, but she means well."

"She seems nice." Emily said lightly.

He put down the book she'd seen him holding. It was leather-bound, old and probably rare. It was placed so that she couldn't see the title of the book.

What could he be reading that he hasn't already read?

"She cooks for me all the time." He said softly and it still broke through her thoughts.

"And yet somehow you manage to stay so thin," she teased.

"Why does everyone worry about my weight?"

"Because you're as skinny as a runway model."

"I am not!"

Silence filled up the room as they stared at each other. She'd chased him there to explain her change of heart, but now the only words that would come out of her mouth were insignificant small talk.

"So, what are you reading?" She pointed to the book.

"Did you come here to ask me what I'm reading?"

Okay, if he wanted to be a hard case about it.

"No, I came here because I wanted to tell you that I was wrong to try and shut you out of your child's life."

"I've been wondering that since you called me."

"I know."

"I wondered, but I was afraid to ask or to hear the explanation."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It doesn't make sense."

He did look genuinely confused. Emily wanted to smile, but bit it back. Sometimes in his quest for all things logical, Reid got lost. It was hard to remember, especially when they weren't on a case, that he didn't see the world like most people.

"I think it makes perfect sense."

He looked so surprised that she wanted to laugh again.

"I'm just saying that you look at things differently than most of us. Your experience has taught you that people will treat you a certain way. You were bullied in school and there are a lot of people in the bureau that don't understand your contribution to the team. You're used to being treated like you don't matter."

"Emily…"

"No, let me finish. I never wanted to make you feel like you're not important to me or the baby. I care deeply for you. You're one of the best friends I have in DC. It was wrong of me to ask this of you and then try to cut you out of the baby's life.

"But you didn't try to cut me out. I agreed to it. If you remember I was the one to impose the condition."

"I would have insisted on it if you hadn't brought it up."

"Still I would -"

"Would you stop being so understanding for once?" Her voice rose and he flinched away. "Get mad for once and tell me that you're angry."

"Alright I'm angry."

"Reid!"

" Alright," His voice began to rise a bit. I'm pissed as hell. Are you hearing me? His face was red and he held his hand in clenched fists at his side. "You had no right to tell me that I couldn't be a father to my child. And yet I knew that's what you would try to do."

He stopped suddenly as if the force of his verbal attack on her had used up all the energy he had.

She hit him on the shoulder, hard. "Don't stop!"

"I don't have anything else to say."

"You're hopeless!"

He laughed while his face returned to its normal color. "I just don't see the point of anger. I just had the most incredible experience of my life. I don't want to bring anger into it."

Emily felt tears backing up in her throat again. "See, that just makes it worse."

"Why?"

"I talked to a couple in the waiting room before the ultrasound. They were having their second attempt at in-vitro fertilization. They had a surrogate mother and a baby boy resulted from that. She changed her mind and fought them for custody. She won."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, he was so broken up about it. I just couldn't think of raising this baby and keeping you out of it. Your baby deserves to know who you are. I was wrong to make the agreement."

"We were wrong. Can we just agree to disagree about it? I don't want to talk or think about the last three months and agreeing to stay away from my child."

"Alright, we'll let it go for now."

"Thank you." She pretended not to notice how tears rolled down his face.

"You shouldn't thank me. You should be mad at me."

"I can't… Everything is alright now, so what's the point of wasting energy."

"What are we going to tell 'baby on board?''

"We have a couple of years Emily. We'll figure it out." He looked terrified.

"Okay, but if it blows up on us, I'm going to remind you of this day."

"I suppose that's fair. Can we get out of here?"

"Sure… It's sort of creepy down here. Aren't places like this supposed to be musty and dusty?" She said looking around at the shelves and stacks of books in pristine order.

"No… that's just in the movies or on television. Actually, to preserve a rare book, you have to keep the dust away. The acid in paper reacts with dust and moisture, so you can't just put them on the shelf and expect that they won't just rot away. If these books were kept in some musty basement somewhere with that kind of lighting, they be ruined and that would be a shame."

"And he's back…"

He grinned at her. "Sorry… I didn't mean to start rambling."

"Yes you did." She took his arm.

"Wait…" He picked up the book and followed her up the stairs.

"What's that?" She asked, gesturing to the book as the entered the main level of the store.

He ignored her in favor of Walter. The white haired man smiled at both of them. "I see you found each other."

"Yeah… I'm surprised you let her go down there."

"Why do you say that my son."

"Because you're very particular about your books. It took me three years coming in here every day I'm not on a case for you to trust me in your special section. "

"I trust you young man. If you trust her, then I trust her."

Reid went pink in the cheeks again and placed the book on the counter. "How much for this?"

"Ah… you have good taste, but I don't think I can part with this."

"It's for a friend's baby."

"But babies don't read," The man pointed out looking like he was losing a child.

"True, but someday." Reid reminded the man.

"Still, I've had that one since I was a child."

"You said that I was welcome to anything down there." Reid gently scolded the older man.

"You're right… I'll wrap it up for you."

Emily watched the exchange with interest. Walter seemed to have great affection for Reid. Suddenly she was glad that he did. Reid always seemed so alone.

"Can you tell me how he gets me to sell him one of my most prized possessions?" Walter interrupted Emily's thoughts.

"It's the eyes," She told him while Reid went red again. "You can't resist them no matter who you are."

"Emily!"

"Your friend is right young Reid. And now I must ask you for an obscene amount of money for that book."

Reid smiled and handed the man his credit card. Emily nearly choked at the price, but Reid didn't seem bothered. He took the package.

"I will see you tomorrow." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah… I'll be here if we don't have a case."

"Then be well my young friend."

Emily followed Reid out of the bookstore and down the street. "Why the hell would you spend so much money on a book?" She confronted him.

"Language," He said vaguely.

"What?!"

"Babies can hear things outside the womb."

"The baby is exactly sixteen weeks gestational age. I don't think he or she understands the spoken language."

"Actually there have been several studies done that show babies are affected by emotions from the mother and from others."

"Right, emotions, not words," She pointed out to him as the passed a Starbucks and he looked longingly inside the window at all the people in line for his favorite beverage. "You can go get some coffee if you want to."

"No, I drink too much anyway."

Emily stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk. "I think I'm either going deaf or I'm having an out of body experience."

"Why? Are you okay. Is something wrong? Should I call the doctor? "

"No! I'm fine. I just meant that you turning down coffee is like Morgan swearing off women."

He visibly relaxed. "Don't scare me like that!"

"You take everything so literally. You need to stop that or when this kid is a teenager, he or she will walk right over you."

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Were you never a teenager?"

"Yeah…"

"You never tried to manipulate an authority figure or your mother?"

"My mom was sick and -"

"I know that… But she had good days, right?"

People were passing by them as the sun began to set in the west. It colored the mid-spring sky golden-pink and purple.

"Yeah, but I was too busy with school and taking care of her."

They'd resumed their rambling stroll down the street. "I'm sorry Reid."

"It's okay. I missed out on a lot of things, but I'm okay with it." He walked with his head down and his eyes looking at the cracked cement of the sidewalk.

"I don't think its okay at all."

"If I'm okay you should be alright." He looked sideways at her out of his big dark eyes and a little shiver went down her back. "Are you cold?"

Who says he never notices anything?

"No, I'm fine."

They had arrived at his apartment just as the sun went down. The walk down the block had seemed longer than it really was.

"Do you want to come inside? I don't have a lot of food, but you should have something to eat. All the books say that you should have three meals a day with lots of fruits and vegetables so that the baby is healthy."

She grinned up at him. "You're going to be the food police for the next months, aren't you?"

"I just want the baby to be healthy and -"

"I know, but if you get annoying, I'll have Morgan kick your butt."

"Oh, don't do that!"

"Then don't push it mister."

"Are you coming up?"

"I can't. I need to get back."

"Oh…" He was crunching and kneading the plastic bag that held the book he'd bought.

"What's wrong?"

"Um…" He led her over to her car. "I w-wanted you to have this f-for the b-baby." He stammered, going scarlet to the roots of his wavy hair.

"Reid… I can't take this. You spent so much money on it."

"Please!"

She took the bag and opened it. The book inside was a very old copy of Treasure Island.

"Reid, this is wonderful!"

"I know it's a bit old for the baby, but I thought you could keep it."

She hugged him hard and this time he wrapped his arms around her till she let him go. Then she surprised him by kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank you. It's a wonderful gift."

"You're welcome."

"Well… I have to go Reid. But I wanted to ask you a question before I leave.

"What?"

"I want to tell the team that I'm pregnant. Should we tell them what we've been up to?"

"No, I'm not ready for Morgan's teasing yet." He answered promptly.

"They're going to quiz me about the father."

He was leaning against the car next to hers. "I know… You can tell them whatever you want. I just can't face it right now."

"Alright."

He opened her car door and she got inside. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah… So you'll call me when you get home."

"Reid, I'm an adult."

"Yeah, but I just want to make sure you're okay."

She couldn't keep from laughing. "You're so sweet."

"I'm just being practical. Twenty percent of all fatal car accidents happen within ten miles of home so -"

"Okay… You just leapt over sweet to creepy."

"Sorry…"

"It's fine." She let him shut the car door. "I'll call you when I get home. Just one ring though, check your Caller ID."

"Okay."