"Just remember, she might not be having a good day," Spencer told me for the millionth time since we'd woken up that day.

It was just a few days before Christmas and we'd arrived in Las Vegas late the night before. Our hotel was amazing, as I'm sure many hotels in such an extravagant city were, and was no doubt picked for my benefit. Spencer was determined that we would have a special holiday even if things didn't go well with his mother, but even though I understood her illness, I was sure he was overreacting. Penelope had nothing, but nice things to say about her and I was hopeful that I would have a similar experience.

I was still much more concerned that she wouldn't think I was good enough for her son than about her illness anyway.

"I know," I assured him, taking his hand in mine as we walked across the parking lot towards the door of the hospital his mom lived in. "But even if she's not, it'll be okay. I'll say a quick hello then leave you to visit with her and try again another day. Just like we discussed."

Spencer nodded before another worried look crossed his face.

"And don't mention my drug problem, alright? Or that I was ever kidnapped." He requested. "I never told her about it, she'd worry unnecessarily. She doesn't know we ever broke up."

"Spencer," I sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes as I knew he was just concerned about this day going well. "Why would I bring up one of the worst things that's
happened to you as a way to bond with your mother? I'm not that clueless."

"I know," He nodded again. "Just making sure."

I smiled, shaking my head and assured him once again that things would be fine as I opened the door to the building.

I could tell this was hard on him. I knew he felt a lot of guilt for sending his mom here even if he knew it was the right decision and I knew it was hard for him to see her struggling on her off days, but it was nice that he felt comfortable letting me in enough to join him and meet her.

"Dr. Reid!" A friendly man greeted us almost as soon as we stepped inside the building. "I heard you were stopping by today. So nice of you to visit us over the holidays."

Spencer smiled, but seemed uncomfortable with the praise and I could tell it bothered him that his visits were such a special occasion.

"Yeah," He cleared his throat. "We have a low case load this Christmas luckily and I figured it was the perfect time to see my mom. I also have someone to introduce to her. Dr. Norman, this is my girlfriend, Mikayla. Mikayla, this is my mother's doctor."

I felt his hand still squeezing mine rather tightly so I held out the other one for the doctor to shake.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"You too. You picked a good day to stop by," He informed us. "Your mother has been in an excellent mood all morning and I'm sure it'll only get better once she sets her eyes on you two."

I wasn't so sure about that. On Spencer, yes, but I was terrified my presence would ruin their time together. Spencer visibly relaxed at the news though and after saying a quick goodbye to the doctor, we headed into another room. It seemed like some kind of activity or recreation room. There were patients dotted around, some with family and some alone, doing various things whether that was reading, puzzles, writing or watching TV.

It didn't take me long to spot the woman we were here to see though as I recognized her instantly from pictures in Spencer's apartment. She was looking around anxiously, but her eyes lit up the moment she saw us.

I felt Spencer's pace quicken as he dragged me along after him when his mother stood up.

"Spencer," She sighed happily, pulling him into a hug, forcing him to drop my hand before she stepped back to look at him. "You're so thin..."

I smiled at the memory her words brought up of the time when he'd told me his mother's theory so, hoping to get on her good side, I spoke up.

"I think it's because he drinks too much coffee."

I knew that's what she always told him, but as she glanced over at me before flicking her eyes back to Spencer I thought maybe I shouldn't have said anything. A smile slid onto her face though after a few moments and I was relieved.

"Looks like you found a smart girl," She told him before turning her attention to me. "You must be Mikayla."

"I am," I smiled, stepping out a bit so I was as hidden behind Spencer. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Spencer's told me lots of wonderful things."

"He's told me plenty about you as well," She nodded. "But he didn't mention how beautiful you are."

I blushed at the compliment and jokingly shoved Spencer's shoulder gently.

"Thanks for that, Spence," I teased. "That should have been top of the list."

He chuckled softly and rolled his eyes.

"Gee, sorry," He mumbled sarcastically. "I thought it was much more important to inform her of your stunning personality and wonderful sense of humour."

"Well it wouldn't have hurt to mention my dashing good looks as well."

Our words were all said with a smile and a lighthearted tone, but Diana grew instantly anxious, wrapping her arms around herself worriedly.

"Oh dear," She muttered. "I hope I haven't started an argument..."

The smile dropped from my face as I worried that I'd ruined what seemed like a good start to our meeting, but Spencer's smile persisted and he reached for my hand once again.

"No, mom," He assured her. "We were just teasing. Mickey knows that I think she's beautiful."

I blushed again as Diana nodded, perking back up again when she knew there was no trouble.

"Good," She smiled. "Now come over here, I saved us a spot. Would either of you like tea or coffee? I can ask a nurse for some."

"I think we're alright, thanks," Spencer answered with a smile as she led us over to the couch she was sitting on when we walked in. "But how're you doing, mom?"

"I'm good," She waved him off as if it wasn't an important subject. "I'm just happy you're here and away from that job of yours for a while. I worry about you and all those sad cases you deal with."

"I know, mom," Spencer smiled fondly as they've obviously had this conversation before. "I'm careful though and my team keeps me safe."

"They better," She said sternly. "You have someone else worrying about you now."

I giggled as she nodded towards me.

"You tell him, Mrs. Reid."

"Please, call me Diana," She insisted. "And tell me more about yourself! Spencer tells me you teach yoga?"

"I do!" I smiled. "I studied it while I was living in France."

Her face lit up at my words.

"Oh, I love France! I spent some time there one summer when I was in college!"

"Really? Where abouts? I spent most of my time near Nice, but I did travel around as much as possible while I was there."

"Nice is beautiful," Diana nodded. "I was mostly based in Paris, but I took the train down to Nice and Marsaille a few times."

We continued our discussion as Spencer sat between us, beaming from ear to ear at how easily we'd connected. It turned out neither of us had anything to worry about afterall.


Our conversation flowed smoothly once the ice was broken. Diana wanted to know everything about me and of course, hear what adventures her son had been on recently. There were a few moments where something unsettled her and she got a bit overwhelmed, but most of the time she was chatty and delightful and we had an absolutely wonderful day. By the time we decided to leave, almost five hours had passed, but it felt like no time at all.

I sat with Diana as Spencer quickly went to find a bathroom before we headed out, watching her eyes fill with adoration as they followed her son walking away.

"I'm so proud of that boy," She told me. "He does such wonderful things even if he does work for the government."

I smiled as her displeasure at Spencer's job had been a common theme of the day.

"I'm proud of him too," I agreed. "He has such a big brain and with all his degrees, I'm sure he had lots of high paying job offers, but he just wants to help people. You raised him right."

She chuckled at my comment, but waved me off.

"He practically raised himself. I just nudged him in the right direction every now and then," She said, shifting to face me. "But I don't think I've ever seen him so happy as he is with you."

"He makes me happy too," I smiled, my heart warming at her words.

"It's different for Spencer though," She insisted. "He's always been different, always been smarter than everyone, at school with kids much older than him. Connecting with his peers especially romantically has always been an almost impossible challenge for him, but the way he looks at you, that's something special."

"We've both helped each other a lot in that respect," I confessed. "Spencer restored my faith in men when I had none left, he really whisked me off my feet."

A proud grin slid onto her face at that information and she tentatively placed a hand on my knee. Spencer had warned that she wasn't always good with physical contact when it came to people she didn't know so the gesture meant a lot.

"You two have a special kind of love," She informed me. "A mother knows these things. I'm glad he found someone like you, Mikayla."

My cheeks felt like they were going to split from how hard I was smiling as relief that she liked me and approved of our relationship filled me.

"I'm very glad he found me too."

She flashed me a wink and gave my knee a quick squeeze before moving her hand as Spencer was walking back towards us. We said our goodbyes quickly before Diana was rushed off to have dinner, confirming our plans to come back on Christmas Day before we headed out.

"That went so well," Spencer breathed out with relief, a grin on his face as soon as the door to the hospital closed behind us. "She was so happy and present."

"She's absolutely wonderful, Spence," I said, my smile matching his own. "I'm so glad I came with you. I can see why you're such a gentleman now, she's an incredible woman."

"She is," He nodded as we got to the rental car. I was about to pull my hand from his, but he squeezed it tighter before pulling me into his arms. "Thank you. Thank you for coming, thank you for treating her like a normal human being and not getting nervous when she had a bad moment, thank you for being you."

"You don't need to thank me for that," I assured him, wrapping my arms around his waist. "She is a normal human being, the one responsible for creating the man I love so how else would I treat her?"

"A lot of people are put off by her illness," He insisted. "They treat her like she's either insane or super delicate and ready to snap any minute, but you were so natural. You really put her at ease."

I shrugged and stretched up to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"I would never treat her differently. She deserves to be treated just like everyone else and you were so good at relaxing her when she got overwhelmed, there was no reason for me to be concerned about her illness at all."

"Well I appreciated it all the same," He smiled, giving me one final kiss before his grip on my waist loosened slightly. "Now, where would you like to go for dinner? Anywhere at all. My treat."

I pondered his offer for a moment before coming to a decision.

"Wherever your favourite place in the entire city is."

Spencer chuckled at my answer, but nodded and let me go so we could get into the car and continue our wonderful day.


Note: My knowledge of schizophrenia and how people with it behave is fairly limited so I hope I did okay writing Diana Reid.

Also a massive thank you for all the love and comments. It blows my mind that people are actually enjoying this story, but I love writing it so I'm really pleased :)

More Christmas time fun to come soon!