Title: Au Natural (Part 23)
Author: dustytiger aka Trista Groulx
Rating: T (like the show to be safe)
Disclaimer: I do not on CM. I am still poor. CM still belongs to its creator, network, writers, actors and actresses who bring it to life weekly.
Summary: Prentiss and Reid are getting married, but what brought them to this point?
Notes: It's Prentiss' turn to talk about her past, and they talk about their living situation. As always thank you for the support on this, I can't really tell most of you in reply cause you're all guests but it means the world to me really.

Prentiss sighed happily as she unlocked the door to Reid's apartment. She was glad to be home. As soon as she opened the door Sergio greeted her with a loud meow then began to rub up against her leg. Reid took their go bags into the bedroom while she fed and pet the feline. He then went into the kitchen and put the oven on to warm a shepherd's pie for dinner.

"Spencer," Prentiss said as she came into the kitchen. "Can we talk about something?"

"Sure," he told her. "Should we sit?"

"Probably."

They moved to the kitchen table and she took his hand. Reid was sure that the axe was about to fall. Every time before that something like this had happened it indicated bad news. As much as he could read Prentiss he could tell something was bothering her. He wanted to believe that she was different, a truly thought she was, but his mind wouldn't agree with what his heart was telling him; bad news was going follow.

"Is this good news?" he asked her, uncertainly.

"Yeah it is," she assured him still trying to accept his insecurities. "I'm not going anywhere. I hope that I keep showing you that."

"You have," he assured her. "But with my past I am hardwired to expect the worst."

"I was thinking about our living situation."

Prentiss had been thinking a lot about their living situation in the past few weeks, especially after she had brought Sergio. At first it had been a quick solution to the problem but now she was starting to realise just how many of her belongings had migrated to Reid's apartment. It broke her heart that Reid looked so worried and she knew that only time would reassure him that their relationship really was different from any he'd been in in the past.

"Oh are you not comfortable here anymore?" he asked her, rubbing his thumb on the inside of her hand.

"I am very comfortable here Spencer. I don't even think of going home as going to my condo anymore. When we land all I can think about is getting home, which is here with you and relaxing. It just seems redundant that we each paying for our own places when we are always here."

"Would you like to move here permanently?" he asked.

"I think so."

"We could move to your building if you would prefer."

"No, I'm more comfortable here, and my lease is a month to month."

"We could look for new apartments when my lease is up if you'd like. I know this place is decorated more to my liking. Morgan always calls it a library with a bed."

"I wouldn't call it that, I like it here it's comfortable and I don't have a problem with the books. I just think it might be nice to have a place that reflects us both."

"All right, so we'll start looking at apartments and deciding what we both want, I'm not actually very attached to his apartment despite being here for so long," he assured her. "I'm going to go put our dinner in the oven."

He got up and put the shepherd's pie into the oven. It didn't take long for it to warm up and they sat down and enjoyed their meal. After they were done they curled up on the couch together and watched a documentary they had PVRed while they were away.

"Spencer I think I'm ready to tell you about what we talked about last night," she told him as the documentary ended.

"You don't have to," he assured her.

"I want to. Other than John and Doyle there weren't many men in my life I was serious about. They were just there when I needed comfort or companionship. I never expected those relationships to go anywhere."

"If they are the ones who matter they are all I need to know about," he assured her.

"There is one more guy I should tell you about his name is Christian. I dated him before I joined Interpol," she explained. "It was more than dating, we were engaged. I took the job as a way to get out of it. I know it was a horrible way out but when he asked me we were at a party and he asked in front of all of our friends and I felt obligated to say yes. I loved him, don't get me wrong but I wasn't ready to be married yet. There was more I wanted to before I settled down. When I told him about the job offer he told me couldn't go with me and watch me put myself in danger, and that was that. He's married now."

"Do you regret your decision?"

"Not really he wasn't who I was supposed to marry and he's happier now than he would have been with me."

"Do you want to get married?" he asked her.

"I do when the time is right and the person is right. You know what the worst part about getting engaged was? I realised when it happened he didn't really know me very well at all and that really sucked. He only asked because he thought it was the next logical progression in our relationship. The ring he got me was a princess cut diamond solitaire in yellow gold."

Reid laughed. "You wear white gold."

"How do you know that?"

"I notice these things. You also wouldn't like a traditional stone. I personally think that a fire opal would most suit you, but they are considered to be bad luck in an engagement ring because the stone is softer than most gemstones and is more prone to falling out with long term wear."

"You've looked into this?"

"I've done some research."

Prentiss was a little surprised to hear that, but excited at the same time. She knew that if Reid had done some research about engagement rings he might be thinking about their future and there was something thrilling to her about that. As much as she was unsure about marriage before she knew that Reid was probably the right choice for her. She knew she didn't want to rush their relationship and ask him more questions so instead she kissed him softly. She moaned softly knowing exactly where the kisses would lead.

End Part 23

Notes: I hope you enjoyed this one! I figured it was about time Reid mentioned he was seriously thinking about his future with Prentiss.