A/n-Sorry this took so very long, I got stuck a few times. Plus my new job has my writing taking a back seat. But I had off today and I was determined to finish! I hope you guys like it and thanks for the reviews from the last chapter! They made me happy!So please enjoy and review!
The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.-Thomas Merton
The week had flown by and it was now Thursday. Amber's eyes fluttered open that morning, she looked over next to her, and there was Spencer. He was lying there, wide awake, staring at her and smiling.
Amber smiled back. "Have you been watching me sleep?" she asked.
"Hmmm yeah." he admitted.
Amber laughed as she sat up. She then realized she had her math final that morning and a wave of panic washed over her, causing her to suddenly stop laughing. "I have my math final this morning." She moaned.
She watched Spencer as he sat up. "You will do fine." he said as he placed a hand gently on her back.
Amber bit her bottom lip and shook her head, "No, I won't."
"Yes,you will." Spencer said firmly. Amber sighed as she pushed back the covers of the bed. She swung her legs over the side and stretched her muscles. She stood up from the bed, walked over to the dresser, she opened the drawer and looked through her clothes.
"I don't even know why I bother going, I already know I'm going to fail." she mumbled. Moments later, Amber felt Spencer's arms wrap around her waist. She smiled as she felt him put his chin on her shoulder. She looked over at him, he was looking back at her. She lightly giggled into the palm of her hand. "You're silly." She said as she continued to look for something to wear.
"I know." Spencer responded. He unwrapped his arms from her waist, took his head off her shoulder and stood up straight. He stepped from behind her and stood next to the dresser. "I also know that you will pass."
Amber rolled her eyes at him as she continued to look for something to wear. Spencer sighed at her as he turned around and walked out of the room. Amber finally found something to wear; she decided on a zip up hoodie, capri jeans, and a plain t-shirt. As she got ready, she wondered why Spencer was so confident in her. She knew for a fact she was already failing the class, she hadn't really asked Spencer for help with math because she wanted to do it on her own. She wanted to show him she didn't need him for every little thing. She realized she would let him down, he would be disappointed in her and will probably yell at her or even worse;not say anything at all. But, she knew he was busy with work and didn't want to always bug him, like she was a little kid.
Amber sighed to herself as she slipped on her capris. She had huge knots in her stomach, telling her she should just go back to bed. She grabbed her phone off the bed side table, stuffed it into her bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. She walked out into the living room, Spencer was walking out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand and some book under his arm. He had his glasses on, hair tucked behind his ears and was still wearing his pajamas. He smiled at her before taking a sip of coffee. Amber forced a half smile out at him and sighed. "Bye Spence," she said as she slipped on her shoes that were sitting next to the front door.
"Bye Am," he said as he walked over to her and kissed her head. Spencer stood back as he watched her open the door, she stood in the doorway and waved at him. He waved back at her with his free hand, realizing she looked like she was in pain. Amber closed the door behind her, walked down the stairs, out the building door and headed towards the university.
Spencer stood on the other side of the door of their apartment, hoping she wouldn't come barging back in and admitting that she gave up. He felt as though he had been standing there for hours, when in fact, it had only been five minutes. Spencer took a sip of his coffee and headed into the bedroom to get ready for work.
Spencer arrived at the BAU that morning, the bullpen was a little busy, with people hustling and bustling around. Spencer walked over to his desk, sat down his messenger bag on the floor and sat down in his chair. He watched the main doors as Derek Morgan walked into the bullpen, looking confident and happy.
Morgan walked over to him and smiled, "Morning lover boy," he teased.
"Morning," he mumbled.
Morgan knew right away that something was wrong. "What's wrong with you?" he questioned.
Spencer sighed as he watched Morgan sit on the edge of his desk. "In the beginning of the week, I asked Hotch if I could take some time off... he doesn't think that Amber and I will last that long. He also kept telling me to just 'be careful.' And I know how he is, he just doesn't want what happened to him and Haley to happen to Amber and I." Spencer said in a hushed tone,he looked around, trying to make sure Hotch didn't walk up behind them.
"Did he end up letting you take time off?"
Spencer nodded. "Of course, but I just think that he doesn't want me to be happy. He keeps treating me like I'm a child."
"Well, he's just trying to make sure you don't end up getting hurt. Hotch knows you're grown man, but he also knows we are a family. He's just looking out for you."
Spencer lightly bit his bottom lip. Morgan was right, for once. Yeah, Hotch was being a bit of a pain, but it was in his best intentions. Spencer knew Hotch just wanted him to be happy, and he was glad he was looking out for him. He just wished Hotch would lay off a bit and let him find things about relationships, whatever they may be, by himself.
Amber unlocked the apartment door and stepped inside. She loudly sighed as she threw the keys in the dish on the table near the door. She slammed the door shut, plopped down on the couch, and sighed. She had looked up her final math grade during her break at work, she had gotten an F. She knew Spencer was going to be so disappointed in her. Amber leaned over the side of the couch to the side table and flipped off the light. The room became dark, except for the street lights from outside shining through the window.
Amber sat on the couch, letting the weight of her body sink into it. She was trying to think of a way to tell Spencer about her failing her Algebra class. She wanted to just kick her self for waiting so long to take her math credits. Amber checked her phone that was tightly clenched in her hand, she didn't realize she had been sitting there for so long, almost two hours. It was already eleven, Amber rolled her eyes at her phone, knowing that they had to be on a plane in less than five hours to go to Texas, and Spencer wasn't home from work yet. They had already packed everything, incase Spencer got a case earlier in the week, so they wouldn't have to pack at the last minute and be rushing around. Moments later, Amber heard keys outside the front door. The door opened and there was Spencer, trying to sneak in the apartment. The lights were off and he didn't see Amber sitting on the couch.
"Nice of you to show up," Amber said.
Spencer jumped, putting a hand on his chest and trying to calm down from the mini heart attack he just had. "I'm sorry," Spencer apologized as he shut the door,locked it and flipped on the lights. "I had to do a bunch of paperwork to get three days off. Hotch sprung them on me at the last minute." he placed his bag down and walked over to her. She had no expression on her face, she looked like she was off in another world somewhere. "What's wrong?" Spencer asked as he sat down on the couch next to her.
Amber stayed quiet, she didn't move for a moment. She quickly licked her lips and spat out, "I failed my algebra class." She was expecting for him to start yelling, but he stood up off the couch. He grabbed her hand,started lightly yanking on her arm,telling her to get up off the couch, she stood up, and Spencer pulled her into a hug. A wave of relief washed over Amber. "you...you aren't mad?" Amber mumbled into Spencer's shirt.
Spencer pulled away from her,placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "I'm just glad you did the best you could do," he said with a smile.
"And you don't think I'm stupid?" She asked as she looked away from him.
"No, I do not," he replied as he used his hand to lightly grip her chin for her to turn her head back at his hand off her chin, Amber looked into his eyes and it broke his heart, she looked like a lost puppy. "I'm just glad you tried and didn't give up."
Amber finally smiled at him, her perfectly straight and white teeth flashing at Spencer, causing him to smile as well. "Thanks Spence,"
Spencer tilted his head at her. "For what?"
Amber got up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. His face instantly turned red. They pulled apart from their kiss, Amber placed her heels back down on the ground and said,"For believing in me. Even though I failed, I still tried right?"
Spencer nodded in agreement to her. "Right."
"And I can just try again and try even harder in the fall." She said.
"Yes, many college students do that and many pass the second time. It just takes some
time to get used to the way math works. But this next time, ask me for help more. I know you asked me a few times, but ask more. I can help,you know."
"I know," she mumbled as she looked down at her feet. "I just didn't want to keep bugging you, I know you're busy with work."
"Hey," he said as he brushed back her hair. She looked up at him, realizing she never got tired of looking at his adorable face. "I am never too busy for you."
Amber grinned at him, she knew she was the luckiest girl to have a great guy like him., "I love you."
"I love you too." Spencer assured.
Amber yawn and stretched. "It's getting late, we better go to bed."
"Yeah." Spencer said. Amber headed into the bedroom, as for Spencer, he walked over to the light switch and turned off the headed into the bedroom, shut the door behind him and the two of them got ready to go to sleep. Spencer realized he would be meeting Amber's parents in less than 12 hours. Yeah he was a profiler, but profiling parents of the woman he loved, that would be another story.
The plane ride the next day wasn't too bad, Amber had never really flown with anyone else before, besides her parents when she was younger. And flying on the BAU jet was not even close to the same thing as the commercial plane. It was usually a headache. But Spencer had gotten them one way tickets, in first class, so it was the second nicest plane trip she had been on. Her ride in the jet taking first place, no one kicking your seat, or rude flight attendants. No waiting to get off the plane, no one yelling or screaming and no one was cramped or uncomfortable. It was heaven.
"Amber!" They both heard as they walked out of the airport. A somewhat weighty woman, with light brown hair, fair skin and bright blue eyes was waving at them excitedly. Standing next to her was a slightly taller man, with dark lebanese skin, black and grey hair around his head (but not on top of it) and a mean look on his face. Spencer gulped, he wanted to run back inside and hop on the next plane back home. But he drew in a deep breath and exhaled.
Amber lit up, "Hey mom! Hey dad!" She said as she walked over to them. She quickly hugged each of them, Spencer decided it would be a good time to walk over to them. He walked over and smiled at them.
"Is this him?" Her mother asked, eyes wide. Amber nodded happily. Amber's mother beamed at him, while her father continued to glare at him.
"Hello Mrs..."
"Call me Kim," She said cutting him off. "I insist."
Spencer smiled at her, "Kim, nice to meet you." He said as he held out a hand for her to shake, instead she opened her arms to him. He went with it and gave her a hug. They unwrapped their arms after a few moments and pulled apart from each other. Kim smiled at him, her warm smiled reminded him of his own mother.
Kim nudged Amber's father in the elbow. He cleared his throat and said, "Call me Ed," He grumbled. He held out a hand to shake, Spencer shook it, making the handshake firm and quick. They dropped the handshake, Ed still glaring at the young man.
"Well we better get going," Kim said as she walked towards their car,Kim got in the passenger side and Ed got in the drivers side. It was a silver 2006 C230 Mercedes-Benz. It was kept in great condition for being a few years old. Amber walked over to the car and placed her bag in the tunk, Spencer did so as well. He shut the trunk and opened the back passenger side door for her. She thanked him and got in the car. Spencer got into the car, shutting the door once he got in, and the both of them buckled their seat belts. Ed put the car in drive,they left the airport,and headed to the highway to go home.
"So," Ed asked, not taking his eyes off the road. "You are in the FBI?"
Spencer nodded. "Yes, I'm in the BAU. The behavioural analysis unit."
"Oh, what's that?" Kim asked.
"We profile criminals. Instead of just going and catching them, we get into their minds to figure what they will do next. We analyze what they do and why they do it. So that we can catch them." Spencer explained.
"Wow," Kim said. Spencer saw her blink a few times. "That works?"
"Yup,by watching the way they have killed before, what their signature is and how they kill. My team and I can catch them the right way before they end up killing people that are in their way."
They sat in silence for a while. Spencer's words still hanging in the air.
"So you are away a lot," Kim questioned, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yes,the job is very...demanding of my time." Spencer said. The guilt hit him like a slap in the face, he did leave Amber alone, sometimes for days. He did always call her, every night before he went to bed, and the second we woke up in the morning.
"If you are never there, how can you two have a relationship?" Kim asked.
"Mom," Amber warned, her eyes narrowed at her mother, even though Kim couldn't see her.
Spencer reached over for Amber's hand and took it in his. He then said, "Well, even though I'm not always around, I still remind your daughter everyday that I'm thinking about her. And that I love her."
Amber's face turned bright red. "Spence," She whispered in embarrassment.
"It's ok honey," Her mother said. "It's good that he cares about you." Amber's dad tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Spencer noticed he was tense, a bit angry and rather over protective of Amber. This wasn't going to be the easiest thing to do, to prove that he was good enough to date Ed's daughter. This was probably why Amber never really dated, because of her father, always thinking every guy she dated wasn't good enough for his daughter.
The car pulled up into a house with acres of land. The house was rather quite big, there was a barn a few feet away from the house and a white picket fence that separated their land from their neighbors. Ed parked the car, they piled out and Spencer and Amber grabbed their bags from the trunk. Spencer watched Amber as she looked at the house. By the look of her awestruck face, he guessed this was her first time seeing her parents new home.
Kim opened the door for them, they stepped inside and they looked around the house. It was just as beautiful as the outside. Marble floors welcomed people in the foyer, an off white paint on the walls and high ceilings in every room. Paintings, mirrors on the walls and little sculptures on tables were scattered all through the house, in a tasteful fashion.
"We have 5 bedrooms," Kim informed them as they headed down a hallway. "Here is your room Am," her mom said as she opened the door. The room was all white; white bedding, white walls and white furniture. The floors where hardwood, but white rugs were scattered around the room as needed. "Amber, you get settled, I'll show Spencer his room."
"Great," Amber said through tightly closed teeth and a fake smile. She walked into the room and shut the door. The bed was in the middle of the room, the headboard against the wall to her left, she walked over to the bed,facing it, she saw there was a window on her right side. The white curtains fluttering in the wind. Amber looked out the window. She could see all of their land from her window, it must have been at least 30 acres of land, if not more. The horses were out of the barn, galloping around the land and this caused a smiled to appear across Amber's face. Her mother always wanted horses and her mother always got what she wanted, one way or another.
Amber set down her bag on the floor as she drew her eyes away from the view outside, she saw a door that was almost next to the bed and opened it. It was a bathroom. Growing up, she had to use the bathroom across her bedroom, which was rather inconvenient for a teenaged girl. Amber closed the door to the bathroom and walked over to the window, she shut the blinds and walked over to the closet that was across from the end of the bed. It was nothing special, just a regular closest. She looked around the room, she had this feeling that something was missing. She shook her head, realizing it wasn't something, but someone missing. Why her parents made Spencer sleep in a separate room was beyond her. Her parents knew she lived with him. Amber shrugged, she assumed it was because her parents didn't want the two of them to be doing nightly activities. Amber lightly chuckled at this as she walked over to her bag and grabbed some weather appropriate clothes out of her bag to change into.
As for Spencer, in the next room over, he decided to take a shower in the bathroom that was connected to his room. Kim had told him that they were going to have a big meal for dinner and to get washed up if he needed. As for Amber back in her room, she quickly changed into shorts and a navy blue tank top. She looked in the bathroom mirror and quickly fixed her hair. She pushed her glasses up farther on the bridge of her nose with her index finger and sighed, trying to convince herself she was content with the way she looked. She shut off the lights in the bathroom and headed out of her room. She walked back into the hallway and made her way into the kitchen. The countertops were grainite, the floor was tiled and the walls where a canary yellow.
"There you are dear," her mother said as she cooked dinner.
"How are you liking the new house?" her father asked as he leaned against a countertop, proud of their new house.
"I like it, its nothing like our old house, but I like it." Amber said with an approving head nod.
"That's good."
"Just one thing," Amber said as she crossed her arms over her chest. As she did this Spencer was walking down the hallway, making his way to the kitchen, when he heard Amber talking to her parents. He stopped walking and decided to wait until they finished their conversation.
Her parents looked at each other in confusion. "What's that?" her father asked.
"Why...why won't you let Spencer and I sleep in the same bed together?" Amber asked. Spencer's eye twitched as he awaited the answer.
"You aren't married," her mother answered.
"You guys do know we sleep in the same bed together at home, right?" Amber defended.
"Yes, but this is our home."
Amber huffed, "Don't give me that crap. I'm twenty-one!"
"Yes, but you are a guest in this house. I'm not having my daughter sleeping with some guy we barely know in the same bed as her!" Her father argued.
"He is a great guy. He shouldn't have to be put through your test," Amber said.
"My test?" her father asked
"Yes, to prove if he's good enough for me. Because he is. Honestly he's too good for me. I don't even deserve him." Amber confessed.
"Amber," her mother said in a sad, low tone.
"No, it's true,"
"No man will ever be good enough for you," her father admitted. "He will have to prove he's good enough for you." Ed said as he took his weight off of the countertop. " I don't get what you see in him," Ed joked.
Amber glared at her father, "What does that mean?"
"Well, he's not much of a man," Ed snickered. "He's tall and thin. He looks like a girl with that hair of his, to be honest."
Amber's arms were now at her sides, her hands balled up in tightly clenched fists. "Looks aren't everything. And that man is more of a man than you'll ever be. Let's see you try and stare down a barrel of a gun thats pointed at you. Talk your way out of being shot with the person behind the trigger and walk away without a scratch. Then we'll see who the real man is," Her blood was boiling, she didn't realize her father was so ignorant.
Spencer couldn't believe what he had just heard. He knew it was going to be hard to prove to her father that he was right for Amber, but this was hopefully going to make it a lot easier. Amber was testing her father's masculinity. She knew he would never be able to do what Spencer has done, not in a million year, and that would make her father respect Spencer. Sooner or later, her father would realize Spencer was as much of a man as he was. Her father was stubborn, but he would realize it, he was a smart man.
Ed pressed his lips together, "No...I... I don't think I could do that," he admitted as he let out a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, I thought so," Amber spat. "you can't even begin to imagine the things he sees everyday, the memories he has to live with day in and day out and the horror of the cases he deals with. He doesn't let any of that get to him. He is carefree and...hes the sweetest, most admirable man I've ever met," Amber said, trying keep tears from forming in her eyes.
"Amber, I didn't think..." Ed started to say.
"Yeah dad, you didn't think." Amber said, cutting him off. "don't judge him from his looks, he is more than his looks, he is a genius. I personally think he's handsome, but it doesn't matter what I think or what I want,does it dad." She turned on her heels, walked out of the kitchen and headed to the hallway, she turned into the hallway and almost ran into Spencer in her spout of anger. "Spence...hey, did...did you happen to hear any of that?"
Spencer nodded, his lips pursed together. "Yeah, I...uh...I'm glad I did though."
Amber tilted her head at him. "Why's that?"
"Cause," Spencer said casually as he pulled her into a hug. "it reminded me why I love you so much." Spencer knew that because her father didn't approve of him, Amber cared about him. Any other time her father didn't approve of a man, she would break up with the boy, but this time was different. Amber didn't want to lose Spencer. And the both of them knew, her father was just being protective and that he would approve of Spencer. It would just take some time.
Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.-Ernest Hemingway