A/N

Since I've overdosed on Criminal Minds lately, it should come as no surprise that I dream about it. And this scene was precisely what I dreamed last night. Don't ask, my brain is a weird place.

Many, many people have had that near-death-experience when they accidentally say (or just barely avoid saying) "mom" or "dad" to their teacher. Though knowing you're far from alone, it's still mortifying when it occurs.

It had never happened to Spencer Reid before - in fact, he had very rarely experienced the Freudian slip at all - and when it finally did happen, it wasn't directed at a teacher, but at his colleague.

Hotch had sent him and Blake to the suspect's house to look for evidence, and when Reid found a partially burned sheet of paper in the fireplace, he called over his shoulder;

"Mom, come and take a look at this!"

It was when he saw her eyes widen and her jaw slacken in surprise that he replayed in his head what he had just said, and immediately blushed a dark red shade of pure humiliation. Instead of commenting on it, or laugh it off, Blake schooled her features into professional indifference and walked across the room.

"What've you got, Reid?"

He was so grateful for her discretion that he could have burst into tears, but that would have been a pretty lousy way to keep up appearances. He nodded to the paper and withdrew a little, willing his facial color to go back to normal. Blake calmly picked the paper up and put it in an evidence bag.

"I think we've found our smoking gun," she said and nodded towards the door. "Let's go."

Reid followed her out to the car, and once they had buckled up and Blake turned the key in the ignition, he said;

"I'm sorry I called you mom. I don't know where that came from, I just…"

"It's okay, Spencer. Don't worry about it. I once called a teacher back at the Academy mom. In front of the whole class. Now that was embarrassing."

"Alex, I love my mother, I really do," he said.

"I know you do."

"But…" he struggled with words and blushed again. "… sometimes I wish you were my mom."

She smiled and reached out a hand to pat his arm.

"And sometimes I wish you were my son. Nothing wrong with that. Now, what do you say we go and get this case closed, and then we can go out to lunch, so I can nag on you for not eating enough vegetables."

He let out a boyish laughter that warmed her heart.

"Okay. Thanks, Alex."

"That's what BAU moms are for."