A/N: Thanks for your follows and reviews! To quell some concerns, no this is not a "Reid is the best, let's trash the rest of the BAU" fic. It's very family and friendship focused. And no, Jeid will not be making an appearance here. I'm a fan of the ship, but it would be too out of character given the circumstances.

"Well that went well," Matt said, attempting to break the ice with the shellshocked JJ. He distinctly lacked any ounce of sarcasm in his voice. Tara shot him a glance as she moved to catch up with JJ on their walk back to the station.

"This is a good thing, right?" Tara asked. "Reid found someone to share himself with, and that's all we can really ask for in life."

JJ shook her head, pausing to face the duo. "It's not that, I'm happy that he found someone and she seems…nice, I guess. I just…he didn't mention anything about a wife and baby at the station yesterday."

Matt shot JJ a look. "Baby?"

"Emily and I saw him getting into a car with her and a baby yesterday," JJ sighed. "We were going to tell the rest of the team, but we wanted to know more first. I just thought that…if he had something that big to share with us, he would have told us first thing. Who hides something that big from the people closest to them?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's worth considering that we aren't the people closest to him anymore. He seemed pretty hurt yesterday."

Tara interrupted, putting a comforting hand on JJ's shoulder. It was clear that JJ was holding onto a lot of guilt and pain around missing out on such a big part of Spencer's life. "He just had a lot thrown at him at once. He probably never expected to meet us all again, especially not this way. Try to think about it from his perspective."

JJ rubbed her hands against her dry eyes, tension building behind them. "I know," she conceded.

"Give him a little time," Tara offered. "You know Spencer, he'll come around eventually."

"I hope so," JJ replied, her shoulders loosening up as she began to calm down. "I just hope it's sooner rather than later. I don't want to leave this place without him knowing how much we care about him."

The trio continued on back to the station, when Matt asked JJ, "Didn't you want to have Garcia run a background check on Mandy?"

"I did," JJ answered. "I just don't want to intrude. I don't want Spence to be any angrier at us than he is now."

"What do you think she's gonna find in Mandy's background?" Matt asked. "That she's literally hiding skeletons in her closet?"

JJ nervously chuckled and replied, "Well, if anyone could do it, Garcia could." She pulled out her phone and dialed Penelope. Naturally, she answered on the first ring.

"How is our baby boy?" Garcia asked, her voice betraying the hours of worrying she had been doing since hearing about Reid's release.

"He's—" JJ hesitated. She didn't want to crush Garcia's hopes by letting her know that the meeting hadn't gone as well as they'd hoped. They had only coordinated with her via message up to this point and JJ knew she was desperate for further insight.

"He's fine," she offered. "He looks good, he has a job, friends, and…apparently a wife." JJ had to pull the phone away from her ear to avoid the loud reply on the line. Garcia was clearly in a whirlwind. "I know, I know. Can you just run a quick background check on Mandy Carlisle, now known as Mandy Reid?"

"You aren't thinking Mrs. Boy Wonder is a baddie are you?" Garcia asked,.

"No, no," JJ reassured her. "She's involved with a person of interest in the case, and we just want to cover our bases…and I just want to know more about her."

"Can't you just ask—" Garcia asked, JJ cutting her off.

"It's a little complicated, can you just rush the search for me?"

"Your wish is my command, Genie out!"

—

Back at the station, JJ and Tara were just wrapping up briefing the rest of the team on the recent Reid update when they heard someone loudly enter. Turning their heads they saw Spencer, and he did not seem to be in a pleasant mood. He walked directly to the conference room, closing the door behind him.

"Why did you talk to Mandy?" He asked, exasperated. His face looked like a mixture of concern, frustration, and anger and his voice mirrored it. "She told me you went to the diner to speak to her - why?"

"Reid, we just needed to—" Emily started before being cut off.

"Needed what?" He asked angrily. "Needed to dig into my life? After 15 months you decide to burst in and question me and my family. Why couldn't you all just stay away? You didn't have a problem doing that for three years, why is now any different?"

JJ approached him, attempting to gingerly place her hand on his shoulder as he pulled away from her. "Spence, please, you have to understand."

"Understand what?" He asked, positioning himself further away from the group. "Understand why you abandoned me in a federal prison? Gave up on me when I needed you most? Because from where I'm standing, that's not very forgivable."

Emily sighed, knowing she would have to own up to her part in the miscommunication. "It was my fault. I hadn't kept in touch with Fiona and didn't get the message that you were being released. Don't blame the rest of the team, blame me."

Spencer considered it and then rebuffed it with, "That explains not knowing I was released, not why you all stopped visiting me. I was alone in there, do you have any idea what that feels like? What it does to your soul when you—"

He cut himself off as the words became too hard to get out. Tears welled up in his eyes as he quickly wiped them away. "I needed you. I needed you and you weren't there. Why? Explain that to me, and maybe I can try to forgive you."

And they did. They all sat down and went around the table explaining what had been going on for the last few years. Rossi lost touch with his daughter after an argument regarding her husband led to an extended estrangement. Tara entered a relationship with another woman only to be left heartbroken when she abruptly broke up with her and left the state. Emily was trying to juggle her increasingly serious relationship with Andrew and her increasingly intense workload. Luke and Penelope tried—and failed—to have a whirlwind romance and it led to awkwardness on the team that continued to this day. As they each told their stories, it seemed that the wall Spencer had built up around himself started to fall down piece by piece. He seemed less guarded, more understanding. It wasn't an excuse, but it was an explanation. They all thought that everyone else was keeping up with him and their visiting schedule as a way to relieve them of their guilt. They never meant to abandon him like that.

JJ was the last to share what had happened since the last time they spoke. The words were hard to get out. She hadn't even opened up about this to the rest of the team before. After Spencer started his full prison term, she devoted herself to making sure Diana was looked after. When the Alzheimer's rapidly progressed and it became clear that she was going to die without Spencer by her side, JJ turned to alcohol to cope. Then the marriage issues arose and the resentment between her and Henry as he became old enough to understand that she was the weak link that broke up the marriage. She cried as she recounted this to Spencer, and instinctively he reached out and offered her his hand.

"I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me," JJ said. "I can't change the past but I want to make it up to you. I want to know how I can help, whether that's with work or financially—"

"I don't need your money," Spencer replied. "I make a good living at the shop. It's enough to cover our expenses and put a little away for the future."

JJ looked over at him, her eyes begging the question that they all had on their minds.

"So I'm guessing you all want to know about what I've been up to lately."

"We'd love to hear it," Rossi said. "But we don't want to intrude. You don't have to share anything you're not comfortable with."

Spencer thought it over and replied, "I think it might be easier just to show you what I've been up to. It's almost dinnertime - how would you feel about grabbing a few pizzas and having dinner at my house?"

He smiled, the first smile he offered them since meeting them again yesterday.

"Who's buying?" Rossi asked, jokingly as they headed towards the door.