"I'm glad I heard from you," Spencer told Emily. "I wasn't sure if I ever would."
He kept his tone and expression normal and didn't let Emily know that he had been terrified that she would decide she didn't want anything to do with him, because Emily wouldn't have understood why he felt like he had. It was much too soon to tell her about immorality and mates, so Spencer controlled his emotions with an iron will, not that that was much trouble, as he was used to controlling them.
It was a few days later, and Emily had called Spencer to arrange a time to meet.
"I wasn't sure if I was ever going to contact you," Emily countered. "I ran a background check on you and I'm sorry if that's insulting, but I don't take chances."
"I suspected you had," Spencer said, simply, even as he ate the sandwich before him. "Once I knew you were Interpol, I figured that would be your first instinct."
What Spencer didn't say was that Dave had been the one that had told him that Emily would probably run a background check, but he knew he would've come to that conclusion himself if Dave hadn't done so first.
"I'm not insulted, because I knew there was nothing in my background to concern you," Spencer continued. "If you have a way to do a background check on someone it's probably wise to do so just in case they aren't who they say they are or have a criminal record."
"Well, you seem to understand how cops think," Emily said finally smiling.
"It's simple logic," Spencer shrugged modestly. "I do know a few cops back in the states and that would be their first instinct."
"That's good to know," Emily said. "I'm glad to know you're not upset about me running a background check as I know that many men would be if I told them I had checked into their history. Of course not everything is recorded, because it was never reported to the police."
"That's true," Spencer said his tone calm. "I'm not one of them, though, as I understand your cautiousness. The world does seem full of criminals in this day and age."
It really always had been, thought Spencer didn't say that. Criminals had gotten more intelligent and cunning and not like the rough sort that they'd been when he been born. Of course, they'd had serial killers in the world when he been born as well, but law enforcement had also evolved along with the criminals.
"That's probably the understatement of the century," Emily laughed.
"I suppose it is," Spencer laughed right along with Emily. "Dave, if you ever meet him and also Bellamy, will tell you that I am well known for my understatements."
"You said Dave, was like a father to you," Emily said and Spencer nodded.
"He is very much so and while I don't think of Bellamy as my mother, she's kind of a aunt I suppose," Spencer said.
"It's clear you are fond both of them and that you consider them your family and that should be all that matters," Emily said. "That's one thing we have in common, you know. My mom and me are not close and my father died some years ago and unlike you I don't really have a good substitute for that role. I do have a coworker that I kind of consider like a brother, but that's all."
"I'm more than fond of both of them and they have three children two boys and a girl that are absolutely adorable. It makes me wish I had children of my own. I adore them and go to visit quite frequently," Spencer said.
"I'm sure that'll happen for you someday," Emily said
"I certainly hope so," Spencer said, as he gazed, and Emily making it clear who he would like to fulfill the role as his spouse all without saying a word.
Emily blushed his Spencer's heated regard and Emily Prentiss never blushed and yet Spencer didn't have to say anything just give her a look that let her know that he wanted her to fulfill that particular role.
"I live here, though," Emily said, "and you live in the states. I don't know how it could have a work between us, as those kind of long distance relationships nearly always fail."
"I'll be more than happy to move here, though I know I need visas to live and work in the country. Right now, I'm only a visitor, but I'm more than willing to put in the effort in order to get those necessary visas if you are willing to meet me halfway."
"I don't know that we need to go that far as this could be just a fling," Emily said backpedaling.
"It's not a fling for me," Spencer answered simply, his tone as calm as a lake. He clamped down on his emotions behind a barrier, so Emily couldn't see his worry or panic as that might make her backpedal even more. "but I can see you need time, so I'll give you that time. I'll simply extend my stay here in London for as long as necessary."
"What about your practice though?" Emily said having recovered now that she saw Spencer wasn't going push her into anything before she was ready.
"I don't need to get back if I don't want to. You should know that, because you did a background check on me and saw how much I'm worth," Spencer replied. "I only opened that practice, because I'd be bored otherwise. The intelligent mind and all that. I don't have any appointments scheduled that I need to get back for and my receptionist also gets a nice vacation, which she'll appreciate as it will allow her to spend more time with her grandchildren.
"I would like us to try to at least make it work, as I've never felt like this about any woman in my life," continued Spencer.
And never will again, Spencer said in his mind, but didn't say out loud, as Emily wouldn't understand why he had said such a thing and he couldn't explain, not now anyway.
"I guess we can give it a try," Emily said. She really liked this quiet, self-contained man, enough anyway that she was willing to try to make the relationship permanent. It might not lead anywhere, and she was well aware of that, and she knew that Spencer was as well, but if she wasn't willing to meet him halfway, then there was no point of even considering marriage, whether to Spencer or another man. Emily knew very well that marriage was about compromise, about putting up with each other's foibles. It was about patience and understanding and putting up with each other's work schedules when they interfered with spending time together. It was about apologizing when you were in the wrong after an argument something, her parents had never done as far as she knew.
Emily could tell though, that Spencer was the patient, understanding sort, unlike so many men while she was not at least about certain things. Spencer wasn't one to let his emotions control him, and Emily suspected he very rarely lost his temper, though she was sure he had one under that calm exterior, but it might take a lot to ignite it, as some people were very placid most of the time.
She had told Dan that Spencer wasn't the type to turn abusive, and she stood by that statement, as so far, Spencer hadn't raised his voice and listened to her with understanding and calmness. She was sure that there were things he was passionate about that could cause him to lose it, as the saying went, but he was likely mostly calm and controlled.
She knew if she gave up her chance to get to know Spencer Reid she would regret it for the rest of her life. She already had too many regrets to count, so she didn't want to add another unless necessary.
"That's very good," Spencer said, his eyes sparkling happily at Emily's announcement. "I'm glad you're willing to at least try to have a relationship with me. I know that a lot of people are commitment phobic. I'm not just so you know, so if I find the right woman, then I'm more than willing to commit."
"And you believe I'm that woman," Emily said, and Spencer nodded firmly.
"I absolutely do," Spencer agreed empathically. He didn't tell Emily, why he was sure that she was the one for him the only one he wanted to have children with. That was for later.
"Well, at least you're confident," Emily teased him, and Spencer smiled at his mate's, teasing tone.
"You'll see I'm right in due time," Spencer said with a smile.

~~~Spencer and Emily~~~

"I think it's time I told her, but I would like for you and Bella to be here as my witnesses when I do," Spencer told Dave over the link.
It was months later, and Spencer and Emily had been dating exclusively.
"You know we're always happy to help," Dave said, "and if you want Bella on me there then we'll be there."
"I do want you here, but what about the kids?" Spencer asked.
"We'll bring the kids with us," Dave said. "I'm sure Bella won't mind. It'll be a good educational experience for them. This is a good time for all of us to take a trip, as it's summer so the kids don't have school."
"That would be great, as I've missed them," Spencer said.
"They certainly missed you too," Dave said smiling. "They'll be happy to see you when we get there."
"I'm looking forward to it," Spencer promised smiling. "I bought souvenirs for everyone at the Tower of London when I went on the tour and also from several other attractions."
"I'm sure the children will appreciate it whatever you got them and so will Bella and I," Dave said. "That was really nice of you Spencer."
"You're my family, you know that," Spencer replied, smiling. "You're certainly more my family, than my father ever was before his death."
"I'm so happy you finally met your mate Spencer and you certainly met her sooner than I met mine, as I was considerably older then you when I finally did. I've certainly been happy ever since I met Bella, had my children."
"I don't blame you I'm hoping for the same harmony myself, but Emily is different from Bella," Spencer said. "She works for Interpol for one thing, which means I'll likely be moving here, but only if she accepts immortals and mates exist. Emily is highly intelligent and speaks several languages Russian, Italian, Spanish, French."
"Well, that's one thing you have in common then," Dave said, "as you speak several languages yourself."
"True, I do, something Emily and I have already talked about. We keep each other in practice on the languages we both speak," Spencer said. "It's rather nice when somebody speaks more than their native tongue, as that's pretty unusual in this day and age, at least for most people."
"True, it is," Dave admitted. "There are still some jobs that require you to speak another language, but there are computer programs that are pretty accurate nowadays, which eliminates that need for a human translator."
"Which means such jobs are rare nowadays, because having a human translator is more expensive than using a computer program," Spencer finished what Dave was thinking. "Why hire a human translator when a computer application is so accurate and also much faster than a human ever can be. Of course, those program do make some mistakes, but that's only because of the person who programs them, so that means it's still human error."
"Yeah, having a computer program translate for you is also much cheaper than hiring someone human, as translators used to make around 50 to 75 an hour and that's a lot of money for any company."
Which means that people learning another language is pretty rare, and unless their parents who are two different nationalities," Spencer said.
"I won't say using a computer to translate something into another language is necessarily a bad thing, but it does eliminate translator as a profession for the most part," Dave said, shaking his head.
"True it does," Spencer agreed before signing off after wishing Dave a safe journey to London.

~~~Spencer and Emily~~~

"So your family is coming for a visit? Why? I mean, you be going home eventually, won't you?" Emily asked Spencer once he had mentioned that the man he considered a father and his family were coming to London.
"I told you I would be willing to move here, since I know you love your job at Interpol, other than the paperwork of course," Spencer said smiling at Emily's nervous question.
Normally, Emily was never nervous, but Spencer could understand why she was as she was going meet what was basically, his father figure and his wife, who was more of an aunt then a mother.
"Well, yes," Emily said, "but I still don't understand why your family is coming here."
"Because I asked them to," Spencer said calmly, even as he leaned back on the sofa and Emily's apartment. "For one thing is kind of a vacation for them and this is a good time for them to come because they're three kids aren't in school."
"But they'll need passports and those take months to get," Emily tried.
"They already have passports, as they do a lot of traveling," Spencer said simply. "Dave and Bellamy do a lot of traveling in the summer with their children and sometimes during the school year, as my godchildren go to a private school. While they come home after the school day, but when Dave and Bellamy travel at least a few times a year then, so they have a housekeeper that looks after them when they do travel. Before the Rossi children started school the whole family traveled. The children had been to many places by the time they started school at five. When the oldest reached that age, they were left at home and the housekeeper dropped them off at school and then picked them up.
"That doesn't sound too different than my own upbringing, except I was never in another country for fun as it was part of my mother's job as diplomat," Emily said.
"That doesn't mean you didn't have fun, even if that's not the main purpose why you were there," Spencer suggested.
"True enough," Emily admitted.
"Don't be nervous they already love you because I do," Spencer told Emily with a smile, kissing her cheek. "They should be here in a few days, so I just thought I would give you some warning, so that them coming doesn't take you by surprise."
"That was very considerate of you," Emily said, looking rather constipated at the thought of meeting the people that Spencer considered family.
"You should know by now that I'm a considerate guy. I know you're nervous about meeting them," Spencer said, his tone slightly joking, trying to ease Emily's strained expression.
"That's true," Emily said. "By the way, I am not nervous!" Emily added forcefully.
"If you say so," Spencer said in a teasing tone watching, as Emily nearly stomped her foot like a five year old, just because he hadn't agreed with her statement.
Emily immediately seemed to realize that she was acting childish and struggled until she regained her composure.
"Sorry," Emily apologize sincerely. "It's just that my mother is nothing like what you've told me about your family," Emily tried to explain why she had reacted like she had.
"You don't talk much about your mother," Spencer noted.
"With good reason," Emily snorted the contempt in her tone obvious. "You better hope you never meet her, as she would give you an interrogation that would make you blanch and then she would try to convince you that I wasn't good enough for you or try to scare you away. To her, no one is good enough for her daughter and that's only because her own marriage was miserable. She's forceful, cold, domineering, mean as a snake and arrogant to boot. She wouldn't care if you made me happy and would do her best to break us up, even if we had a child. You can imagine what that kind of attitude does to a kid."
Spencer winced at Emily's description of her mother and it didn't sound as if he ever wanted to meet Elizabeth Prentiss.
"Well, let's hope I never meet her then," Spencer said. "Even if I do, however, she's not gonna make me break up with you, no matter what she tries. I'm made of sterner stuff than that."
"She has numerous ways to drive a wedge between whoever I get close to, as I've had several boyfriends that I thought were going to propose until mom found out and found some way to make them break up with me. Let's start talking about my mother, though, as a subject just pisses me off."
"As you wish," Spencer agreed. "Back to the previous subject then."
Emily winced, as Spencer reminded her that his family would arrive in London in just a few days.
"You'll love them and my godchildren will be all over you, as they're talkative, sweet, adorable and mischievous," Spencer said smiling.
"I can't wait to meet them, but I can't say the same about the adults that you consider your parents basically," Emily said.
"Well, Bellamy is more of an aunt, but you knew that already. Still, I suppose so all the same," Spencer said.
The two dropped the subject, though Emily would still worry about it in the back of her mind until she actually had met Dave and Bellamy, Spencer knew. Emily would simply distract herself with work until his family actually arrived and introductions were over.

~~~Spencer and Emily~~~