"You're back!" Luke yelled, widening his arms. He stood at the doorway excitedly, smiling wide as Reid and I moved up the driveway, hauling our luggage. Without a word he ran down to meet us, throwing his hand out to grab the strap of my shoulder bag. As he did, I pulled away quickly, shooting him a narrow-eyed look before eventually giving in and handing it over. "I'm trying to help, stupid," he said with a sigh.

"She doesn't need your help," Reid responded in a mocking tone. I shot him a glare, which he merely just laughed at.

"I don't, though," I added, even though deep down I definitely did. By now we'd been in travel mode for a while and honestly I was starting to feel it. On the plane, despite the massive amounts of turbulence I'd somehow managed to pass right out, which according to Reid was some sort of miracle, because before we left I was bouncing off the walls.

On the way to the airport I convinced him to let me have coffee, which I definitely took advantage of. Instead of my usual brew with a mountain of sugar I asked for a shot in the dark, which I for sure didn't need. The second I drank it, I felt my chest ache, which only got worse the longer I sipped. Like usual, Reid shook his head at my chaotic choices and just let it happen.

"Let's get you inside." Reid dug his fingers into my shoulder as he pushed me to the door. At this point my legs were moving on their own; slowly gliding across the pavement of the driveway.

When we made it indoors he grabbed the rest of my stuff and went downstairs. On his way, I wondered to the couch and plopped down at the edge, watching from the corner of my eye as Luke did the same. He let out a sigh as his butt touched the cushion, giving me a lazy eyed look as he leaned back and settled in comfortably. "How was your trip?"

"Amazing," I said, flashing him a smile.

"I'm glad you guys actually got a break; god knows you guys deserve it." He nodded his head and moved in his seat, letting out a subtle groan as he moved his elbow to the arm of the chair. After that, he rested his face against the back of his hand and let out another sigh, eyeing me curiously. "I know you're tired, but can we talk about something?"

I positioned my body upwards and nodded my head. As I did, Reid wandered up the stairs, his Converse clad feet slapping against the hardwood floors tiredly as he made his way over and sat down between us. "What do you wanna talk about?" I questioned, peeking around him.

Reid must've realized the topic was serious, because not long after he was looking between us, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Do you guys like this place?" Luke asked.

We both glanced at each other and shrugged, not really sure how to respond. To be honest we loved it. The size was just right and the neighbourhood was great, but with Luke in the mix it made it hard for us to see ourselves staying. We couldn't bare to put him through the tribulations of parenthood, even if it was by association.

"You can be honest," Luke added with a laugh.

I bit my lip and nodded my head, watching from the corner of my eye as Reid shuffled in his seat and just sort of smiled. During our trip we talked a lot about housing. With five months left until the babies were born we were kind of freaking out a bit. The thought of having to adjust to two brand new humans along with environment was honestly scary.

"While you were gone I made up with Andy."

I blinked in confusion and scrunched up my face, glancing at Reid who looked equally puzzled. When we looked back over Luke smiled back, dropped his hand from his face as he shuffled to the edge of the couch, moving excitedly. As he did, I felt my heart rate increase, which Reid must have noticed, because almost immediately he placed a hand over mine. At this point I knew he was going to move, which begged the question of what happened to the house? Was he offering up? And if so, did that mean the universe was working in favour in this time?

I licked my bottom lip and swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous.

"I know you guys have been having a really hard time finding a place so I want you to stop. Take this one. Andy and I have been talking it over and I think we want to move closer to downtown anyway." He shrugged it off like the words he was saying meant absolutely nothing, when in all actuality they meant so much more.

Without even thinking I stood up from my seat and covered my mouth, feeling the tension in my chest burst almost instantly. When I was fully upright Luke looked up and let out a laugh, watching me happily as I reached for Reid's arm and tugged at his sleeve. "Are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

I looked over at Reid and widened my eyes. "He's serious."

"He's serious," Reid repeated with a laugh. He lightly grabbed my elbow and thumbed at the skin, flashing me the warmest of smiles, while I held back a scream and wiggled enthusiastically.

In that moment I felt like things were finally better. After everything we'd been through things were okay. We were happy and healthy and had a roof over our heads like any other functioning pair of adults. No longer did we have to worry about where we'd end up or how we would get there. Instead, we could focus on prepping. We could start shopping for baby stuff and furniture and other stupid things we were both secretly excited about it.

Which is exactly what we did over the course of the next few weeks.

After Luke handed over the keys to his house we helped him move out, feeling bittersweet about the exchange. On one hand we liked it, because it meant that the hardest of jobs we had to do was over. On the other however, it meant that our time as roommates was over, which seemed kind of weird considering how short lived it was.

Despite that though, when we finished packing I felt really sad. Luke had become a staple in my life and while I was proud of him for doing what he needed to be happy a part of me already missed him. Living without him, I knew would be strange, at least for a while.

"I feel weird taking your house," I stated while closing the trunk. I wiped my hands on the front of my pants and let out a sigh, listening to him laugh.

He threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest. "Technically you're buying it from me."

"Thanks again for that," Reid added, moving to my side. In his hands he held another box, which he carefully put on the ground. At this point we'd been packing for hours and despite the exhaustion we were still going strong.

From inside the house, Andy laughed, causing us to look towards the door. Since their rejoining, the four of us, along with Issac and Maggie had been spending a lot of time together, which was weird considering that up until this point the only friends I really had were government agents.

"I'm telling you, it's bound to happen," Andy stated, while passing through the doorway.

To her right stood Maggie who rolled her eyes before turning her attention to the rest of us. With a smile, she moved our way and set the box in her hands on top of Reid's. "Issac's got the last of them." She hooked her thumb over her shoulder, signalling to a very flustered Issac who was carrying way too many things.

I laughed at the sight and pulled away from Luke, running to Issac's aid. Despite the size of my stomach I managed to awkwardly prop one of the boxes against my torso, which gave him the opportunity to adjust. He let out a heavy sigh and quietly thanked me.

"Just grab less boxes, idiot."

Even though he was already struggling to maintain his grip he somehow managed to flip me off, which caused me to laugh. I kicked my leg against his, lightly grazing his shin with the toe of my shoe. In response, he darted away, shooting me a smirk.

"Enough of the shenanigans, Rafferty's," Luke called out, "I don't need you breaking my stuff."

Both Issac and I rolled our eyes as we walked over. Once near the car, Andy opened one of the backseat door's and threw out her hands, motioning for a box. I gave her mine and moved out of the way so that Issac could do the same and before long we were finally done.

"Well then," I stated with a sigh, "guess that's it then."

"I suppose it is," Luke responded. He smiled sadly at Reid and I and threw out his arms. Without even thinking I ran right into them, pressing my face against his chest. When I did he let out a laugh and looked up at Reid who merely just snorted. "I'm moving across town Isla, not the world."

"I know."

"I don't think you do," Reid interjected.

I stuck out my tongue as I tightened my grip, feeling sadder than before. Thanks to the hormones my emotional state was completely messed up and at this point every little thing seemed to set me off into a fit of tears.

"We're just a phone call away," Luke added, giving my back a quick rub. From beside him I heard Andy laughing and when I eventually looked over I saw her reach out to grab me, offering reassurance.

After that we said our goodbyes, which left me feeling empty. Thanks to past experiences I knew that the move meant we wouldn't be as close. Adults often parted when their company wasn't required, which was depressing to think about. Similar to my situation with Prentiss, I knew that our schedule's would clash, even if Luke mostly worked from home and that the whole thing was inevitable.

So when I gave him one last hug I couldn't let go. I couldn't bare to let him leave without him knowing how much I appreciated him.

"Don't be a stranger, okay?" I said as I eventually pulled away. At this point I was fighting back tears, which everyone noticed, but thankfully didn't mention. "If you're ever bored just come over, even if it's just to sit in silence and watch a movie."

He laughed at that comment and ruffled my hair, which normally I would've hated, but right now I couldn't. Anything he did would be warranted as love, which he definitely realized because afterwards he reached for my stomach, placing his hand near the top. "Goodbye Reifferty's. I'll see you on the other side."

"Reifferty's?" Reid questioned, holding back a laugh.

"It's your ship name," Issac responded obviously while rolling his eyes.

I rolled mine back and turned to Reid who looked even more confused than before. "I'll explain later."

He flashed us a tight-lipped smile and nodded his head, unsure of how to respond, while the rest of us just chuckled and began to part ways. As we did, I moved to his side and leaned against his shoulder, watching as Luke and Andy piled into the front of his car and gave us a wave.

Not long after they were gone, which caused me to sigh. At that point I wasn't embarrassed to cry anymore so I just let it out, feeling the wetness in my eyes increase as I turned up to Reid. "Oh, you're fine," he cooed. He gripped my upper arm and rubbed it aggressively as a tactic of distraction and as he did, my body shook quickly.

"Why can't we all just live in the same house forever?" I questioned jokingly.

"Because we'd all go insane," Issac retorted.

"I don't mean with you," I said grumpily, while narrowing my eyes.

"Good, because living with you for eighteen years sucked."

"Yeah well-"

Before I could reply Maggie raised a finger, giving us a stern look. At some point in our friendship she'd become our mediator, oftentimes using her authoritative personality to her advantage. For fear of what might happen if she got too angry, both Issac and I always listened, which I knew Reid was thankful for. Being an only child he wasn't used to the arguing, which honestly worried me since we were having two boys. Not only that, but if they ended up acting like me, we were bound to have problems.

"We should head inside," Reid suggested, pulling me from my thoughts. He glanced between Issac and Maggie who eventually just nodded and said their goodbyes. "We still have a dinner to get to."

Like usual Reid and I had managed to overbook ourselves. On top of moving both him inside and Luke out we agreed to have dinner at Rossi's, which I was honestly dreading. I loved hanging out, but part of me just wanted to sleep, because thanks to the kids my sleep schedule was fucked.

At this point we were five months in and honestly I was totally over it. Now that we'd reached all the major milestones like gender and movement, I was ready to have them. I didn't like being pregnant, which wasn't surprising, because whenever I told someone new that I was, they always told me how awful it was. Well, everyone except for JJ who assured me it was magical.

I groaned at the thought of anyone liking the idea of pregnancy and turned on my heel, moving towards the door. On my way I grabbed Reid's hand and pulled him inside. "Do we have to go to Rossi's tonight?"

"I'm pretty sure we do, yes," he responded with a sigh.

I scrunched up my face in annoyance and moved to the kitchen. On the way I heard the sound of Reid's phone ring out, causing me to look back and frown. At this point whenever it went off I assumed it was case related. It was busy on the serial killer front and lately he'd been leaving for days on end, which frankly was hard, despite being necessary.

He put the phone on speaker and wandered over to my side, placing it onto the counter. Afterwards, he leaned against my back and wrapped himself around me, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. "Hey Morgan."

"Hey kid, ready for the night of your life tonight?"

As soon as Morgan finished speaking Reid retracted his body from mine and snatched away his phone. Swiftly, he took it off speaker and pressed it against his ear, shooting me a nervous look as he licked his lips and wandered down the hall.

I blinked in confusion and moved to follow him, watching from the corner of my eye as he wandered into Luke's old room. When I heard the door shut I stopped in my tracks and narrowed my eyes, feeling suspicious. It wasn't like Reid to keep secrets, especially mundane ones like plans with friends, but lately he'd been a bit off. Whenever I called when he was out on a case it felt like he barely had time for me and on more than one occasion I had to convince him to stay on the line. At first I figured he was just busy; it made sense with what he was doing, but the amount of anxiety in his voice whenever we came in contact told me otherwise. 

When he was finished his call he wandered back out, licking his lips and darting his eyes. Even before that point it was obvious he was hiding something, which only made me wiser to his newfound anxious ticks.

"You gonna tell me what's going on, Reid?" I raised my brow and gave him a serious look.

He swallowed hard and slowly walked over, glancing behind him before meeting my gaze. "Reid, huh? What'd I do wrong?" He pushed his face to break out into a smirk, but given his position I knew it was fake. He wasn't confident enough to pull off such a fast one, so instead of laughing like I normally would I let out a sigh.

"You know just because I'm not a profiler anymore doesn't mean I don't know how read people."

"Why would you possibly need to read me? I'm an open book!" He threw out his arms dramatically, the smirk on his face barely faltering as he moved right in front of me and reached for my arms.

"A book of lies," I mumbled half jokingly.

He snorted. "Okay, fine. I may be lying, but I promise it's for a very good reason." He moved to kiss my face, but before he could I darted away and put my palm on his mouth, causing him to groan in annoyance. He kissed my hand before pushing it away and narrowing his eyes. "That wasn't very nice."

"Neither is lying, Dr. Reid."

He winced at the name and let out a laugh. "Dr. Reid, wow, I'm really in trouble now."

I rolled my eyes and snorted, because even though I knew he was lying I couldn't even try stay mad at him. "This secret of your's better be worth it," I stated. I reached out to grab the collar of his shirt as I flashed him a grin. Almost immediately he returned the exchange and closed the space between us. 

This time I just let it happen, knowing that if I didn't I was bound to get pestered. Before we got too into it though, I pulled away smiling, feeling him protest. I shook my head in response and straighten out his shirt, watching from the corner of my eye as he frowned. "Rossi said we can't be late."

"Rossi can shove it," Reid retorted sassily, pulling me closer.

I opened my mouth in surprise and scoffed.

"What? You're not the only one who's allowed to sound rude," he replied with a laugh.

"Something's definitely going on with you." I narrowed my eyes and leaned further into him, placing my hands on either side of his face. Roughly, I squished his cheeks and felt him groan against my fingers. "I'm going to get ready."

He mumbled something quietly, but thanks to my hand being in the way I didn't hear it. So, jokingly, I moved one of my hands to cup my ear while giving him an eyebrow raise. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

He rolled his eyes and pushed my hand away. "Get your grubby hands off me, Dr. Rafferty."

I snorted and poked my finger to his chest. "That's future Dr. Reid to you, jerk."

 Almost immediately he grabbed it and tightened his grip. "Fine, now c'mon, let's go get ready." He gently yanked me forward and guided me towards the stairs, moving his hand up the length of my hand before eventually settling at my wrist.