The second Hotch was out of earshot Rossi made an uncomfortable sound, clenching his jaw as he looked over at JJ who's mouth at some point had dropped open.

Reid pressed his palms over his eyes, letting out a low groan as he stalked off to catch up with Hotch.

"Well, at least I wasn't the one to let the cat out of the bag," Rossi joked.

JJ and I both gave him an unimpressed look as I smacked his torso. "Shut it, grandpa," I threatened. When my hand made contact with his chest he winced in pain and narrowed his eyes.

"I knew you guys were acting weird," JJ shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze moved from Rossi to me, softening the second she saw how angry I was. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, letting out a heavy sigh before glancing down the hall. Both Reid and Hotch were out of sight, which somehow made me more nervous. I couldn't imagine the severity of the scolding he was probably getting. Hotch was all about protocol and while I wasn't necessarily sure about the ruling on this one I had a faint idea we probably hadn't followed it.

JJ pulled me into a tight hug, patting my upper back as she let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "things just sort of happened and neither of us were sure how to tell every-"

"It's okay." JJ chuckled and pulled away. She scanned my face and smiled, pressing her hands to either sides of my cheeks. "I'm so excited for you!"

"Really?" I raised my brow. I wasn't sure why, but for some odd reason I thought she'd be mad. After al the secrets I'd hidden from her I couldn't blame her if she was. Reid and her were the best of friends before I arrived and while I knew my presence never bothered her I could tell the lying did.

"Of course, Isla, you and Spence are gonna be great parents."

Rossi nodded his head in agreeance and as he clamped a supportive hand on my shoulder. "While I'm all for tender moments it's probably a good idea to go save your boyfriend. We'll handle Tammy."

I let out an anxious breath and nodded.

JJ released me from her grasp, while Rossi gave my shoulder a tight squeeze. I gave them both desperate looks as I walked past. While I was definitely thankful I wasn't the one getting yelled at I knew it was only a matter of time before it was my turn.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my slacks and walked down the hall. As I rounded the corner I heard Hotch's voice, which was unsurprisingly loud. I bit my lip and kept going, despite my brain telling me to run. When I made it to the office I stopped. At this point Reid was talking, his shaky voice raising at least three octaves as he spoke. I closed my eyes to try and listen, but the thickness of the door blocked any sense of clarity.

"Let's get this over with," I whispered to myself. I grabbed the handle of the door and slowly pushed down, hearing the voices of the two men inside fall silent. As I peeked around the corner I swallowed hard, watching as they looked over. "Hi."

"Hi," Reid squeaked.

I took a couple of steps inside, closing the door behind me before making my way to Reid's side and looking over at Hotch. When we made eye contact I saw his brow furrow. By the redness of his face I could tell he'd definitely been yelling.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked angrily.

"Because I didn't think I had to!" I responded, even though I knew it was lie.

"Did either of you think to look into this? Do you know what kind of trouble you could've caused if something were to happen?" He shook his head in disbelief and motioned to both of us with open arms. "You of all people should know what happens when we break the rules. Was getting kicked off the team not good enough for you?"

While his anger was justified I felt like his comment was not. Out of spite, I rolled my eyes, letting out a loud groan as I raked my hands through my hair. It was one thing to get in trouble for doing the wrong thing, but to be openly ridiculed by my own friend wasn't.

"Isla." Reid reached out to me, placing his hand gently on my shoulder. "He didn't mean it."

"He obviously did," I retorted. I pushed away Reid's hand, taking a step towards Hotch aggressively. "Listen Aaron, I know I'm not the most responsible person on the planet, but give me a break, okay?"

He scoffed. "Give you a break? Seriously?"

"Yeah," I nodded matter of factly.

"How am I supposed to give you a break when you can't even be honest with me?"

I threw my head back, letting out another groan.

"Maybe we should talk about this another time," Reid suggested.

"No." I shot him an angry look before glancing back over at Hotch. "Look, I know you're pissed off about the lack of protocol, but you and I both know we didn't do it on purpose."

Hotch raised his brow.

"Being pregnant doesn't always result in a baby, Hotch. I know you already know that, but right now I can't stop thinking about it." I frowned, placing my hand on my stomach. Ever since Reid brought up the topic of miscarriages I couldn't stop my mind from wondering if it was going to happen to me. This baby, despite barely being alive, meant more to me than anything on the planet and to think about it being taken away was fear inducing.

"Isla..." Hotch's face softened, his tone relaxing as he took a step forward and reached out to me.

"I'm sorry we didn't say anything." I swallowed hard, trying to hold back the sudden urge to cry. "Everything's been happening so fast a-and I just-"

"It's fine, forget it." Hotch pulled me into his arms, giving me a tight squeeze as both of us looked at Reid who looked somewhat nervous.

I sniffed loudly, moving my hands to the base of his back. I couldn't remember the last time I'd received a hug from Hotch, so it felt really weird.

"I know we're in the middle of a case," Hotch pulled away slightly, "but I think it's probably a good idea for you to take some time away for a bit. We'll discuss this later."

While Reid and I weren't necessarily on board with the idea of stepping away, Hotch eventually convinced us to head to the hotel. The whole way there we sat in silence, Reid maneuvering through traffic while I leaned my head against the cool glass. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. While part of me was glad that everything was out in the open I still couldn't help, but wonder if my sudden outburst had affected things. Reid looked visibly distressed after my comment, which made me curious if he felt the same way.

When we got to our room we collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily as we stared at each other tiredly.

"Can we talk about what happened?" I asked.

He nodded his head, inching towards my side, which he immediately started rubbing.

"I'm really scared," I admitted.

"Me too."

I moved my hand to his face, cupping the edge as I ran my thumb along his cheek. "When you mentioned the whole miscarriage thing I kinda freaked out." I let out a nervous sigh and closed my eyes. "I know it's one of those things we just have to be aware of, but every time I think about it I get really scared and I-I don't..." At that point I just started crying, causing Reid to pull me into his chest and kiss my face.

"I love you so much." He peppered my forehead with kisses, tightening his grip around my torso.

"What if we lose it? I don't wanna lose it, Spencer." I nuzzled my face into his chest, gripping the back of his shirt.

He let out a heavy sigh, pulling my face up to his. When we made eye contact I could see how uncomfortable he was. "I know it'd probably make you feel better if I lie, but I can't do that to you. I can't give you false hope."

I nodded my head, holding back a small sob.

"What I can tell you is that I love you and I'll always be here for you." He moved his hands to my face, cupping my chin lightly as pulled me in for a kiss.

At that point, despite still feeling anxious, I knew that it'd be okay. Reid was right. Lying to ourselves would only make things worse. We had to be realistic. Things like this happened all the time to women like me and they'd made it through. Sure, it'd be tough, but with him around I knew we'd be fine.

Not long after that I ended up falling sleep. Thanks to the amount of stress I'd been under I figured my body needed it so when I first felt tired I just let it happen. As I did, Reid hugged me tightly, pushing the hem of my shirt upwards so that he could gently massage my back. After that I was out and when I woke up he was surprisingly still there, his head resting against my chest. I smiled down at him, running my fingers through his wild hair as I closed my eyes again. As much as I wanted to get back in action and help the team, I wanted this more. Reid rarely took the time to relax so when he did the moments always felt special.

When my back starting cramping up I finally gave in, cringing at the pain as I slowly slid out from underneath him. Unfortunately when I did, he woke up. I closed my eyes and froze in place, feeling my back ache intensely as he stirred against me, eventually moving to sit upwards. "What time is it?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned, glancing over at me, who was halfway out of the bed.

"It's uh," I pulled my phone from my pocket, "oh shit, it's nearly eight."

Reid quickly hopped out of bed to pull out his own phone. Without a second thought he made a call, putting the device to his ear as he wandered towards the door. "Hotch? Sorry, Isla and I fell asleep."

As he spoke I moved off the bed, groaning in pain as I walked over to the small kitchenette to grab a bottle of water. When I came back, I twisted it open and downed about half of it, feeling the cool liquid trail down my dry throat. Reid was right, I should probably hydrate more.

"They can't find Sam," Reid sighed.

I raised my brow in his direction, watching as he ran his hands through his hair and gave me a sad look. "He wasn't at the house?"

He shook his head.

"Well, shit." I took another sip and shook my head.

"Hotch says we're allowed to sit this one out given the circumstances," his voice trailed off, but I could tell he still had other things he wanted to say.

"But...?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets and avoided eye contact. At that point I knew he wanted to go. Reid was never the type to sit out when he was needed, so the fact he felt this way now wasn't surprising.

I rolled my eyes, holding back a smile as I made my way over to him. I gripped the end of his tie with my free hand, thumbing the fabric as I pulled him in for a quick kiss and pushed him away. "Go."

"I can't just leave you here," he retorted.

"You can actually," I responded. I gave his chest another light push, causing him to back step towards the door.

He stood there for a couple of moments, staring back in confusion as I took another sip of water and smiled at him. His hair was still a mess given the fact that he'd just woken up, while the collar of his shirt was turned upwards. I chuckled at the sight and walked over, tossing my water bottle onto the bed before reaching over to adjust his shirt. As I did, he smiled down at me, placing his hands on my arms as he let out a deep sigh. For some odd reason the sound sent a shiver up my spine, causing me to bite my lip and look back up at him. The way he looked back at me sent my heart into a tizzy. It was weird how even during small moments like this he was still the most beautiful person in the world.

"Are you sure?" He eventually asked.

"Yes," I laughed and shooed him away as I shook my head. "The team needs you. I'll be fine."

"If you need anything call, okay?"

"I promise."

He hesitated for a couple of second as his eyes trailed the length of my body before eventually returning to my face. When they did, he gave me an apologetic smile before opening the door.

"Be safe," I said.

He leaned his head against the doorway, his body halfway into the hall as he gave me my favourite tight lipped smile and nodded. "I will."

After Reid left I called Issac. Even though I'd been avoiding him for the last couple of weeks I knew now was probably a good time to come clean. With the rest of the team now in the the loop it only made sense to tell him too. He'd find out eventually, given the fact that news traveled fast; that is, unless he already knew. I wouldn't put it past Maggie if she told him.

As the phone rang I paced around the room, biting my thumbnail. At this point I wasn't necessarily nervous about telling him, but more so scared of what his reaction would be. Issac wasn't necessarily a spiteful person, but he definitely had his issues. He didn't like being lied to, which was understandable and had a habit of holding things above your head.

When he picked up the phone I felt my heartbeat quicken. The last time we talked I yelled at him, which I knew was bound of cause problems between us. I never yelled at him. At least not for anything serious.

"Hi Issac." I stopped pacing and made my way to the bed. Slowly, I sat on the edge and leaned back, closing my eyes once the back of my head hit the mattress.

"Hi." His tone was flat and dull and almost immediately my suspicions that he was mad were confirmed.

"How are you?"

"Fine."

I pressed my lips together tightly, holding in a sigh. As justifiable as his actions were I was still annoyed. He was my brother after all and while things between us got difficult sometimes deep down I wished he wasn't so sensitive. Issac, despite him claiming otherwise, took a lot of things to heart and like Reid he was really good at holding grudges. One example of this was back in high school when I accidentally let it slip that he'd snuck out to some party. The reprimanding that he received was honestly pretty brutal and I remember for weeks on end he refused to talk to me. It was frustrating, to say the least, and even though he knew he was being dramatic he still did it.

"Look I know you're mad at me, but can you just drop the woe is me act for a couple of minutes so we can talk like actual adults?" I knew how harsh I sounded, but frankly I didn't care. After the day I'd had I was completely over it.

"Oh fuck off," Issac scoffed angrily.

"No, you fuck off! Here I am trying to call you to talk and you're acting like some pissed off preteen!"

"Isla, the whole family has been trying to contact you for weeks. You haven't returned any of our calls or texts and then out of the blue you call Maggie? What the fuck is that about?"

I narrowed my eyes and sat up. Did she seriously not tell him?

"What the fuck is up with you?" Issac asked.

"Maggie didn't say anything?" I wasn't sure why I thought she did. Maybe it was because of how close they were or how we both knew how Issac would react. Either way, the fact that she didn't actually surprised me.

"No."

I moved towards the centre of the bed, pulling my legs in so they were crossed. "Can I tell you something?"

"Oh, my fucking god," Issac moaned.

I rolled my eyes. "Please stop."

"Isla, what the fuck is going on? Are you dying or something? If you are please just tell me so I can tell mom and dad so they stop calling me every three seconds to see if you're okay."

For some odd reason that made me laugh. I brought my hand to my face and rubbed my temples in frustration. "I'm not dying, asshole."

"Then what?"

"I'm having a baby." The second the words came out I felt relieved, like a snap of tension occurred within my chest and I could finally breathe again. Until now, I hadn't realized how difficult it was for me to keep a secret, which was funny to think about given my previous professions.

For the first time ever Issac was speechless. At first I honestly thought he'd hung up on me or something, but eventually I heard his breathing change, signalling that he hadn't. "You're..."

"Yeah." I bit my lip and nodded.

"I'm gonna be an uncle?" His voice cracked as he spoke, which made me realize he might be crying.

"Issac, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

He sniffed loudly. "No, no, it's okay. It's fine. I'm sorry I yelled at you." A small chuckle escaped his lips, which caused me to smile. "Holy shit."

"Holy shit," I repeated with a sigh.

"You're gonna be a mom."

"You're gonna be an uncle," I retorted.

"Oh god, what the fuck do we do?" He was laughing now, sniffing in between chuckles.

"I honestly have no idea, man." It was kind of nice having someone else who felt equally as clueless as me. As much as I appreciated Reid's confidence about the situation sometimes I couldn't help, but feel inferior to him. He was the smartest person I knew and while it was obvious that having a brain wasn't the only way to raise a baby, I still felt kind of stupid in comparison.

"It's Spencer's right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Thank god." He let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried I was going to have to kick some dude's ass."

"You're not gonna kick Spencer's?" I joked.

"I didn't say that," he responded.

I held back a smile and moved to lay down. The second my head hit the pillow I closed my eyes, feeling weirdly relaxed. The last few days had been pretty stressful so to get even a moment of peace was appreciated.

"When are you gonna tell mom and dad?"

"No idea." I shrugged. Out of everyone they were the ones that terrified me the most. While both of them were pretty chill when it came to how Issac and I lived our lives I knew the topic of significant others was a bit of a sore spot. After Issac had his divorce I remember the two of them becoming a bit more wary of the people we brought home. It was understandable, honestly, and while most of the time they hid it pretty well, both Issac and I knew how judgemental they could be behind closed doors.

"It's probably a good idea to do it soon," he suggested.

I let out a sigh, knowing he was right. It was bad enough I wasn't talking to them normally. Our family was close and the fact that I was distancing myself was a clear indication of my fear of what they might think. I knew deep down they'd be happy for me, even if the circumstances were a little unconventional, but that still didn't stop my nerves from acting out.

"I'm in Jacksonville on a case right now, but when I get back we should all do dinner?" I suggested.

"You're on a case?" Issac asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah." I gave him a nervous chuckle and ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm just here as a consultant."

"You're not in the field?"

"Not technically. Mostly I'm just here to help with research and questioning," I responded.

"So you're not in danger or anything?" The concern in his voice was strange.

"Nah."

"Good, because if anything happens to my nephew you're dead," he threatened jokingly.

"I like how you assume it's a boy."

"You and I both know that's what you want." As wild as it sounded, he was right. Either way I'd be happy, but deep down if I ever had kids I always wanted a boy. I felt like I could relate to them better. I wasn't good at dealing with the trivial things that girls often dealt with growing up, so secretly I was praying I didn't have one.

"Well, we still have at least a couple of weeks to find out," I sighed.

"So how far along are you?"

"Six weeks. Give or take a few days."

"Jesus."

Issac and I talked a little bit longer and the whole time I couldn't stop smiling. It was nice knowing I had my brother to talk to again. Until now I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him.

As we spoke the conversation eventually fell to mom and dad again. Like I suggested, Issac offered to plan a dinner for next weekend at his place. As nervous as I still felt I said yes right away, knowing the conversation would have to happen eventually.

"I'll call you when we get back into town and we'll talk more, okay?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay." Another sigh of relief escaped my lips as I sat up. At this point I could feel my stomach hurting again, except this time it was out of hunger. I placed my hand against it, and moved off of the bed. "I'm gonna go and get something to eat. Talk soon?"

"For sure," Issac responded. I said a quick goodbye, but before I hung up the phone I heard him mumble something.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes curiously, trying to make out the words.

He let out a grumpy sigh. "I love you, whore."

I laughed hysterically, still clutching my stomach as I bent over. I wasn't sure why it was so funny to me, but for some reason I couldn't stop. On the other end I could hear Issac laughing too and at one point he started snorting; something he rarely did. When it happened I started laughing harder, moving the phone away from my ear so I could cover my mouth with the crook of my elbow to calm myself down. "I... oh, my god, you fucking snorted."

"Shut the fuck up," Issac laughed.

I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat, feeling the breathlessness of my chest slowly begin to subside as I tried to calm down. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time so it felt kind of good to just let it all out.

When I'd managed to gain my breath I stood upright. "I love you too."

"Take care of yourself, alright? Now that my nephew's in there I'm not fucking around."

I rolled my eyes. "Again, could be a girl," I corrected.

"Whatever. Just don't pull any dumb shit while you're out there, okay?"

"Fine, but only because you said so." I smirked.