epilogue

"I gotta ask. It's Friday night, why are you doing homework?"


"I like getting it out of the way. Why put it off when I could get it over with?"


"I used to wait until Sunday night to do my homework. Thankfully, you take after your father."


Delilah was now almost eleven years old and she keeps getting smarter and smarter each day.


It's been about five years since Spencer's arrest. Things were going pretty well in the Reid household.


After a few kidnappings and hostage situations, a temporary job replacement, a crazy confession, and a serious brain injury, Spencer decided to leave the BAU and commit to teaching. I still stayed with the team. It was a little hard adjusting to Spencer not being there with me, but I still loved my job.


The nightmares and breakdowns had lessened and Spencer seemed happy. He loved being home more often. His incarceration and the events that followed showed him that there will always be work and he wanted to be with his family more.


"Speaking of dad, can we go bug him?"


"Sure. I think he's with Ethan."


We made our way up to my bedroom to find Spencer asleep with Ethan next to him.


Oh yeah, we had another kid. Ethan is about one and a half now and he's already a genius, which doesn't surprise me. Our friends were all excited about our new addition, Penelope over the moon that this baby genius was her godson.


"Be careful. Your brother has an ear infection."


Delilah made her way on the bed snuggled up to the available side of Spencer. He started to stir, his arms tightening around both kids.


"Hey Dee. You finish your homework?"


"Yeah. Mom made fun of me for doing it on a Friday night, though."


"I did not make fun of you!"


"It's okay, Dee. Your mom is just jealous she didn't have your work ethic when she was in school."


I laughed and joined them on the bed. I tried my best to maneuver Ethan without waking him up.


"How's he doing?"


"I think his fever has gone down a bit. He still seems a bit miserable, but he got some good sleep."


I moved the hair out of his face as he continued to sleep on my chest, his hand grabbing a tiny fistful of my shirt.


He looked just like Spencer, it was adorable.


Delilah reached over and started to gently rub her brother's back. She loved having him around. She was always ready to help out when he was a baby and loved holding him. Whenever we have movie nights, those two are always curled up with one another. They're practically inseparable.


"If Ethan is feeling better later, can we have a movie night?"


"Sure thing."


We stayed curled up together for a while longer. Delilah started to fall asleep, one hand on her brother's back and the other holding Spence's arm.


"I got a call today," Spencer spoke softly, breaking the silence.


"They finally put her headstone in. I was hoping we could visit her tomorrow."


About 2 months ago, Diana passed away. Spencer was by her side, holding her hand while she died. She had a moment of clarity before she passed, remembering who Spencer was and getting to tell him she loved him before she died later that night.


He was heartbroken. She was all he had for a large part of his life and it was hard to see her go. Spencer had a few breakdowns, but we were there for him every step of the way.


Many of our teammates from over the years came to the funeral, giving us all a chance to catch up. Even though it was under harsh circumstances, I could tell spending time with his friends had cheered him up.


"That sounds good. We can even get some flowers to put there."


He nodded, giving the kids each a kiss on the head.


Ethan started to stir next to us, mumbling and groaning.


"Hey buddy, how you feeling?"


He responded by burying himself deeper into my embrace. I chuckled, placing a kiss on his forehead.


Ethan was the more shy and quiet one out of the two Reid kids. We discovered that he has some trouble communicating with others, but he's still a very intelligent kid. He's weary of new people, but once he gets to know you he will not let you go. He's a hugger with a big heart.


"You wanna have a movie night? We'll even let you pick."


He picked his head up and nodded, a smile creeping on his face.


After a while, we migrated to the living room. We were all cuddled up together on the couch, blankets draped across us and the opening of Finding Nemo playing on the tv.


During the movie, I snuck a glance at Spencer. He was less interested in the movie and more interested in the two kids nestled against him. He had a smile on his face as he watched their reactions to the film.


I also snuck a glance at the newly healed tattoo on his arm. It was his mom's favorite quote from a book she used to read him all the time as a kid. My love for tattoos had rubbed off on Spencer.


After Ethan came, I got his name on my arm right under his sister's. Spencer had both kid's names on his chest, right where his heart was. He told me he wanted to get one for me, but he didn't know what to get. He said he wanted it to be perfect and was putting a lot of thought into it.


Once the movie ended, we took both kids up to bed, giving them a kiss goodnight before heading to our own room.


When I walked in, he had one of my records playing on the Victrola. "Spence, what's this?"


"I want to end my evening dancing with my gorgeous wife."


"I'm pretty sure I have Ethan's snot on my shirt."


"Yet you still look breathtaking."


I laughed and joined him in the center of the room. He placed his hands around my waist as I wrapped mine around his neck. We slowly swayed as the sounds of George Ezra filled the room, an artist I loved which I then got Spencer hooked on.


"Do you know how much I love you?" he whispered in my ear.


"It's not like you tell me every single day."


He chuckled, pulling me slightly closer.


"A lot of people have left me throughout my life. I've been through so much and I always worried that I'd have to go through it alone. But then you came along. I remember you were so nervous on your first day when you told me you read my journals and essays and told me you were a fan. I didn't know back then that you would become one of the things that keeps me alive and happy. I know things with me have been rough. For Christ sake I went to prison for three months and you still wanted to put up with me. But as long as I can hold you at the end of every day like this, well I could die a happy man."


There were tears in both of our eyes. We both met with a kiss, the passion and love thag we couldn't put into words still being shared. When I pulled away, I buried my head into the crook of his neck, placing a light kiss there.


"I love you so much, Spence."


"I love you too, Ariel. Forever and Always."


We stayed in each others embrace until the lyrics of the song faded out.


I've got time, I've got love


Got confidence you'll rise above


Give me a minute to hold my girl


Give me a minute to hold my girl


I realized in that moment why Spencer loved this song so much. No matter how hectic life got or how broken we felt, the other would be there to hold us tightly and make us feel safe and loved.


Spencer and I would definitely hold each other for the rest of our lives


That's a wrap! Thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it. Right now, I'm working on a prequel to this story which will take place during season 8. So if you liked this one, stay tuned for that story. So thank you again for sticking around, I'll catch you in the next one! <3

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