the call 2: electric boogaloo

"Alright, spill the beans, pretty lady. You have definitely been romanced to death recently, so give us the details."


Right now, I was in the middle of a Girls Night gossip session with JJ and Penelope. We all had wine in our systems and were catching up after not seeing each other for almost five weeks.


"Well, romance has been more on the back-burner, but we did have a date night a while ago."


They both looked at me with grins on their faces, eager for me to continue.


"I managed to pawn Delilah off to my dad. We went out to dinner, had a lovely time, and then hung out back at home."


"I refuse to believe you just 'hung out' at home," Penelope scoffed. "Give me the dirty details."


"We, um, did some adult activities for a while?"


"How long is a while?" JJ smirked.


"Uh... about an hour and a half," I muttered as I took a big sip of my wine. Both ladies laughed, Penelope slapping my arm.


"No way!"


"And like 15 more minutes in the shower the next morning."


"Ariel!"


We were all in a fit of giggles for the rest of the night. It was nice to unwind with my friends every once in a while. A big chunk of our time was spent working cases together and it's always nice to leave the serial killer talk alone.


At around midnight, we started to make our way home. JJ was practically carried out by Will when he showed up and Penelope was passed out in her bed by the time Spencer came to get me.


He was in his pajamas and a hoodie, our daughter passed out in the back seat. "I didn't want to leave her alone. How was girl's night?"


"It was good. It sucked that Emily and Tara couldn't make it, but it was still fun. And I promise, I didn't drink too much."


He chuckled, placing a hand on my thigh. The rest of the ride home was quiet, considering I was on the brink of sleep.


We pulled into the driveway and I dragged myself to my bedroom, Spencer placing Delilah into her own bed. He then followed me to bed, laying next to me and pulling me into his arms. Before I drifted off, I heard him whisper something.


"Thank you for everything you've done for us. I appreciate you and love you so damn much, baby."


He placed a kiss to my temple and I felt a smile creep onto my face. Pretty soon, I was asleep, dreaming of the beautiful boy sleeping next to me.


It was a couple days later when I got the call. Delilah was taking a nap and Spencer was filling out some paperwork.


"Hello?"


"Agent Reid, this is Agent Lawrence with the Bureau. How are you doing today?"


I knew Agent Lawrence was with the higher ups, so receiving a call from him was odd to say the least.


"Oh, I'm doing well, sir. What can I do for you?"


"I was just calling to see if we could schedule a meeting soon. We are going through the reinstatement process with your husband and would appreciate your input before we make a decision. Does tomorrow work for you?"


I froze up, taking a moment before stuttering out an answer.


"Uh ye-yeah. Tomorrow works fine."


"Great. I'm glad to hear what you have to say. Take care, Agent Reid."


"Thank you sir."


After I hung up the phone, my hands started to shake. It was like I was experiencing that fateful call from months ago all over again.


"Who was that?" Spencer asked, not looking up from his work.


The words were stuck in my throat and I could feel my breathing start to pick up.


When I didn't respond, he took his eyes off of his work and switched his gaze towards me. He was at my side in an instant, grabbing onto my hand.


"Hey, what's up? Can you breathe with me?"


I tried to match his breathing, but it was getting harder and harder. I didn't expect such a harmless call to effect me so much, but it did.


"Th-they want me to come in tomorrow for a meeting about you."


"Okay. Why are you worried?"


"Because I don't want to say something that screws you over. I don't want to ruin everything."


He let out a sigh and pulled me into his chest as I let out a sob. We both knew that my reaction was not just because I'm worried about a meeting. I had been trying to stay strong for my family and haven't been able to process my emotions.


"Baby, nothing you could say would hurt me. I'm gonna be okay."


"I don't want to let you down. I feel like I already have."


He placed a kiss on my temple and continued to try and calm me down. As my breathing slowed down a bit, he continued to speak.


"You have not let me down. I made a decision and that's why what happened to me happened. And when that happened, you stepped up and worried about everyone else but yourself. You haven't been able to decompress and that's on me. You've been there for me so much and I need to return that favor. Just let it out, baby."


I tightened my grip on his shirt, trying to bury myself even further into his chest. It felt good to let it all out and he always made me feel safe. I calmed down a bit more after a while.


"Mom, are you okay?" I pulled out of Spencer's grip slightly and met the concerned gaze of my daughter. I wiped some of the tears from my face before I spoke.


"I'm okay, sweetie. Just needed a good cry."


She walked over to us and joined our hug. It felt good to know that even when I felt like I was at my lowest, my family would always be there for me.


So when I walked into the office the next day for my meeting, I felt confident.


"Agent Reid! Please, have a seat."


I nodded and sat across from Agent Lawrence. He had a pen and paper at the ready, hopefully to write good things.


"So, how has your break been going?"


"It's been good. We definitely needed it after the crazy months we've went through."


"Good. Now, let's get to the reason we're here."


I subconsciously started to trace my fingers against my arm, gliding over my tattoo.


"Now I want you to be honest with me. Is Spencer ready to be back with the BAU?"


I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts before I spoke.


"I know you're all worried about him working again, and I was too. But I've seen him grow over these last 5 weeks. He has his moments, but he's strong. Once he starts a case, he's at 100 percent and will get the job done."


Lawrence wrote something down before looking up at me.


"It seems like you believe in him, and that means a lot. You two are some of the finest agents we've ever seen."


"Sir, can I be just a bit more honest with you?"


I should've stopped talking, but I had to get this off my chest. He nodded, waiting for me to continue.


"I was hesitant about letting him go through the reinstatement process. I was even contemplating not coming back. I love this job, we both do. We've given up so much to do it with the feeling that the job would love us back. And when we needed help from the FBI the most, you abandoned us. We suffered for three months and only got better because we had to do all the dirty work on our own. But we both love what we do and wouldn't dream of doing something else. I'd say the FBI is pretty damn lucky that we want to stay. So I'm sorry if I crossed the line, but I just had to get that off of my chest."


His face remained expressionless and I was worried that I just screwed us over. After a moment, he spoke up.


"What happened to you and your family was horrible. If I could go back in time, I would do it all differently and try to help Spencer out as much as we could. You two have done so much for the bureau and we want keep you for as long as we can. I'm glad you told me this. If there is anything else we can do for your family, please let us know. Thank you for meeting me today."


"Thank you, sir."


Once I left the building and made it to my car, I let out the deep breath I was holding in. It felt good to know that what I said didn't screw Spencer over, but instead helped his case.


Once I got home, Spencer jumped out of his seat. "How'd it go?"


I placed my purse down and wrapped my arms around his neck, his hands immediately going to my waist.


"I think you may be getting your job back."


He picked me up and spun me around, a giggle escaping my lips. He set me down and gave me a quick, but passionate kiss.


"But it's not official, don't thank me too much just yet."


"So? You seem happy, so I'm happy."


He gave me another kiss before starting to drag me into the bedroom.


"Delilah is at her friends house for a few more hours. You want to take the time to celebrate?"


I gave him another kiss before sliding my hands under his shirt.


"Take it away, doctor."


I had to throw in a little girls night fun in there. The next chapter is the last one before the epilogue. Thank you guys for reading along, I really appreciate it <3

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