F I F T Y

SPENCER AND SCOUT glanced at each other as the car's engine turned off.

The couple were in complete bliss. They had spent the last few days together in the doctor's apartment without any distractions with the outside world, and only preoccupied their time with each other. Hours were spent in bed, cuddling and discussing the future, along with cleaning the apartment to make space for the little baby.

Spencer was not lying when he said that he liked being prepared.

And thankfully, the BAU team hadn't been called into the office for the weekend so any news of the new engagement hadn't reached their ears. But when Garcia has mentioned going out for dinner on Sunday night, every single member had jumped on board.

Scout concluded that the timing was perfect to make the announcement.

"You ready?" She sent her fiancé a small smile and squeezing his hand gently.

Spencer nodded, brushing his hair back, "Why wouldn't I be? I mean - this is everything I could've ever dreamed off. You, the baby, we're going to get married. I couldn't think of a better life."

"I'm taking about telling the team, Genius."

"Oh. Yeah. That too."

She shook her head and chuckled, making a beeline towards the restaurant door with Spencer trailing behind. A small lump formed in her throat but she ignored it. Of course, the fact was that telling the BAU only made it all more real and while she rarely feared anything, Scout knew that change was the most terrifying experience she could ever encounter.

Spencer placed a small peck on the top of her head as they found the correct table and their friends had begun to call them over.

"It's about time," Rossi stood up and pulled out a chair for Scout. "We were about to start without you any second now."

Garcia swatted him with the menu, "He's only joking."

"Well, I'm glad we didn't come a second later."

Scout turned towards the muscular, dark skinned man. He looked good and not like he had gotten into a fight with a trained assassin only a few days ago.

"How are you feeling, Morgan?"

"Better. A bit sore but it'll take a lot more for someone to take me down." He teased, wiggling his eyebrow and flexing his arms to show off.

Spencer scoffed, "Or so he says."

"What did you say, Pretty Boy?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just stating facts. You know, the usual."

Morgan bunched up his napkin into a little ball and threw it at the doctor, hitting him right on the mouth.

"J - JJ? Did you just see that? Aren't you going to say anything?"

The blonde, who was too busy looking through the menu, didn't even bother to look at the two fighting males. Her eyes simply glided from page to page.

"I should've told the waiter that we needed two kids meals earlier."

Spencer scowled before signaling towards the brunette next to him to say something.

She cocked a brow with a shrug, "What do you want me to say, Spence? I'm not going against anything JJ says."

"Okay, okay," Hotch interrupted. "Let's calm down, you two. I've already ordered a round of saki for each of us so don't make me regret it."

Scout inwardly gulped as her eyes made contact with JJ's.

'Right,' she thought silently. 'I forgot I told her I was pregnant. She probably still thinks that I haven't told Spencer too. Oh, she is going to kill me.'

"Uh Hotch," Scout muttered under her breath, catching the attention of the team's director. "Count me out, no saki for me tonight."

The man raised a brow but silently nodded.

Scout sent her doctor a smile before grabbing at the menu for herself and picking out what she could it.

'It just had to be a sushi place, didn't it? I guess I could eat a cucumber roll or something.'

"Oh my God," Garcia gasped as she stared at her.

And when she realized where the techie's eyes were, Scout mentally wanted to slap herself on the back of her head for being so dumb.

The ring.

She still had the ring on.

Spencer, who watched the scene play out, gave her a small nudge on the shoulder, signaling that it was time to tell their big secret. She bit down on her bottom lip before she nudged him back.

"You guys okay?" Rossi glanced at the pair with concerned yet suspicious eyes.

"Y - yeah!" The brunette responded before she turned back to her fiancé. "Actually, um - everyone. Spencer has something he wanted to say. Go on, Doc."

"Uh right."

Spencer scrambled out of his seat, nervous with all of his friends' eyes on him. He quickly picked up his glass of water and sent a glare towards the girl next to him as he nodded.

"So, Scout and I have a little announcement that we wanted to share with you all. We know it's kind of sudden but we would really love to have your support through this all. That being said, a few nights ago I asked Scout to marry me."

There was a pause as Spencer looked at the group.

"And she said yes."

Garcia and JJ immediately ruptured into screams and cheers, standing up to give the newly engaged couple hugs and kisses. Morgan grabbed his friend by the shoulders, pulling him down to give him a noogie while Rossi and Hotch looked like two proud fathers, smiling at their children.

"And there's one other thing." Scout gave a shy smile once they calmed down over the news.

She zipped down the hoodie she was wearing, revealing the tight fitting shirt she wore underneath that prominently displayed the small bump that her stomach was starting to form.

"I'm pregnant."

"I think I'm going to faint," Garcia gasped out, pulling the small woman into another hug.

"Mia figlia!"

Rossi raised his arms out, placing two big kisses on both of Scout's cheeks before turning to Spencer and doing the same.

"È un miracolo! Sta arrivando un bambino!"

"Congratulations Reid, Wiley." Hotch respectively nodded towards his two teammates.

"No need to be so cold, Aaron." Scout teased, knowing how uptight he could be.

"Not at all," He shook his head and said with a sigh, "Just thinking of all the paperwork I'm going to have to do."

Morgan rolled his eyes, "Trust me, he's ecstatic! Hotch is practically screaming inside."

"Good screams or bad screams?"

"Screams none the less." JJ patted the doctor's shoulders.

As the BAU sat back down after the joyous news and began to order their food, a nice chatters began between its members as they discussed. Whatever nerves Scout and Spencer once had were washed away. Their engagement and the baby were welcomed with open arms. It was more than what they could've ever asked.

It wasn't like they were teenagers or too irresponsible to take care of a baby. In fact, they were the right age and they had the funds. But the thought of not being accepted by the people they cared about most would've been heartbreaking.

And the BAU knew that with parents like Scout and Spencer, the baby would be in good hands.

"What about sex?" Morgan asked Scout about the baby.

"Well, it might get complicated. We work together and I'm pregnant with your best friend's baby, but hey, maybe you're into that."

He rolled his eyes, "I meant the gender of the baby."

"Heh, nice cover."

"Actually," Spencer grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Scout thinks that it's a boy."

"Have you gone to the hospital yet to check?"

"Yeah. The baby's healthy with ten fingers and ten toes but we decided to not know the gender yet. But hey, if Scout says it's a boy then -"

"Tip number one, Spence. Never argue with a pregnant woman. It just might be the last thing you do." JJ lifted her drink to take a sip.

"Cheers to that." Garcia lifted her glass.

"Oh c'mon! I'm not that scary! Besides, we've dealt with scarier thing, right? I mean, FBI? Remember guys? How many bad guys are locked up cause of us?"

Hotch huffed, "I've lost count over the years."

"Well, Rossi practically founded the BAU." Spencer added, struggling with his chopsticks to pick up his sushi.

With a roll of her eyes and a smile, Scout grabbed his sticks and tied her hairband around the end, making it easier for him to pick up his food. The doctor gave a silent nod, signaling his thanks.

Scout turned back to the old Italian, "I didn't know that. When was this?"

"Ahh, back in the 70's. It was a long time ago. Besides, I only played a part in the founding of the BAU. It was back when the FBI couldn't handle all the really crazies out there."

Garcia scrunched her eyebrow in concern, "Wait. Were the crazies back then crazier than they are now or are the current crazies even crazier?"

"Depends on who you ask, Baby Girl."

"Well, that doesn't help my conscience much, now does it?"

JJ chuckled, "We've all got those cases that really stump us. And I'm not talking about the really messed up ones. I'm talking about those cases that make do a double take and wonder what the hell is wrong with some people?"

"I hear that," The short brunette inwardly shivered. "I remember my first case when we were in Indiana and that guy was obsessed with that short story and I got shot."

"Yeah, kid. Most agent's first cases don't end up with a bullet inside 'em, I'll give you that."

"I don't know if you remember this case. I know Scout, you weren't around yet, but this teenage girl," JJ leaned on her elbows. "Sera Morrison, she killed her mother and a year later, she kills little sister and tries blaming it on her father."

Morgan shook his head, "I remember that one."

"A few years back," The unit chief recalled. "We dealt with a case where a family consisting of two parents and their son broke into a home, killed the parents and kidnap their daughter. It turned out that it was a part of some cult where they would marry the two kids against their will. And it's still going on all around the world."

"And here I thought I've seen it all."

Garcia groaned, "Makes you feel like all the work we've been doing doesn't help much."

"It's always better than not doing anything at all."

There was a pause of silence between the team as they mulled over the cases they had worked on throughout the years. Scout, who felt a bit guilty that the conversation turned sour, brought back the attention towards Rossi.

"So, what's your conclusion? Since your the expert here, what do you think? Are the criminals crazier now or back then?"

Rossi smacked his tongue against the hood of his mouth, making a clicking sound.

"Well, I'll tell you this. I worked on a case back in my early days that we never were able to close and just went cold over the years."

The BAU team listened intently, knowing that whatever case the older man spoke was going to be good. He always had a flare for storytelling.

"There were these three kids, a girl and two boys, all siblings and they would go around being a kind of vigilante to their city and killing all the injustice they saw. From what we assumed, there was an altercation between the three and they turned on each other just as we were closing in on them. When my team arrived on the scene, the two boys had guns pointed at each other and the girl was hiding behind one."

"I tried to calm them down and reason with them but it was too late. One of the boys tried to shoot me but I shot him first and because of the recoil, he pulled the trigger and killed the girl. The boys scrambled out and escaped before we could even react."

Spencer's mouth turned to a frown, "And the girl?"

"We could never I.D. her. According to the government database, she never existed. No prints, no dental, no nothing."

"And the boys?" Garcia gasped, practically sitting on the edge of her seat.

"Gone without a trace. Chances are that they weren't in any database either."

There was another lull of silence.

Scout looked around at her teammates, a sudden sense of overwhelming pride for her friends.

"This job has really messed us up, hasn't it?"

A smile tugged at JJ's lip as Morgan chuckled, "You can say that again."

The team softly laughed at the irony of their occupation until the tense air subsided and was replaced with new conversation on lighter topics. They deal with criminals practically every day.

But this night belonged to the BAU, and no one else.

"I'll pick you up in an hour, okay?" Spencer gave his fiancé a quick kiss from the window of his car, dropping her off at her home.

"Okay, Doc. No need to rush, I'll just be grabbing a few clothes and checking up on Sumo. My mom should be asleep by now."

The couple said their quick goodbyes before Spencer drove away and Scout quietly ducked inside the dark house.

She wasn't wrong. It was was rather late into the night as the team had spend many hours at the sushi restaurant eating and talking. And the couple would've gone straight back to the apartment if only Hotch hadn't gotten a call as they left that invited the BAU to another case.

Not wanting to bother with doing laundry at 1 in the morning when they had to be up by 6 AM, Scout insisted that she pick up some clothes from home while Spencer finished up some last minute paperwork.

The brunette sighed as she took off her shoes and looked around the silent house.

Spencer was right.

Harper could handle living on her own without her daughter. It could easily be proven by how clean and how organized the space was. It was like Scout hadn't left at all.

She jumped up as an unexpected knock on the front door startled her.

"Did I forget my phone?" Scout mumbled, wondering if Spencer had something he needed to tell her.

But when she opened the door, the smile that had played at her lips fell to a scowl.

"What do you want?"

Xander gave a lopsided smirk, "Do you mind if I come in, Kid?"

"No, not at all. Do you mind if I leave?"

Scout walked away, leaving the door open, signaling that he could follow her but the grumbling under her breath said otherwise.

"What are you doing here, Xander? It's the middle of the night."

He shrugged, "I wanted to check in on my niece. Is that wrong?"

"Oh check in? Is that a synonym for giving me another deadly mission that almost got me caught?"

Xander frowned, following the brunette towards the kitchen, the same place where they had their last argument.

"Mission? What are you going on about, Wiley? I haven't given you another mission since your mother almost threatened me."

"My mom threatened you? Yeah, right." She scoffed, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet and filling them with water.

Her uncle smiled as he realized she had offered him a drink without even knowing. Silently, he took it with a thought of thanks.

"Harper, your mom, she's not like us. She cares too much about people and their feelings."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"What a mean is," Xander rolled his eyes. "Your mom cares about you. Of course, she threatens me, she does it all the time."

"Hold on. Just - rewind and pause. Stop trying to distract me. What do you mean you haven't given me a mission? You texted me a few days ago."

"No, I didn't."

Scout's eyebrow turned to a scowl, "Yes, you did. You sent me to a building to shoot someone one but then the BAU showed up and attacked me. It was like they were practically waiting for me!"

Xander's mouth dropped but he didn't say anything.

"You told me to kill Derek Morgan! I had to tase him just to escape!"

She pulled out her cellphone from her back pocket and handed it to him, showing the texts that came from his own phone. He grabbed the device and looked through the messages, reading each one with a look of confusion and worry.

"Kid, I didn't send these."

"Yes, you did! That's your contact information! That's your number! You sent me on that mission that almost got me caught!"

Xander grabbed his niece by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, trying to calm her down.

"Honey, listen to me. I didn't send these texts. I think - I think my boss must've interspersed my phone. Because I wouldn't have done this, not right now."

Scout crossed her arms over her chest, "You've done it before. What's stopping you now? Just cause I found out that you're my uncle didn't change anything."

"First of all, I've never sent you into a mission where there would even be the slightest of chances that you couldn't handle it. I trained you myself, I know what you can do."

She cocked her brow, "And the second?"

"Second," Xander sighed and pushed his dark blonde hair back. "I wouldn't have sent you on that mission because I know that you're pregnant."

The blood that pumped throughout Scout's body suddenly became cold as she the words leave her uncle's lips. She look at him with shaky eyes and trembling hands.

"Wha -"

Xander grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into him, wrapping his muscular arms around her body into a tight hug. His hand stroked the back of her head, trying to give what little comfort he could to his niece.

"How did you - how did you know?" Scout asked, just below the octave of a whisper.

"It's my job to protect you, Scout. I've got to know everything to keep you safe."

"But - how?"

"The night of your birthday. When you ran out after your mom and I told you that I was your uncle, you threw up in the front lawn. I got worried and I took a sample to analyze it. It was just a precaution but God - thank God that I did."

Scout pulled away slowing, "That's why you stayed away for two months?"

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "I didn't want to add any fuel to the fire so I thought it would've been best for you if I back off."

She scoffed and picked up her glass of water, gulping it down to distract from the new piece of information that she was just given. It was information that changed a lot of things.

"Do my mom -"

"No," Xander shook his head. "I know better than to get between you and your mom."

"And your boss? Does he know?" She swallowed hard.

"That - That I don't know."

Scout nodded, "So then what? Are you trying to turn some new leaf? Trying to be good now?"

"That's for you to decide, Kid." He said with a shrug. "I look after you and your mom. That's what I've been doing for years and I'm not gonna stop now."

"Okay, so now what do we do?"

Xander sighed once more.

"Just - keep your head down, okay? I'll handle my boss and keep him off your back as much as I can. But you've still got to be on your toes. And that means you and your little boyfriend, got it?"

Scout nodded but didn't say anything. Her body still felt like it was numb and cold. The man walked towards the front door of the house as she trailed behind him.

"Good. I'll be checking in on your more often. And Scout?"

"Hm?"

"Congrats on the baby. And the guy. You seem like the right fit for each other."

Scout smiled sadly, "Thanks Xander."

He pressed a quick kiss on her head, something that he had never done before, and sent her a wink.

"See you around, Kid."

Please consider voting/commenting if you like this story and want show your support for more content.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Sorry it took a bit long to update! Votes have been declining each chapter so I just wanted to wait a bit until I posted the next update.

ALSO: I just finished writing the epilogue for Numb and I cried throughout the entire time. Only ten more chapters and then it's over!

a special thanks to readers who comment:
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