F O U R T Y T W O

SPENCER SMILED BRIGHTLY as the front door swung open, revealing the all too familiar boy's face.

"Speck!" The little blonde exclaimed and darted towards his long legs, only slightly throwing himself off balance but a hand grabbed his elbow.

Spencer sent a thankful smile directed to Scout as she watched the situation with a lopsided grin. It was obvious to anyone that his godson was completely enamored by the doctor, and who could blame him? She was certainly in the same boat.

"Henry!"

The door widened and there JJ stood with her hands on her hips and the usual scowl that Scout knew all too well. Biting down on her bottom lip, the brunette shook her head from embarrassment. Of course, JJ just had to use the same tone to scold her toddler as she used on Scout.

"Speck?" She chuckled as she turned back to her partner, a teasing voice already laced through her voice.

"Don't laugh. He's just a kid, he doesn't have the same speech level as - as -"

"Yourself?" Scout cocked her eyebrow.

Spencer sighed in defeat as JJ welcomed them in but not before telling Henry, in a very firm voice, to not open the front door again. The home was typical for the area, that being suburban yet modernly modest for the size of the family. Toys were scattered around the living room and the television was flashing nostalgic images of cartoons.

Henry stared up at Scout with weary eyes that were mixed with confusion. He craned his head to the side in hopes of seeing someone else but pouted when he realized the door was shut.

"He's looking for Garcia. She usually comes with me to babysit him since she's his godmother." Spencer leaned in a whisper.

"And he can say Garcia but not Spencer?"

He pursed his lips, "She got dibs on Pen, so I got stuck with Speck."

"That's absolutely adorable."

"Shut up."

JJ crouched down so that she was eye level with her son and wiped his leaking nostril with her sweater sleeve. The boy was clearly upset with the female replacement as he didn't dare make eye contact with Scout.

"What's wrong, Kiddo?" The blonde asked as she pushed back his long hair from his face.

Henry pouted again, scrunching his eyes together, "I - I want Pen!"

Scout frowned and looked away. She wasn't normally good with young kids, mainly being that they took things too literally and cried a lot. In fact, she would have never accepted Spencer's offer to babysit with him but given the most recent circumstances, she obliged. But the fact that Henry rejected her on the spot, tugged at her heartstrings.

Her stomach churned and her eyes glossed over.

She paid attention to anything else in the room besides the crying toddler, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. Her eyes landed on the stuffed toy that sat on the sofa and a small smile creeped up as she quickly grabbed it.

"What are you -" Spencer scrunched his face in confusion.

"Just - trust me."

Holding on to the stuffed toy, Scout reached into her bag, digging around until her fingers laced themselves on the familiar cold, metal cylinder. She gave JJ a small nod and crouched down next to her, smiling at the boy.

"Henry?" She spoke softly but he clutched onto his mother's arm.

Scout lifted the toy for him to see, "I found your Spider-Man, he's really cool looking. Is he your favorite?"

Henry looked back and forth between JJ and Spencer before he nodded in response.

"He's my favorite too. You see, I really like him because he can shoot webs from his hands and swing across super tall buildings. Do you know how he shoots webs?"

He lifted his hand, putting down his middle and ring finger, shooting directly at her.

"Yeah, that's right. Just like that. But you see, you and me? We can't do it cause we're not Spider-Man but this guy right here," She pointed at the toy. "He can do it. Have you ever seen him shoot webs before?"

Henry shook his head, "N - no."

"You want me to show you?"

He nodded.

"Okay, but you're gonna have to help me. Think you can do that? Good. Now, stick your hand out and pretend like you're going to shoot a web. Spider-Man gets shy sometimes so we're gonna do it together on three. Ready?"

"One. Two. Three!"

Scout, with her left hand, pretended to shoot a web at Henry and he returned the motion. But in her other hand where she held the toy and the cylinder, she raised the toy's arm and released a stream of colored, foam string.

Henry giggled and wiped the silly string away from his face, completely forgetting his tantrum and smiling brightly.

JJ rolled her eyes, not surprised by the youngest member of the team, "You carry silly string in your bag?"

"Yeah," She shrugged, "I would carry pepper spray but I'm too scared I might spray myself on accident."

"SSA agent who?"

Henry grabbed the stuffed Spider-Man from her hands and clutched it closely to his body, like it was his most prized possession. Turning to Spencer, he tugged on the doctor's pant leg and stretched to whisper in his ear.

"Ah," He chuckled, pointing towards her, "Her name's Scout. Think you can say Scout?"

"Cow!" Henry giggled again, "Cow!"

Scout's smile faltered as she heard him speak and watched the toddler grab Spencer by the hand and leading him into the living room to play. Pinching the bridge of her nose, her shoulders slumped over as it donned on her what had occurred.

"Bye Cow!" Spencer waved, teasing her back like she had done to him before, "See you later, Cow!"

The blonde chuckled under her breath, "You know, you kind of deserve that."

"Hey, watch your tone. I'm the one that's looking after your kid tonight. Maybe I won't be so careful and accidentally slip on a Dallas Cowboys winning game. And maybe it'll brainwash him into loving the team and you'll never have a proper mother-son bond over sports."

"You wouldn't dare."

Scout shrugged and pretended to pick at her nails, "Washington Redskins who?"

"Fine," JJ grumbled and grabbed a bottle of wine from her refrigerator and two wine glasses. "If Will's going to be driving then I can, at least, be a little buzzed. That kid has been bouncing off the walls lately and it feels like I'm going crazy."

Scout eyed the glass as the blonde started to pour, feeling the sudden pounding in her chest and churn of her stomach, "I thought you liked being home?"

"I do, it's just - Will and I haven't had much time to ourselves lately. We just want to be by ourselves, you know? Having a kid changes everything, especially for us. The BAU is demanding as is."

JJ placed the full glass in Scout's hand and started to sip on her own, "And to think - Will and I actually talked about having another kid - not even like, three months ago, I think."

"You wanted to get pregnant again?" She raised her brow.

The pit in her stomach was forming deeper and deeper until it felt like it was at the center of Earth's core. Of course, the exact moment that JJ wanted to have another kid would be the same time that Scout herself would get pregnant.

But, that was still a secret.

She bit at her bottom lip as the mother continued to talk but the words would enter one ear and come out the other. Glancing back at Spencer and Henry every few minutes, a small smile tugged at her corners. He looked so comfortable around the young boy, playing and laughing with him.

Spencer picked up the beaded calculator-looking-toy and started to show Henry how to multiply. It was clearly out of the kid's mathematical skills but he still watched the doctor intensely. Maybe Spencer would be like that with their own kid; loving, warm, and patient, all wrapped into one.

Or, what if he didn't want to be a dad just yet?

Scout certainly didn't know if she wanted to be a mom. Sure, the idea was nice in her head but would it actually be possible for the two of them? Would Spencer still want to be with her? Or would he just break it off and diminish his presence to merely child support checks on the doorstep on the first of each month?

Scout swallowed hard. Should she even tell him? Could she just get an abortion and pretend like it never happened? Could she hold that secret with her forever?

A small voice creeped in the back of her head: it's not like your keeping a big secret from him anyways? You're the one shooting at his team. You're the assassin that's pretending to be the good guy. What's one more secret on top of that?

"Scout?" JJ snapped her fingers in front of her face.

She quickly blinked away the straying thoughts and glanced back at the blonde. Her wine glass was empty but Scout hadn't even had a sip of hers. It would look suspicious if she didn't drink - but the fetus - it wouldn't be right, would it?

"Hm?"

"I said, thank god that we didn't get pregnant before we fully thought this out. I mean, we tried. But - nothing happened." She shrugged and started to pour herself another glass, her eyes darted to the full glass and opened her mouth to talk before Scout interrupted.

"How often do you use your vibrator?" She blurted out as a distraction.

"Excuse me?"

Scout rolled her eyes and set the glass down on the counter, "Sorry - how often do you use your battery operated Brad Pitt?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" JJ huffed and took a large gulp of the red juice, showing just how high her tolerance to alcohol was.

"I heard that might be a hinderance. Then again, a Senior told me that during my first week of high school so I don't know if she was telling me the truth."

The blonde chuckled and brought the glass to her lips for another sip but flinched when a sudden shriek erupted from Henry and followed with a fit of giggles. Spencer gave the two women an apologetic smile and tried to calm the boy down a bit.

"Fucking hell -" JJ mumbled under her breath.

Scout shook her head and took the wine out of her hands, setting it on the counter and set on a mission to cheer up her aggravated, tense friend.

"We really gotta get you laid. If I have to plough that furrow myself, then so be it." Sending her lopsided smirk, but only received a quick roll of her eyes.

"Stop that, everyone in the Technology Analysis Unit already thinks we're gay."

Scout pouted but dropped the subject as she looked around the room, "Where's Will, anyways? I thought you had a dinner reservation."

"He's getting dressed. Believe me, that man takes longer to get ready than I do. All I have to do is put on a dress and heels, and I'm out the door. He's the one that has to spend two hours in the bathroom."

JJ lazily picked up Scout's full glass and started to sip without looking. The short brunette bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from saying anything but decided against it. She didn't want to point a huge sign saying: pregnant.

After a couple of large gulps, her eyes widened as she realized what she had done, "Shit."

Yes, shit.

"Sorry, Scout. I didn't mean to take your glass. Here, let me pour you another -"

"No!" She yelled but quickly regained her composure by clearing her throat and sent the mother a weary smile, "I'm fine. I'm a lightweight, really. I should drink anything if I'm going to watch over Henry for the rest of the night."

"But Spencer's -"

"A genius with three doctrines, none of which include child care or a wicked good taste in music like I do. Trust me, if I'm watching Henry then I can guarantee a career as a drummer or lead guitarist."

"Great," JJ sighed and pushed back her hair, "That's just what I needed to hear. My son is going to a garage band kid with an old van and tacky bumper stickers."

"At least he won't be a virgin." Scout chuckled but the damage was done, she knew she was hiding something.

The blonde narrowed her eyes and took a step closer, watching the movement of her friend's face. It helped that studying someone's behavior was a part of her own job.

"Scout, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

The brunette, who once prided herself on her skilled talent of lying, knew that she couldn't keep it up anymore. This secret was too big to keep to herself, too life changing to be never brought up in conversation. Whatever Xander instilled into her as a young girl started to break down and she let her shoulders slump over. Scout took one last glance at Spencer and Henry playing before she furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"I've got this sorta - parasite in me." She whispered in a lowered voice, slyly covering the side of her exposed face with her hair.

JJ tilted her head in confusion, "Like a tapeworm or something? Can you do anything about it?"

"Only for the next month or so. After that it becomes illegal to remove, except in a couple of States." She chuckled under her breath, beating around the bush as she couldn't form the right words in her mouth.

"What are you talking about, Scout?"

"Don't worry, JJ. Most women learn to embrace this parasite. They name it, dress it up in tiny clothes, arrange play dates with other parasites."

There was a pause between the two women as the clenched muscles in the mother's face started to release as the realization donned on her.

"You're pregnant?"

Scout clenched her jaw and nodded, not being able to speak.

"That's - that's amazing. Scout, you're pregnant. And Spencer -" JJ turned to the doctor but her small smile fell as he continued to playing without paying the women any attention.

"Spence - he doesn't know, does he?"

Scout glued her eyes to the floor and wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. It felt good to let someone know what had been going on in her head for the past two months but in reality, it opened a whole other can of worms.

There was another pause, "You should tell him."

And with that single sentence, Scout's mind started to spiral. She really didn't want to think. In these past two months, she refused to think about the being growing inside her body. She continued on her days without lingering on the thought for too long. All the moments when she would throw up from morning sickness, those had changed into simple food poisoning in her mind.

She didn't want to think about being pregnant. She didn't want to think about telling Spencer, or her own mother, or all of the complications it would cause in her life, from finishing her mission to working for Xander.

My God, how can I be pregnant? I'm not ready to have a baby. I'm not ready to be a mother – or a wife.

"My Dad," Scout mumbled, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her sweater, "He used to say, 'lies are like children. They're hard work but their worth it because the future depends on them.' God, it sounds so messed up now, doesn't it?"

JJ didn't respond.

She gave a long, aggravated sigh at her own leap of logic. Spencer surely would not even ask her to marry him. Sure, he was a nice guy, but they had been together for not even 6 months. When it came right down to actually reality, he probably wouldn't ask her. He might, like many men, panic at the thought of tying himself down, especially at a young age.

Especially to a woman and a child.

So, then, what would happen? She would be a single mom, struggling to make a living, struggling to explain to a child about an absent father, but still tied, through that child, to a man who no longer wanted her.

That would suck.

Suck. Suck. Suck. Suck. Suck.

Maybe she should not have the child at all. At this time in her life, she was not really equipped to raise a child properly. How could she care for her mother, handle Xander, and work for the BAU if she had to care for a child? And, if she gave up the good job she had, would she just spiral into poverty – for both herself and her child?

"What if he doesn't want it - this - with me? What if I ruin his life? Should I just get rid of it and hope that I made the right choice?"

Scout glanced at Spencer and Henry. The sight of the pair pained her and she was sure JJ could see it too.

"I think," The blonde sighed and pulled the shorter woman into a hug, "I think you should talk to him. You may forget, but Spencer always has the answer to any question. He is a certifiable genius, you know?"

Scout chuckled and swallowed the lump that had started to form in her throat. Crying was not something she did all too often, and this moment was not going to be an exception.

"J? Ready to go?" An accented voices called from upstairs, pulling the friends out of their hugs and giving each other small, reassuring smiles.

"Go and change, have your fancy dinner date. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

JJ laughed and rubbed the brunette's shoulders, "We both know you wouldn't be able to survive without me. Where would you be if I wasn't your conscience?"

"Get your ass up there, Jiminy Cricket."

She watched as the blonde left to get ready, gave a deep sigh that she felt like she had been holding in for weeks, and sat in the kitchen, thinking.

She was pregnant. She could feel it now – not in her body, but in her heart.

And the thought that she would soon have someone in her life – someone as dear and sweet as Henry, someone who would drive her crazy and bounce off the walls, thrilled her, and scared her.

She was going to have this baby, regardless of whether Spencer wanted to be involved, and she was going to love it enough for two parents.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
JJ and Scout are literally my two favorite character interactions to write for. I always pictured Scout to sarcastically flirt with her once she was fully comfortable and I'm glad that I can soon fully picture that. And this chapter literally broke my heart, Scout goes through so much and she can never catch a break, can she? This leaves the question, how's Spencer going to react? Do you think he'll accept it or will he reject Scout?

Also, WELCOME NEW READERS! I see an influx of readers joining us due to quarantine and I just wanted to give a formal welcome and remind you all to stay safe. Leave a comment down below and I'll be sure to shout you out in the next chapter!

There was a small hiatus between this chapter and the last because of the virus and I had to adjust to a new workspace to write. But no need to worry! CHAPTER 43 WILL BE POSTED VERY SOON.

a special thanks to readers who comment:
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