T H I R T Y N I N E

SPENCER LICKED HIS chapped lips to subside the nerves that was bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

He wanted nothing more than for this feeling to go away. But who was he to complain? He had taken down mass murders, destroyed crime syndicates, and incarcerated people that were the living definition of evil. But here he was, struggling not to let his nerves get the best of him.

A gentle hand rubbed his shoulder, "You look like your about to pass out, Spence. You doing alright?"

He turned around to face his blonde friend and sent her an uneasy smile. Trying to convince JJ that he was actually fine would be impossible, she knew when he was lying.

"Nerves, to be frank. I texted her that I forgot a file I needed for tomorrow's briefing at Rossi's and I sent her the right address. Taking into account traffic on a Friday night and the probability of stopping at red lights, she should've been here 6 minutes ago."

JJ raised her brow and it donned on him what she was thinking: she was putting two and two together, adding up to the secret relationship he had with Scout.

"I mean," Spencer's mouth dropped as he stuttered his words together, "It's just that - who knows if something might've happened to her? For all we could - know, maybe the sniper attacked. She could be in danger."

She continued to stare silently.

"She's been targeted before. Remember the laced bullet? It almost killed her. Maybe I should call her cell phone."

JJ rolled her eyes and grabbed the device from his hands, "Okay, Lover Boy. I think that it's time for you to calm down, relax, and drink a glass of wine. You keep thinking like that and your gonna end up in the hospital with an aneurysm and your blood pressure through the roof."

" L-lover boy? "

"Spence, how daft do you think we are? You think we can't see you two making goo goo eyes at each other across the office?" I

He shook his head and turned away from the front window of Rossi's house, leading towards the backyard.

Dave had done him the pleasure of decking out his patio with strings of lights that illuminated the falling sunset. But it was Garcia who went all out with the decorations. She put up colorful streamers and decorated the table with intricate silverware.

Spencer smiled as he made eye contact with Morgan, who had happily stationed himself next to the barbeque with a beer in hand. Rossi, on the other hand, chuckled along side him, probably recounting some old memory from a past case.

"I think she's going to love it, Spence."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I hope so. Can't be too certain if she's a big fan of surprise parties so here's hoping she doesn't tie my shoelaces together when I'm not looking."

"Oh, that is so something our little Wylie Coyote would do," Penelope interjected, carrying a rather large box in her hands.

"And what's that?"

Her smile widened, "This, my fearless friends, is David Rossi's old karaoke machine. Found it in his basement when we were setting up earlier and I thought it would spice things up a bit."

Garcia squeaked and shuffled herself towards the electrical outputs that were connected to the house.

"Does this mean - everyone knows about me and Scout?"

"Scout and I." JJ corrected him.

Spencer rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean."

"I don't know what to tell you, Spence. Of course everyone knows, it's kind of impossible not to at this point. We could all tell you both got along great from the beginning, ever since Hotch asked her to be part of the team. You guys just needed a bit of a nudge every once in a while."

"Huh," His eyes narrowed, "Is that why you mentioned I should babysit Henry the other day? You know, as a little push."

JJ shifted her balance from foot to foot, "Yes. And no. I thought it would be a good bonding experience for you both. You can't deny that Scout has a tendency of acting like a kid sometimes. I think that's why she gets along so well with Henry."

"And?"

"And - Will and I have been needing some alone time between the two of us -'

" Yeah, okay. You don't need to tell me everything. I get the picture. "

JJ chucked, "Oh, c'mon Spence! You're acting like you don't know what sex is. Which we both know that that big brain of yours has some random facts about."

"I really don't like where this conversation is going."

"Will and I - Well, we're going to start trying again soon."

Spencer's eyes widened in astonishment, his grin reaching from one ear to the other, "I'm gonna have another god-son?"

"Or daughter," JJ chuckled and tried to hide the embarrassment behind her golden hair, "I'm not even pregnant yet, Spence. Don't get your hopes up so soon, it's gonna be some time before Will and I fully try. It's just something we talked about."

"Wow, that's crazy. You think I can name the baby?"

" Oh no, mister. The poor kid is probably going to end up with a weird name like Machiavelli or Spock. "

"Only a weird middle name! I swear I'll try and name it something cool, like Simon or Percy."

She school her head, "No to Percy, maybe to Simon. Deal?"

"Deal"

The small group enjoyed the lull of interaction but Spencer couldn't help but get most antsy over time. Scout was now 18 minutes late but it wasn't like he could call her to check in. Then she would surely know something would be off with him.

"I heard a car lock beep, I have a feeling that it might be Scout." Morgan whispered in a loud voice, shushing the team.

The group scattered, hiding themselves behind furniture as Rossi prepped himself tho open the front door. With the signal of the door bell ringing, Spencer signaled the team to jump out at the count of three.

"One. Two. Three."

"Happy birthday!" They yelled out before their voices died down as it registered who was actually standing before them.

Hotch lifted a plastic bag with a shy smile, "I brought the cake?"

Spencer groaned, ready to reach for his cell phone but froze as their boss turn around to reveal the small girl they had all been waiting for.

Leaning against the door frame with her arms cross, Scout's mischievous smile told it all. She shook her head and began to slow clap, walking into the home.

"Nice try, guys. But a surprise party? You're gonna have to do better than that if you really want to catch me off guard."

"What gave it away?" Penelope said, looking mildly crestfallen.

The girl raised a brow and sluggishly pointed to the tall doctor that was still stiff from her appearance.

"You forgot a file and needed me to get it from Rossi? C'mon Megamind, we both know it's practically impossible for you to forget anything."

Morgan whacked the back of his head, "Nice going, Pretty Boy."

"I guess," Spencer rubbed the spot of impact. "I didn't completely think this through, did I?"

"Negative, Captain Obvious."

As the team congregated outside, the sounds of their chatter and laughs brought a smile to Scout's face. Of course she knew about the surprise party, she was trained to expect the unexpected.

So when the morning of February 21 rolled around, it wasn't wrong that her suspicion that the team was planning her a birthday party. Turning another year old wasn't a big deal in her eyes but it sure brought some importance to her teammates.

Garcia kept asking if she was going to go out but Scout immediately turned down the idea as parading with a bunch of strangers in a stuffy club wasn't her definition of fun. So when she overheard a discussion between Rossi and Spencer about having a dinner at his home, she decided to play along with the scheme and see how far she could make it.

"Here," JJ came up behind and tugged a hat on her head.

Scout glanced up and saw her reflection against the patio door, ready to snatch the poor piece of fabric off. That is until Spencer grabbed her hand and shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Her brows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"She almost killed me when I tried to, I'm just giving you a fair warning. Take it off, and get ready to watch your life flash before your eyes."

Scout took another look at the hat. It looked old and rather worn out at the seams. She chuckled and shook her head, realizing that the hat was in the shape of a birthday cake with colorful frosting and a display of candles covering the top.

"You were forced to wear this?" She asked, taking a sip of wine.

Spencer nodded, "Every year for my birthday, I think there might be some sprinkles on the rim of the hat from two years ago. Morgan shoved a piece of cake in my face."

Her eyes darted to the dark skinned man who was listening into their conversation and stretched out her fist, which he gladly bumped back.

"You're rewarding his behavior?"

Scout shrugged, "Why wouldn't I? Someone's gotta put you in your place from time to time. Lord knows that if we didn't then you'd become an evil genius and plan to take over the world."

"Evil genius? So you're basically calling me Bruce Banner or Tony Stark?"

"Iron Man and the Hulk? No way man, you're more like the Riddler."

Spencer's self serving confidence subsided as he slouched down and pushed around his food. Both Morgan and Scout laughed at his reaction and soon the silly birthday hat on her head was forgotten all about.

After drinking just the right amount of glasses of wine and Scout blowing out the candles on her cake, she sat back and watched her team dance to a jazzy tune that Rossi insisted on playing.

It was in either French or English, she didn't really care all that much.

A swelling of emotion came to her chest as she watched them all dance. Penelope and Rossi glided across the dance floor with ease but Morgan and JJ were struggling just a tad that it was rather humorous to her. Hotch, on the other hand, was content sitting next to her with his own drink.

"Good day?" He inquired, raising a friendly brow.

"The best, I think. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. Maybe high school? I don't know."

"No crazy college days?"

She shook her head, "Nope. I did most of my classes online, needed to help my mom around the house the best that I could. Besides, I never was a really sociable person."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Hotch took a sip, "But you work too hard."

"Oh-ho? Really? Coming from the great Aaron Hotchner? Do my ears deceive me?"

"I'm just saying," He raised his hands up innocently, "You alway seem to throw yourself into every case we get. I can see you emotionally connecting not just with every victim, but the unsub too. You want to get in their mind and figure out why they did what they did. I should know, I've done it plenty of times before."

"Isn't that a part of our job? Figuring out their motive?"

"Yes, but sometimes there isn't one. And it can take you a very long time until you figure that out. But by then, it feels like you can't turn back. Like you've wasted all that time for nothing. There's a balance that comes with this job and trying to find it can get messy. And I've met people that could never walk that line."

Hotch nodded towards the team, "Some of us are still learning and that's okay. We pick ourselves up, stitch up whatever injury we got, and try again. It's just - the risk that comes with the job."

"All I've ever wanted, since I was a kid, was to do something that matters." Scout smiled sadly, "Being a part of this team, it feels like I can do that."

"You've changed."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Have I?"

"From the moment you walked into my office for that interview, I analyzed everything I could. I knew who Scout Wiley was long before you were even able to say a sarcastic word. Your presence said it all."

"And what did I say?"

"That nothing matters. That we're all just cockroaches and wildebeests dying on the riverbank. That nothing we do has any lasting meaning."

Scout silently nodded, "You know, my dad used to have this saying he would always tell me. He said 'If you're unhappy on the plane, jump out of it.' It was a morbid way of thinking but I took it to heart sometimes. I wanted to jump out of that plane but I couldn't."

"That's the problem with metaphors. They need interpretation. Jumping out of the plane is stupid."

"I used to think, 'But what if I'm not in a plane? What if I'm just in a place I don't want to be?' And then I realized that's the other problem with metaphors. Hell, I could be in an ice cream truck, and outside are candy and flowers and money? But that wouldn't make a difference, would it. Because at the end of the day, you're on a plane. We're all on planes.
Life is dangerous and complicated, and it's a long way down."

"And do you still think that way?" Hotch stared at her with a set of deep eyes.

She shook her head and looked around at her teammates, all dancing and laughing in the celebration of her merely being on this planet.

"I wouldn't be human if I didn't, but I'd rather spend my whole damn life in a plane and close to the birds than wishing that I had wings."

Scout smiled and straightened her back as Spencer walked out from the house and into her line of vision.

"And Hotch?"

"Hm?"

"That's good enough for me."

The tall doctor walked up to the pair with his hands behind his back and a gleaming smile. She eyed him suspiciously but he quickly tucked the item into his jacket pocket before she could decipher what it was.

"You mind if I take her off your hands, Hotch?" Spencer stretched out his hand for her to take.

"She's all yours."

Scout rolled her eyes as he dragged her to the center of the patio where the others were dancing. His arm wrapped around her waist and held her closely as the song had suddenly changed to a slow acoustic guitar strumming.

When she unconsciously hummed the tune, her jaw dropped and playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"Here Comes The Sun? Really, Spence?"

He shrugged, "My taste in music is evolving. I guess I have you to thank for that. But let's be real, slow dancing to Beethoven wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?"

"Which Beethoven are we talking about here? Cause if it isn't the loving Saint Bernard from my childhood then I don't want it."

"Not unless that slobbery dog had a knack for tickling the piano keys."

Scout tutted, "And here I thought you knew me better than that."

"I thought I did too, but this whole not-surprising surprise party really proved me wrong, didn't it?"

"You must feel really shitty about that, Doctor Reid."

Spencer let out a low chuckle and pulled her closer to him, "You know, you're rude."

"Wow, are you like a detective or something?" Scout teased, feeling a blush crawl up her cheeks and the sudden heat as she realized how close they were.

Glancing around, she noticed how the team would send her small smiles and the occasional wink from Morgan. Trying to create bigger space between them, Scout tried to pull back but his grip tightened.

"Spence, everyone's staring. Maybe we should - I don't know - try and not to make it so obvious?"

"You want to know a secret?" He leaned down so that his mouth was practically touching her ear, the sensation of his breath on her skin sending shivers down her spine.

"They already know."

Scout pulled back, "How -"

"They figures it out themselves but personally, I attribute the spreading of that information to our one and only, Penelope Garcia."

The blonde woman sent them both a toothy smile and two thumbs up, confirming that he was right.

"Damn it. It's all the techie, isn't it? I swear if she -"

Scout's words were caught in her throat as the tender touch of Spencer's lips pressing against hers caused her to shut up. With both his hands cupping her face, the feeling of being embarrassed washed away. In that moment, they were the only ones there.

She could feel him smiling into the kiss, fingers entangling themselves in her hair and feel his heartbeat pulsating to the rhythm of the song.

"Woo hoo!" Garcia clapped, causing them to pull a part.

He touched his forehead against hers and chuckled, "It's awesome that I haven't lost the ability to surprise you, huh?"

Both Hotch and Rossi raised their drinks to the pair, Morgan looked like he was struggling not to fist pump the air but ultimately failed, and JJ sent her a knowing smile like a proud friend would.

"C'mon," Spencer pulled on her arm, dragging her towards the house suddenly.

Scout looked at him with confusion, "We can't just leave, you're the one who threw the party."

"I need to give you your birthday gift. It's fine, everyone already knows about it. I just want to do this in private."

"Fine, let me just -" She pulled out her phone from her back pocket and stared at the screen. "- turn off my phone?"

Spencer leaned over, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Scout quickly tucked it away and grabbed his hand, "Where did you want to go?"

The reassuring smile on her face forced itself back into her lips. She tried to listen to whatever Spencer was saying but couldn't help from tuning it out. In fact, the only thing she could focus on was the small device that felt like it was burning a hole in her back pocket.

'13 missed calls from Xander,' Scout thought to herself, 'Something tells me that he isn't sending any birthday wishes.'

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Ey oi, what's up gamers?
Just wanted to say a special thanks to all my commenters, they always bring a smile on my face and give me motivation to keep on writing!

Also, are you a fan of Harry Potter? Writing ANOTHER book called POISON ISLEY! It's a Draco vs Neville story, meaning a love triangle and your involvement in the book determines who the main character ends up with. Wrote 3 chapters yesterday and they're now published so go and check it out!

Also, are you a fan of Narnia? Then check out BROKEN SMILE! It's an Edmund Pevensie story, inspired by She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5, Rent the Musical, and the Mona Lisa! First chapter is now published.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU READ CHAPTER 38 for NUMB BETWEEN FEBRUARY 20 - 24: PLEASE GO BACK AND READ IT AGAIN. HALF OF THE CHAPTER WAS DELETED BY WATTPAD AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT. THE FULL CHAPTER HAS BEEN POSTED AND CORRECTED!

a very very special thanks to readers who comment:

(you guys are the best, i would've stopped writing years ago if it wasn't for you, i will never stop honoring you in my chapters no matter how long this list gets and will be following you on wattpad soon)

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