JULY CAME AROUND MUCH FASTER THAN BOTH KATHARINE AND SPENCER WANTED. After the explosions at Georgetown University, Katharine had been given two weeks to heal. Halfway through those two weeks, she decided that she didn't need any more time and approached Hotch with the need to get back in the field.

She explained how she had been seeing her therapist and that she would be one-hundred percent fine. Two weeks was way too long to be out of the field, especially for something as trivial as a little smoke inhalation. So what if her ribs were also a little bruised, she'd been on missions with greater injuries before.

Katharine recounted the past five months fondly. She spent the time with the team doing what they did best; closing cases and saving lives. Tony rarely called on her, leaving her alone more or less for the entirety of the five months and even came down to talk about a possible vacation he and Pepper would be taking soon.

But all good things come to an end. On June twenty-ninth, Tony had called Katharine, requesting her presence once again. She'd leave on the morning of July first and would be gone for an unspecified amount of time, as planned.

So, on the morning of June thirtieth, she took her time getting out of bed. She buried herself deeper into Spencer's arms and laid in silence next to him, listening to the sounds of his breathing. When their final alarm went off, Katharine felt him hold onto her tighter before letting go. He rolled over and shut the alarm off, exhaling deeply.

She propped herself up on her elbows, leaning on her right arm so she could reach over and lovingly run her thumb over his bottom lip.

"It's only for a month," she said, her voice soft despite having just woken up. Spencer hummed as she traced a finger over his cheekbone, following down his jawline before returning to his lips.

"Cheiloproclitic," he said, taking her hand away from his lips and intertwining them together. "An attraction to a person's lips."

Katharine grinned. Her eyes flicked down to look at his lips before returning to his eyes. She turned her head so that she could kiss the back of Spencer's hand, trailing the kisses up his arm. She pulled away before sitting up onto her heels.

Spencer followed, sitting up in bed before leaning forward and leaving a trail of kisses from her cheek to between her breasts. She would have let him continue if not for the fact that they were going to be late for work.

Katharine gently pushed him away. "We're going to be late if you keep going down that path."

Spencer groaned, pulling away from her before leaving one last kiss on her lips.

"I love you," he whispered as if it were their little secret.

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "I love you too."

WORK WAS... uneventful. Of course, her last day before a month with Tony Stark was one filled with paperwork.

As Katharine sat behind her desk, finishing up the last of her files, she wondered how the team would function without her. Sure, they'd done it before, but something was different about this time. There was something in the air and Katharine was afraid to decipher it.

She finished up the last of her reports, embellishing the page with her signature before shoving it aside and smiling in satisfaction. She was done for the day with three hours to spare. Katharine looked over at Spencer, who had finished his work two hours before she had. He was thumbing through a book, flipping the page every second.

It still amazed her that he could read that fast, his skill coming in handy during cases and doing paperwork. The only time it seemed to slow down was when it was just him, her, and his latest five-hundred-pound novel that he insisted on bringing to bed. She loved that he was a bibliophile but hated everything else about it.

Sometimes she just wanted some love from her man without Leo Tolstoy coming in between them.

She shook herself from her thoughts as the sound of clicking heels approached her, Katharine waiting until the last moment before spinning her chair around. "Hello, Penny G.," she greeted, grinning widely. "To what do I owe the honor?"

Garcia clasped her hands together. "Since it's your last night before heading off with Mr. Tony Stark, JJ, Emily and I are requesting your presence at Murphy's tonight at seven." She pointed at Spencer. "And no, Dr. Reid, you are not invited."

Katharine laughed as Spencer's face morphed into a frown. He pouted for a moment before trying to argue against the technical analyst. "She's my wife, I should get to spend the night with her before she leaves."

"Exactly!" Garcia exclaimed. "She's your wife. You'll get her back at the end of the night when we're done with her, boy genius."

Katharine shrugged, looking between her friend and her husband.

"I'll come home early, baby," she promised, winking at him. "Just have the bath running for me, yeah?"

She saw Derek make a face out of the corner of her eye. "Kit Kat, I do not need to be hearing anything about what you and the boy wonder get up to in your own time."

Katharine discreetly stuck her middle finger up at her cousin, rolling her eyes when he feigned offense at the obscene gesture. "Grow up, Derek. It's not like I didn't hear all about your high school escapades back in the day."

"Back in the day?" he teased, looking at her funny. "You're thirty-one, you shouldn't be talking like you're as old as Rossi just yet."

"I heard that," Rossi said, walking past their desks. Katharine looked at Derek with the same look she used whenever one of their moms caught them doing something they weren't supposed to be doing. "I'm not old. I'm refined."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Emily chimed in, raising an eyebrow at the Italian man. "Refined?"

The older man pointed at Emily as he ascended the stairs, stopping in front of Hotch's closed door. "You're on thin ice, Prentiss."

Katharine laughed, reveling in the atmosphere they had created in the bullpen. But despite the warm feeling she got in her chest, she couldn't shake the feeling that something big was coming.

KATHARINE STUMBLED HOME AROUND MIDNIGHT, clinging to Spencer's frame as he helped her into their home. He set her on the couch by the front door before turning around to lock it, kicking his does off before moving to help Katharine get her own heels off.

This wasn't how he had wanted to spend their night together but he would endure it. Plus, it helped that she looked cute when she was sleepy, which is what she was well on her way to becoming.

As promised, he drew her a bath and despite her attempts to get him undressed and in the bath with her, he didn't want to take advantage of her inebriated state. So, he sat by the bathtub edge as she leaned over and peppered his face in kisses, giggling as she scooped up the bubbles and attempted to give him a bubbly beard.

He'd admit, he never thought that he would be sitting by the tub as his wife made him into Santa Claus but he wasn't complaining. He just sat there and laughed as she accidentally tasted the soap, making a face because the rose-scented bubbles didn't taste at all how they smelled.

Spencer helped Katharine out of the tub once she was done soaking in the water, turning on the shower, and letting her rinse off before greeting her with her robe and helping her into bed. She sleepily toweled off her hair, rubbing the microfiber cloth against her curls before putting it in a towel hat and laying down.

Spencer slid into bed right next to her after rinsing out the tub. Luckily, he'd been able to coax her into brushing her teeth before getting into the bath, meaning there would be no poor dental hygiene in their household.

Katharine cuddled up to Spencer immediately, reveling in his warmth as he wrapped his arms around her without a second thought.

Sure, they'd been apart for longer before but this time... this time felt different. Spencer didn't want to dwell on those feelings but they kept returning. He already had half a mind to beg her to stay but he knew he couldn't keep her from her job.

He almost wanted to argue that the BAU was her job, not being a Government Liaison for Tony Stark but he didn't go there.

He just held her tighter as her breathing slowed, telling him she had fallen asleep. He reached over and shut the bedside lamp off. It wasn't long before he followed her, comforted by thoughts infested with love and adoration for the woman he got to hold in his arms.