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Spencer Reid Faces His Past






“Everyone, I'd like you to meet our newest teammate, Dr. Spencer Reid,” Jason Gideon introduced a young man of about 22 or 23. “Dr. Reid, I'd like to introduce you to, Jennifer Jareau, better known as JJ, Derek Morgan, Elle Greenway.”
“It's nice to meet all of you,” Reid said not extending his hand sounding incredibly shy.
“It's nice to meet you too, Dr. Reid,” JJ told him with a charming smile and Spencer, smiled shyly back.
“So if I may ask how old are you?” asked Elle. “You look incredibly young.”
“I'm 22,” Spencer answered.
Everybody but Jason Gideon stared at him in surprise.
“22?” asked Morgan in astonishment.
“Yes, as I'm sure you can probably guess he's a genius,” Gideon told the other three agents. “He has three PhD's and two BAs.”
The other three looked astonished at that and Spencer said with a shrug, “I graduated from high school at 12 and went to college before I turned 13.”
“As I said, he's a genius,” Jason Gideon said with humor glimmering in his eyes, “and I truly believe that he'll be a great asset to our team.”
“Why did you want to join the FBI you could have done so many other things with your life?” Morgan asked the young man.
Spencer shrugged and said, “I hadn't quite decided what I wanted to do when I graduated when Gideon came to CalTech to give a lecture and it was him that made me decide that I wanted to join the FBI.”
“I was impressed with the questions he asked doing my lecture and we met for lunch several times. It didn't take me long to realize how intelligent he was no matter how young or what an incredible asset he'd be to our team.”
“Well, it's nice to meet you,” Elle said sincerely. “I'm looking forward to getting to know more about you.”
“Thank you,” Spencer told her with a small smile of his own.
“We had better go, Reid, we have a meeting with Hotch in just a couple of minutes,” Gideon said and Reid nodded.
“It was nice to meet all of you and I'm looking forward to working with you,” Reid told the three agents politely.
“Nice to meet you too,” Morgan said not bothering to extend his hand again as none of the three hadn't failed to pick up on the fact that Reid didn't like to be touched since he had refused to shake hands for the initial introduction.
The three agents washed as Gideon escorted Dr. Reid towards their boss's office and it was only a few seconds later that they disappeared inside.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch had watched as Gideon introduced the young agent to the others through the blinds of his office, but made sure he was back at his desk when Gideon headed in his direction.
Hotch hadn't gotten a good look at the young man's face, except to see he had dark brown hair and was tall and slim and that was about all he had been able to tell as the young man appeared to be extremely shy and hadn't even looked his new teammates in their faces for more than a few seconds and he definitely hadn't glanced in the direction of his office even once.
There was something about him though, that tugged at Hotch's protective instincts and he couldn't explain to himself why that was. When the knock came on the door, although Hotch had been expecting it he was still a little startled and it took him a few seconds to gather himself together and move back to his desk and sit down.
“Come in!” Hotch called as soon as he had settled himself and put on his professional poker face.
The door opened and Gideon entered with their new teammate just a few steps behind.
“Hotch, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Spencer Reid the young man I told you I was going to recruit for the team last year. Spencer, this is Aaron Hotchner the BAU's unit chief.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Spencer told the dark haired man shyly raising his head to look directly into Hotch's eyes. “I'm looking forward to working with you.”
Hotch stared into the young man's eyes and all it took was one brief blinding instant felt something he had never known he was missing snap into place in his soul and he knew he had found his True Mate.
He had known that he had some Shifter blood, from his father's side of the family, and he knew all about a Shifter's mating gene and how they would know the instant they found True Mate or in human terms their soul mate. He also knew that it was extremely rare for Shifter who couldn't actually shift to have an active mating gene, but apparently he had enough of the blood for him to, which he hadn't been aware of until it had actually happened.
He knew from Reid's file that he was a Shifter to, which meant he to would have the mating gene, which would activate when he turned 30, but that was still quite a few years away and so Hotch made the split second decision to not say anything about that fact despite the way his instincts were screaming at him at the moment to make Spencer his, for not only was Reid incredibly young and the two of them had just met and from his demeanor the young man was incredibly shy and would not accept such advances from the man that was his boss, at least until they got to know each other.
“It's a pleasure to meet you too,” Hotch said politely shaking the young man's hand. “I'm sure you'll be a great asset to the team if all Gideon has told me about you is true.”
“Thank you, sir, I'll do my best,” Reid said politely, think that Hotch was a handsome man with an air of authority about him that intimidated him just a little, although Gideon had already assured him that was just Hotch's poker face and that he was a very nice guy, so long as you followed orders.
“I'm sure you will,” Hotch told him with just a hint of a smile liking the shy young man, who he knew Gideon had great faith in and his old friend was rarely wrong, so Hotch expected great things from Dr. Spencer Reid. Has trouble expressing his emotions, Hotch profiled silently. Is so shy as to be introverted. Looked me in the eye if only for a few seconds, so can be forward when the situation calls for it. Not athletic according to his file as he'd had trouble passing the physical part of training, but his profound intelligence was the reason for his admittance into the BAU and would be a great asset to the unit. Passed every academic test inside an hour, usually much less, IQ of a 187, eidetic memory, never forgetting anything which did have a rather bad downside as bad memories would not fade over time and would continue to be as sharp as the day they happened. Hotch sincerely hoped that Reid could handle the bad or horrifying memories he was bound to get as he did not want to see the young man leave the FBI just because he couldn't put bad or horrifying events behind him, because he would have Garcia keep track of him if he must, because there was no way he would let Reid vanish on him since he would be miserable if he did and eventually be driven insane, but there was no point in worrying about such an event at the moment. Hotch knew that the instructors at the academy had to make an exception when it came to the physical part of training so Reid would not be suited for most fieldwork, although he would probably be good at questioning witnesses once he had a little experience.
The two of them chitchatted for a few minutes while Gideon stood off to the side saying nothing and then Spencer and Gideon took their leave and headed back out to the bullpen. Hotch watched them go and knew that for the next seven years it was going to be hard to conceal his feelings for the young man, but all he could do was try.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Aaron, what's going on?” asked Rossi as he as he and Hotch sat in the latter office.
Over the last couple weeks Rossi had noticed that his old friend was spending quite a lot of time staring at one Dr. Spencer Reid, although the other man had seemed oblivious to this. Hotch always looked like he was busy doing something else, when anyone else on the team glanced in his direction, but he had always been good at observing someone without being noticed. He had only been back with the team, since Jason Gideon's apt departure for a month, and he had retired for something like 10 years, but that didn't mean his profiling skills weren't just as good as ever. Besides he knew Aaron Hotchner well as he had been part of the team when the had first joined some years ago now and when they had both been much younger.
“What do you mean?” Aaron asked his expression unreadable.
“Don't give me that, Aaron,” Rossi told him sternly. “Don't think I haven't noticed the intensity you've been staring at Dr. Reid and if it's something I need to know that you had better tell me. Is he in some kind of trouble? Is he under investigation? You had better tell me before I keep coming up with even worse reasons.”
“No, it's nothing like that,” Hotch finally gave in with a sigh knowing there was no way he could just fob Dave off as his old friend would figure out what he was hiding eventually as he was to good a profiler not to. “In order to tell you why I've been staring at Reid, it's going to take some explanation.”
“So explain,” Rossi almost ordered and Hotch glared at him briefly, but then let it go.
“Well, first you need to know that Dr. Reid is a Shifter, a wolf Shifter to be precise.”
“And what does that have to do with anything?” asked Rossi a little confused. “If you're worried I have something against Shifters I don't.”
“No, that's not it at all,” Hotch said trying not to look nervous as he had never shared this secret with anyone and he definitely not been planning to, well not for another five years anyway. “The reason I told you Dr. Reid is a Shifter, is because I also have Shifter blood, although it's not enough to actually shift shape as my grandfather was the last one to be able to do that. What you might not be aware of is that when a Shifter turns 30 something within their blood or their genetic structure activates.”
“What do you mean?” asked Rossi curiously.
“Just that from the day a Shifter turns 30 they will know instantly if they have discovered their True Mate, which in human terms is a soulmate. Most Shifters never discover their True Mate and marry and have children, but there are a rare few that actually discover the person they're meant to be with and whether they're married or not well there's no changing it. For a non-Shifter to have this gene is rare, but so long as you have enough of the blood it's possible.”
“So if I'm understanding your explanation, you have enough of the blood to have an active mating gene and Dr. Reid is your True Mate,” Rossi summarized. “Also from the way you've been staring at him when no one is paying attention whenever the two of you are in the same room you haven't told him as he seems oblivious to the attention.”
“No, I haven't told him,” Hotch said making a face, “and yes he is totally oblivious as I try not to stare at him unless he's extremely occupied, because as you already know he is an extremely sharp and intelligent young man and he would figure out why I kept staring at him eventually.”
“When did you know that he was your soulmate?” asked Rossi curiously.
“The minute he walked into the BAU two years ago and we shook hands that first time,” Hotch answered honestly.
“Do you ever plan on telling him?” asked Rossi.
“Yes, in about five years when he turns 30,” Hotch answered.
“Are you sure you can last that long?” Rossi asked his old friend dryly. “I don't know much about Shifters, other than what's general knowledge, but I do know that the intense look on your face means that it can't be very easy to be around him and not be able to say anything or touch him in an intimate way.”
“I'm certainly going to try,” Hotch said. “For one thing Reid is very young right now and if I tell him before he turns 30 and his own mating gene activates, there's a good chance he'll deny the connection that flows between us simply because I'm his boss and also he's very shy where relationships are concerned.”
Rossi sat there quietly and thought about what he had learned about Spencer Reid in the last month and finally he had to agree. Spencer Reid was very shy and some ways, although the young man was confident where his job was concerned, outside that arena he was extremely shy, so shy he was almost introverted and he could very easily see Reid rejecting what Aaron was telling him, simply because the man was his boss.
“Besides, I'm still married to Haley right now, although I was actually thinking about getting a divorce a year or so before Spencer does reach that critical birthday, although I haven't fully made up my mind yet,” Hotch said.
“So if you love Reid, does that mean you don't love Haley at all anymore?” asked Rossi curiously.
“I still care deeply for Haley,” Hotch explained calmly, “but my feelings for her pale in comparison to the ones I have for Spencer and have had ever since we met that day two years ago when he first entered the BAU.”
“Are you going to tell your wife this?” asked Rossi.
“No,” Hotch said shaking his head empathically, “she wouldn't understand and even if she did it would hurt her and I don't want that.”
“And you don't think wanting a divorce won't hurt her?” asked Rossi.
“Yes, it will and I know that, but it will still be easier then finding out that your husband is in love with someone else, much less another man. I'm not saying she won't find out eventually, but hopefully not for a long time.”
“You're probably right that it will be easier, even if it will hard,” Rossi agreed after a moment, “but you can't help your heart.”
“No you can't as the pull of the mating bond is incredibly strong,” Hotch admitted suddenly looking strained. “It's been hard the last couple years, but it would've been harder if we didn't see each other so much due to our jobs.”
“So how have you resisted up until now?” asked Rossi curiously noticing the strained look.
“Well, as I just said being you near him for so many hours a day has helped, but I can't tell you how many times in the last couple years I've sat outside his apartment building trying to convince myself to go in tell him how I feel,” Hotch said with a grimace.
“Well, I don't know how you're going to keep managing to conceal your feelings for Spencer, from him or the rest of the team since I figured you out within just a few months of my return,” Rossi said. “I'm surprised that the rest of the team hasn't figured it out yet.”
“Well, you also know me better than the others do and although I'm close to them, you are the one that knows me the best,” Hotch said.
“Yes, that's true,” Rossi mused thoughtfully. “I'll be rooting for you and Reid too, although five years seems like a long time to wait.”
“It does,” Hotch admitted, “but as I said I'm still married, and once you get to know Reid better you'll realize that if I tell him before he turns 30 it is very likely he'll reject what I'm telling him just because I am his boss. Spencer might be confident where his job is concerned, but when it comes to things like relationships or his feelings, he's on very unsteady ground. From what I know of him, his father left when he was 10 and just abandoned his sick wife and young son and as far as I know didn't have any positive male influences in his life after that, so really is it any wonder that he so unsure where his feelings are concerned?” asked Hotch.
“No, not really,” Rossi admitted, “also I'm sure his intelligence set him apart from the other students and I'm sure he was also bullied and picked on in high school and college.”
“I don't know for sure, although I can guess that he was because we know that people like Spencer who are nice, but also extremely intelligent tend to show off even if they don't mean to and most kids don't like being shown up, especially by someone who was much younger than they are,” Hotch said. “Without a positive male figure in his life, I'm surprised he turned out so well, especially since his mother was and is very ill and he was left to look after her and go to school to. From what I can gather from his file and things he has said, he was very self-sufficient from an early age and learned to look after himself.”
Rossi shook his head at that, but had to agree with Aaron that Spencer Reid had turned out extremely well considering his upbringing or lack of.
“Well, he has a family now and that's us, and I know we can't make up for his lack of positive influences when he was a child, but all of us at least appreciate him, and that brilliant mind of his. Just in the couple of month I've been back we have solved half a dozen cases that might not have been solved without him and even I know and can appreciate that.”
“Yes, all of his knowledge does come in very useful,” Hotch admitted a small smile playing on his lips. “I've never known someone who has so much trivia and other seemingly useless facts stored in their brains.”
“And for any other job, that trivia would indeed be useless, but for this one all those facts and trivia is anything but,” Rossi said. “I bet you're glad though that he decided to use his talents to help people, instead of making scads of money as I might not know him well, but I do know that he is one of the most selfless people I have ever known as he could've set himself up in some kind of business and been a millionaire by now or at least well on the way to it.”
“I am,” Hotch stated simply. “Spencer and I probably never would have met otherwise, so whatever made him choose to join the FBI I will always be internally grateful.”
The two men continued to chat for a few minutes, and then Rossi got up to leave in order to head home for the night while Hotch simply sat there staring off into space thinking about the young man that he had come to love deeply in the last two years and wishing with all his heart that the two of them were together now instead of apart, but knowing he wouldn't be able to tell Reid about his feelings for another five years, although waiting was going to be extremely hard, but he could do it. However, once Spencer reached his critical 30th he was going to be his even if Reid didn't know it yet.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So are you going to tell him?” David asked after knocking on Hotch's office door after everybody else had left for the night and entering without permission. Hotch looked up from the paperwork he was filling out and watched as his friend strolled over to his desk and sat down in one of the chairs that was in front of it looking relaxed and casual. Hotch didn't have to ask what Rossi meant for he knew perfectly well what he was talking about.
Dave was the only one that knew that Hotch had a True Mate connection with one Dr. Spencer Reid, but the man in question had never been told this and Hotch had been determined to wait until Spencer turned thirty so that that shy young man could not deny the connection that flowed between them. Hotch had known ever since Spencer entered the BAU that first day seven years ago that the two of them were meant to be together, but since the young man in question had been only 23 at the time Hotch had been determined to give him time to mature and then some time later he had reached the decision that he would wait until Spencer turned thirty so that if he was correct Spencer would identify him as his True Mate. Hotch couldn't say it had been easy, in fact a lot of times it had been incredibly hard and if he hadn't had such a strong will he would've given in a long time ago and either taken the younger man without his consent or just told him about the connection he'd had with him hoping Spencer didn't reject him. Luckily for him Spencer turned thirty tomorrow and so he knew that tomorrow was the day that hopefully soon he and Spencer would mate and never be parted from that day forward save by death.
“I think I should give him a chance to approach me first as I want the decision to be his,” Hotch said setting aside his paperwork knowing that he wouldn't get anymore done tonight and he very much doubted he would sleep at all as he thought about the fact that the man he had been lusting after for seven long years would be 30 at midnight tonight which was only hours away. Really he'd had trouble concentrating in the last couple of weeks because as he knew Reid's birthday was very close, but he had managed so far until today that is. He was extremely glad that they hadn't been called on a case for the last week because he very much doubted he could have concentrated if they had been as he'd had enough trouble just sitting in his office filling out form after form.
“Aaron, that's really not a good idea as we both know how shy he is in that area and if you really believe that he's going to approach you about the bond that we both know exist then you don't know him very well at all. There is no way that he'll approach you because you are his boss, which means that the second the two of you see each other tomorrow will be the second that you two are inexorably tied together for the rest of your lives. I can see the bond that exists between you going in either one of two ways. Either Reid will work beside you every day never admitting his feelings suffering through more pain then is necessary or he'll leave the BAU entirely just so he doesn't have to see you everyday and we both know if that happens even Garcia will have a hard time tracking him down since he knows how to stay off the grid if he has to,” Dave advised his friend who didn't want to see Aaron make a mistake and wait to long to tell Spencer Reid how he felt as he knew that if Aaron did do that the results would be disastrous for both his old friend and to Reid.
Rossi was very well aware how hard it had been on his old friend to wait until Reid turned 30 and he couldn't see why he was prevaricating now when he was so close to finally being happy. Rossi didn't see any need for Aaron to keep torturing himself and knew that his old friend wasn't thinking clearly because Hotch knew Reid as well as anyone and knew that the younger man was shy in certain ways and he would never approach his boss about the connection that existed between them, not only because Aaron was his boss, but because he would fear rejection and Hotch's age, since he was over a decade older might also play a factor, although on that part he wasn't sure.
“Alright, you're right,” Hotch conceded. “I know intellectually that if I wait too long he'll probably be gone because I can't see Spencer sticking around and seeing me every day since it would be very painful for him and for me. I'll give him a few days anyway, probably until the end of the week and if he hasn't approached me by the end of shift on Friday I'll approach him,” Hotch promised.
“I think you should tell him the minute he walks in tomorrow,” Rossi said looking concerned, “but it's your decision, just don't wait too long or you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
“I know, don't worry I won't wait too long because as of Friday he's mine unless he approaches me before then, although you're right he probably won't just because I am his boss,” Hotch said.
“And you are all so over 10 years his senior, not that really matters when a Shifter identifies their True Mate,” Rossi reminded him.
“And how would you know that?” Hotch asked with humor in his voice that reached all the way to his eyes. “You are not a Shifter unless you have been keeping something from us.”
Rossi rolled his eyes at his friend, but all he said, “I did my research a long time ago.”
Hotch chuckled at Rossi's expression, but then grew serious.
Rossi just stared at him but didn't comment for a moment.
“I would think that putting yourself through seven years of torture was more than enough as from what I've read the pull of the mating bond is incredibly strong. You are not a Shifter so maybe it isn't as strong for you as it is for say Morgan, but that doesn't mean it isn't painful to you to resist for as long as you have.”
“You're right as usual,” Hotch admitted, “but I still want to give him the next five days to approach me you know? I think it's the honorable and right thing to do.”
“Well, it's your decision,” Rossi admitted. “At least I convinced you not to wait too long because we both know that Spencer will be gone if you do.”
“Yes, and I can't have that,” Hotch admitted. “If he tells me he's leaving and give me some kind of excuse as to why I will definitely let him know why he can't do that and I can be very persuasive when I set my mind to it.”
Rossi chuckled at that because it was very true.
“So what are your plans once you do tell him?” Rossi asked.
“Well, I thought going back to my apartment and making love to him all night was a good option, which is another reason to wait until the weekend because unless we catch a case we have the weekends off and that way we have three days to fuck each other constantly,” Hotch said humor glimmering in his eyes.
Rossi made a face at that and said hastily, “I don't need to know the details.”
“I wasn't going to give them to you,” Hotch told Rossi with a grin. “I'm not that type of person, that will share the details of his intimate moments, you know.”
“I know,” Rossi admitted relaxing. “You might want to expand those plans and take him out to dinner somewhere nice first if you plan on keeping him in bed all weekend as he'll need his energy and so will you.”
“That's a good idea,” Hotch admitted. “Any suggestions? Somewhere that doesn't mind same-sex couples and isn't going to look down on us for being two men as while that won't bother me we both know it will bother Spencer until he gets over his fear that I am going to leave him, which I could no more do then I could stop breathing.”
“There is this place that I take dates sometimes that doesn't mind either gay or lesbian couples as I've seen both two women and two men in there and they are all treated the same,” Rossi said. “It's nice, with low lighting, candles on the table, and excellent food, nice and romantic.”
“What's the name of this place?” asked Hotch looking very intrigued. Rossi told him and Hotch nodded. “Where is it located?” Rossi told him and Hotch made sure to write down the address so he wouldn't forget it. “I think it's time for both of us to get out of here as the paperwork will have to wait because I can't concentrate. All I can think about is Spencer and how good it will be for us to finally be together after waiting seven years.”
“Personally I don't know how you've held out so long, but then I always knew you had a will of iron,” Rossi chuckled.
“Well, hopefully I won't have to wait much longer since his birthday is tomorrow or technically midnight tonight, which is only a few hours away,” Hotch said.
The two men rose from their chairs and headed out of Hotch's office and towards the elevator so both of them could head home.
“Just make sure you tell me how it turns out,” Rossi said.
“I don't think you'll have any trouble telling because I guarantee you Spencer will be limping by the time he comes back in here next Monday and that's a promise. I have no intention of keeping this from the team, as if we could anyway. Spencer and I will be sharing a hotel room from now on as there is no way I could sleep without him once we finally get together.”
“I'm sure Reid will not be able to get any sleep without you either,” Rossi assured him and tried to ignore the huge lecherous grin on his old friend's face as he had no trouble imagining what had caused it and that was not an image he needed in his head thank you very much.
The two men fell silent as they reached the elevator and Rossi pushed the button so that the doors would open and they could enter.
“I'll see you first thing Monday morning,” Hotch told his friend and Rossi nodded telling him good night as he headed to his car hoping that things between Aaron and Reid turned out well.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Reid glanced at Hotch's office door trying not to sigh, feeling melancholy. He had turned thirty just a week ago and ever since them the mating gene that was a part of all shapeshifters had finally activated. A shapeshifter automatically knew when they had found their True Mate, but that part of a shapeshifter's genes didn't activate until they were thirty. All shapeshifters knew when they had found their true lifemate. No one knew where shapeshifter, and shamans had come from originally, only that they made up about 65 percent of the world's population. 20 percent were shamans, who could do many things with the power they had been given, some more then others of course depending on how strong their magic was. shapeshifters of various types on the other hand made up an estimated 45 percent of the world's population while the remaining 35 percent were called Normals, humans where didn't have any kind of extra power.
Reid glanced wistfully back at the door to Hotch's office again knowing he would have to stop doing that as the rest of the team had already begun to notice his longing looks at their boss's office door and how unhappy he'd been over the last five days. He tried not to stare when Hotch was actually around, although that was extremely difficult, as he had a hard time not salivating because he had always known that Hotch was a handsome man, but had never really noticed until now or thought of him as anything but his boss and a friend. On the day he had turned thirty he had immediately known that Hotch was his True Mate when he had seen him for the first time that day, his boss who was 10 years older than him. The only problem was that he didn't believe that Hotch had felt the pull or that signified the mating bond or if he had he certainly hadn't shown any sign of it, but then again it was different for Hotch as he wasn't a shapeshifter. Hotch was definitely an alpha male as everybody whether shaman, shapeshifter or Normal obeyed his orders no questions asked. The reason for this was that some shaman had experimented on someone in his family, though Reid didn't know if it was Hotch himself or one of his ancestors, trying to create the ultimate Normal, someone that all shapeshifters would obey no matter what. The shaman in question had quite succeeded in his goal for while all Shifters, would obey Hotch, even other alphas no questions asked so would anybody else if he used to certain tone of voice, so whoever he was, had more than succeeded in, even if it hadn't been his original intention to create a human that everybody would obey no matter what. Whatever that shaman had been trying to do didn't really matter now as it was now part of Hotchner family line as Hotch's son had the same ability to get anybody except his father to obey whatever he wanted. Luckily Jack was a very sweet and well-behaved boy and Hotch had already begun training him to not take advantage of others even though he was still only five years old. You could never learn to early to use your powers, whatever they were responsibly, Reid supposed. Another talent Hotch had was the ability to heal someone from near fatal wounds, which had come in handy more then once when one of the team had been seriously hurt on a case and were close to death.
Reid tried his best to get back to his paperwork, although lately his concentration was all shot to hell and with good reason for Reid had known for the last couple of years that his life was going to change when he reached thirty. For all shapeshifters it was the same, well, it was for those that could actually change shape. As for those that had shapeshifter blood from say a great-grandparent they would not actually have the ability to shift, but it would be passed to any children, although extremely diluted and if the other parent also had shapeshifter blood then the child would also likely have that ability.
His father had been a shapeshifting wolf and his mother a Normal, although an extremely intelligent one and he had gotten both his mother's brains and also his father's ability to shift shape.
Suddenly Reid's phone buzzed and the young man knew that he had a text message and so he took it out and retrieved it.

Reid meet me in my office after work. We have much to discuss. Hotch

Reid gulped as the illusion that he hadn't been noticed staring wistfully from time to time in the last week by Hotch was shattered, although he should have known that his boss had noticed for Aaron Hotchner was anything but stupid and also very observant, which was a given or he wouldn't be a member of the BAU.
Reid was sure that Hotch was going to ask him exactly why had had been so distracted or more likely his boss had figured out exactly why he had been either avoiding him or staring at him when he was busy doing something else. Hotch was a smart guy and he might not know as much about shapeshifters as Reid did, but he knew enough to know what Reid having his thirtieth birthday meant. Most Shifters never discovered their True Mates, which wasn't surprising considering how many people there were in the world, and as for himself he had been astonished that he had found his on the same day he'd turned thirty since many Shifters searched their whole lives for their other halves and for most it didn't matter if their mate was the same sex as them. A lot of Shifters of course got married whether or not they had found their True Mate and made that relationship work.
Reid forced himself to go back to his paperwork, before the rest of the team in the bullpen noticed his distraction and he managed to concentrate on it for the rest of his shift, although it took great effect.
“Hey Reid, are you coming with us to get a drink?” asked Emily with a raised eyebrow in the youngest member of the team direction.
“No, I'm going to finish this and then head home,” Reid answered calmly making sure to make eye contact so that nobody would be able to catch him in a lie. “Besides you are well aware that I'm not much of a drinker.”
“Reid, my man, you need to get out more,” Morgan told his friend. “Besides how will you ever get a tolerance for alcohol if you don't build it up?”
“I'll stick to coffee, thanks anyway,” Reid answered the lines coming easily to him, but they should have as he'd had used variations of this conversation several hundred times by now. Every time the team went out for a drink actually he was always invited along and sometimes he was forced to go by Morgan who wouldn't let him get out of it and others he just agreed to go have a round or two just to spend time with his friends, the first and also the truest friends he had ever had.
“Or find yourself a date,” JJ added with a grin knowing exactly what Spencer's response would be.
“JJ, I do not need or want a date, thank you very much,” Reid protested causing the rest of the team including Garcia who had come up from her office to grin at this expected response from their friend and coworker.
“You did just turn 30 you know and if I know what that means and I'm not a Shifter then I know you do too,” Garcia butted in.
Reid just rolled his eyes at Garcia who just grinned. “Of course you know what it means since you are married to a Shifter.” Reid's tone was exasperated. “I'll see you tomorrow morning, don't let me ruin your evening out.”
“Don't stay up too late since the paperwork will still be here tomorrow and make sure you go home at a decent hour and get some rest,” JJ said affectionately.
“Yes, mom,” Reid said somewhat sarcastically, but with an affectionate grin.
“Are you sure we can't get you to come along?” Emily asked now and Reid shook his head negatively.
“Perhaps another time.”
“We'll all hold you to that,” Morgan told him letting his friend off the hook this time.
“I would expect nothing less,” Reid told Morgan quite seriously until a grin broke out on his face.
The rest of the team left, none of them bothering to ask Hotch if he wanted to join them since they all knew that their boss would want to get home to Jack. On rare occasions Hotch would join them for a drink or two when they weren't on a case before going home to Jack, but it didn't happen very often.
As soon as Reid was sure that the rest of the team was gone he got up from his desk and headed for Hotch's office, feeling incredibly nervous.
Reid knocked and then opened the door to Hotch's office when he heard the quiet come in.
“You wanted to see me, Hotch?” asked Reid as he entered his boss's office.
“Come in and sit down,” Hotch told the younger man gently.
Reid looked startled at Hotch's tone as his boss was never that gentle except with his son and other children they ran across during cases.
That Hotch was sitting on the couch that was on one side of his office instead of behind his desk was a major clue that he wasn't in any kind of trouble.
Reid walked slowly into Hotch's office and sat on the opposite side of the couch from his boss looking at him through his golden brown eyes attentively.
Hotch noticed that Reid was as tense as a coiled spring as if expecting a blow, but as the golden brown eyes stared at him expectantly. Hotch felt his cock twitch, which was not at all unusual as he had known since Reid first started at the BAU that he was his True Mate, but since he had been 23 at the time and he had been married he hadn't done anything about it, although that had been hard. He was too damn honorable to carry on an affair behind his wife's back and he never would have done that to Reid in any case. If Spencer Reid was anything it was very unsure where relationships were concerned and if he had gone that route it would have destroyed any chance of them ever being together. When Reid had turned 30 just last week and had walked into the BAU Hotch had immediately known that the mating instinct of all Shifters possessed was alive and active as Reid had stared at him for what seemed like forever, but was actually only a few seconds as if seeing him for the first time, even though they had known each other for almost seven years. When Reid had realized what he was doing he had forced himself to look away and had done his best to act normally, although he hadn't always succeeded as Hotch had caught him more then once staring at him when no one was looking with a wistful expression, which had immediately become unreadable when he noticed people starting to pay attention to him.
Hotch had waited a whole week just as he had told Dave he would, hoping Reid would approach him, but then when he saw the younger man avoiding him as much as possible he had known that Dave had been correct, not that he hadn't already known his friend was. He and Dave had both known that Reid would be so afraid of rejection that there was no way the shy young man would approach his boss with something like telling him the two of them were True Mate's and Hotch knew that Spencer was trying his best to not think about him in a sexual way, which the older man could hardly blame him for since not only was he older he was also the younger man's boss. In other words Reid was doing everything in his power to fight the mating bond and doing that would eventually drive him insane as it was impossible to fight since it was part of every full Shifter's genetic makeup.
It was true that he, himself was not a Shifter, but he did have Shifter blood from his father's side of the family and so he too had felt the pull as soon as he had met Reid seven years ago as he had been 33 and therefore his mating genes had been active for over three years.
Reid had been very shy, withdrawn and not very comfortable around the team at first, but in the last seven years he had changed and the team was now his family, a family that would do anything to keep their youngest member safe. Reid often went with the team to just hangout at some bar just so he could spend time with them, although he still spent a lot of time alone and as far as Hotch knew he had never dated at all, but then perhaps Reid had decided he wasn't going to bother since when he turned 30 he knew that his mating instinct would activate. Of course he also knew that Reid was incredibly shy where the female of the species was concerned so that had definitely played a part in it as well, not that it mattered to him since if he had his way he and Reid would soon be together as a couple and anybody who tried to get his hooks into him after that would be facing him as he would do almost anything to protect what was his and he was not as nice as Reid was.
In any case Spencer Reid was going to be his, but he had to make the younger man realize that they belonged together, but he was going to have to be gentle about it and not go all alpha male on him as he knew that the younger man was very shy and that would almost certainly scare him off and that he would never be able to stand it if he did as it had been hard enough to resist just taking him the minute he had met him, but to live without Reid for the rest of his life would be impossible as the younger man was so much a part of him and had been for years.
“Reid, I've noticed over the last week that you've been avoiding me would you like to tell me what I've done to cause you to do something like that? Don't bother to lie,” Hotch said not using his power to compel the truth and that wouldn't be fair to either him or Reid. Feelings should not be forced to be revealed, but should be admitted willingly as they would mean much more that way.
Reid didn't respond at first and Hotch who knew the other man very well could see the wheels turning in the young man's huge brain.
Hotch knew exactly what had happened that day a week ago, but he wanted Reid to admit it without it being forced out of him.
“I wasn't avoiding you,” Reid tried even though Hotch had told him not to lie. He didn't want to admit that his feeling for his boss had turned from friendship and respect to love in the last short week. He, as well as the rest of the team would have willingly followed their boss into hell and back again, but for Reid those feelings had gone up quite a few notches and now he would do almost anything to keep Aaron Hotchner safe, even at the risk of his own life.
Hotch looked at the younger man his dark eyes intense, which caused certain part of Reid's anatomy to react and all he wanted to do was to take the older man into his arms, breathe in the scent of his aftershave and make wild passionate love to him for days on end, although that sort of reaction wasn't normally like him at all, but he knew that was not going to be possible and so he silently ordered his cock to calm the fuck down, although his eyes never left Aaron's face, as he didn't want to give away his cock's reaction. His wolf Shifter instincts were going haywire as well, which didn't help, especially since he and Hotch were sitting so close together. Wolf Shifters had very keen senses of smell, much like their real wolf counterpart, even in their human form and he had always thought that Hotch smelled like a combination old spice aftershave, the shampoo that he used, with a musky, spicy undertone that was all natural and seemed to waft up from Hotch's very skin.
“Well, if that's true, tell me why we haven't been in the same room for more than five minutes in the last week?” asked Hotch with a eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Even when we had a briefing on a new case you sat as far from me as you could get and still be in the same room.”
With that calm disbelieving statement Reid's shoulders slumped and he looked down at his feet, because he knew that his boss was aware that he wasn't telling the truth and really he should have known better than to try to lie in the first place since he did work with a bunch of profilers. Hotch knew his every facial expression and every nuance of body language and Reid should have realized that he would never be able to lie to someone who knew him so well and he was lousy at it anyway.
“Please, don't force me to tell you,” Reid whispered trying his best to not scuff his shoes along the carpet on the floor or get up and move away from his boss as that would tell Hotch clearer then any words that he was incredibly nervous.
“Spencer, I know exactly what happened a week ago, and I was waiting for you to approach me, but you never did,” Hotch told the younger man sternly inching a little closer to him. “Now I can certainly understand you not wanting to approach somebody who is not only your boss, but also over 10 years your senior, but you know very well that denying that part of you would eventually drive you insane.”
Reid looked back up into Hotch's face and saw that his expression, which had been unreadable was full of love and lust that reached his dark, compelling eyes.
Reid nearly choked at the raw emotions in Hotch's eyes, but managed not to, barely.
“You being my boss wasn't the only reason I was trying my best to avoid you,” Reid finally admitted sounding incredibly shy, “and as for your age that doesn't have anything to do with it at all.”
“What other reason could you possibly have for not coming to see me at the first opportunity? I have made myself available to you for the last week but you never approached me.”
“Well, if I'm being completely honest I didn't think you'd be interested in me for after all we do work together and we are the same sex and a lot of people are against that sort of thing. You were married before after all and have a son and I didn't want to disrupt your life with him. Both you and Jack just lost your wife not to many years ago and I didn't want to try to insert myself into the life that you two have built for yourselves.”
“You were afraid of rejection, so afraid that you decided it was just better if you tried to avoid me completely and since we work in the same section of the FBI building not to mention the same team that's not exactly as easy as it sounds,” Hotch summarized, his voice dry.
“I was beginning to seriously think about leaving the FBI entirely and finding me another job as being near you every day was definitely starting to drive me insane and it has only been five days. I wasn't really sure how much longer I could be so close to you and not drive myself crazy since a lot of the time we do work seven days a week 16 or more hours a day,” Reid admitted looking down at his feet.
“Spencer, if you had bothered to ask me I would have told you that ever since I met you I too have felt the pull, but since at that time I was married and you were so young I never said or did anything about it. I knew if we were meant to be that when you hit 30 you to would feel the pull as well.”
Reid looked stunned at Hotch's revelation and the older man could hardly blame him for it as he had kept his feelings well hidden from the team, except for David Rossi who knew him a little to well. Dave had been silently rooting for the two of them Hotch knew.
“But… But…how? You aren't a shapeshifter unless you've been holding out on us,” Reid sputtered.
“I'm not, but my father does carry the blood for it even though he's not a shapeshifter himself. My grandfather was a Shifter, but my grandmother was not, which is why my father carries the gene, but can't shift himself. If my father carries the gene that means I do as well and I have enough Shifter blood in my veins for me to feel the pull of the mating bond.”
“If that's true how in the hell have you not gone insane after all it's been seven years since I came to the BAU?”
“I have a very strong will as you know and I've kept myself busy enough that I've managed to ignore it up until now. You're right seven years ago I was still married and I never would have cheated on Haley nor would I have my son if we had gotten divorced that long ago. When I couldn't keep my mind off you I took a lot of cold showers, but that only worked sometimes.”
Reid winced in sympathy at that as he knew very well that would have been at least a several hundred cold showers if not more considering it had been seven years.
“Really the only thing that kept me sane for the last seven years was seeing you every day at work and if not for that I would have gone quietly crazy. That time that you were kidnapped by Tobias Hankel about drove me out of my mind as I worried that we wouldn't find you alive. You surprised me though when you showed up after having killed him after shifting into your wolf form.”
“I still have nightmares about that time,” Reid admitted a little reluctantly. “I had never killed anyone while shifted before, but Tobias was quite insane and was like three different personalities in one body. I really didn't have any choice because he was going to inject me with Dilaudid, which is an extremely addictive drug, as I'm sure you know and I would have had a hard time not to keep on taking it once my body had a taste of it. Even if I had managed to beat the addiction I would still have had to fight the urge to start using again for the rest of my life and I definitely didn't want that.”
Both men shuddered at that and were silently grateful that it hadn't happened.
“So...” Reid began, but didn't have a chance to get any further, because suddenly Hotch's mouth descended on his and Reid didn't resist his boss's demanding lips and willingly opened his own when the older man's tongue didn't ask, but demanded entrance to his mouth.
Oh this was heaven Hotch's conscious mind thought as he continued to kiss Reid, who was not resisting at all and in fact was participating quite enthusiastically back. He had dreamed often over the last 7 years about kissing the younger man, sometimes even when he was awake and it had been pure torture to not do exactly that over the last few years, but if he had his way that was about to change. He knew that Reid wanted the same thing he did, but he was going to have to reassure the younger man that this was what he wanted, because Spencer was very unsure where relationships were concerned, even if he knew to resist the bond would at some point drive them both insane, eventually and lead to suicide. It was true he had a strong will, but even he could only take so much, especially now that Reid had finally turned thirty and he had finally come into his heritage he wasn't about to resist his instincts anymore, although he was going to have to make sure that Reid was willing as he wasn't about to force himself on the younger man no matter how much his instincts were screaming at him to take Spencer, here and now and make him his.
Finally the two of them broke apart, if only because they needed to breathe and Reid immediately slumped against one arm of the couch looking completely dazed, like he had been hit over the head with a hammer.
Hotch smirked in satisfaction and when the younger man finally looked up into Aaron's eyes what he saw there almost made him want to fling himself at his boss, but he resisted—somehow.
“Hotch...” Reid began hesitantly.
“Tell me you didn't enjoy it, that you don't want me to do it again and I'll stop,” Hotch told the younger man quietly confident that Reid would not say any such thing. He had seen the wistful looks Reid had been giving him on more than one occasion over the last week. They had been the looks of a man who was sure that he would never have what he wanted.
“I can't say that because it isn't true and you would know I was lying if I did. Even if I wasn't a lousy liar you are a profiler and would still be able to tell I wasn't telling the truth,” Reid said trying to sound calm, but from the way Hotch was looking at him he wasn't succeeding very well, which wasn't surprising considering the gauntlet of emotions that were running through his body at the moment. He blushed in embarrassment and Hotch thought it was a very endearing quality.
“Then tell me why you are so resistant to the idea of us,” Hotch asked.
Reid could feel his expression change and knew he now looked horrified, for that was certainly how he was feeling. “Hotch… I'm not resistant to the idea, in fact nothing would make me happier. I'm just cautious is all. You are my boss after all and I don't want either one of us to be forced into a different positions just because we're in a relationship.”
“That won't happen so long we can still work efficiently together,” Hotch told him. “Considering I've been ignoring my feelings for you for seven years I would say without a doubt that I am able to still work with you and I have no doubt you will be able to do the same. We're both professionals and know how to do our jobs without anything outside of that interfering. Besides there's nothing in the rules about relationships, especially if the couple in question are mates.”
It had been proven over the last several hundred years that to forcefully keep mated pairs apart not just temporarily, but permanently for whatever reason led to either a blood bath or the suicide of both partners.
That Hotch had been able to resist the pull for so long said a lot about his strength of will as Reid well knew it couldn't have been easy and would have driven a lesser man to either give in, take him without his consent or to commit suicide.
“Hell, I've had such a hard time just being in he same room with you for the last week that I don't know how you did it for seven years.” Reid bit his lip seeming to be deep in thought and finally he said, “I want nothing more than to have a relationship with you even if we have to act professionally on the job, but...”
“But?” asked Hotch trying not to let his anxiety show.
“What will the rest of the team think for one? We do have to work with them.”
“They will be happy for us and I know you know this. You can't let your insecurities about relationships stop you from being happy. I know you've been hurt in the past and that you really didn't have a male figure in your life after you turned ten, but whether you want to admit it or not we are mates and you can't deny the connection that exists between us,” Hotch told him. “You know me and you know that I would never hurt you deliberately. Even if I didn't have a connection to you I still would have been willing to have a relationship, so long as I was unattached at the time.”
“Hotch, I would like that so much, to have a relationship with you. Being so near you and not being able to touch you has been driving me crazy for the last week and to be completely honest I'm not sure how much longer I could have continued do so every day,” Spencer finally admitted.
“Just think of how I have felt considering it's been seven years for me,” Hotch said dryly causing Spencer to laugh rather shakily. “Spencer, that you were able to fight your instincts for even a week says a lot about you and you have to realize that. You should have approached me on the day, you turned thirty, although I can understand why you did not.”
“I know, and I felt like such a coward for not approaching you, but I didn't really see how I could considering that you were my superior.”
“It wasn't because I was your superior, although that might have played a part in your subconscious decision, but I believe it was mostly because you were afraid of rejection and if I had that would have killed you, not that there was much chance of that happening.”
“I didn't know that did I?” asked Spencer relaxing a little. “You're very good at concealing your real feelings, always have been and I'm not.”
“Spencer, although I am very good at concealing my feelings I was still giving off tells that I was very attracted to you, tells that you either genuinely didn't pick up on or just ignored the signals I was unconsciously giving off.”
“I genuinely didn't know, but then I've always been lousy at picking up subtle clues like that,” said Spencer desperately wanting to kiss Hotch again, but not feeling like he had the right to just kiss him any time he wanted since Aaron Hotchner was his boss, even if they were mates.
“Go ahead and kiss me as I certainly won't object,” Hotch told the younger man having seen the indecision in Spencer's eyes and guessing accurately what it meant. “In fact you are welcome to do more then kiss me for I have loved you for seven years even while I was still married to Haley. As for me I may have a will of iron, but even iron can break given the right amount of pressure and just seeing you sitting here looking so delectable is enough to do it.”
Spencer blushed, but took that as the invitation it was and leaned over until the little space that was separating the two of them shrunk to nothing and they were touching lips kissing for all they were worth.
This second kiss that they were now sharing was even better than the first one and Spencer never wanted it to end and somehow he sensed that Hotch felt the same, which amazed him, but excited him at the same time.
“Clothes off now! I have to have you! I have to taste your skin and drive myself into your core!” Hotch ordered gruffly just stopping himself from using the voice that would make the other man obey him. He wanted Spencer to make love with him willingly and not because he couldn't resist.
“If this is not what you want tell me now because if we go any further I won't guarantee you I will be able to stop, in fact I know I will not be able to for even I only have so much will power. I have been waiting seven years to have you, but I won't do anything without your willing compliance. I will not use my powers on you to make you obey me and if you tell me no, then, although it will almost kill me I won't do anything.”
“I won't tell you no, I never could," Reid told Hotch seriously, but with look of utter bliss as Hotch began to run gentle hands over his face as if trying to memorize every inch. “This is what I want, what I've been wanting, so you have my permission. Do what you want with me for I am yours and have been ever since my birthday.”
“Good! Then strip! I want you completely naked before me,” Hotch ordered beyond pleased that Spencer was so willing and eager and that the younger man trusted him enough to give him what he wanted—desperately, but then they had been working together for a lot of years so he knew that had something to do with it as it had built up trust.
Spencer couldn't stop himself from whimpering as he imagined the pleasure that was to come, but obeyed and it didn't take long at all for him to be completely naked, as the day he was born. His clothes were immediately discarded, thrown into a corner in a heap and his cock was standing stiff and proud as soon as his underwear had been removed.
“Lay down on the couch on your stomach!” Hotch ordered and Reid immediately obeyed. “Here I want you to put this on your cock so that we can avoid creating a mess right here in my office as that is the last thing we need.” Hotch passed Reid a condom and Reid put it on his cock as ordered. “Once we get back to my apartment we won't have to worry about making a mess, but for now...” Hotch said even as he took off his shoes, pants and underwear leaving in his shirt, tie and socks.
“Believe me I understand,” Reid assured Hotch, shivering in the slightly cold air of Hotch's office.
Hotch didn't respond verbally, but began to kiss gently all over Reid's slim lightly muscled back. Reid groaned in pleasure as Hotch's kisses left trails of fire on every spot that the older man's lips touched.
Reid shivered in delight as he felt Hotch gently nip the skin of his back, licking each spot he had bitten as if to sooth the skin and the combination of the two actions made Reid go into intense, earthshattering spasms of pleasure.
“Like that do you,” Hotch smirked as he felt the shiver and the whimpering and purring sounds that Reid made, made his cock stand up even straighter and sent an even stronger shiver of desire and lust though every part of his body.
Reid didn't answer with words, but instead purred and whimpered even louder as Hotch continued to treat Spencer's body reverently and like it was the finest piece of chocolate he had ever tasted in his life. Then again to him that was exactly what his Spencer's body it was to him. His Spencer stated absolutely heavenly as he tasted of sweat, with just a hint of the soap he used in the shower and also something that was his very essence, a kind of musky sweetness that seemed to be part of his very skin.
Reid's entire body was beginning to feel like jelly and his skin was beginning to tingle pleasantly from his mate's gentle kisses, nips and licks and he knew that Hotch had barely gotten started.
“This is going to be fast and brutal,” Hotch warned Spencer his voice rough with his intense desire finally finishing tasting his mate's skin—for now and only because he couldn't hold back any longer as he had been waiting 7 years to make Spencer his. “I'm afraid I didn't think about bringing any lubrication even though I knew I was going to be confronting you once everybody was gone for the day, so long as we didn't catch a case.”
“It's okay, believe me I understand, do whatever you want with my body as I'm sure I will enjoy whatever you choose to do," Reid assured him his voice very choked with his emotions that were coursing through him like an overflowing river. He had never felt like this, with so many emotions, all of them strong and positive, running through him at the same time in all of his life. “I can take a little pain, after all I have been shot and it can't be worse then that.”
“It will be much more pleasurable, then being shot I promise you,” Hotch chuckled wickedly even as he stuck his tongue into Spencer's hole causing the other man's body to buck several inches off the couch and it was only the fact that Hotch was holding him down that he didn't end up in a disorganized heap on the floor.
“Like that, do you?” Hotch chuckled as he stuck his tongue into Spencer's anus again causing the same reaction.
“Hotch!" Reid exclaimed in a whimper. “Please get on with it! You are killing me here!”
“Be patient, love,” Hotch chuckled as Reid reacted like he had been shot throwing a look back at Hotch over his shoulder, his eyes desperate, but hopeful.
“Since when do you call me love?” asked Reid genuinely confused, but feeling hopeful that this was not going to be just a one time thing.
“Since now, for you are my love and if I have my way this is not going to be just a one time thing,” Hotch said calmly making Reid want to take the older man into his arms and kiss the breath out of him as he had just made him extremely happy with his words. “I want an actual relationship with you, I want to wake up beside you every morning for the rest of our lives, I want to share every day with you.”
“I want that as well,” Reid assured Hotch, his voice strained as the feelings that his mate had awoken in him continued to course very strongly through his entire being. “I just never dreamed I would actually get my wish.”
“Good!” Hotch growled, sounding very alpha male right then, although he also sounded very pleased. “From this moment on you are mine! Do you hear me? Mine! And just so we are clear, while you are mine, I am also yours also from this moment on and there'll never be another!”
Spencer whimpered as Hotch ran gentle fingers down his spine causing his level of pleasure to rise up several levels just from that one gesture. Hotch was being very understanding about his insecurities and Spencer still couldn't believe that Hotch wanted him, just as much as he did him or that his boss had waited for seven years in order to tell him of his feelings.
Hotch entered him then just then being as gentle as possible, even though the wolf in his chest wanted to be rough, that could wait for awhile. He wanted to make his mate's first time with him to be gentle and understanding, not rough and demanding like the wolf in him wanted. Spencer whimpered at the moment of intense pain as Hotch's large cock entered his hole for the first time. Hotch stilled, although it was extremely difficult to remain so as all he wanted to do was ram himself into the younger man, but on the other hand he didn't want to cause Spencer anymore pain then necessary either, so he used every ounce of will power he possessed to not move until Spencer gave some indication that he was ready for more.
Finally the pain faded and Spencer automatically bucked his hips backwards to let Hotch know he was ready for more and Aaron understood the silent signal and begin to move his cock in and out of the younger man until it finally exploded into Reid's body, after only a couple of thrusts, while at the same time Spencer's cock discharged violently into the condom that he had rolled onto it.
“Well, that was spectacular,” Reid said weakly as soon as his climax had subsided his voice sounding tired and completely sated. He wasn't even sure if he wouldn't be able to stand as his entire body felt completely boneless as if he was nothing more than flesh with no structure or form at all.
“It was for me as well, and that includes when I had sex with Haley,” Hotch admitted being completely truthful, “and that was just a quickie to relieve the tension. You just wait until I get you home and into my bed. I'll take my time then and this climax will be mild in comparison and that's a promise.”
“What about, Jack?” asked Spencer as he tried to sit up even as he tried to imagine having a stronger climax then what he just experienced and was having a difficult time of it, but then he had never been one for casual sex and was nearly a virgin, except for a few encounters with women over the years. He certainly wasn't as prolific as Morgan who had sex much more often then he did, but then he was mated so it wasn't surprising. In fact he'd had sex less then half a dozen times in the last ten years, which ought to be a clue as to how shy he was around most women and Morgan's teasing didn't help.
“Jack, is with his Aunt Jessica for tonight and tomorrow at least, but on Sunday, since we have it off and aren't actually on a case, we'll be spending the day with my son. If I was feeling irresponsible I'd keep you in bed on Sunday, as well, but I do want to reintroduce you to Jack and let him get to know you at least a little. Yes, you two have met, but you haven't seen him in over a year and as young as he is I'm not sure that he will remember you.”
“Well, Jack is five and he should have at least some memory of me, although it might be a little fuzzy since he hasn't seen me in so long," Reid said as he was finally able to stand on his legs, which had been extremely weak from his climax. Spencer began to get dressed slowly as his legs still felt rather wobbly and he didn't want to fall. “Most children start to have solid memories around three or four, but before that they don't remember anything at least consciously.”
Hotch shook his head even as he to put on his underwear and then his pants making sure to take the time to tuck in his shirt and tighten his tie. Finally Hotch put on his shoes and stood up.
“So who's place are we heading for? Yours or mine?” asked Spencer as casually as possible.
Hotch smirked at him, saying nothing to let Reid know that his feigned casualness was not fooling him in the slightest and Spencer blushed a lovely shade of red at having himself read so easily.
“Well, my place is closer to here, so we'll go there for tonight. Sometime tomorrow we'll stop by your place and you can pack some of your clothes and toiletries to leave at my apartment as I have a feeling you'll be spending a lot of time there in the near future.”
“Probably," Reid agreed amiably genuinely looking forward to it. He had never wanted anything so much in his entire life actually, which really wasn't surprising he supposed.
“In fact I would like you to move in with me, but I realize that Jack needs to be comfortable with having you around first and that you need time to adjust to the situation as well.”
“And you don't?” asked Spencer immediately.
“I've had seven very long years to adjust, while you have had barely a week to get used to the idea.”
“I do need a little time to adjust,” Reid admitted after a moment, “but not as much as you believe simply because I knew that my 30th birthday was coming and that finding my mate was possible, so I have spent the last couple of years in my free moments imagining myself actually in a happy relationship, although I knew very well the odds of me actually finding my mate. I never actually imagined that it would be anybody I worked with, much less my boss. I mean what are the odds?”
Hotch chuckled. “I certainly understand that view as the odds must be astronomical.”
“Considering how many people there are in the world today…” Spencer began.
“It was a rhetorical question, Spencer,” Hotch told him with a chuckle as he should have known that Spencer would know the statistics.
“Oh, okay,” Reid said blushing a little embarrassed.
“In any case let's get out of here,” Hotch said taking Spencer into his arms and giving him to be continued later kind of kiss, his tongue taking possession of the younger man's mouth forcing it's way past Reid's lips without bothering to ask for permission for Spencer was his. The wolf in his chest howled in agreement at that thought and immediately wanted to take his mate again and after that again until both he and Spencer were to exhausted to continue and fell asleep in each other's arms.
“You keep that up and we won't be going anywhere,” Reid moaned through the kiss.
Hotch chuckled, but had to agree. “We will be continuing this at home.”
“It's your home, and Jack's home, not mine,” Reid protested halfheartedly even as he pulled the older man's head down for another fiery, smoldering kiss.
“It will be,” Hotch said his voice a little breathless, but with such certainty in his tone that Reid couldn't find it within him to protest probably because he wanted nothing more than to move in with Hotch, to wake up beside him every morning and spend as much time as humanly possible in his presence. “It might take a few months between Jack getting used to your presence and our jobs, but it will happen.”
“So when are we going to tell the rest of the team? They have to know. Actually scratch that they'll figure it out by themselves even if we try to keep it to ourselves, and you might be good at concealing your feelings, but I'm not. I know we aren't supposed to profile each other, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen and they can read me like a book. There's no way I'll be able to keep such a big secret for very long and if they find out we did tell them they'll be mad at both of us,” Reid said not arguing with Hotch's earlier statement
“Oh I don't plan on keeping it a secret as there's no way I'll be able to sleep without you beside me when we are on a case now that you have acknowledged the bond that is between us, so we'll be sharing a hotel room from now on and before you ask the higher-ups won't object, so long as we remain professional on the job.”
Hotch's tone brooked no argument, not that Reid was inclined to give him one since he felt the same way and just kissed him again, which was his way of responding to the older man's statement.
“Strauss will object just because she's a bitch,” Reid pointed out rudely, “although you're right in the fact that to forcibly separate mates even if they are on the same team is tantamount to suicide.”
“Or a blood bath,” Hotch said looking grim despite how happy and contented he was feeling to have Spencer in his arms. How he had longed for the other man for 7 long years and Hotch could hardly make himself believe that Spencer was now his.
They had both promised each other, just minutes ago to take no other lovers, besides if they did that would be tantamount to suicide since once you had sex with your True Mate, you could have sex with no other at least not willingly for you would feel so guilty afterwards that 97 percent of the time it led to the death of the mate who was guilty of the sin and soon after the suicide of the other. If somebody of a mated pair was raped however, so long as the other supported their partner and helped them through it they were usually okay after awhile, although they would have to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives even if it hadn't been their fault.
“You really dislike Strauss, don't you?” Hotch teased him.
Spencer grimaced. “So does everybody else on the team except perhaps for Rossi. I hate her for the simple fact that she has tried to tear this team apart more then once, she tried to get Emily to spy on the rest of the team, but luckily she was honest and admitted it to us.”
“It helps that she despises politics,” Hotch said with a chuckle. He had thought at first that Emily Prentiss's mother had gotten her the position, but it had turned out that not only were her and her mother barely in contact, because they disagreed on a number of things, like Emily's career for one, but that she was a damn fine profiler and they were very lucky to have her on the team, especially since she was a shaman of some power.
“Well, yes,” Reid said as the two of them left Hotch's office and headed toward the parking lot. “She transferred JJ away to work for Pentagon even though it was against her wishes, just so she could look good with her bosses. She has tried her damn best to get rid of you in anyway that she can and just because she hasn't succeeded doesn't mean I dislike her any less.”
“Well, as you are aware, I don't really like her either, because you are right and she is nothing more then a backstabbing, power hungry schemer, but enough about her let's concentrate on us for right now.”
“Fine with me,” Reid said with a smile. “I'll meet you at your apartment.”
“Why don't we go out somewhere for a quiet dinner first? It's only seven o'clock and I know we eat later then this a lot of times, but I'm starving,” Hotch suggested with a smile.
“I wonder why,” Reid teased him causing Hotch to smile glad Spencer felt comfortable enough to joke with him a little. “Anyway, dinner sounds good and I'm starving too.”
“Good I know this quiet little French place. They are very discreet there and it is also a very romantic place with nothing but low romantic lighting. Besides you are going to need your energy for what I have planned, and so will I.”
“Sounds heavenly,” said Spencer. “I hope there's a trash can between here and there though, since I would like to get rid of this condom. I wasn't about to leave in a trashcan in the office as it would have been bound to discovered and would have probably come back to bite me in the ass at some point.”
“Smart thinking,” said Hotch with a smile kissing Spencer ever willing lips again, “because you are right it would have been found by the cleaning crew at the very least and most likely would have been reported.”
“We're just lucky that there are no cameras in your office,” said Spencer.
“I knew that before I started planning on how to get into my clutches,” Hotch said with a straight face, but with laughter in his eyes.
“Of course you did,” Reid said rolling his eyes, although he could see the humor in Hotch's statement so he let it go. “So where is this place located and I'll meet you there.”
Hotch told him and Spencer nodded heading for his car after giving Hotch another kiss on the lips.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“This is a really nice place, Hotch,” Reid said as the two of them were sat at a private table for two in a dim corner. “The hostess or the waitress didn't even give us funny looks because we were two men in an obvious romantic relationship.”
“Of course,” Hotch smirked. “I knew that before I even suggested it as a place to have a nice dinner. Same-sex couples come here all the time and a lot of them are Shifters like yourself.”
“Do I want to know how you knew about this place?” asked Spencer a little reluctantly.
“Dave,” Hotch answered immediately. “He was the only one that knew about the bond I had to you and he knew about my plans once you turned thirty.”
“I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Rossi knew considering he was part of the team before I came along and knows you better then anyone else, including me,” Reid said.
“No, you shouldn't be. Anyway apparently he's been here before with some of his dates and he was the one that told me that they didn't mind same-sex couples and that they were very discreet.”
Spencer looked around appreciatively and said, “Well definitely have to come back sometime, although I know our schedule is uncertain and often hectic so we never know where we're going to be from one week to the next.”
“We'll manage to get back here every once in awhile whenever we have a break between cases,” Hotch said as he looked at Spencer appreciatively. He had been admiring Spencer from afar for the last 7 years and still had trouble believing that the young man he had lusted after secretly for so long was finally his. Hotch appreciated how the candlelight seemed to reflect off Spencer's golden brown eyes and even made his dark brown hair seem several shades lighter, giving him an almost halolike effect around his head.
Hotch reached under the table and took Spencer hand in his and watched at the younger man's eyes widen in surprise and then how he flushed in embarrassed pleasure shooting him an adoring look.
“Let me make this clear,” Hotch began quite seriously making sure to look Spencer in the eyes so that the shy young man would know he was being honest and completely truthful. “I have absolutely no intention of hiding our relationship, you understand me? None! We'll both act professionally at work, but outside of that arena, I am going to hold your hand, kiss or hug you and I don't give a damn what other people, think of it. I realize it will mostly be Normals who think that there is something wrong with two men in a relationship and probably some shamans as well, but since our lives are our own and no one has a right to interfere it doesn't matter what they think.”
“What about the team?” asked Spencer sounding very insecure and unsure.
“They will support us and I know you know this. They know what happens when a Shifter turns thirty and although I'm sure they didn't expect for you to find your mate among your coworkers they will still be excited for us as all they want is for us to be happy. I even suspect that they will be relieved as they know how lonely we both are.”
“You've been lonely?” asked Spencer sounding startled as he had never considered the fact that Hotch might be lonely. It had just never occurred to him.
“Even since the divorce, yes, but really even before that,” Hotch admitted. “Haley wasn't the kind of person that you could really talk to, well except about generalities, especially about the job and I was gone so much of the time that I was mostly pretty lonely. Even when I was home, we didn't sit down and have any heart to heart talks or discuss our day.”
“You sound as if you were miserable,” Reid observed.
“Oh I was happy enough, especially when we were first married, but after a few years it became abundantly clear that Haley and I lost whatever common ground we shared during the later years of our marriage. Part of that I realize is that I was gone so much, but also neither one of us really worked on keeping the common ground we had when we got married and that was as much Haley's fault as it was mine, although when she was alive she would have disagreed that the breakup was in anyway her fault at all even though it was her that wanted a divorce in the first place, instead of trying to work out our problems or going to a marriage counselor.”
Spencer snorted at that. “I realize I've never been married, but even I know that it takes both people of a couple in order to maintain a decent marriage. One person can't just put in all the work to maintain it and expect the relationship to last.”
“After I realized that we were mates back when you first joined the BAU it got pretty hard to hide that fact from Haley, but I was gone so much that made it easier,” Hotch admitted as he gave Spencer's hand a squeeze under the table.
Spencer blushed again and Hotch secretly hoped that the young man never lost his ability to do so for he found it adorable and endearing.
“You should have approached me a lot sooner and not waited until I turned 30,” Reid told Hotch gazing at him across the small candlelit table.
“I might have if I didn't know how you had never really had a relationship and how shy you were in that area,” Hotch admitted. “I was afraid if I did though that you would turn me down flat just because I was your boss or because I was so much older than you are, although the first possibility is the more likely I know. I thought about telling you quite seriously more than once, although I would've waited until you were at least in your late 20s and had some experience with the outside world. However, you have to remember that I was married and that relationship only broke up about four years ago.”
“And what would you have done if you were still married to Haley when I turned 30?” asked Spencer asked genuinely curious.
“Well I can see one of two different things happening,” Hotch said after a moment. “One I would have admitted to you that I have loved you ever since you came to work at the BAU at 23 and I would've gotten a divorce, or two we would have carried on a discreet affair, which really would have been incredibly easy considering that we travel together so often for work. I realize however that option two is the least likely scenario, since both of us are to honorable to really do that while I was still married. Not to mention that having sex with anyone except your True Mate once you have mated with them would mean suicide for I know I would have felt so incredibly guilty afterwards that I wouldn't have been able to stop myself.”
“Yes, we both would have felt guilty if we had had sex except with each other and yes, we are both to honorable to carry on a discreet affair even if such an arrangement didn't lead to suicide. I'm still trying to understand how you lasted for seven years,” Reid said shaking his head at the fact that Hotch had been able to last so long without at least speaking of his feelings and that he had managed to maintain the secret deep in his heart.
“I know I mentioned that it helped that I saw you every day at work, but I can't tell you the number of times I sat outside your apartment building in my car trying to talk myself out of going to confess my feelings for you or how often I wanted to drag you into some private corner and take you without your consent.”
“I certainly understand those feelings,” Reid said with a soft chuckle looking up at Hotch adoringly. “Just in the last week I've sat outside your apartment building every night for hours trying to get up the courage to actually knock on your door and tell you how I felt, but as I'm sure you can guess I also chickened out every single time.”
“Why?” asked Hotch. “It sure would have made things easier.”
“Because I convinced myself that you wouldn't possibly be interested in me, as anything other then a coworker and possibly a friend. I mean you're handsome, powerful, well built, have confidence in yourself and have women chasing you or at least giving you signals that they're interested. Me on the other hand, is none of the above.”
“That's not true and I think you know that,” Hotch vehemently denied. “You've changed so much in the last seven years and I don't think you even realize it. You've gotten more confident, especially when conducting an interview or interrogation, you actually go out just to enjoy yourself now instead of just staying home and reading.”
“I do know I have changed a great deal in the last seven years. Yes, I have more confidence in certain situations, although the social arena certainly isn't one of them...”
“You've gotten better in that area to,” Hotch corrected.
“A little I suppose, although I still feel incredibly awkward in social situations. I never seem to know how to act or what to say, especially to the females that seem to flock around Morgan and the others and even you.”
“Believe me I know,” Hotch chuckled.
“That's what I meant when I said you had women chasing you and did even when you were married and you joined us at some bar or restaurant. How many propositions have you gotten over the years?”
“To many to remember,” Hotch chuckled. “I hope you also remember that I turned every single one of them down even when I wasn't married anymore and you know the reason why I did.”
“Are you telling me you haven't had a relationship of any kind in the last four years?”
“Not really, just a few one night stands to relieve the sexual tension, but those women meant nothing to me. Luckily I was at the age after I met you that I wasn't a young man whose libido was in overdrive, so it was easier.”
“Yes, you were in your early thirties when I joined the team and the libido stops being in overdrive sometime in the mid to late twenties, depending on the male.”
“I didn't want to get into any serious relationships, after Haley had just been murdered and yes, I know we were separated. I know I met you while I was still married, so while I still cared for Haley, and loved her even after our divorce it wasn't the same kind of love I felt for you.”
“That's normal you know even if you're married at the time you meet your True Mate then the love for the person you're married to changes dramatically. You still care about and love them, but it won't be the kind of love or the affection you feel for your other half.”
“I know,” Hotch agreed. “Besides by the time I had finished grieving it had been a year and you were less than three years away from being thirty, so I didn't want to get involved in a relationship that might have turned serious since you were so close to recognizing the bond that is between us. Besides when did I really have the free time to get involved in a serious relationship? I mean we were on cases a lot of the time and I was looking after Jack the rest of it, so it seems I've barely had time to breathe much less get into a relationship with someone.”
Spencer chuckled at that as he knew exactly what Hotch meant.
The two men finished their dinner in companionable silence and when the waitress brought the check, Spencer reached for it, but Hotch beat him to it, snatching the check from under Spencer's fingers.
“I am the one that invited you to dinner so I'll be paying,” Hotch told Spencer with a smile, when he looked like he was about to protest.
Spencer sighed giving in without argument knowing that there was no way to change Hotch's mind when he used that tone, the tone that said he would accept no arguments.
Hotch handed the waitress his credit and asked, “So are you ready to head back to my place?”
“Yes,” Reid answered blushing a bright crimson knowing exactly what Hotch was asking. Hotch was asking, without actually saying the words as to whether or not he was ready for a night of amazing lovemaking and that they wouldn't be getting much sleep. “I'm looking forward to it.”
“Good,” Hotch almost growled his dark brown eyes full of a deep seated lust looking at Spencer like he was a five course dinner causing the younger man to blush again, because he had never been looked at so lustfully, by anyone, much less his boss. “Because when we walk in the door of my apartment we are heading straight to what is now our bedroom and once we there I am going to do things to you that I've been dreaming about for 7 long years. It's a good thing we have all weekend because you are going to need at least a day to recover, from what I plan on doing to your body.”
Spencer gulped and felt adrenaline run through him making his body feel like it was on fire. He was looking forward to anything Hotch chose to do to him much more then he had anything else in his life. He had admired Aaron Hotchner for a number years even before he had reached his 30th birthday. He had never figured, however, that someone like Hotch would be interested in someone like him, then again he had never figured on Hotch having shapeshifter blood, enough for him to have the mating gene that had activated when he turned 30. Most of those with shapeshifter, blood that couldn't actually transform also didn't have the mating gene or at the very least it was dormant, but there was a small percentage, and apparently Hotch was one, that had enough Shifter blood that the mating instinct activated when they had reached 30. Scientists still didn't understand why this was so and they were still years away from doing so.
“Let's get out of here then,” Reid said trying his best to sound normal, but the look and smirk Hotch shot him told him he hadn't quite succeeded.
Finally the waitress brought back Hotch's credit card and once he had slipped it into his wallet he rose from the table looking completely relaxed and only someone who knew him well would be able to tell that he was incredibly tense with anticipation.
Spencer followed the older man out the door and the two of them got in their separate cars heading for Hotch's apartment building, which was only about a ten minute drive from the restaurant.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch hadn't been kidding when he said that as soon as they entered his apartment he was going to do things to him that he had been dreaming about for 7 years. The door had barely been shut and locked when Hotch's hands were pulling off his sweater vest, throwing it somewhere out of sight, unbuttoning and removing his shirt, letting it slide down Reid's arms and then drop to the floor. Finally Hotch unbuttoned, and then unzipped Reid's slacks, pushing them down past the younger man's hips, letting them fall to the floor to puddle at his feet.
“Hey, let's be fair here,” Reid pretend pouted. “You have me almost completely naked while you are still almost fully dressed.”
Hotch kissed the pout on Reid's face away and then ordered his voice a deep growl, “Bedroom! Now! Once we are there, I will allow you to undress me, before we get started. Don't expect to be let out of bed much for the next day and a half as I have so many things I've been wanting to do to your body for the last seven years and I intend to fulfill as many of them in the time we have before we pick up Jack as possible.”
Reid followed his mate eagerly and without complaint looking everywhere as he trailed behind the older man. Hotch had three bedrooms, the master, which is where he assumed they were heading, his son's room and then a guest room. The living area was decorated nicely, although it didn't really look like someone actually lived in it, which wasn't surprising considering that Hotch was gone so much of the time, so really this apartment was just a place to sleep when he was actually in town. His apartment was much the same, except that it was smaller and he had bookshelves all over the place. There was no way all his books would fit in Hotch's apartment, so they were either going to have to move some place new or maintain two apartments, which really didn't make sense if they were going to be living together. He would worry about it later, he decided, preferably much later.
Finally Hotch pushed open a partially closed door and gestured for Spencer to enter first which he did. Hotch then entered and shut the door gently behind him turning on the lamp that was on the bedside table.
Hotch began to loosen his tie, but Spencer stopped him with a gentle hand on his mate's cheek. “You promised I could undress you.”
“So I did,” Hotch agreed with a smirk as his eyes left Reid's face to rove up and down his mate's body. He knew Spencer didn't think so, but his body really was fine. A little too skinny, because he didn't eat enough, which Hotch knew from experience, but lightly muscled, lithe and slim.
Spencer blushed at Hotch's heated regard even as he began to undo his tie. Once the tie was gone, he began to undo Hotch's shirt, which like his had a long row of buttons, which were no problem for his long dexterous fingers.
Once Hotch's shirt was gone, Spencer undid the button on Hotch suit pants and let them drop to the floor. All that now remained were the underwear of both men and the visible bulges pressing against the fabric.
“Well it looks like we are both eager to begin,” Hotch chuckled almost literally salivating as he gazed at his mate's white skin and the visible bulge of his cock that was pressing against the material of his underwear. He could hardly wait to have his cock in Spencer's body again and he was having to use every ounce of willpower he possessed to not just attack the other man, despite the fact that they had relieved the tension in his office. He could make love to his mate 1000 times and still want to do it 1000 more and would for the rest of his life.
“Are you kidding me?” asked Spencer sounding incredulous. “Of course I'm ready and have been for the last week. If you had been having the intense dreams I've been having ever since I realized that you were my mate, you would be to and yes I know we had a quickie in your office, but all that did was left me wanting more.”
Hotch chuckled, “Try 7 years worth of dreams. Those dreams were one of the only things that kept me sane, well besides seeing you almost every day. They made me hope that someday we would be together.”
“And now that day has finally come,” Reid said with a shy smile, which made him even more handsome to Hotch if that was possible.
“Yes, it has and for me anyway it has been a long time in coming,” said Hotch moving forward a few inches and putting both hands on Spencer's underwear and pulling it down in one smooth motion. Reid's cock immediately sprang to attention once freed from it's confinement.
“Well, it certainly won't take much to make you come,” Hotch chuckled darkly gazing down at his mate's cock trying his best not to drool with the intense desire that went through him at the mere sight of it. He couldn't wait to have to other man's cock in his mouth or to be swallowing his cum. He could think of more than a dozen things he wanted to do to Spencer's cock alone and that didn't even include the rest of his body.
“And can you say any different?” Reid challenged, pulling down Hotch's underwear watching as his mate's bulging cock stood up just as straight as his was doing, although the alpha's was longer, thicker and also more defined at the tip and Spencer knew that he was going to enjoy being penetrated by the older man's manhood once more.
“No, I can't,” Hotch admitted honestly. “If I did you would know I was lying and I won't lie to you ever, but I expect the same from you, complete honesty—always.”
“You'll get it, I will never lie to you,” Reid promised. “I'm not very good at it anyway, so it wouldn't do me any good since you would be able to see right through me.”
“Bed!” Hotch ordered in his alpha voice. “On your back, pillow under hips. Now!”
Spencer obeyed instantly and eagerly laying on the already turned down bed on his back just as Hotch ordered and placed the pillow from the other side of the bed under his hips.
“You are so handsome, so delectable,” Hotch told him as he gently ran both hands all over Reid's chest and sides, causing the younger man to groan with desire at his mate's gentle touch. “I know you have never believed yourself as being such, but trust me you are. I know you have never paid any attention, but I've seen more than one women over the years looking at you with lust. I can practically read their thoughts without half trying, but then they weren't exactly being very subtle.”
“I noticed, but all they did was make me uncomfortable,” Reid said his voice already becoming strained. “They looked at me like I was a piece of meat on the market and you're right those women weren't very subtle. Really they would have had to have been pretty obvious if I picked up on it since I've never been good on noticing that kind of subtle clue.”
“Do I make you uncomfortable?” asked Hotch.
“No, the way you look at me and the way those women did are two totally different things. They looked at me like I was a side of beef. They did not know a thing about me nor did they care to try to get to know me as all they wanted was a body to warm their beds and didn't care about what kind of person that was inhibiting it. You on the other hand look at me totally differently. You look at me not as a side of meat, or just somebody to warm your bed, but as a living breathing person, with his own intelligence, personality and interests. In other words you genuinely love and care about me, as a person, which those women didn't. You know me and don't look at me as just somebody to have sex with, but that you don't care about otherwise.”
“Yes,” Hotch said slowly, “now that you have pointed it out, you're right. The way I feel about you and the way those women did are two totally different things. I care about you, those women didn't, not in any meaningful way.”
“Hotch…” Reid began.
“Call me Aaron at least while we are not on the job,” Hotch ordered, huskily.
“Alright,” Reid agreed feeling honored at being asked to call Hotch by his first name at least when they weren't working. “Then call me Spencer at least when we aren't on the job. Actually I prefer it if you want to know the truth as calling each other by our last names, or in your case a nickname, seems rather impersonal. Aaron, back to the point I was trying to make a minute ago and that is unlike those women you could never make me as uncomfortable as they did simply because I know you care about me and would never use me like they would have, if I had let them.”
“Good,” said Hotch relief in his expression.
Spencer reached up and took Aaron's face between his hands pulling him down to give him a passion filled kiss on the lips. “Let's get back to what we were doing shall we? I've been looking forward to it. All through dinner all I could think about was what I wanted you to do to me when we got back to your place and also what I would like to do to you.”
“Tell me what you want and I will do my best to fulfill your every fantasy,” Hotch said gently, that was out of place with the lecherous grin on his face, which caused Spencer to blush as red as fire.
“Well, in my dreams…” Spencer began shyly seeming unsure. “You always began by sucking on my nipples and using your teeth and tongue to work up an almost indescribable sensation.” Spencer blushed as he said this. “In my dreams I always nearly come from that alone, but the dream you always seemed to know just when to stop to prevent my going over the edge.”
“Like this?” Hotch said taking Spencer's left nipple into his mouth sucking on it gently, for a few seconds causing the younger man to groan and begin to wither frantically beneath him as the sensations that Aaron was causing with his teeth and tongue shot straight to his groin and the alpha male had barely gotten started.
“Yes, exactly like that,” Reid said panting heavily his voice hoarse.
Hotch grinned at how responsive his mate was and began to use his tongue to lick the nipple he was sucking on into a little peak and finally using his teeth to scrape along the sensitive skin, causing Spencer to close his eyes as a look of utter bliss crossed his face.
“So how are my doing so far?” Hotch asked teasingly already knowing the answer once he had removed his mouth from Spencer's nipple, replacing it with his fingers. His thumb and forefinger gently rolled his mate's nipple between them, causing Spencer to groan again as pleasure and ecstasy surged through him, seeming to strengthen with every wave and causing his climax to draw nearer.
“Hell, Aaron, you're blowing my dreams out of the water and I know we've barely gotten started. Apparently my imagination is no match for the reality,” Reid answered sounding completely dazed.
Hotch grinned at that then asked, “So what else did I do in your dreams?”
“Well...” Spencer began then stopped blushing again.
“Tell me, and I promise I won't take offence,” Hotch promised sincerely, kissing Spencer on the lips, his tongue demanding entrance to his lover's mouth, which made Reid automatically open his mouth for the other man. “I want to know every single one of your fantasies about you and me and I will do my best to fulfill them, even if it takes me the rest of my life,” the older man added as soon as the kiss had broken.
Spencer looked dazed, just from the way that Hotch's tongue had overtaken his mouth as the sensations were absolutely out of this world, but once he came back to reality he blushed again, but said, “You also took my cock into your mouth, suck on it, while running your teeth along the sensitive skin and at the same time you used one hand to fondle and squeeze my balls and if the sensations are anything like in my dreams then they will be absolutely indescribable.” Spencer's eyes rolled back as he imagined that the reality would far outstrip the dream.
Hotch grinned then assured him, “It will be the greatest pleasure.”
Hotch immediately took Spencer's stiff manhood into his mouth and began sucking on it tonguing the tip and then scraping his teeth along the numerous nerves that were part of a man's cock. “Aaaarrrrrooooooonnnnnnnn!” Reid immediately screamed as his cock released it's load into Hotch's mouth after only a few seconds and Spencer watched through dazed eyes as his mate swallowed every single drop, with every evidence of pleasure and satisfaction.
Just watching Aaron swallow his cum made Spencer immediately go over the edge and as his climax overtook him he knew distantly that he had indeed been right, that his dream didn't even come close to the reality.
Finally Reid opened his eyes and stared directly into his mate's dark brown ones. “Thank you for fulfilling my fantasies.”
“You don't have to thank me, Spencer, I've been doing those things to you in my dreams for seven, long years and it will always be an absolute pleasure. It will always be my pleasure to fulfill any fantasy that you have as well as my own. All you have to do is tell me whatever you fantasize about me doing to you and I guarantee I will be happy fulfill it.”
“Intellectually I know that, but I'm still having trouble believing in my heart that you could love me as much as I do you, even if I know you do.”
“I'll make sure to prove to you every day how much I do love you even if it takes the rest of my life. I will prove to you that you deserve to be loved just as much as anybody else. I can guess what made you think that you don't deserved to be loved as much as the next person and why you are having trouble accepting in your heart that I do love you, so deeply that I will never stop even when I take my last breath. In any case if I ever run into your father, he and I will be having words and he will not like what I have to say.”
“How do you know it's my father that caused me to not trust my own feelings?” asked Spencer rhetorically.
Hotch simply looked at him raising an eyebrow and Spencer got the silent message. Hotch was a profiler and a good one. A decent profiler could learn a lot about a person just by observing them even from a distance, but since they worked so closely together any profiler worth his salt would be able to tell things about a person, especially one they worked with day in and day out for years.
“How long have I known you? Seven years. In that amount of time I have learned a lot about you just from observing you everyday. I know how you think, what makes you tick. I know that despite your father leaving when you were ten you're a good man because why would you have joined the FBI otherwise? Joining the FBI, is not for everybody, especially the BAU. Yes, you are not very athletic, but it was your intelligence that allowed you to get into the FBI and specifically into our unit. Your mind is your greatest asset, even though I know you are afraid of it at times. Answer me this if your father hadn't left, if he had spent more time with you then he did, do you think you would have turned out the same? The same man that wanted to join the FBI so that he could help people, prevent families from being torn apart? Be the same man that I love? Or would you have turned out totally differently if your father had, had more influence in your life?”
“There's really no way to know for certain. It could've gone either way,” Reid answered understanding exactly what Hotch was getting at. “There are statics for both sides of the coin. A lot of children who come from bad, abusive childhoods turn into decent hard-working people, others don't, on the other side of the coin some children who come from parents who are decent, hard-working and love their children turn out bad and some of the unsubs that we catch. Technically though I wasn't really abused at least not physically, just neglected and although I know that can have a very negative effect on the psych, it's not as bad as being physically abused.”
“I don't believe that, no matter what the statics say, I believe being the neglected and abandoned by someone who is supposed to love you, especially by a parent and when your mother is having schizophrenia episodes, ones so bad that she doesn't even know who you are sometimes is just as bad as physical abuse. When you marry someone it is supposed to be until death do you part and although I know there is a lot of divorces, in this country, it doesn't make it right unless one of the spouses is physically abusive, cheats on you or something else goes seriously wrong, but to just leave you wife, because she is mentally ill and to leave your child with that ill person is just cowardly. I mean when you get married you're supposed to love the person, love them enough to not leave at the slightest hiccup. If you weren't so much more intelligent then most children you either wouldn't have survived or been put into foster care and I might never have met you at all.”
Both men shuddered as they both contemplated never having met.
“Man you really have a beef against my father don't you?” asked Spencer. A feeling swelled in him that he had trouble at first identifying, but finally he identified a gratitude and also love. Hotch's rant meant everything to him simply because it meant he cared, actually more then cared for him. The way that Hotch talked about his father, and how he would like to have a talk with him and he had never had anybody who cared enough to be so indigent towards his father who was supposed to love him, but then again nobody knew that much about his past not even the rest of the team. They had all picked up things about each other over the years, but no one knew very much about his past and he had never divulged much at all about his childhood or his years in college and with good reason.
“I do, because as I said he is a coward. He left his sick wife and young son to fend for themselves and I believe it is at least one of the reasons that you turned out so well, probably even the main one is because he didn't stick around. If he hadn't left, if he had paid you more attention then you did, instead of neglecting you then it is entirely possible that your personality would be totally different. You could be living somewhere making scads of money, by owning your own company or business, but you would also more then likely be unhappy, because you wouldn't truly be who you are, fulfilling yourself by helping others.”
“And you and I would never have met,” Reid said looking devastated at the mere possibility of never meeting the person that had been meant for him to find and to share his life with.
“Probably not, well not unless we were extremely lucky and we met while I and the rest of the team were working on a case,” said Hotch feeling sick at even the slight possibility that he never would have met his mate, whom he had loved from the moment he had set eyes on him.
“Aaron, I know my childhood was not ideal, but there are a lot of children that have it worse then I did. You're right though one of the reasons I wanted to join the FBI, the BAU in particular, in the first place was to prevent even more broken families like mine was and also to help catch the people that caused those same people to grieve.”
“And you do.” Hotch said. “How many cases have you had a major part in helping to solve? Hundreds at the very least.”
“185,” Reid reeled of the number without pause.
Hotch rolled his eyes. “My point was that you joined the Bureau to help people, and you have helped solve almost 200 cases over the years even if all those cases didn't always end happily.”
“I know that,” Reid said, “intellectually anyway, but in my heart of hearts I suppose I'll always be that scared, lonely little boy whose father abandoned him. Did you know he left me a letter? A fucking letter trying to explain why he was abandoning my mother and me.”
“What exactly did your father say in the letter?” asked Hotch trying to appear calm, although he was almost in a killing rage. If he ever got his hands on Spencer's father he was going to make the man wish he had never been born. The only good thing in his life that William Reid had done was marry Spencer's mother Diana so that his mate had been born.
“Oh you know the usual, he gave excuses about how he couldn't handle my mother's disease and that he was sorry he was leaving me behind, but he wanted to start his life fresh, away from his sick wife. He told me that he loved me and that he hoped someday I would be able to forgive him—fat chance—for what he had done and if I'm honest there is more chance of me walking away if he was on fire, then of me trying to put it out.”
“I don't blame you a bit, as we can be scarred for life by things that happen in childhood. In some cases that scarring can lead to a child eventually turning into someone who commits horrible atrocities and need to be caught and in other cases it leads to people like you and me who go out of their way to help others,” Hotch said, “In any case that just confirms my original diagnosis that he's a coward. Leaving without even trying to explain to your face why and leaving you to read about it in a letter is definitely cowardly.”
“I can't disagree,” Reid admitted then added with a grin. “Let's quit talking about it though as I believe we have other things we could be doing.”
“So we do,” Hotch agreed with a lustful grin. “We'll drop the subject for now, but we will be talking about it at some later date.”
Spencer nodded gratefully and Hotch got back to what he had been doing and it didn't take long at all for him to have his mate screaming his name and climaxing yet again.
“I love you so much, Spencer,” Hotch told him as soon as they had both climaxed for the third or fourth time. “I have since the moment we first met 7 years ago and that love and respect has only deepened over the years.”
“I hope you know that I love you too,” Spencer told Aaron running a gentle hand over his lover's face.
Hotch raised one of his hands to capture Spencer's in his own giving it a gentle squeeze. “I do,” Hotch assured him.
“I have always respected you ever since I met you, but in the last week that has changed into something else entirely,” Spencer added after a moment. “I know with absolute certainty that to be parted from you on a permanent basis would kill me.”
“I know that too and I feel the same,” Hotch told Spencer kissing him tenderly on the lips.
Hotch didn't mention that he was bound to die first since he was ten years older, even if that was in the line of duty or old age. There was no point of bringing it up since he knew that Spencer had probably already thought of the possibly, so why upset his lover anymore than he probably already was over that possibility.
The two of them continued to make love for what remained of the night and finally fell asleep around dawn totally exhausted.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

When Reid and Hotch walked in together first thing on Tuesday morning there were immediately raised eyebrows, especially since Reid was limping just a little, although he did his best to hide it, but wasn't successful or at least not entirely. Everybody on the team raised eyebrows, except for Rossi who had just stood in the doorway of his office smiling as he knew exactly what had happened. He even tossed Hotch a wink while the other's were distracted and Hotch grinned smugly in return. Spencer tried not to think about the things that Hotch had done to him in the two nights and full day they'd had together before Hotch had gone to pick up his son, for they had been spectacular as Hotch had indeed fulfilled quite a few of his fantasies and also a few of his own. The two of them had hardly left the bed at all, except to eat. They had ordered takeout as they didn't want to leave long enough to eat someplace nice. On Sunday however, Hotch had picked up Jack leaving Spencer alone at his apartment and while he had been gone Reid had mentally prepared himself for interacting with a five year old. He had never been very good with children, but Jack appeared to be the exception for as soon as Hotch and his son had entered Jack had run to him and tackled his legs saying he was glad to see his dad so happy.
Reid had looked up at Hotch, who was grinning from the entry hall that led into the living area and he summarized that his mate had tried to explain to his son, in terms a five year old could understand, about his relationship with another man and had apparently succeeded. Of course children picked up on the emotions around them a lot easier than most adults did, so Jack had probably felt that his dad was extremely happy and therefore had already been prepared to like him. It was true that Jack had already known him, and knew that he worked with his father and that had more than likely had something to do little boy trusting him so easily as well.
“So what's going on here?” asked Morgan looking back and forth between Hotch and Reid, his expression curious.
“What makes you think something is going on, Morgan?” Reid asked as innocently as possible, although all he really wanted to do was grin from ear to ear he was so happy, but he managed to contain himself and keep his usual expression firmly in place.
“Well, for one thing, Spence, you're limping,” JJ said. “Now unless you had some sort of accident that you haven't told us about over the weekend, which I admit isn't out of the realm of possibility considering how clumsy you are...”
“Don't bother to lie since we'll be able to see right through you as you never have been any good at it,” Emily added.
Before Spencer could respond Hotch barked, “This is not the place for such a discussion, I'll see you in the round table room in ten minutes.”
Spencer glanced back at Hotch and the other man looked back at him with a slight smile on his face making sure that the rest team couldn't see it. Spencer smiled back and then went to fix himself a cup of coffee.
“So what's going between you and Hotch?” JJ asked her friend as she joined him in the small kitchen.
“What makes you think anything is going on?” Reid asked calmly raising his eyebrow at his longtime friend.
“Well, for one thing you just evaded the question which is a sure sign that something is,” JJ pointed out and Reid looked at her unblinkingly his expression not changing by an inch.
“You'll just have to be patient, you'll find out in four minutes and thirty seconds,” Reid said looking at his watch.
“Oh come on, we've been friends for seven years, can't tell me what it is?” JJ playfully whined.
“Sorry,” Reid told her with a teasing smile, “but on the good side you now only have three minutes and fifteen seconds to wait. We had better head to the round table room if we want to make it on time.”
“You couldn't get anything out of him could you, JJ?” Morgan asked JJ as she exited the small kitchen.
JJ shook her head at Morgan and he sighed. “And here I thought if anybody could get something out of him it would be you since you've been friends forever.”
“Don't worry you only have another two minutes to wait,” Reid told them told them with a smirk, which was a very unusual expression on his face, coming up behind his two friends
“Oh, somebody has a secret,” Morgan oohed dramatically.
“Which won't be a secret for more than another minute and thirty seconds,” Reid said walking ahead of his two friends and entering the round table sitting at his usual spot at the table and placing his coffee in front of him.
Reid looked across the room and saw that Hotch was already there along with David Rossi. Hotch looked up after Reid had entered and smiled slightly causing the younger man's serious expression to lighten for a few seconds as he smiled back.
Rossi looked back and forth between the two of them and saw how relaxed and happy the two of them were, ever since the younger man had reached his thirtieth birthday and the mating bond that was part of every full Shifter on that day had become active. He had been the one to tell Hotch to approach Reid, because he had known that the younger man would be too shy to approach his boss. He had also known that Reid would be too afraid of rejection to actually do anything about the feelings that became a part of him the minute he had set eyes on the man that was ten years his senior once that mating gene was active. Rossi was quite sure that Reid would either have left the FBI entirely so he didn't have to be near someone he was sure that he believed he could never have every day, or he would have quietly longed for the man who was his boss and eventually been driven insane because of the tumult of very strong emotions, not that that wouldn't have happened anyway even if the younger man had left, which he knew Reid was aware of.
Hotch had wanted to give Reid another two or three weeks to come to him, but Rossi had warned him that Reid would be gone, if he waited to long. He had said that there was no way that Reid would ever admit that Hotch was his True Mate, because the older man was his boss, and also that Reid wasn't exactly very confident when it came to things like women in general and that it wouldn't be any different just because he was a man.
Hotch had thought about it for a few minutes, but then agreed that he would give Reid a few days, but if he didn't make a move, by the end of the week then he would.
It was probably a good thing, considering what Reid had told him how he had seriously considered leaving the FBI. If Reid had left, Hotch was sure that not even Garcia would have been able to find him, at least very easily, since he was smart enough to know how to hide and go off the grid, which was far from easy, especially in today's society.
“So what's going on between you two?” asked Morgan as soon as everybody was sitting down at their normal place at the table.
“Morgan, you are a Shifter, the only other one on this team, besides Reid, so tell me what happens when one of them finds their True Mate?” asked Hotch.
Comprehension came into Morgan's eyes at that moment while the others were a little bit slower in understanding what Hotch was talking about with the exception of Rossi.
“So you're telling me…” began Morgan.
“Yes,” Reid answered calmly where he was sitting across from Hotch.
“What exactly do you mean?” asked JJ.
“JJ, when a full Shifter reaches 30, their mating gene, that is part of the species becomes active,” Reid explained calmly. “A Shifter knows immediately when they have found their True Mate and although most of them search their whole lives for their other half, but sometimes just get lucky.”
“You just reached that age a little over a week ago,” JJ realized. “I remember we had a small party for you in Hotch's office.”
“Well, what that means is that from that moment on every Shifter is able to tell who their True Mate is from the moment they set eyes on them. Think of Morgan and Garcia, what happened the minute they met seven years ago?”
“It was like love at first sight at least for Morgan,” JJ realized.
“It was, although it took me awhile to convince my baby girl that she was the only one for me,” Morgan said with a silly grin the same one he had ever time he thought about his wife and mate Penelope Garcia Morgan.
“So you're saying that when Spencer turned thirty he identified you as his True Mate?” asked JJ looked flabbergasted, which wasn't very surprising considering that the odds of finding your True Mate among your coworkers, considering how many people there were in the world were astronomical.
“Don't you remember the looks of longing at Hotch's office door over the last week?” asked Emily looking between Reid and Hotch. “The way Reid denied anything was wrong when we asked him? We all knew he was lying, but we couldn't get him to budge and tell us what the problem was. The way he avoided being near Hotch if at all possible? The way he looked all sad and depressed and despite all of us trying to discover what was causing it he wouldn't tell us. His instincts must have been going haywire.”
“They were,” Reid admitted blushing a little when he looked at Hotch, who smiled with a warmth in his eyes that was a rare sight indeed, except around young children, especially his son.
Morgan shook his head ashamed of himself. “I should have known what was going on, since I'm the only other one on this team who is a Shifter and therefore I should have recognized the signs.”
“I'm sure you would have figured it out in another few days,” Hotch told him. “In any case one thing you don't know is that while Reid is a full Shifter, I also have Shifter blood, not enough to change, but enough for me to have the same mating gene that all full Shifters have, that activated when I turned thirty.”
Morgan understood the implications immediately and looked truly shocked and also horrified.
“You're saying...” Emily said slowly working it out. “...that you knew that Reid was your True Mate ever since he started to work at the BAU seven years ago?”
“I did, and before you ask no I never told him until this past Friday. He was 23 and I was still married to Haley at that time. Haley and I didn't get a divorce as you know until a few years later and then when she was murdered by the Reaper. I thought about telling Reid after my divorce was final, but he was only like 26 at the time and I thought I'd wait, besides I also needed time to grieve for Haley as I still loved her, even if I loved Spencer more.”
“I don't know how you waited for seven years,” Morgan said shaking his head. “A Shifter's mating instincts are incredibly strong. Once you find the person that you're supposed to be with you really need to at least be near them.”
“I was near him. We did work very closely together after all,” Hotch pointed out logically.
“I still don't understand how you did it. To not tell him for seven years! I never could've done what you did,” Morgan said shaking his head. “I would have been driven crazy trying to fight my instincts for so long.”
“You have to remember that Aaron is not a full Shifter he just has Shifter blood from one side of his family, his father's, who was also not a full Shifter,” Rossi pointed out. “That probably made a difference. There have been studies done that some people who have Shifter blood, but can't transform still have the mating gene just like a full Shifter, but that doesn't mean that the pull is as strong.”
“I hadn't thought of that,” Morgan conceded.
“Oh it was plenty strong, but I have a very strong will that's all,” Hotch said with a shrug downplaying how hard it had really been for him to wait so many years. Reid shot him a look that said he knew Hotch was downplaying how much anguish he had been in for so long. “I'm not saying it was easy, because it wasn't, but even after Haley was murdered by the Reaper I thought I'd wait until Spencer turned thirty, before I did anything. I was hoping that he would come to me, but I should have known that I would have to be the one to confront him.”
“You really should've known,” Morgan told Hotch as he tousled Reid's hair affectionately. “We all know how shy he is around the dating scene. Besides you're his boss there was no way he would have approached you.”
“In any case we wanted you to know since there was no way we could keep it from you, but it changes essentially nothing,” Hotch said, “except for the fact that Spencer and I will be sharing a hotel room from now on, whenever we are on a case as we will still act professionally on the job.”
“Of course we would expect nothing less,” said Morgan snickering as he imagined that.
“Are you going to inform Strauss?” asked Rossi.
“Of course,” Hotch said, “but there really nothing she can do, although relationships within the same unit are frowned on they are allowed, so long as it can be proven that the people involved can still do their jobs.”
“Strauss will try to use this against you, you know,” Rossi said. “She really does hate you in particular, Aaron.”
“I am aware of that, but I will go to the assistant director if I have to. Even Strauss has to obey the laws so there's really nothing she can do, legally anyway.”
“It doesn't mean she can make our lives miserable,” Reid said speaking for the first time in a long while. “Even if she can't legally fire either one of us that doesn't mean that there aren't other things she can't do. One thing she is probably against is same-sex relationships even though when you're a Shifter it doesn't really matter if they're male or female. You may think you have a preference, but you may find that when your mating gene activates after having been dormant the sex of your True Mate may be totally different then what you'd expect. However just because same-sex relationships are accepted amongst the Shifter population doesn't mean a Normal like Strauss will accept the fact that two members of the same unit are now legally bound together. There are a lot of ways she can still make all lives miserable without losing her own position.”
“I'll talk to her,” Rossi promised, “after you tell her. She'll listen to me when she won't talk to anybody else. The two of you deserve to have a life outside the BAU.”
“Thanks,” Reid said simply shooting Rossi a grateful look.
“You're welcome,” Rossi said with a smile.
“What do you have on her that will make her back off?” Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, I'm not telling but it's big enough that it would probably ruin her career if it ever got out and that's all I'm saying on the subject,” Rossi said refusing to budge.
“Am I allowed to tell all this to Penelope?” asked Morgan raising an eyebrow at Hotch and Reid.
“Of course,” Hotch said and Reid nodded.
“So, I'm assuming that the two of you will be moving in together?” asked Rossi his tone certain.
“Eventually,” Reid said as he shot Hotch an adoring look, which caused the rest of the ream to grin at them.
“Why not immediately like this next weekend?” asked Morgan looking a little confused for he for one would have wanted to move in with his True Mate as soon as possible and he had.
“We're trying to give Jack a little while to get used to being around Spencer,” Hotch explained. “Yes, my son knows all of you, some better then others, but Jack really hasn't seen Spencer very much in the last year or so and since he's still so young we want to make sure that he's comfortable around him. Would I like Spencer to move in with me, immediately? Of course I would, but both of us have to make sure that Jack is okay with it since he's only five.”
“Oh, you might have a problem then,” JJ said looking at Spencer who blushed knowing exactly what she meant. “We all know that Spencer's never really been any good with small children.”
“Actually Jack adores him already,” Hotch said with a smile, “and Spencer here certainly seems more comfortable around my son then any other child he's come in contact with over the years. We spent all day Sunday together playing in the park and having a picnic lunch.”
Reid blushed at the looks the rest of the team shot him. “What makes Jack any different from any other child you've come in contact with?” asked Morgan looking at Reid, who was glancing down in embarrassment his fingers laced together on front of him on the table as he could just imagine that the rest of the team knew exactly what he and Hotch had been doing on Friday night and all day Saturday.
“Well, part of it is Jack already knew me, even if not very well,” Reid said looking up from his laced fingers going into lecture mode, which caused the rest of the team to shoot amused grins around at each other, “but the rest of it is probably that Jack was already prepared to like me just because his father was so happy. Children pick up on the emotions of an adult a lot easier then other grownups as it is part of their survival instincts and also a defense mechanism. Children from abusive families know how to tiptoe around their parents, while children like Jack that are well adjusted and know that their parent or parents will never harm them. Infants tend to cry and make more of a fuss if the parents are upset, angry, nervous, or anxious all the time. However if the adults are calm and happy and content then babies tend to be much more relaxed. In any case we're going to give it at least a month or two before I move in with Aaron.”
“Once we're both sure that Jack is okay with Spencer's presence in our lives only then, will he be moving in with me, not that he won't spend a considerable amount of time with both of us. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I have paperwork to do in my office since we don't have a case.”
“So when were you planning on telling Strauss?” asked Rossi as everybody rose from the table to head out into the bullpen.
“Well, I'd like to be able to prove that Spencer and I can still work together just as effectively as before before we tell her,” Hotch said thinking about it, “so maybe in a couple weeks after we have a case or two under our belts, and we can present them to her as proof that despite this new situation of Spencer and I being a couple that it hasn't affected the ability of the team to do it's job. Until then we'll keep it under wraps.”
Rossi nodded. “That's probably wise. By the way, I want to offer my congratulations to both you and Spencer. I am genuinely happy for both of you and I hope you have a long, happy, life together, although I still believe you should have told him at least after Haley was killed by the Reaper. If anybody could understand a Shifter's mating instincts it would be Reid.”
“Thank you,” Hotch told his longtime friend with a grin that was a very rare sight on his usually serious face, but then his mate brought out these feelings in him, “and by the way I won't deny that I probably should have told him sooner, but I also wanted to give him a chance to mature before I told him since he was very immature when he first started at the BAU, but then again a lot of 23 year olds are that way. With Reid being so intelligent, it set him apart from the other children, so he had a lot of catching up to do when it came to maturity.”
“You can't really blame his immaturity of him,” Rossi said quietly.
“I know that and I don't. I know that his father leaving him and his mother being so sick had a lot to do with it, but then again so did the other children who bullied him all through his school years,” Hotch said. “Spencer, didn't have the experiences that almost every child gets, having friends, hanging out with them, learning about the world as he grew and I know that his father's abandonment deeply affected him—even if he will never admit it—just like it would any child, but since William Reid wasn't around to teach his son the things he needed to know Spencer didn't have the experiences that most every child gets. Now of you don't mind I really do have a lot of paperwork to do.”
“So do all of us,” Rossi said, with a grimace. “Sometimes I wonder why I came back.”
“Because you had unfinished business,” Hotch told him with a smile, “and also you love profiling, even if you don't love the paperwork that goes along with it.”
Rossi sighed, but didn't disagree.
Both men headed to their offices without another word.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch looked up when he heard a knock on his door and when he called called in his mate stuck his head in the doorway. “The team was wondering if you would like to join us for lunch? All of us are ready to get away from the paperwork for little while and besides I'm starving.”
The pathetic, pleading look that Reid shot him was too much for Hotch to resist and so he gave in without argument, besides it would be nice to spend time with not only Reid, but the rest of the team when they weren't actually working.
“I'll be right there,” Hotch promised Reid who looked relieved and shot him a smile that was so bright that it caused the older man's cock to twitch and want nothing more than to take the younger man into his arms and kiss him until he couldn't breathe, but since they were at work he told his interested cock that it would have to be later once they had some privacy.
Reid left Hotch's office and went to join the rest of the team who was standing down in the bullpen.
“So is Hotch going to join us?” Morgan asked the question that everybody was curious about.
“Yes, he said he'd be here in a few minutes,” Reid answered. “That he had couple of things he needed to finish doing first.”
“I still can't believe that I never figured out why you were acting so differently over the last week or so,” Morgan said shaking his head. “If anybody should be able to pick up on clues it should be me.”
“Don't feel bad, my big, gorgeous, black thunder god,” Garcia told her husband giving him a consoling pat on the shoulder. “I'm sure you would have if you had been given a little while longer.”
“We need to remember that that we are not used to thinking of Reid in any kind relationship since he's always been so uncomfortable around woman so of course it wouldn't have occurred to us right away that he was dreaming of something that he believed he couldn't have and that was a relationship with Hotch, who is also his boss,” JJ pointed out. “If he had been in any relationships before the idea would have occurred to us much sooner and without us having to be told.”
“Yes, you're right JJ,” Morgan said shaking his head. “Some profilers we are though.”
“You get a certain image of somebody you know well in your head and it's very hard to change that perception after that,” Spencer chipped in with an understanding smile. “Every human being on the face of the earth Shifter, Normal or shaman has weaknesses and strengths no matter the image their friends or coworkers have of them.”
When Garcia had been told about the fact that Reid and Hotch were mates and that Hotch had somehow fought his instinct for 7 years, but they were now together as a couple she had squealed happily loud enough to bring the entire building down around them or a least it had seemed that way. Garcia had come into the bullpen as soon as she had heard the news supposedly to see Morgan, but when she had seen Reid she had tackled me and kissed him all over his face saying that she was so happy for him and for Hotch.
Reid had taken this attention quite happily, if only because he Garcia and Morgan were great friends, because normally he didn't like to be touched by people he didn't know well. Garcia was almost like a mother to him, probably because she went out of her way to give him the attention she felt he needed, just like a real mother would have.
“So where are we headed for lunch?” asked Hotch entering the bullpen from his office.
“We thought some place like Hamlin's that is close by and should have a table large enough for all of us,” Reid answered calmly, although he relaxed completely, instead of being so tense when Hotch was beside him, so close that they were actually touching shoulder to shoulder. He hadn't realized how tense he had been, until he and his mate were together again.
“That's fine with me,” Hotch said as they all headed to the elevator.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The seven of them entered Hamlin's and got a table immediately for they were well known there and came often for lunch, although usually Hotch did not join them, although the others had a feeling that was about to change.
They were so well known in fact that the waitress came with everyone's drink orders, except for Hotch who ordered an iced tea.
Once the seven of them had ordered what they wanted for lunch they all relaxed.
“So Hotch does that mean you're going to start joining us more for meals now that you and Reid are together?” asked Emily.
“Yes, that's a very good question,” admitted Morgan. “I can certainly understand why you didn't join us as much before since your feelings for Reid were so strong that, it would have been painful to sit so close to him and not be able to tell him of your feelings, but now that you two are together…”
“Yes, I will be joining you more than I did when it comes to eating meals together,” Hotch said calmly, looking utterly unflappable like always holding Reid's hand under the table from where they were sitting side by side. “You were completely right, Morgan about what you said before—that being so close to Reid and not being able to tell him of my feelings would have driven me crazy as just seeing him every day was hard enough, although I will admit it was one of the things that kept me sane for the last few years.”
“So Morgan, Garcia how are my godchildren doing?” asked Emily changing the subject.
Morgan and Garcia had two children a boy and a girl who they had named Matthias and Cassandra. Matthias was just four years old while Cassandra was just two.
“They are fine, you should come by for a nice long visit,” Garcia answered smiling brightly as she thought of her two children. “They miss their Aunt Emily.”
“I'll do my best,” Emily promised. “We have been incredibly busy lately except for the last week or so, so I'll try to squeeze in a visit if we don't catch a case.”
Reid had been studying his two friends silently noticing the subtle glances that the two were sharing as if they were communicating with their eyes alone and suddenly he know that Garcia was pregnant again.
“You're pregnant again aren't you?” Reid asked Garcia his tone certain. Garcia looked startled, but then blushed and that was confirmation enough.
“Congratulations!” everybody said almost at the same time and then JJ asked, “Why didn't you tell us?”
“We just found out ourselves a couple of weeks ago,” Morgan said looking proud. “We both agreed though that this one would be our last since Garcia is getting older and we both think that three is plenty.”
“So do you know the sex yet?” asked Emily looking pleased for her two friends.
“No, it's too early for them to tell,” Garcia said patting her stomach lovingly.
“Neither one of us cares what sex it is this time since we already have a son and a daughter so it could be either one and we'd be happy with whatever,” Morgan added with a silly grin on his face, but then he had an incredible soft spot for his wife and children, which was of course understandable.
“I'm happy for you two,” Hotch told his two subordinates with a smile.
“Thank you, Hotch,” said Garcia with a brilliant smile for her boss.
The seven of them ate in companionable silence and when they were finished they all paid their bills, and then headed out to the two separate cars they had driven there.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“I've been meaning to ask you how your former sister-in-law reacted when you told her that you were mated to another man?” asked Spencer a little hesitantly.
“She was very startled at first,” Hotch admitted looking unperturbed by the question. “I told her right after Haley was killed by the Reaper, because after less then six months she kept urging me to date again. She said that I had a right to be happy and that while she had loved her sister that she thought Haley had been totally unfair to me, when she asked me to change my job just because I was gone so much. Jessica is a wise woman and she tried to tell Haley that if she forced me to give up something I loved doing then I would be unhappy and that would break up our marriage sooner or later, because I would resent her for forcing me to make that decision. As it turned out that still happened, which was good since I wasn't sure what I was going to do if I had still been married and you had come into your heritage. Don't get me wrong I didn't want her dead...”
“I understand,” Reid said immediately. “You just wanted to be free when I turned 30, so you didn't feel guilty for getting a divorce when that occurred.”
“Exactly,” Hotch agreed with a smile in his mate's direction before he turned back to the road. The two of them were headed to Hotch's apartment from work relatively early for once and since it was Friday they had all weekend to make love unless they got called on a case. “I was actually considering getting a divorce a year before you turned 30 so that it would be final, by that time that happened, but when Haley wanted one, and although it hurt me, I was also relieved as that left me free and clear to tell you how I felt when the time came. Anyway, as I said Jessica was startled when I told her, but when she got over it she was happy that I had stuck it out with her sister for so long when my heart was elsewhere. She also promised to take Jack anytime that you and I needed sometime to ourselves once we were together.”
“Well, that was really nice of her,” said Reid relaxing. “I was afraid that...”
“She wouldn't accept our relationship, since she isn't a Shifter?” Hotch suggested.
“Well a lot of non-Shifters don't understand, about the mating gene that is part of our race or that your sexual preference before that event doesn't necessarily matter when it comes to finding your True Mate,” Reid explained with a shrug. “That's why I was so surprised that your former sister-in-law was so understanding and accepting, but I know you realize that there will still be people who are not so accepting as Jessica.”
“I know,” Hotch answered, “but just so you know even if Jessica had been unaccepting it wouldn't stop me from being with you as she isn't technically related to me, just Jack. Even if she was related to me by blood instead of just by marriage it wouldn't stop me from having a relationship with you. It was hard enough waiting for you come into your heritage, so there is absolutely no way in hell that I could have lived the rest of my life without you even if I saw you every day at work.”
Reid smiled at that for if there was one thing he had always admired about Aaron Hotchner it was that he was a man of conviction, of rock solid principle, once he set his feet on a particular path he never altered it unless absolutely necessary and definitely not if he knew he was right. He knew that Aaron would never be influenced into leaving him, just because other's disapproved of two men being together. Of course if one of them did leave, then neither one of them would live for very long after that, for it had happened in the past to other Shifters. Usually though it was one Shifter and either a Normal or a shaman who couldn't feel the connection that their partner had with them.
It ended in tragedy when it happened—always.
“I don't fear you leaving me at all,” Reid told him with conviction. “I know you well enough to know that you always do exactly what you want and don't let others opinions of you influence you from doing what you consider right, not even your former sister-in-law's. I know it will not always be easy, but both of us are strong enough to get through whatever life or people who don't understand throw at us.”
Hotch smiled at that, and relaxed now that he knew with absolute certainty that Spencer had faith in their relationship. Maybe the seven years they had known each other would prevent a lot of the normal pitfalls that were part of any relationship, although he was sure that there would still be problems and arguments down the road, since no relationship was perfect.
“So when are we going to tell Strauss about us?” asked Reid. The two of them had been together for several months now and had solved five or six cases always acting professionally while they were working, although once they were behind closed door if they weren't to tired it was a totally different story as they attacked each other like animals and made love, sometimes for hours.
“I think, it's time,” Hotch said who had been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks. “I would like to have you move in with me, but it will have to wait until after we tell Strauss about our relationship.”
“So first thing Monday morning?” asked Spencer.
“Yes, so long as you don't have any objection,” said Hotch.
“I don't,” Reid said quickly, “I'm more than ready to move in with you and if we have to confront Strauss in order to do that, then so be it. I have spent quite a few lonely nights when I am in my apartment alone and when that happens I have trouble sleeping, which I can only postulate is because I'm so used to spending nights with you when we are on a case, that I just can't seem to do anything but toss and turn without you there. When I eventually do fall asleep I have such intense sexual dreams that I wake up in a cold sweat, longing for you and to find that I've ejaculated all over my sheets. I am damn tired of taking cold showers to relieve the sexual tension, especially since a lot of the time they don't work completely. I'm also tired of being exhausted all the time because I don't sleep.”
“I've had the same problem,” Hotch admitted without an ounce of shame, “which is why I to am more then ready for us to be living together. I have also ejaculated all over my sheets as well and I haven't done that since I was like in my late 20's and I've taken more cold showers recently then I have in years.”
“So that means that your dreams have been as intense as mine,” said Spencer.
“Yes, they have and while I dreamed of you before we got together, they weren't so intense back then, I'm guessing because I hadn't actually at that time made love with you.”
“Probably,” Reid agreed. “I'm extremely glad that we've been so busy and had so many cases to help solve just so we could be together, even if it was just in a hotel room bed instead of our own without fear of Strauss somehow finding out before we have a chance to tell her. You know she has a lot of contacts and all it would take would be one of them seeing me entering your apartment building and me not coming back out and she would know that we were seeing each other, because Strauss isn't stupid.”
“You don't think she would really spy on us?” asked Hotch although it really wasn't all that hard to believe as Strauss really was a coldhearted bitch and would use any excuse to get rid of him in particular.
“Probably not, as I don't believe that even Strauss would go that far, but still all it would take would be one person seeing two men enter the same apartment and them mention it to someone, and word would eventually spread. All it would take would be that one person seeing us and mentioning it to someone else and so forth until it fell into the wrong ears. It might not happen, but people are nosy and don't know how to mind their own business, so it is better to get our relationship out in the open. Besides I don't like having to hide our relationship even when we're just in the office at Quantico doing paperwork and I don't like living in two separate apartments, in two separate buildings that are miles away from each other just because we are trying to keep that fact that we are seeing each other from falling into the wrong ears.”
“It's frustrating,” Hotch said and Spencer nodded vigorously in agreement
“Very,” Reid agreed. “I know you've said this before but it bears repeating. I want to wake up beside you every morning, I want to do things that all normal couples do no matter their sex. I want to be able to go on outings with you alone or with Jack without the fear of the wrong somebody spotting us and it getting back to Strauss.”
“I want that too,” Hotch said. “I've wanted nothing more for the last seven years ever since I knew I had found my True Mate in you.”
“Well, the best way to accomplish that is to tell Strauss that we're True Mates and although she might not believe us at first she ought to be able to tell that we're not lying, even if she's not a profiler. Besides as much as I hate to admit it Strauss is a highly intelligent woman and she will know even if she doesn't want to admit it that neither one of us would risk our careers and come to her about our relationship if we weren't absolutely sure.”
“She won't like it, but if she causes to many problems, I'll simply sic Dave on her. He has already promised to intervene, if Strauss starts being stubborn, after all,” Hotch said smirking a little as he knew that Dave could be positively vicious when necessary.
“Yes, Rossi will straighten her out,” Reid agreed with a smile.
Hotch pulled up outside his apartment building and parked. “So ready for a night of making wild passionate lovemaking?”
“Absolutely, I've been looking forward to it all day,” Reid responded enthusiastically. “It was absolutely torture to sleep without you beside me for the last couple of days and I was really hoping we would have the weekend free so we wouldn't have to worry about being to tired after trying to solve a case all day.”
“Let's go inside and get started then,” Hotch responded keeping his gaze focused ahead of him for he didn't dare turn to look at his mate or he would attack him right there in the parking lot.
Finally Hotch opened the door to his apartment and once the two of them had entered he shut the door gently.
“Bedroom! Now!” Hotch ordered gruffly as he took Spencer into his arms and gave him a heat filled, passionate to be continued immediately kind of kiss, that caused Spencer to whimper in desire.
“Anxious are you?” Spencer teased his mate, although if truth be known he was anxious as well, for he hadn't had sex in over 48 hours and although he had used to be able to go months or even years without having sex he was now addicted to it, so long as it was with Aaron. Spencer was sure that the reason he was now addicted to making love, was that he and Aaron were True Mates, in other words meant for each other.
“And you aren't? If you tell me that you weren't looking to the end of the work day so that we could head back to my place and make love I will know you're lying so don't bother.”
“I can't deny that I was looking forward to the end of the work day, because for one thing I promised to never lie to you about anything, so yes I was looking forward to quitting time so that we could be alone and fuck each other senseless. It has been more than 54 hours since we have made love and while I never thought much about the sexual act before I turned thirty and came into my full Shifter heritage, with you it is completely different and I crave constant contact with you. I crave your touch, the looks you are always shooting me, the way you are so gentle and the way we can talk about anything. I love the way you are so protective of me, although I of course realize you have always been, but you've stepped it up several notches ever since we got together. Don't think I didn't notice the way some of those females looking at me when we were working that case in Philadelphia a month ago and how one of them even tried to get my attention.”
“Of course, I'm protective,” Hotch told him quite seriously kissing him passionately. “If anything happened to you, especially now, just when you finally become mine it would destroy me.”
“I feel the exact same way, because I know it would completely destroy me as well if anything happened to you either,” Reid admitted candidly. “I know that you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself especially out in the field, and definitely better then I can, but also I know things can happen and you can be caught off guard.”
“I'm always careful and years ago it was because I had a family to think about and I didn't want to leave them to struggle without me or to grieve for my loss, but now that I have you, I don't want to leave you either so I promise I'll always be extra careful. You have to realize though that what we do is dangerous and that things can happen that you don't expect and can't predict.”
“Believe me I'm aware of that,” Reid said dryly, “and I realize that if we change professions we would be giving up an important part of ourselves, so all I can ask is that you always be extra careful and always come home to me.”
“I certainly intend to, so long as you take that same care and be careful as well,” Hotch said huskily as he kissed Spencer again and the younger man participating enthusiastically.
Once the kiss was broken Reid blurted out what had been on his mind for awhile. “I think we should wear rings, even if we never officially tie the knot. Wearing rings means a lot of women would leave either one of us alone, since we would be considered off limits, although I realize it won't stop the really aggressive ones.”
“You have been thinking about this for awhile haven't you?” Hotch asked unsurprised because Spencer always babbled when he was nervous like he was now. “I think it's a fine idea,” Hotch added before Reid could answer. “I was going to ask you to make it a permanent, to marry me, sometime later, but I thought that could wait at least awhile considering we haven't even told Strauss yet.”
“You are going to ask me to marry you?” asked Spencer looking dazed and Hotch could hardly blame him considering that he had just blurted out what had been on his mind ever since he and Spencer had gotten together, although he had been thinking of a more romantic proposal.
“I was in a few months after we had told Strauss about us,” Hotch admitted. “Asking you to become a permanent fixture in my life has been on my mind even before we officially got together a few months ago, but I didn't want to rush you into anything. That being said if you want us to wear rings that look like wedding bands until we officially tie the knot that's okay with me, because you're right in the fact that it will prevent a lot of women or men from approaching either one of us, although as you said not some of the more aggressive ones. I thought you did a very good job of discouraging that woman on the case we had about a month ago, but it won't always be that easy.”
“Thanks, but I also know you're right and it won't always be that easy,” said Spencer, blushing a little. “I know you were prepared to step in if you had to, but I appreciate the fact that you let me handle it and that you didn't hover. It feels good to be trusted.”
“I'll always be there to help you if you need it,” Hotch promised, “and I'll always trust you, unless you prove to me you shouldn't be. I'm just glad that I was actually nearby when it happened instead of being out in the field, which I know won't always be the case.”
“If that happens then you'll just have to trust I can handle myself and if I can't we always work in teams so I'll have backup if I need it and I promise if and when it happens I'll tell you about it afterwards, just like you'll tell me every time someone comes onto you, because we both know it will happen.”
“Honesty really is the best policy and the way to keep a relationship strong,” Hotch said.
“Yes,” Reid said, “now if you don't mind you are welcome to get back to what you were doing a few minutes ago.”
Hotch chuckled and was happy to get back to worshipping his mate's gorgeous body and showing him that he was loved and adored, by him at least.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“You're what?” Strauss almost screamed, but then seemed to struggle to get control of herself.
Hotch and Spencer had gone to see Strauss first thing this morning and this was how they were now sitting in her office watching Strauss visibly try to control her temper.
“I said that when Spencer turned 30 he identified me as his True Mate,” Hotch said calmly not mentioning that he to had the blood of a Shifter because Strauss didn't need to know that. “We came to tell you about our relationship before you heard about it from someone else as we have been seeing each other for the last few months.”
“And you're just now telling me about it?” asked Strauss sounding indignant.
“We wanted to be able to prove that we could still work together just as smoothly as we always have before we said anything,” Reid explained calmly holding Hotch's hand out of Strauss sight and his mate gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We have caught half a dozen killers since then and you will find that our job performance has been impeccable in all cases.”
Strauss jaw twitched visibly as she held a nasty retort between her teeth, for Dr. Reid was absolutely right that their efficiency and job performance had been just a good as always and thanks to the rules there was nothing she could do to get rid of either one of them. She couldn't even get one of them to transfer to another part of the bureau without just cause and she knew that neither of them would give her one. It was an open secret that the entire team hated her guts, except perhaps for David Rossi, who intensely disliked her at the very least and she had to admit that she had given them all just cause for their feelings of loathing. She admitted if only to herself that she hated Aaron Hotchner more than any of the other on the team if only because she secretly feared he was after her position.
“You're right there is nothing I can legally do,” Strauss admitted her jaw clenched, “since your job performance has been impeccable as you pointed out to me just a minute ago. So why are you telling me after—how long has it been?”
“Two months,” Hotch supplied his face expressionless. “As to your question the reason we are telling you now is Spencer is moving in with me because we both thought it was time as maintaining two different apartments is counterproductive.”
“Not to mention the money that we could save from only having one residence could go into other things.”
“You are telling me before the rumors could start,” Strauss realized. “If you hadn't told me before you moved in together…”
“You would have heard rumors eventually and then you'd be even more furious then you are at the moment because you weren't informed,” Hotch said slight smirk on his lips, which made Strauss even madder, because normally Hotchner would never have dared act so boldly in front of her and kept his emotions contained. Aaron Hotchner was close to insubordination, but Strauss knew that he would never actually cross the line to be insubordinate and give her a reason.
“In any case, the only reason we waited so long to tell you, well besides wanting to prove that we could still work together as efficiently as always, was so Jack could get used to me being around,” Reid explained his face expressionless as he seemed to study Strauss like she was a bug under a microscope, which Strauss didn't in the least like and knew that before Dr. Reid and Aaron Hotchner had gotten together this normally shy young man would never have looked at her in such a way or perhaps he would have if he had wanted his dislike of her known.
“Fine you are dismissed,” Strauss almost growled looking extremely pissed, “but I will be watching you and one foul up…”
Hotchner rose from his chair his face expressionless and glared at her making her shiver in extreme fear for nobody could stand up to the SSA Hotchner glare for very long, it made even the unsubs they caught afraid and if it worked on them, it would make even a coldhearted bitch like Strauss afraid. Hotch never used it unless he had to as he was a very ethical man that would never misuse any of his talents or abilities.
“Even you should know that a threat such as that can be used against you somewhere down the line,” Hotch told her his expression not softening at all. “I am perfectly aware that you hate me, although for what reason I have not been able to discern not that it really matters to me in any case. I have never given you any reason to hate me as you do, but I really don't care one way or the other why you do. I'm certain I could figure it out if I really wanted to know your reasons, but since I don't and since I have much better things to do with my time I'm not going to bother.”
Strauss visibly flinched at Hotch's expression and the coldness in his eyes, but both men ignored her reaction.
“I believe she fears that you are after her position, which is why she has been so antagonistic towards you and why she hates and also fears you so much,” Reid said.
“I do not fear you gaining my position!” Strauss protested vehemently.
Both men looked at her with contempt in their facial expressions, eyes and even their body language. Strauss admitted to herself that they both had a right to feel contempt for her, but she wasn't about to admit it out loud. What really flabbergasted her though was that both Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid were being openly defiant towards her and although she could hardly blame either of them for it she was still surprised that they were showing what they really thought of her to her face for she could have them written up for insubordination.
“If you really believe that, then you aren't as smart as you believe yourself to be. You couldn't pay me enough to sit behind a desk, day in and day out,” Hotch told Strauss and the contempt in his voice made Strauss wince. “I enjoy going out in the field, putting killers and other blood sucking leeches behind bars. I have no intention of ever leaving the BAU until I retire.”
“Only because that is where Dr. Reid is,” Strauss spat vehemently at them both. “If it wasn't for him you would eventually want a higher position.”
“No I wouldn't,” Hotch said shaking his head looking disgusted. “I deal with enough politics and paperwork in my position as unit chief and I wouldn't want to deal with even more of either if I was section chief. I know myself and I know I would never be happy sitting behind a desk unless I was seriously disabled and could no longer go out into the field. Some of us enjoy fieldwork and putting the worst humanity can throw up either in prison or ten feet under. If I had wanted a higher position I would have had one a long time ago, but I am happy where I am and can't imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else. It's just like I told you years ago when you tried to force me to leave the BAU and you told me that none of us would ever get a higher position and I asked you why I would ever want to leave a job I loved?”
Strauss remembered that conversation well and exactly what Agent Hotchner had told her at the end of that case, the only one she had ever joined the team on.
“You are dismissed agents and if either of you repeat this conversation I will have you both written up so fast you won't know what hit you. As it is you are close to insubordination.”
Hotch nodded his expression being back to unreadable and Reid followed his lover out the door without a word, not even bothering to glance back at Strauss's cold expression.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“You know I've been thinking,” Hotch said as the two of them sat down to dinner in a nice restaurant after the end of the work day. Both were tired as the confrontation with Strauss had drained both men.
“About what?” asked Spencer as he looked at the menu and read it at warp speed. Hotch mentally shook his head it still amazed him that Spencer could read so fast, although he had seen it hundreds of times in the last seven years.
“Well, there's no room for all your bookcases in my apartment, so I thought maybe we could buy a house since will be living together with Jack. Someplace with at least three bedrooms, a den, living room, kitchen, a study, a large room that can be used as a library, and a backyard for Jack to play in. Someplace that is not only mine, but yours as well and decorated to both our tastes.”
“A place that we have a bought and move into together,” Reid said his expression dreamy. “Are you sure you want to leave your apartment? It's a nice place after all and I'm willing to live there with you if that's what you want.”
“Yes, I am sure because we really should have a place that is both yours and mine. Besides there's definitely no room for all your books in my apartment so either we have to get a new place or they have to go into storage and I know you definitely can't live without them,” Hotch assured him with a smirk.
Reid blushed that Hotch had been able to read him so well, although he should have known. “You are one of the few people that know that my books were about my only friends back when I was growing up. When my mother was lucid she would read the old classics to me, from the 15 century in particular, when she wasn't I would read them to myself.” Reid shrugged. “For a lot of years I didn't have any friends at all as all the children in high school and college resented me, a kid so much younger then them showing them up.”
“You didn't mean to show them up, did you?” asked Hotch with a sympathetic expression.
“Of course not, but we both know that children can be cruel even if a large percentage of them turn into decent adults once they are grown,” Reid answered his expression pensive.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Hotch as he saw his mate's expression was pensive.
“I was just remembering once incident in particular when I was a kid,” Reid answered.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” asked Hotch knowing that it probably would make him very enraged once he knew. “You don't have to if you don't want to. I will never force you to tell me, but if you want to get off your chest and I'm willing to listen. I know this is probably been bugging you ever since you were a child and I'm sure you never told me your mother because of her illness.”
Spencer was quiet for a long time, pushing the food around on his plate suddenly loosing his appetite and then he began to speak quietly as he definitely didn't want anybody else in the restaurant to hear what he was saying.
“I was eleven, and I was lured out to the back of the school by someone telling me that Laura Remington wanted to ask me for a date, but didn't want to be seen. She was the most beautiful girl in the school and I had a huge crush on her, so I went back behind the school…”
“And she wasn't there?” asked Hotch.
“Oh she was,” said Spencer, “but so was entire football team.”
“I really don't like where this is going,” Hotch said beginning to look furious.
“If you want me to stop I will as the rest of my memory is not exactly a walk in the park,” Reid said.
“No, I want to hear the rest of it,” Hotch told him gently his eyes full of love and understanding.
“Alright,” Reid said drawing strength from Hotch's look of love. “I was tied to a goalpost out on the football field and my clothes were taken. It was beginning to rain, quite heavily and they teased and tormented to me for hours until it began to get dark. The rain had turned into a drizzle by the time they were done and all of them finally got tired of tormenting me and left.”
“They just left you tied to the goalpost without your clothes?” Hotch growled. “They stood there and teased you, and I'm assuming they also beat you, and other things I don't want to think about.”
“They did,” Reid admitted. “It took me forever to work myself free, find my clothes and get home. What made it worse was that my mother was having one of her episodes and hadn't even noticed I was missing.”
“We both better hope I never run across any of those kids that did that to you or they will regret the day they were ever born,” Hotch growled looking furious his dark eyes flashing angrily.
“Let it go, Aaron,” Reid told his mate gently squeezing his hand under the table. “It was a long time ago and we both know that kids can be cruel to anybody different from themselves and I'm afraid despite my best effort I was different. What happened to me when I was 11 was one of the things that made me want to help people, to try to understand how anybody could be so sadistic and cruel. We also have to consider the fact that if it hadn't happened I might not have joined the FBI and we might never have met.”
“You can't tell me that you honestly forgive them for the way they tortured you,” Hotch said his voice still furious, although Reid knew it wasn't directed at him.
“No, I'm not saying that I forgive them for what they did, but I have moved past it for if I hadn't I might have very well turned into one of the unsubs that we catch,” Reid told Hotch gently. “We both know that abuse at that level in childhood especially can turn a decent kid into somebody who kills, rapes or worse in later years, but they're also children who go through that kind of thing and turn into decent adults, usually going into some kind of field where they help others.”
“Very well, I will drop it, for your sake,” Hotch promised not looking pleased, but knowing intellectually anyway knew it was for the best.
“Thank you,” Reid told him sincerely giving the hand he was holding another squeeze.
“You're welcome,” Hotch said, “but I still hope we don't run into any of those sadists who did that to you because they will be getting at least a lecture from me.”
“Hotch,” Reid pleaded. “It was almost 20 years ago, so drop it.”
“Alright,” Hotch finally agreed.
The two men finish their meals in comfortable silence and once they were done they paid the check left the restaurant hand-in-hand thinking much more pleasant thoughts then a few minutes previously.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“What can I do for you two gentleman?” asked the older gentleman behind the counter of the jewelry store that Hotch and Reid had entered. Hotch and Reid had spotted this jewelry store across from the restaurant where they'd had dinner and had decided to see if this small place had what they were looking for.
“We'd like to look at rings,” Hotch explained. “Something that looks a bit like wedding bands.”
“Ah,” the old man behind the counter said understanding immediately. “I take it you want to tell women that you two are taken so that at least the majority of them will leave you alone. I can guess that you've had at least a few of them bothering you.”
Reid smiled at the old man and nodded. “We both work with the FBI and there have been a few women that don't know how to take no, I'm not interested, for an answer. We both realize that wearing rings that look like wedding bands won't discourage everybody, but as you said it should discourage at least the majority of them.”
“Which is what we want,” Hotch said looking over the selection of rings. “The two of us can't afford to be distracted from doing our jobs just because some woman is trying to get our attention, which neither of us want or need. Spencer, what do you think of these,” said Hotch gesturing at one of the glass cases that he was studying.
Spencer joined Aaron and looked at the row of rings that he was pointing at.
The rings is question looked like wedding bands but with different gems embedded all around the bands.
“Birthstones?” Reid suggested.
“Well lets see your birthday is in February,” said Hotch. “Which is....”
“Well, there are three different birthstones for February, amethyst, pearl and hyacinth,” Reid answered immediately causing the old man behind the counter to smile.
“Well, you certainly know the birthstones for the month you were born,” the older man said with a smile.
“Trust me Spencer will be able to give you the birthstones for every month, the historical significance, and how the tradition came into being,” Hotch said with an amused smile in his mate's direction. “One of our team often introduce him as the expert on everything, when we first introduce ourselves the first time we meet someone new on a case.”
“Aaron,” Reid whined glaring at Hotch, “Don't exaggerate.”
“I'm not and you know that,” Hotch shot back unintimidated.
“I read a great deal that's all,” Reid said with a shrug downplaying Hotch's words causing him to roll his eyes. Sometimes his mate's self-effacing attitude drove him crazy, although intellectually he understood the reason for it, but if he ever got his hands on Spencer's father and the ones who had bullied or had hurt him in anyway they would regret the day they had ever been born, despite his words to his mate.
The old jeweler watched the two in amusement as they argued half playfully and he could tell that it was a long standing argument between the two.
“Read a great deal is that what you call it when it was all you did when you were growing up?” Hotch shot back, sounding exasperated.
The old man took that to me that to mean that the brown haired known as Spencer hadn't had any friends as a child and that he was smart enough to guess that was because he was extremely intelligent. He knew from his own childhood that kids could be bullies and if you were in anyway different those types of people would pounce on you.
“Let's drop it,” Reid suggested calmly.
“Alright,” Hotch agreed reining in his temper. “So my birthday is in July and the birthstones are?” Hotch asked looking at his mate expectantly.
“In the US in the 20th century turquoise and onyx were the birthstones but now in what is now the 21st century it is ruby or in Britain it is also the ruby and as well as carnelian,” Reid supplied without hesitation.
The jeweler shook his head as he could immediately see what the the other man had meant about Agent Reid knowing a lot about almost anything.
The two men went back to the jewelry cases and finally chose two rings. Hotch's had Reid's birthstone of pearls all around the band, while Reid's had Hotch's of onyx. Both rings were subtle and discreet and did look like wedding bands, so they would get the point across—hopefully, especially since both were wearing them on their marriage finger that signified that they were married.
“Thank you for your business,” the old jeweler said and watched as the two of them walked out the door hand in hand after paying for their purchases.
An odd pair the old man thought shaking his head, but somehow extremely suitable for each other.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“It feels good to be wearing a wedding ring again,” Hotch told Reid softly as the two of them held hands strolling leisurely to Hotch's car.
“Yes, I can certainly understand how that can be, since you wore one for a lot of years when you were married to Haley,” Reid said feeling happy and content with Aaron beside him. “As for me it is going to take me awhile to get used to wearing one on my finger since I've never even owned a class ring. I don't ever plan on taking it off though.”
Hotch nodded to himself as he could certainly understand that way of thinking.
“So are you ready to head back to me place?” asked Hotch unlocking his car with the remote as they approached it.
“Sure, but before we end up in bed making wild passionate love, we need to figure out what kind of house we want. The sooner we do that and contact a realtor so he can start looking the sooner we can move in.”
“You're right, with how busy we always are, if we want to move into a new place anytime soon we need to get started,” Hotch admitted. “We could be called away for a new case at anytime.”
“Yes, it does seem to happen with alarming frequency,” Reid said with a teasing smile.
“That it does,” Hotch said also with a smile. “So what kind of house would you like?”
“Well somewhere cozy, somewhere we would both feel comfortable being curled up on a couch or somewhere else. Somewhere that has a lot of light for most of the day. We already discussed the fact that I need somewhere to put all my books and I'm always buying more so we need a large room that can be used as a library along with at least 4 to 5 bedrooms.”
“Why so big?” asked Hotch.
“Well, I was thinking that in a few years we could adopt a couple of children,” Reid explained and Hotch looked truly startled, but he had no idea that Spencer had even thought about having a family. “I love Jack, but haven't you ever thought about giving him a brother or sister or even a couple of them?”
“Well, yes,” Hotch admitted. “I always wanted at least a couple more children, but it just never happened as Haley had trouble getting pregnant and then carrying them. We lost three children before we had Jack.”
A remembered ghost of old pain flashed into Hotch's eyes.
“I know this is inadequate, but I'm really sorry.”
“It's hardly your fault,” Hotch said taking his right hand off the wheel and giving Reid's a squeeze.
“No, but the death of a child even those not born, the pain of it never really leaves us, especially if you love children and you wanted a large family. The pain of losing a child never really leaves you, even if it dulls after awhile. So who did they die?” asked Reid a little hesitantly.
“The first and third were miscarriages,” Hotch answered blinking back tears. “The second, another boy was born with a bad heart and died a few hours after he was born. Haley and I were so happy when we were finally blessed with Jack, but the doctor warned us that having him was such a strain on her system that we shouldn't try to have anymore. As it turned out Haley and I separated only a couple of years after that so we didn't have a chance to try anyway.”
“Well, I would like a couple of children someday, even if those children are adopted,” Reid said leaning over to kiss Hotch's cheek. “I always wanted a brother or sister, but my mother went off her medication until I was born and she lived in constant terror and fear that whole time and so I'm afraid I was an only child. Even back then her schizophrenia was pretty bad, although not as bad as it was after my father left.”
“I wouldn't mind adopting a kid or two someday, but if we are going to do that we need to go ahead and get ourselves on a list as it can take years and there's no guarantee that we'll be able to adopt one you know because of our jobs.”
“I know, but I'd at least like to try,” Reid answered.
“Then we will,” Hotch promised, “or at least try.”
“Thanks for indulging me, Aaron,” Reid said kissing Hotch's cheek again.
“I'm not just indulging you, because as I said I always wanted a couple more children and unlike so many people I don't have stigma against adopting. I just never bothered because I was always so busy with work and also because Haley never wanted to adopt. We argued about it many times before Jack was born. Both of us know that there are a lot of sweet children that end up in orphanages for one reason or another, although we both know usually because of some tragic accident that kills their parents and they either don't have any living relatives or not one that is willing to take them in.”
“And the ones that end up in foster care are a lot of times worse off then in an orphanages at least statically, not that living in an orphanage is much better, since we both know that a lot of the money that is supposed to go to those places ends up in the politicians pockets,” Reid said.
“Yes, despite the checks and balances there are a lot of people that get to be foster parents that are abusive,” Hotch agreed, “and so are the people who work at the orphanages sometimes.”
“In any case I want a house in a neighborhood where the people aren't going to be hostile to two men being together, actually I would prefer somewhere that has at least some Shifters as they will understand all about the mating gene and so won't look down on us for being the same sex. I know that we are gone a lot, but I still want neighbors who are friendly and we can talk to if we are say taking Jack to the park.”
“Yes, I agree with that sentiment,” Hotch said. “I can put up with peoples attitude, disgust and so forth, but only if I have to. I know we won't be home much, but still...”
“It would be nice to come home and be able to talk to the neighbors casually or to go for a stroll and not see the looks of disgust when we hold hands or share kisses on the cheek,” Reid said. “As you said I have no intention of hiding our relationship, not from anyone.”
“And as you already know I don't intend to either,” Hotch said with a smile in his mate's direction. “So shall we head to the bedroom?”
“Okay,” Reid agreed with a smile rising from the couch in one smooth motion. “You know we need to tell Jack that we will be moving to somewhere large sometime in the near future. He needs to know so that he is prepared and isn't caught by surprise as most children need time to get used to the idea that the home they have known is going to change.”
“We will sit down with him and explain,” Hotch said by way of agreement.
The two men were silent after that and quietly stripped themselves naked before climbing into bed and coming together gently to make love.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The sound of a ringing phone woke both Spencer and Hotch from a deep sleep. It was 5 AM and the two of them had made wild passionate love before finally falling asleep in each others arms.
“Nnnngg,” Reid protested still more then half asleep making Hotch chuckle even as he picked up the phone.
“Yes, JJ?” asked Hotch. “Uh-huh. No, you don't need to call Spencer's phone since you know he's here with me. Yes, we'll meet on the jet in about half an hour. See you there.”
“We have a case?” asked Spencer still looking incredibly sleepy even though his voice was steady and no longer drowsy.
“We do,” Hotch said as he climbed out of bed and began to get dressed. “Child abduction and we both know that the first 24 hours is critical.”
“Which is why we're going straight to the jet instead of into the BAU office,” Reid said as he to climbed out of bed. “I wonder what JJ was doing there so early?”
“Oh she was called in just like the rest of the team,” Hotch explained as he pulled on a clean shirt and then sat down on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes and shocks. “We both know that our team has had more success in finding abducted children unlike the the other shift. Unlike with the other shift we know how to think outside the box, which is why a lot of the time we are so successful in finding the children and returning them to their parents alive.”
Both men finished getting dressed, and grabbed their go bags that were always packed and ready. “What about Jack?” asked Spencer just now thinking of Hotch's son, who was asleep just down the hall.
“Don't worry I called Jessica while you were in the bathroom and she should be here in a few minutes,” Hotch answered.
Spencer nodded rubbing his eyes tiredly with the back of one hand. “So did JJ tell you whose child was abducted?”
“JJ said the name was Larry and Nancy Ramm and that Larry was originally from Las Vegas.”
Spencer looked truly shocked at this information for a split second and then his face became completely expressionless. Hotch however had seen Spencer's shocked expression and tried to work out the reason for it as the two of them waited for Jessica to arrive.
“This Larry Ramm was of the boys that bullied you so badly when you were a child wasn't he?” asked Hotch knowing he was right, although he did want Spencer to confirm it.
“Yes,” Reid answered reluctantly knowing that Hotch had seen his expression and would eventually work out the reason for it. Besides he had promised to never lie to the one person he loved more than anyone and he would not break that promise now, no matter how difficult it was remembering that part of his past. “I never really expected to run into any of them on a case, although I suppose if I'd really thought about it I would have known that it was at least a possibility.”
“You don't have to come along,” Hotch suggested. “I know that confronting painful parts of your past is never easy.”
“No, you will need my expertise. Just because his father used to be a bully and an ass, doesn't mean the mother is or that the child doesn't deserve the best we can offer,” Reid said. “I'll deal with Larry if I have to, but I would prefer to not even be in his presence or to even let him know that I am part of the team, which I know is unrealistic.”
“He could have changed?” Hotch suggested. “I can't see any decent woman marrying him if he abused her.”
“I suppose,” Reid said considering that reluctantly. “I know intellectually that a lot of people who bully others as children, grow out of it and become decent people, but it is my heart that is giving me trouble.”
“And I don't blame you for having trouble with your heart as there are things in every persons past that effect us forever, especially if they happen in childhood,” Hotch said as he took Spencer's hand in his. “I certainly do, but we can discuss that when we have more time.”
Finally just as Hotch finished speaking he and Spencer both heard a key turn in the lock and seconds later the door opened.
“Sorry for calling you so early in the morning Jessica,” Hotch told Jack's aunt quietly, “but we have a kidnapping case and really need to get going.”
“I know you wouldn't have called me so early unless you had to,” Jessica answered kissing Hotch's cheek then Spencer's making the younger man flush in pleasure, “so scat and I'll look after Jack while you are gone.”
“We'll call when we can,” Hotch promised picking up his go bag, while Spencer picked up his as well as his messenger bag slinging it over his shoulder.
Both men headed out of the apartment closing the door gently behind them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Spencer sat down beside each other silently on the plane all prepared to discuss the case.
“Alright, let's start discussing this case,” Hotch said and then fell silent leaving the floor open for the others to comment.
“Well, the Ramms noticed that their son Xavier was missing just five hours ago,” JJ began passing each of the team a case file. “They went to bed, but then when Mrs. Ramm had to get up to go to the bathroom, she went to check on her son just like she always did. When she opened his door she immediately noticed that his bed was all messed up, with the sheets on the floor in a heap, but that her son was missing.”
“How old is Xavier?” asked Emily.
“Nine,” JJ answered.
“Has anybody noticed any strangers watching him or the rest of the family?” asked Morgan.
“No, the parents both say that they haven't noticed anybody strange watching them or their children. However when Xavier was abducted the kidnappers left behind some trace evidence. DNA from one person was discovered in Xavier's room as apparently they scraped themselves on a corner of his desk.”
“Have the police run it through the various criminal databases?” asked Spencer.
“They have, but so far no match,” JJ answered.
“So either he hasn't done it before....” said Emily.
“Or the database just hasn't had time to come up with a match as it has only been a little bit over five hours since Xavier was discovered missing,” Hotch said.
“And if you factor in the fact that it was probably at least two or three hours before we or even the police were called in that has something to do with it as well,” Reid said calmly his voice a monotone. “I'm sure that the Ramms would have called all their friends to see if their son was with them, before they actually called the police.”
“Yes, they were probably in denial, that their nine year old son had been kidnapped,” Morgan said. “It happens all the time as the parents would want to believe that their children had just gone to visit a friend or just took a walk, so they would have checked with everybody they knew before calling in the authorities.”
“But in doing that they waste precious time,” JJ said, “although I can certainly understand why the Ramms didn't want to believe that their son was not abducted and had just somehow wandered off.”
“About 35 percent of young boys are known to run away all the time,” Reid said, “but there is no history of that in this case unless the parents are holding out on us.”
“But most child runaways are abused in someway,” Hotch said, “but it appears here that the parents genuinely care and love their son and their two other children, both older.”
“So Xavier is the baby of the family,” Morgan mused looking thoughtful. “Kidnapping a nine year old would certainly have been easier then going after someone older, but why didn't this guy wait until the kid was alone because we all know that kidnapping someone from their home is a lot harder then it would be to get him walking home from school or a friend's house.”
“He's bold, confident,” JJ said. “He's probably done it before.”
“Good morning crime fighters,” Garcia's cheerful voice came over the open connection her face appearing on the laptop screen that was sitting on the table where everybody was sitting.
“Garcia, we need you to look up other child abductions with the same mo,” Hotch ordered the technical analyst.
“Yes, sir,” Garcia said and everybody could hear the sound of her fingers flying over the keys of her computer keyboard.
“Their have been two other kidnappings with the exact same mo, in the last six months all taking place in Florida,” Garcia said a moment later. “The two other families the Moores and the Applegates also had young sons kidnapped one of who was 6 and the other was 10. The two boys were both kidnapped from home in the middle of the night, although until now no DNA evidence or even fingerprints has been left.”
“So leaving the DNA was a mistake,” Emily said slowly. “This unsub might never even have realized that he did it.”
“A mistake that will mean his downfall,” Morgan said.
“Or it's possible that the DNA is Xavier's, since it is his room and it is conceivable that he scraped his hand or arm on the desk sometime recently,” Reid said.
“Let's hope it is our unsub's,” said Hotch, “as that would making finding him easier.”
“Why are we only being called in now?” asked JJ. “I would think that when that first boy went missing would have been when we were called in.”
“The police believed that they had a handle on it, until the Moores son Nathan turned up dead a week later,” Garcia answered.
“But why weren't we called in when the second child was abducted?” asked JJ. “I mean one child dead is bad enough, but two is even worse.”
“The police still believed they could handle it until the Ramms son was taken just hours ago and that is when they decided that they needed help,” Garcia answered her eyes turned away from them as she was obviously reading something off her computer screen.
“Garcia how far apart are these abductions?” asked Hotch.
“About three months apart,” Garcia answered.
“Three months between abductions? That's a hell of a cooling off period,” Rossi said.
“But we have seen it before,” Reid said, “not very often though as most unsubs like this tend to kidnap one child and when they are done with them they almost immediately kidnap another.”
“Could this be a sexual predator?” asked Rossi. “One that goes after children? We've certainly seen it before.”
“Were those other two boys sexually assaulted?” Spencer asked as it wasn't in the file.
“According to the police report, yes,” Garcia answered after moment as they heard her typing slowing down.
“Why wasn't that in the file we received?” asked Hotch looking upset and none of the others could blame him.
“Maybe it was just a mistake?” JJ answered diplomatically. “It has been known to happen. We did get on this one really fast because we are on a time constraint.”
“JJ, I want you to find out who only sent us part of the case file,” Hotch said still looking pissed. “In order for us to catch whoever is doing this we need all available information.”
“Yes, sir,” JJ answered calmly understanding Hotch's rage because he was absolutely right that if they didn't have all the facts it would be much harder, if not impossible to catch this guy.
“So all the boys that were missing were very similar in appearance,” Reid said not even looking down at the report as he had memorized the information, although he was still studying the pictures. “This unsub like boys between the age of six and ten with dark hair and green eyes. The way they are positioned their hands crossed over their chests indicates remorse and they are left in public areas. One boy was found in a park where the body would be easily discovered. The second was found on a well known jogging route that is used frequently. Both areas were within five miles of each other.”
“So did these two families live close to each other?” asked Rossi.
“It appears that they live about 10 miles apart in different neighborhoods,” Garcia answered. “Both are upper-middle class and live in good neighborhoods.”
“So this unsub probably wouldn't look out of place, in those types of neighborhoods. He fits in probably even lives close by,” Emily postulated.
“And where does the third victim fit in?” asked Rossi.
“The Ramms live smack dab in the middle of both neighborhoods,” Reid answered immediately.
“So that means that those ten miles are probably his comfort zone,” JJ said.
“If he is a sexual predator that prefers young boys, he would have had to see them sometime,” Rossi said. “Maybe he saw them in the park, a movie theater, or a library. Anywhere children hang out or spend a great deal of time. Maybe they were observed walking home from school or to a friend's house. As Emily already said he probably fits in with those around him, and stalks these children and their families, find out where they live, learns their routines so he would know the best time to pull off his kidnapping without being caught.”
“So if the other two boys only turned up dead after a week, we probably have that long to find Xavier Ramm,” JJ said.
“Not necessarily,” Hotch cautioned. “We all hope that's true, but he could accelerate and start killing them faster, especially if he believes that the police are close to closing in on him.”
The six of them continued to discuss the case for awhile and then Hotch said, “We'll continue this once we actually land in Florida. I think we all need to relax so that we are at our best when we land.”
Everybody nodded and closed their case files and began to relax.
“There is one thing however,” Hotch added glancing at Spencer who nodded that he understood that telling the team about his connection to the Ramms was necessary. There seemed to be an almost telepathic connection between the two of them ever since they got together, but then for Shifter couples this was relatively normal. In any case it came in damn useful or occasion.
“What?” asked Morgan who had seen Hotch and Reid exchange looks. “What's going on?”
“Just that I know Larry Ramm,” Reid revealed. “We went to school together back when I was a child.”
Their was a moment of silence and then Rossi asked, “There's more to it, isn't there?”
Spencer was silent for a long time as if contemplating how much to tell them.
“You need to trust us,” JJ told Spencer gently.
“I do, it's just that remembering the past is very painful for me and with my eidetic memory I don't even have the advantage of bad memories fading over time, like the rest of you,” Reid answered and the pain in his eyes made everybody else on the team hurt for their friend and teammate, all except for Hotch whose eyes were filled with pain, anger, grief and rage as if he knew what was coming and the others knew that if anybody knew the details of what was about to be revealed it would be Hotch since he was Spencer's mate.
“He was one of the ones that bullied you as a kid, isn't he?” asked Emily, knowing she was right.
“He was the leader,” Reid answered. “He was the one that shoved me into lockers or bumped into me in the corridor on purpose. The others in Larry's little gang did that to, but he was the worst. The other's left me alone after awhile when I refused to react to the abuse or complain to any adult, but he kept it up all through my high school career. I had constant bruises and sore muscles from being shoved down on the ground from behind, trampled on, or shoved into lockers. He went out of his way to not only bully me, but tease me and tell me how I would never fit in and that I didn't belong there, along with a lot of other nasty things that I won't bother to repeat.” Spencer was silent for a long time and then added, “He also shoved my head into a toilet on more then one occasion and it got so bad near the time I graduated that I was glad that I was going to college in the fall.”
“And we are going to actually help this guy?” asked JJ sounding as angry as anybody had ever heard her as she was usually calm and controlled.
“JJ,” Reid told her gently. “Look at me.”
JJ turned to face her friend and looked into Spencer's eyes, which were filled with the memories of old pain, but they also held a determination, and resolution that made JJ flinch a little.
“This nine year old boy, does not deserve to be raped and killed just because his father used to be an ass,” Reid said placing a photo of a handsome, dark haired boy with green eyes in front of her. “From all Garcia has been able to find on Larry Ramm in recent years he appears to have changed from the boy I knew in Las Vegas. We all know that people can change and that when you're a kid a lot of times you give into peer pressure just so you will be bullied yourself or because you want to fit in. We have to consider the fact that children don't like to be shown up by a kid that is at least five years their junior. I'm not making excuses for what those children did not only to me, but others, and I'm not saying I'll ever be able to forgive him for what happened, but that doesn't mean that his kid should have to suffer for his father's mistakes. Xavier has done nothing to deserve what is being done to him, for us not to at least try to find him. He is only child and therefore innocent.”
“Spencer's right,” Hotch said when JJ finally looked away from Spencer's eyes. “Just because of what happened in the past, doesn't mean that we aren't going to do our best to find this boy, not use every resource possible. I realize that this case is going to be harder on us then some of them simply because we don't want to help this guy because of what he did to Spencer as a child, but we can't allow what this man did years ago to affect how we handle this case, is that understood?”
“We won't,” Rossi promised and the others nodded resolutely. “Spencer's right that we should still try our best to find Xavier as he is only a child and not responsible for what his father did to others years ago.”
“I'll talk to the family,” JJ said back to her calm, competent self, although the rage was still burning in her eyes.
“Take Rossi with you,” Hotch said and JJ nodded.
“Hotch, I would like to go with JJ,” Reid said speaking up as he turned from staring out the plane window to look at his mate.
“I'm not sure that's a good idea,” Hotch told Spencer studying him knowing that he had changed his mind about not wanting to even let Larry Ramm know he was part of the team. “You have a past with this guy, so you might make things worse.”
Hotch didn't mention that Spencer had told him just a few hours ago that he didn't even want Larry Ramm to know he was part of the team, but apparently he had changed him mind since then.
“Or Larry might be willing to talk to someone he at least knew as a kid,” Reid pointed out. “We have a past connection and I might be able to get him to open up, where two strangers, might have trouble.”
“Hotch, I know you are concerned, but I believe Reid is right,” Rossi said. “He has a past connection with this guy and while he might be reluctant to talk to two total strangers, even if they are FBI, he might be more willing to talk to someone he knows, even if that someone was bullied by him as a child.”
“Or he might refuse to talk at all afraid that we will hold what he did to Spencer against him and possibly get his son killed,” Hotch pointed out.
“I know it's a risk,” Rossi admitted, “but I think it's one that needs to be taken. We don't have a lot of time on this thing before that poor boy is killed. For all we know if this is a sex offender who likes young boys and it is probably one who is a first timer and not on the registry, since so far the local cops haven't found anyone who is even a suspect.”
“Are you sure you can do this? Question him without prejudice? Not let your past with this guy affect your judgment?” Hotch asked his mate, seriously. “What this man did to you as a child will affect you for the rest of your life and I know you know this. Are you sure you can be non-judgmental and professional?”
“Yes,” Reid said resolutely. “I can do this and not let my feelings get in the way of doing my job.”
“You will tell me if this case starts to get to you,” Hotch ordered. “You will be honest with me if you feel you are losing your objectiveness and perspective.”
“I will,” Reid promised. “I would never put that boy's life in more danger, then he already is.”
“Alright then,” Hotch finally agreed looking reluctant. The rest of the team could certainly understand that reluctance for they knew that to face your painful past was extremely hard and Hotch as Spencer's mate would want to protect him as much as he could, even if it wasn't always possible.
“Thank you, Aaron,” Reid told him giving the older man's hand a squeeze.
“Just make sure you keep your promise to tell me if you can't handle this case,” Hotch said seriously, but with pride in his voice. “There's no shame in admitting that you can't deal with someone that hurt you so badly, physically, emotionally and mentally. That you got past that time in your life basically on your own with no help from the adults in your life just tells all of us how strong you really are. You could have let what they did to you turn you into someone completely different. You could have become a loner with no friends, or even a bully yourself or so many other things, but you chose to help others and to me—to all of us—that just makes us aware of how strong you are mentally for you didn't let that painful time in your life affect who you wanted to be, like so many people that we catch have.”
Spencer looked at the rest of the team and they were all nodded.
“You know that I didn't have a very easy childhood, either especially after my father died,” Morgan said, “but at least I had my mother, sisters, aunt and cousins, but you basically had no one for support. My family was really the only thing that kept me sane during a pretty rough time in my life. I'm actually surprised that you didn't shift and kill one of those kids because it's been known to happen if a young Shifter is bullied, extensively. There's only so much that a person can put up with before they either unintentionally shift or do it on purpose in order to get back at their attackers. If you are a young child then it is almost always unintentionally and usually due to extreme stress.”
“So when did you shift for the first time?” asked Rossi who did not know this.
“It was the night that my father was killed,” Morgan answered after moment of silence as if he was trying to decide how much to reveal. “I shifted and attacked the man who had killed him. I was nine, and my father wasn't even on duty and the two of us were in the grocery store to pick up a few items for mom before we went home, when these three men held it up. My father told me to hide and not come out no matter what and I watched as he was shot after he had killed one of the robbers. I transformed right there and attacked the one that had murdered my father from behind and I was lucky that the other cops from my father's precinct showed up just then and even luckier that they knew that my father was a Shifter. They tranquillized me, because I wasn't letting anybody approach me as I was still in shock and they made sure I got home to my family. Before that event I hadn't decided what I was going to do with my life, but then again what nine-year-old knows what his final choice of career will be? It was then, after we had attended my father's funeral that I decided I wanted to be a cop just like him and that I would make him proud of me.”
Morgan shrugged as if to say it didn't matter.
Rossi listened and noticed the others weren't surprised at this information, which meant they knew of Morgan's past, which wasn't surprising really since they had known Morgan years longer then he had. That Morgan had told him now, about such a painful time in his life, meant that the black man trusted him just as much as the rest of the team and that meant a lot to him.
“I am genuinely sorry what happened to your father,” Rossi told Morgan sincerely.
“Thank you,” Morgan said. “It was a long time ago, but I still miss him everyday. I have often wished ever since I got married that he had lived to see the birth if his grandchildren, as I know he would have spoiled them rotten, just like my mother and sisters do when they visit.”
“I'm not sure why I didn't transform and attack the kids who regularly bullied me,” said Reid, getting back to what Morgan had said, before they had gotten off track. “It might have something to do with that I thought, subconsciously anyway that I deserved what was happening to me or maybe I was afraid of what would happen if those children found out I was a Shifter. The bullies would have treated me worse if they had known, for there were other Shifters in my school that were worse off then I was.”
“So those kids didn't keep the fact that they were Shifters to themselves and suffered even more for it,” JJ said making a disgusted face.
“We all know that there is still a lot prejudice against anybody who is not a Normal and that it is still a bad problem even though Shifters and shamans have existed ever since the conception of the human race,” said Hotch, “and Spencer going back to what you said earlier about subconsciously feeling that you deserved everything those kids did you...let me be clear by saying that you did not deserve what happened to you, nobody does and I know you know this in your head at least.”
“I know that now, but when you are a kid, even one as intelligent as I was, you don't yet know your place in the world and you feel that you deserve what is being done to you even if it isn't true. In any case I have put those memories mostly behind me.”
“This case is bound to bring those bad memories to the forefront of your mind and might even cause nightmares.”
“It's not like I'm not used to nightmares,” said Reid. “I'm sure we all suffer from them because of the sights we see everyday. It is our subconsciouses way of forcing us to deal with the atrocities that we witness everyday.”
“Yes, but those based on your memories as a child will be worse than the ones you get just from a case. Things that happen to us as children often show in our dreams 10 times worse,” said Morgan who had reason to know.
“I'll deal with them, if I get them just like I always have,” Reid said.
“Except this time you won't be forced to deal with them alone,” Hotch said, “as I have no intention of letting you deal with your nightmares by yourself.”
Everybody was silent seeming deep in thought and finally Hotch ordered, “We should be landing in a few minutes so let's get our heads in the game. We have a nine year old boy to find before it's to late.”
Everybody nodded and all was silent until the plane started to descend and then finally landed at Orlando International airport a few minutes later.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

JJ knocked on the Ramms front door and it was immediately opened by a big muscular man only about 5'4'. The Ramms house was all on a single level, but was in a nice area, with a big backyard, was set away from the street and was painted in white. The man looked to be several years older then Reid, which was expected since you normally started senior high school around 14, but Reid had started at 10 and also skipped several grades in both junior and senior high, which was why he had graduated at 12.
“You are the FBI?” asked Larry.
“We are I'm, SSA Jennifer Jareau and this is Dr. Spencer Reid,” JJ said, showing the man her ID, Reid doing the same.
“Did you say Spencer Reid?” asked the exhausted looking man looking flabbergasted now as well as worried and exhausted.
“May we come in?” asked Reid his face expressionless.
Larry stared at them his face changing into several different expressions, but finally he nodded once jerkily and moved back far enough so they could enter.
“Sir, we know this is a difficult time for you and your family,” JJ began delicately as Larry led them into the living room. “If we may ask you some questions?”
“Shouldn't you be out there looking for our, son?” asked a very pretty woman with blond hair and light blue eyes.
“Mrs. Ramm, the more we can learn about your son, Xavier, his activities, his friends, people you know, his routine, basically anything else you can tell us will help us form profile to catch the unsub that did this,” Reid said gently.
“Excuse me, unsub?” asked Larry looking confused at the term.
“It's short for unknown subject,” Reid explained calmly. “It's the term we use when we don't know who we are looking for.”
Larry looked at him his expression unreadable, but the anguish in his eyes was very clear.
“So have you noticed any strangers hanging around near your son? Someone that was showing an unusual amount of interest?” JJ asked delicately.
“I already told the police when they asked me that question that no we haven't noticed anyone that doesn't belong,” Nancy answered holding onto her emotions, barely. Her son Xavier was the delight of her life and an unexpected late arrival in the family.
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Ramm, but we need to ask you these questions. As Spencer, explained the more we know, the easier it will be to catch the person that did this. We are on a tremendous time constraint and don't have long before whoever did this kills your son,” JJ explained as gently as possible.
Nancy gasped and burst into tears and Larry clenched his band into a fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“We're very sorry for bothering you at this delicate time,” Reid said.
“Honey, do you mind if I have a word with these FBI agents alone?” Larry asked his wife putting a gentle hand on her arm. “Why don't you go check on the children and try to get some rest?”
Nancy looked between her husband and the FBI agents and knew that their was something going on that she didn't understand as their was an undercurrent between her husband and Spencer Reid. Finally Nancy nodded and headed down a hallway leaving the three of them alone.
Once his wife was gone Larry turned back to Spencer ignoring JJ.
“How do I know that you will follow every lead or that you will do your best to find my son, given our history?” Larry demanded of Spencer his voice low enough to not be heard out of the living room.
“You will just have to trust that I will do everything in my power to find your son and that I won't let what happened in the past interfere,” Reid told Larry calmly his face expressionless. “Neither one of us are children anymore and I am willing to let bygone, be bygones if you are. I won't ever forget the torture you put me through, actually I can't since my memory is eidetic, but I am willing to put those feelings aside and do my best to find your son.”
“Our boss, never would have let him have anything to do with this case if he wasn't sure that Reid could put aside his feelings of animosity,” JJ told Larry. “Our boss is a stickler for always acting professionally on the job and if he believed for even a moment that Spence couldn't do his job then he would be off this case entirely.”
“And before you ask yes, he knows everything that you and the other's did to me as does the rest of the team as I told them just in case my name came up in conjecture with this investigation,” Reid said.
“Spencer will do his best just like we all will, despite our personal feelings,” JJ added.
Larry looked between the two agents and finally he nodded. “Bring my son home.”
“We'll try, but just so you know child abductions don't always end well,” JJ said gently.
“We have other team members right now tracking down every possible lead,” Reid added, “so the more you can tell us...”
“My son was just like every other boy really. He really liked to play baseball, and is a member of the local little league team,” Larry revealed.
“We'll need names of all the other children on the team,” Spencer said.
“Why you don't think one of the parents did this?” asked Larry his expression sharpening.
“No, it is unlikely, but the children on the team or their parents might have noticed somebody that didn't fit in hanging around,” JJ explained, not being completely truthful as it could very well be somebody from the little league team, one of the parents or people who had come to watch the game. “The more people we talk to and the clearer picture we can get of your son's life the easier it will be to catch this guy.”
“He did well in school and got good grades, he had several good friends. There are no problems of any kind that I am aware of,” Larry said. “He and his friends went to the movies most weekends or he and his friend hung out at each others houses or the park.”
“We need to see your son's room,” Spencer said quietly. “We need to see it to examine the evidence our kidnapper left. I hope you and your wife left it untouched as we requested.”
“We did,” Larry said. “It should be exactly as the man who took my son left it.”
“Good,” JJ said as she and Reid headed to Xavier's with Larry leading the way.
JJ and Reid asked Larry a few more questions and then gently took their leave of the grief stricken father.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So how did it go?” asked Hotch as soon as he saw JJ and Reid at the station as soon as they had some privacy away from the cops. Hotch tried not to appear worried, but he was and had been the whole time that his mate and JJ were gone interviewing the Ramms.
“It went fine,” JJ told Hotch with a smile knowing that he had been worried even if he would never admit it, and unless you knew him well you would never be able to tell.
“The family told us a lot about their son and we also examined his room, with the father's permission,” Reid added giving him mate a wink letting him know without words that he was okay.
Hotch relaxed completely and winked at Reid in return, before getting back to business.
“So did you find anything?” asked Hotch.
“Well, the cops were pretty thorough,” Reid said, “but we did find one thing that they missed.”
“It was a tiny piece of cloth that looked like it had been torn from a t-shirt and it had blood on it.”
“So the boy struggled and managed to tear a piece of this guys shirt,” Rossi said sounding impressed.
“But if there was a struggle, however brief how come it didn't alert the parents who were asleep just down the hall,” asked Morgan.
“Apparently it wasn't unusual for Xavier to toss and turn in the middle of the night or to have nightmares,” Reid said. “His mother told us that he is a very sensitive child and apparently he was beaten up quite a lot by some bullies from school more then once, so at first they didn't realize that anything was wrong.”
“And by the time they realize that something is really wrong the abductor is gone, along with the boy,” Morgan realized.
“You know it helped our unsub that the Ramm house is all one level, so Xavier's kidnapping could have been done by just one person instead of two or more,” said JJ.
“The family doesn't have a security system?” asked Rossi. “I mean that's really necessary in this day and age if you want to stay safe.”
“No, they don't, but I did recommend they get one,” Reid said.
“That's kind of like closing the barn door after the horses have been stolen,” Rossi snorted.
“I still can't believe they don't have a security system,” Emily said shaking her head.
“Some people don't see the need for one,” Hotch said, “and other's can't afford it.”
“But there's no way that the Ramms fall into that latter category,” Morgan said, “as they live in a very nice neighborhood, and the father has a very good job that pays extremely well.”
“The house was nice, freshly painted and was well maintained, so unless Garcia finds something in their financials that is out of line they have plenty for a top of the line security system,” said Reid.
“I'm sure they will get one after what happened,” said Rossi shaking his head.
“I thought we might be able to find some DNA on that piece of shirt that belongs to our unsub.”
It had turned out that the DNA on the edge of the desk was Xavier's, which wasn't really surprising since it was his room and his DNA would be all over the place, from things like the hairs he had shed on a regular basis. Apparently sometime in the recent past, maybe even during the abduction Xavier had scraped a hand or an arm on the corner of the wooden desk and that was the DNA they had found, although they hadn't known that until they had also tested one of Xavier's black hairs found in his room, which was why the DNA hadn't turned up in any of the criminal databases.
“Let's hope so,” Hotch said as he thought about what he would do if anything happened to Jack. He hated child abduction cases as it always made him have extreme nightmares and imagine the same thing happening to his son, but on the other hand he loved them at least when they had a happy ending.
“Let's get back to work, as the sooner we catch this unsub the better,” Hotch ordered.
The other's nodded grimly, although Reid shot his mate a look to let him know that they would be having discussion as soon as they were done for the day before he joined his teammates at the table that had been set up for them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So you were worried about me?” asked Reid. He and Hotch were laying in bed together in their hotel room as it was after ten. The whole team had worked hard for hours before finally breaking for dinner and then coming straight back to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep.
“I was,” Hotch admitted easily, “and I don't need to explain why.”
“No, you don't, but walking into that house and talking to the grown up version of the boy that bullied me so badly was far easier then I thought it would be.”
“In what way?” asked Hotch.
“Well, I can't honestly say I will ever forget what happened to me so many years ago, but from what I observed of my old tormentor he truly has changed,” Spencer explained his voice thoughtful. “He was very gentle with his wife and didn't raise his voice or lose his patience with her, not once. Nancy Ramm was very distraught, which is understandable, but he was very gentle and understanding and convinced her to check on their older two children and then go lie down and try to sleep. As for Larry Ramm himself there were signs that he was genuinely distraught, as he was exhausted and very emotional. He didn't say so, but I think he is blaming himself for what happened to his son and he's trying his best to be patient. He did bring up the past and questioned me about being the wrong person for the job because of our shared pasts and both JJ and I assured him that I would not let my past hatred of him get in the way or doing the job to the best of my ability. I told him that I would do everything in my power to bring his son home to his family alive. He eventually accepted that a lot easier then I thought he'd be able to considering our past history. Also there would be signs in Xavier's room if he was being abused, but really it was just the room of any prepubescent boy. It was messy just like most kids are, but there were no signs that he wasn't just a bright, inquisitive, lively child who is not afraid of either one of his parents.”
“And you can't help but wonder why he was such a bully when you were children?” Hotch asked and Spencer nodded against Hotch's chest while cuddling his body into his mate's side. “It probably had a lot to do with finding a woman to love and getting married. He would want to change for her if he truly loved her or it could just be that he was under a lot of pressure himself while he was a teenager in school and he just followed the crowd in order to fit in, we both know that it could be any number of reasons why he changed.”
“I never thought about it that way,” Spencer admitted. “I suppose one or both his parents could have been domineering and expected him to bully others.”
“Or maybe he had a brush with death that changed his attitude,” Hotch added. “We'll probably never know why he changed so much from what he was like as a kid.”
“Well, a lot of people change from what they were like as children. I suppose it's not all that unusual, although I didn't think about it that way before probably because of the torment he and his buddies put me through when we were young.”
“I'm not really surprised that you didn't,” Hotch said gently, “after all he put you through hell and nobody can be expected to forget that kind of thing even if they don't have your eidetic memory.”
“You know, I think I understand Larry Ramm's actions a little better after today,” Spencer mused. “You have a lot of different pressures when you're a kid and some stand up to those pressure better than others. There is the pressure of your peers to conform, there is the pressure of your parents to do well in school, there is the pressure of the teachers, there is the pressure to fit in and not be a loner or risk being teased mercilessly or bullied.”
“What child thinks about those kind of things?” Hotch pointed out. “Once you were out of there you buried the memories instead of dealing with them, which is at least part of the reason for your nightmares on and off over the years. I'm not saying burying what was done to you was wrong because you were just a kid and probably weren't strong enough at that time to deal with what had happened to you nor would you have wanted to as the memories would have been much to fresh, but because of having to deal with this kidnapped boy, who is the son of your chief tormentor when you were a child, you are being forced to deal with your past.”
“I'm a lot stronger now than I was when I was a kid, mentally anyway, and I want you know that's thanks to you and the rest of the team,” Spencer said. “All of you give me the strength to face anything even one of my tormentors from my past.”
“I truly believe that you are stronger than you believe yourself to be even if I or the team weren't around. Not many people would have turned out so well after what was done to you as a kid, your father's abandonment, the extreme bullying by your older classmates, the mental anguish of looking after your sick mother all by yourself. All of these things show a tremendous strength of will whether or not you believe it, it doesn't make it any less true. All these things happening to most other people in such a short space of time would have destroyed them which just proves how strong and stubborn you are.”
Spencer chuckled. “Did I ever tell you that you are good for a guy's ego?”
“I have not said anything that is not true,” Hotch told him quite seriously, but with a half smile. “I think the problem is that you had an absentee father and even when he was around I'm sure he wasn't one to give you compliments or gestures of affection and though your mother loves you she wasn't actually in her right mind most of the time, so that would have affected you as well. However despite your very difficult past you have risen above it to become the man you are today.”
“You had a difficult past as well and you also have risen above it,” Spencer said.
“I did,” Hotch said, “of course you already knew that.”
“When are you gonna tell me the details?” asked Spencer. “I told you a lot about my past, it's only fair that you tell me about yours.”
“I will, soon,” Hotch promised kissing the top of his mate's head tenderly. “When we have a minute to breathe, but right now we really need to sleep for we have a lot of work to do and leads to track down tomorrow.”
“Alright, I'll hold you to that,” Spencer told him lifting his head just enough to kiss Hotch on the lips.
“I would expect nothing less,” Hotch said, putting his arms tenderly around his lover's much smaller frame and holding him close.
Both men's breathing evened out almost immediately and they were asleep a few seconds later.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Two days later Xavier Ramm had been found alive and unsub had been caught. The unsub's name was Reece Whitmore and he was a sexual offender who was a first time offender and had started with 6 year old Nathan Moore. He had been borderline for a number of years, but when his mother had died in a car crash just a week before he had started kidnapping boys with black hair and green eyes, which had been the stressor that had started him down the path of kidnapping young prepubescent boys.
The boy was in bad shape as he had been raped on multiple occasions just in the three days he had been missing and he was catatonic and nonresponsive. The whole team felt extremely sorry for the Ramms as they all knew that the whole family had a long road of recovery ahead of them, but they would eventually recover.
“Thank you, Spencer,” Larry said as the two of them stood in Xavier's hospital room. Larry gently ran a hand through his son's black hair and leaned over to kiss his forehead. Xavier didn't stir or even move and Larry stood back up.
“It's not only me you need to thank,” Spencer said. “The rest of the team had a lot to do with it as well.”
Larry shook his head, “Same old Spencer.”
“And what would you know about me?” asked Spencer anger shimmering in his eyes. “We weren't exactly friends.”
“I know and I am truly sorry for what I did to you back when we were kids,” Larry said his voice quiet, but sincere. “I won't make any excuses for the times I pushed you into lockers, or said mean and nasty things to you, or shoved you down in the middle of a crowded hallway. I doubly apologize for my role in tying you to that goalpost and for the times I beat you up.”
“I'm not sure I can ever forgive you or the others for what you did to me,” Spencer replied calmly his anger dissipating, “but I do know this if not for you, and certain other events in my life I never would have joined the FBI, the BAU specifically.”
“I still can't really see you as an agent of the FBI,” said Larry shaking his head.
“There's a lot of people who agree with, including a lot of FBI agents in other units,” Reid said with half a smile. “The thing is that a lot of agents resent me because most people who join the BAU have to have at least ten years experience in other units before joining such an elite unit, but Jason Gideon who was lecturing at CalTech, while I was there saw my potential and urged me to consider the FBI as a career. It was him that pulled some strings and pulled me directly into his unit, where he knew I would start to pull my weight immediately.”
“And how old were you?”
“23,” Reid answered. “I actually graduated college at 20, with 3 PhDs and two BAs, but then I had to go through training at Quantico.” Spencer didn't mention how difficult that training had been the physical part of it anyway.
“Wow, I've never heard of anyone getting that many degrees in such a short amount of time,” Larry said.
“Well as I'm sure you know I went to college after I graduated high school at twelve,” Reid said. “I should probably thank you, for what you and your cohorts did to me for it made me want to understand human behavior and what made some of them turn into bullies, and from bullies to rapist and from rapist to killers. This cycle doesn't always happen, yourself being a case in point, as quite a few bullies like yourself grow into decent people.”
“And how do you know that I've turned into a decent person?” asked Larry.
“I know because I study human behavior, as do the rest of the team and your behavior since this all started has told me more then you realize,” Reid answered. “Studying behavior is a large reason why we are able to catch so many unsubs be they rapist, serial killers, or something we haven't seen before as evil knows no bounds. I know you have turned into a good man because of the way you have acted through this whole thing. You never once displayed the traits of a bully. You treated your wife with patience and gentleness and if you had still been the boy I knew you would have lost your patience and at least yelled at her, even in JJ's and my presence. Also your son's room tells me a lot as there are always some kind of signs of abuse and if either JJ or I had seen those in your son's room we still would have found him, but the team would also have pulled out all the stops to discover whether it was you or your wife who was responsible and your children would have been removed from your home at least on a temporary basis, by social services.”
Larry absorbed that then said, “I have a hard time believing you can catch some criminal just by the way they act.”
“We can, but I don't blame you for your skepticism for a lot of people are like you, but really you can learn a lot from knowing how a certain kind of criminal acts. An arsonist for instance almost never kills people and just enjoys causing massive property damage, although there are exceptions to every rule or in this case every profile. Besides unlike math profiling is not an exact science and we are learning more all the time. We actually interview serial killers once they are caught so that we can learn what makes them tick and therefore add to what we know on human behavior. In any case I cannot imagine doing anything else with my life and if I hadn't joined the FBI I never would have met the six best friends a guy could have, people who will do anything for you, help you through any trouble and stick by you through the tough times. In our job you need friends that will always watch your back, always be there when you need to grieve when a case goes bad or need to vent, when an unsub gets away, especially on those cases that involve children.”
And I never would have met Aaron, Reid added silently.
“I could never do what you do,” Larry said.
“Profiling isn't for everybody and not everybody can do it,” Reid said calmly. “It takes keen observation skills for one thing our boss Aaron Hotchner has had to turn down agents from other units in the past who want to join our team, because they didn't have the right mentality, or temperament or skills to be an effective part of the unit. We all have to be polite no matter how much somebody pisses you off, for if we just bludgeon others into submission or roll right over the top of them, then we will stop being called in even when it's clear that people need our help. You have to be able to see grisly and horrifying sights on a regular basis and able to think clearly no matter what. You have to be prepared to leave on a moment's notice, and have a go bag packed and ready to go at all times as we often leave within a very short time of reviewing a case file. You have to be prepared to not have much of a life outside the job and be prepared to be called in on a moment's notice, a lot of times even on your day off.”
“I definitely couldn't do what you do,” Larry said shaking his head looking impressed.
“Well, as I said it isn't for everybody,” said Reid, “but I would have it no other way. I help catch some of the worst killers that humanity has ever known and put them where they belong.”
“But you don't have much of a social life,” Larry said.
Spencer shrugged, “I've never been the social type, so it doesn't bother to much to me anyway. In any case I need to get going, the team is leaving in a few hours and we have loose ends to tie up before we can. You can contact me at anytime,” Reid said passing Larry his card. “I'd like to hear how your son is doing, he has a long, hard road ahead of him and so does your family so if you need any advice you can contact me and I'll ask Morgan as he is our unit's expert on sexual crimes and how to deal with them or I can recommend a good psychologist that lives close to you.”
“Thank you for all you have done,” said Larry holding out his hand, which Spencer shook reluctantly, because as a rule he never shook hands
“I was just doing my job, so there is no need to thank me,” Reid said.
“And thank your team for me too. They as well as you saved my son's life and I will never be able to thank any of you enough.”
“You're welcome, but really it's just what we were trained to do,” Reid said.
“So, what's with the ring on your marriage finger?” asked Larry. “It looks like a wedding band.”
“No, I'm not married, yet anyway, but Aaron and I are heading in that direction,” Reid said calmly causing Larry to do a double take. “The ring is mainly there to keep people from thinking that either one of us is available and to quit them bothering us and asking us out for dates. We are planning on getting married, but not for awhile.”
“So you are with another man?” asked Larry in astonishment looking disgusted.
“You know, I don't really care what you think,” Reid told him with a look in Larry's direction that told him he shouldn't comment on things he knew nothing about, causing the other man to blush, because Reid was right. “There are certain factors here that you are not aware of and even if you were they wouldn't make a difference. We will never see each other again so your opinion of me doesn't really matter.”
“I'm sorry for my reaction,” Larry said shamefaced, “you just caught me by surprise that's all.”
“Apology accepted,” Spencer said, “I can certainly understand your surprise after all I never displayed the fact that I liked other boys when I was in school and there is a reason for that.”
“So isn't it a huge risk having a relationship with your boss as I believe you said his name was Aaron Hotchner?” asked Larry. “Aren't you afraid of being fired?”
“Not really,” Spencer said shaking his head. “As I said there are certain mitigating factors that you are not aware of.”
“What kind of factors would make you, not to mention your boss take such a huge risk?”
“It's not as risky as you think simply because of the fact…” Spencer paused. “I'm sure you don't know this, but thanks to my father I am a full Shifter.
Larry looked astonished all over again. “No I didn't know that.”
“I'm not surprised as I did my best to hide that part of myself when I was still in school because I was aware that I would be bullied even worse if it was known,” Reid said his voice emotionless. “In any case I turned 30 just a few months ago and when that happens a Shifter's mating gene activates and you are immediately able to identify the person who is your 'True Mate'. Now normally a Shifter can search their whole lives for their True Mate, or get married to someone they love, but isn't the one meant for them, but I just got lucky.”
Larry wasn't truthfully able to deny the accusation that Spencer or any other known Shifter would have been bullied even worse, because they would have been, as a lot of children didn't like anyone who was different from themselves not that that was any excuse. Larry also noticed the way that Spencer emphasized the words True Mate he took that to mean, well in human terms anyway a soulmate. A person that completed you in every possible way.
“So you're telling me that you and your boss…”
“Exactly,” Spencer said and Larry immediately noticed the way the other man's eyes lit up when he said that. “In any case while having two people who are romantically involved on the same team is unusual it is allowed so long as it can be proven that they can work together as effectively as always and keep their relationship from interfering with their job and neither one of us would ever think of acting unprofessionally while we were working. Just so you know I didn't even think about boys or girls in that way when I was in high school, because I was only 12 when I graduated after all, but when you have Shifter genes even if you are interested in the opposite sex before your mating heritage becomes active, that doesn't necessarily mean that your mate won't be the same sex as you are.”
“Yes, I see what you mean,” said Larry slowly.
“Anyway Aaron and I are planning to tie the knot just as soon as we can work it into our very busy schedules. There won't be many people invited just extremely close friends and family,” said Spencer.
“If your relationship only started after you turned thirty aren't you going a little fast?” asked Larry.
“Not really,” said Spencer. “You have to remember that Aaron and I have known each other for seven years already and we have worked closely together for all that time, which means that both of us know each other extremely well and so we were able to avoid a lot of the normal pitfalls that come with any new relationship. In other words we weren't complete strangers when we met and actually if you want to know the truth if we had both had our way we would have eloped by now, but not only would the female members of the team murder us, the others wouldn't be to happy that they weren't there to see us get married and trust me on this you do not want our technical analysis Penelope Garcia Morgan mad at you for you can make your entire credit history vanish with a few strokes of her computer keys or worse.”
Spencer shuddered as he imagined what Garcia told do to both him and Aaron if they got married without her there.
Larry shuddered at that and wondered what could be worse then having your entire credit history erased. “Do I want to know how she could do worse?”
Spencer smirked and said, “She could put you on any number of sexual predators lists for one. Erase your entire life for another. As you can probably tell Garcia is very protective of the people she cares about, so you're just lucky that I talked her out of ruining your credit history among other things out of anger of how you treated me as a kid. She is a genius with computers and can practically make them sit up and beg. She is also one of the best friends anybody can have, so long as you remain on her good side. Now I really have to go. Actually you're very lucky you know as Aaron wanted to beat the people who tortured me so to a pulp and when I told him you were the leader of them he was all set to lecture you at the very least and he didn't give a damn if he got reprimanded for it or even fired. As I'm sure you can tell True Mates are very protective of each other and when he learned about how you and your cohorts tied me to the goalpost and tortured me for hours, he was as furious as I've ever seen him in the nearly 8 years I've known him as usually he's a very calm and steady individual. Oh Aaron can get frustrated much easier then he gets mad bit he was practically in a killing rage and barely stopped himself from ramming a fist though the wall and I knew he wanted to slam it though your face.”
Larry gulped and asked nearly fearfully, “Am I going to have to worry about your mate coming after me and beating me up for my part in what I did to you as a child?”
“No, I calmed him down and told him it happened a very long time ago and while he's still furious about it he has decided as a favor to me to let bygones be bygones, but he didn't love me so much he never would have no matter what I said, so be grateful. He usually never lets his emotions control him, but when it come to me, well he's not always reasonable.”
“I am grateful for Agent Hotchner's restraint,” Larry said relaxing. “I want you to know I don't blame Agent Hotchner for wanting to beat me up, for what I did to you, though I'm glad you talked him out of it.”
“It wasn't easy,” Spencer said, “as Aaron has always been very protective of those he loves and he doesn't have very many of those, come to think of it just me and his son, Jack. He respects the team sure and would be there if they ever needed him for anything and we are friends as well as teammates, but the only ones he feels really protective of is the two people I just named.”
Larry didn't have a chance to reply as suddenly Xavier opened his eyes and looked around the room and said softly in a small frightened voice. “Daddy!”
Larry reacted like he had been shot and rushed over to the bed.
“Xavier, buddy, Daddy's here,” Larry assured him softly reaching out a hand to gently run his hand over his son's cheek.
Xavier reacted to the touch as if he had been struck and moved away automatically and in that action Spencer saw a boy that had been brutally raped as most victims of sexual assault didn't like to be touched. It was going to be a long hard road to even partly recover from what had been done to him, but hopefully he would eventually recover.
Spencer slipped out the hospital room door and headed for the elevator feeling bad for what that poor child had gone through and he knew that this case would stick with him for a long time, but then most child abduction cases did for one reason or another.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So when do you want to tie the knot?” asked Hotch as he and Spencer lay in bed together back at his apartment as the two of them still hadn't had time to call a realtor to find a house.
“Whenever we have a free weekend,” Reid said immediately. “We can let Garcia plan most of it, but tell her that we have to approve the arrangements, since we both know she can rather flamboyant and will go overboard if we let her. We tell her what we want and the people we want to invite.”
“Which won't be many,” said Hotch. “Just the team and their families, Jack, Jessica, Sean.”
“Not Strauss?” Spencer teased him making Hotch wince.
“Definitely not!” Hotch exclaimed looking horrified.
“I was only teasing,” Reid assured him. “I don't want her there either as she is definitely not a friend.”
“That's probably the understatement of the year, if not the decade,” Hotch snorted, but with humor in his tone. “In any case we don't need anything but a simple straightforward ceremony, perhaps down in the yard of our new house once we buy one.”
“Yes, I don't see any point of having it in a church,” Spencer said. “You know even though I know Gideon left a long time ago, and he hurt me when he did, I would like him to be there if at all possible. He really was like a father to me, much more of one then my own was.”
“If that's what you want, we'll get Garcia to try to locate him,” Hotch said. “We need to find him before the actual event though so that he has time to get used to the idea of us being together as a couple, although it is possible that he has been keeping tabs on us. I don't want to dent your enthusiasm, but he might not approve of us being together, despite the circumstances of how it happened. He did think of you like a son after all and did tend to be overprotective.”
“If he makes to much of a big deal out of them he truly is not the man I knew, the man I considered more of a father, then my own,” Spencer said. “I don't believe he will object just so long as he knows that we both are happy.”
Hotch wasn't so sure, but kept his thoughts to himself as he didn't want to dent his mate's happiness at the thought of them getting married, a happiness the he shared for he'd had a hard time waiting 7 years for Spencer to reach 30 and now that he had the two of them were planning to get married. The two of them had been living together for months now in Hotch's apartment, since it was bigger, while Reid's place had been let go and his books and things put into storage until they got a place of their own.
Gideon had always been very close to Reid since he was the one that had discovered him when he had been lecturing at CalTech, back when Reid had been 19 and had less then a year to graduation.
“So a simple straightforward ceremony,” Hotch said.
“Yes, and maybe we can all go and eat at a nice restaurant afterwards, as I don't see the point of having a reception, with so few people attending as that would just be a waste of money.”
“So where do you want to go on our honeymoon?”
“Anywhere is fine with me, although I've never been overseas, so somewhere like England or France both of which have a lot of history,” Spencer answered.
“Well, I've been to France, but that was on assignment when I was part of a team guarding Emily's mother back before I joined the BAU. I was part of the security force, but I didn't get a chance to do much sightseeing so if you want to go to Paris that's fine with me.”
“So how long do you want to take for our honeymoon? Two weeks? Three? I know that we both have at least a month of vacation days saved up, so we could use all of it or just part,” Spencer said.
“Well if we did take the whole 31 days that we have saved up we wouldn't have to spend them all in Paris, we could go to other places in France or head over to England and see some of the sights there as they aren't very far apart. Spend two weeks in each place.”
“Neither one of us has ever taken that much time off at one time before,” Spencer said worrying his lower lip between his teeth.
“Neither one of us has ever had a reason to,” Hotch pointed out logically and Spencer nodded.
“That's true. A week at a time to relax has always been enough for me considering that my brain is always active and I like to keep it busy. I don't do well if I'm just lazing about for more than a few hours at a time, unlike most other people.”
“Which is why working at the BAU is a perfect job for you,” Hotch smirked. “It feels good to outwit some of our more intelligent unsubs.”
“It does, and we have had a lot of cases over the years where it felt good to finally catch them, not only because it brought the grieving families some peace, but because they couldn't harm anyone else. Besides as has already been stated on several occasions we never would have met if I hadn't joined the BAU and I would have gone through anything if I knew that the happiness I have with you lay in my future just a few short years away.”
Spencer leaned over from where he was sitting beside Aaron and kissed him on the lips, gently, tenderly, but with passion.
“I never knew that you could be so romantic,” Hotch teased his mate genuinely touched by Spencer's words, but since he felt exactly the same he shouldn't be surprised that his lover did as well. Also that Spencer was willing to express these thing in front of him, meant that his lover trusted him enough to tell him how he felt or what he thought, no matter how embarrassing and in the beginning of their romantic relationship he hadn't been so open.
“Before I met you I considered myself so far for from romantic that it was in another universe,” Spencer said with a slight smile and a blush. “Of course I now realize that anybody can be romantic even if they weren't before if they have found the right person to be with, active mating gene or not.”
Hotch was silent for a long time absorbing his mate's word, but finally he said in a voice that sounded choked, “So we get Garcia to do most of the planning, which I think is an excellent idea by the way, so long as we approve all the arrangements. So a ceremony that is short and sweet, and then we do dinner afterwards, which I think is a good idea since you're right a reception with so few people is kind of pointless and a huge waste of money.”
“Are you sure you don't want to invite some of the people you know outside of the FBI? You know maybe your associates from when you were an attorney?”
“Well, maybe a few,” Hotch conceded. “There are a few people I've kept in contact with over the years. It won't be many, because a lot of them made their displeasure known when Haley and I divorced. They mostly blamed me, even though it was Haley who wanted one.”
“It wasn't really any of their business, whether you got divorced or not, although I also realize that people butt in where they are not wanted all the time.”
“Yes, well, most of those people sided with Haley and felt I should have changed jobs in order to maintain my marriage, but of course they didn't know about the bond I had with you and I wasn't about to tell them.”
“I don't blame you, as really having a bond is kind of a private thing and nobody else's business,” Reid said. “Besides if they had known that might have made their reactions worse, not better as a lot of people, unless they are Shifters themselves don't understand how strong a bond one can develop when they have discovered the one they are meant to be with, and no one can resist that kind of pull anymore then they can resist, say their favorite food.”
“You tried through, even if it was only for a week,” Hotch teased him.
“Well, you know why I did, the real reason,” Spencer said as he cuddled into Hotch's side with a sigh of contentment. “I was insecure and I always have been when it come to telling someone I have always respected and admired how I feel. I have plenty of confidence when it comes to my job, but my personal feelings are different. I'm sure you remember how long it took me to trust any of the team with anything concerning my personal life.”
“It took you a couple of years to really relax around any of us and I for one just chalked it up to the fact that you were so young.” Hotch remembered. “You could work with us, but you didn't really trust us and were always on guard.”
“When you were bullied as much as I was in high school and college you learn very quickly not to trust anyone,” Spencer said. “It took me a long time to let down my guard around any of you, because I for one know that people can be extremely two-faced. When I was in school, college especially, I would have somebody come up to me and be nice, ask for help on their homework, or to explain what the professor had taught in language they could understand and the next day they would pretend I didn't exist. Those sessions were always done where other people wouldn't overhear us and after awhile I figured out that none of the older students wanted their classmates to know that someone so much younger had helped them out. Never once did I even get a thank you even though I spent my time trying to help them when I could've been studying or just doing something I enjoyed.”
“You didn't know how to stand up for yourself back then,” Hotch growled as he pulled his mate even closer to him and it wasn't long before Spencer was laying half on and half off his chest, instead of just laying against his side.
“No I suppose not,” Spencer admitted. “I don't really know how to stand up for myself now either.”
“Actually you do a lot better now than you did as a kid and you also have friends to come to your defense unlike when you were young, which I know helps boost your confidence. I thought you did a good job standing up to Strauss when we confronted her about our relationship.”
Spencer blushed at that and admitted, “It was you that gave me the confidence to be able to stand up to someone like Strauss. If you hadn't been there I never could have been so bold or come so close to insubordination. Strauss has always intimidated me, even if I hate her.”
“And I didn't?” asked Hotch.
“You did when I first came to work at the BAU, but it didn't take me long for me to not be afraid or intimidated by you. Unlike with Strauss it was clear that you actually care about the people we are called to help, and if Strauss cares she has a piss poor way of showing it. One thing I immediately noticed about you was you never yelled at the idiots that tried to prevent you from doing your job, you got frustrated, but you never once lost your temper even when someone was being particularly obtuse or deliberately stood in your way or made it clear they didn't want us there. You never got upset at any of us either and I know that sometimes I had trouble with my confidence in those early days and I definitely didn't like being asked to talk in front of a lot of people.”
“Yes, I remember how you used to get all nervous,” Hotch said his eyes going distant as he remembered. “You have gotten a lot better in that area though.”
“Well seven, almost eight years of doing what I do and I was bound to gain some confidence. You were right when you said I was very young when I first started at the BAU, not anymore though.”
“None of us are young as we used to be,” Hotch said. “In any case enough talking, as it's time for us to get some sleep. We can talk to Garcia in the morning.”
Spencer nodded in agreement and cuddled close to Aaron yawning and Hotch put his arms protectively around his mate's smaller frame and felt himself falling asleep himself for he to was very tired.
Hotch closed his eyes and spooned against Spencer's naked form he slept.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“All right, let's get started,” Hotch said as he sat down at the table in what Garcia had dubbed the round table room, since the large table was round as he sat down at the conference room table, with Spencer beside him the next morning.
“Garcia, if you don't mind,” Hotch said.
“Today crime fighters the Atlanta PD has requested help. They have a nasty serial killer, that also mutilates and rapes his victims.”
“How do we know it's a serial?” asked Morgan his expression totally serious, although he also winked at his wife.
“There have been five women killed in the last two months,” Garcia began pressing a button on the remote that she held in her hand making pictures of five different women appear on the screen.
“They were all killed the same way,” Garcia said pressing a button on her remote and all five pictures zoomed closer so the team could see how the five young women had all been killed the same way.
“Well this guy, whoever he is doesn't have a specific type,” Emily observed studying the pictures.
The pictures of the woman were of all different racial types and stature, there was a black woman, two white women, one who had blond hair, the other black, one oriental with a golden skin tone and the last looked to be of mixed heritage.
“So are all these women Normals?” asked JJ, studying the pictures closely. “Or is at least one of them a Shifter or shaman?”
“What are those slashes across their bodies?” asked Rossi as he to studied the photos. “Are those slashes from an artificial Shifter talons or a Shifter's real claws in animal form?”
An artificial set of claws shaped like a Shifters own, made out of a tough metal alloy, and were extremely sharp just like a Shifters real claws and had been used plenty of times to blame one Shifter or another for a murder they hadn't committed.
“They are not absolutely sure,” Garcia said, “as the analysis was inconclusive. They are traces of the type of metal alloy that is used in the artificial claws used to simulate either a wolf or cat Shifter attack, but there are also signs that it might have been done by the real deal.”
“How could the bodies have both?” asked JJ studying the images on the screen.
“Well, there are two possibilities,” Spencer said as he studied the report in front of him. “One it really was a rogue Shifter who killed him in his animal form and then used the artificial claw to try to cover it up and make the authorities think it was either a shaman or a Normal or two it is a Shifter, but one who is working with someone who isn't one and they are killing these women together.”
“Has that ever happened before, a Shifter working with someone who isn't one? Don't most Shifters that break the law not want to work with anybody and when they do they prefer working with their own kind?” asked Emily.
It was a weird fact about Shifters with the criminal bent and that was because they didn't usually like to work with anyone unless it was another of their own kind. Why this was, no one knew.
“Yes, most definitely,” Spencer agreed. “If my theory is right then it is the first time it has happened that has been reported anyway. For all we know they could have met in prison and became friends and when they were released they decided to become partners. We won't know until we have more information.”
It was obvious now, why the BAU had been called for they were always called when it looked like a Shifter had killed someone, although 85 percent of the time it turned out to be a non-Shifter that was just trying to blame someone else for their crimes. Unfortunately in a lot of places Shifters in particular were hated and reviled for no other reason then they were different.
“We should have been called in much sooner,” Hotch said. “We should have been called in as soon as the first woman turned up dead and the results were inconclusive.”
“The local police thought they could handle it,” Garcia reported
“That's just the official line,” Rossi snorted. “What they really thought was that they didn't want FBI involvement, but when yet another young women wound up dead they were forced to call us in whether they wanted to or not, because this unsub won't stop until he is caught.”
“Wheels up in 30,” Hotch ordered and the others nodded dispersing in order to go collect their go bags and head for the jet.
“Garcia, if Spencer and I can have a minute of your time,” Hotch called her as she was about to leave the round table room.
“Yes, sir, what can I do for you?”
“We just wanted to ask you if you would like to plan our wedding,” Spencer said.
Garcia's expression lit up. “You mean it?”
“Of course we do, but there will be some rules have to abide by,” Hotch told her sternly. “The reason we are asking you to do this is because you have more time than we do to plan such things.”
“We want something simple and straightforward. There won't be more than 25 or 30 people attending,” Spencer said. “Aaron and I were planning on buying us a house and we thought that the ceremony could take place in the backyard.”
“Oh that will be beautiful,” Garcia cooed looking thrilled.
“Neither one of us need a lot of frills, and as we said we want a simple, straightforward ceremony,” Hotch said.
“Do you want a reception?”
“No, we thought we'd take everyone out to dinner somewhere nice afterwards as we didn't see a point of having one and going to the expense with so few people coming,” Spencer added.
“Also we want you to see if you can locate Jason Gideon as Spencer wants him there if at all possible and if anybody can find someone who doesn't want to be found, it's you.”
“Yes, sir!” Garcia answered excitedly.
“You will check all ideas with us, before you actually make any arrangements,” Hotch told her.
“Don't you trust me, sir?” asked Garcia trying to sound offended, but knowing that she could go overboard sometimes and Hotch and Spencer were perfectly matched in the fact that neither would want a lot of colorful, loud decorations. Something simple, elegant and tasteful would suit them better.
“In most things yes, but not when it comes to trusting you with something like going overboard when planning our wedding,” Spencer told her with smile to take the sting out of his words.
“I'll be happy to. I'll start getting together some ideas while you are gone and discuss them when you get back.”
“That's fine, Garcia,” Spencer said giving her a kiss on the cheek.
“We need to be going now,” Hotch said putting a gentle hand on Spencer's arm.
“You're right,” Spencer said turning to leave the conference room Hotch following.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So are we allowed to know what you were talking with my wife about earlier?” asked Morgan as soon as they had finished discussing the current case file.
“Of course,” Spencer said as soon as he looked at Hotch who nodded. “We just asked her to help plan our wedding, that's all.”
“You're getting married?” squealed JJ happily.
“Of course we are, did you really think that the two of us wouldn't eventually get married, just like all couples who love each other do?” asked Hotch with an eyebrow raised in question.
“Well no, but I didn't think it would be so soon,” JJ admitted. “I at least thought it would be a year or more before you actually decided to tie the knot.”
“Well, if we hadn't already known each other for 7 years already then it probably would have been a year or more for us to tie the knot, but thanks to the fact that we work together and have for a lot of years we are already intimately familiar with each other so we are able to avoid the getting to know you stage that most relationships go through,” Spencer said.
“In other words why wait, when we don't have to date in order to get to know each other or to decide if we truly love that person, since we already know we do,” Hotch said, taking Spencer hand in his.
“A good point,” Emily acknowledged and JJ nodded in agreement not having thought of that.
“It might be that year you mentioned JJ before we can actually pull the wedding we want off, with our jobs,” Spencer said, “which is why we are letting Garcia plan the simple, straightforward ceremony since she has more time then we do.”
“Are you sure that letting Garcia plan your wedding ceremony is a good idea? We all know how flamboyant she can be,” Rossi pointed out. “She'll go way overboard if you aren't careful.”
“That's why we told her we had to approve all the arrangements, before she actually orders anything,” Hotch said with a smirk.
“Oh, I know my baby girl didn't like that,” Morgan laughed, although in this case he sympathized with Hotch and Spencer since his mate was one of the most flamboyant people he had ever known and would have put that flamboyance into her wedding plans for her boss and the young man they both considered a younger brother if Hotch and Spencer hadn't told her that all plans had to be approved through them first.
“She didn't, but she still agreed to do it,” said Hotch with a smirk.
“We told her that we didn't want anything complicated and we're not planning on having a reception since there will be so few people there,” Spencer added. “We were actually going to take everybody out for dinner someplace nice instead of doing the usual reception that usually goes along with things like weddings.”
“There shouldn't be more than 30 people at the most, so there's no point of having a reception,” Hotch said and the others thought about that then nodded.
“Yes it would be a huge waste of money,” Morgan said.
“You two are welcome to have your wedding at my place,” Rossi offered.
“Thank you,” Spencer said, “We'll think about it, although we were hoping to buy a place of our own and have it in our own backyard.”
“That will take time and if you want to have this ceremony anytime in the next month or so…” Rossi said and Hotch nodded.
“It's certainly a good idea, so thank you, Dave,” Hotch said. “We will consider it quite seriously.”
“You are more than welcome,” Rossi said.
“So have you made any plans for the type of ceremony you want?” asked Emily.
“Have we really had time to do that?” Reid asked. “We just decided yesterday that we were ready to get married and we've been extremely busy since then.”
“So have you decided on where you are going to take a honeymoon?” asked JJ.
“We were thinking France,” Spencer said.
“Oh, good choice,” both JJ and Emily said
“So how long were you planing on taking?” asked Rossi.
“We'll we both have about a month of vacation days saved up, so we could either take just two weeks of it and save the rest for another time...” Hotch said.
“Or you can take all of it,” Morgan said with a leer.
“If you do we're going to be awfully shorthanded,” JJ said.
“We know, and we hate to do that to you, but I think both of us deserve a nice long time away from work,” Hotch said and the rest of the team nodded for if anybody deserved a vacation it was Hotch and Reid as they hardly ever took time off.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Thank you, for coming,” said a big man with hair of such a dark brown it was nearly black and hazel eyes.
“Sheriff Tomlinson, it's nice to meet you. I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau, but you can call me JJ. This is SSA David Rossi, SSA, Emily Prentiss, SSA Derek Morgan, our unit chief Aaron Hotchner and Dr. Spencer Reid.”
“It's nice to meet all of you, we're glad you could come. We have you set up in our conference room,” Chief Tomlinson said politely shaking each one of their hands, except for Spencer who had already moved away to study the murder board that had already been set up, which was his way of avoiding having to shake hands since he didn't like to be touched except by people he knew well.
“Thank you,” Hotch answered politely shaking the chief's hand. “We're happy to help out in anyway we can to catch this unsub.”
“We'll just go set up and get started,” Rossi said disappearing in the same direction as Reid had a few minutes ago.
“We appreciate your cooperation,” Hotch told chief politely. “Hopefully together we will catch this unsub before he kills anymore women.”
“Let us hope you are right,” said Tomlinson. “Well I'll leave you to it,” the chief said and allowed the rest of the team to head to the conference room that had been set up for them to use.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several days later Spencer was coming into the station from another crime scene alone when he was approached by one of the police women in the conference room where the team had set up. Spencer had been aware that the detective in question had been eyeing him like she was seriously considering asking him out on a date, but since it made him very uncomfortable he had been avoiding her like she had some contagious disease. It actually surprised him that it was him that she had taken an interest in instead of Aaron or Morgan or even Rossi since all three of them were handsome men, confident in themselves and definitely alpha males which a lot of women were attracted to, although he supposed that Rossi was a lot older then the detective, then then Aaron was also ten years his senior, so he supposed age wasn't really a factor. Why this detective had chosen him as her object of affection he didn't know, nor did he really care, as he just wanted her to stop as she was making him very uncomfortable and had for the last several days, almost since they had arrived actually. He had done his best to ignore her, but she as getting on his nerves.
“Dr. Reid, I was wondering if you would like to join me for a up of coffee? Oh I'm sorry we were never officially introduced I'm Detective Shayna Hartford,” said the lady with long auburn hair putting a small hand with long delicate fingers on his arm.
“Detective Hartford I am sure that you are a very nice person, but I am afraid I am not available as I am engaged to be married. Now if you would kindly remove your hand from my arm,” Spencer told her politely, but firmly.
When Shayna didn't move Spencer gently grasped her hand with his free one and forcibly removed it from his arm. “You will kindly respect my personal space and not touch me without permission. I have noticed your interest over the last several days, but all it did was make me uncomfortable. You are a very beautiful woman detective, but I already have someone I love very much.”
“What's wrong with sharing a cup of coffee?” Shayna protested persistently.
“Because if I did that it would give you other expectations, ones I have no intention of fulfilling,” Spencer told her gently, in a firm tone, moving several inches away from her as subtly as possible. “I am very happy with the person I am going to marry and have no intention of cheating on them. Now I would really appreciate if you would quit staring at me from a distance trying to get my attention. You see this?” He held up the hand that had the ring that Aaron had bought for him while he had paid for his mate's. “This is a promise ring of my partner's birthstones and he wears the same.”
“What! You said he? How can I handsome man like you…”
“Detective,” Spencer told her his tone even firmer and just a little annoyed and angry, “if you finish that sentence I will report you to my superior and your captain. I've put up with your interest in me practically since the minute we arrived because before now you hadn't actually done anything other then stare, and no matter how uncomfortable you actually made me, I was willing to ignore your obvious attraction. Whom I am about to marry and love very much is none of your business and I wouldn't have told you now if you hadn't been so persistent in trying to get my attention, even when I just told you I wasn't interested. Now I suggest that you take your attention elsewhere and go after some man that is actually available, because I am definitely not, now or ever. You need to learn the when somebody says no, not interested they mean it and aren't just playing hard to get.”
“But...” Shayna protested.
“There are no buts,” Reid told her firmly, moving another inch away. “I don't know what you find attractive about me, I don't really care, you will either take your attention elsewhere or just as soon as Hotch returns he can take my complaint to your captain, because I've had enough.”
The last four words were said in such an annoyed tone, that Shayna knew that the man she had wanted to date was extremely pissed and had had enough. Shayna wasn't exactly sure where the attraction to the intelligent Dr. Reid had come from as she usually she went after men who were much more handsome than he was, but there was something about him, a gentleness in his eyes and posture that attracted her. Maybe it was the way she had seen him interacting with his teammates and how relaxed he was with them while with anybody else he was as tense as a coiled spring, although it wasn't exactly noticeable unless you were very observant, because he seemed relaxed until somebody like one of her colleagues approached him, especially if they spoke to him when he was busy doing something else and hadn't noticed their coming up behind him. Maybe it was how intelligent he was for she had been observing him whenever he was at the station the same time that she was. In any case she had been attracted to him practically from the minute he had arrived, although what she had seen in Spencer Reid that attracted her she wasn't completely sure, but had been excited to find out even if she knew it couldn't last since he would be leaving after the killer had been caught.
“You are distracting me from doing my job as I have felt your gaze on the back of my neck whenever my attention is elsewhere and I do not like nor appreciate that feeling of being observed when you think I am not paying attention,” Spencer said. “Besides I am a Shifter and just turned thirty a few months ago and since you probably don't know what that means I will tell you. It means that the mating gene that all Shifters who can change have activated. What that means is that once we find our True Mate, the person our souls, our instincts cry out for as the person we are 'meant' to be with we will never look at another while they are still alive and a lot of Shifters remain loyal to their other halves even after they are no longer with them, so you have to understand that you will never get your wish as there will never be room in my heart for another except as friends.”
Shayna looked stunned and Reid could hardly blame her, not that he was going to say that verbally or give her an excuse for her behavior up to this point as he didn't want to encourage her.
“There is absolutely no hope—none—of us ever being together,” Spencer added, calmly, but with steel underneath his tone.
“What's going on here?” came the voice Aaron Hotchner who had been observing from the doorway for a few minutes and had seen how Spencer had been trying to get the lady detective to leave him alone, by being polite, but firm. He had immediately recognised the change in posture when Spencer had gotten tired of being polite and gotten annoyed and angry. He knew every gesture, facial expression and bit of body language that Spencer used on a regular basis. It took a lot to annoy him and even more to make him even a little angry, but in this case Hotch couldn't blame his mate for being annoyed, frustrated and angry at the the same time because of detective's persistence, in pursuing him. Hotch had been aware how uncomfortable and tense Spencer had been over the last few days whenever they were in the police station, although when they were away from the female detective he was more relaxed and like his usual self. He had been aware, but there was nothing he could really do about the situation except stake his claim publicly in front of her, but neither he or Reid had wanted that unless it was absolutely necessary for a lot of people reacted badly to same-sex couples and neither of them had wanted to put up with the stares of disgust, disapproval or outright hate that were bound to come from at least some of the officers that worked out of the police station where they were set up. For one thing who wanted to have to put up with that kind of thing when they were working and trying to concentrate and for another whether or not they were together was no ones business. If their relationship was known they both knew it was possible that they both would get lectured, by one of the officers about how it was wrong for two men to be romantically involved and that would cause a whole load of trouble that neither one of them needed, for technically the whole BAU team was above a mere policeman no matter his rank, but that would be forgotten in some officer's disgust and fury at two men together, which a lot of people considered wrong. No that was trouble they definitely didn't need, so hopefully Spencer's words to Detective Hartford had gotten the point across, without any of the other officers being aware that they were two men in a sexual relationship.
He had also seen how Spencer had moved several inches away from the female detective when he had the chance as if distancing himself from her as much as possible and again Hotch couldn't blame his mate in the least. If he had been a true Shifter, instead of just having some of the blood, he would already be stalking across the room to claim what was his for no one touched another Shifter's mate, unless they had permission. Any of the team for instance was allowed to touch Spencer, because they were trusted and also because they had no romantic feelings for his mate, just ones of familial love and deep friendship, which was why he didn't mind when Morgan slapped Reid on the back in a friendly gesture of affection or when Garcia hugged him and tried her best to mother him or at least as much as he allowed. As it was it was hard for him to just stand there and watch how 'his mate' and the female detective just stood there and talked. It was clear that Detective Hartford was trying her best to lure him into her clutches, though it was also clear that his mate was doing his best to extract himself from her as politely as possible, which was the only reason that he wasn't charging over their to protect what was 'his'! Spencer was his! He might be mostly human and not a full Shifter, but he was still an alpha male even so and Reid was a gamma, which made him the submissive partner, who usually always bent to the will of his alpha and that would be doubly true once they were officially mated. They were only getting married in the human fashion, because he wasn't a full Shifter, but if he was they would be doing it the same way that Shifters had been mating since the beginning of time as most of them had no use for such human inventions as a wedding ceremony, and that was doubly true to those services that were done in churches.
He had been aware of Detective Hartford's interest in his mate, but since Spencer had been ignoring the lady in question until now he had seen no reason to intervene. He had only caught the tail end of the current confrontation, but could guess that Detective Hartford had approached Spencer when he had come into the station by himself and asked him out for a cup of coffee or something similar and Spencer had politely told her he wasn't interested, but the detective was being persistent.
Hotch had no doubts about his mate's fidelity to him as he knew that Spencer was loyal to the people that he loved and cared about and that his lover wasn't the type to go behind his back and have a romantic relationship with someone else while he was in another relationship, even if it wasn't for the pull of the mating bond, so he wasn't worried about his mate cheating on him. Just as he knew that Spencer wasn't worried about his loyalty to him. Their lives were so intertwined now that there was absolutely no way to separate the two and Hotch knew that Spencer would have it no other way, nor would he.
“Aaron, boy am I glad to see you,” Spencer exclaimed looking extremely relieved, which reaffirmed in Hotch's mind that his mate had been doing his best to extract himself from the woman detective, which made him want to take Spencer back to the hotel right then and make wild, passionate love to him, but he knew now was not the time, although he would make sure to reward him later. Hotch watched as Spencer hurried across the room to reach his side leaving behind a gaping in Shayna in the process, which almost made him chuckle aloud.
“Are you now and here I thought you were enjoying yourself with Detective Hartford,” Hotch teased him and Spencer relaxed at his mate's words for he now knew that Aaron had seen enough of the conversation to know that he had been trying to politely, but firmly extract himself from the situation, without causing a scene. “We'll talk about it later, when we are in bed.”
“Yes, sir,” Spencer mock saluted with a smile making Hotch smirk at his mate.
Shayna watched this and her heart sunk in her chest and felt like it broke into a tiny million pieces. She should have known better, she knew then to let her heart get involved with someone like Doctor Reid for not only was he here until this serial killer was caught, she should have known that such a handsome man was involved with someone else, although she certainly hadn't expected it to be another man, much less his boss, but from the way the two of them were talking with relaxed familiarity and the way that Spencer's boss put his hand with familiar affection on his subordinate's arm and how that touch was accepted with obvious pleasure and just a hint of relief, it was clear that this was the man that he was going to marry that the doctor had been talking about, the one he had the mating bond with.
She realized suddenly that though Dr. Spencer Reid was the kind of man she would be happy to settle down with and have a few children, but he wasn't going to be hers and she had never stood a chance with him, no matter how much she had wanted him. It was obvious to her now, though she had been ignoring her instincts, until her eyes had just been well and truly opened a minute ago, that around most people Spencer Reid wasn't very comfortable. She assumed that it had taken a lot of work on his teammates part for Dr. Reid to be comfortable around them, although it was clear to her anyway that the effect they had put in to get their coworker to relax in their presences had worked because the object of her crush was totally at ease with them unlike he was with anybody else, he didn't know well, including his boss. She supposed it only made sense because you worked more smoothly with fewer problems it you trusted your teammates to guard your back and not figuratively stick a dagger in it. She had noticed over the last several days how the whole team was very protective of their teammate from their boss Aaron Hotchner on down and that told her that they felt he needed that protection. Today had really been her first opportunity to approach Spencer Reid alone for every single time she had thought she might have a chance, he had either come in with one of his team or one had joined him almost as soon as he had arrived. She realized now that they had been protecting him from her attentions, all very subtly by making sure he was never alone. For the rest of the team to do that for Reid meant more than just that he was one of the them, but that he was like their little brother that they felt needed protection from the big bad female. Perhaps he did for from what she had observed Dr. Reid was so shy as to be introverted, and Shayna assumed that was, especially true around any females outside his own teammates, who obviously didn't think of him as anything but a good friend and younger brother.
The ironic thing was that despite the rather obvious fact that the good doctor was uncomfortable around most people, women in particular, all his teammates from their boss Hotchner on down respected him and his contributions to the team. Besides, Shayna couldn't see the FBI keeping him on if he didn't pull his weight so that must mean that he more then made up for whatever hangups he had for the BAU were the best of the best and considering that Dr. Reid was only 30 meant that he was most likely the youngest member to ever be allowed into the unit for usually you had to have at least 10 years experience in another department to even be considered for a position with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. She knew this because she had done her research as she had been thinking about joining the FBI, the BAU in particular for about a year, but the BAU team was so tightknit she doubted very much that she would be welcome even if there was an open position, because of her less then subtle interest in one of their own, especially since the man in question obviously didn't reciprocate her crush on him. Besides there was no way she would be admitted to the BAU without at least ten years experience. Unlike her current crush she wasn't outstanding enough to be admitted to the BAU, without gaining experience in another department or even several first.
“Hey Hotch, Reid guess what?” Morgan asked as soon as he had entered the conference room, not even noticing that Shayna was there.
“What and tell me it's good news and that we have a lead on these unsubs?” Hotch said. “These guys are really beginning to get on my nerves.”
It had been determined that Reid had indeed been correct and there were two unsubs, one of who was a Shifter, although they were not sure yet if the other was a Normal or a shaman.
“Yes, we do have something on that front,” Morgan said and explained what Garcia had found.
“Well, your wife has come through again,” Reid said with a smile.
“Doesn't she always?” Morgan smirked.
“She does,” Hotch said. “Even if sometimes it takes her a little longer to get us the information we need.”
“Only because she needs parameters in order to find what we are after or because it is deeply buried,” Morgan said and the other two men nodded in agreement.
“Well, we had better call the others I have a feeling this is going to be the break we need,” Hotch ordered and the other two nodded.
“Before I do that I want to tell you, that one of the reasons Penelope called me, we'll besides to give me the information we were looking for, was to tell me that we are expecting triplets and not just twins baby like we originally thought,” Morgan said.
“Really, I suspected as much, but didn't want to say anything,” Reid said.
“How could you suspect that it was triplets?” asked Morgan.
“Well, because Garcia is much bigger this time and she was when she had either Matthias or Cassandra,” Reid explained. “I suspected that either it was two big babies or that it was triplets or more. Besides you know that Shifters are 40 more likely to have twins and higher order multiples then anybody else and if both parents are shapeshifters that percentage goes up considerably. You also have to remember that although we are human we are also animals, whether that be a cat, wolf or something else and both cats and wolves have whole litters at one time, depending on species. Sure Shifters have single births all the time, but if a couple decide to have more then one child the odds of having multiples goes up with every birth and since the team was already aware that it was at least twins, I for one figured she was to large for it to just be two babies unless they were large, which is why I figured that Garcia was probably carrying three or more. Garcia is a naturally large busted woman anyway and for her to be as big as she is means that she had to be carrying more them one or even two babies.”
Morgan shook his head and patted Reid on the back. “You should have said something, just so we wouldn't have been so shocked.”
Reid shrugged looking unrepentant. “Sorry, but I felt like it wasn't my place to say anything. Besides I thought you would probably like being surprised, especially since in this case the surprise is so pleasant.”
“It is,” Morgan agreed with the big grin that practically split his face in two.
“Congratulations, Morgan,” Hotch said shaking the black man's hand. “I'll make sure to congratulate Garcia as well when we get back to you Quantico, but now we need to get serious.”
The two men nodded and went to make a few phone calls to the rest of team Shayna watching them go with a confused expression.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So Detective Hartford was being a major pain?” Hotch asked Reid leaving the question open ended.
Reid rolled his eyes and said, “You know how she observed me for several days before she actually approached me and I'm positive that was because one of the team was always with me, whenever we were at the police station, because I suspect that she probably didn't want anyone else around when she finally cornered me. What made her pick me to develop a crush on instead of you or Morgan or Rossi I don't know, but you do know that it made me very uncomfortable. You would think that Morgan or Rossi or you would be the ones that she would be attracted to and not me.” Reid shrugged as if to say he didn't know why the detective had developed an attraction to him. “Hopefully we have solved the problem and she won't continue to stare at me when she thinks I'm not paying attention and just generally avoid me if I'm lucky. It would certainly be a nice change from the last several days.”
“I know Detective Hartford has been a pain in the ass and I'm sorry you were made uncomfortable, but we both know it will happen again at some point,” Hotch soothed Spencer's irritation by putting his arm around his mate's thin shoulders.
Spencer smiled a little and felt the tension leave his body just at the gentleness of his mate's touch. His frustration with the entire situation, however, was not so easily soothed away. “I still fail to see why she picked me in the first place as someone as gorgeous as her usually goes after someone like you or Morgan not someone ordinary like me.”
“Spencer, you are far from ordinary,” Hotch told him in an exasperated tone. “Sure you don't have Morgan's drop dead good looks, but that does not mean you are plain and in fact you are far from it. You might not have noticed over the last two or three years, but I sure have, the way that some of the women that work around us stare at you and it's obvious that they are attracted. If you gave them any kind of encouragement they would be on you like bees on honey.”
“No, I hadn't noticed,” Spencer admitted. “You know I tend to ignore most females anyway except to say hello. I might carry on a conversation for a few minutes, but I usually don't pick up on whether or not any of them are attracted to me, especially if they're being subtle.” Reid shrugged. “I've always considered myself just plain and ordinary in the looks department, even if I am far from normal in brains.”
“You're not just plain or ordinary as you put it. You're attraction to females has a lot to do with your demeanor you know and your body language.”
“I don't really care if I'm attractive to the female or not, considering I have you and that is all I want or need to be happy. I definitely don't need women falling all over me like they still do to Morgan even though he's married and has been for six years. I know he has no trouble dissuading them from pursuing him, the ones who ignore his wedding ring that is, but I know I would never be able to put up with woman asking me out all the time like he does.”
“Unlike you, Morgan had a reputation as a ladies man, before he met Garcia as you know, like Rossi come to think of it. Even six years afterwards the ladies still chase him partly because of that reputation. A lot of them can't seem to believe that Morgan is loyal to Garcia even though we both know that he is. The point I'm trying to make is I truly don't believe you are going to have the same problem that Morgan does. Women will be attracted to your more low-key presence occasionally, but it won't happen as often as it does with Morgan.”
“I sincerely hope not,” Spencer said with a happy sigh cuddling into Hotch's side. “The last few days have been nerve-wracking enough and I would appreciate it not happening again for a long time. Most females have always made me nervous anyway, except for ones like JJ, Garcia and Emily, but then I know them and see them like sisters or in Garcia's case a crazy aunt.”
Hotch chuckled at that for he agreed. “I know you don't realize, but ever since we got together, you walk around with more confidence then you did before that. It's as if you finally know your place in the world and because you do you are eager for each new day to begin. I know that is at least one of the reasons why Detective Hartford was so interested in you as have been several other women back home, except those that know better than to approach you because they know that you and I are together in a permanent relationship, but that doesn't keep them from looking at either one of us.”
“Even if that's true I'll never have yours or Morgan's confidence when it comes to females liking me in that way. I suppose that is something you learn in childhood from your father or other strong male influences in your life and as I said before I really don't need women chasing after me like Detective Hartford or staring at me thinking about what they'd like to do to me, when they think I'm not paying attention, but then she was being rather obvious in her attraction to me while a lot of women are more subtle.”
“Would you go back to before you turned 30 and we got together if it would get those women to mostly ignore you like they used to?” asked Hotch.
“Absolutely not!” Spencer exclaimed his tone horrified. “I'd rather put up with those women being annoying then give you up. You have made me so happy in the last few months, happier then I thought I was capable of being and there's no way in hell I could go back to the way things were before I turned 30. My job gives my life purpose, but I will always remember how many nights I spent in my apartment alone and how lonely I was. Purpose in a person's life is all well and good, but people need more than that in order to be truly happy.”
“Good, I'm glad you feel that way because just so you know I would fight tooth and nail for you to remain by my side as I would no longer love my life without you in it and not just as my subordinate or coworker or even friend, but as my mate, the love of my life, somebody I can't—won't live without,” Hotch said his voice choked with emotion.
“You won't have to for I am here for the duration of our lives,” Reid said calmly, although Hotch could tell that there were a number of emotions underneath his mate's calm tone. “I have no plans of ever running away from you as that would kill me just as surely as a bullet would and be twice as painful or at least that's what I've read and I have no intention of experiencing that for myself. Besides even without the bond and if I still fell in love with you it would probably still almost kill me to be parted from you.”
“You are one of those rare people that loves with their whole hearts and usually only once,” Hotch said in a tone as if he had just now realized it.
“No, I've never been one to fall in or out of love like Rossi has three times,” Reid said and they both chuckled at the fact that David Rossi had been married three times and also divorced three times. “When I give my heart to someone it is completely, so you don't ever need to worry about my fidelity or loyalty to you, since I gave you my heart the second that the mating gene that all Shifter's have activated when I turned 30, even if I wasn't sure I was ever going to tell you how I felt.”
“If I hadn't told you my feelings you do realize that both of us would have evidently been driven insane because you refused to acknowledge the bond that was between us, I had enough trouble coping for seven years, there's no way I could have done so for the rest of my life.” Hotch said and Spencer nodded lowering his head in embarrassment.
“You know why I didn't, so I'm just glad that you approached me and that you have more confidence in that area then I do,” Spencer said basking in the way his mate's arms were around him tenderly, but also protectively and lovingly. “I know how to do my job and do it well, but relationships...”
“Believe me I know,” said Hotch his tone fond. “You can thank Rossi for he was the one that convinced me that I needed to speak to you before you did something drastic like leaving the team. I was going to eventually speak to you, but I was going to give you a few weeks, maybe a month to come to me first. Dave warned me though that, that was a bad idea, because if I waited to long you would be gone.”
Spencer blushed because it was nothing but the absolute truth. “I'm glad Rossi convinced you to speak to me because as you know he was right and I was thinking about quitting the team and running away since I thought you could never possibly return my feelings. Now though, you couldn't drag me away from the BAU, since you are there and we have admitted our feelings for each other as I would only make both you and me miserable if I did.”
“And if you did run away I would track you to the ends of the Earth,” Hotch smirked making Spencer laugh.
“I just know you would, not that you have to worry for I have no intention of going anywhere without you,” Reid said kissing his mate's cheek.
“Good,” Hotch growled possessively making Spencer blush for he loved it when his mate got all possessive so long as it was with him and no one else.
Hotch took Spencer into his arms and the younger man didn't resist in the least when Aaron's lips descended on his and in fact he actively and passionately participated.
When they finally broke apart sometime later both were breathing heavily.
“I suppose we had better get some sleep, we will have to get up early,” Spencer said sounding as reluctant as Hotch felt.
“Yes, hopefully we'll catch these unsubs in the next day or two so we can head home,” said Hotch.
“We can hope,” said Spencer. “I know I'm ready to leave just to get away from Detective Shayna Hartford and I know you miss Jack.”
“I do, but he knows I love my job and supports what I do. It also helps that we are on the same team, which is a bonus.”
“Yes, we'll be able to spend much more time together than we would if I was in another department or if one of us worked a totally different job,” Spencer agreed. “Goodnight, Aaron.”
“Goodnight, Spencer,” said Hotch giving him one last kiss before twining his arms around the younger man and letting sleep take him.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch was pleased to note that his mate relaxed a great deal over the next couple of days and he knew it was because Detective Hartford had taken her attention elsewhere and made sure to be out on patrol or whatever whenever Reid was at the station and Hotch appreciated it for he didn't like to see his lover as tense as a coiled spring. Now that Spencer didn't have to keep one eye out for the female detective he was really able to to relax and do what he did best, which made the rest of the team happy as well.
It was doing that two days that there was a major break in the case and because of it they were able to arrest the submissive partner and he led them to arresting the dominant one. The evidence against these two was damning and they were able to close the case within just a few hours and head out for an early dinner
“So, Reid are you glad to be flying out of here tomorrow?” teased Morgan with a grin
Reid rolled his eyes at Morgan for what his friend really meant was wasn't he glad to get away from the detective, although she had finally starting leaving him alone instead of staring at him from a distance and making him uncomfortable.
Reid didn't say anything and just ignored Morgan's insinuation entirely.
“Of course he's glad to be going home,” Emily told Morgan in Reid's defense when he didn't verbally respond. “You know he's never been comfortable when some female tries to get his attention and that was before he and Hotch got together. He's not like you who has confidence in that area...”
“Thank you, Emily,” said Reid, with a smile to his sister in every way but blood. “Morgan knows perfectly well that I don't like it when some female comes on so strongly that all it does it make me uncomfortable and I want to escape, as soon as possible, while still being polite. I've never been one for flirting like he does even though he's married. Besides I don't need some female draping themselves all over me when I have Aaron here and am more than happy with him.”
Hotch didn't verbally respond, but put his hand on Reid's leg underneath the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. Reid's expression didn't change at all, but his hand did move and laid itself on top of his mate's in a silent gesture of affection and love and Hotch's dark brown eyes warmed several degrees, but unless you knew the man very well you would never be able to tell.
“So, yes, to answer your original question I'm glad to be leaving, since I'm tired of being so tense every time I was at the police station as I was aware of her attraction to me and I was really hoping that we could solve this case and leave before she actually approached me, although that didn't happen. She was so obsessed with asking me out for coffee or an actual date that she never saw how uncomfortable she was making me.
“It's possible she didn't care,” Rossi suggested. “Sometimes when you are attracted to someone you don't notice how uncomfortable you are making the object of your attraction.”
“Or maybe as Reid said she was obsessed,” JJ said. “I know you don't believe this Spence, but you are an attractive man and a lot of women go for your kind of looks. That you are a sweetheart and a genius as well is enough to attract a lot of females.”
“It has a lot to do with how you conduct yourself too, you know and I know you don't realize it, but ever since you and Hotch got together you do walk around with more confidence,” Emily said.
“Which is also attractive to females,” JJ said. “Women like a man that has confidence in himself and his abilities.”
“Great, so you are saying this is going to be a permanent problem,” Reid groaned rolling his eyes and leaning his head against his mate's very solid shoulder.
“Well, our wedding bands will detour a lot of those women who find you attractive,” Hotch said speaking for the first time. “It certainly did for me back when I was still married to Haley. Sometimes just telling a woman that you are married is enough to get them to back off as a lot of women consider a married man off limits.”
“Those that don't spot the wedding band and therefore don't approach you in the first place,” JJ said.
“Don't worry about it so much, pretty boy as I doubt very much it will be as much of a problem as you think simply because while some women go for your type most of them won't bother you once they see that you are in a committed relationship. Don't let what Detective Hartford did make you nervous every time you go out in public.”
“I think that Spencer just needs time to decompress,” Hotch said. “We all know what tension will do to us and he's been tense for almost a week every time he was anywhere near the police station and I can't blame him as if I was him some women staring at me when they think I'm not paying attention would certainly make me tense. If Detective Hartford had just gone ahead and asked Spencer out for that cup of coffee within the first day or two instead of waiting for so long he wouldn't have been so tense waiting for her to make her move and he could have relaxed for almost the whole time he's been here instead.”
“Instead of being so tense waiting for the confrontation he knew was coming,” Rossi said. He, David Rossi had never run from a female in his life, and in fact flirted with them a lot of the time, but then he understood that his coworker had been raised by a disabled mother and had no father after the age of ten. So in other words Reid had had no positive male influence in his life, and hadn't even before the older Reid's abrupt departure. Rossi knew that Spencer Reid's personality had been at least partly formed by his father's abandonment and having to look after his mentally ill mother. Dr. Reid was a fine profiler and in most ways a very nice fellow, although he did tend to spout off to much about facts, but that was just part of his personality. When it came to women and relationships though he was so shy that he was introverted, but again that had a lot to do with his upbringing. With Hotch though Reid wasn't shy at all, but then again they had known each other for almost 8 years so it wasn't really surprising that the young man was able to relax in his presence and not be shy.
“Most of us don't get tense over having a gorgeous woman stare at us or ask us out for coffee,” Morgan said.
“Well, I'm not you, Morgan,” Spencer pointed out logically. “I've never been comfortable around females who are obviously interested in me as more than friends. You all know I never dated much as I've always been rather shy when it comes to that kind of thing. I don't like women who come on to you so strongly that it's like they want everybody to notice them. Besides I have Aaron now and I definitely don't need the added annoyance of females trying to get into my pants.”
“It's going to happen sometimes I'm afraid,” Hotch told Reid, though he certainly sympathized as it could get very annoying as he knew very well, especially if you were already attached and not free to take a woman up on her offer. “It still happens to me occasionally and even a wedding ring doesn't detour some people. Haley and I divorced four years ago and I still get asked out sometimes, by women who see me as a free man, but I wasn't going to get myself involved with anyone else since I knew you weren't that far from your 30th birthday.”
“Let's not talk about it anymore and change the subject,” Spencer said.
“All right, Morgan, do you know if your wife's baby is a girl or a boy?” asked JJ changing the subject obligingly.
“Actually as I haven't had time too tell any of you except for Hotch and Spencer, my baby girl is carrying triplets,” Morgan said a big sappy grin appearing on his face
“Triplets,” Emily squealed clapping her hands together excitedly.
“Congratulations, Morgan,” Rossi said. “You're a lucky man.”
“Thank you, Rossi and I agree I am a lucky man,” Morgan told the older man with a wide smile. “To answer your earlier question JJ, no, Penelope and I don't know the sexes yet, though Penelope does have an appointment next month for an ultrasound to determine that. The sex doesn't really matter, though since we do already have one of each.”
“Fraternal triplets are more likely then identical, since scientists still aren't sure what causes a woman's egg to split in two or for that matter into three to get identical,” Spencer stated in his I know my facts voice, “so you may very well get your wish.”
“Of course you still might get three boys or three girls, just not identical,” JJ teased Morgan.
Morgan shrugged philosophically. “If we do then that's okay, we'll still shower them with love and attention, just like we do our older two and like you do with Henry or Hotch here, does with Jack.”
“So how do you know it's triplets and not just twins if you haven't had an ultrasound yet?” asked Emily.
“We have had one done we just aren't able to tell the sex yet,” Morgan explained. “I'm sure you know that it's common practice to use an ultrasound during a women's pregnancy and when Penelope was almost three months along we went in together for an appointment through we could have gone in much sooner, but with our schedules it just wasn't possible. In any case that was when we discovered it was at least twins as the doctor heard two distinct heartbeats, but then a few days ago my baby girl called me and said that the doctor had done another ultrasound and that this time he had heard three strong heartbeats. Doctor Long believes that the third baby was hidden behind one of the others and therefore their heartbeat was not detectable until the babies shifted positions.”
“Which is a perfectly common occurrence with multiple fetuses,” Spencer added as soon as Morgan had finished his explanation. “Actually I'm not surprised that it is multiples.”
“Why?” asked Rossi curiously.
“Because a Shifter is more likely to have multiples as I told Morgan a few day ago,” Reid explained calmly. “If only one of the couple is a Shifter the likelihood of having more then one baby, is about 40 percent. If both parents are able to shift that average goes up to about 65 percent. Also you have to consider the fact that Garcia is over 35 and research has been done on the fact that women 35 years or older are more likely to have at least twins. Any type of Shifter is a lot like their animal counterpart, except Shifters are also human.”
“Meaning multiples births are the norm,” Rossi said suddenly realizing what Reid was getting at.
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed with a smile. “Also Garcia is a bigger busted women and it has been proven that someone of her girth has multiples more often than someone who is extremely thin and why this is scientists still haven't discovered just that it's true.”
The six of them enjoyed a pleasant meal together and then headed back to their hotel to get a goodnight's sleep as they were flying out in the morning

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Spencer slowly opened his eyes and smiled for Hotch was curled around his form, their legs tangled together so thoroughly that it would take some work to extract himself so he could get up and pee, not that he minded in the least for it made him feel safe, loved and protected just like he knew he should feel theoretically anyway. Aaron acted very much like an alpha male wolf Shifter and Spencer knew if he had actually been one they would have been going through the mating ritual that all True Mates went through just so long as they were both able to shift. The Shifters who found their true lifemates if one was an alpha it was his job to take care of submissive partner, especially if they were injured in some way or just plain exhausted, really no matter the reason. It was the sign of a good alpha that he found the strength to look after his mate even if he to was exhausted, which included bathing him even if he was unconscious, feeding him and looking after any wounds if there were any. His, Aaron had done all these things for him on a couple of occasions already, even though he couldn't shift, he knew his duties and seemed determined to fulfill all the ones that he could, which made his inner gamma whine in appreciation and also let him know that it would be a blow to his alpha's pride if he protested that he could take care of himself as the man in him wanted to do. The wolf part of him had convinced him to lay back and just enjoy being taken care of and since Reid hadn't wanted to hurt his mate's pride he had allowed his Aaron to do just that without protesting. Besides he had been so tired that he hadn't been sure that he could actually take care of himself at that time, which was another reason that he had allowed his mate to care of his needs.
Finally Reid sighed and tried his best to extract himself from his mate without waking him since he really needed to pee—badly.
“Where are you going?” Aaron murmured still only half awake as his arm tightened around his mate's waist.
“To the bathroom,” Spencer explained kissing his alpha good morning, which Aaron returned immediately and passionately. “I have to pee as otherwise you wouldn't be able to get me out of this bed since I was so comfortable.”
Aaron blinked groggily then removed his arm from around the gamma's waist and unwound his legs from his mate's.
“Thank you,” Spencer said gratefully giving Aaron another kiss and then rose from the bed and rushed to the bathroom that was part of Aaron's bedroom to relieve himself.
Spencer washed his hands and then headed immediately back into the bedroom and climbed back into the bed cuddling back into his alpha's side. Spencer kissed Aaron's cheek and happily curled back up against his lover's side relishing in the warmth that radiated from his mate. Whenever Aaron's arms were around him he felt loved, protected, cherished, treasured, cared for...almost immortal.
The two of them stayed like that for sometime just basking in each others presences, but finally Hotch spoke. “We should get up, Jack will be awake anytime now.”
Spencer whined in protest, but agreed, “I suppose...”
“I know I don't like it anymore then you do, but we both have responsibilities,” said Hotch giving Spencer another passionate kiss that made both of them even more reluctant to rise for the day. “Besides we both love Jack.”
“All right you win,” Spencer finally agreed. “I do love Jack and I would do anything to protect him just like I know you would. Why don't you go start breakfast and I'll go and see if Jack is awake and help him get dressed.”
Hotch nodded and knew that his mate was gently saying that he was starving and would like to be fed and Hotch had no trouble with that request since as the alpha it was his job to take care of his mate as well as the offspring of his loins, even if he wasn't a full Shifter. Besides he was the much better cook as well. Hotch had seen seen the gamma's fridge when they had been spending time at his place before they had moved in together and had snorted at the TV dinner's in his mate's fridge. That was one thing that had changed as soon as the two of them moved in together Hotch had laid down the law and said there would be none of those nasty TV dinners in his freezer and Reid hadn't protested saying that he had never been much of a cook and he usually ate out anyway, since he was home so seldom, which was why he'd had the frozen dinners instead of real food.
Both men got up, took showers and got dressed before going their separate ways, Hotch to the kitchen and Reid to check on Jack.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“You know I've been thinking,” said Reid as soon as he knew that Jack was in his room playing.
“About what?” asked Hotch as the two of them lay on the couch with Spencer on top of his heavier mate.
“Well, you act so much like an alpha wolf, even though you can't shift. You take care of me, just like an alpha would take care of their submissive mate not to mention you have an active mating gene,” Spencer began.
“What are you going with this?” asked Hotch calmly knowing that his mate had a point he was trying to make.
“Well, I've been wondering if a doctor gave you a transfusion of wolf Shifter blood if you would be able to transform and therefore be a full Shifter. You already have Shifter blood from one side of your family, your grandfather's and there has been research done on the subject and even a few successful transfusions to where the person can shift afterwards, just as naturally as one born with the ability. It all depends though on how much Shifter blood you actually possess. You once told me that you wished that you had the ability to shapeshift and if that is still something you want I would be more then happy to donate some blood to a good cause or if not then that's fine to as I'm perfectly happy with you the way you are, although I will admit I've dreamed of us running beneath the trees in a forest together and making love beneath a full moon.”
Hotch was touched for he had indeed told Spencer that he had wished when he was younger to have the ability to shift his shape, but he had given up on it since he hadn't seen any point of dreaming about something he could never have, but that didn't stop him from having vivid images of running beneath the moon when he was asleep when he was much younger.
“That kind of desire never really goes away, but I have mostly just pushed it to the back of my mind and I haven't really thought about it in a long time, well not until I told you about it awhile back. What are the odds of it actually working?”
“Well that would depend of how much Shifter blood was passed onto you though your father. It's also possible that your grandmother or mother also had some Shifter blood and just didn't know it, because studies have been done that say at least 45 to as much of 60 percent of the world's population has a minuscule amount of Shifter blood that has been diluted through many generations, but I do say that you have at least a 65 to 85 percent chance of it working.”
“How did you come up with those statistics?” asked Hotch curiously.
“Well, you might not actually be able to shift, but you already display many of the traits of a wolf Shifter,” Spencer explained. “One you have a Shifter's active mating gene and that is very rare unless you can actually shift shape. It means you have enough of the blood to have that part of a Shifter's heritage, because otherwise it would be dormant or nonexistent. Two you have many other traits that only a Shifter has, the instincts to take care of your mate, even when you are exhausted, as that is an alpha's job. You also protect your team whom you consider family. Also you have the most forceful alpha personality of anyone I have ever come across and I'm not talking about your ability to make other's not argue with even when they clearly disagree with your decisions or your orders, and the way you move is sheer power, which is also a very wolfish trait as the alpha in particular of a wolf pack is a powerful force and it takes someone even more powerful to replace them. Three you are one of the most loyal individuals I have ever met and most humans are more then willing to abandon even those they love if they get into a dangerous situation or just because they can. Now I admit that some humans have alpha male personalities like Rossi or Morgan, although as I said I've never met anyone who has one as forceful as yours, so I suppose that that trait isn't a definite indicator or the fact that being loyal to those you care for isn't exclusive to Shifters, but wolves in particular are always loyal to their mate and their pack and want to defend them if they are ever in danger even possibly getting themselves hurt or killed in the process. Four you've always healed fast even when The Reaper did a number on you a few years back and that is another Shifter trait as we have always healed incredibly fast and survived injuries that would kill most other people. What The Reaper did to you should have made you just like him at the very least, unfit for your job anymore and having to keep taking numerous medications in order to be free from the pain of your injuries, but you healed up really fast and were back on the job in just a month, while it would have taken almost anybody else at least several months to heal as much as they could. Tell me do you ever have any pain at all from what they did to you about four years ago? Have any trouble breathing at times like The Reaper did, when he exerted himself in the slightest?” asked Reid already knowing what the answer would be, but he wanted his mate to come to his own conclusions.
Hotch thought about it for a long time but he finally realized what Reid was getting at. Spencer was saying that all the facts he had mentioned, taken together meant that he had quite a bit of Shifter blood which meant that the transfusion would probably work on him.
“So you're saying it's very possible that a large transfusion of Shifter blood will allow me to transform?”
“Exactly,” Reid agreed calmly.
“So how much do you think I have?”
“I can't say exactly,” Reid admitted, “but I would estimate probably not quite half.”
“Why not less or more?” asked Hotch fascinated as always by the way that his mate's mind worked.
“Because of the fact if you had less I doubt very much that you would have such strong Shifter traits,” Reid explained, “and if you had more you would be able to shift yourself and this conversation would be pointless. My mother wasn't a Shifter, but my father was and yet my father's shifting ability was passed onto me. Also the same is true for Morgan whose father was like mine except he was a panther Shifter instead of a wolf and yet Derek and both his sisters also got the ability to shift, but his mother is not a shapeshifter. This tells me that so long as one parent is able to shapeshift it will be passed onto the offspring, which means that the Shifter gene is dominant, even of it does eventually get diluted enough to where you can't shift, like you for example.”
“You're logic is impeccable as always,” Hotch said admiringly causing Spencer to preen a little at the tone of his lover's voice for he knew that as an alpha male Aaron wasn't one to give out praise lightly unless it was earned.
“Thank you, but I should know about Shifters, particularly wolf ones since I am one and it's not like my father was around to teach me about them. Luckily for me though there was a man named Shane Buford who was the owner of a restaurant that my parents and I frequented when I was younger who was also a wolf Shifter and he taught me almost everything I know about who we are and where our species comes from. By the time I left for college when I was twelve almost thirteen I knew everything he could teach me about a wolf Shifter's heritage and what to expect when I turned thirty and so forth.”
“Well, I'm glad there was someone around to teach you what you needed to know, since your father wasn't around to do that,” Hotch said growling a little and sounding very much like a real wolf. The subject of William Reid was a rather sore subject with him and Spencer couldn't blame him.
“Oh yes, Shane was the best and I always make sure to visit him whenever I visit mom. He's the one who taught me how to play chess and so many other things.”
“And thanks to your eidetic memory you never forgot what you were taught no matter how young you were when you learned it.”
“Yes, well as I'm sure you can imagine some of the information embarrassed the hell out of me at the time since I was only ten or eleven when I learned it.”
“I'm surprised that an adult gave you some information until you were older,” Hotch said with a chuckle.
“Shane believed that even through I was still very young that I was mature enough to handle it,” Spencer explained grinning as he remembered. “Also he knew that once I went off to college I probably wouldn't have the money to come home much and so he decided to teach me everything he could before that happened.”
“I'm going to have to meet this friend of yours sometime soon,” Hotch mused. “Is he still alive?”
“Yes, he and his wife have several grandchildren now,” Spencer said. “He would be in his late 50s possibly early 60s by now as he was in his early 30s when I was a child.”
“We will visit him then when we visit your mom,” Hotch declared. “She needs to know you are mated now and are happy.”
“Yes, so happy,” Reid agreed as he cuddled into his alpha's chest and Hotch arms came up to surround the lithe gamma's body holding him tenderly and gently. Hotch still marveled that Spencer Reid was really his even though they had been together for several months now, but then he had waited so long and them finally being together still had just a tinge of unreality about it, which he knew would fade after awhile. “I've mentioned you in every letter since we got together so she knows about you and I'm sure she is eager to meet you.”
“We'll have to arrange a visit soon,” Hotch said.
“Yes, we will,” Reid agreed. “So, has Garcia managed to locate Gideon yet?”
“No, but then we knew he would be hard to track,” Hotch said. “Gideon knows how to stay off the grid. You know that he uses his credit card once in one place and then immediately moves on so he can't be tracked.”
“He'll eventually hear that we are looking for him and when that happens it's possible that he'll contact us, although if he does it will probably be you for he truly did care for you.”
“Then why did he leave!” Spencer cried rising from atop Aaron and standing on his feet so he could pace back and forth.
“Spencer,” Aaron said soothingly also rising from the couch. “Spencer, calm down and listen!” Hotch finally ordered in his alpha voice, although he stopped short from using the tone that would make his mate obey him.
Spencer stopped and looked at Hotch blushing in embarrassment. “I'm sorry, Aaron, truly sorry.”
“Shh! It's okay!” Hotch immediately soothed taking the young gamma into his arms and holding him close. “I just didn't want you to get yourself worked up. You don't always have to be cool and calm you know. You are allowed to break down occasionally and believe me I understand that Jason was important to you. He was important to all of the original team, but I know that he meant more to you and you to him then he did to the rest of us. He saw you as a son you know and I know you thought of him as a father, so I understand why you are so angry and upset.”
“If he thought of me as a son why did he leave?” asked Reid plaintively tears beginning to gather in his eyes, although he was fighting valiantly to hold them back.
“Spencer I can't really know his reasons as out of all of us he only left you a letter trying to explain at least why he wasn't coming back,” Hotch said soothingly holding his mate into his arms and holding him close. “You have to consider the fact though that what you, I, the rest of the team and yes, Jason to chose to do for a living...well everyone has a breaking point... and what we do is catch some of the most violent, psychotic people that have ever lived. I'm sure that Jason didn't want to leave you behind, but when his good friend was murdered I truly believe Gideon had reached his breaking point. I'm not denying that we have all lost people that we cared for over the years and those deaths, not to mention all the violence we see everyday on the job, has made a huge impact on all of us...and it might be one day the one of the team will reach theirs...we just don't know.”
“It's not just that he left the team,” Spencer said softly tears falling from his eyes, soaking Hotch's shirt. “You're right, I can certainly understand that the job just got to be to much for him, what I don't understand however, is how he could just leave and not even bother to tell any of us in person that he was going to do. I understand that he just wanted to get away, but he could have at least kept in contact through letters or phone calls. I mean he left me a letter. A letter!” Reid sounded indignant. “He tried to explain on just a few pieces of paper why he had left instead of telling me to my face!”
“Spencer he was hurting and his heart was bleeding for his longtime friend, somebody he had known for decades. You know that we all handle grief in different ways and Jason just needed to get away to lick his wounds.”
“He could have at least contacted me or one of the team to let us know that he was okay,” said Spencer.
“I can't really say how Jason felt, but I truly believe that he thought that he couldn't come back.”
“Why?” cried Spencer.
“Spencer, you are a profiler, so think like one!” Hotch ordered gruffly with no heat behind his words as he rubbed his lover's back in gentle circles.
Spencer thought about it for a long time his head on Hotch's shoulder and Aaron waited patiently.
“Gideon believes that he wouldn't be welcome, because of the way he left,” Reid said finally, “so he has stayed away.”
“Exactly,” Hotch said running a gentle hand through Spencer's dark brown hair, causing the younger man to almost purr like a cat in contentment at his mate's gentle touch. “Jason is an intelligent man and would know that you especially would be hurt by his actions since he was the one that discovered you at CalTech almost eight years ago and brought you into the BAU as soon as you had graduated from FBI academy.”
“He championed me with my physical fitness instructor as we both know I'm not athletic, he encouraged me when I was having trouble with the physical part of the training, he stood by me through everything and knowing I wouldn't be fit for any other department in the FBI he pulled strings and directly into the BAU where he knew I would fit right in.”
“And you did,” Hotch chuckled as he remembered when Dr. Spencer Reid had first walked into the BAU so long ago. “You started pulling your weight immediately and everyone on the team was amazed at how much you had stored in your brain, even Jason for even though he knew you were a genius, he hadn't realized that you had all those statistics and trivia stored in your head, information that would be useless to most people, but has helped us solve cases time and again.”
“And that is where we met,” Reid said.
“Which I will be forever grateful for, for the rest of my life,” Hotch said kissing his mate on the forehead gently making Spencer whine in appreciation. “You are mine now and forever.”
“We are each other's,” Spencer corrected with a smile, making Hotch smile in return and nod.
“We had better go check on Jack,” said Hotch finally. “It's mot a good idea to leave a young child alone for to long and it's been over an hour.”
“All right, we'll go check him,” Spencer said.
“It's lunchtime anyway and I'm sure he's hungry,” said Hotch.
“As am I,” said Spencer just as his stomach growled making Hotch laugh as Reid blushed.
“I'm not surprised, with the emotional upheaval you have just gone through,” said Hotch giving Spencer another kiss on the lips this time, before forcing himself to pull away.
“Daddy, Uncle Spencer, I'm hungry,” said the voice of Jack who was standing in the doorway.
“I was just about to fix us all some lunch,” Hotch told his son. “How does macaroni and cheese sound?”
“Yay!” Jack cheered causing the two adults to chuckle and the small boy's enthusiasm.
“Then that is what it will be,” Hotch said chuckling heading into the kitchen.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“We have a case,” JJ announced first thing Wednesday morning.
The other's all groaned, but immediately headed for the round table room instead of their desks.
“So what's the case?” asked Reid as soon as he sat down beside Hotch. It used to be that Reid sat on the other side of the table from his boss, but now that the two of them were together they both liked to sit beside each other to be as close as possible, even if they weren't actually touching.
“We have three people in New York that at first glance look like suicides, but evidence has been discovered recently that that might not be the case and the local authorities now believe that these victims have been murdered,” Garcia began.
“What new evidence?” Morgan asked immediately as he studied the photos on the screen and then looked back at the file folder that was laid in front of him, reading over the information quickly.
“The third victim Lora Anders, didn't die immediately like the other two because the unsub ran away when he heard a key in the front door and it turned out it was the husband who had come home early from a business trip and so there was no time to clean up the evidence or make it look like a suicide,” Garcia answered pushing a button on her remote again so that the bog wall screen in the round table room would change images.
“The police are sure that the husband isn't involved?” asked Hotch.
“Yes, his alibi is solid,” Garcia answered. “He was in Atlanta on business and he has the tickets from his hotel and several restaurants in order to prove it and all are time stamped and dated, so there's no way he could have done this.”
“And the police are sure that Lora Anders' death is related to the other two?” asked Reid as he studied the photos on the screen.
“Yes, there are too many similarities between the three murders, so unless there is also a copycat then it is the same unsub,” Garcia said.
“So far this unsub has killed three women all with red hair,” Rossi observed looking at the three murdered women that were on the screen.
“So this unsub, whoever he is, really has something against redheads, which tells us that it's personal,” Emily said. “He was probably in a relationship with one and she broke it off, or perhaps she was killed in an accident of some sort.
“If it was an accident, like say a car killed somebody he loved then this unsub's rage would be directed at the woman in the other car, who we can reasonably assume had red hair and who was responsible for the accident,” Morgan suggested. “If our guy was actually there in the car, then he might have had a psychotic break due to that person he loved being killed. He might see it as murder, even if it wasn't intentional.”
“Well there's no point in speculating until we have more information,” Hotch said seriously looking around at the team before ordering, “Wheels up in half an hour, JJ tell New York that we're coming.”

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Spencer entered their apartment together after being away for several days gone on a case both dropping their go bags in the bedroom so that the dirty clothes could be taken out of them and fresh ones put in.
“So what do you want to do for the rest of the day since Jack is still with his aunt?” asked Hotch.
“What do you think?” asked Spencer with a raised eyebrow looking at it Hotch with a lustful gaze as he imagined his alpha's body that was under the suit. He lusted after Hotch almost constantly, although he did try not to think about it at work as his cock always responded almost immediately to his thoughts and he always had to slip into the bathroom to relieve himself. “That is unless you're too tired as we did have that rather long flight.”
“I'm never too tired for that,” Hotch assured him with an almost wolfish smirk and a deep growl that made Spencer feel like a shot of lightning went straight to his cock. “All you have to do is ask, and I'll be happy to love you, hold you, kiss you do anything with your body that you desire for you are mine! Do you understand me? Mine!” he roared even as he started to kiss the side of Spencer's neck nibbling at one spot determined to leave his mate with a very colorful hickey.
Spencer began to hurriedly get undressed even as the growl in his mate's voice shot straight to his cock, and even as he assured his alpha, the alpha that had claimed him, “I am yours you know that—always.”
“I do know,” Hotch assured him gently calming down as he helped his lover finish undressing by unbuttoning his shirt and then his pants before gently running his hands over his body. “Let me show you how much I love you,” Hotch crooned softly leading the gamma to the bathroom and straight to the shower.
Spencer didn't protest or bother to put up a fight as he had come to enjoy his alpha mate taking care of him. He knew as a gamma it was his role to be submissive to his alpha and allow him to do just that and really he didn't mind and in fact enjoyed it, although he was normally a very private person, but not with Aaron he wasn't as there was no need to be. He found it extremely pleasing and erotic when Aaron washed inch of his body murmuring words of love, dominance and ownership into his ear the entire time.
Both men stepped into the shower once the water was hot and Hotch tenderly and gently washed every part of his lover's body, including in between his toes, in between kisses and loving words whispered into his ear, enjoying the experience immensely, just like he always did. Hotch thought back to that conversation not to long ago about how Spencer believed that all he needed was a transfusion of Shifter blood to be able to shift and that it had been done successfully in a couple of dozen other patients. His great-grandfather had been a Shifter, but his great-grandmother had not which was why his father couldn't shift as several generations had married a non-Shifter and the blood had just gotten diluted enough when it came to his grandfather that he couldn't shift and so it had been passed onto his father and then to him and Sean. Also it was somehow instinctual for him to care of his submissive partner, when he was injured or to tired to take care of himself and he knew from Spencer that this was what the dominant partner was supposed to do. The dominant partner had the instincts to care for their submissive partner and if you were a good one you had the strength to do so even when you to were exhausted. He had never felt this urge to care for Haley, to bathe her when she was exhausted, washing her lovingly like he was doing for Spencer now or make love to her constantly like he did with his True Mate, when they had been married, but maybe it had to do with the fact that they had not been lifemates like he and Spencer were, although he wasn't 100 percent sure as he hadn't learned that kind of thing since he hadn't been raised as a Shifter.
He knew some things of course, mostly things he had learned from Spencer and Morgan over the years, but he was sure he hadn't even learned half the things about the Shifter culture and he hadn't really had time read any books on the subject, not to mention he wasn't sure how accurate they were or if they had been written by an author that knew what they were talking about or if it was all made up in order to sell as many books as possible.
Spencer whined softly and allowed his mate to take care of him relaxing into his Aaron's embrace as one of Hotch's arms was around his waist supporting him lovingly.
“I love you, Spencer,” Hotch told his mate meaning every single word.
“I love you too,” Spencer assured Aaron softly leaning up to kiss his mate's cheek.
“I know,” Hotch smirked at him, but with such a loving tenderness in his eyes that it nearly choked Spencer up. “You tell me everyday just in your actions towards me. The way you make sure that I don't work myself to hard like I used to, the way you are always there when I need you to be, like when a case is especially hard on me and a lot of other little things.”
“I know you love me to, even though I always enjoy hearing you say it, especially because I know you mean it and aren't just saying the words like we both know that a lot of couples do even when they don't really mean it. You also tell me every day how much you care and I appreciate everything you do for me.”
“I know that to,” Hotch told him as he washed Spencer's hair and then let his mate do his, before they both climbed out of the shower.
The two of them climbed into bed and Hotch was immediately on top of his mate, with one leg between Reid's who had spread his legs willingly as soon as he had climbed into his side of the bed.
“You want me, Spencer?” asked Hotch smilingly already knowing the answer, but asking it anyway.
Spencer whined pleadingly, but managed to answer, in a strained voice.
“I want you all the time and I mean all the time! I have to struggle to not think about you in a sexual way when we are working and that hasn't been in the least easy. You know that normally I have no trouble keeping my mind on the job, but ever since I turned thirty and we got together that hasn't been the case and I know you know why.”
Hotch chuckled. “I do and what you are feeling when it comes to me and it is perfectly normal, and it should get easier after awhile,” Hotch said sounding sympathetically. “When I first married Haley and I could barely keep our hands off each other, but we both know how that ended.”
There were no more words, unless you counted grunts and groans of pleasure as Hotch eagerly began to make slow and gentle love to his mate.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“I think we should go ahead and get married, since Garcia still can't find Gideon,” Reid suggested.
It was almost a year after they had gotten together and almost ten months since the two of them had started having Garcia plan a simple wedding ceremony for them, that kept getting delayed for various reasons mostly work related. “We both know that if Gideon doesn't want to be found then he won't be and he's bound to have heard that we are looking for him by now.”
“If that's what you want, then we will,” Hotch immediately agreed without arguing, as he wanted nothing more then to marry his mate. He knew it was important to Spencer to have Gideon there at their ceremony, even though the other man had abandoned him after a very tough case, leaving nothing behind, but a letter. It wasn't that Spencer or him for that matter couldn't understand it, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt the gamma like hell, since Gideon had been a father figure to the younger man, much more so then his own father. He couldn't blame Spencer for wanting Gideon to not only be there, but accept their relationship and he knew very well even if the two of them were meant to be a lot of people wouldn't accept it, which might or might not include Gideon, although Hotch couldn't be sure which one his old friend would be as in all the years he had known him he had never said one way or the other whether or not he was against same-sex relationships. Hotch would give it a fifty-fifty chance either way, and it was very possible that even if Gideon was against two men being together he would accept it for Spencer's sake.
“I'm tired of waiting to officially tie the knot, and we've given Gideon plenty of time to let himself be found if he wanted to be. I know Garcia has been running herself ragged trying to locate him and if she can't find him, then no one can.”
They both knew that Garcia had believed she'd had located him several times only to have her leads dry up when Gideon used his credit card once, maybe twice in one place before moving on.
“I am to,” Hotch said as he cuddled the younger man in his arms lovingly, kissing the top of his head causing Spencer to sigh and cuddle closer. “I want to make our bond legal and the only way to do that for us is to tie the knot in the human way since I'm not a full Shifter.”
“I will admit that technically we are engaged in both the Shifter and human worlds, but not legally married and won't be until we have our wedding sometime in the next couple of weeks—hopefully.”
“Yes, hopefully,” Hotch agreed as he knew they could get called on a case at anytime. The two of them had planned to take a couple of weeks vacation time to go on a honeymoon, although they hated to leave the BAU shorthanded, but he and Spencer also deserved to take a wedding trip, their first as a couple. There would never be a good time for them to get away as working at the BAU wasn't like other jobs where you could take a vacation without leaving anybody shorthanded.
They certainly had periods where they just sat in the office and did paperwork, but they were few and far between and never lasted more than a week and usually no more than a day or two.
“Well, at least Garcia has everything arranged and is just waiting for us to say the word,” Spencer said. “It won't take more than a couple of hours to set up, especially since the whole team has volunteered to help.”
“Well Dave has volunteered his backyard since we haven't managed to find a house as yet,” Hotch suggested knowing that his mate had had his heart set on having their wedding in their own backyard once they had bought a house, but all Spencer did was nod in agreement.
“That will be fine. I suppose it was unrealistic to think we'd be able to have our wedding ceremony in our own backyard,” Spencer said with a disappointed sigh. “Well not unless we wanted to wait another year or more in order to make our bonding legal in both the human and Shifter worlds, because that is how long it will probably take us to get a place of our own with our jobs. We do have very limited free time.”
“But neither of us would have it any other way,” Hotch said in a knowing tone.
“No, we wouldn't,” Spencer agreed with a smile kissing Hotch's cheek. “In any case next weekend will be fine with me just so long as we aren't out of town for work.”
“Why not tomorrow,” Hotch teased Spencer who laughed. Both knew that it was only polite to give their guests at least a week's warning so they didn't make any plans.
Before Spencer could respond his cell phone rang and he rose from his position on Hotch's lap in order to pick it up from where he had placed it on the kitchen counter.
“Yes, JJ?” asked Spencer as soon as he had checked the caller ID.
Hotch rose from the couch at that and came to stand beside his mate wondering what JJ wanted, knowing it couldn't be a case since she would have called him first. Maybe it had something to do with Henry, Spencer's beloved godson as really that was the only reason Hotch could think of for JJ to be calling on their day off.
“Well you can tell him to fuck off and that I am not interested in seeing him,” Spencer snarled at JJ quite viciously startling Hotch as his mate was usually always polite, even to people he detested. Who could make Reid sound so angry and vicious? Hotch noticed the tenseness in every line of Reid's body and wondered what was causing it.
Spencer fell silent as he listened to his friend and what she was saying.
“I'll just bet he said it was urgent that he see me,” Spencer snorted sounding unconvinced.
Hotch listened to the conversation and slowly came conclusion that Spencer's father had showed up out of the blue and wanted to see his son even though they hadn't spoken in 20 years.
“Fine,” Spencer finally sighed sounding irritated into the phone, “tell him I'll meet him at Logan's steakhouse in twenty minutes and tell him he had better not waste my time.”
Spencer hung up the phone and sighed his shoulders slumping.
“You meant that we will meet him at Logan's steakhouse,” Hotch corrected as soon as Spencer had hung up the phone. “There's no way I will let you face your father alone. Besides I'd like to say a few things to him, things that I've been wanting to tell him for quite sometime.”
“You don't have to do that,” Spencer protested sounding unsurprised that his mate had figured out what was going in as Aaron knew that he didn't get upset easily and that really there was only one obvious conclusion as to what had upset him so much.
“I don't have to no, but I want to,” Hotch said. “There's no way in hell I'm going to let you face the man that abandoned you when you were a child alone.”
“You do know that my father probably won't like the fact that his son is with another man and more than likely won't believe that we are truly mates.”
“Don't worry about that I'll handle him,” Hotch promised looking determined to give William Reid a piece of his mind for that way he had abandoned his son and his wife. “What do you think he wants?”
Spencer shrugged looking upset and resigned to seeing his father after twenty years as he knew that William Reid would continue trying to see him until he got an audience, “I have no idea since I have rarely even thought about my father since I was about 15.”
“Well, we had better get going if we want to get to Logan's in time,” Hotch said looking at his watch knowing it was about a 10 minute drive from the apartment they shared.
“Alright,” Spencer said looking and sounding resigned and Hotch knew he just wanted to get this meeting over with.
“Why did you agree to meet with him when I know you really don't want to,” Hotch asked curiously.
“Because I know he'll keep showing up until I find out what he wants, since from what I remember of him he is a lot like me as in stubborn,” Spencer explained. “It is just better to go ahead and get it over with then to keep putting it off. I'm going to have to apologize to JJ for snarling at her when we go back into work on Monday since it's not really her fault that my father just showed up when I haven't seen him in 20 years and have even very rarely thought about him at all.”
“Let's get going and after we get done with this meeting we can maybe do something with just the two of us for the rest of the day,” Hotch suggested his tone calm even though he was actually feeling anything but, as he put a comforting arm around his mate's shoulders.
“Sounds good,” Spencer said managing to smile at the man he adored. “Well, least we'll get a good meal out of it even if I won't enjoy it as much as I normally would simply because of my father's presence.”
Hotch didn't say anything, but Spencer could tell from his expression that he intended to have a few strong words with William Reid for the way he had abandoned his wife and son 20 years ago.
The two men left Hotch's apartment hand-in-hand and headed to his car without another word.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“What do you want?” Spencer immediately asked his father without preamble as soon as the waitress had sat them at an out-of-the-way table and given them their menus.
Hotch didn't bother to reproach his lover because in this case he thought it was more than justified. Besides his lover was a grown man and not a child and therefore could be as rude as he liked when he needed to be. Normally Spencer was always polite no matter the provocation, but in this case Hotch knew that William Reid did not deserve his own son who he had abandoned being polite to him as he had never even tried to make amends in all the years since then.
William Reid looked startled at his son's rudeness not to mention that he had brought someone else along to what was supposed to be a private meeting, but Spencer hadn't offered any explanation at all and hadn't bothered to speak to his father when he and Hotch had entered Logan's. In fact those four words were the first Spencer had spoken to his father and no matter how rudely they were said he managed to keep his voice low so that the other patrons of the restaurant didn't pay any attention to them.
“I want your help,” William told his son looking from Spencer to the other man who he only knew was called Aaron at his son's side.
“Why should I help you? You abandoned your child when he was just a kid of ten. I was left to take care of my sick mother all by myself, get through school, and put up with the bullies that made my life a misery. I managed to survive even without having you around, went to college at 12 graduated by the time I was 20 with five degrees and joined the FBI, which I'm not sure I would have done if you had stuck around so I suppose I should thank you,” Spencer snarled his father looking startled at his son's anger.
“I'm not asking for myself,” William said looking sad at his son's rudeness, but not angry because he knew he deserved it, “I'm asking my other son who has leukemia. Neither his mother or I are a match and you are my last hope. He does have a fraternal twin brother and three sisters, that are identical and they're not matches either. Truth be told I wouldn't have bothered to approach you if I wasn't desperate as I knew very well how I would probably be received. I can't really blame you for hating me considering I did leave your mother and you when you were just a child, and I know I wasn't much of a father before that, but my son wasn't born or even thought of at that time and so I'm begging you don't refuse my request just because you hate me.”
Spencer looked shocked at what he was hearing and Hotch could hardly blame him as he knew that Spencer had thought he was an only child. That William Reid did have other children who would be his half siblings was certainly enough to shock anyone, especially since he more than likely never would have known if his half brother hadn't needed a bone marrow transplant.
Hotch studied William Reid's expression and body language and came to the conclusion that he was speaking nothing but the absolute truth. Here was a parent who was desperate to save his son that he approached the other son that he had abandoned willingly 20 years ago.
“So you got married again,” Spencer said his expression unreadable although from the tension in his body let Hotch know that he was holding his emotions in check, “and what is preventing you from abandoning your wife and children this time like you did me and mom?”
“Because Lilah is my True Mate,” William revealed and Spencer instead of being shocked slowly nodded.
“I won't refuse your request to see if I'm a match not because you asked me to, but because I don't want the brother I didn't even know I had to die, as I don't hate you enough to put an innocent child's life on the line, especially since he is my sibling. However you have to know that it is extremely unlikely I'm a match considering that we are only half siblings. That your other children don't have enough markers to be considered a match is absolutely astonishing considering that they are his full siblings and not half like I am. The only thing I request of you is that you let me get to know the brothers and sisters I never knew I had, which would mean that we would have to put aside our animosity of each other in order to do that.”
“Thank you,” William told his oldest son sincerely. “I never expected you to be so accommodating, to me since I did abandon you.”
Spencer studied his father as unobtrusively and noticed he looked much older then the last time he had seen him when he was ten, which was to be expected considering it had been twenty years after all, but although Reid had expected his father to have aged he hadn't expected him to look all beaten down as if life was just putting to much of a strain on him. Spencer could guess anyway that his child's illness was what had caused his father to have bags under his eyes deep enough to hide in and for his posture to be so slumped that he almost looked like a hunchback.
“You really don't know me at all then do you?” Spencer snorted in derision. “There is no way in hell I would ever allow a child die, if I could prevent it just because I have no love for his father. I'm assuming you tried other treatments before you approached me.”
“We tried everything the doctor recommended and nothing has worked,” William answered honestly. “Franklin's leukemia was in remission for over a year, but now it's come back even more aggressive than before and he has less then six months to live as the cancer is growing at a fast pace. You are my last resort, because as I'm sure you know I never would have approached you if you weren't. Lilah and I really thought it was gone when after a few months it didn't come back, but just a couple of months ago it made a reappearance. Once Franklin's been in remission for five years then it is more than likely gone according to the doctor.”
Spencer nodded for he had known that, but didn't say anything.
“Alright, I'll let you and my children get to know each other as I suppose that is only fair,” William agreed with hardly any hesitation at a natural pause in the conversation. “Just so you know none of my children are aware of my abandonment of you, although I told my wife everything before we mated as I wanted to be honest with her. I'm surprised she didn't tell me to get lost after I told her what I had done, but she forgave me even though she did try to tell me that I needed to try to make amends with you.”
“Your wife sounds like one intelligent lady,” Hotch said speaking for the first time since the introductions. “If she advised you to try and make amends how come Spencer has never heard from you.”
“Because I was too much of a coward,” William reluctantly admitted looking at the tabletop. “I know that Spencer would be within his rights to reject any amends I tried to make considering it was me that left him.”
“And I more than likely would have,” Spencer admitted having calmed down a little. “What you did hurt not only me, but mom as well and even though you were around until I was 10 you weren't much of a father.”
“I am truly sorry about that but I was young and selfish back then and wasn't ready or even capable of dealing with such an ill wife,” William said. “After I met Lilah I took a long hard look at myself and didn't like what I found at all and I finally realized what I had done to you and Diana.”
“So how long have you been married?” asked Spencer just a little curiously the animosity he felt for the man that was his father lessening a little, if only because he was truly sorry for leaving all those years ago.
“Almost 13 years,” William said smiling as he thought about his wife despite the fact he was deathly worried about his son.
“How did you meet?” was Spencer's next question very curious about the woman that was his father's True Mate.
“She came to me as a client,” William explained. “She wanted to file a lawsuit against her ex-husband. I was assigned the case and the minute I laid eyes on her I knew that she was the one. It turned out that she also knew the minute that she laid eyes on me as well as she is also a wolf Shifter.”
“Ah that explains why you have both twins and triplets as two Shifters mating are 65% more likely to have multiples,” Spencer said finally understanding how his father and his wife could have both twins and triplets.
William looked surprised at that piece of information, but only nodded after filing it away in his mind, for he had not been aware of the fact that two Shifters were more likely to have multiples then two humans or a Shifter and a human combination.
“In any case even though we did air our feelings for each other we both acted professionally so long as she was my client and once the case was over with we immediately started dating and got married only a month later. Franklin and Denis came along less then a year after that and my three daughters not even two years later.”
“Did you think about Spencer at all while you were so happy with your new family?” Aaron demanded.
Hotch was happy that Spencer and his father were getting along so well, but he was still extremely pissed at William Reid for the way he had abandoned his son for such a stupid reason since he didn't discover his True Mate until seven years later. Hotch could certainly understand wanting to get a divorce from your first wife if you had discovered your True Mate, but at the time the divorce had happened William Reid had just been running away from his first family because he couldn't handle his wife's illness or a son that was more intelligent then he had any right to be or at least that was the way Spencer's father saw it.
“It's okay, Aaron,” Spencer said calmly placing a gentle hand on his lover's arm. “You have every right to be pissed at my father for the way he abandoned me and mom, but the two of us are going to have to try at least to mend our fences if only because of Franklin. Besides I really want to get to know the siblings I never even knew I had until just a few minutes ago and if that means that dad and I are going to have to try to lay old ghosts to rest then so be it.”
“Alright, I'll try to get over the animosity I feel for him,” Hotch promised Spencer placing a gentle hand on his cheek and looking deep into his eyes, “but only for you.”
“That's all I ask. Thank you Aaron,” Spencer said kissing his cheek not caring that his father was sitting just across the table.
Hotch then turned to face William Reid glaring at him fiercely making it clear that he still didn't like the older man at all and William lowered his eyes after only a few seconds because no one except David Rossi could stand up to the SSA Hotchner glare for very long.
“I know what I did to Spencer and Diana was wrong,” William told Hotch quietly, his tone and body language sincere. “I know that Spencer, and you will probably never be able to forgive me for what I did and also that I will never be able to forgive myself. The only explanation I can come up with was I was a lot younger and more selfish back then, not that that's any excuse or anything. I should have tried to make amends years ago, but I was afraid of rejection and it was my son's illness that finally truly allowed me to began to understand what I had done to my first son. It's true that Lilah had been urging me to try to make amends and at least have some kind of relationship with Spencer, but I didn't really understand at that time what I had done was wrong. It never occurred to me the kind of physiological and emotional damage that I had caused to my son by leaving like I did.”
Hotch could see that William Reid was truly and sincerely sorry for what he had done to Spencer so he grudgingly allowed himself to forgive the older man for his actions two decades ago. Hotch knew from experience that sometimes it just took people years or even decades to truly grow up and accept responsibility and he could certainly respect that Spencer father was trying to at least make amends even if it was two decades, to late.
“It's not me you need to be apologizing to, but Spencer,” Hotch told the older man glaring at him fiercely again causing William Reid to lower his eyes. “You don't know your son at all or what an amazing person he has grown into, even without a father or a strong male figure in his life. He is an essential and integral part of the BAU team and we have solved more cases with him as a member then the rest the team could have by themselves. His obscure knowledge of trivia has helped out more than once and also his knack for geographical profiling and linguistics analysis. He often comes up with the one thing that cracks the case wide open and if you had been a part of his life at all you would have known this. He is respected amongst his team members and all of them would walk through the gates of hell for him if they had to.”
“Don't exaggerate, Aaron,” Spencer protested blushing for he was not used to such lavish praise, especially not from his boss and mate.
“I'm not,” Hotch denied vehemently. “You're too humble for your own good because I haven't said anything that isn't the absolute truth and Morgan, Rossi, JJ, Prentiss and Garcia would all agree with me.”
“So you two work together?” asked William tentatively looking back and forth between the two men.
Hotch and Spencer turned towards him having forgotten he was there and Spencer said, “Yes, we do and in fact he's my boss.”
“Aren't you afraid of being fired for getting into a relationship considering you work together?” asked William trying to understand what was going on between his son and his boss.
“No,” Hotch said shortly not bothering to explain any further.
“We are not, because like you and Lilah, Aaron and I, are a True Mates,” Spencer told his father deciding to take pity on him and not leave his father in the dark. “I did just turn 30 nearly a year ago and when I did the first time I walked into work and saw Aaron I knew he was the one, just like you knew that Lilah was the one for you.”
William Reid looked stunned, and neither man could really blame him for some Shifters never found their True Mates and that his son had the day after he had turned thirty was almost a miracle as the odds were heavily against such a thing occurring, not to mention that his mate was also his boss at the BAU.
William looked ready to open his mouth before Spencer said as vehemently as Hotch had ever heard him speak, “I don't give a damn what you think. You haven't been my father in 20 years and although I know we share the same blood that's as far as it goes, since even before you left you weren't much of a father to me. Even if we weren't True Mates there's no way I would give Aaron up just because you disapprove as your opinion means absolutely nothing to me since you haven't been part of my life for 20 years.”
“Calm down, Spencer,” Hotch told his mate calmly placing a hand on his arm gently.
Hotch knew that despite what his mate had said on the subject of his father he was still a little boy who loved him and had been hurt by his father's abandonment, even if he knew that his mate would never admit it. Besides Spencer might not be sure what he was really feeling, considering he hadn't thought much about his father at all in 20 years.
Spencer calmed down immediately and flushed in embarrassment for losing his temper like that, as he was usually the calm, steady sort of person, but he hated his father and had ever since he had left when he was a mere child of ten.
“I'm sorry,” Spencer mumbled not looking at his father or Hotch.
“The FBI does allow for couples who are True Mates to work together just so long as they can still act professionally on the job and I do believe that in the last few months we have more then proved that,” Hotch added with a smirk once he was sure that Spencer wasn't going to say anything more.
“But what about children,” William asked looking back and forth between the two men.
Spencer shrugged calm once more and said, “Aaron already has a son from a previous marriage, who I love like he was my own. Besides I can always adopt and give Jack a brother or sister. I'll admit I did want at least a couple of children, but in my case adoption is better as any child I had would quite possibly develop mom's schizophrenia and for that matter so could I, since it does tend to be passed down through family lines. I wouldn't give Aaron up for anything though as that would kill us both and it's as simple as that. I can live without having a child, but not without Aaron.”
“You ought to know that when a Shifter no matter the species finds their True Mate the pull of the bond is incredibly strong,” Hotch said his expression unreadable. “If Spencer had tried to deny the connection that flows between us, then he would have driven himself insane, eventually and you of all people should know this.”
“I do,” William admitted still looking a little stunned even though True Mates of the same sex weren't exactly uncommon.
“So back to the original reason that I agreed to meet with you,” Spencer said changing the subject. “Do you still live in Las Vegas?”
“Yes,” William answered.
“Alright then why don't you tell me what hospital Franklin is at and what his doctor's name is and I'll head up there sometime in the next couple of days just to soon as I put in for some leave time at work.”
“You meant to say that as soon as 'we' put in some leave time,” Hotch corrected emphasising the word we. “There's no way I'm letting you go up there all alone.”
“You don't have to do that, Aaron,” Spencer protested, already knowing that he was fighting a losing battle as Hotch was one of the most stubborn people he had ever known and he didn't change his mind easily and Reid knew that there was no way that his Aaron would allow him to face this alone and he couldn't help but be grateful.
“I don't have to no,” Hotch agreed calmly putting an arm around Spencer's waist like he had been wanting to for the last hour, but since the older Reid hadn't known about their relationship until just a few minutes ago he had done his best to control showing his mate affection, but now he didn't have too, “but I want to. There's no way I would be able to concentrate on work If I left you to face this by yourself. I would be constantly worrying about you, wondering if you were okay and I probably wouldn't be able to resist calling you at least every half an hour, so trust me it's better if I come along. Besides Strauss knows about our relationship so it won't do any harm to take leave at the same time you do. We both have a lot of leave time saved up so taking a few days off is not going to be a problem for either of us, although I hate to leave the team short handed.”
“There's really no good time to take a vacation when you work with the BAU as anytime one of the team goes on leave we are always going to be short handed,” said Spencer and Hotch nodded.
“Yes, that's true,” Hotch admitted, “unless the whole team has time off which doesn't happen very often, but we're also human and we need to get away from all work and relax every once in awhile as well so we don't burn ourselves out.”
“It's settled then,” Spencer said finally seeing that Aaron was determined to come with him to support him and he couldn't help but be grateful for his lover's never-ending support. “If you'll give me your phone number I'll call you when we're coming,” Spencer added looking at his father. “It'll be a few days, but we should be there by the middle of next week at the latest as it all just depends on certain factors.”
“I doubt very much that even Strauss is cruel enough to deny us leave when it's a family matter,” Hotch said and Spencer nodded in agreement, “even if we both know she's a bitch. Besides both of us have a lot of leave time saved up and so taking a few days is not going to be a problem.”
William looked between the two and wondered what he had been thinking when he left his son behind all those years ago. He had missed out on so much of his life and the fault for that was squarely on his shoulders. He also could now admit, at least to himself, that he hadn't been much of a father even before he had left as he had been insulted when Spencer hadn't been more like him. He had been so shallow and hadn't been willing to try to work things out even if at that time his wife had been sick. He had just decided that leaving was for the best and hadn't thought about what his disappearance would do to his son or to his wife for that matter.
He had left a letter for his son, but only because he was to much of a coward to tell his family to their faces.
William silently sighed to himself and wondered if his son would ever be able to forgive him as he knew that the only reason that Spencer had agreed to his plead was because he didn't want his brother, a brother he never knew he had to die if he could help it. Where his son had gotten his compassion from he didn't know, because it certainly hadn't come from him, although he supposed it could have come from Diana. Why hadn't he appreciated what he'd had, when he had had it? Because he had been young, shallow, stupid, immature, callous and not really ready for a relationship he supposed.
William told his son his phone number and Spencer nodded without bothering to write it down since his memory was eidetic and he would never forget it.
“Expect a call sometime in the next day or two just as soon as our leave is finalized,” Spencer told his father who nodded.
“I can't thank you enough for this,” William told his son. “You had every right to refuse my request just because of the way I left you as a child.”
“No, I couldn't have, not once I knew the reason for you insisting on seeing me,” Spencer said shaking his head. “You must know though that there's maybe a 50% chance of me being a match considering that I'm only a half sibling and not a full one like the rest of your children are.”
“I know,” William admitted looking downcast, “but you are my last hope.”
“I'm surprised his brother or one of his sisters wasn't a match,” Spencer mused, “but then again his sisters are identical so if one wasn't a match the other two wouldn't be either.”
“So Frankie's doctor informed Lilah and me,” William said looking downcast. “He said that it would be better if Frankie had another sibling as there was more chance of a match then with a total stranger, but that it wasn't impossible that somebody unrelated would be a match to and that they have a database with millions of volunteers for that.”
“In order for the doctor to do a successful bone marrow transplant I'm going to have to have at least six out of eight markers that match and well...the odds of that aren't good,” Spencer said looking grim, “but I'm willing to go through the testing in order to see if I am a match.”
“Lilah and I will never be able to thank you enough,” William told his son sincerely and Spencer nodded finishing off the last of his lunch.
“You're welcome and I'm looking forward to meeting your wife and my brothers and sisters,” Spencer said.
“I should have contacted you a long time ago and let you get to know them while they were still young,” William admitted. “Frankie and Denis are 12 while the triplets are 11 as there is only about 10 and ½ months separating their births. If Franklin hadn't gotten so sick and we hadn't exhausted our options I probably never would have gotten up the courage to contact you at all.”
“Wow! You weren't joking when you said that your children were pretty close together in age,” said Spencer. “Most couples at least space their children two years apart.”
William shrugged and said, “Well, neither one of us was getting any younger, so it was just better to go ahead and have them close together, since whether Shifter, shaman or human a woman only has so many reproductive years and by the time we met we were both almost forty.”
I'm surprised that your wife didn't come with you,” Hotch commented. “I would think she would have insisted on it.”
“I convinced her that it would be better if I contacted you alone this one time as I didn't want you to hold it against her because she had married me. I didn't want Spencer to transfer his hatred and resentment from me to her. After all most women wouldn't have given me the time of day if I told them my story about how I abandoned my first wife and son as they would be rightfully afraid that I would do the same to them,” William said. “Besides someone had to stay behind and look after the children.”
“But with your True Mate it's different,” Spencer said and William nodded soberly in agreement.
“I couldn't leave her anymore then she could me as that would destroy both of us just like it would you two if one of you left the other.”
“Not going to happen,” both Spencer and Hotch said at the same time causing William to give a weak chuckle for he agreed.
“Well, this is been interesting, dad, but I think it's time for Aaron and I to take our leave. Besides I need to order flowers for JJ, to apologize for the way I was so nasty to her on the phone, since you showing up was hardly her fault and I might as well go ahead and get that done.”
“JJ understands why you were so nasty to her,” Hotch told his lover who nodded in agreement although he still looked incredibly guilty for the way he had treated his friend, one of the two women he considered a sister. “She is after all, an incredibly smart, intelligent woman.”
“I know, but that doesn't mean I don't feel like I need to apologize, especially since she's like the sister I never had, well that I didn't know I had until like two hours ago,” Spencer corrected still amazed that he had brothers and sisters, ones he had never known about until now. “So what are your daughters names?”
William smiled and said his pride obvious, “Well, we didn't do what a lot of people do when they have more then one baby at a time and give them names that are similar, as we wanted all of them to have different enough names and not ones that sounded a lot alike or rhymed. The oldest is Alyssa, my middle daughter is Beth and the youngest, by just two minutes is Gwen.”
“Well at least you showed some originality,” Spencer said with a smile, “because you're right a lot of people do name their children that are born at the same time with similar sounding names.”
Father and son chatted for a few more minutes about William's family politely, but then Spencer rose from his seat after saying goodbye and headed for the front entrance of the steakhouse Hotch following.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Well, that was certainly unexpected,” Spencer mused looking as if he had been hit over the head with a sledgehammer as he and Hotch arrived back at their apartment.
“It was, but I thought you handled it well considering how your father left you as a child and how you haven't spoken to him in 20 years,” Hotch complimented his lover.
“This means we're going to have to put our wedding off a little longer you realize,” Spencer said and Hotch nodded for he had already come to the same conclusion himself.
“I don't really want to put it off, but maybe this is a good thing because it gives Garcia more time to locate Gideon for one thing and also I would like all five of my siblings to be there if at all possible,” Spencer said trying to look on the positive side of things.
“I really don't want to put off our wedding ceremony either,” Hotch admitted, “although in this case I can certainly understand why it is necessary even if I don't like it and we are both mature enough to put off doing something we really want to until this situation is resolved.”
“Well, the ceremony is just to make it official, but that doesn't mean that we can't be together in the meantime as we have been. I know Garcia is probably going to try to force us to sleep separately the day before the ceremony since it is tradition to not see each other before the wedding, but neither one of us is going to let that happen. Really in our case what's the point really? We've been having sex and sleeping together every night for months now so it's not like either one of us is a virgin or can get the other pregnant since we are both male.”
“Don't worry I plan on nipping that idea in the bud as the same thing had occurred to me as well,” Hotch said and Spencer nodded unsurprised. “We both know that Garcia can be… persistent… and you just usually cave in to her demands because you don't want to upset her, while I on the other hand don't care if I do get her upset because I know very well she'll get over it even if she's mad at me for a few days.”
“Actually the reason I usually cave in so quickly is because she gives me the puppy dog eyes and you know very well that such things are almost impossible to resist especially coming from someone you love.”
“Yes, that's true,” Hotch said knowing that Garcia was extraordinarily good at the puppy eyes and Spencer was so tenderhearted he caved almost immediately to whatever she demanded.
“You realize of course that it is not going to be long before Garcia's going to have those triplets of hers and she really needs to stay off her feet as much as possible. Actually I'm surprised that the doctor hasn't demanded that she stay in bed by this point considering she is seven months pregnant and the longer she can carry them closer to full term the better.”
“He probably did and Garcia probably nixed the idea in the bud because we both know that she would go absolutely crazy if she was forced to bed rest for anywhere to a month to two months. It might even be that Morgan argued with her and couldn't get Garcia to budge as we both know how stubborn she can be.”
“Actually I won't be surprised if the doctor insisted on a C-section since that is usually the way triplets and higher order multiples are delivered and a lot of times twins as well depending on the situation of course. Most the time when you have an multiples only one is facing the correct direction in order to be delivered naturally.”
“So if that's the case I know Morgan will want to be there with her for the whole operation, so I suspect he'll be asking for some time off in a week or two,” Hotch said, “and not only will we lose a very experienced field agent but also our technical analyst even if it's only temporary in both cases.”
“Well, we lost her for several weeks apiece when she had both Matthias and Cassandra,” Spencer pointed out and Hotch nodded.
“Well, least this will be the last time as it's already been said that Garcia's going to have her tubes tied just as soon as the triplets are born.”
“Which could very well turn out to be quadruplets or even quintuplets since when it's more than two babies they tend to hide behind each other so that you can't hear their heartbeats or if you are doing an ultrasound see any part of them. Of course it could also just be triplets, although we won't know of course until after they are born.”
“Or they do another ultrasound and discover there are four or even five babies is Garcia's stomach,” Hotch said and Spencer nodded.
“Actually I don't think Garcia's big enough for five babies unless they are severely underweight that is, but four is a possibility,” Spencer said. “Of course it's harder to tell how many babies she's really carrying because she's normally bigger in the hips and chest then a lot women and so you can't just tell by the size of her stomach like you can with those skinny people because Garcia just isn't built like that. Only on really thin women does pregnancy show much more then on somebody who is Garcia's shape. Of course things like ultrasound do help to determine how many babies you are carrying, but it's not a perfect solution, especially when you are having more than twins.”
“I would worry more about her continuing to work if her job required her to stand all the time, but since she can sit down and only have to get up to use the restroom the doctor probably figured it was okay for her to continue to do her job,” Hotch said.
“And Morgan probably just gave into her demands for the same reasons, although I'm sure he told her to take it easy,” Spencer snickered as he could imagine that very well.
“And we both know he'll be calling her at least a dozen times a day whether or not he needs information to help us catch our unsub,” Hotch smirked.
“That's what you do when you love someone,” Spencer answered giving Hotch an admonishing look. “Besides it is a good idea to check up on someone who is in Garcia's delicate condition. Wouldn't you do the same for me if I just happened to be female and pregnant and yet I still insisted on working? Well, if we weren't working together that is.”
“Of course, I would,” Hotch said immediately without even stopping to consider. “I see the point you're trying to make. Morgan loves Garcia, so of course, he's going to call and check up on her as frequently as he's able to, especially with her being pregnant with at least triplets. Normally Garcia's the one worrying about Morgan considering he's the one that's out in the field, which is dangerous at times and she's the one that has a desk job or at least one that doesn't require she put her life on the line.”
“I suppose I had better call the flower shop before it's gets too late and order JJ some flowers to be delivered to the BAU in the morning,” Spencer sighed not particularly wanting to leave Hotch's arms.
“You really don't have to you know, but since I know you'll feel guilty until you do at least try to make amends to JJ, you might as well get it over with, although we both know that JJ won't hold it against you since she knows very well that you and your father haven't spoken a word to each other in two decades.”
“I'm not denying that JJ probably does understand why I was so nasty to her, but still that doesn't mean I don't need to apologize because it's hardly her fault that my father showed up out of the blue and I shouldn't have taken my anger out on her.”
“Spencer you're only human,” Hotch told him sighing a little, because it wasn't often that Spencer lost his temper, although in this case he had thought it was more than warranted, although Reid probably should've saved it for his father instead of yelling at JJ, but even he couldn't always be calm and control his reactions to certain situations. “You're allowed to lose your temper every once in awhile. It's unfortunate that you yelled at JJ, but believe me even she doesn't expect you to be superhuman. JJ's mature enough to take you yelling at her even when she doesn't deserve it.”
“I know,” Reid admitted.
“But I suppose if it makes you feel better, then buying her flowers won't do any harm,” Hotch added.
“I had better do that then before all the flower shops close,” Spencer grumbled as he rose from where he was laying very comfortably in Hotch's arms.
Spencer picked up his cell phone looked up the name of the closest flower shop in the phone book and then dialed the number from memory putting in an order for peonies, marigolds, with babies breath to be delivered to the BAU first thing in the morning.
“Now that's taken care of,” Spencer said walking back into his lover's arms and cuddling into Hotch chest with a sigh of contentment.
“What no roses?” Hotch teased him.
“Why? If I had given her roses, especially red ones, which signify love she would have been wondering what I meant by the gesture since she knows you and I are mated and besides peonies and marigolds are her favorites,” Spencer shrugged.
“I know I was just teasing you,” Hotch assured him kissing the told of his mate's head.
“I was aware,” Spencer told Hotch his voice dry.
Hotch laughed and the two relaxed just enjoying each other's company.
“So do you think I'll be a match?” asked Spencer after a long comfortable silence.
“There's no way of knowing at this point since neither of can see the future,” Hotch said, “but since your father and his wife tried everything else before contacting you…”
“I might very well be attending a funeral for a 12-year-old boy, a boy who is my brother,” Spencer said sounding extremely upset at that thought.
“I'll help you get through and if that happens,” Hotch promised, “although hopefully it will not. The team has had children die in the past of course when we couldn't find them in time, although I realize it's very different when that child is your half-brother that you never even knew existed until just a little while ago.”
“Thanks, Aaron, I don't know what I'd do without your support,” Spencer told his mate softly turning around just enough to kiss his lover on the lips, softly.
“I'll always be here for you,” Hotch promised, “or at least for as long as I am able, which I hope will be for the next thirty or forty years.”
“But we really have no way of knowing,” Spencer said finishing his mate's thought when he paused. “We both have dangerous jobs after all.”
“No we have no way of knowing,” Hotch agreed, “so we might as well not worry about it and just live our lives like we always have.”
“Sound advice,” Spencer decided they both fell silent again contemplating how their lives had so drastically changed in the last few hours.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“It's nice to meet you,” Lilah said warmly kissing Spencer's cheek causing him to blush and marveling at how much he looked like her son who was even now laying in the hospital fighting for his life. She had been praying almost constantly ever since Franklin's leukemia had come back even stronger than before just a few months ago. Unfortunately even though both she and William were Shifters did not prevent a lot of diseases that regular humans and also shamans could come down with and that included cancer.
Spencer and Hotch had just arrived in Las Vegas a few hours ago and after having a late lunch they had made their way to the house that was owned by the Reids as Lilah, William Reid's wife was expecting them.
Lilah didn't say that Spencer had had every right to tell her husband to get lost and she wouldn't have been able to really blame him if he had since he had abandoned his son as a child. She had been pretty sure that Spencer wouldn't be able to turn down his father's request not when it gave him a chance to help a sibling that he had never known about because she had read every newspaper article and Internet piece that she could get her hands on over the years and from all reports, Spencer was not only brilliant, but kind generous, and compassionate. He had joined the BAU after all, which was an organization that was part of the FBI, that helped law enforcement when they needed it. The whole team had been praised more than once for catching some type of criminal, although it was usually serial killers, by police, mayors and other high-ranking officials of different cities, but Lilah was capable of reading between the lines and knew that Spencer had played a major part in that success even if he was never specifically mentioned.
Really even in a black-and-white photograph you could see how close the team was to each other as all of them had had their picture taken together a few times by a reporter. It was clear even from a photograph that the whole team thought of each other as family and had accepted Spencer into their personal lives and not just as a colleague, in other words someone they worked with, but who you didn't hang out with outside that arena.
“I couldn't have done that,” Spencer told her sincerely. “I might have no love for my father, and I know you can understand why I don't, but I would never let a child possibly die just because I don't like who he's related too. Besides I would like the opportunity to get to know the brothers and sisters I never knew I had until a few days ago.”
Lilah nodded as she had often urged Will to make amends with his oldest son, and he had been too afraid of Spencer's reaction to do anything because he had known exactly what his son's response would be. Of course Lilah had known that Spencer would never have turned down the opportunity to get to know the siblings he had never known he had, but hadn't mentioned that to her husband because he had no idea that she knew anything about his oldest son at all, except what he had told her, as she had never revealed to him about the research she had done on her own when he was at work as she had known what his reaction would be to that revelation.
She knew far more about Spencer William Reid then her husband gave her credit for and knew that while he was a genius he was also a loving, compassionate, gentle, passionate man. Of course what she hadn't known until Will had told her was that Spencer didn't like to be touched by people he didn't know well and Lilah could at least partially guess where that trait had come from, although she would never be so rude as to ask him why he was like that because for one thing they hardly know each other and for another it was something that was personal and no one else's business.
“I also hope you realize that there's no guarantee that I will be a match especially since we only share one parent in common,” Spencer added. “I sincerely hope I am because as far as I know there are no more relatives on my side of the family besides my mother who isn't related to Franklin by blood. Also the more distant the relative the less likely that they're going to have enough markers to match.”
“I know that, but that you agreed to at least have the test done so the doctors can determine that means more to me than you know.”
“I understand,” Spencer said and Lilah nodded as it was clear that he did indeed understand.
“The doctors are expecting me tomorrow at 9 o'clock to have the tests done and after that Aaron and I are going back to Quantico as we only took off a couple of days, but if I am a match then I will be back in order to have the operation done.”
“You meant to say that 'we' will be back,” Hotch corrected him and then turned extending his hand. “Sorry we haven't been officially introduced but I am Aaron Hotchner. Spencer and I are True Mates.”
“Oh,” Lilah gasped as she had not been aware this for Will hadn't mentioned it when he had called her a couple of days ago to report that Spencer had agreed to come to Las Vegas. Lilah figured that Will probably hadn't thought it was important in the grand scheme of things and in that respect he would've been correct for Franklin's health was much more important at the moment than anything else.
“It's nice to meet you Mr. Hotchner,” Lila said.
“You can call me, Aaron,” Hotch said with a smile.
“Lilah. So how did you and Spencer meet?”
“Actually we work together,” Hotch explained calmly. “I'm actually his boss at the BAU and we got together shortly after Spencer turned 30 just a few months ago.”
“Isn't there some kind of no fraternization rule? I can't see the FBI allowing two of their employees to work together especially if they are on the same team and one of them is the others boss.”
“Normally you would be correct, but exceptions are made for True Mates just so long as it can be proven that they can still act professionally when they are out in the field,” Spencer explained calmly even as he blushed a little at the way the conversation was going. “Both Aaron and I are professional enough to act it when we are working and so nobody except the team is aware of our relationship.”
“There was no way we could've kept it from the team in any case,” Hotch smirked. “They are profilers after all and very good at what they do and would have figured it out.”
“They would've figured it out within a very short amount of time, especially since Derek Morgan is also mated to our technical analyst Penelope Garcia so if anybody would've been able to figure it out first it would've been them,” Spencer added. “In any case we told them first thing the Monday morning after we got together.”
“Really us being together as a mated couple changed essentially nothing except that we share a hotel room now when we're out of town on a case,” Hotch said with shrug, “other than that we still act the same as we did before we got together, at least when we are working.”
“It might not be as easy as some relationships, but we are both intelligent and stubborn enough to make it work,” Spencer told Lilah, “Really breaking up isn't an option for either one of us since it would kill both of us to do so.”
“Yes, believe me I understand,” Lilah agreed. “The same could be said of me and Will.”
“And so can other truly mated couples,” Hotch said and the other two nodded in agreement.
“So when can I meet my other siblings?” asked Spencer eagerly. “I know they're in school right now except for Franklin, but I would love to meet them and start to get to know them. Also I would like to be able to go visit Franklin in the hospital and talk to him for awhile if that's okay with you.”
Lilah thought about it for moment then nodded. “All right, I'll alert the doctors and nurses to put you on the allowed visitor list as I feel like that's the least William and I can do for you considering you agreed to have the tests done to see if you are a match, which you didn't have to do as we all know. Yes, I realize that you disagree with what I said if only because you have such strong ethics and a unwavering sense of compassion that would never allow a child to die if you could help. As for the meeting the rest of my children that is easily accomplished if you come to dinner either tonight or tomorrow. First I believe William and I need to sit down and try to explain about you, although how he's going to do that when he never mentioned you in the children's presence I don't know.”
“Dad should've known that eventually I would probably end up meeting my half siblings at some point, although not necessarily I realize,” Spencer said, “but still he should have at least told them about me even if he didn't mention about the divorce from my mother.”
“He probably thought correctly that they would want to meet you, Spencer and since neither of you or your father were even on speaking terms until a few days ago that wouldn't have been possible until recently,” Hotch suggested.
“Yes, that hadn't occurred to me, but that is probably exactly what he thought,” Lilah agreed after a moment of consideration.
Lilah realized then that Aaron Hotchner was also a very intelligent man, but then she knew from her own research that anybody who worked for the BAU had to know at least something about human nature, and had to be sharp in the brain department and both men had been doing the jobs for years. Both had caught numerous killers and other wackos so it wasn't really all that surprising that both of them were so intelligent or could delve so successfully into a person's mind in order to understand what made them tick. Besides the True Mate bond would never have formed between the two if they weren't suited to each other and since Spencer was so intelligent he needed someone just as intelligent as he was or it couldn't be a very good match.
The three of them continued to chat beginning to get to know each other before Spencer and Hotch took their leave and headed out to their rented car to head to see Spencer's mother since they were in town anyway.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Hello Franklin, my name is Spencer,” Spencer introduced himself to his half brother who was laying in hospital bed. The boy in the hospital bed looked terrible, but Spencer had expected that considering he had a very dangerous and deadly disease ravaging his body.
It had been decided between him, Hotch, his father and his wife that he would first approach his brother alone. His father had been reluctant to allow Spencer to see his son alone the first time, not because he feared that his first son would harm him just because he was a parent whose son was very ill and he felt he would do better to have a face he recognized nearby. Spencer's opinion of his father had risen several notches when he realized that he was putting Franklin first just like any good parent would and made him truly realize that his father had changed for the better, which at least 60% of the time never happened as your personality was set in childhood. On the other hand though his father discovering his True Mate would have likely been enough of a catalyst to bring about this change in him and Spencer was glad to see it happen, even if he still didn't like his father very much, although that was changing the more he saw of him.
Lilah had been the surprise as she really didn't know anything about him at all, but she had been the one to urge her husband to allow Spencer to see Franklin alone and that they would be close by if they were needed.
“Who are you?” asked Franklin opening his eyes, which were the exact same color as his own, kind of a golden brown, “and why you look so much like me?”
“Well,” Spencer tried to gently explain, “I look so much like you because your father was married before he met your mother and I am his son. Dad contacted me and told me about all of you and that you were very sick and that he needed my help because none of your siblings or your parents were a match, so both your parents are hoping that I will be. Besides, I really would like a chance to get to know you and your siblings since I didn't know until a few days ago that you even existed, if that's okay with you.”
Franklin seemed to consider the information quietly and Spencer could tell that his half-brother was very intelligent despite his body's betrayal of him. Franklin was obviously very weak, which was understandable considering the cancer that was ravaging his body, but that didn't stop his brain from working apparently. Spencer was amazed at how much the two of them looked alike for Franklin had the exact same hair and eye color that he did and the younger boy's hair even lay down and parted in the same way his did. The shape of the eyes though must've come from his mother instead of his father, for they were slightly slanted giving them a rather exotic appearance. Also his nose and the shape of his chin and mouth were the same shape as his own, as were the cheekbones, the only difference being that Franklin was slightly tanned, which he could never achieve without burning.
“Why did dad never mention you then and why have we never met you before now?” asked Franklin and Spencer thought that it was a very good question, especially for a twelve year old.
“Well, our father was ashamed of the way he left when I was younger than you are now and sometimes when you are ashamed of something you don't like talking about it or even thinking about it really.”
“My father wouldn't do that,” Franklin protested weakly defending the father that he loved, which Spencer couldn't blame him for.
“He wouldn't do that now,” Spencer told the younger boy gently, “but he was a lot different back before you were born then he is today. He has matured and grown up in the intervening years.”
Franklin seemed to consider that quietly and Spencer gave him the time he needed to work out what he had said as he knew that he was introducing concepts that were foreign if only because he was still so young and besides William Reid was his father and from all evidence a much better one to his current family then he had been when he was a child. Spencer had considered asking his mate to try to heal his brother, but wasn't sure that Hotch's power would work on something like cancer like it would with gunshot wounds since cancer was of the blood and not just of the flesh. When one of the team was shot it was a simple matter to heal the wound that it caused, but cancer was actually a disease where a person's bone marrow produced misshapen white blood cells that eventually overtook the healthy ones, which is what caused it to be so deadly and often fatal. There was no guarantees that even if Hotch's power did work that it wouldn't be too much for him for it always tired Hotch out to heal very bad wounds, and Spencer didn't want to take the chance that it could be detrimental to Hotch's health, although he knew that it was very likely that his mate would disagree.
“You have every right to love your father, as after all he is your flesh and blood and he's always been there for you. I would never try to come between you and him. I have my own issues with him, but that is between us and you and your siblings aren't involved since it happened before you were born,” Spencer said after quite a long silence. “All I want is to get to know the brothers and sisters I never knew I had until a few days ago. I always wanted a sibling when I was growing up because I was often lonely.”
Franklin considered this then nodded. “Call me Frankie, I'm only called Franklin when I'm in trouble.”
“Alright then, you can call me Spencer,” Reid said.
“What no nickname?” asked Frankie his voice tired and weak.
“Not really,” Spencer answered, “although one of my colleagues at work does call me Spence, although she is the only one that does, but you can as well if you like.”
“Girlfriend?” asked Franklin.
Spencer couldn't help but laugh and shook his head at what had come out of the mouth of a 12 year old boy, although he supposed it was only natural since most boys got interested in the opposite sex around 12 or 13, although he had been an exception, since he hadn't been interested in the opposite sex until he was about 18, but then with his profound intelligence among other things he had been behind other boys his age in that respect although it other ways he had been way more mature then most of them.
“No, she's married and has a son by the name of Henry who also happens to be my godson. We're just good friends, almost like brother and sister really,” Spencer shrugged with a smile. “Besides I'm mated, just like your father and mother and there will never be anyone else for me—ever.”
Franklin nodded tiredly struggling to keep his eyes open for he understood that concept very well, which wasn't surprising considering that he had grown up in a household where his parents were True Mates and showed each other affection on a regular basis. To Frankie and his siblings such things would be normal and not as strange and unusual as it really was for a lot of time Shifters married without having found their True Mate and a large percentage of those ended in divorce for one reason or another, although usually due to major differences or the death of a child.
“I'll let you get some sleep as you need it and hopefully I will be a close enough match that it will help you get rid of the disease that is ravaging your body. I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your brother and sisters.”
Franklin despite being sick said politely, although it was clear he meant it, “It was nice meeting you as well and I'm looking forward to getting to know the brother I never knew I had.”
“Sleep,” Spencer ordered his brother gently pulling the covers up so that they reached his chin before leaning down and giving him a kiss on the forehead and watched with a slight smile as Franklin closed his eyes completely and was asleep seconds later.
Spencer stood there for a few minutes and watched his brother sleep while feelings of protectiveness and love swirled through him very strongly and he knew that he already loved the boy and that that feeling would only grow stronger the more time he spent in his company, although he wasn't sure how often that would be since his job was very demanding timewise, but he would certainly try and they could write letters and call each other often so that the two of them maintained some kind of contact even if they didn't get to see each other much. Well, there was no point of worrying about it at present as that was for the future as first they needed to concentrate on Franklin getting better.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Frankie, I'd like to introduce you to my mate, Aaron Hotchner,” Spencer introduced.
It was several days later after Spencer had had all the appropriate tests done and he had visited his brother every day since then, no matter how sore he had been. They two brothers had had some fairly long talks until Franklin had gotten to tired and had fallen asleep even in the middle of a sentence a couple of times which Spencer knew was to be expected. Franklin had asked more than once when he was going to have a chance to meet Spencer's mate and it had taken awhile to arrange everything because Aaron wasn't family, since he and Spencer hadn't had a chance to get married yet, even if they were technically engaged, even if they were True Mates, but Franklin's parents had agreed to allow it since their son wanted to meet Aaron so bad as they saw no harm in it.
“It's nice to meet you, Franklin. You have no idea how happy Spencer was to discover that he had family he never knew about,” Hotch told the twelve year old boy sincerely.
Franklin was a handsome boy, who looked so much like Spencer probably had as a child, that it was truly astounding. Oh, there were some subtle differences, shape of the eyes for example, but other then those few things, Frankie and Spencer could be twins, despite the difference in their ages. Hotch supposed it shouldn't be that surprising since Franklin's mother was blond and blue eyed and both were recessive colors, while brown eyes and hair were dominant and William Reid had both. It wasn't just hair and eye color though that made Spencer and his brother look so much alike, but also their bodies were shaped the same for the most part, except for their hands as if was obvious that Frankie wasn't going to have Spencer's long elegant fingers or his palms either.
Franklin liked the tall handsome man that was his older brother's mate for it was clear that he was being sincere. Franklin had always been able to tell when someone was lying to him or at least not telling the whole truth and he was always careful around those types of people. He wasn't sure how he did it, just that he did.
“I can't say I know what's it like to have no family, so I can't really understand what it was like to grow up without one,” Franklin said and Hotch was instantly impressed with how intelligent Franklin was, but then he should be considering that he and Spencer had the same father and as much as he hated to admit it William Reid was an intelligent man, even if he had abandoned his mate as a child of ten. There was a large difference from being intelligent to having the staying power to stick around even when you were having problems in your marriage or if your spouse was deathly ill. A lot of husbands or wives for that matter didn't stick around if they ran into a few major bumps in the road as they didn't feel capable of dealing with whatever problems cropped up.
“Hopefully you never will,” Spencer said.
“It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hotchner,” Franklin said politely not to sticking out his hand to be shaken considering he was hooked up to numerous medical equipment.
“That's no reason to be so formal,” Hotch told Franklin with a genuine smile. “You can call me Aaron if you like.”
“I'm not supposed to be so informal and impolite,” Franklin told Hotch. “I've always been taught to respect my elders.”
“While that's a very good lesson to learn I have a feeling we're going to get to know each other beyond being acquaintances,” Hotch said. “How about Uncle Aaron then, since you and I are going to be like family since you are Spencer's brother and he is my mate.”
“I believe that would be okay,” Franklin said after some consideration. “So Spencer never did tell me what he did for a living.”
“Well, Spencer doesn't like to talk much about himself,” Hotch told Franklin then turned and grinned at his mate who looked like he was about to interrupt. “He's always been the very modest type and doesn't like to toot his own horn so to speak. In any case we both work for the FBI the Behavioral Analysis Unit or BAU for short.”
“You actually work together?” asked Franklin in amazement.
“We do. I was going to tell you just as soon as you were feeling better as I didn't want you to waste your limited amount of energy asking me a million questions,” Spencer said turning to glare at Aaron briefly, although he couldn't maintain it since he could never stay mad at the man he adored and worse Hotch knew it.
“So what does your unit do?” asked Franklin.
“Well you know the FBI is part of the federal government and as to what we do we go after all kinds of criminals,” Spencer explained calmly. “The BAU just specializes in catching various types of criminals, although our unit's specialty is serial killers.”
“Wow! That sounds really neat,” Franklin said. “Does that mean you carry guns?”
“Yes, we do,” Hotch answered before Spencer could, “but guns are nothing to play around with as they can kill somebody on accident if you aren't careful.”
“I know that, sir,” Franklin answered politely though his voice was weak. “Do you think I could be part of the BAU someday?”
“You can do anything you want to do,” Spencer told his brother. “You have to have certain skills in order to be part of our unit though and a strong stomach as we see some of the worse that mankind can do to each other. You have plenty of years to decide what you really want to do with your life as you are only 12 so I don't think you need to worry about a career quite yet.”
“I certainly didn't know what I wanted to be at 12,” Hotch added and Spencer nodded in agreement.
“Most children don't really know what careers they will eventually decide on, although some do of course,” said Spencer.
“When did you finally decide that you wanted to join the BAU?” Franklin asked his brother.
“Well, actually it was Jason Gideon who was the unit chief at the time that made me decide to join the FBI. He was lecturing at CalTech where I was going to college and he immediately noticed how brilliant I was. He knew I would fit right in with the BAU as you need to be intelligent, observant polite, never lose your temper no matter how much someone irritate you, among other qualities.”
“He's downplaying how brilliant he really is,” Hotch interrupted before Spencer could get started again. “Usually you have to have at least 10 years with another department or even several before you are accepted for a position with the BAU, but Spencer here was accepted immediately after graduating from the FBI academy without having to go the normal route because he is a genius in every sense of the word and Jason knew that he wouldn't fit in, in any other department as well as he does with the BAU and the team.”
Spencer blushed at his mate lavish praise and glared at Hotch who didn't pay any attention to it, although he knew there would be a price to be paid later, but he couldn't let Reid downplay his importance to the team just because he was so modest.
“Wow!” Franklin said seeming enthralled. “What else can you tell me about the BAU?”
“Well the team is great and really they were the only family I had before I discovered that I did have brothers and sisters that shared my blood. Derek Morgan is like the brother I never knew I had until a few weeks ago, David Rossi is kind of like an uncle, while Jennifer Jareau, and Emily Prentiss are like sisters. Penelope Garcia Morgan our technical analyst on the other hand is kind of like, well, a crazy aunt considering that she likes to mother me as much as I'll let her that is,” Spencer admitted blushing. “I really would like the whole team to meet you and your siblings and for all of you to get to know them as I'm sure you'll learn to love them as much as I do and vice versa of course.”
“I'd love to meet them,” Franklin said sounded wistful.
“I'm sure you'll have a chance eventually,” Spencer said smoothing back his brother's hair that was starting to fall out again from the chemo, “but right now you need to concentrate on getting better. In any case the doctor extracted some of my bone marrow so you should be going into surgery any day now.”
“Good,” Franklin said looking incredibly tired and weak, “all I want to do is get back to normal.”
“Neither one of us can blame you for that,” Hotch said smoothing back the boy's hair, what little there was of it, as Spencer had done several times since they had entered the room. It was clear to see that Spencer cared a great deal for Franklin, not that Hotch was surprised considering that his mate was a very compassionate soul even if he believed he wasn't.
“Franklin, how would you and your siblings like to be part of Aaron's and my wedding?” asked Spencer gently.
“That would be really cool,” Franklin said looking excited. “I'm sure my brother and sisters would agree.”
“Well then, just as soon as you are feeling better we'll have the ceremony,” Hotch said. “It's already all planned out all you need to do is concentrate on getting rid of your leukemia, so that you can be there on our special day.”
“Why don't you sleep now, I'll be back to visit you until you go in for your bone marrow graft,” Spencer told his brother.
“Will you come to Uncle Aaron?” asked Franklin.
“If you want,” Hotch agreed kissing the boy on the forehead just like he did Jack. “Spencer's right you need all the rest you can get it so your body can concentrate on getting rid of your cancer.”
“I'll see you tomorrow,” Franklin told them sleepily and both Spencer and Hotch tucked the boy in watching as he fell sleep just seconds later before leaving the room both lost in their own thoughts.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“I'm a match,” Spencer told Hotch after knocking on his office door. He had just received a call a few minutes ago from the hospital in Las Vegas where the testing of his bone marrow had taken place.
“You are?” asked Hotch looking as surprised as Reid felt.
“Yes seven markers out of eight,” Spencer answered.
“Wow, that's pretty close,” Hotch said looking amazed, which was exactly how Spencer felt.
“The doctor who contacted me was absolutely as amazed as we both are that I was such a close match considering I'm only a half sibling. He said that the lab checked my samples three times before they believed it.”
“I'm sure they just wanted to make sure that a mistake hadn't been made before they told Franklin's parents or called you,” Hotch suggested and Spencer nodded in agreement. “They wouldn't want to get the family's hopes up after all until they were absolutely sure.”
“Yeah, that's what I thought as well,” Reid agreed. “I'm just glad that we aren't out of town and in the middle of a case when the hospital finally did call. Actually it's lucky really because we just got back yesterday.”
“Yes, I agree that in this instance we are lucky that we aren't in the middle of a case because there is no way that we would be able to go to Las Vegas until that case was finished and our unsub caught.”
“So I guess I should go and put in for some leave time,” Spencer mused.
“I'll put in for some leave time as well and come with you,” Hotch said his tone brooking no argument.
Spencer didn't bother to protest as he knew very well Hotch would never change his mind and all he could do was be grateful to his lover that he was coming along for support.
“Everything okay kid?” Morgan asked as soon as he had come out of Hotch's office.
“It's fine Morgan,” Spencer told his brother and all the blood with a smile. “It turns out that I am a match to my half brother and I'm headed up to Las Vegas in the next couple of days so they can do the operation.”
“I'm glad,” Morgan told his friend who gave him a smile. “Hopefully this means that Franklin will start to get better.”
“I hope so,” Spencer agreed.
“Hotch going with you?” asked Morgan who smirked already knowing the answer.
“Of course you know very well I wouldn't be able to convince him to stay here so I didn't bother to try as we all know how stubborn he is.”
“That's the truth,” Rossi chipped in coming out of his office.
“Look who's talking,” Morgan told him with a smirk
“I think we can all agree that we're all stubborn in our own ways,” Emily said entering the conversation, “if we weren't then we wouldn't do what we do.”
“Yes, that's true,” Morgan said and the others nodded in agreement.
“Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing,” Rossi said. “If we weren't then we wouldn't have caught so many unsubs as we would have given up long before they gave us some subtle clue to be able to catch them since unfortunately a lot of criminals are just as intelligent as we are.”
“True,” Spencer said the others seemed to agree with Rossi's words as well.
“So how's PG doing?” Emily asked Morgan.
“She's fine, just feeling extremely large at the moment, which is understandable,” Morgan answered honestly.
“It won't be much longer now,” Emily said and Morgan nodded in agreement.
“I'll be glad when the triplets finally get here though as it is very difficult to deal with a pregnant woman, even if you love them to death. Actually the doctor wants to do a c-section next week if at all possible as the babies won't be too premature at 7 1/2 months and probably won't have to spend more then a few days in an incubator.”
“It's just better to go ahead and have that c-section then let Garcia actually go into labor, especially when it's triplets or more,” Spencer said in his I know my facts voice. “The problem with multiples is that a large percentage of the time they aren't facing the right way to be delivered naturally. If they are facing feet first for example one of the babies could tear the lining of a woman's uterus.”
“Alright that's enough I don't really need to know all that could go wrong Reid,” Morgan told his friend and Spencer snapped his mouth shut looking appropriately chastened.
“Sorry, I got carried away,” Reid apologized. “I don't think you need to worry since you guys are going to have a c-section done and that is the much safer way to deliver multiples.”
“Still both Penelope and I will be glad when these babies are finally born so that things can get back to normal,” Morgan said then corrected, “well as normal as they get with three newborns in the house.”
Reid kept his mouth firmly closed not mentioning the fact that it was very possible that Garcia could be having quadruplets or even quintuplets as he didn't need for Morgan to worry anymore than he already was.
“So I've been meaning to ask you what was your mother's reaction when she heard that she had three more grandchildren on the way?” asked Emily curiously.
Morgan's mother Fran absolutely loved children and that she had finally got two out of her son who she had believed for a long time was never going to get married and have a family had made her so happy that you could probably have heard her squeals of joy all the way from Chicago.
“She was absolutely ecstatic as I'm sure you can guess. As happy as I've ever seen her in a long time except around her grandchildren,” Morgan answered honestly. “I expect her be up here to visit me and Penelope just as soon as they are born. I'll be very surprised if she doesn't offer to babysit while we have to work or if we catch a case right after their births.”
“So have you chosen names?” asked Rossi.
“Of course, my baby girl and I chose names months ago six boys names and six girls names.”
They all know that Garcia and Morgan had decided not to have the doctor tell them the sex and since they already had one of each it didn't really matter anyway, although they all knew that they were all hoping for at least one boy and one girl.
“So are you going to tell us?” asked Emily but Morgan shook his head.
“Sorry that remains between me and Penelope until after the triplets are born. If I told you now she would be very upset with me and the last thing you want is a pregnant woman mad at you, trust me.”
“Ah can't you tell us?” Emily begged.
“No I'm afraid not,” Morgan told them all with a grin, “Pen and I made a pact not to tell you guys the names we chose until after they were born.”
“Come on, why would you two make a pact about something like telling us the names you chose?” Emily tried to reason, but Morgan just shook his head refusing to budge.
“You might as well give up Emily, you know how stubborn Morgan is when he wants to be,” Spencer interrupted before Emily could say anything else. “Besides it won't be long before they are here so I at least can wait a week or so to meet them and learn their names.”
“You might be able to, but it's going to drive me crazy not knowing,” Emily told everyone all of who just grinned. “Besides you have other things on your mind at the moment and I don't.”
“Still all you have to do is have a little patience,” Spencer said, “and yes I do have a lot of things on my mind right now.”
“We all hope that your brother will begin to recover, once he gets your your bone marrow,” Rossi told Spencer who nodded in thanks to the older man.
“That's right, we all hope that the operation is a success as we would hate for you to lose the brother that you haven't even had a chance to get to know,” Emily said seeming to have given up on getting Morgan to tell her the names that he and Penelope had chosen for the moment.
“I'll let you know,” Spencer promised before heading back to his desk to finish what little bit of paperwork remained, although he did have trouble concentrating for the rest of the day as he couldn't keep his thought off his little brother laying in that hospital bed as weak as a newborn.
When it was finally quitting time Spencer was glad, although he stayed at his desk waiting for Hotch to also finish since they always came in and left work together.
“Ready to go?” Hotch asked catching Spencer by surprise because he had been deep in thought and hadn't seen or heard his mate approach. “Sorry I didn't mean to startle you,” Hotch apologized.
“It's okay,” Spencer said rising from his desk, picking up his messenger bag and slinging over his shoulder. “Let's get out of here shall we?”
“We shall,” Hotch agreed smiling slinging an arm around the younger man's shoulders. “How about I take you out for a nice dinner before we head back to our place.”
“Sounds good,” Spencer agreed smiling despite his worry for his younger brother.
“We'll both put in leave first thing in the morning,” Hotch promised and Spencer nodded in agreement. “Try not to worry in the meantime.”
“I'll try, but I probably won't succeed,” Spencer said with a grimace.
“We just have to have faith that Franklin will be all the right,” Hotch said and Spencer looked up at the older man then nodded
“Faith, now there's a loaded subject,” Spencer mused seeming to be talking more to himself then to the man at his side. “How can anyone put their faith in things that they can't actually see with their own eyes? How can anyone just believe in something that is no more than a myth and take it on faith that it is real?”
Hotch remained silent and knew that his lover was probably going to be distracted for the next few days and he couldn't really blame him as Spencer still wasn't used to the knowledge that he had five siblings. It would shock anyone to learn that they had family they had never known about.
“I'm sorry to be such bad company,” Spencer said finally taking Hotch's hand in his.
“It's alright,” Hotch assured him even as he raised Spencer hand to his lips so he could kiss his mate's knuckles causing the younger man to blush. “I know you are going to worry until after the operation.”
“And it doesn't help that really it will be at least a year and take numerous doctors appointments before they can really say if Franklin's going to stay healthy. Of course we'll know much sooner if his body accepts my bone marrow as it could still be rejected despite it being such a good match. You know me and how I can't help, but worry as I can't help, but imagine all the things that can go wrong.”
“I do know,” said Hotch. “It's just part of who you are and there's nothing wrong with that as it just means you have compassion and empathy.”
“Which is not how I normally think of myself, since normally consider myself a man of statics, of logic and facts.”
“Which does not preclude you from being compassionate or having empathy,” Hotch argued.
“I didn't say it did, just that I don't normally consider myself as a man who let's his emotions get in the way of being logical. I am a man of science, I believe in things that can be proven, that can be touched or seen.”
“Then how do you explain our bond?” Hotch shot back. “It isn't something you can see or touch and yet you know it is there, because you can feel it.”
Spencer was silent for so long Hotch was afraid that he was mad and just wasn't speaking so he didn't say anything that would come out sounding upset, but finally when he spoke his voice so was low with an intensity that Hotch had never heard from his lover before in all the years he had known him.
“I can't explain it, not logically and yet I know the bond that exists connecting the two of us is there as I can feel it. I love you so much and I know deep in my soul to be parted from you on a permanent basis would kill me just as surely as bullet would and yet these feelings are not logical and yet I know they are real. I know there's been research done on the subject but scientists never have figured out why Shifters have just one True Mate or why a bond forms between them while humans and shamans do not and they just have to take their chances.”
“You don't necessarily have to be able to see or feel something to believe it's real,” Hotch said. “Just look at all we see in our jobs and a lot of times there is no logical explanation for things that happen and you just have to take it on faith.”
“I've never been one that had much faith in things that can't be explained or proven logically, like religion, which to me has no basis in fact,” Spencer said finally his voice back to normal, although it was also very thoughtful. “I suppose my upbringing didn't really prepare me to believe in such things that couldn't be proven.”
“There's nothing wrong with that,” Hotch told him. “I love you for who you are I don't expect you to change for me, especially not something that is so basic to your personality.”
“Thank you, Aaron,” Spencer told the older man quietly before falling silent again and turning to stare out the window while Hotch drove towards the restaurant they had chosen to eat at before heading back to their place.
“You're welcome,” Hotch said his voice soft. Hotch glanced at Reid not even sure that the other man had heard him since his mind seemed to be elsewhere, probably dwelling on his sick brother in the hospital in Vegas.
Hotch remained silent until he arrived at the restaurant they had chosen and then pulled the car into a parking space and shut off the engine. “We're here,” Hotch told Spencer who looked up not seeming to have realized until that moment that the car had stopped.
Spencer opened his door, what seemed to be automatically his mind still seeming 1,000 miles away.
Hotch didn't mind the silence as he knew that sometimes Spencer got like this and he simply took the other man's hand offering his mate his silent support and led him into the restaurant.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

It was a week after Spencer and Hotch had gotten back from Las Vegas and while they were still waiting to hear news about how Franklin was doing that the day that Garcia had her operation in order to extract the babies from her stomach arrived. Garcia was now 7 1/2 months pregnant and absolutely enormous, so big that she looked like she was carrying at least quintuplets which was of course possible, even if it wasn't likely.
The operation wouldn't take very long just a couple of hours, most of that time being spent sewing Garcia back up and making sure they got every single part of the incision, since their would be several layers and each one needed to be attended to, separately. A cesarean section was still considered major surgery, but unlike other operations it was also considered relatively safe with usually no complications.
Spencer knew that Morgan would call the minute that the babies were born. It had been decided that they would go and visit Garcia and the babies at the hospital but not go early to just sit around in the waiting room waiting for news since giving birth was a totally natural process, even if it was done by c-section. If one of the team had been injured, it would've been different and of course in that type of situation the team would be in the waiting room until the doctor told them that their teammate would be okay and that was only for injuries that Hotch couldn't heal using his powers.
Hotch came out of his office and told everyone, “It's time, Garcia is out of surgery and we all need to be heading for the hospital.”
“But our shift doesn't in for a couple of hours,” Emily said unable to believe that Hotch was willing to let them leave early even if it was for a very good reason.
“Hey don't make him change his mind,” JJ said coming out of her office closing the door behind her. “I'm out of here before he comes to his senses.”
Hotch smirked at her and said, “I do believe we can take off early this once since all we were doing was paperwork anyway. Besides Morgan and Garcia are family and we need to be there to support them both.”
“And get a look at their adorable triplets,” JJ added with a grin making Hotch smirk again as if he knew something that they did not.
“Alright what do you know that none of the rest of us do?” Spencer asked knowing every expression that his mate used on a normal basis and right now Hotch looked like the cat who had gotten the canary and a bowl of cream as well.
“Well it turns out that it wasn't just triplets,” Hotch revealed as they all headed to the elevator.
“Well, are you going to tell us how many babies Garcia had?” asked JJ in exasperation when Hotch didn't go on, “or are you going to leave us in suspense?”
“He's probably going to leave us in suspense just because he enjoys torturing us,” Rossi who had been silent up until now commented.
Hotch shot his old friend a look and Rossi had the atrocity to smirk at him causing the rest of the team to laugh and their boss's and older agent's antics.
“Just for a comment like that I ought to,” Hotch said glaring at his friend playfully for a few seconds, “but since I'm way more mature than you are I won't.”
Even Spencer snickered at that comeback and also due to the look on Rossi's face.
“So?” Emily asked eagerly that one word conveying several layers of meaning.
“It was actually quintuplets, which surprised not only Morgan and Garcia, but the doctors as well,” Hotch revealed. “The doctors were aware that when you are having multiples, especially triplets or more a lot of the times you get at least one more infant then you were expecting, but to get two that were not revealed on the ultrasound, is rare.”
“I bet Morgan was so excited when he discovered he was going to be a dad again times five,” JJ said with a laugh.
“Yes, I could barely understand him when he called me, but considering he was as excited as I've ever heard him and that was just on the phone that's understandable. I can just imagine that he was having trouble not dancing up and down the hallways as he really was in that frame of mind not that any of us can blame him for that.”
“Yes, when a child is born it's always an exciting, thrilling and terrifying experience all rolled into one,” JJ said sounding reminiscent, “especially when it's yours. I always wished that I could have another child instead of just the one, but with me always so busy... Besides I'm not getting any younger and we all know that the older you get the more dangerous childbirth is. Besides I didn't want to leave you in the lurch again like happened when I was out on maternity leave with Henry.”
“You should go ahead and have another child if that's what you want,” Emily told her friend. “You're not getting any younger as you just said and if you want a second baby now is the time, before you can't have another. Besides Henry is what? Four years old now and I would think he'd want a brother or sister.”
“Well Henry has kind of been hinting that he'd like a sibling,” JJ admitted. “He's at that age now where he'd like a brother of sister.
“There you see,” Emily told her friend.
“Well, Will and I have discussed it and we are kind of leaning in that direction, although we both know that it will be the last one since as I said I'm not getting any younger.”
“So did Morgan tell you the sex of the quintuplets?” Emily asked Hotch as they all rode the elevator down to the garage.
“Yes, he did,” Hotch said slinging an arm around Spencer's shoulders now that they were off for the day. Spencer for his part relaxed with his mate's arm around him and leaned his head against Hotch's broad shoulders, which Emily and JJ in particular thought was absolutely adorable and knew that Garcia, if she had been there would too.
“So are you going to tell us, or are you going to keep us in suspense?” asked Spencer shooting his mate his best puppy dog look as the elevator came to a halt and they stepped out.
Hotch caved when Spencer gave him the look for there was no way he could stand up to his mate's puppy dog eyes when pointed in his direction.
The others on the team watched as their boss's resistance crumbled with one look from Spencer and had to hold in their laughter just in case it made Hotch not want to tell them what they all wanted to know.
“Fine,” Hotch sighed knowing that there was no way he could resist that look, not that he really wanted to and in fact it made him want to take Spencer into his arms and make slow and gentle love to him, although that wasn't really possible at the moment, so he urged his rather healthy libido to calm down. “It was two boys and three girls and all of them are going to have to spend some time incubator as they are underweight and their lungs are not fully developed.”
“Which is to be expected considering that they are a month and a half early even if it was a planned delivery,” Spencer chipped in.
“They'll be okay though right?” asked JJ looking anxious so Hotch was quick to reassure her.
“The doctor told Morgan so and that this is not all unusual when it comes to multiple births,” Hotch said an Spencer nodded in agreement.
“So how much did they weigh and how long were they?” asked Rossi.
“They are all around two and a half to 3 pounds,” Hotch said, “which is apparently excellent for quintuplets especially ones that were born a month and a half early and they were each around 9 to 10 inches long, although you have to get the exact measurements from Morgan.”
“I can't wait to see them," JJ squealed excitedly and Emily nodding looking just as excited.
“And make sure the Garcia's okay,” Emily added.
“Morgan said she was and you know he would tell us if the operation hadn't gone off as planned,” Hotch assured the rest of the team. “Morgan said that she was under anesthesia and should be coming out of it within the next hour or so. Also that she'll be in the hospital for awhile just to make sure she's healthy, and that there were no complication, but that she was fine.”
“Well good, let's head to the hospital then,” Rossi suggested and the rest of the team nodded heading for their cars so that they could go visit Garcia and see the quintuplets for themselves.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Oh they are all so adorable,” JJ cooed as she held one of Morgan's and Garcia's new daughters.
“We are glad you think so because we would like to make you the godmother to two of them, you can choose,” Garcia told her friend tiredly but with a grin as she fed one of the her daughter's. The quintuplets were doing much better then expected considering they had been six weeks premature, although they would have to go back to their incubators just as soon as they had been fed.
“Really?” asked JJ looking stunned for Emily was a godmother for both Matthias and Cassandra.
“Of course, Derek and I were always planning to name you the godmother to at least one of them, but since there are five instead of the three that we were expecting we are going to name you the godmother for two of them instead of one.”
“Thank you,” JJ said with a grin so wide that it almost split her face in two.
“Hey it's only fair since I am godmother to Henry,” Garcia told her friend.
“I was surprised when you didn't name JJ the godmother to your firstborn child considering you've known her a lot longer than you have known me,” Emily commented even as she cradled one of the boys in her arms.
“So names?” asked Rossi even as a cooed to one of the newborn girl in his arms who was absolutely adorable with skin like good coffee with milk added and the darkest eyes that he had ever seen, even on her father. This baby girl was going to be a heartbreaker by the time she was five years old and have the boys after her like bees to honey. Of course what did you really expect when her father was drop dead gorgeous and her mother was no slouch either in the looks department.
“Yes, I think you have tortured all of us enough,” Hotch told the pair who just grinned at him or in Garcia's case smile tiredly.
“Well, the girl that Rossi is holding we were going to name Luna,” Garcia said.
“That's unusual, but gorgeous,” Rossi said holding the now named Luna.
“The girl that JJ's holding we were going to name Minerva after the Roman goddess,” Garcia added after a pause.
“The third girl that my baby girl is currently feeding, we were going to name, Kristy, spelled with a K instead of a C,” Morgan said finally speaking for am the first time.
“And your two sons?” asked Hotch even as he made faces at the boy in his arms.
“We decided on Dawson and Thierry,” Morgan said.
“It took much discussion before we could agree on suitable names,” Garcia said and the others knew that that meant they had probably had a knockdown drag out fight about it.
“I think they are beautiful and unique,” said Hotch. “I think you did a good job of picking names.”
“Yes, I think so to,” Spencer agreed even as he cradled the now named Thierry in his arms. “Ones that aren't too common, but not that unusual either.”
“We're glad you think so, because we wanted to name you the godfather to one of the boys, while we want Hotch to be the other one,” Morgan said.
“You do?” asked Spencer looking surprised like he had when JJ had named him the godfather to her son Henry. Of course he knew a lot more about infants today then he had four years ago, when Henry had been born.
Morgan shot his friend a look and rolled his eyes to express his exasperation with him. “Of course we do, you're like the brother I never had.”
“I'd be honored to do it,” Hotch said formally before leaning down to kiss the baby he was holding on his tiny forehead.
“Good,” Garcia answered trying not to yawn as she was still extremely tired even after a couple hours of sleep.
“I'll be glad to,” Spencer finally said having gotten over being stunned.
“And who you going to name the godfather and godmother of the last girl?” asked Rossi curiously.
“We were hoping that you would be the godfather,” Garcia told him and Rossi looked surprised then pleased.
“Also we were going to ask my sister Desiree to be the godmother,” Morgan added.
“I'll be happy to,” Rossi said even as he kissed Kristy's tiny forehead.
“Good,” Garcia said no longer be able to hide a yawn.
“Well get out of your way,” Hotch said seeing the yawn. “We'll visit sometime. Take as much time as you need off Morgan. There no rush for you to return, although we're going to be short two people instead of just one.”
“Thanks, Hotch,” Morgan said gratefully with a smile.
“You're welcome,” Hotch told him with a smile. “I'll fill out the paperwork for you and get it into Strauss. You can take just a few days or week or two, however much time you need since I know your wife needs you more than we do right now.”
The rest of the team except for Morgan filed out of Garcia's hospital room although they would be back to visit individually until Garcia was released from this place in a few days.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several months later Spencer's phone rang and he answered it automatically. “Hello?”
“Hey big brother,” came the voice of his little brother Frankie. Franklin had been in the hospital for quite sometime even after the operation for he had had to go through chemotherapy among other things and also had to make sure that his donation of bone marrow was working like it should, replacing the white blood cells that his brother had lost as they were important to fight off infection and disease. The doctors had had to make sure his brother's body wasn't going to reject the bone marrow graft, despite having so many markers in common. It was only in the last month that he had been released and he was still growing the hair back that he had lost in the last few months due to the radiation treatment. Spencer knew that the doctors were going to keep a close eye on the situation and that they would be numerous appointments in his brother's future, and that could be very annoying but it was better to keep a close eyes on the situation in case the leukemia came back.
Spencer smiled, although he was aware that his brother couldn't see it and asked, “What's up?”
“Oh nothing much I was just hoping that you could visit sometime in the next week or two.”
“Yeah probably,” Spencer agreed. “What's so important that you want me to visit? Didn't we just see each other last month?”
“Can't I miss the brother I never knew I had until recently?” Franklin asked and Spencer could hear the humor in his voice.
“Well, yes,” Spencer was still getting used to having not only a little brother, but another brother who was the same age as Frankie, considering they were fraternal twins and three sisters as well who all looked exactly alike. “I'll see if I can get the time off,” Spencer promised after a moment. “So how are you doing?”
Franklin knew exactly what his older brother was asking and answered honestly. “I'm doing okay, my hair is growing back in, although it still is extremely short and it looks like it's going to be straight now instead of wavy like it was before the chemotherapy.”
“That happens fairly often once you go through something like radiation therapy,” Spencer informed his brother calmly.
“I know,” Franklin said and Spencer could just imagine him rolling his eyes, “the doctors warned me that it was likely, also it isn't as thick as it was before the treatment either, which I know is also a side effect.”
“So how is everybody in the family doing as you are the only one that calls me often,” asked Spencer.
“Denis and my sisters are doing okay, although they are still treating me like spun glass as if afraid I'm going to break if they treat me like they used to.”
“That will change once they realize that you're back to normal,” Spencer told Franklin gently. “They might not admit it since they are children, but you scared them when you're leukemia came back so aggressively that you very nearly died. Your brother and sisters love you as do your parents, so of course they were afraid they were afraid they were going to lose you.”
“I know, but right now it's just kind of annoying. I've seen my mom look at me when she thinks I'm not paying attention as if she's afraid I'm going to disappear right in front of her eyes and I can see that she wants to smother me with affection and baby me, but somehow she restrains herself from doing so. Both mom and dad are trying their best to treat me normally, which I'm grateful for even though it's obvious that both of them can't help, but look at me as if I'm suddenly going to get leukemia again and die on them.”
“They love you,” Spencer told his brother quietly while wondering why his dad couldn't have been as caring when he was a child. Oh, well, there was no point of worrying about it as he and his father had mostly made their peace and he was now part of the family even if he had his own life here in Quantico Virginia with the team and his mate and he would have it no other way.
“My parents love you too you know,” Franklin told Spencer his tone sincere. “My mother in particular will be forever in your debt how you went out of your way to help me even though you didn't have to considering how my father abandoned you when you were a child.”
“I did have to,” Spencer told his brother seriously. “There was no way I could just let you die just because I had no love for my father considering you are my brother and weren't even born at the time dad left mom and me.”
The two brothers continued to chat for a few minutes and Spencer suggested, “Maybe you could come up to visit me sometime.”
“I would love that if mom will let me out of her sight for that long,” Franklin said. “She has been rather…overprotective of me ever since I had this latest bout with leukemia.”
“I know it's annoying,” Spencer told his brother sympathetically, “but keep in mind she's only doing it because she came so close to losing you. Things will gradually get back to normal, although it's also going to take time so you just need to be patient.”
“I'll try,” Franklin promised.
“I'll call you when I can get a couple a days off to come for a visit,” Spencer promised.
“Tell Uncle Aaron I said hi and that he's welcome to come along as well,” Franklin said by way of agreement.
Spencer had introduced Aaron to Franklin while he was still in the hospital and the two had hit it off immediately and Hotch had asked the boy to call him uncle, instead of Mr. since they were going to see each other often, which he had agreed to.
“I will,” Spencer promised, “but he'll probably not come with me this time anyway.”
“Yes, you've often said that it's hard to take time off, because you're always leaving the team shorthanded,” Franklin said repeating what Spencer had told him on multiple occasions.
The two brothers continued to chat for a few minutes before they hung up.
Spencer couldn't help but smile as he got back to his paperwork as he was looking forward to taking a couple of days off in order to visit his brother and the rest of the family as well even his father who had done his best to make amends for the way he had just walked out on his first family years ago.
Spencer could now admit that he was looking forward to seeing the whole family, including his father. He hated to leave Hotch by himself even if it was only for a few days, but Aaron understood that he needed to spend time with the siblings he never knew he'd had and they could always talk on the phone.
Spencer also knew that he was very lucky and although he didn't believe in fate he couldn't see any other way that he could have found out about the family he had never known he had as even when he went to visit his mother in Las Vegas it wasn't as if he was likely to run into his father or his family since it was a big town with millions of people both visitors and residents. He was thankful every day for his father contacting him, when Franklin's leukemia cam back after having been in remission and for Hotch as well who had been there to support him through everything and knew he always would be and for that he would always thank whoever was watching over him for bringing Hotch and his siblings into his life.

Epilogue

“Hmm, that feels so good,” Spencer sighed, from where he was currently laying on his stomach as his mate massaged his very tense body. “I never knew you had such magic hands.”
“There's a lot you don't know about me,” Hotch said and Spencer could hear the smile in his voice, even if he couldn't see his mate's face.
“True,” Spencer said with a smile of his own, “but I'm learning more all the time.”
“So am I, although we both already know each other extremely well, thanks to us working together for so long,” said Hotch.
“True, but that's mostly in the work arena, because until recently I knew a lot about you in that area, but not much that was personal, except things that you revealed over the years,” agreed Spencer.
“Well, I've always tried my best to keep my work personal life separate, but you and the rest of the team certainly know more about me in that area then anybody else I know, even if I still keep a lot of my life—private. To you, however, my life is an open book from the moment we got together,” Hotch said.
“I know, I've learned more about you in the last few months about you then I learned in the seven years before that,” Spencer said.
“So how's Franklin doing?” asked Hotch changing the subject. “When was the last time you talked to him?”
“Last week,” Spencer answered. “I've been meaning to tell you, but we've been so busy, I haven't had a chance. As for how's he doing, he fine. He's a little annoyed at how his parents are still being so overprotective, but I told him that he has to expect them to be that way for awhile since they still fear his leukemia will make a reappearance. I think once it's been gone for a few years they will relax.”
“But it's hard on a 13 year old boy,” Hotch began. “Frankie doesn't really understand what all the fuss is about or why his parents and siblings are acting so overprotective. He's a very intelligent young man, but be doesn't have the experience to really understand that protectiveness.”
“It's hard on adults to, but at least they are mature enough and have the experience to understand better, since by the time you are 18 at least you've normally got some experience with tragedy of one sort or another and it might not completely prepare you for dealing with someone you love having leukemia, but at least you are a little bit more prepared to deal with it then when you are a kid,” Spencer said finishing his mate's thought.
“Exactly,” Aaron said as he continued to massage his mate's back with scented oil, making sure to rub it in thoroughly.
“That feels absolutely wonderful,” Spencer sighed as his cock twitched as Hotch tenderly continued to massage the oil into his back, moving down in short strokes until he reached Spencer's butt and then he gently kneaded the soft skin of it, causing Reid to whimper in desire and those whimpers increased as Hotch used his other hand to stroke his mate's inner thigh near his cock.
“Aaron! I need you!” Reid felt a surge of desire and lust shoot straight to his cock and so immediately pleaded with his mate.
“Oh you do, do you?” Aaron asked and Spencer could hear the smile in his voice.
“Please! Aaron!” Spencer pleaded again. “I need you, your cock in me. I need to feel the connection we share, which we both know is stronger when we are physically connected.”
“It will be a pleasure,” Aaron assured his lover immediately sticking his tongue into his lover's anus and moving it around, causing Spencer to wither even more frantically. “All you ever have to do is ask and I will be happy to do anything you desire, hug you, kiss you, make love to you gently and tenderly or fuck you senseless, whatever you want, anytime you want.”
“Please! Please! Please!” Spencer begged without shame.
Hotch eagerly complied with his mate's request and began placing kisses all along his lover's skin leaving trails of fire all over Spencer's shoulders, back and butt, until his flesh felt all tingly.
Aaron then slathered lube onto his cock and entered Spencer's slimly muscled butt that made him salivate every time it was visible to his sight for thanks to him saying he thought that his lover needed to gain a little weight. Spencer had started eating more and while he was still slim, he wasn't as skinny as he had been and had filled out nicely, especially his butt, which Aaron couldn't help salivating over, every time he saw it. Aaron had known for sometime that he had a thing for Spencer's butt and had had to forcibly stop himself from staring at it, letting his imagination run wild with what he'd like to do to it, before the two of them had gotten together, as that would have given him away very quickly as Spencer or one of the team would have picked up on it for sure and started asking questions he wouldn't or couldn't answer.
“Aaron!” Spencer whined in a pleading tone as pleasure surged through him so strongly that he nearly came right there as his mate kept hitting his prostrate with every thrust. A man's prostrate was the same as a woman's g-spot and had thousands of nerves and hitting it sent waves and waves of pleasure with every thrust that hit it. Aaron seemed to know exactly where that spot was for he almost always connected with it with his every thrust.
Spencer had learned in the almost year the two of them had been together he had learned that Aaron was very talented and creative when it came to their lovemaking and knew a lot of tricks to bring both of them the most pleasure possible and he was always trying new things to bring some spice into their relationship and he appreciated it since he always enjoyed whatever ideas his lover came up with to try.
“Ahhh!” Spencer screamed as his cock released his load all over the sheets and only a minute later Aaron's cock did the same except spurt after spurt of his semen went into the slimly muscled body of his mate.
Both men kissed softly and tenderly as soon as they had gotten their breaths back and then Aaron collapsed on top of Spencer who had flipped over onto his back.
“I love you, so much, Aaron,” Spencer cooed kissing the side of his mate's neck from his prone position. Spencer didn't mind his lover laying on top of him as he found the older man's much heavier body a comfort instead of smothering.
“I love you too, so much that it would be easier for me to stop breathing then to stop loving you,” Aaron told Spencer sincerely rolling off his mate onto his side of the bed.
The two cuddled there for a few minutes in silence and then Aaron asked softly, “Are you looking forward to seeing Shane and his wife tomorrow?”
The two of them were in a hotel in Las Vegas as they had taken the week off so that they could visit Spencer's mother, Shane Buford and his wife and also Spencer's father, his wife and siblings and after they got back to Quantico their wedding would be taking place and all of Spencer's family, except his mother was coming down for it, including his father.
“I am,” Spencer admitted. “I haven't seen Shane or Lora in several years, since we are always so busy at work and I don't get to Las Vegas to often and when I do it's usually only for a couple of days, long enough to see mom, before I either get called back in because we catch a case or I only take a couple of days off. Now though we aren't on call at all for once, so it is unlikely we'll be called in, so Shane and I will be able to have a nice long visit and I am looking forward to introducing you to him and Lora.”
“So do you think that they will object to two men being in a sexual relationship?” asked Hotch trying to get a handle on Shane and how he would react to the though of two men being lovers as he knew that a lot people didn't react well to same-sex couples, not that he particularly cared, but he knew that Spencer would since the older couple were his friends. “Not that it matters, I'm just curious.”
“I honestly don't believe they will object,” Spencer answered instantly not even stopping to consider Hotch's question, “unless they've changed from the people I knew. Shane never made me feel like it was wrong to be in a relationship with someone the same sex I was. Of course I realize I didn't date at all when I was a kid, but the two of us talked about almost everything and he was the one that always helped me after I had been beaten up, by some of the older children I went to high school with. He is the sole reason that I turned out as well as I did. Even before my father left he helped me, by feeding me, helping to doctor my bruises and sore muscles whenever I was beaten up and talking to me about my feelings of apathy and hate that I felt towards all those bullies at that time. He encouraged me and told me I could do anything I wanted to do with my life and although he was surprised I had joined the FBI he supported my decision.”
“So how long has he known about you being FBI?” asked Hotch.
“Oh, about 5 years. It was that time I came down to visit mom after that really tough case in Atlanta, if you remember. The whole team needed time to decompress and just relax and it was one of the rare times that all of us were off for a week at the same time,” Spencer explained.
“Yes, I remember that,” Hotch nodded.
“Well, I came here to see mom and Shane to, since we really hadn't seen each other for more than a few hours since I went off to college at nearly 13 and that time we had several visits, where we talked about everything,” Spencer said. “I truly believe that Shane and Lora will be genuinely happy for both of us and in any case both of them knows what finding your True Mate means and how it is impossible to not be without them, once they have been found since Shane and Lora are also True Mates.”
“Well good,” Hotch said calmly taking Spencer into his arms. “I would at least like to get along with your old mentor and not have to put up with his or his wife's hateful attitudes just because I am a man. I truly don't care whether they accept our relationship or not, but still they are old friends of yours and so for that reason I would like to have a decent relationship with them since I'm sure I'll see them again at some point.”
Spencer blinked at that, but when he thought about it from Hotch's point of view he could see what he meant.
“Well, we'll see tomorrow if I'm right, but I've always been good at telling what someone's beliefs are, how they think as that is what makes a decent profiler and although finding my True Mate or that they could be the same sex, wasn't specifically brought up in all the time I spent with him his wife and his children, I never got the impression that either one of them believed it was wrong.”
“They both probably thought that you were to young for the information,” Hotch suggested.
“That's possible, although we discussed everything else no matter how embarrassing it was to me at that time since I as only 11 or 12, so why neither Shane or Lora mentioned that it was possible for your True Mate to be the same sex you were I don't know.”
“Well, there is still a lot of stigma against same-sex couples, and that was especially true back when you were a kid, so the Bufords probably thought it was better to not bring up such a controversial topic since you were only a child and they probably didn't want to risk one of their children overhearing and then repeating it,” Hotch suggested and Spencer could immediately since the point his mate was trying to make.
“You're probably right,” Spencer said. “In any case I am looking forward to seeing them both tomorrow and mom to.”
“And your other family as well,” Hotch said.
“Yes, as much as I never thought I'd say this I'm actually looking forward to seeing my father as well as the rest of the family. Dad and me will never be close, like the two of us are, but at least we can be in the same room and talk to each other, without arguing or butting heads.”
“It's nice to see you and your dad getting along,” Hotch said.
“Well, if Franklin hadn't gotten so sick, I probably never would have been able to get past everything that happened to me as a child or known that I had siblings at all, so as painful and hard as it has been to see my brother struggling with such a deadly disease I also know that I probably never would have known that Franklin, Denis, Alyssa, Beth and Gwen existed otherwise and even if I had I might not have been able to make amends with dad, because I would have had no reason to do so. Really Frankie's leukemia made me take a long look at myself and to be able to at least partially forgive dad for his abandonment.”
“Which is why you two are getting along because you've at least partly let go of your hatred,” Hotch suggested. “You made the effect to forgive so you and your father didn't fight like cats and dogs every time you saw each other.”
“We both did, although it was mostly me that had to forgive him for not only his abandonment as a kid, but also how he basically neglected me and spent most of his time with the neighborhood children. As for dad, he grew up and matured enough to realize that the way he handled mom's illness and the way he treated me was wrong, which is the only reason that we can now get along reasonably well. If he hadn't admitted that what he did was not right, I never would have been able to even partially forgive what he did to me as a kid or especially what he did to mom.”
“So Franklin's illness was the catalyst for you and your father to mend the rift that existed between you as much as you can,” Hotch summarized.
“Yes,” Spencer agreed. “We'll never be bosom buddies, I believe is the expression or have a normal father/son relationship, but I feel we will continue to get along reasonably well if only for my siblings sake.”
“We should get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow,” Hotch suggested.
“Yeah we probably should,” Spencer agreed. “I'm looking forward to introducing you to my mom, Shane and Lora tomorrow.”
“And I'm looking forward to meeting them,” Hotch told his mate sincerely putting his arms protectively around his lover's slender frame, while Spencer cuddled into Hotch's much bigger body with a sigh of complete contentment closing his eyes. Spencer felt Aaron kiss the top of his head and then his body shift so he was laying down flat and Spencer knew that his lover had also closed his eyes and it was only a few seconds later that he was a out like a light.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Shane, Lora it's so good to see you again,” Spencer told the couple with a wide smile giving both a hug and Hotch knew with that one gesture that Spencer was indeed close to the Bufords, because normally his mate hated being touched even refusing the perfectly ordinary gesture of shaking hands when meeting someone new. It had taken quite awhile for Spencer to accept being hugged by Garcia, JJ, Emily or Elle before her. He had come to accept being slapped on the back by Morgan as well and now his mate enjoyed such gestures made by the team, because they were gestures of familial affection and love and meant that they considered his mate as part of their lives and family and that meant a great deal to Reid, Hotch knew.
“Spencer! It's so good to see you kid!”
“I'm hardly a kid anymore, Shane,” Spencer told the older man rolling his eyes to show his exasperation, although he was smiling.
“You'll always be a kid to us,” Lora told him smiling giving him another hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Live with it!”
“Yes, ma'am,” Spencer said still smiling.
Aaron watched this interaction with a half smile on his own face as he saw how relaxed Spencer was with the Bufords, as relaxed as he was with the team, which was nice to see as his lover didn't have very many people he was close too.
“So who is this you brought with you?” asked Lora finally glancing over at Hotch who had stood back politely and watched the affectionate greeting, but had not tried to interfere.
“Shane, Lora, this is Aaron Hotchner, my mate,” Spencer introduced just a little nervously.
Both Shane and Lora looked shocked, Hotch noticed, but he didn't believe that it was because he was also male, but because the odds of finding your True Mate shortly after you turned thirty were astronomical and the Bufords would be aware of this.
“It's real pleasure to meet you,” Shane said finally getting over his shock and shaking Hotch's hand.
“It's a pleasure to meet you too, Spencer has told me all about you,” Hotch told the pair with a smile.
“All good things I hope?” Lora asked also shaking Hotch's hand.
“Of course, but you should know that Spencer hardly ever speaks ill of anyone and he told me that it was entirely your support that made him into what he is today and for that I thank you,” Hotch said.
“You're right, Spencer hardly ever talks bad about anyone,” Shane agreed with a smile. “Why don't we continue this discussion in the living room where we can all be comfortable.”
“Can I get you to anything to drink?” asked Lora as soon as they were all settled in the comfortably decorated living room.
“Coffee, if it's not to much trouble,” Spencer said with a smile having relaxed considerably in the last few minutes, now that he knew his old mentor and wife weren't going to accept that he was with another man.
“I put a pot on as soon as I knew you were coming and it should be ready now,” Lora said with a smile. “I just knew you were going to want a cup.”
Spencer blushed at being so obvious, but then the Bufords knew him the best outside the team. “Am I really that obvious?”
“In certain ways, yes,” Hotch told him with a smile to take the sting out of his words. “Or at least you are to those who know you well.”
Spencer smiled ruefully at that for Hotch was right and he knew it for when it came to his personal life he tended to stick to a routine, but when it came to his job that was different and he was far less predictable except to those like his mate who knew him well.
“I'll take a cup to, of you don't mind, black,” Hotch told Lora politely.
Lora nodded and headed for the kitchen only to come back a few minutes later with four cups, three of coffee and one of tea for herself.
“So how did you two meet, because I'm sure you know what the odds are of meeting your True Mate so soon after you turn 30,” Shane asked genuine interest and curiosity in his tone,
“Actually, Aaron and I work together,” Spencer explained. “He is my boss as he is the unit chief of the BAU.”
“You mean your True Mate is someone you actually work with?” asked Lora in astonishment as she came from the kitchen.
“Yes, we do and yes we both know what the odds were of a Shifter's mate being someone they actually work with, but in this case it happened,” Hotch told Shane and Lora calmly taking a sip of his coffee, which was excellent. “Really it is a good thing because the two of us have avoided a lot of the pitfalls that come with any normal relationship, especially in the get to know you stage, since we had known each for 7 years and worked closely together for all that time, before Spencer turned 30.”
“Yes, I can see that,” Shane said slowly. “So Mr, Hotchner are you a Shifter?”
“Call me Aaron, and no I am not a Shifter, but I do have some of the blood from my father's side of the family. My grandfather was able to shift, but the Hotchners have married non-Shifters for so long that the blood just got diluted enough that neither I, my brother or my father can actually change shape.”
“I see,” said Shane looking genuinely interested.
“I cared about Spencer before the bond, but now...” Hotch added not mentioning the fact that he also felt the pull of the mating bond and had for the seven years before Spencer turned 30 as neither of the Bufords needed to know that, “...well, I couldn't imagine my life without him in it. The team that we both work with has always been close as we have to look out for each other in the field and even outside that arena we still consider each other family.”
“Yes, Spencer mentioned that the team you both work with were exceptionally close,” Lora said, “but I suppose when you face danger together on a regular basis that's normal.”
“We are close,” Spencer admitted, “but then you already knew that. Derek Morgan is like a brother, Emily Prentiss and JJ like sisters, David Rossi like an Uncle and Garcia like a very crazy and flamboyant aunt. As for Aaron before I turned thirty he was the stern older brother whose orders you obeyed, but only because you loved and respected him and knew that he would be right there for you if you ever found yourself in trouble or going to bat for you if someone was gunning for you or trying to railroad you, now though how I feel about him is totally and completely different.”
“That is how it should be,” Shane said with a smile. “You lucked out and your True Mate was someone you already knew and respected, so as Aaron said you could avoid a lot of the pitfalls that go with relationships and as I know you are aware that usually doesn't happen.”
“We know,” Spencer answered taking Aaron's hand in his and leaning over to kiss his cheek affectionately. “In fact we are getting married just as soon as we are back in Quantico.”
“I'm surprised you haven't gotten married already,” Lora said glancing between Hotch and Spencer.
“I'm afraid that our schedule is such that that just hasn't been possible until now,” Hotch explained calmly taking another sip of excellent coffee. “I have a son, Jack from a previous marriage and he is young enough that we had to give him a chance to get used to having Spencer as a permanent part of our lives and that he wasn't replacing his mother before he actually moved in with me. Sure Jack knew Spencer slightly—since he's met all the team—although he knows some more of them better than others, but we both wanted to make sure he was comfortable with Spencer's presence before he moved in with me.”
“What does your ex-wife think of your relationship with Spencer?” asked Lora.
“She never knew about our bond, because she as killed by a very dangerous psychopath, almost five years ago now, but even before that we had gotten divorced shortly after Jack was born,” Hotch answered.
“I'm truly sorry for your ex-wife's death,” Shane told Hotch sincerely and Lora nodded in agreement giving her on condolences.
“Thank you, even though we had divorced and Jack lived with her, until her death I didn't want her dead. If Spencer and I had gotten together while she was still alive I would have done my best to explain the situation to her, but as to whether or not she would have accepted the bond that exists between Spencer and I, we'll never know.”
Hotch suspected however, that Haley would have gone on a rampage and threatened to not let him see Jack if he got involved in a sexual relationship with another man, bond or no bond and she wouldn't have cared if that had eventually meant Spencer's death and his as well. In some ways Haley had been very different from her sister Jessica and in others very similar, but one thing he had come to understand and that was Jessica was much more mature and tended to accept things that could not be changed much easier then Haley had as she had been more self-centered and selfish.
“Also we've had some other things to deal with, which has also put our wedding on hold,” Spencer added then blurted out, “Did you know that my father had gotten married again?”
“No, neither Lora or I were aware,” Shane said looking startled. “Neither one of us has seen or heard from Will in almost 30 years.”
“Well, he had as he like the two of you and Aaron and I found his True Mate.”
“How do you know this?” asked Lora curiously.
“He came to Quantico, to see me because his son Franklin was very sick with leukemia,” Spencer explained. “At first I didn't want to meet with him and I was very rude to JJ who is the one that called me and told me he had just shown up out of the blue, but wouldn't give a reason for needing to see me. I knew it was just easier to meet with him then to have him keep being a pest and popping up when you least expected it and now I'm glad I did meet him because I never would have gotten to know Franklin or his brother Denis, or their three sisters if I hadn't.”
“So Will, contacted you I'm assuming because he was desperate to save his son and none of his family was a match?” asked Shane putting together what Spencer was not saying.
“Exactly,” Spencer agreed. “Dad, was desperate to save his son as you said and came to see me at his wife's Lilah's urging.”
“I'm surprised you gave him the time of day or agreed to help him,” Lora said, “considering how he abandoned you and Diana.”
“I didn't want to at first,” Spencer admitted, “but once I learned the reason he had contacted me I couldn't say no as I would never allow a child to die just because I had no love for his father, especially since that child was my half brother.”
“So were you a match?” asked Shane curiously. “You never did say.”
“I was, and thanks to my bone marrow donation Franklin's body is fighting off the disease and he is doing much better. In a way Frankie's leukemia was a good thing as it made my father and I take long looks at ourselves and mend our fences as much as we are able. We are getting along now and I have visited him and his family as often as my schedule allows.”
“Sometimes I even come with him to see Frankie and the three of us have gotten quite close,” Hotch said, “although I have made it clear that I still think what Spencer's father did to him was despicable and not something a husband should do to his family, but once I saw that he was truly sorry for what he had done I forgave him because I realized that if he had stuck around Spencer might have followed in his footsteps and become an attorney instead of joining the FBI and then we probably never would have met.”
Hotch was unable to conceal the horror he felt at that possibility from his expression.
“And that would have been a fate worse then death,” Spencer added shuddering at that very likely possibility. “I've never been happier in my life then when Aaron and I got together, almost a year ago and I can no longer imagine my life without him in it and not just as my boss or my friend, but as the other half of my soul.”
“Our lives are so entwined now that it is impossible to tell where each of them began as we are now more like one person in two bodies instead of two separate individuals,” Hotch said shooting the younger man an adoring look and leaning over to kiss his cheek tenderly.
“And that is the way it should be for all True Mates,” Lora said approvingly.
“We'd like both of you to come to the wedding next week as it would make both Spencer and I very happy of you would,” Hotch requested.
Spencer shot a pleading look at them both and both Shane and Lora caved immediately as neither one could stand up the Spencer's puppy dog look.
“We'd be happy to,” Shane said. “when is it?”
“This Saturday,” Hotch answered. “Spencer and I have taken the next few weeks off, so there's no chance of us being called in for a case.”
“Which happens a lot,” Spencer said. “I lost count of the number of times my weekends off have been interrupted by JJ calling and telling me that we had a case and it still happens all the time ever since Aaron and I have gotten together.”
“Before we got together you didn't mind being called in,” Hotch teased him.
“True enough for the most part,” Spencer admitted. “I don't do well with nothing to do for more than a few hours at a time.”
“It's that prodigal mind of his, it doesn't do well with inactivity,” Hotch said with a smile.
“From what I know a lot of geniuses are that way,” Shane said with a smile.
“Well that's certainly true for me, but now I don't like going in on our days off as much as I used to, simply because I have better things to do.”
“And what things could you have to do that could possibly be more important then working?” Shane teased him causing Spencer to blush a bright red.
“As if I need to tell you what I'd rather be doing,” Spencer countered trying his best not to blush again. “Even if all Aaron I are doing is watching a movie together cuddled on the couch that is more than enough for me to be happy and why I hate to being called into work ever since we got together.”
“So is your father and his family going to be at your wedding?” asked Lora changing the subject to a safe topic so as not to embarrass Spencer any further.
“Yes, which is why we are having it in the summer so that they can all attend,” Spencer said. “I've gotten quite close to Frankie as you know, but I am also pretty close with Denis, Alyssa, Beth and Gwen too. They were all grateful for what I did for their brother of course and that has led us to getting to know each other much better then we might have otherwise.”
“Why don't you two stay for lunch?” Lora asked them. “It won't take me more then a few minutes to get it ready.”
“That would be fine, so long as you are sure you're don't mind,” Hotch accepted after glancing at Spencer who nodded.
“After lunch though we are going to have to go as we are going to see mom, at Bennington and after that I was going to show Aaron where I used to live as a kid and take him through some of my old haunts, where I went to high school and the like.”
“And tomorrow we plan on spending the day with Frankie and his family,” Hotch added.
“Will we see you again before your wedding?” Shane asked Spencer. “You're so busy that me and Lora hardly see you for more than an hour or two at the time anymore.”
“Yes, probably,” Spencer said.
“We could meet for lunch or dinner,” Hotch suggested, “whichever one is more convenient for you since our schedule is pretty much open this week.”
“That's a very good idea,” Spencer said immediately backing his mate's suggestion.
“We can do that,” Lora agreed. “It'll be nice not to have to cook for a change.”
“Where would you suggest we meet for either lunch or dinner since I don't know anything about Las Vegas,” Hotch asked. “The team has been here on cases several times, but we never go anywhere nice to eat and usually go someplace like Denny's that is open 24 hours, since we tend to take meals at odd hours when working a case.”
“We tend to discuss cases even while we're eating and we've grossed out more than one waitress by bringing very graphic photographs that tend to be part of our case files,” Spencer chuckled. “I do have to admit that you need a pretty strong stomach to see some of the things we do on a daily basis.”
“I never took you for someone who could look at such graphic images and not lose the contents of your stomach,” Shane said.
“Yes, well people change a lot when they're growing up,” Spencer said. “It was mostly my father's abandonment that made me decide I wanted to help people although it was Jason Gideon that urged me to join the FBI. He knew that my skills would be useful, nowhere else, but the BAU and usually you have to have experience in another department for at least 10 years before you're even considered for a position with them, but Gideon pulled a lot of strings for me and I can't help but be grateful to him for that.”
“A lot of other agents in different departments consider Spencer's presence in the FBI a joke, mostly because they don't know him at all,” Hotch said his voice a growl. “They talk nastily about him behind his back and the team and I have had to defend him more than once to other agents, although they should realize that if he wasn't pulling his weight he wouldn't still be part of our department or part of the FBI at all. Of course, we also have to consider the fact that some of those agents have been rejected from working with the BAU either because they didn't have the correct temperament or the skills that are needed.”
“They're jealous,” Lora said and Hotch nodded in agreement.
“They are, they're jealous that they were rejected, while Spencer who is considered a joke by a lot of other agents is still part of the BAU. They feel that he stole their position or at least their chance to be part of the elite, but the thing is you have to be able to get along with your teammates, always be polite no matter how much somebody outside the team pisses you off or tries to go over your head, you have to be observant and have other skills as well to be part of our unit, and most of those that have applied either didn't have the right temperament or the skills necessary to be an effective part of the team or in a few cases both. You can't be rude to the people that called you in because word will get around and we won't be called when we need to be because we insulted someone and they blabbed. The team can't be effective if we aren't called when we are needed. You can't be jealous, of the other members, or all arrogant and make demands, or act all high and mighty, in other words cause problems within the team just because you feel like you should be the top dog and in charge.”
“You can't try to undermine someone's authority just because you feel you should be in charge or at least part of BAU,” Spencer added. “Some of the other agent who have tried to get into the BAU in the past made it clear that they thought they should be the ones in charge.”
“In some cases agents came in and demanded to be let on the team and then treated Spencer or JJ or Garcia as if they didn't deserve to be there when they had earned their places long ago, although I will admit it was usually Spencer that got the worst of it as he doesn't defend himself when somebody gets in his face making accusations that have no basis in fact.”
“Why cause problems?” Spencer asked rhetorically. “I know my place on the team and I know I wouldn't still be part of it if I didn't have anything to contribute, so no matter what people say I know it isn't true. I'm not saying I like to be yelled at and told that I don't deserve to be part of the elite or part of the FBI at all and that I was only accepted thanks to Jason Gideon, but I would have been fired or let go a long time ago if I wasn't an effective part of the team. I don't need those people gunning for me and their egos were such that they would've found someway to get back at me for the supposed wrong I did them.”
“Like I would allow that to happen,” Hotch snorted. “Even before Spencer turned 30 and we got together there was no way I would have let anybody try to railroad him, especially if I knew he hadn't done anything wrong.”
“Do you really think that some of the agents of other departments would have gone so far as to frame him for something?” asked Shane curiously, “or maybe set a trap for him where he got killed in the process?”
“Most of them, no,” Hotch admitted, “but there have been a couple of men that tried to get on the team a few years ago that are the type that will let their resentment fester. Letting your resentment of somebody fester until it grows into anger and then rage, well, that's not a good combination and those type of people will try to get revenge on the object of their resentment, especially if they feel as if they been cheated out of something. Of course a lot of times feeling as if you've been cheated has no basis in fact other then letting your own ego make you believe you deserve something when you don't.”
“I agree with, Aaron,” Spencer said. “Even though I didn't do anything to them, they'll convince themselves it's all my fault that they weren't placed on the team and if I'm ever in a position where they feel they have a chance at me they will more than likely take it. What they won't realize is that the team will come to my defense if that ever happens and they'll end up regretting ever taking out their anger and resentment on me, especially since it has no basis in fact. Even if I wasn't part of the team and there was an open position, there's no way that they'd make it on because they don't have the right temperament or attitude, which is important. The FBI takes a dim view of one of their agents attacking another, whether an innocent civilian or another agent.”
“Like I would ever allow anybody to railroad you,” Hotch growled looking fiercely protective.
“I'm afraid they're are a lot of arrogant agents that are part of the FBI and they will see Spencer as an obstacle that is in the way to getting what they want, but no real challenge.”
“How little they know,” Shane said with a smile and Hotch and Spencer nodded in agreement.
“We all know that there are a lot of arrogant misguided people in the world, but Aaron and I know that better then most, simply because our job is to study human behavior to see what makes people tick so that we can catch killers, rapists and other types of people that comment crimes of one type or another.”
Lora changed the subject and both Hotch and Reid were grateful for it for neither liked to think of what could happen if any of those agents were given the opportunity to exact a little revenge on somebody they felt had wronged them, even if it was all in their heads.
The rest of lunch passed pleasantly and afterwards Hotch at Reid took their leave, Spencer giving both Bufords hugs while Hotch shook their hands and thanked them for how they had helped his mate when he had still been a child, both of whom brushed off his thanks be saying it had been the right thing to do and what William Reid had done by leaving his sick wife and young son had been very wrong and they had been glad to help in some way.
Hotch knew that he would never be able to repay the older couple for all they had done when Spencer had been a child but he was determined to try, but that was for later for now he was content to meet Spencer's mother, the woman who had made it possible for him to be so happy because without her his mate never would have been born and Hotch knew that she had done the best she could and had played a part in raising Spencer to be who he was so for that alone he would be eternally grateful.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Spencer!” Diana exclaimed looking up from the book he was reading as he and Hotch walked into the day room, where a lot of residents spent their time doing various activities.
Diana's face lit up in a smile as Spencer walked over to her and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Hotch watched this with a smile, but didn't say anything, as mother and son finished greeting each other.
“Mom, I'd like you to meet Aaron Hotchner, my mate,” Spencer finally introduced turning to Hotch a smile lighting his face.
“So this is the man you've written so much about over the last few years,” Diana said as she studied Hotch closely her face breaking out into a smile.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Reid,” Hotch told Diana politely, but sincerely.
Hotch hadn't missed the fact that Diana had said years and he knew that Spencer wrote his mother a letter everyday. He knew that Reid had told his mother numerous things about his work with the FBI and that he had told her all about the team, which of course included him. Apparently his name had come up quite often and Hotch wondered if maybe Spencer had had a little crush on him, before he turned 30, not that it really mattered since the two of them were together now and would be until death parted them.
“Call me, Diana,” Diana told the handsome man with a smile.
“And you can call me Aaron,” Hotch told her with a smile.
“Why don't we continue this discussion, in your room, mom?” Spencer suggested.
“That's a good idea, son,” Diana said with a smile rising to her feet after placing a bookmark in the book she had been reading. “This is not the place for a private discussion.”
The three of them walked down a hallway that led to the wing dad Diana's room was in and it was only minutes later that they entered it Hotch being the last one to enter closing the door behind him.
“Why don't you take seats,” Diana said she sat on the bed.
Hotch took the only chair in the room while Spencer joined his mother on the bed.
“So Aaron, Spencer's been writing me about you and the rest of his coworkers for years now so imagine my shock when you turned out to be my son's True Mate,” Diana said.
“I know it was quite a shock,” Hotch admitted with a smile rubbing his knuckles gently over his mate's cheek causing Spencer to capture Hotch's hand in his. “I know Spencer certainly wasn't expecting it to be somebody he had worked with for years, but if you look at it positively at least we already knew each other and therefore there was no have to get to know you stage.”
“That's a very good point,” Diana admitted with a small smile. “I'm surprised that you accepted it so easily though or that the Spencer so was brave enough to actually approached you since you were his boss after all.”
“You didn't tell her about how we got together?” Hotch asked turning to Spencer who blushed and negatively shook his head from side to side.
“Sorry, I thought that would be better to do in person,” Spencer said quietly. “I couldn't figure out how to put something like that in a letter.”
Diana looked between her son and his mate and wondered what they were talking about, although now that she thought about it Spencer never actually had told them how the two of them had gotten together.
Hotch turned back to Diana and explained what he and Spencer were talking about. “I'm actually the one that approached him, for although I'm not a Shifter myself I do have quite a bit of the blood from my father's side of the family and Spencer believes that my mother or grandmother might also have had some of the blood. Thanks, to this however, I do have a Shifter's mating instinct that activated when I turned 30 and I was 33 when Spencer joined the team seven years ago.”
“So you're telling me, that you knew that my son was your True Mate for seven years and yet you did nothing about it until Spencer reached that critical birthday a little less than a year ago?” asked Diana her astonishment plain.
“That's right,” Hotch told her with a small smile as he could now see where Spencer got his intelligence from.
“How in the seven hells were you able to resist the pull of your Shifter's making instincts for so long?” asked Diana. “From what I know, a Shifter's mating instincts are so incredibly strong it will drive them either insane or to suicide, or both if they don't mate with their other half within a reasonable amount of time.”
“Well, the theory is, that since Aaron can't actually shift shape that his instincts aren't as strong as one who can, although he did tell me it was very hard for him to wait, but he's always had a will of iron,” Spencer said. “It is pretty rare for a non-Shifter to have a Shifter's mating instinct even if they have the quite a bit of the blood.”
“It helped that I saw him almost every day sometimes for 16 or more hours depending on how tough the case we were trying to solve was or how often people were killed as sometimes we felt like we didn't have time to take a break if a unsub killed quickly,” Hotch added. “Also seven years ago I was still married to Haley and if I hadn't stayed married to her I wouldn't have my son and he is a major part of my life. I'm not claiming it wasn't difficult, because it was, extremely difficult, I can't tell you how many times I thought about telling him, especially after Haley and I divorced shortly after my son was born, but it was wasn't long after that, that she was killed by a very dangerous psychopath, although I did manage to save my son and it took me awhile to grieve, for although I loved Spencer, I also still loved Haley just not in the same way or as much as I did when I married her. In any case I got very little sleep the night of Spencer's 30th birthday as I was so looking forward to going to work the next day as I know that he would identify me as his True Mate the instant he saw me.”
“I did identify Aaron as being my True Mate for it was like being hit with a lightning blast the instant I saw him right after I got to work, however, I decided then and there that I wasn't going to tell him because I'd never imagined that Aaron would feel the same way as he was my boss after all and although he is closer to his subordinates them most people in the same position he still has to maintain a certain distance.”
“I gave him a few days in order to approach me, but I should have known he would never do that since I know how shy he is when it comes to relationships and as Spencer said I was his boss. Finally on Friday, I called him into my office after everybody else had left for the day and we sorted everything out.”
“I couldn't believe, that Aaron felt the same way about me that I did about him, but he has since proved that he does and I couldn't be happier about that as I never dreamed I could actually have what I so desperately wanted,” Spencer said.
Diana smiled sadly at her son's words for her she knew how shy Spencer was when he came to relationships and his father was largely to blame for that, although it also had to do with his personality and intelligence. She could well imagine her son not having the courage to approach the man that was his boss for Spencer wouldn't have wanted to change their relationship and have them both behave awkwardly around each other, although she knew thanks to her Spencer's letters that Aaron was much better at concealing his real feelings then her son was. Besides as had already been stated Aaron was his boss after all and she knew that Spencer wouldn't have wanted to risk losing a job he loved by telling his superior his feelings, however, she said nothing as her son was continuing.
“I was extremely nervous when Aaron sent me a text asking me to come to his office after the rest of the team left for the day as I hadn't exactly been very subtle about concealing my feelings as I couldn't seem to stop myself from shooting him locks, whenever I thought he wasn't paying attention and believe me the rest of the team noticed and kept asking me what was wrong. I couldn't at that time tell them the real reason I was feeling so miserable of course, although Aaron and I did tell them after we had gotten together as there was no way we could've kept it from them.”
“Ever since that evening in my office we've been together ever since,” Aaron said as he kissed Spencer's cheek affectionately.
“So have you gotten married yet?” asked Diana.
“Not yet,” Spencer answered immediately. “Our schedules are always so uncertain that we haven't managed that quite yet. I have moved in with him and his son and we're looking for a house, since his apartment isn't big enough to hold all my books, not to mention we wanted a place that is both of ours and that we decorated and bought together.”
“I wish I could be there when you do get married,” Diana said looking wistful.
“We'll make sure to send you lots of pictures,” Spencer promised. “We are getting married next week and I'm sorry you can't be there either mom, but the logistics are just to complicated to consider the idea to seriously.”
“I wish you could be there too,” Hotch told Diana with a smile, “but I want you to know I do love your son with all my heart and I'd rather be shot then leave him and that's really saying something since being shot is very painful. I will never leave him, until I take my last breath as our lives are so intertwined now that it just is it possible to separate one from the other.”
Diana studied him for a minute and Hotch stood underneath Spencer's mother scrutiny not moving as he stared directly into her eyes until finally Diana nodded sharply once and said, “See that you don't for if you hurt my son in anyway I will hunt you down.”
“I expect nothing less,” Hotch told Diana seriously, but with a slight smile.
“Good, just so long as we understand each other,” Diana said, but finally seeing Spencer looking between the two of them she relented and said, “Welcome to the family, Aaron.”
“Thank you,” Aaron told her with a smile kissing her cheek.
“You're welcome,” Diana told him. “Besides I would never try to come between the two of you as that would make Spencer miserable and eventually lead to his death and I don't want that. Besides all a mother wants for her children is for them to be happy, get married, and have children of their own, although I suppose in your case that's not really possible.”
“Well, Aaron does have Jack,” Spencer reminded his mother entering the conversation, “and we were talking about adopting a couple at some point if that's even possible with our jobs, but the two of us did agree to at least try and we're already on a waiting list and have been for the last six months.”
Diana looked happier after Spencer's words and said, “Well, if you do manage to adopt make sure you bring them down to see me and Jack too.”
“We will,” Hotch promised, “although neither one of us could tell you exactly when since we can be called in at anytime unless we're on vacation, like Spencer and I are for the next three weeks.”
“We both hated to leave the team shorthanded, but there's really no good time to get away unless the whole team is off and they all encouraged us to take the time away saying we had more then earned it,” Spencer added.
“So if the two of you took the next three weeks off, I'm assuming you're spending a week in town and Spencer is going to show you where he grew up and all his old haunts. Then you'll be taking a honeymoon after the wedding or that's what I'm assuming.”
“We will,” Hotch said with a slight smile. “We decided on Paris, which I've been to before many years ago, but that was on assignment and I really didn't have time to see many of the sites.”
“And what makes you think it will be any different this time?” asked Diana with a smirk.
Both Hotch and Reid blushed at the implied double meaning of the words.
“Mom!” Reid whined his tone embarrassed and his face as red as fire.
“What? It's perfectly natural to want to stay in bed on your honeymoon,” Diana protested, but with laughter in her eyes.
Reid blushed again and Hotch thought his lover's blush was one of his most endearing qualities, but came to his rescue by saying, “We will be taking the time to see some of the sites, since I doubt very much we'll be able to get back for years, if ever, or at least not until we both retire.”
Spencer shot his mate a grateful look as his blush faded and added after a moment, “We know we will not be able to see everything that Paris has to offer in just two weeks, but we should at least get to some of the more famous sites like the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.”
“And eat out at much nicer places then we usually do when we are on a case with the team, as we usually stick to places like diners or other places that are open 24 hours, since we tend to eat at odd hours at lot of the time,” Hotch added.
“It's not that the food isn't good in such places because it is, just that it is nice to go somewhere fancier sometimes,” Spencer said.
“And for it to be just the two of you instead of a whole group,” Diana suggested with a smirk.
“Well, yes,” Spencer admitted doing his best to not blush yet again. Why on why did his own mother have to go out of his way to embarrass him and why the hell did he have to blush so easily?
“I was young once to and certainly remember what it was like to be in love. Of course your father and I weren't True Mates like you and Aaron as ought to be obvious,” Diana said.
“Speaking of dad, did you know that he's married again as he found his True Mate almost fifteen years back and he has five children, a set of twins and a set of triplets?” Spencer asked his mother who looked shocked.
“How do you know this?” asked Diana curiously once she had recovered from her shock.
“Dad, came to see me a few months ago, when one of his twin sons leukemia came back,” Spencer explained. “None of his family was a match and he was desperate as you can imagine. He knew it was possible that I would reject his request just because I hated him, but I couldn't do that since technically Franklin is my brother, even if he is only a half sibling, not that that matter's to me.”
“Yes, I can see you agreeing to see if you were a match,” Diana said. “You wouldn't want a boy who wasn't even born when your father left to die if you could help, and I can certainly understand that, although I'm not sure I would have made the same choice if it had been up to me.”
“You would have,” Spencer told his mother confidently, “if you had been blood related and your ex-husband had come to you to plead for your help to at least try to save his son's life you would've done the same thing I did.”
“You seem sure of that,” Diana said and Spencer nodded.
“I am, you might hate dad and no one can blame you for that considering the circumstances, but you would never allow a child to die, even if his father abandoned you and your son. After all, Frankie wasn't even born for almost 8 years after he left and therefore played no part in it.”
“You're right, I could never allow a child to die if Will had asked me for help and I had actually been blood related,” Diana conceded.
“Now I see where Spencer gets his compassion from,” Hotch said speaking for the first time in a few minutes, although he had been observing the conversation even if he hadn't said anything until now, “since his father didn't strike me as the compassionate type, towards a stranger at least even if he's that way towards his family.”
“He's not,” both Spencer and Diana said at the same time but then Reid added, “Or at least he didn't use to be, but I know that has changed as Lilah has brought out a different side to him that I was never aware existed. I know my perception is probably slightly skewed considering I was only 10 when dad left, but he seemed...nicer?...when Aaron and I went to that meeting at Logan's. He was desperate sure because his son was so ill, but he also seemed different then what I remember of him. It's been a lot of years since I was 10 that's true, but it's not like I can forget what he was like since my memories are eidetic.”
“Being truly in love changes people,” Hotch said. “I know that when you walked into the BAU seven years ago and I shook hands with you for the first time I started to change right then. It was after we had met that I realized that Haley and I were never going to last like I thought when we got married, but as you know I am very patient and so I didn't immediately approach you.”
“Man that's the truth,” Spencer said with a chuckle.
“Well, when you first came to work at the BAU I knew that if I told you we were True Mates there was no way you would have accepted it as it took you awhile to truly accept that you were part of the team and that we weren't going to go behind your back and betray you in someway.”
“I had a right to be wary considering my own experiences with people up to that point with Shane and Lora being the sole exceptions,” Spencer said.
“What do the Buford have to do with anything?” asked Diana and Spencer looked startled for he had forgotten his mother was there.
“They helped me out quite often when I was beaten up by some of the bullies at school,” Spencer explained calmly. “I didn't want to worry you at that time, but they were extremely kind and helpful. They often doctored my bruises and a few times cuts and we had some nice long chats. It was Shane that taught me all about being a Shifter and the differences between each one. He taught me about a wolf Shifter's heritage and the history behind our species. He knew thanks to my memory that I would never forget what I was taught no matter how many years passed and I never have. I've always been grateful to him and Lora for all they did.”
“And I'm just learning about this now?” asked Diana sounding more resigned than angry.
“I'm sorry mom, I really am, but I had a hard enough time keeping you taking your medication and I wasn't sure how much you would understand even with that,” Spencer said. “The Bufords helped me through some pretty tough times in my life and I suppose I didn't want to worry you. Besides the medication you were taking back then isn't as good as what you're taking today, which is why you're so lucid now, while back then well you never knew when you were going to go into one of your episodes.”
“You do have a point,” Diana conceded. “Still, I think you should've told me.”
“Probably,” Spencer agreed, “but there was nothing you could've done, so why worry you for no reason? I was used to taking care of myself, especially after dad left and even before then.”
“Yes, you always were more self-sufficient than most children your age,” Diana admitted. “I know that was partly due to your intelligence, but also partly due to your father's neglect and my schizophrenia.”
“You couldn't help your condition mom,” Spencer told his mother kissing her cheek again and giving her a hug. “You had no control over it, dad on the other hand did have control over how he behaved and although I have at least partly forgiven him for the neglect I suffered as a child, which is Frankie's doing as his illness brought dad and I together, we will never be as close as we might had been had we had a proper father/son relationship. Also dad, did apologize sincerely, which allowed me to let go of a lot of my anger, and although I'll never be able to forgive him completely for what he did to us both we are getting along now.”
“Well, you're certainly more forgiving than I am,” Diana told my son with a smile.
“If he hadn't sincerely apologized to me for leaving like he did I never would've been able to do it,” Spencer said. “I know that he truly realizes what he did to you and me was wrong, which is partly why I was able to forgive him. I also wanted to get to know my half-siblings and since I knew I would have to be around my father if I was to have any sort of relationship with them I had to at least forgive him enough so that we didn't fight like cats and dogs every time we saw each other or sat in icy silence, but glaring at each other, which doesn't exactly set a good example for his children.”
“No, it doesn't,” Diana agreed.
The three of them continued to chat for awhile, before Spencer hugged his mother one last time kissing her cheek again and he Hotch took their leave promising to visit again before they headed back to Quantico.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“And this is where I went to school,” Spencer said pointing out of building to Hotch.
“Where you were bullied you mean,” Hotch growled looking at the building that Spencer pointed out as they drove slowly past it.
“Well, yes,” Spencer admitted with a sad smile, “but if not for what I went through in high school, I might not have decided to join the FBI. Being bullied like I was made me want to understand human behavior, which is what led me to join the bureau in the first place.”
“Still, it's not very fair what you went through, although I realize that human beings are very flawed and that most of them grow up to be decent adults. I can't help, but feel you could have been treated better, but I know that's because I love you.”
“We all have regrets and things we wish hadn't happened in the past, Aaron,” Spencer told his mate with a smile leaning over to kiss his cheek. “I for one am grateful for what I went through, because it made me the person I am today and as has been said previously we might not have met unless my life had happened exactly as it did and for that alone I will always be grateful.”
“There is that,” Hotch conceded touched at Spencer's words. “So, where to next?”
“What about some lunch?” Spencer suggested. “I don't know about you but I'm starving as it's 1 o'clock already.”
“That's a good idea,” Hotch agreed. “Any suggestions on where to go?”
“Not really,” Spencer admitted. “We could go to the restaurant that Shane and Lora own as I ate there quite often as a kid, but other than that my family didn't really eat out much. Whenever I was in town before we got together I just went to places like McDonald's or Burger King or Shane's diner.”
“Shane's diner is fine with me, and after that you can show me some more of your old haunts.”
“We've already seen most of them,” Spencer said, “the only thing left is the park where I used to play chess against different people and I usually ended up winning.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Hotch said with a grin. “I bet you had all the chess moves memorized by the time you were six or seven years old,”
“Try four,” Spencer said.
“You don't ever play chess anymore or at least I haven't seen you playing,” Hotch said.
“Well, ever since Gideon left it just hasn't been any fun,” Spencer said. “I have yet to meet anyone as good at chess as Gideon and playing against most people is no fun at all if I win within just a few moves. Gideon was a very unconventional thinker, which translated to being good at chess as he never made the move you expected him to.”
“That's the truth,” Hotch agreed for Gideon had indeed been an unconventional thinker, which is why had been so good at catching killers.
“So when are you going to introduce me to your mother and your brother?” asked Spencer a little tentatively.
“My mother, preferably never,” Hotch said with a grimace. “Trust me you won't want to meet her, but my brother is different and maybe we can get him to come down to Quantico sometime soon so that you can get to know each other or we can go up to New York, which isn't that far by car or train.”
“Well, from what you've told me of your mother, I have to agree I probably don't want to meet her, but wouldn't it be better just to get it over with then for her to find out on her on? You can't always protect me from people like her, although I appreciate it,” Spencer said.
You're right I can't protect you all the time and if she does find out and I'm sure she will eventually her anger will be great, but if I introduce you as my lover or my partner, she's going to be extremely angry anyway, so it's really a no win situation either way.”
“Will she try to get you to leave me?” asked Spencer
“Yes,” Hotch told him bluntly looking over at his lover for a moment before turning back to the road, “and you need to be prepared for when she does find out.”
“I'm assuming that she won't care that you have enough Shifter blood to feel the pull of the mating bond and that if you leave me it will mean death for both of us?”
“No,” Hotch said shaking his head negatively with a scowl as he though about the woman that had given birth to him. “It won't matter in the slightest, because she doesn't know that I have felt that pull to make you mine for seven years before we got together or even that it is possible unless you can actually shift. Even if she does now I'm not sure it would make a difference as she would rather see me miserable then have me hooked up with another man.”
“Well, from what you've told me about your childhood I can see that about her,” Spencer admitted. “She sounds very vindictive, spiteful, unhappy and wrathful.”
“Oh she is, although she supposedly married my father for love, but I never saw that when I was growing up as she was always a hard, uncompromising woman. She worries more about her reputation among her peers or even total strangers than anybody else I've ever met, although I suppose it probably has to do with the fact that she married into a relatively well off family as the Hotchners might not be as rich as some people, but my father made a extremely good living as an attorney and so my family has plenty of money to do whatever we want and he also comes from a well off family to and he inherited quite a chunk when my grandparents from my father's side of the family died. She can write me out of the will and I really won't care, since I make plenty. I also have some investments that are doing quite well.”
“She wouldn't really do that would she? Write you out of the will, I mean?” asked Spencer truly startled at that.
“Yes, she would, but I don't really care if she does,” Hotch answered honestly.
“I know there are a lot of uncaring people in the world considering we catch those type for a living, but for a mother to do that to her own son, just seems worse then all the unsubs we catch. If you had done something like murdered or raped someone I could understand her wanting to disown you or write you out of the will, but not for something like just having a relationship with someone of your own sex.”
“Yes, well I agree, but mom won't,” Hotch said with a smile. “I'm sure you can tell she is very prejudiced and not just about same-sex relationships, but a lot of things.”
“As if that isn't obvious,” Spencer snorted. “I wouldn't be much of a profiler if I hadn't figured that out already just from what you said about her, now would I? I'm not really surprised that she's against same-sex relationship since a lot of people are, but I am surprised that you turned out so well considering.”
“I suppose I did get lucky, when I didn't take after my mother in that way,” Hotch admitted with a smile taking one hand off the wheel long enough to run it over his mate's cheek lovingly.
Spencer hand came up and captured Hotch's holding it gently and kissing the knuckles tenderly, but with reverence.
The two of them continued to chat as Hotch drove looking for a place to eat since both of them were starving.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Why don't you let Frankie come with us back to Quantico for a few days before the wedding and we'll show him around,” Spencer suggested a little tentatively to his father and his stepmother.
It had been a wonderful few days with just Aaron and him and they had seen some of the sites of Las Vegas as well as the places where he had grown up and had also made wild passionate love for hours in their hotel room not worrying about the noise they were making even though most hotels had notoriously thin walls, because for once they knew they wouldn't be interrupted by work. They had only been in Las Vegas for three days, but there was no rule that said they couldn't change their flight and head back early if that was what they wanted to do once they had done everything they wanted to in the city he had grown up in. Now he and Aaron were sharing dinner with his father and his family and it had been a pleasant meal as the talk had been lively.
“The rest of the team has also been looking forward to meeting him and the rest of his siblings of course, but Frankie especially,” Spencer said.
“I don't know,” Lilah said, looking reluctant to let her son out of her sight which was understandable.
“This is one of the rare times that there's no chance of work interrupting, since Spencer and I still have over two more weeks off before we have to get back to work and neither one of us hardly ever takes time off where we aren't at least on call,” Hotch added all for his lover's idea since he had really come to enjoy spending time with Spencer's half brother.
“It will be educational and we'll take around to some of the more famous sites of Virginia and Washington since it's so close,” Spencer said.
“We'll take him to the Washington Monument, to see the White House as they do give tours, to the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington and lots of other places,” Hotch added.
“Can I mom? Dad?” Franklin pleaded giving both his parents the puppy dog eyes. “Please!”
Will caved almost immediately as he couldn't stand up to the puppy dog of his son.
“It's okay with me, as it does sound very educational and if Spencer and Aaron are willing to take you around and have you stay with them then you have my permission. However, your mother has final say as to whether you'll be allowed to go or not,” William said glancing at his wife who still looked very reluctant to let her son out of her sight even if she trusted Spencer to take good care of him.
“The two of us can see a lot in the four days that are left before the wedding and afterwards you can take him back with you since Aaron and I will be gone on our honeymoon and back to work after that,” Spencer said.
“Please! Please mom!” Franklin pleaded giving her his best puppy dog eyes.
“Alright, fine,” Lilah finally gave in, as like Will not being able to stand up to her son's puppy dog eyes. “You'll call me at least twice a day and tell me how you're doing, you hear?”
“Yes, mom,” Franklin said politely looking excited.
The other four children looked disappointed that they had not been invited along, but they all knew that Spencer and Frankie shared a special bond ever since their half-brother had saved his life by donating some of his bone marrow. They know that Spencer loved all of them, but that the rest of them weren't as close as their brother who had been so ill was, but that didn't mean they couldn't be just a little bit jealous.
“When we come up for the wedding, maybe we can stay for a few days and go see some of the sites since I've never been to Washington or Virginia, except when I went to see Spencer to help your brother and I certainly didn't take the time to sightsee,” William suggested
“Yay!” all the rest of the children cheered, looking happy and excited that their father was going to take time off from his job so they could take a real vacation.
“I'll call the airport and get our flights changed,” Spencer said looking at his watch, “as soon as we get back to the hotel.”
“You don't have to do that,” Franklin told them.
“It's okay, I wouldn't have suggested you come stay with us if Aaron and I hadn't seen all we wanted to on this trip. I've showed him where I used to live, visited with my mother and seen some of the sights. We can't do everything in one trip so why bother to try? We'll both be back up to visit often and we can see some of the other sites then.”
“I'll help Franklin pack,” Lilah promised.
“And I'll call you call me a soon as we change our flights and add one for Frankie,” Spencer promised.
The meal ended on a pleasant note and Spencer and Aaron took their leave soon after that as they wanted to head back to the hotel and get some rest and they also had to pack since they were leaving tomorrow instead of in a few days.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Thank you for indulging me,” Spencer told Aaron as they got on the road and headed back to the hotel.
“I'm not just indulging you as it is a good idea and is a chance for Frankie to get away from his mother for few days and relax without her constantly watching or worrying about him,” Aaron said.
“I'm actually surprised Lilah agreed so easily, considering that it's only been a few months since Frankie's leukemia has been in remission,” Spencer said.
“Well not many people could have stood up to Frankie's puppy dog eyes,” Hotch said causing Spencer to laugh, “especially not his parents.”
“That's true,” Spencer admitted with a smile.
“I certainly can't stand up to your puppy dog eyes when you want something,” Hotch added with laughter in his voice, “so why should your dad and stepmother be any different with their son?”
Spencer laughed at that knowing it was true not that he used his puppy dog eyes to get what he wanted very often because they would lose their power if he did.
“So what do you want to do for the rest of the evening?” asked Spencer already knowing the answer.
“Why don't we go back to the hotel and make wild passionate love?” Hotch suggested with a wide lecherous grin. “It isn't like we'll get the chance to do that, at least until we go on a honeymoon in a few days, not with Jack and Frankie in the house. Oh we can still make love, but we certainly can't do it all night like we can when we're alone.”
Spencer blushed even as he thought happily about what was going to be a very enjoyable night, although they would have to get some sleep if they were flying out tomorrow.
“We do need to get at least a few hours sleep if we are going to fly out tomorrow,” Spencer said, “but other then that I have no objection for I am yours to do with as you please and you know it.”
“I do, just as I am yours,” Hotch growled his tone pleased. “By the way don't worry we will be getting at least a little sleep, although I know you won't be surprised if I wake you up in the middle of the night, just because I am feeling extremely horny.”
Since this had happened quite often in the almost year they had been together, Spencer would only be surprised if it did not for it was a rare event when the two of them didn't make love at least once in the middle of the night and usually only happened if they were both extremely exhausted.
“You know the ironic thing is that I was never horny with Haley, where I woke her up in the middle of the night, not even when we were on our honeymoon and long before the two of us met, but with you it's different and I want you almost all the time, except when we are extremely busy on a case or extremely tired,” Hotch mused. “I haven't been that horny since I was a young man of 25 or so.”
“I want you all the time too,” Spencer told Hotch with a shy smile kissing his mate's cheek.
“Don't I know it, for how often have you attacked me when we are alone and we ended up having some of the best sex I've ever had,” Hotch smirked.
He might be an alpha male, but he definitely didn't mind in the least when Spencer attacked him in that manner and in fact encouraged it as much as possible. It had taken awhile for Spencer to be comfortable doing that, but now his mate initiated their lovemaking as much as he did as the two of them couldn't seem to get enough of each other, which Hotch was pleased to see happen, since Spencer was very shy in that area or at least had used to be.
Both men fell silent and Spencer took out his phone calling information for the number of the airport and then changing his and Hotch's flight for tomorrow and adding one for Frankie.
Once that was accomplished he called his father with the information and said they would be by to pick Frankie up about 1 o'clock since flight was at three.
“I'm glad you didn't have any trouble changing our flight reservation or getting one for Frankie,” Hotch said.
“I didn't really expect to,” Spencer admitted, “this isn't the busy season like Christmas after all, although I will admit more people visit Las Vegas on a daily basis then most other places because it's one of the gambling capitals of the world.”
Hotch pulled into the hotel just then and the two men exited the car and headed to their room so that they could make wild passionate love and then sleep in, in the morning as their checkout time wasn't until 11 o'clock.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Four days later

“We are gathered here today to join these two men for life,” the priest who was doing the ceremony was also a Shifter although in this case instead of a wolf Shifter, John Amos was a rare fox Shifter. The good thing however was that he understood all about the bonds between True Mates and so hadn't given Hotch or Reid the evil eye for being two men in an obviously sexual relationship and had been more then happy to be asked to perform a bonding ceremony, which was slightly different for a Shifter and a Normal—although only Reid and the team knew that Hotch was far from normal as he had powers that were undefined and could heal wounds that would have normally been fatal—then for two Shifters who could change shape.
It was sunset on a Friday and the whole team was there, along with Spencer's family and several of Hotch's old associates from when he had been a federal prosecutor.
“Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid share a bond that is rare among Shifters of any type, if only because there are so many people in the world today including of course, a large percentage of shapechangers. However thanks to that being the case it is rare for two souls who are meant to be together to find each other at all since the world is a big place. Every shapeshifter has their perfect match out there somewhere, but only a privileged few ever find them.”
Hotch and Reid stared intently into each other's eyes and only half listened to John Amos, as silent messages seemed to pass between them, their gazes never wavering from each others. Unless you were totally blind you couldn't miss the intensity of the connection that flowed between the two as it was so strong and intense that it was almost visible in the air.
Amos wrapped up his comments on marriage and Morgan handed him a knife since he was acting as best man, which he used to create a small cut on both Hotch's and Reid's right palms, neither man so much as flinching at the slight pain of the cuts or the sight of the blood that was now running down their palms since they saw worse everyday. Both sets of eyes never left the other's face and both men were even smiling, which was a very unusual sight on Hotch's usually serious face, although not so much in the last year, since he and Reid had gotten together. Hotch definitely smiled much more now, even if it was only a half smile, but it was still a vast improvement since he had only rarely smiled back before he and Reid had gotten together.
“With the sharing of their blood Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid will be bound together now and forever, until they pass from this life and into the next,” Amos continued as soon as the two men had placed their palms together and mingled their blood.
On the back row of seats in the shadows sat the man that Garcia had searched so desperately to find, Jason Gideon. Neither Spencer or Hotch had any idea he was there, and he hadn't decided if he was going to approach them or not. He knew that Garcia had trying for the last few months to find him and when he learned the reason he hadn't known how to feel about two of his old teammates getting together—two of his male teammates.
He knew that Spencer was a Shifter and that he had reached that critical 30th birthday a little less than a year ago. He was also aware that if the man he thought of as a son would have been driven insane and committed suicide if Hotch had refused to acknowledge the bond that was between them, which obviously wasn't the case since even from the back row he could see the connection that flowed between the two, as it was so strong that it was almost visible. He had kept tabs on the team ever since he had left and was aware that Hotch had separated from his wife and then about Haley's death sometime later, so it wasn't like Hotch was cheating on her, but still he was old school and the thought of two men being together was repugnant to him, but on the other hand was he willing to put those feelings aside and be there to support both Spencer and Hotch or was he willing to abandon Spencer in particular, just because he didn't like his choice of mate? And really it wasn't a choice at all because of a Shifter's mating gene, but that gene was just biologically's way of saying that a person had hit the jackpot.
He would support Spencer's decision, he decided, could really do no less, because Spencer was his son, if not by blood then in his heart, and especially not after the way he had just abandoned him, only leaving him a letter instead of facing him in person and explaining his decision to Spencer's face.
Jason watched as his two old teammate's kissed tenderly to end the ceremony and Jason had to admit Spencer had changed a great deal in the almost six years since he had left. He was more confident, assured, even his stance and the way he walked was different as Spencer walked with that same confidence and assurance, which he knew was at least partly Hotch's doing and also partly due to gaining some experience.
He couldn't really object to his two old friends relationship when Spencer looked so blissfully happy, with a sparkle in his golden brown eyes and his entire body relaxed and at ease even around about thirty people, about half of which were total strangers. Spencer had never been very comfortable around most people and Jason remembered back to almost 8 years ago and how long it had taken the team to originally gain Reid's trust, but now they were his family and although Jason had originally wanted to reconnect, he hadn't because he hadn't felt as if he'd had the right to just reenter his protege's life after leaving as abruptly as he had.
But now when he had learned that the son of his heart was getting married to his boss and that Garcia had been trying to find him, he at first hadn't known what to feel. It had taken him awhile to realize that Reid had reached his 30th birthday a few months ago and he knew exactly what that meant as he had done his research a long time ago, just so he knew what to expect from the two Shifters on the team, although for a few years it had just been Morgan. It had surprised him that two more of his teammates were True Mates, for he didn't know of any other reason for Hotch or Spencer to risk their careers be getting into a relationship, although allowance's were often made so long as it could be proven that the two involved could still work together.
Gideon came out of his thoughts when he heard Spencer shout his name “Gideon! You came!”
Suddenly he was tackled and just barely managed to keep his balance as his former protege rammed into him hugging him around the middle tightly.
“Of course I did, Spencer. I couldn't miss your big day,” Jason told his former protege with a smile, hugging him back.
“Gideon,” Hotch said with a half smile. “You have no idea what lengths Garcia went to trying to find you. Spencer wanted you here for one of the most important days of his life.”
“I can guess,” Gideon said with another smile, not failing to notice the phrasing that Hotch used when he said that Spencer had wanted him here for the wedding, but not Hotch. “I haven't forgotten how good Garcia at finding things or people when she needs too.”
“Why didn't you tell Aaron and me that you were coming? How long have you been in town? How long can you stay?” Reid asked almost in the same breath.
“Slow down, Spencer,” Hotch told his mate with a smile putting a gentle hand on his partner's arm. “How can you expect him to answer if you don't give him a chance?”
“Sorry,” Reid said looking shamefaced.
“Well, it's nice to see that some things haven't changed,” said Gideon smiling at his protege. “I can stay as long as you need me to. I will be here when you get back from your honeymoon, since I'm assuming you are taking one.”
“We are going to Paris,” said Reid his golden brown eyes sparkling with excitement as he went back to Hotch's side and took his hand in his. “I've never been overseas.”
“I know you will enjoy seeing the sites,” Gideon said.
“So are you moving back into the area for good?” asked Hotch, “or is this just a visit?”
Spencer looked distressed at the thought of Gideon going away again, but hid it again instantly and Gideon wasn't even sure had had seen anything at all the look had come and gone so quickly.
“Well, now that I've reestablished contact, I can't very well just disappear again, now can I?” Jason said with a smile.
“You could you know,” Spencer piped up. “You could just disappear again without a word to anyone.”
It didn't need to be said that if Gideon did that Spencer would probably never forgive him for disappearing for a second time.
“I wouldn't do that to you Spencer as I am not unaware that my leaving before did to you,” Jason told his protege.
“Why am I not surprised that you kept tabs on the team,” asked Hotch with a smile.
“Old habits,” Gideon said. “Besides I might have left, but that didn't mean I didn't still care about all of you.”
“Then why haven't we heard from you for almost six years?” asked Spencer his voice neutral, although the anguish in his eyes was heartbreaking.
Gideon sighed sadly. “I'm truly sorry for the way I left and for not telling you directly what I was going to do, but Spencer you need to understand that I was grieving for my old friend Sarah and it was her death that nearly broke me. I had seen a lot, just as all of us have, and I had just reached my breaking point. We all have one and she was mine. I had known Sarah since college as you know and her death by Frank, well it...”
“Devastated you,” Hotch said,
“That's a good word for it,” Gideon admitted. “I needed time to heal, emotionally and mentally and for that I needed to be alone. It took me a long time to really come to terms with her death and by the time I did I felt that to much time had passed to just come back as if nothing had happened. I truly hope that we can start over and that you can forgive me for not contacting you. I admit I was a coward for not telling you what I was planning on doing to your face, but well after Sarah's death I just needed to get away.”
“I think I can,” Reid said after a minute of contemplation. “It is going to take time though for both of us to get back to the relationship we had before even if that's possible.”
“Our relationship will be different then it was before, simply because a lot of time has passed and you are also not the young man I saw so much potential in when I was lecturing at the FBI Academy almost ten years ago now. You've really come into your own.”
Suddenly they were joined by Frankie so similar in appearance to Spencer that it made Jason Gideon do a double take.
“Spence, the team is waiting for you and Aaron to join them, so that you can all go out to dinner together,” Franklin said.
“Frankie, the man that looks like a stunned fish right now is my old mentor Jason Gideon, Gideon this is my half brother Franklin. I would like you to meet the rest of the family as well and you can if you come to dinner with everyone else.”
Spencer shot his mentor his best puppy dog look and Gideon gave in with a chuckle. “Alright, fine, you are making me feeling incredibly guilty.”
“That's the whole point,” Hotch chuckled relaxing now that he knew that Gideon wasn't going to make his mate unhappy. “When he uses that look on me I can't help, but give into whatever he wants.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Franklin said politely shaking Gideon's hand. “We need to get going though.”
“When did you regain contact with your father, discover that he had married again and have a family?” Gideon asked.
“About six months,” Spencer answered.
“So you and your father have made up?” asked Gideon.
“I'll give you the full story later, but basically dad and I reconnected, because Frankie had leukemia and his parents, fraternal twin brother or three identical twin sisters were not a match.”
“So he came to you as his last hope to save his son,” Gideon summarized.
“Basically, yeah,” Reid said.
“Franklin looks so much like you it is startling to say the least,” said Gideon. “Despite the fact that his hair is still not the length or thickness it should be.”
“Yes, well, he's still growing it back from where it fell out because of his leukemia and all the chemotherapy and radiation he had to go through,” Spencer said. “It's only been six months after all and it didn't really start growing back until 3 months ago as it took awhile for his body to recover significantly from the chemotherapy.”
“That's an understatement,” Hotch chuckled putting an arm around Spencer's waist, which the other man accepted with obvious pleasure. “The first time I saw Frankie laying in a hospital bed it was almost like looking at Spencer's twin, albeit much younger, and also unhealthy thanks to the disease that was running rampant through his body, but still the similarities were startling.”
“Do the other children look as much like Spencer as Franklin does?”
“No,” Spencer answered immediately. “His brother has blond hair, although he looks like dad to and while his three sister's have dad's brown hair they got their mother's Lilah blue eyes and her basic facial features. In any case you'll see for yourself as soon as we get to the restaurant, as they will be there for dinner.”
“So when do you two fly out?” asked Gideon.
“Tomorrow,” Hotch answered. “Bright and early since it's such a long flight, so Spencer and I will be coming straight from dinner and heading straight to bed.”
“Just because you'll be going to bed doesn't necessarily mean you'll be sleeping,” Jason chuckled causing Spencer to turn a bright red as he immediately understood the double meaning behind his old mentor's words, while Hotch just smirked letting Gideon know that he had been correct. He tried not to think about two men having sex, especially not the man he considered a son and his old friend Hotch. He knew he was old fashioned, but he also knew that the pull of the bond between mates was irresistible, well it was unless you wanted to be driven insane from trying or commit suicide or both and he definitely didn't want that for either Hotch or Reid.
“Gideon!” Reid protested vehemently still blushing.
“What? It's perfectly natural, to have sex on your honeymoon,” Gideon told his protege with a half smile as he watched Spencer blush an even brighter red. It was nice to see that some things hadn't changed and that his protege still blushed easily and he knew logically that it probably wouldn't since it was just a basic part of Spencer's personality.
The three of them reached their cars then, so Spencer didn't have a chance to answer as he was giving Gideon directions to the restaurant they were going to and Jason assured them that he would meet them there that they could talk more later.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

One year later

“Spencer this came for you,” Hotch said hesitantly not sure if he should give his mate the envelope that was an official to invitation to his 20th high school reunion and Hotch was well aware of how Spencer felt about his years in high school, where he had been bullied, teased, knocked into lockers, had his head shoved into toilets, and even knocked down and trampled on. Hotch tried not to think about all his mate had been through as a child, because it just got him angry and made him want to find and pound the people responsible and do all the things to them that they had done to Spencer. He remembered Spencer telling him about how he had been tied to the goalpost at his school and teased and tortured for hours before they had gotten tired and left and even longer for Spencer had worked himself free. He hated to remind the man he adored of that awful time where he had never had the support that any child needed, except for the Bufords and occasionally his mother, who really did love her son despite her schizophrenia, be he didn't have a right to keep this from either and if he did and Spencer found out he would be rightfully upset and wonder what else had been kept from him in order to protect him. Spencer was strong enough to handle this and he would probably just throw it away and not want to go in order to not dredge all those painful memories to the surface and Hotch wouldn't be able to blame him if he did. Of course if they did go he would be having a few words with certain people even though he was aware that people could change in the twenty years it had been since Reid's senior class had graduated just like Larry Ramm had.
“What is it?” asked Reid as he came over and kissed Hotch's cheek and then taking the envelope from Hotch's hands.
Reid thought about the last year and how happy he had been ever since he and Hotch had officially mated. Oh he had been happy ever since he and Hotch had gotten together, but ever since the bonding ceremony where the two of them had shared their blood it was a totally different kind of happiness. He felt whole, ever since the two of them had mingled their blood with each others and it was if something had snapped into place in his soul. The two of them had decided at the last minute to do it that way instead of just having a regular wedding ceremony like they had been planning on originally even though Hotch wasn't a full Shifter, although he did have a lot of the blood. The exchanging of the blood was only part of the ceremony if two people were full Shifters. The other part of the ceremony for Shifters would have included them making love in their Shifter forms for that first time, although they could switch back to human after that or stay shifted if they wanted. Also a lot of Shifters made love out in the woods on their wedding night as the forest was very important to all Shifters since while they were human they also had the instincts of their animal counterpart, whether that was wolf, cat, fox or some other type of Shifter and all of them were forest dwellers.
Reid slit open the envelope that had the official mascot of his old high school in the left corner on the front along with his address and the address of the school.
Spencer already knew what it was before he slid the invitation out of the envelope, but he had gotten the exact same thing to his 10th high school union, not that he had gone as not only had they called on a case he had thrown the invitation away he had no intention of going just to be picked on and ridiculed. Of course he knew that people could change in a decade, just as Larry had, but that didn't mean that he wanted to go and possibly be bullied and also the team had needed him and he would rather help solve a case and put an unsub behind bars then to his high school reunion.
Spencer read the short invitation quickly and then looked up his expression unreadable although the anguish was there in his eyes and made Hotch take his mate into his arm's rubbing his back soothingly.
“If you don't want to go, we don't have to,” Hotch said soothingly.
“What do you mean we?” asked Spencer looking up from where he had buried his head into Hotch's chest taking comfort in his mate's scent. Reading the invitation had brought up some bad memories that he hadn't been strong enough to deal with 10 years ago, but now that he was mated and he felt as if he could face those memories. The last invitation 10 years ago had caused him to have nightmares for several months before they had finally left him alone and he could see those nightmares returning with a vengeance. He often suffered from nightmares anyway as he knew Hotch did as well just because of the nature of their jobs, but those from his childhood tended to be more realistic somehow if that was possible, considering that he dreamed about some of the violent unsubs he and the team had caught.
“Well, if you go, I go with you,” Hotch explained calmly, although their was anger simmering in his eyes as he did every time the subject of Reid's childhood came up. “I would still like to have a few words with your old classmates that were so cruel to you all those years ago. I realize that people change and it has been 20 years, but none of them ever apologized for making your life hell when you were a kid. Yes, I realize, that kids can be nasty and cruel and that you probably haven't run across any of them in the 20 years it's been since you graduated, well besides Larry, who did apologize, but still they could have done a lot of different things in order to make up for being so nasty and bullying a young boy who was probably smarter than all of them put together. Yes, we both know that teenagers in particular don't like somebody who shows off all the time, even if they don't mean to, but what they did to you…”
“I know, that you want to protect me, but in a way they made me the person I am today, someone who wanted to help people which is why I joined the FBI in the first place despite the fact I had so much trouble with the physical training. I guarantee you that not a single one of my old classmates will believe that I am an agent of the federal government even after I show them my badge, as they all know how unathletic I am and they won't believe that I passed the physical training, nor that the trainers were willing to waive the requirements in my case so that I could join the BAU, thanks to Gideon.”
“I'm sure at least some of them have seen you on the news or in the newspaper,” Hotch suggested.
“That's possible,” Spencer admitted. “Still, I don't believe I'm going to go, just like I didn't when they had one a decade ago. I'm actually surprised they bothered to send me an invitation at all considering I wasn't exactly well liked among my classmates.”
“That's an understatement,” Hotch snorted derision clear in his tone, “you were more than disliked at least by some of the children you went to school with. The organizers probably just got the names of your graduating class from your year book or maybe school records.”
“Yes, you're right, that's probably exactly what they did, ” Spencer said, “We both know that people change, and who knows how much my old classmates have changed in 20 years, still I'm sure we'll catch a case and we won't be able to go, which is fine with me.”
“I think we should go,” Hotch said. “You need to face the people that bullied you so badly when you were a child and show them that despite what they did to you, you made something of your life. I'm sure at least some of them feel guilty for the way they treated you all those years ago and for those that don't well, as you know I can cut anyone down to size with a few sharp words. I can point out that some of the bullying you suffered would have been considered criminal behavior, which could have been tried in a court of law and only their young ages would have saved them from prison time. There are laws in place to protect children for a reason and although most bullying cannot be stopped, there is a major difference in pushing someone into a locker, then pushing someone deliberately until they fall to the floor to be trampled on by other students. Some bumping into other students is unavoidable in a very crowded high school, but there is a major difference, between an accident and someone who deliberately shoves you hard enough to fall and you know this.”
“I do and I know you would like to have a few sharp words with some of my former classmates,” Spencer admitted with a smile at that because he knew it was true. He also knew the only reason Hotch had never confronted Larry for his behavior as a child, was because they had been on a case that had involved that man's son and it wouldn't have been appropriate, but if they went to this reunion Hotch would be free to say whatever he wanted since he would be on his own time and not the government's and if Larry Ramm just happened to be there...well there was no telling what would happen, although Aaron probably wouldn't be as hard on him, simply because he had sincerely apologized for the way he had bullied him as a child, but as for the others well, they would wish that they had never bullied him in the first place or that they found a way to apologize years ago by the time his mate was done with them.
“I would love to see that,” Spencer admitted kissing his lover on the lips gently and tenderly, which Hotch returned immediately. The two men kissed for a few minutes before breaking apart, although they still gently held each other. “You know me, normally I do not want to seek revenge for the wrong done me, but if you wanted to have a few sharp words with some of the people that bullied me so badly I wouldn't object, just so long as it doesn't go farther than that because I wouldn't want you to be in trouble if they decided to report you if you actually punched one of them.”
“Then we should go so you can, but on the other hand if you don't really want to, then I won't say anything else about it and don't worry, I won't punch any of them, no matter the provocation or how I much feel they deserve it,” Hotch promised.
“I'll think about it,” Spencer said. “We have a little time as it isn't for two weeks and if I do decide to go and we could also spend a few hours with Frankie, perhaps taking him to lunch or an early dinner as the reunion doesn't start until seven. Also I'm not saying that some of them don't deserve to be punished for what they did to me, but if you did that they could report you and I wouldn't want to give Strauss a reason to separate us all to transfer you to another department. Besides, what happened me as a kid was two decades ago and I'm sure that most of my old classmates have turned into decent citizens.”
“I am aware,” Hotch told him kissing the stop of Spencer's head. “Normally I'm very good at controlling my emotions as you know, but when it comes to you and those that hurt you especially deliberately, well, it's harder for me to maintain that control. You know I've always been protective of you, but ever since we got together two years ago now that protectiveness has risen several notches.”
“I was aware,” Spencer told him with a smile. “I can certainly understand that protectiveness since I feel the same way. You are certainly more capable of protecting yourself then I am, but ever since we shared our blood, I feel very protective of you and I know you do of me to even more than you did before we did that.”
“Why do you think that is?” asked Hotch who still didn't know that much about Shifter lore, although he had learned a great deal in the last couple years.
“Well…” Spencer said biting his thumbnail as he thought about it, his brilliant mind thinking rapidly through all Shane had told him as a young boy. “I remember Shane telling me right before I left for college that if I ever found my True Mate and we bonded by sharing our blood that the bond between us would be strengthened. I had actually forgotten that, until you asked that question a moment ago.”
“You forget something?” Hotch teased causing Reid to laugh.
“Alright it just didn't occur to me then,” Spencer admitted, “although it probably should have.”
“Spencer, you are not perfect, despite your eidetic memory,” Hotch told him gently. “We both always have a lot on our minds due to our jobs and you know something is bound to get forgotten in the shuffle, if not actually lost. So what else did Shane tell you about bonds between True Mates?”
“Well, he said that there could be other side effects when we shared our blood, all positive since love is the epitome of a True Mate bond so nothing negative or evil can interfere with it. Oh sure, two mates can separate, which only happens when one of them is not a Shifter, but nothing malignant or malevolent can interfere with the bond, and this is doubly true when a couple who are True Mates blood has been mingled. Why this is so not even Shane knew, just that it's part of the Shifter species. Shane told me that a lot about our species has been forgotten over time as a lot of it was never written down, or if it was those papers have turned to dust long ago.”
“Well, a lot has been lost about human cultures to so that is not really all that unusual,” Hotch said, “and although we store a lot of data on computer systems now that doesn't mean it can't still be lost if the system either crashes or is wiped.”
“Yes, that's true, we'll never know everything there is to know about the Mayan or Aztec cultures for example since they became extinct centuries before computers were invented. Sure we can learn a lot due to the technology that has been developed to help study whatever artifacts are found at archaeological digs, but so much was lost, because we didn't have the technology in order to preserve all of their culture back when it became almost extinct and since Shifters have been around ever since the conception of the human race the same holds true for them, meaning certain things about our race, like so many others, has been lost in the mists of time.”
“So what side effects can we expect and when will they develop?” asked Hotch.
“Well Shane said that a deeper the bond between True Mates is the more likely they are to be able to sense each other's feelings, although the distance is limited. In order for this particular trait to develop though the couple have to trust each other implicitly and has to have no doubts of their partner's loyalty, which isn't a problem for either of us.”
“Definitely not,” Hotch immediately agreed.
“In any case it usually takes around six months to a year for a mated couple to be able to sense each other's feelings, and we've been mated not quite a year so I expect we will begin to be able to sense each others feelings sometime in the next couple of months.”
Hotch nodded as that made sense. “Actually I think I've started to be able to feel what you are even when you're not present in the same room. It's only happened a couple of times when you were feeling intensely strong emotion, extreme anger in one case. I knew the feelings were not mine and I suspected they came from you as no other reasonable explanation made sense, but you just confirmed it for me.”
“When was this?” asked Spencer not admitting yet that he had been feeling some things too.
“Just last month when you were in interrogation with that rapist,” Hotch said. “You didn't show anything in your body language or expression, but I felt a great surge of anger go through you as our unsub described exactly what he had done to those children.”
“Yes, I was angry, as I did have to listen to Foster describe exactly how much he enjoyed torturing and raping those children before he killed them,” Spencer said his expression grim as he had remembered that man's smirking expression. “That is the one part of my job I like the least.”
“I can't blame you for that,” Hotch said, “I don't like it anymore than you do. We both enjoy bringing those criminals to justice, but there are just parts of the job that we don't like and if we did then we should quit before we turned into people we didn't like when we looked in a mirror.”
“I certainly enjoy bringing such people to justice,” Spencer said. “Of course you already knew that. Why would either one of us have bothered to do what we do if we didn't truly care about people being taken advantage of? You could've stayed a federal prosecutor for instance if you had wanted to and me I could be somewhere making scads of money, but neither one of us would be truly happy with our lives if we did that.”
“Both of us had crappy childhoods, and while a lot of people would turn into criminals of one sort or another others turn into people who want to stop that kind of thing,” Hotch said. “It gives people like us empathy, and understanding of human nature.”
“It does,” Spencer agreed with a smile. “Of course a lot of people just want to forget about what happened to them as kids and just want to raise their children differently then how they were, while other continue the cycle of abuse that started with who knows how many generations of their family.”
“While people like us, want to catch criminals, that do nasty and evil things not only do children, but to grown adults,” Hotch said with a smirk, “although it is a cases with kids for the most part that bothers both of us the most.”
“Yes, that's true, but jobs like ours sure are hell on marriages and serious relationships, just look at what happened to you and Haley and probably would have even if you hadn't known that I was your True Mate. Most spouses, won't put up with their husband or wife being gone for so many months of the year due to their job, but for so long before they have had enough. Most marriages just don't survive past a certain point, but with True Mates it is of course all together different at least if those mates are both Shifters, normally anyway.”
Hotch knew that Spencer's last two words were meant to refer to their relationship and how he didn't have any doubts about his loyalty even though he wasn't a full Shifter. A lot of it had to do with the fact that Spencer was very intelligent and observant and had better instincts than most when he came to people in general, which is why he fit right in at the BAU. Also that they had known each other for seven years before they had gotten together as a couple, which also had a great deal to do with the reason his mate had no doubts that he would ever be able to leave him as they both knew that if either one of them did it would mean death for both of them as True Mates only felt completely whole when their other halves were nearby and to walk around with a hole in your chest where your mate's presence should be just wasn't possible for very long, which was why there were so many suicides when one mate left the other, although that only happened between a Shifter and a human or shaman mate, not two Shifters. Humans or shamans, only felt the connection to their mates very dimly, if at all and so it was often dismissed, by the person in question as nothing. That was not the case for either of them though.
“Some spouses do you put up with their husband or wife being gone, even if the percentage of that happening is pretty low.”
“About 10.7%,” Spencer said causing Hotch shake his head.
“Why did I know you would know the statistics?” asked Hotch with smile.
“Because you know I'm all about facts and figures,” Spencer suggested also with a smile knowing he was being teased, not really minding.
“I do,” Hotch said with another smile, “but back to the subject of your class reunion that's coming up in a couple weeks. I really believe that you should go and put at least some of that old anger at how you were bullied to rest and the only way to do that, is to confront the people that made your life such a misery through all your high school years. Sure you buried what happened to you into the depths of your subconscious, but I also know you had numerous, very realistic nightmares over the years about those years.”
“We've all have had nightmares, it's just part of the price we pay for the work we do,” said Spencer.
“But those nightmares are about your childhood and have nothing to do with your work at the BAU,” Hotch pointed out.
“That's true,” Spencer admitted somewhat reluctantly.
Hotch studied Spencer for a moment and then came to a startling conclusion. “Facing Larry Ramm in that case last year was a lot harder on you then I realized at that time wasn't it? He was the leader that bullied you so badly in high school after all and things that happen in childhood stay with us for the rest of lives and often affect us deeply, especially that kind of thing, which is why you are so reluctant to go to your 20th high school reunion. Not all scars are visible, some are on the inside and both of us have plenty of those.”
“It was hard, and I should have admitted it back then, but it had to be done if I was going to lay at least some of my old ghost to rest,” Spencer said.
“And you didn't tell me, why?” asked Hotch.
“You had other things on your mind and I didn't want to bring up my problems not when we had a case to solve and a child to find.”
Hotch had to admit that Spencer had a good point, but also pointed out, “You should have mentioned it after the case was solved and we were back home.”
“Yeah, I know, but by then it just didn't seem important,” Spencer admitted. “My meeting with Larry Ramm for the first time in so many years went way better than I expected it to, so I wasn't lying about that, but afterwards it took me awhile to sort out the emotions that came with meeting my main antagonist after so many years.”
“And I should've been there to help you do that and instead I didn't realize what you were going through, because I was so caught up in things,” Hotch said looking upset more for the fact that he hadn't been there when Reid needed him then for the fact that Reid hadn't told him what he had been going through.
“Hey it's okay, I've been handling stuff like this by myself for years,” Spencer said.
“But we are team now,” Hotch told him seriously, “and from now on I want you tell me what you're feeling so that I can help you through it and I'll do the same. I know it will not be easy for either one of us, since we are used to dealing with our own problems by ourselves and we are both naturally self-contained, but neither one of us had each other before, not as a couple anyway and we need to learn to depend on each other for things like this.”
“I'll try,” Spencer promised.
“And I'll do the same, because really that's all we can do is try,” Hotch promised.
The two were silent for awhile and Hotch gave Spencer plenty of time to think about what he'd said about going to his class reunion in a couple of weeks. It wouldn't be easy facing such a painful time in his life, Hotch knew but he would be there every step of the way for support and he would like for Spencer to truly put this part of the past behind him, instead of having it pop up in his dreams occasionally. As for himself he had put his past behind him a long time ago, but Spencer was different and less forgiving of what he saw as his own faults, even if they were all in his own mind and not real at all. Oh sure Reid had his faults, but so did he and everybody else on the face of the Earth, but he tended to blame himself for things that he had no control over, and also had a hard time dealing with things that had happened in his childhood, but then that was no surprise as down underneath the confidence he displayed on the job in quoting facts, statistics and figures when he was doing his job, was a very insecure little boy that had been shown very little affection by anyone, bullied, told he didn't belong and so many other things that had a detrimental effect on the psyche of anyone, whether child or adult.
“I'll do it,we'll go to my high school reunion in a couple of weeks, but only if we don't catch a major case as I won't leave the team hanging if they need us, not just for a class reunion.”
Hotch let out a sigh, when Spencer said us and he knew that he had decided to go to the reunion and that the decision had not been easy.
“I'm proud of you,” Hotch told Spencer giving him a hug. “I know from personal experience that it's never easy to face a part of your painful past.”
Spencer knew this to be true because Hotch had told him a lot about his childhood and adulthood over the past couple of years and in it's own way Hotch's childhood had been just as abusive as his had been, just in a different way.
“I can face anything just as long as you are there,” Spencer told Hotch sincerely meaning his words.
“I'll always be there when you need me,” Hotch promised.
“I know and I'll always be there when you need me to,” Reid promised.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Two weeks later

“Well, here we are,” Spencer said as he stepped out of his and Hotch's rental car in front of his old high school in Las Vegas.
It was 7 o'clock, and the sun was just beginning to go down and the place was lit up like it was the fourth of July as the outside lights were on in the front and Spencer could see the lights on through the doors of the school.
“You can do this,” Hotch urged his mate, gently.
Spencer couldn't prevent himself from biting his lip nervously, which he almost never did. “Let's get going,” Spencer finally said and begin to walk across the street towards the school.
Hotch knew that his mate had been dreading going to this high school reunion simply because of the bad memories associated with it, but he was proud that Reid had decided to go ahead and do it. He knew that much to Spencer's chagrin the team had not caught any major cases by the time it had been time for them to go and so he had kept his word and here they were.
“It probably won't be as bad as you believe it will be,” Hotch said. “I know how difficult it is to change perceptions, especially those from childhood, but hopefully going to this class reunion will do that.”
“I can hope,” said Spencer in a neutral voice.
“If you get to be too uncomfortable we can leave as there is no rule that says we have to stay for the whole thing,” Hotch suggested and Spencer brightened at that.
“That's an idea,” Spencer said brightening immediately looking happier.
“And if anybody tries to bully you like they used to they'll have another thing coming,” Hotch growled looking fiercely protective as the two of them strode into the school and Spencer led the way to the gym where the reunion was taking place.
“I can take care of myself,” Spencer told Hotch as he gently rubbed his knuckles over his mate's cheek affectionately. “I'm not a helpless child anymore and I've learned since I joined the team how to stand up for myself, although I'm not usually very aggressive as you know, but this time I'll make an exception if one of my former classmates tries to bully me like they did when was a child. They'll find out that I am no longer the 11 or 12 year old boy that they knew 20 years ago if they do.”
“And I'll be there to back if you up if need me,” Hotch promised knowing intellectually anyway that this was really Reid's battle even if his alpha male instincts were screaming at him to protect what was his, but also knowing that Spencer needed to fight his own battles or he would never learn from the experience.
“And I appreciate it,” Spencer said.
“You're welcome,” Hotch told him with a rather grim smile. “I love you enough to allow you to fight your own battles even though I'll be there as backup if you need me.”
“Thanks,” Spencer said squeezing Hotch's hand in appreciation.
Both men fell silent as they entered the gym where the reunion was being held where they immediately ran into a wall of people and the noise in the room was extremely loud, as with the music blaring out of multiple speakers and at least a hundred people talking the sound was almost deafening.
Walking in to the gymnasium was like walking back in time as it was decorated like it was the 1980s all over again. There was 80s rock 'n roll blaring out of the speakers, and colorful streamers everywhere. Over on one side of the room was a buffet table and as you entered the south facing doors was another table with name tags that you picked up soon as you entered.
Spencer approached the table with the name tags and Cindy who was manning it looked up in surprise at first not recognizing the young man standing in front of her.
“Hello, Cindy,” Spencer greeted with a half smile.
Hotch almost laughed out loud when he saw Cindy silently trying to identify who was standing in front of her and coming up blank.
“And you are?” asked Cindy. “You seem to know me, but I don't know you.”
“I'm not surprised you don't remember me, since I was kind of invisible when I went to this high school years ago,” Spencer told her, “well, except to certain people who liked to make my life miserable. Hi, it's nice to see you again, I'm Spencer Reid.”
Cindy's jaw dropped in surprise and Hotch had a hard time containing his laughter, although his dark brown eyes did sparkle with mirth.
“You're Spencer?”
“Last time I checked,” Spencer joked.
“You sure have grown up,” Cindy said still looking stunned.
“Children do that, it has been 20 years,” Spencer told Cindy as he grabbed two nametags and wrote his and Hotch's name on two of them. “Cindy, I'd like you to me Aaron Hotchner my partner,” Spencer added introducing Cindy to Hotch. “Aaron, this is Cindy Matthews, and we were in the same year at school.”
Aaron knew by the way Spencer had interacted with Cindy that she hadn't been one of those children that had bullied him so badly and so greeted her politely by shaking her hand. “It's nice to meet you.”
“It's nice to meet you to,” Cindy said trying not to visibly salivate at the tall darkly handsome man who was standing in front of her, but from the way that her old classmate had just introduced him the two men were apparently in a serious sexual relationship as she couldn't see anyone bringing someone who was their own sex to their class reunion unless that relationship was very serious.
Spencer smiled as he watched as Cindy introduced herself and almost visibly drooled over his mate. Aaron was a handsome man, but Spencer didn't have a single doubt about his loyalty to him and so he took it as a point of pride when women tried their best to get his attention all of which Hotch gently rebuffed. Spencer had to admit that Aaron had great skill at turning down woman most of the time without even hurting their feelings and Reid admired his mate's skill and wished it was one that he possessed even though he didn't have women trying their best to snag him like they did Hotch, well with a few exceptions.
Reid handed Hotch his name tag and then the two of them headed farther into the gymnasium Cindy watching them until they were out of sight with a wistful expression on her face thinking that some people had all the luck.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“So how are you doing?” asked Hotch softly, but Spencer had no trouble hearing him even with all the loud music as the two of them were standing side by side and wolf Shifters also had excellent hearing.
“So far, I'm okay,” Spencer said as he took a sip of his punch. “It's going much better than I expected it to, but of course we haven't run into any of the ones that were involved in bullying me either, at least not yet, although I don't expect that trend to last as the odds are against such a thing occurring.”
“Would you like to dance?” asked Hotch observing of the other couples out on the dance floor. “It might help you relax.”
“Maybe a little later,” Spencer said.
Spencer knew exactly why his mate had suggested dancing and that was because he loved being in his lover's arms and didn't care who glared or stared at them as he tended to get lost in his own little world, as he felt so safe and protected with Aaron's arms around him and Hotch knew this. “I see the principal, right over there, so why don't we go say hello and I'll introduce you?”
“That's fine with me,” said Hotch.
“I believe you'll like him, as he did his best to prevent bullying back when I went to school here, but he can't do everything as he's only one man,” Spencer said. “Most children aren't bullied as badly as I was.”
“And a lot of kids who are bullied fear they will not be believed,” Hotch added quietly and Spencer nodded.
“Most children just don't want to create waves as that will just make the bullying worse and a lot more subtle,” Spencer said by way of agreement. “Most choose just to put up with it as it were, so as not to give the bullies any further ammunition.”
“I know the statistics, but I've always been astonished that not more deaths result from it,” Hotch said shaking his head thinking as much as he loved his job it was still rather grim a lot of times.
“As if around 4,400 children committing suicide a year isn't enough,” Spencer said, “and most of them are the result of serious bullying.”
Aaron didn't have a chance to respond or either one of them have a chance to move away from the wall they were standing against as suddenly Spencer was approached by a large man who looked as if he could have been a football player at one time, but looked as if he had let his body go to seed as he had a bit of a belly and Hotch knew if it was necessary he would have no problem taking this guy down since he was in great physical shape thanks to his job.
“It can't be little Spencer Reid,” the guy said.
“That's Dr. Reid to you, Albert,” Spencer told the man, his tone neutral avoiding him as Albert tried to get him in a headlock like he had done on numerous occasions when the two of them had been children. “I will no longer be your punching bag like I was when I was a child, so I suggest you disappear and if you ever try to touch me again, well I know how to defend myself now thanks to the training I received at the FBI Academy at Quantico.”
“You FBI? Why would they accept a runt like you? One that was never any good at sports?”
“He might not be athletic, but he has one of the most brilliant minds I have ever come across and the whole team at the Behavioral Analysis Unit respect him,” Aaron said putting in his two cents worth, stepping to stand at his mate's side. “Spencer here has helped us solve hundreds of cases over his years with the unit.”
“And just who are you? You didn't go to this high school or I would remember,” Albert growled getting in Hotch's personal space hoping to intimidate him, which didn't work.
“I am Aaron Hotchner, unit chief, and Spencer's boss,” Hotch growled menacingly, making it clear that he was not intimidated by Albert, but not specifically mentioning that he and Spencer were also mates, “and trust me it wasn't very good at his job he never would've been put into our unit, since we only accept the best. You and the other students who bullied him so badly, never appreciated him, you did your best to beat him down, but he proved you wrong and made something of his life. He could've gone into any career he chose, he could've been a millionaire by now, but thanks partly to the way you and other people treated him as a child he decided that he wanted to help people and make a true difference in the world.”
“I've got this, Aaron,” Spencer told his mate with a smile then turned back to Albert.
“I see sights every day in my work with the BAU that you wouldn't be able to handle,” Spencer began bluntly forgoing his usual politeness. “I see mutilated bodies, that have been tortured in more ways than your imagination could possibly come up with. I've seen bodies that have been dismembered, in order to hide the evidence or to stop us from figuring out who they were. I've seen victims that have had acid thrown in their faces or used to eat away their fingerprints to make them much harder to identify. I've seen dead children who have been molested and raped and just because some pervert kidnaps them because he has these sick urges, then kills then once he has had his fill. I see children who survived the same treatment, but who will never be the same again. Really how could they considering that these sickos violate not only their prepubescent bodies, but mentally as well? I have been kidnapped and shot and come so close to dying and yet I still do what I do because despite the things that I see every day with my job that would make most people run for the hills, not having the fortitude or the guts or the stomach to handle it. It feels so good to help put the same criminals behind bars most of the time for the rest of their lives with no chance of parole. I have faced down some of the most vicious, cruel, evil people that the human race has ever produced and come out a better person for it, so if you really think that you're bullying is going to intimidate me like it did when I was a child, you need a serious reality check. As Aaron said I have made something of my life and have 3 PhDs and two BAs, all of which I use almost every day in my job and what have you done with your life in the last 20 years? Let's see you are obviously still the bully you were as a child, you've let yourself go, you are divorced because there is pale skin at the base of your ring finger while the rest of your hand is tanned, which means it was a fairly recent event. I can guess anyway that your wife left you because you are often drunk and more than likely knocked her around until finally she'd had enough.”
Aaron watched as Spencer dissected the man in front of him with ease and was very proud of him.
“What gives you the right...” Albert began not seeming to realize that he was shouting.
“You came over here to pick a fight believing that you could intimidate and bully me and when you made that decision, no matter how poor a one it was, you gave me the right to defend myself. I wasn't the one that approached you after all.”
Albert swung at Spencer who had been watching for it, ducked out of the way and because he was standing against a wall Albert's fist made contact and the force of the swing made the impact extremely painful.
“Ow, my hand, you broke it,” Albert screamed out in pain clutching his hand.
“I did no such thing as it was you that took a swing at me and if you really thought I would just stand there and let you hit me then you definitely need a serious reality check. I usually don't need to repeat myself, because for one thing the people I work with are intelligent and don't need me too, but since you apparently didn't get the point before I'll tell you again that I am no longer the child that you can pound with impunity. I am now grown man, that will fight back because if my job has taught me anything it's how to stand up for myself, but I always have my friends on the team as backup when I need it, though they do let me fight my own battles. I do believe you at least cracked your wrist and probably broke a couple of fingers as I heard several cracks, so you might want to go to the hospital and get your hand checked,” Spencer informed Albert calmly his tone neutral.
Albert looked up from where he was clutching his wrist and looked like he was about to attack Spencer again broken hand or not, but by this point they had been noticed by almost everyone that was in the gymnasium and one of the other men came forward and grabbed Albert around the shoulders.
“I wouldn't, Spencer is right as everyone here saw the whole thing and you came over here to specifically to try to bully him and in my opinion got what was coming to you. Did you really expect Spencer to be the same kid that you bullied so badly when he was only 11 or 12 at that time. The whole school knew about it, but we were children ourselves and didn't want to get involved. Sure we were older than Spencer was and therefore better able to protect ourselves, but we still should have protected him better, but children don't always make good decisions and some adults don't either. The teacher or the principal should've done something about it as he is not the only one that was bullied so badly, although he did tend to get the worst of it.”
“You know that none of the teachers or the principal for that matter could do anything without evidence and Albert and the others were smart enough to never give him any and in a way we helped the bullies get away with it by not reporting it because we were afraid to,” Spencer said quietly. “Silence is often taken as consent or permission even if it isn't meant that way.”
“You've changed, Spencer, you never would have stood up to Albert years ago,” observed a pretty blond haired woman.
“Yes, well as I was telling Albert, people change as they grow up, and it has been two decades,” Spencer said calmly.
“I find it extremely hard to believe that you joined the FBI,” sneered another, this time a man with black hair.
“Yes, well, none of you really knew me did you?” asked Spencer. “Did any of you really take the time to know me? No you'd rather pick on me or ignore me completely. Don't think I don't remember what happened 20 years ago, because I do—perfectly. Unlike the rest of you my eidetic memory won't give me the advantage of things fading over time so all the times I was pushed into lockers or shoved until I fell to the floor are clear as the day they happened. However, for the most part I have put those painful memories behind me as I see worse things every day in my job and the treatment I put up growing up pales into insignificance in comparison.”
“So you want lying just to…” asked one lady with red hair looking sick now.
“No, Alice, I wasn't fibbing or stretching the truth,” Spencer said his expression grim.
Alice looked startled at being addressed by name, Hotch who had been watching Spencer and the crowd closely ready to interfere if necessary noticed, which caused him to grin mentally.
“It takes a certain kind of person to be able to see the sites that I and the rest of the team do every day and a lot of people wouldn't be able to,” Spencer answered. “In a way, the bullying I put up with as a child had a purpose, and that was at least to partly make me who I was, someone who wanted to catch people who hurt others. Someone who takes great pleasure in catching a pedophile, or someone who thinks it's okay to kill and mutilate someone just because they've had a bad childhood or psychotic break due to some tragedy. Of course those that have had psychotic breaks can't help themselves and mostly don't realize that is what happened or even heard of such a thing, but as for the rest of them, well they deserve what they get.”
“I've seen you on the news or in the paper a few times,” another man admitted, “along with him,” he added pointing at Hotch “and several other people. I couldn't believe it when I recognized you even though as you said it's been 20 years and you do look different. I read the article and though your name wasn't mentioned specifically I still recognized you. All the article said was that the FBI had helped catch one of most prolific serial killers that has ever been discovered.”
“Ah yes, I remember that,” Spencer remembered his eyes going distant. “That was, just a couple years ago and the month was February.”
“Spencer, was the one that finally tracked our killer down and figured out where he was holed up and thanks to his behind the scenes work Evan Wilder got the death penalty,” Hotch added feeling it was finally time to enter the conversation.
“And just who are you? Bert did say that you were part of Wilder's capture.”
“Aaron Hotchner, unit chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit,” Hotch introduced himself.
“And why are you here? I wouldn't think Spencer's boss would come with him to his class reunion,” said another woman.
“Isn't it obvious why he came?” called another woman. “Spencer and him are romantically involved.”
A lot of the people looked disgusted at the brown haired woman's words, not that that was to surprising since a lot of people were against gay or lesbian relationships.
“I did come to support Spencer, and although I'm usually much more diplomatic and polite when it comes to my job, here I am on my own time and so I am free to tell all of you that what a lot of you did to a young boy, is considered abuse and from what Spencer has told me if it had been reported could have landed whoever was responsible in a whole load of trouble with the law and probably landed them in juvenile detention. Most serial killers come from childhoods that are abusive in the extreme and although a lot of abused children turn out okay a percentage of them do not. Most serial killers murder only one sex and in their minds they are getting back at their abuser, whether that is their mother, their father, a stepparent, a grandparent or just someone they feel had teased or ridiculed them. A lot of geniuses can't help, but come off as know-it-alls, and yes most of them are bullied by their peers or even adults who don't even try to understand them and so many geniuses grow up friendless and alone, which can have a detrimental effect on the psyche of a person,” Hotch lectured and saw a lot of people start to look guilty and chastened. “Yes, the two of us are together as a couple, not that that's any of your business, considering that not a single one of you were his friends when he was going to school here, so you definitely don't have the right to comment. I can very accurately guess just from what Spencer has told me that all of you just thought of him as this weird little kid who was way smarter then he should be, and who didn't deserve special privileges of skipping grades, so some of you took out all your anger, frustration and disgust on someone who had done nothing to deserve it other then be who he is, while the rest of you did nothing to stop it. Yes, I realize that as children you didn't want to get involved, but if he had just had one friend, someone who supported and helped him despite how he was being bullied…” Hotch trailed off glaring at every single person in the crowd, most of who immediately looked away as not many people could stand up to the SSA Hotchner glare for very long and some not at all. “Having at least one true friend who stuck by him through everything would have made a huge difference to a lonely child. Yes, I care about Spencer and I did even before we got together as more than just friends or coworkers or boss and subordinate. I know that children have a lot of pressures, the pressure to fit in no matter what, the pressure of doing well in school and getting good grades, the pressure of trying to stay under the radar so as not to be the target of bullies, the pressure of making friends or falling into a bad crowd. I was a child myself once and I haven't forgotten how tough it is to be one and it is simple fact that some children handle the pressures better than others, but in my opinion that is not an excuse for the excessive bullying that Spencer in particular endured. I have already admitted that I care about him and that I love him. Even before we got together, I cared about him as does the rest of the team as they consider him one of their own and would walk through anything to protect his back. Spencer usually doesn't talk much about his childhood since it wasn't exactly a good one was it? When he does though, well, let's just say that it's a good thing Morgan isn't here as he is likely to give the ones who hurt him so badly more than a piece of his mind, since he considers him a little brother.”
Spencer who had been listening to this silently lips had twitched several times but he had let his mate say his piece because he felt that his former classmates more than deserved that at least.
“Well, you ought to be proud of yourselves, I don't think I've ever heard Aaron give such a long speech in all the years I've known him as he's usually a man of few words. He was extremely pissed when I did tell him about my treatment as a child by some of you, although I never named names which you should be happy about. He convinced me to come to this reunion to put some old ghosts to rest when I would have just thrown the invitation in the trash as I wasn't interested in seeing the same people who had made part of my childhood such a torment. He told me that I should come to this reunion to prove to the people who bullied me so badly that I have moved on and that I had made something of my life despite some people's best attempt to beat me down.”
A lot of Spencer's former classmates looked guilty again as he was absolutely right that they hadn't done anything to help him even if that was just by being his friend and a confidant. They all knew that having a friend and someone to talk could help you get through a tragedy or some other major event in your life as sometimes you just needed a person to vent or to let out your frustrations to or for them to just listen.
“Why join the FBI when you could've gone into business for yourself I made tons of money,” asked one guy not understanding. “I mean if it had been me and I had the brains to make millions that's what I would've done.”
“Maybe that's what you would've done, but that's never been me,” Spencer said simply. “Why have more money then you really need and be lonely and suspicious of everyone simply because they might be after it and trying to con you out of it? At least as a member of the FBI I'm doing some good in the world by putting unsubs behind bars.”
“Unsub?” asked a female
“Unsub was a term coined by Jason Gideon who was unit chief before he retired and it stands for unknown subject and is what we call the criminals we catch until we know who they are,” Spencer explained.
“Can we see your badge?” asked a female with blond curly hair. “None of us have ever seen a real FBI badge before.”
“And you wouldn't have unless you had met a real FBI agent in the course of a case, whether that was as witnesses or suspects or in some cases both,” Hotch smirked. “You never want to see an FBI agents badge because it means that you're going to be questioned either interrogated or interviewed depending if you're a witness or a suspect.”
“Make sure you never get in enough trouble to have the FBI, especially the members of the BAU question you because you won't like being interrogated, which Aaron, Rossi, Emily and Morgan are very good at it. I've seen them breakdown suspects, that aren't normally the type that will confess to being murderers, no matter the pressure, even if the whole team know they are guilty,” Spencer said. “I've seen all of them at one time or another break down some of the most vicious killers you can imagine and make them confess to their crimes.”
“You're pretty good at it too,” Hotch told Spencer.
“I find it hard to believe that Spencer has been able to break down suspects. I mean he was such a wimp when he was a kid and wouldn't even stand up for himself,” said one male voice from the crowd.
“Oh he has, it just depends on the suspect of course as some just respond better to him then they do to the rest of us and if any of you ever call Spencer a wimp again considering all he has accomplished in his life you and I will be having words and you won't like what I have to say,” Hotch told the man who had spoken, glaring at him before glaring at anyone else his eyes seething with anger. The man who had spoken lowered his eyes immediately as the emotions in the dark haired man's eyes promised severe pain if he dared make another derogatory comment. “Not every child wants to make waves and possibly get beaten up for it so really you have no right to talk. Besides people change as they grow up and gain experience. None of you have a right to say anything, because you didn't bother to help him when his head was being shoved into a toilet or he was being pushed from behind until he fell to the floor and then trampled on, now did you? Any of you?!” Hotch glared around at the crowd again and most of them immediately looked way. “Now I don't know who did these things and it's a good thing because then we would be having more than a few words. What those people did to Spencer as I said earlier could've landed them in a great deal of legal trouble and most likely in juvenile detention. Once you've been in juvenile detention that record follows you for the rest of your life and will stop you from getting certain types of jobs, especially ones in the government.”
“Aaron, calm down,” Spencer told his mate gently. “What happened was 20 years ago so in other words I've put the past behind me and no matter what certain people say it doesn't affect me like it would have when I was a kid.”
Aaron struggled visibly to calm down as it wasn't often that he lost his temper to this degree, but the things that had been done to his mate as a child still made him so angry he could barely see straight.
“And you, Gary should be proud of yourself for the last time Aaron lost his temper this badly he was questioning a suspect who we believed had kidnapped a five-year-old boy and we were trying to find him before he died,” Spencer said the words being said so sarcastically that nobody present could miss it, “but then saying what you think without your brain interfering has never been a problem for you, has it? You've always said exactly what you thought, no matter how much trouble it got you in and it is as if filter that most people have in their brains that at least makes them think about what they want to say before they do is not part of yours or if it it its it isn't working properly. If you were at all observant considering how this conversation has gone so far you would have known that Aaron was already pissed at certain people and how they treated me as a child and yet you go and say the worst possible thing that makes him even more pissed, which is quite the achievement since it has already been stated it takes a lot for him to truly lose his temper.”
Gary opened his mouth as if to retort, but a lady who was probably his wife came up to him and said, “Give it a rest Gary, Spencer is right and you know it. You're the one that started the whole thing by opening your mouth and saying the most hateful thing you could think of. Now, I didn't go to this school, but from what I have heard tonight it is clear that Spencer was treated like a pariah just because he was so much younger and so intelligent as well and there is obviously still a lot of resentment about that even though it's been 20 years and I for one can hardly blame either Spencer or his partner for that resentment. The two of them have been right in everything they have said and if you've noticed Spencer hasn't lost his temper once even though he has every right to at least from what I've heard so far.”
“What would be the point of losing my temper when it won't change peoples opinions?” asked Spencer thinking that he liked this woman that his old classmate was married too. “Humans are stubborn, opinionated and have tempers and a lot of them won't change their opinions even when they have evidence that they are wrong as they are to stubborn to change. You might be ready to ask me how I know this, well let's just say that being a part of the BAU means you have to know a lot about human nature how they think or will act in different situations. Really it is just noticing the behavior of a person, whether Shifters, Normals or shamans who usually react in certain ways depending on the situation and you have to know how they will react, which is what observation is for. Unlike most sciences behavioral analysis is still an imprecise one, but is still effective, since the BAU has a 96 percent success rate and we are learning more all the time as we actually interview serial killers to add to our knowledge, well the ones that agree to talk to us.”
“Why don't we just dance as we came here to enjoy ourselves, not to argue with any of you. I will give you one warning however if anyone of you even thinks about making another nasty comment or trying to attack Spencer in anyway, well let's just say you will regret it. What some of you did to an 11 and 12 year old boy, well, I know how cruel kids can be to anyone they consider different, although most of them turn into decent adults, but the bullying that Spencer endured was far from what would be considered the norm for the usual crap that happens between children in school and would be considered more than excessive if it ever went to court,” Hotch growled.
“We should have come to his defense,” admitted the principal coming forward, “Unfortunately I couldn't really do anything without any hard evidence or at least a complaint.”
“If there's one person whom I don't blame its you,” Spencer told the older man, who looked at least in his late fifties. “I know how the systems works and I know you have to have at least a complaint before you can do anything, but as has already been said a lot of children just don't want to cause a scene and I was one of them. I survived and now I use my talents to help other's a lot who have childhoods that were worse then mine was, which is partly the cause of why so many people end up as rapist, serial killers and the like. I know I was lucky that that didn't happen to me.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it,” Hotch cut in. “You were too intelligent to turn out like some of the people we catch.”
“Intelligence is only part of the equation,” Spencer said. “There are other factors involved, environment, upbringing...”
“Relationships, like having friends,” Hotch cut in glaring at the crowd.
“Well, he's very...protective of you,” Principal Sayers said.
“He is,” Spencer agreed with a little smile, “but then Aaron's always been protective of the team. You out of all the people in this school know that I am a Shifter and I never would have gotten involved in relationship with my boss if not for the fact that we are True Mates,” he added quietly.
“Ah, that explains it,” Sayers said in understanding. “It's nice to meet you.”
“It's nice to meet you too,” Aaron said. “Spencer was just telling me that you were a good man and we were just coming over to talk to you when that confrontation took place.”
“Yes, well most of the people that were in Spencer's class are good hardworking decent people, but just like in any school there were a few that chose to be bullies and the rest did nothing to stop it,” Sayers said.
“Believe me, I know the statistics,” Hotch said. “I know I shouldn't be angry at the whole school for what they did, not even at all of Spencer's graduating class, just the ones responsible, but I've always gotten upset over children being bullied for no real reason other then that they are different...well, let's just call it one of my pet peeves. I don't let it affect my job, but there would be a lot less criminals in the world if there were fewer bullies. It wouldn't solve every single problem we have with people who break the law, but it sure would lower the percentage of crime, since our studies show that a lot murderers and rapist and other criminals start out as being bullies.”
“If we lived in a perfect world then the two of us would be out of jobs,” Spencer joked causing Hotch to relax and laugh.
“Yes, there will always be at least some crime, as human beings just are not wired for a perfect utopia. We're to cussed ornery and muleheaded to get along with our neighbors, which is not an opinion I usually voice,” Hotch agreed. “If everybody got along, there'd be no reason for cops, lawyers, the FBI, or any other law agency.”
“That's extremely profound,” Sayers said impressed thinking that his former student's mate was an intelligent man.
“Thank you, but I do work for the FBI, and you have to be extremely intelligent, especially when you work with the BAU, as they only accept the best. I was a federal prosecutor before I decided that wasn't for me and joined the bureau.”
“I'm not aware of the requirement of getting into the BAU, as I've been keeping an electronic eye on Spencer ever since he graduated.”
“Have you?” asked Spencer looking more amused, then upset.
“Well, I care about all my students, but there are some that have past through this school in the last 35 years that have been special,” said Sayers. “I always knew that Spencer would be amazing and not just because of his high IQ or his eidetic memory, but because he never fought back no matter the provocation. Not when they taunted him, or when they physically bullied him and we both know that a lot of people wouldn't recognize Spencer's nonaction for what it was and would call him a lot of names that weren't true.”
“Yes, I agree,” Hotch said with a nod liking Principle Sayers.
“I'm glad, that Spencer found someone that he could be so relaxed and happy with as he was always so isolated when he went to this school as he had nobody to hang out with and he was just one of those people that didn't make friends easily.”
“Well, that might've been true then, but now I have the six best friends anybody could ask for,” Spencer said. “The team has been through just about everything together and we would all do almost anything to protect each other.”
“All of them consider Spencer like a little brother or in David Rossi's case a favorite nephew,” Hotch added.
“And you? I'm assuming you don't think of him like that,” Sayers said.
“No, of course not,” Hotch said getting the implication immediately. “The way I think of Spencer and the way the rest of the team think of him are two totally different things.”
“And that's the way it should be,” Sayers said with a smile. “Why don't the two of you go enjoy yourselves before this reunion is over completely. Spencer I'm glad you came as you weren't at the last one and I looked for you.”
“Sorry, but I wasn't ready to face any of my old classmates back then as they hurt me not only physically, but emotionally as well and thanks to my eidetic memory I've never forgotten and in fact am incapable of it,” Spencer admitted. “It was Aaron that urged me to come as I'm sure you heard me say earlier to put some of my old ghosts to rest and he was right as usual this was exactly what I needed and that was to confront the very same people who made my life such a misery until I went away to college at just 13.”
“Just keep in mind despite how you were treated by your classmates you succeeded and I know that a lot of them are envious of you for what you have accomplished despite them,” Sayers said. “I mean you have one of the most prestigious and toughest jobs in the world and most of them couldn't handle the pressures or the things that you see every day.”
“I've been basically telling him the same thing ever since we got together just over two years ago now,” Hotch said putting an arm around Spencer's waist and pulling him close to him.
Spencer didn't say anything just enjoyed being in Aaron's arms with his head on the other man's shoulder.
“Congratulations on your marriage, by the way,” Sayers said as he had noticed the wedding rings.
“Thank you,” Spencer said with a smile looking up at Aaron adoringly while Hotch leaned down and kissed the top of Spencer's head, thinking that he could never lose him for if he did it would destroy him, although he was well aware that he was ten years older and that he would likely die years before Spencer would, but hopefully not for decades.
Sayers watched this with a smile as it was nice to see his former student so relaxed and happy and although he had never guessed that Spencer would end up having a True Mate of the same sex he was, it warmed his heart to see one of the students that had truly touched it so content.
The three of them continued to chat for a few minutes before Aaron led Spencer onto the dance floor so they could dance for awhile before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Hotch and Spencer danced for over an hour before going to get them some of the finger food that was available and then continued to dance ignoring the stares that some of Spencer's former classmates were shooting in their direction and just continued to dance the night away just concentrating on each other not caring what other people thought of two men being together.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“What do you want?” Hotch almost snarled as a very pretty woman with dark hair came into their personal space the first one to besides the principal.
Hotch and Spencer were standing over by the buffet table eating from all the finger foods that was available while talking quietly. Hotch's posture was mostly relaxed, but his eyes kept flittering and about the hall daring anyone to approach them and most people got the message and gave them a wide berth. When this woman who was a few years older than Spencer had approached Hotch had simply glared and snarled at her as he didn't want his or Spencer's personal space invaded or their peace disturbed.
“Aaron, calm down,” Spencer said, placing a hand on his mate's arm. “As you can see he's still mightily upset at the way you all treated me, some by just ignoring the situation, others by being the bullies.”
“We were just kids,” the woman said nearly pleadingly.
“That's no excuse,” Hotch grumbled.
“Yes, it is some excuse and you know it, Aaron,” Spencer said calmly. “Most children just want to fit in and you would know this if you would just calm down. I know you're very protective of me and I appreciate it, but that's no reason to take out your temper on an innocent bystander.”
“Alright,” Hotch said more calmly. “I'm sorry. I very rarely lose my temper, but as Spencer said I'm very protective of him and this was true even before the two of us got together.”
“Actually I came over here to apologize for being one of those bystanders,” the lady said looking genuinely remorseful.
“You're forgiven, Josie,” Spencer said with a smile, “because I understand that kids don't want to interfere in case they bring the bully's attention onto them. I never fought back because I knew that would just make the bullying worse then it was and as I have already explained to everybody else at least partly made me what I am today.”
“As if it wasn't bad enough,” Hotch snorted still sounding rather sour.
“I'm afraid he's going to be upset about how I was treated as a child for quite some time and it takes a lot to get him upset,” Spencer said apologetically.
“I can certainly understand that because when you truly deeply love someone and you learn about their childhood and that it wasn't what it could have been because someone treated them so cruelly before they met well I'm sure I'd would be upset to,” Josie offered. “I can tell that he loves you, so of course he's pissed at the way you were so severely beaten up on regular basis when you were a child and the fact that nobody stepped in to help out by at least being a friend.”
Hotch gave Josie a dry smile at that his eyes warming up slightly though he said nothing, realizing that at least one person did partially understand that what they had done all those years ago was wrong. Hotch well knew that most children didn't have the kind of compassion that they might later develop as adults and wouldn't want to be the target of the bullies anger and would have stayed out of it just for that reason. That didn't make it right of course, but it was human nature for people to not want to get involved in others problems and so were few and far between as humans seemed to be wired to protect themselves first and not help someone else, of course the same was true of Shifters and shamans as well. Sometimes it took you years and experience to develop a strong resolve and turn into a compassionate individual and to stand up to your principals.
“You're certainly braver then you other classmates who haven't given us a wide berth ever since our confrontation.”
“Well, you can't really blame them as you can be very… intimidating,” Josie said a little nervously causing both Spencer and Hotch to laugh heartily and Josie to relax.
“That's the understatement of the century,” Spencer snorted. “He's developed intimidation into an art form, which comes in really handy in our jobs, especially in interrogating suspects. I only know of one person who can stand up to the way he glares at them for very long, which is usually only a few seconds, and that's David Rossi who was his mentor years ago, so I'm not really surprised that nobody else has been brave enough to invade our personal space.”
“Hey it makes people back off, when they get too personal, or criminals almost wet themselves a lot of times, which means that usually tell me everything I want to know,” Hotch admitted with a half smile. “Of course a lot of the criminals are tougher and still refuse to give information, but still the team usually manages to put the clues together and put them in prison for a very long time.”
“I really do believe that a lot of former students do owe you an apology for at least not being there for you even if it was in secret so that the bullies didn't beat them up,” Josie said.
“It would've been nice to have at least one friend at that time in my life,” Spencer said wistfully. “However as I said earlier what I went through had a lot to do with how I turned out to be and who knows if I would have wanted to join the FBI if it wasn't for the way I was so severely bullied in both high school and college? If I hadn't joined the BAU and gone through the training, well Aaron and I never would've met and I would've gone through anything in order for that to occur. Well, I'm not going to dwell on what ifs, because it doesn't do any good to think about what could have have been. However, I'll always be grateful that my life took the path it did so that Aaron and I met and I don't give a damn if other people are disgusted with two men in a relationship.”
“You've changed a lot,” Josie observed Spencer smiled. “Years ago you would've got almost anything in order to avoid attracting attention.”
“People change,” Spencer told her, “and it has been 20 years.”
“Besides he does tend to fade into the background whenever he goes out to a bar with Morgan,” Hotch said. “He still not very good in social situations but then considering his upbringing that's not really surprising and he has improved even if he doesn't believe so.”
Spencer blushed and glared at his lover who ignored him and finally Spencer gave in because he could never stay mad at Aaron Hotchner for very long and worse the man knew it.
The three of them continued to chat, but finally Hotch dragged Spencer out on the dance floor again and the two of them danced closely together ignoring the stares and managed to have a good time despite the way people avoided them as no one was as brave as Josie had been and actually approached, although both Hotch and Spencer did notice a few people stare at them almost wistfully probably thinking that they would love to be as close to their spouse as it was apparent that the two of them were.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“You were right, I did need to go to my class reunion and confront the people that made my life such a misery, so I'm glad you made me confront my past,” Spencer said as he and Hotch lay in their hotel room bed together. “I've managed to put quite a few old ghost to rest and hopefully I'll stop having nightmares about them.”
“You should,” Hotch said as he held his mate in his arms and Spencer for his part smuggled into Aaron's chest happy just to be near him and absorb his body heat, “but if you don't you know I'll be here to help you through them.”
“It'll be a nice change,” Reid said pensively. “I know I'll always have nightmares about the things I see on the job, but it will still be nice not to have them about my childhood anymore.”
The two men were silent for awhile and then Hotch blurted out, “I think I finally decided to go through with it.”
“With what?” asked Spencer momentarily confused and then remember a conversation that he and Aaron had had over a year ago now. “You decided to go through the blood transfusion, that will possibly give you the ability to shift shape?”
“Yes, I've been thinking about it quite a bit over the last year ever since you mentioned the possibility,” Hotch said, “and I just finally decided that it would be worth doing. It's only a blood transfusion after all not a major operation. They will of course, have to take an equal amount of blood, but that's okay too as they can use it for people who really need it.”
“So when do you want to do it?” Reid asked eagerly.
“Eager aren't you?” Hotch teased him.
“Well, just because I'm pretty sure that the blood transfusion from a full Shifter will give you the ability to do the same, doesn't mean that I'm not eager to see if it will work or not,” Spencer explained with an excited glint in his golden brown eyes. “Giving a person that already has a great deal of Shifter blood, enough to have traits that are exclusive to Shifters a transfusion, so that they will be able to shift shape is still iffy at best even if it's worked a dozen times. I'm nearly 90% positive that it will work on you, considering that you felt the pull of the mating bond among other things, but that kind of thing is never a hundred percent certain. The last Shifter in your family was your grandfather and he was also a wolf Shifter just like I am, so it's pretty amazing that you have the enhanced sense of smell and hearing, along with the mating gene that wolf Shifters possess, being active instead of either inactive or nonexistent actually all Shifters, to various degrees.”
“I understood what you mean,” Hotch said with a smile in his voice.
Spencer was glad that he and Aaron knew each other so well, that they could understand what the other meant most of the time. Sure, the two still argued, sometimes, all couples did whether or not they were mated or knew each other extremely well, but for the most part they got along without arguing, which Spencer was glad.
“So when do you want to do it?” asked Spencer with eagerness in his voice. “I'm really looking forward to being able to transform with you, to run beneath the trees, preferably beneath the full moon.
“As soon as possible,” Hotch said. “I would like to try it sometime in the next month or so. I won't even have to leave the team shorthanded for very long, since it's only a blood transfusion after all. I am also looking forward to being out change shape like my grandfather did as he used to tell me stories, when I was a young boy.”
“What about your brother? Do you think he has enough Shifter blood in order to change shape with a blood transfusion?” asked Spencer.
“I don't really know,” Hotch admitted, “but considering that I probably can shift once I get that blood transfusion he likely has that ability as well. However, as far as I know he never wanted to be a Shifter. Sure he listened to our grandfather stories, but never seemed as fascinated by them as I did back when I was young and you know that I'm not usually the romantic type at all or one given a good fantasy, but grandpa's stories kind of just...”
“But your grandfather stories made you aware of a place in your heart where you would really like to be able to change to run beneath the moon, one you weren't aware existed until then.”
“That's it exactly,” Hotch said, unsurprised that Spencer had described accurately how he had felt when he had been a child listening to his grandfather's stories. “I never imagined though that my dreams would actually come true, not in this case.”
“Well, we don't know that they will,” Spencer said cautiously. “However there is a very good chance.”
“Well, if it doesn't work, at least I can't say that I didn't try,” Hotch said, “Of course I never would have known about the possibility if you hadn't told me it was possible, so I'm at least going to give it a try and if it doesn't work then that's okay to. I might be a little bit disappointed, that I can't change like my grandfather or you, but I'm basically happy with myself the way I am.”
“So am I,” Spencer promised him silkily causing Hotch's mouth to go dry and his cock to twitch in interest. “You being able to change and run with me would be just a nice added bonus, but is not really necessary.”
Hotch begin to kiss the side of his mate's neck and Spencer immediately respond, by tilting his head to give his mate better access.
“That feels so good,” Spencer moaned.
“I can do better,” Hotch promised him with a soft growl.
“Go right ahead,” Spencer said already panting anticipation.
Hotch easily flipped Spencer over until he was laying on the other side of the bed on his back and was instantly on top of him.
“I love you so much, Spencer and I'll shall never stop,” Hotch told him softly.
“I love you too,” Spencer promised leaning up just enough to kiss Hotch passionately on the lips. “You are part of me and there is no way that I could ever leave you as it would destroy me.”
“I know it,” Hotch promised him, “and believe me I feel the same way. We belong to each other no one else.”
“Now that's something I can definitely agree on,” Spencer panted as Hotch continued to suck on his nipples and nip, kiss and lick think him all over.
After that there was no more talking just sounds of pleasure as the two of them made love gently and tenderly.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

“Ready? Spencer asked his mate eagerly.
The two of them stood completely naked beneath the trees.
Hotch had indeed gone in for the transfusion of Shifter blood and had only taken a few hours in order to do it, although Hotch was made to sign all sorts of paperwork that said the hospital wasn't responsible if it didn't work and that they would not be sued. The transfusion was no danger to his life as the blood was tested to make sure it was clean of any diseases, however even though it had worked on a dozen patients before it still didn't work very often just on those rare individuals that had enough Shifter blood from their family that all they needed was a transfusion, ones that a lot of times had the enhanced sense of smell and hearing or some other sense depending on species to make it possible. Spencer wasn't sure if this was the first time that somebody who was not a shifter actually had an active mating gene had then been turned into one, not that it mattered.
The two of them stood in their own backyard as they had finally found a house that had a forest close by and although it was about half an hour driving time going into work some Hotch and Spencer felt it was worth it. They had finally found a house in a neighborhood that had several other shifter couples, where the neighbors were friendly, even those who weren't shifters although they still hadn't met all their neighbors since they were gone so much, but the ones they had were nice and didn't seem to care they were two men in an obvious relationship or at least the ones they had met so far.
“More than ready,” Hotch agreed eagerly. Hotch knew that he had rarely felt this eager in his entire life for he wasn't usually the type to get eager or excited, however he had always wanted to be able to shift and like his grandfather and that made a difference.
“All right,” Spencer said trying his best not to look at his mate's naked body as it immediately had him salivating and he needed to concentrate here. “I have already described the process to you, not to mention that you've seen me shift on numerous occasions by now so why don't you give it a try?”
Hotch nodded and closed his eyes remembering what Spencer had told him and what he had seen for himself, when his mate shifted.
Concentration for him wasn't a problem since he was used to concentrating, blocking everything else out, except the current task, when he and the team were trying to catch their current unsub.
Slowly, at first, he could feel the change come over him, he felt itching as his fur grew in and then his bones seemed to melt painlessly and reshape themselves, his joints in particular and his mouth and nose turned into a snout. Suddenly he fell to his hands and knees and the rest of his body changed swiftly until he was a great black wolf that was much larger and had a broader deeper chest then Spencer's wolf form. Spencer's wolf form was made for running and therefore he was a lot less muscular and his chest less broad then the black wolf standing in front of his mate. There was no way that he Aaron Hotchner would ever be able to match his mate in speed, as Reid in his wolf form could run like the wind and maintain it for a long time, but it did have some advantages like being able to bring down a deer and make the kill and also face off other wolves and probably win due to his sheer bulk.
“Aaron, you're beautiful,” Spencer said getting down on his knees and running a hand through the sheer black fur on his mate's back. “You're absolutely breathtaking you know that?”
Hotch barked at him and Spencer laughed hearing the irritation in his tone.
Spencer stayed where he was but his form changed swiftly and within seconds a smaller brown wolf was standing in front of the black one.
The brown wolf looked off into the forest and then back at Hotch who immediately understood what his mate was trying to say. The brown wolf's body language was eager and Hotch translated this without any trouble, once he allowed the wolf in him to take over.
Hotch took a few steps towards the trees Spencer matching his pace and soon the two of them were racing through the trees with their tongues hanging out and the wind in their fur.
Finally they came upon a meadow and both of them collapsed to the ground panting heavily.
Slowly the two of them transformed not caring that they were buck naked since nobody was around to see them and as soon as they were human again both collapsed on their backs and stared up at the sky.
“That was the most exhilarating thing I've done in my life,” Hotch said as soon as he had gotten his breath back. “It could quickly become my favorite things to do.”
“Even making love?” Spencer asked his eyes twinkling mischievously.
“Well, no, not quite that good,” Hotch admitted immediately and completely honestly. “It comes pretty close to that, but no it doesn't quite pass us making love as my favorite thing to do, as fucking you senseless will always top everything else. Still I'd like to do this again as often as our very busy schedules allow. I can definitely see why you enjoy transforming so much and going for a run when you have a few free minutes.”
“Yeah, it's always something I enjoyed doing,” Spencer admitted. “Not that I got to do it all that often once I started my job at the BAU since we're always so busy.”
“We'll just have to make time,” Hotch said, “as we do deserve a life outside of work no matter what Strauss thinks.”
The two of them were silent and then finally both sat up. “I suppose we had better get dressed and everything,” Spencer said reluctantly.
“Why?” Hotch asked lazily. “We don't really have to going to work until Monday and it's only Saturday. I don't see why we can't stay out here for the rest of the night if we want to.”
“Yes, that's true enough,” Spencer admitted as he rolled over until he was cuddled into his mate's warmth. “Still it'll get cold now if we stay out here too long so just better to head back to the house.”
“I suppose,” Hotch said.
“We can do this again sometime soon,” Spencer said, “In between everything else we have going on. Now that we know you can change and you don't have any trouble doing it at least from what I could tell...”
“No, I didn't, it just seemed natural,” Hotch admitted, “although the fur does itch like crazy coming in.”
Spencer made a face at that. “Yes, it does but at least it doesn't hurt to change shape, which means that shifters won't mind changing as often as they like.”
The two fell silent again and cuddled together, but finally Hotch sat up, Spencer immediately doing the same.
“We could stay out here all night, but you're right it will get cold later and while we could sleep out here in our wolf form, I for one prefer to sleep in a bed.”
“Oh yes, I agree as much as I love running in my wolf I still prefer to sleep in my own bed and not out in the woods,” Spencer said. “It's certainly bound to be easier to make love in a nice comfortable bed then out in the forest.”
“More comfortable anyway,” Hotch said.
Spencer and Hotch started to walk towards the edge of the forest holding hands the entire way and once they had reached it they reached up to retrieve their clothes where they had left them high on a branch in order to protect them from wild animals.
“I can see us doing this as often as time allows,” Hotch said as he got dressed. “I mean I did tell you I have been having dreams about running beneath the moon and it was everything I dreamed about and more. It felt…so freeing, to just transform and forget all my worries or cares as a man and simply run with you, my mate.”
“Yes, I agree,” Spencer said with a nod as he got into his own clothes. “In my wolf form I can just let go of all my cares, my worries, my concerns and simply run until I'm to tired to do so anymore. I used to sleep better when I had time for a run, but a lot of times I just didn't. Of course ever since we got together nicely better and I certainly have fewer nightmares, although I still have some as you know.”
“I certainly do and I'm sure the rest of the team does to,” Hotch said with a nod. “Now though I have plans for us for the rest of the night and they don't include talking hardly any at all.”
Spencer blushed knowing immediately what his mate was implying.
“Is that all you ever think about? Having sex?” asked Spencer.
Hotch gave his mate a heated look causing Spencer to blush again and to feel an intense heat travel rapidly to his groin
“When it comes to you? Absolutely!” Hotch said with a smirk. “I told you more than once that I want you all the time, practically every second of every day.”
Spencer blushed for the third time, but was looking forward to making love with the man he adored.
“We had better get inside then and see that our libidos are satisfied.”
“And how long do you think that will take?” asked Hotch with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh decades,” Spencer said causally. “I shall want you in that way until the day one of us dies, which I'm hoping will be at least 50 years, although certainly won't object to more than that.”
“I feel the exact same way,” Hotch told Spencer softly kissing him on the lips passionately.
The two men finished getting dressed and then headed inside hand in hand to make wild passionate love for the rest of the weekend with only time taken out for necessary activities such as food and sleep planning to stay in bed as much as possible until work beckoned them come Monday.