August 13, 2014

Emily gasped when she opened the door to their home. Pink, white, and silver balloons hung from the ceiling. A banner spelling out "Welcome Home" was hanging from the island in their kitchen. And most surprisingly their house was sparkling clean. She and Spencer had made a conscious effort to keep their house tidy in the weeks prior to the birth of their child but this was above and beyond. Everything had been scrubbed, dusted, or wiped down and she was pretty sure the floors were so clean you could eat off of them. Emily walked into the house and spotted a note on the island.

Emily, Spencer, and Baby Nora,

We wish you nothing but happiness as you ease into your life as a family of three. Let us know when we can come visit your sweet baby. That short visit in the hospital wasn't nearly enough.

Love, The Team

Aaron, JJ, Derek, David, and Penelope

Emily opened the door to the freezer and sure enough there were soups and casseroles waiting with post-it note instructions on how to re-heat them.

"How did we get so lucky?" asked Emily.

"They are pretty great, aren't they Nora!" Spencer cooed at the baby.

He set her carseat down on the floor and worked on unbuckling her. The new baby had slept the entire drive home and was still snoozing when Spencer pulled her out. She grimaced at being disturbed but made no effort to open her eyes.

"Sleepy girl, you've had a big day haven't you!"

Emily smirked to herself listening to Spencer talk to their newborn daughter. He had insisted that he was going to talk normally to their baby because it was better for their development but he wasn't exactly succeeding in that goal.

Spencer sat down on the couch and Nora snuggled happily into his chest. Emily sat down next to him and cuddled into his side gazing at the little human that they made together.

"She's perfect, right?" Emily asked Spencer while still staring at the sleeping baby on his chest. "My mind isn't playing tricks on me, she really is perfect."

Spencer turned to kiss her temple.

"A more perfect baby has never existed." Spencer leaned forward and repositioned Nora from his chest and into his arms so they could get a better view of Nora's face. "Em, I want to talk to you about something."

Emily glanced up at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"I was thinking that, maybe, when you are finished with your maternity leave I should leave the BAU."

"What?!" Emily wasn't sure what she thought he was going to say but it most certainly wasn't that. "What do you mean?"

"Nora's here now and we have to think about her. I love our job so much, and I absolutely love working with you, but we're put in dangerous situations all the time. The only thing worse than Nora losing one of her parents would be Nora losing both of her parents."

"Okay, you make a good point but why does that mean you have to leave? I could just as easily be the one to leave the BAU."

"Em, I joined the FBI at 22 because that's what Gideon wanted me to do. And I stayed there because they were the only semblance of a family that I had. Then you came along and my whole world flipped on its axis. I love the BAU, I do. But I've spent my whole adulthood there and I'm okay with trying something new. Before I stayed at the BAU because it was all I had. But now I have you, Nora, and I know I won't lose the team. You've given me the courage to branch out."

Spencer turned to look at Emily. He was surprised to see that her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. Emily placed her forehead against his and sniffled.

"I can't imagine the BAU without you in it."

"I can stay on retainer and help out if you guys need me. But I really think it will be for the best. I'll be home every night to put Nora to bed. But trust me, Em. This scares me too. Knowing that you're going to be hunting serial killers and I'll be here. Helpless to stop any danger that might come your way."

Emily chuckled and placed her lips against is. She barely pulled away and said "Nora is so lucky to have you, and so am I."

August 21, 2014

Spencer tentatively knocked on Hotch's door, unsure of how this meeting would go.

"Come in."

Spencer entered through the doorway and nodded to his superior.

"Spencer, what are you doing here? You still have 3 more weeks of paternity leave."

"Yeah, that's actually kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

Hotch gave him an inquisitive look and motioned for Spencer to take a seat.

"I wanted to talk to you about my role here in the BAU once Emily comes back from maternity leave. We've discussed it and as much as we both love our jobs here we don't want to both be out in the field. None of us are naive to the risk we face everyday at this job. With Nora in the picture, we can't justify the potential toll it could take on her and our family."

Spencer paused to allow Hotch to digest the info he had been given. If he was surprised he didn't show it.

"So what would you like your role to be here at the BAU then?"

"If it's possible I would like to stay on full time and work from Quantico like Garcia. I can still do geological profiling and more remotely. But if that's not possible, I would like to stay on retainer and help out when you need it."

"I'm not going to pretend like not having you in the field won't be a loss. Because it will be. But any Spencer Reid we can get will be better than nothing. I will have to get approval from the higher ups for a full time agent who won't be in the field but I am hopeful we can make it happen."

Spencer smiled and gave a little sigh of relief. He had been prepared to leave the BAU if that was what it took, but this compromise seemed like the perfect solution if it worked out.

"Is that all you came to see me about then?" Spencer nodded. "Alright then, enough with the formal. How are Emily and Nora?"

Spencer grinned.