Disclaimer: see my profile

Warnings: see my profile and first chapter

A/n hey kids, this is the last chapter. Thank you for taking this ride with me. You've all been great.

The old Volvo turned a corner into an Arlington neighborhood at noon on a mid-fall day. The houses were made of wood, or brick, and sat back from lawns that were more brown-gold than green. The sky was a hard, cold blue seen only in mid-autumn. A week ago, the leaves had covered these lawns in red, purple, brown and gold glory. Now all the lawns were clear, including the one in front of a two-story home in the middle of the block. It was painted white with forest-green shutters at the windows, which matched the color of the front door.

Reid turned left and pulled the car into the driveway next to a faded brown Honda. "Looks like Helga's here."

"Good…"

"I wonder how she's been getting along with Sophie for the last few days."

"I'm sure it was interesting."

Reid took off his seatbelt and got out of the car. The wind had kicked up a bit and blew what was left of the leaves on the trees into a rattling frenzy. He shivered and pulled his brown corduroy jacket closer to his thin frame.

"It feels colder here, than at the hospital," He informed Emily after opening her door.

"Why don't you get the bags and I'll get Aaron?"

"Um… You shouldn't exert yourself. Why don't I get the bags and Aaron? I can carry them both."

"I don't think so Spencer."

"But -"

"It's been a week since Aaron was born. I have been at home in your apartment for five days. I'm perfectly fine. The doctor said so. You believe him don't you?"

"Well yes but -"

"The longer we argue, the colder it's going to get in here. You don't want to give Aaron a chill."

"No…"

"Then go get the bags and I'll take care of our son.'

Reid gave up and went around to the trunk. Emily unhooked the carrier from the back seat and draped an extra blanket over it.

The wind made the blanket flutter as they headed up to the covered porch that stretched across the front of the house. The door opened before Reid could put his key in the lock.

"Hello my Leibchen…" Helga exclaimed, yanking Reid into the entryway. She hugged him hard as his face turned a bright scarlet.

Emily went into the living room and put Aaron's carrier on the coffee table. Looking around this room made her laugh and sigh in exasperation at the same time. When the rest of team had insisted on moving them into the house, she'd thought it was a good idea. Now there were two sofas crowding the small living room. One was decidedly ugly and worn. The other was practically new and pretty as was the matching wing chair. Her glider rocker had taken up residence in the baby's room and her coffee table stood in the middle of all the furniture that surrounded it. The glass table clashed with the plaid upholstery on Spencer's easy chair. The floors were a beautiful hardwood that Morgan had refinished for them with Will's help. Her area rug filled half the room and didn't look right with the wooden floors. They were going to have to do something about all of this.

"Hey Emily…."

Reid had escaped from Helga who'd made a beeline for Aaron and had extricated him from his carrier. The baby slept soundly through Helga's cooing over him. Sophie had followed Reid into the room meowing loudly.

"What!"

"What are you thinking?" He asked her ignoring the cat who hissed at him.

"It's nothing that can't wait awhile."

"I vill make you lunch ya?"

"You don't have to do that Helga."

"Nonsense, I vant to take care of all my Leibchen."

Emily fought the urge to laugh as the kindly German put the baby back in his carrier. The little guy snuffled a bit and then went back to sleep.

Reid sat down on his dingy old couch and was fingering the blanket that covered his son. Emily loved seeing the deep happiness that had settled over him in the last months. The shadows of sorrow that had always colored his face were nearly gone.

Sophie jumped up on the couch and batted at his arm while meowing loudly. "I think someone's jealous." Emily laughed.

"Oh… Hi Sophie." He absently stroked the cat's head with one hand.

The cat fixed her eyes on him with a baleful stare. "She doesn't think your heart is in it." Emily said.

He looked down at the cat and scratched behind her ears. She gave him one long last look and jumped into his lap. She lay down and began to purr loudly.

"I guess you're forgiven."

He flushed pink at the same time Aaron awoke and began to cry. He reached for the baby, but Emily was faster. She picked up Aaron and cradled him close.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't freak out Spencer. I'm sure he's hungry and probably needs a clean diaper. Don't you little man. Yes, you do… Mommy will take care of you."

Sophie opened one eye and yowled at Reid. He had stopped stroking the top of her head when the baby cried. She hissed at him, jumped down and disappeared up the stairs to the second floor with her tail in the air.

Emily laughed as she followed the cat upstairs to the nursery. "You're going to have to learn to spread yourself around Spencer." She advised him.

---

Helga had made them ham and cheese sandwiches with some of the pasta salad Garcia had sent over the day before for them. They hadn't had to cook at all for a week between Helga's creations and the food sent by Emily's family cook, JJ and Mai.

Emily put her glass of water on the table and watched Spencer finish his sandwich. He was putting on a little bit of weight, thanks to all the food. He was still lanky, but not as bony as he had been a couple of months ago. It looked good on him. God… Waiting another three months to jump him again was going to be torture.

"What are you looking at?"

He'd caught her watching. She felt her cheeks going red. "I was just thinking you look great sitting over there."

"Emily…"

"I know… I am sorry. I'll think about something else."

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He said after swallowing the last bit of his salad.

"What?" Her heart began to race. He wasn't going to leave, was he?

"Moving in together now. I mean we have to wait and I love you so much."

"It's okay Spencer. We'll get through it. And, maybe Aaron will be sleeping more regularly at night by then. He'll be on a schedule, and we can work around any interruptions."

She waggled her eyebrows at him and he went pink in the cheeks. "We're probably fooling ourselves." He said.

"Probably, but I can dream!"

"Me too…" He said a bit breathlessly. "Um, I'm going to go see how Aaron is."

He got up so fast he nearly knocked over the kitchen chair. She laughed so hard she choked on the last bit of pasta salad as he headed out of the kitchen and upstairs to Aaron's room.

Sophie entered the kitchen and meowed at her mistress. Emily picked up the cat and rubbed her head. "Don't worry… He's just a little overprotective of the baby now. He'll come around again."

The cat stared at her.

"I'm not lying so stop looking at me that way. "

She gave the cat a bit of left over ham. The cat ate it and then batted at Emily's hand with her paw. "You see… I know you! You just want food."

The cat meowed.

"Okay… let's get some treats."

---

Emily tiptoed up the stairs and down the hallway to the baby's room. The door was ajar and she could hear his voice murmuring to Aaron."

"… That is Saturn. Did you know it is the least dense planet? It's lighter than water. It would float like an apple if you could find a pool of water large enough. It's the second largest planet in our solar system."

She peeked in and saw her handsome man leaning over the cradle talking very seriously to Aaron about the mobile of his crib.

"… It has thirty-three named moons and seven rings made up of dust and ice. Sometimes they disappear. It takes 30 years for Saturn to make its way around the sun. Since it tilts on an axis like the Earth, we see it changing position, so sometimes we see the flat surface of the rings and sometimes just the edge, making them look like they disappear.

She couldn't take it anymore. She pushed open the door and began to laugh. Reid jumped, turned around and glared at her.

"Honey… Don't you think that waiting till Aaron is a teenager is a better time to bore the pants off him?"

He gave her such a hurt look that she went over and hugged him. "I'm just kidding. I think your lecture was very cute and informative."

She looked down and saw that the baby was awake and looking all over the room. He seemed calmed by Reid's voice.

"I really am sorry honey. He likes your voice."

"Studies have shown that babies respond to their parents voices as early as - I'm doing it again." He said, going pink in the face.

"I like your random facts and so does Aaron."

"Do you think angels really look after us?" Spencer said suddenly as he turned on the mobile.

It began to turn and the little lights that were stars, threw little shadows on the yellow walls of the room. It was exactly as Reid had described it to the baby in the hospital.

"Why are you asking that now?"

"Garcia said she thinks everything happens for a reason. I just wondered if there was a God if he watched over us with angels. "

"I don't think it was a coincidence that we met." Emily said.

"Well no… You were the one that wanted to go to work for the BAU. Strauss was the one that manipulated you into the department."

"You're so logical about it Spence. Don't you see? Gideon was the one that broke all the rules to get you into the BAU. What if it wasn't coincidence? What if something else maneuvered us together?"

"I don't believe in fate if that's what you're asking. I think we have free will. I don't think some all powerful being decreed that I have to work at the BAU."

"I'm not saying that Spencer. I'm just saying that we're here together. Would I have looked at you twice if we hadn't met on the job and got to know you first? Oh, I would have noticed your looks, but I don't know if I would have taken the time to break into that shell of shyness you wear like a second skin."

"Emily…"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You're so beautiful." He cupped her face in his hands. "I never would have asked you out or even tried to talk to you if I'd met you on the street or in a store. I would've been completely intimidated. That doesn't mean that a higher power decreed all of this." He pulled one hand away and gestured around the room.

"I don't know if we'll ever know for sure, but I know that he's a miracle." She looked down at Aaron, who was still awake and kicking his little legs.

"Yeah… I think he is."

"Why are you asking these questions Spencer?"

"I guess I'm feeling sentimental. I love you both so much."

Reid let go of her and picked up Aaron. Watching him cradle her son so carefully made something hurt in her heart. It was all too good to be true. That meant that there had to be some hand behind all of it.

"All I know is that things are going to be different for Aaron." Spencer said. "He's going to have a real family."

"Yeah… We'll all have a real family."

She put an arm around Reid's waist and the other hand on their son. The circle was finally complete. No power on heaven or earth could break it now. Even death seemed so far away in this little house in Arlington. Only light and life were permitted here.