Author: Ren Kayashima

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I really hate that I have to do this. I do not own Criminal Minds. The title and its characters belong to CBS and its original creator.

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Chapter Twenty:

Diana Reid lived in a world of paranoia and constant fear. Spencer knew this. He had known for a long time that his mother was crazy. Crazy at least in the medical community. Growing up he saw her as brilliant, and he still did. Her imperial knowledge of classic literature was almost unrivaled.

So as Spencer was walking into the Bennington Sanitarium, he wondered what 'lecture' she would be giving today. He smiled as he remembered her favorite poem by Chaucer.

The holidays were always spent in Vegas. It was something he did every year. Provided the FBI didn't call him on an emergency case.

He found his mother staring out the window. She was deep in thought. He walked over with his usual smile in place. "Hey mom," he greeted.

Diana looked up from her seat. Her pensive features creased in a smile. "Spencer, you're finally here," she said. She looked around in confusion. "Where is your girlfriend?"

"New York," Reid smiled sadly. "She's spending Christmas and New Year's there."

"But your letters said that her family is in California. I thought that maybe you would bring her to meet me."

"She's spending the holiday away from her family this year," Reid explained. "I told you that she got shot. Her parents weren't very happy to find that out and haven't stopped bothering her about her job."

"I can see why. I don't like thinking about people shooting you," Diana grunted. "I'm sure her mother feels the same."

Reid sat down and looked out the window at the bare trees. Diana reached over and put a thin hand on her son's knee.

"What's troubling you Spencer?"

Diana Reid was a mother and when she wasn't in the middle of one of her episodes, she knew when her son was bothered.

"Nothing," Reid answered too quickly earning a disapproving glance from his mother. He sighed in defeat. "Brooke wasn't something that I'm not ready for."

"What is it?" Diana asked placing her chin in the palm of her hand as it rested on the arm of her chair.

"Children," Spencer said looking at the floor. It upset his mother that there weren't any little Spencer's running around.

"Does she know that you don't want a child?"

"Yes, when we started dating, she took the steps to prevent pregnancy," Reid said. "But she still wants to have a baby."

"Why don't you want children Spencer?" Diana asked curiously.

"They don't like me," Spencer lied. He didn't want his mother to know that he was afraid of passing on a metal disease.

"Then you haven't been around the right children," Diana stated firmly. "She's rather plain looking," Diana said as she pulled out a photo of Brooke. Spencer had sent it to her in a letter.

Reid looked at the photo. It wasn't the looked that made Brooke beautiful in his eyes. It was her ability to care about those closest to her. She could have sent Neal back to California, but she didn't. The way her mind worked was what made Spencer lover her.

"You too would have a beautiful baby thought," Diana smirked as her son started to blush slightly.

Later that night Spencer sat in his hotel room. It was a simple one with cream walls and a floral print king sized bed. He sat at a small table and pulled his phone out. He took into account the time change. It would only be nine in New York. He dialed Brooke's number with a small smile in place.

"Speak," Brooke chimed.

Spencer's smile grew as he sat back in the chair. "Hey, how's New York?" he asked.

"Cold," Brooke laughed. "But Karrie and went for a walk in a snow covered Central Park today."

"That sounds really nice."

Brooke sighed over the phone. "It's simply magical."

"So why is Karrie spending the holidays in New York?" Reid asked.

"Her family went to the Caribbean on some sort of Christmas cruise. She doesn't like boats, so she tagged along. How's your mother?" Brooke asked. Reid laughed to himself. She pronounced Caribbean as Care-ah-bee-en, and it brought forth that slight English accent.

"She's good. She wants to meet you," Reid said.

There was a pause on the line. They may have put the John Bateman situation to rest, but there was still some tension and he didn't know how to fix it.

"I would have joined you if you had told me that your mother wished to meet me," Brooke spoke. "Maybe I could catch a flight there and we can spend New Year's with her."

"You don't have to," Reid said quickly. "Your birthday is on the second. What are you going to do?"

"I'm flying home and cracking open a bottle of really good wine," Brook said. Reid pictured her smile and found that he was smiling more as well.

"You haven't opened my gift yet. Right?" Brooke asked slowly.

Reid looked at the wrapped present that sat on his bedside table. It was a simple glittery green paper and it had been decorated with a gold bow. "No, but it's another book," he said. "Have you opened mine?"

"Of course not," Brooke stated sounding slightly offended. She laughed lightly. "Spencer I won't open it until the twenty-fifth."

"Okay," Spencer said. He heard Brooke yawn. "Long day?" he asked.

"No, if anything it went by too fast," Brooke struggled out as the yawn receded. "We saw Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. It was absolutely amazing."

"Your favorite," Reid said. He thought about an old conversation the two had about how the Disney movie was the reason Brooke looked beyond the surface of good looks.

"Of course."

"I'll let you go so that you can go to bed," Spencer told her. He didn't want to hang up, but she would fall asleep on the phone if they kept talking.

"Okay," Brooke yawned again. "I love you Vegas Knight," she said.

"I love you too," Spencer said before hanging up. One day he would say it to her face. That day would come soon.

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Spencer walked into his mother's room Christmas morning and found her flipping through one of her many books. She had a mischievous grin on her face. She looked up just as Reid's eyes were covered from behind.

He caught a whiff of pomegranate as Brooke's voice came from behind. Her breath tickled his ear.

"Guess who?"

Reid removed Brooke's hands and stared at her in disbelief. "But you're supposed to be in New York."

Diana laughed as Brooke grinned. "She's been here the entire time."

"What?" Reid asked moving his head back and forth to look at his mom and Brooke. Brooke sat on Diana's bed and folded her hands in her lap.

"Your mother called my office at GWU a week ago. Somehow, she knew that I wasn't planning on going to California for the holidays," Brooke smiled. She knew full well that Reid mentioned it in his letters. "She told me that if I had and intention of dating her Spencer, that I had to come meet her. But it also had to be a surprise."

Spencer looked at his mother. "You planned all of this?" he asked.

"You couldn't hide her from me forever," Diana told Spencer matter-of-factly. "And I wasn't going to wait any longer."

Reid looked at his mother and excused himself before pulling Brooke into the hallway. That way he was away from his mother's piercing, curious gaze. Brooke looked at him innocently.

"You aren't mad are you?" she asked. Had she done something wrong by not telling him that she was coming to Las Vegas for Christmas? It hadn't been a part of her holiday plans. She was supposed to be in New York, but after Diana called…

"This was my mom's idea?" he asked her.

Brooke nodded. "I wanted to tell you, but she said that she would scratch my eyes out if I did. Albeit, jokingly, but she wanted to surprise you," she explained. "I'm sorry."

Reid places a hand on her cheek and smiled. He kissed her lightly before pulling her back into his mother's room. He bent over and hugged his mom.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Merry Christmas Spencer," Diana smiled and patted his back.

Spencer turned to find Brooke holding up a brand new ereader. "The technophobe got his girlfriend an ereader?" she asked.

"You said that you were worried about carrying all of your old books around to read. The pages get ripped and the spines start to wear as they're exposed to the elements. So you can have all of the eBooks for travel and read the real ones at home."

Brooke placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder. "That's sweet," she cooed. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. Reid pulled out two gifts and handed one to his mother. The other was the green package from Brooke.

Diana opened the package to find leather bound copy of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. She flipped through the pages to find it in the old English that she loved so much.

Reid opened his present to find a first edition copy of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. The cover and spine were worn from use, but it was in good condition. He looked at Brooke oddly. Normally she gave him something that wasn't in English.

"American literature isn't your thing," Brooke said. "But if you remember, that was the book we talked about the day I met you. Just after I gave up on trying to beat you in poker."

Reid smiled. He remembered. Brooke had the books imaginative and descriptive pages memorized.

Later that night Reid was lying in bed with Brooke draped over his waist. She was completely relaxed as she slept quietly in his lap. Reid opened his new book and started to scan the pages.

'The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.'

A few minutes later, Reid set the book aside and moved Brooke slightly so that he could slid down into the sheets. She let out a small sigh before snuggling closer to Reid's chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. He closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him.

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Author's Note: I'm so terribly sorry about the long wait on this chapter. I truly am. I've been super busy with school and other stories. I promise that there will not be a long wait like this again. I do feel really bad. I hope you liked it. I know it's a little small compared to the others.

I hope to get a lot done. Partly I've put this on hold because I've been waiting for 'Lauren' to show, so that I could form a plan of attack.

I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter. I can't make the writing any better unless you tell me what you like and what you want to see. Just let me know.

Ren/Shane