A/N: Uh-huh… (blinks furiously) I seriously can't believe this story's coming to an end (or this part of the trilogy, should I say)! Dang, writing this has been so much fun. (sighs)

BUT, before letting you get to the epilogue… Thank you so much for those absolutely fantastic reviews! (GLOMPS) It means a lot that so many of you have been sticking around through this entire ride, you know? You make this lil' story feel very, VERY loved! (hugs again)

Awkay, before I get any more emotional, let's get on with the story! (takes a deep breath) I really, really hope you'll enjoy the ride!

CHAPTER 7 – Epilogue

Six Months Later

During the past six months Derek had found himself basically moving into Spencer and Joey's house. Saying it was a easy arrangement would've been a huge lie; most of the time it was anything but. It was hard for Derek to watch how Joey struggled to figure out how she should be around him, to understand what he expected of her. No amount of convincing from his part managed to calm her down. The most painful part was to watch how she tried furiously to hide her grief over losing Shawn whenever she was around him. It was as though she'd been afraid she'd hurt his feelings if she longed for the person who'd helped raise her. And granted, being around Spencer wasn't much easier. Their relationship… was something Derek was still, after so many months, hopelessly trying to determine. Perhaps there was no deffinition for it. They were dear friends, deffinitely. Derek was fairly sure he was the only person Spencer had allowed around when the brunet cried, and he was thrilled the genius seemed to find him trustworthy enough to let some of that damn shell around him crack. Visiting the doctor for the sake of the twins that'd miraculously survived this far, those occasional times when Spencer accidentally fell asleep next to him when they were watching TV too late… There was a ton of tiny moments Derek cherished. But they were all stained by the bitter, undeniable fact that with all his heart he would've wanted more. Every bloody time they were only an inch of kissing, all those times when he actually managed to make Spencer smile, every time he touched the brunet… Derek was a impatient man, and he'd never been tried so hard in his life. But this small, constantly weakening rational part inside him tried to reason that the slow pace was needed. If he ever wanted to have a relationship with Spencer that stood on firm, honest ground he needed to let the shadows and ghosts of past be dealt with first. If he ever wanted to be truly worthy of Spencer's trust he needed to give the brunet that time and space, no matter how anxious several parts of his body and mind were becoming.

And yes, it was the tiny moments that made the wait worth it. Like this insanely early morning when Derek miraculously found himself waking up before Spencer. He took that as a good sign. At least tonight the brunet hadn't been up until the little hours to avoid even more nightmares, keeping himself functional with the power of caffeine.

Unable to hold himself back Derek found himself heading towards the bedroom that now only belonged to Spencer. What he found made him smile.

Apparently the night before it'd been Joey's turn to have bad dreams, because at some point she'd sneaked into her daddy's bed. At the moment both dad and daughter were fast asleep with content expressions. Spencer's arm was wrapped protectively around the little girl while she'd snuggled as close to his warmth as possible.

Derek Morgan had never felt more at home in his life. And it felt so damn good that it almost suffocated him.

He blinked twice to organize his spinning thoughts when Spencer moved all of a sudden, then stirred slowly with a frown and wrinkled nose. And then, just as Derek was fighting against the urge to chuckle at the endearing sight, the genius looked directly at him.

Most people would've been, if not upset, at very least extremely irritated about being stared at during their sleep. But Spencer wasn't most people, especially when half-asleep. The brunet blinked twice, clearly trying to wake up, before speaking in a sleepy tone. "How… long have you been there?"

Derek hoped from the bottom of his heart he wasn't as close to blushing as he feared. "Just a moment", he answered far too hastily, forcing his tone casual. "You were still asleep, so I… thought I should come over, and check up on you." It was half-true, anyway.

Spencer unleashed a tiny sound Derek couldn't name, rubbing his face with one hand. "How many times do I have to tell you that…?"

"… you don't need a babysitter. I know, I know." He grinned, revealing a row of teeth. "But watching you sleep is kind of entertaining."

A blush brought some healthy glow to Spencer's face, made the man appear even more adorable than few moments ago. Made the temptation even harder for Derek to handle.

Derek opened his mouth, feeling a sudden need to say something, but never managed to voice his thoughts. Because just then Spencer gave something between a gasp and whimper, hastily bringing a hand to his huge baby bump. All color drained from the brunet's face.

Derek felt all too familiar panic spread through his body. After about a million journeys to the hospital – because of bleeding, unbearable cramps and many other reasons he hadn't even known existed – this scene was unnervingly familiar. "What's wrong?" slipped through his lips instinctively, almost mechinally.

Spencer's eyes were huge and filled with panic when finding his, but they also held something he'd never seen before. "I… I think it's time to go." The man swallowed thickly, squeezing his hand even more tightly against his abdomen. "The babies… They're coming."

Derek had felt panic about a hundred times before because of Spencer. But nothing could've prepared him for what he experienced at that moment.

Anyone observing Spencer and Derek that morning would've had a good laugh.

Derek panicked – there was no other, less embarrassing word to describe it. This was a man giving birth in his hands. How the hell was he supposed to know what to do? He ran around, starting a million tasks but never managing to finish a single one of them.

It was pure humiliation, and Derek was utterly relieved no one was there to see it. Because Derek Morgan did not panic.

And Spencer… For the first time since he heard about the pregnancy Spencer was completely calm, almost unnervingly so. There was a warm, nearly content look on his face as he woke up Joey, reassured the child that everything was just fine and made sure his go bag for the hospital had everything necessary. The entire time he didn't seem to be able to not touch his stomach, to stop giving it soft caresses. Derek had only ever seen him so calm, content and composed in sleep. And then, on their way to the hospital, the contractions kicked in.

Derek gave Spencer a very nervous look through the rearview mirror. The look he saw on the brunet's face made him kick gas pedal until he broke every single speed limit. "Are you hanging in there?"

Spencer nodded faintly, focusing firmly on breathing. "Did you know that… that Sunday is the least common day for childbirths?" the brunet managed, every single one of his facial muscles so tense it hurt to watch. "It's… It's a fucking Sunday, today."

Joey's eyes widened as she looked at Spencer. "Daddy, you said a bad word!"

Derek had to bite the inner part of his mouth to smother a laugh. "Oh, trust me kid, you'll be hearing a lot more of those before he reach the hospital."

And Derek was right. He could've never, ever imagined that Spencer could possibly have such vocabulary the man practically snarled out during the ride. Several times Derek felt the need to put his hands to Joey's ears so the blanch faced girl's eidetic memory wouldn't register and record even more unneeded material than it already had.

Derek almost exclaimed out of relief when they finally reached the hospital. He parked in a way that'd most deffinitely earn him a yet another parking ticket, then rushed out of the vehicle and blatantly ignored Spencer's protests when scooping the brunet into his arms. And just then another car arrived to the parking lot, pulling to the empty stop near his car with a deafeningly loud screech.

Penelope's eyes were wide as she emerged from the newly arrived vehicle. "The traffic was murder!" she half-exclaimed before focusing her attention on the brunet in Derek's arms. Her eyes gained a look of deep sympathy. "Hey, boywonder. How are you doing?"

Spencer's sour look answered far more effectively than any words.

Penelope looked at Derek, visibly stiffling laughter. "I think it's high time you take him inside." She then glanced at Joey with a grin. "You and I, let's go and explore the cafeteria."

Joey nodded excitedly, at least for the time being forgetting to worry.

If Derek was fully honest, later on he couldn't remember much of what happened next. He dashed into the hospital, and in an instant there was what looked like a small army of people taking Spencer from him and rushing into the depths of the building with the brunet as their prey. One nurse, at least, had the decency of staying behind. With a gentle look on her face she explained that Derek couldn't come to the operating theater for reasons that'd forever remain as mystery to him. And then she disappeared as well, leaving him all alone with a hurricane of thoughts and emotions.

For three minutes Derek stood absolutely still. Then, very slowly, he blinked. And found his thoughts straying towards Shawn.

Shawn… would never get the chance to see his twins, to raise them. To become a dad for them. But…

You did good job raising Jo for me, Derek mused, his expression very serious. Maybe I can return the favor.

Now if only he'd manage to stop feeling like throwing up first.

To Derek it took decades, and longer. But eventually the same nurse who'd stayed behind to explain things to him walked up to Derek. There was a bright smile on her face.

Spencer had, apparently, done a good job. The C-section went exactly as it was supposed to, without any drama or complications. He was fast on his way to recovery, and the twins… As far as it was possible to tell they were very small, but perfect and healthy.

Spencer Reid was a very, very proud daddy of a tiny baby-girl and a baby-boy.

Derek wasn't entirely sure why, but half an hour after hearing the news he entered Spencer's room carefully, as though he'd been afraid of disturbing someone. What he found inside made him feel warm all over.

Looking at Spencer it was almost impossible to believe the ordeal he'd gone through. There was a slight rosy hue on the brunet's face as he looked at the twins, who were sleeping utterly contentedly in their tiny bed.

It wasn't until Derek spoke with a grin the brunet noticed him. "It's pretty hard to look away from them, isn't it?" Feeling strangely insecure for some reason he revealed the two extremely adorable teddy-bears he'd bought from the hospital's giftshop. "I… suppose congratulations are in order."

Finally, almost for the first time since Shawn's death, Spencer's smile reached the brunet's eyes as the younger man accepted the offering. "Thank you." The genius glanced towards the babies. "They just fell asleep."

Derek nodded, unable to look away from the twins. Although they were still tiny and had inherited several little things from Shawn, they appeared so familiar it was shocking. "They look just like you", he half-murmured.

"That's what the midwife said", Spencer answered after a moment, his voice holding a slight edge. "I'm… not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

Derek had to grit his teeth together to keep himself from saying something dangerous. Instead he chose a topic he thought to be more harmless. "Do you have names for them?"

The way Spencer stiffened gave away that the topic was sore. "Shawn and I… We talked about names, before my miscarriages and Jo's birth. But… There was never anything solid." The brunet swallowed, focusing on the babies. "The boy… I think I'll name him Jayson Sean Reid."

Derek felt a sharp twinge he deffinitely wasn't proud of. "I… bet Gideon would be happy to hear that", he barely managed, not daring to look Spencer's way. "And Shawn, too." He went on once he could no longer take the heavy pause that followed. "What… about the girl?"

That actually pried a tiny smile to Spencer's face. Their gazes finally met. "I've been thinking about naming her Abigail Morgana Reid."

At first Derek simply stared. But then, very slowly, a tiny smile made its way to his lips. "Morgana, huh?"

Spencer nodded, appearing slightly more serious than before. "Without you none of us would be here today. So… It's the least I can do."

As they looked at each other the moment snatched Derek along with terrifying force. He licked his lips, then leaned towards Spencer's slightly parted lips.

And that was the furthest he got. Because just then what felt like a hurricane entered the room after a brief knock. "Oh… my gosh!" Penelope cooed as she made her way to the twins, soon followed by the rest of the team. "Sweetie, these two are so adorable I could eat them up!"

Emily seemed to hold back a laugh at the look that flashed on Spencer's face for a moment. "It's just a figure of speech, Reid", she pointed out.

David smirked while looking at the babies. "You did damn good job, kid", the man complimented with utmost sincerity.

Spencer smiled, just a little bit but still. "Thanks."

JJ, always the most openly affectionate one of the team, made her way to Spencer and gave the brunet a huge hug, clearly forgetting the surgery the man had been through. "Congratulations, Spence. I'm so glad that these two are finally here."

Spencer nodded, a bit more serious than before. "So am I."

Just then baby-Jayson began to move around and stir, clearly waking up. To everyone's stun Aaron was the first one to approach the child. It was clear the man had a lot of flashbacks of Jack as a newborn. "May I…?"

Spencer nodded without the slightest bit of hesitation. "Of course."

Aaron's motions were experienced and calm as the man took the baby, lifting the tiny one first into his arms and then to his shoulder. For about a minute the sight was absolutely heartwarming – until Jayson's stomach, apparently, chose to protest. No one in the room managed to control themselves as the baby puked gloriously to the jacket of Aaron's suit.

Derek felt incredibly good as he realized that for the first time in over six months Spencer also laughed openly, although valiantly trying to hold himself back. "Hotch, I'm… I'm so sorry!" the brunet managed through bursts of laughter. "I should've told you I fed him fifteen minutes ago."

To everyone's utter stun Aaron smiled, barely noticeably but still, unable to look away from the baby. "It's okay."

"Don't worry about it", Derek adviced. "I bet he's got one huge closet full of those jackets."

About half a minute later they all glanced towards the room's door when it opened. Joey stood there frozen, clearly very uncomfortable with all the attention. She swallowed thickly. "Hey."

Spencer gaver his older daughter a small smile. "Do you want to see your brother and sister?"

Still slightly hesitant Joey entered properly and approached. She revealed a card that had a picture of a heron flying through the clouds, carrying a baby. "Aunt-Penelope helped me pick a card", the little-girl explained.

Spencer gave a nod of approval while accepting the offering. "Well you deffinitely chose well." The brunet then gestured towards the twins. "That little-one uncle-Aaron is holding is your brother. And it looks like your sister is starting to wake up." The man looked from the yawning baby to a slightly startled looking Joey. "Would you like to hold her?"

Joey looked at her dad with wide eyes. "What if I hurt her?"

Spencer smiled. "Don' worry, you won't. I'll show you how to do it."

Derek couldn't hold back a smile while watching how Spencer instructed Joey as she took her baby-sister with utmost care, then held the baby as though handling a piece of glass. Both Derek's and Spencer's eyes softened as their gazes met.

Derek wasn't sure if he could call their strange, now grown unit a family just yet. But whatever they were they'd been through hell together. Maybe now, finally, they were on their way towards something good.

Five days later the cemetery was almost eerily quiet while a lone figure made his way through the rows of tombstones, never noticing the cold breeze spinning around him.

Finally making it to his planned destination Spencer froze completely, his eyes becoming glued to the words on the headstone.

'Shawn Alexander RamosA beloved husband, family-member and friend'

Spencer wasn't sure how long he'd stood there until he finally managed to speak after swallowing loudly. "Hey", he barely even whispered, his eyes stinging so badly he had to narrow them. "I… I'm sorry I haven't visited lately, but… I've been kind of busy." He took a deep breath to discover it didn't help at all. "I… brought along two people. I bet you'd love to see them." His motions gentle he moved the cover of a dark-blue twin carriage to reveal the babies. "These… These are Jayson and Abigail. They're the twins I told you I was expecting while you were… sleeping, remember?" His throat was so tight talking was almost impossible. His breathing became labored. "You can't even imagine how… how much I would've wanted you to meet them, to be there for them when they grow up. Because… Because I know you would've been a fantastic dad, and you would've loved them more than anything. But…" He swallowed once more, wiping away the single tear that rolled with a trembling hand. "But I swear I'll raise them as well as I can – I'll love them enough for both of us. And… And I'll make sure they get to know you, that they'll learn to love you, too."

Silence fell as Spencer stood there, almost like waiting for some sort of a response to his words. Cold wind blew, making the two new tears on his cheek feel like ice.

It took a mighty while before he managed to continue in a voice that didn't sound anything like his. "It… It may take a while before I can visit you again. But… That doesn't mean I would've forgotten, or that I wouldn't love you anymore. Don't ever think that. Because I… I do love you, a lot. And…" He blinked furiously, pleased to discover that he managed to keep tears at bay. "I guess I wanted to say thank you, for everything."

"Reid?" Derek's voice made him shiver slightly. The man was standing about eight steps away, looking at him with a worried frown. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He took a second to collect himself. "Let's go home."

As they left he cast a one more, fleeting look towards the tombstone. Perhaps his imagination was playing tricks on him, because he could've sworn he saw Shawn stood there, watching over him as he headed towards a new future. Spencer didn't resist when Derek wrapped one arm around him.

Suddenly the air around Spencer didn't feel as cold anymore.

'Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.'

(Anthony Brandt)

End, at least for now.

A/N: Oh wow… (blinks furiously) I seriously can't believe it's already over! I'm going to miss this story so much. (sighs and wipes eyes)

BUT… (gulps) How was that ending – any good, at all? PLEASE, let me hear your thoughts! Especially because this was the final chapter it'd mean A LOT to me. (gives puppy's eyes) Christmas is approaching, remember? Earn some good karma. (grins cheekily)

Ah, yes, and to those curious… This story will get a companion, which will consist of three or four chapters and include A LOT of MorganxReid. The sequel/companion will be named 'Sweet Life of Mine', and it WILL be the final piece of the 'Sweet… of Mine' trilogy.

Three years later Reid and Morgan live a hectic life with three children. But how has their relationship developed over time? And what happens when Shawn's enstranged parents show up to meet their grandchildren?

BUT, all that later. As for now…

THANK YOU, from the very bottom of my heart, for all those reviews and listings, and of course for reading! It's been a incredibly good ride, thanks to you guys. (grins, and HUGS) So thank you!

Until next time, folks, which whichever story that may be!

Take care!