Mini Reid (Book 3 in the Boss's Niece series #Wattys2016)

Christmas

It was December 24th, aka Christmas Eve. I always did love Christmas. It was always a peaceful time, especially this year since there was nothing to worry about.

The snow fell and landed perfectly on Spencer's hair as we walked to JJ's. She said Henry wanted to see us before he went to bed. It was about 7:00 and still a bit light out, but not by much.

I held on to Spencer's arm. It was freezing!

"Are you cold?" he asked, looking down at me. I couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked with the snow collecting in his hair and eyelashes.

"Just a bit. I should've bundled up more." I said and shrugged.

Spencer pulled off his purple scarf and wrapped it around my neck he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me close.

"I love you." I said, randomly.

"I love you, too." he said and kissed my forehead.

We came up to JJ's and I knocked. A little blond headed boy answered and smiled up at Spencer.

"Spencer!" Henry exclaimed and jumped into Spencer's arms.

"Hey kiddo!" he said. "How are you?"

"Good!" Henry replied. "Hi Melanie!"

"Hi Henry." I said and took Henry in my arms. "Man, you're getting some heavy. Soon, I'm not gonna be able to lift you at all."

"Mommy told my your having a baby, Melanie!" Henry exclaimed. I laughed and looked at Spencer.

"I am." I said. "Let's go in. It's cold."

"Okay!"

I carried Henry in the house and Spencer closed the door behind us. I placed Henry on the floor and he raced for the living room.

"Melanie and Spencer are here!" he called to his mother and father. JJ chuckled as she stood up and hugged me.

"Hey Mel. How are you?" her husband, Will, asked.

"I'm good, Will. Thanks for asking." I said and gave him a hug, too.

"There's something different about you." he said, holding me at arms length to look at me. "Hm, there's a certain glow to you."

I laughed and pushed Will, playfully.

"Henry hasn't stopped talking about it since we brought it up." JJ said. "He wants to meet 'Baby Spencer and Mel'."

"Do you two know what you're having?" Will asked as he sat down.

"No. It's a bit early. We've decided we're going to wait till the day of to find out." Spencer explained.

"What are you two hoping for?" JJ asked. "I mean, when I was pregnant with Henry, I hoped it was a baby boy and I got my wish."

"It doesn't matter to me. Mel?" Spencer said.

I bit my lip as I thought about it.

"When I was a little girl, I always said I wanted a baby girl because baby girls would be easier to raise, but considering the BAU trend seems to be a boy, I'd be happy either way." I joked. Everyone laughed. Little Henry re-entered the room with cookies and a glass of milk.

"What are you doing, silly?" Spencer asked.

"Milk and cookies for Santa!" he replied and placed it on the coffee table.

"Isn't it a little early for that?" I asked. Henry shook his head and quickly jumped on the couch and sat next to me.

I leaned down and whispered to Henry, "I have to tell you a secret."

He looked at me with wide, anxious eyes. I chuckled as I continued.

"Spencer doesn't believe in Santa."

Henry covered his mouth and gasped.

"What?!" Spencer said. "No! That's not true! I totally believe in Santa!"

"He's lying." I teased.

"No I'm not! I'm serious!"

The rest of the evening went on. JJ, Will, Spencer and I talked work and all that adult stuff. About an hour or so later, I felt little Henry lean against me. I looked down to see him sleeping. I smiled.

"Sound asleep." I said. "Is it okay if I take him in to bed?"

"Go ahead." JJ said.

I picked Henry up and brought him to bed. I covered him up, made sure he was warm before exiting his room, leaving the door open just a little bit in case he woke up.

I walked back into the living room and sat next to Spencer again.

"So, Mel, how was your visit to New York? Good seeing your dad again?" JJ asked.

"It was great. My dad got a new girlfriend. Her name is Mary and I can tell he really likes her. She's really friendly and a great cook." I said. "My last day there, I visited Molly's grave."

The room went silent for a moment. It was uncomfortable.

"I put that butterfly you gave me on her grave stone." I finally said. "You wouldn't believe how much she was like you, JJ. You two could be long lost twins."

JJ chuckled.

"Maybe that's why you like me so much." she said.

"It could be."

After a few more hours of talk, Spencer and I got ready and walked home. The temperature seemed to drop while we were at JJ's and it was freezing! I clung to Spencer the whole walk home.

Once we got home, I immediately changed into my pajamas and went to the kitchen to make a hot chocolate. As I waited for the water to heat up, I felt Spencer wrap his arms around my waist and kiss my cheek.

I giggled and said, "Want some hot chocolate?"

"Please." he replied.

I smiled and made two cups of hot chocolate. I turned to give Spencer his. He smiled and kissed my nose as he took it.

We sat in the living room, watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It was one of my favorite Christmas movies.

"I don't think it's technically possible to have that many lights on one house. At least, not without blinding someone." Spencer said as the Griswold house, decked out in lights, lit up. I looked up at him.

"First off, if you were really watching, you'd see that the neighbors kinda are being blinded by the house." I said, motioning to the screen. "Second, it's a movie Reiders. It's not meant to be real or scientifically correct. And I'm sure there's some way to put all those lights on one house."

"I know. I'm just pointing that out." he replied.

"Know it all." I teased.

"You're the one that married me. Just remember that."

"I know." I said and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "And I wouldn't change that for anything."

It was about 11:30 when I started to doze off. Spencer nudged me to wake me up. I looked up at him.

"We should go to bed. You're falling asleep." he said.

"Good idea." I said and rubbed my eyes. I was about to get up, but Spencer grabbed my arm. I turned to look at him.

"I wanted you to open one present before you went to bed." he said. "You told me it was always a tradition when you lived in New York."

He held out a small box with a ribbon on it.

"It was." I said and took the box. "Spencer, I can wait till morning you know."

"I know." he said. "But I can't. I want you to open it now."

I bit my lip and looked at the small box. It was one of those little boxes that probably held a ring or earrings.

I untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a ring with two little stones in it. One was my birth stone and the other was Spencer's.

"It's a couple's ring." he said. "I wasn't quite sure what to get you and when I seen that, it kinda reminded me of you and I thought-"

"I love it." I cut him off. "It's perfect. Thank you Spencer."

I leaned forward and hugged him. I pulled away and put the ring on my right ring finger.

"It's beautiful." I said.

"Just like you." Spencer added. I felt myself blush. "Let's go to bed. You need your rest."

"Carry me?"

Spencer chuckled and stood up. He picked me up bridal style and carried me to the bedroom.

•

The next morning, I was awoken to a phone ringing. It was Spencer's. He groaned as he rolled over to answer it.

"Hello?"

There was a pause.

"Well, obviously I am now." he said.

Another pause.

"What do you want Morgan?" Spencer groaned. Just like Derek to call us at God knows what time on Christmas.

"Yeah. We'll be down in a few. Let us get up and get ready." he said. "Okay. Bye."

He hung up and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and stretched before looking down at me.

"Good morning." he said.

"Morning." I replied. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

He leaned down to kiss me.

"So, what did Morgan want?" I asked.

"The BAU is having a Christmas party at the office. Garcia's idea. And you know Garcia. She likes pulling things last minute." he replied. "So, get up and get ready before Garcia calls and we both know she will."

I laughed and got up. We got ready. Once I was dressed, I grabbed the gifts for the team that were under the tree and put them in a bag.

"Ready to go?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah. Let's get going."

Snow covered the Virginia ground and it was still falling once we left the apartment. Virginia was beautiful, but nothing could beat New York during Christmas time. Especially Central Park. I guess that's just a New Yorker thing.

We arrived at the FBI building. The parking lot was mostly empty except for the cars belonging to the team members. It reminded me of my first birthday in Virginia, just without all the snow. Spencer had planned a surprise birthday party for me.

We entered the lobby and a wave of heat hit me. I let out a sigh of relief as I began to warm up. We rode the elevator to the BAU floor and into the office. Penelope hugged me first.

"Hey Baby Bump. How are you?" she asked. She pulled away to look at me. "I missed you. I haven't seen you since you went to Louisiana. You didn't call or text. It hurt."

"I'm sorry." I laughed. "I promised Uncle Aaron I'd tell my dad that I was pregnant and that's what I did. I'm sorry I didn't call or text. I was enjoying New York too much."

"Well, if you were enjoying New York then all is forgiven." she said. "I'm told, you know, by you, that New York is beautiful this time of year."

"It is. I miss it sometimes."

I was hugged next by Derek, the David, then Alex. I noticed two key people from the team were missing.

"Hey. Where's JJ and Uncle Aaron?" I asked.

"JJ's home with Will and Henry and your uncle is home with Jack. Gotta let the kids open their presents first." David explained. "You two will learn that soon enough."

I smiled. I pictured the little girl from my dream waking Spencer and I up on Christmas to open presents. I couldn't wait till little Sammy or Haley was born.

Penelope came up to me with a little box in her hands.

"Merry Christmas." she said. "Open it."

I laughed at her eagerness. I loved Penelope's personality. It was great.

I ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the little box. Inside was a mug that read "Mommy To Be." I laughed.

"It's so cute." I said.

"Well, I thought you are about to be a mommy and that cup clearly states it, so why not get it for you for Christmas. I got one for Reid, too, but his says Daddy To Be."

"It's adorable. I love it." I said.

"I see Reid got you something adorable, too." Penelope said and held up my right hand to look at the couple's ring. "That's so cute. Is that your birthstone?"

"Yeah. Spencer's too. It's a couples ring." I explained. "So far, it's definitely my favorite gift."