Retribution, A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 9. Baby Blip

Spencer ‘Post-Honeymoon’ Reid infused the atmosphere of the BAU bullpen with a dizzy, giddy kind of energy.

He and Ana had decided to follow standard protocol and avoid mentioning their imminent parenthood until the pregnancy was a little farther along. But it was hard to keep such news under wraps. Even if he kept silent, Reid couldn’t conceal the joyful anticipation that enveloped him like a cloud and seemed to infect everyone who came within a ten yard radius of him.

The team attributed his mood to the blissful afterglow of his wedding and honeymoon. But Hotch gave him curious looks whenever they passed each other. Finally, the Unit Chief asked for a meeting in his office.

“You do something you shouldn’t have, Pretty Boy?” Morgan raised an eyebrow as Hotch beckoned to Reid from the catwalk outside his door.

“Nothing I can think of. Probably wants to know why I’m grinning like an idiot all the time, even when we’re going over crime scene photos.”

Prentiss craned her neck around, the better to see Reid’s new desk ornament: a framed picture of Ana on a Hawaiian beach, drawing the words ‘I LOVE YOU’ in the sand. “Ohhhhh, I think we all have a pretty good idea why you’re grinning like an idiot, Reid.” That being said, she couldn’t help adopting a smile almost as wide as that of her co-worker. Reid’s happiness was infectious.

Resigned to whatever awaited, but with perpetual grin firmly in place, Reid bounded up the stairs to see Hotch.

xxxxxxx

From where he sat behind his own desk, Rossi saw the young agent head upstairs. He guessed his destination. Hotch and Reid hadn’t really talked one-on-one since the reception. Rossi had been keeping an eye on Hotch partly out of habit, partly because he still didn’t trust his friend to speak up if he wasn’t feeling quite right due to Reid’s inadvertent telepathic invasion.

Now, Rossi debated giving the younger men some privacy versus barging in and playing mediator. He tapped his pen against his teeth, weighing the pros and cons. When he heard the muffled sounds of Hotch’s and Reid’s voices coming from beyond the wall his office shared with the Unit Chief’s, he noted the normal cadence and rhythm. Nothing sounded worrisome. He abandoned the urge to interrupt, and returned to proofing the report he’d been working on all morning.

Maybe, if he thought there was a need, he’d invite Hotch for a drink later. With a little alcohol in him, the man would be more likely to loosen up… or trip up…if there was anything worthy of concern lurking in his psyche.

xxxxxxx

“Have a seat, Reid.”

The newlywed dropped into one of the comfortable, leather chairs facing his leader’s desk. He didn’t get the feeling he’d done anything to warrant disciplinary action. But what he gleaned from Hotch’s demeanor and the faint psychic emanations coming from him, did make Reid think awkward subject matter was about to be broached. Hotch clasped his hands on top of his desk, leaning forward as he considered how to begin.

“So did you guys enjoy your honeymoon? Was Hawaii everything you’d hoped?”

Reid’s grin managed to widen even more, but he knew this was just pleasant preamble to whatever Hotch really wanted to discuss.

“We had a great time. It was better than anything I could’ve imagined. But, Hotch, I don’t need to touch your mind to know there’s something on it. Are you okay?”

Hotch hadn’t expected Reid to cut to the chase so quickly. He found he wasn’t prepared to deliver a well-thought-out, logical answer without the lead-in he’d planned. Deprived of his strategy, he took a moment to organize his thoughts, eyes fixed on his desk blotter. Reid felt the first, faint stirrings of genuine concern.