Front Lines| Spencer Reid + Anne Grey

twenty one

"Again, sorry for my manners, but why are you visiting?"

Spencer Reid was looking at his mother, preparing himself for what he was about to say. His gaze involuntarily falls back to Grey as he finds his words.

"Well, uh, Anne's also my, uh... my girlfriend."

Grey exhales, a smile that seemed to be permanently on her face growing wider. The words leaving his lips gave her an intense feeling of release. Someone finally knew.

Diana looks back and forth at the two of them, landing her stare on Reid. "Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Since when?" she questions, proudly grinning.

"October 13th," Anne fills in, eager to say something. "You're actually the first person we've told."

"Oh, that's, what, ten months? That's so nice." She continues to smile, her left index finger running over her lips. "Gosh, I have a million questions for you now," she laughs, nodding towards Grey.

Anne's eyes brighten as she glances to Reid. He gives a reassuring smile, looking undeniably ecstatic. "Sounds great. Here, we brought you a donut." She pushes the bag toward her.

Diana thanks her, taking a sip of the tea they had also brought and continuing. "So, how old are you, Anne?" She had jumped right into the questions, and that earned Grey's respect.

"I just turned twenty five on Thursday," she answers, drinking a bit of her coffee while she waited on a response.

"Oh, happy birthday," Diana replies. "How long have you been working for the FBI?"

She thinks on it for a moment, doing the math, since she didn't really remember. "Almost four years."

"And your parents, where are they?" she asks, her eyebrows poised. "You said I was the first person to know."

Grey looks surprised. She had expected for Spencer to have told Diana about the whole ordeal from last year. He normally told her everything.

Maybe he had thought that was somewhat private, since it sure as hell was. Either way, Anne appreciated it, although she was about to explain it to Diana anyways.

Reid looked like he was ready to interrupt the discussion and change the topic, but Grey gave him a reassuring look, silently insinuating that she didn't mind. The loss wasn't raw anymore."Neither of them are around. My mother died, well, about 25 years ago." Clicking her gums slightly, she continues, "And we just arrested my father last December. He had stalked me for weeks and then killed my old roommate and her husband. It's a fun story, I know."

All Grey could think was, "That sure did escalate quickly." She had considered lightening up on the answer, but knew that Diana wouldn't mind, since Spencer often explained cases that the BAU were working to her with great detail.

"Oh, gosh, Spencer never mentioned anything like that," Diana says, her voice sounding somewhat like a gasp. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry about it," Anne denies, smiling still. "That actually brings me to my next point. I'm sure he hasn't brought it up, since he didn't mention the rest, but your son here broke that man's nose during takedown, which I find to be far more out of character for him than any gun usage. And I've been patiently waiting for the day I could tell you." She holds eye contact with Reid for a second, tilting her head with an amused look in her eyes.

Diana's eyebrows sink as she looks at the man. "This son?"

Spencer jokingly takes offense. "I'm your only one!"