When The World Stops | Completed

Chapter 24: This Is The Job

I woke up to see Spencer curled against my chest, sleeping softly, hands bunched in my shirt. I ran my hands through his hair, trying to move as little as possible to let him sleep. The ring he'd chosen was perfect, of course, and I couldn't stop staring at it. He grunted and shifted but seemed to stay asleep. I continued playing with his hair. My mind was racing with memories of last night and thoughts about the wedding. His smile when I'd knelt, his laugh when he pulled out his ring...

"G'morning," Spencer mumbled, face half-buried in my chest.

I smiled, "Morning, my beautiful fiancé."

His face lit up, "We're engaged!"

I nodded and kissed him, "We're going to get married."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me on top of him, pulling me close to him, "My beautiful fiancée."

I giggled and sighed, nuzzling into his chest, "I love you."

"I love you," he replied, "So, so much."

I sat up, "Okay, I have to know." He raised an eyebrow as I continued, "Did you ask Rossi to set up a dinner last night so you could propose to me with the team?"

Spencer nodded, "Did you?"

"Yeah, I knew I was going to get the ring with Jenna and wanted to propose as soon as possible," I laughed, "I didn't trust myself to keep it a secret."

"When I heard you were shopping with Jenna, I started looking at rings, I told her to keep you out of the house for a couple hours."

"So, she knew and didn't tell either of us?" I sighed, amused, "Of course she did."

We both laughed, and I curled up around Spencer, "I love you, Spencer Reid."

"I love you too, future Mrs. Reid."

I sat up at that, "Nope. Nu-uh. I am keeping my last name."

"What?" he asked, "No, I like the sound of Mrs. Reid."

"So do I but... I like not being defined by my relationship with a man."

He sighed, "Okay, that's fair, but... Think about it?"

"I'll consider it," I nodded, "But I'm not promising anything."

***

I sat next to Emily on the plane while Spencer discussed the case with Hotch.

"So, he wants you to take his last name?" She asked, "Seriously? I wouldn't have expected that from Reid."

I shrugged, "He just wants me to think about it. And I think he likes the idea of me being 'Mrs. Reid', which I can't really disagree with."

"It does sound cute, but it's up to you," she reminded me, "You are technically the one who proposed, who says he shouldn't take your name?"

Clearly, Spencer was at least half-listening, because he called across the plane, "You want to go through the stress of changing the name on all my degrees? Be my guest."

"I have several degrees too!" I reminded him.

He held up three fingers, "Three PhDs, sweetie."

I flipped him off, and he blew me a kiss.

"Ah, domestic bliss," Rossi teased.

I glared at him, "Like you would know."

"Okay, you three, calm down," Hotch chided, "Any ideas on the case?"

"It's a classic impotent kidnapper," I shrugged, "Sexual assault with a knife, ligature marks that look like zip ties or something similar, so he doesn't have resources or space for tying them up more securely. Scalp was red and sore, so he probably pulled it, maybe as a trophy."