Hotch's Niece | Criminal Minds

Official

Reid and I break apart from our hug when someone opens the door, and we both turn to face the culprit. I smile when Izzie comes toddling through on two chubby little baby legs. Bending down, I scoop her up once she reaches me, and Reid leans over to play with her as well, one arm around my waist. I make faces at the little redheaded child and she giggles. Looking over at the small window in the door, I can see our reflection and I can't help but notice that we almost look like a little family. Sure, I look young to be a mother at just 18, but I've always appeared a little older than I am, so I almost look the same age as Reid in the glass.

And then the window shows Hotch's face and I startle, Reid jumping back when I flinch. He sticks his head through the door, an unamused look on his face. "Izzie's family will be arriving later tonight, so we'll stay here tonight and leave for Virginia first thing in the morning. We're going out for dinner as a team tonight, meet us in the lobby at eight. You can spend the next five hours however you want," Hotch says, and I notice him give a little glare in Spencer's direction.

The door slams and Spencer and I are alone once again. He smiles down at me with a soft look in his eyes and in that moment, I know exactly where I'm supposed to be.

There's a long silence once again. The Avery who had two parents and was just your average college student would have been weirded out by the silences that Spencer and I have shared, but that was then and this is now. This Avery knows that sometimes words are best left out of an interaction, and who really needs words when there isn't anything left to say? The only thing I'm in awe at is the fact that these two Averys are hardly a week apart.

After several minutes of the only sound in the room being Izzie's soft giggles as she plays with my hair, Spencer speaks.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I can wait five hours before I eat. You want to grab something?" he asks, that same kindness in his eyes.

My stomach grumbles in response and we both laugh. "I bet Izzie could use a little something to eat as well!" I reason, and the girl nods, although she probably didn't understand most of what we had just said, only she'd heard her name.

"How do burgers sound?" Reid asks, and I nod my immediate consent, mouth watering at the very thought. Burgers sound fantastic. Reid and I slip quickly from the room, Izzie in his arms, and ask Hotch if any SUVs are available for us. When he finally stops chatting and allows us to leave, Reid and I are gone like a flash, Izzie situated happily in the backseat, playing with a little giraffe that hangs from the arching handle of her car seat.

We find a tiny little diner just under ten minutes from the precinct. Tim's Burgers is an adorable place, with an almost old-fashioned theme, which I have already seen in other places throughout town. The ruby red booths, black and white checkered floors, cream-colored walls. The waitresses wear black and white checkered shirts, red skirts, white sneakers, and black aprons. The entire diner is lovely and gorgeously themed, and I immediately fall in love.

"Look at how cute this place is!" I exclaim, bouncing Izzie up and down till she giggles. I crane my head upwards to look at the too-tall Spencer, only to find him already looking down at me, smiling and shaking his head. "What?" I laugh when he continues to give me a strange look.

"You are so adorable," Spencer murmurs, and I blush but don't get a chance to respond, as one of the waitresses is already approaching us.

"Hello!" She smiles. "Just the three of you today?" When we nod, she grabs three menus from the holder and motions for us to follow her through the diner. We reach a little red booth and I sit across from Reid, Izzie beside me.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asks, and when I look up I notice that the name tag says Natalie in curly script.

"Just water for me, thanks," says Spencer, and Natalie turns to me, expectant.

"Water as well, and a milk for the little lady, thank you!" I say cheerfully.

Natalie scurries off to give us a moment with the menus. Turning to face Reid, I notice him already watching me, and I blush a deep red.

"So, you've never really told me much about your childhood," Spencer muses.

"There's nothing to tell," I say honestly. "My dad was a chef, my mom was a nurse, I went to public school with no siblings. I grew up in Georgia, moved to New York for college and didn't look back. I skipped the third, fifth, seventh, tenth and eleventh grades, so I never really had many friends because I was the little genius baby who was a know-it-all, no one liked me. I played soccer, spent Saturdays at the shooting range when Uncle Hotch was visiting, which was actually quite often. He didn't have any kids yet, so we were really close when I was growing up." I explain, and Spencer nods, seemingly genuinely interested in my past.

His gaze is intense, and I can't help feeling a little flustered about the way he's looking at me. "What about you?" I inquire after a few moments of silence between the two of us.

"Huh?" he asks as my words snap him from a trance. "Oh, well, I had a weird childhood. My mother is a paranoid schizophrenic, so that made for a complex life, and my father left us when I was a little kid. I skipped tons of grades, like you did, so I was pretty lonely, too. No sports or anything, I was just the uncoordinated geek who acted like he knew everything. I grew up in Las Vegas." Spencer explains, a small, sad smile tugging at his lips every so often. He goes on to describe his mother, Diana, in full detail, and to me she sounds like an absolutely wonderful woman. "If we ever get another case out in Las Vegas, I'd love to take you to meet her, if you'd be interested," Spencer finishes.

I flush once again. "Oh - that sounds- um - yeah, sure!" I stumble over my words.

Reid chuckles softly under his breath at my embarrassed nature.

"I would have you meet my parents, but..." I trail off, and Spencer seems to get the message, as his face goes completely serious and he reaches across the table to take both of my hands into his own.

"I know, Avery. I'm so sorry about what happened to you, and to them. You know that I'll always be here for you if you need anything, or everything. Whatever it is you need, I will try my hardest to get it for you, and that's a promise." Spencer's voice is soft, and I can't help staring at his lips while he talks. Those soft, full lips that were, not even an hour ago, pressed against my own.

"I know, Spencer. I'm here for you too, always." I smile at the brunette genius, a kindness in my eyes.

Spencer leans across the table to press a chaste kiss to my lips.

"So, does this make it a date?" He asks, a blush crowning the apples of his cheeks.

"Actually, I think this might make us boyfriend and girlfriend, like, you know, official, if that's what you want," I whisper, my face a similar shade of red. We really do blush around each other a lot.

"There isn't anything I could want more." Spencer murmurs, and in that moment, I know he means it.

Yay! New chapter, more Avereid, a little bit more background on Avery and a little on Spencer, although I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, you know the basics about our favorite genius already. Don't forget to vote, comment, and love this book! I adore reading your comments, they never fail to make me smile.

On a more serious note, please don't comment UPDATE!! I got a comment asking me to update not even an hour after I had posted a new chapter, and although I appreciate the support, you guys have to understand that I have other responsibilities, and I can't spend three hours every day trying to get new chapters out for you guys. I try to update at least every two weeks at a minimum, it normally comes out to a new chapter every 7-10 days, sometimes more if I have a little free time. I love you guys, but please respect my life and other commitments. I'm sorry if this annoys you, but I wouldn't be writing this if it wasn't a constant issue. Thank you.