Weak | S.R

Spencer

I grip Allie's hand as we walk into Doc's. I recognize some of the people from the funeral. Including Dale, who invited us to this get-together.

"Hey, you made it!" Dale greets us as we walk in, cutting off his conversation with someone else. "I didn't get your names earlier..."

"I'm Allie," My fiancée grins at him.

"Spencer," I wave, forcing a smile. "Spencer Reid."

Dale's eyes widen. "You're Spencer? Are you kidding me?"

My stomach aches as everyone turns to look at me. "No, I'm not kidding."

"It's so great to meet you. William never shut up about his son in the FBI," Dale chuckles. "From my understanding, he left when you were little, but... he regretted it. He would cut articles about you out of the newspaper."

"Did you say this is Spencer?" Another man steps up to us.

I nod, feeling a tiny bit uncomfortable.

I squeeze Allie's hand and she speaks up. "And I'm Allie. His fiancée."

It isn't long before people start to crowd around us, just wanting to meet me. It's strange. I never thought that my dad cared enough to talk about me with anyone. At most, I thought I was an afterthought. Or never thought of at all.

Allie stayed by me the entire time, holding my hand or gently rubbing my back.

When we finally get a chance to sit down, Allie sits across from me in the booth.

We both order coffee. For dinner, she opts for French toast and I opt for pancakes. We listen to people tell stories about my dad, amplified by a small speaker so that everyone could hear. I find myself smiling and laughing at some of them, but mostly just wishing I had stories like that.

When we head out to the car and I open the passenger door for Allie, she doesn't get in right away. She leans against the back door and crosses her arms, smiling up at me.

"What?" I ask her through a chuckle.

She lets her arms fall to her sides and shrugs. "I'm just... I'm really proud of you."

"You're proud of me?"

I almost feel like I heard her wrong. I know I didn't, but that's not something I hear very often. 'I'm proud of you.'

"Yeah! I know how hard today was for you, but you got through it. And you put aside any anger and resentment you had to come to this little get-together. I'm proud of you, Spence."

I smile back at her, not knowing what to say. Allie steps forward and wraps her arms around me and presses a kiss to my cheek. I wrap my arms around the girl and give her a good squeeze before she pulls away.

On the drive back to our hotel, I think about the day.

When we went to visit my mom, Allie and I pitched the idea of moving her to D.C. I assured her it wouldn't be like last time, and that she would be in a place just like the one she's in now. I think what really sealed the deal was when Allie mentioned that she wants her to be a part of our children's lives when we have some.

Yeah, 'some'! As in 'more than one'. That alone had me reeling. The future I've always envisioned for myself was slowly piecing itself together. Buying a house, getting married, having kids...

Allie has shown me the dozens of messages Penelope had sent in response to her Instagram posts of us in a wedding-like get up. Holding hands with an Elvis impersonator behind us, kissing, hugging...

It's an assortment of ten photos from throughout the fake wedding, and even a video of the 'I now pronounce you man and wife' part, which looked extra convincing.