The Keeping of Words | Spencer Reid

53| Epilogue

"Elizabeth!" Bianca called down the hallway, waiting for a reply. "Ellie?" Still no response. Confused, she ventured into her daughter's room, where the lights were off. "Eliza Lou, where are you?"

"Rarr!" The small girl leapt out from behind her bed, her hands held out like claws. She had donned her Halloween costume, a bright orange tiger suit, complete with a tail and a hood with little ears. Bianca laughed, scooping Eliza up in her arms.

"There are you are, dear heart. You surprised me!"

"I'm a tiger, mama! Were you scared?" Eliza gazed up at her intently.

"I most certainly was! I was worried a tiger had gobbled you up!" Conspiratorially she leaned in to whisper in her daughter's ear. "I have an idea. Why don't we hide, and we can surprise your daddy too, hmm?" Eliza was delighted with the notion. Lights still off, they crept over to a corner of the room near the dresser, squeezing into a space behind it that was small enough only for the two of them. She reminded Elizabeth to stay quiet in the dim room while they waited for the sound of footsteps.

"Bianca?" Spencer's voice echoed from nearby. The light switch was flicked on as he stepped into the bedroom, and they could make out his mismatched socks from behind the dresser. "Eliza? Bianca?"

"Ready?" she whispered. "One, two..." He came closer to their side of the room. "Three!"

"ROAR!" Mother and daughter jumped out together and Spencer let out a shriek, stumbling backwards and nearly tripping over the bed. That sent his wife into another fit of giggles, watching her brilliant husband – the same man who had once hunted killers for a living – startle so easily.

"Don't worry, daddy, it's just me!" Eliza pulled down her little tiger hood, her hair still static-y from the fuzzy fabric.

Spencer clutched his hand to his chest. "Jeez, give an old man a heart attack, why don't you?" He sent a pointed glance in Bianca's direction, and she moved to wrap her arms around him.

"You're not an old man, my love. And I was just helping Elizabeth practice for Halloween." He was nearly forty, but he wore middle-age well, hardly any different than the day she'd met him, save for his hair. He'd grown it out and cut it to various lengths, but it was never quite as long as it had been that first year. The love he had for Halloween hadn't diminished over time, either. Presently their driveway was lined with no less than thirteen Jack-O-Lanterns.

Spencer shook his head in exasperation, but a toothy, crooked grin was on his face. "You're lucky I love you." He placed a quick kiss on her lips before turning his attention to Eliza.

"Did we scare you?" she asked, tugging on his hand. "Were you afraid?"

Spencer nodded. "You bet. I'm afraid of lots of things, you know." That was something they'd agreed upon as parents, to be as honest with her as possible, to let her know it was okay to be scared or sad or upset, and to teach her how to cope with what she felt.

"Like what?"

He reached down to scoop Eliza up in his arms. "I'm scared of the dark, for starters. And I'm afraid of elevators and of bad guys. Of something happening to you or your mom. And I have a terrible fear of running long distances."

"Don't forget spinach," Bianca teased.

"Your mother," he continued, his fingers running up and down her forearm, "is afraid of things too. She's terrified of thunderstorms."

Elizabeth laughed, a musical sound that they'd grown to adore. "I already know that." She was still young enough to be scared of the storms, waking with the sound of thunder. By the time she jumped out of bed, a stuffed owl tucked under one arm, the door of her parents' bedroom would already be open; and without fail she would find them waiting under a blanket fort on the floor with a flashlight and a stack of books, Bianca huddled particularly close to her husband while he stroked her hair and spoke quietly. When their daughter showed up, she would put on a brave face and hold her tight, the three of them riding out the thunder together with poems and children's books and stories until the storm subsided or until they were too sleepy to stay awake any longer. Those nights ended either with the two of them tucking Eliza back under the covers in her own room, or with all three curled up in the same bed.