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A/n here is the last chapter, faithful readers. Thank you for your support and kind words. Once again, thanks to my friend, sounding board and ever faithful beta, REIDFANATIC.
"Hey, Uncle Spencer," Henry greeted when Reid knocked on his apartment door.
"Hi," Reid gave his godson his usual wave of hello.
"Come in," Henry swung the door wide and stepped back.
Reid passed into the living area and immediately noticed the difference. The room used to reflect a young man's tastes in his flat-screen television bolted to one wall, his black leather couch, and an ebony bookcase. On one of the end tables, sat a photograph of Henry with a lovely young woman, with wavy chestnut hair, light brown eyes and a smile that immediately attracted the eyes. On the old scroll top desk in one corner sat a laptop and a printer with a stack of paper, that Reid knew contained Cecilia's newest manuscript.
He turned his attention to his 28-year-old godson. He'd grown to resemble JJ nearly perfectly except around the ears and mouth, which reflected his father's genes. Gone were the glasses that had plagued him as a kid, thanks to corrective laser surgery. He kept his blond hair cut conservatively short. He currently wore faded jeans, another "Doctor Who," tee shirt and white socks.
"Uncle Spencer?"
He realized he'd been standing and staring and not listening to a word his godson was saying. "Ah, sorry, Henry. I was just thinking."
Henry snorted. "As Mom says, you're always thinking. As a doctor, I must tell you that you need to rest your gray matter."
"Now you sound like your Mom and Garcia."
Henry threw back his head and laughed heartily. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should," Reid agreed, and they smirked at each other.
"Sit down, and I'll get us a couple of beers." Henry invited as he headed to the kitchen.
He sat and realized that an old repeat of "Doctor Who," played on the flat screen.
"I can tell Cecilia's not here," he called out to Henry.
"Why?"
"Because you have the Sci-fi channel's "Doctor Who," marathon playing."
Henry entered his living room with two beers in his hands. He grinned at his godfather and took a seat on the sofa. "Cecilia is the one that decided to follow tradition to the letter and leave me to my own devices the night before the wedding. So, I decided I'd do as I pleased, meaning inviting you to spend the evening here and watching Doctor Who."
"Speaking of tradition, you should have had a proper bachelor party, instead of hanging out with your old godfather."
"You're not old," Henry disagreed.
"I'm fifty-five," Spencer reminded him. "I have gray in my hair and my knee hurts every time there's a storm on the way." He winced and flexed said knee.
"Oh, it's a good thing Cecilia's not here. If she thinks it might rain tomorrow, she'll freak."
Spencer grinned at him. "I never thought I'd sound like the old geezers that sit around and say, "I can feel it in my bones, there's a storm coming." He said in an old man's creaky voice that made Henry laugh.
"See, this is why I wanted to hang out with you tonight. You make me laugh."
"But what about strippers and getting drunk with your friends."
"The guys took me out last night, Uncle Spencer. They know I don't go in for drinking until I'm blind. Why would I want to watch a woman take off her clothes when I have someone like Cecilia?"
"Derek would be rolling his eyes and shaking his head if he were here right now."
Henry shrugged his shoulders. "I had enough of acting out when I was a teenager. I'm a doctor now. I have to maintain some dignity."
Reid laughed. "You always were more mature than your age indicated. And, as for acting out, the only thing you ever did was take your mother's car out for a spin without telling your parents. You never got into serious trouble, Henry. I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Uncle Spencer."
They sat in silence as the Doctor Who episode drew to a close. When it was over, Henry switched off the television.
"What is it?" Spencer asked.
Henry stretched out his long legs and rubbed his hands through his hair. "It's nothing. I'm gonna make some popcorn."
He unfolded from the couch and hurried to the kitchen before Spencer could follow up on his question. Reid waited patiently for his godson to return.
When Henry returned, he found Spencer at his bookcase, perusing his titles. "I see you have a couple of new books in your collection."
"Yeah, well, I can't read as fast as you do, and I don't have as much time as I'd like to read."
Spencer returned to the couch. "You want to play poker, or watch more television."
"Poker sounds fun."
After winning three straight hands, Henry sat back and sighed. "Alright, Uncle Spencer. I know you're not senile, and your concentration hasn't dimmed with time, so why are you letting me win?"
Reid put down the cards he shuffled. "Did it occur to you that you might be lucky, or I might be having a bad day?"
"No, because I've never known you to have a "bad day," when you play poker."
"Perhaps you're right."
Henry leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright, I'll spill my guts."
Reid looked utterly serene, which made Henry roll his eyes. "You know you could just ask instead of resorting to tricks like when I was a kid."
"As your mother would say, "Where's the fun it that?"
Henry shook his head and sighed dramatically. "Alright, I surrender."
"What's bothering you?"
Henry stood and went to his window and looked out at the night sky and the cars that passed in front of his building. Spencer waited, but also returned to shuffling his cards while he let Henry get to the point in his way.
"What if I'm making a mistake?"
Spencer laid down his cards. "Why do you think you're making a mistake."
Henry returned to his couch, sat and crossed his legs. "I don't know. It seems like everything I do lately irritates Cecilia and she's jumped all over my nerves, too."
"When your Aunt Dorian and I were planning our wedding, we drove each other nuts."
Henry sighed. "Mom said it's cold feet, and I guess she's right."
"You're taking a life-changing step, Henry. It's bound to churn you up on the inside."
"I guess I wish it were over."
Spencer shook his head. "I'll tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to breathe a word."
Henry watched him with solemn eyes. "You know I won't."
"The night before my wedding, I tried to talk Dorian into eloping. I didn't want to stand up in front of all our friends and say I do. I didn't want to look like an idiot. I didn't want to deal with the reception and all the traditions that go along with the wedding."
"Was Aunt Dorian angry?"
Spencer shuddered at the memory of Dorian's response, but then he smiled when he thought of her next actions. "Yeah, but she called Garcia, and she talked sense to me. She told me that yes, the wedding and reception were for other people, that we could go off and elope, but that in the end the result was the same, and I should stop hiding behind my loathing of the wedding party and admit my real fears."
"Wow."
"Yeah, she doesn't pull punches, and she was right. I was afraid that with all my quirks, and the possibility of inherited mental illness, I'd ruin Dorian's life. I admitted it to her, and she let me have it. She told me she loved me no matter what and wouldn't let me push her away for something that might never happen and as for my quirks, well they made me who I am. I knew all of this," he continued as Henry stared at him. "I just needed to hear it from her."
"So, what you're saying is that I need to talk to Cecilia about my doubts."
Reid was about to say yes when Henry's cell phone beeped. "Speak of the devil," Henry quipped.
He left the living room and disappeared into his bedroom. Spencer looked around the room again and decided that he'd leave Henry in peace to talk to his fiancé. Henry didn't hear him leave, but he did call him on the phone two hours later to apologize.
"Sorry to leave you hanging, Uncle Spencer, but I had no idea it'd turn into a two-hour conversation."
"It's alright, Henry. You owe me the chance to beat you at poker, again."
Henry laughed. "It's a deal."
"So, everything alright with Cecilia."
He heard his godson sigh happily, and it made him grin. "Everything is great. I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle."
"I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, Uncle Spencer. Thanks for everything you've done in the last twenty-eight years. You'll never know…"
"I do know, Henry, and you're welcome. You're on a path to a new life. Congratulations."
"I found a new chess board," Henry said. "Want to play after all the wedding madness is over."
"Just say the word and I'm there."
THE END