**So, this is it, the final chapter. Hope you enjoyed!**

Chapter 20. Meeting The Team

Spencer hadn't expected Hotch or Rossi to come out with them, and was more than a little shocked when they said they would. He tried not to be a pessimist about it, not to think that the only reason they were probably coming was to see what kind of girl would date a guy like him.

"They're all coming!" Liz said, incredulous, this had seemed like a much better idea when Spencer had been sure Hotch and Rossi wouldn't come.

"The whole team, plus Will and Kevin, of course."

"Of course," she said faintly, sitting on the edge of the couch, her nerves suddenly becoming overbearing.

"What's wrong," he asked, sitting down beside her.

"Nothing, well other than the fact that I'm pretty sure Emily hates me, and Rossi and Hotch are slightly intimidating people to be around for more than like two seconds. Oh, and did I mention the fact that they'll probably freak out when they find out I'm seventeen," she said, her voice uncharacteristically high.

"I could call it off, make up an excuse," he offered, hating seeing her so upset.

"Don't be silly, I'm just nervous, I'll be fine by tonight," she said, praying that was the truth.

Spencer studied Elizabeth as they drove to the restaurant, for the most part her nerves seemed to have slowly subsided throughout the day. She wore a black blouse and pants, the contrast against her pale skin was breathtaking.

As he pulled in he quickly spotted, Esther, Garcia's vintage Cadillac, in the nearly empty parking lot. It looked like they would be one of the only, and definitely the biggest party there. Once inside, he led Liz to the table, seeing that Garcia and Kevin were there, as well as Hotch and Rossi. Did they have to be early to everything? He'd hoped Derek, who was the best person he knew at lightening moods, would have been there first. Lightening moods was also a talent of Garcia's, only she got exceedingly nervous around Rossi.

He saw Hotch's eyes focus on them as they got closer to the table. Rossi leaned over and said something to him, before both stood, causing Garcia and Kevin's attention to shift from their conversation. Garcia waved, as Kevin just sat quietly.

"Hi guys, Kevin," Spencer said as they reached the table. He still couldn't seem to include Kevin in the informal grouping. "This is my girlfriend, Elizabeth Thomas."

"Well, Ms. Thomas, it's very nice to meet you," Rossi said, extending a hand, "I'm David Rossi, but everyone calls me Dave,"

"I remember you, we met briefly at the BAU a couple months ago, and please, it's Liz,"

Hotch was next to introduce himself, and Liz quickly saw that Spencer hadn't been kidding when he said the man didn't smile. Garcia quickly introduced Kevin, who just gave a small wave.

"Don't tell me you started the party without me," a deep voice said from behind them.

Spencer turned slightly in his chair, already knowing it was Derek, he was followed by Emily, JJ, and Will.

"You know it wouldn't be a party without you, Derek," Liz said with a laugh, as he sat down on her left.

"So Elizabeth, tell us about yourself," Hotch said promptly after everyone was seated.

She suddenly knew how her previous boyfriends must have felt meeting her parents for the first time.

"Well, I'll be a freshman at Virginia State in the fall, where I plan to major in English. I'm seventeen, eighteen in four months," she said, before falling silent, not really sure what answer he was looking for with the seriously vague question.

Hotch's eyes fell pointedly on Spencer for just a moment, before turning back to Liz. He'd seen the look a hundred times, "we'll talk later,"

"English, so do you plan to be a teacher," Rossi asked.

"No, a writer actually. It's been my passion since I was little."

"I wanted to be a pop star when I was little," Emily said offhandedly, causing several at the table to laugh. Elizabeth couldn't help feeling a rush of thanks to her for lightening the mood.

"Could you excuse me for just a moment, I need to use the ladies' room," Elizabeth said, rising to her feet. Truthfully, she just needed a breather from Hotch's probing stare, so she stood at the sink trying to gather her thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Emily's voice startled her, and she turned quickly, almost losing her balance.

"I'm fine, I just had to get away from there for a second," she said.

"Don't worry, you're fine, Hotch just forgets to turn off the profiler button sometimes," she said, with a reassuring smile.

Elizabeth couldn't help wondering if she'd entered some parallel universe, since when was Emily the type to reassure her?

Back at the table, Hotch sat his sights on Spencer, "Seventeen, Spencer, don't you think that's a little young? Plus, she's a victim, have you considered it could just be transference?"

Spencer fought to stifle a groan, here we go again, he thought. It was like instant replay of the conversation with Emily.

"I understand that the fact she's seventeen, isn't ideal, and of course I'm sure it's not transference. She's not a victim now, just a girl, with a complicated past. I appreciate yours and everybody else's concern Hotch, but I care about Elizabeth, and we're happy together. I hope all of you can understand that." he said, sounding shockingly assertive.

Hotch and Rossi exchanged glances, "Well," Hotch started, "she's not the victim in a current case, and there's nothing in the books that say you can't date someone involved in a closed one, so I guess all I can say is, I'm glad you found someone that makes you happy."

Spencer almost breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you,"

"You have to admit they're perfect together," JJ said with a smile.

"There's no denying that, they seem completely compatible," Rossi said, making Spencer feel like he was suddenly, no longer in the room.

Spencer suddenly realized Liz and Emily had been gone longer than he'd expected, and glanced over his shoulder to see them coming back to the table.

Elizabeth stopped Emily about ten feet away, knowing she needed to relieve some of the awkwardness between them. "Thank you for coming to check on me," she said, her voice coming off a bit more formally than attended. "I know you're worried about Spencer getting hurt, but you don't need to, I'm crazy about him, hurting him is the last thing I'd ever do."

Emily nodded, "He's been through a lot, I just don't want to see him have to go through anything else." she said before walking toward the table again.

Elizabeth took her seat back between Derek and Spencer, who took her hand under the table. She noticed the atmosphere seemed more relaxed, and hoped that her and Spencer's relationship would finally be normal, at least until the next case.