Sitting in Aaron's car- not the Tahoes they drove case to case, but his honest to goodness personal vehicle- Spencer was sweating bullets. What the hell was he supposed to say to Jessica? He didn't have enough working information on Hotch's inlaws to even possibly understand what would be appropriate to disclose and what would just …make for a horribly awkward and short-lived relationship with Hotch. He knew mentioning what Aaron had said about his personal timeline would be… off-limits to say the very least, but what wasn't?

He didn't understand sibling dynamics as a person who lived through it, or sister-in-law to widower dynamics- and they haven't written any book on the subject that Reid's stumbled across. The euphoric high of finally having Aaron for himself for a good hour just came with a set of complications he really, really should have thought about before going off to dinner with the extended Hotchner family.

"Spencer, relax… Jessica isn't as judgmental as Haley. She is about as snarky, truthfully, she's a lot like Dave." He nodded as if it dawned on him just how accurate of an assessment that was. She held her tongue, knew more than she'd ever share, and she'd lie you flat out if she wanted or needed to, that and there was her propensity to meddle.

Spencer gave Aaron the most fleeting of looks before locking eyes on an ever-changing point outside the car window. "What are safe subjects?" He said with just enough assertiveness to prove he meant it.

"She's going to want to know more about you as a person, and your stance on kids- more specifically Jack." Aaron amended when he saw Spencer blanch.

"This is more intimidating than interviewing death-row inmates." He muttered, he recalled the time he and Hotch had gone to one that almost ended very badly. Somehow, he felt nostalgic, it was a real shame that he couldn't just do that instead. Maybe dressed in a mini-skirt too, it would still probably be easier and less likely to end in violence, at least it felt that way.

Aaron found Spencer's hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "I love you, and that's not going to change."

Spencer squeezed back, "I get the feeling there's going to be more of these, aren't there?"

"Introductions? Absolutely, you're too important to me to not have the people in my life know about, but we'll take it at a pace you're comfortable with."

Spencer nodded, "And if I just want to keep you all to myself…?"

Aaron smiled, he pulled Spencer's hand to his lips and kissed it, "I wouldn't have pegged you as a possessive lover."

"Oh come on, with my abandonment issues? You're a better profiler than that." He smiled, "besides, you're not really supposed to be profiling me, or was the rule that you can't profile team members, but significant others is completely kosher."

"Well, if we didn't I'd run the risk of dating a sociopath and I couldn't have such a bad influence around my son…" Aaron teased, "Spencer, I mean it, I mean it more than I've meant anything in my romantic life before. I love you, it's what absolution feels like, your arms."

"I really hope I'm not dead, but if I am, at least I'm in heaven." He muttered, casually touching his forehead, "I never thought of myself as possessive beforehand, but I never really had anyone I wanted to keep to myself. Maybe it's just you, you bring that out in me… but I get this feeling that this is a dream, a fantastical whimsy my mind is playing before me, because there's no way I could ever be as lucky to get who I've wanted for so long and for it to work…"

"You weren't the only one, I'm still half-expecting you to come to your senses and realize you could do so much better than me… but I'm happy to keep you company until you realize just how much better you could do."

"That'll be for a while, Aaron, because you are incredibly amazing."

"I think that's my line, Spencer. If it gets too awkward for you- she knows that you have a skull fracture."

Spencer let out a small scoff, "She knows that, but not that I'm a guy?"

"Oh no, she's aware of that too… well, she knows that my subordinate Dr. Reid has a skull fracture and that Jack knows I have a lover which she's assuming are not one and the same."

"Now I am getting a headache. So her source of all information is Jack? I'll have to remember that."

"Yeah, kids possess a one-way valve for information. Once they know it, everyone else who'll listen will too, until just before adolescents."

As Aaron pulled into the parking lot, Spencer saw the outlines of a certain 6 year old bouncing back and forth between Jessica and her husband- Spencer was searching his vast memory banks and couldn't for the life of him recall ever hearing the man's name- before Aaron squeezed his knee. "That's Paul, he's usually quiet around strangers- he's self-conscious about his teeth."

Spencer nodded, "Right."

In unison, the two opened their doors and shut them before approaching the group, Spencer could watch the emotions wash over Jessica and Paul's faces- confusion, shock, realization, then the opinions verged- Paul looked horrified, Jessica looked accepting, but had that slightly peeved look, aimed more at Aaron than Spencer.

"Uh, hi." Spencer said to the group, he rubbed Jack's hair ruffling it up.

"Hi Spencer, it's been a long time. Since the funeral, hasn't it been?" Jessica said, smiling pleasantly to Spencer, giving Aaron a death-stare.

"Uh, yeah… how've you been?"

"Better, it's not something you just walk away from, but it's getting better." She nudged Paul in the ribs, "Paul, say hello to Spencer here."

"Hello." He said in more shock than anything else. "Weren't you going to… uh… bring over your girlfriend?"

"I don't have one, Paul." Aaron said with a clean cut through the bullshit. "But I am seeing Spencer."

"Right. Right, I always thought Sean might be a little funny, but… well, I didn't think all the Hotchner men, uh, swung that way." He looked down at Jack, "Not that there's …anything wrong with that…" he back-pedaled.

"Like hell there isn't." Jessica smiled, she took hold of Aaron's shoulders, "You could at least have the decency to cover up what you were doing. Your son is here too." She continued, "And a subordinate? I guess that's an occupational hazard, but really… a subordinate? Are you trying to get fired?"

"As much as Strauss likes to make my life a hell, she can't function without me there, and she'd never dare transfer Reid out of her department. He makes her look too good."

"I hear black-eyes like that always make a woman look ten years younger." She rolled her eyes, "You two just be careful- no, make that discrete. Well, now that that's all out of the way, let's sit down and eat. Spencer, we have a lot of catching up to get through."

"We do, don't we?" He said politely, wondering just what the hell he stepped into. This was more political than he expected, then again, Haley was a big part in how Aaron had played the game and climbed the ranks. He'd heard the stories, and he knew the statistics, especially about single men even very talented single men and the likelihood that they'd be skipped over for an equally talented married man. He really hoped Aaron realized what he signed up for, because it was too late to take back his feelings now.

TBC.