I'm sorry for the long time between updates, real life went a little crazy. Hopefully once everything settles I'll be updating more often. Also, I'm sorry for the VERY short chapter.

Chapter 6

Sliding into a booth, Miranda tried her best not to fidget while Spencer stood in line to buy their coffee. She honestly wasn't sure why she was so nervous at the thought of telling Spencer about her past. It wasn't as if she was hiding anything truly shocking or scary. Her parents weren't serial killers nor was there some other crazy, shameful secret she was hiding. Granted, she had done some things that she wasn't exactly proud of but her refusal to talk about her past wasn't because she regretted it.

Reid could see Miranda twisting the ring on her right hand back and forth in her telltale nervous habit as he approached the booth with their coffee. She looked like she was seconds away from bolting for the door in an attempt to escape. It was enough to make him feel like a complete ass for his comment back at the school. Who was he, after all, to complain about someone not being completely forth coming about their past? Hadn't he spent most of his weekend explaining to people that had been his friends for almost seven years, how he had a four year - almost five year old - daughter that they knew nothing about? Sighing he set their coffee down and slid into the booth.

"Listen Miranda, I'm sorry. I had no right to call you out like I did at the school."

Raising her head Miranda gave Spencer a half-hearted smile. The poor guy had such a guilty look on his face, it actually made her feel bad for making him feel bad.

"Spencer, don't worry about it. Okay? To a certain extent you're right. You do deserve an explanation." Sliding her ring off, Miranda stared at it for a minute. "I know you have a B.A. in psychology so I'm sure you're well versed with the different stages of grief. My question is this: how much actual hands on experience do you have with a child dealing with grief?"

More than slightly confused, Reid shook his head. "Other than the last two weeks with Danni, I don't have much direct or long term experience. Why?"

Miranda continued to play with her ring, without looking at Spencer. "That's kinda what I thought. Take it from someone who, unfortunately, does have the experience, Danni is most likely going to go through a major personality change. When the shock finally wears off, the anger will set in and I hate to say it but, because you're all she has left, you're going to catch the brunt of that anger."

Rolling his eyes, Reid took a sip of his coffee. "And you have vast experience dealing with grieving four year olds, thanks to your job as a high school history teacher."

Surprised, Miranda finally looked up at Spencer. The arrogant, angry, look on his face made her jaw clench. "Wow, Dr. Reid, I never realized just how snotty you get when you're stressed out. You're right, though; my job doesn't offer much experience dealing with grieving pre-schoolers. What I do have is a vast range of experience related to losing my father in a drunk driving accident when I was five."

Reid's eyes bugged out and he almost choked on his coffee. Carefully setting his coffee cup down, he wiped his mouth quickly before looking back up at Miranda. Her left hand was clenched in a fist and for a second he thought she might actually reach across the table and hit him. "Miranda, I'm so sorry, I…Uhh." Sighing, Reid ran both hands through his hair. "You're right; I'm stressed out and overwhelmed, and scared out of my mind, okay. I don't know how I'm supposed to do this. How am I going to balance being a good father with doing my job?"

Miranda slowly opened her hand and slipped the ring she had been clenching in her fist back onto her right ring finger where it belonged. "No one can answer that but you, Spencer. I hate to say this, but there aren't any set answers. You're pretty much going to have to figure out how to make all of this work by yourself. That being said, I'm more than willing to help you out in any way that I can and I'm sure your team feels the same way."

Leaning forward, Reid rested his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. Miranda was right…he was going to have to figure out how to make the situation work on his own. He had had to do the same thing when his father walked out when he was ten. The biggest difference was that now he actually had a support system to help him through it. Sliding his fingers to his temples, Reid looked at Miranda without raising his head. "You're still willing to help even though I've been a complete jerk to you today?"

Snorting, Miranda reached out and tugged lightly on a lock of Spencer's hair that had fallen onto his forehead. "Of course I'm still willing to help. That's what friends are for Spencer. Besides, if you get too bad, I'll just withhold coffee until you can be nice."