Prologue

Not for the first time Dr. Spencer Reid cursed his eidetic memory. He clearly remembered everything about that morning and, in particular, every word of Emma's outburst, which was burned indelibly into his brain.

"Spencer, it seems we have different ideas of what constitutes a marriage," Emma had told him. "And, obviously, we should have discussed them before we jumped into this situation."

"I understand that you have a demanding job that takes a lot of your time and also takes you out of town a lot," she had continued. "I also realize that I will probably be spending a lot of time by myself. I have absolutely no problem with that! What I do have a problem with is the fact that you seem to think that I am going to continue living here in Las Vegas and just picking up and running to Quantico, or wherever you happen to be at the moment, whenever you feel like seeing me. Spencer, I am your wife – I am not a booty call! If you want a booty call, let me know and I can give you a few phone numbers."

"Now, I know you have to leave to join your team. So, why don't you go back to Quantico or wherever the team is headed and think it over? Then, get back to me and we'll talk about it. You have my number!"

With that, she had walked swiftly across the room and out of the apartment as Reid stood staring after her, wondering what it was that she had originally wanted to discuss.

That had been 5 months (23 weeks or 161 days) ago. During that time, Reid had immersed himself in working on cases and consults at the BAU. He had joined Morgan for workouts in the gym and had joined JJ for early morning runs. He had played numerous chess games on line with anonymous players from all over the world. However, during all that time, he had never made the phone call to his wife. He justified it to himself by saying that he had no idea where to start the conversation and/or what to say to her. However, today -

And The Adventure Begins -

Dr. Spencer Reid was nervously standing outside the door to Emma's office at Bennington Sanitarium wondering again if he was doing the right thing. True, she had sent him back to Quantico to think things over, but that had been 5 months (or 23 weeks or 161 days) ago. He had expected to hear from either her or his father concerning whether or not the paperwork for the annulment of their marriage had been filed. But, he had heard nothing. Then, a day ago, his cell phone had rung.

"Dr. Reid," his routine answer.

"Spencer," Will Reid had replied. "How are you?"

"Dad, this is a surprise. Just fine, actually. What about you?" a routine reply.

"No complaints. Listen, Spencer, I know you are busy so I'll just ask what I need to and be on my way."

"Okay. What can I help you with?"

"I still have the annulment papers for you and Emma on my desk," Mr. Reid had told him. "I was wondering if you would like them as a sort of souvenir or whether I should just destroy them."

Reid thought for a minute. Apparently, his father wasn't aware of the current situation between him and Emma. It was embarrassing, and he needed to stall.

"Let me talk to Emma," he replied. "Then I'll get back to you."

"Sounds good," his father had replied. "I'll hang on to them until I hear from you."

Twenty-four hours later, here he stood, staring at Emma's office door. Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

"Come in," her familiar voice called out.

Gingerly he pushed the door open and, hesitatingly, stepped into the room.

"Spencer?" she asked, obviously surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." He stopped and looked at Emma sitting on the other side of her desk.

"You look different," he blurted out.

"Darn his mouth again," he thought. Even when he was trying hard not to, he still tended to blurt out unwelcome comments.

Emma tilted her head slightly to the left and looked at him. "In what way?" she asked blandly as she picked up a bottle of water from her desk and took a drink.

"Your face, it looks – puffy," may as well be honest about it, he figured. "And, your breasts seem bigger, and your hair – It looks different somehow." Reid paused to take a breath.

"And, you never used to keep a water bottle with you," he concluded weakly.

"What conclusions would your magnificent profiler's mind reach from all these observations?" Emma seemed to be mocking him.

"Well," Reid began reviewing possible responses. He didn't want to make things worse than he already had.

Then, his cell phone rang. Automatically he took it out and glanced at it. Darn, it was Hotch.

"Sorry," he glanced at Emma. "I have to take this." He pushed the Answer button and started to move the phone to his ear.

"No You Don't!" Before he realized what was happening, Emma had moved from behind her desk and was standing next to him. Grabbing the phone, she threw it against the wall, where it crashed and then fell to the floor in pieces.

Reid stared at her in amazement. "That's government property!" Was all he could say.

"And, I am a taxpayer," was her angry response.

"You can't – You can't just," Reid stuttered as he looked into her angry eyes. She was panting slightly, as if moving from behind the desk had strained her. His eyes moved downward and he suddenly realized why she was panting.

"You're pregnant!" he blurted out.

"What was the giveaway?" she countered.

"You're so big!" Darn his mouth again. That was the wrong thing to say, and he knew it.

"Twins do have a tendency to take up more room than singles," she informed him as she reached for the couch behind her and sat down.

"And, yes, you are the father," she added.

"Are you sure?" He couldn't help it.

"Spencer Reid," she began. "You know very well you are the only man I have ever been with. And, as far as going to a lab for verification, I don't have either the money or the inclination. If you insist, however, feel free to run a DNA test."

The door to her office flew open. "Dr. Porter? I heard a crash coming from in here. Are you alright?" A tall, be speckled older man in a white lab coat rushed into the room.

"Oh, Dr. Reid," he said. "I didn't know you were here."

"Dr. Norman," Reid acknowledged him.

Dr. Norman looked over at Emma sitting on the couch. Quickly assessing her pasty complexion and ragged breathing, he moved to check her pulse.

"Dr. Reid, go down the hall, get a nurse, and ask her to bring a wheelchair in here," he instructed.

Spencer just stood there, staring at him and Emma.

"Now, Dr. Reid!" Dr. Norman barked. "Now! We need to get her to the hospital wing!"

Reid ran out the door and immediately encountered a nurse, pushing a wheelchair, headed toward Emma's office.

"I heard the noise," she explained. "We've been expecting something like this to happen. Hold the door, please." Expertly she maneuvered the wheelchair into the room, stopped it in front of Emma, and locked the wheels.

"Dr. Reid, you will wait in my office," Dr. Norman instructed as he helped Emma into the chair.

"But – But," Reid stuttered.

"My office," Dr. Norman told him sternly. "You know where it is."

With that admonition, Dr. Norman and the nurse disappeared down the hallway with Emma.

As Reid slowly walked down the familiar hallway to Dr. Norman's office, he was lost in thought and failed to notice a dark haired young woman trailing discretely behind him. When he reached Dr. Norman's office, Reid immediately began going through the psychiatrist's bookshelf looking for something to read while waiting to find out his wife's condition. Meanwhile, Moira Donovan, after a quick glance through the doorway to confirm his identity, continued down the hallway and disappeared through a service door.