"You're kidding, right? This is where your girlfriend lives?"
Morgan, Reid, and the rest of the BAU and their families stood outside an enormous house, practically a mansion. They had driven in through an enormous wrought-iron gate after Reid punched in a code, and they had parked several yards away from the front door, next to a few other cars and Lynn's motorcycle. The home was two stories high, and they could see that it spanned several rooms across. There was no way a behavior therapist working for a non-profit could afford this.
"Fiancée. And yes. Don't worry, I was just as shocked the first time I came over. You'll get used to it." Reid pressed a button on an intercom next to the front door, which gave off a buzzing sound that echoed inside the house. After a moment, Lynn's voice came through the speaker.
"You have keys, dearest." Reid smiled and pressed the 'talk' button.
"I didn't want to be rude and just let us in."
"That's kind of the point of you having keys, Spencer. We're in the back, see you all in a few!"
Reid laughed and unlocked the front door, guiding his team into the huge home. Lynn had invited everyone over for a cookout so their families could meet each other; sort of an informal engagement party, as Reid had proposed just as Morgan suspected. At first there was some confusion, since Reid said it was a family cookout.
"Why are we going if it's for family?" Rossi had asked a few days before. Reid had looked up, confused that he would ask.
"You guys are my family," he had said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Now Reid guided them through the large house. They passed a room with a lot of jackets and bags tossed into it, clearly where her family had first congregated. They continued down a long hallway, finally reaching a large open kitchen looking out onto the backyard through walls that were made of glass. Lynn stood at the island in the center of the kitchen, cutting vegetables with a blonde woman that looked to be in her late 50's. Both smiled when the group walked in.
"Spencer, it's good to see you again," said the woman, beckoning him over to kiss his cheek. "This must be your family!"
"Guys, this is my stepmom, Kathy," Lynn smiled. "Ma, this is Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack, Penelope Garcia, Emily Prentiss, David Rossi, and JJ and Will LaMontagne and their son Henry. Henry is Spencer's godson."
"Oh, it's such a pleasure to meet you all!" Kathy was clearly a very loving woman, immediately offering hugs and kisses to everyone. "I'm glad we were all able to get together like this. I'm sure you're all just as excited for Lynn and Spencer as we are."
"Oh you bet we are!" Garcia said. "Our baby brother's all grown up!"
"Oh gee, thanks, Garcia. Real nice." Laughter filled the room.
"UNCLE SPENCER!" The sliding glass door flew open and two blond bundles hurled themselves towards Reid.
"Katie, Nolan!" Kathy chided. "Be careful of his knee!"
"No, it's fine, Kathy," Reid smiled. "Hey guys! Wow, have you been swimming?" The little boy and girl nodded, giggling. They were both soaking wet and still wearing their floaties. Reid was grateful that he had worn only a t-shirt and jeans as he scooped up the dripping children and carried them outside. "Come on, let's go back outside so everybody can play out there." Kathy and Lynn followed, carrying the vegetables they had chopped up.
Once outside, Lynn repeated the introductions she had made to the new faces. She let Reid introduce her family as she took the vegetables to the grill. Reid started pointing people out one by one.
A man in his late 40's, grilling burgers and vegetables. "Jim, her dad." A 22-year-old with brown hair that looked like Lynn. "Chris, her little brother. They live here together." Two men in their early 30's, sitting with their feet in the pool, watching Katie and Nolan. "Her stepbrother Matthew and his husband Landon. They had the twins via surrogate." A large woman a little older than Lynn, holding an infant. "Her stepsister Elizabeth and her son Connor. Her husband Mark is a Marine, he's currently finishing his final tour and should be home next month." A man in his late 20's, sitting at the patio table and playing a guitar. "Her half-brother Adam. Her older brother from their mother's first marriage."
"No kids from Jim and Kathy?" Prentiss asked.
"No, thank God!" Lynn had heard the question and joined the group. "My mom died 12 years ago, when I was 14. Kathy and her kids were close family friends, Matthew actually babysat Chris and me when we were little. Dad and Ma got married about 9 years ago. They were both more than finished having kids."
"I'm sorry about your mother," Hotch said. Lynn smiled.
"Thank you, I appreciate that. She was a good woman. But Kathy has been more of a mother than I could have dreamed. She's the one who inspired me to become a behavior therapist. She actually works as a counselor for troubled kids and their families. You know, kids who are on their last chance before they go to the real prisons. She helps the kids turn their lives around and teaches the families how to be better families to each other. It was Katie, though, that inspired me to work with kids with developmental disabilities. She has Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. She's had some trouble with her behavior, and when I was finishing my Master's and choosing a specialty it only made sense to help kids like my niece."
"Food's ready!" called Jim. Everyone lined up for their burger patties, or grilled eggplant, for Adam the vegetarian. After dinner, Jack and Henry joined the twins in the pool while the adults talked.
"So, Reid says you and your sister live here, right Chris?" asked Rossi. Chris nodded.
"Yup. We spend a lot of time together, though we have our own corners of the house. The upstairs northeast corner is mine, and Lynn has the downstairs southwest corner. We have plenty of privacy and quiet when we need it."
"So, let me ask this," Morgan started. "How is it that a behavior therapist working for a non-profit organization and a college senior with no job can afford this place? Family money or something?"
Lynn laughed. "Oh hardly. Our family has always been lower middle-class. Enough to get by, but certainly no fancy vacations. Do you guys remember a few years ago, when Virginia had the biggest lottery in state history? 674 million?"
"I do remember that," Hotch said. "The winners were very careful to make sure no one found out their names. I don't think it ever got out, actually."
"It didn't," Chris said. "It was Lynn and me." Morgan and Garcia exchanged looks.
"You're kidding, right?" she asked.
"Nope," Lynn said. "It was definitely us. We bought tickets together for Chris's 18th birthday. When we won, we donated about 20 percent of it to various charities, bought this house, paid off Dad and Ma's bills, put back money for the twins' and Connor's college, paid off our own college loans, and put the rest of it in savings. Our families will be taken care of for generations to come. When Spencer and I have kids we'll be able to stop working to take care of them."
Morgan quirked an eyebrow. "Reid, you gold digger."
"Hey!" Everyone laughed at the disgruntled doctor. Taking pity, Lynn took his face in her hands and kissed him. Both families felt their hearts swell when they saw the silver Claddagh ring on her left ring finger.
This was definitely going to be a very happy family.