A/N: Another present; I know it's late I'm sorry! Internet went down!
Anyway; this is for my awesome friend Brittany who, after much persuasion got me to read a few Spence/Emily fics and almost got me having them as my favourite Criminal Minds pairing...almost ;)
Established Spencer/Emily.
I do not own Criminal Minds...or anything to do with Santa Baby.
Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
"Prentiss."
"Emily, I don't care if I am interrupting you and genius with whatever you're doing at this time – ewww that is not a good image- but this is an emergency and-"
"Garcia!"
"Sorry...anyway, Hotch is going to call Reid any minute so be prepared for-"
A shrill ring ripped the air and as Garcia predicted, Hotch's name flashed as the caller ID.
"One minute Garcia," Emily told her. "Spencer." She shook him by his shoulder. "Hey, Hotch is calling baby."
The younger profiler opened his eyes, squinting slightly. "Hotch?"
Emily nodded and handed the ringing cell to him. He sighed slightly and took the phone from her, taking the call. "Reid here."
Emily climbed out of the bed and pulled on her over-sized Yale t-shirt, smiling lightly at Reid before leaving him to his conversation. "Okay, Garcia, I can talk now. What does Hotch want?"
"Did you just call Reid 'baby'?"
The brunette rolled her eyes. "What's it to ya'?" she replied, unable to help the slight smile in her voice. She winced and held the phone away from her ear at the squeal that erupted over the line.
"You two are so cu-"
"Don't use that word," Emily warned the bubbly technician. She could almost see the pout that she could hear in Garcia's voice.
"Fine. But you are."
"What is it that Hotch wanted?" the profiler asked, flipping the switch on her coffee machine and stifling a yawn. As she talked, Emily glanced at the clock. It was 11am, much later than both herself and Reid usually got up, but considering how much they wore each other out the previous night- She cut herself off from her daydreaming and continued. "Do we have a case? I thought we had this week off?"
"We do indeed have the week off, but seeing as Boy Wonder has already answered his phone, hecan tell you what Hotch wants," Garcia told her.
"But-"
"No buts! Garcia out!"
Emily could only shake her head at her cell.
Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue,
I'll wait up for you dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
A short time later, Emily heard Reid's soft footsteps on the stairs. The younger profiler was no longer talking and when he entered the kitchen a frown was spread across his face.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, concerned.
Reid mumbled something behind the door of the refrigerator.
"What?" The brunette placed her coffee cup down and leaned against the counter, frowning.
"Hotch wants me to dress as Santa Claus for Jack..."
Emily couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. Or the laugh that escaped from her throat.
"You have got to be kidding me!" she giggled. The younger profiler stared at her with a grim expression, causing the brunette to cease her laughter. "Seriously?"
"Yep," Reid answered in an off tone. "Typically an older male would dress up as Santa Claus for children, with only 28% of impersonators being under the age of thirty and an average age of 47.8 years being the age of-"
"You're rambling Spence," Emily told him gently. She knew that the younger man was getting internally flustered about Hotch's...odd...request. "Why didn't he ask Rossi?"
"Rossi's accent would give him away," Reid stated, mind clearly elsewhere.
"Morgan?"
"Said it wouldn't work."
Emily was clutching at straws now. "Will?"
"Accent."
"Kevin?" Reid looked at her with a deadpanned expression, something that she rarely saw on the younger agent's face. "Okay, I'm sorry," she said, grabbing her coffee.
"I just don't get how I'm supposed to be Santa though. I don't have a beard; I don't have the voice or the outfit-"
"Hold on," Emily cut him off, grabbing her ringing phone. "Hello?"
"We'll be there in an hour!" Garcia sang down the phone.
Think of all the fun I've missed,
Think of all the fellows that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be just so good
If you check off my Christmas list
"Emily, am I doing it right?" Reid pleaded.
The brunette bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. "You're...making progress," she said. In preparation for when the others arrived, Emily had taken to trying to teach Reid how to speak like Santa. Something the man hadn't really mastered yet. "Come on, try again."
"Emily..."
"Spencer!" She grabbed his hands. "You can do this. Hotch wouldn't have asked you if he didn't think you could do it. You're great at learning things. I think your IQ of 187, eidetic memory, and the fact you can read twenty-thousand words per minute counts for something right?" She smiled at him, which he weakly returned.
"It's a shame there's no book on how to act like Santa," he tried to joke.
"Look, just keep practicing and you'll be fine," Emily told him. "Think of it like the time when you had to learn that magic trick when you were dealing with Teddy Bryar. You did that, didn't you?"
"But that was a different situation. The unsub had a train full of hostages and-"
"Okay, maybe don't look at it that way," the brunette reasoned. "But you'll manage it, I know you will." She quickly kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to go take a shower before Garcia gets here. I'll be down in a bit."
"Okay."
Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that's not a lot
Been an angel all year
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
"And so the help has arrived!"
"Hey Garcia," Reid said weakly as he opened the door to the bubbly blonde. The younger profiler paled as Morgan and JJ followed her in. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We're here to help Genius," Morgan grinned.
"Will kicked me out so he could do some last minute wrapping," JJ explained, a smile also on her face.
"You know, it's been proven that men are notoriously bad at buying presents. They have a tendency to leave it until the last minute, which earns the gender a bad reputation. But even with the thoughts of buying presents, on average sixty-five percent of men will buy the wrong gift for the intended recipient," Reid told the two.
"And that's unbelievably encouraging," Garcia said. "Right, Mr Claus, I have your outfit, beard and gift sack all here." She threw a bag at the younger man, the weight of which caused him to stumble back into Morgan.
"Where's Emily?" JJ asked.
"She's in the bathroom," Reid answered. He glanced at the clock and furrowed his brow. "But she's taken five minutes and thirteen seconds longer than she normally does."
"You know how long it takes her to get ready?" Morgan asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Reid answered simply.
JJ rolled her eyes. "I'll go let her know we're here, I wanted to see if she could lend me a shirt for our neighbour's party later," the blonde told the others as she hurried upstairs.
"I guess that leaves you and me to sort out Santa Junior here Baby Girl," Morgan winked.
"Well then my Chocolate Ardonis, where shall we start?"
"Shouldn't we get pretty boy here into his outfit? Get him into character?" Morgan couldn't contain the snigger that escaped as Reid visibly, if it was possible, paled even further.
Santa honey, one little thing I really do need, the deed
To a platinum mine,
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight
"There we go! Should be sorted!" Garcia clapped her hands together and smiled. Emily and JJ sat on the sofa, looking at the young profiler. Morgan had been banished from the apartment and told to go and fill the gift sack with the presents for Jack from the team (which Garcia had stowed away in the boot of her car) – he had been distracting Reid by pulling out a camera and recording his failed attempts to imitate the iconic, jolly man.
"I'm not sure about this..."
"Spence, you look great," JJ told him honestly.
The young man had been padded out with various pillows and blankets, making the suit bulky and giving the impression of added weight. The bright red suit made him look the part, complete with Santa hat. Garcia had even managed to find a white beard that Reid now wore, though he did complain that the fake hair made it awful to talk.
"Red really suits you," Emily mused, shooting a quick glare at JJ who had raised her eyebrows suggestively. The blonde simply widened her grin in response.
"Is there something you two aren't telling me?" Garcia accused the two women.
"What?" Emily yelped.
"JJ's been grinning like an idiot all afternoon and you haven't spoken half as much as you normally do."
"And you don't want to be a profiler?" Emily laughed. "I've been quiet because I don't want Spence thinking that I was laughing at him, I've tried to stay out of the way!"
"And I've only been grinning because...well...no offence Spence, but you do look pretty adorable in that outfit," JJ snickered.
"No laughing at my work," Garcia sniffed.
"Sorry," the two profilers chorused.
"You know," Reid started. "Contrary to popular belief, though Santa did wear a green outfit, Coca Cola weren't the first to depict him in a red outfit. In fact, it's been common for centuries to show Santa wearing red and white, though not in the suit with the belt and fur, but Santa is based on St Nicholas, who was often depicted in red and white bishop's clothing. In fact, a version of St Nicholas arrives in Holland each November, dressed in a bishop's outfit-"
"Interesting," Garcia cut him off. "So. How are you getting to Hotch's?"
"I'm driving," Emily told her.
"So what's your plan?" the technician asked.
"Plan?" Reid squeaked.
"Well you can't arrive by car on the doorstep with Emily can you? Jack would guess straight away," Garcia explained.
"Emily and I could go in first?" JJ offered. "Then Spence can come a few minutes later. Though," she looked at him. "You will have to arrive at the back door and knock, okay?"
"Why the back door?"
"Because you can't go down the chimney, and Santa has a magic key that opens every door in the world so he can deliver presents," JJ told him. "Either Emily or I will let you in and show you into Jack."
"That's a good plan," Garcia admitted.
"So it's settled then," JJ grinned.
Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex and checks,
Sign your x on the line
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!"
Emily watched from the sofa as Reid entered the room, his usually high voice much gruffer and deeper, a perfect impression. She laughed fondly as JJ followed him, taking a seat next just in time to see Jack jump up.
"Santa?" the young boy squealed.
"Jack Hotchner?" Reid asked.
"That's me! How did you get in?"
"Magic my dear boy!" Reid told him with a hearty laugh.
Emily could barely contain the grin that stretched across her face. She met Hotch's gaze from across the room and raised her eye-brows.
"He's good" Hotch mouthed to her.
She nodded in response.
"But Santa...aren't you early? It's not Cwistmas Eve until tomorrow..." Jack said thoughtfully.
Emily froze. That was something they had not thought about.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Your Dad wrote me a letter asking me if I could come a day early and drop off a few of your presents because you've been extra good this year!"
"He did?" Jack asked, grinning at his father.
"Yes he did! Here you go Jack!" Reid swung the sack from his shoulder and handed it to the excited boy.
"Look Daddy look!"
"What do you say to Santa Jack?" Hotch reminded him gently.
"THANK-YOU!" Jack hollered, launching himself around Reid's waist and hugging tightly.
"You're very welcome. Now, I've got to go, because I've got lots of preparations to do for tomorrow night!"
Jack gaped at him in awe. "Wow! I'm going to leave you an extra mince pie this year Santa, because you must be super busy and get really hungry."
Reid chuckled at the young boy and fought the urge to remind him about the excessive amounts of pastry and filling Santa must consume on Christmas Eve.
"Thank-you Jack! Now, you stay in here and make sure your Dad and Aunts JJ and Emily don't peak as I'm leaving, otherwise they'll spoil the magic and I won't be able to fly tomorrow night," he whispered in the boy's ear.
Jack's face widened in panic. He dropped the sack of presents and ran to his father. "Daddy! Cover your eyes! Cover your eyes! You too Aunt Emmy! And you Aunt JJ!"
The three older profilers all did as they were instructed.
"I'll see you soon Jack," Reid smiled as he left the young boy in the living room, his hands tightly over his own eyes. The profiler made a point of shaking the bells Garcia had slipped into his pocket as he left, just to complete the illusion. He quickly made his way back to Emily's car and drove home before Jack could see him, knowing that JJ would drop the other woman off before she went home.
"Wow! I can't believe Santa came early!" Jack exclaimed.
The three profilers opened their eyes. "Well, you must have been a really good boy this year Jack," Emily smiled at him.
"What did you ask Santa for this year Aunt Em'ly?" the boy asked her innocently.
"What did I ask for? I asked for..." she quickly thought of something. "...a new book, and lots of kitty toys for Sergio."
"You did?"
"Yep."
"That's nice!"
Come and trim my Christmas tree,
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you,
Let's see if you believe in me
A short while later, both Emily and JJ said their goodbyes and headed home. After wishing JJ 'Merry Christmas', Emily entered her house and laughed at the Santa outfit folded neatly on the counter.
"I think that went well," Reid said behind her, encircling her waist and hugging her.
"I think it did," the brunette agreed.
The two profilers ate the dinner that Reid had prepared in the time he'd been home and then sat curled into each other on the sofa, flicking through the Christmas programs that littered the channels.
"You handled Jack's questions pretty well today," Emily said.
She felt Reid's chest shake as he laughed. "Well, 'practice makes perfect'," he told her in a humorous tone.
The brunette turned to look at him, a small smile on her lips. "Do you ever think about it?"
"About what?"
"Kids..." she said quietly, suddenly very shy.
"Sometimes...I think it'd be quite something to have our own little Santa baby." He winked at her as he said it, knowing that it was an uncomfortable topic for her, he knew about her abortion and everything to do with Declan. "But as long as I have you, I don't mind," he told her gently. A small laugh left Emily's lips as she leaned in to kiss him.
When the two broke apart, Reid jumped up from the sofa. "Wait here," he told her, kissing her quickly on the cheek and leaving her sat on the sofa, stunned.
Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring,
I don't mean on the phone,
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight
"I was going to wait until new year for this, but I can't wait any longer," Reid rambled as he came back down the stairs. He knelt down on one knee in front of her and held up a small black box.
"Oh my god-"
"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss," he started. "You've been there for me since you first came onto our team. We've had our ups and downs, and we've nearly lost each other, but since you became my friend you've meant so much more to me. And no matter what comes next, no matter what it is, I want to be right there beside you through it all. Emily, would you do me the honour of marrying me?"
Tears ran down the brunette's cheeks. She mumbled something as she wiped them away.
"What?"
"Yes!" she cried, hugging him around his neck tightly. She felt the younger man practically sag with relief. With the two of them grinning at each other, Emily occasionally sniffing, Reid slid the ring onto her finger and held her close, not wanting to let go.
Hurry down the chimney tonight...
"Spencer..." Emily said.
"Yes?"
"Remember earlier how you were talking about having our own little Santa baby..."
He pulled back from her slightly, eyes scanning her face, profiling every movement. He watched as the grin spread across her tear-stained face.
"Well...it might be sooner than you think."
Hurry, down...tonight
Happy Holidays! Sorry it's late Brittany! But, better late than never right? ;)
And...my first Spence/Emily...it feels odd to be writing this...and I know Reid was slightly OC towards the end, I'm sorry! D:
Anyway! To all the lovely people who got to this point, please leave me some feedback so I know how I did! Reviews are better than Christmas presents ;)
xx