warnings: so much mush. so much. also i wrote this in like an hour and didn't edit it so. there's that.

word count: 1.2k (she's a shorty)

SPENCER

i drag my feet through the elevator and into the bullpen, trying to rub the exhaustion out of my eyes. i almost trip on my untied shoelace and then bend down to tie it, nearly falling over when the exhaustion hits me again.

luke comes up beside me as i stand, putting his hand on my shoulder. "come on, brother. time to go home."

"paperwork," i murmur, pushing my hair back off my head.

"nope!" garcia chirps, coming into the bullpen with a huge cup of coffee in her octopus mug. "emily said we can go home! everyone gets to rest and have the weekend off!"

the team seems to let out a collective sigh of relief at the news, immediately moving to pack up instead of bunker down for a long night of paperwork. i toss my things haphazardly into my satchel, grab my go bag, and head towards the elevator again.

"can't wait to get home," matt breathes, jj nodding to agree. "kristy was telling me the kids were upset that i missed a whole weeks worth of bedtime stories so i've got a lot to make up for."

"i know the feeling," jj laughs, patting his shoulder. "spence, you got anything to make up?"

"sleep," i say without a second thought.

"do you want a ride home? you can barely keep your eyes open," tara finally speaks up, nudging my arm.

"no, i'm okay," i insist quickly, shaking my head. "thanks but i'll be okay." the elevator opens and i rush out before anyone can offer again.

i trudge my way down two blocks to get to the train, waiting ten minutes for it to actually arrive, then nearly fall asleep and miss my stop. but i'm jolted awake right in time, rushing off and getting back into the chilly night air.

and then i'm dragging myself up the stairs to my apartment, go bag trailing behind me on the floor as i dig my keys out of my satchel. i'm yawning as i unlock the front door and stumble into my warm dwelling, dropping my bags down without a second thought. i toe off my dress shoes and drop my jacket, moving towards the bathroom. i flip on the light and grimace at my own action. the apartment is deathly silent as i wet my toothbrush and my eyes threaten to close again.

but then, as i'm brushing my teeth, i feel arms wrapping around my waist. a smile comes to my face, getting a slight hit of energy from the woman holding me. she presses her face into my back and i can just barely feel her kissing me over the fabric of my shirt. she shuffles her feet closer, resting them between mine and pressing our thighs together. she holds my waist tighter.

"sorry to wake you," i lean over and spit out the toothpaste, washing off my brush and setting it aside again.

"you didn't," she says so softly that i barely hear. her nose rubs against my shirt. "couldn't sleep anyway."

"are you okay?" i ask, twisting around and bringing my arms around her shoulders. and she takes the opportunity to bury her face in my neck, lips brushing against my skin.

"yeah," she whispers. "i was just worrying about you too much."

"you don't need to worry about me," i brush her hair back off her forehead and press a kiss there, watching her cheeks perk up with a smile. "there's other things for you to worry about. i shouldn't be one of them."

"it's my job to worry about you, spencer," and she finally looks up at me, eyes sparkling in the ugly yellow lighting of the bathroom. her eyes are red and maybe a bit puffy, one of her normal signs of lack of sleep. but she brings her hands up to my face and strokes her thumbs across my cheekbones. "you look exhausted, doll."

"oh, thanks," i laugh humorlessly, bringing my hands down to her waistline. and when i look down at the oversized sweater and find her stomach protruding out even more than last week, my exhaustion is forgotten. she smooths her hand over her bump and holds the sweater against her,

showing me the true size of her. "they grew," my tired eyes now full of tears as i slip my hands under the knit.

"yeah," she drops her forehead against my collarbone, "they really did. it's so real."

"it is," i choke out, cradling her stomach and stroking her skin the same way she did to me. "are you okay? do you need anything?"

she laughs, nodding. "some sleep would be nice."

"i know the feeling," i breath into her hair. then i move her back, crouch down, press a load of kisses to her tummy, and stand back up. "let's get you into bed, okay?"

"i think i should be getting you into bed, doctor," she chirps over her shoulder as i lead her back into the bedroom. "you look like you could fall asleep standing up."

she crawls into bed and bundles herself under the covers, watching me. i undress myself as quick as i can down to my boxers and shut the lights off, getting in beside her. she curls up on my chest and kisses my cheek as a silent goodnight, a hand on my chest and her nose on my jawline.

but as exhausted as i am, i can't seem to drift away. i'm stuck on the woman in the arms and i'm stuck on a weeks worth of missed bedtime stories. seven children without bedtime stories from a parent. seven children going to bed without hearing i love you a second time.

"you're thinking," she whispers, alerting me that she is still awake. "i can hear you thinking."

i bring my hand to her stomach again, eyes falling closed and my other arm pulling her even closer. "i don't want our child to be without a parent."

"they won't be," she says, confused. "they'll have us."

"i'm never home," i say simply, "but i want to be home."

"i'm not sure if this is the right time to be having this conversation."

"i can consult," i continue on despite her light rejection, "i can teach at the academy, i can be a professor full time. i don't want to leave my child without a father, without two parents. and without bedtime stories."

"bedtime stories?" she wonders softly, her voice pitching up with intrigue.

"i wanna be there for the first days of school, for bath time, for carpool, for holidays, for everything. i wanna be around. i love you and this baby too much to be an absent father."

she hesitates before she answers. she swings one leg up to cover my hips and kisses me again. and when she does respond, it's so quiet, like she's talking in her sleep. "i've always thought you were an amazing professor."

i smile again. "get some sleep, angel. we'll talk more tomorrow. i've got the weekend off."

"could you tell us a bedtime story?"

my smile grows even more. "of course," she settles in closer, letting me hold her tighter and never let her go. "once upon a time..."

hello lovely readers! i would love your help!! so i've got a LOT of wips and i would love to hear what you would like to read. so i'm gonna leave descriptions of some chapters i'm working on and please leave a comment on the ones you would wanna read. leave as many comments as you like.

•the BAU does secret santa. spencer is given his crush and does not know what to do with himself

•the sequel to "silence"

•yours and matthew's kids camp out in the living room during a thunderstorm

•the sequel to "braids"

•smut involving you, a kitchen counter, matthew grab gubler, and a bikini

•matthew in a maid costume smut

•the sequel to "sweatpants" (will be called "curls")

• a chapter inspired by getaway car by taylor swift

• spencer reid age regression after a hard case

•you and matthew go away on a romantic weekend to a snowy cabin in the mountains (requested)

•the sequel to "pretty"

•smut chapter where after a red carpet event, matthew makes you feel beautiful (requested)

•you and spencer go shopping for your wedding dress after a disastrous first shopping trip

now. all of these will be written and published eventually. but this is for me to know which ones you wanna see so i can prioritize those and get them out faster.

but as always, and on this chapter and every other chapter!!!!