A/N

I'm sorry that it has taken me literal AGES to update, but I made this part hella long to make up for it. I hope you enjoy !

------------

For the next couple weeks, Spencer and I went on more and more dates. We even ended up seeing each other every single day one weekend. It was amazing getting to know him better. He truly was shy and considerate, but he was also incredibly funny. I loved that we were letting our walls down more.

"Your mother sounds lovely!" I said. Spencer was blushing and looking down at the sidewalk. He was walking me home from dinner. This was our first time seeing each other in over a week. He had had to travel for work again.

"She is. She really is." He gave gentle chuckle that seemed thick with nostalgia. "What are your parents like?"

"Well, my dad owns his own dental practice and my mum's a primary school teacher."

"That explains why your teeth are so nice."

I giggled. "That's an odd compliment, but thank you very much!"

"You have really good teeth! Why is that a weird thing for me to say?" I laughed harder and that made him join in. "I mean, obviously I'm not saying that it's your best quality!"

"You're so weird!" I said once I was calmed down. "But that's not a bad thing."

"Yeah, luckily you're pretty weird, too." I felt the back of his hand lightly brush against mine. I lightly turned my hand to grab his. I was glad when he laced his fingers with mine.

By the time we reached my apartment building, the sun was almost completely gone. It was getting even colder out. Spencer pulled me into a hug. The warmth was amazing as my head rest against his chest.

"Do you want to come up for a bit?" I asked. I could hear his heart speed up a little.

"Uh, sure. Yeah. I'd like that." I pulled back from his chest. He had that shy smile on his face. I fished in my purse for my keys and led us up to my place. As we went up the stairs we passed Leila.

"Hey, Grace! Who's your friend?"

"This is Spencer. Spence, this is my friend Leila. She lives in the apartment next to me."

"It's nice to meet you," Spencer said.

"You too."

"Where are you off to?"

"I have a date. He should be coming any minute so I better rush down. I'll see you around."

"See ya!"

She waved before continuing her jog down the stairs. We got to my floor and I let us into the apartment. I gave a quick look around. I silently thanked past me for cleaning the place this morning. We both took off our shoes and coats.

I walked straight to the couch and had a seat. Spencer just sort of looked at me for a moment before joining me.

"It sucks that your work is so unpredictable," I said. "Planning these dates can be such a pain."

"I know," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I know you can't control that." I was examining his features. I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes squinted slightly whenever talking about his work. "What kind of job has such a random schedule?"

"It's complicated," he said, dancing around the question. That same response annoyed me.

"Why can't you just tell me what your job is?" I asked, laughing lightly.

Spencer immediately looked uncomfortable from my question. Part of me felt bad for being so nosy about this. The other part was glad that I kept pushing. I couldn't keep falling for a guy when I didn't even know what he did for a living!

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"Spence," I said, raising a hand to brush back some of his hair. "I wouldn't be upset at any job you could have."

"That's not what I mean," he said, his voice cracking. He sounded so defeated. I didn't know how to help him. He moved out of my grasp and stared straight ahead. I just watched the fear bubble on his features. "I've lost so many people, Grace. So many good people. All because of my job."

Then I was the scared one. I had so many more questions. What kind of job could cause so much pain? Who had he lost?

"Spencer, you can tell me. You aren't gonna lose me." He finally looked back at me. I saw so much in those pretty brown eyes. He must've seen something in mine because he gave in.

"Okay, I'll tell you." He took a breath. His hands were nervously gripping his knees. "I'm a profiler."

"Okay..."

"For the FBI." He closed his eyes in a wince. I just stared back at him. Spencer Reid did not seem like an FBI agent.

"Alright..." I looked down at my hands. I didn't know what to say. "What does being a profiler for the FBI entail?"

"I'm a member of the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit. We hunt down serial killers throughout the United States using a profile we create of the killer. That's why I'm traveling all the time. And why I'm always running out of here. It's usually when I get a call that we have a case."

"Wow," I breathed.

"I knew you would be freaked out."

"I'm not freaked out!" I said, defensively. I was a little freaked out, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I looked back at Spencer with a sheepish smile. "It's just a lot to take in. I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

Spencer smiled back at me then. He let me ask him all the questions I had about his job. Some had to be left unanswered, but most things he could tell me.

"What's your team like?"

"They're great," he answered, smiling. "They're like family to me." Seeing him get so happy at just the mention of them lifted my heart.

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Sure." He took a breath before starting to describe them all to me. "My boss is SSA Aaron Hotchner. Everyone just calls him Hotch, though. Everyone has nicknames. Then there's JJ. She's the one that went to the library with me that one day."

"Oh, yeah! Jennifer?"

"Mhm. I'm actually her son's godfather." His smile somehow got brighter. His eyes crinkled in the corners. "His name is Henry. He's the sweetest kid. He's quite ahead for his age as well."

"He sounds great," I replied.

"Do you wanna see a picture of him?" I nodded. Spencer pulled out his phone and scrolled through his photo album. When he showed me the picture, my heart burst. I saw Spencer making a funny face next to a cute little boy.

"That's so cute!"

Spencer smiled down at the picture for a moment longer. It was the sweetest and most sincere look. He sighed before putting his phone away and continuing. "Back to my team; Then, there's Morgan. He's more of a hyper-masculine type. It's kind of funny how we're so close yet so different. Next, there's Penelope Garcia. She's our technical analyst. She's the most positive person I think I've ever met. She hates the gore of the job, but she's mostly behind her computer anyway. Last is Rossi. He's one of the founding agents of the BAU. He's an amazing cook and a really great guy."

"They sound great, Spence."

"They are."

"So, is it just serial killers?" I asked.

"That's the majority. Sometimes though we'll be called in for kidnappings and, more rarely, bombings and hostage situations."

"Isn't it scary? Going after the bad guys like that?"

"It can be, at times. There's always a chance of getting hurt. It's actually-"

"Please don't give me a percentage," I said, cutting him off. "I don't wanna hear how likely it is for you to get hurt."

"Sorry." He looked away.

"It's okay." I placed a hand on his arm. He looked down at it before grabbing it in his own. His hands were soft. His slender fingers fell between mine perfectly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "Have you ever been shot?" I asked. He didn't say anything and I just looked at him intently. Slowly, he nodded. I felt a pang in my chest. It felt like being hit in the heart with a brick.

Images of Spencer being shot flew into my head. I quickly tried to fight them out. I didn't need to worry. He had made it this far. He was strong and smart. He knew what he was doing.

"I should've told you sooner," Spencer admitted. He was still looking at our hands. "I shouldn't have left you in the dark for so long. You deserved to know. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. I see why you didn't want to tell me. You didn't want me to worry about you."

"Exactly." He looked up at me finally. I brought my free hand to his face. I combed some hair back so I could see his eyes better. I let my hand rest on his cheek. I wanted this moment to last forever. Just the two of us, enjoying each other's company.

I started to lean closer to Spencer. I noticed him staring at my lips and I stifled a giggle. I pulled his face to mine and suddenly our lips connected. His were slightly chapped from the cold weather. I didn't mind at all, though. It felt amazing to finally be kissing this wonderful man. We broke apart and I admired his smile.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For being open to this. For not being scared off by what I do."

"Nothing could ever scare me away from you, Spence." I kissed him again. He let go of my hand and instead wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me even closer to him.