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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗' 𝚖𝚎 𝚊 𝚙𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚔𝚒𝚗! ❞

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ㅤ"𝐆𝐎 𝐀𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐖𝐄𝐍, 𝐆𝐎!" Jack cheered as he clapped, carried by his father.

"Go, go, go!" Henry cheered from beside him, also in his father's arms.

The entire team—except for JJ, even though her son and partner were there—was present for Gwen's reevaluation, even the kids. Her actual reevaluation spanned a week, but since this was her last day, and her last test was to fight hand-to-hand with one of Tony's machines to test if her body was back to being able to withstand hit after hit and to check if she still has the same reflexes as before, the BAU team decided on cheering her on.

Sadly, Gwen was unable to hear the little kids' cheers as they were watching from a room that overlooked the place where she was set to fight, not being allowed by anyone to go near the room in fear of the machines reacting badly to more than one 'opponent.' There was a monitor there, and they could choose to watch from either the scree, or through the window.

Spencer was unafraid to cheer louder than even Henry and Jack.

Hotch leaned down to match Alina's height and whispered, "Is it even...safe to fight against a robot?"

Alina shook her head in amusement. "Everyone in the Avengers can, even without weapons. All they really need is stay upright as they don't need to destroy the machine. It was designed to calculate how well they could go up against a real opponent, not to kill."

Hotch pursed his lips slightly in contemplation, standing up straight and adjusting Jack, before nodding at Alina with the corners of his lips raised.

She grinned at him, biting her lip a little, before facing the computers. She turned on the mic and said, "Gwennie, you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Gwen replied, her voice filling the room.

"Alright." She turned off the mic. As it also tested Gwen's reaction time, Alina didn't even warn her before she turned on the machine, which immediately swung at Gwen who dodged it just in time. Alina sucked in a breath. "Come on."

Spencer's eyes widened when the machine suddenly picked Gwen up and attempted to throw her to a wall. Luckily, Gwen held on, arms securely on the machine's wrist which allowed her to be the one to throw it to a wall.

"Oh thank God," he whispered to himself. He turned to Alina. "How strong is Gwen?"

"Stronger than the average," Alina answered. "Just a little below the two super soldiers. No one can beat Viktor in terms of raw strength, though." Then she tilted her head. "Well, other than Thor and the Hulk."

Spencer hummed in thought, turning to face the monitors again, only to see Gwen getting choked out by the robot. "She's gonna give me an early grave," he groaned, only for the others to laugh at him.

As Derek watched Gwen push the robot off and shift her stance to offensive, he faced Spencer. "Pretty Boy, I don't think you can catch up with her."

The genius in question rolled his eyes fondly and scoffed. "I catch up with her just fine, thank you."

"Oh ho ho," Derek grinned. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He didn't even let Spencer answer. "My man!"

The others were quick to realize the innuendo and were all either unabashedly laughing out loud, or hiding their amusement behind snorts or coughs. Given that the only ones in the room were the BAU team, the BAU babies, Viktor, Steve, Natasha, and Alina, all adults present instantly connected the dots, with Steve going red in the face.

Soon enough, Gwen was able to overpower the robot, kneeling against its metallic chest as it failed to get itself out of her grasp. The machine then turned itself off, going slack against her hold. When it completely shut down, she stood up straight.

Alina turned on the mic again. "Good job, Gwen. What do you think, guys? Think she passed?"

"I better have," Gwen grumbled, pushing away a wayward strand. She didn't look as disheveled as they all thought she would be; her hair looked a little ruffled, a few spots on her body seemed to be bruising, and the jacket she wore on top of her sports bra was falling off her shoulders, but other than that, she looked fine. She even seemed to breath normally, her weeks of retraining herself paying off.

"You did," Alina announced, looking over the data as everyone in the room cheered. Among the loudest were Spencer and the kids. Gwen was finally able to hear them properly, and she looked up, spotting the team in the little spectator's box. She waved at them and mockingly bowed like a ballerina would, despite her brain protesting against the action, a wave of fear still washing over her even after years of being away from ballet.

"Thank you, thank you," Gwen said in a British accent, pushing away the invasive thoughts. She switched back to her normal voice. "Can I go now? I'm hungry."

Gwen grinned at Spencer from across their table as the waiter served them their wine. They were sitting in a fancy Italian restaurant that Rossi had recommended for them, finally having the date they've been yearning to have. Gwen had just gotten back from her first minor mission where she had to extract a few agents from a tough situation, and Spencer had just landed after a case in Omaha where a teenage boy named Jeremy Sawyer terrorized families.

Though Spencer was admittedly tired, he didn't want to miss a single moment with his girlfriend, especially when she was about to leave again.

"So, how've you been?" Gwen casually asked once the waiter walked away, picking up her wineglass and taking a sip of the Cabernet Sauvignon they ordered. She didn't bother with the brand, not when she was able to persuade Spencer into paying for the both of them. She did let him be the one to tip, though, unable to say no to his puppy dog eyes that practically begged her to at least let him pay for something.

She was wearing a rather simple long-sleeved black dress fit for the cool autumn air. It had a sweetheart neckline, and it cinched around the waist, accentuating her curves. It also had a slit that reached her mid-thigh, and she wore a pair of black leather Louboutin Pigalle 85mm pumps. Her hair was done with soft waves, parted to the right while the hairs on her left side were pinned down, letting her side profile be the focal point. She had her regular makeup and accessories on, but it was enough to catch the attention of several of the restaurant patrons, but she paid them no mind, eyes focused on her boyfriend. 

Spencer snorted. "One thing I never understood is how you never seem to get fat," he commented, reaching for his fork and knife, laughing a little at her confused expression. "I mean, I get that you exercise, but still, you eat a cup of rice every meal—that's three cups of rice a day. Don't even get me started on how often you grab a second serving. Sometimes a third." She snorted at this, nodding in agreement as she sliced up a piece of steak to shove into her mouth. She didn't even have to use her knife as the beef cut nicely even with just the fork. "Add to the fact that you always have a viand to pair with the rice. And your love for all things...food, really."

Gwen chuckled. "My body is very used to the really big meals, okay? You know what, I should introduce you to boodle fight. Then you'll see how much I can really eat."

"...now I'm scared."

Their date went swimmingly well, no space for awkward silence as the two easily found topic after topic to talk about. It went from Harry Potter, to Percy Jackson, which then led to Greek mythology, which led to Norse mythology, which led to Thor.

"Dude, I literally asked Thor about all the myths," Gwen excitedly told him. She had this habit of calling people 'dude' whenever she was excited, regardless of who they were. She's called everyone dude at least once. "None of them were true. Especially not the whole Loki-turned-into-a-mare-and-got-pregnant-and-gave-birth-to-an-eight-legged-horse thing."

Spencer snorted, nearly choking on his beef as his shoulders shook. "I didn't really think it would be, Gwen."

"Aren't you the least bit curious though?!" Gwen whined. "Loki really can shapeshift! Thor told me this story of how Loki turned himself into a snake because he knows Thor likes snakes. And when Thor went to pick him up, Loki transformed back and stabbed him! I mean, if Loki can do that, why can't he transform into a mare, get pregnant, and give birth to Sleipnir?!"

Spencer really did end up choking.

Gwen grimaced as everyone in the restaurant turned to face them as she administered the Heimlich. "Come on, Spencer. Don't die on me. You can't die while choking on wagyu." Soon enough, Spencer was able to spit it out, face turning red, both from nearly dying and the embarrassment of it all just happening in front of so many people. "He's good!"

They didn't expect people to actually applaud them.

She smirked at him. "Huh, would you look at that?"

It was evening, and it was Spencer's birthday, so to celebrate, Gwen's helping him finalize the Halloween decorations in his apartment. She had just gotten back from a mission and after heading to her penthouse to change, she headed straight to his. By this point, Gwen pretty much lives with Spencer given how often she spent her days and nights at his, rather than in her own place or her room at the compound.

And as she hung up more fake spider webs, she sang a happy birthday to Spencer, who even though was alone in the apartment with Gwen, still awkwardly shifted his weight, not knowing how to react whenever someone sings him a happy birthday.

When Gwen finished, Spencer gave her a tight-lipped, awkward smile before pulling her into a hug. They were both wearing onesies for the occasion; while Spencer wore a black one with orange pumpkins all over it, Gwen decided on wearing an Eeyore one, claiming that the fictional donkey was truly her spirit animal.

"He is?" Spencer had asked.

"He's like the embodiment of my soul."

Spencer chuckled slightly at the memory as he pulled away from the hug. "Thank you for this, Gwen."

"You're welcome," Gwen sleepily grinned. She was bare-faced and was ready to collapse in Spencer's bed, still physically tired from the mission she had just gotten back from. She yawned and pulled him back into her arms, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. She pouted as she said, "I'm so tired. Let's go to bed, please."

Spencer chuckled again, his body vibrating at the action, causing her to cling to him even more, wanting to bask in his warmth. He nodded, pressing his cheek against her hair. "Can't really say no to you, pumpkin."

She giggled at the nickname as her sleepiness just kept growing. She poked his side tiredly and said, "That's cute. You're...you're wearin' a pumpkin onesie an' you're callin' me a pumpkin!"

"Okay, yeah, let's get you to bed." He quickly leaned down, placing his hands on the back of her thighs, signaling her to jump. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms and legs around him, clinging to him like a koala. It made carrying her to bed much easier.

Getting her to let go of him was the problem.

Spencer had already placed her on the bed, but she refused to let go.

"No!" She whined. "Stay."

"Gwen--"

"No."

"...okay."

Even though Spencer attempted to protest, it wasn't like he actually wanted her to let go.

He laid down beside her, still trapped in her arms with nothing to do but to run his hands through her hair, the action lulling both of them to sleep. Gwen had already closed her eyes, but Spencer just had to ask: "Gwen?"

"...hm?"

"Do you...do you wanna move in with me?"

"...mkay..."

"Are- are you sure? You didn't even seem to--"

"Mhm, as long as you find a place for my snakes. Now lemme sleep."

"Right."

Just a few days later, it was officially Halloween, and Gwen was anxiously waiting for the team to arrive back to Quantico. Given that it was Spencer's favorite holiday, she wanted nothing more than to celebrate it with him, and subsequently also visit the team in its entirety for the first time in months. Though she'd gone out with the girls for date night, went to the gym with Derek, basically had some sort of one-on-one with all of them, but never really hung out with them as a whole. She was going to rectify that today.

"Here they come!" Penelope excitedly squealed from beside her, as one by one, the BAU team filtered into the bullpen. Spencer immediately ran towards her and hugged her tightly, lifting her up and twirling her around.

"I missed you!" Gwen giggled, holding on to him so she wouldn't fall. "And happy Halloween, Spencer Reid."

"Happy Halloween," Spencer greeted back as he let her slowly get her footing back. "What are you doing here?"

Gwen grinned at him, before addressing the others. "Is it weird if I ask all of you to go trick or treating with me?"

Spencer's jaw dropped, eyes twinkling as he stared at her. "Absolutely! I planned on either going to the Edgar Allan Poe shadow theater or going to the reenactment of the nineteenth century phantasmagoria, but I think this will be a better idea." He looked at the others. "Please?"

"Yeah," Gwen agreed, looking at the others pleadingly. "Pleeeaasseee? Come on, guys! We haven't hung out in so long--"

"I'm in!" Penelope raised her hand. "I didn't plan on wearing a costume, but I suppose I can just reuse the gown I wore for the gala, put on some wings--"

Gwen gasped. "A fairy princess!"

"Exactly!"

"Well, if babygirl's a princess, might as well be her prince," Derek shrugged, winking at Penelope who grinned at him and excitedly nodded.

Hotch thought for a moment. "I suppose Jack wouldn't oppose to going trick or treating with his Aunt Gwen."

Gwen clapped, jumping up and down. "Yes!"

He shook his head at her while trying to suppress his smile. "We'll be there."

"Emily?"

"I...I have nothing to wear!" The raven-haired woman raised her hands in defense.

"You can just wear all-black and slap on some plastic fangs and you're good to go," Gwen offered. "Come on, Emily."

"Oh, fine, fine."

Everyone turned their gazes to Rossi who was instantly shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"Come on Rossi," Derek teased. "We're all going. You can be...an older version of Tony Stark."

Rossi gave him a blank look. "Tony will never live that down, so no. I'm going home, cook and eat some pasta, drink some wine, and then go to bed."

Gwen tilted her head. "Huh, that's what Mila said too."

Rossi only gave her a wink. "Arrivederci."

She gaped a little, hearing the others laugh. She shook away the thoughts that were slowly creeping in about her mother and Rossi-- "Not today," she grimaced. Then she turned to the others. "I suppose we'll meet back here in about thirty?"

Sounds of agreement filled her ears and Gwen grinned as they all dispersed. She reached out to hold Spencer's hand, who looked at her and asked, "Who are you dressing up as?"

"I'm already wearing my costume," she shrugged.

He found himself frowning in confusion, scanning her up and down. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved turtleneck under a black double-breasted blazer, tucked into a pair of jeans. She also wore heeled boots, and atop her head was a black beret. Her hair was left straight.

"What? You're dressing up as...yourself?"

She smirked. "I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else."

He groaned. "Okay, Wednesday Addams."

November rolled in, and it was already the eighteenth when Gwen visited the others again. As it was her birthday, she wanted to do things her way.

Starting with being the one to give the BAU team new tablets so they wouldn't have to use much paper anymore. The tablets were straight from Tony's inventory, and though she got everyone a tablet each, she knew that Spencer might not actually like it due to him being a bit of a technophobe, so she enlisted Penelope to have her still print out the case files despite the new gadgets.

She walked into the roundtable with a grin, trailing behind Penelope.

"Gwen!" Emily exclaimed, standing up to hug her as best as she could with the tablets she was holding. "Happy birthday!"

Gwen laughed, hugging her with one arm, thanking her, before looking down at Hotch. "Happy belated birthday, Aaron."

Hotch couldn't stop himself from letting out a ghost of a smile as he said, "Thank you. And happy birthday." He then gestured to the stuff she was holding. "What's all that?"

"This is my birthday present...to all of you."

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Rossi let out a huff amusement.

"I'm built different," she joked. "Anyway, welcome to the twenty-first century my dudes." She began handing each of them a tablet, allowing Penelope to hand a paper file to Spencer, who smiled at the two of them. She grinned. "I know you don't like tech all that much so."

"Thank you."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead before straightening up and clapping once. "Right! I wish you all good luck," she waved, beginning to walk out. "You guys are gonna be busy, so I'm hanging out with Grant. I'll see you all when you get back!"

Choruses of goodbyes were thrown her way as she finally stepped out and hopped down to the bullpen, skipping towards Grant Anderson's desk. "You ready to get your ass kicked at laser tag?"

Grant scoffed at her. "In your dreams, Gwen."

"Hey, it is still my birthday you know."

"As if I'd let you win just 'cause you're now a year older. Fat chance."

"I don't need you to let me win, kuya. I know I'll win."

"We'll see about that."

When Christmas came, Gwen was bouncing on her heels.

Much like Spencer's love for Halloween, her love for Christmas knew no bounds. Christmas is her thing, has been her thing ever since she was a kid. Growing up Filipino, Christmas started as early as September; you'll be seeing Christmas decorations being put on sale already, and Christmas carols will already be playing practically everywhere.

No one can ever beat Jose Mari Chan's 'Christmas in our Hearts.'

While humming the chorus to the song, she walked up the short steps leading to a cute little home in the suburbs and rang the doorbell. And as the door opened, she was met with an overly excited Jody Hatchet—renamed to Jody Reynolds—who was now in the third grade and living happily with her new parents. She was still wearing the necklace Gwen had given her a year ago.

"Gwen!" The little girl squealed. She had dropped the 'miss' ever since she'd grown closer to the brunette.

Gwen laughed, placing the large box on the floor so she can pull the girl into a hug. "Hey Jody," she smiled, looking up to see the two parents looking at them happily. She pulled away to greet the mom and dad with their own hugs. "Hey, you two."

"Gwen," the mom greeted, hugging her tightly before pulling away with a smile. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Anne," she grinned. "And Merry Christmas to you too, Lance."

"We're glad you're here," Lance winked, glancing down at the box Gwen was carrying. He and his wife both knew what she had given their daughter. "Now come on in. The table's all set, dinner's all ready. Best not to let it get cold."

"Alright, lead the way."

Jody was rushing to finish her dinner, excited to open Gwen's gift to her. She'd already opened the ones her parents, other relatives, and friends had given her early Christmas morning, so the anticipation for Gwen's gift was through the roof. Especially since it was in such a big box.

"Slow down there, honey," Anne advised, laughing a little.

"I'm okay! I just want to--"

"Don't talk when your mouth's full, Jody," Gwen shook her head, smiling as she ate her own food. She was making sure not to pig out too much, a little afraid of what they might say, so she made sure to set a leisurely pace.

"I can't--I'm too excited!"

"Then eat your food properly," Gwen laughed.

Soon enough, they've all finished eating, and Jody didn't waste any time in rushing towards the box that sat in their living room. It wasn't taped or anything, and all she had to do was pry open the top. When she did...

"Puppy!" She screamed in excitement as the little head of the golden retriever puppy poked out, tail wagging as he inspected the new environment. "What's his name?"

"It's up to you, Jody," Lance told her. "After all, he's yours."

She squealed again, picking up the puppy from the box and letting him lick her face. Both of them were just so excited to meet each other.

"I'm naming him Spencer!"

Gwen immediately grinned, laughing at the new development. She pulled out her phone, turning on its camera. "Jody, can you tell the camera what you named your puppy?"

"My new puppy's name is Spencer!" She exclaimed, grinning at the camera.

Gwen giggled. "A lovely name, Jody." She then stopped filming and quickly sent it to the group chat between the BAU team members. She typed, 'Meet Spencer!' and hit send. She then locked her phone and pocketed it, laughing as she felt it vibrate on her thigh as the messages came flooding in. She looked at Jody again. "You promise me you're gonna take care of Spencer?"

"I promise!" Jody grinned, letting go of the puppy and watching as he ran around the room, smelling his new home. She turned to Gwen and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Gwen!"

"You're welcome, honey."

It was January when Gwen finally got the call.

She looked down at her phone as it rang, Natasha's contact name popping up. She sat up on her and Spencer's bed, glancing at his still sleeping form, before she carefully picked up her phone from the nightstand and pushed the covers off, uncaring that she was still naked as she walked towards the living room, grabbing Spencer's navy-blue dress shirt in the process.

She put it on, buttoning a few buttons, before finally answering her friend's call.

"Hello?" She asked, staring out of Spencer's living room window, pushing away his curtains a little to watch the outside world. It was still dark out, four in the morning. The streets were empty, and everything was silent, save for Spencer's soft snores and slight rustling of the comforter; he had the tendency to move his feet a lot when he slept.

"Gwen," Natasha greeted. "It's time."

Gwen stiffened, her body becoming rigid as she pulled away from the curtains, letting it flutter with movement as she brisk walked back into the bedroom to grab some clothes, pinning her phone in between her shoulder and ear. "Where?"

"I'll brief you in the jet. You're going undercover, Gwen."

"Got it."

Spencer was slowly stirring awake at her voice and all the noises she was making as she gathered all her things, shoving them into her bag as properly as she could.

"Well then, I hope you're ready to face Leonard Wagner again."

"Gwen, what's going on?" Spencer groaned out, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the darkness. Then he noticed the bag. "Where are you going?"

"Mission," she simply told him before going back to her conversation with Natasha. "I can't promise I won't kill him, Nat."

Natasha only sighed. "I don't expect you to. I have your back, Gwen. Whatever you decide to do to him, I will support you."

"Thanks, Nat." Then she ended the call to finally face Spencer who was sitting up. "Hey, I need to go, alright?"

"To where?"

"I told you, mission."

"Gwen--"

She sighed. "All I can tell you is that I'm going undercover, which means the only person I can contact will be Mila. I'll make sure she knows, and I'll convince her to let us communicate through her. Right now, I can't give you any details, but..."

"You said something about killing someone," Spencer pointed out. "I won't pry, but I have a feeling I know what your mission's about."

She nodded. "I love you, Spencer. I don't know how long I'm gonna be gone, but I hope...I hope you'll wait for me."

He looked at her. "I'll always wait for you. I love you too."

Finally, Gwen's gathered all her things and was now putting on her standard 'spy' attire; skin-tight catsuit and boots. She zipped it up and leaned down to give Spencer a kiss.

Spencer welcomed her gesture, kissing back with as much passion as he could muster before pulling away. "Stay safe, Gwen. I'll be waiting for Mila's approval to let us correspond. I don't think I can handle not knowing if you're alive or not."

Gwen's eyes watered at his words. "Don't worry about me, okay? I know what I'm doing, but thank you. You stay safe too, okay?"

"Okay."

"Right. I'll see you when I see you." She gave him another peck. She straightened up and gave him a pointed look as she strapped on her knives, hiding some within her suit. "Make sure to visit the compound when you can, alright? Your headaches aren't doing any better. You need help, and I'm sure with the best minds working together, they can figure out what's wrong."

"I know, I know," he mumbled. "You should go. Nat's waiting."

Gwen eyed him sadly before nodding, sighing a little. "Okay. Goodbye for now, Spencer Reid." And she finally walked out of room, greeting her snakes a goodbye before stepping out of his apartment, closing the door behind her. She was scared, though she would never admit it. Never had she been so afraid to begin an undercover mission, knowing now what it feels like to have someone to actually live for.

She wanted nothing more to see Spencer again, and she's not about to lose him.

She took one last look at Spencer's apartment from the sidewalk, looking up, only to see him looking out his window, staring at her. She raised her hand and waved goodbye, before finally walking away, letting herself be one with shadows, and disappearing from sight.

author's note: y'all we're so close to 100k readers can y'all believe this?!?!??!!?! just in time to see it end (꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)

anyway, yes, this chapter is just full of time skips. i had to, because, well, you'll see hehehehehe.

thank you all for reading! i'll see you all in the epilogue!