north//spencer reid

epilogue

"Mhm," Eloise settles her head against Amelia's shoulder and tangles her hand in Amelia's now-shoulder length curls, staring over at me with her huge brown eyes.

Eloise as a firstborn was the most annoying introduction to parenting that Amelia and I could have gotten. Amelia was riddled with aches and pains during her pregnancy and we were constantly making trips to the ER, and even calling JJ and Savannah to ask if certain things were normal. And once Eloise blessed us with her presence, she was truly the most annoying baby. She cried through the night and left Amelia and me absolutely exhausted during the day. But it was worth it because every moment spent trying to quiet her cries or reading books to her or feeding her or taking walks with her in a stroller meant another moment I got to spend being her father and another moment I get to spend living the perfect life. And now that she's a little older and is the perfect big sister, she's an absolute angel. But she will always be my firstborn, my little girl, and she will never be more than a baby to me.

"How about, since you've already barged in here to wake us up," Amelia teases, getting another laugh from Eloise, tossing her head back to look at me upside down, "you go get dressed so that you're not late to school?"

"Okay," she complies easily, but it's not a surprise. She takes after me in loving to learn and she loves going to school. Every parent likes to claim that their child is such a smart kid, but Eloise truly is smart. She is constantly badgering me to tell her all the facts that I've memorized and she wants me to read her books that are well above her level. She's six years old and well beyond her years. The only time it was ever a chore to get her to go to school was her first day of preschool when she screamed and cried and refused to let go of us for almost an hour. But after the first day, she is usually the one dragging us out of the house to get to school instead of the other way around.

"But you've got to give me kisses before you go get dressed," Eloise immediately kisses Amelia all over her cheeks, the same way Amelia had done to her, and the sight of my two girls together makes my heart absolutely burst out of my chest.

Eloise tries to climb off the bed once the kisses have ceased, but I gasp dramatically, practically tackling her. "What about me? I don't get any kisses? I already gave you kisses but I don't get any back?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy! I'll give you kisses!" She kicks her little legs against my arm to try to get out of my grasp, but then she stops squirming and leans up to lay a wet kiss on my cheek, then pushes on my arm. "I gotta get dressed for school!"

"Alright, alright, go ahead," I safely set her on the floor so she doesn't have to risk climbing onto the elevated bed again and she goes running off, hopefully back to her bedroom to put on an outfit with colors that match.

I don't let my eyes leave the door until Eloise is completely out of my line of sight and once she's gone, I remember that I, too, need to get ready for school. I let out a sigh and fall backward, my head falling onto Amelia's lap. She looks down at me and brushes her fingers through my hair, but then quickly tips her head up and lets out a loud yawn.

"Hmm," I hum lowly, grabbing her hand and bringing her knuckles to my lips, "how did you sleep last night? Did you sleep at all?"

"Not well," Amelia tugs on my hair to get a knot out, bringing a grimace to my face, and she quickly spits out a quiet apology. "I had a nightmare, and I'm actually surprised nobody heard me because I thought I was screaming. Then our little bub decided to beat up my ribs so I went and sat on the porch swing for a while. So no, I didn't sleep much but I guess I'm used to it. It's okay."

I pivot my position to face Amelia's protruding tummy, lifting her shirt and tilting my chin forward to press a kiss to her tummy. "Hey, little one," I murmur, flattening my hand over her bump, "why don't you let Mommy sleep, hmm? She needs all the sleep she can get before she has to give birth to you."