Warning: Cheesy as all hell. Possibly the cheesiest thing I have ever written. I wrote this when I was 15 or somethingz and I pretty much hate it now, but, oh well...
It was a long day at work, but thankfully, it was only paperwork day. After saying her goodbyes to the team, Lily drove home, happy to arrive at the comfort of her house before nine o'clock that night. When she opened her door and realized the alarm wasn't active and that Fred hadn't ran over to her just yet, she assumed Claire was home as well.
"Claire?" She called, as she turned the key on the lock.
"Hey, Lily!" She called back, her voice muffled since she was upstairs, possibly in her room. "How was work?"
"Boring, thankfully." She replied with a giggle. "Have you eaten?"
"No, not really." She answered. "Busy with homework."
Lily nodded, as she slipped off her heels and walked toward the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water. Meanwhile, Claire was upstairs, struggling with trying to restrain Fred and pin the sunflower to his leash, like she and Spencer had agreed on.
"Be quiet buddy." She whispered. "The sooner I'm done with this, the sooner you get to see Lily."
"What do you want for dinner, then, Sweetie?" Lily's voice snapped Claire back to reality as she lifted her head up, in order to make herself heard all the way to the kitchen.
"Oh, Lottie invited me to have dinner with her, is that okay? Can you drive me there?"
"Sure. What time?"
"Hum... I'm just finishing getting ready, so... In a few minutes."
"Okay."
"Oh, something else." Claire added, as she smiled at the job she had finally manage to finish with Fred. "There was a package for you when I arrived. I left it at the center table."
"Okay, Claire. Thanks."
"No problem."
Placing the glass down on the sink to wash it later, Lily went over to the living room. Once she reached the couch, she smiled at the sight of her favorite hoodie laying there - actually, it was Spencer's but who cares anyway? She put it on and glanced at the box carefully, but smiled as she saw Eleanor's address stamped on the lid of it. She quickly opened and frowned once she saw what was inside.
A sunflower and a blue tiger lily. Each one with a beautiful white bow adorning it. Lily picked up the flower and analyzed it carefully before noticing something attached to the white bow. A picture. She reached out for it and smiled. It was the picture they had taken the first time Spencer had gone to visit her family as her boyfriend. It was a dinner, about three years ago. At the end of the table, were Eleanor and Shawn, smiling. Beside them, Spencer, in front of her dad and brother. At the other end, was Lily, with a radiant smile, holding her cellphone so she could take a picture of them all. She chuckled as she recalled that day.
"Oh, my God, Georgie. Go on with that." Lily had laughed since her brother was taking forever to take the picture.
"Yeah, my cheeks hurt from smiling." Eleanor added.
"It's not my fault you're not used to that, sis." He chuckled as Eleanor groaned and threw an olive lump at him. "I'm just trying to find a good angle."
"You know... I guess the best angle to take this picture is with the phone about twenty degrees west." Spencer had said, as George frowned and looked back at him confused.
"Oh, fuck it." Lily rolled her eyes, before getting up and snatching her phone from his hands. "Sit. I'll take the damn picture."
Lily graced her fingers over all of the faces, before stopping them for a second over James'. She smiled as she turned the picture around, only then noticing the small note wrote with Eleanor's beautifully neat handwrite.
The day we knew you were in love.
At that, Lily frowned again. Sure Eleanor was a romantic, but that... That didn't make any sense. She didn't have that much time to deliberate though, since Claire decided it was time to let Fred do his part in that special day.
"Freddie!" She smiled as she watched her dog running downstairs toward her. "Hey, buddy! Hey! I've missed you too." She giggled when he placed both his paws in her lap and happily accepted her fondling. Once again that day, she frowned. "What's that you have in here, huh, buddy? Can I see that?"
She reached for his leash and gasped once she realized what it was. Another sun flower with a white bow and another picture. This time, it was one she had taken almost six years ago, when Fred was still a puppy. It was a rare day off for her and Spencer, and since she was still healing from Oliver's death, her best friend - at the time, that was his only title - had decided to take her out for some fresh air.
"So, how is Fred?" He had asked, as they both walked around the park a few blocks down from Lily's house.
"He's the sweetest." She smiled. "A bit energetic, but it's the cutest thing."
She had giggled when Fred barked at a pigeon and wiggled his tail excitedly once it flew away. Spencer smiled at her.
"Would you like some popcorn?" He asked, once he saw the small cart a few feet away from them.
"Yeah, very much." She nodded. She reached for her purse but Spencer stopped her.
"It's fine." He assured. "Just sit down and wait for me to come back with Freddie."
Lily smiled and nodded, doing as he had told her and sitting on the bench, holding Fred close by his leash. She remembered how confused the little dog had looked. He wanted to go with Spencer, but he also didn't want to leave Lily's side. When he whined, Lily giggled.
"You want to go with Spence, buddy?" She asked. When he whined again, she smiled, reaching down to take off the leash from him. "Go on, buddy, go on."
She watched as Fred clumsily ran in Spencer's direction and barked at his feet once he reached him. Spencer had turned around and frowned slightly, before turning to Lily, who only shrugged. He smiled and crouched down to play a bit with Fred as the man prepared the popcorn for them. Lily thought it was incredibly sweet the way her dog seemed so happy in the presence of her best friend, so, quickly she snatched a picture.
Lily turned the picture around and, sure enough, there was a caption behind it.
The day I figured out I wanted him to stay.
"What the..."
"Hey, Lily." Claire called as she walked down the stairs with a pretty dress and a coat in hand, trying to act as of nothing was happening, but Lily saw right through her. Especially, she saw right through that little smirk playing on her pink-tinted lips. "Can we go?"
"What's happening?" She asked, as she got up from the couch. Claire giggled.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." She shrugged. "But I'd take the flowers if I were you."
"Claire..."
"Come on, Lily." The girl interrupted her, already unlocking the door. "I don't want to be late."
With a groan, Lily picked up the three flowers up and sent Fred upstairs so she could turn on the alarm. Once she was out the house, she kept bugging Claire to tell her what was going on, but the girl wouldn't say anything. Instead, she decided her best shot was to give Lily the silent treatment, only opening her mouth to tell her to follow the instructions coming from her phone. A bit frustrated, but far too curious to argue, Lily did what she was told, ending up pulling up on the small Japanese restaurant she loved and that Spencer had taken her to many times before.
"Claire."
"You'll like it." Was all she said, as she reached in her purse to pull out a tiger lily with a white bow and a picture. "I promise."
She got out of the car, but Lily stayed in. She took one look at the picture and giggled. She loved that picture. It was actually one of the few she had in her office at the BAU.
She probably fell asleep in the middle of the movie, because as soon as she lifted her head, she realized she was alone in her couch with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix going on in front of her. With a frown, she got up and paused the movie, before looking around the house for her missing boyfriend.
She was surprised though, to see Claire's bedroom's door half open with her lights on. She silently went in that direction and the sight in front of her almost melted her heart.
"It'll get better, Claire, I swear..." Spencer was whispering, as he held the girl close to him, letting her cry on his shirt.
"When?" She sniffed.
"Soon." He assured. "I don't really know how it feels to lose your parents, to be honest, but Lily does. Talk to her. She'll know what to say."
Claire nodded as she leaned further in Spencer's embrace. Thinking it wasn't fair to spy like that, Lily made herself known with a knock on the door.
Soon enough, the three of them were all messing around in Claire's bed and even though it was late and they all knew they should be sleeping, their Monopoly game was far too interesting to let go.
"Thank you, guys." Claire had said a few hours later. She yawned. "You've really helped me."
"Anytime, Sweetie." Lily smiled as she reached over to grab Claire's hand on hers. "Now, get some sleep, or you'll miss your bus to school tomorrow morning."
Claire groaned at the mention of school, falling back on her pillows, dramatically. Spencer chuckled as he finished putting all the pieces from the game away. Lily placed a kiss to her forehead and got up, but before she could leave, Claire grabbed her hand.
"Can we take a picture?" She asked.
"Claire, it's three in the fucking morning." Lily laughed as Claire shrugged.
"I know. But I just want to have a physical memory of this moment." She pleaded, as she turned around in her bed and reached for her phone.
"Fine." Lily rolled her eyes, as she sat back down on the bed.
"Come here, Spencer." She called as she noticed the man had done no mention to join them. "Take the picture with us."
Lily felt a tear rolling down her face when she read what Claire had written in the back of the picture.
The day I got my second family.
She jumped slightly as she heard a knock on her car's window. She whipped her tears away and smiled as she saw Morgan standing there, smirking down at her in all his glory. She unlocked the car and he opened the door for her. He reached for her hand and smiled when she took it.
"What the hell is going on, Morgan?" She nervously laughed as he winked at her.
"It's a surprise, doll."
He turned around slightly and that was when Lily saw Savannah standing there, a sunflower in her hand.
"Oh, guys..." She cried, as she reached for the gift.
Her eyes drifted right toward the picture and she laughed. It was a double date of theirs. They had made the waitress take the picture for them, seeing as the two women were far too drunk to even hold the phone up properly. She didn't even look at the caption behind it, because she knew that if she did, she would end up crying and wouldn't stop anymore.
"Ready?" Morgan asked, as he gave her his arm.
"For what?" She giggled.
"Go ahead, Lily." Savannah urged, as she gently moved Lily's hand to grip Morgan's forearm. "Just trust us. You won't regret it."
With a shaky breath, she nodded and allowed Derek to walk her into the restaurant. That was when she saw all her team standing before her forming a hallway toward a small table in the back of the restaurant. The same table she and Spencer had sat the day he asked her to date him.
"Go ahead." Morgan smiled, placing a kiss to the crown of her head, before standing back, with an arm around Savannah's waist.
The first ones in the line were Will and JJ. She gave her another lily with a picture of that particular Halloween two years back in which Henry had dressed up as Spencer. In the picture she was sat in his desk with her legs crossed underneath her as Spencer sat in his chair with Henry in his lap. The two of them were laughing and Lily was smiling down at them with her eyes filled with nothing but love and admiration toward the man in front of her. After receiving a tight hug from a small-bumped JJ, she was urged toward the next person in the line.
Rossi. He gave her a sunflower with a picture of one of his get together things in his mansion and Lily giggled through her tears as she saw herself sitting in Rossi's couch with her legs draped over Spencer's and a glass of wine in her hand. She was laughing and Spencer had a hand on her tight, watching her as she enjoyed herself.
Following him, was Hotch. He was beaming down at her when he gave her the lily he was holding. She bit her lip to keep from sobbing when she remembered in what context that particular picture was taken. It was Jack's first birthday without his mom and even if he had his friends from school over, he seemed a bit down. Lily went over to him and started to talk to him, trying to cheer him up. When Spencer saw the scene, he went over as well and started to do some of his magic tricks as Jack and Lily watched entrained the magic man in front of them. Lily looked up at Hotch with tearful eyes that only got worse when he reached out to squeeze her hand gently.
"Oh, God..." She mumbled when she saw Garcia standing before her, almost sobbing as well. "You guys will kill me."
When Penelope gave her the sunflower she was holding, she broke down in a fit, pulling Lily in for a tight hug.
"I was meant to write a sentence or so, but then I looked at the picture and a whole text came out, so I just... I love you, Lily Scottley." She said, as Lily laughed.
"I love you too, Penelope Garcia. You are my best friend."
When Garcia's grip on her loosened, she glanced at the picture she had picked and giggled. It was the day after Penelope had gone berserker at her for not telling her about her relationship with Spencer. As an apology, she had invited her friend for a dinner in her house so they could watch Doctor Who again. This time, though, they wouldn't be eating pizza and, instead, Lily would be making them her famous salmon. Somewhere in between an episode Spencer didn't like, but Garcia loved, he had gotten up from his place on the couch and walked over to the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her waist, sawing her gently as she cooked. She should've known Garcia would have captured that moment in a picture. She just should've.
Lily took a deep breath, thinking it was over, but when she reached the table in front of her, she noticed yet another tiger lily with a white bow. With a frown, she picked it up and shook as she saw the handwriting she, obviously, recognized but so dearly missed.
Sorry I couldn't be there, quite busy. But I love you, even if it's not half as much as this man in the picture. XOXO, Em.
She placed a hand on her mouth to refrain a sob when she saw the picture. It was the day she and Jordan had gone undercover to meet with Viper in a club. She was wearing a nice golden dress and some nude heels to match. The two of them were outside the Station, and she was wearing Spencer's coat over her fancy clothes. They were talking and smiling and, apparently, he had just complimented her again when Emily took that picture, because the blush in her cheeks was clear as the day.
"Now..." Penelope said, as she grabbed all the 9 flowers Lily was holding and placed them in the table and sat her down. "For the main part of this night."
"Oh my God... Isn't it over?" She asked, as they all chuckled.
"The best part is missing." JJ smiled, sitting on a table next to hers.
"What part?"
"Me, I'm hoping."
At the sound of his voice, Lily's head snapped up. Penelope was long gone, sitting on the table the rest of the team and Claire were, giving Lily and Spencer the privacy they all knew they needed yet, not too far so they couldn't hear what was being said.
"Spence..." Lily breathed out, taking in the sight in front of her. He wasn't wearing anything fancy, since all of them had just left the office and, probably, had come here in a hurry, but it didn't matter. In her eyes, he still was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes upon. "What's going on?"
"These are for you." He said, as he pulled out a beautiful bouquet of sunflower and tiger lilies, with some pictures attached to it and a white bow to match the others.
Lily let out a gasp, as she reached for it and carefully looked over a few of the picture he had selected though her glossy eyes.
"What's all this, Spence? Why did you do all this?" She sobbed yet again, as Spencer smiled.
"Because I love you." He answered simply. "And I love you so much that I want everyone to know that your mine and I'm yours. Forever."
"Oh my God, Spencer, are you..."
"Yes, Lily. I am proposing to you."
Only then did she allow all the crying she had been holding back flow. Spencer chuckled and whipped a few tears of his own, before grabbing the bouquet from her and placing it on the table as well so she could see him when he kneeled in front of her, his hands holding hers.
"I've never loved anyone but you and I never will. You are beautiful, kind, courageous, generous and absurdly smart. Sometimes I even wonder if our IQ tests weren't swap." He smiled as she giggled. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Lily. I want to be able to give you everything you want and need. I want to have kids with you, and, damn it... If they have a bit of your heart and your brain, we will be doing a great favor for the world. So... What I've been meaning to ask you with all this is... Will you, Lillian Jade Scottley, make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"
"Yes." She answered without a second thought. "Damn it, Spencer Reid, yes!"
She grabbed his collar and pulled him up for a very wet kiss, but neither of them cared. They also didn't care when the whole team – and everyone else in the restaurant – started clapping and cheering. They were too into each other. Too much in their own little bubble to care. When they did break apart, Spencer pulled out the ring from his pocket and, again, Lily started to cry madly when she recognized the ring in his hands as being the one her mom used when she was engaged to her dad. When he slipped the ring in her shaky fingers, he got up and pulled her up with him, waiting for the whole team to hug and congratulate them.
"You were so into this plan." Lily whispered in Claire's ear as they held each other tight.
The girl laughed.
"I'm so happy for you, Lily. You deserve it."
Lily smiled when they pulled away. She sat back down on the big table Spencer had booked for all of them and Claire sat beside her. For the rest of the night, they talked, laughed and ate and there wasn't a day in her life that Lily thought she felt happier than she did in the moment.
"I love you." She mouthed to Spencer at one point, to which he just beamed and placed a kiss to her forehead.
"I love you too."