Title: Statistically Speaking
Author: bohofemm
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Morgan/Reid, Garcia.
Spoilers/Warnings: None.
Summary: Statistically speaking, a man becomes this roughly every twenty seconds.
Notes: This is my first CM fic so, I hope it's not too OOC.***
Spencer Reid knows the statistics.
Miscarriages occur in twenty percent of pregnancy, which equals out to a one-in-five chance. For the five couples currently in the waiting room, statistically one couple will lose their baby. He just hopes it isn't theirs.
Yet, as he stares at what Garcia, their surrogate mother, lovingly calls 'The Flickery Blobby thing', he is void of rational thought. He knows that he knows the statistics for miscarriage and early neural tube defects but for once, he cannot recall the exact numbers, too enthralled with this new life. As Morgan reaches over to squeeze his hand, Reid returns it, a slight grin saying more than words ever could.
The weeks pass. Reid and Morgan sit up in bed at night, trying to find the perfect name. Rose...Grace...Josephine...nothing seems right. They want their child to stand out, beyond the idea of having two dads. When Garcia, now starting to show, suggests Madison, Reid hesitates. He knows that Madison is the most popular girl's name in the state and assumes that she will just blend in. He tells her they will consider it for a girl but not to assume anything yet.
A case takes their attention away from choosing the perfect girl's name. They refuse to mix work with their personal life, other than the fact they are a couple. When the case is finally solved, they prepare to leave, ready to get home and find out what their child is . Remembering Garcia's suggestion, Reid murmurs it into Morgan's ear. He startles when Morgan jumps back. Morgan lightly presses him against the wall and whispers the name of their daughter in his ear.
Reid will never admit how nervous he is on the day of their big sonogram. This is the day the doctor will make sure everything is fine with their baby. He knows if anything is wrong, it will be revealed today.
Spina Bifida occurs once in two thousand births. Nervous system defects occur one in every two hundred thirty-five births. Muscular and skeletal defects are more common; one in every one hundred births.
That's only what he saw before Morgan pulled the plug on their desktop computer and then got Garcia to install filters on their Internet. Eidetic memory or not, he didn't commit the rest of the numbers to his brain.
With the daunting statistics swirling in his head, Spencer tries to relax and concentrate on the shapeless blob on the screen. If he looks hard enough, he can just make out the baby's profile. He doesn't think anything is wrong but he'll wait to hear it from the doctor.
After a few moments, their baby is declared perfect in every way. A few seconds later, the doctor informs them they have a little girl. Just as it was the first time, Reid can no longer concentrate on numbers, just the love he has for their daughter.
Time passes. As they try to get ready for their new addition, Reid annoys Morgan by baby-proofing much too soon. Every night, Morgan's shouts of frustration fill the house as he fights with the toilet lid lock.
Reid doesn't care; Only the best for his girl.
Eventually, Garcia's due date comes and goes. Reid knows only about ten percent of births occur on this date, so, he's not worried. He tries to explain this to Morgan, who just looks confused and asks him If the Internet filter needs to be tightened.
Garcia goes into labor in the middle of the night of a full moon. Urban legend or not, Reid knows that more babies are born on the full moon. It doesn't surprise him.
As he rambles about birth rates and life expectancy, he paces. On his fifth lap around the room, Garcia sends him to the waiting room. She can't deal with him pacing. Before he goes, she points to a plastic bag and tells him to take it and that Derek will be out there if anything changes.
Reid is content, reading the parenting books. He now knows the steps to changing a diaper but wonders if he'll be any good at it. He wonders if they made the right decision, and if they really can make it work with their jobs.
A very first labor typically lasts about twelve hours. Reid thinks it'll be faster than this for Garcia, due to the only fact she's Garcia and any kid of her and Morgan's is going to have her energy. It just has to work that way.
He dozes in the hard chair, wishing it was more comfortable. He's seen Morgan three times in the last two hours. Penelope's making good progress but it's slow. Everything is fine though. It's all normal.
Sometime in the middle of the seventh hour, Morgan needs air and coffee. Garcia can't be left alone. Reid is let back into the room on the single condition that he doesn't pace. She can handle the rambling but the pacing makes her dizzy.
He's surprised that coaching her comes naturally. As a profiler, he's always read about subconscious behavior related to fatherhood but he had never thought it would happen to him. Yet, here he is, instinctively tuned to Garcia's every whim and need.
Madison Reid Morgan is born just before the sun rises. Reid cuts the cord on Garcia's insistence. He is nervous. Three PH.Ds never prepared him for this. As she wails her fury at being pulled from her warm home, Morgan walks in, dazed until he sees the baby.
Reid observes his baby as the nurses clean her up. She has skin the color of pale mocha and from what he's seen, Garcia's eyes. Other than the nursing staff, he is the first person to hold her.
He reluctantly hands her over to Garcia and leaves with Morgan to allow her the privacy to get cleaned up. Morgan gently pecks Reid's lips as they stand outside the hospital room. As Reid sinks into it, he realizes just how lucky he is. Not everyone would put up with his paranoid statistics the way his lover has.
Statistically, happy endings are rare but Reid is confidant he has found his.***
Next story in series - The First Day Home.
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