Consume Me Like a Fire

“The parents exist to teach the child, but also they must learn what the child has to teach them; and the child has a very great deal to teach them.”
~Arnold Bennett

“Shiloh, you ready? Our plane leaves in an hour. We need to go check in,” Spencer called, looking down at his watch. He glanced towards her bedroom and saw Shiloh struggling to zip her suitcase up.

“How much did you pack? We’ll only be gone for four days,” Spencer laughed and tried to help her close it.

“I’m a girl, Spence. We always over pack,” she winked. Spencer rolled his eyes and dragged her bag over to the front door. His bag was already in the taxi; he called one to pick him up and go pick up Shiloh to take them to the airport. Shiloh locked her front door and followed Spencer to the elevator. The cab driver was waiting for them and helped Spencer load Shiloh’s bag in the trunk alongside his own.

The ride to the airport was short, but Shiloh was already feeling nervous. The last time she saw her parents was right after the ordeal with Mr. Fritz, and they met Spencer before he was her boyfriend. She didn’t mention his name, but she told both her parents that her boyfriend would be coming with her.

“You okay?” Spencer asked as they got out of the taxi and pulled their bags into the check in area.

“Yeah, just a little nervous.” Spencer was going to continue the conversation, but they were soon checking their bags in and walking to their terminal.

“What are you nervous about?” He asked once they were sitting down and waiting.

“My mother. She is very opinionated and I don’t want her to scare you off… That and she’ll probably bring up school again, and I don’t want to argue with her over the holidays,” Shiloh sighed unhappily.

“Well, she won’t scare me off; I’ve dealt with worse,” He joked making Shiloh smile, “But if she does bring up school, try to relax and explain yourself. Shiloh, it’s your life, and sometimes, we do things that our parents aren’t happy with, but it’s the best thing for us.”

“How did I end up with such a smart guy?” Shiloh asked with a smile. Spencer snorted and looked at his watch again. The feeling of Shiloh’s lips on his cheek made him grin.

“I’m happy you’re coming with me,” Shiloh said getting his attention again. Spencer wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

~*~

“Yes, Mom. We just landed. We’re getting our bags and then we’ll head your way. I don’t know, maybe half an hour depending on how bad the traffic is.” Spencer listened to Shiloh talk on the phone while watching the conveyor belt for their luggage. He quickly pulled their bags off and noticed Shiloh was hanging up.

“Everything alright?” Spencer asked as they headed for the exit.

“Yeah, Mom just wanted an update. Taxi!” Shiloh quickly hailed one down and soon the couple was on their way to her mom’s house. Shiloh wrung her hands together in the backseat. Spencer quietly reached over and laced their fingers together. Shiloh glanced up at him and smiled before looking out the window again.

They soon pulled up to Anita’s house, and Spencer paid the driver after getting their bags out. Anita opened the door as the taxi was driving away and smiled at her daughter.

“I’m so happy you’re finally here!” Anita wrapped her arms around Shiloh and hugged her tightly. Shiloh returned the hug and pulled away to introduce Spencer to her mom a second time.

“Mom—“

“Dr. Reid, what’re you doing here?” Anita asked recognizing the FBI agent standing slightly behind her daughter.

“Mom, Spencer and I are going out. I told you I was bringing my boyfriend with me,” Shiloh explained softly. Realization flashed across Anita’s face; she remembered Shiloh telling her she liked the agent last time Anita visited her.

“You probably have a lot of questions, but can we unpack inside first?” Shiloh asked calmly. She loved her mother, but there was only so much she could take at a time when it came to her. Anita nodded and welcomed them into her home.

“I set up both guest rooms for you two,” Anita explained as they walked inside.

“Mom, we can stay in the same room,” Shiloh said softly. Anita’s lips pulled into a thin line, but she nodded not wanting to start a fight. She’d pick her battles wisely.

“Well, I’ll let you two get settled. I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re done,” Anita said disappearing around a corner. Shiloh sighed and pulled a silent Spencer into the first guest room. Spencer chuckled when Shiloh closed the door and collapsed on the perfectly made bed.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Spencer offered.

“This is only the beginning… She’s probably going to bring up you working on the case and it being a bad idea to get involved and blah blah blah,” Shiloh grumbled staring up at the ceiling. Spencer crawled on the bed next to her and let his girlfriend cuddle up next to him.

“Let’s just take it one step at a time. And first thing’s first. We need to go talk to your mom,” Spencer said poking Shiloh’s ribs. The blonde grunted and frowned at him before getting up knowing he was right.

“Alright, let’s go dig our graves,” Shiloh mumbled opening the door. Spencer smiled and followed her out and into the kitchen. Anita was cooking what looked like Thanksgiving dressing. She stopped when they walked in and gestured for them to take a seat at the kitchen table.

“So, how long have you two been together?” Anita asked getting right to it.

“About a month,” Shiloh replied. Spencer reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it.

“Were you together during the trial?”

“No, we didn’t pursue anything until after the trial finished,” Spencer added seeing Shiloh biting her lip. Technically, the two discovered their feelings for each other before and during the trial, but nothing became official until after Mr. Fritz was sentenced.

“I see. And you don’t think that your feelings for Dr. Reid could be a result of him saving you from that man,” Anita asked not wanting to say Mr. Frtiz’s name.

“Mom, I know how I feel about Spencer and how he feels about me. It has nothing to do with what happened before. Can we please change the subject now?” Shiloh asked feeling irritable. Anita nodded.

“Yes, let’s talk about something else. How is school going? Are you having any thoughts about going back to nursing?” Shiloh groaned and almost let her head drop down onto the table. Spencer moved his hand to rest on her back, rubbing soothing circles across it. He knew what it was like to deal with a difficult parent.

“Mom, I’m not going back to nursing. I got into culinary school and I'm staying there—“

“Did Dr. Reid influence your decision to leave nursing?” Anita asked thinking back to when she first met Spencer, and how he said cooking might help Shiloh cope. Even Spencer’s eyes widened and his hand faltered in its movements.

“No. And if you’re going to keep treating me, us, like this, then we’ll leave early and head to Dad’s,” Shiloh said through clenched teeth. Anita sighed and stood up to move back over to where she was cooking before.

“No need for threats, Shiloh. I just wanted to make sure that you were in a relationship for good reasons, and that he wasn’t trying to control you. He’s a profiler in the FBI so I don’t doubt that he knows how to manipulate people,” Anita explained. Spencer stiffened at this and frowned. Shiloh was about to retort something back, but Spencer stopped her.

“With all due respect, I have no intentions of hurting or taking advantage of Shiloh. I love the way she is now, and I don’t want her to change,” Spencer said standing up for himself. Anita made eye contact and finally, her eyes softened when she looked at them.

“I can see that. I just wanted to be a hundred percent sure you guys knew what you were getting into. Shiloh, I know you aren’t going back to nursing, and I want to support you. It’s just taken a while for me to come to terms with your sudden decision. I’m sorry for how I acted, but now can you two wash up and help me cook? There’s still a lot left to do before we can enjoy our meal,” Anita said with a small smile. Shiloh smiled at her mother and nodded. Soon all three of them were talking amicably and helping prepare for dinner.

Later that evening, they all sat down to have their early Thanksgiving meal. Anita had Spencer cut the turkey, which he had never done before but managed. Shiloh laughed at the look on his face when her mom handed him the carving knife.

“So, what time is your flight tomorrow?” Anita asked as they ate.

“2:00. We’ll leave here around 12:30 and get to LA around 6:30 or 6:45. I think Dad is picking us up at the airport,” Shiloh said.

“Does he know about you and Dr. Reid?”

“He knows my boyfriend is coming. But I think he said Stephanie’s kids would be there too,” Shiloh said mentioning her stepmom and stepsiblings. Shiloh liked Stephanie, she’s such a sweet woman, but her kids were another story. Brady was seventeen and acted like a douche, but her other son, Cam, was twenty five and was even worse. He acted like a wannabe play boy and thought all the ladies wanted him…

“Brady and Cam?” Anita asked with a frown. Anita and Stephanie were on good terms, but even Anita had a hard time being around her sons.

“I didn’t know your stepsiblings would be there,” Spencer said looking at his girlfriend.

“I didn’t tell you? I thought I did... Yeah, they’ll be there, but hopefully we won’t have to be around them. I want to spend Wednesday exploring LA, then we’ll have Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday before flying back,” Shiloh said going over the timeline for the millionth time. Spencer smiled at her small dose of OCD.

“You better get Cam to back off, Dr. Reid. He’s had his eye on Shiloh for a while and being stepsiblings hasn’t bothered him,” Anita warned. Spencer frowned and looked at Shiloh again. The last thing he wanted was to deal with another guy flirting with Shiloh.

“You have nothing to worry about. Cam is obnoxious… Even if our parents weren’t married, he would never stand a chance. Besides, I have you,” Shiloh sent him a wink, and Spencer had to work to keep his cheeks from blushing. Anita smiled at them and raised her wine glass.

“Here’s to a lovely dinner and a promising future ahead of us.” Shiloh smiled at her mom and nodded. Things were looking up. She was doing well in school, her mom was more welcoming to the decisions she’s made, and her relationship with Spencer was getting even more serious than it already was.

~*~

“I hate flying,” Shiloh grumbled as they exited the airport. They just landed half an hour later than expected. Spencer grunted in agreement, feeling slightly jetlagged from flying across the country in two days.

“You do this every year?” He asked.

“Yup. Thank God! There’s my dad,” Shiloh exclaimed spotting her dad’s black Mercedes in the pickup zone. Nick’s face lit up when he saw his daughter jogging over to him. He quickly grabbed her in his arms and hugged her.

“I missed you! You need to visit me more often,” Nick complained before looking up to see Spencer rolling both their suitcases behind him. He put the pieces together, coming to the conclusion that he was the boyfriend Shiloh told him about over the phone.

“Good to see you again, Dr. Reid. This is a pleasant surprise. How did Anita take it?” Nick asked with glee. He was on good terms with his ex, but he still liked to tease her.

“She was a little overwhelmed, but we settled everything before we left,” Spencer said returning his smile. Nick nodded and helped Spencer load the luggage before driving them through the city to his beach front house. Nick was a partner at a successful law firm and was doing very well for himself.

“How’s Stephanie?” Shiloh asked as the last bit of sun set. It was dark, but the streets were busy with night life all over the city.

“She’s excited to see you. She’s been collecting cookbooks for you ever since I told her you changed majors,” Nick laughed. Shiloh leaned against Spencer in the backseat and nodded. Things were much more laid back with her dad, and she was much more comfortable with him. They soon pulled up to his beach house and got out. Spencer whistled softly.

“LA has about 75 miles of coastline, and how a little over four million people expect to fit on it still amazes me,” Spencer said under his breath but Shiloh heard and laughed. She grabbed his hand and led him into the large house. Shiloh was immediately hugged by Stephanie who was waiting for them just inside the door.

“It’s so good to see you! Is this your boyfriend?” Stephanie asked happily. Shiloh nodded with a proud smile.

“I’m Spencer Reid,” Spencer introduced himself, but Nick snorted lightly behind them.

“Don’t be modest now. It’s Dr. Spencer Reid,” Nick corrected with a smile to his wife's amusement.

“A doctor, hm?” Stephanie asked with a grin.

“Not medically,” Shiloh laughed and led Spencer further into the house. Fatigue swept over her body, and all she wanted to do was find the nearest bed and sleep for the next week.

“You two must be tired from all this traveling. I’ll show you to your room and say goodnight,” Stephanie said kindly and directed them to an empty guest room. Shiloh and Spencer were soon alone and left to their own devices. They quickly got changed into their pajamas and crawled into bed. Spencer wrapped his arms around Shiloh and yawned.

“Normally, I’d try to pounce on you by now, but I can barely keep my eyes open,” Shiloh whispered. Spencer grinned and kissed her forehead.

“Go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning,” Spencer got out already beginning to doze off himself.