It wasn't until it was noon in Virginia that Spencer got the call he'd been anticipating. Luckily, the team had taken a break for lunch, and Spencer moved to the front of the restaurant where they were dining to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Spencer?"

"Hi, Daddy."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I think..."

"Did you talk to Mommy yet?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"She said she was sorry."

"But...?" He knew by Spencer's tone that there was more to it than that.

"But what she said still hurts."

"I know." His voice was thick with sadness for his son.

"I miss you." The words broke William's heart.

"I miss you too, buddy."

They talked for a little while longer before Spencer had to go. In a way, he felt lucky. The current case proved more than distracting from the mornings earlier tiff, but his fears centered on what would happen when there was no distraction. During the day he was fine, but that night his thoughts took a dark turn. As he lay in bed, thumb in his mouth as he stared at the ceiling, he wondered if he would ever be able to learn not to take his Mother's episodes seriously. It wasn't like she meant for it to happen. It was just hard to see her sanity being snatched away at any given time. Slowly, hoping for a better tomorrow, he succumbed to the gentle embrace of sleep.

The case was solved within three days. All of the exhausted BAU agents boarded the plane. It was nine PM in California, which meant it was midnight in Virginia. Exhausted, Spencer pulled out his phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?" Came the sleepy reply.

"Daddy?"

"Spencer? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I'm on my way home."

"Okay."

"Can you pick me up and take me home?"

"Sure. Just call me when you get here."

"Okay. Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, buddy."

With that, father and son fell into an exhausted sleep.

Five hours was much too short a sleep time for Spencer, but he groggily got up from his seat and called his father again. William had already been up for a few minutes getting ready for work when his son called. He drove to the BAU office and picked up a sleepy Spencer, who fell asleep on the car ride home. When he pulled into the driveway, William gently shook his shoulder.

"Spencer, it's time to get up."

"No..." Spencer murmured from behind his thumb.

"Yes. Come on now, let's get going."

"Carry me?"

William sighed and went around to the passengers side to pick up his sleeping son. He carried him inside and unlocked the door to the nursery. He stripped Spencer of all his clothing except his diaper, then went into the bathroom to start a bath for him.

"Spencer, it's bath time. I need you to sit up straight. Can you do that for me?"

Spencer nodded, too exhausted to do much else.

William popped a pacifier into his son's mouth, then helped him into the tub. After washing his hair and body, he dried his son off and helped him into a warm pair of footed pajamas before settling him in his crib. Spencer smiled a tiny bit in his sleep as the crib bar went up and William flicked off the nursery light.

Spencer woke up several hours later. He stretched out his arms and looked around. Jeff was nestled under his arm and he was home safe in his crib. He realized then that he was in a pair of footie pajamas. He vaguely remembered Daddy dressing him. He looked over and saw a white piece of paper resting against the bars of the crib, and opened it. It was a note.

Dear Spencer,

I didn't want to wake you but I had to go to work a little early. I should be home in time for dinner. There's some mashed fruit in the fridge for breakfast and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Be a good boy while I'm gone.

Love,
Daddy

Spencer sighed and let himself out of his crib. It was going to be a long, lonely day. He changed himself before eating the breakfast his father had left him. When he was done he wasn't really sure what to do. This was his first real day in the house by himself. He went to the living room and turned on the TV, mindlessly flipping through channels out of boredom. Finding no solace in that, he shut it off and crawled back to the nursery, going over to his toy chest and pulling out a few stuffed animals to play with. He sat on the floor with his plush friends, positively enthralled and delighted with his new game.

It wasn't until an hour later that he suddenly stopped playing as a familiar need made itself known. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He tried to unzip his pajamas, but couldn't get it down past his shoulder blades. He would have undone the back flap, but his diaper covered it. He started whimpering as the feeling got stronger and stronger with every second until it was too much to bear. Face scarlett with embarrassment, he messed himself. True, it had happened before, but never when he couldn't do anything about. Either someone else had been there to change him or he had been able to change himself. He cried for a good ten minutes before searching for a way to get out of his dirty diaper. Salvation came in the form of a coat hanger, which he hooked onto the zipper of his pajamas and pulled down with his other hand at the top of the zipper. When he was at last in a clean diaper he only felt a deep sense of relief. He played for a few more hours before fixing himself a bottle.

As he drank he felt himself relax more and more, not knowing that he was wetting himself in the process. When the bottle was gone, he let it roll onto the floor and put his pacifier into his mouth, quickly and happily falling asleep.