Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds
A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, OhSnapItsMadison, and Chermayne for reviewing chapter 36.
Spencer was in the backseat of the SUV that Rossi was driving, and Spencer looked at Hotch and Rossi.
"I am going to call my uncle and let him know that there is a security detail coming to sit outside my house." said Spencer
"Quickly make that phone call before calling Blake." said Hotch
Spencer called his Uncle Gordon who answered on the first ring.
"I thought that you weren't coming home until tomorrow?" asked Gordon
"Something else came up." said Spencer
"Another case?" asked Gordon
"Remember a few weeks back I told you that my teammates and I are dealing with a stalker?" asked Spencer
"Yes." said Gordon
"Right now the stalker in New York City since there were pictures taken of my teammates and I during the last few days, and I thought that I should let you know there's going to be a security detail posted outside the house." said Spencer
"Should I tell Olivia?" asked Gordon as he started taking liberty of making sure that doors and windows were locked and the security system was armed
"Just tell her that my teammates and I were called in for another case, but she will probably figure out what's going on when she sees an agent sitting outside the house." said Spencer
"Just stay safe Spencer." said Gordon
"I will try, and I have to go and call Blake." said Spencer before hanging up and trying to get a hold of Alex
As he was trying to get a hold of Alex, Rossi was trying to get Strauss on the phone.
"Strauss isn't answering." said Rossi
"Keep trying." said Hotch before looking at Spencer "Reid, any luck with Blake?"
"Not yet." said Spencer as he tried again
"The pictures of you were taken outside of Beth's apartment. I get it if you want to stay with them until we find him." said Rossi
"I've got agents surrounding Beth's building. She and Jack are safer without me, since we're the targets." said Hotch
Spencer tried again and he was able to get Alex.
"Spencer?" asked Alex
"Blake, we'll pick you up in a few minutes. The Replicator's back." said Spencer before hanging up
Spencer, Alex, JJ, and Morgan approached Hotch all at the same time and Hotch looked at his agents.
"Strauss is missing. Blake, you and Reid talk to hotel security. We need access points and footage from every camera." said Hotch
Spencer and Alex followed Hotch's instructions while making sure they didn't split up.
Spencer, JJ, Morgan, and Alex were talking about what they found as Hotch talked to the Director.
"We've got an APB, but the description of the Replicator is too general." said JJ
"He wiped out all of the hotel security cameras. ATM and traffic cameras were compromised also. Which means he hacked into at least two dozen systems." said Spencer
"Well, he got into Garcia's place, which mean he can get in anywhere. This guy's bragging." said Morgan
"He also wants us to know he can take massive risks and still get away with it. It's probably why he took Strauss into a crowd of people." said Spencer
"That and to humiliate her publicly." said JJ
"But he called Hotch from her phone. It was important to him that we find her alive." said Alex as Hotch approached them
"The Director wants this contained and solved." said Hotch
"Well, at least he's not taking us off the case." said Morgan
"He's given us 24 hours and then he will." said Hotch before he approached Rossi, who was staring at Strauss's bagged body
"I'm taking her back to Bethesda. She never liked this city, Aaron. I'm not about to leave her." said Rossi
As they got settled for the flight back to Quantico, Hotch looked at his agents.
"The Director wants the news of Strauss's murder contained so no speaking to anyone about it when we get back or through phone calls." said Hotch
"So that means I shouldn't answer any phone calls from Olivia or my Uncle for the next 24 hours?" asked Spencer
"You probably shouldn't, just in case The Replicator is listening in on our phone calls." said Hotch
Everyone nodded at Hotch's answer.
As they were heading up to the bullpen, Alex looked at her team.
"He knew about Foyet?" asked JJ
"Who's that?" asked Alex as they exited the elevator
"He's the man who killed my wife." said Hotch
"That's a classified case that's not in any database." said Morgan as he thought about other cases that are classified, like the Tobias Hankel case to keep other agents and cadets from finding out that Spencer was the agent who got abducted by Hankel
"Then how would he know about it?" asked Alex
"If he had access to the file, we're talking about someone on the inside." said Spencer
"Conference room in 5." said Hotch
Five minutes later Spencer was in the conference room with Hotch, Morgan, Alex, JJ, and Garcia.
"Garcia, is this everything?" asked Hotch
"Yeah. The Replicator stuff is here, and the team stuff is there and there. How's Rossi?" asked Garcia
"Not good." said Morgan
"Is he with Strauss?" asked Garcia
"Yeah." said Morgan
"OK. Uh uh, I started with the question you asked why attack Strauss, and on this day?" asked Garcia
"The most obvious answer is that it's an anniversary of some sort." said Spencer
"But there's nothing historically relevant." said Garcia
"It could be the smallest thing. Concentrate on New York. If the date's that important, the setting could be, too." said Spencer
"It would be easier to attack Strauss at home. Is there a reason why he waited for her to be out?" asked JJ
"Well, considering she's hardly ever in the field, he sure got a lot of photos of Strauss. It's like he's obsessed with her." said Morgan
"Maybe Strauss was always his first target. He attacked the top of the BAU chain first." said Alex
"All right, Reid, you've matched up all the murder locations with the dates. Now we need to know how long it would take to drive to each of these locations, assuming a home base in the district. He brought the fight here for a reason." said Hotch
"Well, it's nearly impossible to figure out when he arrived and departed New York, but we should try." said Morgan
"I'll collect all the public and private transport stuff." said Garcia
"Garcia, I need Kevin to go through every single pixel of these photographs. This unsub gets off on taunting us. He's given us answers here. We just haven't found them yet." said Hotch as he looked at the board
Hotch showed his teammates a picture that Rossi sent him.
"Dave, a figure 8?" asked Hotch as he set his phone on the table
"That's what it looks like. I just sent you all a picture." said Rossi through the speaker
"Maybe it's an infinity symbol." said Spencer as he thought about the necklace he got Olivia for Christmas that already contains his, Olivia's, and Piper's birthstones
"Well, if it's infinity, he could be boasting "I'll go on forever"?" asked Alex
"Or if it's an 8, Strauss was his eighth victim." said Morgan
"And the unofficial eighth member of our team." said JJ
"If this is a taunt from him, it's too random." said Hotch
"Well, he's only sent one message and he seems to be real proud of it." said Morgan
"Zugzwang." said Spencer as he thought about the day that Piper ended up in the hospital for Kawasaki Disease
"Then what does this mean? Rossi, the cut looks jagged. Any idea what caused the serration?" asked JJ
"Best guess is a piece of glass." said Rossi
"Maybe he used empty bottles from the mini bar?" asked Morgan
"Those were all plastic. The M. E. is checking for splinters now." said Rossi
"All right, let us know what you find out." said Hotch before hanging up and looking at the remaining members of his team "Anything from the photographs yet?"
"We blew up a few more and this one seems to stand out." said Morgan as he showed the one of him at the embassy dinner
"When were you in a tuxedo?" asked JJ
"It was a British embassy event." said Morgan
"Security clearance is high." said Alex
"Security was insane there. That kind of accessibility, plus knowing about Foyet, the fact that he was able to get through all of my security clearances alone, you guys are right. You have to trust your gut. The Replicator has gotta be on the inside." said an upset Garcia
A few hours later Spencer's phone vibrated when he was in the break area with his teammates.
SINCE THE SECURITY DETAIL IS BACK, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE REPLICATOR IS BACK? ~ OR
Spencer sighed as he typed a reply.
YES, AND MY TEAMMATES AND I WERE GIVEN 24 HOURS TO FIND HIM AND ARREST HIM BEFORE HE HAS ANOTHER TEAM TAKE THE CASE. I WILL TRY AND COME HOME SAFE TO YOU. AND I LOVE YOU OLIVIA. ~ SR
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"Everything alright?" asked Hotch
"Olivia figured out why the security detail is back. I didn't tell her about Strauss, but I told her about the time limit we were given." said Spencer as he removed his glasses and rubbed his gritty eyes from very little sleep
"You alright, Spence?" asked JJ
"I am grateful that I am wearing my glasses instead of my contacts right now because otherwise my eyes would be very irritated for wearing the same contacts for over 24 hours and very little sleep." said Spencer as he put his glasses back on before taking a sip of his coffee
"That's why I recommended on your first day that you should always have your glasses with you." said Hotch
A few minutes later everyone decided to get back on topic since they had their fill of coffee.
"If the Replicator's an insider, is there any way Strauss knew him?" asked JJ
"She said she didn't recognize him." said Hotch
"To her defense, she was disoriented by the drug overdose." said Spencer
"She was adamant about it." said Hotch
"Well, even if Strauss didn't know him, it doesn't mean he didn't know her." said Morgan
"Within the Bureau, she is the face of the BAU." said Alex
"And clearly a target from the beginning. But why?" asked JJ
"More importantly, what was he replicating?" asked Spencer
"The drug overdose." said Alex
"I mean with the 8. It hasn't been part of any other case, and he's not one to make mistakes. He thought he was replicating a crime." said Spencer
"The Director made us walk away from the case a few months ago. Strauss said that she wouldn't let it go. What if she hadn't?" asked Hotch
"You think she started her own investigation?" asked Alex
"Well, if she thought he was an insider, she might have done something to trap him." said Hotch
"Why wouldn't she have told you about that back in New York?" asked Morgan
"Maybe she didn't have proof. But her determination, plus the fact that he doesn't make mistakes makes me think that the 8 was part of her plan to catch him." said Hotch as Spencer nodded in agreement at Hotch's line of thought "Do we have her laptop?" asked Hotch
"At least this narrows it down. Finding someone on the inside should be easier." said Alex
"Not necessarily. If our unsub was trained by law enforcement, he'd know how to fit in perfectly." said Spencer
"There's meaning and purpose to everything he does. Why did he choose to replicate the Silencer case?" asked Morgan
"Well, that unsub went dormant for years 'cause he was locked up. Is that a clue about the Replicator?" asked JJ as Spencer crossed his arms
"Well, it speaks to his patience. What about his M. O.? He sewed mouths shut." said Morgan
"It symbolizes keeping secrets. There could be something in that." said Alex
"He's targeting everyone. So how does that particular case factor into all of us?" asked Spencer
"It's the first one Garcia and I worked on with Blake." said Morgan
"Yeah, but the rest of us worked on the Seattle case before that." said JJ
"Right. The unsub who used his kid to bait the victims." said Alex
Spencer quickly thought about something as he remembered that Piper was almost two months old back then.
"We need to see if he replicated that one." said Spencer
"I will go talk to Garcia." said Morgan as he walked away
Spencer looked at Alex and JJ.
"During that case in Seattle, Piper was a few days from turning two months old." said Spencer
"And now she's 11 months old." said JJ
As Alex was getting a fax, Rossi entered the bullpen to go to his office to be alone and JJ tried to make her way over towards Rossi. Spencer stopped JJ from following him.
"Just leave him be for now. If it was Olivia, I would want to be alone for a while too." said Spencer softly as Morgan entered the room
A few minutes later Hotch entered the bullpen and looked at Spencer, JJ, Morgan, and Alex.
"I need everybody in the conference room." said Hotch
A few minutes later Hotch was briefing everyone but Garcia and Rossi.
"A dozen federal employees have read our case files over the last two years. They all went through the highest levels of security. Each of those names needs to be checked against Reid's list." said Hotch as he set the list on the table
"We should get them all in here and start the interrogations." said Alex
"If he knows we're looking his way, he might retreat. We should also check the support staffs of all those employees." said Hotch
"Each one has two assistants, so we're already up to 36 people." said JJ
"We should start with agents who work a 4-day, 40-hour week, given the fact that most of the murders happened over a long weekend, which means if the unsub traveled by car, no one at work would've missed them." said Spencer
"Well, he probably wouldn't fly. It would leave a paper trail." said JJ
Hotch noticed the papers that Alex was holding.
"What's this?" asked Hotch
"The Replicator's first case was the same as mine. Remember the sadist who made Ridgeway look tame?" asked Alex
"In Seattle, so it wasn't the Silencer." said Hotch
"Do you think it's a coincidence he started all of this when I joined the team?" asked Alex
"I don't know." said Hotch before glancing at Rossi's office "Dave's back? Excuse me." said Hotch before walking away as Morgan followed him
Spencer, JJ, and Alex were standing on the other side of the glass doors as they watched Hotch squeeze Rossi's hand before approaching his worried teammates.
"They've given him a sedative and they're going to take him to the infirmary. He's gonna be OK." said Hotch
"How did it get into his system?" asked Alex
"The report must have been dusted with whatever he used on Strauss." said Hotch
"Luckily the transdermal absorption rate was lower than her ingestion of it, so it wasn't fatal for Rossi." said Spencer as he was thankful that Piper, Albert, and Ava will still get to know their honorary grandfather
"Then this was a warning. If he wanted to kill Rossi, he had every chance to do it." said JJ
"If this is his endgame, why is he wasting time with warnings?" asked Alex
"He's toying with us and we're playing into him. He's turned Rossi against Morgan. Even if it was temporary, he wanted to show it could be done." said Hotch as Morgan approached them
"But why?" asked Alex
"Strauss was dosed with a chemical cousin of Doctor Death. He altered it so her torture would be longer." said Morgan as everyone realized that the agent who is after them is much smarter than they thought
"A biochemist, computer hacker, and federal agent? Who the hell is this guy?" asked JJ
A few minutes later Garcia and Kevin were showing them the security footage.
"Only half the cameras are working because the system is still rebooting itself, so the security guards have to go old school. That means everyone has to sign in. You can't take your I. D. and run it through- well, you know what old school means. So, if you have a badge, you don't get harassed. The man who signed in to see Rossi went up to the sixth floor, held the door open for Kevin and Anderson..." said Garcia
"I can't believe he was right there." said a shocked Kevin
"Walked through our BAU into Rossi's office, signed in as Adam Worth." said Garcia
Spencer quickly flashed back to the collect call he got on his land line.
"Adam Worth?" asked Spencer
"Isn't that the same alias he used a few hours before you and Olivia took Piper to the hospital?" asked JJ
"Yeah, which means it's not just a taunt. It speaks directly to his psychology. Adam Worth was a famous criminal from the late 1800s, commonly referred to as the Napoleon of Crime. This unsub obviously sees himself in the same light." said Spencer
"So this guy is a malignant narcissist who wants to be known as the worst enemy we've ever had." said Morgan
"And look, he's careful to hide his face from the cameras." said Alex as she looked at the footage
"Because he knows exactly where they are." said Hotch
Alex was jotting down every taunt that they were given.
"The Replicator has directly taunted everyone on this team except for me." said Alex
"You may be part of his endgame." said Hotch
"Then so was Strauss." said Alex
"He chose to use drugs as his final replication. That's no accident." said JJ
"Is that a connection to you?" asked Hotch
"Strauss and I had issues during the Amerithrax case. It started in New York with poison." said Alex
"And it was delivered by envelopes." said Spencer
"Why would anyone on the inside hold resentment over that case?" asked Morgan
"Because that person suffered a professional setback just like Blake, but was patient and psychotic enough to get revenge." said Hotch as Garcia entered the room
"I am all over the DOJ names including support staff. I have Kevin pulling files and photos. System is down, so it's hard to check entire career paths, but there were two agents in New York in 2001. Scratch that-Lehman died in October- that leaves Curtis." said Garcia as she showed Curtis's file
"Wait a second? John Curtis?" asked Alex
"You know him?" asked Garcia
"I haven't seen him in a long time. He was a nice guy. We were first office agents together, but I thought he left the Bureau after the Amerithrax case." said Alex
"Could it be him? Does he fit the profile?" asked Hotch
"He was quiet and a loner, but brilliant. He specialized in a lot of fields, but his passion was biochemistry." said Alex
A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, JJ, and Alex were heading up to the roof where helicopters were waiting for them as Garcia briefed them about Curtis.
"He inherited a family compound in rural Virginia. Coordinates on on your phone." said Garcia into the communication equipment attached to their vests
"What else do you have on Curtis?" asked Alex
"Just like you thought. John Curtis was demoted in the FBI after the Amerithrax case. He was slated to take over the coveted New York field office, but then was shipped to the not coveted Kansas City one. He worked there for many years quietly before he was able to weasel his way back into the nation's capital. On paper he is a rock star. He immediately transferred to the Department of Justice, the intelligence oversight section. He's a genius on multiple levels." said Garcia
"What's his background?" asked Hotch
"Only child, parents died when he was 18. Never married. Total loner, just like Blake said." said Garcia
"Then all he's ever had to care about is his work." said Hotch
"And when he lost that, he snapped." said Morgan as everyone continued going up the stairs to the waiting helicopters
A few minutes later Spencer was running towards the helicopter that Hotch and Alex were running to and as soon as he got in he put on the waiting headphones so he could hear before the helicopter took off as soon as Hotch closed the door.
As they were heading to the Curtis family compound, Hotch was briefing them.
"HRT will divide us up when we land." said Hotch
"As you can see from the geo ref'd he's got plenty of privacy. 5 1/2 acres, 3 structures, house included." said Garcia as the screens that Spencer, Alex, and Hotch were watching started to deal with a glitch
"Garcia." said Hotch
"I see it, too, sir. It must be some sort of system override." said Garcia as everyone realized that the Replicator is responsible when the helicopter started going through turbulence
"What's happening?" asked a frantic Garcia
"Autopilot's seized." said the pilot as the computer was going off while the helicopter continued to bounce a bit
Less than 20 seconds later the helicopter stabilized.
"I got it back." said the pilot
"Are you OK?" asked Garcia
"We're stabilizing." said Hotch
A few seconds later the helicopter started shaking again and Spencer, Hotch, and Alex held on.
"Brace for impact." said the pilot
Spencer grabbed a nearby handle and held on tightly as he thought that he didn't want to die yet since he has so much more to do.
A few seconds later the helicopter crashed and the Replicator knocked out Spencer, Hotch, Alex, and the pilot with the knock out gas he made before taking Alex out of the helicopter.
Spencer woke up, quickly removed his askew glasses and was able to tell that the pilot was awake, despite not being able to see at all.
"Are the lenses of my glasses not shattered?" groaned Spencer
The pilot took a look at Spencer's glasses since he realized that Spencer couldn't see without his glasses.
"I don't see any cracks in the lenses, and the frames are intact." said the pilot as Spencer put his glasses back on and rubbed his head
Morgan opened up the door and looked at his teammates and the pilot.
"Are you guys all right?" asked Morgan
"Yeah, and I am glad that my glasses didn't get damaged." said Spencer as he rubbed his forehead while a SWAT agent opened the door for him
"Where's Blake?" asked JJ as Hotch removed his earphones
Morgan picked something up.
"What the hell is this?" asked Morgan
A minute later the SWAT agent helped Spencer get out before walking through the field with Hotch, JJ, and Morgan.
"If he'd wanted to kill all of us, he could have." said JJ
"He's playing God, just like he's done all year. He hard-landed us, knocked us out with whatever was in that canister he could take Blake." said Spencer while being thankful that he's alive
"He had plenty of chances to take her before tonight. He wants it to be a spectacle." said Hotch
Spencer, JJ, Hotch, Morgan, and SWAT agents were getting ready to breach the house with their guns out.
"We're ready to breach the house." said Hotch as he motioned for Spencer to come with him and before he knew it he was entering a storm cellar with Hotch to head into the basement. They cleared rooms together before ending up in Curtis's photo lab with Morgan and JJ before entering a room where a gagged and chained up Alex was sitting
"Which way did he go?" asked JJ as she removed Alex's gag
"I don't know." said Alex
"Morgan, you and JJ find him. We've got this." said Hotch as he and Spencer crouched down to check the locks
"He said he used 8 locks because there used to be 8 of us." said Alex
"That's all he said?" asked Hotch as Spencer checked the keys
"About that, yes." said Alex
"There's only 6 keys. That mean two keys will be used twice. Each key is a letter, likely corresponds to a number on the locks. 7-seventh letter of the alphabet's "G." said Spencer
"What are the other letters?" asked Hotch
Spencer quickly looked.
"Um, Z, U, W- Zugzwang." said Spencer as he realized that he was getting tired of the word zugzwang "It's too easy." said Spencer as he started to unlock the locks before Morgan and JJ came back
"He's got the placed lined with C-4. We've only got 3 minutes." said Morgan
"This seems too easy. Zugzwang also means a dilemma in chess where the best move is not to move at all." said Spencer before realizing that Alex could be sitting on a trap "Wait, don't get up!" shouted Spencer
At that moment everyone realized why Spencer didn't want Alex to get up as she stood.
"It's a pressure sensor." said Spencer
At that moment the door closed on them and a short while later the door some how opened and Spencer, JJ, Morgan, Alex, and Hotch started running outside.
"Everybody get back! There's C-4 in the basement. Everybody back!" shouted Hotch as everyone got as far from the house as they could
"Wait, where's Rossi?" asked Spencer
"He was right behind me." said Morgan
"Dave!" shouted Hotch
"He just let us out. Why would he go back in?" asked Morgan
As Rossi came out, Hotch quickly guided him towards the rest of the team and everyone ducked for cover and covered their heads as the house exploded before watching the burning house in shock while paramedics standing by quickly checked them over.
A few hours later Spencer entered the house, passed Olivia, Piper, and his uncle and headed straight to the stairs as Gordon and Olivia wondered what was going on while Piper started crying due to her father not greeting her like he always does when he comes home from work.
"Spencer?" asked Olivia as she watched her husband go upstairs and Gordon scooped up Piper and passed her to her mother as Olivia grabbed her phone to call Hotch
Spencer was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands as he felt the bed dip beside him.
"Spencer?" asked Olivia
Spencer looked at Olivia as a tear fell down his face.
"I talked to Aaron few minutes ago and told me about Strauss." said Olivia as she hugged her husband
"Are you going to ask Dr. Carter if you can attend the funeral despite being on bed rest?" asked Spencer
"I'm planning on it, but how about you take a shower before going to bed since Aaron told me that it's been over 48 hours since the last time you slept." said Olivia
"I will tell you about everything that happened after the babies are born so you don't get so upset that your water breaks." said Spencer as he got off the bed
"You better." said Olivia as she pulled out her cellphone
15 minutes later a freshly showered Spencer exited the bathroom wearing only his pajama pants only to find Piper sitting on the bed near Olivia.
"What did she say?" asked Spencer as he scooped up Piper and laid down on the bed as he settled Piper on top of him
"She gave me the OK as long as I take it easy while riding in a wheelchair in the cemetery, and she told me to give you her condolences." said Olivia as she removed her husband's glasses "You look like you need a lot of sleep."
"I have been up for over 48 hours." said Spencer as he rubbed Piper's back
"How about Piper and I take a nap with you since she's already asleep?" asked Olivia as she started to lay down next to her husband
"Best idea ever." said Spencer as his phone vibrated alerting a text message from Hotch "What does it say?" asked Spencer as he passed Olivia his phone
"The funeral is on the 28th, and I am still coming despite being 36 weeks pregnant that day." said Olivia
Two days later, Spencer was pushing Olivia's wheelchair towards the limo before letting go of the handles to open up the limo door so Alex, JJ, and Morgan could get in before Spencer and a driver could get Olivia out of her wheelchair and help her into the limo before Spencer got in himself as the driver closed the door before loading the wheelchair into the trunk.
"You doing OK Livy?" asked Spencer
"Dealing with back pain right now." said Olivia as she buckled herself in the best she could
Spencer started massaging Olivia's back as the driver started driving.
A few hours later Spencer, Olivia, Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Alex, Rossi, and Garcia were sitting around a table in Rossi's garden talking about their memories with Strauss.
"It had to be a perfect round. And sure enough, coming right back at me was the target. And it was blasted right through the chest. The goggles come off... And it's Strauss." said Morgan before laughing "I mean, I was like, what? I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. That woman... She was one hell of a shot." said Morgan
"Um...do you guys remember that one time that she called me, but I thought that it was somebody else?" asked Garcia
Spencer, JJ, and Morgan laughed since they were there.
"That was funny." said JJ
"Oh no." said Morgan
"Oh, maybe to you. I was mortified." said Garcia
"What did you say?" asked Alex
"I said, "Talk dirty to me." said Garcia
"Yes, she did." said Morgan as everyone laughed or smile "That's my girl." said Morgan
"Are you kidding?" asked Alex
"Hey, that was my line." said Rossi
At that moment everyone started laughing before more stories were exchanged, causing everyone to smile or laugh as Olivia had tears streaming down her face due to hormones.
Rossi tapped his wine glass to get everyone's attention.
"Last year, right here, we had a... Very different celebration. Of life, of love, and good people. This year it's the, uh, other side of that. Because, well... That's what families do. It's been a hard year." said Rossi as he thought about how Spencer and Olivia had to deal with Piper ending up very sick in the hospital and Spencer having to get his tonsils removed "But tonight... We celebrate a life well lived... Well loved... To a good woman..." said Rossi as everyone moved their glasses of wine or in Spencer and Olivia's case, sparkling grape juice to the center of the table "An even better mother... To our friend... Who I will miss very much." said Rossi as everyone clinked their glasses together before taking a sip
As Spencer and Olivia set down their glasses, Olivia looked at her husband.
"I need to walk around a bit." said Olivia
Spencer got up before helping Olivia up.
"I am going to join you Livy." said Spencer as he had a suspicion that Olivia was showing signs of being in labor
"I was hoping you would." said Olivia as she grabbed her husband's hand
Spencer and Olivia started to slowly walk around Rossi's backyard and Spencer massaged Olivia's lower back as they walked while talking quietly.
"How are you handling everything?" asked Olivia
"I'm doing OK, but I am glad that you came along to the funeral and here for dinner." said Spencer
"It took a lot of arguing with Dr. Carter before she told me that I could go to the funeral as long as I was in a wheelchair instead of walking." said Olivia
At that moment Olivia felt her water break before gasping in pain as she clutched her very swollen belly.
"What's wrong?" asked Spencer
"My water just broke." said Olivia