Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds and the poem from E.E. Cummings.
A/N: Shout out to fishtrek, criminalmindsrocks, msladyaries08, Daisyangel, Fashionista7 for reviewing chapter 12.
Great news everyone, it turns out that my grandmother doesn't have cancer!
I'm so sorry for the delay. Aside from having writer's block, I wanted to see how the series finale went since Maeve appeared in the last episode that gave me some ideas.
Rest in peace Katherine Johnson.
This chapter starts two days after the last chapter and there are a few moments in Hotch's Point of View too.
Hotch woke up to a text from Maeve
I APOLOGIZE ABOUT BABY BRAIN KEEPING ME FROM LETTING YOU KNOW THAT SPENCE GOT SETTLED INTO SEDONA HOPE REHABILITATION CENTER. HE WAS DOING FINE WHEN I JOINED HIM FOR DINNER LAST NIGHT. I SHOULD BE FINDING OUT HOW HIS FIRST NIGHT WENT WHEN I AM ALLOWED TO VISIT HIM FOR AN HOUR TODAY. ~ MR
Hotch chuckled as he texted Maeve.
IT'S OK, MAEVE. ELLE TOLD ME THAT SPENCER GOT SETTLED IN. JUST FOCUS ON TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF, MY GODDAUGHTER, AND ARTHUR WHEN YOUR HUSBAND IS WORKING WITH PROFESSIONALS. ~ AH
Haley woke up, "Is everything OK, Aaron?" asked Haley groggily.
"Maeve forgot to let me know that Spencer is settled in and texted me despite it being 3:30 AM in Arizona right now," said Hotch.
Haley chuckled, "I remember dealing with pregnancy brain," said Haley before thinking about the soft spot she has on Spencer which made her tell her husband to stay in Georgia long as he was allowed to, "How is Spencer doing?" asked Haley.
"He's settled into the rehabilitation facility and Maeve will be visiting him later on today," said Hotch.
"I'm glad that Hankel is dead," said Haley.
"I would have killed Hankel myself, but I'm amazed that Spencer was able to trick Hankel and save his own life seconds before I could arrive," said Hotch.
"You did everything you could to train Spencer for this job," said Haley.
"I know, but I just worry about how he'll be emotionally after," said Hotch.
Haley hugged her husband, "He'll have good days and bad days, but he'll have Maeve, his unborn children, his mother, his aunts and uncles, and us to help him recover."
"Speaking of Maeve, I'm glad that she appeared in Spencer's life when she did," said Hotch.
"I'm glad that Spencer has Maeve," said Haley.
At that moment Hotch's cell phone rang causing him to sigh when it was JJ, "It's JJ."
Haley thought about her husband having two weeks off to deal with the trauma his youngest agent went through, "Aren't you suppose to be on leave for another week?" asked Haley.
"Yes," said Hotch before he answered his phone, "Chief Strauss told us that we're not allowed to go out on any cases for another week, JJ."
"I know, but if Spence was supposed to be released from the hospital yesterday, why isn't he at home or answering his cell phones or the land-line at his house? If my future husband stealing tramp keeping Spence's personal cell phone and laptop away from him so he can't talk to me, Spence should divorce her and take full custody of Maggie and Henry," said JJ.
Hotch shook his head at his second youngest agent's choice of words, "Reid would never divorce Maeve and take full custody of Violet and Arthur so he can get together with you. Reid's not the type of person to break up a family since his father walked out on him and his mother," said Hotch as he made sure to firmly say Violet's and Arthur's names before continuing, "The reason why Reid doesn't have his cell phone or laptop on him and no one else is telling you anything and Bennington Sanitarium isn't giving you information on Reid's location is due to Chief Strauss and Deputy Director John Cooper sending Reid to a rehabilitation clinic that only takes in men and women who were injured in the line of duty. I have Reid's work phone and laptop with me while the clinic won't give Reid his personal phone until he's discharged."
"He's being institutionalized like his mother and I would never institutionalize him," said JJ.
"He'll only be there for two weeks if he cooperates with the professionals who are assigned to help him," said Hotch.
"Can you tell me where he is so I can go visit Spence?" asked JJ.
"I'm not allowed to give his location to anyone including Haley," said Hotch.
"Then I'll ask Garcia to track him down," said JJ.
"Chief Strauss threatened termination if anyone tries to have Garcia or any other technical analysts hack into Reid's file or tracks Maeve's or Elle's phones to locate Reid," said Hotch before thinking about the help JJ needs before the tension between the team gets worse, "I'm not going to tell Chief Strauss about this conversation since we're all under a lot of stress over worrying about Reid, but you will be going to therapy to get over Reid for the next five weeks. You're almost 27-years-old, so you need to start acting your age and not be like Jack and throw a tantrum like the ones you've been throwing ever since you learned about Maeve or I'll be forced to transfer you to another field office or government agency and have Reid and Maeve file a restraining order against you," said Hotch before hanging up.
Haley looked at her husband, "JJ still hasn't gotten over Spencer yet?" asked Haley.
Hotch shook his head, "She hasn't."
"When Spencer, Maeve, and Elle return we can have the entire team, Maeve, and Elle over for dinner," said Haley.
"And I tell them that you're not going to take no for an answer?" asked Hotch.
"Yes," said Haley before looking at the clock, "What do you want for breakfast? I'll make Jack and us breakfast while we talk about what food I should prepare and stick into Spencer's and Maeve's refrigerator and freezer so Spencer and Maeve don't have to cook for a while."
"How about pancakes," said Hotch.
"Pancakes it is," said Haley.
A few minutes later Hotch and Haley were waking up Jack before they headed to the kitchen to make pancakes from scratch.
A few hours later in Sedona, Arizona, Spencer had just finished eating breakfast and was putting on a pair of jeans, a plaid flannel shirt, and his riding boots before he got onto one of the rehabilitation center's horses Lancelot so he can get an hour of riding before he had therapy.
An hour later Spencer was brushing the horse he road when one of the stable workers came over to him as he gave Lancelot a carrot, "I saw you riding earlier and those were some impressive jumps you got Lancelot to do," said Thomas.
Spencer's lips twitched up a bit, "I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and one of my uncles owns a ranch outside of Las Vegas. I spent a lot of summers helping out at my uncle's ranch before I moved out East to join the F.B.I."
"No wonder you're a good horseback rider," said Thomas before looking at Spencer's wedding band that Maeve kindly replaced for him so he wouldn't have to wear a ring that smelled like the fish gut and fish livers that Hankel was burning for two days, "Does your wife ride?" asked Thomas.
"I introduced my wife to horseback riding when we were dating, but my wife isn't allowed to go horseback riding until later on this summer," said Spencer.
Thomas quickly connected the dots, "She's pregnant?" asked Thomas.
Spencer nodded, "Maeve's 25-weeks pregnant with twins we decided to name Violet Guinevere Reid and Arthur Nathaniel Reid."
Thomas chuckled, "If your twins have names that deals with the legend of King Arthur, no wonder why you chose to watch Lancelot."
Spencer smiled a bit, "My mom was a medieval literature professor and I ended up becoming a modern-day knight for my mother."
Thomas quickly connected the dots as he thought about Spencer's last name, "Are you related to Professor Diana Reid?" asked Thomas.
"You know my mother?" asked Spencer.
Thomas nodded, "I read some of her papers and once attended one of her lectures when she once came to Flagstaff to guest lecture in the 70s. Is she still teaching today?" asked Thomas.
Spencer sadly shook his head, "My mom is institutionalized for paranoid schizophrenia that developed from a drug addiction."
"I'm sorry," said Thomas.
"It's OK. My mom has good days and bad days, but she's excited about Violet and Arthur's upcoming arrival when she's lucid," said Spencer before looking at his watch, "I should probably head to my room so I can take a shower before I meet with Dr. Jones. It was nice talking to you," said Spencer before looking at Lancelot, "I'll see you later, Lancelot."
Lancelot let out a neigh as he nuzzled Spencer's neck.
An hour later Spencer was wearing a pair of khakis, a polo shirt, and one of his thick cardigan sweaters when Dr. Jones looked at him, "I saw you horseback riding earlier, so I'm glad that you decided to take advantage of the therapy horses we have available," said Dr. Jones.
Spencer let out a small smile, "As I told Thomas earlier, my uncle owns a ranch outside of Las Vegas."
"You must have spent a lot of time there," said Dr. Jones.
Spencer nodded, "There's something nice about being surrounded by nature in the desert."
"Did you get scared when you see rattlesnakes or any other venomous snakes?" asked Dr. Jones.
"I was scared as a kid, but I know that rattlesnakes are protective over their environment so they shake their rattles to warn people off before they bite," said Spencer.
"You'll occasionally be like a rattlesnake when you're experiencing with post-traumatic stress disorder, but you'll eventually be back to your old self," said Dr. Jones before thinking about her conversation with Maeve the evening before, "I have faith that yours and Maeve's marriage will survive the trauma you went through."
"Maeve has been reminding me about the vows we made together 181 days ago while she recited one of her favorite poems to me to remind me that I'll survive the aftermath of everything that Hankel did to me," said Spencer.
"What is her favorite poem?" asked Dr. Jones.
"Whenever you think or you believe or you know, you're a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you're nobody but yourself. To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight and never stop fighting," recited Spencer.
"Ah your wife is an E. E. Cummings fan," said Dr. Jones.
"You're familiar?" asked Spencer.
Dr. Jones nodded, "That poem is very fitting right now. Even if you lash out like a rattlesnake, Maeve will continue being by your side since she knows that you're strong enough to get through this."
Later on that afternoon, Spencer was sitting in one of the lounge chairs by the pool reading a book when he heard Maeve's voice.
"How are you doing, Spencer?" asked Maeve.
Spencer let out a small smile when he saw his 25-week pregnant wife sitting down next to him while Elle sat down in another chair, "My first full day is going OK since I had physical therapy and a therapy session with my assigned psychologist."
"I hope that you weren't running circles around Dr. Jones," said Maeve.
"I'm not since Dr. Jones has an IQ of 160," said Spencer.
Elle whistled, "No wonder why your aunt and one of the deputy directors sent you here. They're making sure that you get the best care as possible while you talk to a psychologist you wouldn't be able to run circles around."
"Exactly and I want to make sure that I'm emotionally stable by the time Violet and Arthur are born," said Spencer.
At that moment Elle's phone vibrated causing the nearly 30-year-old security guard to check her phone and groaned as she turned off her cell phone.
"What's wrong?" asked Spencer.
"JJ keeps on demanding me to tell you where you are," said Elle.
"And you can't tell her where I am since only my immediate family, my in-laws, Hotch, and Deputy Director John Cooper, and the two of you are only allowed access to my location," said Spencer just as his stomach growled.
Maeve laughed as she reached into her purse and pulled out a four-pack of jello and a bag of fresh kumquats, "I got you some of your favorite snacks."
Spencer gave his wife a small smile, "Thank you."
"It's your fault that I've been craving kumquats the past few weeks," teased Maeve.
Spencer laughed, "Then Violet and Arthur are going to love kumquats just like me."
Five days later, Hotch was standing by the desk that was going to stay empty for another four weeks when he heard a voice.
"Why are you staring at Reid's desk?" asked Emily.
"Even though Reid's month-long paternity leave has already been signed off, I'm thinking about how strange it's going to be to see no Reid doing physics magic here for another four weeks," said Hotch.
Emily laughed, "I only learned about his physics magic after a film canister hit me right in the forehead."
Hotch chuckled, "Chief Strauss is annoyed that Reid already taught his cousins how to do physics magic."
"Even though I haven't known Reid as long as you have, Reid is going to be strong enough to recover from his abduction and torture and he'll eventually be doing physics magic in here again," said Emily.
Over a week later Spencer and a 27-week pregnant Maeve were climbing up the stairs to Diana's room when Maeve made eye contact with her husband and squeezed his left hand, "Are you ready to see your mother?" asked Maeve softly.
Spencer nodded, "Dr. Jesson said that mom has been doing better since she learned that I'm alive."
"Let's go," said Maeve.
A second later Spencer knocked on the open door of his mother's room causing Diana to quickly get out of her chair and run towards her son and hugged him, "I'm glad to see you alright in person, baby. Even though I had a feeling that you were dead for a few minutes, I don't know if I would have survived if you didn't use your brilliant mind to save your own life."
Spencer reached out and wiped the tears that were falling down his mother's face before he hugged his mother, "When I was held hostage for 48 hours and was drugged against my will, I thought that I would never see you and Maeve again while I would never get to meet Arthur and Violet when they're ready to be born. Even though it will be a while for me to be back to my old self, I'll eventually be OK, mom."
Diana gave her daughter-in-law a small smile as she stroked her son's curls, "Knowing Maeve and my grandchildren, they'll help you get better in no time," said Diana as she gently hugged her daughter-in-law, "I want to thank you for being there for my son the past few weeks."
Maeve smiled, "I promised Spencer that I would be there for him in sickness or health."
Diana looked at her son, "When are you going back to work?" asked Diana.
"Your sister gave me off until March 26th to physically and mentally recover, but depending if I don't keep on cooperating with the psychologists I'm assigned to I might be off until a month after Violet and Arthur are born," said Spencer.
"After the hard work you've done to get into the Behavioral Analysis Unit, I know that you're strong enough to cooperate with the psychologists who are assigned to help you get back to work on March 26th," said Diana.
Maeve looked at her husband, "Remember the first fight we had about our favorite poets?" asked Maeve.
Spencer let out a bitter chuckle, "We were dating for a month and we argued for four hours over the phone."
"As E. E. Cummings once said "Whenever you think or you believe or you know, you're a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you're nobody but yourself," quoted Maeve.
Spencer smiled as he chose to finish, "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight and never stop fighting."
Maeve rested a hand on her husband's arm, "Even though you'll be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder for the rest of your life, you shouldn't let Hankel win by giving up on doing what you love doing. Even though Violet and Arthur aren't born yet, they're going to be looking up to you since you make a difference by saving men, women, and children who are about to lose their lives or their innocence."
"Maeve's right, Spencer," said Diana.
A few minutes later Spencer, Maeve, and Diana were out in the garden watching the clouds while one of the nurses brought them chocolate chip cookies and brownies to snack on as Diana brought up more of her favorite memories of Spencer as a child.
A/N: Speaking of pancakes, my nearly 17-month-old niece loves the pancakes I make her. When she was visiting yesterday, she was making 'mmm mmm' sounds as she watched me make her a pancake from her high chair.
