Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. The occasional scenes from episodes of Criminal Minds in this story belong to the writers of Criminal Minds and CBS. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Shout out to Fashionista7, criminalmindsrocks, and fishtrek for reviewing chapter 16.

Wisconsin has pretty much gone into lockdown for the next month. Residents are only allowed to leave their homes to get food, go to non-emergency doctor appointments, (I decided to reschedule all of mine) and everyone who works an essential job has to carry a piece of paper to let the police know that they're working essential jobs in workplaces that are too important to shutdown.

I'm sad to say that because of the coronavirus, my trip to Wisconsin Dells for the 31st Annual Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin Spring Conference on April 30th has been canceled since the conference is going virtual to follow the rule about mass gatherings being canceled for two months.

It's April 3rd of 2007 at the beginning of this chapter.


At 3:30 AM Spencer woke up to a crash downstairs and a cry of pain-causing him to slip his glasses on and rush out of bed only to find Maeve on the floor clutching her left ankle while Zoey's bone was nearby, "Did you trip over Zoey's bone?" asked Spencer.

Maeve nodded as tears fell down her face, "I wanted some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and I tripped over Zoey's bone and twisted my ankle. It hurts so bad."

"Then let's get you to the hospital," said Spencer just as his mother-in-law and father-in-law came upstairs.

"What happened?" asked Joe.

"I tripped over Zoey's bone and twisted my ankle," cried Maeve.

Spencer looked at his father-in-law, "Can you please help me get Maeve up so I can drive her to the emergency room?" asked Spencer.

"I can," said Joseph.

A minute later Spencer and Joseph had finally gotten Maeve onto her feet and were helping Maeve get into Spencer's SUV before Spencer who was still in his pajamas drove Maeve to the hospital while not realizing that he forgot his and Maeve's cell phones.


Five and a half hours later Dr. Jacobs looked at Maeve who was diagnosed with a partially torn Achilles tendon and was sporting a mid-leg length walking cast on her left foot as she finished the ultrasound she was performing, "Violet and Arthur were both unaffected by your fall."

Maeve let out tears of relief, "Good."

Spencer noticed a look on Dr. Jacob's face, "I sense a but coming."

"But your blood pressure just earned you a week of bed rest," said Dr. Jacobs sternly.

"I understand. Can I please spend my week of bed rest at home?" asked Maeve.

Dr. Jacobs nodded, "You can. Even though you can walk unassisted with your cast on, I want someone to wait on you hand and foot for the next week."

"My father recently started working from home so he can make sure I take it easy while Spencer's on cases," said Maeve.

"Good," said Dr. Jacobs before looking at the ultrasound that diagnosed Maeve with a partially torn Achilles and the orthopedist wanting Maeve to start physical therapy right away so she can get rid of her cast in six to eight weeks, "When it comes to Dr. Olson wanting to start you on physical therapy right away, I'll request to have a physical therapist come over to your house since you can easily do physical therapy exercises from your bed."

"OK," said Maeve.

A few minutes later Maeve was being allowed to leave the emergency room with Spencer.


15 minutes later Spencer was helping Maeve get settled into their bed when Maeve's eyes went wide when she saw that it was 9:05 AM on her alarm clock and saw that her cell phone that was still on the charger had a missed call from Hotch, "Uh Spencer, look at the time."

Spencer saw his phone ringing on his nightstand and his eyes widened when he saw a text from Hotch asking where is he since it's past 9 AM and wanted to know if everything was OK since he knew that Maeve had her 32-week check-up the day before causing him to look at his wife, "I can take today off."

Maeve shook her head, "Please go to work. I'm going to be fine since my dad's here while Haley and Jack are coming over at 11 AM."

"I understand, but please let me know if you want me home," said Spencer before he quickly got out of his pajamas and got dressed into the clothes he laid out the night before and grabbed his Glock, messenger bag, and freshly packed go-bag before getting into his car as he sent Hotch a text message.

I'M SO SORRY ABOUT MISSING MY APPOINTMENT WITH DR. MOSS AND BEING LATE FOR WORK. I'VE BEEN AT THE HOSPITAL FOR THE PAST FIVE AND A HALF HOURS WITH MAEVE AND JUST GOT MAEVE HOME 10 MINUTES AGO. I'LL EXPLAIN WHY I'M LATE FOR WORK WHEN I GET THERE. ~ SR

A few seconds later Hotch replied.

IT'S OK. TAKE YOUR TIME DRIVING SO YOU'RE NOT IN A CAR ACCIDENT. ~ AH

A few seconds later Spencer was pulling out of the driveway while making sure to stop at a nearby gas station to get himself some coffee.


After briefing was over, Spencer and Hotch were in Spencer's office where Hotch looked at an exhausted Spencer who was wearing his glasses instead of his contact lenses, "Are Maeve, Violet, and Arthur OK?" asked Hotch.

Spencer sighed, "At 3 AM this morning, Maeve tripped over one of Zoey's bones and twisted her ankle so bad that she partially tore her Achilles tendon while Maeve's doctor did an emergency ultrasound to make sure that Violet and Arthur weren't affected by the fall."

"Are Violet and Arthur OK?" asked Hotch.

"Violet and Arthur are both fine," said Spencer.

"That's good, but how about Maeve?" asked Hotch.

"Maeve can walk unassisted with a walking boot and she'll start physical therapy while being on bed rest for the next week," said Spencer.

"Why is Maeve on bed rest?" asked Hotch.

"Her blood pressure is a bit too high to Dr. Jacob's liking," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about his wife's pregnancy with Jack, "Does Maeve have pre-eclampsia?" asked Hotch.

"Thankfully she doesn't or Violet and Arthur would be in the NICU right now," said Spencer.

"Do you want to take time off to be with Maeve?" asked Hotch.

Spencer shook his head, "Maeve told me to keep on working until Violet and Arthur are born since twins aren't usually born until the 36th week."

"OK, but let's get ready to head to Houston," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was heading to the jet with his teammates as he texted Maeve about where he was going.


Two hours later at the Reid family home, Maeve was reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak out loud to Zoey who was resting her head on her walking cast and to Violet and Arthur who were kicking away when she heard little footsteps run through the hallway.

"Ave!" shouted Jack as he ran to Maeve's bedside where his eyes went wide at the cast on Maeve's leg before looking at his mother who was standing in the doorway with a plate of cookies, two glasses of milk, and a sippy cup for Jack, "Ave owie, Mama."

"Hello, Jack," smiled Maeve before looking at Haley who was standing in the doorway, "Hello, Haley."

Haley gasped at the sight of Maeve's left foot and leg that sported a walking boot and was resting on a pillow, "Aaron told me that you're on bed rest for the next week but didn't tell me why."

"I twisted my ankle and partially torn my Achilles tendon at 3 AM. Having high blood pressure earned me a week of bed rest," said Maeve.

"Do you have pre-eclampsia?" asked Haley.

"Thankfully no or I would be in the hospital recovering from a c-section while Violet and Arthur are in the NICU," said Maeve.

"And you still sent Spencer to work?" asked Haley.

"I have less than six weeks until my planned c-section and I told Spencer that he should go to work since my dad is here to help me out," said Maeve before covering Jack's ears as she thought about Haley beginning to hate Hotch's job before their husbands left for Los Angles to apprehend a serial bank robber as she glared at the older woman as she recited her favorite E.E. Cummings poem, " '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.' When it comes to my coward of a father-in-law walking out on my husband and mother-in-law and haven't contacted either of them in 15 years, Spencer isn't going to be the type of person to give up doing what he loves. Besides, I wouldn't have accepted to go out on a date or married Spencer if I didn't approve his job and I encouraged him to keep on being the fighter he is while he was in the hospital," said Maeve before wrinkling her nose at the scent of cologne that she hasn't smelled on either her husband or Aaron, "Now please leave so I can rest or I'll be naming someone else as Violet's godmother while I'll be telling Aaron that you've been cheating on Aaron."

Haley stiffened, "How did you know that I've been cheating on Aaron?" asked Haley.

"I smell cologne that I have never smelled on Aaron on you while I heard you talking on the phone to another man when you thought that I wasn't in the room," said Maeve before holding up his phone, "Please leave or I'll be calling Aaron right now."

Haley instantly picked up Jack and left the Reid family home.


Spencer was standing outside of the homeless shelter looking at a picture that Maeve sent him of Zoey resting her head on her walking boot when he saw Emily come over to him, "There's a high presence of mental disorders with the homeless," said Spencer.

"Yeah," said Emily before thinking about everything Spencer said in the shelter, "What the hell was that in there?" asked Emily.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"He may even be in this room as we speak"? We have nothing to support that," said Emily.

"We're investigating a serial homicide. Should I have pretended there's no danger?" asked Spencer.

"We just left that woman potentially afraid of every man who walks into this shelter," said Emily.

Spencer glared at Emily, "Again, until we find this unsub, how is that a bad thing?" asked Spencer.

"What is the matter with you?" asked Emily.

"What do you mean, what's the matter with me?" asked Spencer angrily.

A shocked Emily looked at Spencer, "I have never seen you act like this. I hope that you're not speaking to Maeve the way you've been speaking to me today since she's 32-weeks pregnant with your children."

Anger flashed through Spencer's usually warm brown eyes as he decided to raise his voice a bit, "Oh? Oh, in the months that you know me, you've never seen me act this way? Hey, no offense, Emily, but... You don't really know what you're talking about, do you?" asked Spencer before walking away.

Five minutes later Spencer looked at Emily who was gripping the steering wheel tightly, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. Ever since returning to work last week, I've been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Last night I only got four hours of sleep since I had to attend a mandatory NA meeting due to the Dilaudid I was drugged with against my will while I was having nightmares. Then at 3:30 AM, I woke up to Maeve twisting her ankle causing us to spend over five and a half hours in the emergency room. Maeve has a partially torn Achilles tendon while her blood pressure earned her a week of bed rest."

Emily instantly softened up as she thought about knowing that Spencer went through detox in the hospital while he's required to attend NA meetings and consent to frequent drug tests to prove his sobriety, "I accept your apology. Hotch warned the rest of the team and me that the first few weeks back at work will be rough on you while it's understandable that last night's events could make you irritable today."

Spencer scratched his chin, "I never gotten the chance to shave."

"Haven't you ever grew out a beard?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded, "Aside from not being able to shave for a week after my abduction, I use to have a beard before I joined the academy when I had a sort of fascination with yetis."

"You did have a nice beard starting while you were in the hospital. Did Maeve like the beard that was growing out?" asked Emily.

"Maeve hated it, so she helped me shave it when she helped me take a shower before I was being discharged from the hospital," said Spencer.

"Knowing Hotch, he'll let you take a break so you can shave and feel more comfortable," said Emily.

"I know," said Spencer.

"Even though I don't know you and Maeve well, let me know if you or Maeve need anything," said Emily.

"I will, and I'm still sorry for snapping at you," said Spencer.

"Please stop apologizing since I already accepted it," said Emily before thinking of something, "Let's go get some real coffee before we head back to the station since you look like you can use a pick me up."

Spencer smiled a bit, "OK."


As they were flying home from Houston, Spencer was sitting away from his teammates thinking about their unsub dying because of construction workers causing him to freak out and take a child when Hotch sat down next to him and passed him a cup of coffee with plenty of sugar.

"When it came to be snapping at Emily twice and loud noises bothering me yesterday, do you think that I came back to work too soon since it's been only eight weeks since I was abducted and tortured?" asked Spencer.

Hotch shook his head, "Even though you've been experiencing the typical post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms like flashbacks, social isolation, agitation, irritability, hostility, and hypervigilance since returning to work last week, I would be worried if you weren't showing any signs of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms," said Hotch before putting a gentle hand on Spencer's shoulder, "Besides you managed to figure out why Roy Woodridge started killing. I know that having post-traumatic stress disorder made you identify with Roy Woodridge, but don't forget that you're not like him since you've been cooperating with your therapists and not shutting Maeve, your aunt Erin, and me out."

"After Elle came back to work, Maeve told me that if I got injured in the line of duty that I need to follow our wedding vows and shut her out," said Spencer before looking at the latest ultrasound photo, "Do you think I'll be back to my old self by the time Violet and Arthur are born?" asked Spencer.

"Even though your first two cases back have been rough for you and you're trying to find your footing, I believe that you'll be back to your old self by the time Violet and Arthur are born," said Hotch.

"I hope so too," said Spencer.


A few hours later Spencer was sitting up in bed with Maeve talking about how the latest case affected him while Maeve told her husband about her suspicions about Haley cheating on Hotch.


A/N: Should Maeve tell Hotch about knowing that Haley is cheating on him? It looked like that Haley was cheating on Hotch during In Name and Blood since Hotch answered the land-line only to hear no voice before the unknown caller hung up and called Haley's cell phone before Haley left the house.

If you readers read the original Romance by the Book, you readers would remember that I dealt with the same injury as Maeve. Luckily I didn't need surgery, but I ended up spending 10 weeks in an air cast and going to physical therapy for 15 weeks since I was born with severe bilateral clubbed feet and have a bleeding disorder that caused physical therapists to go easy on me.