A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement is intended.

My apologies if I made any mistakes but enjoy the chapter!

"Oh, I know, M," Élise said as she was on the phone with Maeve, still in her pink striped sleep set, and was trying to pick out an outfit for work in her closet. "Spen is turning the big 3-0 on Sunday. It's so nutty."

"He'll officially be a tricenarian." Maeve chuckled, "You know, I read in Cosmopolitan that turning 30 is when your life is getting serious. And that life gets serious because you turn 30, you're grown up, matured, and you already have an accurate picture of who you really are."

Élise let out a chuckle, "For real? Well, now, I'm worried about getting 30," Élise laughed as she picked out a light blue wrap-style jersey top, skinny black pants, and a cotton blazer. "And my birthday's not for another few months."

Maeve joked, "Maybe we should get together and hang out at the mall, or maybe even watch 13 Going On 30; you know how I love a good cheesy rom-com."

"Yeah, we should." Élise looked into the floor-length mirror and posed. She looked at the time on her phone, "I better get going. Talk to you later?"

Maeve agreed, "Yeah, I have to get going. Mendel students are awaiting to be educated by yours truly."

"And unsubs are crawling under their beds in fear because of me," Élise replied before they laughed together. "Later, Mae."

"Later, Lise."

Élise hung up and tossed the phone on the bed before she went into the bathroom to take a shower, wash her face, apply her makeup, fix her hair up a bit before changing.

As she prepared her briefcase, Reid walked back into the bedroom, "Well, don't you look nice today?" Reid complimented before giving Élise a cheek kiss. "Ready to throw the book at someone."

Élise nodded her head in agreement, "As do you, baby blue." Élise admired Reid's rolled-up long-sleeve blue striped dress shirt, gray waistcoat with a silver chain, pants, graphic-looking tie, and Converse sneakers. "As do you." Élise kissed Reid in a passionate lip kiss. "Guess what else I'm excited about?"

Reid embarrassingly blushed. "My…30th birthday?"

"Why, yes," Élise wrapped her arms around his neck, "Your 30th birthday. You don't have to be so shy. Or embarrassed."

Reid looked away and chuckled, "I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Élise doubted that as she slipped into one of her favorite pair of black pumps, judging by her husband's red ears, and cheeks, and started to laugh, "Yes, you are. I may not be an elite profiler like you, but I know you're blushing. Look in the mirror and go see how red your cheeks are."

Reid swiftly looked at himself, took deep breaths, and fanned himself to rid the red from his cheeks and ears. "Ha-ha." He sarcastically replied before he looked at his cell phone. "Oh, lucky me. I have to go to work."

"Flying today?" Élise interestingly asked, putting on her studded earrings.

"Uh, no," Reid twisted his mouth and raised his right eyebrow, "Otherwise, I would have gotten a text saying so. Still…" He and Élise hooked in another kiss. "I love you."

"I miss you already," Élise was already missing him, blowing a kiss before bidding him adieu. "But I love you, too."

Reid knocked three times on Hotch's door before coming into his office; Reid saw Hotch looking over a case file.

"Oh," Hotch looked up for a quick second before going over the file, "Good morning, Reid."

"Morning, Hotch," Reid said, moving his mouth in nervousness. Still trying to think of the next thing to say, Hotch asked him,

"So, how are things going with Rosetta?" Hotch curiously asked.

"Rose is really great." Reid smiled, "And you can tell she really wants to have a bond with Séraphine."

"Children are her passion," Hotch tossed the file on his desk. "She always said she and her husband wanted kids but had difficulties, and their only regrets were not trying hard enough or at least adopting."

"Yeah."

Hotch sensed Reid wanted to talk or at least mention something else but was too scared/ashamed to do so. "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"JJ and Prentiss." Reid sighed, "Sorry if I didn't attend Rossi's dinner party, but I just…."

Hotch understood, "I know."

"I'm still taking it one day at a time," Reid replied, shaking his hand. "I-I'm not just going to…."

Hotch sympathized, "Again, I know." Hotch goes into his jacket pocket for his cell phone and looks at the message he got from Garcia, "Big case in Charlottesville."

"That's in our own backyard," Reid commented before pulling out his cell phone to text Élise.

LOCAL CASE! CALL IF ANYTHING! LOVE YOU! ~ SR

"Let's get to work," Hotch suggested as they left his office together.

Reid got a text back from Élise.

KK! LOVE YOU 2! ~ EBR.

The team headed to the mass murder crime scene at the Synalock office. With the overkill on Adam Werner, Hotch figured it was personal. Especially with his military background and connections.

It wasn't until Garcia confirmed that a man named Luke Dolan called Synalock early the same morning. And his parents were found dead in their bedroom closet, repeatedly shot to death, making him the unsub.

"I'm on a mission to get my hubby-wubby a fantastic present or two for his birthday," Élise said to Maeve. After coming home early for work, they decided to go to the Tysons Corner Center with their children.

"You're going to find him a wonderful gift." Maeve ensured Élise as they hung out at one of the mall's food courts, gently rocking their children in their strollers.

Élise doubted that after taking a bite of her Margherita pizza, "Yeah, I don't know."

"Here you go, my bubbly baby boy." Maeve pulled out a bottle for BJ from her bag and asked before taking a bite of her veggie sandwich, "What do you want to get him?"

Élise shrugged before giving Séraphine her bottle, "Maybe a book."

"Really?" Maeve questioned her again and said, "Well, that's good."

Élise pursed her lips to the side, "Well, for our wedding anniversary, I got Spencer the first editions of Babar."

"The Elephant King?" Maeve gasped and adorably figured, "I remember my parents reading me The Story of Babar. So cute."

"Yeah," Élise chuckled. "I got him Modernist Cuisine by…."

"…Nathan Myhrvold." Maeve immediately knew who he was. "I read some of his published work, and I even saw him speak once at an event when I was visiting an old friend at Princeton."

"Not to mention he's a child prodigy himself." Élise sneered before a light bulb blinked in her head. Snapping her fingers, "Oh! I know what I could get him."

"What could you get him?" Maeve asked as she wiped BJ's mouth.

Élise answered, "I could get him the first editions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books; he likes to read his books."

Maeve gasped again, "Oh! I love good old Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." Maeve suggested, "You should get him Sherlock Holmes books."

"Yeah," Élise thought about it for a moment and said, "Yeah, I can do that. Thanks, Maeve!"

Maeve suggested again, "Now let's talk about party themes."

"Again, great idea." Élise agreed as she tickled Séraphine's belly, causing her to giggle. "Because I have a few ideas of what we could do."

The team discovered more about Luke Dolan: a discharged US Navy Lieutenant, a Biotech Vice President, and a former Navy SEAL. A couple of days prior, he got into a car accident after dropping off his daughter at his separated wife's place.

Wondering what caused him to suffer from a psychotic break, they received a call from a General Milgram's house. Reid and Morgan spoke with the wife about her husband before being abducted. Reid eventually realized that Luke must have Capgras syndrome due to the car accident he was recently in.

JJ managed to get her hands on the highly classified mission file Luke Dolan had built the delusion in his head, Dorado Falls. Rossi offered to call him, long enough for Garcia to trace where he and the general are. After pinpointing the location, Hotch and Derek head out while Rossi read off from the Dorado Falls file.

Named after a boat off the coast of Cape Town owned by a South African diplomat who was selling nuclear secrets to Iran. Despite the successful mission, two young children were on the boat, and Dolan was forced to shoot—and kill—them as they were witnesses. Hotch and Morgan managed to find the general still alive, but no Dolan. Dolan would have recognized the FBI prefix on his phone, did his training, and could be on his way to Quantico. Garcia alerted them with the news of an FBI police officer that had been shot to death and realized he was already here at headquarters.

The team is on the phone with several people, trying to get the entire building on lockdown and further precautions with Dolan's expertise in explosives, disabling and building them.

After Reid, Rossi, JJ, Morgan, and other personnel were held hostage by Luke Dolan, Hotch looked at his youngest agent. "Do you want to take some time off?" Hotch asked Reid as they were in his office, recapping what happened thirty minutes ago. Hotch asked him, "How are you feeling?"

"This is not the first hostage situation I've been in." Reid shrugged his shoulders. "Or the first time a gun's been pointed at me." Reid thinks back to some of his most memorable situations where he had a gun pointed at him. From the LDSK to Tobias Hankel' from the Separatarian Sect to Owen Savage.

"You can take some time off," Hotch still offered that to him. "I mean it."

Reid nodded his head, "I'll think about it."

"Okay." Hotch went back to view files. "Good night, Reid."

Reid smiled a bit, "Good night."

"Oh, my sweetheart," Élise cuddled closer to Reid in their bed, stroking her fingers through his hair, "How are you feeling?"

Reid placed his hand over the left side of his face, "Exhausted."

"You know, I feel sorry for the unsub," Élise replied as Reid summed up what happened to him today and earlier tonight. "And to know he'll see them as imposters…." Élise shook her head. "Damn."

"I think that's the word to describe this case." Reid said, massaging between his eyes, "Hotch even said I could take some time off."

Élise asked, "Are you?"

"As I told him, this was not the first time I've been in a hostage situation or had a gun pointed at me." Reid kissed Élise's forehead. "But to be honest, I was scared I was never going to see you again."

Suddenly, they could hear Séraphine over the baby speaker; Élise grabbed the video monitor from the bedside and saw Séraphine awake but crying. Setting it back down, Élise pulled the comforters to the side, "Oh, I'll go take care of her."

"No-no," Reid offered to do so before pulling the comforters to the side, "I'll go. I need to hold her again." Reid rushed out of the bedroom and into her nursery. "Hey-hey-hey," Reid walked over to her crib and consoled her, "Daddy's here, honey. I'm here." Kissing her head, "I love you so much."

A/N: Get ready for the next chapter: Spencer's birthday!