A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

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

Reid and Élise decided to take Séraphine and Isaac to Louis, a well-known D.C. restaurant, for Sunday brunch.

"Come on, sweetheart," Reid let Séraphine set inside first as he held the door for them; he then let Élise come in with Isaac in the stroller seat. They walked up to a white podium with a middle-aged man in a long-sleeve button shirt and jacket, dress pants, polished loafers, and parted hair.

"Good morning. How may I help you this morning?"

Élise asked, "Table reserved for Bastien-Reid and Donovan-Putnam?"

The maître d' looked down at his schedule. "Let me…yes." He picked up some menus and escorted the family to their seats, located privately away in a corner. "Here you are."

"Thank you, sir." Élise expressed her gratitude, and she and Reid are given are their menus.

"Here you go, honey," Reid helped Séraphine into her seat. He opened the menu and allowed Séraphine to take a look, asking her, "So, do you want to? You want pancakes? Waffles?"

"Waffas!" Séraphine pointed to what she wanted.

"Waffles!" Élise playfully mimicked her as she was getting Isaac from the stroller seat and held him in her arms. "You want waffles for brunch?"

Séraphine cheered, "Yea!"

"Here you are."

Reid and Élise looked up when they saw Maeve and Bobby escorted by the maître d' to their seat.

"Thank you, sir," said Maeve to the maître d' as she sat across from Élise and helped BJ into his seat.

Bobby greeted the Bastien-Reid family as he carefully took Charlotte from her stroller seat, "Hey, family!"

"Hi, Bobby," replied Élise before she finger-waved to Charlotte. "Hey, Charlie! How are you doing?"

Charlotte gurgled, and her blue eyes sparkled.

"I swear, Maeve, those blue eyes of hers are sooo blue like a sapphire." Élise tittered.

Reid blurted a fact. "Actually, did you know that blue sapphires go back to ancient Rome and Persia and Middle Ages times? Europeans in the Middle Ages believed that sapphires cured eye diseases and preserved chastity, and they symbolized nobility and faithfulness?"

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Bobby exclaimed as he bounced Charlotte on his knee.

"You know, I've always wanted a sapphire ring like Lady Diana's; may she rest in peace." Élise gushed as she looked over the menu. "I read it's a Ceylon sapphire, and it came from Sri Lanka." Élise snapped her fingers. "What if we go to Sri Lanka and do some sapphire hunting? I know a colleague whose spouse is a lapidarist and occasional jewelry-maker and gem hunter."

Maeve asked Bobby, "Have you ever thought about taking another vacation, babe?"

"Maybe we should take one this upcoming summer." Bobby thought as he began feeding Charlotte. "I read Spain is a good place to travel with kids. Or maybe Italy."

Élise nodded. "Sounds fab." She turned her head and asked Reid, "Want to go on vacation again, bunny?"

"I wouldn't mind another vacation," said Reid.

Soon, the adults noticed a young man approaching their tables. He asked, "Hello. May I take your order?"

"Hello." Reid and Élise decided to order first. "We'll have Belgian waffles, French toast, a small bowl of berries, orange juice, and cinnamon rolls."

"Okay." The waiter got that down. "And what would you like to have?"

Maeve and Bobby looked at the menu for a little bit longer before deciding, "We'll have muffins, scones, and we'll also take berries, orange juice, and cinnamon rolls."

The waiter took their menus and assured them their orders would be ready momentarily. Reid, Élise, Maeve, and Bobby continued their conversation; Élise started with, "So, what have y'all been up to?"

Maeve answered, "So, I got in touch with an old friend from mine from university, Tanya Randall. She's worked for a science company as a consultant. She just came back from California working on some short films for some companies, and she's agreed to help me with the illustrations for the book."

Élise's mouth dropped, and she gasped. "That's so cool, Maeve. Kudos." She waved her hand to Bobby. "What about you, Bobby? How's work-life treating you?"

"Nothing much happening for me," Bobby now placed the yellow pacifier in Charlotte's mouth. "Though my company is in negotiations with VR Gaming."

Reid pursed his mouth. "Ooh. That sounds interesting, Bobby."

"As I said, they're in negotiations, so nothing happening yet." Bobby shrugged. "So, what's been going on with you?"

Reid shook his shoulders. "Work is work."

"Same here," Élise waved her hand in the air in agreement. "But at least our kids are keeping us occupied, right?" She tickled Isaac's belly, making him giggle.

Polite laughter ensured the group; Élise's smile soon started to disappear little by little when she saw a Caucasian man staring at her from across a table, and her eyes widened. Reid soon noticed Élise's blank stare and tapped her shoulder. "Élise?"

Élise flinched when she felt Reid's touch on her shoulder. "Huh?"

Startled by her jumpy reaction, Reid asked concerningly, "Are you okay?"

Élise glanced back and saw no one there. Blinking her eyes and rubbing her goosebumps hands, she tried to brush it off. "Oh, yeah." She cleared her throat and tried to assure him as their meals came with a closed-lip smile. "I'm fine, babe."

"Are you sure, Lise?" Maeve soon asked. "You almost look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm sure," Élise brushed it off. "Really, y'all."

Everyone soon enjoyed their meals, though Reid and Maeve glanced at each other and then Élise, worried about her.

After brunch, the two families decided to meet up again for Sunday church services.

Nighttime came, and Élise was on her phone, reading an article on what to do on Halloween before going to another link for suggested Halloween costumes.

When Reid walked in, she looked from her phone, already in a long sleeve knitted shirt and pants. He sighed exhaustingly when he got into bed. "I got Fifi and Ziggy asleep."

"And now it's time for us to sleep as well." Élise placed her phone on the bedside table and pressed her head against the plushy pillow as she lay down.

Reid's been keeping it in since brunch, even during dinner, so he straightforwardly asked Élise, "Is there something bothering you? Or someone?"

Startled by Reid's question, Élise asked back, "What do you mean?"

Reid moved his shoulders. "Since brunch, I…I-I don't know; I-I-I just been sensing something wrong with you and I…" He moved his hand back and forth, trying to get the words out, but he couldn't. "I just don't know."

"You're such a profiler, bunny," Élise joked, taking his hand and kissing his palm, firmly assuring him. "But I'm fine."

"Saying 'you're fine' is not the same as 'being fine,' honey," Reid meant what he said. Speaking from personal experience, no matter how many times one says they're fine, they really aren't. "Seriously…you can tell me anything. Okay?"

Élise answered his question with a kiss goodnight.

"Whoo!" Élise dashed into the breakfast nook, fidgeting with her black suit jacket. Flipping her hair, "Sorry, everyone, morning." She quickly kissed Reid's lips, Isaac's head as he was feeding her, and Séraphine's head. "And thanks, Rose," Élise patted Rose's shoulder.

"Anytime, Élise," said Rose as she placed Séraphine's breakfast plate. "Big meeting?"

"Yup," Élise took a piece of toast and took a big bite before pouring coffee into her mug. "I want to be early; you know how I am about punctuality." She took a few more bites before rummaging through the freezer and poured some frozen berries in a small glass bowl.

Reid agreed as he finished his pancakes and fed Isaac. "Mm-hmm." He dabbed his mouth and drank some orange juice. "Hey, Zig-Zag. Did you have a good breakfast?"

Isaac burped and then laughed, making everyone laugh and giggle.

Reid was reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four at his desk when he saw and noticed his phone ringing. He looked at the caller ID, and his eyebrows lowered a bit and twisted his mouth to the side. He pressed the call and placed the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Spencer."

Reid was surprised to hear Maeve. "Hey, Maeve. How are you doing?"

"I'm good," answered Maeve. "Sorry if I bothered you at work."

Reid assured her, "Don't worry; it's okay. Is everything okay with you?"

"Oh, yeah," Maeve chuckled. "Everything's great. It's Élise. I've been worried about her since yesterday at brunch."

"Same here," Reid sighed. "Something's bothering her; I just don't know what it is."

Maeve agreed. "Yeah; something, someone, enough that it spooked her into silence. I don't want to push her, or she'll close off, you know?"

Reid leaned back in his seat and scratched his eyelids. "Yeah. If there's anything else, I'll let you know, okay?"

"Okay. Have a good day."

Reid laughed quietly. "I'll try and same with you, Bobby, BJ, and Charlotte." He and Maeve hung up and quickly finished up a chapter when he saw everyone else heading to the bullpen, and they discussed a case in New Mexico about two male victims—one deceased and one recently found alive—who had their right leg removed.

Élise's meeting concluded when she noticed her phone vibrating in her hand. Quickly answering it, "Hello?"

"Hey, honey."

Élise smiled. "Hi, bunny. I take you're calling me that you not only love our family and me, but you have a case out-of-state."

"New Mexico."

Élise sighed. "Okay. Make sure you're safe, or that unsub will have to deal with me."

"Okay," Reid giggled. "Take good care, okay?"

Élise exhaled again, knowing it was about what happened to her yesterday. "Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." Élise hung up and made it back to her judges' chambers when she saw a white envelope sitting on her desk. Using a Bakelite letter opener to it, Élise soon pulled the letter out of the envelope and read it.

All typed capitalized, the letter read I'M WATCHING YOU BITCH!

Élise immediately flashed back to yesterday morning when she saw that man in the restaurant.

Shakingly gasped, Élise tossed the letter on her desk and placed her hand on her throat when she abruptly felt this tightness.

Somebody was watching her.

After consulting more about the case on the plane, Reid and JJ headed to the M.E.'s office to examine the first victim's corpse, and judging by the amputation; they deduced the unsub has medical training and anatomy knowledge.

Gathering back with Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and Blake, they concluded that the unsub sees themselves as a scientist. The victims are his test subjects, and he's experimenting with their legs.

Now on her lunch break, Élise quickly grabbed her cell phone and held the phone to her ear when it began ringing.

"Hello?"

Élise whispered, making sure no one heard her talking to her DOJ source. "Hey there. Uh, did you process the note I got this morning?"

"Yes. And it was clean. No prints nor DNA. I even had it checked out twice."

Élise groaned. "How about security camera footage?"

The DOJ source replied, "The footage was compromised, so nothing. I'm so sorry, Élise."

Élise felt like kicking or punching the walls. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. What do I do now?"

"I'll keep trying again, and if I were you, I'd keep close to the Marshal, okay?" Her DOJ source advised her.

Élise placed her hand over her face and sighed, "Fine."

"Maybe you should tell your husband and his team…"

"No!" Élise cried. "I won't put them in the middle of this. I need to handle this on my own. Let me know if you have more info, okay?"

"Okay."

Élise hung up her phone, tossed it into her bag, and continued walking, trying to remain calm.

Reid and Morgan walked out of the M.E.'s office after seeing the corpse of another male victim and knew it was time to give the profile to the Albuquerque Police Department. Reid groaned again when he rubbed his eyes.

"You okay?" Morgan concerningly asked. "Are you having another migraine?"

"Yeah," Reid sniffed and cleared his throat. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that," said Morgan. "You know, you can talk to me or any one of us about it anytime, right?"

Reid quickly answered, "Yeah." He sniffed again. "Thanks for saying that."

They soon met up with everyone else to deliver the profile.

"Okay, my little Zig-Zag," Élise breathed. "It's time to beddy-bye-bye." Élise gently laid him on his back, and every little bone in her body melted when he squeaky yawned. "Oh, you adorable little boy." She tickled his cheeks before kissing his head. "Sweet dreams."

She blew him a kiss as she left the room. Pressing her back against the door, Élise closed her eyes for a moment, inhaled, and exhaled. She hurried to the front door to ensure the security alarm was armed, checked to see all the windows were locked and double-checked on Séraphine and Isaac.

Resting her hand on her heart, Élise made it to the master bedroom.

"Whoa!" She jumped when she heard a buzzing sound but calmed down when she realized her phone was vibrating. Answering it, "Hello?"

"Hey," Reid greeted her. "You sound exhausted and out of breath."

Élise scratched her eyes, trying to think of something. "Just feel a bit tired. Long day at work."

"Oh, well, just called to see how you're doing," said Reid. "Make sure you dream of me, and I'll do the same for you."

Élise giggled. "You're so adorable. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Élise hung up and collapsed her body against the plush bed. Now all she has to do is get some seriously needed sleep, and perhaps what happened to her at work will be a faded memory.

Maybe.

The team got word of another victim, but this time, a woman whose left leg was replaced with another woman.

Reid decided to use outsider help and called Maeve to get her input on why the unsub is switching to women.

Because the men were test runs, and now the unsub is ready for the real run-on.

And with her help, the team managed to find the unsub, John Nelson, and rescue the other victim.

Reid was finishing up another chapter of The Sign of Four when Morgan sat in front of him on the plane ride home.

"Hey, pretty boy," said Morgan.

Reid replied without looking up from his book, "Hey."

Morgan wondered, "How is it that your consultation helped us with a major break in the case?"

"I have good connections," Reid responded.

Morgan let out a chuckle before changing the topic. "You and Élise doing good these days?"

"More so than you," Reid retorted.

"Well, keep on playing, playa," Morgan laughed and made kissing sounds.

"Spencer! Élise!" Maeve opened the door, holding BJ's hand.

Reid and Élise stepped into the Donovan-Putnam household with Séraphine and Isaac, and they saw Bobby feeding Charlotte on the couch in the living room.

Letting go of BJ's hand and letting him play with Séraphine and some toys set up for them, Maeve asked as she sat next to Bobby, "What are you doing here?"

"We love seeing you all. And to give you and Bobby this." Élise handed Maeve a red-covered-and-yellow-ribbon-wrapped present.

"Oh, what's this?" Maeve playfully wondered as she opened it, and her mouth dropped. "It's a gift certificate."

Élise added, "To The Inn at Little Washington, one of the best restaurants in the D.C. metro area."

"As a thank you for helping me during the case," Reid mentioned.

Maeve blushed. "Aw, thank you, you two." She lovingly hugged them. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends."

"Same here."

Unbeknown to the Bastien-Reid and Donovan-Putnam families, someone was taking photographs of Élise.

"Only the beginning, bitch."