A/N: Hello again, everyone!

A shout-out to Quilter1993, fishtrek, and vermilion aura.

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

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

Warning: mention of a sensitive topic.

Get ready for the aftermath of one of the most infamous yet one of the most memorable Criminal Minds episodes of the series, Zugzwang, but in the Remix.

Previously on Criminal Minds…

"Hello."

"Zug…zwang."

"…In an endgame of chess, no matter what move the player makes, they're at a disadvantage, and it'll just get worse…"

"Ahhh!"

"Remember me now, bitch?"

"D-Diane…?"

"Ugh!"

"Please! Aim the gun at me!"

"You'd sacrifice yourself for her!?"

"Yes!"

"Don't do it, Spencer!"

"No…"

"WAIT…!"

BANG! BANG!

"ÉLISE!"

Reid hurried to his seriously injured wife's side after Diane indirectly shot Élise in her arm after she was shot in the chest.

"Get the medics in here!"

"E-E-Élise!" Reid could barely keep it together, nonstop tears flowing from his eyes and hysterically blubbering. "E-E-Élise...Lise…"

Though she knew it was never a good idea to move after being shot, a steadily breathing Élise, trying to reach out and caress Reid's cheek with her other hand, "H-H-H-Hey…"

"No-no…" Reid politely shushed her. "Please…Élise…"

"Spen…shh…" Élise whispered; a tear came from her eye, and she tried to smile. Soon, her eyes rolled off the back of her head. "Spen…"

Reid frantically shook his head. "No-no-no…you stay awake," he tearily pleaded to her. "Don't you dare close your eyes on me, Lise. Don't you close your eyes on me…please…" he snapped at his still-in-shock team. "WHERE IN THE HELL ARE THE GODDAMN MEDICS!?"

Soon enough, about a bunch of medics burst into the basement, a couple to tend to the corpse of Duane Timmons, a few loaded Diane onto a gurney, and most of them tended to Élise before loading her onto a gurney. Reid's knees shook him to the core and stared at his hands covered in Élise's blood. His head snatched up, clenched his teeth, and stormed up to the SWAT leader.

"Did you shoot her?!" he grabbed the man by his vest and got in his face. "DID YOU SHOOT MY WIFE!?"

"Reid!" Hotch and Morgan tried to pull Reid away. "Spencer!"

"Get off him!"

"We didn't shoot!" the SWAT leader insisted. "I did not give the command for anyone to shoot."

Finally, Hotch and Morgan pulled Reid away from him, but before a still held-by-them Reid growled. "Let's hope not," he showed them his bloodied hands. "Her blood will be on your hands if it is."

"Go be with Élise." Hotch commanded Reid and everyone else, "Search every other part of the building."

Reid pulled himself away from the team and ran outside while they searched. He saw Élise being loaded into an ambulance.

"Doctor…" a paramedic called out for him. "We gotta go!"

Reid immediately jumped into the ambulance and sat down on a nearby bench; one of the paramedics soon started examining him.

"Spen…" Élise respired; she felt a light from above.

"Élise…eeh!" Reid groaned through the pain in his shoulder.

A paramedic tried to jerk him back onto the bench by his chest gently. "Doctor, you need to sit back."

"Élise…" Reid panted, and his eyes widened when he noticed something leaking from the leg of Élise's black pants.

"Doctor…?" another paramedic noticed Reid's shocked face. "Doctor…"

They noticed what Reid noticed.

Blood.

The paramedic said to the driver, "Put a rush on it!"

Everyone anxiously waited for the news about Élise in one of the private waiting rooms at Georgetown University Hospital as she was still in surgery. Rossi and Morgan stood for a while and grabbed some water from a nearby cooler while most of the team, especially Reid, sat.

Reid practically froze in his seat.

"SPENCER!"

"WAIT…!"

Pressing his fingers to his head and flashbacks began playing…

"ÉLISE!"

The downside to having an eidetic memory that the memory of Élise being shot in front of him is knowingly going to haunt him forever.

"Spen…"

Élise being rushed into the surgery room with her eyes rolled to the back of her head, that mask over her mouth, and the number of doctors preparing her. He released a shaking breath, fearing this was going to be his last memory of his wife.

"Luv you, mommy."

Was that going to be Séraphine's last official memory of her mother?

"I love you, sweetie…"

He knew Isaac was too young to remember that would be his late official memory of his mother. This entire nightmare was making him sick to his stomach. And yet, he also knew that the worst part was that Élise could have told him all this.

He tells her everything, from his job to the cases he and the team work on, even some of the most tragic ones and the one where someone was replicating the crimes the team solved over the past few months, and yet she couldn't tell she was being stalked. And by someone from her past.

And now look where they are now.

He put those thoughts on hold when a middle-aged man in blue scrubs approached the team.

"Dr. Reid," he looked at his clipboard.

Reid immediately stood up and fixed himself up. "That's me. How's my wife?" the anxieties were eating inside him.

"She's in stable condition," The doctor breathed. "And I will say this; she was incredibly lucky with that .45 caliber. The bullet went past close between her branchial artery and almost nicked the veins there and her humerus, but we got it."

The team, especially Reid, let out relief sighs.

"Oh, thank God."

The doctor added, "We're going to keep her here overnight for observation; check for nerve damage and to let her rest."

Garcia patted her chest, "Oh, God," she wiped her eyes and fanned herself. "Oh, thank you, God. I say we got to the gift shop. Get something to make Élise heal faster."

"And get some food and coffee while we're at it," Blake suggested.

Rossi agreed, "That, too."

Reid took a few steps, hoping to get Élise something before the doctor stopped him. "Uh…Dr. Reid?"

Reid turned. "Hmm?"

"When you have the chance, may we talk in private?" the surgeon insisted.

Reid shook his head. "Mm-hmm, yes."

The surgeon walked away just as the private door burst open. There were Élise's parents, brother, and sister-in-law. Their faces had panic written all across their faces.

"Hey…"

Ms. Geneva was not in the mood for pleasantries. "W-what happened?" she panted, collapsing in the nearest chair with her hand to her chest. "What the hell happened to my daughter!?"

"Is she okay?" asked Mr. Micha.

Brenda sighed, "How's Élise?"

"She's gonna be fine," said Reid. "She's in stable condition and is now resting."

"How the hell did this happen?" Arthur stomped towards him and stared Reid down in the eye. "How could you let this happen!? How the hell is it we had to find out now!?" he pushed Reid, almost making him trip.

Brenda got between the two. "Arthur, cool it!"

"THAT'S MY SISTER, B!" Arthur's voice raised and cracked. "That's my little sister sitting on that hospital bed and..." he stopped himself. "I need some air. Excuse me," Arthur stormed out; Brenda, Mr. Micha, and Ms. Geneva followed.

Reid fixed his cuffs and let out a shaky sigh. "I'm going to see what the doctor wants," he said to Hotch before leaving. Soon enough, he saw the surgeon, and he motioned Reid to come to him.

And walking out of Élise's room was a petite nurse with a somber look on her face.

Reid puffed his chest up, deeply inhaled, and exhaled when he entered Élise's hospital room. She was coolly sitting back in her bed with a purple cast over her left upper arm, sterile strips over her left eyebrow, a couple of tiny scratches on her cheeks, and both yellow and pink hospital bands on her left wrist.

Élise gently lifted her head a bit. "Mmm…" she smirked a bit when she noticed Reid standing by the door, with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, love."

Reid walked closer to her perked a smirk as well. "How are you feeling?"

"Mmm," she planted her palm on her head. "Like I've been in a fight and then got shot." Élise chuckled for a moment. "But at least I'm alive, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Reid nodded. "The good news is that Opal's alright; the kids are with Anderson and Sharp. I just called Rose, and she's flying back as soon as she could."

"Oh," Élise sighed. "I owe them big time. And I owe Opal for the rest of my life." her smirk turned to a concerned mouth and grew worried. "What's wrong?"

Reid bit hard on his bottom lip and sharply exhaled. "I-I-I…I don't know how to tell you this…"

"Oh, come on," Élise's eyes now grew worried. "Spen, you can tell me."

This was literally going to be the hardest thing Reid had ever done since committing his mother to Bennington when he was eighteen. He inhaled and exhaled again before he whispered what he had to say in Élise's ear.

"No…"

And seeing Élise on the brink of tears made Reid burst into tears himself as he nodded his head.

"Oh…oh…Spen…"

The couple pulled into an emotional hug.

Dark clouds loomed over Reid; the only things missing were the pouring rain and lighting. But his red, damped eyes were enough. Especially when the surgeon and the nurse walked with him to Élise's room and were told the most devastating news anyone could ever receive.

He emptily and blankly stared as he stepped out of Élise's hospital room and down the wing; his feet were more like dragging him. Reid didn't want to leave Élise, but she wanted him to get her something to eat and drink and desperately needed to be alone for a few minutes. He couldn't stop his mouth from trembling.

Soon, he saw Hotch on the phone.

"Okay, thank you." Hotch got up and saw Reid approaching. "So, local police and SWAT haven't found anything yet connecting the gun that was used to shoot Diane to make her use Élise and…"

Soon, he noticed Reid's miserable look and asked, "What's wrong?"

Reid opened his mouth, and before he could say something, the team burst in, jabbing and carrying lavish presents and food and coffee from hardly having anything.

"Hey, Reid," Garcia smiled and pointed to a jumbo-sized floral-themed Get Well Soon card. "We got Élise a card and some pretty balloons. Personally, I had a tough time choosing between the sunflowers, roses, and so many pretty ones, so I got one of every single that they…had…"

When Reid walked away from them, Garcia's and everyone's smiles and smirks turned to open or straight-line mouths. He didn't even bother to hear that Hotch bluntly told them to go home, leaving them confused but understood his order.

Reid stopped at Élise's hospital door and sighed heavily. The waterworks were coming again. Hearing footsteps coming towards him and stopped. Reid turned, and Hotch stood next to him.

"Aaron…"

Hotch prepared himself for what Reid might have to say to him.

Shakingly exhaling, Reid mustered up and shuddered, "Élise had a miscarriage."

Hotch didn't know what to say.

"We lost our unborn child."

A supportive Hotch pulled Reid into a manly hug and allowed him to cry for the loss of his and Élise's unborn child.