A/N: Hello again, everyone!

And welcome to the first chapter of Book Three: The Profiler and The Judge, due to Élise becoming a D.C. Circuit Judge.

First off, let me just say, let me just say it's great to be back to my CM stories after taking yet another sabbatical due to me (finally) finishing up Alternative (For)Ever After and giving myself some time from writing after Book Two to think about what I want to do for Book Three. And do I have plenty of ideas I want to do with this story.

I decided to do a bit of a time jump, two-to-three weeks after Brothers Hotchner/The Replicator, but it'll still be quite a bang due to a special event happening in this chapter and the next couple of chapters.

My apologies for the long note. I'll have my moments of being on and off, but I'll always be back when I have the mindset again.

Ready, set, BOOK THREE!

Previously on Criminal Minds…

"…a body was found in the desert outside Las Cruces, New Mexico..."

"A man had his leg amputated and replaced with the leg of someone else…"

"Someone's out there mimicking the crimes we've solved…"

"This is now an active case, which we'll be investigating along with our other cases…"

"…Hello. I'm still here…"

"Zug…zwang…"

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

"…Who sent it?..."

"Whoever it was...They knew you would be at home…"

"What if this is the Replicator?"

"You're victims now…"

"Erin…he's stalking this team…no one's gonna give it up…"

"I know…and neither will I…"

"…Of life, of love, and good people. This year it's the, uh, other side of that. Because, well...that's what families do..."

For the past one to two weeks…

Reid was on his computer in his home office library, placing and making some orders and arrangements for a special occasion coming soon and hiding it from Élise.

Élise was on her computer in her home office library, making plans and preparations for a special milestone coming soon and hiding it from Reid.

Days later…

The hint of sunrise that shined from the big window in their bedroom caused Reid and Élise to start to wake up. Groaning and grimacing her face a bit, Élise blinked her eyes a few times before she widened them open. Reid turned his body to the side and yawned, rosing and stretching his curved back.

Then they smiled when they faced each other.

"Happy third wedding anniversary."

They gave each other a loving lip lock.

Élise pulled Reid closer to her, cuddling him. "It's been three years since the day we said, 'I do.'

"And I got some big plans for us…" said Reid, glazing into Élise's dark brown almond-shaped eyes.

"As do I, love," Élise spiritedly tapped his nose and gave him another lip kiss. "A lot has happened these past few months."

Reid wasn't wrong about that. From a disgraced FBI agent stalking and replicating the crimes the team solved, him kidnapping Blake and murdering Strauss, to Diane also stalking as well as kidnapping and shooting Élise, resulting in a miscarriage and Élise leaving for an inpatient rehab hospital.

"It's nearly three weeks now," Élise massaged the back of her neck.

Reid ran his fingers through his hair and scratched a part on his forehead and an eyelash corner. "At least we got an extra week for our mandatory two weeks off."

"We got to spend our weeks with our children," Élise tugged his shoulders. "That's something."

Reid and Élise have been up for about ten minutes. They attended Rossi's dinner party honoring Strauss the night before. They were still in bed; Reid was reading Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers while Élise was on her tablet, checking on new recipes she wanted to try out.

Élise clicked on a link while Reid heard his phone vibrate on the bedside tablet. He got it and saw it was a text message from Hotch.

OUR MANDATORY TWO-WEEK VACATION STARTS TODAY AND HAS BEEN UPDATED TO THREE WEEKS BY THE HIGHER-UPS DUE TO STRAUSS' DEATH AND THE REPLICATOR. WE RETURN TO WORK ON JUNE 17TH.

He showed Élise the text message; Élise commented, "Wow."

Reid set it back and asked, "So, what do you want to do, now that we have three weeks?"

Élise stroked her chin. She clicked for a new link, typed vacation ideas on the browser, and clicked on another link for vacation ideas. "I'm not going to lie; I've always wanted to go back to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket."

Reid had just finished reading and looked at Élise with this weird look, and Élise started blushing.

"You've been to Nantucket?"

Élise answered quietly, "Just for a party with some summer associates," she continued reading. "Ooh! Maybe The Hamptons; I also went there for spring break with some acquaintances while I was at Harvard Law."

Reid snickered, putting on the book. "And I suppose you went to Palm Springs for spring break?"

"I did, yeah," Élise added. "And Big Sur and Montecito for a couple of weeks back in the summertime before starting work."

Reid replied, "You lived such an exciting life."

"So have you," Élise responded. "You can make your own adventures in your own backyard."

Reid raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting a staycation?"

Élise opened her mouth for a second but closed it, twisted it to the side and upward her eyes. "Not that I thought that, but okay. Plus, I think I need a break from traveling."

"And to be honest, I don't feel like going anywhere right now," Reid rejoined.

Reid heaved a loud sigh. "It was so needed."

Élise got out her phone and scrolled through her gallery, looking at the photos she had taken during the past two-three weeks. She suggested, nuzzling her head against his. "Let's use up all the time we have left,"

Reid kissed the top of her head. "Indeed."

"Happy anniversary."

"Okay…" Rose poured some freshly squeezed orange juice into a small purple child-sized cup and set Seraphine's breakfast in front of her: yogurt with granola, scrambled eggs, and oatmeal with cinnamon. "Here you go."

"Tank you, Ro," said Seraphine.

Rose soon walked over to Isaac in his highchair and gave him his breakfast. "And for you, little man."

"Ta ta," Isaac babbled and then giggled before taking a big handful of oatmeal and shoving it in his mouth.

Rose shook her shoulders, bracing off the chills and getting Opal's breakfast when she turned her body once she heard two sets of footsteps stroll in.

"Gooood morning, everyone!" Élise spread her arms out and smiled at the world.

Seraphine waved her flappy hand. "Moting!"

"Ahhh…" Isaac had a mouthful of food.

"Good morning," Rose was taking the pots off the stovetop when she strolled between Reid and Élise and whispered while giving Opal her breakfast, "Happy Anniversary."

"Thanks, Rose," Reid replied, expressing her gratitude. He sighed, rubbing his hands together when Élise took a seat at the table.

"Do you two know what today is?" she asked the children.

Seraphine chewed. "Wha…?"

"It's mommy and daddy's wedding anniversary," Élise squealed with her folded fingers.

Seraphine scratched her head and asked, "Wha 'hat?"

Reid stood beside Élise and answered, "It's the day mommy, and I got married and became a family."

"'Ike a birthday?" Seraphine asked again after swallowing.

Reid and Élise snickered to each other. "Yes. It's almost like a birthday, yeah. And speaking of birthdays…someone's birthday is coming up soon…"

Rose had her hands on her cheeks and gasped as if she didn't know whose it was. "Gee, I wonder whose birthday is coming soon…"

"Ziggy!"

Isaac burped.

"Now," Reid tapped the top of Élise's breakfast nook chair and made his way to the kitchen, rummaging for some ingredients. "I'm going to make mommy and me some Eggs Florentine, ricotta crêpes with honey, walnuts, and rose, and a nice breakfast berry parfait."

"Yay!" Élise clapped her hands, got up from her seat, and stood next to him. "And I'll help. I could be your test tester."

After the couple had their breakfast, Reid and Élise played with their children and Opal until it was time for their naps.

They decided to exchange their gifts in their bedroom.

Élise had her hand on her chest and then her cheeks. "Oh, my goodness…"

It was a three jewelry piece cultured pearl set from Mikimoto.

She fanned herself. "These are beautiful, like the ones we got from Japan during our honeymoon."

"Anything for my girl," Reid kissed her cheek and gave her another gift: a crystal figurine set of themselves on the day of their wedding. "The day we said, 'I do.'"

"Awww…" Élise gushed. "It's so pretty and glitzy…"

Reid gave Élise another kiss. "Like you…"

Élise smooched his lips, bopped his nose, and gave him another kiss.

Reid gifted her with Elizabeth Arden's Sunflowers fragrance and custom riding boots via Rossi's Italian shoemaker.

Now it was time for Élise to hand her anniversary gifts to Reid: mother-of-pearl cuff links and Star Wars crystal figurines from Swarovski.

But there was one gift Reid really loved.

"Wow," it was a leather cowboy hat. Reid put on his head and cried, "Yee-haw!"

Élise giggled at his excitement for his cowboy. "Well, I'm glad you like it…"

"I love it!" Reid grabbed Élise, passionately dip kissed her, and let her go. "Have I ever told you that if I wasn't an FBI agent, I'd be a cowboy?"

Élise giggled. "You, a cowboy?"

"Yeah," Reid began imagining his alternative life as a cowboy. "There would be lots of horses and cattle; I'd pet them and be surrounded by nature. You'd run a little flower shop in the middle of nowhere; Rossi has his saloon, and Garcia would run a sanctuary for wounded animals."

"That would be so Garcia," Élise laughed.

Reid ogled at himself in the mirror and asked, "What would you be in a past life?"

"I know I would be too short, but if I were like five-nine or above, a supermodel," Élise admitted.

Reid tightened his lips to the side. "A supermodel?"

Élise bit her bottom lip. "Mmm-hmm. I'd walk the runways of New York, London, Paris, and Milan. Be a muse for many designers and photographers, and grace the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle around the world. I'd retire to have a family and venture outside modeling. You'd be a philanthropist billionaire."

"We both have active imaginations," said Reid. "I love his hat!"

Élise announced. "Well, get ready because we got a surprise coming in the next hour."

And that surprise was a private horseback trail ride at Markley Ranch, a semi-family-owned acres-in-the-thousands working cattle ranch.

Dressed in jade color-and-white plaid shirts, long pants, closed-toe shoes, and a provided helmet, Reid and Élise spent the past ninety minutes riding through the serene woods, creeks and streams, pastures, and open valleys, ending with a picnic lunch.

After coming home, Reid and Élise showered and spent some time with the children, holding their own photo sections to celebrate their anniversary.

Rose was getting dinner ready for Seraphine and Isaac while Reid and Élise were getting ready to go out for their anniversary dinner.

Reid adjusted his new cufflinks while staring at his reflection in the floor-length mirror. He wore a jade green dress shirt he had just finished ironing with a matching tie, a gray suit Élise got altered, and new custom leather piped oxfords.

When Élise glided out of the bathroom, Reid released a wolf whisper.

She clad in a jade color designer jersey cocktail-style dress with Roger Vivier heels and an evening clutch. Her hair was pulled back and sleeked, and her makeup was fresh and donned on her new pearl jewelry set.

"Élise Gabrielle Bastien…you are just…" Reid beamed.

Élise blushed.

"This is going to be a nice way to end our third anniversary," said Élise, patting her hair back.

Reid asked, playing with his tie. "Have you ever been to The Palm D.C.?"

"When have I not?" Élise put on a fresh coat of lip gloss. After smacking her lips, she continued, "I've been there a few times. It's one of the steakhouse hotspots and popular with the old-school political tradition of the power lunch scene, where deals are made, bills are brokered, and a good meal can make negotiations run very smoothly."

Élise spritzed herself with perfume. "First time I went there, I was with some associates from the firm I was with before I got the U.S. Attorney offer, and we shared this four-pound lobster. It was very delicious."

Reid added, "The steaks and chops there are served Tuscan style; very rustic, simple, and fresh."

Élise teased, "Like you?"

Reid's cheeks turned a tad bit red. He looked at his watch. "Ooh! We better get going, or we'll miss our reservations."

Élise grabbed her embroidered gold shawl from her bed and hung it by her elbows, and Reid allowed her to exit first before descending the stairs.

Rose was in the living room, getting the kids and Opal ready for dinner, when they noticed Élise and Reid standing.

"Oooh…" Rose raised her eyebrows.

Seraphine giggled. "Pretay!"

Isaac babbled.

Opal barked before cuddling their legs.

"Now, don't be too late," said Élise before giving the children a loving hug and kiss. "Mmm…"

Reid kissed and hugged the children. "You all be good."

"Bah-bye…"

Élise wiggly waved as Reid guided them out the door. "Bye…!"

After parking their car, Reid and Élise walked towards a windowed building and into The Palm D.C. The restaurant had clean hardwood flooring, white covered tables, and richly smelled of steak, lobster, butter, and salt.

They approached the maître d' stand, and there was a middle-aged man with balding, short black hair and frames.

"Hello, and welcome to The Palm D.C.," said the head waiter.

Reid greeted him back, "Evening to you, sir. Reid?"

He looked at his book and gave two menus. "Follow me, please."

They followed him, and there were crowds of familiar faces, including powerful politicians, legendary journalists, and well-known celebrities.

Reid pulled out Élise's seat and gently pushed her in before taking his seat.

"Here are your menus," the maître d' gave them their menus and bowed his head before excusing himself.

Reid quickly glanced at the menu before taking the time to stare at the caricatured celebrity walls.

"So many famous faces have eaten here," Reid commented.

Élise nodded. "Most definitely. Imagine seeing one of our faces on these walls."

A lanky-looking waiter approached their table. "Welcome to The Palm D.C. What would you like?"

Élise looked at the menu and decided, "I'll have the Mixed Green Salad and the 8 oz Center-Cut Filet, please."

"Okay," the waiter shook his head and turned to Reid. "And for you, sir?"

"I'll have the same as my wife. And we'll share the Italian Herb Hand-Cut Fries."

"Any drinks from our award-winning selection of wine?"

Reid answered, "We'll take sparkling water."

The waiter took their menus before walking away.

"Wait until you have the steak," Élise kissed the tip of her fingers. "It's to die from. Absolutely delicious and mouthwatering."

Reid licked his lips. "No doubt I trust you."

Élise pressed her hands between her thighs. "This is nice; being out in public and not worrying about anyone watching us."

"These past few months really have been rough," Reid reached for Élise's hand across the table and patted it. "But we managed to get through it."

Élise gave him a small smile. "It's always great to have someone near and dear to be your forever and ever."

Their meals came. "'Til death do us part."

They clunked their drinking glasses and enjoyed their meals.

Two hours later, Reid and Élise came home, gave their children goodnight kisses before making their way to their bedroom, showered, and cuddled in bed together.

"Mmm…" Élise smooched his lips. "Now, this is a way to end a wedding anniversary."

Reid smooched her back. "Indeed."

"I love you," she kissed his nose.

Reid kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"And happy anniversary."

A/N: That was the first chapter! Get ready for more!