A/N: Hello again, everyone!

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

The chapter takes place on Friday, December 6th, 2013, the day after the last chapter. I'll have it that the Bully episode case took place on Monday, December 9th, 2013.

Spencer was in the bullpen, looking up fun activities to do over the holiday season. Most of the other agents there were either focusing on their paperwork, watching the continuing news about the recent death of South Africa's former President, Nelson Mandela, the announcement of the U.S. President nominating Élise to be the country's next Attorney General, or multitasking.

Soon, his head snapped when he heard Blake greeting him. "Good morning, Spencer." She took her seat by him and watched the news.

"Oh, men like him don't come around," said Blake about Nelson Mandela. "Mag hy in vrede rus[1]. Did you know that 90 to 95% of Afrikaans derive from the Dutch?" asked Blake.

Spencer answered, "Yes, I did."

Blake continued. "It was developed by 17th century Dutch by European colony descendants, Khoisan people, and the African and Asian slaves at the Cape of Good Hope Dutch colony. Though Afrikaans and Dutch are similar, they are two entirely different languages."

"And now Afrikaans and English are two of South Africa's official languages," Spencer added. "But the country has come a long way with his leadership."

Blake had her arms crossed and smirked. "Yeah. And speaking of leadership…how was it at the press conference on Tuesday?"

Spencer sheepishly smirked. "It was…"

"BOY WONDER!"

Spencer and Blake turned again when they saw Garcia gallop in her wedged high heels with her tablet in her hands. "Boy wonder-boy wonder-boy wonder," she finally got to them at the desks.

"Spencer, your girl…ooh! She's still trending on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook; there are even some dedication pages to her already."

Garcia showed Spencer the Trending tab on Twitter; Élise was in the top three and trending with #USAG, #AttorneyGeneral, and #EGB.

"Wow." Spencer was still in awe with all the attention Élise had been getting since the nomination.

"She's not the only one getting all the attention," Garcia said, taking the tablet back, clicking on the Élise trend, and giving it back to him.

Spencer's jaw dropped when he noticed he was getting some of the attention as well. There were a bunch of links asking who Élise's husband was and what does he do.

"Looks like someone's in the spotlight now, pretty boy," said Morgan, who came up from behind with Rossi. "And for a good reason."

Spencer turned off the tablet and gave it back to Garcia. "Yeah, but you know how people in the media are, especially in the political world. They'll want to know everything about our lives, and when it comes to scandals, there's no going back and…"

"Everyone, conference room," said Hotch passing by; JJ and Cruz trailed behind him. Everyone followed suit and took their seats in the roundtable room. He announced, "The Director has asked us to help select some agents for Élise if she potentially becomes the next Attorney General."

Rossi asked, "When do we start?"

"He wants us to start today," answered Cruz; he looked around from the table and smirked at Spencer. "Congratulations, Dr. Reid, for your wife's nomination. And if anything, we've immediately provided absolute privacy and protection for both your immediate families. The Director made it clear that we'll protect you all from anything."

Spencer nodded his head once. "Thank you, sir. Please do tell the Director I appreciate the consideration and his kudos."

Rossi nudged Spencer's shoulder. "We saw those photos after the press conference of her with him concluded, and he definitely wants her as our next AG."

"How was it meeting the most powerful man in the world?" asked JJ.

Spencer shrugged his shoulders. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of him, the First Lady, and the Second Family."

Blake gasped. "You got to meet them?"

"Oh, tell us!"

"Were they nice?" Garcia asked sweetly. "And friendly?"

"And presidential?"

After dinner, Spencer and Élise were in bed.

"Oooh. There's a special holiday festival at the Smithsonian Museum," she pinged on her tablet before sliding it to Spencer, who set his book on the mahogany bed table. "We can see The Polar Express in 3D; there'll be book signings, trunk shows, food programs, origami ornament making."

"Remember the first time I showed off my origami skills to you after we first started dating?" Reid smiled when bringing up a memory, which made Élise also smile.

Élise got out the two purple and pink paper cranes Spencer crafted for her during an arts and crafts class from the bedtable drawer.

"Would you have believed I kept them after all these years?" Élise stared at them as if they were a distant memory.

"Then again, when have you not?"

From most of Saturday morning until late afternoon time, Spencer and Élise took the children to the Smithsonian Holiday Festival. They saw the 12-minute 3D screening of The Polar Express, watched performances from the U.S. Air Force, tasted some unique desserts from a former White House Pastry Chef, and got some autographed books.

After Sunday services, the family went to the D.C. Madame Tussauds, a prominent wax museum. They decided to split up; Spencer and Séraphine were at the President's Gallery, while Élise and Isaac were at the Civil Rights room.

"Hey, Fifi," Spencer tapped his daughter's shoulder and pointed to the wax figure of the first American President. "Who's this man?"

"Washinton!" Séraphine cheered.

Spencer smiled. "That is correct," he bopped her nose, making her giggle before pointing to another historical figure. "And this man? Who's he?"

"Sam!"

"Uncle Sam, but yeah." Spencer corrected but still praised her. "You're getting smarter and smarter every day, huh?"

Séraphine prattled, hugging him. "I goot it from yoo, daddy…"

"Woo tis maan, mama?" Isaac pointed at the prominent waxed figure.

Élise answered, "That man is Martin Luther King Jr. He fought for equality and justice for everybody, no matter their race or skin color, like that lady right there." she waved to another waxed figure. "Her name was Rosa Parks, and like Dr. King, she fought for equality and justice for all."

"Cooo!"

Élise brushed her fingers through his curly waves and wrapped her finger in a lock. "Oh, yes, Zig-zag, history is cool."

When they got home, Spencer and the rest of the team were called into Los Angeles on a case in response to an abduction of a middle-aged woman relating to a case the team's been working on before the weekend. In this case, women were abducted and murdered, and letters were found at each crime scene. The team concluded that the unsub was projecting his mother's image onto his victim, so he could be able to effectively lash out at her.

Reid and Rossi watched as the unsub's body—Edward Ray Stokes—was carried into the M.E.'s van and comforted Blake, who was non-fatally shot in her upper left arm with his revolver when she received a phone call from her father in Kansas City.

"Élise…"

Élise snorted, "Wha…?" she didn't even remember falling asleep again when she saw Rose standing before her with Séraphine and Isaac. Élise sniffed and rubbed her eyes with her palms. "What happened?"

Rose handed Élise her phone, and she answered it.

"Hey, Élise." Spencer was on the speakerphone.

Élise groaned, resting her hand on her semi-pounding head. "Hey, babe…"

Séraphine hopped on the bed and cried into the phone. "Hey, daddy…!"

Spencer chuckled. "Hey, Fifi. Sorry, but I have to fly out to Kansas City."

"'R yoo gooin' too see Dorathy and Toto?" Séraphine asked innocently.

Spencer laughed and amused her, "Yeah, you can say that. And if you're good, I'll bring you something, okay?"

"KK, daddy!"

Now the team was in Kansas City, Missouri, for a case brought in by Blake's father, a retired police captain, when a male jogger was found beaten to death and in women's underwear; the patient may also be connected to a similar one from the year prior with a couple.

Reid, Hotch, and Blake were on their way to the police station; Hotch was driving; Reid was in the front passenger's seat, and Blake was in the back. Reid read about the latest victims from the case files. "David Morrison was a novelist, Tommy Barnes, and Melissa Hawthorne high school students. No apparent connection between the victims, no matching DNA samples."

"And an entire year between kills," said Hotch.

Reid added, "You know, the underwear ritual may be about symbolic humiliation."

"Or a shock factor for whoever found the bodies." Hotch thought.

"Blake, did your dad say anything else about why he thinks these cases are connected?" Reid wanted her input on what she thought, but she didn't respond. "Blake?" Reid called out for her again.

Now Blake was alerted. "Yeah?"

"Everything all right?" asked Hotch, looking up in the mirror.

"Uh, yeah." Blake stammered. "Sorry. Just—I'm distracted."

"Perfectly understandable." Reid sympathized. "The familiar sounds, visual cues, even olfactory inputs, can trigger memories and emotions we thought were long gone. Happens to me every time I go home, too."

Hotch asked, "When was the last time you were back?"

"It's been like 56 days," Reid answered, thinking Hotch was talking to him.

"I was talking to Blake," Hotch said to Reid, who then made an Oh-gotcha face.

"Uh, it's been about 5 years," said Blake.

Hotch commented. "That's a long time."

Blake kept looking out the window. "Yeah, once I got out of Kansas City, I pretty much wanted to stay out."

"You know, Élise said the same thing when we drove to New Jersey for a Thanksgiving when she was pregnant," Reid spoke up again. "We've been to the state before, but for her, there was just something different that time. We even visited when she lived growing up, so I got why she wanted to leave. But Dorothy did say, 'There's no place like home.'"

"Mmm-hmmm…." Blake sounded indifferent.

Élise was in the playroom, helping the children pick up their toys and put them away.

"Good job, you two!" Élise cheered. "As a reward, you'll get seconds on desserts."

Séraphine and Isaac cried. "Yay!"

The following day, the team got word of another couple killing, both beaten to death, and the man in women's underwear. Garcia discovered that the male jogger, the couple killed the previous year, and the daughter of the latest victims connect to Jefferson High School, prompting them to give the profile to the Kansas City police department.

Reid took a quick break to take the time to call home. Finding a lone corner, he drew out his phone, dialed Élise's number, and waited for her to answer. She did after nine seconds.

"Hey, honey," Reid greeted her back warmly. "How are the kids?"

"Ah, they're watching Christmas specials," said Élise. "How's the case?"

Reid leaned back. "Interesting, especially when working with Blake's family. Who would have thought she came from a family of police officers?"

"Really?" Élise sounded impressed. "So, in a way, she followed them in their footsteps and got a Ph.D. along the way."

"I wonder why she never told us about them?" Reid asked himself.

Élise guessed, "Maybe she doesn't like talking about her family."

Reid shrugged his shoulders again.

Things went from bad to worse for Blake when her brother was beaten unconscious when interviewing a Jefferson High student, and something from his notes going her think about the most memorable event from that school: the suspected suicide of a student.

According to the daughter of the recently murdered couple, the student was an excessively bullied target, and her jock ex was involved in an incident where he made the bullied student wear women's underwear around the school; the teachers barely did anything, and the jocks didn't get in trouble.

Garcia got a name: Ronald James Underwood.

After dinnertime, Élise was in the living room watching A Chipmunk Christmas on ABC Family with the kids.

"Christmas, Christmas time is near," she and the kids sang along. "Time for toys and time for cheer. We've been good, but we can't last. Please Christmas, don't be late."

Reid had his hands in his pockets as he watched the victim be rolled into the ambulance and unsub dragged to the back of the police car. After JJ walked away from Blake, he decided to check up on her.

"Hey."

"Hey…" Blake chatted up before she winced. "Mmm…"

Reid asked, "How's the arm?"

Blake joked, "I'll still be alive and bulletproof, right?"

Reid inhaled deeply. "Cases like this bring back a lot of memories."

"I take it they're not the kind of memories you want to remember, right?" Blake tilted her head.

"You already know that me being a child prodigy in high school, I wasn't exactly popular or cool. Well…when I was twelve, I was in the library when Harper Hillman came up to me. She told me that Alexa Lisbon wanted to meet me behind the field house. She was the prettiest girl in school; I had a crush on her. She was there; she thought I was cute but wanted to meet me if I wore a blindfold. So was the entire football team. She took my shirt off, and the football team...they...uh... stripped me naked and tied me to a goal post. So many kids were there, you know, just watching. Nobody tried to stop them." Even though he told the story to Morgan and Élise, he was still hard for Spencer. "I begged—I begged them to, but they just—They just watched. And finally, they got bored, and they left. It was, like, midnight when I finally got home. And my mom didn't...my mom was having one of her episodes, so she didn't even realize I was late. I never told her what happened. And my dad wasn't around, so..."

Blake's mouth opened; her eyes were horrified. "Oh, God…Spencer…whatever happened to…?"

Reid sniffed. "When my Aunt Ethel and Uncle Gordon heard about it, they called the police, and the school principal and the football team, Alexa Lisbon and Harper Hillman, got arrested. They all not only got expelled, but they all either lost their scholarships or got rescinded by the colleges they applied to because of what they did to me. They're registered sex offenders with menial jobs. Harper and Alexa became strippers, can't have kids, and Alexa...committed suicide a few years ago."

"Did you have any friends…?"

Reid shrugged. "Unfortunately, Alexa's brother, Justin, had an afterschool job that day, but he would have done anything to stop it from ever happening."

"You're proof that you didn't let it define you when you became an adult," Blake commented.

Reid nodded in agreement.

The team stayed overnight and enjoyed Kansas City-style barbeque at the Miller residence before flying back to D.C.

"Honey, I'm back!" Spencer loudly made his presence known when entering the house.

Isaac toddled out of the living room and smiled when he saw his father. "Daddy…!"

Spencer squatted and gave his son a hug. "Hey, little man!" he pecked his head just as the two heard distant footsteps walking in the foyer.

"Daddy!" Séraphine had her arms out and hugged her father. "You're back!"

Spencer kissed her head. "Mmm-hmm…" he got back up and pecked Élise's lips.

"Do I smell Kansas City-style barbecue?" Élise had a mischievous smile on her face.

Spencer waved a bag in front of her.

"I love you."

Spencer gave her another kiss. "I know."

[1] Afrikaans: May he rest in peace