A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. I've decided to do something different for this chapter: taking the Christmas and New Year's chapters and molding them into one.

It was that time of the year in metro D.C.: the holiday season. The time for drinking, eating, and being merry. The time of giving and gathering to parties and traditions. Holidays from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa, from the Winter solstice to Yule, and especially Christmas and New Year's.

It started for Spencer and Élise, from picking the "perfect" Christmas tree to decorating the entire house—interior and exterior—with the twinkling lights and the wreaths. They recently finalized their guest list, Christmas meal menu, cards, and photos, presenting shopping and wrapping.

Even the team has already started its holiday season. Blake would be spending her holidays with her husband in Boston; Rossi declared and quoted 'had enough snow' for a while and went overseas to Italy to visit family; JJ and Will took Henry to New Orleans; Morgan took Garcia to Chicago to see his family; Hotch and Jack to New York to see Beth.

Spencer got off the elevator and had bags with wrapped presents. After seeing Séraphine and, to a certain extent, Isaac trying to sneak a peek at them, he needed to find a safe place to hide them. And that place was Élise's office.

He knocked on the door three times and came in when he heard Élise telling him he could. When he opened the door and closed it behind him, Élise was at her desk, looking at her white notecards; she's been looking at them since after breakfast—three hours ago.

Spencer hid the presets in a closet across from her desk. "Figure I hide these presents here until I find a way to stop our little elves from taking a peek inside them."

Without looking up, Élise mumbled, "Mmm-hmm…"

"I got word from Rose; she landed safely in Connecticut and is on her way to her older brother's place." Spencer looked at his cell phone. "She called it an exact replica of the Gilmore mansion from this show called Gilmore Girls."

"Mmm-hmm…" Élise still hasn't looked up.

"Aunt Ethel will be here with the rest of the family, and we can pay her to do the cooking and cleaning, and she can live with us for the new year.

Élise read another notecard. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Spencer knew it; Élise wasn't even listening to it. He paraded over to her desk and snatched the notecards from her hands.

"Hey!" Élise cried out and had her hands opened. "Uh, I was…"

Spencer interrupted her. "Lise…Christmas will be coming in a few days. Please, can you put that aside and focus on our family?"

Élise scratched her hair. "Sorry, I'm just nervous about this whole giving my testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee…"

"Which is in January…" Spencer reminded her. "You have more than enough time to prepare for it. All you're doing is working yourself to death, especially during a time like Christmas. Now, do you want to do that to yourself, me, our families, and our children?"

"Mmm…" Élise massaged her temples. "I'm tired from memorizing everything I wrote." She picked herself up from her chair. "

Spencer smiled when he put the cards away. His face scrunched a bit when he spotted a green glass bottle among her things. He picked it up, and it read Sparkling Natural Mineral Water.

"You keep a bottle of sparkling water in your drawer?" asked Spencer.

Élise retorted back, "Would you rather I keep whiskey or Scotch?"

"What's up, everyone!" Élise greeted the entire Carney and Reid families; she allowed the women to step into the house first and the men afterward. She asked as she typed in the security code, "How's everyone doin'?"

John set his and Melissa's luggage down. "We're good."

"Christmas! Christmas!" Sabrina cheered while jumping up and down. "Christmas! Christmas!"

Élise pointed back to the kitchen. "Well, sandwiches, paninis, chips, and juice boxes are on the countertop, so help yourselves."

"Oh, thank you, Élise." Melissa sighed in relief, allowing Sabrina and Samuel to lead her into the kitchen and follow behind them. "I'm getting quite hungry."

Élise had her hands on her waist. "So, how is it in the Sin City?"

"Don't say that about Las Vegas, Élise." Aunt Ethel wagged her finger when she got in the middle between Élise and John. "I've never been a fan of how Las Vegas is called the Sin City. Or even the City of Sin. Or Hot Vegas…"

Élise's offset eyes caught Nathan wagging his finger and mimicking Ethel, making Gordon, Anna, and even John and Élise snicker a bit. Ethel turned her head around, and Nathan scratched his short dark hair, looking oblivious around the foyer. "You know, I love what you did to the house; it reminds me of Home Alone vibe with the lights and…"

Ethel lowered her eyes and shook her head with disapproval, prompting him to be quiet and look oblivious again.

Diana got settled in her room, and Spencer and William had just walked in after about thirty minutes, making sure she was okay.

"Oh, Spencer. I love spending time with you, Élise, Fifi, and Ziggy." Diana gushed. "These are the kind of things you don't ever take for granted."

"Because you never know how good you had it until it's gone," William added.

Spencer vowed, "I won't."

Now it was almost dinner; Ethel and Gordon got the dinner ready while Élise and Anna were setting up the dining room table. The men watched the children watching a Dora the Explora Christmas special in the living room; Opal was taking a nap.

"Feliz Navidad." Séraphine started singing and clapping along. "Feliz Navidad."

Sabrina joined in. "Feliz Navidad, prospero año y Felicidad…"

"So, where does Sabrina attend go again?" Nathan asked, sipping some hot chocolate.

John answered, "The Meadows School; it's the best private school in the state."

"My siblings and I attend private school," said Nathan. "What about you?"

John explained, "My parents, especially my mother, wanted us to have a Christian education, so she enrolled us in Trinity Academy."

"I attended public school and…it was…" he leaned forward and whispered to make sure the children didn't hear, though they were more focused on the Christmas special. "Hell."

"Oh, Lord…" John blew a sigh. "I remember that day with the you-know-what."

Nathan lifted an eyebrow. "I take it there's a story in here somewhere…?"

"You already know I'm a child prodigy who graduated high school at twelve, right?" Spencer scratched an eyebrow and forehead.

"Yeah…"

Spencer huffed. "I was in the library when the most popular girls wanted to meet up with me. I wore a blindfold, and uh…the entire football stripped me naked and tied me to a goal post. So many kids were there, you know, just watching and laughing at me. Nobody tried to stop them. Or help me, even though I begged them. When they got bored, they left me there, and it wasn't until midnight when I finally got home. My parents…" Spencer shook and scratched his head again.

John continued, "When my parents heard about it, they got the police involved, and to say my mom freaked would be an understatement."

Nathan smirked and couldn't help but ask, "Did she swear?"

"Cursed out everyone." John almost laughed. "Principal Clark, the teachers, the cheerleaders, the football team, the bystanders who did nothing, their parents and guardian. I think she made some of the football players cry and wet their pants. I'm not going to lie; I wanted to get it all on camera; watch it over and over and laugh every time."

"I hope they got what they deserved," Nathan had another sip.

Spencer spoke up again. "Oh, they did, alright."

"No one deserves to be bullied like that," Nathan commented. "I had a few bullies in my life growing up, but I scared them away with my Korean martial arts."

John gaped. "You studied martial arts?"

"Black belt in Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Tang Soo Do. Mom thought it would build up our self-esteem, character, mental state, and self-defense, so…"

"I knew there was a reason I was scared to kick your butt when you…"

A voice trilled from the kitchen and echoed into the foyer, dining room, and living room. "Dinner's ready!"

Spencer, Nathan, and John gathered the children and followed them into the dining room; everyone had just sat down, and the dining room suddenly smelled like cheese and roasted vegetables as Ethel brought out the lasagna dinner that was in the ceramic pan and placed it in the middle of the table.

Gordon carried two ceramic pans with the salad and cheesecake pie dessert and placed them between the lasagna; drinks were already set up on the table.

After grace was said, everyone chowed down and talked about what they could do around the D.C. area for Christmas and New Year's.

For the next few days, all families went to a bunch of holiday shows and special events: The Twelve Days of Christmas at the Adventure Theatre, A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre, Christmas at Mount Vernon, and The Nutcracker.

Élise strolled through the gallery of new pictures of her family in St. Croix before showing them to Spencer.

"Looks like they're having a ball of a time," Élise commented.

Spencer had another stroll through and wondered, "You know, some people prefer to spend Christmas where it's warmer."

"Ever thought about having another warm Christmas and New Year's again?" asked Spencer. "Maybe somewhere other than Las Vegas every now and then…?"

Élise pulled Spencer closer to her and cuddled. "We can make it warm right now…"

Spencer blushed, getting what Élise meant.

Spencer took photos of Diana playing with Isaac.

"Who's grandma's favorite grandson?" Diana pinched his cheeks. "Mmm…who's grandma's favorite grandson?"

Isaac pointed to himself. "Me!"

"Ah! Yes, you are."

"Wow!" Sabrina's jaw dropped when she, Séraphine, Isaac, and Samuel saw the cookie boxes that were stacked over each other.

Melissa pulled out a fresh batch of cookies from the oven and set them on the counter. "Like what you see here?"

Sabrina sprinted to the cookies. "I want one…"

"Ah-ah." Melissa tugged her hand away. "You have to let them cool for a few minutes."

Sabrina sighed and folded her arms, following Séraphine.

"The bags in the pantry are a go…" said Spencer; Élise was with him. "Gordon, Nathan, and John are loading them into the cars."

"Whatcha doin'?" asked Séraphine in an innocent tone.

Spencer squatted to her height. "You see, Fifi, not everyone gets to have a roof over their heads, food on the table, and clothes on our back, so we donate food, clothes, what we have to those who are less fortunate."

"Waz's 'hat?" Samuel rubbed his head.

Melissa explained, "Donating means giving something you don't need or want anymore to someone else."

Sabrina raised her hand. "That's something we did in school before Thanksgiving…I gave away a couple of my old toys."

Élise clapped her hands. "That is a great idea; you kids can donate some of your old toys to children who don't have them as well as you."

"Can we start right now?" asked Sabrina.

Spencer shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"

Melissa led the children out of the kitchen but quickly returned to grab some cookies.

After dinnertime, everyone gathered around the Christmas tree, and since it was Christmas Eve, the adults decided to let the children open one toy; Sabrina went first, and it was a present from Ethel and Gordon.

"Yay!"

It was an Elsa doll set that came with different outfits, wigs, and accessories.

"Thank you!" she hugged her grandparents; afterward, John kissed her head, and Melissa kissed her cheeks. "I'm gonna love it so much!" soon, her eyes beamed when she saw snow gradually falling. "It's snowing!"

"Wait until tomorrow; there'll be enough snow for you to build a snowman."

Soon Sabrina started singing Do You Want to Build a Snowman from Frozen.

"WAKE UP!"

Spencer and Élise were invaded by their two children, who started jumping on the bed.

"UP-UP-UP!" A super energetic Séraphine and Isaac kept jumping on the bed, almost hitting Spencer's stomach, and finally stopped; Séraphine took her tiny hand and opened Spencer's eye.

"Christmas, daddy!"

Isaac got off the bed and shook Isaac with all his little might could do. "Up-up-up! Up-up-up!"

Élise woke up as if the world was on her shoulders and kept blinking her eyes until her vision became clearer. Isaac glared at her with a pouty look.

"We'll be up soon, okay!"

The children cheered as they left the bedroom. "Yay!"

"Those are your children."

Élise laughed and gave him a kiss. "Merry Christmas, my love."

All families enjoyed the breakfast Ethel and Gordon cooked up for everyone: French toast and crepes, pancakes and waffles, parfaits, cinnamon rolls, hot cocoa, and milk.

"Look!" Sabrina carried the empty plate and glass. "Santa was here!"

John gasped. "Really?"

"And it's still snowing outside!" Sabrina jumped. "Can we build a snowman?"

Anna joked, "Well, it's a good thing we bought winter clothes."

After breakfast, everyone went outside and played around in the snow for at least an hour and a half; Gordon started a snowball fight, and Ethel surprised everyone with her strong arms, almost knocking Gordon down.

While everyone warmed up, drank hot cocoa with the tiny little marshmallows, and ate lunch, the adults took photographs and videos of the children opening their presents, singing classic Christian carols and songs, and watching classic Christmas movies.

Gordon got the camera set up in the middle of the living room and jogged to make sure he was in the picture on time.

"Say Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!"

A few days passed, and it was now New Year's Eve. The families came together for dinner since the Carney and Reid families will be leaving tomorrow afternoon.

Ethel had a sip of the cranberry Ginger Ale mocktail. "Now, who wants to announce their New Year's Resolution?"

"I do." John raised his hand and wiped his mouth. "I wanted to keep this a surprise, but…before we flew out here, the firm promoted me to Head Design Director, and I start after the holidays!"

Everyone at the table cheered and clapped for John.

"That's so exciting!" Melissa took her hands, cupped them to his face, and kissed his cheek. "Well, the animal hospital said I'm in the running to be the next assistant head vet!" Melissa crossed her fingers, and cheesy smiled.

John kissed her head and then her lips. "So proud of you, honey!"

Gordon had another bite and asked, "What about you, Spencer? Élise?"

Spencer rubbed his shoulders. "Well, maybe publish an article or two." He hasn't given much to what he wanted to do in 2014.

"Well, if I do get confirmed for AG, I'm going to do my hardest to protect this country in all of its legal matters," Élise raised her goblet and took sips.

Ethel took Gordon's hand. "Well, we're thinking about lessening our load…"

Spencer almost choked on his drink; same with John and Anna.

"You're selling the ranch?"

Anna couldn't believe it. "Say what now?"

Sabrina pouted. "The horses…what about them?"

"You haven't let me finish." Ethel groaned. "We're still thinking about what we want to do, but we have more thinking to do about what we want to do."

Anna wanted to be sure. "But you will tell us eventually, right?"

"Have I ever kept anything from you?" said Ethel. "Would I ever lie to any of you?"

Gordon scratched his chin. "Well, there was that one time…"

"Zip it…" Ethel opened and closed her palm; Gordon kept on eating. "Now…"

Nathan held his hand up. "Uh…did you forget to save the best for last?"

Ethel landed her hand over half her face and blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry."

Anna took Nathan's hand. "As some of you know, Nathan and I have been trying to expand our family. Well, at the start of the new year…" they looked at each other.

"We're going to foster to adopt a baby."

Everyone at the table gasped, especially Ethel.

Nathan finished. "When we get back to Las Vegas, we're going to meet with an adoption agency."

Ethel squealed. "Ah…I'm going to be a grandma again…"

"Hold the cheers, Grandmother Dearest…" Nathan stopped her from almost attempting to pass out or break out into song and dance. "It could be a whole year before it happens."

Anna explained further. "We still have to take care of the paperwork to send, forms to fill out, interviews, not to mention fulfilling the requirements, pre-service training, home study process..."

"Well, I'll be praying to the Gods and the shepherds that you two can give me another grandchild." Ethel raised her glass in the air, following everyone else. "A toast for great and blissful things to happen to us in 2014."

"2014!"

Sorry if this chapter felt shorter than my usual Christmas and New Year's chapters.