A/N: Hello again, everyone!

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

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

"Time to confess, Spencer Reid," Hankel said before beating the sole of his foot with a piece of wood. Reid cried out in pain. "Confess."

"I…I don't have anything to confess…."

Reid cried out in pain again.

"No one's ever going to find you."

"Confess!"

"I haven't done anything..."

"Ahh!"

"Theo…"

"Tobias, help me."

"Ahh!"

"Whoa!"

"Hey, Spencer." Élise sat on the edge of his bed and caught both of his wrists. "Spencer." She was trying to give him to observe his surroundings. She slowly let out of his wrists and tried to get him to do some deep breathing exercises.

"What happened?" Reid is needed a moment.

"You were shouting, kicking, and screaming in your sleep."

"Sorry if I woke you."

"It's alright," Élise consoles him. "It's okay. It was just a bad dream."

"Still…" Reid runs his fingers through his hair; Élise moves a loose piece of his hair and tucks it behind his ear. "I just…"

"Spencer…Merva's dead; Meadows' in federal prison. As well as the other Believers. You're here. You've won. You're alive."

"Yeah, but…" Reid was about to remind Élise about, and he stopped himself when he saw her face saddened. "Look, Élise…I…" Shaking his head, getting himself out of bed, "I need to check on Anastasia."

"I'll check on her…."

"I can do it."

"No, seriously. I…"

"Élise, please," He fiercely whispers to her to the point where he almost shouted at her. "Just…will you please just let me go check on my daughter, okay?"

Élise put her hands up, signaling herself to back herself.

Reid almost woke up Anastasia—and almost broke the door off its hinges when he rushed himself into her room. But soon smiles when he saw how peaceful she looked sleeping. He grabbed a chair and just simply watched her sleep. Reid was just glad she was getting some sleep. For the past couple of nights now, she's been having some trouble sleeping; Reid and Élise noticed this, whether when they woke up and would find her in either one of their beds or she would wake one of them up. After reading some books and articles on better ways to get her to sleep, they replaced the curtains with blackout blinds, placed carpet rugs in her room, a new white noise machine, and weighted blankets.

It seems to be working since she's been sleeping well. Especially since Reid has started to use essential oils. Reid moved a piece of her hair and tucked it behind her ear before kissing her temple. Just the thought he would never see her again…

But just seeing her so soundly asleep and where he could see her do so really warmed him.

It's been almost some days since what happened with…he tried to get that out of his head and try and focus on work. He was all dressed up for the day: a dark dress shirt with a matching tie and jacket, a dark reddish-purple dress vest, dark pants, mismatched socks, and shoes and his messenger bag. As he left his bedroom,

"Morning, doc."

"Morning, Élise," He greeted her. "Morning, my adorable Anastasia." Kisses the top of her head as she was eating a fruit and yogurt parfait. "I trust you slept well."

"Indeed, she did," Élise said as she was cooking up some breakfast. "And I did, too. Thanks for asking me as well."

"What are you cooking?"

"I just made some eggs, waffles, and…French toast." Élise takes them off the frying pan and onto a plate.

"Oh!" Reid exclaims as he takes one and tries one. "Good."

"Thanks." Élise said before, "Are you sure you're ready to head back to work?"

"I think I am."

"You can still take some time off," Élise suggested.

"I know, but I know I need to go back to work."

Élise took a deep breath as she grabbed Anastasia's noise-canceling headphones and placed them on her, "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah."

"I wanted to kill Meadows."

To be fairly honest, Reid was hardly surprised when she said that. "Élise…"

"I'm serious," Once Élise started, she couldn't stop; she was surprised she could keep control of the tone of her voice. "Considering what that narcissistic…bastard Merva and the overzealous religious flying monkeys including that…simple bitch Meadows did to you and Garcia…and hearing that Meadows could have gone after either your mother or Anastasia…." Taking another deep breath. "I…really wanted to kill her."

"Élise…"

"Spencer, I was not going to have Anastasia grow up without you, her father, or have your mother lose you, her only child. And if I did not have so much self-control when I walked up to her…I…would have shot her dead in the face…and I would have been perfectly fine. Hell, come to think of it, I think I would have slept like a baby."

"I know how you feel."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Have I ever told you about Peter Lewis?"

"Just a little, and a little from your teammates."

"He was also known as Mr. Scratch. About four years ago, we had a case where he would drug his victims with Scopolamine and Sevoflurane."

"I think I've heard about them. Doesn't Scopolamine make you forget or go into some hallucinogen?"

"Yes. His reason was that when he was about thirteen, his father was killed by inmates during an investigation during the height of the Satanic ritual abuse allegations."

"The 80s version of the Salem witch trials," Élise commented.

"Yeah. The victims were the ones who had testified against his father. Then he went after Hotch. After he escaped prison, he went after his son, Jack, causing Hotch to retire from the FBI. Then…" He had to take a deep breath. "A year before Anastasia…I was arrested and framed by someone who we all originally thought it was Peter Lewis…but actually by an unsub I've faced before…her name's Cat Adams, aka Miss.. .45. She framed me, along with two others, including a woman named Lindsay Vaughn, whom I knew from a case years ago and a guard from the prison I was sent to. She did it to get back at me for putting her in prison; she even included my mother in her plans and…to be honest, I wanted to kill her, and I think I would have if it wasn't for JJ when we went to visit her. And soon after that, Scratch attacked the team in a serious car accident…and killed a fellow agent, Stephen Walker, before abducting Prentiss. And if it wasn't for Prentiss and Alvez…I would have killed him, too."

Élise had to take a seat; Reid sat across from her. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Élise had a head rush, "Wow. You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"How did you get through it all?"

"I have my team, who are like a second family to me, my mother, Anastasia, my godsons. They've helped me through it. They've helped me stayed strong."

Élise smiled. "You have some of the luckiest people in the world to have you."

"You do, too." He smiled back.

It wasn't soon before Élise and Reid realized they were touching each other's hands. Slowly pulling away,

"I…better get to work."

"Yeah, you better." Reid got up, kissed Anastasia goodbye again on her head, and grabbed his bag when,

"Have a good day." Élise had her fist out. "A fist bump spreads fewer germs than a handshake."

Reid chuckles and fist-bumps her back. "Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself with Anastasia?"

"I'll be fine, plus…." She went to her room for a quick second before coming back,

"I got these." She pulls out a Glock and a Smith and Wesson from behind her back.

"Are you sure you know how they work?"

"I've been practicing at the shooting range lately. Ever since Griffin, I just..."

"I know."

Chuckling, "But really, I'll be fine," Élise tries to assure him. "And I'll let you know of anything, okay?"

"Okay." He gives Anastasia another kiss. "Be good for Élise, okay? Love you." He quickly grabs another piece of French toast before giving Élise another fist bump. "Later."

"Later," Élise said as she started to clean up.

"Hey, Reid," Prentiss said as she saw Reid exiting out of the elevator. "Surprised to see you here. I meant what I said about you and Penelope taking some time off, especially with the whole…."

"I'm fine," Reid assured her. "Really."

"Okay." Just as they both walked into the bullpen.

"Hey. Welcome back.' JJ greeted him. As did Penelope before walking into Prentiss' office.

"Hey. Are you okay with…?" Alvez asked.

"I'm fine. Anastasia's fine. Élise's fine, too."

"I hope so," Simmons said. "Remind me to never piss her off. Did she tell you that she…?"

"Yes, she did."

"And she…"

"We know." The team said in unity.

"Okay, everyone," Prentiss said. "Let's wheel up in 30. We head to South Carolina."

As the team went to get their things,

"Hey, Reid." JJ starts a conversation with him. "Seriously, are you sure…?"

"I'm fine." Reid tries to assure JJ. "It's not the first time I've been abducted or almost killed."

"But still…"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Just let me know of anything, okay?"

"Okay. And just so you know, you're sounding like Élise."

At the nursing home, Reid and Tara tried to question Mrs. Elgin, who was suffering from Dementia.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Spencer."

"Élise?" Reid was surprised to hear from her. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I…I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm okay. So, how's…?"

"Anastasia's okay. She's resting right now and I'm making sure everything's on schedule and on routine."

Reid sighed in relief. "That's good. That's good. Anastasia can get a little…."

"Yeah." Élise agreed.

"Are you sure that…?"

"We're good and as I said, I wanted to see how you're okay."

"I'm okay and I'm sure you are as well. I'll say goodnight to her before nighttime, alright?"

"Of course. Later."

"Later."

After watching Dorothy sew for a bit, a nurse came over to tell them that it's time for Dorothy's medication, only for Dorthy to stick a knife into her throat.

After finding out that Dorothy died on the way to the hospital, Reid and Tara searched Dorothy's room only to find some letters hidden in the room.

While discussing the letters, the team learned through Dorothy's autopsy that Dorothy did give birth at some point.

In the end, Rossi and Simmons managed to find the victim and arrest the unsub. As the team packed up,

"So, all this is because the Elgins' daughter ran off?" The sheriff had to ask.

"Karl saw the effect it had on his wife," Tara explained. "So he went out, found those girls in an attempt to pull Dorothy out of her tailspin."

"He surrounded her with substitute Leannes in the wall, under the floor, basically encircling her." JJ explained next.

"And their grandson tried to do the same thing for her once Karl died."

"Is this a normal case for you folks?" The sheriff asked again.

"None of them are normal," Rossi answered.

"Well, Dr. Reid, I can say it was a pleasure talking to you. I'm gonna give that tree in the forest thing some more thought."

"Don't give it too much thought. It's basically an infallible conjecture." Reid suggested to him.

"Copy that. Well, thanks again."

"Uh, Emily, I need to go to New York for a couple of days. Would that be all right?" Rossi asked.

"After the wrench I threw in your vacation with my quick detour, take all the time you want."

"Coming?" Reid asked JJ.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. In a minute. There's something I have to do."

For Reid, it felt like a long flight home. He rushed himself into Anastasia's room after walking into his place and set in the home security code. He found her peacefully sleeping in her bed. He watched her for a few more seconds before planting a kiss on her forehead and moves a piece of her hair away from her face.

"I'm home, Anastasia," He whispered. "I told you I would be home. And I meant what I said before. I love you."

He quietly leaves her room, not wanting her to disturb her from her sleeping any further. He soon walks into Élise, who was already in her pajamas.

"Good night to you, too."

"Night to you, too, Élise."

"So, how was the case? Did anyone hurt you?"

"No."

"I hope not," Élise said; Reid smiled back as he knew what she meant.

"I'm surprised you're not asleep yet."

"I wanted to wait up for you," Élise said as she sat down on the couch. "Plus, the very first episode of Dynasty is coming on soon."

"Dynasty?" Reid said.

"Yeah. The 80s version, not the modern reboot one. I mean, I enjoy it, but I really enjoy the original very much. Are you familiar with Dynasty?"

"I like soap operas, yeah."

"Oh! It's on right now." Élise turns on the TV.

"Mind if I join you to watch some Dynasty?"

"Why not?" As Reid sat down next to her on the couch,

"Are you sure you're okay?" Élise asked him since she noticed he was starting to rub his head.

"Yeah," Reid tries to assure her. "Yeah. I'm okay. Let's watch some Dynasty."

A/H: Sorry to leave you all hanging like this!