A/N: Hello again, everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.
A shout-out to those for reviewing and reading my stories.
I've decided to do a time jump into the next month, and hopefully, I can get started on Season Nine within the next couple of chapters. Warning: This chapter will be a sad one; in relation to Zugzwang, Diane Turner, and the aftermath…painful memories are bound to happen.
Everyone on the plane ride back home was all in separate corners, either staring out the window and gazing at the dark cloudy sky, reading, or maybe reflecting...
Reflect on what went wrong during the downer of a case where in a way, the bad guy won.
Reid was no different.
All he and the rest of the team could think about was what they got wrong, what they could have gotten right, and what they could have done to prevent the outcome.
To say the case was a bad one was an understatement.
Élise was in the gym; work was a killer today, so she decided to do a quick beginner workout before dinner. She did five-to-ten minutes of jump rope, squats, push-ups, and crunches before doing some shadowboxing on the heavy bag.
She did some simple light punches; it's been a while since Élise had been on a heavy bag and needed to peace herself before at a medium-high speed.
"I see you're up, bitch."
A cold shudder ran down Élise's back.
"Remember me now, bitch?"
Before she could even try and remember, she started hitting the bag like a demon that had taken control of her body. And memories of Diane Turner ran through her mind like a train running off the tracks, plugged down into the ocean, and collapsing with an iceberg.
Memories of her being held captive by Diane.
The sickening memory of watching Diane gun down Duane in the head.
The revolting memory of watching Diane attempting to seduce Spencer and...
And...and...
Élise roared when letting out one last punch on the bag; her voice borderline echoed the room. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her face and hair dripped in sweat, her eyes looked worn out, and she released shallow panting.
She made her way to the bathroom, took off her clothes, and tossed them into the hamper.
On her way to the shower, she saw a tiny little scar on the right side of her shoulder.
An unappreciated gift left by Diane when she tried to commit murder-suicide in front of everyone, including Spencer.
"Élise..."
Now came the memory of Spencer giving Élise the worst news any couple could get.
"Oh…oh…Spen…"
Another cry came out of Élise's mouth when she slammed the shower door.
Reid made it back home. After opening the front door, he used his elbow to close it and logged in the security alarm system. He dropped his bags and sighed; he had his hands on his back and stretched. The case really affected him in more ways than one. He saw Opal sitting in her pen in the living room and waved to her, though he knew she was deep asleep.
Creeping up the stairs, he found him at Séraphine's door. The door creaked when opening it, and he saw Séraphine in her bed. Slinking to her bedside, he sat at the edge of her bed and caressed her hair. He left a kiss on her head and rose.
"I love you."
He left her room and headed to Isaac's nursery.
"Hey, little man," he whispered when tiptoeing to his crib. "Sleeping alright?"
Isaac sleepishly gurgled when his father tickled his cheeks.
Reid meekly smirked and gave him a kiss on his head. "Love you, too."
Closing the door behind him, he walked to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Massaging his sore neck, he snapped his head up when he heard broken glass coming from the bathroom.
"Oh, damn...!"
Sprinting to the bathroom, he found Élise clutching her hand and shattered colored glass.
It was a good thing Reid had a mini broom and dustpan set in the storage cabinets and quickly cleaned up the mess.
Élise wiped her nose before washing her injured hand palm with soap to make sure it wouldn't get infected. Reid rummaged through the medicine cabinet and got some gazed and alcohol.
"Let me help with that," he took her hand and dabbed some alcohol on her palm. After tossing the cotton into the trash, he cleaned it up and wrapped some gaze around the cut.
"Oh, thanks, babe," she pecked his lips.
Reid snickered. "Anytime," he soon took note of Élise's other clothed hand. "What happened to you?"
Élise stroked her hand. "A little shower incident after a boxing workout," she noticed Reid's face and asked, "What happened to you?"
"Bad case," he shuddered. "A very bad case." he had his hand over his face. "I really want to go to bed."
Élise shook her head. "Who are you tellin'?"
The following day, Reid and Élise had their appointment with their marriage counselor, Dr. Vera Truman.
"So," Dr. Truman crossed one ankle behind the other, with her portfolio firmly secured in her hands. "How is everyone doing?"
"Fine," Reid and Élise said simultaneously, holding each other's hand.
"Well, actually," Reid raised his hand. "I just came back last night from a bad case."
Dr. Truman wanted Reid to clarify. "How bad was it?"
"The one that involves children bad."
Dr. Truman gaped and shook her head. "Ah...so sorry to hear that."
Élise spoke up. "I mean, I still have my days, but I'm still good."
"What do you mean by that?" Dr. Truman pushed her frames up her nose. "You have your days?"
Élise scratched her hair. "Well, let's see: I've been having my moments of just feeling drained and tired for no reason, even if I do take my multivitamins and the Prozac; I had some blasts from my past. Not that it was a bad thing, but..." she shrugged her shoulders. "And...I've been feeling a bit...too emotional lately."
"How?"
Élise showed Dr. Truman her bandaged hands. "What happened to you there?" asked Dr. Truman.
"I bruised my knuckles and cut my palm last night," said Élise. "Because I was thinking of Diane Turner.
Reid blinked his eyes in incredulity when Élise mentioned Diane Turner.
"Diane..."
Élise broke free of her zip-ties when Diane shoved her lips on Reid's, and he had just kicked her away from her. Though the couple tried to wrestle Diane for the gun, she, unfortunately, had the upper hand and fired a warning shot at them.
"I take it Diane is still..."
Élise spat out. "Well, what do you think, doc!? That the bitch remains to be a constant reminder in my life. I keep telling myself over and over not to let her get to me, but for some reason, I just can't..."
"Élise..."
Élise kept going. "What else should I say? Huh!? Or better yet, how about I tell you about what could have happened? How could I have ended up dead? How could Spencer have ended up dead?" she waved to Spencer, who had his fingers crossed and was chewing his bottom lip. "How I have to live with the fact that I'm never going to see Skylar August...!?"
She opened her mouth, hoping to say something else but had her hand over her mouth when she realized she mentioned their could-have-been third child.
"Who...?" Dr. Truman asked before closing her eyes and sighing. Opening them, she whispered, "You two have a name for..."
"Yes, we do," Reid cleared his throat. "We...didn't want to...know what the gender was, so we...decided on a neutral name. I picked Skylar for noble scholar..."
Élise's voice cracked tightly, and her hand grasped her throat. "And...I decided August for its great and magnificent meaning and maybe..."
Dr. Truman finished the sentence. "And maybe the baby would have been born in August?"
Élise looked away and nodded her head, wiping her nose.
Élise was so drained from coming home from Dr. Truman that she wasn't in the mood to have dinner. Instead, she was in the bedroom sitting room, eating a pint-size case of berry ice cream and glancing at one of the photo memory books.
Reid crept into the bedroom with a plate of roasted chicken breast, peas and carrots, and mashed potatoes.
"Hey, you..." Reid had a slight smile on his face and presented it to Élise her dinner plate. "Still want some dinner?"
"No thanks," Élise sulked. "I have all the dinner I need," she swung the pint and had another spoonful. "I'm good."
Reid set the plate on the vanity table. "Come on, now." he stood behind her, and his eyes in disbelief gawked at what Élise was looking at.
Their unborn child's sonogram.
"If only..."
Reid ran his hand over his face. "Lise, you can't blame yourself for what happened."
"Yeah, I can," Élise hissed. "This wasn't the first time. I didn't know I was pregnant with Ziggy until I was twelve weeks. And if it wasn't for my stupid bloody pride in not telling you about Diane, hell, if I knew sooner, then maybe Skylar would be..." her mouth wobbled, and she couldn't bear to finish the sentence.
Élise calmly closed the book and pulled her head up before she furiously threw it across the room, released a clenched shrill, and some of the photos spilled onto the carpeted floor.
When Élise got up and tried to walk away from this conversation, Reid immediately grabbed Élise by her wrist and tightly embraced Élise, despite trying to yank herself away from him and the slaps and pounds she gave to his chest and back.
Nevertheless, tears streamed down her face, and Élise allowed herself to calm down and cry.
"Are you okay?" asked Dr. Truman when Reid yawned for about the umpteenth time since the start of the session.
Reid had his hand on his chest. "Not really. I had another nightmare last night, and I almost didn't want to come today.
Dr. Truman folded her hands over her notepad. "What was this nightmare about?"
"The case..."
Reid detailed to Dr. Truman the case that's given him nightmares, from how the BAU received the case with two dead children to finding some clues leading to a child sex and slavery trafficking ring. After delivering the profile, the team received an anonymous tip. It led to a raid, arresting the accomplices and rescuing the children.
Sure the team rescued the children, but the unsub and accomplices robbed the children's trust, innocence, safety, and fairness.
Dr. Truman clutched her chest. "Oh my God."
Reid shook his head, disgusted.
"What else happened?"
Reid recapped to her when raiding, the unsub tried to escape, but Reid managed to get him at gunpoint.
"I win..." he whispered.
"You wanted to shoot him dead, didn't you?"
Reid massaged his forehead. "What do you think? Trust is a very fragile thing, especially when you're a child."
Dr. Truman asked, "Do you separate your work from your family life?"
"Of course," said Reid. "I mean, I have to in order for me not to be biased."
"What do you do to separate your two lives?" asked Dr. Truman again.
"What are you up to?" asked Élise, who had just walked into Reid's home office with a tray of tea and tiny-shaped cookies. "Working on a new project?"
Reid answered, "I decided to invest some of my free time in a new hobby or two."
Élise stood behind him and looked at the computer screen. "Archaeologists of D.C.? Mathlete Devotees? Chess Champions?" she gasped and tapped on the screen. "Ooh! How about dance classes? Ballroom dancing. Historical dancing. Folk dancing. Salsa dancing. Maybe Flamenco dancing?" Élise busted out some twirls; imagined herself in a dress.
Reid laughed. "You're cute."
Élise still danced and swung her hips. "It could be fun," now Élise pulled Reid up from his seat and shimmed her chest, following him to join her.
"You want to do a dance class or two?"
"¡Sí, esposo!"