A/N: Hello again, everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

Spencer packed the last of his and Élise's bags in the backseat, with Opal and the children firmly secured in their seats. He closed the door and brushed his hands off.

"Well, that was a fun week, huh?" asked Spencer to Élise, who had her hands on her hips.

Élise ran her right hand through her hair. "Oh, yeah. Kids saw their paternal side of the fam; we got to have some family fun," she sighed while slapping her thighs. "And now we have to go back to D.C…where I can get the assclowns who tried to hack into my accounts." Élise now had a sinister look, rubbed her hands together, and cackled softly while walking to the front seat.

"Oh…" Spencer amusingly chuckled to himself—Élise loves to be that side of her—while walking to the driver's seat, where Anna brought out plastic bags filled with sweet treats.

"I baked some chocolate chip cookies for the road," she gave them to Spencer, who passed them to Élise.

"Thanks, Ann," Spencer expressed his gratitude. "And thanks for letting us stay here."

"You're welcome anytime you're in town," Anna smirked as Nathan appeared next to her.

"Where are you all going to first?" he asked.

Élise answered, "The Grand Canyon."

Spencer continued, "And my calculations and familiarities with the U.S. cities, Winslow, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Ozark, Nashville, Knoxville, Roanoke, and finally home, but there's a good chance we'll be able to stop at other places along the way."

"Just…have a safe trip home," said Nathan before Spencer pulled up the driver's window, and he and Anna waved goodbye to everyone once they pulled out of the gated driveway, followed by Élise's security detail.

It took about two and a half hours to get to even the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, but it was worth it for everyone.

"Wow!" Everyone was amazed at the geological phenomenon; Rose and Élise took pictures of it. "You know, Grandma even rode on a mule," added Élise after she took another picture.

"It's so pretty!" said Séraphine.

Spencer held hers and Isaac's hands. "It's one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world; it is millions of years old."

"Lotta 'ears," Isaac remarked.

They decided to stay an extra hour up to two, getting two-thirds-up-to-three-quarters to the South Rim before hitting back on the road.

Séraphine had her tiny hand on the window while passing through the Kaibab National Forest in Grand Canyon Village. "Ooh, pretty flowers!"

Élise was in the backseat with her and Isaac; Rose offered to drive. "Those are sunflowers."

"Wha' toes?" asked Isaac, pointing to the large roaming herds of mammals.

"Those are Bison," Spencer answered his toddler-aged son's question. "They are the largest mammals in the country."

Isaac spread his arms out. "Big!"

Élise snickered. "Yes, Ziggy. They are big!"

Driving through Williams, Arizona, they stopped in Flagstaff, allowing everyone to get a quick bite and see the Grand Canyon National Park and Oak Creek Canyon.

"Wow," it was like Séraphine's tiny girly voice echoed through the park. "So big."

Élise snapped another picture. "It's so beautiful."

Spencer embraced her closer. "I told you this road trip was a good idea."

Everyone relaxed at a local Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream. "Mmm…" Élise savored her cheesecake-flavored ice cream with berries, graham cracker pie crusts, and whipped cream toppings. "Everyone enjoying their ice creams?"

Isaac had a French vanilla with chocolate shavings and rainbow sprinkles. "Mmm…"

"Yummy!" Séraphine shoved another spoonful of watermelon sorbet.

Enjoying his coffee-flavored ice cream with cinnamon and rainbow sprinkles, Spencer burped, covering his mouth with a balled fist. "Ooh…" he kept on eating. "Excuse me, sorry."

"I got the Tums," Élise waved the Tums chewy bites bottle.

Everyone steered through Winona, Winslow, and Petrified Forest National Park—staying there for an hour before stopping at the Anderton Sanders Hotel for the night.

Rested up for the day, they drove through Arizona and into New Mexico, driving and stopping throughout the state until they got to Albuquerque.

They stopped at Dion's, a privately owned pizza chain based in the town, to get something to eat.

"Mmm…" Rose had a forklod of the Santorini pizza she was having and finished slurping the cheese. "Delicious."

Séraphine licked her fingers; Spencer passed a napkin to her. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Daddy."

Spencer pecked a kiss on her head. "Of course, sweetie."

Wandering about the city, they went to a number of museums and the famous Kimo Theatre. In fact, they didn't even realize they spent the entire day in the city and decided to stay here overnight and leave in the morning.

But Spencer secretly arranged a private dinner for two with Élise at MÁS, Hotel Andaluz's full-service restaurant and tapas bar.

The two clanked their glasses and sipped their drinks. Élise gulped after she drank some of her sparkling water. "Ah, it feels good to have some alone time together. Me and you…together. Alone. Date night."

"Couples who have date nights at least once a week together without any kind of distractions experience better communication, greater affection, and gratitude," said Spencer.

Élise smirked half-heartedly. "That's kind of hard to do with our high-risk and…profile federal jobs and the traveling that comes with it."

Spencer retook her hand again. "Which is why we make every moment and all the time we have."

"Don't you just wanna…" Élise shrugged her shoulders. "Go on a nice vacay together? Just the two of us before…" She had a look in her eyes. "A potential change in our lives?"

"Where do you have in mind?" Spencer asked as their dinner meals came.

Élise took her silverware fork and dug into her vegetable paella. "Somewhere…tropical or exotic? Like the last place, you'd expect us to vacation? Like Greece. The Maldives. Fiji. Aruba. Bermuda or the Caribbean."

"Yeah, that's gonna be hard to do considering…" Spencer pointed to his healing neck.

Élise made a face; her eyes widened a bit, and she opened her mouth. "Oh, yeah," she slanted her mouth to the side remorsefully. "Sorry."

"But I wouldn't mind a couple's vacation together before a potential new family member joins our family," Spencer looked her in the eyes. "But do you know where I really want to go and see?"

"Where?"

"The Northern Lights," Spencer answered. "The best times to see them are between November and February, and the best places are in Russia, Alaska, Canada, and the Nordic countries."

Élise swallowed. "Well…that would be nice, but I wouldn't mind to Yay Paris or Milana one of these days while we're still young and happenin'."

Spencer scoffed. "'Happenin'?'"

"Oh, hush," Élise joked.

"I never blue corn pancakes before," Élise ate some with raspberry coulis and maple syrup. "These are delicious."

Isaac asked before sipping some orange juice. "'Heir are wee goin' next?"

"We're gonna make a few more stops along the way, but we're gonna explore around a little place named Amarillo before we stay in Oklahoma City for tonight."

Spencer coughed on his brewed coffee.

"Daddy…" Séraphine planted her hand on his knee.

"Daddy's fine," Spencer petted her head. "Daddy's fine." He got up and coolly excused himself to the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

"SHOTS FIRED! SHOT FIRED!"

Not this again, he said to himself when imagining back in Texas. Not this again.

BANG-BANG!

He suddenly couldn't breathe, causing him to clutch onto his chest and hyperventilate.

BANG-BANG-BANG!

"BLAKE!"

BANG!

"Spencer…"

He gasped, but he slowly calmed him, resting his hand on his chest when he saw Élise standing behind the closed, locked door. She kept a steady distance just to give him some time and space. "It's okay, babe."

"I know, I know," Spencer pinched his nose. "It just…"

"Look, if you want us to just zoom by Texas or take a detour…" Élise understood what he was going through.

"No," Spencer snapped. "No. No, I can't let this get me down. I won't."

Élise pulled him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you. And I'll be right by your side."

After two hours of driving, they stopped in Santa Rosa, seeing the Blue Hole of the town, known for being one of the seven sister lakes and Route 66 Auto Museum.

Spencer shut his eyes when they drove into Texas. While he knew they wouldn't be going anywhere near Silverton, he still couldn't help it. He had his fingers on his temples and chanted his mantra to himself. "Out with the negative, in with the positive. Out with the negative, in with the positive."

They made it to Amarillo, having lunch at The Big Texas Steak Ranch, spent thirty minutes at the Amarillo Botanical Gardens, and another thirty minutes at the Cadillac Ranch, known for allowing the tourists to grab a can of spray paint and create their own graffiti.

Élise took a picture of the Leaning Tower of Texas; Rose offered to drive on the way to Oklahoma.

"We know we belong to the land," Rose sang Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma from their 1943 Broadway musical. "And the land we belong to is grand. And when we say…"

Élise chuckled. "I haven't heard that song since I was in grade school during music class," she cleared her throat and sang along. "Yeeow. A-yip-i-o-e-ay."

Spencer joined in, same with Séraphine and Isaac. "We're only sayin'. You're doin' fine, Oklahoma. Oklahoma, O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A. Oklahoma. Yeeow."

They stopped at Elk City for up to an hour until they got to Oklahoma City, staying at the Redbud Anderton Oklahoma City Hotel.

There was one place Élise knew Spencer would love so much that he'd wear a very special present that was given to him.

And the appropriate attire to go along with it.

"You really went all out, didn't you?" said Élise, seeing Spencer in his leather cowboy hat, plaid shirt, and boots.

"Says the little lady who got all dolled up while we went a'sailing from Hawa-i-i to Down Under," said Spencer, who spoke with a Southern drawl while he and everyone else was at the Oklahoma City National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

"Why are you speaking like that, Daddy?" asked a giggling Séraphine.

Spencer tipped his hat. "Cowboys and cowgirls speak like this, little lady."

Séraphine kept on giggling.

After a good breakfast, everyone packed up and headed to Ozark, making a few stops in between before retiring to Little Rock for the night.

Now in Memphis, Tennessee, there was one place they had to see.

"Can't believe we're in Graceland," Élise admired the Colonial Revival architectural style house and the grand acre land.

Rose added, "Home of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley."

"Who was he?" asked Séraphine, taking her father's hand as they toured the estate; their first stop inside the Graceland Mansion was the foyer, where they would view the late superstar's living and dining rooms, stairways, and his late mother's bedroom.

On their way touring the kitchen, Spencer said, "He was one of the greatest superstar musicians to have ever lived on this very Earth."

"Cool…" Isaac prattled.

Visiting a couple of museums afterward, they stopped in between the ride from Memphis to Nashville. Rose played some music on the way, singing the first two lyrics. "The warden threw a party in the county jail. The prison band was there, and they began to wail."

"The band was jumpin', and the joint began to swing," Élise sang along.

Spencer joined in. "You should've heard those knocked-out jailbirds sings."

"Let's rock. Everybody, let's rock. Everybody in the whole cell block. Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock."

Arriving at Nashville, Tennessee's state capital, they visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and Grand Ole Opry, ate some hot chicken and barbeque, and rested in Anderton Knoxville Hotel.

Spencer had just got the toddlers asleep in their king-sized bed just as Élise came out of the bathroom, already in her silk nightgown.

"I'm so ready to go home…" Élise sat on the edge of the bed and watched the children sleep. "But these are the memories I'll be treasuring forever."

Spencer soon sat next to her. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I…told…you…so."

"Ha-ha," Élise replied sarcastically before giving him a kiss.

"Who's ready to go home now?" asked Élise while getting the children dressed after having breakfast.

"I am," Séraphine raised her hand.

Isaac had his hand up. "Me!"

Spencer was the third. "Same."

Élise was last. "Let's get goin' then."