A/N: Hello again, everyone! The chapter starts off on Sunday night.

After that phone call with Élise, Spencer did something he'd wished he had done earlier but didn't. He finally decided to have her tested to get to the root of the problem. This time around, Spencer wasn't going to think twice about it and question it. He didn't care that he spent the entire day with his mother at Bennington. Spencer had the doctors collect her blood and urine samples and send them out to a lab. He also ordered a neurological exam, as well as cognitive, functional, behavioral, and brain testing.

When he returned to his father's place that night, Spencer didn't bother wanting to eat right now but instead crawled under the bed sheets.

"Spence…" he could hear his father's fainted voice call out to him and start shaking his shoulder. "Spencer, son."

Spencer opened his eyes groggily and grunted when he sat up. He didn't even notice he had his shoes on until he kicked them off. "I'm just so tired. With what's going on with mom."

"Believe me, I know," William sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm worried about her, too, son. Guess we'll have to see what's going on with her tomorrow morning."

According to Dr. Norman, the results from his mother's tests came back, and he wanted to talk to Spencer in person. On his way back to Bennington with his father, Spencer almost dreaded having to go back, but he had to if he wanted to know what was going on with his mother.

Upon their arrival, they were immediately greeted by the doctor. Dr. Norman looked different from the last time Spencer saw him. Spencer noted that the gray on his head was now grayer; the lines and wrinkles on his forehead and cheeks were a little more visible, as were the crew's feet and a sagging jawline.

"Congratulations on your retirement, Doctor," said Spencer as he and his father sat side by side in a stiff leather chair in the doctor's walnut-paneled office.

Dr. Norman sighed as he sat in his chair behind his desk. "I gave Bennington a good twenty-five years, Spencer, but now it's time for me to enjoy retirement."

Wiliam cleared his throat and stiffened in his seat. "You, uh…wanted to talk to us about my ex-wife, Diana?"

Dr. Norman folded his hands. "We got Diana's results."

William didn't want the good doctor to keep the suspense going. "And…?"

Another busy Monday day for Élise. This morning, she delivered a press statement on the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris and made an announcement on a multi-million-dollar settlement to be paid.

Now, in the afternoon, Élise was in her office at Main Justice, having lunch while reviewing her speech for the National Women's Law Center Awards Dinner tomorrow evening and testifying at the House Committee on the Judiciary Hearing tomorrow morning.

She flinched when she heard her phone buzz on her desk. She picked it up and checked to see that it was Spencer. She hadn't heard much from him since yesterday afternoon when he gathered his mother's tests all day.

Élise slid her finger to accept the call. "Hey, babe."

"Hey…"

Élise's face softened when she heard Spencer sniff. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"It's my mom, Élise," Spencer breathed, his voice sounding shaky and raddled. "She's just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's."

When Dr. Norman explained his mother's newfound diagnosis, Spencer thought he had permanent paralysis. His nervous system had completely shut down and couldn't send any messaging signals from his brain to the muscles, and they tightened and tingled throughout his body as if he had no control and couldn't move any of his body parts. All the color on his face drained to pale.

Eventually, shaking his head dynamically, Spencer couldn't take another moment to hear this and just abruptly left the room. Once he got out, Spencer found a nearby counter and leaned against it, trying to hold back his tears. If he could, he'd go up onto the rooftops and scream off the top of his lungs.

"Spencer…"

Spencer sniveled as he turned to face his father, whose chin trembled. In an emotionally shocked voice, he hissed through his teeth and muttered, "It's gonna be okay, son."

Spencer couldn't hold back the tears, and they started running down his face. William couldn't bear to see his son so hurt and grief-stricken like this. He slowly approached Spencer and held his arms open, but Spencer was quicker and threw his arms around his father, sobbing, and had his back massaged with restful circles and taps.

"It's gonna be okay."

Élise could barely get the news about Diana out of her mind. First, her schizophrenia and now being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She knew there was someone she needed to talk to about this. Someone who understood what they were going through right now.

"Hello, Hotch," she spoke up on her phone. "Have you heard the news from Spencer?"

"Yes."

Élise took a big swallow. "So…did he tell you about…? You know…?" she could hear Hotch's sigh on the other end of the call.

"Yes," Hotch confirmed. "I am so sorry."

Élise wiped a tear she felt falling from her eye and sniffled. "Yeah, uh, Spence and I are trying to find a way to tell the kids while keeping certain things on the DL. How were you and Jessica when Roy was diagnosed?"

"Her paternal aunt said she would take him, but she couldn't. Before he lived with Jessica, Liam, and the kids, she wanted to put him in a nursing home."

Élise scratched under her chin (she needed a face threading—damned pregnancy hormones). A nursing home wouldn't be so bad.

Before Spencer and William knew it, it was already afternoon time. Spencer took her into her bedroom doorway and watched her rest in bed. She had something to eat before she took her medications (her new medication for her Alzheimer's is mixed with her schizophrenia). At least she wasn't as agitated as she was before the diagnostics.

An upsurge of overwhelming emotions hit Spencer today. When he first came to Bennington, he was uncertain about what was up with her, then in denial over her test results, then anger and sadness, and now, surprisingly enough, guilt, frustration, and remorse. Maybe if he had gotten her tested earlier, Spencer wouldn't be feeling how he was feeling right now.

Now, he feels drained and nearly lethargic. It's like he was struck with news about death. And in a way, he was. The mother he knew would slowly not be the same as she was decades ago.

"Spencer?" he flinched when his father's hand touched his shoulder. "Let's leave her alone for the rest of the day and come back tomorrow."

Spencer sighed, and he shook his head, agreeing with his father.

Élise wasn't sure whether she wanted to attend the National Women's Law Center Awards Dinner since she was the event's keynote speaker. Still, Élise needed to take her mind off Diana for the night and what was happening, so she decided to go.

Élise fastened her dangling earrings and spritzed Coco Mademoiselle on her décolleté. Her face was made-up, and she was wearing a black velvet gown and low heels. She had just slipped on her bracelet when her phone rang on the bed again. Accepting the call, she answered, "Hey, Spence. Are you okay?"

"I'm as okay as I'll ever be," Spencer admitted. "Today was rough, and it's not even over, that's the thing."

Élise scratched her eyelashes. "I know. I take it you're gonna be in Las Vegas longer than expended?"

"Yeah."

Now eight at night, city skies faded into a midnight blue with twinkling white stars and a few cool passing gray clouds. William decided to go to bed early and wished his son good night. Spencer opted to stay up and do some online research on Alzheimer's on his father's laptop (he kicked himself for not going to the library earlier today and reading whatever books they had).

Spencer squeezed his eyes tightly and mumbled for a moment before a snort came out of his nose. When his vision became more precise, he rubbed his eyes and detected a hard surface. When he lifted his head up, Spencer realized he slept with his arms folded as a pillow on top of the closed laptop. Sniffing again, he opened the computer and turned on the power button, waiting for it to load.

"Spencer."

Spencer rolled his neck around again and turned his body to face the computer screen again. "Morning, Dad."

William opened his mouth to respond but soon glanced down at the same clothes his son had on yesterday and observed him scrolling through a list of browser results with Alzheimer's typed onto the search engine with a bunch of tabs. "Are you okay?"

Spencer covered his mouth while yawning. "I fell asleep at around midnight."

William helped him up. "Come on, have some breakfast before we go see her." After he closed the browsers, he powered down and shut the laptop. "Come on."

After breakfast, a needed shower, and changing clothes, Spencer and William went back to Bennington to see his mother. On the way, he kept telling himself today was a new day. Yesterday was over, and nothing could change it. It was in the past, and now was the time to begin anew.

When he and his father got to Bennington again, his gaze lingered on his mother in her usual spot in the recreation room by the window. He took a couple of Zen-centered breaths, held his head up, and held his shoulders back. He found himself ambling to her until he got within a few feet of his mother. He swallowed a lump and spoke up, "M-Mom?"

He couldn't help but feel a little fluttered and get a tiny smile when he witnessed his mother spin from her chair and smile back.

"Baby…"

At that moment, everything was right with the world now. Spencer let out an audible sigh and wrapped his arms around her. Soon after, William joined in and huddled over them.

"Hey, Diana…"

Over the next half hour, Spencer and William explained what was happening to her. When Diana was able to absorb this information, she still had her hands lapped on her knees and sighed.

"So…pretty soon, I won't even remember you're my son anymore. Or that Élise is my daughter-in-law or my grandchildren. I won't remember loving you," she faced her son before William. "Or that I was in love with you."

The men shook their heads. "Yeah," William quietly agreed. Sadly, your memory's going, and with this disease, it's going to be harder for you to remember."

"But that doesn't mean we won't stop loving you, Mom," Spencer's voice cracked. "You're my mom. I can never stop loving you."

Diana touched Spencer's cheek and caressed it with a light smile. "And I'll never stop loving you."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Guess what holiday I'll be writing next chapter?