In the morning, Gideon showed up with so much food that Jessica needed to help him bring it in. "I heard the news and missed the plane to Texas, so I figured I would make sure you have enough to eat," Gideon explained.

"I…think that will be enough, yes," Maeve agreed. She opened the refrigerator and tried to figure out how to make it all fit. Jessica quickly swooped in and took over, expertly rearranging everything to maximize space.

"How are you doing?" Gideon asked Spencer.

"Ehhh…about as well as could be expected, under the circumstances," Spencer responded with a grimace.

"And…Jessica?" Gideon asked, shooting her a concerned look. "I heard she had another run-in with an unsub."

"You should probably ask her about that," Spencer replied.

Jessica turned away from the fridge to grab another dish, and noticed everyone looking at her. "What?"

"Are you doing all right?" Gideon repeated.

"Yes. Why?"

"I heard what happened with that nurse. That must have been terrifying."

Jessica grimaced. "It probably should have been, but honestly, I was too confused to be terrified. I didn't even realize the guy was trying to commit murder until after Maeve had already shot him."

"You still stopped him from messing with my IV, for which I'm very grateful," Spencer commented.

"I think you're giving me entirely too much credit," Jessica retorted. "I didn't mean to get in the guy's way, I just happened to be standing in the right place at the right time. If you hadn't grabbed me, I would have absolutely moved for him."

"It's not like I was in any condition to physically stop you from moving," Spencer pointed out. "You let me grab you."

"It all happened so fast, I honestly don't even remember what was going through my mind," Jessica admitted. "Just that one moment I was keeping a lookout for approaching local cops, and the next moment all hell had broken loose."

Maeve stared incredulously at her. "Did you not—no, I suppose you wouldn't have heard us arguing about the medication."

"Nope, not at all," Jessica confirmed. "I had no idea anything was wrong until the nurse shoved me."

"…Well, I'm glad you're doing all right," Gideon concluded. He turned to Maeve. "And you as well."

Maeve shared a glance with Spencer. "More than all right. We've got a new family member on the way."

Gideon's eyes widened. "Congratulations!"

Spencer shared another look with Maeve. "I've actually been thinking…I don't really want my dad involved in our kid's life, but it would be nice for him or her to have a second grandfather. If it's not too much to ask…"

"You're asking me to be an honorary grandfather to your child?" Gideon asked.

Spencer nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I…I don't really know what to say." Gideon was briefly silent, trying to wrangle the sudden influx of emotions. "I suppose I could do with another chess student. You've gotten almost as good as me now."

Spencer frowned. "…is that a yes?"

Gideon nodded. "Yes, it is. I would be very honored to be an honorary grandfather to this child."

Maeve smiled. "Thank you, Jason."

A few hours later, Gideon had left, and Maeve decided it was time to get back on top of the housework. She was prepared to start cleaning the bathroom, but Spencer apparently had other ideas. "Here, let me help you with that," he offered.

"Spencer, you should be resting," Maeve scolded sternly.

"And you're pregnant, you shouldn't be dealing with cleaning chemicals. The pregnancy hormones can…"

"Oh my god, Spencer, it's not like I'm suddenly made of glass! I've already done the research on which chemicals are safe. Worst that could happen is I might get a bit nauseous!"

"And I don't want you to get nauseous if you don't need to be!" Spencer protested.

"And I don't want you collapsing because you decided to overexert yourself less than forty-eight hours after getting shot in the fucking neck!" Maeve retorted.

Spencer looked taken aback by her sudden burst of profanity. Moments later, Jessica appeared in the doorway. "Is everything okay in here?" she asked, looking concerned.

Maeve rolled her eyes. "Your cousin apparently thinks it makes more sense for the cleaning to be done by a man who is currently recovering from a major gunshot wound than by an uninjured woman who is barely a month pregnant."

Jessica raised her eyebrows. "Okay, and what about a woman who is neither injured nor pregnant? Would that make sense to you both?" Spencer and Maeve shared a glance, and Jessica looked positively exasperated. "Hi, I live here too, you know."

Maeve narrowed her eyes at Jessica, then scowled at Spencer and shoved the cleaning supplies into Jessica's hands. "Acceptable?" she asked, eyes still on Spencer.

Spencer frowned, then sighed. "For now."

Jessica sidled past them so that she could set the cleaning supplies on the sink and free her hands. "Good. Now go discuss baby names or whatever it is that prospective parents do."

Spencer and Maeve returned to their bedroom, where Spencer sank onto the bed. "I didn't mean for Jessica to start doing everything…" he grumbled.

"You can help her when you've recovered," Maeve replied.

"This always happens. Every time I get hurt, Jessica winds up taking over all the household chores, and it's not fair to her…"

"Well, you're the one who stopped me doing my share," Maeve pointed out. "And what about the time she spent like a month in a wheelchair? I imagine you repaid the favor then."

"True," Spencer conceded.

"And don't worry, I wasn't planning on changing Bianca's litter," Maeve added. "So will you go back to resting now?"

"Fine." Spencer laid back down, picking up the book that Maeve had helpfully left on his nightstand.

He didn't really wind up reading it, though. As much as he disliked the idea of Jessica doing more than her fair share of the housework, her interruption had reminded Spencer of a very important point from his conversation with Morgan: he was not the only person that Maeve could rely on. He certainly had no intention of leaving her if he could help it, but even if something happened to him, Maeve would not be left to flounder alone the way his mother had. So, bearing that in mind, he made the decision to continue working at the BAU…with the caveat that he was going to start making a very conscious effort to rein in his more reckless tendencies.

Within a few days, Reid thought of a second caveat to his decision, and he made a call. "Hey, Garcia, could I get your help with something?"

"Sure, sweet cheeks, what is it?"

"I want to record some videos for my kid…in case something else happens."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. "I'm guessing there's no point in telling you nothing else is gonna happen?" Garcia asked quietly.

"I hope it doesn't," Reid replied, well aware that he was echoing their conversation from the last time he'd made a request like this. "But I can't ignore the possibility, and I want to leave something more than just a letter."

"Okay," Garcia agreed somberly. She took a deep breath. "But on the condition you promise me you are going to try your hardest not to make me ever dig these videos out of storage! You have already scared me enough for multiple lifetimes!"

"I'm sorry." Reid swallowed. "I promise I'm going to make more of an effort not to scare you again."

"Good," Garcia said firmly.

Spencer had several ideas for messages that he wanted to record, but the first one was the most important: the one that he wanted played if anything happened to him in the line of duty. He took a deep breath and hit 'record'.

"Hey, kiddo. If you're watching this, then that means the bad guys got me, and I'm sorry. Please believe me when I say it was never my intention to leave you. Although if you're anything like me, you might be thinking, 'but Dad! If you didn't mean to leave, then why were you out fighting bad guys instead of staying at home with me?'. Well, the thing about that is…what kind of example would I be setting for you if I didn't go out there and do what I do best? I'm making the world a better place the best way I know how. And one day when you're all grown up, I hope you go out there and do the same. Not necessarily as a profiler—we're all individuals with our own talents, and I want you to pursue yours, whatever that may be. In fact, I'll be honest: I sincerely hope that your talents lead you down a path that is far less dangerous than mine. But the most important thing is that you're happy, and that you find happiness in a way that also enriches the lives of the people around you. I hope that I've enriched your life, in whatever time we've spent together. And no matter what happens, no matter what else you might be feeling right now, please remember the most important thing of all: I love you."

What with everything that had occurred, the family wound up cancelling their plans to visit Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. One of Maeve's colleagues helped Jessica get a summer internship at a wildlife conservation program headquartered in DC. Maeve began attending pre-natal checkups, and received some helpful pregnancy pointers from JJ. Reid naturally began devouring any relevant literature he could find—a habit that continued after he returned from medical leave.

Rossi ended up sitting opposite Reid on the jet, and was surprised to see what Reid was reading. "Haven't you already been a parent for about ten years?"

"Nine years, four months, and three days," Reid responded without looking up.

"I stand corrected," Rossi replied, simultaneously amused and exasperated. "My point being, I would think experience is a better teacher than those books could ever be."

"Jessica was twelve when I adopted her. I have no experience raising a child from birth."

"You're telling me you never helped JJ and Will with Henry when he was born?" Rossi asked skeptically.

"Not much, and in any event, occasional babysitting isn't the same as parenting."

"All right, you've got me there," Rossi conceded. "But if Jessica is anything to go by, I think you're gonna do just fine."

"Thanks." Reid briefly looked up to flash a smile at Rossi.

Rossi briefly returned the smile, but it soon faded. At times like this, he couldn't help but think back to James…the son he never got to raise. As much as he enjoyed being 'Uncle Dave' to the BAU kids, there was still a part of him that longed for someone to call him 'Dad'…

On one thankfully case-free weekend, Morgan decided to pop by the Reid-Donovan-Warner apartment and see if he could drag his best friend out to do something fun. Reid answered the door, accompanied by a very grumpy cat. "Oh, hi Morgan. What's up?"

Morgan shrugged. "Just wondering if you're currently busy with anything."

"Uh…" Reid looked over his shoulder in the direction of the hallway. "I don't think so?"

"What do you mean, you don't think so?"

Reid winced, looking mildly embarrassed. "Well, we're trying to set up a crib, but I kept messing it up and Maeve finally told me to get out of her and Jessica's way…"

Morgan couldn't help it; he laughed. "Good to know where I should go if I ever want to see gender stereotypes flipped. You wanna come to the range with me and regain your manhood?"

"My manhood is just fine, thanks," Reid replied, affronted. "Although the range does sound like a more productive idea than supervising crib construction."

"Atta man," Morgan agreed, slapping Reid on the back. He figured he wasn't going to get many more chances to casually hang out with Reid once the baby was born.

At the start of one case in September, Jessica received some rather incoherent rambling texts from Garcia about a new agent named Kate Callahan who was…possibly 'nice'? Jessica figured she would probably get more sense out of Spencer when the case was over.

"So, I've been informed that you guys have a new agent now?" Jessica asked over dinner.

"Yes," Spencer confirmed. "Agent C-A-L-L-A-H-AN. She just transferred from the Human Trafficking Unit. She actually worked with Seaver there."

Jessica frowned. "Seaver…oh, the agent who replaced JJ for a bit?"

"Yes, her."

Maeve also frowned. "Did I meet her?"

"Once," Spencer replied. "She transferred not long after I told the team about our relationship."

"Any chance this new agent comes pre-fluent in ASL, like Blake did?" Jessica asked hopefully.

Spencer shook his head. "I don't think so, but I haven't gotten around to mentioning you yet. We pretty much headed off on our latest case as soon as she was hired."

"What else can you tell us about her? I got a lot of long messages from Penelope which pretty much boiled down to 'I hope she's nice'."

Maeve snorted. "And you think Spencer is any more concise?"

Jessica shrugged. "At least when Spencer rambles, there is actual useful information in the rambling."

"Thank you?" Spencer signed uncertainly. "We actually met her last year doing karaoke at Rossi's favorite bar. She seemed pleasant enough, and I think she'll get along with Penelope just fine once they've spent a bit of time together. Her case record in the Human Trafficking Unit is excellent. She got a nasty graze from our unsub last night, but from the way Hotch tells it, that was bad luck and not incompetence."

Jessica nodded. "There. See? Information."

"Not much information, we've still only worked one case together," Spencer responded.

"And that explains why you stopped talking before we finished eating," Maeve joked. "I might even have time to tell you about my day!"

"Please do," Spencer replied, sincerely interested.

It probably said something about their family that neither Spencer nor Jessica had to ask Maeve to use layman's terms to describe her day.

A few days later, Maeve went to lunch and discovered several texts from Garcia on her phone.

"They're killing him this week!"

"Does this not bother you at all?"

"Are you freaking out? I'm freaking out."

Maeve reread the messages, trying to figure out what had Garcia so worked up. She gave up, and replied. "Who's killing who?"

"That killer nurse from Texas is being executed this week!"

Now Maeve was even more confused. "And this should bother me…why?"

"Do you not care that you shot him and now he's going to die?" Garcia replied incredulously.

"I care that he did NOT succeed at killing my husband," Maeve retorted. "Or my cousin-in-law, for that matter, because who knows what he was planning to do if Jessica didn't get out of his way."

"…well, I don't like the death penalty," Garcia complained. "More killing is never the answer."

"I'm not entirely sold on the idea either, but I wasn't the one who passed the sentence, so it's not like I personally killed the guy," Maeve insisted. "He made his own choices, and I refuse to feel bad for protecting my family."

"Pregnancy has made you absolutely terrifying and I love you for it. And also, I may be a tiny bit scared of you now. But mostly I love you for it. I think."

Maeve gave this text a strange look, then laughed. "I'm just going to take that as a compliment and leave it at that."

Spencer's birthday was that weekend, and Gideon offered to take the whole family to an autumn festival in Virginia. After about two hours, they finally arrived. Maeve stepped out of the car…and immediately covered her nose. "Hoo boy. Strong smells."

"We can leave if it's too much," Spencer suggested.

"And spend another two hours in the car? Absolutely not. We made it this far, we're staying."

"Do they do hay rides here?" Jessica asked hopefully.

"I think they do," Gideon replied. "Let's go ask."

"Are hay rides okay with you?" Spencer worriedly asked Maeve.

"It's not a rollercoaster. I'll be fine," Maeve assured. "Stop fussing! This is your birthday, not mine! If I have a serious problem, I'll let you know, I promise."

"Okay," Spencer agreed reluctantly.

"I see a sign for hay rides!" Jessica announced cheerfully. She turned to her cousin. "But it's your birthday, Spencer, so what do you want to do?"

"Did you know that hay rides originated with farm hands and working children riding on loaded hay wagons at the end of the day to take the hay back to the barn? It was one of the few times that workers could rest during the day during the busy haying season."

"Okay, hay rides it is," Jessica concluded.

"Actually, I could really go for some apple cider," Maeve commented.

"Coming right up," Gideon offered. "Spencer, Jessica, either of you want cider?"

"Sure," Jessica replied.

"That'd be great, thanks," Spencer agreed. Gideon walked over to a nearby booth selling apple cider.

"So, what else can you tell us about hay rides?" Maeve asked.

"By the late 19th century, tourism was becoming popular with urban families, many of whom had a romanticized concept of hay rides. Farmers began offering hay rides as a way to make additional income, since hay rides could often earn them more cash than selling the actual hay, although most farmers did both. Over time, hay rides became a tradition, although the concept was modified from riding on top of a bale of hay to simply riding on a wagon cushioned with hay."

"Yeah, I don't think I'd be up for climbing on top of a bale of hay right now," Maeve commented.

"I would, but not if it's going to be in motion," Jessica chimed in.

"Yes, the modern version of a hay ride is definitely safer," Spencer agreed.

"Okay," Gideon announced, holding up four mugs of apple cider. "Please take these off my hands so I can sign again."

"First person to spill while signing has to buy the next round!" Jessica suggested.

"Or we could just take a break from conversation to enjoy the cider," Maeve countered.

"Well that's no fun," Jessica pouted, successfully keeping her cider in its mug.

Spencer quickly drained his mug, then slapped it upside down on his other hand. He moved the mug away to reveal a quarter on his hand. "Oh no, I spilled," he said flatly.

"I guess you can use that to buy the next round," Gideon replied.

"Technically, he wasn't signing," Maeve pointed out.

"Also, I think we're going to board in a few minutes," Spencer added, nodding at the wagon which had just pulled up.

"Fun will now commence," Jessica stated, doing her best impression of Seven of Nine. Sure enough, the festival staff made the call for boarding, and they all trooped up to the wagon. Spencer helped Maeve climb aboard, and they settled in for an enjoyable hay ride.