A/N: Hello again, everyone! I hope you're all doing well and hanging in there—that's all anyone can do. Sorry if it's been a while—I've kinda been feeling slow with the lack of ideas and my semi-addiction to a new game.

Spencer, Tara, and JJ were at their cubicle desks, finishing up the paperwork from their previous case, when Garcia strolled by. She acted all giddily, shaking her shoulders up and down.

"Guess which newlywed couple is back from their two-week honeymoon?"

Tara tipped her head up before sloping it down slightly. "Derek and Savannah?"

"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!" Garcia imitated a winning answer bell. "We have a winner! And we have other pressing matters to handle."

"What?" JJ asked with curiosity.

Garcia announced. "The sex of Baby Deravannah?"

JJ made a funny face, her eyes and mouth being the most expressive. "Baby Derannah?"

"Well…" Garcia twisted her mouth. "I thought about Baby Sarek, but then, I started thinking of Star Trek's Sarek, who's the father of Spock—rest in peace, Leonard Nimoy—so…it was a give or take…"

Spencer set his pen down and began doing that thing with his hands, knowing he was about to ramble whenever he got excited about his favorite topics. "Actually, did you know that the first actor who portrayed Sarek had to have his hair dyed and makeup applied to appear older since he was seven years older than Nimoy?"

Garcia sighed heavenly and smiled brightly again. "Moving back on the Baby of Big Back Twelve-Pack and Lady Doctor, I say we throw a surprise baby shower in the form of a welcome-back party!" She jumped up and down a couple of times, clapping.

"Baby's not due for another couple of months." Tara reminded the computer analyst.

"And Morgan still has to be cleared for active duty again." JJ added, given the kidnap and torture trauma.

Garcia pouted her lips out. "Well, forgive me if I wanna do something nice for my chocolate thunder, his lady, and their baby growing inside her belly. And I still have some celebration in me to want to celebrate and party."

"Mommy! Daddy!" Séraphine and Isaac came through the front doors, busting in like the mini-version of Ghostbusters; William trailed behind them, carrying their small backpacks.

Spencer swept the children into his arms and hugged them, kissing the top of their heads. "Hey, kids! How was your last day of summer camp?"

Throughout the past few weeks, Séraphine and Isaac have had the opportunity to integrate themselves with the camps' global-themed programs, which involve students of all grades and allow them to explore the Spanish language barrier, customs, and cultures.

"¡Salió muy bien, papá!"[1] said Séraphine, bouncing a couple of times. "Do you know what that means?"

"Ah, it went great, huh?" Élise's Spanish might sometimes be rusty, but she knew what Séraphine said. "You wanna go again next year?"

Isaac threw his hand up. "I wanna…"

"¿Por favor, mami?"[2] Séraphine pleaded, folding her tiny hands together.

While rocking Éliana, Élise proposed to the two oldest, "If you're good next year, you can go again, okay?"

"Dinner's ready!" a voice warbled from the kitchen.

William popped his head into the living room and removed his black oven mitts. He'd offered to cook the family dinner tonight, and he wore a pink apron with the words "MEN CAN COOK" across the front.

"Yay, it's dinnertime!" Élise cheered, scooping up Alexander, who had been sitting on her lap. "Thank Grandpa for making dinner."

William added, "And desserts for anyone whose been good."

"Thank you, Grandpa." Séraphine and Isaac smiled gratefully. They followed their parents, younger brother, and paternal grandfather into the dining room; Spencer set the dinner dish in the center of the table along with the salad bowl, condiments, and garlic bread.

"Ouch!" Isaac cried out as he accidentally walked into the large dining chair and bumped his face against it, rubbing his head and eyes. "Hmpf…" he sounded as if he was almost about to cry.

Spencer walked around the table and helped him into his seat. "There you go, buddy." He pushed his chair but made sure he wasn't too restricted against the table.

"Thank you, Daddy…"

Élise got Alexander settled at the table. When she turned to get to her seat, she grimaced her face when she saw Isaac rubbing his eyes vigorously. "You okay, Zig…?"

"I don't feel so good," Isaac complained, pouting his mouth. "And my head is hurting..."

Élise scraped back her dining seat and ambled to Isaac. She pressed her backhand and palm against his forehead. "Maybe you should go lay down for a bit, and I'll feed you your dinner."

"Okay, mommy. " Isaac's mother helped him out of his seat and guided him out of the dining room. Spencer passed a dinner plate to her, looking worried for his oldest son.

Later that night, after dinner, while William and Rose offered to clean up and do the dishes, Spencer and Élise got the children ready for bed. They made sure the children had baths, brushed their teeth, and even read to them before tucking them in.

Spencer finished the last of his tea and relaxed in bed with a bed when Élise strolled back in, smoothly removing her white robe, revealing a violet-colored pajama set underneath it.

"Oh, Spence," Élise threw the comforters to the side, got into bed, and over her again. She rested her pillow and blew a sigh. "I'm worrying about Ziggy."

Spencer closed his book. For the past few days, Isaac has been squinting a lot, sitting too close to the television screen, and complaining of headaches and eye pain, especially when rubbing his eyes. "I already made an appointment to see Dr. Becke tomorrow morning."

"I hope it's nothing serious, babe." Élise gulped, patting her chest.

Spencer exhaled. "I hope so, too."

As promised, Spencer and Élise took Isaac to see Dr. Joanna Becke, the kids' pediatric orthopedic doctor. It hasn't been a while since they've been to her office, and already, there was a new wall mural and desk with a safari theme—it made the parents and kids think they were in Africa. There were a couple of other older-looking guardians and some fussy children in the waiting room.

A youngish receptionist in animal-printed scrubs called Isaac's name, and taking him by his hands, Spencer and Élise escorted him to Dr. Becke's exam room.

"Mmm…" Isaac continued rubbing his eyes; his face turned a bit sour. "Ohhh…"

"Hey-hey-hey…" Spencer coaxed Isaac's hand away from him. "I know your eyes are hurting you, but it's important not to rub them, okay?"

Isaac whined, "It's so hard, though…"

Élise patted his knees. "I know, baby, but it'll be fine, okay?"

A middle-aged white lab-coated woman with bobbed ash-blonde hair and a fairly young, neatly attired female assistant greeted the three with a warm smile and morning greetings. Afterwards, the older doctor asked questions about what's been going on with Isaac's eyesight, and Spencer and Élise answered them gracefully while the assistant took notes.

The assistant checked Isaac's distance and (near, 3D, and color) vision, including covering one eye at a time, and used some lights to check his pupils and eye movements. Before Dr. Becke used a microscopic slit lamp (a phoropter), her assistant placed dilated eyedrops for Isaac's eye muscles to relax and pupils to enlarge.

"What do you see, Isaac?" asked Dr. Becke in a restful tone.

Isaac replied, "It blurry."

Her assistant placed in another lens, and the good eye doctor asked again, "Now, what do you see? Is it more clearer?"

"Uh-huh…" Isaac shook his head. "That's better…"

"You just need glasses, Isaac," Dr. Becke said again, pushing the phoropter aside, and allowing Isaac to hop out of the big leather brown chair and be with his parents. That's why your head's been hurting you."

Spencer and Élise allowed Isaac to browse around the kids' section of all the different frames (there had to be over a dozen to two) the doctor had in her office. Once he picks out the ones he likes, the optician will adjust them to his liking and make sure they fit without restraints.

Isaac stood on his tippy toes on his black Chuck Taylor All-Star Converse, pointing to a polished transparent light blue oval-shaped frame. Spencer got it for him and placed them on.

"What do you think?" Isaac asked his parents for their opinion.

Élise curled her lips out. "Cute but a little too small for your eyes, little man." Spencer shook his head, agreeing with Élise. Spencer helped him place the one he just had with another one: this one had an irregular frame shape with polished silver metal material. Isaac looked at his reflection in the mirror and tilted his head twice.

"Do you like that one?"

After a few more seconds, Isaac scrunched his mouth and shook his head, changing his mind about them. Spencer picked out eyeglasses with an irregular rectangular-like framing and black nylon material.

Élise gasped. "Those look nice on you."

"Do you like it, Daddy?" asked Isaac.

"I had glasses like those when I was younger, so yeah, I like it."

Isaac asked again, "So, can I keep them?"

Spencer shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

With some free time to herself—Séraphine and Isaac were at play dates; Alexander and Éliana were napping; and Spencer was away on a case—Élise turned one of the spare rooms into a temporary dressing room.

Élise stood in the middle of the room, wearing a black silk floor-length gown with a bow-like neckline. When she twirled, the skirt swooshed.

"OMG, Lise, you look so gooood." Gelila chirped, fanning her face with her manicured hands.

Élise struck a pose and rested her hands on her hips. "And this is a Thomas Wee gown?"

"You heard of him?" Gelila asked while picking out another garment bag.

"You know I know my designers," said Élise, looking at her reflection in the mirror. "And I've been watching reruns of Asia's Next Top Model in my spare time."

Gelila snapped her fingers while delicately pulling out another gown. "You know what you should watch? Korea's Next Top Model. Obviously, it's in Korean, but I did find some safe sites where you can watch it with English subtitles. And giiirl, the models on the show are super edgy and editorial. Hell, two of their winners, Sora Choi and Hyunji Shin, went on to be mega successes in the modeling world."

"You gotta give it to Tyra Banks—ANTM may have been…problematic, to say the very least," Élise's voice changed when she said 'problematic,' "But you gotta admit—she went on to make a Top Model phenomenon."

Gelila shook her head. "Oh, yeah, she did."

A few days have passed. Spencer and Élise got word from Dr. Becke that Isaac's new glasses were ready and needed to be picked up. When they got there, the parents made sure the frames were fitted properly, that they were comfortable on his nose and around his nose, and that they were not pinching or sliding off his face.

"Whoa!" Isaac took a step back when seeing his reflection, but it was clearer like he was almost shocked to see it was him in the mirror.

"Surprised to see that it's you?" Spencer lowered down to Isaac's height.

Isaac jogged his head up and down. "Uh-huh…"

"See, Zig?" Élise planted her hands on his shoulders, looking at his reflection in the mirror with him. "They don't look bad on you at all. I mean, look at me, I wear glasses."

Isaac slanted his head to the left and shrugged. "Really, Mommy?"

"Even I sometimes wear glasses," Spencer commented.

Isaac moved his head up to face his father. "You do?"

"Mmm-hmm…" to prove his point, Spencer whipped out a dark gray eco-leather case from his back pocket. He opened it and slipped on a pair of rectangular wayfarer eyeglasses set in black acetate and titanium. "See?"

It was that time again in D.C.—the grand White House State Dinner with the President honoring the Prime Minister of Singapore and his spouse, marking the two countries' diplomatic relationship. Spencer wore a beautiful cut and crafted Kevin Seah suit, black silk satin bow tie, and dress shoes. Élise wore an empire-style gown with a sparkling sequined square bodice and black fringed skirt, black Jimmy Choo pumps and clutch, black opera-length gloves, dangling earrings, and a bangle bracelet.

The yellow décor (from the yellow orchids (Singapore is known for their orchids) to roses and other flowers) in the East Room highlighted the two countries' friendship. The actual dinner paid tribute to Singapore's cuisine: Marland Blue Carb appetizers, heirloom tomato salad with vegetables and fruit, American Wagyu Beef Tenderloin (aka American-styled Kobe beef), and a peach sangria cake.

The typical attendees featured prominent politicians, from US politicians to Singapore delegation members. Élise recognized Amy Tan, the author of The Joy Luck Club—she remembered reading the book back in high school and watching the 1993 film adaptation—and Laurence Powell Jobs, the widow of co-founder and former CEO of Apple Steve Jobs.

"Hey, Spence," said JJ in a semi-surprised tone. She had a sip of her coffee and had just passed by his desk on her way to her desk.

Spencer pushed his frame back on his face with his finger. "Good morning, JJ."

JJ's blue eyes widened, and her mouth fell a little open; her head was still tilting downwards. "Spence… y-you're wearing your glasses."

"Nice to see that you notice." Spencer commented.

JJ cleared her throat when she sat at her desk. "It's not every day I see you with your glasses."

Spencer pulled another file from his stack and opened one. "Isaac just got his new glasses, and I wanted to show him there's nothing to worry about."

Before JJ could say anything, Garcia's squealing chimed into the space. "Eeeeeh! Spencer, I heard the little guy, Isaac, got his new glasses."

"Well, you heard right." Spencer kept his focus on his paperwork.

Garcia rested her hand on a free part of his desk. "I have to say, it makes you look more distinguish…"

Spencer picked his head up. "Élise said the exact thing." He omitted the fact that Élise said it in a more…sexual tone and added another sexual word—he was thankful the children didn't hear it.

"Who's ready to go back to school shopping?" Élise chorused as if she was in the choir, even though the last time she was one was in elementary school while tending to Éliana. She had the five-month-old on her lap, feeding her bottle.

Séraphine and Isaac's hands went right up. "Me-me-me-me-me!"

"Okay. Okay!" Spencer cleaned up Alexander's breakfast and waved his hands down, speaking in a calming voice and wanting the children to simmer down their excitement. "After you finish your breakfast and help Mommy and me clean up, we'll take you two shopping."

Séraphine and Isaac raised their bumps and cheered. "Yay! Yeah!"

As promised, Spencer and Élise took Séraphine and Isaac to Tysons, Virginia, for back-to-school shopping. Their first stop was Tysons Corner Center. They strolled through Macy's first and second levels, beetling around the kids' sections, sifting through the racks and piles of new clothes and the shelves of new backpacks.

Élise had Séraphine try on a light pink silky puffer jacket with a soft quilted, plush-trimmed hood and interior fleece. "What do you think?"

"I like it," said Séraphine, checking herself out in the mirror rack. "Can I have it, Mommy?"

"Uh-huh…" Élise slipped off the coat for Séraphine. "Sure you don't wanna try out another coat or two?"

Séraphine pointed to the coat Élise's currently holding. "I like this one."

Élise shrugged and pursed her mouth. "Eh, still, you wanna see another outfit or two?"

"Okay." Séraphine's face lit up; her eyes sparkled.

Spencer and Isaac were strolling around the boys' section. A few other little boys were accompanied by their guardians, either trying on new clothes or throwing temper tantrums. Isaac stopped walking to stare at a white child-size mannequin wearing a cable-knit cotton sweater vest over an oxford shirt, khaki twill shorts, and white canvas sneakers.

"Hey, Isaac," Spencer held his shoulders. "What's wrong?"

Isaac simply pointed to the mannequin. Spencer turned his head to see the white store figure. "Oh. You wanna wear something like that for the first day?"

"Can I?"

Spencer moved his shoulders up. "Well, okay."

Spencer fumbled with his tie while cleaning the tops of the sheets with a lint brusher. Élise swooned in, opening and closing the door while carrying a plastic-covered white gift basket—it was for the surprise baby shower/welcome-back party for Morgan the team will be throwing at the BAU.

"Hey, you."

"Ah, hey," Spencer finally got his tie and cleared his throat. "Today's the big day."

"Morgan's big return to work." Élise deduced—she couldn't believe it's been six months. Time really does like it—much like the kids' summer vacation.

Spencer sighed. "I just can't help but worry about him. After all these months, we still don't know who took him."

Élise shook her head, brushing her hair behind her ear. "If it were me, I'd make sure none of them connected to the abduction and torture would come back looking for revenge."

Spencer bobbed his head. "Yeah." He picked up the present and kissed her cheek, making Élise blush like a little schoolgirl. "I'll make sure and see to it Morgan and Savannah get this gift basket."

"Tell him and Savannah I say 'hi'," Élise reminded him, wagging her manicured index finger.

Garcia couldn't stop shaking; she was nothing but bursting with excitement. "Ooooh, you don't know I've been dying for this day. The return of my Chocolate Thunder after all these long and excruciating six months."

Tara hustled into the bullpen room with JJ as if on cue, carrying balloons and the diaper cake. Savannah waddled in behind the two ladies. She was wearing a long-sleeve floral top, white pants, and flats.

"Oooh, just wait until he sees this…" JJ gushed.

Savannah joked, "Oo-hoo, wait until he sees this baby coming out of me in the next few weeks," she pointed to her pregnant belly. According to Savannah herself, being pregnant has been wonderful but challenging, from her hormones to finding fashionable clothes to the Lamaze and parenting classes. Luckily, the team (mostly Spencer Élise and JJ) has been offering helpful tips, books, and overall support to the expecting couple.

JJ clapped her hands together, creaked the door a tad open, and kept a lookout. They asked Rossi to distract Morgan while they got the last-minute details in order. Hotch, of course, was in his office, finishing up on some paperwork, but he gave his blessings.

"Oh, shhh-shhh…" Garcia minced towards Spencer and stood beside him. "He's coming. He's coming."

The door swung open, and everyone in the room shouted surprise.

"Uh-oh, where did Mommy go?"

Élise pecked through her fingers, watching baby Éliana aimlessly wandering her eyes around the room before she finally cried out, "Peek-a-boo!"

Élise began smiling while Éliana made a toothless smile and squealed vowel-like sounds. She chuckled to herself, scooping Éliana into her arms just as she felt a vibration in her right hip. She dug through her gray lounge pants to see that her phone was ringing. Immediately recognizing the number, she chirpily said hello.

"Hey, Lise…" it was Spencer. I just thought I would call to let you know I have a case in Wichita, so… there's a case I won't make it back in time for Séraphine and Isaac's first day."

"Okay," Élise gulped—she kinda expected this. Then she sniffed the air before realizing it was Éliana. "Well, I gotta go—someone needs their diaper changed."

Spencer chuckled. "Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too."

The team was alerted to a double homicide/child abduction in Wichita, Kansas. They suspected the unsub was well-organized due to the double murder, the kidnapping, and a ritual (the parents' eyes were glued shut and filled with sand. There was also the chance that it could be the work of a partnership, but they needed to get more answers.

While Rossi and JJ checked the crime scene, Morgan and Hotch coordinated with the police department. Spencer and Tara visited the M.E.—Spencer immediately recognized Cranston from the Travis James case.

Based on his findings, Cranston deduced the parents died from blunt-force trauma, but the father was already dead.

Garcia notified everyone that a child's body was found, with the descriptions fitting the missing boy. He was killed immediately after the kidnapping—the cause of death being asphyxiation.

Spencer researched the glue the unsub used, which was from upstate New York. When he revealed this to Morgan, he noticed he looked distant and decided to talk to him. He figured it must have something to do with who wants Morgan dead, but Morgan revealed it was more than that.

"Ronnie Brewer was in his pajamas," Morgan lamented.

Sure, Morgan was used to seeing dead children on the job, but Spencer realized it was much more than that.

"You're about to be a dad soon," Spencer consoled. "You're starting to see the world differently; what we do differently now. Which is why we work hard to make the world a better place for our children."

Morgan cracked a joke, "Charge by the hour, doc?"

Élise was enjoying some alone time. A little while ago, she got off the phone with Spencer, who apologized again for not being there to see their kids' first day. Now that school was beginning tomorrow, she got the kids to bed early. Her first day as Supreme Court Justice wasn't until the first Monday of October.

It was going to suck to see Spencer miss the children's first days, but based on his line of work, she was kinda expecting it. Growing up, her parents (mostly her working mother) almost never missed the first day. Still, at least Spencer said he'll call before Élise takes them to school.

Now, there have been reports of another home invasion attack: the father's deceased, abducted daughter and mother survived and is currently in the hospital. With this being the same MO as the previous attack, the team delivered the profiled—a family annihilator who's focused on the mother as the main pinpoint of the attacks.

Élise massaged the back of her neck while drying off the breakfast dishes with a washcloth before stifling it to drain it of the excess water and soap. The kitchen still smelled freshly of brewed coffee, pastries, and citrus-scented house cleaner.

Squeezing her hands with Dial Antibacterial Liquid Hand soap, eagerly beavered Séraphine and Isaac blustered into the kitchen with cheeky smiles, with Opal tagging behind them, shaking her tail. Séraphine had on a gray blazer jacket over a white and pink top, pink jeans, and pink ballet flats with her wavy curls in pigtails—she got her inspiration from watching Miraculous Ladybug. Isaac wore a navy cardigan over a polo shirt, shorts, mismatched socks, and Converse.

"Oh, don't you two look so adorably studious." Élise prattled over the two school-aged children. Promptly, Élise's cell buzzed, and lucky her, it was a video message call from Spencer in Wichita. "Oooh, it's Daddy…" After accepting the video call, Élise directed the phone onto the children's faces. "Hiiii, Daddy!"

Spencer waved back, "Hey, kiddies. I'm sorry I can't be here to see you two on your first day."

Spencer needed that moment with his family. Now, back to the case, an hourglass was found in the family's house like in the previous crime scene, but it was not the family's, meaning it was the unsub's. Garcia pinged with a list of child victims of either abduction, sexual assault, or both. After Spencer scaled through the list, he found a potential name.

Patrick Sorenson of upstate New York, who was once an abduction/sexual abuse victim while his addicted mother was asleep during the incident and left him, due to her guilt of not being able to protect him. His fixation with time and hourglasses resulted from his attacker making him stare at an hourglass.

For Élise (and Spencer, if he were here with her), watching the kids run off to class wouldn't be any easier. It was an emotional whiplash—the kids were growing up so fast in front of her before her, and before she and Spencer knew it, they'd be all grown up.

Now, the team was back in D.C. Rossi shot dead the unsub, and they managed to save the little girl, but she and her mother would have a long way to recover from the trauma they experienced. Overall, a happy ending.

"How come I wasn't invited to Rossi's poker night?" Spencer asked JJ as the two were packing their belongings and finally arriving home with their families.

"Because you mop everyone at the table." JJ teased.

Spencer knew she wasn't wrong—he'd take everyone to the cleaners and back.

Suddenly, Garcia trotted in. Her hands trembled and shook, and her face—especially her eyes—read panic. "G-g-guys. It's Derek. Something's happened to Savannah. She's been shot."

A/N: Sorry to leave you with that cliffhanger, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter.

[1] Spanish: It went great, daddy!

[2] Spanish: Please, Mommy?