A/N: Hello again, everyone! I hope you're all doing well and hanging in there—that's all anyone can do. I've decided to skip Inner Beauty (which was okay, but kinda eh, but I always love seeing Sheryl Lee Ralph) and just go straight to Devil's Backbone and combine it with the S11 Finale: The Storm.

"Uh-oh," Élise covered her face with Éliana's pink and yellow blanket after she had finished changing her diaper. "What did I go, Ellie? Huh? Huuuh?" She couldn't help but lower the blanket to amusingly see Éliana's eyes wandering around her nursery.

Finally, Élise revealed her face to her. "Peek-a-boo!"

Éliana was taken back before she burst into babyish giggles, making Élise laugh. Then, scooping up the six-month-old into her arms, she blew raspberries onto her belly, making her giggle even more just as the mother heard a knock on the door.

"I'm not interrupting mother-daughter time, am I?" asked Spencer, creeping into the nursery.

Élise began rocking baby Éliana, who had her hand in her mouth. "No, you're not."

"You're so cute and adorable." Spencer planted a kiss on Éliana's forehead and petted the back of her head. Recently, her hair fell back (it's entirely normal for babies to go through this phase), but it's been starting to grow back steadily, and now it is a dark, dirty blonde.

Spencer and Élise returned from Dr. Pierce for Éliana's check-up, and everything went according to plan. Éliana's weight, length, and head circumference were in the ideal percentile. The good doctor gave the baby her shots, did her dental health screenings, and spent ten minutes talking to Élise alone regarding her past issues with postpartum depression.

"Grandma! Grandma Dee!" Séraphine and Isaac called from the archway, scampering when they saw the sight of their paternal grandmother.

"Oooh…" Diana nuzzled her head against her two oldest grandchildren before she kissed their temples. "It's been too long…" she nestled them closer to her.

Élise bent down next to the stroller and scooped Alexander and Éliana out. "These two want a hug from their Grandma Di…"

"Na…na…Nawwna…" Alexander cooed; Éliana babbled incoherently.

Séraphine and Isaac scooted away to make room for their grandmother to hold their two younger siblings. "Oooh, don't you two look so adorable. And getting so big…"

Spencer can't help but love seeing his children interact with their grandmother—his own grandparents died many years ago, so he never got a chance to form a relationship with either one of them. And with his father's abandonment and his mother's instability, sure, there was Aunt Ethel and Uncle Gordon who looked out for him. Still, there were times Spencer wished he had one to lean on for support and care when he didn't get it from his own parents. So, for him, it was important for the children to have a relationship with their grandparents. It was the same with Élise. She had great relationships with her grandparents, and they passed away when she was a pre-teen and young adult. And she'd often talk about how even just thinking about them would make her all misty and cry.

"Mmm…" Diana threw her arms over Spencer and squeezed him with all her might after he escorted his mother back to her room and shut the door behind them. "Thank you so much for visiting me. It's always good to see your faces…"

Spencer helped his mother sit in the gray colored armchair; next to her was a circular mahogany coffee table with magazines and books conspicuously placed. "There you go." He tried organizing the magazines and books alphabetically before noticing these magazines weren't something she'd typically read.

He picked up an issue of Travel + Leisure and asked, "Are you planning to go somewhere?" The last time she went on a trip was to the Grand Canyon, and she didn't tell him she was going.

Diana stretched. "Oooah…with what's happening right now, I've been wanting to want to see more of the world…"

Spencer skimmed through the magazine from start to finish until he set it down exactly where it was. "Like where?"

Diana gathered a book she kept at her bedside. "Anywhere the world wants to take it," she slipped on her reading glasses and began reading the book she just opened. "But the one place I've always wanted to see is Paris."

"Paris, France?" Spencer wanted to make sure she was talking about the right city since there were plenty of Paris-named cities and places in the world.

Diana continued focusing on her book. "Well, obviously…what I'd give to see the city…"

"But I thought you didn't like flying." Spencer reminded her.

Diana pursed her lips. "Mmm…no, cruise ships are my biggest fear."

Élise hummed to herself, checking in on the roasting chicken (she caught a waft of the butter, rosemary, and lemon), multi-grain rolls, and cheesecake pie in the oven before closing it. Since there was more than enough time to make a side salad, she opened the fridge door, inspected inside, and pulled out some green vegetables (they were still fresh when William went to the Farmer's Market earlier this week).

Cleaning up the cutting board, she rested the veggies on top after giving them a good wash with a sprinkle of white vinegar; she started slicing and dicing the tomatoes just as the kitchen door swung open. "I'm home…"

Élise smirked to herself and blushed when being given a cheek kiss by Spencer and asked, "So…how was work?"

Spencer sighed to himself as he opened the refrigerator. "Surprisingly decent. And surprisingly quiet. No matter how many unsubs we caught…"

"There'll always be more to find…" Élise completed his sentence while placing the vegetables in a wooden serving bowl.

Spencer unscrewed the bottled water cap and asked before he had a sip, resting his hand on the countertop. "Tell me, Élise. How do you feel about…Paris, France?"

Élise had just set her sharp knife down and immediately turned her head; her eyes widened, and her mouth shaped like an O. "Paris…France?" Spencer shook his head as he drank. "Ahhhh!" Élise squealed like she hadn't squealed in a long while. "You wanna take me on a romantic trip to Paris, France? Ooh, I love you!"

She threw her arms over him and passionately kissed his lips. After about thirteen seconds, Spencer gently pulled away and reclarified, "Uh, actually, honey. This trip is for my mother and me."

"Oh…really?" croaked Élise's face. She tried to fight the disappointment she was feeling, but deep down, she thought it was nice for Spencer to be planning a vacation for just him and his mother. She went back to mixing the vegetables. "That's nice…"

Spencer noted Élise's disappointment. "You're upset, aren't you?"

Élise moved her shoulders up. "Well…I was kinda hoping one day we'd get to go to Paris. You know, the two of us exploring the city of dreams. The city of romance. Love. Home of some of the most iconic landmarks in the world. The capital of fashion and haute couture."

Spencer planted his hands on her shoulders and pressed his head over her. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but with what's happening with my mom, this is something she wants to do."

Élise sighed heavily. "I know-I know. You're every mother's dream son," she patted his face and kissed his cheek. "And if you want, I can help. But doesn't she hate flying? Did she get over it?"

"Actually, it's cruise ships."

Élise smirked. "Then it's a good thing she didn't join us when we went on the Golden Wattle."

Spencer was on his way to the roundtable room (there was another case, but Hotch and Garcia were still getting things set) when he spotted JJ at an open office door. He realized it was Morgan's old office space (it was given to him after one of the agents retired), but now that Morgan himself was gone, it was up for grabs.

He stood behind JJ, watching two custodians cleaning it up. Since JJ herself was one used to an office, he wondered why she didn't take it. Spencer could take it (plus, he could make the office his own and have it as he wanted to), but seeing how it was Morgan before he left, it felt kinda wrong to just take it. Garcia joined them, watching the custodians cleaning it, and groaned—she wanted to leave the office as a shrine to Morgan, but Hotch overruled her and was giving it to one of the unit programs and vowed to hate whoever moved it.

JJ snickered at that since Garcia could never really hate someone—it was against her wholesome nature unless they were really reprehensible. Knowing her best friend was right, Garcia corrected herself and promised to vehemently dislike them. Hotch came up from behind and announced to them that everything had been set up for the next case. Spencer took one last look at Morgan's office, walking away.

"Hey-hey-hey, little man. You don't wanna hurt your little hand now, huh?"

In the playroom with her younger son, Élise had her hand over Alexander's hand, watching him play with the red and blue handmade playdough when she felt he was hitting the dough hard. It was the same recipe Spencer made when Séraphine and Isaac were toddlers. All that was needed was made with flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, food coloring, and water.

"Easy, now…" Élise tried spreading the dough to ensure it wasn't too sticky. "On second thought, go play with the other toys…" She pulled him away from the play table and guided him to the toy chest. She lifted the lid to open just as her cell began ringing. She accepted the call before she put the phone to her ear and said hello chipperly.

"Hey, honey," it was Spencer. "How's your day goin'?"

"Just hangin' out to Alexander," Élise watched Alexander take out a box of blocks and dump them onto the floor. "Éliana's resting; Rose's hanging with some old colleagues; and your pops is enjoying semi-retirement. What's up?"

"In case you don't hear from me much today, we're on our way to a prison," Spencer said.

Élise groaned—she kinda hated that the team had to go to prison for cases. "Who's the inmate?"

Antonia Slade: a notorious serial killer who may have information about two missing boys' whereabouts after a box of bloody clothes the boys were last seen in. This was one of the cases Gideon worked on. From what the team knows, she was a former therapist who targeted runaways with her accomplice until she was caught and her accomplice killed himself. Since then, she's been incarcerated, but until now, she's never accepted visitors, though she's been known to receive numerous fan mail from admirers.

Hotch was the first to have a go with Antonia, only for her to say nothing and throw a sheet of paper at him. Only to remember there was an imprint of what she wrote before. JJ had her turn with her, and from what she got, Antonia's a narcissist who enjoys being in solitary.

Based on the imprint, something about it seemed off, but she knew she was writing to someone. Spencer wanted to have a go with her. He saw right through Antonia's gaslighting manipulation, but Antonia wasn't wrong about Spencer still being upset about Morgan's departure.

Just as he handed Antonia the letter, she took his hand, vomited her lunch onto it, and wrote CH in the palm. No doubt it secretly grossed him to a new hell. But at least she told him the boys were still alive.

Élise sat down with William, Rose, and all four kids at the dinner table. She had Éliana on her lap, and a small jar of pureed chicken was adjusted to her dinner table. "Here comes the plane…" She imitated a plane flying in the air until she got the spoon in Éliana's mouth and watched her reaction.

"And she sticks the landing!" Élise cried like an announcer at the Olympics after witnessing a competitor making a perfect 10-worthy performance.

William threw his hands up and cheered. "Whoo-hoo!"

"And why is it exciting to watch babies eat?" Séraphine asked, holding her small silver dinner fork with a semi-weirded-out look on her face.

William answered, "Because pretty soon, she'll be able to use utilities like you, Isaac, and Alexander."

Séraphine nodded her head and replied, going back to eating her dinner, "Woooow…"

"Achoo!" Isaac sneezed his palm, picked up his juice cup, and gulped it all down.

"Bless you," said Élise, "But you know what you have to do now, Ziggy: go wash your hands after you sneezed into them."

Isaac pulled his chair back, "Yes, mommy…" William got up, took the Lysol spray that was sitting behind them, shook it, and gave the room a small spritz.

Spencer spent the last five minutes in the restroom washing and applying lotion to his hands and wrists with antibacterial soap and cream. To be on the safe side after his encounter with Antonia, he reached into his pockets, took out his travel-sized body spray, and misted himself with it. His nose eventually caught the lemon and mint scent.

Still, the team read up on Antonia's past victims, and Rossi believed they needed to approach her differently. While he and Tara went to talk to Antonia together (her one rule was to see the team's individuality) and work their own gaslight/manipulation back at her, Spencer spoke to one of the guards who had more contact with her.

"Mommy?" Séraphine leaned down in bed with the heavy comforters over her.

"Yeah?"

Séraphine asked again, "When's Daddy coming home?"

Élise shrugged her shoulders and answered honestly, "Ah… Daddy's work schedule can be…unusual. And the work he does is…a lot."

"Really?"

Élise shook her head yes.

Spencer broke the cipher code, and based on the letter that was sent to Antonia, it deduced that the boys would be killed tonight. The team had no choice but to give into Antonia's demands and give her what she wanted: a transfer to Kentucky.

They chained her up and escorted her onto the jet, determined not to let her out of their sight. But something about this felt off. Rossi didn't see Antonia as a sentimental person who'd want to go back home.

Spencer concluded that Antonia only wants to go to Kentucky because the unsub's bringing them there, and she just wants to witness the murders up front.

They weren't going to let that happen and realized there must be a connection between Antonia and the unsub.

Élise got a text message from Spencer over an hour ago, telling her he was going to Kentucky with Rossi, Tara, and Antonia (she guessed why but didn't want to know). She wasn't getting much sleep anyway.

Instead, Élise got her cup of caffeine-free tea and retreated to her home officer. She had the baby monitors just in case Alexander and Éliana woke up. Élise sat at her computer, trolling through traveling results.

Claude Barlow was one of her old therapy patients with a serious fixation on her—making him the perfect accomplice for her to manipulate.

The team was forced to allow Antonia to accompany them to the unsub. And when they did, they encountered Barlow holding one of the boys hostage, who was determined to see Antonia. He got his wish, but unfortunately, Antonia whispered something to him and ended up committing suicide.

But all that mattered to them now was that the boys were safe and reunited with their loved ones. Tara was more than ready to move on from Antonia, who wasn't going to come through with her promise to interview Antonia—Spencer overheard Tara's conversation with her in German.

"Mmm…" Spencer sank his body closer to Élise in bed, embracing her in his arms. He had gotten home pretty late but wanted to stay in bed with her. "Mmm…"

Élise twisted her body to face him, slinking her arms free from his grasp. "As much as I would love to recreate our honeymoon morning, we have four kids to feed; two of them to send off to school and two for their naps."

"I could call in sick," Spencer suggested as he watched Élise crawl herself away and flung the duvets aside.

Élise tossed her head back, and a sly look came to her face. "Yeah, I don't think you were the kind of kid who'd ditched school."

Spencer shrugged his shoulders and agreed—no, he was not.

This morning had gone his way: the children got up at the exact time as expected, the Panamanian Geisha coffee his father bought was one of the best he had ever had, and Élise let him know that she'd been looking at Parisian hotels for Spencer and Diana to stay in—all that was needed to be done was to decide when to book them.

On his way to the office, he met Tara in the elevator. He mentioned taking his mother on a trip to Paris, and she encouraged him to do it while he still could. Garcia mentioned vacations again, and she's heading to London to see Prentiss again.

Now that Séraphine and Isaac were at work and Alexander and Éliana should be having their naps, Élise was off to have a little free time to herself. She might as well use up as much as she could since next week, she'll be joining the other justices for her first term at the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, disastrous news had put Élise in a foul mood. "What do you mean Hotch has been arrested?"

"Metro SWAT came into his place and arrested him." Spencer paused. "Right in front of JJ, Jack, and Henry."

Élise felt a tight knot in her stomach and an urge to vomit. "Oh, God…was it a swatting?"

"Luckily, no."

Élise began pacing around the living room. "I swear, anyone dared to swat me, oh-ho! I'd caught them and beat them like I was their father," she yearned. "Now, I'm starting to miss being the AG. I'd love to help, but unfortunately…"

"Now that you're a Justice, you can't be permitted to offer services outside your judicial duties." Spencer finished her sentence and continued, "If I'm home late…"

Élise massaged her forehead. "… I'll leave a light on for you."

After getting Jack, Henry, and Michael settled in, the team didn't waste any time. Rossi got word that Hotch is being held by the DOJ at the Inspector General's Office. After hearing the 9-1-1 call and looking at the press conferences Hotch led, they realized it had been spliced together and spoofed.

With the explosives and the evidence piled up against Hotch, it was a conspiracy against him. Returning to the topic of spoofing technology, this particular app, "The Storm," rang a bell for the team.

"There's a storm coming, and you're about to be swept away."

Antonia Slade's message to Hotch after he exposed her past. And her child.

"I want this one with her," JJ rose from her chair after Garcia was done printing out information. She brushed off her black blazer jacket that sat behind her hair and slipped it on. She offered to talk to Antonia. And she was fuming tranquility, "To frame Hotch is one thing, but when her child had armed men point guns in the same room as my child and Hotch's…"

JJ flipped her long blonde hair back and marched out of the roundtable room on her way to the prison.

"Think JJ's gonna bitch-slap Antonia?" asked Tara.

Spencer said, "I'm not going to lie; I wouldn't be surprised if she did."

"If she does, I wished I'd gone with her," Rossi had his hand up.

It was time again for Séraphine's class to visit the school library weekly. With its colorful and whimsical furnishings, shelves, decorations, and books, the library at the Primary WIS looked more like an indoor playground. Since last year, the students have learned how to choose, check, and return a book and proper library procedures.

"Look what I got!" Blair showed off the book she picked out: Winnie-The-Pooh.

"Coool! What did you pick out, Fee?" asked Victor, holding his Pinocchio book.

"This one." Séraphine flaunted the book she had: The Story of Babar.

JJ got what she wanted from Antonia: her son's name—Asher Douglas. On their way to arrest him with SWAT, based on what they found at his residence, Spencer theorizes that Asher is autistic and wants to have an interrogation with him.

No one objected to the idea, but Spencer told him to hurry. Spencer knew someone like Asher would have trouble with social cues, so he tried to get Asher to realize he was manipulated and give up his partner's name.

Eric Rawdon: a charismatic and psychopathic homegrown terrorist with a penchant for wanting to cause sheer destruction for the hell of it, and Hotch testified against him. But they knew the conspiracy was much bigger than that, based on his emails to Asher and with the same coded message:

A prison break was about to happen tonight.

"Mommy! Grandpa!" Séraphine and Isaac sprinted with open arms and hugged their mother and grandfather at pick-up.

"Did you two enjoy another day of learning?" asked William, helping the children into the black Suburban and buckling them into their seats.

"Uh-huh!"

Élise fastened her seat belt, and her cell phone buzzed on her lap. She saw it was a text message from Spencer, opened it and shuddered.

All along, the plan was to frame Hotch to keep the team distracted, and the escape could go off as planned. Not on their watch. Spencer, Rossi, JJ, and Tara are alerted that the riot started. They encounter some ne'er-do-wells who've gotten their hands on some of the guns.

SWAT met up with the team and split up throughout the prison.

"Mommy…?"

Élise jumped and turned around, seeing Isaac standing by the archway in the living room. "Hey, little man… what's up?"

Isaac skidded towards her and sat next to her, having his head on her lap.

"Awww…" Sometimes, she wondered if the kids could sense something. A few moments later, Séraphine joined them.

Another case that ended bittersweetly: while they managed to exonerate Hotch, capture the prisoners, including Rawdon, and stop his bombing attempt and future ones, there were a few casualties, such as some of the prison guards and SWAT agents, including its captain.

Spencer arrived home. He dropped his bags and poked his head into the living room. He walked around the couch and saw a half-sleepy Élise with Isaac and Séraphine asleep.

"Hey…" he whispered, not wanting to wake them up.

Élise blinked a few times and yawned. "You okay?"

Spencer scooped up Séraphine and helped carry her back upstairs. "I am now…"

In the kitchen, Élise yawned, pouring Spencer a cup of Panamanian Geisha coffee, passing it onto him, and giving him a lip lock. She patted his back, "Are you okay?"

"A lot has happened these past few days," Spencer sighed. "No matter what we do, there's always something coming in this job."

"I know," Élise agreed, sitting down next to him at the counter. "It can be a lot. It can take a lot in a person. But what you do—what we do—is to protect. We fight or flight. Because if we don't… they'll win."

Spencer smiled in appreciation for Élise's words and said, "Rossi's throwing a dinner party at his place tonight. You wanna go?"

Of course, Élise wanted to go to a dinner party at Rossi's mansion. After the day the team had yesterday, it was finally good for them to get some R&R time. Plus, this was their chance to meet Rossi's second ex-wife, Hayden.

Spencer steered the car into Rossi's driveway and helped Élise get the kids and Opal. Séraphine and Isaac knocked on the front door, eager to see their Uncle Rossi. He opened the door, and there he was, along with a tallish, dark-skin woman next to him.

"Spencer, Élise, kiddos, I'd like for you to meet Hayden Montgomery."

"Bonsoir, madame Montgomery. C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer."[1]

Hayden seemed impressed by Élise's French. "Vous parlez francaise tres bien, madame."[2] She turned to Rossi and said, "She's one of my favorites so far."

Pretty soon, JJ and William arrived with Henry, Hotch with Jack, and Tara and Garcia. Spencer entertained the children with card tricks, making Élise smile before her eyes glimpsed Hotch.

Élise had to call Hotch after the hell he went through yesterday. He admitted being worried about Jack—he's growing up so far. He doesn't remember much about Haley's death, but now he'll never forget about seeing his father at gunpoint.

All Hotch could do was be there for him now as his dad.

It was a friendly imitated get-together—it lasted until Hotch received a call that needed their attention…

More prison breaks in different states. While the bomb threat was stopped and many prisoners were either killed or recaptured, thirteen serial killers escaped, including Peter Lewis, aka Mr. Scratch, who was part of their plan this whole time.

"So, we have to catch them again," Hotch declared.

It took a while, but S11 is done, and it's on to S12!

[1] French: Good evening, Ms. Montgomery. It's a pleasure to meet you.

[2] French: You speak French very well, madame.