"Ariel, what's up?"

"Penelope, I need you to trace a call on Spencer's phone."

"Alright, ready."

Spencer handed his phone to Cat as she quickly typed in the numbers. After a short ring, the person on the other line picked up.

"You're early. Did he guess?"

"No, we need proof of life."

"Alright." The more shuffling heard from the other end, the more tense Spencer seemed to be. A moment later, the frightened voice of my mother-in-law came through. "Spencer!"

He quickly grabbed the phone and placed it to his ear, begging for his mom on the other end. She seemed confused and couldn't make out a proper sentence. Then it got quiet. There was more shuffling and then a loud explosion.

I jumped at the sound, hoping I didn't hear a poor woman's last words. Lindsey gave a quick "gotta go" and then the line went dead. Spencer put down his phone and slammed his hand on the table.

"What the hell was that? Was that a pre-arranged signal to kill my mother? Tell me the truth!"

"I am!"

"Tell me the truth!" I stepped in the room, trying to keep Spencer somewhat calm. But even from behind I could tell by the tone in his voice that there was rage filling his body.

"You wanna know the truth? Your mother is an alzheimer's ridden moron who's getting dumber every minute and if she's dead it's your fault."

In a second, Spencer had shoved the table, grabbed Cat, and had her up against the wall. I tried to pry him off of her, but his grip on her throat was becoming tighter.

"Spence! Spence, please! Stop!"

I could hear him quietly threatening Cat and she just continued to smirk at him. He finally let go of her and backed up. In a flash, he was out of the room. I just stared at Cat in disbelief while she continued to smirk at me.

"Is that what he's like in bed? Because damn, you are one lucky woman."

Her comment disgusted me. I exited the room, hoping to find Spencer and reconnect with the team to try and figure out what happened.

I made a quick call with the team and found out that the body at the gas station was a male, meaning Diana could still be alive.

I found Spencer down the hall, sitting on the ground against a wall. "They found a body, male. So we think she's still alive."

He looked up at me and nodded, returning his gaze back to the floor. He looked absolutely exhausted and I knew his mind was in overdrive right about now. I sat down next to him, offering my hand if he wanted it. He quickly took it, interlacing our fingers.

"I'm scared that this is who I am now," he spoke up in a defeated tone. "I'm worried that this is now my life and that you're going to take Delilah and get as far away from me as you can because I'm a monster."

I gripped his hand a little harder as he wiped a stray tear from his eye. I could feel a few well up in my own eyes as well.

"Spencer, that's not gonna happen. Delilah and I aren't going anywhere. This is not who you are now, Spence. I know you had to do some rough things to keep yourself alive, but that's what anyone would do in your place."

"You wouldn't."

"Hell yeah I would. In order to save my life, I would do it in a heartbeat. Surviving doesn't make you a bad person, a psychopath. If anyone thinks that, she does!"

That's when it all clicked. He picked his head up, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

"She does," I whispered. 

"You're a genius!" he exclaimed as he grabbed my face, pulling me into a quick but passionate kiss.

He rattled off a few things before getting ready to go back into the room. He had a bit more of a pep in his step now that he figured out how to win. I just hoped that this would work and that we could end this peacefully.

When he walked back in, she was sitting there, playing with his watch. "Well that's one way to get your hands on me."

"Dance with me," he stated. She had a slightly confused look on her face.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want the people watching us to hear what I have to say."

He pulled her up and into his arms. It was a bad time to think of it, but it reminded me of when I was trying to teach Spencer how to dance before our wedding. He had two left feet, but it's nice to see how much he learned.

The team had been watching the feed, Garcia being a little confused as to why I said Spencer is the father of Cat's baby.

But as they continued to dance and talk, the team figured out that one of the guards at Spence's prison also worked at Cat's and was most likely the father of her baby.

I remembered Officer Wilkins. He was pretty aggressive when I was there and Spence had mentioned him in a few of his letters. 

The team had figured out a possible address that Lindsey had taken Diana and they were on their way. Once Cat figured that out, she told us the team was walking into a trap.

"In order for them to make it out alive, you need to give me your phone and your guess." He handed her the phone and she looked up at him. "Every time I touch this, you're closer."

He began to speak. The more he worked it out, the more worried Cat started to look. He was finally ready to give his guess and he was looking at Cat with the full confidence that he was correct.

"The child isn't mine. But I wish it were mine. Because you and I are meant to be together."

With tears in her eyes, she hit dial and waited for Lindsey to pick up. Of course that was the secret. She did all of this just so Spencer could tell her they were meant to be? It was sick.

After hearing the truth, Lindsey gave herself up and the team managed to get to Diana safely. When Cat hung up the phone, she looked devastated that she had lost to Spencer yet again. I was just glad that this was all over with and that I could finally take Spencer home.

"You know, we do deserve each other. And I know you liked hurting those men. Once you cross that line, you'll never go back."

He went over and kneeled in front of her, forcibly grabbing her arm and removing his watch from her wrist. He paused for a moment, scanning over her face.

"Watch me," he whispered. He sounded broken, but hopeful. Hopeful that he would recover and that this whole experience would make him a better person. He walked out of the room and wrapped me in a hug the second the door was closed. It was like a weight had been lifted off of our shoulders.

We quickly made our way back to the BAU, anticipated to Diana safe and sound. He grabbed my hand in the elevator, giving it a quick squeeze and flashing me a smile before the doors opened.

Standing in the hall was the team, my parents, Delilah, and Diana. When we stepped out of the elevator, you could tell Diana hadn't yet recognized who he was. I could hear Emily whisper to her who he was. Once the realization came, she brought her hands to her face and a tear came to her eye. They met in an embrace, Spencer clinging onto her for dear life.

"Hi mom," he whispered. He sounded so relieved to be there with her. After a moment, she pulled away, placing her hands on his face.

"Don't you leave me ever again." He nodded and pulled her into another hug. When the team started to disperse, Delilah came over and gave me a hug. I picked her up as she patiently waited to give her grandma and dad a hug.

Once they pulled apart, Diana met our gazes. "Oh come here you two. I need a hug from my beautiful granddaughter too." I brought her over and we all embraced in a group hug, Spencer's grip tight around all of us.

My dad and Cheryl also came over to give me a quick pat on the back.

"Alright, it is way past someone's bedtime. Why don't we head home and get some sleep?"

Arm in arm, we made our way out of the BAU. Well, almost arm in arm. Delilah had practically begged to be carried out to the car on her dad's shoulders.

Delilah always seemed to have this intuition. She always knew when Spence or I had a bad day and she will always try to cheer us up. She was such a gentle and understanding little girl.

Once I pulled into the driveway, I noticed that Delilah was passed out in the back seat.

"You wanna wake up sleeping beauty back there? She may have a vendetta against you for ruining her nap," Spencer joked from beside me. I gave him a light elbow to his side, shaking my head at his question. He still had his humor, something I desperately missed. 

She stayed asleep as I carried her up to her bed. I walked into our bedroom to see Spencer taking off his jacket and tie and putting on something more comfortable.

I looked down at my phone when I got a text, fully expecting it to be from the team. I didn't expect to see Derek Morgan's number pop up and a message from him asking if he could bring us food and to have a chat.

Spencer seemed exhausted, but I knew that seeing Morgan might make him feel a little better. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my head into his chest. His arms went around my shoulders, slightly swaying the both of us back and forth.

"I got a text from Morgan. He wants to see you, bring us some food. Are you up for that? I know you've got a lot to process and things are gonna be tough for a while and-"

I was cut off by Spencer's hand tilting my chin up and pressing his lips to mine. He pulled away after a moment, his hand still under my chin. "Thank you. I'd love to see him."

I sent a quick text back to Derek and a few minutes later, he was at our door. I had given him a big hug the second he walked in. "Thanks for coming, Derek. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Pretty Girl."

When Spencer walked in, Derek and I pulled apart. The two men were reaching for each other in an instant. Derek and Spencer were as close as two peas in a pod. Derek was always there for Spencer when I couldn't and I knew he'd always have a special place in our family's hearts. The two finally pulled apart and made their way to the table, striking up a conversation.

They were talking for almost two hours, tears being shed and laughs being heard throughout the quiet house.

But the mood quickly shifted once I got a call from a distressed Penelope saying that the team got into an accident and that they needed our help.

"Derek we have to go, I'm sorry. Could you stay here with Delilah until my parents arrive?"

"Of course, you two be careful."

In an instant, we were out of the house and driving to the hospital. From the passengers seat, I could see Spencer rubbing his palms into his eye. He was starting to get tunnel vision, I could tell.

"I'm sorry, Spence. I didn't want to drag you back into all this so quickly."

He shook his head, grabbing my hand and trying to reassure me that he would be okay. "I'll be okay, Ariel. I just want to make sure they're all okay and try and help out as much as I can."

We started to prepare ourselves for the other biggest headache we've had to deal with this past year. Ready or not, here we come, Mr. Scratch.

I don't know how to end chapters, need to work on that. But we've finally made it to season 13!