I Will Never Let You Go (A Maxcer Fanfic)

I Know Where He's Headed.

Spencer sat in the passenger seat while Rossi sped down the road in the black SUV. He'd been quiet since they got in the car, mentally kicking himself for saying what he did in front of Max. Deep down, he knew she didn't think bad of him; but the horrified face she'd given him still burned in Spencer's mind. It was that face that was fueling him to catch this guy.
Rossi came to an abrupt stop in front of Acosta's house, with Matt and a police car pulling up behind him. Everyone exited the vehicles, some going around to the rear and some taking on the front. Spencer, JJ, and Luke were at the front with their guns drawn.
"Paul Acosta, FBI." JJ shouted through the door. When no one answered, Luke busted the door open, taking the lead inside. There were boxes stacked up, labeled as Alden or Patrick. Some clear bins showed baby blankets folded inside, some had old stuffed animals and baby toys. Spencer proceeded through the rest of the house, stopping in a small room that looked like it was an office. He heard everyone yell out "Clear" in quick succession, but he was frozen in his spot as he stared at the walls of the office. He heard footsteps behind him and JJ walked up beside him.
"Oh my god."
The walls were decorated with photos and notes, all of women. Some of them were labeled with dates, ranging from a few weeks to two months ago. Spencer started to notice that there were even more pictures of the women who had been killed. He walked forward a few steps, glancing down at the two desks that were in the room. They also had dozens of pictures on them, but they were all of the same person.
"He's been stalking Max since the time you guys left the bar." Spencer said, holding up a dark photo; it had all the girls getting into the car, but Max was clearly visible in her black dress. The rest were pictures from throughout the last month, some including Willow, her coworkers, a neighbor, even himself in a couple.
"Well he's not here. How should we proceed, Agent Prentiss?" A police officer asked.
"Look around the house. There's gotta be some clue as to where he's gone."
The police officer nodded and Emily walked into the room with all the photos. In Spencer's hands he held a binder, which held more photos.
"Those ones were separated from everything else?" She asked. He folded over the cover so she could see what it was labeled as. It said "WHY." Then he opened it back up to show her a few of the photos; they were of his ex wife, Jeanine.
"He could be asking why she chose to do that to him and her kids."
"I don't think so. Notice how he doesn't put a question mark after "WHY." I think he means it as why I do what I do. Like the reason why." Spencer said, lifting his face up to look at Emily.
"Hey guys, I found another binder. This one has more photos of Max, but then it focuses on a different woman." Luke said, walking over to them with the open binder. The first few photos were of Max, Willow and Lilith. They were on the front porch of their house talking. Spencer remembered Max saying that she invited her mom over while he was on a case two weeks ago. Then the photos became just of Lilith; at the store, at her house, and at a bar talking to some guy. There were pages after it that had her name, her address, her phone number; all of her basic information. And at the bottom, "CHEATER" was written. His end game finally clicked in Spencer's head. Max was his obsession now, along with women who cheat on their husbands knowing that they have kids. He knew about Lilith, and she fit that bill.
"I know where he's headed." Spencer said, placing the binder on the table and walking towards the front door. The rest of the team followed him out the door, but Emily stopped him before he could enter the driver's seat.
"Reid, talk to me."
"That woman is Max's mother, Lilith. She cheated on Max's dad when she was young and ended up abandoning them."
Emily's eyes widened, and she understood. She rounded up everyone from the house, letting everyone in on the new plan. They all had a new address to go to, and Spencer was going to lead the pack.

Once they got onto the highway, Spencer told JJ to call Garcia. After two rings she picked up.
"That was quick. You guys on your way back?"
"No, he wasn't at the house. We know where he's going. It's about an hour out. We need you to tell us what car he drives."
"Uhhh red Chevy Cruze."
Max looked at her weird from her seat, and Garcia turned to her.
"They didn't catch him yet."
"Where are they going now?" Max asked.
"Yeah where are you guys going now?" She asked, directed towards Spencer and JJ. She clicked a button to put them on speaker.
"55 Hollow Drive, Manassas." Spencer said.
Max scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. There was a moment of silence between everyone until Spencer continued.
"We found pictures of your mom, Max. He knows about her and she fits his victimology."
"But that was years ago, how would he--"
"She still does it Max."
Max was still, her mouth opened a crack. She took a couple deep, shuddering breaths, and Spencer could hear it through the phone.
"We're gonna catch this guy, and then everything will be fine babe, I promise."
JJ hung up the phone and went through Spencer's to call Lilith. The phone rang once and then she answered.
"Spencer?"
"Hi Lilith, my name is Jennifer with the FBI. I work with Spencer, he's actually right beside me. Are you home alone?"
"Yes, why? Is someth--" JJ heard the woman scream before the phone hung up. She looked at Spencer, who had started to speed the car up a bit. They weren't far now, and he would not let this guy get away again.
Spencer turned onto Lilith's block and barrelled down to her house. Right as they pulled up to it, Paul could easily be seen hauling Lilith to his car; her hands bound, a hand over her mouth and a gun to her head. Paul jumped as all the cars cornered him, and he had nowhere to run.
"Paul Acosta, FBI. Put down the gun and let Lilith go." Spencer said, drawing his gun. Everyone else had their guns pointed at him, ready to fire in case he tried anything. Paul looked angry, but Spencer could see the fear that lied beneath the surface.
"She betrayed Max, and she continues to hurt her. Just like Jeanine hurt my boys." Paul shouted.
"Max forgave her."
"Yeah, for her baby's sake. Because she cares for her child and wants her to have family."
"She does, because she's a good mother. You're a good father Paul, because you care so much about your boys. They wouldn't want you to do this, so put the gun down."
Paul's expression shifted as if he just realized something, and he stared directly at Spencer.
"You don't deserve her. You're not a good father, you'd never do what I've done!"
A single shot was fired from Paul and landed right near the edge of Spencer's vest. The impact made him stumble back, knocking him into the SUV. Before he could fire any more shots, he was shot by different people, making him drop dead. Lilith stood there in shock, her wrists still bound by duct tape. Everyone holstered their weapons; Matt and Tara went to help Lilith while JJ and Luke helped Spencer off the ground. JJ examined his chest, thankful to see that there was no blood.
After the EMTs applied a bandage to his bruises, Spencer walked over to Lilith who was also being checked out. She looked up at him with a smile.
"Thank you Spencer. Thank you to your whole team."
Spencer returned the smile and nodded, but then it slipped off his face.
"We found pictures back at his house. Some of them are of you in interesting places."
Her eyes widened a bit, and she took a deep breath. She knew she'd been caught.
"You told Max you changed."
"I have. Trust me."
"Then why are you still sleeping around?" He asked bluntly, his tone firm.
"I'm not. I only go to bars to interact with people, it never goes to the bedroom. I--"
She said, stopping herself towards the end. Spencer caught onto this, stepping beside her to lean on the ambulance. Looking up at him with sad eyes, she said "My cancer has spread. To cope, some might say flirting is my drug."
Spencer felt the need to say something, but couldn't find the words. Lilith put a hand on his shoulder as he still stood speechless.
"Are you gonna tell them?" He finally asked, referring to her daughters and ex husband. Her smile returned but it was tighter, and she nodded. Emily beckoned Spencer to get in the car, and he straightened, causing Lilith to as well. She gave him a quick hug, one last thank you, and sent him on his way.

Max was sitting at Spencer's desk, picking her nails. Garcia hadn't heard from them since they called to say they were going to her mother's house, and it worried her. She didn't know if something happened to her mom or if something happened to anyone on the team; she was left in the dark, so she coped by surrounding herself with Spencer's workspace. She found it a little amusing that his desk was rather messy, unlike how he preferred things at home. She also enjoyed looking at the pictures of Willow, seeing how small she once was beside how big she was now.
Max jumped in the chair a little at the sound of the doors opening, seeing the team walking in. Relief washed over her as she saw Spencer, and she raced towards him. When she wrapped her arms around his neck he winced, making her release him a little.
"Are you alright, what's wrong?"
"Nothing really. Just a bruise that may or may not have been caused by a bullet."
"What?" Max exclaimed, and Spencer unbuttoned the top of his shirt a little, peeling it back so she could see the bandage on the left side of his chest.
"It hit my vest, I'm fine really."
Max started to relax again, and he hugged her gently. He pulled away enough to look at her and asked "You still mad at what I said?"
She cocked an eyebrow at him, then remembered what he was talking about.
"I was never mad. I understood why you said it, it was just...a lot." Spencer nodded.
"So how did everything go? Did you catch him? How's my mom?"
"We got him just in time. Your mom was unharmed."
Max looked past Spencer to see Garcia walking towards them, holding Willow. He turned around, taking her from Garcia and held her up over his head.
"Willow, my sweet girl." He said, before bringing her face down to kiss her cheek. She smiled with her binky still in her mouth. He took it out and bounced her, hoping to hear her laugh; instead what he heard was even better.
"Dada dada dada."
All their jaws dropped, followed by them cheering. They made sure not to be too loud as to not overwhelm Willow, but she giggled as they clapped for her. Spencer hugged her close, and for the first time he noticed the two white lines peeking out from her gums.
"Someone's got two teeth!"
"Yeah, I noticed that when I was feeding her earlier." Max said, rubbing her baby's back. Smiling, he leaned down to kiss her, wrapping his other arm around her waist.
"How about we head home now? Sound good?" He asked.
"Sounds good."
"What do you think?" He asked, this time looking at Willow. She just smiled at him, and he bounced her.
"Not talking anymore?" He joked, making everyone laugh.
"Good work today everyone. All of you head home. We'll start anew in the morning." Emily ordered, heading up the stairs to her office. With that, everyone headed for the elevators while Spencer and Max went down the hall to collect their stuff. He handed Willow off to Max as he collapsed down her playpen. The gears in his head had changed pace as an unpleasant thought came to the forefront of his mind. His eyebrows scrunched up without him realizing, until Max broke the silence.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Can I ask you something? And promise me you'll be honest."
"Okay."
"No, say it. It doesn't count otherwise."
"I promise."
Spencer took a deep breath as he slung the diaper bag over his shoulder, facing her completely. "Do you think I'm a good father?" He asked. Max blinked at him a couple times, looking him up and down. When he still stood there with this dejected look on his face, she said "Do you see yourself right now? You've got your messenger bag on one shoulder, a diaper bag on the other, and a play pen in your hand."
"So?"
"Spencer, you have a time consuming job, sure. But when you're home, you shower her with love. You make sure she has what she needs and always strive to make her laugh. And hey, even when you're not home, I call and you always answer. Even on our worst nights, you make us both smile."
Spencer absorbed Max's words, feeling the love overcome the dark cloud that was looming over him.. He made a mental note that anytime he doubted himself, that was he needed to replay in his mind. He walked forward, hating the fact that he didn't have any free hands. He didn't need one though, because Max stood on her tip toes and kissed his lips.
"I love you so much." He said.
"I love you too."
With that, the three of them walked down the hall to the elevator, feeling glad that they'd be able to sleep in their own beds tonight, safe and sound.