I Will Never Let You Go (A Maxcer Fanfic)

A Year Ago Today.

It was nearing 3 a.m. by the time Spencer walked in the door. He'd been away for the past couple days in Utah and was only now returning home. He told Max that he'd be home late and that she shouldn't wait up for him, but she was too jittery. The following day was going to be exciting, and even though they had to get up early and set stuff up, Max couldn't seem to go to sleep.
When Spencer got home, she was curled up on the couch looking through a photo album. Once he placed his bags down, he held her tight to him, smiling to himself. Today was Willow's first birthday. She was 1 years old; had been in their lives for 365 days. It felt crazy to the both of them how fast time flew, but it made them realize that time was precious.
"So a year ago, right around now, you were waking up from contractions and moved yourself to the bathroom so you wouldn't wake me." Spencer recited, looking down at Max tenderly. She chuckled up at him, once again loving the fact that he never forgot small details.
Max led him upstairs to Willow's room, cracking the door open so they could watch her. She was still so small, but she was so much bigger from when she was first born. She was sound asleep, her binky in her mouth as she laid with her lovie. After a few minutes, they closed her door and made their way to their room, and Spencer flopped himself on the bed. Max laughed softly and laid down next to him, wrapping an arm over his torso. He had his eyes closed, but a smile still showed on his face.
"So how'd things go with the case?" Max asked close to his ear. Spencer scrunched up his brows a little, recalling the memories of the case in the forefront of his mind. Max noticed his expression and grimaced.
"That bad?"
Spencer opened his eyes and turned his head to face her, however he didn't make direct eye contact. "It was actually good, all things considered. But it involved kids, so under any circumstance those kinds of cases affect you differently." He said sullenly, looking into her eyes once he was finished. In some way, Max empathized with him, in that she knew how things always felt different when it pertained to children.
"So how are you Mommy? How was last minute party shopping?" Spencer asked, rubbing her arm.
"Umm, interesting. Willow got kinda scared from the sound the helium pump made when they were blowing up the balloons, so I had to push her around the store while they did it. Plus, I think I should get the "Most Balloons Fit Into A Car" award."
He laughed at the sentiment, then placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm so proud of you."
"And I'm proud of you." Max said, placing a hand over his and kissing his lips. They both had worked hard in the past year, continuing to do the jobs they loved, while also taking care of a child.

The next morning, Max and Spencer woke up a little bit before 7, eager for when their daughter would wake up. They went downstairs to start breakfast, taking the baby monitor with them. They had started letting Willow eat pancakes a while back, however they didn't make them often; so today felt like a good day to make her a special treat.
Right before Spencer was going to put the batter onto the skillet, they heard rustling coming from the baby monitor. Looking at the screen, they could see Willow pick up her head and sit up, bouncing in her spot. When they got to her door and opened it, she was standing, holding onto the railing of her crib.
"Hi Willow, you sleep well?"
"Happy birthday sweet girl." Spencer said, picking her up and giving her cheek a kiss. Max pulled the binky from her mouth, and immediately she started talking.
"Hiii."
"Hiiii." They both mimicked simultaneously.
"Okay, you let Mommy get you all dressed while I finish making the pancakes." Spencer said, handing Willow over.
As Spencer started to put the batter onto the skillet, he made a list in his head of all the things they needed to get done before the party. It was to start around 1 p.m., which considering it was still quite early, they had plenty of time to put up the decorations and set up everything. Plus, Garcia had offered to come by earlier to help out and Michelle would be coming by with more food and the cakes.
Spencer was not an expert chef, but he had gotten good at making pancakes. He knew how to keep them even, fluffy and not slightly burnt like when Max did it. He even got creative a few times and tried to make different shapes, and with practice, he mastered how to make a pancake with Mickey Mouse ears. They always had to cut them up for her, but they knew she'd enjoy it more when she was older.
After getting a few pancakes onto a plate, Max came down the stairs dressed with Willow in her birthday outfit. They had gotten her a white onesie that had a pale blue 1 on it, a light pink butterfly, and underneath it said her name in purple scripty letters. She had a puffy tutu on, that was layered with the same three colors, and a matching bow clipped in her hair. They decided to have her party be garden themed, since she loved butterflies and her name was that of a tree.
"Willow, you look so pretty! And so does Mommy." Spencer said as Max walked over, giving her a kiss on the lips.
"You ready to have some Mickey Mouse pancakes?" Max asked Willow, bouncing her on her hip.
"Pan-keys." Willow said. Spencer and Max smiled at her, amazed once again at how fast she was learning new words. Of course, she needed a bit more clarity, but for her age she spoke pretty well and they could better understand her when she needed something.
Max put her in her highchair while Spencer cut up a pancake for her, adding some strawberries next to it on her plate. He made up a plate for him and Max as well and they ate at the center island.
"So it's 8 a.m. now. We were in the hospital, finally admitted to labor and delivery and I believe I was a 4 when they checked me, right?" Max said, trying to remember the fine details of last year. Spencer smiled and nodded, putting a hand on her lower back.
"Active labor had just started to settle in and once you got on the bed you did not want to move." They both chuckled, watching Willow shove a piece of fruit into her mouth.
Once they were all finished eating, Max told Spencer that she'd handle the dishes, giving him time to get changed as well. Willow watched her walk around the room from her highchair, repeating the same word over and over again.
"Mama mama mama."
"Hi sweetness. You excited for today? There's gonna be decorations and yummy food, and you get to spend time with your family. Does that sound like fun?"
Willow kicked her feet in her chair, a cheeky smile on her face. Max couldn't resist walking over to her and planting a few kisses on her nose. The doorbell rang, so Max picked her up and went to go answer the door. Opening the door, she revealed Garcia who was dressed in many colors. She had a huge grin on her face when she saw the two of them.
"Heyy happy birthday Willy!" She said, taking Max and Willow into a side hug. In her hands, she held a giant bag that had a rainbow unicorn headband on it that said "Have A Magical Birthday." Max stifled a laugh as she stared at the bag.
"How many outfits did you buy?"
"Not as many as you think, and they range from 12 to 24 months."
Shaking her head with a smile, Max let her into the house and closed the door behind her. As they walked further into the house, Spencer was just coming down the stairs in one of his purple button downs.
"Penelope, thank you again for coming this early." He said, giving her a hug.
"I'm happy to help, plus the more time I get with this munchkin the better." Garcia tickled Willow's belly and she giggled.
"Alright, let's get started then. I brought the folding tables from the basement up, so we just need to set those up outside. We have the plastic table cloths to put on them, then there's balloon weights that we can tie the balloons to and put some of them on the table. The big 1 balloon is gonna be tied to the back of Willow's chair. Then it's just a matter of hanging up some streamers in here and around the doorways." Spencer gesticulated.
"Sounds fun. Lead the way."