I Will Never Let You Go (A Maxcer Fanfic)

Always Have To Come First.

After celebrating New Year's, Spencer went back to work. He spent longer on leave since they now had two kids to care for, but since it was now a new year, it was time for him to get back into profiling. Similar to when he returned last time, the team showered him in hugs and treated him to some champagne before briefing. He'd seen them all numerous times while he was away, but it was different when they were all at the office. The bullpen and the conference room was their space, and a place that Spencer had felt safe and comforted by many times.
The new case that they'd be working on was a cold case about four missing women, each being abducted a year apart and in similar areas in Colorado. They were given 30 minutes until wheels up, so Spencer called Max to let her know.
"Wow, one day back and you're already leaving the state." Max said snarkily.
"It'll just be a few days."
"I know. Keep in touch and be careful."
"You too. I love you."
"I love-- oh shoot." Max said abruptly, putting the phone down before she lifted Ayla off her shoulder and pulled her soiled shirt away from her skin. She groaned and looked down at her five month old, who was smiling at her. She couldn't help but smile back and tickled her before picking the phone up again.
"I'm back." She said, getting up off the couch and moving into the kitchen.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, a little baby spit up never hurt anybody." Max said, wiping her shirt with a wet paper towel.
"Well don't you have too much fun without me."
"Of course not, we love it when Daddy's home, don't we Ayla, don't we?" Max said in a baby voice as she rubbed noses with Ayla.
"Mommy, that Daddy?" Willow asked, coming from the hallway with her underwear and pants not all the way up.
"Uh Willow, we pull our pants up before leaving the bathroom 'kay?"
Max heard Spencer laugh through the phone at that comment, and Max blushed.
"Talk to your daughter." She said, handing Willow the phone after she'd gotten her clothes straightened out. They talked for a few minutes about mundane things: where he was going, what he was doing, when he would be home and what she'd do while he was gone. After hearing them say 'I love you', Willow handed the phone back to Max before skipping away into the living room.
"I love you Max."
"I love you too Spence, see you soon."
Max got off the phone and blew out a breath, smoothing her hair back. She'd partially been faking her optimism, having zero clue how to care for two kids by herself. Even though Willow would be going to school for a few hours three days out of the week, she still needed to be entertained when she was home. TV and the imagination weren't cutting it anymore; she'd beg for Max or Spencer to play with her, which caused Max to find Spencer having pretend tea parties with her in her room a couple times. She liked to spend time with Willow, but time was not in abundance for her anymore.
"Alright girlies, let's get some food in your bellies before we drop big sister off at school." Max said as she began to prepare Willow's breakfast and lunch. She pretty much had the same lunch everyday, so it became second nature to them; however Willow always had an opinion about what she wanted before heading to school.
"Mommy I want blueberries on my o-meal." Willow said from where she sat at the table.
After ladling some oatmeal into her bowl, Max went to open the fridge to get her juice and some fruit. Bananas were on the counter and strawberries were in the fridge, but there were no blueberries to be found.
"Sorry Willa, we are out of blueberries. Want some strawberries instead?"
"Blueberries." Willow said, making her whiny face.
"We don't have any. While you're at school I'll pick some up okay?"
"Blueberriiiies." Willow screeched.
"Hey, no ma'am. We have bananas and strawberries. You can have those or just your oatmeal. What's it gonna be?" Max asked sternly. Willow had a pout on her face, but pointed to the strawberries. Max cut up a few and placed the slices in her bowl, then placed it in front of her with a spoon.
After watching her take a few bites without a problem, Max went over to Ayla's playmat where she was having tummy time. She picked up her head as Max came closer, and Max brought her to the kitchen along with a blanket. She sat next to Willow and nursed Ayla, trying to keep herself covered in the process. Willow, of course, was ever the curious toddler and always wanted to be involved with caring for her little sister, which they loved; but Max wasn't entirely sure if she was comfortable having her toddler poke at her boob while she was breastfeeding.
To conceal her soiled shirt, Max threw on a hoodie while she dropped Willow off at school and went grocery shopping with Ayla. During the holidays, they were either at someone's house for dinner or eating leftovers, so not much shopping had occurred. They were low on a lot of things, and they all seemed to be nagging Max all at once as she walked through the aisles.