Recently, you and your husband of eight years had a disagreement, just a minor thing. But neither of you had ever fallen out, so this was new; you both were unsure how to approach and resolve it.

It was over having his mother, Diana, move in with you. She had been in an institution back in Las Vegas for the last 17 years now for schizophrenia. But now she had Alzheimer’s too, and it was very rapidly taking away her memory. You knew it was hard on Spencer.

Moving her to DC would be difficult, and it would take her time to adjust. But that wasn’t why you were so opposed to the idea. Spencer was away frequently for work as an FBI profiler. You were a university professor in philosophy. So there was no way you could care for Diana. On top of that you were now seven months pregnant with your first child, a baby girl. Spencer insisted he could pay someone to care for her, but it felt uncomfortable— having a stranger in your home.