Chapter 1

While Hotch had gone back to work the Monday after the picnic, it took them all a couple days to get the BAU back to normal. During a coffee refueling break, Garcia found herself in the break room with JJ and Mack.

"Alright, Little Mama, you have spent more time with Boss Man than we have. Have you ever seen Hotch shirtless?"

JJ smiled. "I've only spent more time with him because of being on cases with him," she started and Garcia looked like she was going to strangle her, so she went on. "But, no, I have never seen him without a shirt until the picnic."

"I just thought it was because he's always so proper, but after the picnic, I don't know anymore," Mack admitted.

"Well, that's part of it I'm sure," JJ told her and then moved closer to the other women. "But I know he was embarrassed by the scars Foyet left him with."

Mack looked at her questioningly. She had heard the story of the psychopath, so she knew who JJ was talking about. "I didn't notice any scars. All I saw were lots and lots of muscles."

Garcia grinned. "I know, right? I mean, I've always known My Liege was one well put together machine, but. . ." she paused to fan herself. "But WOW." She shook her head. "I didn't see any scars either. Although I do have to admit that I wasn't really looking for any either. I was just so in shock that I just stared at those amazing pecks."

JJ laughed. "I was staring at that six-pack."

"Hell, I couldn't keep my eyes still to stare at anything. I was just trying to take it all in as fast as I could," Mack told them with a giggle.

"I don't understand," JJ admitted after she shook her head to try to get the image of her boss's half naked body out of her head. "I know he was scarred, and he never let anyone see him. Hell, even one time when he brought Jack to go swimming with Henry, he wore a water shirt."

They all paused as they thought about it, and Morgan walked in on them. "Ut-oh," Morgan started as soon as he took them all in. "What are you lovely ladies plotting?" He laughed at their looks. "Please. Those looks tell me you all are thinking about something you shouldn't be."

Garcia smiled, put her hands around Morgan's neck, and smiled nicely. "My Dark Adonis, have you ever seen the Hotch Rocket shirtless?"

"Ohhhh," Morgan started and looked at all of them slowly. "You're wondering about the picnic." They all quickly nodded. "Nah, ladies, I have never seen Boss Man shirtless before that either. He wouldn't even let his kids see him without a shirt from what I hear."

"Did you see any scars?" JJ asked him.

"No, and I was looking. I figured he had a bad one after getting shot like that, too." He shook his head slowly. "I don't what's happened."

Reid walked in with a smile. "I didn't know we were having a team meeting?"

"Reid would know," Garcia started as she fixed Reid with a look. Reid looked horrified at not knowing what she wanted to know. "Did you see any scars on our Beautiful Boss at the picnic?"

Reid smiled. "I know he had nine scars in various locations on his torso from Foyet, and he should have had one longer one on his abdomen from his recent surgery. All I saw at the picnic, though, was a few faint lines. I believe he has had plastic surgery."

They all looked at each other in shock. "Hotch wouldn't do that," JJ insisted.

Morgan smiled. "You're right. Hotch would never treat himself that well, but Kahlan would have."

They all started to smile as they thought about it.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad. It was nice to see Hotch comfortable enough to take off his shirt in front of us," JJ told them.

"And it was nice as hell to see, too," Garcia added. "While he's not quite as buff as My Chocolate Thunder," she started as she patted Morgan on the stomach. "Or my Puddin Cup, he was still a sight to behold."

"You better watch it, Baby Girl. With the way Kahlan jumped in and wrapped an arm around him, it was obvious she was telling every woman there that he was hands off," Morgan pointed out with a grin.

"Of course he's hands off, but it can't hurt to look," Mack told him with a smile.

"I just hope he doesn't get in the habit of going shirtless," Reid started and they all looked at him. "What? You have no idea how hard it was to get Amy's attention back after that."

They all laughed, but they quickly shut up when Rossi walked in. He looked at them all slowly. "I was wondering why the bullpen was so quiet. What are you all up to?"

They all glanced at each other. "We were discussing Hotch and his apparent new found. . ." Reid started.

"And you all just leave him alone about it!" Rossi demanded knowing full well what they were discussing. They all shared a few more looks. "He's finely comfortable in his own skin, and if you all start teasing him about it. . ." he left the treat unsaid, but they all caught it.

"Chill, Rossi. We wouldn't tease him about that any more than we would tease him about having scars," Morgan told him truthfully.

Rossi took a deep breath. "Sorry. I know you all wouldn't hurt his feelings on purpose."

"Yeah, we'll give it some time, but if he continues to let us see him, I will not be able to stop myself from complimenting his amazing physique," Garcia told him with a smile.

Rossi laughed. "Just give him time to get used to it himself." They all nodded and smiled. "Now, don't we have work to do?" They all left the break room and he got himself a cup of coffee as he smiled to himself. Out of everything Kahlan has done for him, that is by far the best. He didn't deserve those scars or the reminder they gave him daily! He shook his head to try to get rid of the anger he felt rising up as he remembered Foyet. I thank God for you Kahlan. If anyone deserves a woman like you, it's Aaron!

XXX

After another day, they were flying out to their first case. That case led to another, and then another and a month had passed before Hotch even realized it. Kahlan, again, brought up a family vacation and he said he would talk to Paxton about it as soon as he got a chance. After a week and two more cases, she started to get impatient.

She had talked to the kids about going to Europe, and they were ecstatic. Then she talked to her mother about going with them so she could keep an eye on the kids so Kahlan and Hotch could have some alone time, too, and Cindi agreed without hesitation. Next, Kahlan talked to Donna about keeping the dogs, and she agreed with a look that told Kahlan she didn't have to ask.

After getting it all in order, Kahlan went to DNI Clapper. "With everything he has done for the Bureau, he deserves a vacation," Kahlan told him as they enjoyed lunch together one day.

"He does. What seems to be the problem?"

She shook her head. "I think, he thinks, they won't give him the time."

"How much time are we talking about?"

"Three weeks," Kahlan told him and then studied him because she wasn't sure if he would consider that to be too much. "We want to go to Europe," she quickly added.

Jim smiled. "Three weeks is easy. I can even bring in someone from one of the other units to fill in if Mueller wants."

Kahlan took a drink of her tea and another thought hit her. "Think you could get two people?"

Jim studied her. "After the work they did on the terrorist case and the fallout from it, I think they could all use three weeks' vacation."

Kahlan nodded her agreement as the wheels started turning in her head.

XXX

After three more pressing cases, Garcia met them at the glass doors as soon as they got back. "What is this?" she quickly asked Hotch as she stuck a piece of paper in his face.

Hotch sat his bag down and took the offending paper from the colorful tech and read it.

The rest of the team looked at Garcia questioningly. "We all got one," she told them.

Hotch's brows furrowed as he read the paper, and Rossi started to get an uneasy feeling. "What is it, Hotch?"

Hotch shook his head and finished reading the paper. "I'm not sure," he admitted as he picked up his bag and headed to the conference room. They all quickly followed him. He sat his bag down in his usual seat and looked at them. He went to say something and then closed his mouth as he reread the paper. He shook his head again. "It seems we have been put on stand down," he started and they all shared smiles. They had been working their asses off trying to catch up on cases that needed their attention since they were released form the special case for the DNI.

"And we all have to report to mandatory team building for the next three weeks," he finished and they could all hear the confusion in his voice.

"Team building?" Morgan asked flabbergasted. "Don't they know that this team is the closet team they have?"

"Three weeks?" JJ asked as she looked at her team mates. "What the hell could they have us doing for three weeks?"

"What about our cases?" Reid asked quickly.

"They're bringing in another team to take care of them in our absence," Hotch told him as he started to wonder if they had done something horribly wrong. "In fact, we are banned from the building for exactly three weeks starting tomorrow at seven a.m."

Rossi shot him a strange look. "Well, I never heard of such a thing! You wait until I talk to Bob!"

"What kind of team building is it going to be?" Garcia asked weakly. "I've never had to do anything like that with you all before," she told them, and they could all hear how nervous she was.

"It doesn't say," Hotch told them as he handed the paper to Rossi. He quickly went over it and then passed it to Reid.

"Then how will we know what to bring? How will we know where to go?" Morgan asked and they could all tell he was getting pissed. Teambuilding was usually a punishment for teams who weren't doing well.

"We have a meeting this evening at five," Reid told them as he handed the letter to JJ. "Apparently we will get all of the details then."

Hotch looked at his watch; it was 4:16. He looked at Garcia. "When did these come in?"

She shrugged. "About an hour ago, why?"

"So once we were on our way back," Rossi injected following Hotch's thoughts.

"Someone's been keeping tabs on us?" Mack asked quietly as she figured out what Rossi was getting at.

Hotch took a deep breath and grabbed his bag. "Go put your stuff away and start on the case files. We don't have that much time before we have to be in that meeting."

"It's in conference room six up on the next floor," Reid told them all.

"What can happen if we don't go?" Mack asked.

Hotch fixed her with his stare. "We will go and we will behave like the professionals we are." She swallowed hard and nodded. "We'll see what this is about and then we will decide as a team how to proceed," he added quickly as he looked at all of them. "They want to see us acting as a team, then that's exactly what we'll do!"

They all smiled and went to their prospective desks.

At ten minutes till, they all met at the glass doors and got into the elevator together. They were silent as they were all lost in their own thoughts about what the whole thing meant. Hotch opened the door to the conference room that was twice as big as theirs. He almost lost a step when he saw Director Mueller and DNI Clapper sitting at the conference room table. Clapper and Mueller stood up, and Hotch shot Rossi a look as they made their way in. Clapper smiled. "Please have a seat Agents," he told them as he gestured to the seven seats across from him. Hotch took a deep breath and made his way to the middle seat. Rossi sat on his left, and Morgan sat on his right. Next came JJ on the left and Reid on the right, followed by Garcia on the right and Mack on the left. Mueller and Clapper finally sat down once they were all seated.

"First, let me, again, congratulate you and your team on a job well done," Clapper told Hotch.

"And since we've done such a great job, we're getting punished?" Morgan asked him before Hotch could say anything. Hotch shot him a look that told him to shut up, so he did.

"No, Agent Morgan, you are not being punished," Mueller told him with a smile.

"On the contrary, you are being rewarded," Clapper told him and then looked at them all.

"Rewarded, Sir?" Hotch asked.

"Yes. Starting tomorrow, you all have three weeks of mandatory team building," Mueller started.

"Team building can consist of anything that makes a team stronger, correct?" Clapper asked Hotch.

"Yes, Sir," Hotch told him as his brows furrowed trying to figure out what was going on.

"Well," Clapper started again with a smile. "With all of the hard work that you all have but in, I would also think some time off would help build your team back up." Hotch nodded as he started to understand. "To recharge the batteries, so to speak," Clapper continued. "I couldn't legally give you all extra vacation time, nor could I make it mandatory for you all to take some of the vacation time you all have saved up at the same time." The whole team started to share quick looks. "But I can arrange for special team building that only has two requirements." He paused to look at them all slowly. "The only requirements are is that none of you are allowed in this building, and none of you are allowed to take any work home. What else you do with your time is strictly up to you."

Before anyone could say anything, Mueller took over. "We would have done this as soon as the Daniels case was over, but I knew there were pressing cases that desperately needed your all's expertise. Now that those cases are solved, I feel comfortable enough to allow another team to come in and handle the case load while you all are away from the BAU."

"So we are on vacation after today for three weeks?" Garcia asked quickly.

Clapper smiled. "No. You are on a team building exercise."

"Oh, right," she said as she put her finger to her mouth. They laughed.

Hotch shook his head. He had the feeling his wife was behind it. "Three weeks?" he asked Clapper.

Clapper smiled at him. "Three weeks to go wherever and do whatever you want."

Hotch huffed and shook his head some more. Rossi looked at Hotch, but Clapper stood up. "I would greatly appreciate it if you all kept the details of this team building to yourselves."

They all stood up and started nodding their agreement. "And if any of you are caught in here in those three weeks, I will bust you back to probationary agent and send you to the worst hellhole I can find," Mueller added with threat. They all laughed and promised they wouldn't. "But I do expect todays' files to be turned in before you leave for the night," he added before any of them could turn for the door.

"Enjoy yourselves," Clapper told them seriously. "You deserve it!"

As soon as they got in the elevator, they all fixed Hotch with a look. "What?"

"This was Double-O, wasn't it?" Garcia asked him. Everyone else's looks told him they all thought the same thing.

He smiled but didn't say anything as the door opened and he went to his office without another word. As soon as he opened the door, he smiled again. Kahlan was sitting at his desk. He shook his head. "I knew it."

She got up with a smile and met him halfway across the floor. "I went to him about you, but it was his idea to do it for the whole team," she told him truthfully.

Hotch pulled her into a hug. "They deserve it, though."

"Of course they do," she agreed as she pulled away from him and pushed him toward his desk. After he sat down she went behind him and started massaging his shoulders. "I do have one question for you," she started and he craned his head around to look at her. "I've invited Mom so she can watch the kids so we can get a little alone time." He nodded. "Would you care if I invited Dave, too?"

He smiled. "Of course not! Everyone would love that!"

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "I didn't think you'd mind, but I had to ask. I'll go ask him now," she told him and started for the door.

"When do we go?" he asked before she could leave.

She turned to him and smiled. "Tomorrow morning and you're already packed."

He shook his head as he watched her leave and then opened the file on his desk.

The whole team finished their files in record time and they all went out for a drink to discuss what they were going to do with their time off.

"I've already talked to Puddin. We are going on a road trip," Garcia told them.

"And where is he taking my Baby Girl?" Morgan asked.

"Don't know. We are going to get a map and point," she told him with a big grin. "What are you going to do?"

"Mina won't be home for about a week, so I am going to work on my Victorian, and then she is taking me to her home and introducing me to her family." Several whistles told him that they all thought things were getting serious. "What? They'll love me!" he insisted. He looked at Reid. "What are you doing, Pretty Boy?"

"Actually my plans don't differ from yours too much. I am taking Amy to Vegas. Mom has been dying to see her again."

Reid looked to JJ. "What are you all going to do?"

She laughed. "I am staying home overall. Will and I have decided that being able to hang out as a real family for three weeks is just too good to pass up. Besides, traveling with the twins would be hard at the age they are now."

"How about you, Mack, what are you going to do?" Rossi asked her.

She smiled. "I think I'm going home for a little while, too."

Morgan nodded and smiled at her. "Would a certain young SWAT officer be joining you?"

Her face flushed with embarrassment and they all knew the answer was 'yes'. "I think Sam is actually afraid of meeting my father." They all laughed.

"So what does Double-O have up her sleeve?" Garcia asked Hotch.

He smiled. "We are taking a family vacation to Europe. She wants to show me and the kids some of the sights."

That brought several raised brows. Rossi laughed. "Don't worry; I'll keep them out of trouble." With all of their looks he smiled. "Cindi and I are going with them."

They all laughed and had one more drink together and then left with wishes of 'good luck' and lots of 'have funs'. Garcia also made Hotch and Rossi promise to send postcards of all of the awesome places they were going, and then they all told them to give Emily their love.