Author: Ren Kayashima

Genre: Family/ Mystery

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Alas my top secret mission to steal the rights to Criminal Minds failed. At the last minute my repel line broke and I was arrested for trespassing on ABC ground. If you would like to help me with bail money…

Shout Outs: As promised the list of people who have reviewed.

Dyallon: Thank you once again for seeing another story to its end. Let see what kind of adventures I can come up with this time.

Sexysnake: I'm so glad you found humor in Rori's stage fright after everything she's been through.

Hxchick: I'm happy that you love my series. It means you'll keep reading it as I write.

P95000: I love writing Jack Hotchner, so the last chapter was fun. I'm glad you'll be sticking around for this story too.

Kimd33: I'm glad you enjoyed the ending. It was a lot of fun to write.

Booksandmusic97: Yay for Disneyworld… Lucky duck. Kyle won't be a creeper. I promise.

0o0o0o0

June 23, 2011

Dave stood in a lonely graveyard. It was a warm June day, and there was nothing that would hint at the trouble coming in the next couple months. It was the first day off in two weeks, and there had been something that Dave had been meaning to do for almost a year.

He looked at the tombstone that he stood in front of and stared at the name etched in granite. It called him out and brought back memories of a time that was happy and what he thought was perfect. There were only a few times that Dave could look back on and think were perfect.

Christine Morre was David Rossi's second wife. She was a lawyer, got her degree from Georgetown, and graduated at the top of her class. She was smart, beautiful, and for a couple perfect years, she was David's world. She had died close to three years ago. Although, 'died' probably wasn't the right word for it. She had been murdered by a duo known as the Highland Killers while on vacation in Scotland.

At the time of their divorce, Christine had been pregnant with Dave's daughter Rori. In an attempt to cut off all ties with the profiler, Christine never told him about their little bundle of joy. Only to have Rori dropped off at the steps of the FBI by her aunt Kate eighteen years later.

At first there was the initial disbelief. You could call it denial even. Who could hide a child from one of their birthparents? It's one thing to no say anything about it to her parents. They were horrible people, but she hadn't told him, so it couldn't be true. Could it?

Next came shock. He had a seventeen year old daughter. A smart one. He knew nothing about her, so he did what any guy would do when trying to get to know a woman. He sat down and had dinner with her. That's when he found out about her job as a voice actor, her relationship with her mom, and the parts of her life that he had missed out on.

The last emotion that came to David Rossi was anger. How could Christine do something like this! It screamed of immaturity and selfishness. She wasn't just keeping a secret form him. She kept Dave a secret from Rori. She never knew about her father until she met him a year ago. That was the one thing that set him over the edge. A child should know who both their parents are. It took drinks with Hotch to calm him down.

Dave sighed as he kicked the lush green grass. "It's been a really intense year Chris. We lost people on my team. One before Rori showed up," he grunted. "You know how to keep one hell of a secret. I didn't expect to become a father this late in life. It's okay though. She's brilliant, but since she moved in, we've run into a few problems."

Of course he was referring to Collin, one of the Highland Killers, and how he had kidnapped Rori. The serial killer had fallen in love with Rori back when she was kidnapped in Scotland with her mom, and traveled to the states so that he could be close to her once more. He had locked her in a room for two weeks, only for Rori to outsmart him in the end and escape.

After Collin was Matthew. A promising reporter until he started to support African genocide. The young man would write articles support outrageous ideals, and they wouldn't get published in the school paper. At the time, Rori was writing for the paper, and kept getting her pieces published. Out of jealousy, Matthew kidnapped Rori and an African diplomat. Rori barely escaped that instance, and Dave had come close to losing one of the main things that brought joy to his life.

Then there was Sorrow, Rori's serial killer/stalker. He had gone around killing people who would dress up at a character Rori voiced. They were imposters, and Rori was the only true Natsuko. Rori did escape that time, and ended up getting shot. That was only a few weeks ago, and Rori was now back to her usual bubbly self.

"I met Kyle a few weeks ago," Dave spoke once more. "Now I can understand you not telling me about him. Sort of."

Kyle Bishop was Rori's half-brother who had been put up for adoption at a time when Christine wasn't able to take care of herself. In the time since meeting Kyle, Rori had convinced her dad to let Kyle move in with them. Dave had been reluctant at first, but after Kyle had been in the house for only a week, Dave realized that Rori needed the company for when he was away on a case. Kyle was a good housemate. He kept things clean and in their place.

"I'm going to make sure they're okay,' Dave told the tombstone. "It's the least I could do after my job made our marriage fail. They're your kids, and they've become important to me."

Dave liked having the company. It made his home seem lived in. He no longer had that feeling of dread when he returned home after a case. A place to sleep had become a home, an actual home that made Dave feel happy.

Before Rori came into him and into his life, Dave spent the majority of his time hunting or at the academy. To use Rori's vernacular, 'it sucked' when he had to go home and find only his dog Mudgie available for companionship. Now, he lived with tow college student, three large dogs, and two kittens. The house had seen more changes in a year than it had in the ten years since he bought the place. He was one frat house party short of a nuclear meltdown, but it was a welcome feeling. Even if he hated to admit it, he liked the feel of a full house.

Dave sighed and looked at his watch. He had to go home and meet Rori and Kyle for dinner. Rori was trying something new. She was going to make homemade dumplings. The senior agent looked at the tombstone one last time before turning around. He had told Christine what he needed to, and now he had to do what he promised her he would do.

When he entered his home an hour later, he heard an argument coming from the kitchen. He smiled slightly as he was met by his three dogs Mudgie, Zen, and Chou. "Hey," he said looking at his personal hunting companion. Mudgie wagged his tail in merriment. "What are they fighting about this time?"

The chocolate lab stared at the man and tilted its head to the side.

"Dad, is that you?" Rori's voice came from the back of the house. Dave placed her in the dining room and not the kitchen. She was probably setting the table.

"No, it's a burglar, who just so happens to have a key," Kyle retorted with a snort. "Of course it's Dave."

"How's dinner coming along?" Dave asked.

He could hear the two talking in hushed whispers. "Fine!" they chorused after a minute.

Dave sighed. Rori had failed in her attempt to make dumplings and was trying to cover it up. "I'll order pizza," he stated with a chuckle.

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Yay! I finished the first chapter to the next Tarot story. Are you guys happy? I hope so. I liked writing this one. It was different from the recap in Justice, and I think that it's a great way to start off another installment to this fantastic series. It reminds me of the Nancy Drew novels and how the first chapter is always there to tell you who Nancy is, who her father is, and most importantly it tells you about Hannah Gruen.

Important News: 1.) The month of August is going to be full of changes. I'm going back and working on editing and rewriting The Death Card so that the material is more like what I'm posting at the moment. So I'll be keeping people posted on that as well. Check it out when you get the chance. You may like the changes you see.

2.) Ren Kayashima can now be your friend on Facebook. I know that many people are concerned about sharing info. Don't worry about that. I'm not saying people have to follow me there. I created the account to talk with several people on that also created separate accounts. I'll be posting links and a lot more updates there. If you don't want to do that, I also have a twitter and tumblr. Mostly because I get really bored.

Drop me a review because I know you want to.

Shane