Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

Changes-Chapter 1

~Finally! This is the sequel to 'Happily Ever After!' This story probably won't be updated with any regularity for the next few months as I finish up my course work and prepare for my comprehensive exams, but the characters were speaking to me and I didn't want to wait until December to post. Enjoy!

~Don't forget to check out the Chit Chat on Authors Corner forum for rules and nomination forms for this year's Profiler's Choice awards!

Dave awoke to the warmth of sunshine streaming through the open balcony doors of his and JJ's master suite. He could hear the gentle waves from the Mediterranean Sea lapping up against their private beach and that sound, combined with his wife's quiet breathing, made for a very peaceful environment.

He propped his head up on one elbow and watched his wife sleep, being quiet as possible because he knew she needed her rest. After all that had happened over the past four months, he wanted her to continue taking it easy, no matter how many times she told him she was fine. After seeing her shot in the chest, just before he took a bullet to the shoulder, he was left with certain anxieties about her and one of those worries was that she would try to do too much, too soon and somehow spark a relapse and he would be damned if he would let that happen. He felt she'd done too much already during their whirlwind tour of Italy and he was going to make sure she relaxed during these last few days in the country, her and their daughter both.

Dave felt a grin overtake his face when he thought of the two feisty women in his life. They had become a family late in life and there were times he felt as if he had to constantly try to make up for lost time, but that feeling was beginning to slowly pass. Sure, he didn't know about his daughter until she was nearly sixteen and he'd been without Jennifer for that long, but after the events of the spring, when all of their lives had been in danger, he learned to focus on the future and not what he'd missed out on in the past. He knew that marrying the love of his life and becoming nearly a full-time father to their teenage daughter had been the best choices he had ever made; it was as if the two of them made him whole again, they brought light into his previously dark world.

Sadly, they would be losing their daughter soon…well, maybe not losing her, but she would be attending school more than 2,000 miles away from them. Yeah, Garcia had set him up with a webcam and a Skype account, but he knew it wouldn't be the same as sitting across the table from her and sharing an afternoon snack. While he was proud that she'd gotten into the prestigious California school, a large part of him wished she'd chosen a school closer to home so she could've lived with them a little longer. He loved being a parent and even though he knew their daughter would still need them and love them, it wouldn't be the same.

He was pulled from his reverie as his wife began to stir and he saw her eyes slowly open. "Morning," he said as he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Mmmmm, morning," she replied. "I could get used to waking up like this."

"You mean fully satiated and without a stitch of clothing on?" He asked, remembering their late night activities.

"That," JJ said with a smile, "And with the sound of the ocean nearby."

"Can't help you there, although now that we won't have to worry about leaving a kid at home, maybe we can take more weekend trips to the coast?" Dave asked.

"That sounds like a great idea, although that time might be limited if we have another child," she told him and watched as his jaw dropped in shock. JJ couldn't carry another child due to complications she had when she gave birth to Abby, but Dave had broached the subject of a surrogate a few months ago. JJ hadn't been too enthusiastic about it at the time and he'd let it go with the promise to revisit the subject in the fall, after they had gotten Abby safely to school; he had no idea that she'd been thinking about it since then.

"Really?" He breathed.

JJ nodded, "The idea of having another child is appealing, especially after spending so much time with Abby during this past month. I realized that I love being a mother and I don't want to give it up for another couple of decades, not that we're going to just send Abby off with a pat on the head, but you know what I mean."

"So you want to have another kid with me, huh?" Her husband asked as his grin overtook his face.

"I do, but I don't want to move on anything until we get Abby off to school; I want to give her our full attention for the next month."

"That sounds reasonable, but I'll have my lawyer start the initial search for a surrogate as soon as we get back to the States. That way we're not starting from scratch in September," he said and JJ nodded. "Should we tell Abby?"

"I think we can, she already knows we've been thinking about it."

"How does she know that?" Dave asked, he sure hadn't spilled the beans.

"It came up during one of our girl talks," she told him. "She really wants a younger sibling, so I think she'll be excited."

"I'm glad," he said as he kissed her on the forehead and then got up from the bed. "I'm going to go and get breakfast put together."

"I'll join you after my shower," JJ said and blew him a kiss as he left the room.

Once she was under the warm spray, JJ let her body relax even more. She didn't get as sore anymore after long days of activity and it felt good to be healthy again. While she would always have the scars, both physical and mental, of her shooting and her family's ordeal the previous spring, they were no longer at the forefront of her mind. As she soaped herself up, she thought about work and how she could've gone back over a month ago if she had wanted, but she was glad she'd taken this sabbatical because it gave her more time with her daughter before she made the move to California and it gave her time to recover more fully, time she would be grateful for once they had another small child in their lives.

It was strange to think about having another child with Dave. For fifteen years it had just been her and Abby and now suddenly, less than three years later, she was with the love of her life who also happened to be her father's daughter and they were going to have another child. It sometimes blew her mind when she thought about how her life had changed in the past few years.

Pulling herself from her reverie, she stepped out of the shower, quickly dried off and slipped into her swimsuit and a t-shirt of Daves. It seemed as if they had been going non-stop since arriving in Italy and it would be nice to have these last few days by the sea, just relaxing and catching up with each other. As she stepped out of her room, she passed by her daughter's room and heard her talking on her cell phone. She smiled; there was only one person Abby had been keeping in touch with while on their trip and that person was Jack Hotchner. "Ah, young love," she whispered as she made her way into the kitchen.

Abby, who had heard her mother pass by her room, finished her conversation with Jack and disconnected the call. There were times she missed him so much it hurt and she shuddered thinking about the fact that they would soon be separated for at least a year. She pushed that thought out of her mind as she changed out of her nightgown and into her swimsuit. It would be nice to lounge by the beach and relax for the next couple of days since they had been going non-stop since they arrived in Italy over two weeks ago.

Even though she was looking forward to getting back to the States and Jack, Abby knew she would miss Italy and the memories they had made there. It had been fun going through the 'old country' with her grandmother and meeting all of her relatives, even if she didn't understand what they were saying. The biggest surprise for her was that her dad actually made a decent tour guide when they were in Rome and Florence and she'd had a lot of fun in the various museums and shops with him. She hoped they would have as much fun, albeit a more relaxing fun, here at the beach house.

The town they were staying in was gorgeous. It was a small village on the sea and it had a wonderful bakery and farmer's market, not to mention a fabulous local artistry. Her mom had already bought a small sculpture and it was going to be shipped to the States soon after they left. She was glad the three of them had taken the vacation during the summer, instead of over her spring break as they had originally planned, since the summer gave them better weather and more time to enjoy it. Abby felt a little guilty thinking like that since it was the shooting and the subsequent threat by her dad's ex-wife which had forced them to stay home during spring break but it was much more fun not having school assignments and tests hanging over her head.

Once she was in her swimsuit, she threw a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on over it and made her way to the veranda, where her parents were already seated.

"Morning mom, morning dad," she said as she gave each of them a peck on the cheek and sat down.

"Good morning, honey," JJ said as she took a bite of scrambled eggs.

"Morning Pumpkin; how are you today?" Abby knew that was code for 'did you have any nightmares?' Her nightmares had been bad after the shootings and after the whole debacle with Suzette, but months of therapy had lessened them considerably, except when they travelled

"I'm good, I slept well and called home earlier this morning," she told him as she grabbed a chunk of bread and a cup of coffee.

"So how is Jack?" Dave asked, knowing she wouldn't have called anyone else. Sure enough, she turned bright red as she put some strawberries on her plate.

"He's fine," she said. "Today's his day off so he's going to spend it relaxing, much like I am."

"Me too," JJ said. "As nice as it was to see your family and the big cities of Italy, I'm going to enjoy just baking in the sun today."

"I wish Nonna was here, though; I miss her," Abby said with a slight frown. The Rossi matriarch was staying with family in Tuscany for the next two weeks but she promised to be back in DC well before Abby left for California.

Dave snorted, "Trust me, if my mother was here, there would be very little relaxing. She would have us doing something." His mother was the type of person who was constantly moving while on vacation and he'd inherited much of that trait, but the two women at the table with him had shown him the value of taking it easy. "Now finish your breakfasts so we can start relaxing," he ordered and both women gave amused snorts as they went back to their plates.

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An hour later, the three of them had made their way to the padded lounge chairs on the beach and they were beginning to set up for the day. Dave was pawing through his wife's beach bag and was not paying much attention to his wife or daughter.

"Hey Abby? Did you remember the sunscreen?" He asked. He set his wife's bag on the chair, looked over at their daughter, and froze when he saw her. "What in the HELL are you wearing?" He asked when he saw her new bikini. "This is not a nude beach!"

"What are you talking about?" She asked in confusion. "This is my bikini."

"No, no it's not!" He exclaimed. "Your bikini didn't have a push up top like this one and the bottoms were boy cut shorts and they hid much more than these do!"

"Yeah, except I grew out of that one, thank God, so this is my new one," she told him with a sigh. Couldn't he, just once, not hassle her on her choice of swimwear?

"Jen," he complained, turning towards his wife. "Have you seen this?" He watched as his wife took off his long t-shirt and revealed the skimpiest one-piece bathing suit he'd ever seen. The top part plunged lower than he thought was possible and the bottom part rode up so high, he almost wondered why she bothered with it at all. "Of course you have," he said, answering his own question. "And of course you don't have a problem with it." By this time, Abby had gone to the shoreline and was wading in the sea.

"I really don't Dave; Abby's old enough to pick out her own clothes and, trust me, her swimsuit is pretty tame compared to what else is out there."

"It's pretty tame compared to what you're wearing," he told her as he licked his lips and moved closer. "How come you're not wearing your bikini?" He asked, "Not that I mind this swimsuit."

JJ felt his arms wrap around her middle and she sighed, "I didn't wear my bikini because I didn't think the scars from my bullet wound and subsequent surgery would go too well with it."

"Believe me Jen; nothing could take away your beauty…NOTHING!" With that, his lips crashed down onto hers and they stayed that way for another minute until they both had to come up for air.

"Like I said, this swimsuit looks great on you, but you know where else I want to see it?"

"Where?" She asked.

"On our bedroom floor later tonight," he told her with a waggle of his eyebrows.

She smiled seductively, "I think that can be arranged."