And for a special treat for you all that have been following my work over the past year, some extra oneshots featuring the supporting characters of my work, Sonata in G. If you haven't read any of that stuff, I must highly recommend that you do or you will be hopelessly lost. A quick word about these scenes: they are random, sporadic, and completely not uniform in content, length, nor characters. Every once in a while, I feel like there is a scene that might shed some light on the events of Sonata in G that cannot be included because of the first person narrative that I have going there.

And as a side note, this is also a heads up to those who have me on alert, Sonata in G, Mvt III, will be posted on September 1. Thanks for your patience and happy reading!

There was nothing more that Jason Gideon wanted more than to return to his apartment and sleep through the night. Guantanamo Bay was only one time zone over from DC, but the flight still tired the profiler out more than he cared to admit. Or perhaps he would summon the energy to visit Sarah and his daughter, join them for dinner or dessert, before reaching his home.

It had helped to play chess against Reid and Prentiss on the flight back. There was nothing else that could keep his attention as well as a good game against a good opponent. Gideon smiled. Spencer Reid may be a genius, but he was still young enough that Gideon could read him easily. Prentiss, as a new opponent, had been challenging in that Gideon couldn't use the experience of other games against her. She also had the uncanny ability to shield her thoughts from him, a talent that would serve her well in this field.

If her smile and desire to prove herself happened to remind him of his daughter, Gideon kept that thought to himself. Neither Prentiss nor Rachel would appreciate that sentiment.

But first, Gideon needed to drop his brief case off at his office and see if Hotch had left any kind of report for him. Their partnership in leading the BAU was slightly unorthodox, but had served them well so far. Hotch could play politics with the higher ups and Gideon could focus on the inter-team relationships. Officially, Hotch was the unit chief, but Gideon still held enormous influence and leadership on the team as well.

The BAU bull pen was dim and mostly abandoned. Their work never truly stopped so there was always some handful of agents around working on profiles and receiving requests from around the country. Both Reid and Prentiss headed for their desks to unload their own paperwork. Gideon climbed the stairs to his office, opened the door, and found that the light was already on and that he had an unexpected visitor.

"Morgan," Gideon greeted the younger man. "Is there something wrong?"

Sadly, their most recent case didn't warrant much grief in Gideon's opinion. Yes, they had lost a SWAT agent, but in light of the fact they had stopped the terrorists' attack successfully meant that there was no reason Gideon could think of to explain Morgan's presence in his office.

"Not exactly," Morgan answered ambiguously, completely out of character to his usual straight forward manner.

If Morgan was feeling guilty about shooting the one suspect at the mall which Gideon had heard about, he knew that Morgan wouldn't be coming to him for a talk.

"I just thought you should know, Rachel was at the mall."

Given Gideon's desire to separate out his work life and his family life, it took him several moments to connect Morgan's statement with their case.

"The mall the terrorists had targeted?" Gideon asked to confirm.

The younger agent sighed, obviously running on the dregs of his energy himself. "Yeah. Hotch found her in the crowd and we took her home once we finished. But she was right there when the suspect fell through the glass ceiling."

It had never even occurred to Gideon that his daughter could have been in danger. The realization that had he been wrong in his interrogation and profile, his daughter would have been a victim struck him to his core.

"Thank you, Morgan. Was her mother home when you dropped Rachel off?"

"No," Morgan answered, flinching slightly when Gideon glared at him suddenly. "She insisted that she would be fine. I thought she would be."

It wasn't Morgan's fault, Gideon told himself. There was a certain type of paranoia that only came with fatherhood.

"Thank you," Gideon repeated and then waved his hand at the agent in dismissal.

Morgan almost fled the office to join his colleagues down in the pen.

Gideon wrapped up his reports quickly and then left immediately for Sarah's house. Eight years ago, when Sarah had discussed moving so that he could see their daughter more often, Gideon had been ecstatic and concerned in equal measures. Naturally, he wanted to be there for his daughter, be her father and spend time with her, but up until then, Rachel knew next to nothing about his job. That was no longer the case in many respects.

Using his copy of the house key, Gideon let himself in, finding Sarah on the couch in her robe and slippers with a cup of tea. Even after nearly four decades, she was beautiful to him.

"Jason, what a surprise."

"Is Rachel sleeping?" he asked.

Sarah frowned at his tone. "I think so. Her light is off downstairs."

Gideon sighed in relief. Whatever she had seen could not have traumatized her too much if she were sleeping.

"What's wrong, Jason?" Sarah demanded softly.

After nearly four decades, Sarah was probably the best person to read his moods and thoughts.

"She was at the mall tonight," Gideon explained, remembering the cover story he'd been told. "And there was an attempted robbery. I wanted to see if she was okay."

There was a moment when Sarah stared into his eyes, seeing down into his soul and reading the lie that had come out of his mouth. But she did not shatter the illusions between them.

"I only just got home myself, so I don't know."

Gideon nodded and then walked toward the staircase without another word. Sarah would understand his need to look in on their daughter before talking with her further. Sarah always understood.

There was no light downstairs as Sarah had said and no light on in the bedroom when Gideon opened the door a crack. In the dark, his eyes adjusted and he could make out the sleeping form of his daughter under the bed covers.

He had never planned on a daughter, or a second child at all. The comfort he had found in Sarah after his wife's death was meant to be a solitary event, just another chapter in their life long friendship. But hearing that she was pregnant with his child months later had been invigorating. Rachel's birth allowed them both to imagine what might have happened if they hadn't drifted apart after college to go their separate ways and to their separate marriages.

With his relationship with his son fading and falling apart, Gideon could try again with his daughter. Sometimes, he felt like he was succeeding and other times, he felt like he was making the same mistakes again.

And he'd come so close to losing her today without even knowing she was in danger. If he had been wrong about any single thing during his interrogation, he might not have guessed the cell's target. And Rachel would have been killed along with thousands of other innocent people. He would have failed her. Gideon knew that he would never be able to live with himself if he ever failed his daughter.

Gideon approached the bed silently, watching as his daughter hugged a pillow close to her chest in her sleep. Sometimes, she caught him when he watched her sleep, but mostly not. He was able to watch the steady rise and fall of her breathing, reminding himself that she was safe.