Penelope sighed as she set out the file folder and five tablets. Looking up at Rossi, she pursed her lips. "Why is she coming with us again?" she asked, sinking down in the seat next to him.
"She's coming with us because Jack and Henry both have the chicken pox. Hotch and JJ could have passed it on to any of us and if we should go a person down while we're in the field, it would take too long to fly someone up there."
"But, I can go in the field now!" she protested, sticking her lip out.
"You haven't passed your firearms test, Kitten. And I know we'll make the best out of this. After all, there's only four days before Christmas, the season of miracles. Anything could happen."
"Yeah, like us being stuck in some remote town in Maine for Christmas."
"Come on, Moose River is right off 201. It's not a remote town. Besides, it might be nice to have a very white Christmas this year, we all could use it. And, you'll be with Morgan the entire time." He smiled at her and she felt herself smile back.
"There is that. But Chief Strauss? It's like having our own personal Grinch there, hovering over us."
"That's a new one, Ms. Garcia. Unfortunately, I can't turn green on command, though David can confirm my heart is three sizes too small." A hurt look passed over her face before being replaced by the placid mask she normally wore. Penelope opened her mouth to apologize when the other woman sat next to Rossi and picked up her tablet. "I take it his is the information on the case?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Once the others are here, I'll go over the case in detail." Strauss nodded and began to look through the data, falling silent. Penelope looked at Rossi, who shrugged, a slight frown on his lips. "And I only was able to get three rooms at the local lodge. I have no idea how we're going to split up to sleep."
"I'm sure we'll come up with something, Ms. Garcia," Strauss said absently, flinching at some of the pictures.
The others ambled in and Penelope took a deep breath, calling up the first set of pictures on the big screen. "So, we're headed to Moose River, Maine. Police there are dealing with a serial rapist who is growing increasingly violent. He seems to have a preference for brunettes, but there have been two blonde victims and one redheaded victim."
"I didn't see in any of the notes if the police had recovered any DNA evidence," Strauss said, pinning Penelope with her steely gaze.
"That's correct, Ma'am. The unsub wears both gloves and a condom, so no fingerprints or DNA left behind. The most we know about him is that he's blonde and has brown eyes. And he's accelerated his timeline – there've been four rapes this week alone. They're hoping we can put a stop to him before another one happens."
They all nodded and Strauss stood up. "All right then, wheel's up in thirty minutes. We'll work on building the profile while we're in the air." She left the room and the others turned to look at Rossi.
"Don't even say it, guys. We'll be fine and it's only one case. You heard Strauss, we'll be leaving in thirty." Still grumbling, they left and she was alone with Rossi once more. "What's wrong, Kitten?"
"I think I hurt her feelings, Dave. It was kind of harsh, wasn't it?"
"Just a little. It's a hard season for us this year." He sighed slightly and she cocked her head, wondering if he'd tell her more. "It's his year to have the kids for the winter break. Or, I should say kid. Sarah's the only one still in school. And Caroline loved Christmas so. Go easy on her, for me. I know she's a bit hard and sharp, but she has a reason for that now."
Penelope nodded and picked up her tablet. "I've been told to bring along satellite phones, since cell reception is spotty up there. I put you under the first speed dial number and then her. She won't mind that, will she?"
"She shouldn't. Go get your things, I'll help you load them into the SUV." She smiled and made her way over to the tech cave she called her home away from home. Pulling open her bottom drawer, she took out the gifts she'd gotten for her friends and put them in her go bag. She stuffed a few skeins of rose colored yarn and a set of knitting needles into her purse. There should be time for me to whip up a scarf for Strauss in our downtime, she thought. Maybe that will begin to make up for my comment.
Shouldering her purse, she picked up her go bags and the laptop bag and carried them out, setting them by the door. Going back in, she picked up the case with the satellite phones and flipped off the lights.
"Is this everything, Baby Girl?" She looked up at Morgan and smiled.
"Yeah, Sugar. I thought Dave was going to help me, though." She looked over at his office and saw Reid in there, talking to him. "What's going on there?"
He shrugged. "Maybe he's objecting to being in such close quarters with the Ice Queen for a few days. Who knows." He picked up the largest of her bags and fake staggered. "What do you have in here, sweetness? Boulders?" She smacked his chest lightly with a smile, shaking her head. "Let's go." She took his elbow and they went out to the elevators. Emily was standing there with her bag and she smiled slightly.
"Well, this is going to be interesting. Just how small is Moose River?"
"The town itself has about three hundred people. There are more in the surrounding area, but our base of operations will be there. It doesn't have a large airport, so we have to pray that there are no storms while we're there, otherwise we might end up snowed in." Penelope smiled as the doors opened and they stepped inside.
Once in the garage, she saw Strauss struggling to open the back hatch of their SUV and she jogged over to help her. "Thank you, Ms. Garcia," she said softly as she lifted her bag up and stuffed it in. Penelope put the phone case in and then went around and climbed into the vehicle. She was surprised when Strauss sat next to her, sitting stiffly straight in the seat.
The others joined them moments later and Morgan drove to the airfield. Emily was the first one on the plane and Penelope followed her on. She settled onto the row of seats arranged like a couch and pulled out the first skein of yarn, casting on a row of fifty two stitches. She had just begun to work the pattern from memory when she realized she'd forgotten her cable needle. "Dammit," she swore softly.
"What is it, Ms. Garcia?" Strauss asked as she took a seat next to her, watching the others huddle around the table. "I don't think I'm going to be included very much on this case. I'm just a filler body, should someone fall ill."
Penelope sighed as she looked over at the woman sitting so primly on the seat. "You wouldn't happen to have a cable need on you?" she asked, hoping to make her feel included in a small way.
"Actually, I think I might." She dug through her purse, pulling out a knitting project of her own and setting it next to her. "Here it is!" she said triumphantly as she pulled the hook out, handing it to Penelope.
"Thanks." She settled back in the seat and began to work in earnest on the pattern once more. From the corner of her eye, she watched Strauss go over to the quartet and try to be of help. It was heartbreaking to see only Rossi make an effort to include her, even when it sounded like she had good insights. And then she heard Emily parrot those insights back and get approval on them. Subtly, Strauss drew in on herself, pulling away with each slight.
Dammit, Rossi, why did you have to remind me that I have a heart? she thought as she flew through the stitches. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to take the other woman in her arms and hug the hurt out of her. Or set her up with another hurting soul. Her eye shifted to Rossi, catching the small, protective, motions he made towards her every so often. Maybe by the end of this case she would be able to pull off a little Christmas magic. As he had said himself, it was the season of miracles.
After some time had passed, Strauss returned to her side and began to knit on her project. From what Penelope could see, it was a headband with a complicated cable pattern. "Do you need your needle back?"
"No. For this pattern, I'm cabling by hand. If I need it, I'll ask for it." Penelope nodded and went back to her scarf. Two hours later, they were landing at the small private airport in nearby Jackman. Rossi and Morgan loaded their gear into the back of the waiting SUVs, working quickly on account of the cold. Penelope followed Strauss into one of them, wanting to show her she was not alone.
"I know what you're doing," the woman said lowly as she buckled her seat belt, shivering from the cold.
"What am I doing?" Penelope asked, trying to keep a smile from her face.
"You're trying to make amends for your earlier remark. I've had worse said about me. I don't even know why it hurts anymore." Rossi got in the driver's seat and she looked at Penelope. "For what it's worth, I forgive you."
Penelope nodded and watched the scenery pass by. There certainly was a lot of snow, much more than she was used to seeing, and she couldn't keep herself from shivering. They pulled into parking spots in front of the precinct and she hustled inside with her laptop. Checking her iPhone, she was relieved to find there was wi-fi available in this small town.
As she set everything up, she felt eyes watching her. Looking up, she met Erin's gaze and noticed for the first time how blue her eyes were. And she knew Rossi liken blue eyes, most of his lovers had them. "Can I help you?"
"They've shut me out again. Is there anything I can do here to help?" She looked away quickly and Penelope smiled sadly.
"I'm all set here, actually. Do you want to head to the lodge with me and get everything set up there?" She nodded. "Wonderful. And this way, we can get the sleeping arrangements squared away as well." Standing, she went over to Rossi and held out her hand. He put the keys in her palm, grinning at her.
"If you don't mind, I'll drive," Erin said once they were outside. "I grew up in Vermont, I know how to drive in the snow."
Penelope nodded and handed the keys over. She got them to the inn without incident and once checked in, they found they had the only three rooms in the entire building. "Okay, so, we'll put Emily here, in this smaller single room. She still has a rough time at night. The guys can have the room with the two queen beds, I'm sure they'll figure out who gets what bed on their own. Which leaves us with this room." Penelope unlocked the door and opened it. "Oh."
They stepped inside and Penelope just stared at the one king size bed. "It's just for a few nights. We're both professionals."
"I don't know about that, Erin. I tend to like pillow fights at midnight." She caught the twitch of the other woman's lips and smiled herself. "Just so you know, I am the reigning champion."
"We'll just have to see about that. I'm going to get my bag now." Erin left the room and Penelope flopped down on the bed. She wasn't as bad as the others had led her to believe, especially if she responded to her jokes. The only problem with this set up would be getting her Italian Stallion and the fair Erin together, alone. And to find some private time with her Sugar Bear.
Standing, she went downstairs and found the dining room decorated for Christmas and smiled to see the sprig of mistletoe that hung above the entranceway to the great room. There was a large Christmas tree next to the fireplace and she sighed happily. But for the horror going on around them, this was the most romantic place to be for the Christmas season.
"You should see the sky outside, Penelope. There are snow clouds on the horizon." Erin held her hands in front of the fire to warm them. "I brought everyone's bags in, one less thing for them to do when they get here."
"That was nice of you, Erin. Come, sit with me. We might as well relax until we get paged. I know how it feels to be left out."
"Actually, I think I'm going to run upstairs and grab my knitting." She smiled sadly at her and then disappeared upstairs. While she was gone, the woman who ran the lodge brought a pot of hot chocolate in and set it on the coffee table with a few mugs. Penelope poured some for herself and sat back, staring into the fire. "I brought your project down, too."
"Thanks, Erin." She took the soft yarn from Erin's hands and went back to work on the pattern. The clicking of needles soothed her immeasurably. "I wonder if there are any cookies to go with the hot chocolate?"
"I suppose you could ask our hostess to make some Christmas cookies for us. We might end up stuck here, after all. The snow has begun to fall and from the looks of things, I don't think it will stop anytime soon."
The woman was open, freely talking to Penelope, and she found herself relaxing and wanting to be open in return. "Hopefully we can catch the unsub before it gets too bad, then. Though I would like to spend Christmas here, since it's so peaceful."
"I'd like that, too, actually. It would remind me of my childhood." Penelope looked over at her and smiled, somehow relieved to see the other woman smile back. Suddenly, the thought of spending time with this woman seemed more like a blessing than a burden.