AN: I have been tossing up for a while whether I really wanted to write a Criminal Minds fanfic (in other words did I really want to risk mangling something that is already great) and after spending the last few weeks exclusively reading fics others have written and watching anew all the episodes of the first 5 seasons, I decided I was going to do it.

I had a clear idea in mind for what my story line would look like but I didn't even get to start writing it before the regulars decided they wanted to do something else, so here follows what they want. I have nothing to do with it so if you think it's terrible blame them, not me.

If things don't make a lot of sense at first, just stick with it because by the end of this first chapter, the regulars will be making their debuts and you'll be like 'Ah, so that's what's happening here'. It'll be worth your while to keep reading, I promise. However, if you figure it out before the end of the chapter, brownie points and snaps for you.

I do so LOVE reviews, so please let me know what you think, even if you think it's truly terrible.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing relating to Criminal Minds.

Life As We Know It – Chapter 1

Rachel Geneva turned up the walk to her house in suburban Milton, nestled in the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sighed quietly, half in contentment and half in resignation. The day had been perfect and the street party that evening full of fun and laughter. They'd all eaten too much and had been up far longer than bedtimes dictated but that was alright once in a while. Her discontentment came from the discussion she knew she was about to get into with the man walking her home as she stepped up onto her front porch and gently shifted her 1 year old daughter Tammy from one arm to the other in order to reach her house keys.

After unlocking the front door and disarming the alarm system, she turned and gestured Doug into the house. He moved past her and headed immediately for the stairs with her 4 and a half year old daughter Katie. She closed the front door and followed him up the stairs, turning right and then into the nursery. 2 minutes later she had Tammy changed and settled in for the night and had moved into Katie's room. Changing a four year old who was asleep was a little more challenging but five minutes later she was turning off the lamp and walking wearily down the stairs.

She found Doug near her front door which was a great relief. She loved the man dearly as a friend but just at that moment all she wanted was her bed and it was a rare occasion where Doug wouldn't take the time to attempt to seduce her despite knowing she was still in love with Katie's father. An eternal optimist, he fully believed that one day she would simply give up on a reunion with the man she never really spoke about and fall into his arms. She knew it would never happen because there were things about her life she hadn't even hinted at to him despite her absolute trust in him but he didn't know that and the less he knew, the better for her own peace of mind and his safety.

She smiled up at him as she leaned back against the wall near the door. "Thanks ever so much for helping me get the girls home. I never know what I would do without you."

He grinned, his blue eyes lighting up with mischief as he teased yet again, "Well you know you could just marry me and then you would always have me around to help."

Tsking softly she replied, "And you know full well that I would never love you like that and one day we would both wake up miserable. Far better that we remain the best of friends forever than that I cause you even a moment's disappointment."

He sighed theatrically and gripped his chest. "Wounded, yet again. But fear not beautiful one, for I have yet to lose all hope of a happily ever after."

She laughed softly, stepped in closer to him and kissed his cheek. "You are definitely full of it. Say goodnight Doug."

He dutifully said goodnight and walked out the door. She watched him leave til he was out of view and with a relieved sigh, closed and locked the door and reset the alarm for the night. She retreated to the sanctuary of her bedroom and went straight to the ensuite where she went through her normal nightly ritual. The only difference that night was that she was forced to blow dry her waist length black hair instead of being able to let it dry naturally as she preferred. She didn't want to wait for it to dry though as she wanted sleep more than anything else at that moment and going to bed with wet hair was not conducive to having a good night's rest or to her health.

She curled up in bed and looked at the two framed photos she always kept on her bedside table. The first held the most recent image of her two adorable daughters, taken the weekend before at the park. The second she looked at the longest and was the only photo she had of the man who had given life to Katie. They had been out walking along the beach one afternoon when he'd whipped out a camera and started taking photos of her. For the next 15 minutes they'd laughed as they'd traded the camera back and forth for silly posed individual shots before she'd suggested they get one of the two of them together with the setting sun as their backdrop. He'd agreed and pulling her back against him he'd held the camera at arm's length and taken the shot right before he'd turned her and kissed her senseless. She knew Katie had been conceived that night and then 6 weeks later her life was in tatters and everything she knew and was familiar with was far away and lost to her, perhaps forever.

Noting where her thoughts were leading her, she said her prayers for the night for the three people she loved more than any other in the world and turned out the lamp.

New Section-

Caitlyn Hunter looked up as her husband's voice came from the tv. Grabbing the remote she turned up the volume and went back to folding laundry. James looked up from the table where he was doing his homework and said anxiously, "That's daddy on tv. Which channel is it?"

Caitlyn checked the logo. "Looks like he's on CBS baby. His case must have been bigger than he thought because that's the national news."

James watched the tv with a mixture of pride and fear. Caitlyn was a great stepmother and calling her mum had happened easily over time but there were things she didn't know about him and daddy and if she did know she might leave them like his first mum had. And that was the last thing he wanted.

When the piece was over he looked at Caitlyn and found she was looking at him with concern. He picked up his pencil and ducked his head back to his homework, hoping she wouldn't ask him why he was so anxious all of a sudden.

Caitlyn watched as James went back to his homework, his little shoulders scrunched up as if he was waiting for a blow. Frowning, she made a mental note to talk to Michael when he arrived home from work. The frown dissolved in a smile as she remembered that the best way for her to remember was to write it down. She touched her stomach lightly as she walked into the kitchen. She loved being pregnant and took delight in the loving attention she was getting from Michael and the excitement that James felt about having a new baby brother or sister. What she didn't like was the nausea, vomiting, food cravings, hormones and memory loss that were also part and parcel of the joyous changes happening in her body.

Hearing the front door, she bounced happily out of the kitchen and down the hall. Michael smiled at her when he saw her approaching and readily caught her when she jumped to wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. They kissed until James made gagging noises then Michael let her down and turned to embrace his son, tickling him til he screamed for mercy between bouts of hysterical laughter.

"You're home early. I haven't even had a chance to think about dinner yet."

"Excellent; after a very successful day, I thought I might take my two favourite people in the entire world out for dinner at wherever we vote to go."

Caitlyn and James exchanged high-fives at this and started debating on where they wanted to go. Michael grinned as he watched his wife of two years losing a debate to a 9 year old who wanted to eat at the local pizzeria when all she wanted was chinese. There was just something so easy and fresh about Caitlyn that always made him fall in love with her over again at the oddest times and in all different circumstances and this now was one of them as he watched her challenge James to a game of Rock, Scissors, Paper.

He stepped around them and into the living room to catch the last few minutes of the news. He watched the weather for the weekend and made a note to approach the idea of an outing to the beach if the weather stayed fine. Then the recaps came on and he felt his blood turn cold as his face appeared on the tv screen for all to see. The caption clearly stated his name and the reporter clearly stated where he was reporting from. He groaned softly. He'd had a bad feeling about the case from the first day it landed on his desk and though the outcome had been all he'd hoped it would be, he knew that this here was where that feeling had come from. Worse still was the knowledge that this was the national news he was watching.

He turned at a soft noise of distress to see James looking at him worriedly and Caitlyn looking sheepish. He tugged James into his arms for a comforting hug as he raised an eyebrow at his wife and forced down his worry. "Who won?"

"Who do you think? I swear this son of ours is going to follow in his daddy's footsteps. He drives an incredibly hard bargain."

Michael chuckled. "Pizza it is then kiddo. It's still early and I'm sure you still have homework to do. I'll go get changed then I'll come down and help with any chores you might still need to finish."

Caitlyn smiled at him in a way that had his blood immediately begin to heat and his brain take a rapid dive south. "Actually, I'm just about done with the laundry and then I'm totally done with the day's chores. Perhaps I could come up with you while you change?"

Michael looked across at James as he settled back at the table and rolling his eyes, turned back to his homework with a muttered, "I know what that's code for and all I can say is gross."

Michael gestured Caitlyn to precede him out the door and for the moment put the news footage to the back of his mind as he watched her ascend the stairs. He'd deal with it when they returned from dinner. He felt his body stirring at the sight of her hips swaying ahead of him and decided they definitely needed some quality time together.

She entered the bedroom and waited til he'd passed her before she pushed the door closed. Her eyes looked him over from top to bottom and she smiled seductively as she walked towards him. "Do I need to ask if we're on the same page here?"

"Oh no; I know exactly what I'm doing here. Do you?"

Her only answer was a husky growl as she shoved him back on the bed and pulled off the sundress she was wearing before climbing up to straddle him, sending all thoughts of even his name flying out the window as he realised that all that stood between him and paradise were a few so tiny wisps of lace. She lifted a hand to the tie holding back her long blond hair and shook it out around her as he lifted his hands to cup her luscious looking breasts. She hissed in air and leaned forward with a wriggle of her hips to capture his mouth and the race to dominate was on as the world around them faded away.

New Section-

Patrick Monahan stood in the doorway to his almost-in-laws living room and groaned. The room had been on loan to him for his bachelor party with strict instructions on what was and was not allowed and looking about, he was absolutely certain that every single one of those instructions had been broken beyond belief. There was food and drink spilled everywhere, trash littered the floor, furniture had been shifted about and if he wasn't mistaken, the expensive vase his almost mother-in-law prized had a huge crack in it and that was water leaking slowly out of it.

With a sigh, he stepped across the room and rescued the vase. Maybe his almost wife would know what to do to keep him alive long enough for him to see his honeymoon. Thinking about Carrie made him smile as it always did and lifted his spirits, causing him to whistle happily as he attacked the mess with renewed energy and enthusiasm. He didn't enjoy all the required activities that came with getting married and in particular came with marrying someone with this much wealth and social status but if it netted him Carrie who was to him the single most beautiful woman (both inside and out) in the world then he could deal with everything else. Besides his wedding day was tomorrow so all the annoying little extras were done and dusted and now it was just for them to say 'I do'.

It was almost one in the morning before he had everything tidied to the point where he knew he would be able to sleep without feeling guilty about what he was leaving behind for the cleaner coming in the morning.

"Things get a little out of hand here son?"

He turned and smiled sheepishly as he ran a hand over his head. "Sorry Paul. I did try to keep things tame but someone brought alcohol and the next thing I knew I wasn't in charge anymore. Do you thing Gwen will kill me for not stopping the destruction of her favourite vase?"

Paul winced. "We might have to keep that one from her till after tomorrow. Then you become a son by law and you might stand a better chance of surviving, particularly if you can convince Carrie of your innocence and get her to protect you. I'll tell Gwen once you are on your honeymoon and then she'll have 2 weeks to calm down about it. Don't be surprised if you inherit the bill for the replacement though."

Patrick smiled dryly. "I think paying for the replacement will definitely be a small price to pay if I can survive the rest of the month. Did you just come from Carrie's?" he asked in a hopeful tone of voice.

Paul laughed outright. "The two of you are adorable. I swear Carrie was going to hit me when I said I hadn't seen you at all today. Finding out I was coming here, she insisted I pass on her love and a kiss."

Patrick laughed too and blushed slightly. "Let's just say you did and leave it at that. Is she ready for tomorrow?"

"More than. She tested the theory that putting all the clocks forward in the entire city would make tomorrow come faster. Needless to say, the girls shot her theory down in flames before offering chocolate as a consolation. Let's just say she was only slightly consoled and leave it at that."

Patrick felt pleasure wash through him and only just resisted the urge to pull out his mobile and call his woman. A yawn caught him and he bade Paul goodnight and ascended to the room they'd loaned him for the night. He made use of the bathroom then walked to the dresser where he'd placed the two photos he carried around everywhere with him. Carrie beamed at him from where she'd posed against a tree on a recent camping trip where the woman had more than wowed him; for someone as rich and high class as Carrie, she sure loved getting sweaty and back to nature as frequently as she could. She'd admitted to him as they lay twined together after some of the best sex he'd ever had that she didn't like being rich and that being with him allowed her to be herself in a way no one or thing had ever managed for her. He'd been incredibly humbled by that admission.

He looked at the other photo and smiled. It had been a rare chance for them to get out as a group off the clock. It'd been winter and they'd gone to an outdoor ice skating rink. Some of them had been completely at home on the ice. Other's, like him, had wished to be elsewhere from the start but had stuck with it because the rest were having fun. About midway through the night, a professional photographer had come round and asked if they'd like a photo. So they'd all posed for it and at the last second he'd told a joke that had everyone laughing. The photo was a favourite memory and the only piece he had left of the life he'd known.

He climbed into bed with a smile. Tomorrow was the start of the next, and by far the best, chapter of his life.

He so couldn't wait.

New Section-

The ringing of the school bell called to a close the term and released children to their spring break. Sam Harper took a large step back out of way as the children grabbed their backpacks and associated gear and stampeded out of the room. Despite the rush, he noted at least a dozen wishes extended to him to have a great spring break. Despite studies showing mathematics wasn't a popular subject, his year 10 advanced class truly liked numbers and surprisingly him as a teacher and never hesitated to tell him both.

He took an hour to finish the last-minute required grading and paperwork and then quickly set the room to rights before flicking the lights off. He took a last quick look about and then closed and locked the classroom door. He was now officially on break and he and his small family had grand plans for the next week.

He called to his colleagues as he went, wishing them all a great break. Getting into his ageing car, he pointed it towards the local supermarket. He didn't need to stop off, but he liked to buy his wife gifts and even more he enjoyed the joy on her face when she received them. He also wanted to get something for his 2 month old son. He grinned when he thought about the look on Austin's face when he arrived home with yet another toy for a baby that was still too little to appreciate anything about it. She'd be fondly amused and slightly exasperated and then they'd both coo and fuss over their perfect baby boy.

He rushed through the shopping, picking up a large box of chocolates for Austin and a set of soft numbered blocks for baby Gideon. Traffic was kind to him on the way home and 45 minutes after he'd left the school he pulled into the drive to the small but cosy house they'd lived in for the last 4 years since they'd married. Austin had continued working right up until she'd given birth and now they were discussing the possibility of her becoming a stay-at-home mum because she absolutely thrived in her new role of motherhood. Feeling almost giddy with his delight at seeing his family again, he ran up the drive. At the last moment he noted the quiet of the house and closed the front door quietly before pulling off his bag and jacket and leaving his shoes on the rack.

Padding down the hall he poked his head into the rooms on both sides looking for his family. Reaching the nursery he stopped and smiled, tenderness and love overwhelming him anew as he took in the scene before him. Austin had obviously had a long day; she was sound asleep in the rocking chair, Gideon sound asleep against her shoulder where, despite her state, Austin held him securely. He walked forward and carefully shifted Gideon into his arms. The baby woke with a start and looked up at him and he smiled down at his small son and pressed a finger to his lips.

"Hey baby. Let's let mama sleep a little longer hmm?"

His son just looked up at him with the same fascinated look he always had and made a soft cooing noise. Sam placed a light kiss on his cheek and lightly placed a blanket over Austin's sleeping form. Kissing her forehead just as gently, he eased out of the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

When they'd first married he hadn't really been able to cook and what he did know was only just enough to keep him alive as a bachelor living on his own. Austin however turned out to be an amazing cook and a better teacher and had insisted on teaching him what she knew whether he wanted to know it or not. Now he could easily whip up a delicious meal in next to no time and often found that he actually enjoyed the very act of it. He now put his extensive skills to work one handed, talking to Gideon as he went, explaining to the baby each of the steps he was taking as he made a salad and started grilling some fish.

"You do realise he's too little to be taking in anything you're saying at this moment?"

He turned with a pleased smile, his heart catching slightly at her sleepy smile and tousled hair. "Doesn't matter. It's more for me than for him anyway."

He lifted his free arm and she slipped under it, snuggling up to his side and tipping her face up for his kiss and for just a moment they were lost in fireworks and wonder. He pulled back enough to lightly kiss her nose before he retrieved his arm and turned the fish.

"Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes if you want to go wash up."

Austin nodded, took Gideon from him and walked out of the room, quietly thanking the baby as she went for letting her sleep. Sam smiled anew and pulled out plates and cutlery, whistling as he set everything out and then served up the food. Austin returned with the baby monitor and they sat down to eat and converse about their days.

She was serving up the apple tea cake she'd made that afternoon when she remembered the phone call she'd taken late that morning.

"Babe, we had an interesting call this morning."

"Interesting good or interesting what-the-hell-is-this-about?"

Frowning she said cautiously, "Try interesting asked-personal-questions-about-my-husband-that-made-me-nervous."

Sam paused with a spoonful of cake an inch from his lips. "What kind of questions?"

Austin licked her lips. "Where you have lived across your lifetime, what kind of education you have, how smart you are, what family you may still have living. Once I got the gist of what they were getting at, I said that the best thing they could do was phone back when you got home. I pretended we'd only been together for a short period of time and I didn't really know all that much about you. They weren't pleased and kept trying to pressure me into answering but I just kept saying I didn't know much beyond the fact that you were like a stallion in bed and that I didn't really much care to know anything else."

Sam smiled reluctantly as his mind raced trying to put everything in perspective. "Just with me for my body huh?"

"Oh totally. Like, I don't care if you are smart; as long as my needs are met."

Their smiles were loving as their hands met over the table. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily. They may just be fishing to see who may fit before they do anything. But to be on the safe side, we should take time to ensure our backup plan is still in place so we can leave in a hurry if necessary. Being away on a planned vacation this week may very well be a godsend."

Austin nodded calmly. "I love you more than anything Sam. Whatever you need from me, even if it means uprooting and becoming someone else, if it means we live to see old age with each other."

With a grin, Sam set his bowl down. "Let's come back on dessert later."

Returning the grin with a saucy smile of her own, Austin got up and sauntered slowly out of the room til Sam threatened to take her up against the wall if she didn't move it. Then she took off running with a laugh, hearing Sam's challenge ringing behind her as she went. She tumbled through the door into the bedroom and felt Sam's arms wrap around her waist, lift her up and toss her at the bed. She let out a soft shriek as she landed and turned as he landed on top of her, letting her mouth fit to his with absolute accuracy as they raced to see who get naked in the shortest possible time. She still hadn't lost her touch and quickly turned to helping Sam with the rest of his clothing before they both exploded in frustration.

Finally falling clear of the last of the clothing, their mouths met anew, hands going crazy and then they were joined again and as suddenly as the frenzy had started, it stopped as their eyes met and their hearts connected and the intimacy of the moment reduced them to tears as they quietly renewed their love for each other and soared over the cliff together.

New Section-

Jack Maio watched the exodus of tourists from his apartment window with a sigh of relief. The tourist season in the popular tourist town of Vail, Colorado was over for another year and the town would again only be populated by the regulars. He wouldn't have to be so worried about being spotted and recognised as he went about his business for the next six months and it would actually be comfortable for him to step outside his front door.

Every year for six months you couldn't even breathe without running into a ski bunny of one type or another. The resort and other holiday accommodations were absolutely packed and business boomed in every way. But for those six months of the year he lived in fear that he wouldn't survive to find the woman he loved more than any other and make her his own. He survived on about four hours of sleep a night and ate little because what he did eat always caused indigestion and heartburn. He now had six months to put back on the 15 or so kilos he'd lost as a result of his fear.

He watched for a little while longer and then turned away. He was meeting with a couple of his friends for a game of pool and dinner out. He sent up a quick prayer that meeting up with them wouldn't see them hooked up with women. Even if it was just a casual hanging out, he always felt more than a little disloyal to the woman who'd stolen his heart. He walked over to where he kept her photo and smiled as he took in her perfect features. A simple walk on the beach had ended in a mock photo shoot and somehow he'd managed to get a shot of her as her head had whipped around to look at him. There was something so mysterious about the shot with her half smile, eyes laughing and a tumble of curls shot through with the light from the dying sun that were flying around her head.

He collected his jacket, wallet and keys and headed for the door, stopping off at the photo again to trace her smile and sigh her name with longing.

Several hours later the night had passed just as he'd thought it would. They'd arrived at the pub early enough to secure a dinner table and a pool table before the rush of the dinner crowd arrived. He'd lost the game, but since he only ever won one out of about twenty games he hadn't really expected to win. Dinner had been a pleasure to eat as always and the company of the men around him had gone a long way to easing the tight knots he'd been tied in for the last few months. But then the women had come over to crash their party. A couple of them were regulars and greeted him warmly without pushing for anything they knew he wouldn't give but the other three had draped themselves all over him despite his blatant discouragement. His friends had simply been amused and unhelpful in their jealousy but Cindi and Annie had done their level best to run interference without too much success.

Now he was leaving and the three whose names he'd decided he didn't really want to know were trying to wheedle an invitation to come home with him. A tray of glasses shattered as it hit the floor and while everyone was distracted he slipped out of the booth and out of the pub. He'd gotten only about half a block before an arm linked with his and he stumbled to a halt. The pushiest of the three women, a redhead, beamed up at him.

He sighed and extricated his arm from hers. "Listen, I'm sure you are really nice and all, but my heart isn't mine to give and I won't betray her with anyone for any reason. I'm sorry, but it just isn't going to happen."

She pouted. "Who says your woman ever needs to find out. You could come to my room and she'll never need to know you had more than a boys night out."

He backed up a step and said firmly, "No; I won't have anything to do with you. Go back inside and grab any of the other guys. They're always up for anything."

"But I want to get with you."

Jack entertained the very brief thought of knocking this woman out just so he could get away but he reigned it in quickly and shook his head. "For the last time, I'm not available; not for you, not for anyone. Go back to the pub because I'm not taking you home with me and I'm not going home with you."

He watched her with a face totally devoid of emotion til she huffed and turned back the way she'd come. He started walking backwards as he watched her go and then as soon as she was out of sight, he ducked down an alley and around into a shadowed doorway. Then he waited.

He didn't have to wait long before he saw her walk past stealthily, obviously looking for him at the same time she tried to hide her presence. She bypassed the alley like he knew she would because the smell was horrific and walked out of sight. Because he had time and patience on his side, he waited an hour before slipping out of the alley and taking the long route home. He stayed vigilant, but he didn't see her again and he sent up a quick prayer that she was leaving sometime in the next day or so.

Arriving home was a blessing and he quickly went through his nightly routine before falling into bed, her photo held close as his eyes drifted shut and he slipped into a sleep filled with his memories of her naked under him and surrounding him and altogether driving him crazy.

New Section-

Emma Rhodding stood in the middle of the living room with a blindfold over her eyes and listened to a soft masculine voice and childish giggles as her family finished setting up the surprise she'd almost spoiled by arriving home early after nearly fainting at work. She'd taken one step in the front door and then her three year old daughter Lucy was standing in front of her and very seriously telling her not to move from the spot til daddy got there. She'd watched in amusement as Lucy had bustled back into the kitchen and a minute later Luke appeared. He'd asked her if she was well, listened as she'd explained that she was just tired and feeling a little faint but that she would be alright after a lie-down. He'd hugged her gently, kissed her tenderly, asked if she was up to standing blindfolded in the living room for a few minutes and left her standing where she was now.

Her heart warmed and she grinned as she tried to figure out what would bring about such planning and require so much secrecy. It wasn't her birthday, or in fact anyone's birthdays. Her wedding anniversary wasn't for another three months. Only Luke knew she was pregnant again and they'd both decided to keep it quiet for another month before telling their children. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what the occasion was.

A crash in the kitchen had her maternal instincts screaming but her voice reflected only teasing in the silence that followed as she asked, "Is everything alright out there?"

A chorus of "Yes mummy" was followed by a calming, "Yes sweetheart, it's all fine."

She smiled in amusement as the whispers and giggles got closer and then Luke's voice said softly, "Right, just stand still here and I'll bring mummy to you."

She felt Luke's hands wrap around hers' and slowly lead her forward. "It's alright, I promise there isn't anything you could trip over here. Just another minute and you can sit down and rest."

He brought her to a gentle halt, took a moment to assure himself that she was solidly upright and then looking at the kids and getting a nod of readiness, he eased off her blindfold and stepped back out of the way.

"Surprise!"

She smiled as her heart melted at the sight before her. The cake was anything but symmetrical and the icing was lumpy and lopsided. There were no candles on the cake but the lettering clearly stated 'Just Because You're Special'.

She went to her knees in front of three year old Lucy and six year old Henry and wiped away a couple of tears as they fell. "Did you guys do this all by yourself?"

They nodded proudly and Luke replied, "Lucy came home from day care yesterday and said they were talking about making sure you tell the people you think are special that they are. She said that you could just say it or you could do something nice and Henry suggested making a cake. So they hugged me and told me I was special and then this morning they dragged me to the supermarket for the fixings for this here specialty just for you."

Emma took the cake and made admiring remarks about it before handing it to Luke and embracing her children tight. She took the time to tell them both how special they were to her and that she couldn't wait to try the cake. Luke, bless him, suggested saving it for dessert and Henry and Lucy were quick to jump on board with the idea.

While Luke supervised the return of the cake to the kitchen she walked into the bedroom and fell onto the bed with a sigh of relief. By the time Luke walked into the room to check on her, she was out like a light and snoring softly as she only did while pregnant. Smiling softly, he rolled her over on her back, divested her of her shoes and then tucked her in, brushing a hand through her soft blond hair before pulling the door closed on the room and retreating to the kitchen to supervise cleanup and dinner preparations.

New Section-

In a room that never saw visitors from outside of the household, heavily pregnant Keira Sutherland-Phillips typed rapidly on the keyboard in front of her. Three screens lined in a row supplied her with all kinds of useful information but none of the kind she urgently need.

She checked the clock again and grimaced slightly. Sean was still several hours away from arriving home and until he did return she couldn't follow up on what she'd found earlier in the day. She'd promised she wouldn't go searching through the system for the information she wasn't meant to have, but after nearly five years of being good she'd been ready to burst. Then the phone had rung this morning and when she'd answered, she'd been bombarded with questions about her past that had made her cover her nine-month girth protectively. She'd phoned Sean as soon as she'd gotten off the phone and he'd not belittled her fears. He'd finish work that day and they'd leave that night, with the weekend to give them the time they'd need to get fully into hiding.

She'd spent the rest of the day in this room, stopping only for frequent trips to the bathroom and to get food at lunch time. Her eyes were sore from squinting at the screens all day, but she was finally beginning to make headway.

When they'd first come to live in Redmond, Washington they'd found jobs with Microsoft and purchased the house they now lived in. The second thing they'd done was arrange several backup identities in case they were found and had to flee in a hurry. She'd been deliberately vague on the phone, pretending to be as dumb as everyone always assumed she was when they saw her wealth of blond curls, but that was no guarantee against an unwanted visitor turning up sometime in the near future so they would act first in order to survive.

Once she'd assured herself that those identities were still secure, she turned her attention to finding the others, knowing that if someone was close enough to be calling her after all this time, they would no doubt be on the trail of the others. She at least could hide her tracks and disappear without an issue; they would leave a record or paper trail of some kind that would eventually lead right to them.

She'd only been partway successful. Of the six of them, she'd only found three and then only because they were newsworthy. One was getting married to a filthy rich woman who's family had proudly taken out an announcement in the local paper regarding the upcoming nuptials, one was a lawyer who'd been on the national news after a successful case garnered national attention and the third was listed as the PR person working behind the scenes of an international firm to make their recent IRS shakedown look less major than it actually was. She'd found contact information for them but had been unable to get a hold of any of them and though this worried her, she refused to get worked up about it after being told in no uncertain terms that any stress could potentially harm her baby.

She took a moment to gently stroke her belly where her unborn child kicked like crazy. Sean had said he wanted to be surprised when the baby was born as to what it was and she'd readily agreed that the suspense would be worth it. Now she was just a week away from giving birth and she couldn't wait to meet the little munchkin.

She dragged her mind back to the task at hand and lost herself anew in her work as another idea took flight in her active mind. What seemed like only minutes later but as she checked the time was actually hours later, the front door slammed and Sean called out to her. She replied to his call and checked her right hand screen as it started beeping at her.

"Hey baby."

She lifted a hand to stop his kiss and pointed at the screen. "I hacked into the US Marshal's system."

Sean pulled up a chair beside her as he adjusted his glasses. "Why did you do that love?"

"I found three of them today and in my searching for exactly where to find them I realised that several others are searching for them and that one of the searchers is from within a large government organisation. I'd eliminated everyone but the Marshal's service when it suddenly dawned on me that what better way to find us and kill us off before we get to testify than to plant a dirty agent in the vicinity of the witness protection program and get them to do the finding. So I hacked them, and there is a dirty agent. And the dirty agent has just today accessed all our confidential information and has just passed it on to someone else. I'm currently trying to track where the information is going but whoever is on the other end is already on to me which means we could be in trouble."

"Do you have the information on the whereabouts of the others recorded for our use?"

"Not yet; whoever received the information from the dirty agent is very good and they keep trying to stonewall me and access our systems. It's all I can do to keep them away from our drives and out of our information."

"Stay on that then. I'll get this info down and then you can destroy our system. We can then grab our gear and leave. I don't suppose you took time to pack anything after the call this morning?"

"I did actually, but you might want to check your bag and make sure I didn't forget anything truly important. I also couldn't access your locked draw so you'll need to collect whatever is in there yourself."

He murmured assent and they lapsed into silence as they worked. Several minutes later, Sean said quietly, "I have this all down. I'll go check my gear while you destroy the system."

She nodded absently as she pretended to slip up. She'd let them in and then wipe the system which would allow her virus to track down the lines to where they were when they attempted to retreat and keep them nice and busy. Sure enough, there they were prying into the façade she'd set up just for this very scenario and let them into it. She shut the door behind them and keyed the virus. She watched in satisfaction as they tried to retreat, were finally successful, and left trailing the virus for all to see.

"Try getting out of that one creepy dude."

Absolutely certain about the success of the virus she'd set in motion, she activated the program she'd written to completely wipe the system clean and headed up the hall to where Sean was waiting for her with their bags. After loading the car, she checked the study one last time and found all three computers were dead in the water. Smiling with pleasure at her smarts, she returned to the car and climbed in to the passenger seat.

"Where to first babe?"

Keira, formerly known as Penelope Garcia, now Penelope Lynch looked at the piece of paper he handed her and opening up her laptop, pulled up a map of the US. "Derek Morgan would be closest to us and I know he's getting married tomorrow, so we should try to get there before he leaves for his honeymoon. The bad guys would just chase him out of the country or perhaps even lie in wait for when he returns and get to him while his guard is down. We should warn him and then let him decide what he wants to do."

"Wasn't he in Utah?" Kevin asked as he set the car in motion and turned toward the expressway out of the city.

"Yes, he is. So we can drive for about thirteen hours or we can catch a plane."

"We don't really want to be without the car, at least not for now. Sleep now and I'll drive til I can't keep my eyes open. Then I'll wake you and we can continue on til you need to rest before we stop for the night and a few hours of sleep in a bed. What time was he getting married?"

"2pm, with the reception happening at 6pm. We should aim to get there in time for the wedding which is partially open to the public, but as long as we are there for the reception we should be fine to catch him."

"Right then. So what is my best route?"

She checked the best way and after being sure that he knew where he was going, she packed away the laptop, reclined her chair and settled in for a much needed nap.

New Section-

"Damnit all to hell!"

"What's wrong?"

"The information we received from Baby Blue? I just lost most of it. Looks like one of the techs was chasing a lead, met the virus and brought it back to us. I've stopped it from totally wiping our drives, but a lot of what we have left is now sporadic and incomplete and the little that is untouched makes little sense at all."

"Find the tech and get rid of them. Do we have anything left at all on the FBI team we're tracking?"

"I have three of them. One with an address, one just with the alias and town she lives in and one I have the name and state but nothing else. Give me a minute to see if I can flesh this out a bit."

He waited impatiently as his right hand man typed away frantically before crowing in triumph. "Okay, here we go. I can give you Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss."

Triumph arched through him. "You are a great man to have around. Right; I want three teams. I'll head up the team going after Emily because the two of us have some unfinished business we need to deal with. I want you in charge of collecting Aaron Hotchner and getting him to my location and put Splotches in charge of Derek Morgan. Tell him he can do what he likes there. I don't particularly care either way."

He watched his best friend head off to carry out his orders without hesitation and pulled out the photo he had of his lady love. "Soon we'll be together again love, and nothing will ever come close to harming you again."

End-

Done and dusted! Did you figure out what was going on before you reached the end of the chapter?

Please remember that I love to read reviews and while you are enjoying this chapter, I shall go work on the next one and perhaps even spend a little time injecting explanations of what brought a successful FBI BAU team to the dangerous situations they are currently in.

See you next time!