A/n hey everyone. I had a few of you request a little sequel for "How did this happen to me." Here is a one shot about Hope and a Halloween party at Quantico.
My thanks to my wonderful beta REIDFANATIC, for all of her support and help.
Disclaimer: I own only my own characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
Reid stared at the chess board between him and Gideon. He looked up at Gideon and saw that the older agent was also contemplating the game. The difference was his mentor was actually paying attention to the game. Reid coughed and looked down furtively at the watch on his arm. It read exactly two minutes past the last time he looked at it.
"Reid… we're almost there. Stop watching the clock. You're making me nervous." Gideon said his eyes on the board. He moved his knight and took out Reid's bishop.
"Checkmate," he said.
"What…" The younger man looked back at the board and saw that Gideon was right. How had he let that get past him?
"Reid… it's not that I don't like playing chess with you, but if you can't concentrate on the game…" Gideon said eyeing Reid over the top of his glasses.
"Ah - yeah… sorry Gideon… I guess I'm just a little distracted."
"I can see that. You've been looking at your watch every five minutes since we left Salt Lake City."
Reid pushed a stray lock of hair off his face. The glint of the gold wedding band on his left hand still surprised Gideon when he saw it. Reid looked the same as he had a year ago, but marriage, and fatherhood had changed him.
"I really am sorry. It's just this is the first long trip away since JJ and I got married, and I hate leaving her home alone with Hope."
"I know… but you'll deal with it. I'm glad that you and JJ decided to take turns going into the field."
"I'm hardly a replacement for her. The team needs a full time liaison." He picked up the rook from his side of the board, and looked at in the low light of the plane's cabin.
"Agent Carlson is doing a great job. It's good to let her get some experience in the field."
"Don't let JJ hear you say that." Reid warned with a grin.
"I'll be careful," Gideon agreed. "Anyway JJ can take care of herself. Morgan says she regularly kicks his butt in the gym."
Reid frowned at this statement. He didn't say anything else, just picked at the sleeve of his dress shirt.
"She's still the same woman you fell in love with, at her core she always will be. You don't have to worry about her." Gideon said to the surprised young man looking at him as if he swallowed something particularly nasty.
"How did…" Reid began to ask and then he shook his head. "You always know what is bothering me. I'm just worried she's becoming obsessed about her own safety and Hope too."
"No… she's okay Reid. She's had a lot to adjust to in the last year. She'll be okay." Gideon assured his young friend.
"I hope so. I don't want her to be afraid all the time."
"She's not, she's just more careful these days." Gideon began to set up the board again. "Do you want to play another game, or are you going to stare at your watch till we land."
Reid smiled guiltily. "She told me if I was late, I was in big trouble."
Catching the last of that remark, Morgan sat down across the aisle from the chess players. "You got a hot date with the old ball and chain." He winked at Reid.
"No… it's nothing like that. Hope has a costume party with her play group. JJ is making a big deal about it being Hope's first Halloween and all. She threatened to kick me out of the house for a week if I was late. I told her that I couldn't be responsible for a case and how long it took to finish it. I don't think she cared. What is it with girls, and anniversaries, and first times for everything?" Reid wondered looking very perplexed.
Gideon grinned over the chess board at the younger agent while Morgan chuckled beside them. "You don't have to understand. Just pretend you do and she won't have to kill you." Gideon advised him, making his first move in the new game.
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"So what's up with Reid? He took off out of here like a bat out of hell. He didn't even offer to help us decorate." Emily complained. She held one end of an orange streamer while Garcia twisted it and taped it to the end of Morgan's desk.
"He's got to be home by three or JJ will tear him a new one. Apparently Hope has a costume party at her play group this afternoon and since it's her first Halloween JJ is making a big deal over it." Morgan said eyeing the streamers and the balloons hanging around the office.
"Stop jabbering and help me with the cobwebs." Garcia prodded him with her hand on his shoulder.
"Sure thing baby-girl," He stood up and grabbed on end of the fake cobwebs and pulled. Emily put her hand over her mouth, and coughed while saying "whipped" at the same time.
Garcia ignored her and Morgan glared at her. She smiled back coyly and resumed blowing up balloons. The BAU was having its own Halloween party in a couple of hours and in typical Garcia fashion, she'd sweet talked Hotch into letting her decorate the place. Hotch would regret this decision very soon as the bullpen now looked like Halloween itself had thrown up all over it.
"There… all we need are a few of those spiders and we're done." Garcia said, standing back to admire her handiwork while Emily smirked at Morgan.
"Did Reid tell you what Hope was going to be for Halloween?" Garcia wondered, leaning on Morgan's desk.
"Have no clue, if he said anything I wasn't listening." Morgan said absently.
"That figures," Garcia complained and yelped when Morgan pinched her hip.
"What's the big deal?" Morgan wanted to know.
"It's her first Halloween, it's a big deal." Garcia informed him. He shook his head and grabbed her hand.
"I don't care about Hope or her costume. I do care about yours." He said, with a lecherous wink.
"She isn't wearing one." Emily pointed out.
"Not yet… later on." He said.
"Oh man… those are pictures I don't want in my head." She pushed away from her desk and headed to the break room.
"What was that all about?" Garcia asked stroking his face.
"I have no idea. I think she needs a break from here." Morgan observed with a large smile and wink at Garcia.
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Reid parked the SUV in the parking garage and got out. JJ opened the back of the vehicle and took five month old Hope out of her car seat. The little girl was fast asleep. She had a good quantity of dark blond hair and her eyes were the exact shade and shape of her mother. She was beautiful child and Reid was wrapped so tight around her finger, it made JJ and the rest of the team tease him unmercifully.
Reid shut the sliding door and locked up the vehicle. "Are you sure I have to go up there dressed like this. Morgan is never going to let me live this down."
"I told you… the three of us are a set, you can't have just the two of us in costume. It doesn't work." JJ scolded him as they waited for the elevator. "You didn't have a problem with going to the play group like that, why are you complaining now?"
"The play group isn't the BAU." He followed them onto the elevator. Hope was beginning to stir a bit. Her eyes fluttered up and down.
"Hey princess… you awake." Reid said smiling at the little girl. Her eyes opened fully and they followed Reid as he moved to stand next to her.
"You're right about that, but you gotta admit it was a good idea. We won the best costume award." JJ said grinning down at the little girl in her arms.
"Yes we did precious…" JJ cooed at the baby. Hope laughed and Reid grinned.
The doors opened on the sixth floor and when they arrived at the bull pen Morgan said. "Well… look what we have here. Who's idea was this my man?" He asked in a highly amused tone.
"Shut up Morgan. We won the contest." Reid said proudly.
"Well you certainly look the part. That ax isn't real is it?" Hotch wondered as he approached the group looking grim but his eyes were twinkling.
"No… it's just a prop." Reid said fidgeting under the fire fighter's hat he wore. It was emblazoned with FDNY. The costume shop JJ had rented the costume from had a pretty real looking outfit to wear with his hat. He had a hard helmet, and black bib overalls, adjustable suspenders, and a coat with buckles. The costume had reflective trim, and arm and knee patches. The ax he carried was indeed a wooden prop.
Hotch took Hope from JJ and smiled a rare smile at her. She giggled and grabbed at his nose. Emily laughed behind her hand.
"Where did you get her costume?" Hotch asked as Gideon came down from his office and quickly crossed the bullpen to where Hotch and Hope stood. He began to quietly talk to her while she goggled at him. She wore a black cat costume that resembled footy pajamas. There was a hood pulled up on her head that had cat ears sewn into it. Her nose was painted pink and there were whiskers drawn on her cheeks. Her large blue eyes were twinkling at Gideon as he took her from Hotch and sat down.
"So you three won the contest at her play group." Garcia prompted them, looking longingly at Hope.
"Yeah… my sister has a little girl and when Amy was a baby they did this same grouping for her." JJ pointed at herself. She wore a tree costume. It was an oak tree with branches around her head. The bottom of the costume allowed just enough room for her to walk without difficulty.
"Hey Morgan… why don't you hold the baby," Emily said, handing Hope to him while he protested.
Hope looked at him for a long moment. Morgan gulped and said. "Hey pretty lady."
Hope's breath began to hitch and two big tears fell out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Before Reid or JJ could react she was wailing and Morgan was looking around for help.
"What's the hub-bub baby girl?" Garcia said approaching the baby. Hope turned her head and began to wiggle in Morgan's arms. She held out her little arms to Garcia and the delighted computer tech took her from Reid's partner.
"What did you do to her?" Garcia asked in mock anger.
"I didn't do anything, she hates me. Why does she hate me, I've never done anything to make her hate me."
"This is the first time she's seen you since she was born. She doesn't know you. Maybe if you came over, or babysat she wouldn't be afraid of you." JJ commented, trying very hard not to laugh.
"I'm not going to baby sit." Morgan retorted.
"Then just come see us once in awhile." Reid said. This was great. Finally he had something to tease Morgan about. Reid figured that Morgan was pretty blind. It was obvious that Garcia wanted kids and he'd better make up his mind what he wanted.
"Well I think she's adorable and I think you did a great job with your costumes, JJ."
"Thanks Emily. Hey… I wanted to ask you if you could watch Hope again this Saturday. My husband wants to do some early Christmas shopping."
The women moved off to chat and Reid looked around for his daughter and Garcia. The computer hacker wasn't in the bullpen. There was only one other place she could be. He went up to her office, and stood in the doorway watching Penelope telling Hope all about the latest computer program she'd written for her babies. Hope was watching Garcia intently and it made Reid laugh.
"Stop laughing and get in here!" Garcia said impatiently over her shoulder.
"Garcia what are you doing. She can't possibly understand what you're saying." He said still chuckling, but he did move into the room.
"So… it's never too early to train my replacement." Garcia said seriously.
"My little girl isn't working for the FBI." Reid declared with a straight face.
"Your little girl gets to make up her own mind." Garcia said. Hope looked over at her father, and the way she was eyeing him made him sure that somehow she knew what they were saying. No… that couldn't be right, she was a baby for God's sake.
"I know she does, but -"
"Don't argue. She's going to be something wonderful."
"I agree with you there." He took the little girl from Garcia and she gurgled happily in his arms.
"What will you be I wonder?" He said, looking at her happily.
"Definitely not a cat," JJ said from behind them. She put an arm around her husband, and Garcia whipped out her phone for some pictures.
"No…" Reid said smiling down at his daughter. "Not a cat, but something wonderful."