Chapter 2: Reasons.

Back at the plane, Hotch talked to the pilot about the change of plans and then delivered the bad news to his team. All of them were very disappointed for not being able to go back home, but they knew that they could maybe make a difference in what was happening up in New Hampshire. The flight was going to be a long one so everyone took a seat, each of them thinking of what plans they would have to change now that they were going straight to another case.

Morgan had his headphones on and was listening to The Fray, he appeared relaxed and comfortable but in reality he was not. Morgan was upset. Upset because once again he was going to have to cancel a date with Gabrielle and she was hot. They have only been out once and this was the third time that he was about to cancel, he did not think she would give him the opportunity for a new date. Well, he thought, that is how it goes. Maybe he could ask out that girl that works out at his gym…unless by some miracle they could all be back home by Saturday afternoon. No, probably not, not the way his luck had been these past few weeks.

Reid was sitting besides Morgan with a book on his hands, but if you looked at him you could see that he was just staring at its open pages. Every time he read a few words his thoughts would side track him. He had planned a few weeks ago to visit his mother, her birthday was this coming Friday and he wanted to surprise her. He comprehended that with her illness she may not be fully aware of the date but then he realized that he was, and for him it was important to be there. Maybe he could talk to Hotch about it, ask for some time off. No, that would definitely not be fair to the others, he was sure all of them had things to do. Just then across from him, he saw JJ. She was searching for something inside her purse. Spender knew she had a better reason to be wanting to be back home: little Henry, his godson. He would just have to cross his fingers and hope for a quick case.

JJ took out her cell phone, she was trying to think of the right choice of words which would help explain the situation to Will, one more time. She was so glad her mother also helped taking care of Henry, mmm that was another difficult phone call to make. At least Will was a detective and understood her dilemma not that he would be happy; her mother, that was a totally different ball game. JJ missed her baby terribly, she missed Will too but at least they did phone one another every night. She remembered that Henry had been invited to his first birthday party this weekend, now she was surely going to miss it. Will would take him and tell her about it but that somehow would not be the same.

Rossi was sitting right beside a sad looking JJ. He could clearly understand why she was feeling down, no need to be a profiler to see it. David Rossi saw this delay like an inconvenience. He had rented a cabin for this weekend and planned to go hunting and maybe do some fishing. Being outdoors always helped him relax, and this past weeks had been quite demanding. " I am not that young anymore" he thought to himself and smiled. Rossi had then the same hopes as Reid, maybe the case would be over by Friday and he could still have his peaceful and relaxing weekend.

Only two members of the team were not truly displeased of not being able to return home straight away. Emily had been practically forced to agree to attend a party Friday evening at the Brazilian Embassy just to please her mother. How she hated those things! They were usually pretty boring although she had been told that the ones organized by the Brazilians were quite fun because a lot of dancing was involved, but for Emily that made it even worse. She loved to dance but not with a lot of pompous men that she did not know, if she only had someone that she could feel comfortable asking…at that same moment Hotch took the sit in front of her , he was holding a cup of coffee on his hands. She looked at him and smiled.

His eyes smiled back and he asked: "would you like some, Prentiss, it is freshly brewed".

"It is tempting but I want to catch some sleep before we arrive , but thanks anyway" she answered and immediately thought that Hotch would be the perfect partner to attend the party with, one of his icy looks and nobody would harass her, and she would be the envy of all the women there. Suddenly, she smiled once again and became aware that she was fantasizing about her boss. That just would not do. Emily returned her thoughts to a much safer road, now she was pretty happy to have the perfect excuse to get out of the party, maybe if she was lucky they would be back by Saturday and she could have a relaxing evening watching old movies and eating junk food.

Hotch was wondering what had swiftly changed Prentiss expression from concern to dreamy like and then to contentment, all in a few seconds. Looking at her now, she seemed even happy, while the rest of his team seemed preoccupied. She was always a puzzle for him, all the time surprising him, and her eyes when she smiled made him feel so…what was it, he was not sure, not sure he should be even thinking about this, about her. Hotch was certain all of them had probably a deep desire to be home instead of tackling another case but he knew they were some of the best professionals he had ever had the pleasure to work with. Even though they all would have preferred to be somewhere else he was 100% sure they would perform their jobs with the same dedication and commitment they always showed. Hotch himself had no real hurry to get back to his empty apartment. Jack had three weeks vacations so Hayle was going to spend the first two of them visiting some relatives in San Francisco. This meant that this weekend he was not going to have Jack over. Jack. His boy. He was his everything. Him and his team. Since New York he had understood that the team was his family, he cared deeply for all of them even if he was not able to express this with words.