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Maggie had stretched her neck at Rossi's touch, showing him where she wanted him to scratch to which he obliged. In return, the eyes, that had turned black for the night with only a hint of the green they showed in daylight, looked at Dave, then closed and she began to purr contentedly. "Looks like they're okay with us," he commented as Reid sat down on the other side of the cat and placed a gentle hand on her back. She immediately went into a crouch and pinned her ears back as her tail whipped from side to side. She gave a loud hiss at Reid as she turned and fled to the farthest corner of their shelter.

"Okay, so the Reid effect is in play," Hotch noted. "Reid, stay away from the animals."

"The Reid effect?" Blake echoed Hotch.

"Animals and children," Morgan explained, "don't seem to like Reid for some reason."

"That doesn't make any sense," Blake responded. "I've seen him with Henry and he's wonderful with him. Henry loves him."

"Thanks Blake," Reid replied.

"Maybe the kid has to know Reid from the day he was born," Morgan chuckled.

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Beth and Jack stood on the steps of JJ and Will's home admiring the festive decorations. Rich evergreen garlands woven with balls of red and white encircled the two front pillars while the front door was draped in a like garland with a matching wreath on the door. She pressed the doorbell and the door was soon opened by Will.

"Hi, thanks for coming," he said. "Sorry about the change in plans."

"No problem, the decorations are wonderful," Beth said taking in the living room a garland similar to the one on the door and pillars draped the fireplace, next to which stood a beautiful tree decorated in red and white bulbs, tinsel and even strings of red and white popcorn. The crowning glory was the red star that topped the tree with white light emanating from within. "Did you help your mommy and daddy with decorating the tree Henry?" She asked as she and Jack shed their coats and boots.

"Yeah," the boy told them excitedly. "Mommy let me help with the popcorn and sometimes I got to eat one. Then she let me put some balls on the tree and Daddy held me up so I could put the star on top." Henry proudly finished his list of accomplishments.

"That's my godson for you," Beth heard from the direction of the kitchen and she turned to see Garcia standing in the doorway. "Thanks for coming to help Beth."

Beth made a dismissive gesture with her hand, "Think nothing of it. That's part of what makes Christmas so much fun, communing over jobs in the kitchen. Have you got an apron and what do you want me to do?" She headed toward the kitchen leaving Will to entertain the boys.

Garcia handed her an apron. "I've made the jellied salads, next I think we should…"

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"Damn it!" JJ cursed loudly.

"What now?" Rossi asked as he sat on one of the mattresses, coffee cup in hand. The coffee was good, so was the company. He'd spent far worse Christmas Eves.

JJ held up her cell, "No service. Just what I need, no service. I'm supposed to be serving a meal for eleven tomorrow, Christmas dinner no less, and Will's there, not knowing what the hell he's doing and no service."

"Calm down JJ," Hotch said. "If the meal's anything less than perfect and, at the moment, I have no reason to believe it will be, there are certainly extenuating circumstances."

"What about a pay phone," Reid suggested a little too eagerly Blake thought.

"What?" Morgan squinted at his friend.

"A pay phone, you know the phone you put money in and you can call somebody. They're land lines."

"No way Reid, none of us are traipsing out to find a pay phone."

"You know what we should have done," JJ began as she paced the room. "We should have just gone to the jet. We could have been in the lap of luxury instead of on mattresses in a warehouse garage."

"I suggested that," Hotch responded. "Rick said airport security would not allow someone to board a plane not knowing when it might take off, DHS regulations, you know."

"JJ, why don't you sit down and we can all talk, have a few laughs, whatever until it's time to sleep or until we get the go ahead to fly," Blake suggested.

"And how are we going to get the go ahead with no cell service?" JJ countered.

Reid looked about to open his mouth but stopped himself when Blake shook her head ever so slightly as JJ sat on the mattress beside him and pulled off her boots to sit cross legged. She suddenly felt a soft tongue on her hand as Astro laid his head on her lap. She began to pat the dog who closed his eyes and relaxed into her ministrations. After a while she reached over for Reid's wrist and lifted it so his hand could replace hers on the dog's head. Reid's mouth began to curve into a grin as the dog seemed to be enjoying the sensation of him moving his hand over the soft fur and receiving none of the reactions Maggie had exhibited. The room seemed almost transfixed. No one wanted to move, or even speak, to break the spell between the man and the dog. Reid hazarded a sideways glance at JJ and she smiled.

Morgan lifted his cell and JJ, seeing his intent, leaned back so he had a clear shot of Reid and Astro. I'll get Garcia to print this up and Merry Christmas little brother.

It appeared that Maggie did not appreciate the moment as she pranced into the midst of the profilers, head and tail both held high, and looked at, or perhaps more accurately through, Reid and decided he left much to be desired and considered the others, eventually settling on allowing Blake to give her the attention she felt she deserved.

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The smell of baking pies was wafting from the kitchen at the La Mongtagne home. It was delightful, Will thought as he played a game with the boys on the carpet. The only thing that would make it better was if JJ were here.

"When's Mommy coming home Daddy," Henry asked.

Will ran a finger lovingly through his son's blond hair that was so like his mother's and he swore it was JJ's eyes that looked back at him. "Um, I'm not sure. I know she's going to be here as soon as she can. They can't fly in the bad weather where they are so they have to wait until it's safe, which is okay… right? We wouldn't want Mommy up in an airplane if it wasn't safe.

Henry shook his head, "But Daddy, if it's not safe for Mommy to be in a airplane, how is it gonna be okay for Santa? What if something happens to Santa and he can't come here."

"He shouldn't have mentioned it wasn't safe to fly," Garcia whispered to Beth in a singsong voice, "especially on Christmas Eve. Last year we got in hot water when we sang Silent Night and Henry wanted to know what a virgin was."

Beth proceeded to the door between the kitchen and the living room. "I was wondering the same thing Henry. Then Aaron told me that the reason they can't fly is because the runways are too slippery but, you know Santa, he doesn't use a runway; he just lands on the roof so he should be fine." She turned back toward the kitchen, stifling a laugh; unsure who looked more relieved, Henry or Will.

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"Can't unsubs ever call a truce, even at Christmas time. I mean, there have been truces called in war at Christmas," JJ remarked.

"Yeah," Reid replied, "in 1914 the French and the Germans had a truce and it happened again in 1916 between the German's and the Canadians at Vimy Ridge. There they traded greetings and even gifts. There were other truces but they were just humanitarian, for sides to claim and bury their dead."

"Nothing like that in Nam," Rossi added, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Okay," Blake said brightly, "Christmas Eve people and that soup smells really good. Who's hungry?"

After a chorus of I am and a show of five hands, Blake went to the pot and began dishing out the soup. The buns Mrs. Trelor had left were fresh and clearly homemade, as was the seasoned butter.

They sat on the mattresses and one after the other of the profilers murmured at how good it all was. "Is there enough for seconds?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, there's a lot left," Blake replied. "Help yourself."

Reid got to his feet and headed for the area where the food was set up, passing Astro who had parked himself between Morgan and Rossi to get bits of the buns they were eating.

"Too bad we don't have any dog trea…" JJ began when they heard a loud crash outside and a horn began an incessant honk.