Author: Ren Kayashima

Genre: Family/ Mystery

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Alas my top secret mission to steal the rights to Criminal Minds failed. At the last minute my repel line broke and I was arrested for trespassing on ABC ground. If you would like to help me with bail money…

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Chapter Two:

July 1, 2011

Dave sat in his office at the BAU finishing up his paperwork before his weekend started. It was a holiday, so hopefully he would be able to actually enjoy it. Rori had big Fourth of July plans for the entire team, and a case would ruin all her hard work. Both Rori and Kyle had decided not to take a summer course at their universities, and spent most of their days locked inside the air conditioned home.

Dave checked the report he had just finished, and made sure everything was in order before he left for the weekend.

Hotch was already waiting at the elevator when Dave walked over. Hotch smiled. "Is Rori cooking tonight?" he asked. The entire team knew about Rori's failure to cook dumplings last week, but they also knew that she knew how to make the perfect steak and garlic mashed potatoes.

Dave nodded. "I told her that she's not allowed to experiment with any new recipes for a while. Stick to the basics," Dave chuckled as the elevator doors opened.

"Jack's looking forward to the party on Monday," Hotch said as they entered the elevator. "He wants to play with Mudgie again."

"Morgan is bringing Clooney," Dave smiled. "I tasked Rori and Kyle with getting everything for the party today. That includes food, party favors, and fireworks."

"Is that why you're driving Rori's Mustang?"

Dave nodded. Rori owned a brand spanking new, fresh off the lot, black Ford Mustang. It was only a couple months ago that she had gotten into a car accident. The insurance paid to replace the year old silver Mustang she previously owned, but Dave had to pay additional money to get the latest model Mustang. This year seemed to be a year for spending money.

"My SUV has more space in the back, so they won't have to make separate trips," Dave explained.

"Why not do the shopping tomorrow?" Hotch asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Dave asked. "Then I would have to go with them. By getting the shopping done today, I've avoided all the hassle that goes along with it. I specifically designed it that way so that I wouldn't have to be a part of it."

Hotch grinned. Something told him that Dave was going shopping tomorrow. Garcia has said something earlier about Rori and Kyle making a trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. That was a two hour drive from Quantico. "Smart move," he said.

Both agents exited the elevator and made their way to their vehicles. Hotch gave Dave a nod before slipping behind the wheel of his own SUV. Unlike the Government Issue black, his was a dark green that Jack had picked out a few months ago when they traded their old car in.

0o0o0o0

Dave entered his home to find Rori and Kyle standing in the foyer. Rori's long black hair had been pulled up into a bun and her green eyes had a mischievous glint. Kyle stood six feet tall and was four inches taller than his sister. His hair was a thick shaggy black, and his blue eyes stared at Dave in amusement. Both siblings stood straight with their arms crossed.

"How was the shopping?" Dave asked innocently.

Rori turned on her heel and made her way to the family room. "We didn't go shopping," Rori stated as she sat on the large brown couch in front of the flat screen TV. Kyle sat down next to her as Dave looked at them in shock.

"You mean to tell me that you spent the entire day in the house again?" Dave mentally groaned, but continued with the concerned father bit. "You guys really should get out of the house. It's not healthy to stay inside."

"But we did go out," Kyle grinned. "We went to Williamsburg."

"Williamsburg?" Dave asked as he sank into his favorite recliner. He was starting to get a bit annoyed. They had caught onto his master plan to avoid shopping.

"We went to Busch Gardens," Rori said. She propped her feet up on the coffee table and snuggled into the couch cushions. "We didn't get to stay there long, so we'll be going back next week. We got season passes."

"I wanted you to do the shopping today," Dave sighed.

"Rori thinks we should do it as a family," Kyle said with a smirk.

Damn, they did catch on. Dave thought. He should have known better. Rori enjoyed messing with him. "How was it?" he asked continuing their conversation about the amusement park.

"It was super fun," Rori gushed excitedly. "In California, we have tons of amusement parks, but this one was different. I can't wait to go again.

Dave leaned back in his seat. "That's good. When are you going to start dinner?" he asked as he closed his eyes. He might as well relax before tomorrow came.

Rori stood up. "I can start now if you like."

Dave nodded. He was quietly trying to plan out his revenge. He would get the two college students back for tasking him with shopping duties. Rori disappeared into the kitchen. Dave opened one eye and found Kyle staring at him with a wide smirk on his lips. "How did you know?" he asked.

"Rori said you'd find any excuse to get out of shopping," Kyle laughed. He reached over the arm of the couch and pulled a large stuffed bear up. He dropped it on the profiler's lap. "Rori won this for you," he said as he left the family room to help his sister with the cooking.

Dave stared at the bear's face as it quietly mocked him. It was made with a cheap blue fabric. The small black eyes were practically swallowed up by the fabric. If Dave had to guess, he's say the bear was four feet tall. He tossed the giant stuffed anime on the couch, and let out a deep sigh. Tomorrow was going to be a pain in the ass.

0o0o0o0

Dave was in hell. There was no other way to describe it as he followed Rori with a shopping cart. The Safeway they were in had turned into a battle to the death between barbeque kings, harried house wives, and stressed out mothers. As Rori moved at her own leisurely pace, the rest of the general population was running from isle to isle trying to find everything they needed to complete the perfect Fourth of July party.

Rori held her phone in her hand kept looking at it as she scanned the shelves. Dave had recently learned that there was an application for her iPhone that allowed her to have a digital grocery list. When she found one of her desired items, she simply had to tap the item, and it would disappear from the screen.

Dave was about to order Rori out of the way of a charging mother when she moved out of the way herself. The woman rushed past Dave and pounced on the canned baked beans. Rori had yet to look up from her phone, and her dad had to wonder if she was actually paying attention to what she was doing. There was no way she could be this calm if she was actually paying attention.

Rori picked up a can of green beans. "Do you think we should get some fresh green beans?" she asked looking over the edge of her black glasses.

"Rori, how much longer are we going to be in this hell hole?" Dave asked. He looked at his watch. They had only been here for a half hour, and they still had the other half of the store to cover.

Rori looked at her list. "We're almost done," she smiled. She dropped the green beans into the cart. I wonder how Kyle's doing at Party City," she mused as she looked up at the isle number. She started mentally counting the number of isles to the frozen section.

Dave didn't want to think about it. There was always the off chance that the party supply store was another minefield that he had to brave. The Marines taught him a lot of things, but even they couldn't prepare a man for these colossal disasters waiting to happen. Another woman in a food induced craze shot by and Dave reached up to make sure his facial hair was still in its rightful place.

Rori shook her head as she laughed. "Lighten up dad. You'll give yourself a heart attack if you continue to tense up every time someone rushes by."

"How are you so calm?" Dave asked.

CRASH

Rori looked at the end of the isle to see two women screaming at each other. The teenager remained unfazed. "Grace under pressure was a skill I mastered back in high school. Freaking out won't help, and if I rush through the store, I'm bound to forget something important.

Rori grabbed some canned spiced apples and dropped it in the cart. "All right, time to go get the meat for the burgers and Ka-bobs. Then we'll get the ice cream. After that, we're done."

Dave looked at the ceiling. "Thank you God," he mouthed. He was ready to get out and never come back.

A half hour later Dave was helping Rori load up the back of the SUV. Rori was talking to Kyle through her headphones as she dropped a thirty-two pack of water bottles into the trunk.

"Don't forget to get double the amount of sparklers. Hotch told me that Jack want's to write his name in the air. Henry will find the colored smoke bombs to be really fun. Make sure they have some blue ones. JJ says that's his favorite color right now."

Dave smiled as he grabbed some bags. Rori always tried to make sure everyone was happy. He had seen this with the New Year's party she threw back in December. She was the perfect hostess, as she moved from guest to guest. Dave knew for a fact that this was something she had learned from her mother. Dave thought beer and a pizza were the only requirements for a party. Anytime he suggested it, Rori threw her hands up in the air and started mumbling in one of the five languages she spoke.

Rori hung up with Kyle and looked at her dad. "What?" she asked with a wide smile.

"Nothing," Dave laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it."

"What is it dad?" Rori asked as her curiosity grew. There was something in her father's eyes that said there was more going on in his head.

"I said don't worry about it," Dave told her.

"Well something is obviously amusing you," Rori stated. "Tell me."

Dave stopped unloading the cart and leaned against the car. "You just remind me so much of your mother. She knew how to throw a party."

Rori smiled as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "She taught me everything I know."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: The holiday weekend has inspired me obviously. I hope you enjoyed this little bit. It was a lot of fun to write, and I enjoyed it.

Important News: 1.) The month of August is going to be full of changes. I'm going back and working on editing and rewriting The Death Card so that the material is more like what I'm posting at the moment. So I'll be keeping people posted on that as well. Check it out when you get the chance. You may like the changes you see.

2.) Ren Kayashima can now be your friend on Facebook. I know that many people are concerned about sharing info. Don't worry about that. I'm not saying people have to follow me there. I created the account to talk with several people on that also created separate accounts. I'll be posting links and a lot more updates there. If you don't want to do that, I also have a twitter and tumblr. Mostly because I get really bored.

Drop me a review because I know you want to.

Shane