Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

Happily Ever After-Chapter 3

~Sorry if my writing is off in this one, I'm currently on a road trip in the middle of the desert...in July...with my family...you do the math.

Hearing the doorbell, Dave emerged from the study to answer the door. To his surprise, his mother stood on the porch and she was holding a small tote bag.

"Ma, what are you doing here?" Dave asked as he searched his memory to try and recall any plans he had with her for the evening.

"Abby called me, she needs some help getting her hair right for tonight and since Jennifer is still out of town, she called me for help," Marie informed him as she hung her jacket on a hook near the door.

"The team actually just arrived back at headquarters, so Jen should be home before Abby leaves tonight." It was the night of the big sports banquet and JJ didn't want to miss seeing her daughter in her dress. They also had plans with Hotch and Emily for the evening, and they were going to bring Jack with them to the cabin and then he and Abby were going to take her car to the banquet. While the kids were out, the four adults were going to have a leisurely dinner and drinks.

"That's great Davie, now out of my way," she ordered as she pushed past him and went up the stairs to deal with the hair emergency. She paused in front of her granddaughter's bedroom and knocked.

"Nonna?" She heard.

"It's me, little one."

"Come on in!" Marie entered the room and, as always, was immediately struck by the décor of the room. The room itself was painted pink, which was her granddaughter's favorite color, but the walls were adorned with pictures of her family and friends, and since the last time she had been in the room, some of the pictures had changed. Sure, she had the prerequisite pictures of teenage heartthrobs on the walls, and a poster declaring her as part of 'Team Edward,' whatever that was, but the most of the wall coverings were photos of her with her loved ones. It made the somewhat messy room feel warm and inviting.

"So what do you want to do with your hair tonight?"

"Well, I want a little bit of curl in my hair…you know, so it looks wavy, but I either get too much curl or too little curl and it's driving me nuts!" Abby said, frustrated.

"Don't worry little one, I used to do my daughters' hair and I can help you." Marie had Abby bring her desk chair into the bathroom and had her sit in front of the mirror. She picked up the curling iron and began to work her magic on her granddaughter's tresses.

"So you and Jack are finally going out on a date?" Her grandmother asked.

"We're just going as friends Nonna," Abby told her. "There's nothing going on between us."

"Maybe not yet, but there will be, trust me."

Abby just shrugged; she couldn't deny that she had been feeling…different towards Jack lately. It's like she finally noticed that he was a good looking guy. Before he was just Jack, but now it was more than that, and she wasn't quite sure what to do about these new feelings.

An hour later, she stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom and put the finishing touches on her makeup. The dress she and her grandmother had picked out was totally different than anything she would have ever chosen on her own, but she loved it. It was a floor length, lilac purple, empire waist dress that had beading on the bust and spaghetti straps. Since it was winter, they had also gotten a matching shawl. Abby didn't usually wear purple, but her grandmother was so enthused about the dress that she humored her and tried it on. Both of them had fallen in love with it the second she put it on and it fit like it had been custom made for her, so they bought it right then and there. It was the second dress she had tried on with her grandmother and the experience was the exact opposite of the one she had when she tried shopping with her father.

Abby came out of the bathroom and showed her grandmother the finished product. "You look beautiful little one," She said, choking up a little. Like her parents, Marie knew that her time with her granddaughter was somewhat limited since she was graduating from high school in a few short months. Even if she chose a DC school, which Marie fervently hoped she did, it wouldn't be the same; Abby wouldn't spend nearly as much time with the family and she wouldn't seek out her opinion and assistance as much. "Thank you for letting me be a part of this."

"A part of this?" Abby said, "Nonna, you were instrumental in this! Without you I would have been stuck with some hideous frock that my father picked out, and if you hadn't come over tonight my hair would have been a disaster. Thank you for all of your help!"

"Anytime little one, any time," She said gently.

Abby and Marie walked down the stairs to where Dave was waiting. "Wow, you look beautiful Pumpkin," he said, a little in awe. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear purple before."

"That's because I usually don't, but Nonna thought this would look good on me, so I tried it on and, viola! Have you seen my shoes?" Abby was wearing heels to the banquet and she had left them on the first floor so she wouldn't have to navigate the stairs in them.

"I think they're in the study since that's where you showed them to me," he told her. He really wanted to tell her that if she had put the shoes away after she showed them to him, she wouldn't be looking for them right now, but he didn't want to start anything with her before she left.

"Thanks for your help with the dress Ma," he said. "While my daughter and I share many similarities, our taste in clothing is not one of them."

"It was my pleasure Davie," his mother said warmly. At that moment the front door flung open and JJ burst in.

"I didn't miss her, did I?" She asked. "I had to stay late in order to fill out some extra paperwork for the case!"

"You didn't miss anything Jen; Hotch and Jack aren't here yet." He was about to greet her properly when their daughter came back into the room.

"Mom!" Abby exclaimed as she ran over and gave her mother a big hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too honey," she said, returning the hug. Abby had her heels on and it was a little disconcerting to JJ that her daughter was taller than her in the shoes.

As she released her mother, her father stood next to her and it was also strange for him to be the same height as her. It made her seem older, and he wasn't ready for that yet.

"Purple, hmmm?" JJ wondered as she examined her daughter's dress.

"I know, it shocked the he- heck out of me too, but it works."

"It sure does," JJ agreed. "Thank you so much for helping her Marie."

"Nonsense Jennifer, I'm her grandmother, it's my job to help her," she said, waving away the thank you.

JJ was going to say more, but the doorbell rang. Dave went to open it, and in walked Hotch, Emily and Jack. Jack was wearing a dark suit with a red tie and polished shoes. It was almost scary the way he looked like a younger version of his father. If he could muster a 'Hotchner Glare,' he and his father would be able to pass as brothers.

"Hey Aaron, Emily," Dave greeted them. When Jack walked into the cabin, Dave clapped him on his back. "So you're the one taking my daughter out tonight?" He asked in a slightly menacing tone.

"Well, since she's driving, I think she's the one taking me out," Jack told him.

"Dad, we're just going as friends; lay off," Abby told him with a warning in her voice. She had learned, over the past two years, that she couldn't stop her father from interrogating and terrorizing her actual dates, but this was Jack for Christ's sake, and it wasn't a real date. She wasn't going to have her father acting all protective tonight.

Dave caught the warning in her voice and decided to back off since it was only a 'friendship date.' "So how long is this banquet?"

"It should be done by eleven," Jack told him.

"So you kids won't have any problem making it back to the cabin by midnight?" Hotch asked.

"That should be fine dad," Jack said as he watched Abby search for her keys.

"Where in the hell are my keys?" Abby asked, frustrated.

Dave pulled them out from under a magazine on the coffee table. He handed them to her and then held out his hand, as if he was expecting something.

"What?" Abby asked.

"You owe a dollar to the swear jar."

She sighed and grabbed her purse. She pulled out a dollar bill, slapped it into her father's hand and then turned towards the door. Marie amusedly watched the exchange; if she had thought of a 'swear jar' when David had been a child, she would have saved herself many bars of Ivory soap.

"You can't leave yet, we need pictures!" JJ announced.

Both teenagers groaned at this. "She's right guys," Emily told them. "Garcia will kill us if we don't have pictures to show her on Monday!"

Abby and Jack posed for picture after picture, while all five adults took snapshots. They were finally allowed to leave after many reminders about curfew and safe driving.

As the door closed behind them, both Abby and Jack let out simultaneous sighs of relief. "I never thought we'd get out of there!" Abby exclaimed.

"I know, you'd think we were going to the prom or something!" Jack said as he held the driver's side door open for Abby.

'That was weird,' she thought. 'Since when does Jack hold the door open for me?' She shrugged it off and soon they were on their way into the city.