"JJ, you're here!" Emily shouted as she saw her blonde colleague and friend cross the grass between them. "Finally." This last afterthought caused Morgan to erupt into laughter. If there was anything funny on this earth, it was JJ running late.

"Don't 'Finally' me." JJ sniffed defensively. "You're the one we've had to stall the jet for because you couldn't get there on time."

"That was one time." Emily huffed, plopping down on the picnic bench next to Reid. "And there was traffic."

"You just keep telling yourself that doll face." Garcia said, smiling and waving JJ over to the table. It was the fifth annual BAU picnic, a tradition that had only begun because Garcia and JJ had demanded it. "I'm sure that your snooze button would say differently."

"I'll show you what my snooze button would say---" Emily began, not knowing how to follow through with her menacing threat.

"Just like the time you showed us what too much alcohol meant?" Morgan interjected, causing Emily to blush violently. The entire team began to laugh at Emily's embarrassment.

"That was one time and---" Emily began to defend.

"One time that left our dear Dr. Reid perpetually scarred." Garcia retorted.

"I'm not scarred." Reid muttered quietly, feeling more than a little defensive. JJ smiled as she reached the picnic area at the shy genius. He was so absolutely full of it, the time that Emily table danced in front of him definitely had left his mark.

"Nice of you to join us JJ." Rossi chuckled, soaking in the one time he had ever seen JJ be the last one to arrive. While the interaction he had with the liaison was limited, it didn't stop him from enjoying the ironies that popped up.

"There was traffic." She shrugged, blushing slightly. Truthfully, she'd had a uneasy feeling the entire way to the park, for which she compensated for by driving slow. But her explanation fell on deaf ears as Rossi stared little Henry in the eyes.

"Hey buddy." He cooed, always enjoying other people's children. He knew that he probably wouldn't ever have children of his own, but that didn't stop him from utalizing the extraciricular pursuits of his teammates. "You being good for your mama?"

"Hi JJ." Hotch smiled, smirking at the legendary profiler turning to mush at the sight of JJ's small son.

"Hi." She smiled tentatively in return. Her grin grew as she saw a small four-year-old boy hide behind his father's pant leg. "Hi Jack."

Jack, feeling shy at the moment, just waved to JJ. Though his interaction with the people his Dad worked with was limited, JJ had always been his favorite. She was the one who gave him candy everytime he visited his dad at work. She was also the one who his dad frequently talked about.

"Buddy, can you say 'hi' to JJ?" Hotch asked his son tenderly, something that nearly broke JJ's heart. It wasn't that Will wasn't sweet or gentle with their son, or even that Will didn't have anything to do with Henry. It was just that ever since the breakup, JJ had her doubts of how committed of a parent Will really was.

Jack shook his head, grinning slightly at the small amount of power he held.

"That's alright. He waved, that's good enough." JJ said lightly.

"If it makes you feel any better, that's about as much as I get when I first pick him up." Hotch teased, then there was more truth to that statement than he would let on.

"Will told me that when he picks up Henry for the weekend, the kid bawls for an hour straight." JJ admitted, noticing how wonderful the summer sun felt on her skin. She looked over her shoulder out of sheer habit. She often had the feeling that someone was watching her, the hairs on the back of her neck would stand up, alerting her to some outside presence. Knowing before she focused that she wouldn't see anything, she instantly blushed as she saw Hotch follow her lead.

"What is it?" He asked, a fair amount of concern resonating in his voice mixed with its natural tone of authority.

"Its nothing. I've just read too many case files. I'm probably just hyper-sensitive." JJ dismissed, not allowing herself to remember that she had been feeling this for a whole lot longer than she had been in the BAU.

"Well, if you're sure." He said, checking the wooded area one last time. "If you ever have anything to worry about, know that you can tell me."

"I know." JJ said softly, inwardly feeling a sense of comfort at the idea. Hotch was an ideal boss, one of the few who had ever made her feel protected. Trying to change the subject back to happier conversations, she turned to Garcia with a smile. "Did you want to go shopping tomorrow?"

"Yes." Garcia exclaimed happily, knowing she needed to buy some more electric blue fishnet nylons. She had been wearing a hole in the knee of her current pair, and no outfit was complete without them. "Can we go to the Mall on 23rd? I heard that they have this new place where all the items are made after the image of the Dalia Lama and--"

"Say no more, I'm in." JJ smiled, looking forward to a little girl time. "When do you want to meet there?"

"Actually, would it be alright if I spent the night at your place?" Garcia asked meekly, an expression that didn't do often--or very well. "Kevin is out of town and Garcie here just doesn't like sleeping alone in my apartment anymore. Ever since my cat nipped at my foot and I ended up kicking it, I don't really trust myself."

"You kicked your cat?" JJ inquired, supressing a snorting laugh. There was high irony in Garcia--the vegetarian, kicking a cat.

"It was late and Mr. Skittles didn't know not to lick Momma's toes after she watched 'Saw IV' and it all just didn't end well." Garcia admitted, her usual vibrato keeping her from embarrassment.

"Mr. Skittles?" Morgan chimmed in, not believing his baby girl would actually do that to some self-respecting feline.

"Oh hush you. Like Clooney takes the Emmy for creativity." She said, rolling her eyes. "Emily, what do you say? Sleep over at JJ's!"

"I wish I could." Emily said, though she wasn't very convincing. "But I have a date."

"With who?" Garcia pried, wondering if her homegirl had found herself a Casanova without consulting her favorite Tech Goddess. "Tell me his name, we can do a back ground check."

"That's okay." Emily insisted, positive that the last thing she wanted was to give the name of her newest boyfriend to Morgan. The last time she let Morgan in on who she was dating, she had gotten an hour worth of 'Derek Morgan's Fool Proof Dating Tips', with guaranteed success. Having seen the product in action, she had no urge to try to follow his advice.

"Oh come on!" Reid said, feeling a little like he'd like to know the intimate details of someone's dating life. Maybe after that, he would feel slightly less pathetic for choosing to spend tonight watching Star Trek instead of trying to visit Austin.

"No, that is really alright." Emily said again, hoping that someone would swoop in to save her.

"Aren't you glad that with Henry, you don't have time for this conversation." Hotch whisperd conspiratorially to JJ.

She giggled and nodded. "Yes."

"This is one of those times where its good to be a parent." Hotch laughed.

She was laughing at his joke! His Jennifer was lauging at the imbecile's joke! He felt so disgusted with his beloved at the moment. Forgiveness would come for her eventually, but was she forgetting what she owed him? After all he had done for her, this was how she repaid him? His Jennifer was testing him, he knew it. She wouldn't do this to him. She wouldn't so flippantly turn her affections to another.

"Jayje, you triple lock your doors?" Garcia scoffed as JJ went on her semi-OCD rampage.

"What? I see a lot at work." JJ shrugged as she continued to ensure that her home was secured for the night.

"So do I, but I don't lock my windows." Garcia teased kindly. In truth, they DID see a lot at work, and while she wasn't surprised that her friend was obsessively locking her home, she found it quite endearing that the young mother would protect her son like a blonde she-bear protecting her cub.

"I am so excited to get those new shoes." Garcia added as JJ moved on to the back door.

"Shoes? I thought we were going for fish-net nylons?" JJ asked absentmindedly.

"Well, what's a good pair of fishnets without the proper footwear?" Garcia admitted sheepishly.

"What was I thinking?" JJ laughed, always enjoying her friend's eccentric nature.

"Well, I'm beat." Garcia yawned, stretching out tiredly. "Making sex jokes at Morgan all day can take a lot out of a girl."

"One second and I can find you a blanket, just let me lock the garage."

Garcia rolled her eyes in disbelief. She thought that maybe, just maybe, JJ was a little too paranoid.

His Jennifer had company, usually that would persuade him to stay away for one night, but not tonight. He had spent an entire day watching man ogle at his beloved and he needed her more than ever. He needed to know that she was his, and he wouldn't be dissuaded by the idiosyncratic Penelope Garcia. He need nothing more than to watch his Jennifer sleep, and her silly friend would not take that away from him!