A/N: Happy Monday! As always, love you all! Enjoy :)

Chapter Four

"Aunty Mia, I don't want to wait for them to cook."

Mia smiled, ruffling her beloved nephew's soft blonde hair. "It won't be too long, buddy."

Jack stared up at her, his dark eyes pleading. "Can't we just eat the cookies cold?"

Laughing, Mia dropped a kiss on his forehead before carrying the tray of uncooked chocolate chip cookies to the oven. "They'll be much tastier warm," she assured him. "We can have them with milk. They'll be all gooey and delicious. Definitely worth the wait."

Jack seemed unconvinced, but didn't press the matter. When the cookies were safely in the oven, Mia returned to the counter they'd been working on, grabbed the bowl and spatula, and handed it to the sweet little boy she'd spent the day with. He grinned and hurried over to the small round table to enjoy his spoils, humming to himself happily. Mia watched him for a few moments, her heart full of love. That boy, that sweet little nephew of hers, was the only thing making being away from Spencer bearable.

While Jack licked the bowl clean of cookie dough, Mia worked at tidying the kitchen they'd managed to destroy during their baking adventures. Mia hadn't seen such a mess after a simple batch of cookies since she was just a little girl and her brothers hadn't kept a close enough eye on her while babysitting. The thought of the incident made her smile for a moment, and then made her miss Aaron, which simply reminded her that she missed Spencer. It was as if every little thing made her think of him.

"Aunty Mia, they're ready!" Jack cried when the timer dinged a while later. "They're ready, they're ready, they're ready!"

Mia quickly dried her hands on her apron, hurrying over to get the cookies from the oven. Jack stood a few feet away, rocking excitedly on the balls of his feet, bits of raw cookie dough adorning his cute little cheeks. Mia carefully transferred the cookies onto the cooling rack before depositing the dirty pan into the soapy sink. Jack yammered impatiently as she grabbed the glasses she'd set in the freezer at the start of the cookie preparation, poured two ice cold cups of milk, and brought them over to the table. She then grabbed a small plate, loaded on a few steaming cookies, and brought that, too, to the table.

Just as they took their seats readied themselves to dig in, Mia's phone rang loudly from across the room.

"Maybe it's Daddy!"

Mia's heart leapt into her throat. The team had arrived in Texas early that morning, and other than a brief 'just landed' text from Spencer, she hadn't heard a thing from them. She'd been waiting anxiously all day for news, for confirmation of their safety. When she reached her phone and saw Aaron's face smiling up at her, she quickly hit the answer button, hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

"Aaron," she greeted nervously, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied instantly. "Everyone is fine. How are you guys doing?"

Mia relaxed against the counter, relieved. "We're good. How's the case?"

"Not so good," Aaron sighed. "We're getting nowhere. Is Jack around?"

After making her brother promise to order Spencer to call her ASAP, Mia brought the phone over to an extremely excited Jack. His cookies sat forgotten on the table as he bounced up and down in his seat, his eyes shining happily. The moment the phone was against his face he jumped into telling his father all about his day, starting with their trip to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast.

"We had donuts, Daddy," Jack exclaimed, "Donuts for breakfast!"

Mia shook her head with a laugh. On their way to get their breakfast that morning, she'd told Jack numerous times that the donuts had to stay between them, so of course they were the first thing he mentioned. She wondered vaguely what else the kid would rat on her for, and when the next time Aaron would allow her to babysit would be.

As she watched Jack blather on animatedly about his day with his aunt, Mia felt a painful twinge of her heart. If it was difficult for her to be away from Spencer, she could only imagine how tough it was for Aaron to be away from his son. Jack dealt with the situation like a tiny little champ, though. Mia could only hope that someday she'd deal with things even half as well as her seven year old nephew.

"Okay Daddy, I will," Jack said a while later. "I love you too!"

Mia smiled, taking the phone back from her nephew. "Aaron?"

"Donuts for breakfast?"

"Oh don't start," she laughed. "We needed comfort food."

Aaron sighed. "Fine. But don't make it a habit."

"Yeah, yeah. Get my other favourite agent to call me now, please."

"Yeah, yeah," Aaron mimicked, a smile evident in his voice. "I'll call tomorrow before Jack leaves for school."

"Talk to you then," Mia said with a smile. "And Aaron? Be safe, please."

"Always."

Mia had time to get Jack set up in the living room with his milk, cookies, and a movie before the Doctor Who theme song started playing in the kitchen. Smiling widely, Mia hurried back to the little kitchen table, sinking into the seat she'd just vacated and putting her phone to her ear.

"Spencer," she breathed happily, "I miss you."

"I'm pretty sure I miss you more."

Mia laughed softly. "I don't think that's possible."

For the next fifteen minutes, Mia and Spencer chatted contentedly about everything as far from the case as possible. He laughed loudly at her story of Jack dropping half a carton of eggs on the kitchen floor, and he let it slip that Derek had stumbled down the steps of the jet when they arrived in Texas. They discussed plans for a romantic date night as soon as Spencer was back in town. Mia had just started telling him of a new idea she'd had for a kids' section at the bookstore, inspired by Jack of course, when there was sudden outburst of commotion on his end.

"There's been another explosion," Spencer said hurriedly, interrupting her, "I'm sorry Mia. I have to go."

"Oh God. Be careful," Mia pleaded softly. "Please."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Mia waited until the line went dead before slowly setting her phone down. She and Spencer had been dating for the better part of a year already, meaning she'd dealt with nearly a year's worth of cases and long distances and dangerous situations, and she still hadn't come close to getting used to it. Every time he had to leave town it was as if her heart broke a little, and every time he came home he managed to put it back together, only to have it break again when he had to leave a few days later. She loved him, with every fiber of her being, and she wanted to support him, but it was just so difficult to do so when all she could focus on was the possibility of him not making it home alive.

"Aunty Mia?"

Mia looked up to find Jack in the doorway, his empty cookie plate in hand. "Hey bud," she said, wiping away a stray tear she hadn't realized had fallen, "You need more cookies?"

Jack nodded, crossing the small kitchen to set his plate on the table carefully. He stood there a moment, eyeing Mia thoughtfully, his cute little face scrunched up in a frown. "Aunty Mia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, mustering up a smile. "Don't you worry about me, sweetheart."

"But you're crying."

Mia pulled him into a hug, pressing a kiss atop his blonde head. "Sometimes," she told him quietly, "I get scared when Daddy and Uncle Spencer are away at work."

Jack wrapped his arms around her neck and crawled into her lap, giving her cheek a sloppy little kiss. "I get scared too," he said. "But I just remember that Daddy is a superhero and he's helping people who need him, and then I'm not so scared anymore."

Mia smiled, fresh tears stinging her eyes. "I'm glad I've got you here with me, bud."

Jack snuggled closer, an impressive feat considering how much he'd grown. "Me too, Aunty Mia."

"Sweet Pea! What a pleasant surprise!"

Mia beamed at Penelope, setting the Chinese takeout atop the break room table. "Jack had a play date with a friend from school," she explained, "And Spence told me that you all figured out who the unsub was and they're about to catch him. So I thought we could have dinner to celebrate while we wait for everyone to get home."

Penelope clapped her hands excitedly as she took a seat. "You're the best!"

"Where's Kevin? And Andy! There's enough for him, too!"

Penelope shrugged and reached for a carton and a pair of chopsticks, a hungry smile on her face. Mia laughed, pleased to see the usual stress that accompanied a case gone from her friend's eyes, and turned to search for the absent men. Penelope called after her with a mouthful of noodles, exclaiming that she should forget the boys and leave more food for the ladies. Mia shook her head with a smile and stepped out into the bullpen. Kevin and Andy stood across the room in front of a large, flat screen television with a few agents she didn't recognize.

"Andy, Kev," she called as she joined the small group, "I've got lunch in the—"

Mia caught sight of the image on the television and trailed off uncertainly. Beside her, Andy tensed. A handsome, older gentleman was on screen, discussing an urgent newsflash that was interrupting whatever sports report had been on. Everyone watched silently as the reporter on screen, discussing the old church behind him, currently surrounded by police tape and swat vans. Mia didn't need to ask to know what was happening. After a few moments there was a sudden explosion, engulfing the church into a mountain of flames and smoke, causing the reporter to cover his head and dive off screen. The camera shook for a moment before the man was back, his expression calm and collected.

"We just got word that a team of FBI agents arrived earlier to investigate the building," the reporter said, his voice betraying her fear. "Our sources suggest that the man responsible for the recent bombings is inside, along with the elite team of agents who were pursuing him."

A wave of nausea hit Mia and she began to shake, hysteria rising in her chest. "Penelope," she whispered, reaching out and clutching Andy's arm. "Get Penelope!"

Andy barked out an order to one of the other agents standing there, and he hurried off immediately. Mia only had to wait a moment before Penelope was by her side, a hand covering her mouth, her eyes swimming in tears. They watched together as flames licked up the side of the building, the roof caving in on over half the church, the firemen fighting a losing battle. Mia stared at the television in horror, refusing to believe what the reporter had said. He hadn't specified that the 'elite team of agents' was her elite team of agents. There was no way that her family, the people she loved, were all trapped inside a building that was quickly burning to the ground.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she reached for her phone and quickly dialled Spencer's number, putting her phone to her ear, holding her breath nervously. It rang five times before his voicemail told her he was unavailable. Doing her best not to panic, she hung up and tried Aaron's number. Again, after five rings, his voicemail clicked in. Taking a shaky breath, she tried Dave's number, though she knew on the third ring that she wouldn't be getting through to any of them.

Mia wanted to throw her phone in frustration. "Is it them?" She asked, her voice low and trembling. "Are they in there?"

Kevin cleared his throat. "There's no way to know for—"

"Andy?" Mia whispered, cutting Kevin off. "Are they in there?"

Andy shifted slightly, putting a comforting arm around Mia. Affection was very out of character for the normally stoic, overly professional agent, and Mia knew. There was no need for Andy to reply, no need for him to confirm the assumptions she'd made. She knew.

"I'm sorry, Mia."

Mia shut her eyes, feeling suddenly weak. If not for Andy's support, she likely would have fallen to the ground. "All of them?"

Andy sighed. "All of them."

A/N: Ahh! We all know how much I like a good cliffhanger :) Review review review and the next chapter will be up before you know it! :)