Chapter 7
Morgan's POV

"Go ahead, Flapper Girl," I teased. "Open the door."

Penelope gave me a big grin with her bright pink lips and then reached out and turned the knob.

Reid and Austin stood on the doorstep, dressed as a magician, and well, maybe a magic bunny. It was hard to tell what she was supposed to be, since all I could see of her outfit were fishnet stockings, black stiletto heels, and the bunny ears perched on top of her head. The rest of her was covered in a tan trench coat, cinched at the waist. Reid's black pants and white shirt were paired with a green and black-striped vest, matching bow tie, and black cape with green lining. He was also wearing a black top hat and carrying a wand.

"Wow!" Pen exclaimed, looking Reid over. "Look at my favorite genius, Derek. Doesn't he look—" she paused dramatically "—magical?"

The rest of us laughed at her silly joke as we ushered them inside.

"You do look great, kid," I told him. "I'm assuming there's something under there?" I motioned toward Austin's coat, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Nah, I thought I'd go as a flasher," she said, laughing.

When Reid helped her out of the coat, we finally got a look at her costume.

"Whoa ho!" I said, my tongue pushing out my lower lip as I tried not to laugh. Never in a trillion years would I have expected Reid with a Playboy bunny. He didn't seem the type. Austin had on a white corset, cuffs, and a collar, just like the famed waitresses we guys dreamed of meeting, but she also had on a little skirt that, after a second glance, kind of looked like an upside down magician's top hat.

Then, I got it. A Playboy bunny coming out of the hat. Damn! That was clever.

Beside me, Penelope whistled. "No wonder you wore the coat," she said. "Can you imagine walking around outside in that? You had to be cold!"

Austin laughed and nodded. "I figured I'd be okay in here. If we go outside, I'll have to wear the coat."

"I'm sure we can lend you a blanket," I said, "but the fire pit will be lit outside, too, so you should be okay."

Austin handed Penelope her coat, and when I went to retrieve it from her, my girl said teasingly, "Is your tongue back in your mouth, D?"

"Woman, I wanna get you in that costume," I growled near her ear. "You got all the right accessories for it."

I smacked her butt, getting a squeal out of Pen before I headed down the hall to hang the coat.

As I was heading back, I heard Pen usher them into the kitchen to show off more of the decorations. I trailed behind, watching my woman glow with happiness at the praise they were heaping on her.

Reid came to stand by me in the open doorway of the kitchen. When he looked at the food on the table, he did a double take and then turned back to me with a frown.

"Uh, Morgan," he began, his expression both disgusted and curious, "you don't have a cat, correct?"

I smirked. "Nope."

"So that's not..."

"Nope."

He looked relieved. "Good. I have to admit that I was worried for a moment."

I chuckled and clapped him on the back. "Just cake and tootsie rolls, man." I shook my head. "I'm still not touching it, though," I admitted with a shudder.

We moved up beside the women, and he listened as Penelope explained the rest of the food to them, giving them a short list of what was in each dish. As she talked, I began scooping out cups of the Witches' Brew for all of us. Once we all had a drink in hand, names written on the side with the Sharpie I'd set beside the stack of cups, we moved back out to the living room to wait for the rest of the group.

"Oh, D," Pen said loudly. "I forgot to put the candy out! Can you grab it from the pantry, please? It's all ready to be put outside."

We'd talked about leaving the light on for trick or treaters but had decided we'd all have more fun if we weren't constantly running back and forth to hand out candy. Instead, Pen had bought the biggest bowl I had ever seen and filled it with bags and bags of Halloween candy, and we were just gonna leave it on the front porch beside the scarecrow. I had a feeling kids would take more than their fair share, but everyone in the neighborhood knew I was FBI, so I hoped that would curtail some of it.

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll take care of it," I promised, giving a careful kiss to the top of her head before moving off to the kitchen.

When I came back through the living room, I called out, "Yo, Magic Man, get the door, wouldja?"

Reid quickly stood and came over, opening the door for me since the bowl required both hands.

"Thanks," I said when I passed him.

Just as I walked out to the porch, the rest of our small family walked up, all wearing their costumes. Dave and Hotch were carrying several grocery bags each, and I reached out to take a couple of the bags from them.

"What is it about our women?" I said to the men, hand to my chest. "They all had to pick out the hottest costumes they could?"

"After putting us in bowling pins," JJ retorted, glaring over at Dave, "you're lucky we didn't switch costumes and make you wear these." She motioned to herself and Prentiss.

"Yes, dear," Dave answered, his voice deadpan.

JJ and Emily just smirked at his obvious lack of intimidation.

I ushered the group inside, calling, "Baby Girl, the rest of the team's here."

I heard her squeal just before she rushed around the corner of the entryway, a huge smile on her face.

Pen stopped short, her jaw dropping when she saw the rest of the group. I looked back at them, taking another moment to look over their costumes.

Prentiss was dressed as a sexy cop. Her black dress was short, tight, and cut way low to expose a lot of cleavage. A short, black tie was hanging around her neck, and she was wearing a black belt, policeman's cap, matching fingerless gloves, and knee-high hooker boots with buckles up the length. Hotch, on the other hand, was obviously her prisoner, wearing a black and white-striped jail outfit, complete with matching cap and prisoner number on his chest.

I smirked. "Where are the cuffs?"

"Still attached to the bed," he said without expression. "Where are yours?"

I burst out laughing as he grinned his half-smile at me, and then I clapped his shoulder in approval. "My man!"

Emily was busy talking with JJ, Penelope, Austin, and Reid, who'd come in from the living room at their arrival.

I then turned to look at Dave and couldn't contain my snicker. "A priest? Really?"

Dave raised an eyebrow and gave me a look. "Have you seen my woman?" He glanced over at JJ, who turned to grin at him. Looking back at me, then to Hotch and Reid, he continued, "I'd have worn a speedo if she'd asked me to."

The other men grimaced, and I groaned. "So not the image I wanted in my head, man," I said with a whine.

Dave just looked pointedly back at JJ and the other women.

I shrugged, silently admitting he had a point. JJ was dressed as a sexy Catholic school girl, complete with white, thigh-high tights topped off with black bows, and black Mary Jane shoes, and she had her hair up in pigtails. The red and black plaid dress was tight and ended in a skirt as short as it could possibly be without exposing more than she was willing to show.

The idea of the priest and naughty school girl was a bit cliché, really. Being that Rossi was Catholic himself and far from being celibate, and JJ seemed to be more prim and proper in her normal, everyday life, I supposed it was meant to be ironic and almost poking fun at themselves, rather than offensive.

Once everyone had looked everyone else over, Pen and I led them into the kitchen, where Dave and Hotch had the same reactions to the litter cake as Reid when he'd arrived.

"You let her do that?" Dave asked, visibly paling.

I laughed. "It made her happy," I said, shrugging. "Besides, it's not like it's really...well, what it looks like."

I put the bags on the counter and unloaded the soft drinks, cupcakes, plates, silverware, napkins, and other goodies the guys had brought with them for the party.

"The place looks great," Dave said, looking around. "Did you get the fire pit set up out back?"

"Yeah," I answered. "It's all ready to be lit once the party's in full swing and people are outside to keep an eye on it."

"Is there beer back there?" Hotch asked, looking at the foggy cauldron on the table.

I nodded. "Yeah, chilled and everything."

Hotch raised an eyebrow. "Dave, Reid, wanna join me outside for a beer? We can light the fire pit and hang out until more people get here."

"Sure," Dave agreed.

I watched them tell the ladies where they were going, and then they walked through the kitchen to the back door and out into the yard.

Pen came up and wrapped her arms around my waist, smiling up at me. "You wanna join them, handsome?"

Brushing my lips across her forehead, I shook my head. "Nope, I'm good, Baby Girl. I'll wait in here until all the guests have arrived. If you wanna hang out with the girls, I'll get the other cooler and fill it with ice for the sodas in here."

She smiled and nodded. "Thanks, sweet cheeks."

Moving quickly, she linked her arm through JJ's, motioned for Austin and Prentiss to follow, and then hustled out into the living room.

I took a moment to watch them go—the view was spectacular, after all—and then got to work with the last bit of prep before our guests began arriving.

~*~*~TaT~*~*~

Garcia's POV

"Damn," Em chuckled the minute we were settled in the living room. "Who knew Morgan would look so good as a gangster?"

"He does, doesn't he?" Grinning, I looked in the direction of the kitchen, where we could hear Derek moving around and getting the last things ready. "You all did well, too. They're all perfect." Pretending to buff my nails on my dress, I joked, "We look hot, too, my little chickadees."

Everyone laughed, and then JJ called out, "Hey, Morgan! C'mere!"

I looked at her, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

She didn't say more until Derek came into the room. "Get your camera. I wanna get a picture of the four of us before it gets crazy. We can have someone take a picture of all of us later."

Derek nodded and headed into the kitchen. We heard him banging around for a minute and then nothing until he walked back in, the other three men trailing behind him.

"The fire will be fine until they get back out there," he replied to our unanswered questions, "and we can set the camera on the mantel to take a group shot." He smiled. "I thought that might be easier than waiting until the house was crowded."

Everyone agreed, and we quickly formed a group in front of some of the Halloween decorations. Derek took a shot of me with JJ, Em, and Austin, and then JJ took one of the men together. After each couple took a few shots together, we set the camera down, adjusted it just right, and all gathered around for a few group pictures. The first was a simple "everyone say cheese" photo, and in the second, we all hammed it up Halloween-style for the camera.

Once finished, Hotch, Dave, and Reid went back outside, Derek went back to the kitchen, and the girls and I sat back down to talk more.

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang. The party was on!