A/N: Enjoy!

JJ watched as the brunette wiped her tears away roughly. "I'm fine," she answered. "Really."

"What happened?" JJ asked. Then, when Kate was slow to respond: "Tell me!" JJ begged. "Did someone say something?"

She wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. Whatever the problem was, they could surely solve it together, couldn't they?

"We're doomed," Kate whispered, giving in. "Rossi told me last night... that Strauss's replacement is very keen on employee fraternization. We might get disbanded if she catches wind of this." She gestured to JJ's stomach to make her point.

JJ stared at Kate for a minute, confused by why she was so upset. It wasn't like she would be one of the ones to suffer with the rule intact. Kate wasn't with anyone at the bureau.

"I already talked with her," the blonde said reassuringly. "A few months ago, I went to speak with her when Spence and I started dating. She wasn't happy, but gave me a pass because I was honest and discussed it with her."

Kate was shocked, and her anxiety seemed to diffuse. "Does Rossi know?"

"No," JJ said. "I didn't tell anyone. Once she approved us, she asked us to keep it out of the workplace and at home only. Our personal lives were our business."

"Then why was she so upset before?" Kate asked. "She was practically screaming at the seminar. She scared a lot of people."

"It was Morgan and Garcia she was so angry about," JJ explained. " Mainly with their excessive flirting. She worries it'll make the bureau look unprofessional. That's what Sylvia told me anyway."

So the dragon lady did have a name. Fancy that.

"Oh," Kate said. "Oh. I guess that does make sense. If the bureau looks bad, she looks bad." Kate paused a second. "Has the rule been overlooked then? You know, since you and Spence got the go-ahead?"

JJ shrugged. "Not completely," she replied. "I know that Sylvia was particularly hard on Rossi because of his involvement with Erin. That definitely wasn't allowed. As for anyone else, I guess as long as you act professional and let her know it's fine."

Relief instantly washed across Kate's face. "Thank goodness," she said. "I was worried the BAU would get disbanded."

"You were?"

"Yes," Kate said, trying to force her eyes to stay on JJ's face. Hotch had walked past their tent, giving Kate a glimpse of him, and she could hardly keep herself focused on the conversation.

JJ, even though she wasn't a profiler, picked up on Kate's behavior. She followed her eyes to the man standing outside talking with Reid and Morgan.

Suddenly she gasped. Glancing back at Kate, her eyes wild, she couldn't help but smile: "Does someone have feelings for a certain boss?"

It was all Kate could do was groan. Why did profilers have to analyze behavior so well?


"You have to tell her the truth."

The phrase from Reid was simple, but Derek blanched at it. "I can't. It's not as easy to plan the future for me as it is for you. I'm not used to this." He motioned to himself. "I've never felt this way for anyone before."

"Well, neither have I," the genius replied. "JJ is definitely someone who stirred feelings inside me that I didn't know existed. Garcia probably does the same for you."

Derek couldn't hide it anymore. Reid was reading him like a book. "She asked if I wanted to have kids someday," he said, averting his eyes from the expectant father. "I told her no."

"That was the lie?" Reid asked and Derek nodded. "I'm sure she didn't mean tomorrow. It's still way in the future for the two of you."

"I know," he said softly. "I guess...when she asked, it made everything seem serious to me. So I panicked."

Reid waited a minute before answering. "Are you afraid of the future or about a commitment to her?"

"Both," Derek answered honestly. "Sometimes I think about where we'll be ten years from now and freak out. Other times I think about ten hours from now and wonder if I can still be faithful to her."

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"Of course!" he sputtered. "I've always been in love with her. She's everything I've ever wanted and needed. I couldn't...I couldn't imagine my life without her."

"Then you wouldn't cheat on her, Derek," Reid said. "You love Penelope too much to hurt her like that. You're not really afraid of your future... you're afraid of your past."

Derek thought his knees were going to give out with the realization. He was letting his past ruin his future with the love of his life. His stupid past that involved cheating on his ex girlfriends with random women he barely knew for no reason at all.

He had been terrified of doing that to Penelope. Scared shitless. Who would want to subject someone they loved to that kind of pain? If they got more serious, it would only hurt her more if he messed up.

Reid was right though. Derek did love Penelope too much to cheat on her. Whenever he thought of anyone hurting her, he wanted to punch them, even if that person was himself.

"Reid," he started. "I, I need to go find Penelope. I'll be right back."

He dashed off, leaving Reid alone for only ten seconds before Kate sprinted by. "Where are you going?" Reid asked her. Then: "Where's the fire?"

"I have to see Hotch!" she said, breezing by him quickly to the lake, leaving behind her blonde tag-a-long.

All Reid could do was look at JJ quizzically, who shrugged with a grin. "It must be something in the water," she said. "Either that or we're a very inspiring couple."

"I'll go with the second option," he said, smiling down at her as she walked over. "Everyone is pairing off."

"I know," JJ said. "It's definitely getting interesting. We must be awfully cute."

"I love you," Reid said. "So much. We're definitely the cutest couple here."

"I love you more."


Penelope walked through the trees, arms wrapped around her, trying to figure out what to do. She wasn't far from the campsite, but knew she needed a walk to clear her head. Her previous conversation with Derek had unsettled her.

How could she stay with a man who wanted a different future from her? Derek didn't want kids, and Penelope couldn't imagine her future without them. She had always envisioned herself as a mother someday.

She also knew that no matter how much she loved him, that this wasn't negotiable for her. She couldn't be with someone who never wanted children. Heck, Penelope wasn't even sure if Derek liked them. She knew he enjoyed older ones, but babies and toddlers? She'd never seen him in the situation. Jack and Henry were in an older age group now, and his nephews were too far away for Derek to see them often.

Penelope looked up at the sky, hoping another answer would soon dawn on her. As much as couldn't imagine her future without kids, she also couldn't imagine it without Derek. It was like seeing a bleak version of her. She'd be half alive without him.

"Penelope?"

She turned at the sound of the voice, surprised to see Rossi clear out here in the middle of the woods. "What are you doing out here?" they both asked each other in unison.

"You first," Rossi said, his eyes trying to smile at her but failing. "What has you so upset?"

She shrugged, not sure how to approach the topic. "Just issues with Derek."

"Well, if he doesn't want kids, you can't change his mind," Rossi said. "Even if you do, he may resent you later on for forcing him into something he wasn't ready for."

"Wait," Penelope said. "How did you know?"

He snickered. "You've been talking to yourself for five minutes," Rossi said. "You might want to keep that in mind for future arguments."

"Will do," she said. Then: "You never told me why you're out here."

The older man looked embarrassed at first. Then, reluctantly, he pulled out a locket and handed it to Penelope. "I wanted to be alone with her."

She fingered the silver locket, noting how pretty it was. The initials ES were carved in the middle along with the two small hearts. "Is was Strauss's?" she asked softly.

Rossi shook his head. "I was supposed to give it to her for our anniversary," he said. "There's a picture of us inside."

Penelope opened the locket. Inside was Erin Strauss looking great, better than Penelope remembered her actually, with a smiling Rossi by her side.

"That's my favorite picture of us," he said. "When she died, I couldn't bear to part with it. So now I take it with me everywhere."

She only looked at him, shocked to see Rossi in this new and vulnerable light. "What brought this on?" she whispered. "I thought you were doing better. I thought...things were getting easier for you."

"I am doing better," he replied. "Truly. I just… I was talking with Kate earlier about employee fraternization and how hard our new boss can be on employees who choose to violate this." He paused a minute. "When Erin died, Sylvia wasn't the nicest to me about our involvement."

"Sylvia?" Penelope asked. "You mean, the dragon lady?"

Rossi gave her a look. "That isn't her given name," he said. "But yes, that's her. Sylvia said that our relationship made the bureau look bad."

"Were you warning Kate?" she whispered. "Were you afraid that her and Hotch would be found out?"

"How did you know about Kate and Hotch?"

"Tents are thin," she said shrugging. "That and they watch each other constantly. There was obviously something there beyond friendship. I may not be a profiler, but I could almost smell the tension between them."

Rossi sighed. "I told Kate because I'm afraid for her," he said. "I know that her and Hotch are very similar to Erin and me. I don't want them going through the same pain I did. Though there wouldn't be a death, I'd hope…"

Penelope watched Rossi turn away discreetly, seeming like he was on the verge of tears. She wasn't sure what to do at first, so she gently rubbed his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said. "Truly I am. Is there anything I can do?"

He shook his head. Then, Penelope asked: "Do you want to head back early? Just you and me? I'd like to get a head start anyway, and you look like you need some time away from everyone."

"I'd like that," Rossi said. "Thanks."

They started walking back to the campsite then to grab their things. Before they arrived, Penelope said softly: "We're just two heartbroken souls, aren't we?"

All Rossi could do was nod in agreement.


Kate practically slammed into Aaron when she found him standing on the edge of the lake. It seemed all their encounters would involve water in some way.

Jack and Henry were down on the other side, trying to catch the fish with their hands and feet, so Kate kissed him. She just couldn't stop herself. "Hey you," she said. "We need to talk."

Hotch looked at her, surprised, but didn't object. Whatever had gotten into Kate he approved of. He had missed her.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, between kisses. He snuck a glance at the boys, but they were completely distracted by the fish. They had privacy. "Want to go up on the grass?" he asked. "I know you can't swim."

Kate nodded, turning down the flirting for the time being. They needed to talk first. That and the kids were only so far away.

"What's up?" Aaron asked when they were sitting.

It was suddenly harder to confess what she needed to. With Aaron looking at her expectantly, she could feel the weight of everything on her shoulders. The team, hurting him, Sylvia, and JJ's reaction. It was the electricity between them that sparked her next sentence.

"Can we have a do over?" Kate asked. "I… I misunderstood something and took it out on you earlier. I'd really like if we could forget our conversation from this morning."

She was almost terrified to see his reaction.


Derek ran over to Reid and JJ, panic evident on the man's face. "Where's Penelope?" he asked, his breath coming quickly.

"She left," JJ said. "Didn't you know? Her and Rossi took off early. They came for their things. I thought you were going with them."

Derek cursed loudly, slamming a hand to his head. "No, I didn't know. She's probably mad at me. I'm going to lose her because of this lie."

"Lie?" JJ asked. "What are you…"

Reid cut her off. He knew that Derek was far too frantic and far gone to listen to reason. "She left without talking to you first?"

"Yeah," he said motioning to her tent. "All her stuff is gone. I think Rossi went with her. His tent is gone completely."

It was then that Henry interrupted them. "Excuse me," the little boy said. "Uncle Derek? Auntie Penelope told me to give this to you."

Henry handed over a folded piece of notebook paper. It was hot pink with doodles in the margin and obviously the property of Penelope's. JJ, Reid, and Henry watched as Derek read through her words, his lips moving as he read them again and again.

Before they could ask, Derek tore into the woods in the direction toward home. He didn't even remember his things.

A/N: Everyone will get their happily ever afters, I promise! Reviews, anyone?