Author: Ren Kayashima

Genre: Family/Thriller/ Mystery

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I really hate that I have to do this. I do not own Criminal Minds. The title and its characters belong to CBS and its original creator.

Shout Outs: Four people reviewed the last chapter and they all loved the furniture rearranging. Thank you so much for your reviews Dyallon, bookandmusic97, p95000, and hxchick. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

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Chapter Eight:

Dave woke up at five the morning of the twenty-eighth. He sluggishly moved out of bed to work on breakfast. It was the first birthday he would be spending with his daughter. According to Garcia, Rori would have Belgium waffles for her special day.

He got dressed in a pair of jeans and light blue button up. He rolled up his sleeves as he headed down the stairs. He smiled down at Mudgie as the dog followed him into the kitchen. "Ready to make Rori a birthday breakfast like no other?" he asked.

Since he found out about Rori, his behavior had changed. He was more easy going at home and found himself constantly placing himself in the shoes of many of the parents whose children had gone missing.

A half hour later, Rori came downstairs in a pair of black jeans and a tan knee length knit sweater over a white V-neck t-shirt. She smiled at her dad and slid into the breakfast nook.

"You're making me waffles?" she asked.

"You have them every year," Dave told her as he looked over his shoulder.

"I didn't want to trouble you. I would have made them myself," she grinned resting her chin on a closed fist.

"It's a big day for you," Dave said. "You mentioned an article that you're writing. About an African humanitarian, you're interviewing him today right?"

Rori nodded. "He's coming to the University to speak in an African culture course. I'll be publishing the interview in the school paper."

"That's great," Dave said. He dropped a large waffle onto a plate and walked over to the table. "What's this guy's name?" he asked as he sat down across from her.

"Keano Kumalo," Rori answered. "It should be an interesting conversation. There are some people in Africa who would happily see this man dead. He speaks out against violence and genocide. His humanitarian efforts help people in these war torn countries get food, shelter, and protection."

"You'll have to wait to get your birthday present from me later tonight. I'm sure I'll be collecting gifts from the team members. What do you want for dinner?"

"Nothing big," Rori stated. "You know me. I'm good with steak and mashed potatoes."

Dave shook his head amazed at how little it took to please his daughter. "When do you leave for school?"

Rori let out a long breath. "Well my class is at ten, and my interview is at twelve. I'm meeting Kenta at nine. He wants to give me my gift."

"Do you want me to pick up anything for you?" Dave smirked. "Lotto tickets, voter registration, cigarettes?"

"Can I get a tattoo?" Rori asked, her eyes lighting up as she looked at her dad.

Dave laughed. "What would you get a tattoo of?"

"A rose on the inside of my left wrist," Rori answered without hesitation.

Dave studied her face and realized that she was serious about getting a tattoo. "Can I ask why?"

"Mom liked roses, I like roses. They're kind of a big deal for my mom's family," she explained. "Mom actually had a tattoo of a rose on the inside of her wrist too."

"Okay, but can I ask that you make the tattoo inconspicuous. Light in and small," Dave said. "If you can hide it, you're less likely to be passed over for a job."

Rori nodded. She didn't want to push the issue of getting a tattoo. "Okay."

Rori started eating her waffle happily. She tried to guess what her dad had gotten for her birthday. She stood up once she finished and kissed her father on the cheek.

"I love you," she said before skipping out of the kitchen. Dave chuckled to himself and shook his head.

Mudgie walked up and rested his head in Dave's lap. Rossi scratched him on the head. "She's always running off to do something else. Huh boy?"

0o0o0o0

Rossi sat in his office working on yet another report when Hotch came in.

"Hey, so Rori turns eighteen today," he smiled looking at the senior agent. He sat down in one of the office chairs. He pulled out a small wrapped box from his pocked and held them out. "Jack picked these out for her. He said that Rori would really like them."

Rossi took the box and looked it over. "What is it?"

"Earrings. Sun, moon, and clouds," Hotch smiled. "Are you leaving early?"

"No, Rori's interviewing a foreign humanitarian today. She said it will take a couple hours so she'll be staying on campus to study a little bit. I'm going to make her steak tonight."

Hotch's smile grew. The entire team had seen the fatherly side of David Rossi grow everyday his daughter spent with him. Rori had brought a bit of light to the senior profilers life.

"I'll let you get back to work," Hotch stated standing up. He set the small gift on

Not five minutes after Hotch's visit and Garcia was bouncing in. She held a medium sized box. "How were the waffles?" she asked.

"She loved them," Dave said. He gestured to the gift. "What did you get for her?"

"I got her a couple of those knit sweaters she likes so much. Purple and green."

Dave rolled his eyes, knit dresses, sweaters, hats, scarves, you name it, she had it. It was fine by him. Two months ago she was glue to plaid patterns. "I'm sure she'll love them. She's always looking for more clothes."

"Believe you me, clothes are the way to your daughters heart," Penelope giggled. "That or a new deck of tarot cards. She's started to collect the art work."

Rossi sighed. He still had yet to find out Rori's birthday card. Then again, he hadn't put much effort into finding out what a birthday card was.

"Do you know what Rori's birthday car is?" he asked the resident techie.

"No, it has some math involved. You factor in the numbers involved with the birth date and then apply it to one of the major arcana cards. I looked it up, but Rori told me that she would give me a clue later today."

Dave shook his head. "Thank you Garcia. I'm sure Rori will love the sweaters."

"I live to please," Garcia sang as she pranced out.

Rossi looked at the tie and pulled his cell phone out. He dialed Rori's number to check in on her. This was a ritual they went through every day. Rori would call after the last class of the day or he would call her at lunch. It built trust and kept Rossi aware of Rori's activities.

"Hey dad, I'm about to walk into my interview with Mr. Kumalo," Rori stated quickly. "How's your day so far?"

"Everyone is coming into my office to drop off gifts for you," Rossi said. "I'm just checking in."

"Glad to hear I'm loved," Rori laughed. Rossi pictured her walking quickly through the Georgetown campus on her way to meet with someone she admired. "Kenta bought me an Asian themed tarot deck. The artwork is fabulous."

"That's nice."

"I got to let you go dad," Rori said. "I'll see you later tonight. Love ya."

Rossi chuckled and relaxed in his seat. "I love you too."

0o0o0o0

Rori hung up with her dad and slipped her phone into her pocket. She dug around in her simple shoulder bag and pulled out a tape recorder and a small notebook and pen.

She entered a small office and was greeted by a tall black man in a three piece suit. "Mr. Kumalo. I can't tell you how much of an honor it is to meet you," Rori smiled holing out her hand.

"Miss. Rossi correct?" the man asked. Although he was an educated man, his voice still held a bit of central African accent. "I've spent some time reading your past articles. You have quite a talent for writing," he told her as he took her small hand in both of his.

Rori blushed. "Thank you, although I could never hope to be as influential as you. You're a true humanitarian after everything you've done to help war torn countries."

Kumalo let out a deep chuckle. "Maybe with time, you will be able to make some changes with your writing. Already you help families to be at peace after they've lost someone to such heinous crimes as the ones you write about."

Rori shifted slightly. She liked helping families, but mostly she did because there was a need to tell someone else's story. "Shall we get started?" Rori asked as she gestured to two chairs.

"Of course," Kumalo said.

The two sat down and Rori uncapped her pen. "So, we'll start easy. What made you start the many projects that are operating throughout Africa today?"

Kumalo's face gained a sad expression. "My mother was murdered by a political army. I was taken in by my uncle who educated me and raised me. He-"

He was cut off as the door slammed open. Rori jumped up and turned to see three men in all black. They all wore masks, and held large automatic weapons.

"Don't move," one of the men ordered through his mask.

A fourth man casually walked in and stood behind the gun men. His lips curled up in a smile and Rori narrowed her eyes. "Bring them both," he said. "A foreign humanitarian and an FBI agent's daughter. This will catch the media's attention." The fourth man's voice held no distinguishable accent and Rori unconsciously backed up.

She started at them. "Who are you?" she asked as she gripped her shoulder bad tightly. "How do you know who my dad is?"

"We've known about the interview with Kumalo for a couple months now," the fourth man said.

"That's impossible," Rori stated feeling weak and afraid. "I've only been with the paper since mid-January. My English teacher only hinted at the possibility of conducting the interview."

"Shut up and do as you're told. You'll be back home with dear old dad soon." The masked man told her. "Empty your bag Miss. Rossi. Kumalo, empty your pockets. Place any electronic devices on the ground."

Rori pulled her phone out and set it on the ground while watching the gunmen. She pulled out her new gifts and showed them to the men. "That's all there is. A couple of tarot card decks and a cell phone. I left my computer and iPod in my car," she told them. "Can I please put my stuff back in my bag?"

"Grab them and let's get out of here," the fourth man ordered. "You can let the girl bring her bag. This could take some time."

Rori tried to move away from the men but one reached out and grabbed her hair and yanked. She yelped and crouched on the ground. Kumalo was pushed out of the room by one man and Rori tried to fight but was easily lifted off the ground and dragged out.

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Author's Note: Well that was fun. Start of the main conflict for this story. Wouldn't it suck if you were abducted on your eighteenth birthday? This should be a lot of fun to write. I loved writing this chapter, if only because I knew what was going to happen. I've been planning this situation since December.

So school's really busy right now, so I'm going to be slow to update all four of the stories I'm working on right now. I'm going to work on the next chapter throughout the week so that I can post it for you guys next Friday.

Drop me a review and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you as you all know. It's my only communication with the readers, so it's great to hear from you guys.

Ren