Author: Ren Kayashima

Genre: Family/ Mystery

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Alas my top secret mission to steal the rights to Criminal Minds failed. At the last minute my repel line broke and I was arrested for trespassing on ABC ground. If you would like to help me with bail money…

Shout Outs: Natsumi Wakabe, you've done it once again. You made me smile with your review. Stop! You'll get me kicked out of class. You'll enjoy a part of this chapter. Dyallon, as always I love seeing you review. You make me want to write more. Booksandmusic97, I assure you, Rori was thoroughly creeped out as she heard about her father's sex life, but she threw it right back. P95000, Thank you for your review, I love how you tell me about what you like. It's nice to see specifics. Kimd33, I will say this, Luke won't win any points in this chapter…

Enjoy!

0o0o0o0

Chapter Nine:

Rori was on the phone with Morgan. "I hope the pups haven't been too much trouble," she said as she sat on her hotel bed. She was in a simple grey t-shirt and jeans.

"Nah, they love playing with Clooney. They eat a lot though," Morgan answered.

Rori laughed. "That's my girls. They love their food," she said. "I hope Hotch is okay with Mudgie."

"He brings Mudgie to the office with Jack. They hang out in Penelope's office."

"Oh cool."

"How the family vacation going?" Derek asked.

"I'm starting to see why dad avoids them," Rori stated dully. "I'm fairly certain that my cousin Luke hates me. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he's already made a voodoo doll of me."

"Is he the only one?"

"The verdict is still out on his siblings. Bella's kids are cool. They both work in the Seattle area. I like talking to them."

"That sounds okay."

"I just want to relax, but I can't because Luke's always jumping down my throat and questioning the truth of every single thing that I say. It's frustrating," Rori sighed.

"Don't you know, family event are never relaxing," Morgan laughed. "You'll always hate that one family member, but in the end, you're glad they're there to have your back."

"No, I don't know this Derek," Rori stated. "I've never gone to a family event. I've had Kate visit before, and then grandma and grandpa came for Christmas, but I've never gone to a family reunion or anything like this."

There was a pause on the line as Morgan processed what she had just said. "Really?"

"Yes. I thought that this would be fun because I'd never had it as a child, but I think I bit off more than I can chew," Rori said as she tucked her feet under her legs.

"Why not tell your dad this?" Derek asked. "I'm sure he would understand if you wanted to come home early."

"I can't do that!" Rori exclaimed. "I forced him to come because I wanted to meet the family. What kind of person would I be if I went crying uncle to dear old daddy all because of my mean cousin?"

Morgan sighed. "You're screwed."

Rori rolled her eyes. "Thank you Captain Obvious," she retorted sarcastically.

"What do you want me to say?" Morgan asked. "You're the one in the position to change all of this. Actually, there are many options for you to take."

Rori sighed in defeat. "Since when did you become the kick in the ass that I needed?" she asked.

"Since you moved in with your father," Morgan answered. Rori could tell that he was smiling. "Whatever you do, don't punch him. Understand?"

"Even if I want to really really bad?" Rori asked as she pushed her cheek out with her tongue.

"You don't need an assault charge on your record. Especially now that you're an adult."

"Damn."

Morgan laughed. "I'm going to let you go. Be nice to your cousin."

"No promises," Rori chanted her catch phrase.

"Well as long as I don't keep my expectations high neither of us will be disappointed."

Rori giggled. "Bye Derek."

"Bye Rori."

0o0o0o0

"Take it back!" Rori yelled angrily.

"Make me!" Luke shouted back.

The two of them were standing in Amy's backyard. Bother of them were glaring at each other. Jessica, Michael, and the twins were watching warily from the side. A simple conversation about California had shifted into a full on two person feud.

Rori picked up a tennis ball by her foot and held it up to throw at Luke. "Take it back!" she threatened.

Luke smirked. "Like you could hurt me with that," he scoffed.

"You never even knew my mom, now take it back!" Rori repeated darkly.

Dave and Amy came out of the kitchen. Dave walked quickly over to his daughter and forced the tennis ball out of her hands.

"What's going on?" Amy asked shifting into her 'mom' tone.

This was the last family gathering and the tension between Luke and Rori had been building the entire week. First there was the family baseball game where they got into an argument over the best baseball team. Then the team scavenger hunt where they both arrived at the statue of Paul Revere at the same time, but only one could claim the clue. Yesterday was the video game competition that ended in the annihilation of an expensive vase. Why Bella set up these elaborate 'family activities' was beyond any member of the Rossi family. But on the Brightside, no one had gone to the hospital… yet.

"Luke called Rori's mom a manipulative bitch with no concept of family," Josh sighed.

Dave looked at Rori and saw that she had started to cry. "Merlin," she whispered. "I want to go home."

"Oh so no you're going to cry and gain everyone's sympathy," Luke stated. "You're a real class act. That's for sure."

"Luke!" Amy scolded.

"Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Uncle Dave's ex kept his daughter a secret and now he's expected to take care of her? Who dumps that on a person?"

"My mom did what she thought was best for me!" Rori argued as Dave pulled her back.

"Well aren't you little Miss. Perfect. You've got FBI daddy to keep you from doing something incredibly stupid."

"Prefect?" Rori asked as she wiped her eyes. "You don't get it. I envy you and your family," she said.

"I grew up never knowing who my dad was. Every year I watched as my friends would go out with both of their parents while I only did stuff with my mom. I didn't spend weekends at grandma and grandpa's like you did. I will never get the chance to sit down for dinner with both my parents present because my mom is dead. I envy the fact that you got to do things that I never had the chance to do as a child. You have two parents who you see whenever you want. I've only ever had one in my life."

Rori pushed her way back into the house as Luke stared at her. Dave shook his head. He walked up to Amy. "I'm going to take Rori back to the hotel. I don't think we'll be back for dinner. Sorry."

Amy nodded. "Dave, keep in touch. I know you fly out early tomorrow," she said. "I'll talk to Luke."

"Don't worry about it. Rori's always been touchy when it comes to her mom," Dave said. "Especially after she found out that Christine had been murdered."

Amy's eyes widened. "What?"

Dave had only told his mom and dad, but he assumed that they would tell the rest. "Rori and her mother were kidnapped by a pair of UnSubs while they were on vacation in Scotland. Rori got away, but Christine didn't."

"Dave, we didn't know," Amy stated as if it explained Luke's rude demeanor.

"We don't talk about it much," Dave frowned. He headed into the house. "I'll call you later."

0o0o0o0

Rori sat in her hotel room as she was typing up a new article for the school paper about the case in Louisiana. Her phone rang and she looked at the display. Unknown shone on the screen. She tilted her head to the side curiously. Nobody ever called from a blocked number.

There was a knock on her door and she sighed. "Dad, really I'm fine," she said. "I shouldn't have let Luke get to me."

She opened the door to find Luke standing there. She crossed her arms. "What do you want?" she asked accusing him of having evil intentions.

Luke looked at her. "Is it true that your mom was killed by a serial killer like Uncle Dave said?"

"Their names were Patrick and Collin MacGregor. They would kidnap mother and daughter pairs and kill them after a week of torture," Rori explained. "Do you want to come in?"

Even if she wanted him to leave and never come back, she couldn't be rude. That would be stooping down to his level. She moved back to her bed and sat down as Luke looked around the luxury hotel room.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize if you don't mean it," Rori stated. She saved her document and closed her computer. She looked at him expectantly.

"What was your mom like?" Luke asked. "Everyone said she was the nicest of his ex's."

Rori rolled her eyes. Apparently her dad was doing her a favor by never talking about his ex-wives around her. They were pretty nasty divorces. "She was really cool when she had the time to spend with me," Rori answered. "She worked hard and she was a great litigation lawyer. She liked to go to the beach with me on the weekends. We would shop and eat out together a lot. We baked together after long days."

"Do you like living with Uncle Dave more than you liked living with your mom?"

Rori stared at him blankly and blinked. "I can't answer that."

"Why not?"

"Because they're my parents. I didn't switch houses like they were divorced. My mom died and my aunt couldn't take me with her to Italy. Dad runs his house a certain way, and mom ran her house a different way. Also I grew up with my mom, I was almost an adult with I moved in with my dad. So I can't really compare them."

Luke nodded. He could understand that. "Do you have a facebook?"

Rori smirked. "So you don't hate me now?"

"Baby steps. I find your peppy attitude irritating, but I guess I can deal with it."

"And you're a prick, but small steps work for me too."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Well I cranked this out far faster than I expected. See folks this is what happens when you know what's going on in math class. You can blank out and write! I feel bad for those poor suckers who are completely lost… Anywho, I liked this chapter. Even if it was mostly with the OC's. I didn't want to drag the Spring Break on much longer. Mostly because I had no ideas what so ever…

I'll be shifting into the major plot arc within the next couple of chapters, and I'm really excited! I can't wait to see what you guys think. It's going to be a lot of fun. I mean let's think about this, Rori's the daughter of a famous FBI agent, she can't have a normal life right? That would be too easy. Plus a little drama always brings Dave and Rori closer than they were before.

I'm going to tell you guys about it again because I only have one person who reads this story that follows me. I have a twitter account where I post updates, fun facts, and even talk to my readers. Its fun and I even drop little Easter eggs about my stories every once in a while. The link is in my profile, so if you have an account, you should follow me… so yeah. Onward!

Review time. Please! I want to know what's going on your in your busy little minds. Just click the button below and be honest!

Shane