AN: Hope you enjoy.
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It had been a couple of weeks since the teams had met. Since then they had returned to their own case loads; they still kept in touch though. Penelope had already planned a girl's shopping day. The teams finally had a Saturday off.
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Kate's apartment
"Adeline Rory Todd we do not paint the carpet," Kate scolded swooping down to pick her up.
"Pretty Mommy," Addy declared as she clapped her paint covered hands together.
Kate turned to Charlotte with an apologetic smile. "Let me clean her up then I'll be back."
"Okay," Charlotte replied not bothering to turn away from her painting.
It wasn't odd for the art club to meet at Kate's apartment, but on this particular day it was only Charlotte. It was their first Saturday off in what felt like forever, so everyone was doing something. Charlotte had chose to spend her Saturday with Kate. Well technically Emily and Kate had forced her to spend the day with Kate and Addy. The post family Christmas visit was finally starting to sink in. Charlotte loved her family, she did, but seeing them was more stress then it was worth.
Kate returned a few minutes later with a clean Addy. "Go play," Kate told her daughter as she started cleaning up Addy's finger painting art.
Charlotte glanced over her shoulder. "What do you think?"
Kate looked up to see her painting. "Is that how you feel right now?"
Charlotte nodded. "I think so."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kate asked.
Charlotte glanced to Addy. "Later," She mouthed.
"Okay," Kate replied.
With that Charlotte returned to her painting of an approaching storm over a peaceful field.
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Emily's house
Libby laughed as Emily tripped over a toy while chasing Harper. Harper was currently having a ball as she ran through the house in only a diaper. "Instead of laughing could you try catching her please. Penelope and JJ are gonna be here any minute."
Just as the words left her mouth the doorbell rang. Libby shook her head with a smile as she went to hunt down Harper and get her dressed. Emily got up to answer the door.
"Where are my gumdrops?" Penelope asked immediately.
JJ laughed as Emily moved to let them in. "We have a small change of plans. Charlotte is spending the day with Kate. And Libby is getting Harper dressed."
"Is she okay?" JJ asked.
Emily sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "She's trying to be. This usually happens a few weeks after her family visits."
"Maybe she'll be able to join us next time," Penelope said.
"That was easy," Libby spoke walking up to the trio with Harper.
Emily rolled her eyes. "Why does she behave for you?"
"Cause she loves her Aunt Libby," She replied tickling Harper.
"Are you ready to go?" Emily asked grabbing her purse and keys.
Everyone nodded. "Are we taking your vehicle?" JJ asked Emily.
"If you don't mind. It has Harper's car seat and everything," Emily explained.
"This is going to be so much fun," Penelope said excitedly.
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Elle's house
Elle answered the door with a smile. "Thanks for coming."
Spencer offered a small smile. "Thanks for asking us," Derek replied.
"I know this isn't how you hoped to spend your Saturday," Elle said letting them in. "Usually Kate or Emily watches the girls, but they already had plans. I know Mia is old enough to watch Rosie, but I have a hard time leaving them here alone."
"It's fine," Spencer reassured her.
"Yeah, you and Ro go and we'll handle everything here," Derek added.
"Thank you," Elle repeated. "Mia is in her room and Rosie is playing in the living room. Call me if you need anything. If you can't reach me call Em."
"Got it," Derek said.
With Elle and Ro out the door the guys split up. "Why don't you check on Mia and I'll check on Rosie?" Derek suggested.
"Okay," Spencer replied.
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The park
"How did I get roped into this?" Andrew asked as he followed Jackie and Jamie around the park.
"Everyone else was busy," Jamie replied as he sketched the pond.
While Jamie was sketching Jackie was snapping pictures of the same scene. "It's your fault for having such a boring life," Jackie told him.
"How do you know I didn't have plans?" Andrew asked.
Jackie looked up to him tilting her head. "Would you be here if you did?"
"No, but still," Andrew replied.
Jamie closed his sketch book and stood up. "Next."
Andrew sighed as he followed them to their next scene.
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Baseball fields
"What was that?" Noah asked as he jumped out of the batter's box barely avoiding a baseball to the gut.
Clay bit his lip. "Sorry"
"Maybe I should pitch," Noah suggested.
Clay just shrugged taking the bat from Noah as he got the ball from Matt. "You okay?" Matt questioned.
"Yeah," Clay replied unconvincingly.
"Is it about Ro?" Noah asked knowingly.
Clay nodded with a sigh. Matt stood up from his catching position and motioned for the other two guys to follow him to the bench. "Like I know everything is going to fine. I just can't help, but worry. Like what if she has a set back?"
"I get it," Matt tells him. "I worry about Charlotte and Libby."
"I know set backs are bad," Noah started, "but don't think of them as a looming cloud. I hope Ro doesn't have a set back, but if she does we'll work through it. This team has been through a lot of crap. We are strong and we can handle anything."
"He's right," Matt told him.
Clay cracked a small smile. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."
"Hey!" Noah exclaimed hitting Clay on the shoulder.
With in seconds all three boys were laughing. "Better?" Matt asked.
Clay nodded. "Let's play ball then," Noah said standing up.
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The EYU's office
"Thanks for meeting with us on your Saturday off," Erin said speaking to the room.
"This better be good Erin," Dave told her.
"I'm actually not off, so could we get to it?" Jenny asked.
Erin decided to make introductions. "Agents Hotchner and Rossi this is Director Jenny Shepard of NCIS. Jenny these are two of our BAU members."
Jenny shook their hands. "Nice to meet you. Emily and Elle speak quite highly of you."
"We brought you here today to discuss the future of the EYU," Cruz announced.
"We have decided to reevaluate if the unit should be on a need to know basis," Erin explained. "They would still mostly work from the office, but would not be limited to it."
"What are we here for?" Dave asked.
"We want the EYU to shadow your team for a few cases. Most of them intend to move on to different units so it is imperative they learn from a good example," Erin explained. "And despite my earlier assumptions of your team you do good work."
"Why am I here then?" Jenny asked.
"I thought you might want a heads up. If the team is no longer hidden there's going to be a lot of questions relating to your son and Agent Todd," Erin replied.
"Have you discussed this with her?" Jenny questioned wondering how Kate would react.
"Yes, and Kate says she wants to meet with her old team," Cruz replied.
"I can set it up," Jenny told them.
"Good," Erin said. "Now back to shadowing."
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The mall
"What about these?" Penelope asked holding up a pair of unicorn shoes.
"Perfect," Libby squealed. "What do you think Harp?"
Harper instantly reached for the sparkly shoes. "I'll take that as a yes," Penelope said tossing three pairs in the buggy.
"Why does she need three pairs?" Emily asked.
"The other two are for Rosie and Addy," Penelope replied with a playful gleam in her eyes. "I've never had nieces to spoil before."
"Just don't go too crazy," Emily warned. "All three of them get spoiled enough. You've never seen Jenny with a credit card."
"Jenny does love to shop," Libby confirmed.
"I'll only get a few things," Penelope told them.
Two hours later Emily and JJ were pushing around two full carts. "This looks like more than a few things," JJ started.
"Hey, half of that is Emily's shoes," Penelope pointed out.
"You always need shoes," Emily defended.
"E, you wear the same boots everyday. Do you really need ten new pairs of shoes?" Penelope asked.
"She has a point," JJ joined in.
"Yes I do. Sneakers for running, heels for a function I have to go to, an extra pair of boots-" Emily rambled.
Libby cut her off, "We get it. Now can we finish up here so we can get lunch?"
"Sure," Emily replied.
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Dr. Cranston's office
Elle couldn't help the nervous energy coursing through her body. No matter how many times she sat waiting for Ro she would never not be nervous. Elle had really taken a liking to the young girl and to see her suffer was hard. They were very similar in how they dealt with things which gave Elle extra reasons to be worried. The extra dose of nerves were left over from her own session with Dr. Cranston. Dr. Cranston was worried that her interaction with her old team would stir up old memories. Elle didn't lie and say that it hadn't happened, but she knew how to handle those memories now. She couldn't let herself fall to such a dark place as she had before. Rosie was older, more aware of her mother's actions and emotions, and Ro had been through enough without having to watch the person she looked up to fall apart.
Elle practically sprung out of her seat when Dr. Cranston motioned for her to enter the room. This was their routine. Elle would have her hour long session as Ro worked on school work in the waiting room. Then Ro would have a 45 minute session as Elle sat nervously in the waiting room. Then the last 15 minutes would be spent with both of them going over important issues that needed to be worked on. Ro gave Elle a small smile as she took a seat next to her.
"Today we talked about the BAU and being out in the field for the first time," Dr. Cranston started.
Elle turned to Ro. "Which would you like to start with?"
"The team," Ro replied.
"Do you have any concerns about being around the team?" Dr. Cranston asked. They had already discussed this, but for Elle's benefit she asked again.
"No," Ro replied. Dr. Cranston titled her head. "I'm worried they'll ask questions."
"I can't promise they won't," Elle told her truthfully, "but if you don't want to answer something they will understand. They want to get to know you, but they don't want to push you."
"Okay," Ro replied.
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Elle's house
"What do you want for lunch kid?" Derek asked leaning over the couch.
"Grilled cheese," Rosie replied turning around to face Derek.
Derek lifted her over the back of the couch. "Let's go tell pretty boy and Mia."
The duo found Spencer and Mia looking over one of her school books. "Lunch!" Rosie announced startling them.
Mia stood up. "And what are we having for lunch?"
"Grilled cheese," Rosie replied.
Mia laughed. "I should have known. It's not like we've had it for the last week or anything."
"I'm glad you like it because it's one of the few things I can make without needing the fire department on speed dial," Derek joked.
"Trust me you're no worse than Andrew. He's actually set a fire in his kitchen before trying to boil noodles," Mia told him.
"Thanks for boosting my confidence."
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Kate's apartment
Kate handed Charlotte a mug of hot chocolate as she took a seat across from her. "Addy go down for her nap?" She asked.
Kate nodded. "Surprisingly."
"I am not looking forward to when Harper reaches the age where she wants to defy nap time," Charlotte said taking a sip of her drink.
There was a pause as Kate tried to choose the best words. "Want to tell me what's bothering you?"
"That's the problem. I don't really know what's wrong. For once everything is actually pretty good, but it's like I know it won't last," Charlotte explained fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.
"Do you need to talk to Rachel?" Kate asked.
Charlotte shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'm just worried that the happiness won't last."
"I know it's hard, but you can't spend the happiness waiting for the bad. You enjoy the happiness for as long as you have it, and if something bad happens we figure it out together," Kate told her.
"I know," Charlotte whispered.
"And I'll remind you when ever I need to."
Charlotte gave her a small smile. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Kate said as she stood up. "Now how about we do some more painting before Addy gets up and decides to paint my carpet again?"
"Sure," Charlotte replied also standing up.
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The food court
"They're going to kill us," Emily stated seriously as she eyed the several bags sitting next to them as they sat down for lunch.
"Most definitely," Libby confirmed without her usual brightness.
"It's not that much. Besides it is my duty to spoil my new family," Penelope told them.
"I don't know about Kate and Charlotte, but I have a pretty good feeling Elle's going to kill us," JJ informed her.
Penelope shook her head. "I didn't get that much for them."
"PG there are ten bags here," Emily pointed out.
"It's not all for them," Penelope corrected.
"Six of them are. That's two bags per kid packed with clothes and toys," Emily said.
Libby leaned back in her chair. "I hope you've made peace because we are dead. I know what they're capable off. They'll kill us slowly and enjoy it."
"You guys are exaggerating," Penelope said.
"I don't know," JJ said thinking about how Elle had been on the team.
"We'll be fine," Penelope told them.
"Famous last words," Libby said before taking a sip of her soda. "We better enjoy our last meal."
Penelope turned to Harper. "Your mom wouldn't hurt us, would she?"
Harper just giggled.
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The park
After his meeting Aaron and Haley had taken Jack to the park. Currently Haley was watching them from a picnic table as they kicked around a soccer ball. She turned her head when she heard voices approaching.
"Do you think it would be weird if I joined them?" A teenage girl asked.
The older man shook his head. "I'm sure Agent Hotchner wouldn't mind."
The girl smiled as she handed a camera to the man. Haley watched as the girl approached her husband and son. Aaron paused to introduce the girl before they jumped back into their game.
"May we sit?" The man asked. Haley nodded. "My names Andrew I work with your husband."
Jamie offered a hand. "And I'm Jamie and that's Jackie."
Haley shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Haley."
Jackie turned around. "Jamie come play with us."
Jamie shrunk back shaking his head. "I don't know."
Jackie huffed. "Come on Jay."
Andrew gently nudged him forward. "Go on," He encouraged.
Jamie stood up and hesitantly joined them; fumbling over the soccer ball a few times.
"How old are your kids?" Haley asked.
Andrew's eyes grew wide. "They're not my kids. I'm more of the fun uncle type who got roped in to playing chauffeur for the day."
"I'm sorry. I just assumed," Haley said.
"It's fine. They're good kids," Andrew told her.
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Emily's house
Charlotte was getting Harper ready for bed as Emily and Libby were getting ready for their movie night. "You think she'll notice?" Libby asked.
"We snuck two bags of clothes in Harper's closet in hopes someone with an eidetic memory wouldn't notice," Emily replied.
"So, no. How long do you think we have?" Libby asked.
"Libby Ann Prentiss!"
Emily smirked. "I think your time just ran out."
Libby sent her sister a glare before getting up. "Tell Geo I love him."
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Chapter Question: Did anyone recognize Dr. Cranston?
