Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

An Unconventional Family-Chapter 11


The next month passed by in a blur for JJ, Dave and Abby. True to her word, JJ had arranged many family dinners and outings for the three of them and they all became somewhat of a pseudo-family. The three of them had different thoughts on their new relationships.

Abby was thrilled that her mother had found someone who seemed to genuinely love her and strove to make her happy. She knew her mom worked hard at a demanding job and Abby wanted to see her happy. Abby also genuinely liked Dave; he wasn't like any of her mother's ex-boyfriends who had tended to see her as baggage that went along with her mother, Dave actually cared about her as was evident in the way he treated her and in his protective streak. While his protective streak drove her nuts at times, Abby also liked the feeling of being protected, especially by someone as tough and strong as Dave. All in all, Abby was happy with the way things were going.

Like his daughter, Dave was also pleased to be a part of their odd little family. He never thought he would be a family man, but he found he enjoyed things like meeting at Applebee's for dinner instead of Vidalia and going to Abby's swim meets instead of the opera. He couldn't wait until he was officially her dad so he could slap one of those "my child is an honor student" bumper stickers on his SUV. Abby still didn't know his true identity and he wanted to change that, but Jennifer still seemed hesitant about his commitment to the both of them. Dave wanted Abby to know the truth about him for numerous reasons; first off, he never wanted her to think he was ashamed to acknowledger her as his daughter, if he had his way he would take out a full page ad in the paper to let the world know. Second, he knew that once she did find out the truth, she was going to be pissed when she found out they had kept it from her for this long, and the more time that passed, the worse her anger would be. Finally, he knew that once Abby knew the truth, he could introduce her to his mother, who had been driving him insane over the last month demanding news and updates about her. He would be glad when he wasn't the middleman anymore.

Dave also relished his new relationship with JJ. On her insistence, they were taking things slow, although they pretty much had to since she had a rule about him staying overnight. Because of the hours they worked and the fact that there was a teenager in the house, their options for lovemaking were limited. Dave found he was more in love with her than he had ever been and he thanked god that she wanted to be with him. While they hadn't officially come out as a couple at work yet, they worked with profilers, so neither of them considered their relationship to be a huge secret.

JJ was happier than she had been in a long time. Her long-lost love was back and they got along better than they ever had before. While she insisted on taking things slow at first, she longed to share a passionate night with him; the only problem was finding a place to do that. She knew she couldn't be away from Abby for a night and she didn't feel comfortable with Dave staying overnight at their apartment. It was hard enough to discuss safe sex with Abby, seeing as she had already set a fairly poor example, she didn't need to parade a boyfriend around at all hours of the night.

Speaking of Abby, JJ knew she should reveal Dave's true identity, but she was scared; scared that Dave would leave them again and leave her with a broken hearted teen, scared that once the cat was out of the bag, it would make their relationship more real and she was scared of Abby's reaction to the news. She wasn't worried that Abby wouldn't like Dave, JJ knew she did, she was afraid of what Abby would say when she found out she had been keeping this from her for over a month. She knew she would have to cross that bridge when she came to it, and she could already see it looming in the distance.

**********

Abby heard a knock at the door and got up to answer it. When she opened the door, she saw Dave standing there in a tuxedo.

She whistled and moved to let him in the apartment, "Wow, somebody beat on you with a pretty stick!"

Dave smiled, "What?" He was still getting used to his daughter's somewhat quirky sense of humor.

Abby grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, what I meant to say was, you look very handsome tonight." Dave was there to pick JJ up for a law enforcement gala. While both JJ and Dave would have rather died than go to one of those things, Hotch had made it clear that it was a mandatory event for the BAU team members. Apparently he had been getting flack from the higher-ups about the lack of BAU presence at social functions.

Dave noticed that Abby was already in her pj's even though it was only seven o'clock. "What are your big plans for the night, kiddo?"

Abby plopped herself down on the couch where she had been building somewhat of a nest. "Let's see, my wild Friday night will consist of re-writing an English lit paper, giving myself a home facial, painting my nails, studying for a geometry test, gorging myself on junk food and, if there's time, watching a sappy, romantic DVD. Exciting, huh?"

"Sounds like a fun night. Why are you re-writing your paper?"

Abby gave a loud huff and it blew her bangs up, "I got a B on it. It's stupid, I should have done better and since I practically begged him, Mr. Anderson is giving me a chance to raise my grade."

Dave looked confused, "But a B is still a pretty good grade."

Abby gave him a look, "I don't get B's."

'Wow,' Dave thought, 'that's one apple that fell FAR from my tree.' Dave remembered dancing jigs over C's in high school and college.

At that moment, JJ came into the living room and Dave was rendered speechless. She was wearing a light blue dress that had spaghetti straps and came to her knees; the top part was form fitting, while the skirt flared out and the color brought out the blue in her eyes and made her creamy skin look flawless.

"God JJ, you look gorgeous!" He said, once he regained the use of his brain.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she said, reaching for her jacket. She waited to put it on, as Abby wanted to get pictures of them. JJ felt a little like she was going to prom as she posed with David for the pictures.

Once Abby was finished, Dave helped JJ into her coat. "Do you have something for dinner tonight?" She asked her as she looked for her purse.

"Yup, there's a tombstone pizza in the back of the freezer," Abby said, handing her mother her purse.

"Okay, don't stay up too late." JJ said, kissing her forehead.

"Don't worry," she said walking them to the door. As they left, Dave turned and slipped her a twenty dollar bill.

"Don't eat that cardboard in your freezer, at least get Domino's," he said with a wink.

"Thanks Dave," Abby said softly as she closed the door behind them.

***********

Their car ride to the gala was a short one as JJ lived near the hotel where it was being held. As they walked into the ballroom, JJ turned to Dave and said, "I guess our not-so-secret relationship will be official after tonight."

Dave put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, "I guess it will be," he said as they walked over to the unofficial BAU table that Emily had secured for them. Everyone on the team looked good in their formal wear and they all spent the first hour chatting amongst themselves. Finally, Dave heard the orchestra strike up a waltz and since he was going insane with the idle chatter at the table, he asked JJ to dance.

As he led her to the mostly empty dance floor, she murmured, "Everyone is watching us."

"Let 'em look, I have nothing to hide," he said. "I hope you still remember how to do this." Dave had spent a long weekend years ago teaching JJ some of the finer ballroom dance steps.

"Don't worry about me, just try to keep up, old man," she shot back as they started to dance. They needn't have worried, JJ was graceful as always and they looked like they were made for each other.

As the song wound down, JJ whispered to Dave, "I think we're going to have a problem," she gave a small nod towards Erin Strauss, who was watching them disapprovingly.

"Don't worry about it, honey," he said as they parted after the dance. "I'll go talk to her." JJ gave him a wary look as he set off towards Strauss while she went to talk to a fellow media liaison for cyber crimes.

"Erin," he said, "Do you have a minute?" She excused herself from the group of people she was with and followed Dave to an empty corner of the room.

"What do you need David?" She asked, impatiently.

"Are we going to have a problem?"

"We as in you and Agent Jareau?" She asked. Dave nodded. "Well you are breaking numerous anti-fraternization rules, so of course there are going to be issues-"

"We are both consenting adults here Erin, she knows what she's getting into." Dave said through clenched teeth.

"Be that as it may, there are rules in place-" Dave interrupted her again.

"Erin, unless you want to explain to the higher-ups why you and your assistant seem to be spending a lot of time in the supply closet, you will leave Jennifer and I alone. Understand?" He was not above blackmailing her in order to secure his relationship with JJ.

"How dare you make accusations like that! I could have your badge and gun for this." Erin sputtered.

"I have videos, Erin." Dave said in a lethally quiet voice.

Strauss paled and thought for a minute, "I guess I can overlook this violation," she said in a tight voice. Not wanting to see his smug grin, she stormed off.

Dave was relieved his confrontation with Strauss was over with and he made a mental note to buy Garcia a gift card for her favorite spa as thanks for her video prowess. He turned to find JJ and did not like what he saw; she was standing near the bar with a guy who was standing way too close to her. She had an uncomfortable look on her face and she kept trying to politely back away from him. Lucky for Dave, he didn't have any urges to be polite. He stormed up to the pair.

"Dave," JJ said in relief, "Do you know Agent Anthony from cyber crimes?"

"No." Dave said, shortly.

"Well, now you do. Agent Anthony, I'm sure you recognize Agent Rossi, my date for the evening."

"It's a pleasure sir. Will the two of you excuse me?" Anthony said. As he angrily walked away he muttered, "cock tease" under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Rossi heard it.

He caught up with Anthony, grabbed his arm and propelled him out of the ballroom. Once they reached the empty lobby, Rossi spun the younger agent around so he was facing him.

"Do you want to repeat what you said about Agent Jareau, son?" Dave said, with barely controlled rage.

Anthony was terrified, "N-no sir."

Rossi slammed him against the wall and pinned him to it, his face just inches from Anthony's, "Is that how you talk to all women? No wonder you couldn't get a date for this thing."

Anthony tried to respond, but Dave had cut off his air supply by pressing his forearm to the Agent's throat. "You realize I could pop your head like a grape, don't you?" Anthony nodded. "Good," Dave said, releasing the pressure on his trachea.

"Now here's what's going to happen. On Monday, you are going to go to your boss and request a transfer. I don't care where you transfer to, as long as it isn't on this side of the Mississippi River." Anthony tried to interrupt, but Dave talked over him, "If you make me do it, and believe me, I can, I will have you reassigned to the most remote outpost in Montana. The choice is yours" he said, letting go of the younger man. Once Anthony left, Dave went back into the ballroom and found Jennifer.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" She asked, only half joking.

"No, but I don't think he'll be a problem anymore. Come on, let's get out of here," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the ballroom.

"Where are we going?" She asked as he pulled her towards the elevators.

"We have a kid at home who isn't expecting you back for at least four hours and I have a key to a hotel room."

"Oh my God," JJ said, laughing, "It really is like the prom."

"Hey, I'll take you any way I can get you. Come up with me Jennifer." Dave almost pleaded.

JJ nodded and they both stepped into the elevator.