Derek sat at the conference room table, turning over a pen in his hands as he waited for everyone to turn up. It was their first case since being back; briefing was set to begin at 10am sharp. Hotch had gotten the case late the night before. It was 10:15 now and he, Garcia and Reid were the only ones there. It was yet another bitter reminder of their missing member. She and Hotch were the ones who ran on clockwork, though JJ usually had about five minutes on her boss, using them to round everyone up, chivvying them along with caffeine and general encouragement until they made it to their seats.
Derek hadn't seen Hotch or Prentiss this morning. He had seen Hotch's car in the parking lot, but he didn't even know if she had made it in yet. To say that the team was operating at half capacity was an understatement. On Monday, Reid hadn't even bothered to turn up. Derek turned his attention to the younger man sitting at the table. He looked even bonier than usual, dark circles under his eyes. Derek wondered who he could run to for comfort, now that JJ was gone. Derek made a mental note to get him out soon. Maybe they could have a boys' trip to Atlantic City, he could let the kid whip his ass on the gaming floor.
As for Garcia, she was functioning better than Derek had expected she would. She was definitely overcompensating, though, chipper to the point of annoyance. Her lipstick and clothes were brighter than ever. It was only when Derek caught her alone that he could tell just how deep her sorrow went. He had walked into her office this morning, armed with their traditional Starbucks, to find her staring at a blank computer screen. She was holding a bright blue plastic photo frame to her breast, tears quietly trickling down her face. He knew which photo that was. It was one of JJ holding Henry, hours after he had been born, Garcia sat on the edge of the gurney – the two of them beaming dementedly at the camera. He had taken that photo. The moment was such a private one that he couldn't endure interrupting her. He came back five minutes later, knocked on the door to find her all smiles and colours, even if the smiles were more closed mouthed than they used to be, and the eye shadow a little faded.
Rossi was about the only one that Derek wasn't losing sleep over. He knew that Rossi had loved JJ, had come to rely on her to pass the tedium of the newer elements of his job. But Rossi had known loss before and Derek had the impression that he kept his guard up with everyone for exactly this reason. Despite the fact that he had been on the team for six or seven years now, no one really knew David Rossi, except possibly Hotchner.
With that thought, Derek threw another glance to the clock: 10:19. This was getting out of hand now. Just as Derek thought about storming out to find the two rogue agents, the door swung open and Hotch was holding the door open for Prentiss, who had her folders clutched to her chest. Hotch followed in with a slight limp that he hadn't shaken in three weeks. There was something not quite right about their body language but Derek didn't have time to analyse it before Hotch was apologising for the delay and telling Garcia to start the briefing.
Three young, blonde women had been brutalised and choked to death in northern Virginia. It didn't take them long to work out that the woman was a surrogate for someone in the UNSUB's life, most likely a girlfriend or sister. The ages of the women were too young to suggest a wife, they thought, and the lack of control suggested immaturity rather than rage. Derek didn't want to jinx it, but this felt like an easy one – famous last words for sure.
When the speculation dried up, they turned to Hotch to close the meeting, all pretty much on their feet, but the senior agent held up his hand.
"Hold up. I have an announcement to make," Hotch licked his lower lip and Derek's profiling went into overdrive, "This is going to be my last case working for the BAU." You could have heard a pin drop in the aftermath. Garcia's mouth had dropped open, Reid's eyebrows were knitted together and conflicting emotions were flickering across his face, Rossi deflated. Derek wasn't sure what his reaction was, but on seeing Garcia's, snapped his jaw shut as a reflex. Before they could even fully digest, Prentiss moved to stand by their departing boss, turning to face them.
"I'm afraid it's mine too." Now Derek reacted, shaking his head. This could not be happening. He had worried this would happen as soon as the possibility of JJ dying had entered the frame, but they were supposed to be stronger than this, they were supposed to be a team, damn it. Garcia was crying again and Derek felt real anger at the two who were leaving them.
"I'm still going to be working here in Quantico, at least for the time being, but I'm looking for more reasonable hours. I've decided to do something with me life. Specifically, I'm going to be adopting Declan. I think it's time to reprioritise my life," Prentiss looked nervous, "I'm really happy with this decision and I hope you'll choose to be happy for me." Derek felt a little stung. He knew that realistically they were not a family, but somehow they had always felt enough to him, to hear that they weren't hurt. He didn't begrudge her this happiness, though. He knew she was going to be a great mom. The attention shifted back to Hotch.
"Strauss has made it clear that her offer of early retirement still stands. It seems there's only so many times they want to pay for my medical bills," Hotch smiled slightly, the first they had seen since JJ died, "I've decided I'm going to take it. I want to spend more time with Jack – he deserves to have his Dad around and I want to be there for him," Hotch looked down and Derek saw him loosen his grip on the back of his seat, "I want to see my son grow up." There was no uncertainty in his voice. Derek couldn't help but read that the subtext was that he couldn't face losing anyone else, still couldn't face that he had lost JJ – if she had been here, not a chance that he'd have taken that offer.
"I've spoken to Strauss and she agrees that Morgan will be a fine candidate to take over from me when I leave. I hope you'll take up the job." Derek could only nod numbly and shake his offered hand. He wasn't sure about this, everything was moving so fast and nothing was ever going to be the same again. What was happening to his team?
Garcia wrapped her departing friend up in her arms, while Prentiss smoothed down her hair and whispered promises of lunches and weekend shopping trips. The men shook hands with Hotchner, and clapped Derek on the back, even as they remembered that they had this one case left. And then they were on their way to Winchester.
AN: So, apparently I'm a big fat liar! This is actually the first part of the penultimate chapter, but the whole thing got so monstrous so I split it into two - sorry for those who were counting down the chapters! So now there will be two more after this and then a happy chapter if I can figure out how to do it. I can't tell whether to go for subtle and understated (like I hope most of this story has been) or for full out happiness and bunnies... what do you think?