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

An Unconventional Family-Chapter 36

Sitting at the hotel bar later that week, Dave was consciously trying not to kill anyone. The next person who suggested it was crazy that he had become a family man was going to leave the bar with fewer teeth than they came in with. He was tired of hearing about the womanizer he used to be. He didn't need to hear how it was ludicrous to think that he could settle down with one woman, given his history. He was tired of seeing the shocked looks on people's faces when he told him he had a sixteen year old daughter and he was tired of the doubts that were constantly drifting around his head. All he wanted to do was go back to DC, grab the girls and spirit them away to Little Creek for a week, but at this point he doubted his ability not to fuck that up. What was it that people saw in him that made them think he was a screw up?

Finishing the last of his drink, he saw his driver enter the bar area and point to his watch. Dave threw a couple of twenties onto the bar and then made his way outside and into the limo. He was in a dark place right now, but a ray of light was about to enter his life; his little girl was coming to see him. He knew it was stupid having her fly to New York to see him when he would be home in four days, but he really needed to reconnect with his new life and seeing her was one of two ways he could do that.

He felt his smile grow as the limo got closer to the airport and he couldn't contain a grin as he waited in the gate area for her to deplane. He knew it wasn't standard operating procedure to meet people at the gate, but he had flashed his credentials and told the TSA agent that a person of interest was arriving on this flight and he needed to be there to apprehend them. Technically it wasn't a lie, she was a person of interest to him and he was taking her into custody, it was just his own custody. 'Fuck it,' he thought, this was one of the few perks that came with being an FBI agent.

"Dad!" His daughter's voice pulled him out of his reverie.

He looked toward the gate and saw her smiling and waving at him while struggling with both her heavy backpack and a large duffel bag. He knew most airlines only allowed one carry-on and another small bag, but he had arranged for her to fly first class, so they allowed the two large bags. He rushed over to her, took her duffel bag in one hand and hugged her with his other arm.

"Pumpkin! I am so glad to see you!" He exclaimed, kissing the top of her head.

She fiercely hugged him back, "I'm glad to see you too, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, you have no idea." Dave said, pulling away from his daughter in order to get a good look at her. She stood slightly slumped over from the weight of her backpack and she looked exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes and she looked thinner than when he left, but she seemed happy.

"You look tired honey, have you been getting enough sleep?" He asked her as they started to make their way toward the airport exit.

"Yeah, I've been sleeping fine," she said, not meeting his eyes. Thankfully for her, the gate had been near the entrance to the airport and she hadn't checked any luggage, so they made it to the door in record time. As they stepped out into the evening air, Dave pointed to the black limo parked by the curb. "That's us," he said.

Abby whistled, "Wow, swanky!" she exclaimed, and then giggled as the driver held the door open for her. As they made their way into the city, Dave waited patiently as she checked out all of the features of the limo. She fiddled with the radio and climate controls, she stuck her head out of the sunroof and she moved from seat to seat to see which one was the most comfortable. When she finally settled down, he continued their previous conversation.

"Seriously Abby, you look exhausted."

She sighed, "What can I tell you dad? Papers are due and finals are coming up. I have to do well if I want to be in the advanced placement classes next year."

He understood this, but he didn't like it, "Have you been too busy to eat? It looks like you've lost some weight."

"I may have skipped a few meals, but I'm also swimming a lot more in order to gear up for this summer. I have to get back into shape," she said defensively.

"I'm surprised your grandmother isn't hounding you about being too thin," Dave said.

"Trust me, she is. I think I gained ten pounds at the family dinner last week." Abby and JJ had gone to a Rossi family dinner the previous Friday so JJ could get to know Dave's family. They had all liked her and she had liked them as well. Marie couldn't get over how thin they both were and she had piled their plates with enough food for three people. "Nonna sent us home with enough leftovers to feed a small army."

Dave smiled, "That sounds like my mother."

**********

Dave grinned as he watched his daughter bound into the two bedroom suite he had at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan. She looked around the living room, flopped onto the bed in her bedroom and checked out the bathroom.

"Holy crap, there's a frickin' flat screen TV in here! And there's a bathtub the size of a swimming pool!" She came back out and declared, "This place is bigger than our entire department."

He loved seeing things through his daughter's eyes. He had become so accustomed to this lifestyle that he took it for granted, but when he saw the happiness and excitement in her eyes, it reminded him of how lucky he was.

They grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby deli, and then walked around their little part of the city before finally coming back to the hotel. Once in their suite, both of them decided to turn in early.

"Goodnight dad," Abby said to her father, picking up her backpack and duffel bag from the table in the living room. She took exactly one step toward her bedroom before Dave stopped her.

"No, nuh-uh, no way; your book bag stays out here." Dave knew she would stay up all night studying if she took her backpack into her bedroom and he wanted her to get a good night's sleep.

"Okay," Abby agreed, thinking about the laptop in her duffel bag. She set her book bag back down on the table and turned back toward her bedroom.

"Your laptop stays out here too, Abby," her father said, knowing it had been too easy to get her to relinquish her books and notes.

Damn, he was on to her! "Fine," Abby said sulkily, as she opened her duffel bag and set her laptop down on the table as well. "Good night."

"Good night pumpkin, sleep well." Dave told her.

**********

The next morning, Dave returned from the meeting with his publisher to find Abby eating breakfast and watching TV in their suite. He had left her a note telling her to order room service for breakfast and she had ordered a wonderful omelet along with one of the best fruit salads she had ever eaten. She had already showered and gotten dressed, so once Dave returned, she was ready to hit the city.

"What do you want to do today?" He asked her.

"Weeelllll," she hemmed and hawed, "I kinda wanna do all of the stupid touristy crap."

"Really?" Dave asked surprised, "Haven't you done all of that on other trips here?"

Abby shook her head, "No, mom and I haven't been here since we moved to DC. We used to come here a lot when we lived in Pennsylvania because one of mom's college friends lived in Queens and we'd stay with her, but all we would do was shop or visit museums or 'educational' places. Now I want to see all of the stupid crap New York has to offer."

Her dad smiled, "What did you have in mind?"

Abby took a deep breath and then began rattling off the things she wanted to do and see. "I want to go to the top of the Empire State Building, I want to hail a yellow cab, I want to visit Central Park and see the carousel and the zoo, I want to go to Time Square, I want to eat a hotdog from a street vendor, I want-"

"Whoa, whoa," Dave interrupted, "It's eleven right now and we have to be at Barnes & Noble for my reading and signing by six. We're going to need to come back here to shower and change, so that gives us around four and a half hours. How about we do all of the Central Park things today and we'll do Time Square and the Empire State Building before you leave tomorrow?"

Abby nodded her agreement. Soon after, they made their way downstairs and out of the hotel where Abby hailed a yellow cab to take them to Central Park.

***********

Eight hours later, after a fun day with her dad, Abby was listening to him as he read from his new book. It was weird for Abby to be sitting in the audience at one of her dad's readings. She knew he was an author and all that, but actually being here made it very real for her. As she looked around the crowded floor, she couldn't believe couldn't believe the amount of people that had shown up just to hear her father speak. And he sounded so eloquent! He spoke in even tones and had impeccable speed and pronunciation. His fans should show up at their apartment sometime when he was running late or couldn't find his keys. She wondered if the audience would be as impressed with his ability to come up with inventive curses or at his aptitude for shouting blame at everyone, including God, when he couldn't find something. She almost snorted out loud when she thought that and had to cover it with a cough, which earned her a dirty look from more than a few of her dad's groupies. Thankfully she was sitting near the back, so she could observe everything that was going on in the room. Both Penelope and Derek wanted her to report back on this as they also had a hard time imagining hundreds of people showing up to hear David Rossi speak.

After the reading, Dave talked to many fans and signed hundreds of books before he was finally able to meet up with Abby.

"So what did you think pumpkin?" He asked her.

"It was really cool; I can't believe all of these people came here to see you!" She told him as they walked to the front doors of the store. It seemed that with every step they took, there was a fan looking for Dave's autograph, so they didn't make it out of the store for another twenty minutes. Once they were in the limo, Dave loosened his tie and relaxed.

"There's a reception for me at our hotel when we get back, but that shouldn't go too late and they should have some decent food there," he told her.

Abby nodded, not looking forward to meeting a bunch of new people, but she knew her dad really wanted her to come. "Why are they having a reception for you?"

"Tonight's reading and signing was the last one on my tour. On Monday and Tuesday I meet with my publisher and lawyer to go over all of the legal crap and then on Wednesday, I'll be home, thank God."

"It'll be nice having you back," Abby told him.

"It'll be nice to be back," Dave said with a sigh.

**********

At one the next morning, Dave entered their suite and went to check on Abby. She had been a real trooper at the reception. He introduced her to dozens of people and she had demonstrated her flawless manners with all of them, but by midnight he could see that she was drooping and he sent her up to bed. Soon after she left, the reception began to wind down and he was finally able to leave.

He crossed the living room and tapped lightly on her door. Hearing a muffled, "Come in," he gently pushed her door open.

"Did I wake you, Abby?"

"Mmmm, yeah, but its okay. What time is it?" She asked, groggily.

Dave could tell that she was still mostly asleep, "It's just after one, pumpkin. I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Okay," she said, rolling on to her side. "Good night dad, love you," she said drowsily.

"Love you too Abby," he said, closing the door. And at that moment, he was hit with the same blinding, gut wrenching panic he had felt sixteen years ago.

**********

The next chapter is written and pretty much ready to go. Reviews will help get it posted faster.