Hotch stepped into the house dreading all of the focus on him. "We will discuss this later." He whispered to Rossi.
"Oh, come on, live a little." Rossi encouraged with a pat on his friend's back. "Don't worry, I said no presents." Hotch let the fawning begin. Garcia was the first to step forward and give him a hug.
Rossi quickly broke up the love fest. "Alright everyone, let's all sit down and eat."
Hotch was escorted to the head of the table across from Rossi and everyone else took a seat at the long dining table.
The group of friends laughed and enjoyed each other's company while Hotch soon forgot that this whole event was for him.
Emily wiped her mouth then placed her napkin down on the table. "Thank you so much, Rossi, that was glorious." Everyone emphatically agreed.
Hotch leaned over to Jo. "So, what's this I hear about you and Dave tearing up the dance floor together?"
"Don't worry, Hotch, there is enough room on my dance card for you." She laughed.
Hotch's became flush while acknowledging that he would want a cup of coffee when JJ asked the group.
Jo got up and started to cut the cake, Hotch insisted that no one was going to sing to him. Reid was right next to her placing the forks with the slices and handing them out to each person.
For the first time, the team was quiet as they devoured each savory bite of the fluffy cake. Jo licked the frosting off her fingers as her playlist ended and her Latin dance music started to play. Her eyes popped open, unable to turn it off with the sugar covering her hands.
Garcia bounced and swayed to the rhythm then pulled Morgan to the center of the room with her. Before Rossi's eyes his home turned into a nightclub. He turned to Jo. "I blame you for this."
"Take some of your own advice, live a little!" Jo joined the girls and Morgan in their dancing. Leaving Rossi, Hotch and Reid to drink their coffee.
Hotch nudged Reid. "Why don't you go dance with her?"
Reid pierced his lips together. "Because I don't know how to."
"Come on, Kid, you just put one foot in front of the other." Rossi joked.
Jo packed up her cake supplies and the pedestal back into the box she brought them in, she then went out to put the box into her car. She slammed the lid to her trunk after placing the box inside.
She turned when she heard screeching tires. A car whipped around the corner and came barreling down the street. Right before her eyes it passed her and bulldozed directing into a tree. Jo ran toward the car as the horn continued to blare.
The rest of the team came outside once they heard the crash. Morgan quickly assessed the situation and started after her. "Jo, wait!"
The car exploded. Jo was slightly knocked back. Morgan raised his arm to cover his head from the blast.
Jo picked herself up and ran to the driver's side of the car. Morgan grabbed her and pulled her back. "We have to help him!" Jo screamed.
"He's already gone." Morgan let her go once she stopped struggling. "He died instantly in the explosion."
In the distance the group could hear the sirens getting louder as they approached Rossi's home. Jo dropped on the ground and watched the car incinerate.
Reid came up to her and touched her shoulder. "Come on, Jo." He helped her up.
She faced him with watery eyes. "There was nothing I could do."
He nodded. "I know." Reid wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad you weren't hurt."
Jo walked to the crowd and explained what she saw. They assumed that the driver must have been intoxicated.
Jo felt her phone vibrating in the pocket of her dress. She pulled it out and saw that she had a text message from an unknown number. "What the hell?"
"What is it?" Reid asked. She handed him her phone.
He read it with a puzzled look on his face. "I think Jo got a message from Chet Bennett." He announced.
"What does it say?" Hotch asked.
"We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day. Brad Meltzer." Reid then looked up at the group who were just as dumbfounded as he.
"Garcia…" Hotch started.
"Already on it." She grabbed JJ to go with her.
Hotch then approached Jo." Have you received anything else like this before?"
"No, not a thing." She turned and walked into the house.
Reid looked at Hotch while still holding onto her phone. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Let's see what Garcia is able to find out." Hotch then went to speak to the fire and rescue team.
Rossi entered his house to see Jo's back leaning against the counter with a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other. She dumped more cabernet into the wide rimmed glass then gulped it down.
He walked over and took both away from her. "First of all, this is a '74 BV Cabernet. A case of this cost more than my first car. Secondly, this is not what you need right now." He took ahold of her hand and escorted her outside. He had her sit down on a bench where he sat next to her. "Okay, talk to me."
"About what?" She said in frustration.
"Anything. Tell me what you are feeling."
"I'm pissed off. An innocent person died because of me."
"We don't know why this person died. But if it was orchestrated by Bennett, then this is on him, not you. This isn't your fault, Jo."
She tried to hold back her tears. "Rossi, he killed those other girls… I don't want to be one of them."
He put his arm around her and pulled her into an embrace where she let herself go.