The next day Lorelai woke up around 10. She realized that when she went back to work she was going to have to get back in the habit of waking up early. She stretched a bit and whimpered at the discomfort in her knee. She waited for it to calm down before she got up and started walking around. Her knee was always stiff and sore in the morning but after she walked around some it warmed up and loosened up. She went and started to make herself coffee and breakfast.

She sat down and ate her eggs and drank her coffee in the silence of the house. Everyone else had already been gone for over two hours. When she was done she went back to her room and did her exercises for her knee before taking a shower and getting ready for the day. She had a lot going on that day. She had therapy for her mental health that morning. Than she was going to bring the team coffee and a treat and tell them about her course. Than she had physical therapy in the afternoon. She was going to have to drive to her physical therapy because she needed to get home quickly as the sitter was unable to come that afternoon and she needed to be there when Jack got off the bus.

She headed out at 11:00 already late for her appointment. She rushed and got there in ten minutes. It was a good thing her father didn't see her drive that morning. She had broken several laws to get there in record time and he would have been pissed.

"Sorry I'm late." She said going into the office and sitting on the couch. "Not working has made me sleep in far to much." She told her therapist

The therapist said it was fine and they got to their session.

As they were coming to an end the therapist looked at her. "I am impressed with how well you have been doing with your life. When you first started coming here you were struggling everyday. Which makes sense with all you had been through. You really needed therapy every week and sometimes I wondered if even that was enough. You didn't know how to be your own person you were still stuck in doing what you were told and when you were told. If someone told you to jump it was almost like you thought you had to say how high. Than you started at the FBI and slowly came out of your shell and started to rebel. Fighting against the rules and your superior agents. I think subconsciously you were testing how far you could push things before they snapped. And you almost got fired and I think that was the point where -you snapped and realized you needed to find the balance between following the rules but also being yourself and I think you have found that. I think you realize that yes you can do just about anything, and your family will have your back but that you also need to have their backs and that means following some rules even if you don't agree with them. I also have noticed that while yes you express your feelings that you do so in a much more productive way. You have grown Lorelai and I can see that. Yes you still have struggled all humans do. But you use the tools, and you can navigate through them on your own. Do you think all that is true?" The therapist asked

Lorelai thought for a moment. "Yes. I do. But I still struggle with being completely open with that family. I mean I just told my dad and boyfriend about my master's degree and had to be encouraged to tell the rest of the family. I have been doing that for over two years. And I still have trouble dealing with and talking about grief and missing people that I loved." She said

"Well grief is a hard topic for anyone, but can you explain what has happened lately that makes you feel that way." The therapist asked her

Lorelai nodded. "My sister had gotten a bad grade and my dad decided to be funny when he saw me doing my class work and ask me if he needed to get on me for my grades. And I told him he could see my grades because I figured he was a parent, and they like to know these things and its easy all my grades are posted to a section of the school website, so I showed him. I was scrolling through, and he saw that they were all very good and he asked me if any were any below a 90% and I said no which wasn't true, and he realized I was lying. I wasn't lying because I thought he would be upset about the grade. I mean the grade from very early on and it doesn't drop my average that much. But because I did that test two days after Hailey passed away and I probably should have waited to do it but I wanted a distraction so I focused on school, and he would have noticed if I showed him when it was because there are dates next to the grades and I didn't want him to remember and get upset. He convinced me to be honest with him and than we talked about Hailey and our memories of her, and he told me to come talk to him anytime I wanted to talk about her, but I don't think I can…" Lorelai told her therapist

"Well, why cant you? Is it because -you are too sad still or think it will upset him too much?" The therapist asked

"I don't know. Maybe a bit of both. I have lost so many people in my life. Whether they were people who cared about me or not it still is hard. But Hailey seems to be the hardest. She wasn't my mother technically, but she was the first motherly figure to actually care. She took me shopping we talked about guys. Well one guy. She gave me advice, she told me off and she stood up for me. She actually took the blame when I accidently broke a lamp because Rachel and I were having a pillow fight and she was there, and dad wasn't. She saw how worried we were that he was going to be pissed that we were doing that in the house, and yeah he would have been, so she told him she bumped into it, and it fell, and he believed it. He knows the truth now but that's the kind of person she was." Lorelai said wiping at the tears with a tissue.

The therapist listened. "Grief is a part of life, and it comes in waves. Sometimes even 20 years later because we still think about our loved ones and feel sad. Talking about it and about the people we have lost only can help." She told her. I have an assignment for you. I want you to talk to someone about a memory you have of her. With anyone. Your dad, your sister, a friend. Anyone. If you can do that than try a different memory with someone else. Do you think you can try that?" She asked

Lorelai nodded. "Cant hurt to try I guess."

The therapist nodded and the session ended.

Lorelai booked her next appointment in a month and then left the office. She went to a local coffee place and got coffees and pastries for the whole team before heading to the office. She walked into the bullpen where everyone was typing on their computers doing paperwork. "Hi." She said

Everyone looked up and smiled and said hello. Hotch had told them all she was coming at some point to tell them all something in person. Reid got up and went to help her with the coffees as her hands were very full.

"Hotch told us you had something to tell us?" Morgan said

Lorelai nodded and texted Rossi and Garcia to come to the bullpen since she didn't want to have to repeat it. "And as soon as Rossi & Garcia get here I will tell you all." She said handing out the pastries while Reid handed out the coffees.

Rossi came down and took his coffee. "What's up Agent Davies?" He asked and shortly after Garcia arrived as well and took her coffee and a pastry

"I wanted to let you all know that for the past two and a half years I have been taking a course online to get my master's in criminology. I am about to finish and when I do I have been told there is going to be a celebration as there is no graduation ceremony as its all online." She told them

They all said that was great and congratulations. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" JJ asked

"I was nervous that if I didn't do well I would have to tell you that and I didn't want to disappoint any of you." She told them all.

"We are proud of you not disappointed." Morgan told her.

"Yes I get that but what if I had failed?" Lorelai pointed out

"None of us are perfect. We all slip and fail at things sometimes. All that matters is we try our best. If you do that I don't think any of us would be disappointed." Emily told her.

Lorelai nodded. "That's what I have been told a few times in the last weeks."

Garcia hugged her. "And of course, there will be a celebration. Getting a master's degree is amazing and have you ever really been celebrated for your education?" She asked

Lorelai shook her head.

"Big party than." Rossi said.

Lorelai smiled. "Please no. Not anything huge. Just a dinner or something small."

Reid smiled. "You deserve something big."

"Okay, but I don't want anything big." She said

Prentiss smiled. "We wont do anything to big."

"Good." Lorelai said

"Do you know when you'll be back?" JJ asked

"Still have some physical therapy. But my knee is getting stronger everyday." She told them

"You are doing everything your supposed to?" Rossi asked

"Yes Sir." She said with a smile.

Hotch heard the group chatting and looked out his window and saw her down there he decided to join them. "Hello Agent Davies."

"Hello. There is a coffee and pastry for you too." She said with a smile

"Thank you. Are you keeping them from their work?" He asked with a smirk

"Yes Sir. I am." She smirked back. "I have said what I wanted to though. I can let you get back to work." She said. Everyone said bye and she left and went to her physical therapy appointment.

She had her hour session, and it kicked her butt. Her knee was really sore after. She knew she shouldn't drive home but she also knew she needed to get home faster than the bus could get her there, so she didn't feel like she had a choice. She told herself she would be fine, and she started the drive home. She was almost home when her knee seized up and she went through a stop sign. Thankfully no one was around, and her knee loosened up quickly. She got home thankfully in one piece, but she had to sit in her car for a good ten minutes before her heart stopped beating at a rate three times faster normal. She got out of her car just as the bus got there dropping of Jack.

Jack ran to her and the two went inside.