A/N: I don't own any of the Criminal Minds characters, plot, etc. all belong to CBS

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." John F. Kennedy

Jade POV

Another Monday morning begins and I am sad to get out of bed alone this morning. I slowly make the bed and head into my bathroom, sad there aren't already wet towels laying in the laundry basket. I get ready for work, putting on my favorite red blouse, grey blazer and matching pants before I style my hair into soft waves. Swiping on a quick layer of makeup I look myself over in the mirror. It was only one week but I had gotten used to Emily being here so quickly. I miss her presence, her tender kisses and throaty laughter. No time to linger and be sad, I grab a granola bar, my go bag, and my keys before I head out the door.

As I walk into the bullpen at the BAU, I see Morgan who flashes his dimpled smile and points up to Hotch's office. "Hey Little Lady, Hotch wants to see you stat."

"Thanks Morgan." I swing by my desk to drop off my bag and head right up to Hotch's large office. I knock once before letting myself in to the office.

"Morgan said you'd like to see me, Sir?" I ask, taking the seat I have become accustomed to, nearest his desk.

Aaron puts the file he was reading to the side and smiles broadly. "Yes, Jade, I do need to see you. Good morning."

"Good morning, Sir. What's up?" I ask as I cross my legs and look at Hotch in his usual immaculate suit.

"We have a new case and I'd like you to read it over before we present it to the team." Aaron picks up a different file folder and passes it to me somberly.

Taking the file and opening it, I begin to read whatever terrible case is found inside. The case is in rural West Virginia, not too far from DC. Several small bombs have been going off, pipe bombs. No casualties yet, but the local constables and police invited us before it escalates to that point. I shake my head, can't we ever have a good Monday? An easy day at work? I finish reading the file and look at the few photos enclosed of the evidence. It doesn't mean much to me, but I can tell it is rather amateur. The bombs are homemade and pieced together from available materials.

Looking up to Hotch, I ask "Is this what most bombers start out as? Haphazard pieced together things?"

"I believe so, Jade. Reid and Morgan would likely know more, but to my knowledge, yes it is. Since it is relatively close to home and the local law enforcement doesn't have the best resources, you and Garcia are going to stay here. If we do need to make a media plea, you will be able to do that here as easily as in Berkeley and Morgan county constable offices." Hotch says, straightening his tie as is his custom, looking over to me.

"Right. Anything you want me to do here or just assist Garcia until you need a media piece?"

Hotch grins quickly before he shakes his head, standing from behind his desk. "No, Jade, just focus on helping Garcia with anything she needs, we should have everything else under control."

Following his lead, I stand as well and we walk out of his office. I head to round up the team and he goes directly to the conference room. Minutes later everyone is seated around the conference table, Garcia has the presentation loaded and Hotch and I are standing at the front ready to begin. Once everyone has put down their coffee and stopped their chatting, I begin to present the case.

"Seven pipe bombs?" Morgan asks, "How do they know its the same person?"

"They are all made of the same materials and they are placed in similar locations. Garcia, if you will pull up the photos of the pipe bomb fragments?" Hotch replies and Garcia complies with a few clicks of her remote before Hotch continues presenting the case. "So far there have been no casualties, not even severe damages, but the local constables and police asked for our assistance before it escalates. It has only been 4 days, so they are worried it is going to ramp up to some big event."

"That's almost two a day. Have they identified the ignition source or chemical makeup?" Morgan asks, clearly in his element and honing on the most important details, getting ahead of Hotch.

"Yes, nearly two explosions a day. That is why it is imperative we leave before it escalates to harming human lives. As I was saying, there haven't been many damages, so we are likely looking at an amateur, someone who has pent up anger but doesn't know what they are doing. So far it has been in our favor, but if this amateur makes too big of a change, their next explosive might be deadly, might even be catastrophic." Hotch continues, clearly annoyed at being cut off in the middle of his presentation, even if it is a good, relevant question.

"It is in rural West Virginia, they don't have the best technology or service, so Garcia and I will be staying here in the BAU to assist you remotely. They are getting satellite phones ready in case it is needed for proper communications." I continue, trying to reign in the tempers and bring the attention back to the case.

Hotch seems to notice he was not behaving like the team leader, and he nods his head ever so slightly before wrapping up the presentation and handing out case files, "You heard Jade. Head to the gear vault to pick up the satellite phones and meet in the car park in 30."

Garcia and I stay behind, tidying up the conference room before we head to her technological lair. She sits at her desk, typing into a few databases and pulling her satellite phone out from a desk drawer as we chat, awaiting contact from the team.

"So, how's it going with your girlfriend?" Garcia asks as we snack on macarons she brought in from a local bakery this morning.

"It's going great, actually. She spent the night a few times over the last two weeks!" I gush, being careful just what details I reveal to Garcia. I want to tell her everything, but since Em isn't out to the team, we decided to keep it quiet for now. I hate having to lie to the team, especially my good friend Garcia, but for the time being it works best. I won't lie to her, I decided, but I definitely have to be careful how I speak.

"OOOH!" Garcia gushes, lighting up and smiling. "She spent the night a few times? Consecutive nights or were there a few nights in between? Did she leave things at your place? Have you spent the night at her place?" Garcia asks rapid-fire questions before I get a chance to answer any, she already launched the next question.

"Yes, a few. Consecutive, I guess you'd say that. I haven't spent the night at her place, its not, uh, not very convenient to get there. I will sometime, I bet, but it just hasn't happened to work out yet. She didn't leave anything at my place, I don't think. Did I answer all your questions?" I reply, smiling as I pop another tasty macaron in my mouth.

"Hmm that's good. When will we get to meet her? Or aren't you out-out yet? Is it weird that I'm asking so much? I hope I'm not prying too much. Where did you meet?" Garcia asks as she types some things into her computer related to the case.

"I have no idea how to answer that. I'm not specifically in the closet, I just haven't explicitly stated I'm bisexual to my family. It isn't weird at all. We actually met, um, through a friend." I answer carefully. I'm not ready to reveal every detail and I can't betray Emily's trust. "What about you, any hunks in your life?" I ask, trying to divert some of the attention off myself before I reveal too much or say something that reveals something too specific about Em.

"Honey, the only hunk to ever give me attention is the super fine Derek Morgan, but I am seeing a good guy, Sam. We are getting together for coffee tonight, actually. Would you and your girlfriend want to come with?" Garcia rattles off, inviting me and Em.

"What does Sam do? How long have you been together? No, Em is out of town this week, she and I will not be able to double date with you two." I reply, honestly glad that she is back in London so I don't have to lie about why we can't double date.

"Em? Awe that is a great name! Em and Jade. Jade and Em. Cute. I'm sorry if I was sounding pushy about inviting her to double date with us. Of course you want to take it slow and want some privacy in your romantic life. Sam works in DC as a consultant. We've been together for about a year and a half now. He is fantastic in every way." Garcia replies and of course she caught my slip up of giving the name away. At least I used her nickname and not her unusual last name, Prentiss.

"Sam sounds perfect for you! Maybe sometime soon you can introduce him to Em and I." I reply. He does seem like a great guy for Garcia and I do hope to meet him soon.

Just as Garcia is about to reply her normal desk phone rings and it is a call from "the super fine" Derek Morgan.

"1-900-Steamy. Penelope Garcia speaking, how may I tickle your fancy?" Garcia answers the phone on the second ring, putting it on speaker, using the most sultry voice I have ever heard from her.

I press my hand over my mouth to stifle my giggle and she wiggles her eyebrows as Morgan responds "How do you come up with those, baby girl? Anyway, we need to find if anyone in the area has been buying items to make the IEDs."

"They just come to me, Hot Chocolate. So what am I looking for? TNT, nitroglycerin, little red detonator boxes?" She opens several tabs on her computer and starts typing at lightening speed as she listens to Dereks instructions.

"No, baby girl, nothing that obvious or cartoon-ish. I need you looking for chlorate, chlorine, maybe nitrates as well. Anything along those lines, in large quantities." Morgan explains over the phone line.

"Anything else I can do while I have you on the line?" Garcia asks, returning to the sultry voice and I have to stifle laughter once again. I don't want to interrupt their conversation.

"No, baby girl, you know I wait for the weekends for those types of calls." He replies, warm laughter in his voice as he disconnects the phone.

"Do you always tease him like that?" I ask, finally giggling at the wildly inappropriate conversation I just witnessed between my coworkers.

"Oh, believe me, sometimes its worse" Garcia admits as she starts typing frantically in her many databases. "One time I answered a call from Strauss that way and then we had sexual conduct presentations for a month after that."

"Anything I can do to help? I can bring my laptop over and start searching for...uh...whatever you tell me to" I offer as I watch her work.

"No, honey, I've got things handled right now. But if you want to feel useful go get us more lattes. I'm going to need to be fully caffeinated to do my best work for the team." Garcia instructs me with a smile.

I stand up and gather our mugs to get more lattes from the kitchenette in the corner of the bullpen. Looking around, the office is empty and almost eerie at this time of morning. Normally there are people milling about or sitting at their desks filling paperwork, it doesn't seem right to be completely empty. I wonder if it seems odd to Garcia when we are all actually here and filling the office. As the delicious drinks are brewing, I pull out my phone and see I received a message from Em. I open it and I'm glad Garcia is not right beside me as Em had sent me a rather risque text, saying just what she was thinking on her way home from work at Interpol: "Can't wait to feel you between my legs again"

"Lonely over there? No pretty babes with British accents to distract you?" I reply, smiling at my phone.

"None anywhere near as beautiful and captivating as you, Princess. It is a sea of mousy brown hair and bad teeth over here. I miss your pretty little mouth. Feeling it rove over my body and in between"

"Em! I happen to be at work. Just Garcia and I at the BAU today. I'll call the instant I'm in the car" I reply, putting my phone back in my pocket. I feel my cheeks flushing just from reading the texts from Em. She is great but she toes the line between appropriate and risque all the time. I should know better than to open a text from her while at work.

By now the lattes are brewed, their rich aroma filling the empty bullpen, I fill our mugs and return to Garcia's tech lair. My eyes adjusted to the darkness again rather quickly as I place her mug on the pink and white crocheted coaster to the side of her computers and keyboards.

"So what did I miss?" I ask, sitting back into my chair and taking a sip of my fresh vanilla latte.

"Nothing important, just me narrowing down which of the people are buying pool chemicals, fertilizer or both. I wonder if Morgan knows what kind of wild goose chase he has me on. Everyone in the area seems to have bought chlorine, chlorate or nitrates."

I think for a minute before replying "Well, has anyone bought all three? Maybe that is the way to go, someone buying all the chemicals might be the one they're looking for?"

"Genius! They say Reid and I are the geniuses of the BAU, but it is you, honey! Lets see...that leaves us with 5 people. Bingo!" Garcia answers enthusiastically. She presses the speed-dial on her phone and we hear it ring once. Twice.

"Tell me you got something. You're on speaker, Garcia." Morgan answers the phone without a hello or other greeting.

"You too, Hot Chocolate. I have the best, most impetuous news! There are five, count 'em, five people in Berkeley and Morgan counties who have purchased chlorate, chlorine and nitrates in the last month."

"I love you, baby girl. Send the team their details." Morgan replies with his teasing tone.

"You think I haven't already sent their names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card information to each of your cells?" Garcia replies wittily.

"Remind me to get you a kick-ass birthday present." Morgan states, laughter still found in his tone of voice.

"Don't you always?" Garcia replies as she hangs up the phone this time. "And now we wait some more."

"Tell me more about Sam" I ask as I swivel around and round on the desk chair.

"Where to begin. He is classically handsome, but not drop dead gorgeous. Brown hair, light eyes, permanent stubble. A great smile and phenomenal rhythm. He can play ukulele better than anyone I know, even our instructor."

"Ukulele? Instructor?" I ask, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I had begun to bring my mug to my mouth for another sip, but my arm froze about halfway there.

"Yes. You heard me right, ukulele. Sam and I take a class, its two nights a month at the arts center near my place. It is so fun! The instructor, Miss Kapua, is this tiny little Hawaiian woman, I swear she is 150 years old. She usually brings us traditional treats to enjoy after the lessons."

"That is so totally cool! I have absolutely no musical talent, aside from the occasional shower-singing, but it sounds like a super fun hobby. Do you have your own or do you rent from the instructor?" I ask. I had no idea Penelope Garcia played ukulele. I guess we all have our own secrets at the BAU.

"I have my own. I'm not the best, but I have mastered a few songs." Garcia admits, smiling. I can tell it is a hobby she enjoys very much.

More chatting and girl-talk as we wait for more guidance from the team. I make us 2 more cups of coffee as we chat about anything and everything, except Emily Prentiss. Not much happens, around 4 we clean up her office, throw out the empty macaron box and head home.

"Hello Em." True to my word, I dial her number the instant I closed my car door this afternoon.

"Hello Princess. Long day?" She asks, voice a soft purr in my ear that has my toes curling despite the distance between Emily and I.

I take a deep, steadying breath before replying, "you have no idea. Garcia and Morgan have the strangest relationship. Have they ever slept together?" I muse as I pull out of the lot and head to the beltway and make my way home.

"Not that I'm aware of, they just have the most sexual-innuendo filled friendship I have ever witnessed. Enough about them, tell me about your day. What are you up to?" Emily prods, interested more in my day than theirs.

"You know. I'm driving home right now." I reply, focused on traffic.

"So it would be a bad time to talk about how wet I am just hearing your voice? I've been thinking about you nonstop all evening..." Em trails off, breath catching, making me blush just imagining what was going on in her London home.

"It would be a terrible time, yes. I miss you, Em. Are you going to be in America anytime soon?" I reply, trying to give no space to those indecent thoughts trying to intrude my mind.

"Princess, you know I miss you too. At the moment none of our cases have anything to do with the States and I don't have any proper holiday time. You should come see me. I'd love to give you a tour of London." Em purrs over the phone line and I have to concentrate extra hard on staying in my lane.

"Is 'a tour of London' what British people call vigorous sex? Because it sounds like you are only focused on driving me insane with that tone of voice." I manage to get out as I pull into my parking spot.

"I can't help it if you find my voice seductive, Princess. Drive safe and have a good night. It's late here and I need to get at least a few hours of sleep."

"Good Night Emily. Sweet dreams of me" I tell her good night and head into my apartment trying to focus on making dinner.

Early the next morning Garcia and I reconvene in her tech lair and I brought donuts as well as lattes for us to enjoy as it looks like another long day of waiting to be useful. We chat casually as we enjoy our sugar rush. We giggle about different things and enjoy each others company.

Too soon, Hotch calls, asking for us to dig into one of the five guys Garcia found yesterday, Calvin Davis. Garcia types for a few minutes, frustrated. Her brow furrows and her fingers strike the keys more vigorously until she is practically pounding them through her desk. She is coming up blank. There is nothing other than the credit cards related to the purchases. He has a real address listed with a real phone number. But that is it. No car, no driver license, no social media, no work history, no marriage records. Not even hospital records going back to his birth. Nothing to help the team find him. I encourage her to dig deeper, to believe in herself, her immeasurable tech prowess.

Ten minutes and many forceful and frustrated keystrokes later, Garcia finds something. A small something, but a detail about Calvin Davis that we previously did not know. He graduated high school in 1982. Beyond that, we could find nothing. Garcia sends the information to the team along with letting them know we are going to continue digging up everything on Calvin Davis.

Still frustrated, Garcia decides to use Google maps to view the house, which leads us to discover it is behind a much larger house, on a decent sized farm. The houses and the farm are all owned by a woman about his age. We dig into HER background. Odd. She has 3 children in their 20's and 30's, but no marriage certificate or any father listed on the childrens' birth certificates.

About 45 minutes after the first call, we call Hotch back, relaying all the information. Hotch thanks us and asks if we can get warrants for both Calvin and the woman who owns the house and farm. Garcia, amazing as she is, is already on it, we promise we will call back and send the warrants the instant they go through. Hotch thanks us for our hard work and hangs up the phone.

Garcia and I keep digging on Calvin Davis and the woman, Beth Houpt, we are amazed that there really isn't any info available for not just one but two grown adults.

At one point Garcia says "I understand that there is a lot of distrust of 'the government' and 'the man' in rural West Virginia, but to keep absolutely everything offline and out of any and all databases is still unheard of. I can find anything. I created the art of digging up the undiggable."

"No one is perfect, Garcia. You are the best, but you are still human. C'mere" I say, giving her a hug. "You will find something even if we have to look under every stone in the entire state of West Virginia. Metaphorically."

"Thanks honey. You are so sweet. I'll have to talk to Hotch about making you a permanent fixture in my office. Days go so much better when you're here to chat with and keep me company."

"I'd like that. I certainly like working in here much better than walking up on wood chipped bodies and removed heads." I reply with a shudder at the memory.

"Great! As soon as the team returns I'll be sure to tell him." Garcia smiles and selects another donut from the box.

The day passes slowly as we wait for another call from the team, but nothing comes. Garcia keeps checking various databases and online records, looking for more information on Davis and Houpt. Surprisingly, no matter what angle she takes, there is no new information to be found on these people. At five, when no further calls come in from the team, we decide to head out to happy hour.

Finishing a bottle of wine and a delicious burger, Garcia feels much better about our day. We sit and enjoy the music at the bar for a bit longer before we head our separate ways.

"Hey, be sure to relax tonight. You're still the best there is, Garcia! Tomorrow we will find the missing detail, after you sleep on it and get re-inspired." I tell her in the parking lot.

"Thanks, Jade. You are the best source of inspiration. You have a good night too. I need my muse to be well rested too."

I laugh before we exchange good nights and I head home. I take a long relaxing shower once I get home. All relaxed and cozy, I grab my book and mug of tea and head to bed to read for an hour or two before I get tired.

The next two days are much of the same. Garcia and I bring various goodies in to her office, we chat as she tries to dig up information on our reclusive UNSUBs. Wednesday and Thursday we decide to eat our lunch outside since it is absolutely perfect weather, sunny and mild. We talk more about the job and how this is how it is when she stays behind and the team is out of town for a week or more at a time. How lonely it is and how she really enjoys being able to talk to me and spend time with another human rather than just engaging virtually or over the phone. I do wish Hotch decides to keep me in the office for more cases, Garcia is such a nice, genuine person, she deserves to have company as much as the rest of the team.

Speaking of which, the team reports back to us several times, on Wednesday afternoon the blue post office box outside the county library explodes, scratching two teenagers who were riding past on their bikes. Morgan is furious about this, and the rest of the team is feeling strained, the UNSUBs are continuing to act right under their noses. I ask if it would help for me to make a media report or ask for information on Calvin Davis and Beth Houpt, but Hotch insists the attention is what helps fuel this type of UNSUB, so he doesn't want me to try anything yet.

So we wait. And talk. And eat goodies.

Finally, late Thursday night, we get the call. Morgan and Rossi located the UNSUBs in a hidden basement of Houpt's home, making a successful arrest. They get all the evidence they need as well as full confessions and head home in time to meet Garcia and I at the bar for celebratory drinks. The whole team shows up and I think this is the first time we are all together outside of working a case since I started my internship.

"Everyone! I'm so glad you could all make it!" I announce as they order their first round of drinks. "I think this is the first time everyone has hung out since I started!" I happily exclaim, raising my drink to the center of the table.

Garcia raises hers to clink our glasses and makes a small toast "Cheers to us!"

"Hear, hear!" Morgan says as he slides into the seat next to Garcia and the rest of the team responds in kind as they wait for their drinks to arrive, filling in the large table we had saved.

We drink and chat animatedly, Morgan and Rossi tell the full tale of how they found the UNSUBs in the hidden basement, each of them trying to claim all the glory for themselves, making Blake and Hotch roll their eyes. They explain to Garcia and I that the entire ride back from West Virginia those two were fighting about whose idea it was to check in that area 'one more time' and who found the hatch to the hidden basement. Changing the subject, ever graceful and tactful JJ tells us about how dingy the hotel was and how lucky I am to not have to subject myself to those condemn-able conditions. I smile at that, imagining how rough it could be, and then offer my condolences to JJ and Blake for having to tough it out.

"Hey, we had to stay in that crummy hotel too!" Reid pipes up as he takes a long sip from his Long Island Iced Tea.

"Yes, but you are boys, you like to live in dirt and filth and all that garbage." I say and everyone laughs to that.

"I did have a great time staying back with Garcia, I got to see how things go behind the scenes. She really is a miracle worker. The things Penelope Garcia can do with a computer, woo boy." I say, looking over to my dear friend and I see her looking at me too and she gives me a smile and nod.

"By the way, Boss, that had me thinking." Garcia says and Morgan looks alarmed, giving her a goofy face and she playfully pushes him away before continuing talking to Hotch, "I was thinking. If at all possible, could you reassign Jade to working in my office with me? I get so lonely when all my lovely friends go away all week. I need someone in the office, keeping me sane, giving me great ideas, being my muse."

Aaron, who managed to be sitting beside me, looks between Garcia and myself a moment and we both give him our best most earnest and angelic smiles.

"Come on Aaron, Sir, don't make me beg" Garcia continues when he doesn't look like he is going to say anything at all on the matter.

"Aaron, you said it yourself, I can make a media report from the BAU just as easily as I can from the local police departments..." I hedge, looking my boss in the eye. He finally meets my gaze, staring carefully at me, as if there are things he'd like to say but won't in front of the rest of the team.

"Girls, I should have known leaving you alone in the BAU for a week would be a bad idea. Leave two women alone for a week and they come up with a plan to 'improve' everything. I'll have to think about it and discuss it with Cruz. It really isn't my decision to make" Aaron finally replies carefully, taking another long sip from his bourbon.

"YES!" Garcia and I cheer, finishing our glasses of wine and getting up and heading over to the bar to order another round for the table as well as some appetizers to snack on.

The fun and carefree conversations, drinking and general revelry continue until midnight when Aaron stands up and declares it is time to go home.

"It is only a Thursday night, after all. I expect everyone in the office on time tomorrow." He says, standing and putting his suit jacket back on.

"Ugh, do we have to, Dad?" JJ jokes from her side of the table, smiling as she pulls out her wallet to settle her tab.

"Come on, Hotch, we just finished a big case. Let us have a few hours reprieve." Morgan joins in, dimples flashing.

"Morgan if you want to go home and romance Savannah after drinking with us, that is up to you. I still expect to see you at 7." Hotch replies with a wink, "I mean it. It is good to relax and unwind, but we do have work to do tomorrow. Have a great night and get home safely everyone." He says as he walks out of the bar.

All joking aside, it is late and we all realize it. Indeed, we do settle our tabs and head to the parking lot to say our goodbyes. We share one last hug and say good night, knowing we will all see each other in a few short hours at work.

"I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate." George Burns