Alex pulled up in front of Rossi's house, and the three of them exited the vehicle. Rossi greeted them at the door, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek, with Alex receiving two. They followed him to the kitchen, where an extensive buffet was laid out. A bartender was at a table in the corner pouring Mimosas and Bloody Mary's.

"Wow," Alex said in awe.

"Well, I figured we all deserved to have a whizz-bang of a brunch after all we have been through," Rossi said. "And it's time for the piece de resistance," Rossi said rather loudly.

"Is it time?" Garcia called back from around the corner.

"Yeah," Rossi said, exasperated. "That is what I said."

Garcia and Prentiss stepped out, each carrying one end of a platter. Alex grabbed Roman's arm and sat him down at the table where the platter was presented to him. Garcia grinned before him, about to burst. "We made you a traditional English breakfast!"

"Complete with all the nasty things you love," Alex said with a snicker. "Beans for your toast, black pudding, even some fried tomatoes," Alex said with an English pronunciation.

"Wow, this is bloody brilliant!" Roman exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

Alex then grabbed onto Charles, who was standing in the corner, and seated him down. "And for you, we have a special treat."

Reid and Hugh came out from the other room carrying a large hot plate and put it down on the table. "Chocolate chip pancakes with bananas," Reid said.

Charles looked up to them expectantly.

"No, we didn't forget." Hugh grinned and pulled out a can of whipped cream and covered the pancakes with the frothy cream topping.

"Wait, wait, wait," Reid said as he put a maraschino cherry on the peak.

"Please, everyone, help yourselves," Rossi announced.

Alex held her plate in her hand as she examined the display of the food in front of her. "Where are these from?" she asked, pointing to the box of pastries.

"Oh, I found this adorable bakery that makes all sorts of delicious things," Garcia said excitedly. "Try one."

Alex picked up one of the filled donuts, scooped a spoonful of melons onto her plate, then some bacon and eggs. She seated herself at the table as everyone else did and began to eat. She took a bite of the donut, then, after a moment, she stopped chewing and spit it into her napkin.

"What's wrong?" Garcia asked, causing everyone to look at them.

"I thought it was raspberry," Alex said, then rushed out of the room.

"What's going on?" Reid asked.

Garcia tasted the dark red filling. "Oh, no, it's strawberry." She got up from the table and followed after Alex.

"Am I missing something?" Reid looked at them. "Alex has never had a problem with strawberries."

"Are you seriously telling me that you don't know?" Morgan asked, stifling a laugh.

"Of course, he doesn't know," Prentiss said.

"Are we surprised?" JJ added.

"He has always had a blind spot when it came to her," Charles said.

"What on earth are you all talking about?" Reid asked.

Hugh turned toward Reid. "Have you noticed anything different about Alex lately?"

"I could see it the first moment I saw her," Charles said. "Haven't you noticed that her eyes changed colors?"

"I certainly did," Rossi said.

"Her eyes have not changed color," Reid said defiantly.

Hugh smirked. "Have you really not noticed?"

Alex and Garcia returned to the table with all eyes on them. Reid stood up and went to her. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Alex started, tentatively. "I just can't eat strawberries right now."

"Why not?"

"They don't agree with the baby."

"What, baby?" Reid asked.

"Our baby."

"Our baby?" he questioned. "Our baby!" he shouted with understanding. "What? Are you serious? Are you okay?" He continued to ask a million questions as he escorted her back to her seat while everyone else chuckled.

"I say this deserves a toast," JJ announced as she raised her glass. "To new family," she looked to Roman, "to resurrected family," looked to Charles, "and to expected family," she beamed as she looked at Alex and Reid.

"To family," everyone said, joining and clinking glasses before drinking.

Rossi stood up. "Thank you, everyone, for coming today. And for those who have been staying at Casa de Rossi, I hope you enjoyed your visit because you are no longer welcome," he said with a laugh. "I am glad that we are all together and that we are all safe. Salute!"


Sometime later, when everyone had their fill and began cleaning up their dishes, Rossi pulled aside Charles. He handed over a sealed envelope. "What's this?" Charles asked as he took it.

"When you came here, and we were unsure of your safety, I had your wife and children moved to a secure location. All the details are in there, and Hugh said he would be happy to escort you back to Sondra."

Charles stared at the paper in his hand, unsure of how to process the feelings welling up inside of him. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Rossi said as he patted Charles on the shoulder. "I'm glad I was able to help." Charles threw his arms around Rossi and held onto him tightly. "Okay, okay," Rossi said. "You're welcome."

Hotch approached Alex and Reid, sitting together on the sofa in the living room, and seated himself on the chair adjacent to them. "So, what are you guys going to do now?"

Alex turned to Reid with her mouth open, then back to Hotch. "I'm not exactly sure yet. I won't be able to be in the field much longer, and I was thinking of a possible career change."

"You planning on leaving the CIA?" Hotch questioned.

"I don't think it would be that drastic. I am not sure. Spencer and I have a lot to talk about."

"Well, if there is anything you ever need from me, please let me know."

"I will hold you to that," Alex smirked.

"A years' worth of leave would be appreciated," Reid quipped.

"Don't push your luck," Hotch returned.

Everyone looked up as the doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" Morgan asked. "Everyone we know is here."

"I got it," Garcia announced as she scampered toward the door. She opened the door and her jovial expression faded into instant disgust. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" she asked as she crossed her arms.

Rossi was quick to push her away to see a familiar face. "Officer Kiefer, how can I help you?"

"I need to speak with Alex Marcus, and my sources say she's here."

"I don't feel comfortable with the fact that you appear to have people spying on her whereabouts and the fact that they know that she is in my home," Rossi said coldly.

"I need to see her. Please," she said the last word through gritted teeth.

Alex stood behind Rossi, where she put her hand on his shoulder, "it's okay," she said to him. Alex stepped out onto the porch and shut the door. "How can I help you?"

"I wanted to let you know that we have closed the case regarding any of the Cortez Cartel's involvement in trying to apprehend Charles Sullivan and any attempts there were on his life or yours."

"Thank you for letting me know," Alex said as she started to turn toward the door.

"I'm not finished," Kiefer said. "The gang on the motorcycles that came after you were not sent by Cortez."

"What?" Alex asked, a bit baffled.

"We have confirmed that they were not Cortez's men. But we do not know who sent them or why. I told you before that you need to watch yourself." Kiefer took a step back. "Now, I can see you are in the middle of something. I will let you go." She started walking down the path toward the car. "Be careful," Kiefer called out in an off-hand way that sent a chill down Alex's spine.

Alex let out the deep breath she had been holding and went back inside, where she was met by Reid, who was waiting for an update. She quickly relayed the message from Kiefer to Reid and Rossi.

"I was going to wait until I had more information, but I think I should tell you now," Rossi said.

"What?" Reid questioned.

"My friend, Major Grant, was looking into a few things with Charles and the possibility of a mole in the CIA."

"What did he find?" Alex asked.

"It's more about what he didn't find. A lot of the files on your team's missions were scrubbed. There is no trace of them. A lot of information has been deleted."

"Someone's trying to hide something," Reid said.

"And it's up to us to figure it out," Alex added.


There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.

—Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey.


A few months later…

"Why did we come here again?" Reid asked.

"We were following a lead," Charles replied.

"A lead in which you found," Reid said.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That it's your fault."

"What? You're going to blame me for this?"

"Yes, I am going to blame you. It is your fault that we went to England, following the lead to Kent, and now look where we are," Reid huffed.

"But look at that view," Charles said pleasantly. "You know people come from all over to the world to visit the White Cliffs of Dover."

"But I don't think they have the same kind of experience that we are having right now," Reid said with a sigh.

Charles looked down to the waves crashing against the rocks, then back to his hands, desperately clinging to the rocks of the precipice. "How far down do you think it is?"

Reid looked down, then pushed up with his foot while his fingers were getting a tighter grip on the tiny ledge above his head. "At least three hundred feet."

An awkward silence rang out loudly between them as the wind rushed by and chilled their already straining bodies.

Charles glanced back down to the bottom of the cliff then turned to Reid. "Holy cliffhanger, Batman!" Charles exclaimed.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" Reid closed his eyes in frustration.

"You must admit it would have been a missed opportunity if I didn't."


Thank you as always for reading!

Yes... another one is already in the works.