"All these rooms are for us?" Lynn gasped as she looked around the hotel suite in amazement. "We don't need all this room! And, what are those?" she pointed at one of the many fruit and gift baskets which were scattered around the living area.
"The Bureau has given you a housing allowance," Cruz explained to Hotch. "And Rossi decided to supplement it."
"It was the least I could do," Rossi added modestly. "Consider it my Welcome Home gift." He smiled at the small family.
"Thank you, Dave, but – " Hotch began and then hesitated. "Thank you so very much," he concluded as he walked over to exchange hugs with the Italian. "It means a lot to me."
"My pleasure," Rossi replied with a smile. "We have to take care of the wife and kiddos now, don't we?"
"Now, Aaron, you have an appointment tomorrow morning at The Bureau." Cruz fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Hotch. "They will go over what financial arrangements have been made for you as well as reviewing the possibility of your returning to work – Assuming you want to come back, of course. Your debriefing will probably come at a later date."
"Thanks," Hotch accepted the paper. "I did wonder about how I was going to handle things once we got back. I assume my bank accounts are still available but I have no ID of any sort to access them."
"That will all be handled tomorrow morning," Cruz assured him.
"And now," he smiled at the group. "If you will excuse me, I need to get back to work. Good to see you back, Aaron." After a quick handshake, he walked out of the suite.
"The baskets are gifts from several sources and they are all for you," JJ explained to Lynn. "That one there – " she pointed at a particularly colorful one, "Is from us. And I believe another is from Trans-Caribbean Development Corporation."
"This one is from Jack Garrett's team," Garcia looked up from examining a gift tag. "And the flower arrangement and hors d'oeuvres tray over there is from the hotel as a Welcoming gift."
"While this one," Reid was also examining gift tags, "Is from The Hotchner Family Trust." He gave Hotch a quizzical look.
"My family," Hotch told him happily. "My very extended family."
"Now, about Jessica," Morgan began.
"We didn't want to say anything, but about a year ago she started acting a little strange," Lewis continued. "Pulling away from us and restricting our access to Jack."
"She even started cancelling his play dates with Henry," JJ added.
"We thought she was just going through a period of mourning," Reid explained. "Her father had recently died and with you still missing she was under a lot of stress."
"We honestly thought she would get over it," Garcia said. "But it doesn't look like she did."
"I suspect the best way to handle it is to go over and confront her," Hotch decided. "But, first, I believe some food is in order." He smiled at Lynn and Jacob.
"Lunch!" Jacob announced excitedly as he began jumping around the suite.
"Which I have every reason to believe is on its way up," JJ told them as she glanced at the screen of her cell phone. "Will just texted me that he and the boys are getting on the elevator with food for everyone."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Exactly how tall is this hotel?" Will exclaimed when Rossi opened the door to the suite for him and his two sons.
"We just kept going up and up and up," Michael exclaimed excitedly.
"Hi Uncle Spencer!" he thrilled when he noticed his godfather at the far side of the room.
"Where would you like this?" Henry indicated the tray of food he was carrying. "And, Hi Uncle Spencer!"
"Why don't you put everything on this side table while we move some of the gift baskets out of the way?" Garcia suggested as she started to clear space.
"What did you bring us?" JJ asked.
"Chicken in several forms – Nuggets for the kids with sandwiches, wraps, and fries for the adults," Will replied before kissing his wife. "Along with several salads as well as drinks."
"I also dug out some of the boys' old clothes and toys the way you asked me to," he added as he glanced over at Jacob. "I think I got the size right."
"Lynn, this is my husband, Will," JJ told the young woman. "And my boys, Henry and Michael. I hope you don't mind, but I had him bring some of the boys' old stuff over for Jacob. His clothes aren't exactly suited for the fall weather here in Quantico and I suspect it's going to be a while before you can get out and do some shopping. I also had him bring some toys to help keep him occupied."
"My old building blocks!" Michael interrupted excitedly. "Uncle Spencer can help us make some tall buildings with them – Right Uncle Spencer?"
"I sure can," Reid smiled fondly at the boy. "And I'll bet Jacob will be a big help to us with that."
"Your name is Jacob?" Henry asked the thunder stuck boy who was standing next to Reid.
"Yes," he replied. "I used to be 765 but my mom and Aaron changed it."
"You used to be a number?" Michael wrinkled up his nose. "That's weird."
"Well, I'm Henry and this is my brother, Michael," Henry spoke up. "And you know Uncle Spencer, of course. Do you like to build?"
The three boys moved off to a corner of the room where they promptly dumped a pile of building blocks on the floor.
"Thank you, Will," Lynn smiled at the man. "It is a little chillier here than we are used to and the clothes will come in handy. And, it looks like the boys are already enjoying the toys."
"My pleasure," Will assured her.
"Good to see you back, Arron," he moved on to speak with the agent. "And, I must say, you are looking good. Life in the penthouse must agree with you." He grinned at him before the two men hugged and then slapped each other on the back.
"It's good to be back," Hotch assured him. "And, we have Rossi to thank for the accommodations. Left to The Bureau, I am certain our housing would have been much more modest."
"Only the best for my friends," Rossi spoke up as he joined the two men. "Especially when they are newly returned from the great beyond."
"Can we eat now?" the plaint arose from the boys' corner. "We are hungry!"