AN/ A special thanks goes out to my good pal SSBAILEY who let me bounce some ideas off her.

Emily laughed slightly as the words she had been expecting were not said. Seeing JJ's serious look, she shook herself back to reality. "Wait, what?"

"I've been transfered." JJ restated, as though trying to convince herself. "To the Oregon Field Office. I have to report to work in two weeks."

"There must be some mistake, I didn't approve a transfer out of this unit--" Hotch began as JJ's cell phone rang again.

Answering the call, the group could easily hear a frantic Penelope Garcia on the other line "I don't know how this happened!" She screamed.

JJ smiled at the group, all of them in shock, and placed her phone on speaker.

"Garcia, can you explain this mama?" Morgan asked quickly.

"I...No." Garcia was on the verge of tears as she looked for any way that this could possibly be a mistake. "Strauss hand delivered the order herself. Jayje has been specifically requested. It didn't even enter the system until a minute ago."

"Garcia, it's okay. Really. Transfers happen." JJ tried to assure them all. Sure it was surprising, but it wasn't unheard of.

"Not in my unit they don't" Rossi said gruffly, unwilling to allow one of the finest profilers he had ever worked with to move half-way across the country.

"Did you put in for a transfer?" Hotch asked, trying to make sense of what was happening and attempting to ignore the growing pit in his stomach at the thought of JJ moving across the country.

"No."

"Then something must have changed." Morgan mused, trying to figure out why the bureau would possibly move JJ so far away.

Suddenly, Emily slugged Rossi's arm "This is all your fault!" She insisted, "If you hadn't pushed her to get the certification, she wouldn't be transfered." Emily could feel her own tears starting to well up. JJ had been the first person to accept her, a real genuine friend.

"You're the one who signed off on her profile!" Rossi retorted angrily, then looked around sheepishly.

Hotch's face remained impassive, though the gears were turning in his head.

"Wait, JJ, are you taking the profiling classes?" Morgan asked as he finally pieced together JJ's secret.

"Took, and passed." Reid corrected him.

"And whose fault is that!" Garcia shouted over the receiver, siding with Emily. While deep down the women knew it wasn't his fault, it was nice to have a scapegoat. He'd pushed JJ through it, and now, JJ was going to be rocking a raincoat for the rest of her life.

"She took it on her own free will!" Rossi defended, not knowing how this entire thing became his fault. Morgan congratulated JJ while the others continued their argument.

"Oh, you'd like to think that!" Emily shot back furiously.

JJ couldn't take it anymore. "Emily, Garcia, it really isn't his fault. It's nobody's, but the fact remains that I'm getting transferred." JJ said, hoping to dissolve the tension. "Its life in the FBI, you've got to be prepared to be transferred in a moment's notice." JJ gave a tentative smile, waiting for it to be returned.

"Yeah, I was prepared for you to transfer to Counter-Terrorism, Missing Persons maybe, but you are going to OREGON!" Garcia shouted. "What even is in Oregon? The only thing I know about Oregon is the stupid computer game that I played when I was a kid."

"The Oregon Trail game?" Reid asked excitedly. "I used to play that too! We..." Reid stopped when he saw the glares he was getting from his colleagues. This was one of those times Morgan warned him about, where his expertise and personal anecdotes were far from welcome.

"What do they neede a media liaison for in Oregon?" Rossi spat angrily.

"I'm uh--I'm not going to be a media liaison anymore, though I've been informed that I'll probably have to do that job too until they can find more people." JJ said delicately.

"So what is your assignment?" Morgan asked.

"I'm the profiling coordinator." JJ smiled slightly at the sound. "It's a promotion--"

"Three thousand miles away!" Garcia was slightly freaking out, her best friend was leaving!

"It's not so bad...." JJ started, then stopped at the looks of those that she had come close with "Okay, it is bad, but it's not the end of the world."

Hotch spoke for the first time in what felt like hours. "Congratulations JJ, I'm sure you'll do great work in Oregon." Hotch said, masking all emotion. He left the precinct quickly, not waiting for JJ's response.

JJ stood still for a moment, oblivious to the world around her, feeling more than slightly rejected. She wasn't sure about how she felt about her transfer; part of her was excited, she had gotten a promotion that would've been completely out of reach earlier. This was going to be a huge leap in her career. But she couldn't fight the sadness that had washed over her. She loved her team and she was moved that they were all so opposed to her leaving. Except Hotch. It hurt more than she was willing to admit that he wasn't going to fight for her.

JJ was an adult, she knew better than to expect her 'White Knight' to be riding in to save her, but it didn't stop her from wanting it. Cliche or not, she wanted Hotch to beg her not to leave, whether it be as a friend or something more. She wanted him to care, and not to be able to think of life without JJ. All she needed was a measly 'Hey JJ, I'll miss you.' and she didn't even get that. She was alright with him not feeling the same way she did, but wouldn't he miss her--at least as a friend?

She realized that the rest of the team was still there, watching her brood in silence. Something she had learned through her profiling classes was that you can't turn off being a profiler. They were all watching her and knew exactly what she was thinking and feeling. They all knew that she was reeling from Hotch's apparent disconcern. JJ didn't think she could take it anymore. "I think I left something in the conference room. I'm gonna go grab it." JJ muttered as the group scattered, letting her through. She knew it wasn't over, she would eventually have to talk more about the transfer with them. But for right now, all she wanted was to be alone.