A/n here's the next chapter everyone. Thanks again to all my reviewers and readers. I appreciate all your great feedback.

Disclaimer: Only the original characters are mine. No copyright infringement is intended.

Reid tapped on Garcia's door and walked in when she called out for him to enter. "Hey sweet boy… What brings you to my sanctuary?"

"I have a problem that needs your particular talents.

Garcia grinned up at him. "Challenge me… you handsome thing."

Reid took the second chair in the room. "Okay… so here's what I need you to do!"

He related the story Mrs. Warburton told him about Sleeping Pines, and the information he needed her to find for him.

"Why must you insist one giving me simple tasks," Garcia whined.

Reid only smiled at his friend, who was wearing her hair in pigtails. They were tied off with bright pink ribbons. Her glasses had dark red frames. Her dress was fluorescent pink and green, with bright pink and yellow daisies on the skirt. She wore leopard prints platform heels and her lipstick matched her glasses frames. As always, Reid felt a little under dressed when around his flamboyant friend. He watched her fingers fly over the keyboard as though she'd been born with a motherboard in her hands.

"Sorry Garcia, I really tried this time." He tried to sound contrite, but she just clucked her tongue at him disapprovingly.

"It's a good thing I enjoy your company sweet cheeks. Ok, Sleeping Pines…. It's a fairly new nursing home. It opened in 2004. So far they've kept their noses clean. Of course the rate of death is high due to the nature of the care center. They've had a couple of malpractice suits brought against a Dr. Lev Stevens, but nothing stuck. Again that's normal for an institution of this size.

They have a three full time doctors, several aides and nurses. There's the administration staff and janitorial. The nursing home has some of the most stringent background checks in the state. The man that runs the place is Dr. Walter Atkinson.

Dr. Atkinson was born in New Jersey in 1950. He went to Harvard Medical School. He was first in his class. He did his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, and had his own practice in Connecticut till his mother died in 2004 from Parkinson's related complications. He put up the money to build Sleeping Pines.

They have about seventy five residents at any one time. There haven't been any citations for health code violations, or safety violations. Isn't that a little unusual?"

Reid looked up from the screen to see his friend with raised eyebrows. "It's a private institution. It's not state run."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I've seen the inside of state institutions. Just trust me when I say that privately run sanitariums sometimes have higher standards."

Garcia glanced over sharply at her friends tone, but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were fixed on the computer screen and he was frowning.

"Alright sweet boy… I'll take your word for it." She said gently. "Ok… so moving on. Dr. Atkinson has had the usual malpractice suits brought against him. All of them were dismissed due to lack of evidence. It appears that they were brought by patients that felt he should have been a miracle worker in their cases.

The rest of the staff looks squeaky clean on the surface, but you know me. If there's anything to hide I'll find it for you!"

"Thanks Garcia… I'm going to go tackle some of the case files on my desk." Reid got to his feet and was halfway out the door when Garcia called him back.

"Hey… check this out!" She called over her shoulder.

He went back to the chair he'd just vacated and looked where Garcia was pointing excitedly at the screen in front of her.

"This is a little strange. Sleepy Pines has a standing advertisement on their website looking for pets… dogs and cats to visit the patients. Isn't that weird?"

"Actually there have been numerous studies done on the effects of petting a cat or a dog. It can lower your blood pressure, help to reduce stress, and -"

He was cut off by Garcia's hand over his mouth. "Ok… I get it… Is that why you adopted Leia?"

Reid moved Garcia's hand away from his mouth. "I didn't adopt her, she adopted me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll have to figure it out for yourself." He got up and left the office again while Garcia yelled back at him.

"Hey… You can't just leave me with an answer like that."

"Yes I can… I'm busy!" He called back.

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Reid rounded the corner and almost knocked JJ to the ground. The files in her arms began to slide from her arms to the floor. "Sorry JJ…" He said before she could react.

He knelt and began picking up the files she dropped. "Where were you going is such a hurry!" JJ inquired, bending down to help him retrieve the spilled files.

"Um… I was looking for you." He stood up with his arms full of files.

"You found me… What can I do for you?" she answered with a smile on her face, but her eyes looked haunted and tired.

"Ah… can we go talk in your office?" Reid asked her.

"Sure… you're being very mysterious!"

They headed back down the hallway to her office. She opened the door and as always, Reid was amazed at the case files that were always there waiting for her to look at them. It was no wonder she had lost her happy smile in the last months. Had they all been working this job too long?

"Just put those over there," She gestured at her desk.

He dropped then on the stack nearest to the edge of her deck and she added the ones she carried.

"Yeah… so I was wondering if -"

He almost fell when JJ jumped at him and kissed him soundly. Her arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him in close. Their tongues were battling each other before Spencer remembered they were in the office. He pulled away from her against the protests of his hormones.

"Ah JJ… Did you forget that we're at work? Garcia has eyes everywhere." He breathed, feeling very lightheaded from the scent of vanilla that always accompanied JJ wherever she went.

"Oh right… I keep forgetting about the security cameras. I've just missed you so much! We've been working non-stop for weeks. When we did get a weekend off, I had to go home for my cousins wedding. I'm never going to forgive you for weaseling out of that trip."

Reid went white faced. "Ah... JJ I told you I'm not ready to meet your family yet. I think we should just take it slow."

"I know… I agree with you. But you didn't have to endure the weekend with my aunt hounding me to go out with her next door neighbor's son, who happened to be in town for the weekend."

"Why didn't you… I trust you." Reid said magnanimously while perching on the edge of the chair across from her desk.

"Gee thanks… Dr. Reid. For you information, Walter is five ten, three hundred and fifty pounds, with a hairline that's receded all the way to the back of his neck. He's an accountant and dull as a bucket of mud."

"I never thought you were shallow JJ." Reid teased.

"I'm not… Walter happens to be twenty years older then me and divorced three times."

Reid winced at her tone, but he also wanted to laugh at her predicament. "I'm sorry… I promise I'11 go to the next family function you're invited to. After all, I wouldn't want to lose you to Walter." He laughed.

"That's very funny… I didn't know you were such a smart ass when we started going out. I might have said no."

It was her turn to laugh when Reid pouted. "You're just jealous that you don't have my sparkling wit and sense of fun."

"Right… You just keep fooling yourself Dr. Reid. Now was there a reason you wanted to talk to me or did you just come in here to distract me."

"What… oh yeah… I…" He swallowed very hard going crimson in the face. "Ah… JJ… will you marry me?"