Chapter 2

Matt looked around at the lunch Abbey and Stella were preparing, leaning against the kitchen island where Mac and Reed had taken seats. He was about to ask about their prep work, when he heard the garage door open. Wilma blew into the kitchen, barking excitedly. Matt looked at his wife. "Abbey?" he simply questioned.

Abbey smiled at her husband. "Aaron called; he and Jack want to spend time in the pool. I told them to come down for lunch." They both heard the rumblings of young feet and smiled at each other.

Matt pulled her into a hug, which Stella noticed and smiled at Mac. "Thanks babe."

Abbey matched her husband's hug. "I made a promise, remember; that night."

Matt pulled back, looked his wife in the eye, and simply nodded his head. "And I love you more for keeping it." Stella smiled at the two of them.

Abbey pulled out of the hug. "We mothers stick together," she said, rubbing her husband's chin.

Reed looked at Mac. "Later," Mac whispered.

The three boys blew into the kitchen, being the great friends that they were. Jack shared a huge hug with Abbey and Matt lifted him into his arms. Hotch walked in wearing the same ensemble as Matt, carrying Casee. After the introductions, they all settled around the table to have lunch. Colin, being his turn, led the group in prayer for the lunch.

The kids, laughing and giggling, put together their sandwiches with the turkey, ham and cheeses, along with the bread that Abbey and Stella had prepared. Colin looked at Hotch. "Uncle Aaron, I need some mayo on my samwich." He looked at his plate. "And more chips." Hotch smiled as he knifed on the spread and added the chips as Mac and Stella beamed at the kids. Stella was helping Casee. Abbey rubbed Reed's back. "Welcome to being part of a big family," she smiled.

Reed looked at her with a question in his eyes. Abbey just smiled.

Stella looked at Jack and Cam. "You guys OK?" Her answer was them diving into their sandwiches, chips, pickles and fruit. The adults made their own sandwiches as well. Colin and Jack both snuck a chip to Wilma. Matt scowled at them. Jack just gave Matt the Hotchner smile, now sporty four new permanent teeth.

When the kids finished, Matt turned the TV on so they could watch some cartoons while their lunches settled before hitting the pool. The adults sat around the table.

Hotch looked at Abbey as he polished off his sandwich, reaching for more chips. "Have you heard from Raquel?"

Abbey smiled. "She made it safely home Saturday night and is enjoying time with her family."

Reed looked at Mac. Matt jumped in. "Raquel is our housekeeper and nanny. She's a native of Honduras, but is now a proud US citizen. When Abbey and I take this week off, we pay for her airfare home. We do the same through the Christmas holidays. It's her bonus that she deserves. And trust me, all legal and taken care of tax wise. We have Dave Rossi's accountant."

Reed gulped his sip of ice tea. "That's right; you all work with David Rossi. I've read his books; especially after my encounter with one of your….what's the term….unsubs?" Reed subconsciously put his finger to his neck, touching the scar he had received the "Cabbie Killer".

Matt clamped his hand on Reed's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Reed, you survived. Be grateful for that and enjoy every day. Against something like that, we usually don't get a second chance."

Hotch looked at Reed. "Amen." Reed looked at Matt and then Hotch. Quietly, Hotch added, "I've got my own scars from a serial killer. And he's the one that killed Jack's mom, with Jack in the house. Matt faced his own in a way too, but with the power and wealth of being a dictator, trying to take over a free country. We both lived to tell about it, yet with scars."

"Your dad does too. Extremists, who follow a serial killer," Matt added.

"But as one Mr. Rossi has said more than once," Hotch continued, "'scars remind us where we've been; they don't have to dictate where we're going'."

"Your mom Reed, in a way, faced her own as well," Matt added. "We profiled Bin Laden. He was one of the worst serial killers we've seen."

Hotch joined in. "But like Saddam Hussein, had the money, power and more importantly, the ability to coerce many minions to follow him. It was the ultimate ego rush for him. That plays into their psyche."

Reed looked at Matt and Hotch and whispered. "How do you do the job you do and keep sane?"

Matt and Hotch smiled at each other. They both nodded into the living room at four young kids. "That's why they do it Reed," Mac said.

"And Reed, how Matt and Abbey make their marriage work," Stella added.

Abbey smiled at Reed. "I have full buy in on what the team does. They bag them. As a federal prosecutor, I'm part of team that tags them and sends them to death row."

"However, Reed, this is what really keeps our shit together," Matt silently said. "We are a team, dealing with the worst possible out there. That's a bond we share, and we're damn close because of it. No one understands that more than all of us. We deal every day with the people that can separate you're head from your butt the quickest." Matt looked around. "Well, maybe some may have a bit more buy in and understand." He smiled at his wife, Mac and Stella. "Yet, Reed, when we get down time like this, we tend to share part of it together. That's the team, and family, we are."

"Will you two," Reed said looking at Matt and Hotch, "give me an interview for my blog?"

Matt shook his head. "No," he simply said. Reed looked at him. Matt smiled. "Reed, you're a gifted writer." He looked at Mac.

"Son, what you're uncle is trying to tell you is this: absorb this time and then run with it, given the ability you have. Which, btw, you are making a helluva living from; I follow your hit stats." Mac smiled. "I'm proud of you. And your mom would be too." The rest around the table smiled at Reed as well.

Reed looked at Matt and Mac. "I gotta ask; you two are built so different."

Mac smiled. "Matt is the proverbially Irish brick shit house. He's built exactly like our dad, grandpa and uncles."

"Dad?"

"When I was three, a strain of influenza ripped through the country. It attacked the lungs and liver. And this was long before the CDC. Our mom," nodding at Matt, "got it when she was pregnant with our sister. I caught it as well. I survived, but the liver part halted my growth at a critical age. I never caught up. By the time Matt came around, they had a vaccine for it."

"You two have a sister," Reed asked, looking at his dad and uncle.

"Yes," Mac said. "Her name was Catherine. She lived for two hours after she was born."

Matt looked at Reed. "Obviously, being the youngest, I don't remember her. But mom and dad always took us to the cemetery every year on her birthday. And when I was at the farm with grandma and grandpa, they always remembered her as well."

Hotch looked at his partner. "I never knew that Matt," he said. He added a smile, nodding at Casee, "The 'Catherine' now makes sense."

Matt smiled at his partner. "And the 'Elizabeth' is for Abbey's grandmother."

"And my favorite," Abbey smiled.

Matt looked at the table and then the rest. "We always remember."

"Yes, we do," Stella smiled, giving Mac's back a rub as he smiled.

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A/N: CDC is the US Center for Disease Control.