Hi guys, hope you enjoyed the first chapter! There will be more back story to Joey as we go on and this chapter starts to show hints of that. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I forgot it last chapter but I will say it now and only once: ME NO OWNY CRIMINAL MINDS. I only own Joey and any other OC's that will be cropping up!

Chapter 2

It didn't take long for Joey to settle in. Within two days of arriving, her belongings arrived after being sent to her by her dad. On the third day she entered her first lecture and met her fellow classmates. Thankfully, the class was only made up of 12 people in total, making it easier for introductions to be made.

On the fourth day, there was a knock on the door and Hayley answered it only to be scooped up into her husband's arms, a firm kiss placed on her lips. Joey, who had chosen that moment to come down the stairs, groaned.

"Eww, get a room you guys"

A chuckle from behind the kissing pair broke Joey's concentration. She glanced behind Aaron to see three faces looking at her, all with various smiles. Joey took less than a second to register who they were before flinging herself down the stairs and squealing happily as she jumped into the arms of one Derek Morgan. Morgan laughed at the young woman's actions and pulled her into a friendly hug.

"Derek! Oh my God, how are you?"

Derek laughed again and gave her an extra squeeze before letting her go.

"Hey short stuff." He said as he ruffled her hair.

Joey responded simply by pushing his arm away and elbowing him in the side. He feigned falling over from pain and she forced herself to resist the urge to hit him for real, instead turning and putting her arms round a laughing Penelope Garcia. Emily gave her a quick squeeze and brushed some of the blonde's hair off her face.

"You look so grown up!" Garcia exclaimed.

Joey shrugged slightly.

"Well, I was only sixteen the last time you saw me."

Garcia gasped, eyes wide.

"Really! It was that long ago? Jeeze, you are never leaving my sight again young lady!"

Joey laughed and broke away from the older woman, noticing with amusement that her beady eyes never left her. She turned to face the last remaining visitor and gave a small smile, not quite sure whether to hug him or simply smile. He answered for her and gave her a small, albeit awkward hug.

"Hey Spencer"

Spencer Reid gave her a small smile and a friendly one fingered salute.

"Garcia's right, you do look older"

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"Really? Spencer, you only saw me three months ago!"

As the group laughed at the blushing genius, a sudden thought hit Hayley. She turned to Aaron and gave her husband a curious glance.

"Wait. Why are you home so early? It's only 12pm. You're not normally home until about 6."

Aaron gave Hayley a wide smile and spoke quietly so his niece couldn't hear him.

"We were all given a half day, so I decided to treat you, Jack and Joey. It's a break day for you and a welcome home gift for Joey. These guys came with me to persuade you to come."

"Come where?" Joey asked, breaking her conversation with Morgan.

"You'll see" the agent responded, a small smirk on his face.

Knowing Morgan and Garcia wouldn't tell her where they were going, she turned her gaze to Spencer. When their eyes connected, Joey wanted to smile. She'd known Spencer for only a couple of years but in that time they'd become good friends, despite only meeting three times face to face, on the occasions that the BAU had finished a case near her hometown. Spencer knew that he would break and tell her the surprise if he kept eye contact, so forced himself to look away, smiling gently when he heard her huff.

Aaron smirked at his niece's actions and gave Hayley one more kiss before moving up the stairs to Jack's room and scooping him up.

"Daddy!" the little boy squealed, laughter pealing from his lips.

"Come on sprout, we're going for a family day"

As he waited for Jack to put his shoes on, Aaron quickly changed into recreational clothes before meeting his family at the front door. Together with the other agents, they piled into the waiting vehicles. A short drive later and they pulled up in the car park of Rock Creek Park. Joey felt a huge smile cross her face at the sight of the park entrance. Ever since she was a baby, her family had taken her to Rock Creek for picnics. As she'd grown older and her dad had moved her away, the visits became much less frequent, however Aaron always made sure to take her whenever she visited. Once Jack had been born, the visits became even less frequent but during that time, Morgan had been the one to take her, usually with his dog Clooney. Spencer came with them on one occasion but after Clooney decided he didn't like the doctor, they decided not to do it again.

Now though, there was no Clooney, so Reid was free to come with them. They all took the usual route to the place they always went to in the park and as they entered the clearing, Joey let out a gasp.

"SURPRISE!"

Standing next to the lake bank were the familiar faces of Prentiss, JJ, Rossi and a couple of old friends from her childhood, mainly her best friends Kiya and Maxie. Joey ran up to them and one by one, hugged everyone. As she parted she gave them all a questioning glance.

"What is all this?"

An arm came round her shoulders and she leaned into Derek's solid chest.

"It's a bit of a welcome home gift."

Joey looked at her friends, all sitting round, laughing and joking and felt herself fighting tears that had crept up in her eyes. She swallowed down the small lump in her throat as Derek removed his arm from her and joined the group. A hand touched her arm and she glanced up at Spencer as he smiled down at her, his usual deep brown eyes making her insides feel like they were melting. She smiled back at him, fighting the blush trying to creep across her face, replacing the tears in her eyes.

"Hey Spencer."

"Hey, are you okay? You seem a little...detached there." He joked.

Joey shook her head and smiled.

"Yeah doc, I'm fine. Just a little emotional." She grinned.

Spencer grinned back and squeezed her arm.

"Come on, let's go have fun" he spoke.

Snapping out of her daze, Joey glanced next to Spencer and at the site of the lake right next to him, a devilish grin crossed her face. Using all her strength, she pushed him and with a loud yelp, he fell into the water. The rest of the group fell silent as they watched him flounder. He glared up at Joey.

"What was that for!" he yelled, his voice climbing an octave.

Joey grinned.

"You said to have fun." She answered calmly.

The silence of the group was broken by Morgan as he caught a glimpse of Spencer's indignant expression and promptly burst out laughing. One by one, the group joined him until they were all collapsed in a pile of laughter. Joey clutched her stomach through laughing so hard and after accepting his fate and relaxing, even Spencer had to chuckle.

It was late when they returned home. Jack, who had fallen asleep in the park, slept through the whole car journey home and had to be carried to bed by Hayley when they returned. Hotch watched his wife and son with a soft look and Joey sank down on the sofa, stretching out and smiling as she reflected on the day's events. After a few minutes, Hayley returned and tapped Joey on the head before handing her a letter and disappearing back up the stairs after saying a sleepy goodnight. Aaron squeezed his niece's shoulder as he too went to bed and Joey gave him a small, tired smile in return. Once her uncle was out of sight, she glanced down at the letter and instantly froze. She ripped the envelope open and as her eyes grazed over the words, she shook slightly.

To my dearest Joey,

I know why you really left Dallas. I'm so sorry for what I did to you, you deserved so much better than that. I've learnt my lesson since being incarcerated and I really wish to make it up to you; y'know, start again? I can't stop thinking about you, us and what was meant to be.

Please give me a second chance. I've sent this letter to all addresses I know that you may go to in the hope that somehow, you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my sins. God has forgiven me and made me see the error of my ways, I hope you can do the same.

All my love, forever,

Mike.

Anger suddenly flowed through her and she crushed the letter in her hand. She walked up to her room and threw the letter in the trash, not wanting to see his handwriting any more. She dropped onto the bed and before she knew it, she'd drifted off into a deep sleep, not even caring that she was still fully clothed.