Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Author's Note(s): A huge thank you to RavennaNightwing (without whom this chapter would not have been written), IheartTV (thanks for the recommendations. I shall read them as soon as I get the chance), Carla-Leigh, smokeylove, Dr. Cameron and bumblebee917 (you have good ideas :). I think you should all win a prize for the best reviewers ever to be honest.

Thank you also to everyone who is still reading!

Easier to Lie
Chapter 8

Garcia pushed against her desk, sending her chair wheeling backwards and spinning just at the right moment so she was now facing a different computer screen. She had got this fluid motion down to a fine art in the last few years. By now she could probably do her job with her eyes closed should the situation ever call for it. That was unlikely though.

Since JJ and Reid had gone missing, yet again, Garcia had felt even more determined than she already was to help her team find their unsub so they could come straight back home. So she had been running some slightly more obscure searches to find links between the victims that could possibly be of help. It was a long shot but it was better than being sat around twiddling her thumbs for hours on end.

Such fear, she had felt when Morgan had called her to tell her that Reid and JJ had gone missing. It was just too much for her to handle. How it was possible for JJ to get herself into such serious trouble twice in the space of less than a month was astounding. Garcia even entertained the notion that she did it for fun because she knew how much of a kerfuffle it caused. She had quickly discarded this idea though, she knew that her girl would never do anything to purposely hurt her or the rest of the team. Still, if she kept it up Garcia feared that she would be on the way to a nervous breakdown. And then if it wasn't JJ getting herself into trouble, it was Emily, and then if it wasn't Emily it was Reid. Between them they would be the death of her.

Garcia pushed her red, jewelled glasses up her nose and focussed her attention on the game of Tetris she was playing. She was on the last level now which was when it started to get mildly difficult. Of course, with her incomparable computer skills, it was still fairly easy for her to complete it with minimal hassle and oh yes…a new high score. She grinned at the flashing 'Congratulations' message that flashed up in varying shades of neon against the black background of the screen. Soon it would be time for her to find herself a new game to learn, something that was a bit more of a challenge for her. She wouldn't want to become complacent in her brilliance after all.

An almost inaudible beep from one of the computers behind her told Garcia that one of her searches had finished. Once again with uncanny grace, she rolled herself across the room to look at the findings. Her face fell at the 'No results found' message that was displayed. All happiness over her Tetris tournament victory were forgotten as she realised that she would not be able to call her dear Morgan with some useful information and wacky claims of her Goddess like status and mystical powers.

A small smile lit her face as she though of Morgan. He was her knight in shining armour. There was something about the playful tone of his voice and the kind smile he seemed to reserve just for her that could instantly brighten Garcia's day, no matter what mood she had been before. She hadn't really realised how much he meant to her until the day Emily Prentiss joined the team and her, Gideon and Reid had gone to interview a terrorist. Morgan and Hotch had been searching for sleeper cells when there had been an explosion. A trap. Garcia had been unable to stop the flow of tears when she believed Morgan and Hotch to be dead. She just couldn't imagine her life without Morgan. He was the only man to ever have truly made her feel special. Every woman should be told they are beautiful once in a while, and there was no one in the world that Garcia would rather hear it from than the ever wonderful and ever handsome Derek Morgan.

This led Garcia on to think about the good Dr Spencer Reid. There was nothing she enjoyed more than poking fun out of the socially inept young man. Oh, not in a nasty way of course, in a playful manner that poor Reid didn't really understand right away. He was the most adorable person Garcia had ever met in her life, and she usually had the most overwhelming urge to wrap him up in cotton wool and protect him from the troubles in the world.

But of course, Reid was no stranger to the evils that swept across the world, having been a victim of them himself. Garcia would never get over the utter horror she had felt when she searched through Tobias' computer and had seen the video feed of Spencer tied up and beaten. Though she would never tell anyone, she had had nightmares about it for weeks afterwards. They all had Reid to take care of instead of worrying their pretty little heads over their computer tech back who was safely back in Quantico.

Garcia moved her thoughts over to JJ, her best friend and confidante. It hurt Garcia to see how much pain the blonde seemed to be in lately. Not just the physical pain though, but the emotional scars that her kidnapping seemed to have left. She did a good job of trying to hide it of course, but then again that was part of her job. Garcia still wished she would talk to her though. She was convinced that if JJ just sat down with someone and talked about what had happened, she would feel a million times better. And just maybe JJ's smile would start to reach her eyes again.

Then there was Emily, the newbie to the team. Although Garcia thought it had been long enough now for her not to be considered the newbie. She was another one who seemed to be carrying around an awful lot of heartache. Garcia wasn't as close to Emily as she was to JJ though, so even if she wanted to approach the brunette about her behaviour she wouldn't have a clue how to go about it. Emily seemed rather closed off in the best of circumstances, let alone in these past few weeks. It was tragic really.

Finally there was their stoic and unflappable leader, Aaron Hotchner. Just as handsome as Morgan, but in a different kind of way. He seemed to carry around the weight of the entire team on his shoulders and Garcia had seen an awful lot of guilt flick across his face when he thought nobody was looking. Why he felt guilty for things that were beyond his control was anybody's guess.

Garcia loved her team. Making them smile was her personal mission in life. Even if it was only a half hearted puppy dog smile from Reid then she considered it to not have been a wasted day. If only Hotch would smile a bit more. It actually knocked years off his face. Garcia smiled mournfully as her phone rang.

"Speak and be recognised by your Empress, mortal," she said as cheerfully as possible.

"Hey, Garcia," said JJ's voice on the other line.

"Hey, Jayje. What can I do you for?"

Garcia flitted back and forth between her beloved computers and found everything JJ was asking for in literally record time. Soon Hotch had taken over and was giving her more specific search instructions. In the end she had ninety-five files and they were unable to narrow it down anymore.

"I'll fax them over to you a.s.a.p, honey," said Garcia as her hands flew across the keys of her keyboard.

She could practically hear his lips thinning in displeasure at the term of endearment. Garcia didn't mind though. Sooner or later he would come to like it. At least he accepted it now and didn't tell her not to call him it. There was definite progress being made, and Garcia knew that under that tough exterior the man was incredibly soft hearted. She had seen they way he was with his son and Haley before all the trouble started.

"Thanks, Garcia," said Hotch.

"No problem," she replied, before cutting him off.

Yes, when the team got back from this case they would all need a good stern talking to. Garcia was determined to help make everything right with them again.

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Author's Note(s): I know I know, didn't do much by way of plot, but it has been pointed out to me that I have rather neglected Garcia so I thought she deserved a chapter.

It's a bit shorter than I would have liked, but there is only so long you can talk about people's thoughts before it starts to become a bit repetitive and boring.

As people seemed to like Charlie, I am thinking of bringing her back for a bit, perhaps counselling JJ and Emily as bumblebee917 suggested. So if you are vehemently opposed to bringing her back then speak up now :p

I shall update as soon as I can.

Thank you all for reading :)