Hey guys... you have no idea how sorry I am that it took over a month to get this chapter out for you all! I took a little bit of a break after finishing up season 6 - because quite frankly, the second half of season 6 was just exhausting to write - but I never intended for it to be month in between chapters 16 and 17...
* Profiler's Choice 2012 Fanfic Awards for the Criminal Minds Community *
Hosted by ilovetvalot and tonnie2001969 and hxchick
It is our pleasure to announce the Third Annual Profiler's Choice Fanfic Awards for the Criminal Minds community!
The nomination ballot is now available, and all rules are posted on Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum! Nomination ballots must be received by October 15, 2012, and must be sent to this PM at Profiler's Choice CM Awards (this page!) Fics for consideration must have appeared on the CM section of between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012 (see rules for full details.)
Please read all rules prior to submitting ballots! Please PM at Profiler's Choice CM Awards with any questions.
So - mosey on over to the Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum and get your ballot so you can nominate your favorites. There were a ton of great stories this year! Just make sure you read the rules.
I don't own Criminal Minds - you all have a vague (or not so vague) idea of how different the show would be if I did.
And now what you've all been waiting for - on with the story!
Happy reading and enjoy :D
JJ glanced sideways at Spence as they stepped off the elevator on the sixth floor. She took a deep breath. Being back at the BAU was like coming home again. It was where she belonged.
"Welcome to the BAU profiler trainee Jareau" Garcia said in a glee filled voice to welcome JJ back on her first day as a profiler in training.
JJ chuckled. "Thanks Pen."
"You're welcome peaches."
"Welcome back JJ" Hotch said with his seldom seen grin on his face as he greeted the team's newest addition, albeit only in a new role. "Once you get settled in, come and see me and we'll lay out a game plan for your training." He said as he turned and headed for his office to go over the mountains of never ending paperwork, files to be reviewed, and consults to be returned.
"Okay" JJ nodded at Hotch over her shoulder as she followed Spence into the bullpen area. "Spence…" JJ's voice faltered as Spence stopped at the desk across the aisle from Morgan's and facing his own. "This is Emily's desk…"
Spence leaned in to whisper in her ear. "And when she comes back, you can give it back to her."
JJ nodded in understanding as she ran her hand over the edge of the desk, then she sat down. Spence pulled up a seat next to her and started walking her through some theory. Seeing as she'd been around the team and seen them at work for so many years, not to mention the unofficial profiling she'd always done when selecting where the team should go, she caught on to the concepts very quickly.
Seaver smiled as she watched Reid walking JJ through some of the very same training she'd undergone when she first officially joined the team. She couldn't believe she'd decided to walk away from this opportunity… from the group of people who felt more like family than her own ever had. She stood up and headed for the stairs to the mezzanine to talk to Hotch before she changed her mind.
Ashley wasn't sure who had pulled strings for her to be here in the unit… but she'd come to realize over her just over six months with the team, that she didn't belong here. She hadn't earned it. Rossi had had a hand in the creation of the unit years ago… Hotch had learned from the original members of the BAU before they all retired… Morgan had spent years as a Police Officer in Chicago and worked his way up through the ranks to the Bomb Squad before he'd even contemplated applying to the FBI and the BAU. Reid had not one, but three PHDs… they'd made exceptions for him to be able to pass the FBI training classes, but he'd developed all those skills in the field from what she'd seen… JJ… yes, JJ was technically a profiler in training, but she'd pick up on it quickly, after all, she'd spent years working with the team and selecting the cases they took.
And what did she bring to the table? She was a rookie FBI Agent, sure her father was a serial killer… but that certainly wasn't a credential she'd share on any resume. The team only knew because of the way she'd joined the team in the first place. She had a lot to learn… and she hoped that the request she was making would put her in a place where she would fit in with the rest of the team and be able to help an awful lot of people. The case last week and seeing just how many people they were too late to help had crushed her… but hopefully by transferring she'd be able to help others and save them before it was too late.
She took a deep breath as she reached the door Hotch's office and knocked. She turned the knob and entered when she heard Hotch's "Come in" from the other side of the door. She closed the door behind her and turned to face Hotch.
Hotch tipped his head. "Seaver, what can I do for you?"
"You um asked that we let you if… I've been thinking that…" Ashley stumbled over herself trying to find the right words to tell her supervisor she'd like to transfer off of his team and onto Andi Swann's.
"Why don't you have a seat and tell me what's on your mind?" Hotch asked with a nod to the seat in front of his desk.
Ashley swallowed and nodded as she stepped up to Hotch's desk and sank into the seat. "Ever since we wrapped up that case last week, I haven't been able to get the stack of unsolved cases out of my mind."
Hotch nodded. "It makes sense. All of the victims weren't that much younger than you."
Ashley nodded and took another deep breath. "I want to… I need to make a difference. I need to know that I make a difference."
"Of course you make a difference Seaver. Think of all the victims we've saved in the time that you've been with the unit." Hotch said, confused about where this conversation was going.
"Even though I'm a rookie, sir, I'm not naïve enough to believe that I earned my way onto this team without someone having pulled strings." Ashley said. "I thought I'd be reassigned quickly after my remedial training period was over… and then I wasn't, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as I could before my graduation from the Academy. Then, and I still haven't figured out how this happened, I was made an offer to be a regular team member of the BAU… so I decided not to question it and to just go with it… but…I don't fit in. I don't have the education or the experience that everyone else on the team has. I want to transfer to Andi Swann's unit, if she'll have me. I'll have an opportunity to help people who need it and I'll also be able to earn my experience the right way."
Hotch's eyebrows rose on his head. "If you're sure that this is what you want Seaver, I'll contact Andi right away. I know she's always looking for smart capable agents and having worked with you, I'm sure she'll be agreeable."
Ashley nodded, realizing that she was being dismissed, and stood up from her seat.
"Ashley," Hotch called out just as she turned to walk away, "I might not have requested your assignment to this team, but you are a fine agent. I'm sure you'll do great things. Andi will be lucky to have you on her team."
"Thank you, sir." Ashley said with a smile and then turned and headed back out to the bullpen.
Not minutes after Ashley sat back down at her desk across the aisle from Reid, Hotch came out of his office.
"My team in the round table room. We have a case." Hotch called as he moved swiftly towards the conference room.
Days later, when they were on the jet on the way home, Hotch sat down to speak with Ashley where she sat laughing with Dave. "I spoke with Andi. She's thrilled to have you join her unit. Congratulations Agent Seaver." Hotch said holding his hand out.
"Thank you, sir." Ashley replied.
"Kiddo, what's he talking about?" Dave asked.
Ashley took a deep breath. She hadn't told Rossi what she planned on doing. She was afraid he'd talk her out of it. "I talked to Hotch about transferring to Andi Swann's unit."
Dave nodded, realizing just how affected she'd been by the human trafficking case. "Promise me you'll be careful kiddo."
"You aren't going to try and talk me out of it?" Ashley asked in surprise.
"No, if you think this is what you need to do, then it's what you need to do." Dave replied, understanding just how overwhelming it had to be for a rookie agent to work with this team every day. "But I am going to give you one hell of a send-off… and I want you to promise that you'll stay in touch."
"Do you want to tell everybody now or do you want to wait until we get back to Quantico?" Hotch asked.
"Will Garcia ever forgive me if she isn't there when I tell everyone else that I'm leaving?" Ashley joked.
Dave grinned. "She makes a valid point."
Hotch smirked and nodded. "I'll get everybody together in the conference room when we get back."
JJ sat in front of her lap top in the corner of the living room. It was the middle of the night on the east coast of the United States, but somewhere in the world it was daytime and due to the need to keep the check-ins with her… and god how she hated the term… asset random, they'd set this one up for the middle of the night.
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Hey, how's it going? Funny seeing you here again. Fancy a game of scrabble?
Cheeto-Breath:
Of course. I'm good. I wish I could tell you we were making progress. Every avenue seems to hit a dead end.
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
His associates?
Cheeto-Breath:
Nothing. We came up empty on every contact you could think of. Even the money trail leads nowhere.
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Is the team up to speed?
Cheeto-Breath:
What do you mean 'up to speed'?
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Do they know about my situation?
Cheeto-Breath:
Yes
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Knowing how he operates, he's looking for his son
Cheeto-Breath:
How well did you hide him?
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Pretty well. It will take a while to find him unless you know what you're looking for… but I'm just going to tell you what you need to know
Cheeto-Breath:
Are you sure that's a good idea?
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Yes because eventually he will find his son and I need you all to protect that little boy since right now I can't.
Cheeto-Breath:
How do you know he'll find him?
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Because while we were fighting, I told him that his son was alive, hoping that it would buy the time I needed until you could all get to me
Cheeto-Breath:
I…
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
I know…
Cheeto-Breath:
Okay… I'll talk to everybody and we will find him as quick as we can.
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
I know
Cheeto-Breath:
And we'll do everything we can to protect that little boy
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Tell me something I don't know
Cheeto-Breath:
We bought a house?
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
We as in…
Cheeto-Breath:
Yeah
Seeking HBDWASABAG:
Congratulations
JJ yawned a few minutes later as she signed off her encrypted laptop and put it away, but not before sending herself an encrypted email to work with the information on Declan that Emily had sent her. Hopefully this new information would help them find Doyle so that Emily could come home. She checked the locks on the doors and then went upstairs, eager to crawl back into bed and go back to sleep.
At the top of the stairs, she headed down the hall to peek in on Henry. She smiled at the sight of Sunny sleeping curled up next to Henry. Henry's arm rested on his puppy's back. Then she turned and headed down the hall to the master bedroom where hopefully Spence was getting a good night's sleep.
Morgan leaned back in his chair as they sat in the round table room, having just finished their briefing for the day. JJ had just finished filling the team in on the latest update from Emily. Morgan nodded. "Okay…this is good. We weren't getting anywhere with tracking Doyle through his associates anyway and Emily's right. Doyle isn't the kind of guy that's going to give up. He'll keep looking for Declan until he finds him. The kid needs protecting."
Rossi nodded. "We need to find out what Declan and the nanny's habits are. That will tell us everything that Doyle would find out from watching them. Then we can decide where to go from there."
Hotch nodded. "Put together a plan and let's go over it today." He said as he looked at Morgan. Then he turned to look at the rest of the team. "I'll be taking off the last few days of this week. I've been assigned to lead an investigative task force in Pakistan."
"Paki…" Garcia trailed off as she attempted to come to grips with how the team appeared to be splintering and shattering and there was nothing she could do to save it.
Morgan wrapped an arm around Garcia's shoulder and rubbed her arm. He too wondered when the blows would stop coming.
"It's only temporary." Hotch reassured the team as he took in their shocked faces around the table. "I've been assured it is a temporary assignment to get the investigative task force up and running. After that, I'll be returning here."
"How soon?" Reid asked.
"Next week, after the 4th." Hotch replied.
"What about Jack?" JJ asked.
"Jessica and I talked about it when I found out. I'll Skype with Jack every day."
"Do you think he's really okay with this?" Morgan asked as he sat in the bullpen with JJ and Reid, going over consult files.
"If it was me, I don't know how I could do it." JJ replied.
"Do what?" Reid asked.
"Be away from Henry for months at a time and only be able to see him across a computer screen." JJ replied as she turned in her seat to look at Spence.
Reid tipped his head in thought as he tried to place himself in Hotch's shoes for the next few months. "Yeah, that would definitely be hard. I don't think I could do it either."
"Well, look at you pretty boy, all domesticated." Morgan said with a grin.
"Hey little man!" JJ called out as she knelt down to catch Henry as he pulled his hand free from his Daddy's and ran towards her.
"Moooooommmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy" Henry squealed in delight as he ran into Mommy's arms and wrapped his arms around her. In the last month he switched to Mommy and Daddy instead of Mama and Dada, yet another sign that her baby boy was growing up.
"Were you a good boy for Daddy?" JJ asked as she looked up at Will.
"Uh huh" Henry nodded. "Daddy tay Sunny has a tay at home 'cause dere be wots of peopwe hewe and da fiwewowks be too woud for hew."
"Yeah?" JJ asked as she glanced at Will, who nodded. "Daddy's right. But maybe we can take Sunny to the park so she can run and play with you next weekend. Are you ready to watch some fireworks tonight?" she asked as she stood up with Henry in her arms.
"Uh huh. Dey go boom cshsshshshsshsh" Henry said animatedly as he demonstrated a fireworks blowing up and then falling with his hands.
Spence laughed. "You do that pretty well buddy."
Henry smiled at Uncle Spence and reached for him. JJ handed Henry over to Spence. Then she, Will, and Elle smiled as they watched godson and godfather interact together.
"Unca 'pence?" Henry asked tipping his head thoughtfully as he looked up at his favorite 'Uncle'.
"Yeah Henry?" Spence replied.
"How fiwewowks wowk?" Henry asked.
Will grinned and turned to look at JJ. "He's been asking that all weekend since we watched some fireworks on Saturday. I told him he should ask his Uncle Spencer."
JJ smiled as she watched Spence and Henry with their heads bent together as Spence explained how fireworks worked to Henry.
"So how's life as a profiler JJ?" Elle asked as she looked away from Spencer and Henry to JJ.
"Good…exhausting… I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but we've had four cases in the last three weeks…" JJ trailed off.
"So life as normal for the BAU then." Elle replied with a nod of her head.
JJ nodded in agreement. "By the way, Will, thanks for being so flexible with the schedule." JJ said glancing over her shoulder at Will.
Will gave a half shrug. "It's no problem."
"Well, thanks all the same." JJ replied as the group walked through the park to pick out their spot to set up camp for the day of Fourth of July festivities.
JJ laughed as her feet tangled up with Spence's as she tried to steal the ball from him. They fell down with Spence on the bottom and JJ on top. JJ wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she sat up straddling Spence's belly. "Are you okay baby?"
The small mixed family had decided to play soccer in order to burn off some of Henry's energy. Henry had decided that it should be boys against girls. So it was Mommy and Aunt Elle against Henry, Daddy, and Uncle Spence.
"Ugh… I'm fine." Spence said as he started to sit up, but then Henry decided that piling on Uncle Spence looked like fun. Henry took a flying leap and landed across Uncle Spence's belly just in front of Mommy. "Ooomph" was all that managed to escape Spence's lips as his hands searched for a grip on the squirming toddler.
Henry laughed and giggled as Uncle Spence started to tickle him. "'Top Unca 'pence." He squealed. "Moooooommmmmy make Unca 'pence 'top." He laughed as he squirmed.
JJ smiled and laughed as she watched Henry and Spence roughhouse a bit together. Then she wrapped an arm around Henry's waist.
"Uh oh Henry it looks like Mommy is helping me." Uncle Spence teased as continued wrestling and tickling Henry.
"Nu uh" Henry squealed.
"Yu huh" Uncle Spence replied as he continued his tickle attack.
"Nu uh." JJ said with a grin as she carefully leaned down over Spence, careful not to squish Henry and kissed her boyfriend. Then as she pulled out of the kiss, the fingers of her free hand slid down Spence's side and tickled him mercilessly. "See Henry, Uncle Spence is ticklish too." She said as she showed Henry where to tickle.
Spence laughed until he could barely breathe as his girlfriend and godson's fingers worked over his sides and his belly. "Stop… stop…. I give…. I give…." Spence gasped in between bouts of laughter.
"I don't know, Henry, should we stop?" JJ asked as she looked down at her son.
"He no tay da magic wowds Mommy." Henry replied with a shake of his head.
JJ laughed as she watched Henry continue to tickle his Uncle Spence.
"Wha… what…. Ah" Spence laughed, "magic… words?" he gasped.
"Pease and tank you" Henry replied.
JJ leaned down and pressed a kiss to Henry's head, very proud of her thoughtful little boy. "Okay Henry, let's give Uncle Spence a second." She said taking pity on her boyfriend who had tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard.
"Please and thank you for stopping Henry." Spence sighed, leaning up on his arms after catching his breath.
"You welcome." Henry replied with a grin.
"What about me?" JJ asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"Please and thank you for stopping JJ. I love you." Spence replied as he leaned up and gave JJ a quick kiss. He scooped Henry up and gave him a kiss on the head. "I love you too munchkin."
Henry wrapped his arms around Uncle Spence and gave him a big hug. "I wuv you too Unca 'pence."
JJ heart constricted at seeing Henry tell Spence that he loved him. "Well, I love you both." JJ said leaning down and kissing Henry on the head and then kissing Spence softly on the lips.
Will and Elle sat a ways away on the blanket they'd spread out in the shade of a tree to claim their spot in the park for the day, catching their breath as they enjoyed their own private moment while JJ and Spencer had some time with Henry.
"Wook at dat one" Henry said excitedly pointing as they watched the fireworks light up the night sky.
"I see it baby. It's pretty isn't it?" JJ asked as she turned to look at Henry who was standing next to where she sat staring up at the sky.
"Look there goes another one!" Will said pointing out the flash of light moving across the sky to his son from where he sat next to him.
A loud BOOM sounded as the firework exploded.
"Whoa" Henry said his eyes wide as he took in the quick succession of fireworks exploding in sequence one after another.
Spence winced as the fireworks exploded above them, but smiled as he watched Henry's excitement at seeing the fireworks and decided that the headache the fireworks were giving him was worth it to see Henry so happy and excited.
"Hey, look at that one Henry," Spence said as he leaned back on his elbows on JJ's other side. "What color is that one?" the godfather asked his godson.
"Wed!" Henry answered excitedly.
"You are Mommy's smart little man aren't you?" JJ asked as she turned and kissed Henry on the side of his head, appreciating the family time together over the holiday as they continued to watch the fireworks explode in the sky.
"Okay, got everything?" Will asked as he finished folding up the blanket. The fireworks had finished and a very tired Henry had promptly passed out.
I think so as JJ glanced in her bag and then at Spence who was holding a sound asleep two year old little boy.
Will nodded. "Okay, do you need help getting everything to the car?"
"Actually we took the metro," JJ replied with a grin, "but I think we're good."
"Alrigh', we'll drop Sunny off in the morning." Will replied with a nod. "Night jumpin' bean. I'll see you tomorrow." Will whispered as he pressed a kiss to Henry's head. He stepped back and nodded at Spencer at then at JJ. "Alrigh' have a good night and we'll see you in the morning." Will shrugged as he found Elle's hand and interlocked their fingers and stuffed his other hand into the pockets of his shorts.
Elle smiled, "Goodnight."
JJ and Spence stood watching as Will and Elle walked away and then JJ turned to Spence. "Ready to go home?"
"Definitely" Spence replied and turned to follow JJ towards the metro stop to head home.
JJ wrapped her arm around Spence's waist and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. "So, how bad is your headache?" she asked as she glanced up at her boyfriend.
Spence sighed and turned his head to look down at JJ briefly. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."
JJ rubbed her hand over his waist. "Well I did, but you did a pretty good job of hiding it. I don't think Will or Elle noticed. Hopefully a good night's sleep will fix it. I'm sure Henry is looking forward to playing with his Uncle Spence tomorrow, but promise me that if you don't feel well tomorrow that you'll say something. I don't want you to feel like you have to be quiet about not feeling well."
Spence nodded as they reached the metro platform and then leaned down to kiss her. "Promise."
"Good" JJ replied and gave him another quick peck before they stepped on the train headed home.
Rossi shook his head. "You are a natural at this JJ." He said as he looked over the profiles that she'd put together impeccably. "You don't have your boyfriend doing your homework for you, do you?" he asked jokingly.
JJ laughed. "No. He helps me study, but he doesn't do my homework for me."
Rossi smiled and nodded. "Well you are moving the quickest through this material that I've ever seen. At this rate you'll have the course finished and be ready for your case rotation by the end of the summer. Any questions so far?"
"No, but then it probably helps that I lived the immersion course for the better part of the last eight years." JJ replied with a smile.
"This is true." Rossi replied. "So I guess we better get back to it. Since it's looking like we're going to be in town tonight, rumor has it there might be a short blonde guy that would like to spend the night with you."
JJ laughed and shook her head as she opened her books and her notepad to over the next bit of the course with Rossi.
Rossi frowned as his phone rang and he picked it up. "Rossi. Yeah… I see… alright… I'll let them know." He set the receiver down and looked at JJ. "Looks like I spoke to soon."
JJ sighed. "Well at least it's Will's week with Henry this week anyway."
Morgan stretched as he sat at his desk wrapping up the paperwork for the last three cases the team had back to back to back. They just arrived home after the better part of a week and a half on the road.
They finished a case in Little Rock and no sooner had they boarded the plane than Rossi had gotten a call from Straus redirecting them to Indianapolis. From Indianapolis they'd gone to Portland Oregon. They'd managed to wrap that case up last night, well the middle of the night anyway, and sleep on the jet on the way home. Rossi had been specific in his instructions. Finish your paperwork for the three cases and then get the hell out of the office for the next few days and take a long weekend.
No way in hell was Morgan going to argue with that. He was just contemplating how to spend his long weekend when a blonde haired blue eyed tech goddess appeared in his doorway.
"Hey hot stuff. Feel like going to happy hour to blow off some steam?" Garcia asked as she sucked on her lollipop.
Morgan shook his head. "Baby girl, why do I get the feeling that going to happy hour with you will only give me more steam to blow off?" Morgan said and then looked at his watch. "Besides, happy hour was about two or three hours ago." He said as he noted that it was closing in on 9 pm.
"Come on my chocolate god… you know you want to." Garcia replied as she wiggled her eyebrows. "We'll get Reid and JJ to go with us… it'll be fun. Maybe we can even get Rossi to come with."
Morgan shook his head as he stood up from his desk. "You go ask Rossi and I'll meet you in the bullpen?"
"Deal. See you in a few." Garcia replied and the stepped back out of Morgan's office to head down the mezzanine to Rossi's office.
"You know pretty boy, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were standing behind JJ like that so you could see down her shirt." Morgan joked as he walked down the stairs from the mezzanine and into the bullpen, where Reid was standing behind JJ rubbing her shoulders while they worked on her last case file.
JJ glanced up at Morgan and flipped him off.
Morgan laughed and held his hands up in the air as he leaned his hip against JJ's desk. "Garcia's talking to Rossi about going for a drink. Are you guys in? Blow off a little steam before the long weekend?"
JJ tipped her head back to look at Spence to see what he thought. Spence looked down at JJ, and tipped his head to the side as they made eye contact, silently communicating with each other as they held eye contact.
Spence turned to look at Morgan as they broke eye contact. "Sure, why not?"
"So what do you all have planned for your time off over the next few days?" Rossi asked as their waitress set food and drinks in front of them all.
"We're going to go pick Henry and Sunny up tomorrow morning and spend a few days just being at home." JJ replied.
Rossi turned to look at Reid just as he took a bite of his cheeseburger. "And you?"
Reid quickly chewed and swallowed. "What? JJ already told you what we were doing."
Rossi shook his head. "I just thought you might have some special plans."
"Oh… uh… I haven't thought about it… but I'm sure we'll think of something fun to do." Reid replied as he turned to smile at JJ.
JJ returned the smile as they continued talking about anything but work.
JJ laughed and leaned into Spence's side as Morgan told a story about renovating one of the first house he'd finished off.
"So I cut the opening for the stair frame and then I climbed up into the attic so I could nail the stair frame to the ceiling joists and secure the pull down stairs. My buddy stayed down on the floor to hold the stair frame unit in place while I nailed it to the joists in the attic.
"I got everything all nailed in place… it was the last finishing piece before my buddy and I could sell the house. Then I tell him to pull the string and open the stairs so I can come back down. So he pulls on the cord, but the stairs won't open. That was how we learned that they nail the door shut to the frame when they ship them so that they don't move around."
Rossi's eyes twinkled as he laughed. "So you nailed yourself into the attic?"
Morgan laughed "Yeah… my buddy panicked and called 911. The 911 operator thought he was kidding and hung up on him. After three calls to 911 they finally sent a rescue unit. They had to use a chainsaw to cut a hole in the ceiling so I could get out."
Rossi gripped his sides as he roared with laughter at the thought of Morgan having to be rescued for building himself into the attic. JJ wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. Spence grinned.
Garcia continued laughing as she stood up. "I'm going to go ask our lovely waitress to bring us another round of drinks."
Morgan grinned and turned to watch Garcia walked up to the bar, the dance floor momentarily catching his eye before he turned back to Rossi, JJ, and Reid.
"Oh no… no… no…no…" Reid said his eyes going wide a few minutes later.
"What, what is it pretty boy?" Morgan asked in confusion about what could be wrong.
"Garcia is talking to the DJ." Reid said as he turned to look at Morgan.
"And that is my cue to leave for the night." Rossi said as he stood up and headed over to the bar where their waitress stood talking to the bar tender.
"Baby girl what did you do?" Morgan asked as Garcia rejoined them at the table.
"What?" Garcia asked innocently.
"Spence saw you over talking to the DJ." JJ replied mirthfully.
Just then the opening chords of 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy' came over the speakers.
Garcia shrugged. "What can I say; these cowboys look like just the cowboys to save our horses. Come on hot stuff, let's show 'em how it's done." She said as she grabbed Morgan's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor.
Morgan laughed and raised his hand twirling Garcia as they hit the dance floor.
JJ turned to look at Spence. "So want to help me save a horse cowboy?"
"JJ…"
"Please?" JJ asked as she kissed his chin, along his jaw, and then she nuzzled his ear. "I promise you won't regret it." She breathed in his ear.
"I was already going to say okay… but now how could I refuse?" Spence asked his eyes twinkling as he stood up from his seat.
JJ smiled and took Spence's hand and led him down onto the dance floor.
"Look at you pretty boy! I didn't know you could dance." Morgan yelled from where he and Garcia were dancing next to JJ and Reid.
Reid just shrugged and turned back to JJ who had a very large grin on her face.
"Save a horse, ride a cowboy!" JJ sang as she slipped her fingers through Spence's belt and pulled him close. Then she leaned up and kissed him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Morgan whistled and then laughed as Garcia swatted his arm. JJ and Reid were oblivious as they continued to dance.
Morgan laughed, his arm around Garcia as they walked out of the bar. "You need a ride home baby girl?"
"That would be great!" Garcia nodded enthusiastically after having had more than a few drinks.
"How about you pretty boy? You okay to drive you and JJ home?" Morgan asked as he turned to look at Reid who had his arm around JJ, who also had more than a few drinks and was just slightly tipsy. He grinned as he watched JJ get a little handsy with her boyfriend. Yeah, his boy was definitely getting lucky tonight.
"Yeah… I'm fine. I've been drinking water all night." Reid replied.
"Alright man. Drive safe. I'll see you guys on Monday." Morgan replied as he started leading Garcia off to his SUV.
Garcia, realizing that they were leaving now, called out her goodbyes to JJ and Reid over her shoulder. "Goodnight peaches… goodnight junior g-man… goodnight goldilocks… goodnight gorgeous gray matter…. goodnight…"
Morgan laughed. "You been watching the Waltons? You gonna say goodnight to Jon boy too?"
Garcia turned to look at Morgan. "Are you saying you want me to start calling you Jon boy?" She asked slightly confused.
"Baby girl," Morgan laughed with a shake of his head. "Promise me that you won't ever change."
"I promise I won't ever change," Garcia said with a shake of her head, "but only because you asked me not to my chocolate stud muffin."
"Come on baby girl. Let's get you home to bed." Morgan said with a chuckle. 'Thank god she'll be Kevin problem tomorrow morning when she wakes up with a hangover.' He thought as he led his tipsy best friend across the parking lot.
"Bye Garcie! Bye Morgan!" JJ called back.
Spence led JJ to her car and leaned her against the car as he opened the passenger side door for her.
JJ wrapped her arms around Spence's waist and buried her face in his neck and proceeded to give her boyfriend a hickey as her hands squeezed his ass.
Spence groaned and then slid his hand behind him and grabbed JJ's hands. "Babe we need to get home."
JJ winked at Spence and then turned and slid into the passenger seat and buckled herself in as Spence closed the passenger side door. She could wait until they got home to pounce.
"How much longer are we going to have to wait for Doyle to find Declan do you think?" Morgan asked the team sat in the briefing room going over the case files they were working on; JJ's training plan for the week; and the progress, or lack there-of on getting position on Doyle.
"If we can't track him through the money or through his contacts this is our best shot." Rossi replied. "We have to be careful not to spook him as well. He has to know we're looking for him. We have to play this smart. The worst thing in the world would be to have him in our sights and for him to get away. We might only have one shot at this. For Emily's sake, we can't afford to screw this up."
"He has to be close by though right?" JJ asked. "He knew where Emily lived. Em told him that Declan was alive. He'd know that she'd want to be close by Declan in order to make sure he was safe right?"
Reid shrugged. "It's hard to say. This is the same man who was convinced that Emily had included Declan in the profile and let him be killed."
"Yeah, but she didn't." Garcia replied adamantly.
"Baby girl, Reid knows that. He's just making the point that Doyle didn't get inside Emily's head as much as she got inside his head." Morgan said as he laid a reassuring hand on Garcia's shoulder.
"This is just so frustrating. I want Emily to come home. I miss her." Garcia huffed in frustration.
"We all miss her and want her to come home Pen." JJ replied. "But before that can happen we have to make sure it's safe for her."
"I know… it just super sucks… you know?" Garcia complained as they all looked over everything once again to make sure there wasn't anything they were missing.
"Henry are you ready to get out soon?" JJ asked as she watched Henry swim around in his wading pool like a fish.
"I don't wanna get out Mommy. I wike da watew." Henry replied as laid on his belly in the pool.
"I know you do little man, but if you don't get out of the pool and dry off, we won't be able to go the movies." JJ explained.
"We goin' to da movies?" Henry asked.
"Mm hm. We'll get to sit in the car and watch a couple movies on a really big screen. But first you have to get out of the pool and we have to have dinner." JJ explained.
"Otay. I get out." Henry said as he rolled over to sit up.
At that moment Sunny came bounding in the backyard, Spence had taken her for a walk and they'd just gotten back. Sunny decided that the pool looked lovely and inviting and ran towards her master seated in the pool. Once she reached the wading pool, she took a puppy sized leap and landed in the middle, excited to play in the water with her best friend and master.
JJ laughed as she watched Sunny, now completely soaking wet, give Henry doggy kisses. Henry, for his part, giggled and wrapped his arms around his puppy. "Hey" JJ said turning to kiss Spence as he walked up next to her, Sunny's leash in hand. "How was your walk?"
"Good" Spence replied. "Do you want me to make dinner?" Spence asked as he looked at Henry and Sunny playing together in the wading pool. "Then Henry and Sunny can play in the pool for a little bit longer."
"That would be great baby." JJ replied.
In the course of the next couple of hours, dinner was made and consumed, Henry and Sunny were dried off, Henry was dress in pjs, and then Spence, JJ, and Henry climbed in the car to go to the drive-in movie theater.
When they got to the drive-in, Spence set the radio station. Henry watched with big eyes as Mommy took his car seat out of the back seat and put it in the back of the SUV so that they could all seat on the back seat together since it was a bench seat.
JJ and Spence scooted to the middle of the bench seat and Henry lounged, cuddled in their laps as they watched 'Cars 2'. He dozed off just as intermission started.
"This is really fun. I've never been to a drive-in before." Spence said with a grin as he turned to look at JJ.
JJ smiled as she leaned in to nuzzle against Spence's ear. Of course Spence had never been to a drive-in before. "Next time we'll get a sitter and I'll show you the best part about a date at the drive-in." she murmured, teasingly tugging on his ear lobe with her teeth and then kissing him on the cheek.
Spence shook his head as he turned to look at JJ. "I can't wait." He whispered against her lips just before he kissed her.
They both smiled at Henry mumbling in his sleep as they pulled apart. Together they shifted Henry onto the bench seat by himself with his pillow and blanket so that he could sleep comfortably stretched out across the back seat, while they moved to the front seats of the car. Spence sat in the passenger seat, reclining back slightly with his feet out the window. JJ sat in his lap with her feet resting on the dashboard as they cuddled together and watched the second movie.
"Oh my god, oh my god" Garcia said, her eyes opening wide in shock as she went over the security feeds they had on Declan's home. She picked up her phone and called Morgan. "It's him. I'm pretty sure it's him… I mean he's not like posing for the camera or anything, but…."
"Garcia, Garcia, calm down. We'll be right there to take a look." Morgan replied as he stood up from his desk and headed down the mezzanine and knocked on Rossi's open office door to roust him and JJ out of a training session. The group passed through the bullpen, grabbing Reid, who had just returned from the firing range, on their way to Garcia's den of digital dominance.
Once the team was gathered in her office, she showed them the feed.
"That is definitely him." Rossi replied as they watched the feed from the security came for a third time.
"Garcia, can you pull the plate off the car he's driving?" Morgan asked as he pulled his cell phone of the clip on his belt. "Maybe we can use that to locate him."
"Where are you going?" Reid asked as Morgan stepped away from the screens.
JJ and Rossi turned to look at Morgan, while Garcia continued to work on isolating the plate number on the car Doyle was driving, her fingers flying furiously over the keyboard as she enchanted the keys to dance to the tune of the spell she was weaving.
"I'm gonna call Hotch so he's in the loop." Morgan replied as he looked between Reid, JJ, and Rossi.
Reid, JJ, and Rossi nodded in synchronization with each other and then turned to watch over Garcia's shoulder as bit by bit the license plate number became more legible on the Garcia's screen.