I'm keeping this extremely brief tonight... this girl has to get up for work in the morning so I have money to pay the electric and internet bills without which there would be no stories. :D
I don't own Criminal Minds... I'm not getting paid to write either...if in doubt see the comment above about the day job.
Now onto the reason you clicked on that nifty link...
Happy reading and enjoy :D
"Hey Pen" JJ said with a smile as she looked up at where Garcia was walking across the bullpen.
"Here, I meant to give this to you earlier, but then… well... I forgot." Garcia said as she held a wrapped gift out to JJ.
JJ took the gift with a puzzled look on her face. "What's this for?"
"Consider it your house warming present." Garcia smirked.
"Oh… well you didn't have to, but thank you Pen." JJ said as she started to undo the ribbon, curious to see what her best friend had gotten them.
Garcia reached out and stopped JJ's unwrapping. "You should maybe wait until you get home to unwrap it so that you can fully … appreciate it."
More curious now than ever, JJ brushed Garcia's hand away and pulled at the ribbon, setting it on her desk.
JJ pulled away the wrapping paper and lifted the lid on the box, a look of shock crossing her face.
"What, what is it?" Emily asked standing up to look over JJ's shoulder. "Oh my…"
JJ gasped and felt the heat of her blush in her face and she quickly snapped the lid back down on the box. "Garcia!" she gasped.
"Baby girl, what did you do?" Morgan asked as he glanced back and forth between JJ, Emily, and Garcia.
"Not a word Garcia… not one word." JJ warned as she stood up from her desk.
"I told you to open it at home." Garcia squeaked.
"Pen…" JJ trailed off as she shook her head at her well-meaning friend while trying to figure out what she should do with the 'gift' for now. It wouldn't be safe at her desk; she knew Morgan wouldn't be able to resist peeking at it the first chance he got. "Em, come with me to put this in my car?"
Emily smirked as she walked beside JJ at overhearing PG telling Morgan to drop it.
"Well I think we've learned our lesson about getting drunk and playing truth or dare with PG." Emily said with a chuckle as they reached JJ's car.
JJ laughed. "I should have known better… and I know she means well and that she didn't intend for me to open it in front of Morgan. Promise me you won't say anything to Spence?"
An evil grin passed over Emily's face. "Promise you'll tell me Reid's reaction when he sees the housewarming gift that PG got for you guys?"
JJ snorted. "Because I'm sure Spence wouldn't feel insecure at all about me telling you about his reaction to opening up a housewarming gift from Pen that consisted of pink furry handcuffs, a blindfold, a peacock feather, and scented massage oils." She said as she slammed the trunk closed locking the questionably timed housewarming gift inside.
"Oh come on… let me live vicariously through you." Emily teased. "After all, I just have Sergio to keep me company. I love him and all… but I certainly didn't get a housewarming present like what you got from PG."
JJ turned to look at Emily. "Right… because all the plans you've had lately haven't had to with a man… a certain blonde man with a sexy British accent… huh… he also has a badge and gun. Funny how that worked out." JJ said as she tipped her head and studied Emily's reaction.
"I…how did you…drats…" Emily said stumbling over her words. "Promise you won't say anything to anyone else? It's new… and its fun… but we're just not sure how it's going to work long distance."
JJ smirked. "Your secret's safe with me."
Emily chuckled they headed back towards the elevator bay. "So I guess this is what we get with you being a profiler now huh?"
JJ shrugged. "No intra-team profiling right? I do have a question for you before we get back upstairs though…" JJ said as she followed Emily into the elevator.
"Shoot" Emily said as she pressed the button for the sixth floor.
"What about your feelings for Hotch?" JJ asked biting her lip nervously as she turned to look at Emily. She knew how happy Emily and Hotch were in another life. It was hard to reconcile that some things that were so right in the other life could and probably would end up differently here.
Emily sighed and glanced down at her boots as she shrugged. Then she turned to look at JJ. "Do I care about Hotch?… sure… could I love him?... maybe… but it's not like its ever going to happen JJ, and I can't sit around and wait for something that's probably never going to happen…"
JJ nodded. "Okay. I just want to make sure that being with Clyde is what you really want. You deserve to be happy."
Emily smiled. "I'm not completely sure about being with Clyde… it's still pretty new and just like any relationship, we'll see where it goes. Should we go check on Penelope and make sure Moran isn't pestering her about what was in the box?" Emily asked changing the subject as they got off the elevator.
JJ laughed. "That's probably a good idea."
Together they headed down the hall to Garcia's office.
"Hey Pen," JJ said as she stepped into Garcia's lair of omnipotence. "Morgan isn't begging too much to know what's in the box is he?"
"I am sooooooooo sorry peaches you know I didn't mean for it to happen like that… I just thought if I gave it to you now I wouldn't forget and then you and gorgeous gray matter could open the gift together when you got home…" Garcia rambled, her speech getting faster and faster with how upset she was about the whole kerfuffle as she fidgeted with her hands.
"Pen, Pen…" JJ said reaching out to still her blonde best friend's hands. "It's okay. Morgan didn't see what was in the box and I know you meant well." She said letting Pen off the hook.
"Oh thank god." Garcia replied and taking a deep breath of relief. "Did you get it stashed away?"
JJ laughed. "Yep, in the trunk of my car. I didn't trust Morgan not to peek if I left it at my desk."
Garcia tipped her head. "He is quite the nosy one isn't he?" she commented about her best male friend.
Emily laughed, knowing all too well how much not knowing things bothered Morgan. "It looks like we caught you on the way out of your office. Where are you headed? We've got a little bit before the briefing."
"Actually, I was about to go track down our Italian gourmand to find out how my cooking was. I really want my Fellini festival to go well." Garcia explained.
"Okay, we'll let you get to it then. See in a little bit." JJ said as she turned and headed for the door followed by Emily and Garcia. In the hallway they split up, going separate directions as Garcia headed for Rossi's office and JJ and Emily headed for the lobby and the bullpen.
Emily smiled and shook her head. "So you finished the course?" she asked as she looked at JJ, changing the subject.
"Mm hm and completed my case rotation." JJ replied as the rounded the corner and headed for the elevator lobby.
"Hotch says he's never seen a rookie profiler analyze and write up cases as well as you." Emily said with a smile as she turned to look at JJ.
"He said that?" JJ asked, slightly embarrassed.
"Well after all the cases you've presented over the years, I'm not surprised." Emily explained.
"Mm" JJ mumbled in response, a smiled crossing her face as she saw Spence step off the elevator. "Heeey you."
"Hi" Spence replied, his voice cracking as he walked up to JJ and Emily, his brown leather messenger bag strap resting across his chest.
"Is everything good?" JJ asked, knowing that Spence had needed to speak with Dr. Norman about his mother's care and medications this morning. It was the reason they'd driven into work separately.
Spence nodded, as he clutched the strap of his messenger bag in his fingers, his hands resting on his chest. "I think so… we'll see."
JJ nodded, knowing that Spence didn't want to talk about it too much. He was still very private when it came to the team and work… he didn't let people in easily, even though he knew they cared. She was just glad that he had let her in. "Good. What do you think about brunch this weekend?" she asked as she glanced at Emily.
"I…" Emily started.
"Have plans?" JJ asked with a smirk. "You can bring a guest if you'd like."
"JJ" Emily warned with a lowered tone of voice.
JJ grinned. "Or not… just you is fine too. I know Henry will be excited to see you. He missed you."
"Okay, okay brunch this weekend would great." Emily replied with a grin and a shake of her head. "You so don't play fair. I'll let you know on the plus one."
"Great!" JJ replied as the three of them turned and headed for the bullpen, pausing as Spence held the door open for the ladies to pass through. "Thanks babe." JJ whispered as she passed by him after Emily walked through the door, pausing briefly to give his free hand a squeeze in silent support to let him know that she was there for him when he was ready to talk later about what had happened with his Mom.
"So Beth got off the bus here and headed northwest towards class." Spence said as he and JJ walked down the busy public street.
"It's amazing no one witnessed her abduction." JJ said as she walked alongside Spence taking in how busy that area was and all of the people who would have been in the surrounding area at the time.
"Maybe the unsub is using a ruse to assist in the abduction?" Spence replied scratching his head as they drew close to the bus stop. "He could be feigning an injury like Ted Bundy, or maybe he tried another tactic and was like 'wow, you're really pretty. You should be a model. I can take your photo. Either one would disarm her." Spence said as he walked the area of the bus stop, looking at the buildings in the area and getting a feel for the abduction site.
"Charm is quite the killer." JJ said smiling at Spence.
Spence returned JJ's smile and nodded in agreement. "Whatever the ruse was, the unsub most likely used it to get her into his vehicle."
"Well if Abby was last seen at a bus stop a few miles away, then he definitely has a means of transportation." JJ said as tucked her windblown hair behind her ear.
Spence nodded, resting his hand on the small of JJ's back as they turned and walked back the way they had come. "Hopefully the disposal site will tell us more."
JJ knelt down over the latest victim, her gloved hands opening the poor girl's mouth. "Well, he burned her tongue with the chemical this time." She said as she looked up at Spence and Rossi.
"So he removed her ability to taste." Rossi said as he squinted in the bright sunlight.
"Why would he do that?" the detective asked as she looked down at the latest victim.
"Historically this type of torture was used to prevent someone from revealing a secret." Spence said as he glanced briefly at the detective and then looked back at the victim.
"Maybe she offended him?" JJ asked as she stood back up from kneeling over the body.
"She was probably forced to participate in some sort of kissing fantasy." Spence said as he leaned down to get a closer look at the body.
"Her lips are chapped." Rossi added, agreeing that the kissing fantasy made sense.
"And when things go awry, he takes the offending sense away." JJ said as she pulled off one of the blue latex gloves.
"He tortured her in these clothes, which means the 80s are essential to his delusion." Spence said, standing back up straight.
"Maybe that's when this rejection occurred and he held onto the clothes all these years." Rossi said as he stood with his hands on his hips.
"And now he's attacking girls who remind him of girls from that time." JJ postulated.
Spence shook his head. "No, I think he has to be getting these clothes from somewhere… if he'd held onto clothes from the 80s wouldn't that mean that he'd already had contact with the object of his obsession? I think he's being pretty specific here… he's not just targeting girls who remind him of that time… he's targeting girls who remind him of the girl who originally offended him."
Rossi nodded. "Blonde hair, blue eyes… all in their late teens… it most likely the offense happened when he was a teenager."
"How do you know that?" the detective asked. "And why start now?"
"A teenager would have the most contact with other teenagers… and something's triggered the memories of the original offence for this unsub. He's been suppressing his rage and upset for a long time but the trigger released it… he's doing what he spent the last twenty odd years fantasizing about doing to the girl who offended him in order to get revenge." Rossi explained.
"Tammy Bradstone's parents just filed a report. Their daughter didn't return from homecoming last night." The detective said as she entered the room and laid Tammy's photo on the table.
"Her face is similar to our three vics." Emily said as she looked down at the photo.
"She's about the same age." JJ replied, her arms crossed where she stood in front of the evidence board with Spence.
"The after party where she was last seen was smack in the comfort zone." The detective said as she glanced at the map on the board that contained the geographic profile.
"Where are her parents now?" Hotch asked.
Spence stepped forward and picked up the photo, looking at it, studying it.
"They're at the house. We're bringing her friends in for questioning." The detective replied.
"Alright, you head over there. We'll start the interviews here." Hotch said with a nod at Prentiss and Morgan.
"Wait, guys, this isn't right." Spence said as he held up the photo of Tammy. "Tammy's a brunette. Our guy likes blondes… and Tammy wasn't taken from a bus stop."
"Are you saying that this isn't related?" the detective asked.
Spence shook his head. "No, but I do think it means that Tammy knows the unsub and reminds him of the original offense… maybe she's related to the person who committed the original offense?"
"Wait… what if the person who committed the original offense is a family member? He'd have been watching for the last twenty years fuming over it and now Tammy is about the same age as when the original incident happened." Emily said.
Morgan scrambled for the files on the conference room table. He opened the files and scanned the lists looking at names. "There's a Ben Bradstone on here." He said as he looked up at the team.
"Okay, go talk to the family." Hotch replied as he pulled out his phone. "I'll have Garcia see what she can pull on Ben Bradstone and the family."
Morgan and Emily nodded as they headed for the door.
Hotch turned to Reid. "See what happens on the jeopardy surface when you plot the information for Tammy Bradstone."
Reid nodded as he took the information from the detective and headed to the map.
"Anything new that we didn't see before?" JJ asked as she stood watching Spence analyze the map.
Spence shook his head. "I'm not sure… but I'm wondering… hey Hotch?" he called as he turned from the map to look at Hotch and Rossi who were speaking with the detective.
All three turned to look at Reid.
"I think we need to take this map to the Bradstones and find out if there are any sites with meaningful significance to Ben Bradstone within the comfort zone." Reid explained.
Hotch nodded. "Do it. I'll call Morgan and Emily and let them know you're on your way."
Reid pulled out the pins holding the map up in place and folded it so that the jeopardy surface was on top, ready to show to Tammy's parents. Then he slid it into a folder as he and JJ headed out the door to catch up to Morgan and Emily.
Reid, JJ, and Emily sat with Lyla and Matt Bradstone while Morgan looked at Tammy's room. They couldn't risk missing anything. The clock was ticking.
"No," Matt Bradstone shook his head, "I can't believe my brother would do something like this. He wouldn't hurt anybody, especially not my daughter." He ran his hands through his hair.
Reid pulled out the map and laid it on the coffee table. "We need to know if there is any place in this area here," he said in a non-confrontational manner as he pointed to the comfort zone lined out on the map, "that has any special significance to you or your brother."
JJ noticed how ready to refute what they were saying about his brother Matt Bradstone was. "Hey, if Cy didn't do this, we need to clear him as quickly as possible so that we can find who did, but if he did do this… we need to find Tammy as quickly as possible."
Matt took a deep breath and nodded. Then he leaned over and looked at the map.
Emily had noticed Lyla's body language at the mention of Cy. While Matt looked at the map, she began talking to Lyla about the history between her and Cy.
"Hey," Morgan said as he came down the stairs and joined Emily, Reid, JJ and the Bradstones. "Tammy had just died her hair blonde and wore the same dress as Mrs. Bradstone to homecoming."
Emily turned back to look at Lyla again. "What happened with you and Cy that made him so angry?"
At that moment Matt pointed to the map. "Here, right here there's an old abandoned house right here. We used to hang out there when we were kids. It used to be on the outskirts of town. I don't know why no one's ever bought it and torn it down to rebuild…but I see it all the time when I drive by."
Reid pulled out his phone and called Hotch while Emily sat talking with Lyla still about what had happened back in the 80s with Cy. "Hotch, we have a location."
In the meantime, now that he was no longer focused on the map, Matt heard what his wife was telling Agent Prentiss about his brother. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Emily squeezed Lyla's shoulder and stood up, leaving the couple alone as the agents moved as a group towards the door.
Matt glanced away from his wife who was crying against his shoulder. "You'll find her and bring her home?"
"We'll do everything we can Mr. Bradstone." Morgan said as he turned to look back the Bradstones, hoping that they were right and that they got there before Tammy did something to set Ben 'Cy' Bradstone off and cause him to use the acid.
"You won't get away with this Uncle Cy. They'll find you." Tammy gasped from the old dental chair in which her uncle had restrained her.
"They can't find me Tammy." Cy said as he walked towards Tammy and leaned over her. "They're not looking for me." Then he began laughing and turned away, walking over to turn on the video recorder. He'd hate to miss out on the opportunity to take something away from his brother. If he recorded it, his brother would have to believe him this time.
The group of agents and police officers slipped into the room while Cy's back was turned. "Actually, I'd say Tammy was right Cy, and you were wrong. We did find you and we were looking for you." Morgan said as he and the others held his gun leveled at Cy.
Cy reached for the workbench where an old car battery sat.
"Don't do it Cy! Turn around and put your hands up. I will shoot you." Morgan said as Emily and JJ got Tammy unbound from the chair and escorted her out of the old abandoned house, allowing the rest of the team and police officers to draw tighter in surrounding Cy.
"No! No! No! No!" Cy yelled as he turned around, the car battery in his hands.
"It's over Cy." Reid said as he tried to talk Cy down. "It's over. We know how the girls reminded you of Lyla… and we know what you did to them… and what you were going to do to Tammy…"
"What I did to Tammy…" Cy laughed. "You don't know what I did to Tammy. I took her. We did things." He laughed again and then began to raise the battery up as if to throw it.
Morgan wasn't sure if there was acid in that battery or not, but he wasn't willing to risk battery acid spilling on one of the team or one of the officers, so he pulled the trigger.
Cy fell backwards in shock as the bullet hit his shoulder. Then he screamed in pain and agony as the opened battery landed on his chest and tipped over spilling battery acid on his other shoulder.
Morgan rushed forward, using the toe of his shoe to kick the battery away and off to the side. Reid moved quickly and found scissors, cutting the acid soaked material away and using the scissors to pull it back from the skin, tossing it off to the side. Rossi stepped out to get the medics as Cy writhed on the floor, the sulfuric acid burning and eating away at his shoulder.
Reid stood up, his eyes searching the shelves nearby, hoping that he was going to find what he was looking for, and hoping that Cy had been prepared in the even that he inadvertently spilled acid on himself. And then he found it, a box of baking soda. He grabbed what he hoped was what it was marked as, a jug of distilled water. He quickly crossed the room and knelt down next to Cy, liberally dumping the baking soda on the affected area of Cy's chest and shoulder and then slowly pouring the water over the baking soda.
Reid sighed in relief, as Cy's writhing slowed and he whimpered in pain, mumbling to himself. The base of the sodium bicarbonate and water was working to neutralize the acid. He moved off to the side and out of the way as the medic's came in with a stretcher and loaded Cy onto it. One of the officers stepped forward and restrained Cy to the stretcher and then followed the medics out of the shack. The officer would be riding along to the hospital.
"That was pretty impressive the way you knew what to do back there Doctor Reid." Morgan teased on the jet ride home.
Reid snorted. "PHD in chemistry Morgan, I better know that a base neutralizes an acid."
Morgan laughed. "Still, pretty impressive kid."
Reid shook his head and stood up to go cuddle with JJ on the couch.
As Reid walked away, Emily and Morgan heard a "Psst, down here," come from the laptop.
"Hey look at you baby girl." Morgan said as he and Emily looked down at the screen.
"Shhhh," Garcia said shushing her chocolate Adonis, "So I was thinking… we haven't had a housewarming party for goldilocks and her gentle genius…"
Emily winced. "PG are you sure this is a good idea… don't you think you might have already done enough?" she asked in reference to a certain 'gift' Garcia had given JJ a few days ago.
"Trust me, it will be great. We can surprise them. We'll show up at their house with all the trappings and trimming for a successful housewarming party… it will be great!" Garcia argued. "I just need you to mobilize our fearless leaders so that we can get everything done in time. Tell Rossi to call me so that I can find out what to buy for food. Move out on the double… Garcia out."
"Looks like we just got recruited for this mission whether we think it's a good idea or not." Emily whispered to Morgan.
Morgan nodded. "I'll talk to Rossi, you talk to Hotch?"
Emily nodded and then they stood up to rearrange their seat locations.
"It feels so good to be home." JJ said stretching as she climbed out of her car and smiled across the roof at Spence as he climbed out of his car.
Spence pulled his messenger bag over his head, shouldered his go bag, and then stepped up next to JJ as she opened the trunk of her car. "Let me grab your stuff." Spence smiled as he leaned down to pull JJ's go bag out of the trunk. "Hey, what's this?" he asked as he pulled the box holding Garcia's housewarming present out of the trunk.
JJ took the box from Spence. "It's Garcia's housewarming present to us… but um… can we look at it later?" JJ asked, realizing that it would be awhile after this case before she'd want to even think about using anything in the box. Suddenly, being restrained and heightened senses… well it just didn't have a lot of appeal at the moment.
"Okay." Spence replied with a shrug.
"How about we unpack, shower, and then figure out something for dinner?" JJ asked as she grabbed her briefcase and the gift box from Spence.
"Sounds good." Spence replied as he followed JJ to the door.
"Feel better?" Spence asked as he followed JJ down the stairs, his hands rubbing her shoulders.
JJ nodded and turned her head to kiss one of Spence's hands as her bare feet reached the bottom of the stairs, her pajama pants brushing the edge of the steps. "I do… I'll feel even better after we eat and curl up in front of the fireplace for a quiet night in." she said, just as the doorbell rang.
Spence followed JJ over to the door and leaned over to look out the side window of the door to see who it was. "JJ, why is the entire team at our front door?"
"I have no idea baby." JJ replied as she unlocked the door and opened it.
"Surprise!" Garcia exclaimed from her position right in front. The rest of the team smiled apologetically at JJ and Reid, unseen by Garcia from the spot behind her.
"I…what?" JJ asked as she and Spence stood at their front door in their pajamas looking at the team with their bags of what appeared to be groceries and various other items.
Spence silently waved at the team while he struggled to find his voice. "Hey…um… guys…what's going on?" he asked as his eyebrows rose on his forehead.
"It's a surprise housewarming party!" Garcia cheered.
"Oooookay" Spence replied in confusion.
"Pen, you really didn't have to…" JJ added as she realized how rude they were being and pushed Spence back out of the way as she stepped back opening the door wide and letting everybody into the house.
"Hey, you guys never did tell me what Garcia got you for a housewarming present." Morgan said as he noticed the mysterious box sitting on the entry way table where JJ had left it on entering the house.
JJ's eyes widened and she leapt forward grabbing it and then continuing upstairs. "I'm just going to go change and put this away. I'll be back down in a few."
Spence nodded and led everyone into the kitchen where they began unloading their bags of goodies. Spence grabbed containers and glasses for everyone as they worked to pull everything together.
JJ's bare feet padded silently into the kitchen a few minutes later as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail, having just changed into jean and a tank top. "Hey" she murmured as walked up to Spence and wrapped an arm around his waist where he stood talking with Morgan. "I can hold down the fort for a few minutes. Why don't you go change?"
JJ smirked as she stood in their kitchen watching Rossi boil noodles and get everything ready for their cooking lesson. Wine glasses were in front of everyone, with an extra one for Spence, as they watched Rossi work.
"Cooking is the most sensual art form," Rossi said as he leaned against the counter, "and these are my paints." He said indicating all of the ingredients he had spread out on the counter.
"So your hands must be brushes." Garcia said, extending Rossi's metaphor.
"Don't interrupt." Rossi replied.
"Yeah" Garcia mouthed and looked down at the counter.
JJ couldn't help but laugh as she looked down the counter at Pen and then turned to look at Emily.
"In a pot of boiling water, we cook our spaghetti until its al dente, firm to the tooth." Rossi said picking up some spaghetti in his hands and passing it to everybody. "Here you go. Everybody pass it around so you feel the texture." Rossi said as everybody took some of the noodles. "Here we go… okay." Rossi turned to the pan he had on JJ and Reid's cooktop. "Now in a large pan we fry up our pancetta, keeping a sharp eye that the edges are crisp."
"But careful not to burn the onions." Hotch added as he leaned forward on the counter.
"Bravo Aaron!" Rossi exclaimed in surprise.
Hotch turned and smiled at the team who were looking at him in surprise.
"We sauté until translucent." Rossi continued.
Then Spence walked into the kitchen bare foot and in a pair of cords and a striped t-shirt. He stepped up behind JJ, wrapping his arms around her waist.
JJ leaned her head back and kissed Spence's cheek, resting one of her hands on his at her waist as she settled back into his embrace. Then she leaned forward picking up her wine glass.
"Ahh" Rossi exclaimed as he pointed at JJ to stop her from drinking her wine. Garcia managed to hold back her laugh, instead turning it into a snort as she turned away from the group.
"Now we mix in the eggs, the parmesan, the spaghetti, and parsley." Rossi said as he added each of the ingredients and began to mix them in the pan he had resting on a butcher block. "You see it's all about timing and rhythm."
JJ smiled and leaned her head back on Spence's shoulder and turned her mouth to whisper in his ear. "If it's about timing and rhythm, then you should be really good at this." She said speaking a low sultry bedroom voice whisper that only he could hear.
"Oh JJ's telling pretty boy naughty things…look at him blush." Morgan cried teasing the couple playfully.
Spence buried his blushing face in JJ's shoulder.
Rossi chuckled as he continued the cooking lesson, "If you don't feel yourself doing it properly, please, just order a pizza," causing the rest of the team to snicker and smirk and then howl with laughter.
JJ kissed Spence's cheek, rubbing her thumbs over the back of Spence's hands.
"So, when do we get to drink the wine?" Emily asked after she stopped laughing, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Almost there." Rossi replied as he continued to stir his creation. "Alright, you start at the beginning and you eat what you cook. I'll supervise, but we're going to do this altogether, just like a family."
"Okay now?" JJ asked holding up a glass of wine.
Rossi smiled. "Now."
JJ smiled and pulled one Spence's hands from around her waist, putting the glass of wine she held into his hand. Then she picked up her own glass of wine, as did everyone else.
"Salute" they all chorused as they leaned in over the countertop of the island in JJ and Reid's kitchen, clinking their wine glasses together as they toasted.
After much entertainment in the cooking, cleanup, and just spending time together, the team decided that it was time to pack it in for an evening and leave JJ and Reid to enjoy a child free evening at home. The team all huddled around in the entryway as they all said their goodbyes.
"Hey are we on for brunch on Sunday?" JJ asked as she hugged Emily goodbye.
Emily chuckled. "Yes, as long as I'm still allowed a plus one." She whispered in JJ's ear.
"Of course." JJ replied, winking as she pulled back. "Have a good night." JJ said to the group in general.
"Oh I plan to." Rossi replied. "I'm gonna whip Prentiss' butt at Rockband." Rossi said gleefully.
Emily shrugged. "I decided to humor him. He misses having Ashley to play video games with and I don't have any plans for the night."
JJ laughed. "Okay well don't let him beat you too badly. We'll never hear the end of it." JJ said as she and Spence followed everyone to the door.
They waved and watched as the team made it to their cars, glad that they had friends that cared so much. Even though it hadn't been what they'd planned on, it had turned out to be a very entertaining and enjoyable night. Once everyone was in their cars and safely on their way, they turned out the lights and headed up to bed hand in hand.