Disclaimer: I own nothing.

*********************

Sipping his second coffee of the morning, lamenting that it is entirely too early to be doing something on a Sunday morning, David Rossi yawns as he stands in the airport lounge. Jennifer Jareau is checking her bag and ticket for the nth time as Henry stands nervously by.

When the loudspeaker announced the New Orleans flight, Rossi signalled as such to Henry, and him up into his arms to bid him farewell, before pulling JJ close for a quick, deep kiss. 'Safe trip. I'll see you tonight.'

Taking Henry by the hand, JJ picked up the bags, presented her tickets and began the walk to the plane. Waving as they disappeared, Rossi turned and left. This was going to be interesting.

Will LaMontagne had asked if six year old Henry could spend the week with him for Thanksgiving. JJ had agreed and so was flying out this morning with Henry, and flying back tonight once Henry was settled in. Will would fly back with Henry next Sunday.

As Rossi made his way to his car, he remembered Henry's sense of trepidation about spending a week with his father. He'd actually gone out a brought him an iPhone so that Henry could call him whenever he wanted.

Arriving at their family home, he sincerely hoped that Henry would be okay.

*********************

The next day found a cranky JJ pacing Rossi's office.

'Oh come on, I'm free to go on an away case, and of all the times for such a case to pop up, I'm going to be stuck here at an 'unmissable' seminar on teamwork?!'

'Wasn't exactly how I'd planned to spend our kid free week either honey.'

Sighing in defeat, JJ drops onto the couch. 'You going to be home for Thanksgiving?'

'I hope so babe.'

But unfortunately, come Thursday, the team is still stuck in Mississippi. They know who their UnSub is, but there is no evidence linking him to the crimes. Added to the fact that the UnSub is the son of a very wealthy man and has an army of lawyers at his disposal, they are hitting dead ends constantly. Finally they catch a break and storm the Julian Thanksgiving dinner to arrest Marcus R. Julian III.

Flying home on the night of Thanksgiving was impossible, and so they are scheduled for a 7am take off the next morning. Well used to hastily cancelled and rescheduled dinners Garcia puts off the annual team Thanksgiving dinner to Friday night, so that everyone can attend.

And incidentally Henry Jareau was one of the attendees.

Upon arriving in New Orleans, Henry and his mother were picked up by Will. Will's signing vocab is very limited, but when Henry arrived he tries hard to sign with him. When his mother leaves on the flight that night, Henry gives her a big hug, and thinks that maybe this week won't be too bad.

But as the days go by, so too does Will's enthusiasm for signing and making sure that Henry knows what is happening. Will's girlfriend Celeste tries, but it's not the same.

When the house is invaded by relatives and friends on Wednesday, his newfound aunties and uncles weren't the same as Uncle Aaron, Aunty Em, Uncle Derek, Uncle Spence and Aunt Penny. And his cousins weren't Jack, Lexi or Sax. Sure they were fun to play with, but he couldn't communicate with them.

His father would take him around to meet all these different people, slowly and painfully fingerspelling names of the faces that meant nothing to him. When Celeste found him playing by himself in a corner later that afternoon, she took him under wing, and so he got through the night. But the next morning, when he went to Celeste's family party, he was taunted by the kids there.

Returning back to Will's place later that afternoon young Henry Jareau burst into tears as it became too much for him. He wanted to go home.

Signing through his tears to his father and Celeste, he soon realises that they can't understand a word he was saying. Looking down at his sobbing son, a desperate Will gets JJ on the phone. Pleasantries aside, JJ tells him to tell Henry to fetch his phone.

'He has a phone?'

'Yes, he does. Now get it, and get him to call me.'

Will gestures 'phone' to Henry, and Henry nods, tears still running down his cheeks, as he scrambles upstairs, carefully unplugging his iPhone from the charger and bringing it downstairs.

Propping it up at the right angle, Henry wipes the tears from his face and phones his mother, carefully pressing each button - just like Dave had showed him.

Within seconds a bemused Will is standing off to the side as he watches JJ's and Henry's hands flying as they communicate via video call. But the one thing he does get the drift of is that Henry doesn't want to stay. JJ is trying to reason with him, but Henry is signing no-no-no over and over again.

Finally, JJ finishes the call. 'Let me talk to Daddy. Okay?'

Henry nods, sobs, and runs out of the room with his phone.

Will is on the phone with JJ within minutes as she updates him, but as she does so, Henry is video calling Dave.

Dave was in the Mississippi office when his phone did his video call tune. This could only mean one thing. Excusing himself, he props up the phone in a far corner of the room to take the call. Henry's signs come flying out fast and furious as he vents his frustrations at not being able to talk to anyone - not being able to understand anyone.

Henry knows that tonight will be an even bigger shindig – being Thanksgiving and all – and he dreads the people. And the rest of the weekend will be people, people and more people. He wants to go home NOW.

Rossi manages to establish some semblance of control over Henry, before signing that he'll talk to his mother. Henry nods and hangs up, gripping his iPhone in a death grip. Rossi then calls JJ, who is still on the phone with Will, and is jumping between conversations as she tries to decide what to do for her distraught son.

Henry needs to know his father and his family, but this week looked like too much at once. There were too many people and no understanding for him. But she couldn't get a flight out to New Orleans, not on today of all days.

Rossi offers a compromise: tell Henry to stay for Will's Thanksgiving party that night, and Rossi will drive over from Mississippi and pick him up after. When JJ offers this suggestion to Will, he feels trapped. What can he say? He can't even sign enough to tell his kid about the change of plans! Consenting, he hangs up the phone.

JJ calls back Henry to explain the plan. Henry is ecstatic, nodding furiously when his mother told him to behave for his father. Phone call finished, Henry called Dave next, just to make sure. 'You come and get me tonight?'

'11pm. I'll be there,' promised Rossi.

Ending the call, he speaks with Hotch. With the UnSub soon to be arrested, by 8pm Rossi has begun his trek.

Henry was good to his word, behaving and doing his best to smile at all the new people he met that night at the party, but always keeping an eye on the clock. He needed the little hand to be on 11, and the big hand on the 12. Then Dave would come and get him.

At 11pm on the dot, Rossi parks on Will's street. Stepping in the door, the party is in full swing as he looks for his little man.

What he sees pulls on his heart strings. Someone was trying to talk with Henry, but all he can do is nod his head. Henry doesn't understand a word they were saying. Sensing that Dave has arrived, Henry sprints across the room, jumping into Dave's waiting arms. Picking Henry up, Dave pulls him close as he signs with him.

'Where's Daddy?' asks Rossi eventually.

Henry points, and they make their way over, Henry on Dave's hip.

'Will.'

'David.'

Within the hour, Dave has everything of Henrys, has done the compulsory toilet break - twice - and is ready to leave. Henry was asleep within half an hour, and by 3:30am sound asleep in Rossi's bed in Mississippi.

At 6am, mere hours later, Rossi needs to drag Henry out of bed to head down to breakfast and checkout ready for their 7am flight.

Standing in the airport waiting lounge, Henry stands tiredly with his arm wrapped securely around Dave's leg as he leans against him, waiting for the plane.

After the plane takes off and is cruising, Henry makes his way over to Spencer Reid. It's time they had a chat!

Hotch watches in amusement as Reid and Henry argue about something. Clearly young Jareau could rile up the young profiler just like anyone else on the team!

Finishing his conversation with Reid, he moves onto Uncle Aaron. After his uncle solemnly swears that his best friend Saxon will be at the Thanksgiving dinner that night, Henry moves onto Uncle Derek, who is seated with his eyes closed, iPod plugged in.

Sneaking forward, Henry tries not to giggle as he reaches for the white cord of Uncle Derek's iPod - ready to pull. But Uncle Derek is quicker - quickly moving and entrapping Henry in his arms, fake growling as Henry giggles. They share a 'manly-bonding' moment before Henry suddenly yawns. Morgan laughs. 'Sleep?' he signs.

Henry nods sleepily, feeling safe enough to sleep. He won't miss anything.

'Where?'

Henry yawns again and points at David. Carefully carrying his bundle, Morgan stands up and heads toward where David sits by the window.

'Dave,' whispers Morgan, then kicks himself. The kid's deaf!

Rossi snaps out of his thoughts, turning from the window. He's greeted with the sight of his 'son' rubbing his eyes and yawning, before reaching out with his little arms to be held. Without question, Rossi takes the weight, rearranging Henry in his lap as he sleeps.

The team arrives home less than twenty minutes later, and is greeted by the sight of the other half of their team waiting for them.

Hotch is bombarded by three little bodies as Rossi steps off the plane with the sleeping Henry on his shoulder. JJ steps forward at this adorable sight, and rests a hand on her son's back as she leans into kiss Dave. 'Thank you.'

Thanksgiving dinner that night is a riotous affair - well enjoyed by one and all! Never mind it was a day late!