Undercover Family

I would love to hear your opinions and look to working further on the story.

I do not own or have connection with the "Criminal Minds" program or its characters.

Chapter 33.

Momma has for the past 11 days been running the gamut between frustrated, angry, irritated, worried and overprotective. She has gone through her notes and her machines countless times in order to discover where she made a mistake in the tracer programming. She doesn't allow the children to go outside the house at all; not even to go to school. She has talked to the principals of the schools and has informed them of her decision and will not change her mind, no matter that they have pleaded and talked to her until they seemed to be blue in the face. Spencer, especially is not happy about not going to school, he was enjoying himself and loved the atmosphere that it offered him. At the house, with all the agents and the seriousness of figuring out how to get into that unseen building, the atmosphere is very charged. In fact, no one in the house even realized that Thanksgiving was only two days away.

JJ had not forgotten about Thanksgiving, she was so hoping she could spend the day with Henry and Will. She goes to see momma about her being able to do this. Momma looks at her incredulously.

"You want to leave for the day to spend it where?"

"I want to spend it with my son, I understand that Derek is still missing and I want to find him as well as anyone else. But right now, I can't do anything, so I would like to spend that day with my son. You are the only person who can make that happen."

"Will you return Friday morning after dinner and time spent with Henry?"

"Yes."

"Where do you want to see them?"

"Will was taking Henry to a small town in Louisiana to see some of cousins. That is where I want to go."

"Would you accept someone going with you?"

"Well, yes, if I must."

"Good, call Will and tell him to meet you in Shreveport." Momma then goes and sets up a way for JJ and a guest to get to Shreveport and then to go with Will. She then speaks to Emily about going with JJ to Louisiana. Since momma knows that she will either spend it here with the family or alone if there was no family, she thinks it would be good if the two girls spend the day together and come back together. "Emily, I want the two of you back early the next morning. We don't want the neighbors or anyone else to get suspicious about why you are not here."

Momma wondered if she could get any of the others to spend time with members of their family. Aaron probably would, but Hayley needs more than one day to prepare. Maybe she can set up a day around Christmas, if they are still here. Spencer wouldn't be able to get in to see his mother at this late date and she was not sure if he would want to see his father. David doesn't really spend holidays with family and neither does Penelope. Maybe she can set up a thanksgiving meal here and she smiles at that thought.

Two days later, early morning, JJ and Emily leave by jet to Louisiana. Momma begins a turkey with oyster stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, green salad and mashed potatoes with gravy. There will be a full house with some of the local agents also staying in town.

While momma is in the kitchen cooking, her 'children' are in and out of the kitchen helping when they can. She has had them mixing, slicing and pouring into dishes and bowls. The only one that she doesn't give any job to do is Aaron, he just sits on a chair in the kitchen talking to her. Since they firmly believe that the prototype of machine is now in that location, he really wants to know more about the person who took it.

"Aaron, I have already told Bob and the local agents and the name of the person is in the files."

"I know I've read the name and Penelope researched him, he was killed in an auto accident before the first child was even abducted. Do you know anyone that he knew?"

"What I know about him I gave to you and the other agent's months ago."

"The man is an enigma, he never married, and had no children and his parents are dead."

"Did you ever find out where he grew up? I know it was in this area. I just don't know where."

"I'll have Penelope check it out, maybe that might lead us somewhere." He jumped off the chair and went to the computer room where Penelope was on the computer and talked to her about finding more about the guy. Who he was and where he lived in his life. Momma was just finishing up and had Bob get the turkey out of the oven, while she began to make the biscuits and last minute foods. She put others to work setting the table and then had Bob slice the turkey and had the food taken to the dining room table. While she put the others to work, she took her little man and changed his pants and put him in his high chair. Her other little man was sitting in his seat when everyone else got to their seats and they gave grace over the food and ate till they had very little food left on the table.

After this holiday, the team got more into finding their missing agent and the children. Penelope discovered that the man who had taken the prototype had a brother, but she can't seem to find anything on him. It's as if he doesn't exist after age eighteen and he left high school. He has no driver's license, no tax returns, no jobs, no rents; nothing seems to be found with his name or picture on him. He is like a ghost. Out agents have found people like him before and they will find him. But only through their pugnacity are they found and they will find this one.

But momma, she is not part of that group, she is maintaining her role and caring for children, just as the mothers and fathers of the other missing children have to continue for the sake of the ones they still have at home. It is important that momma continue the charade to the rest of the world and still have her children as just that.

That is why she is preparing the house for Christmas, She has gone to the Wal-Mart in town and got a lot of decorations and they got a tree. She decides to take them to the Algonquin Commons Shopping Mall to see Santa. Aaron hates the idea. Spencer is so excited that he doesn't know what he wants to ask Santa for. Emily is excited to see Santa too. As a child, she lived in so many different areas of the world; that she never sat on Santa's lap. David and JJ felt they were too old to be excited about seeing Santa.

Aaron hated going shopping with momma because she always put him in the cart seat or the stroller and he never got to choose anything. The other children got to walk beside her but it just made him feel like an appendage of momma and not his own man. On the Saturday they go to the mall to see Santa, he notices she is not bringing the stroller and that excites him until they get there and sees that she is going to rent one instead. They go to store after store and eventually get hungry and go to the food court for lunch. After lunch, momma asks David, JJ and Penelope to take the bags and boxes they do have out to the car while momma and the little ones stand in line to see Santa. Spencer is so excited that he can't seem to keep still, but momma just smiles indulgently and loves to see him like that. Emily is excited too but she is trying to keep her decorum. Aaron doesn't want to see him and just sits in the stroller sulking. The line is very long and the others get back before they get to see him. Momma has David take Spencer to the bathroom; she's worried that all the excitement will cause an accident. The boys hurry so that Spencer doesn't miss Santa. They get back when there is just three people ahead of them.

When it gets to their turn, Spencer gets on his lap and starts talking about statistics about whether he can really travel to all those people all over the world. Santa could barely get a word in to ask the boy what he wanted for Christmas. Momma is taking a picture of course, which she does with Emily as well. She then puts Aaron in his lap and the 'baby' looks at him and pulls his beard, which is the picture that momma took. It's a good thing it was actually a real beard. Momma asks if he wouldn't mind having David and JJ too, they complained a bit, but sat on his lap as well in order to please momma. Even Penelope sat on his lap. Momma thanked Santa and gave him a big tip.

Our little family continued to shop, there was a store called One Step Ahead that momma wanted to check out. It's a store for babies and toddlers. Momma is looking for something in particular for her little man. When she gets the area that sells them, she looks at different styles and asks Aaron would he like to use. He lifts his very tired eyes to what she was showing him and opened them up. It seems that momma wants him to pick out a potty chair. She thinks it is time to start toilet training her baby boy. He gives her one of his rare big smiles and looks at the chairs and chooses one that he thinks he could use okay. Momma buys it and her little guy falls asleep in the stroller while they continue to shop. After many hours, they finally feel all shopped out, with more drooping heads and feet going slower and slower. Momma takes the stroller back and Aaron walks with momma and the family to the bathroom, where she proceeds to change him and has all of young ones use the toilet before they head home.

The other Christmas that she has set up for her children is that on the 27th, the family will go visit grandma and grandpa for a few days. Momma has set it up for Aaron to see Jack and JJ to see Henry, Penelope will get to visit with Kevin as well. In the meantime, momma is fixing the house and baking a lot. She has also set up a potty time schedule for Aaron, in order to help him retrain his weakened muscles. He is so thrilled about this and happy that finally he might not be so much of a baby. But being a baby just might be what is needed the most right now.