A/N: WARNING! The issue of abortion is mentioned in this chapter. I am against abortion, for the record.

Chp. 10

Penelope Garcia was wary of people entering her BAU family, especially people she hadn't personally vetted to make sure they weren't some psycho killer out to destroy the only family she had. Mark Rossi was no exception. "Your last name might be Rossi, but that doesn't mean anything." She muttered as a biography of Mark Rossi from birth to eighteen years of age appeared on one of her screens. Because she'd researched the team when she joined the BAU five years earlier, Garcia knew that the Rossi's had lost their youngest son at age six when he drowned in the family pool, but she was shocked to learn that Mark had been home at the time. Her heart went out, not to Mark Rossi the man, but Mark the ten year old boy who'd lost his baby brother. For all intents and purposes, the brother's appeared to have been close and Mark felt responsible for James' death.

From that point on, it appeared Mark had changed. He was more driven to succeed and be the best at everything. He had always worked hard, but with a focus that many of his peers lacked. In that respect, Garcia saw herself in Mark. She could relate to the feelings of guilt that he probably still felt to this day. She saw that after high school he'd been accepted to Georgetown University and even had a girlfriend while in college. But the relationship had ended just three weeks before Mark and his girlfriend, whose name was Shelby Anderson, were to graduate. Odd, but not unheard of. One week after graduating, Mark enlisted in the Navy and went to BUD/S directly after finishing bootcamp. Because of his exceptional performance in BUD/S and SQT, and his fluency in Arabic, Mark was recruited by Seal Team Six, the Seals counterterrorism unit. It seemed to Garcia that Mark Rossi took on and surpassed every challenge thrown at him, a trait she admired and again, could relate to. Deciding that her family was safe with this man in their midst, Garcia thought about moving on to something else. But she couldn't leave Mark just yet. The break up just before his college graduation bothered the analyst. Why suddenly break up with someone you dated for four years? People break up all the time, Pen, you know that. Let it go.

But she ignored the little voice in her head. "Just one…" She stopped when she saw the medical records for Shelby Anderson listing, among other things, an abortion. "Oh…" Garcia's hand went to her mouth as she read. Everything fit. Joining the Navy, going straight to Seal training and spending his entire naval career with the Seals. "No wonder you wanted to hurt someone. First your brother, then your kid."

Garcia deleted as much of the search she could, then opened an online RPG, hoping to loose herself and forget what she'd learned about Mark Rossi.

000

Will was exhausted. As the garage door closed behind his truck, he leaned back in the seat and didn't move. By the time the JPATS Boeing 727 landed at Dulles International Airport and he and Mark left the airport, it was 0530. He glanced at the clock on his dashboard and saw it was just after 0700. That brought a smile to his tired face. JJ was probably feeding Henry. Will hurriedly opened the door and got out of the truck. He grabbed his duffel bag from the backseat and silent made his way inside. Though Will loved his job and would never abandon the other members of the Dragon Slayer program, he wondered what parts of his son's life he was missing out on. At four and a half months old, Henry was the apple of both his parent's eye. So far, he'd been a very easy baby, much to JJ and Will's relief. Doing the type of work they did, a difficult baby would've just made things that much harder. But Henry could've been the most difficult baby ever seen and it wouldn't have lessened JJ and Will's love for him. As he put his go bag and sidearm in the master bedroom, Will thought about how blessed he was to have everything he did. He knew that even thirteen years later, Mark still grieved for the child he'd lost. Going to the nursery, Will fully expected to get a face full of Glock for his trouble, because he usually called JJ before coming home if he knew he'd get there extremely early or late. As he eased the door open, he smiled at the scene that greeted him. Henry was sprawled on JJ's lap in that post nursing slumber, his mouth partially open. Will saw JJ was giving him 'the look' for not calling and he mouthed 'sorry, Cher.' The Look dissolved into a smile and JJ started to stand to put Henry to bed, but Will waved her back down. He moved across the room and knelt in front of his wife and son. JJ gently transferred Henry into Will's arms. Even so, the baby stirred and whimpered slightly at being moved.

"Shh, it's ok, buddy. It's daddy." Hearing his father's voice, Henry quieted and leaned into Will's chest. Will smiled and JJ couldn't suppress a soft "aww." She watched as her husband carefully stood and carried Henry to his crib. They both stood and watched their son sleep for a few minutes before going to the hallway. Once they were outside, they hugged and kissed each other long and deep, barely able to contain themselves after being apart for three months. JJ knew Will felt guilty for leaving her with Henry, but she didn't blame him. He'd had a job to do. The only reason she wasn't in the field was because Hotch had pulled strings to allow her to stay home, with pay, until Will returned from his assignment.

"I missed you." JJ said, laying her head on Will's chest and just enjoying the fact that he was safe.

"I missed y'all too, cher. More than you know." Will knew he needed to tell her about Max and decided to get it over with. "Let's go sit in the living room for a minute."

JJ had studiously avoided both television and print news since the team had gone to Vegas. She noted the change in her husband's tone and feared the worst. By the time they reached the living room, only a few steps away, Will felt wetness on his shirt. He slowly sat down on the couch and held his wife. After a minute, she asked, "Who was it?"

"Max Ryan." Will said, and felt the pain in his own heart when JJ let out a soft whimper. His arms instinctively tightened around her. JJ might be a trained federal agent, but she was still his wife. Will LaMontage would protect her and their son to his dying breath if necessary, and do so gladly.

They stayed quiet for a long time. Will waited for JJ to break the silence, knowing whatever she needed to say was more important. "Is everyone else alright?"

"Yes, cher. But we found William Reid's son. Emily has custody of him."

"Did William…" JJ knew some information about the case because Will had talked to her over the three months he, Mark and Tim were in Vegas. She didn't know about the Dragon Slayers, but she did know that Will and his team were sent to 'arrest' William Reid.

After a long time, Will finished her thought. "Yes, he apparently used Spencer when his urges were too great, but he couldn't find a new victim. Derek and Emily found Spencer locked in his closet wearing nothing but a diaper." Will said, rage in his tone. JJ let out a small sob.

"You…you said Emily has custody of Spencer? How old is he?"

"He's around four or five. But he acts like a toddler. From what I've heard, he's pretty smart, but he regresses because he feels safe acting that way."

"You should've been a profiler."

Will smiled. "Nope. I prefer being married to one."

"Well, you know there's this thing about marriage. You have to show your partner you care every once in a while and well…I've missed you." JJ knew it sounded weak, but after three months of not using pickup lines, she was a little rusty.

"Lead the way, Honey."

JJ wordlessly climbed off her husband and the two went to their bedroom.

000

The cab dropped Mark in front of his home, a single-story two bedroom ranch style house built in the 1950's. It was old, but he kept it neat and up to date. Moving through the house, he found everything as he'd left it three months before. Because he lived alone, Mark used the guest bedroom as his bedroom and the master bedroom as his home office. Dropping his duffel in the bedroom, he went to his office and stopped in front of the wet bar that took up most of one wall. He knew he should sleep, then go grocery shopping as there was no food in the house after his three month hiatus. But he didn't want to do either of those things. Instead, he picked up a glass, wiped the dust off and his hand hovered over the bottles. He had several choices and finally grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniel's, filling the glass half way. Then he went to the desk and sat. Mark stared at the glass of whiskey for a long time, memories flooding him, before he picked it up and drank. The memories faded as the alcohol hit his blood stream and he took another smaller drink.

Mark tried very hard to forget Shelby Anderson. He sometimes wondered how he could've ever become involved with such a selfish bitch. They say love is blind and Mark Rossi wholeheartedly agreed with whoever 'they' were. The fact that he hadn't seen Shelby for who she was before it was too late pained him to no end. He knew he should forgive himself, because his little boy was in heaven. Mark took some comfort in that. But all the things he'd lost caused him such pain that he sometimes considered shoving a pistol in his mouth and blowing his brains out. But he couldn't do that to his parents and his nonna. They had suffered too much when he'd failed to save James and then when he'd told them about Nicholas. Even though he'd never known if the child was a boy or girl, he'd taken that leap of faith and named his son Nicholas.

He allowed his mind go back to that awful day thirteen years earlier. He'd been sitting on a bench with Shelby and the conversation had turned to children. Mark knew Shelby didn't want them, but he thought maybe he could convince her to change her mind.

"Come on Shel, at least consider it. I don't want kids right now, but we could have them at some point. Wouldn't you like a daughter to teach the girl stuff to? I could scare her first dates, that'd be fun." He laughed, but then became concerned when Shelby's scowl deepened. He was worried she was going to tell him she was unable to get pregnant and not wanting kids was a ruse.

"Mark, I had an abortion three weeks ago."

They sat for a few minutes, neither saying anything. Mark finally found his voice, and the anger he felt made his tone recognizable. "Shelby, I suggest you leave now, before I do something I can't take back."

And she did. Mark never saw her again. He saw a report on the news three weeks later that she'd been killed in a head on collision with a drunk driver. He remembered thinking the world was better off without her in it and that he'd would done anything to meet the baby Shelby had carried.

000