The drive back to Chicago the next morning was much more relaxed than the trip to Wisconsin. Laurel and Hotch talked quietly in the front seat while Paige dozed in the back.
"Are you going to continue living here?" Hotch asked as he drove into the parking lot of the old apartment building where Laurel and Paige lived.
"We don't have much longer on the lease," Laurel explained. "And, I would like Paige to stay in the same school for the rest of the school year."
"You haven't made any changes, then," Hotch observed as they unloaded the trunk of the car.
"Well, I did quit my weekend job at the hotel," Laurel told him. "And, Paige and I now have cell phones."
"Also," she smiled, "Next Tuesday I am getting a car."
"It's not new," she hastened to add. "It is a program car that was turned in. However, it has very low mileage and the dealer is giving me a 'New Car Warranty' on most of the moving parts."
"That sounds reasonable," Hotch agreed as they walked through the door of the apartment.
"But, that also means that I am now going to have to deal with license plates, car insurance, gas, oil, and all the rest of it," Laurel sighed. "I'm not really sure it is worth it."
"Mom!" Paige called out. "We'll have a car – We can go places!"
"That's right – Listen to your daughter," Hotch laughed. "You can go places! And, what about you, Paige? What will you be doing next?"
"Test," Paige commented. "I need to move up a level before the next competition."
"And, that means more ice and lesson time," Laurel added.
"You are still going to be working two jobs?" Hotch questioned.
"For a little while," Laurel replied. "I don't want to make too many changes too fast. People will start asking questions and rumors will start flying. Sometimes I think it's better if no one else knows your business."
"Can you stay and visit with us for a while?" she asked. "I can put the coffee on and I know we have some cookies around here."
"Much as I would like to, I need to get going," Hotch replied, glancing at his watch. "Commercial flights don't wait for you and I doubt if Garcia could hack into their system and delay the flight."
"Or, rather," he continued thoughtfully. "I doubt if she could hack and not get caught. I really don't want to have to extract my computer tech from the clutches of the FAA. I would have a heck of a time explaining that to Chief Cruz."
"Penelope would probably enjoy that," Laurel pointed out. "It would give her a chance to analyze where she went wrong so she could avoid getting caught the next time."
"Walk me out to my car?" Hotch held out his hand.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Thank you so much for coming," Laurel smiled up at him as they stood together in the parking lot next to his rental car. "It meant a lot to Paige and me."
"It was my pleasure," Hotch assured her as he began to slowly bend over.
"Laurel My Dear!" the high-pitched man's voice floated across the parking lot. "How was the competition? How did Paige do? I'll bet that new dress of hers looked absolutely marvelous! How did her make-up work out? Your hair looks great! You have to tell me everything!"
With a sigh, Hotch straightened up. Looking over towards the sound of the voice, he saw a slender, well-dressed and amazingly well-coffered man hurrying towards them.
Laurel took a deep breath. "Aaron," she said. "I'd like you to meet my neighbor Cary. He has been doing my and Paige's hair as well as designing her and Jade's make-up for the competition. And, Cary, you can drop the limp wrist act; Aaron is one of the good guys."
"Darn!" Cary replied with a smile as he held out his hand to shake. "Civilization is getting just too accepting. I haven't had an opportunity to really rattle someone in a long time."