Present Day
Hotch suddenly realized that the scores for the third skater were finally up and were being greeted by loud catcalls and booing. As he examined them, however, he realized that she was now in first place. Taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, he recalled what it had taken to get Laurel and Paige moved to Quantico, and to get Paige set up with her skating.
10 Years Ago
Laurel didn't have much furniture to move from Chicago - Just some easily dismantled bookshelves and several reading lamps. Everything else she either gave away or donated to a thrift shop located close to her apartment. As she told Hotch. "Most of our stuff came from there to begin with. They may as well have it back."
Clothes, books, and kitchen utensils were packed into cardboard boxes and, with help from her neighbor Cary, Laurel easily got them loaded them on a small rental trailer. She then hitched the trailer to the back of her car and (despite protests from both Hotch and Rossi) drove the 733.6 miles (according to Reid) to Quantico.
As Blake reminded Hotch, "You need to remember, Aaron, she has been on her own for a long time. She's not used to talking things over with someone before making a decision. And, with you being gone so much, that may be a good thing."
Hotch, with help from JJ and Garcia, had located a townhouse to rent with room for all four of them. It was a tight fit, but it was located within driving distance of the FBI Headquarters Building as well as the three main ice rinks in the area.
"You don't know which rink Paige will be skating at," JJ pointed out. "So, for now, you will want a location that is central to all of them."
"And, once Paige is settled, you can find something permanent to move into," Garcia added helpfully.
"Move – Again?" Hotch groaned.
"Get used to it, Aaron," Rossi warned him. "It is going to take some time for your new family to get organized and settled."
"My family," Hotch repeated as a smile crept across his face. "My Family!"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Laurel and Garcia carried out extensive research on all of the local ice rinks.
"I'll need to visit them in person," Laurel decided as the two women and Paige sat talking at their favorite coffee shop. "After my experience working at the Chicago rink I have some idea of what to look for as far as maintenance of the building and the ice is concerned. I'll also need to interview coaches and see who I think would work best with Paige."
"Can't I go too?" Paige pleaded. "I want to see the rinks."
"After I have had a chance to check them out, you can come take a look for yourself," Laurel assured her. "Besides, aren't you and Jack scheduled to attend sports camp for the next few weeks?"
"Yes," Paige replied. "They put me in gymnastics. I'm not sure I'll like it. I've never done that before."
"Well, I think a lot of the moves are similar to those used in ice skating," Laurel observed. "So, you may know more than you think. Also, don't they spend some time each day doing yoga? The stretching for that will definitely help you with your skating."
"Camp will also give you an opportunity to meet some of the other kids in this area," she added. "Maybe you will make a new friend or two."
"Jack's friends are all there with him in soccer camp," Paige reported. "But they're all boys."
"There will be girls there, too," Laurel assured her. "Just wait and see."