"Ah – h – h - Before we get to the house I need to warn you about something," Hotch said as he maneuvered the car around the corner and onto their street.

"What?" Laurel was immediately on high alert.

"Jack and Paige said they would get the house ready for you and also fix dinner," Hotch explained. "I don't know what they have in mind, but they also volunteered to watch Sophia while they did it."

"I am sure everything will be just fine," Laurel watched the neighborhood houses as they drove past. "They both are remarkably responsible young adults."

"Young adults," Hotch repeated as he pulled the car into the garage. "It seems strange to think of them like that. But that's what they are - Young Adults."

"MOMMY!" the door leading into the house flew open and Sophia ran out. "MOMMY! You're home!"

"Yes, I'm home," Laurel was trying hard to keep the tears out of her eyes. "I'm finally home!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Something smells awfully good," Laurel commented as she followed an excited Sophia into the house.

"Mrs. Meyers brought all kinds of food over for us," Paige told her. "We just had to heat it up."

"I tasted some of it," Jack admitted. "And it is really good!"

"And, Aunt Penelope said not to worry about food for tomorrow because she will be bringing some over," Paige added.

"All kinds of food!" Sophia chirped happily.

"I don't know what we will do with it all," Paige worried. "Jack eats a lot, but – "

"Maybe we will have to get someone in here to help us with that," Hotch suggested with a smile. "Like a maybe guest or two."

"Someone is coming for a visit?" Laurel guessed.

"In a day or so," Hotch admitted. "It was Dave's idea and he arranged for it."

"Dave?" Laurel repeated. "If he was involved, I would guess that Joan is flying out from Chicago for a visit."

"Jade too?" Paige quickly asked, as Jack smiled excitedly.

"We'll see," Hotch replied. "We'll see."

"Now, let's sit down and get started on all this food Mrs. Meyers was kind enough to send over."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Are you all settled in and comfortable?" Hotch worried as he sat on the edge of their bed. After dinner, he had insisted that Laurel immediately go upstairs, change into her nightgown, and get into bed.

"All set," Laurel told him as she wiggled around getting comfortable. "You were right, I am tired. I guess it is going to take me longer to recover than I thought. Hopefully, I'll have enough energy in the morning to tackle the two cases I have on my desk. My clients are waiting on my findings."

"About those," Hotch began. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of checking your desk to see whether you have anything open and found them. When I investigated the one with the client who is planning to build that high-rise apartment building, I found that on the city plot that property is actually shown as three separate lots. I suspect that the previous owner left it like that in order to lower their property taxes. However, if your client is planning on building so that the entire area is enveloped, I would recommend that they go before the City Commission and have that changed so that there is only one lot there. The property taxes would be more; however, if they are looking at that building as an investment, that would make it much easier to sell when the time comes."

"Now, as far as the second case is concerned, it appears that the ownership of that particular piece of property has passed through multiple hands over the years and not all of the transfers have been properly documented. A Quit Claim deed might be indicated. It also appears that multiple building code restrictions have been enacted over the years in that area. The home that is currently there is undoubtedly grandfather-claused. However, if your client is planning on tearing down the existing residence and replacing it with a new house, it is going to take a lot of checking to verify exactly what they can and cannot build. Personally, I would advise that they find another piece of property to build their home on."

"You checked all that out?" Laurel exclaimed. "Aaron – Thank you!"

"There was one other set of papers there," Hotch said slowly. "Why didn't you tell me that you and Allison are looking into building another Inn?"

"It is still in the talking stages," Laurel explained. "All of our locations thus far have been either close to airports or industrial parks where we knew we had an available customer base of business travelers. We have never looked at tapping into the tourist trade. The location we are considering north of here is in the foothills of the Appalachians and would do that, and we're not sure we're ready to take that risk. Besides, you haven't been around a lot lately for me to talk with."

"Well, about that," Hotch said thoughtfully. "I need to tell you that about a week ago I sent through the paperwork for me to leave the BAU."

"You did what?" Laurel asked, shocked. "You want to leave your job?"

"I've been thinking about it for quite some time," Hotch confessed. "And, when no one could find you and I got so scared, I realized that maybe the time had come. Morgan is fully capable to taking over the team and making it his own."

"So, when are you – Whatever you are?" Laurel asked.

"I spoke with Matt Cruz," Hotch reported. "And, after I finish up the paperwork for some of my recent cases, I will officially be on Family Leave for six months. That gives me six months to help you out around the house while I make up my mind about what I want to do. Matt has offered to see what other opportunities may be open to me, including any that may be available in The State Department. And, if I do decide to leave government service, I am entitled to full retirement benefits."

"That's a lot to think about," Laurel said as she lay back on her pillows. "Maybe we should talk some more tomorrow.'

"We have six months to decide," Hotch pointed out. "So, why don't you get some rest now?"