"The Olympics – I honestly don't believe it! You are going to The Olympics!" The skating exhibitions and introduction of the Olympic Team had just concluded and Joan and Laurel were standing outside next to Joan's SUV talking while Hotch and Rossi loaded suitcases into it.

"Now," Joan continued. "As much as I hate to celebrate and run, these two," she nodded towards Jade and Jack, "Need to be in class tomorrow morning. We are going to have to drive all night so they can make it."

"Just make sure you drive carefully," Rossi admonished her as he put his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. "Are you sure you don't want me to come too?"

"We'll be just fine," Joan assured him after returning the kiss. "And, you need to meet with your publisher early next week, remember?"

"And with my travel agent," Rossi smiled happily. "I want to make sure this is the trip of a lifetime for everyone!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~,~

"My niece is competing in the Olympics – The Olympics!" It was the next morning and Joel and Lois were busy loading their suitcases into their truck.

"That is going to be the experience of a lifetime, Kiddo!" Joel told Paige.

"You are planning on coming, aren't you?" Laurel asked her brother.

"Well," Joel looked at Lois. "We can probably drive to Montreal, but after we get there – "

"You won't have to worry about anything once you get there," Laurel told him firmly. "I will make sure everything is handled."

"I can't let you do that, Sis," Joel protested. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Paige is not going to be skating in The Olympics without her family there to cheer her on," Laurel declared. "I have already donated to the fund that is set up to help defray travel costs for the athletes' families. Let me make sure my family is taken care of, too."

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

"Are you all set, Ma'am?" Morgan asked Mrs. Kingsley as he double-checked the side door of her van to make sure it was securely closed. "Your husband assured me that he is all set and ready to go."

"Definitely - And, thank you so much for all your help," was the grateful reply. "Tom has made a lot of progress since he had his stroke, but he still needs a hand from time to time."

"And, why don't you call me Abby?" she added. "I strongly suspect we are going to be seeing a lot of each other in the coming weeks."

"No problem – And, it's Derek," Morgan treated the woman to one of his megawatt smiles.

"At least the roads have cleared up," Laurel commented as she and JJ joined them. "Do you have far to go?"

"Just across the state to outside of Grand Rapids," Abby told her. "Laura is going home with us for two or three days before she moves back in with the family she boards with in Ann Arbor. She took a year off from school to prepare for the Olympics, so she doesn't have to worry about getting back to classes."

"Now, I have a question for you," she addressed JJ. "I know you already represent Paige, but could you take on another skater? We do have someone for Laura, but I've not been happy with him and I strongly suspect he isn't experienced enough to handle all the offers and requests I am sure will be coming in now."

"That depends," JJ replied slowly. "I do represent Paige, so if I took on Laura that might be construed as a conflict of interest. However, I have a partner, Ronnie, and if she handles Laura that would resolve that issue. What kind of contract do you have with your current rep?"

"It's more like a hand-shake deal," was the reply. "We never actually put anything in writing."

"Okay, I'll tell you what." JJ dug several business cards out of her attaché. "Here is my business card, and also my partner's. Give her a call and explain that you've already spoken with me. You can talk things over and she can send you a copy of our standard contract. You can go over it with your lawyer and then you can get back with Ronnie and see what the two of you can work out. If there is a problem settling up with your current rep, maybe Laurel and/or Aaron can help you. In case you don't know it, both of them are lawyers."

"That sounds reasonable," Abby agreed as she accepted the cards. "Thank you - You'll be hearing from me."

"And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get us on the road!"

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

"Are you sure this is all ours?" Hotch asked as he looked at the pile of luggage in the hotel lobby.

"I'm sure," Laurel told him. "Well, not exactly," she amended her statement. "That suitcase over there is Spencer's. When he and Ian found out that they could get on an earlier flight this morning, I told him to make sure he took the gifts he had for Tovah and the kids and I would handle everything else. He really wanted to get home to his pregnant wife."

"Are you okay – You look kind of pale," Hotch asked, concerned.

"It's nothing." Laurel gave herself a shake. "It's just that – "

"Just that what?" Hotch repeated.

"It's just that I suddenly realized that our lives will never be the same again," Laurel told him. "Not now and definitely not after the next few weeks. We'll go home now and you will go back to lecturing at Georgetown and at the Academy, and to helping out with my law practice. Paige will go back to school and to the ice rink. And, I'll go back to life as a rink mom and maybe a gymnastics mom or whatever it is that Sophia decides she wants to do, and an attorney, but nothing will ever be the same again."

"Things change," Hotch agreed thoughtfully. "But, life changes all the time. We just have to make sure that it changes for the better. Particularly in the coming weeks."

"Define 'better'?" Laurel demanded. "How can we be sure? Aaron, I'm scared!"

"Well, we can't go back now," Hotch shook his head. "The die is cast!" He walked around the pile of luggage to pull her into a hug.

"Now, maybe I should take a break from discussing philosophy with you and start loading the luggage," he suggested a few minutes later. "I see that Dave has pulled our rental around to the front door."

"You load the luggage and I'll round up the kids!"