"What do you think of my costume?" Jessica asked.

Spencer took in the long black dress, colorful glasses and carrot-shaped earrings. "Luna Lovegood?"

"Yes!" Jessica did a little twirl. "I tried to make a necklace of bottle caps, but it turns out that bottle caps are very hard to string together."

"I can think of some ways we might make holes in them, but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate the noise," Spencer signed thoughtfully.

Jessica shrugged. "My costume's good enough as is. So, is it true that David Rossi came out of retirement?"

"Yes," Spencer confirmed excitedly. "I've been compiling a list of questions I want to ask him about his books and it just keeps getting longer and longer. It'll probably take me a while to ask them all."

Jessica smiled mischievously. "You know, I met him first."

"What? When?"

"When I got him to sign your birthday present at the bookstore. What, did you think I bought that on eBay?"

"Right," Spencer signed sheepishly. "What did you think of him?"

Jessica shrugged again. "He seemed okay. I think he was confused by me using my phone to talk, but that happens with a lot of hearing people."

"I could explain it to him."

Jessica raised her eyebrows. "You're going to walk up to him and say 'Remember that girl at the book signing who used her phone to talk? Thought you might like to know she's deaf'?"

"…okay, maybe I won't," Spencer conceded. "By the way, we're flying out to Texas in the morning."

Rossi did, in fact, remember the girl from the book signing. When he noticed Reid texting during the flight home, he shook his head. "Youngsters these days. Always on their phones," he commented to Hotch. "There was a girl at my book signing a few weeks ago who just typed out a text message on her phone and showed it to me; wouldn't even talk like a normal person."

Hotch frowned. "Was she by any chance blonde and buying the book as a gift?"

"How'd you know?" Rossi asked, surprised.

"Reid's birthday was a few weeks ago. His cousin Jessica is deaf and uses her phone to communicate with people who don't know ASL. And to my knowledge, she's the only person he texts on a regular basis; he's not the biggest fan of technology either."

"…oh." Come to think of it, Rossi was fairly certain the girl had been buying a gift for someone named 'Spencer'. And Dr. Reid was clearly a fan of his books. "I didn't realize."

"Get to know the team before you start making snap judgments about them," Hotch suggested, giving Rossi a disapproving look.

"I'll bear that in mind," Rossi agreed, now feeling like a jerkass.

Back at the office, once the rest of the team had gone home, Rossi took a discreet look at Reid's desk. Sure enough, Reid had a couple photos of the girl from the book signing. Rossi was left feeling as if he somehow owed Jessica an apology, though he suspected she would simply be confused if he actually gave her one.

"Speaking of reading material, I've read all your books," Reid remarked.

"Thanks," Rossi replied, yanking the lock off of Goehring's trunk and hoping to avoid the subject.

"In fact, you met my cousin a few weeks ago, when she had you sign a copy of the latest one."

"That's…nice," Rossi said awkwardly, not wanting to explain why he already knew this. "Is she a fan too?"

"No, she was buying it for me. She's more interested in biology and zoology than profiling. Anyway, one thing always struck me as odd is that you really just sort of glance over Ruby Ridge…"

A week later, Garcia entered her apartment looking rather confused. "I have a date tomorrow night."

"Congratulations?" Jessica replied.

"I have a date. And he's hot. This is happening, right? I'm not dreaming?"

"Why do people make such a big deal out of 'hot' dates?" Jessica demanded. "I'd rather date an ugly nice guy than a hot axe murderer."

Garcia made a face. "Okay, point about the axe murderer, but…come on. Have you never seen a hot guy—or girl!—and instantly been smitten?"

"No. I don't believe in love at first sight. How can you like someone without getting to know them first?"

Garcia shook her head. "Sweetie, I love you, but sometimes I just don't understand your brain. Must be a family thing."

Jessica frowned. Beth and Claire had expressed a similar sentiment when Jessica was utterly baffled by their fangirling over Orlando Bloom. She was starting to get the feeling she was missing something about the whole concept of romance.

Shortly after Garcia left for her date, Spencer texted to let Jessica know the team was coming home. Since it was after dark, Jessica waited at Garcia's apartment for either Spencer or Garcia to come give her a ride home. She finished her homework, then packed up her books, pondering Garcia's date. Maybe if Jessica saw the man herself, she'd understand why Garcia was over the moon just from looking at him. She decided to watch the courtyard from the window.

Eventually, Garcia and a man walked up the front sidewalk. From what Jessica could see, she supposed the man was reasonably good-looking, but she still couldn't see what was so special. She decided to go downstairs, hoping to get a better look when the pair came in. When she reached the dimly-lit entrance hallway, Garcia and her date were still outside. Jessica waited, just in case they were kissing or something.

About a minute later, the front door violently burst open and almost smacked Jessica in the face. She jumped, but no one entered. Cautiously, she looked out and saw Garcia's date running away. Garcia herself was lying on the front stoop. Jessica ran to her side and discovered a dark red stain rapidly spreading across Garcia's chest. Jessica froze, completely drawing a blank on what to do. Obviously Garcia needed an ambulance, but how could Jessica get her one?

Fortunately, a woman came out to investigate the commotion. She gasped, then turned to Jessica. "Call 911!"

"I'm deaf, you call 911!" Jessica retorted, doubting that the woman knew ASL but hoping the point would come across anyway. Thankfully, the woman appeared to understand, because she nodded and ran back inside.

Jessica knelt by Garcia and put pressure on the wound, hoping that was the right thing to do. Moments later, the woman ran back out, cell phone in hand. She was saying something about a gunshot, looking as anxious as Jessica felt.

After what seemed like an eternity, flashing lights approached. Paramedics shoved Jessica out of the way and began tending to Garcia. A policeman tried to talk to Jessica, but his back was to the light and she couldn't tell what he was saying. She signed that she was deaf, wiped off her hands and reached for her phone. But before she had the chance to type anything, the policeman shook his head and walked away as if Jessica were an entirely lost cause.

Angry now, Jessica instead used her phone to text everyone on the team (except Rossi, since she didn't have his number) and alert them to the situation. With the exception of Morgan, they all responded and demanded to know what hospital Garcia was being taken to. Unfortunately, Jessica had no idea. She typed out another message. As soon as the paramedics began loading Garcia into the ambulance, Jessica followed, showing one of them her phone. "I'm with her. Her name is Penelope Garcia and she works for the FBI. I've texted her team. They need to know what hospital she's going to."

Thankfully, the paramedic stood aside and let Jessica board the ambulance. Once the doors were shut and the ambulance began moving, the paramedic took Jessica's phone and typed out the name of the hospital. Jessica passed along the message, and the team promised they would meet her there.

At the hospital, Jessica was led to a waiting room. She took out her phone again to ask about Garcia, but the nurse (or whoever that was) simply walked away. Frustrated, Jessica sat down, glaring at any staff who passed. None of them paid her any mind.

At last, the doors opened and the team joined her. "Did you see anything?" Hotch immediately asked, also speaking aloud for Rossi's benefit.

"It was her date," Jessica signed. "I think he shot her? I don't know, I was in the hallway and then the door burst open and when I looked he was running away."

"Her date?" Hotch repeated. "Are you sure about that?"

"I know she was on a date tonight, and they showed up together and looked like they were talking to each other, so I think so?"

"Do you know her date's name?" Hotch prompted.

"No, she never said, I'm sorry," Jessica fretted. Reid put a comforting arm around her, mindful of the blood on her clothes.

"That's all right, you've given us more than the police had," Hotch assured. "Do you think you can sit with a sketch artist?"

Jessica shook her head. "I didn't get that good a look at him."

"Okay, hold on," Rossi said, looking a bit lost. "I thought you were Reid's cousin. What were you doing at Garcia's place?"

"She stays with Garcia when I'm on a case," Reid explained.

"What about her parents?" Rossi asked blankly.

"They're dead. I'm her legal guardian."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Thanks," Jessica signed. "Can someone please ask them where the bathroom is so I can wash off? No one will talk to me."

"I'll find out," Prentiss immediately offered. Jessica gratefully followed her.

"Can anyone reach Morgan?" JJ asked worriedly.

"I'll call him again," Reid stated, pulling out his phone and moving off to the side to make the call.

A few minutes later, Jessica and Prentiss returned. "I can't get an update," Prentiss said and signed.

"Morgan's phone keeps going straight to voicemail," Reid added.

"Where the hell is he?!" Prentiss wondered.

Jessica stamped her foot. "They need to make it so you can text 911! What if that neighbor hadn't been there?!"

"They really do need to make emergency services more accessible to the deaf," Reid agreed.

"And I need to have a word with those police," Hotch added. "You being deaf was no excuse not to get a statement from you. Going solely by the neighbor's statement, they thought they were dealing with a botched robbery."

"As soon as they realized I was deaf, they acted like I didn't exist," Jessica grumbled.

"Then we'll report them for discrimination," Prentiss promised. "You exist, and we're going to raise hell for anyone who suggests otherwise."

"And we're going to raise hell for whoever shot Garcia," JJ added darkly.

Rossi awkwardly stepped away from the group. Though his fellow agents were talking out loud as they signed, he still felt rather left out of the conversation. He pulled out the charms with the names of the Galen children, hoping this wasn't going to be another failure on his conscience.

Morgan had just arrived when a doctor finally came out to inform them that Garcia was in recovery and they could see her in the morning. Hotch decided that he and Rossi would check out the crime scene and encouraged the rest of the team to be with Garcia when she woke up.

Reid turned to Jessica. "We should go home and get you some sleep, you have school in the morning."

"But I want to see Penelope!" Jessica protested.

"She'll still be here when school is over," Reid pointed out.

"You don't want another Amber Alert incident," Morgan added.

Reid frowned at him. "What does this have to do with Frank?"

"Not Frank," Prentiss corrected. "Georgia. No one told her school she'd be absent, and none of us had cell service."

Reid stared at her, then swallowed uncomfortably and turned back to Jessica. "We're going home. End of discussion." He put an arm around her and led her out to the parking lot.

Given how late the cousins got home, Spencer did at least write a note excusing Jessica from first period. She slept in and showed up to second period, feeling slightly better. She still wished she could spend the day at the hospital, but she supposed Spencer had already been quite fair to let her stay there until they knew Garcia would be all right.

"Our guess is, he saw her enter, then kicked the door in after her," Detective Walker began. "He robs her, she tries to chase him—"

"No," Hotch cut him off. "We have a witness who says otherwise."

"What witness?" Walker demanded, confused. "We canvassed the building. A few people heard the shot, but none of them saw anything. And her purse was gone."

"Did the responding officers even mention that there was a deaf girl on the scene?" Rossi asked, irritated.

"Yeah, but Officer Clemons said she didn't know anything."

"No, he assumed she didn't know anything and walked away without taking a statement," Hotch corrected. "Our witness saw Miss Garcia return from a date. A few minutes later, the door burst open. When Miss Warner looked out, she saw Miss Garcia's date fleeing the scene. She was incredibly fortunate that the man didn't see her inside."

"And even if she hadn't known anything, Officer Clemons still should have gotten a full statement from her," Rossi added. "She may not speak, but she has a phone and she can type."

"I…I am so sorry," Walker stammered, wide-eyed. "That should never have happened. I'll have a word with his supervisor about sending him to sensitivity training."

"See that you do," Hotch said icily.

At lunchtime, Jessica automatically checked her phone to see if there was any news. Beth came up behind her in line. "Is that blood on your phone?"

"I'm worried that if I try to wash it off, I'll ruin the phone," Jessica replied. "Hopefully, I can talk Spencer into getting me a new one."

"Okay…why do you have blood on your phone?"

Jessica took a deep breath. "Because Penelope got shot and I was right there on the other side of the door and I had no idea. I saw the guy that did it but I don't know who he was and the police wouldn't talk to me and the doctor said she'll be all right but I haven't seen her yet."

Beth stared. "You and Spencer must have the worst luck in the world."

"We really do," Jessica agreed, scowling at the dried blood.

As soon as the school day finished, Reid picked Jessica up from school and drove her to the hospital. Morgan was already in Garcia's room. "Hey, look who it is," he both said and signed.

"Thank god you're okay," Jessica signed, approaching the bed.

"What did she say?" Garcia asked. "I can't tell without my glasses."

"She's glad you're okay," Morgan repeated. He looked up at Jessica again. "Sorry, I don't think it's a good idea for her to sign right now."

"It's okay, just feel better," Jessica replied, Morgan once again interpreting for her.

"You were right," Garcia murmured. "Hot guys can be axe murderers…"

Morgan frowned. "Reid, just what have you been saying to keep her from dating?"

"Hey, I haven't been saying anything," Reid said defensively. "You and Hotch were the ones who scared off her last date."

"I'm perfectly happy being single," Jessica added. "Especially after this."

"Don't let one bad guy turn you off the entire male gender," Morgan objected.

"If she doesn't want to date, she doesn't have to," Reid said firmly.

"I wanted a love story," Garcia said sadly. "I guess dream guys are just dreams…"

"No, you just need to find a nice guy instead of an axe murderer," Jessica offered sympathetically.

"Paging all nice guys to room whatever-I'm-in," Garcia muttered groggily.

When things finally calmed enough for a lull in the action, Rossi stopped by Hotch's office. "So, I notice I seem to be the only member of this team who doesn't know sign language."

"Gideon left his dictionary behind, I believe Garcia has it somewhere in her office," Hotch informed him.

"I'm going to be seeing that girl a lot, aren't I," Rossi guessed.

Hotch nodded. "Jessica is an orphan, and she and Reid didn't exactly win the lottery with their other biological relatives. In essence, we are their extended family."

"I guess I'd better look for that dictionary, then," Rossi concluded. With that, he left for Garcia's office. The whole 'team' concept was still rather foreign to him, but after seeing the way the other agents had conversed so easily in ASL, it had really driven home the realization that these people had a bond. A bond in which Hotch had been encouraging him to share. Perhaps learning ASL would help him to feel more of a connection to his new teammates.

Spencer took Jessica to the hospital every day until Garcia was released. However, he flat-out refused to let Jessica accompany Garcia home, stating that they believed Garcia was still in danger and there was no sense in letting Jessica anywhere near another potential attack.

Spencer's fears proved to be well-founded when he got a call that night about an incident at Garcia's apartment. Jessica worriedly waited up for news, cuddling Bianca. At long last, Spencer returned home to announce that they'd caught the guy. Jessica heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Thanksgiving was that Thursday. Since Garcia was in no shape to fly out to see her stepbrothers, Jessica made the executive decision that Garcia was spending the holiday with them. No arguments allowed. Fortunately, neither Reid nor Garcia had intended to object.

When Garcia arrived at the apartment, she was also informed that she was not allowed to cook. "You are sitting right there," Jessica signed, indicating the couch.

"Okay," Garcia agreed, sitting down.

"Use this if you get bored," Jessica continued, handing Garcia the TV remote.

"Okay."

"Use this if Bianca attacks." Jessica handed Garcia the laser pointer.

"Okay."

"Use this if you get cold." Jessica placed a blanket on the couch next to Garcia.

"Okay."

"Use this if you need a snuggle." Jessica handed Garcia a teddy bear.

"Okay."

"Jessica, are you going to cook at all?" Reid asked.

"Text me if you need anything," Jessica signed. "Or ask Spencer, I suppose." She finally went into the kitchen.

"Why'd you interrupt her?" Garcia asked Reid, pouting. "I wanted to see how many things she would give me."

"I'm hungry," Reid replied. "But if you want more things…" He walked over, reached into her hair and pulled out a nickel. "No, wait, you can't buy much with that." He reached out again, this time withdrawing a quarter. "That's better. Although I don't think Jessica's going to let you go to a vending machine. Guess you'll have to phone in an order." He handed Garcia her phone.

"Wait—what?" Garcia checked her pocket, where she could have sworn her phone had been a moment previously.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Reid said mysteriously. Then he sobered and sat down next to Garcia. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you, actually."

"Shoot."

"I had arrangements with Gideon, for him to take Jessica if anything ever happened to me, but…in his letter, he backed out of that deal, and I can't afford to keep hoping he'll come back and change his mind. At this point, you're basically her secondary guardian anyway, so…"

"You want me to take his place in that deal?" Garcia finished.

Reid nodded. "And I don't just mean if I die. If I have a schizophrenic break, I don't want her to grow up trying to both take care of me and hide my condition from CPS. I love my mom, but it's not a situation I would wish on anyone." He paused. "Except maybe Dad."

"Jessica's never going back into foster care," Garcia promised. "Not as long as I'm around."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Anything for my favorite brainiac," Garcia replied, giving him a hug.

A/N: Yes, I realize that text-to-911 is a thing now, but according to my research, it wasn't back in 2007 when this takes place.