A few weeks later, on the jet back from their double rapist case, Morgan slid into the seat across from Reid. "Everything okay, kid?"

"Every year, we end up dealing with missing kids right before Jessica's birthday," Reid replied, a troubled look on his face. "First it was Billie Copeland, then that entire class that Frank took hostage, then Lindsey Vaughn and Katie Owen, and now this."

Morgan sighed. "Reid, that's the job. It happens."

Reid swallowed. "I know it does. But these girls, they were Jessica's age, and I can't help but feel like…like she got lucky, somehow. All Frank did was lock her in a closet, he didn't use his typical MO. And she wasn't raped either. Compared to a lot of the stuff we see, she got off very lightly."

"Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Morgan said seriously. "Don't focus on how things could have been worse. Just be glad they weren't."

"Of course I'm glad they weren't worse," Reid responded. "But…" He swallowed again. "I get nightmares, every time there's a case like this. And then I wake up, and when I remember she was only locked in a closet, there's a moment when I'm relieved for that."

"Are you relieved that she was kidnapped, or relieved that she was unharmed?" Morgan asked pointedly.

"Relieved that she was unharmed," Reid conceded.

"Then don't beat yourself up for that moment of relief," Morgan said firmly.

That Sunday, Jessica had a party to celebrate her sixteenth birthday (planned largely by Garcia, who had to be ordered not to fill up the entire living room with stuffed animals). However, her actual birthday was on Tuesday. And not only did she receive birthday postcards from both Gideon and Aunt Diana, she also received an unexpected guest at the apartment.

"Hello," Elle signed. "I was in Baltimore on work and thought I'd drive down to wish you a happy birthday." She took a small wrapped gift out of her pocket and offered it to Jessica.

Jessica opened the gift, which turned out to be a pair of cat-shaped earrings. "Thank you. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, thank you." Elle entered the apartment and was soon met with an angrily hissing cat. "I see you weren't kidding about the cat not liking visitors."

"Sorry." Jessica picked up Bianca and shut her in Spencer's room. "I've got leftover cake, if you want some?"

"Sure, that'd be great." Elle followed Jessica into the kitchen. "So, remind me whether sixteen is the age for a license or a permit in DC?"

"Permit," Jessica replied, swallowing. "Assuming there are no cases, Spencer's taking me to the DMV on Saturday."

"You think you're ready?"

"Do I know enough to pass the test? I think so. Do I feel ready to actually drive on the open road? Not so much."

Elle leaned against the kitchen island. "Do you think your parents would want you to hold yourself back on their account?"

Jessica did not meet Elle's eyes. "No."

"You'll be a cautious driver," Elle continued. "That's good. Take it from a New Yorker."

"Why did I have to start in winter?" Jessica complained. "Black ice is what killed my parents!"

"And I'll bet Spencer has read up on every known safety precaution for icy driving conditions and will pass them on to you if he hasn't already," Elle replied.

"…he has," Jessica admitted.

"Have faith in yourself," Elle encouraged. "You already handled your abduction better than I handled my shooting. You didn't let the world hold you down before, and you're not going to now."

Jessica finally broke into a small smile. "Thanks."

The next day, the team was called out to Alabama. They were still there on Thursday. And on Friday. Just when Jessica was beginning to think she might get out of going to the DMV on Saturday, she got the news that the missing girl had been found and the team was coming home.

Spencer and Jessica were right on time for their appointment. The DMV, on the other hand, was not ready for them. It was nearly an hour before they were seen, and another fifteen minutes before they managed to get a hold of a non-ablest employee who understood that deaf people could drive. Jessica was so rattled by the experience that she nearly failed to complete the test in the time allotted. But at last, she left the building with a paper copy of her permit in hand.

"So…should I drive home?" Jessica asked nervously.

"No. Too many major roads," Spencer replied.

Jessica heaved a small sigh of relief. "So when do I start driving?"

"Not today," Spencer assured. "You're stressed enough as it is." Seeing her look of surprise, he continued. "I'm making you learn because it's a useful skill, not to torture you. You need to be comfortable driving, and pushing you to do more than you're ready for will just be hazardous to you and everyone around you. We'll find a quiet neighborhood to start you off."

Jessica gave him a very big hug before climbing into the passenger seat of their car.

A few Thursdays later, Rossi noticed that the bullpen was missing its usual genius. "Where's Reid?"

"Took the day off," Morgan replied.

"Is everything all right?" Rossi asked worriedly. Reid had always struck him as one of the more workaholic members of the team.

"For the moment, so far as I know," Morgan responded.

"Then why…"

"Bad day for that family," Prentiss explained. "February 5th, 2005, Jessica's parents died. February 5th, 2007, Reid was kidnapped by an unsub and subsequently tortured for two days. February 5th, 2008, Jessica ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. So now, Reid's playing it safe."

"Well, I don't know that it's so much about playing it safe as that the day brings up a lot of bad memories," Morgan argued. "Kid's not exactly the superstitious sort."

"Hold on," Rossi said, holding up a hand. "He was tortured for two days?"

"Yes," Prentiss confirmed grimly. "And we had to watch. The unsub live streamed parts of it to us. There were even a few minutes when Reid went into cardiac arrest. We…we all thought that was it." She swallowed.

"And he was in a bad space for a long time afterwards," Morgan added. "He was only just starting to really get back to normal when you came out of retirement."

"I see," Rossi replied, not sure what else to say. There was an awkward pause. "I'm glad I missed that case."

"Lucky you." Prentiss pulled out another file, resuming her work. Rossi went back into his office, seriously considering buying the cousins a gift basket to convey his heartfelt condolences for everything they had gone through.

Fortunately, nothing terrible happened on February 5th, 2009. The next week, JJ finally came back to work. Soon after that, the team caught a case in Olympia, Washington.

When Garcia came home that night, she parked herself on the couch next to Jessica. "So, Hot Chocolate once told me you're potentially psychic?"

Jessica shot Garcia a confused look. "What?"

"Rossi had me run a background check on a phony psychic today," Garcia elaborated. "But Morgan told me about the time you correctly predicted the unsub's next victim."

Jessica grimaced. "Lucky guess. Or unlucky guess, I suppose."

"Or maybe you really do have some level of ESP," Garcia suggested. "Why don't you make a prediction about our current case, just to test it?"

"I'm really not psychic!" Jessica insisted.

"Just try?" Garcia begged, pulling out the puppy dog eyes.

Jessica sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. When you solve the case, you'll find out it all started with a girl named A-B-I-G-A-I-L."

"Thank you," Garcia signed, smiling. "If I run out of real leads, I'll be sure to run a search on that name."

"Go ahead. But I'm telling you, I'm not psychic."

"Exactly. This grave could belong to that woman," Reid said. He flipped through his notes. "Let's see…Abigail Hansen."

Garcia froze. "Did you say Abigail?"

"Yes, Abigail Hansen," Reid repeated.

"Brain Boy, I think your cousin is officially psychic," Garcia said, typing the name into her system. "She gave me that name two days ago."

The whole team shared a look of bafflement. "What do you mean, she gave you that name two days ago?" Rossi asked.

"I mean I jokingly asked her to make a psychic prediction about our case and she told me it would all come down to a woman named Abigail."

"…coincidence," Morgan finally said, slightly uncomfortably. "Baby girl, did you find anything for that name?"

"Right," Garcia said, forcing herself back on track. "So, I've got her obit from The Olympian…"

Ten minutes later, Jessica received a text from Garcia. "Sweetie, are you sure you're not psychic? Because the case really did involve a woman named Abigail."

Jessica's eyes widened. "Seriously? I only came up with that because we've been reading The Crucible in class!"

"Doesn't mean you don't have ESP. You should try making more predictions."

Jessica shuddered. "No. If I really have some kind of psychic powers related to serial killers, I don't want them. I admire you guys for what you do, but I do NOT want to catch serial killers for a living."

"Pity. It'd be cool if we could work together some day."

"If you ever decide to pursue a career in biology instead, let me know."

On the jet home, JJ sat across from Reid. "How do you do it?" she asked quietly. "How do you look at the parents, knowing exactly how they feel, and stay focused on the case?"

"By knowing how they feel," Reid replied seriously. "Not only how they feel when their child is missing, but how they will feel if we successfully return their child to them. The first feeling is awful, and the second…I'd do anything to help them get that second feeling."

"And then you just go home and hug Jessica and everything's fine?" JJ said skeptically.

Reid smiled wryly. "And then as soon as I get a chance, I attend another Beltway Clean Cops meeting. I didn't say it was easy. Luckily for you, I think you can skip that last part."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I guess you just…get used to it, eventually. I'm sorry, I don't have any easy answers that will tell you how to juggle being a parent and working in the BAU. You could ask Hotch, but I'm not sure he does either."

JJ grimaced. "Considering Hotch is now divorced, I think you're probably right about that."

Once the team wrapped up their Cleveland copycat case, Garcia sought out her boyfriend. "Honey, I just want to give you my sincerest thanks for not being an axe murderer." She kissed him long and hard.

"…well, if this is the thanks I get, I will never touch a weapon, ever," Kevin finally said breathlessly. Garcia simply kissed him again.

Eventually (it took a while), it occurred to Kevin that this was a rather odd thing to be thanked for. "So, not that I'm complaining, but why is my lack of axe-murder-y-ness worthy of such gratitude?"

"Our unsub had a girlfriend. She had no idea."

Kevin winced in sympathy. "Ooh. Yikes. And he liked axes?"

"No, just…something Jessica once said. After I got shot, she told me I needed to find a nice guy instead of an axe murderer…and then I met you." Garcia frowned. "I have had way too many dates who turned out to be bad guys. So, thank you, for not being a bad guy."

"You're welcome." The kissing session resumed.

When Spencer got home from Dallas, he immediately gave Jessica a long hug. "Missing child?" she asked when he finally let go.

Spencer shook his head. "No. Angry daughter who started killing fathers who left their families high and dry."

Jessica blinked in surprise at this. "…Lucky for your dad that she wasn't killing in Vegas, then."

Spencer snorted bitterly. "He couldn't afford her." When Jessica gave him an odd look, he clarified. "Very expensive call girl killing her clients."

Jessica raised her eyebrows. "That's a hazard they didn't teach us about in sex ed."

Spencer grimaced. "I didn't understand why my dad walked out when I was a kid and I understand it even less now. Well, I understand the psychology behind it…but I can't empathize. At all. Even before I met you, I couldn't walk out on you."

Jessica gave him another quick hug. "And I love you for it. You're my family. William Reid is not and never has been."

Spencer smiled wryly. "When I first told him about you, he misunderstood and thought he had a grandkid. He seemed excited by the prospect too. I set him straight very quickly."

"Good."

A couple Sundays later, it was raining very hard. "Do you think you're ready to learn how to drive in the rain?" Spencer asked.

Jessica swallowed. This was rain, not ice. "Maybe?"

"Yes or no?" Spencer signed seriously.

Jessica lifted her chin. "I'll try it."

Half an hour later, they were moving along at a crawl when Jessica thought she saw a familiar figure coming out of a nearby pub. She pulled over for a closer look.

"Is something wrong?" Spencer asked.

"I think that's Emily," Jessica replied, nodding at the sidewalk.

Spencer squinted for a better look through the rain. "You're right, it is." He rolled down the window, Jessica assumed so he could call out to Emily. If he did, Emily didn't respond. "I hope she's all right," he signed worriedly. "She looked a bit upset."

"I hope she's all right too," Jessica replied. She took the car out of park and carefully pulled back out into traffic.

Soon, the team was working a case with the unusual MO of the unsub killing through exorcisms. This led Garcia to start wondering something. At the end of the day, she made up her mind to ask, and she sent a text to Jessica. "So, I was wondering, are you or have you ever been religious at all?"

"Dad grew up Christian, but the priest and Sunday School teachers at his church didn't know ASL at all, so he decided it was easier to do his own version of Sunday School with me every Sunday morning at home. Then Mom decided to turn it into a general religious studies class. At this point, I don't really know what I believe any more."

"So you and Boy Wonder don't do anything on Sundays?"

"No. Do you?"

Garcia snorted when she read this. "Sweetie, do I seem the pious sort to you?"

"You seem to very piously worship your chocolate god."

Garcia blinked in surprise. She couldn't really argue that point. "Okay, you've caught me. I am a devout follower of Morganism."

"All hail the chocolate god."

On Saturday morning, Prentiss wearily answered her door. "What is it, Garcia?"

"You need cheering up," Garcia stated firmly. "Get your warm clothes on, we're having a snowball fight."

Prentiss rubbed her head. "What?"

"Warm clothes. Now."

Prentiss decided she didn't have the energy to argue with Garcia when the latter was on a mission.

Half an hour later, Prentiss and Garcia arrived in Rock Creek Park, where the entire team minus Rossi (who insisted it was too cold for his tastes) had gathered. Jessica and even Jack were there too. "Weather forecasts say this will probably be the last snowfall of winter, so we have to make it count!" Garcia announced. "Teams, everybody!"

Jack immediately grabbed Jessica and JJ. "Team J!"

"Team J?" JJ repeated in surprise, signing for Jessica.

Jack nodded and drew a letter J in the snow. "Mommy taught me. J for Jack. Your name is JJ, and 'Jessica' starts with a 'J' sound, so you must have J names too."

"But if we only accept people whose names have a J, our team is smaller than theirs," JJ pointed out.

"Why don't you let Garcia join you?" Hotch suggested. "Her name starts with a 'G'. That sometimes makes a 'J' sound."

Jack thought about it. "Okay, Jarcia can join us."

"Awesome sauce," Garcia said. "We are going to kick a—er, totally wipe the floor with them," she hastily corrected, seeing Hotch's death glare. She hoped Jack hadn't picked up on the sign she'd used for Jessica.

"Okay!" Morgan called. "Team J over there, Team No-Blondes-Allowed over here!"

"We never agreed on that name," Reid objected.

"You planning on dyeing your hair?" Morgan challenged.

"No."

"Then no blondes allowed." Morgan took out his phone to set a timer. "You have five minutes to build fortifications and stock up on ammo. Starting…now!"

"What are fo-ca-tions 'n' ammo?" Jack asked.

"Walls and snowballs," JJ explained.

"JJ and Jessica, take wall duty," Garcia ordered. "Jack, you and I are going to make the best snowballs ever!"

"Yeah!" Jack cheered.

Five minutes later, the timer went off. Jessica, naturally, didn't hear it, and Reid immediately aimed a snowball her way. She ducked and returned the favor, sparking a heated (or rather, snowy) battle between the cousins. JJ turned out to have surprisingly good aim and nailed both Hotch and Morgan in the first minute. Jack, being too short to reach over JJ and Jessica's wall, was relegated to supplying the rest of them with snowballs. Garcia had the worst aim of the three blondes, but was very good at dodging incoming projectiles. Prentiss made Garcia her sole target, determined to get revenge for being dragged out here.

But Prentiss had to admit, she did feel a bit better.