When Emily walked into work today, the last thing she expected to happen to her was being handed a hat by JJ with the instruction to put it on immediately. And not a normal hat like a cap or a beanie or something. No, things couldn't be normal around here.

"So, why are we all now wearing strange hats?" Emily asked, putting hers on with no question.

Hey, it was a trilby hat with cat ears. Cat ears. She wasn't about to pass that up. That, and it looked like each hat on someone's head was making Hotch's eye twitch, which was also more than enough reason. Sometimes, you had to live life on the edge and wind up your boss a bit. He was just too serious sometimes. Most of the time.

"Garcia," JJ said, adjusting her very glittery top hat. "She was inspired by Spence's the other day."

"That's not my hat," he objected. "Emily and Morgan put it on me."

Reid, by the way, was not wearing what had been dubbed his hat - she and Morgan had insisted he keep it. He was wearing a hat that Emily vaguely recognised as being from the Doctor Who francise. Comolete with scarf.

"Well, it's your hat now," she told him.

"I don't want it."

She made a very exaggerated gasp.

"You don't like your gift?"

"It's hardly a gift if you two were using it to prank me!"

"Morgan! Spencer didn't like his lovely gift of a felt hat we gave him the other day!" Emily called across the office.

"Just shoot us in the heart, why don't you, kid?" He said, adjusting his bejewelled cap, which he had put on backwards.

And when she said bejewelled, she meant bejewelled. As in, there wasn't an inch of normal cap material showing through. Garcia had obviously put some thought into it because she had spelled out 'Chocolate Thunder' across the back.

"Don't tempt me," he muttered very uncharacteristically, making Emily beam.

She was rubbing off on him!

"She definitely put some effort into these," Morgan said with a fond laugh as he took his off to inspect it more closely.

"Mine is obviously the most magnificent," she bragged, waving her hand around her head.

She had cat ear, so of course, hers was the best hat. There was just no competition. Cat ears. She wondered if Sergio would like her wearing this hat? Garcia would hopefully let her bring it home to find out.

"Is there something in the water today?" Rossi asked in exasperation as he came in from the break room. "You're the third one I've seen wearing a stupid looking hat."

"If you go down to Garcia, you'll see a fourth and fifth," Emily replied cheerfully and then frowned. "My hat is not stupid."

"You have cat ears on yours."

"Exactly."

Hadn't she already said that they were the reason why her hat was the best?

"No, that's exactly what makes yours stupid."

She glared at him. "Take that back."

"I will not."

Though he did take a few steps away from her, turning towards the rest of the team but also keeping her within his line of sight.

"You too, JJ?" He asked with a sigh.

The blonde shrugged. "It's Garcia. You can't exactly say no to her."

"Which is exactly why I am going to disappear and -"

"Rossi!"

Of course, Garcia chose this moment to reappear, with her own hat upon her head (obviously). It looked like one of those tea party hats you'd see in those "Ye Olde England" films where women wore them to tea parties. Of course, this one had been Garcia-fied and had so many flowers and lacey bits to it that it wobbled as she walked. Alarmingly so, in fact, as she was basically speed-walking towards Rossi. He held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"Let me make this very clear. I am not wearing a hat."

"You have to!"

"I do not."

"Everyone else is."

"Peer pressure doesn't affect me."

Emily didn't know why he was arguing. No one ever lost an argument to Garcia. You would think that he would know that by now.

"You would look so good in it!" Garcia said, taking one of the hats from JJ.

It was a cowboy hat. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Except, of course, it was a cowboy hat that Garcia had gotten a hold of, which meant that it had been tie-dyed. The pattern was pretty cool, she had managed to get it all swirly. Rossi didn't seem to think so.

"That is going nowhere near my head."

"Aw, come on, it's just around the office."

"That is offensive to all cowboy hats."

"It's an improvement and would look so good you."

"Like the cat ears do on Prentiss?"

"Hey!" Emily felt like she had to interject. "I look fantastic in mine."

"See? Emily likes hers!"

"Prentiss is insane. Her agreement is an argument against the hats, not for them."

"I rather like my top hat," JJ said sweetly, though everyone knew that that was her dangerous tone of voice.

Even in his agitated state, Rossi could recognise that and decided that his best course of action was to just glare at Garcia.

Which lasted all of four seconds until Garcia lunged at him.

"Why exactly is Dave arguing with Garcia while being chased by her?" Hotch asked, sounding tired already.

JJ held up the remaining hat. It was just a simple, black beret with sequens sprinkled on it. Pretty tame compared to everything else. Not as cool as hers, obviously.

"Ah. He refused? And then got caught by her not wearing one?" He guessed.

They all nodded.

"Well, he should have stayed in his office like me to avoid it."

Emily privately doubted that that would have stopped Garcia, but she let him think that.

Instead, she pointed out, "You're out now."

He let out a sigh and seemed to weigh his options, even glancing between Garcia (who had managed to corner Rossi and was now advancing upon him with the hat) and his office. Eventually, Hotch held out his hand. JJ handed the beanie over, and he put it on.

"Not on a case," he instructed them all and then walked towards Garcia. "Need a hand?"

"That better be directed at me, Aaron!"

"Oh, it's not."