"So, remind me again why we agreed to do this?" Rossi asked irritably, looking around at everyone assembled. "I mean, Erin and I just got back together and Blake was just making er way in a new job, and suddenly we're traipsing off to Australia. Don't they have experts Down Under?" he asked sarcastically, piercing Hotch with his gaze.

"Section Chief Cruz was asked to choose which of his teas would go, and of course, he chose the best. Now, we leave tomorrow morning from our airfield out to LAX. Garcia, I believe that you have more details on our flight over to Australia?"

She nodded and stood up, the remote in her hand. "All right, if you'll allow me to fangirl a bit here, we are going to Australia at the same time as a high profile YouTube convention. In fact, we're going to be in neighboring hotels, so I am going to be heading over for a few panels, especially the Hartbig Squared panel. I'm even thinking about bringing my carrot onesie!"

Hotch cleared his throat, and she blushed deeply as she looked at their leader. "All right, we get it, this is a big thing for you, but we really need to go over the last minute details."

"Right, sorry. So, because there will be a number of people heading to Australia for said YouTube convention, I was unable to secure us all seats on the same flight. Flight A will have Reid, Blake, JJ, Morgan, and Callahan. Flight B is the rest of us, including Erin. I've already sent her her personalized itinerary, so she could be with her kids today." She glanced at Rossi, and he shrugged a little at the frown she gave him. "Now, we've also been asked to do some individual panels. Reid, you and Blake will be working giving a talk on linguistic forensics, while Rossi and Hotch will be hosting a panel on hostage negotiation."

"What about us, Baby Girl?" Derek asked, winking broadly.

"You, my sweet chocolate god, are going to be discussing undercover work with Callahan. JJ and I will be on panels regarding relationships with the media and technology, respectively." She let out a soft sigh. "I've made informational packets up for each of you, along with sample itineraries, based on the panels that you are already attached to. Since Sydney is fourteen hours ahead of us, and our flight takes off from LAX at two, we are going to be exhausted when we arrive. I would suggest staying up as late as possible tonight, since we are going to arrive in Sydney at noon, their time."

Everyone nodded, and Hotch stood up once more, joining Garcia at the front. "Now, I realize that not everyone is happy about having to go on this trip, but it will be good for our team to bond and adjust to the change in personnel." He looked between Blake and Callahan, a touch of a smile gracing his lips. "Now, let's head out and begin our last minute preparations for the week ahead of us."

They all nodded, and Rossi frowned once more as he ambled from the room. His cellphone rang and he pulled it off his belt, looking at the display to see Erin's face looking back up at him. He answered quickly, bringing the phone to his ear. "Yes, bella?" he bit out, not really in the mood to talk to her in that moment.

"Um, I have us all packed. I had to pull out our spring and winter clothes, since the seasons are opposite. I hope you don't mind my taking care of this for you already."

He ran his free hand through his hair, his lips pursing into a thin line as he stared at Penelope's door. He couldn't help but feel like she had somehow arranged this so that she could meet some of her favorite people. "No, I'm sure that whatever you've packed will be fine, Erin. I should be home in about forty minutes. Penelope said that we should plan on staying up late, because of the time difference, I know how we can pass the time."

"Your mind always seems to go back to that lately." There was a certain sense of loneliness in her voice, and he wondered what had put that there. After all, they seemed to have a strong relationship, at least in his mind. "All right, I suppose that we can explore each other some more after supper. I'll see you when you get home."

She hung up without saying to him that she loved him, which was unusual for her, and he frowned at the display before shoving the phone back into its holder. Penelope was just coming out of her office, and she waved to him, a happy grin on her face. He gave a half-hearted wave back, and the smile on her face faltered a bit.

She scurried over to him, looking anywhere but in his eyes. "Is everything okay, Rossi?"

"I'm just a little frustrated, Kitten. I'm supposed to be working on my next true crime book, but this conference is going to eat up valuable eating time. And I'm assuming you've built in vacation days for us, which again, will take up more writing time."

"Oh," she said, her voice sounding too small for her personality, and a part of him ached for hurting her. "I'm sorry. But Chief Cruz really did ask for us to go, it's just a thing of kismet that the YouTube convention is happening at the same time. And the vacation days are going to be afterwards, so I won't even really get to attend much of it, since I'm not going to have that much downtime."

Rossi watched her swipe at her cheek, and he cursed to himself, hating that he had made her cry. "I know, Kitten. Come here." He held up an arm, and she stepped into the embrace, her head coming to rest on his chest. "I guess I'll see you at the airfield tomorrow morning, then."

"Uh huh. Have a good night." Her voice was still sad, and he watched her trudge out to the elevators, nodding to something that Blake said as she passed her. The older woman looked up at him, frowning before turning to follow after Garcia, resting a hand on her shoulder as they waited for the elevators together.

"Well, I guess I really did step in it this time, Rossi," he muttered to himself as he ambled down towards the elevators the moment the women had gotten on their own car. As he waited for the next one, he thought about the situation at hand, wondering how he could turn lemons into lemonade. After all, he had never been to Australia in his life, and this could be good for his relationship with Erin, giving them a chance to be away from all the pressures that life in the States gave them.

"So, what did you do to piss Penelope off?" Derek asked, joining him.

He looked at the other man, and tightened his lips into another frown. "I don't think that I did anything, Derek. This is just not an ideal situation for me to be in at the moment."

"Do you think it is for any of us? Hotch can't even bring Jack and Jessica along with him, and JJ can't bring Henry. This is a working trip, and Baby Girl somehow managed to finagle a few extra days for us to bond as a team afterwards. At least you get to have your lover with you."

Rossi had the good graces to blush as he took a deep breath, stepping into the elevator car. "I suppose there is that," he said lowly, a sense of frustration and fear filling his senses. Somehow, he knew that this was not going to turn out the way that everyone wanted it to, and he wondered who would be left to pick up the pieces.