"What is this all about, Baby Girl?" Derek asked as Penelope ushered him into the war room.

"This is all about spending time together as a family," she replied with a wink. "Now, sit down in front of your name, but do not touch the envelope, okay? That is for when everyone is here." He nodded at her dazedly and she left the room, smiling widely. She knew he would want to peek at the envelope as soon as he back was turned and would be met with her special seal.

Looking towards the elevators, she grinned as they opened, revealing four more people who were part of her plan. "Hey, Aunt Penny!" Jack cried out as he ran up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Beth and I have been real good at keeping this a secret!"

"I am glad for that, my Junior G-man. Now, show Beth up to the war room, okay? I have envelopes with your names on them." He nodded and tugged the woman up the stairs before she could do more than smile at her. "Hey, Will. I hope you don't mind that I went above your head to get the time off. You and Jayje didn't really have a honeymoon and your commander was more than willing to schedule this time off for you after everything that happened in May."

He smiled widely at her. "I just can't wait for Jennifer to find out what you've done. She's either going to hug you or wring your neck. Thank you." He motioned with his head towards the war room. "I take it we're all ending up in there. See you in a few minutes."

She nodded and made her way out into the hall. As she figured, JJ was still in her office, slaving away over some files. "Hey, Jajye. You have some visitors waiting for you up in the war room. I think Will said something about taking you out for lunch?"

JJ looked up at her and smiled. "Really? That sounds wonderful, thanks, PG." She shut her file and stood up, hugging her quickly as she moved out of the room. Penny watched her disappear and then took a deep breath. Her next ambushee would be the hardest of the bunch.

As she walked down the hall to Strauss's office, she smoothed her skirt unconsciously, needing to do something with her hands. In the months since the bank incident, the woman had become kinder, more open, but still she struck fear into Penelope's heart. At least the knowledge that she was sleeping with Rossi helped to make her seem more human.

"She's on a call at the moment, but she has no idea what is going on. I still cannot believe we managed to pull this off without her finding out!" Helen smiled at her and motioned towards the door. "After everything that she's been through in this last year, she needs a vacation like this. Make sure her and Dave get some alone time while you're at sea. International waters and all that."

Penelope felt herself blush as she nodded. "I'll try to keep that in mind, Helen."

"All right, head right in, she's off her call."

She took a deep breath and tried to smile winningly as she opened the inner door. "Chief Strauss, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, Ms. Garcia, what can I do for you?" The woman motioned her into the room and Penelope joined her on the couch.

"Well, we're having a spot of trouble wrapping up this last case. Would you mind coming up to the war room and consulting with us?" The lie sounded thin to her ears, but Strauss's face lit up for a moment, probably at the thought of seeing Dave on short notice.

"I have a few free minutes, I just hope I can be of some use to you."

Penelope grinned at her and stood, gesturing with her hand towards the door. "Well, I'll see you there, Ma'am. I still have to round up Spencer, he went on one of his thinking jaunts and is somewhere in the building."

"I'd check archives, it's one of the quieter places to think around here." And then she winked at Penelope, and she wondered if the jig was up. "For those of us who still prefer paper to all things digital, there are still bastions of serenity. And there are things we can find out."

"You've known all along?"

"I've had my suspicions, but the Director may have let something slip at our last meeting. I'll get David from his office." She stood and reached out her hand towards Penelope. "Thank you for organizing this. I needed some time away with, well, away."

"We all know, Chief Strauss. And we're going to keep it under wraps." Penelope clasped her hand tightly, feeling tears prickle her eyes. "And you guys were so adorable at Jayje's wedding. Now I'm all verklempt."

Strauss shook her head, squeezing her hand tightly. "I get that way a lot, now, Penelope."

She felt her nose crinkle. "Onboard, can I call you Erin?"

"Since we'll be out to sea, of course." She went over to her door and opened it, squaring her shoulder. "Helen, if you'll hold all my calls for about an hour, I've an issue to resolve with Alpha in the bullpen."

"Certainly." Penelope went out into the outer office and looked at Helen. "So?"

"The jig is up. Shepperd couldn't keep his big mouth shut."

"Well, that sucks."

"A little, but at least she's still up for it. See you later, Helen." She left the office and went into the bullpen in time to see Erin drag Dave over to the war room. They were discussing something and she watched as Erin poked him sharply in the side. Unable to keep from giggling, Penelope tried to cover her mouth before they heard her. Quickly, she made her way to the break room and found Reid fast asleep at the table. "Reid," she whispered, tapping his shoulder.

"What?" he said as he sat up, looking around.

"We need you in the war room. There was a meeting called just recently, and Hotch needs us all there." He nodded and moved off towards the war room and she smiled widely. Now all that was left was their boss, and she shook her body, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She took the stairs two at a time and knocked softly on his door. "Boss Man?"

"What can I do for you, Penelope?" he asked as he looked up from his computer.

"We need to meet in the war room. Chief Strauss was heading there with Rossi just a moment ago."

"Oh, god, what's going on now?" he muttered as he turned around. "Maybe she knows why we haven't gotten any new assignments for tomorrow." Standing, he held out his arm to her. "Shall we?"

She smiled and slipped her hand in to rest on the crook of his shoulder. It was just a short walk down the hall and she opened the door, looking in to see that everyone was holding onto their envelopes. "All right, Hotch, sit down next to Beth and Jack while I explain everything."

She looked around the room at all her friends' smiling faces and grinned. "So, can we open the envelopes now, Baby Girl?"

"We're just waiting on one last…"

"Sorry I'm late, Penelope. Andi needed me to finish one last report before she cut me loose." Ashley smiled apologetically at them as she took her seat next to Reid, picking up her envelope. "This is going to be so amazing!"

Penelope just shook her head as she picked up the remote. "As you know, this has been a wonderfully bittersweet year for our family. Losing Emily once more only capped that. So, your intrepid technical goddess has planned a much needed vacation for us. Somewhere that they couldn't reach us, even by phone. And then it hit me." She clicked a button and a picture of the Disney Magic appeared on screen.

"We're going on a cruise!" Jack exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "And we get to meet Mickey and Minnie and everything! It is going to be so awesome!"

She laughed at his enthusiasm and nodded. "That is correct, my junior G-man. We leave from New York tomorrow afternoon." She flipped to the next picture. "Our train leaves from here at eight tomorrow morning, and arrives in Penn Station at one. That leaves us three hours to arrive at the dockside. So, we are going to have to stick to a tight schedule."

"None of us are packed and ready for this, Garcia," Reid interjected. "We have to get passports and supplies…"

"Honey, we have that all taken care of," Ashley replied. "I packed for both of us already."

"So did I," piped up Erin, smiling up at Dave in total adoration.

"Let me guess, Beth, you packed for the three of us?"

"Of course, Aaron. Would you expect me not to be prepared."

"And I know Will has packed for the three of you, just like I packed for you and me, Derek. Now, in your envelopes you'll find your updated passports, an itinerary of what is available to you for the next eight days, and some of the shore excursions I planned for you. I tried to base everything on what I know of you, but didn't plan too much so you can all relax on board."

She leaned against the wall and watched them go through the documents that she had included. Derek came up to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I cannot believe you kept this under wraps for so long, Penny." He kissed the side of her head and she just smiled, anxious to be on vacation with her family.