The Formation of Planets

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David Rossi did not believe in premonitions - in fact, he had a distinct skepticism against those who did - but when the phone rang with the call that would forever change his life, for some reason what he remembered most clearly was how his mind immediately flashed to his ex-brother-in-law and the man's strange reaction to a very minor incident.

"Good morning. May I please speak to Mr. David Rossi?"

"Speaking."

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He had met Russell on the steps outside the main Post Office downtown. His brother-in-law had long since retired from his career as a mailman but still occasionally popped in to see old friends and Dave had run into him just as he was leaving after picking up a package.

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"My name is Karen Hughes. I'm the senior partner of Hughes, McCauley and Broadbent." Then there was the briefest pause, something so insignificant that someone not trained as a profiled wouldn't have picked up on it. "I'm afraid that before I go any further, Mr. Rossi," Ms. Hughes continued, "I will need to verify a few things in order to be certain I'm speaking with the right person. These things will involve a few questions that may be of a painful and personal nature, but I assure you there is a point. Do you mind?"

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He and Russell had agreed to go for coffee; they hadn't seen each other since Carolyn's funeral and he'd been eager to catch up and hear the news about Russ's sons, whom he still thought of as his nephews. Lo and behold, picking up a double espresso at the counter of the nearest Starbucks had been Spencer Reid.

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"May I ask what this is about, Ms. Hughes?"

There it was again - a hesitation. Rossi raised an eyebrow.

"It's a rather delicate matter, Mr. Rossi - one I'm dealing with mainly as a favour to a friend - and before I go into it, I would like to make sure you are the David Rossi I am looking for."

"Understood."

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There was no reason for the incident to stand out. He had made the introductions, Reid had said hello and the two colleagues had made innocuous small talk for a few moments before Reid apologized and explained that he was already late meeting Garcia and Morgan and he had to rush off. After nodding warmly to Russell and telling him how glad he was to have met him, Reid had left. Chuckling at Russell's slightly wide eyes and exclamation of 'Doctor Reid?', he had started off on the standard response - 'Yeah, I know, he doesn't look old enough to - " when Russell had surprised him by interrupting with something entirely different:

"He's the spitting image of my father!"

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Rossi, dwelling on why in Heaven's name such an inconsequential memory would force itself on him now, nearly missed Ms. Hughes' question.

"Are you David Joseph Rossi, ex-husband of Carolyn Elizabeth Rossi, nee Matheson?"

It was amazing how mental alarm bells could focus the mind, Rossi thought, even when you had no clue as to why they were going off. He tensed instantly, all attention now fully on the voice coming at him over the phone, all other thoughts and inexplicable memories banished and forgotten as if they'd never been there. "Yes," he said warily, "Carolyn was my wife."

"I apologize again for any distress this might cause, but I take it then that you are the father of her son, James David Rossi, born in Commack, Long Island, at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital on October 13, 1981?"*

A flare of hostility sparked in David Rossi's stomach; of course what happened to James was not this woman's fault, but no one could take kindly to some stranger poking at their rawest wounds. "I was, yes," he replied with some terseness.

"Would you be willing to come to our offices tomorrow at 10:00 am? There is a grave matter concerning your son's birth that needs to be discussed."

"Ma'am, I don't know what this is, but my son only lived a matter of hours. He's been dead and gone for years now. What possible 'grave matter' concerning him could be worth dredging up now?"

"It has to do with some irregularities at the hospital at around that time period. I'm afraid I cannot say anything more over the phone. Will you please agree to meet with us?"

"Irregularities?" Dave repeated sharply, "What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me James's death wasn't natural? That it was an accident or a medical screw-up? What the hell is going on?"

"Mr. Rossi - "

"God, was it foul play? Are you telling me someone may have done something to my boy?"

"Mr. Rossi, you need to hear the whole story - "

"So tell it to me! Look, lady, you can't just call me up out of the blue over thirty years later and imply my baby's death may have been questionable and then expect me to wait an entire day before telling me what this is all about!"

"Please, Mr. Rossi," Ms. Hughes said firmly, but kindly, "Ten a.m. tomorrow."

Rossi rubbed a hand over tired eyes. He took a few deep breathes and sat down at his kitchen table before finally saying, "Fine. Do I need a lawyer?"

"I don't believe so, at least not at the present time. However, you are more than free to bring one if you wish."

"All right." He reached for a pen and grabbed a paper napkin in the absence of a notepad. "Just give me the address."

She did so, directing him to the top floor of a high end office building not far from the Lincoln Memorial, and then - after a distracted goodbye - Rossi hung up on her. He immediately jabbed a finger on the top name of his speed dial list.

"Aaron? Listen, I need a favour."

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*I know this is not James Rossi's DOB as given on the show. I've purposely changed the year and date to fit the plot of the story. Also, I don't really know anything about Washington and what may or may not be around the Lincoln Memorial, but feel free to correct me if I've made an egregious mistake.

Author's note: Most of you have probably guessed where this plot is going by now. I won't spoil it for those who haven't, but I will say I almost didn't post this simply because there are at least two other (very excellent) stories with the same premise out there right now. However, in the end I couldn't resist. There's something about this idea that I can't help but love and so I had to jump in too. (I don't know why I love it, it's extremely soap-opera-y and if they did it on the show it would be an utter jumping-the-shark moment, but there it is.) But I will try to make it as different as I can.

Anyway, I don't have much plot mapped out beyond the premise, in fact I don't know if this story will end up as one whole piece with a cohesive storyline flowing through or a series of one-shots connected by the main premise. Personally, the "discovery" is less important to me than the after effects, but we'll see I guess, because once more I am jumping right in without plot or future chapters written. I'm winging it, my sweets, so here's hoping it doesn't turn into a train wreck!