Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any characters. I'm just using them for a while.
Slpoilers: Slight spoilers for the Season 7 Final.
Food Fights, Babysitting and Goodbyes.
It was ten o'clock when I reached the steps of her house. I took a few breaths trying to get the nerves out of my stomach.
You're just looking after her 4 and a half year old son for the day, what can go wrong?I thought to myself as I rang the doorbell.
JJ opened the door with only a towel on her head and robe covering her body.
"Running late, are we." I asked teasingly.
She rolled her eyes at me but a smile was plastered on her face. "Oh, shut up."
"Aunt Emily!" Henry yelled as he ran toward me while JJ retreated back into her bedroom.
"Hey, buddy, are you ready to have fun today?" I asked him enthusiastically.
He bobbed his head up and down eagerly.
"Good, I'm glad." I said then he ran back in his room.
"Emily, would you mind coming here for a second?" JJ asked from her room.
I opened her door. "Yeah, what is it?"
JJ was sitting in the middle of piles of clothes that were scattered around the room like a hurricane had struck. "I don't know what to wear."
"Are you serious? You do know that you have clothes on, right?" I asked and it took all of my willpower not to laugh at her expression.
"I know that. These clothes are for now, I need some for dinner."
"Where are you and Will going again?" I asked picking up a few shirts.
"He's taking me horseback riding, butterfly seeing then to a restaurant called La Place D'amour." She said while trying on a green halter top.
I stopped what I was doing for a second. "Whoa, that's the second most expensive French restaurant in the city."
Her eyes went wide for a few seconds. "Well, it is kind of our Honeymoon, for now at least."
I combed though a bunch of clothes until I found what I was looking for. As I held it up to her she gasped.
"I didn't know that I still had it." She was shocked.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go try it on." I said excited.
Once she put it on it was my turn to gasp.
It was long and violet with a slight trail. Right underneath the breasts looked like a silver belt that had sparkles but it was really just the fabric. It was held up by straps that looked like a necklace. It had a slight slit by in between her breasts which didn't show too much or too little. Her back was bare except for the silver straps which crossed in an x formation. The color of the dress matched perfectly with her blonde hair.
"It's perfect." She said breathless.
"Yeah, Will's going to love it." I emphasized the word love.
She smacked my arm. "What are you nine years old?"
"Yep," I said with a smirk and for the second time that day she rolled her eyes at me.
As she packed the dress and the things that she needed for the day I found her a pair of silver heels which sparkled to match her dress.
"Henry, I'm leaving." She called out and I heard him come running down the stairs.
"Bye, mommy," He mumbled into her shirt.
"Bye, sweetheart, see you later and bye, Emily."
"Bye, now go before I push you out the door." I joked.
"I'm going, and no, I don't have to be told twice." She said as she walked down the steps to the cab.
"So Henry, what do you want to do?" I asked as I closed the front door.
He jumped up and down. "Pretty please can we go outside to the park?"
I pretended to think for a second. "Alright, let's go."
"Yay," He cheered.
Two and a half hours later we were walking back home when Henry stopped and looked like he was about to cry.
"What wrong?" I asked worried and a little panicked.
"I lost my teddy bear in the park." He sobbed.
I looked over and I saw it, it was directly over the fence.
"I'll get it for you Henry." I said trying to calm him down.
He hiccupped, "You will."
"Yes, just hold on." I told him as I hopped the fence.
I jumped over the fence and got the teddy bear. I was fine coming back until about half way, a piece of string from my jeans attached itself to the fence.
Well, it looks like my heroic moment is over.I thought to myself.
"Henry, can you please -" I didn't even have to finish the sentence because he unhooked the piece of thread from the fence.
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I handed him the teddy bear. "Thank you, Henry."
"Your welcome and I still think that you're a hero because you saved Boogie." He said looking up at me.
That's when I realized that I must've spoken out loud and my cheeks got even redder.
When we got back Henry asked. "Can I have something to eat?"
"Sure, what would you like?" I asked as we made our way to the kitchen.
He shrugged, "I don't know."
As he looked in the fridge his eyes widened. There was a huge bowl of what looked like melted chocolate chips just sitting there.
He looked at me with puppy dog eyes. "Please, can I have some Aunt Emily, please?"
Looking in those eyes I almost gave in. "I'm sorry Henry but your mom wants you to eat healthy and I don't think that eating a bowl of chocolate is healthy."
He looked so sad I knew if I didn't do something soon that image would get stuck in my mind for a long time.
"What's your favorite fruit?" I asked quickly.
He thought for a minute. "Strawberries,"
"Alright, Henry, here's the deal. You can have the chocolate but you have to dip strawberries in it."
He looked as if he didn't know whether to be happy that he would get to eat chocolate or sad that he also had to eat fruits. He settled on being happy.
Ten minutes later we sat down in front of the TV eating chocolate covered strawberries.
I noticed that he wasn't really paying much attention to the TV program so I turned it down.
"What's wrong Champ?" I asked.
He mumbled something that sounded like. "Nothing's wrong."
"Henry, really you can talk to me." I urged.
He sighed in defeat. "That wasn't one of mommy or daddy's friends that day. That was a bad person. She was a bad person that tried to hurt mommy and daddy." He said not as a question but as a statement, a statement that he didn't want to be true.
Looking at him I realized that I couldn't lie to him. "Yes Henry, your right. It was a bad person that tried to hurt your mommy and daddy but you know what she didn't because they're both safe and happy."
As I watched him stare blankly at the TV screen registering my words an idea sprang to mind.
"Henry, come in the kitchen, please." I hoped that he didn't hear the playfulness in my voice.
As soon as he walked in the kitchen he got sprayed with whip cream.
"Hey, that's not fair." He said going in the cupboard and spraying a can of spray cheese on me.
We kept spraying each other until he dashed out of the kitchen. When I turned my back for two seconds he came charging in with the bowl of melted chocolate chips and dumped it all over me.
"Oh that's it, no more miss nice girl." Laughter was evident in my voice and Henry fake squealed.
After a half an hour of spraying and chasing each other in the kitchen we stopped and looked around the place. The cupboards, counters and walls were a complete and utter disaster.
"Henry, do you know what I'm thinking?" I asked slowly.
"Yes, you're thinking that we need to clean up before mommy and daddy get home." He answered.
I checked the clock which had a big splatter of chocolate on it. "I say we have about two hours before your mommy and daddy come home. So if we work really fast we can finish before they get home."
We worked until the kitchen looked spotless. Then I gave him a bath and I took a shower. It took us an hour and forty minutes.
"Alright, Champ give me a high five and remember -."
"We don't tell mommy or daddy, I know." He finished again for me.
"Good, let's watch some TV. I'll race you to the couch." I said and he took off.
"Mommy, daddy," He yelled hugging them as they entered the house.
"Did you have fun with Emily?" JJ asked him.
Henry and I looked at each other then he erupted in laughter and I couldn't help but grin like a mad woman. JJ and Will looked confused but happy that their son seemed to have fun.
"I'll tell you later." I mouthed to her.
"Yes, mommy I did have fun with Aunt Emily. Can she look after me again, please?" He asked with puppy dog eyes.
"Yes, sure sweetie but now it's time for bed." She said while locking eyes with me.
"I'll put him to bed." Will said knowing that we needed some time alone together.
"Thanks," We both said at the same time.
JJ and I sat down in the dining room. "What exactly happened?"
I chuckled. "JJ, sometimes there are things that you just don't want to know or just don't need to now, today would be one of those times where both things apply."
"Aright, I won't ask." She said giving up and I think that she was a little afraid of what the answer would be.
She poured me a glass of wine and I said. "He's a good, bright kid you know. And he's very intuitive."
She looked up. "I know he is. That scares me a bit."
"Don't be scared. It's a good thing, trust me." I told her.
She took a sip of her wine. "Yeah, I guess that you're right."
"So, how was your day?" I asked itching to know.
She looked like a high school girl who just came back from prom. "Amazing, I mean I don't think that life can get any better than this. Oh, and Will really liked the dress."
"See I told you that he would love it." Once again I emphasized the word love.
We giggled, "Thanks again for doing this."
"It's not a problem. Besides, I love Henry." I told her honestly.
She stared at me. "I know that you were supposed to leave for London today."
I didn't know what to say. "Garcia checked your flight time."
"Oh, I should've known." I said smiling at the thought of the bubbly and fun technical analyst known as Penelope Garcia.
"You're going to be okay over there, right?" She asked seriously.
I studied her for a few moments before taking in a deep breath and answering.
"It'll be different and maybe even a little scary without all of you because you`re my family but it's what I need to, it's what I've wanted to do for a while. Maybe someday I'll come back here but for now I need to leave this place and start fresh. So, to answer your question yes, I think that I will be okay." I told her truthfully knowing that she of all people deserved to hear it.
"Well you better call, especially since Henry's going to be asking where his aunt is. And Garcia will be able to find you know." She said light-heartedly and just like that we both laughed.
"I hate to go but I've got an early flight to catch tomorrow." I told her hesitantly after a while.
"Yeah, I guess you better leave." She said sounding unhappy about it as I got up and went to the door.
We hugged tightly neither one of us wanting to let go. Finally, when we broke our embrace we both had tears in our eyes.
She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."
I shook my head to correct her. "This is not a goodbye, JJ. This is a see you soon."
The last thing I heard before she closed the door was. "Not goodbye but see you soon. I can live with that."
"Now, time to see where I'll end up this time." I spoke to the darkness as I got in my car and drove away.
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. – Gilda Radner
A.N Wow, I did not expect this to turn into 2000 words but it did. This is written for week 16 of The Criminal Minds Weekly Prompts. I needed to do something because Paget is amazing and will be deeply missed by me. My apologizes if it's a bit OOC or if there are any mistakes. I wrote this at 1 o'clock in the mourning and it's not beta'd but I hope that youu liked it and please leave a review.