I know, I know what you're all thinking... another new story? What are you doing? You should be working on 'The Road Before Us' and 'Though the Road Was Never Smooth'... what can I say? The muse has been in the back of my brain working on this, thinking about this, and wanting to write this story since it came up with the idea... so I'm letting her have her way. I figure then she'll be very eager to work on 'The Roads Series' (that's what I'm calling that series of stories now by the way)

So this little idea popped up in my brain months ago while I was writing 'The Road Not Taken' - then one weekend it bloomed into a full blown three-quel of a series... just like the summary of the story says - stick with me through the first couple chapters - things aren't what they seem at first. ;)

I don't own Criminal Minds - I'm just borrowing the toys.

Happy reading and enjoy :D

"Oh, Will he looks just like you." Garcia said as she glanced down at the baby boy in her best friend's arms.

JJ vaguely heard Pen talking to Will and a teasing comment made by Emily about Will's accent as she gazed down at the perfect baby boy in her arms. Surrounded by some of her very best friends after an excruciating fifteen hours of labor, JJ couldn't help but think of the events that had brought the little one in her arms here.

"Hey" JJ said as she walked up to where William LaMontagne Jr. was leaning against the side of the police car staring at the asphalt of the parking lot as the latest victim was loaded into the ambulance.

"Hey there." Detective LaMontagne replied glancing momentarily at JJ.

"The medic says her victims going to be okay." JJ said attempting to comfort him.

The detective merely nodded.

JJ glanced down and then back at him. "I heard what you did in there. Your Dad would be really proud."

"It's weird. I spent all this time on closing this case for him… and now it's over." He explained.

"Yeah" JJ said nodding her head.

"Thought I'd feel happy, but I just feel lost." Will said looking down at his feet like a lost little boy.

JJ shrugged. "Cause you gotta move on."

"Well now you're leavin'. How will I survive a woman like you goin' so far away?" he asked flirtatiously causing JJ to blush slightly.

"Well despite what you may have heard, cell phones can be very good for your health." JJ said as she handed her business card to him.

JJ stretched as she stood up from the cramped coach plane seat. Thank goodness the BAU had its own jet. She couldn't imagine if they had to fly commercial to get to all of their cases. As she gathered her things she thought about the last couple of months, wondering where all the phone conversations that she'd had with Will would lead… if she even wanted them to lead anywhere. She was so confused. Yes she'd given the man her number when they'd wrapped up the case. It was fun flirting with him. He had a sexy accent, badge, and gun. He was cute. But she wasn't sure if he was who she really wanted.

It had been a grueling couple of months. There had been the serial arson case in San Francisco and though she'd suspected that Spence was using drugs before, his comment about the arsonist being like a drug addict had pretty much secured that thought in her mind. He seemed to be getting better and dealing with everything that had happened in Georgia… and he hadn't snapped at anyone in quite a while. She hoped that meant he'd turned the corner.

She'd been wishing for things to get back to normal between her and Spence. They'd been off kilter ever since Georgia, but finally seemed to be getting back on track. She could tell the closeness that had been developing between them before Spence's abduction hadn't really gone away. It had still been there, lying dormant just below the surface while Spence worked through everything he needed to. But the surface was beginning to thaw. They were back to teasing each other and joking around.

All that just left her even more confused. She had strong feelings for Spence, but should she wait around for something that might not ever happen, something that he might never be ready for, or should she move on to Will who she'd enjoyed talking to and flirting with over the phone? She only hoped that she could figure it out before someone got hurt.

"I had a great time tonight cher" Will said as he walked JJ to her hotel room.

"I did too Will. Thanks for showing me New Orleans today." JJ said as she pulled the card key for her hotel room out of her purse and then looked up at Will as they stood in front of the door to her room.

Will nodded, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and rocked on his heels. "Well, I suppose this is goodnight then. I … do you need a ride to the airport in the morning or are y'all set?"

JJ smiled at the nervousness Will was displaying at their saying goodnight. It reminded her of someone else, someone back in Quantico. "I'm all set. It's an early morning flight… but maybe, well next time… I can book a later flight?" she asked softly, her own nerves showing through.

Will chuckled. "I'd like that cher. I'd like that very much." he replied as he leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Goodnight" JJ murmured and then turned to unlock the door to her room, casting a smile and a wave over her shoulder at Will as she closed the door and entered her room.

From there things had progressed. The phone calls between JJ and Will had continued. She'd made a few more trips down to visit Will as they continued to get to know one another. Long distance relationships really were a killer. While they were seeing each other, they hadn't really defined what exactly their relationship was. How did you define a new relationship when you saw each other a couple of weekends a month when you were lucky?

Will, being the southern gentleman that he was, had offered for her to stay at his house so that she needn't pay for a hotel. While for many men this would be a 'move' on their part, with Will it wasn't.

"How was the flight cher?" Will asked as he took her bags from her and stowed them in the trunk and proceeded to open the passenger side door for her.

"Cramped." she replied. "I miss the BAU jet every time I have to fly commercial." she said with a laugh as she turned to look at Will.

Will laughed. "Well I'm sorry I don't have my own private shuttle service, but I do have a claw foot bath tub that you can feel free to soak in as long as you like." he said as he pulled out into traffic.

JJ sat watching the attractive man behind the wheel of the car as he pulled out into the late Friday evening traffic, wondering if perhaps this time when he kissed her… or when she kissed him… or however their lips ended up meeting, if she would feel the spark that had been missing last time. Or would she continue to compare his mannerisms to someone else?

"It's nothin' fancy, but it's comfortable." Will said as he set her bags down on the queen sized bed in the guest room of his house. "The bathroom is right across the hall… and um… I'm right down the hall. I, uh…" Will nervously slapped his thighs. "Did y'eat yet? I can make us some dinner if you want to freshin' up?"

JJ smiled as she turned to look at Will from taking in the guest bedroom, her accommodations for the next couple of nights, "That sounds great actually. I'm especially interested in your claw foot tub." she said with a grin.

"Just my claw foot tub?" Will asked with a flirtatious grin.

"For now, the rest remains to be seen." JJ replied with a grin of her own.

Will chuckled and shook his head. He really did like JJ. She had spunk and reminded him so much of his Momma, god rest her soul. He found himself wondering what his Daddy would have had to say about her. "Well, alright then. I'll be down in the kitchen. How does gumbo and beer sound?"

"To be honest anything that I didn't have to cook right now would impress me." JJ replied honestly. It'd been a long day by the team had finished up the paperwork regarding the Chernis'. Watching the grief on the Chernis' faces made it rather easy to surmise that they somehow knew they wouldn't be seeing their daughter Natalya ever again.

"Mm, that was delicious" JJ said as she lifted her beer bottle to chase her final bite of gumbo.

"Thank you" Will replied with a nodded from the bar stool on the other side of the high top table that graced his bachelor pad kitchen. "So what would you like to do tomorrow?"

JJ shrugged. "I'm not really sure, but how long have you lived here?" she asked as she glanced around noticing that it wasn't just the guest room that was bare of any personality, but the whole house.

"About six months" Will replied with a shrug. "I finally unpacked the last bit of what I managed to salvage from my parent's house… I just… it was hard moving back after the storm and at first there was so much to deal with… then I got wrapped up in wrapping up that case for my Daddy. I let it consume me. Starting a new life was really the furthest thing from my mind until recently."

JJ nodded somewhat solemnly, realizing the even though the hurricane had been almost two years ago, Will, like most of the people in New Orleans, was just beginning to put his life back together. Some of the pieces of his old life would never be able to be recaptured, but perhaps it was time for him to embrace his new life. "Well how about tomorrow we spend some time making it look like you actually live here."

"So doesn't this feel more like a home now?" JJ asked as she stood in the living room with her arms crossed, looking about the space that they'd spent the weekend adding personal touches to.

Will nodded as he looked around. "Thanks cher. I'm just sorry you had to move your flight to later this evening in order to help get all this finished."

What had once looked like an almost empty bachelor pad of a house, now looked like a home. They'd spent Saturday morning taking inventory of what exactly Will owned, which wasn't much. He managed to escape Katrina with his life and that was about it. He'd been one of the more fortunate ones, in that he'd managed to salvage a few precious irreplaceable family mementos from his father's home even though his own former home had literally been washed away by the storm.

Once they inventory had been taken, they'd gone out for lunch. Then JJ had displayed her shopping skills. She'd helped Will to select some items that would add a personal touch to his house. Yes, it was still a bachelor pad, but it was a stylish one that reflected the personality of the man who lived there.

JJ shrugged. "I didn't have anywhere to be, and I'm more than happy to help out. Besides, I do believe you promised me barbeque before you put me on a plane back north."

"And barbeque you shall have." Will replied picking up her bags and his car keys off the counter and led the way out of his house.

JJ laughed as she and Will sat at the bar with his partner Charlie and his girlfriend, Allison. They were sitting in a dark corner of the bar, drinking, laughing, and talking. Will had seemed distracted and distant this trip compared to her last few trips. They had yet to make a true connection, but she was having so much fun visiting Will. It was nice to have an escape from everything that she saw at work.

Things with Spence were almost back to how they'd been before Hankel. Emily was adjusting and fitting in with the team well. And of course Morgan and Garcia were their normal overly flirtatious selves in regards to each other. Hotch and Gideon were, well, Hotch and Gideon. They didn't really socialize too much with the rest of the team, but she could respect that. All things considered, it appeared that after everything they'd all been through in the last year; losing Elle; adjusting to Emily joining the team; Morgan being a suspect; that horrible, horrible case in Golconda Nevada; and finally Spence's abduction, torture, and near death in Georgia. It was about time they all found solid ground under their feet.

JJ shook her head bringing herself out of her thoughts and back to her surroundings. She glanced about taking in the sights and sounds around the bar while Charlie stood up from his seat and leaned down to kiss his Allison before he headed up to the bar to get them all another round.

As she looked around, she found herself checking out several of the very good looking men in the bar and chuckled to herself remembering the events of the happy hour she, Emily, and Pen had attempted to have. Then she looked up and smiled when she noticed that Allison was enjoying the view of Charlie's backside while he stood up at the bar waiting for their drinks.

She chuckled under her breath as she noticed that Will also appeared to be distracted by all of the beautiful people. She wondered which of the women, at the bar, was her competition for his attention. She leaned back to see who exactly was in his line of sight. What she discovered shocked her. Will was watching the very same backside that Allison was, Charlie's.

Suddenly the fact that, although they got along fabulously, they hadn't clicked; made sense. The kissing had been nice, but there hadn't been any passion or heat behind it. It also made her realize why Will hadn't been pushing for them to go further as quickly as possible. She wondered if Will even knew… maybe that's why he seemed so distant this time. Whatever it was that was bothering him, they needed to talk and sooner rather than later.

JJ leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "Will, I think we need to talk. Can we go?"

Will turned his head to look at JJ. "I… uh, yeah cher. Whatever you want." he replied with confusion in his eyes. Then he stood up and pulled out his wallet and dropped three twenties on the table. "Allison, we're going to take off. Tell Charlie to let me know if I owe him more for the tab."

Allison smiled knowingly and winked at JJ. "Have a wonderful evening enjoying Will and his southern charm."