Discerning

A Criminal Minds Story

She shifted uncomfortably in her sleep as she unconsciously wrapped the heavy blanket tighter around her body. Nightmares plagued her dreams as sweat began to form slowly intent on drenching her entirely, despite the extremely cold weather around her. Yet she stayed asleep shivering within the confines of the bed.

RING! RING!

The shrill shriek of her ring tone yanked the young woman out her sleep as she sat straight up. Breathing heavily, she began fumbling about for the wretched device that had woken her from her slumber. Her brain and body seemed unable to cooperate as items from her night stand clattered to the floor.

"Will, where is it?" The blond called out for her husband as she continued to plop around the bed searching for her phone, "Will!"

The room was dark, with only a sliver of light from outside shining through her mostly covered window. Blue eyes darted around the room rapidly in a continuous search for the rectangular communicator. It's obtrusive tone continuing to blare as it remained unseen.

"Will, wake up. I can't find it," She let out a frustrated groan.

RING! RING!

Then suddenly she spotted it, a small glimmer of beautiful discovery shining through a black heap on the floor. "Ha!" Her heart rejoiced as she rolled out of bed and stumbled across the floor before sliding into a sitting position by her purse, answering the phone at the same time.

"Agent Jareau," She stated a bit too loudly.

There was a pause on the other end.

"Are you alright Agent?" An aggravated, yet slightly confused voice asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. Just fine," JJ answered triumphantly, a slight laugh etched in her tone.

"You have a case, it's local. Call the team I expect you all here in one hour. No less. Am I understood?" JJ glanced at the clock for the first time. It was 3 am. The team had just arrived home from another case four hours ago.

"Are you sure it can't wait until morning, the team-"

"One hour, Agent Jareau," her superior sternly stated.

"Yes Ma-,"

The line went dead.

"Wow, Strauss sure is grumpy this morning and I mean even more than usual…," JJ chuckled as she looked towards the bed. "Will? Look I know, but we've…"As her gaze fell on the empty bed, JJ stopped talking. She knew no one would answer. Because no one was there,

Because Will was dead.

JJ slid back down to the floor. After two years, she had hoped she'd be used to their lack of presence by now. But no. There were still some days where she woke up expecting to see her husband sleeping next to her. Or, she would wonder what to make Henry for breakfast. JJ sighed, It had happened a lot recently. The other day she nearly bought a toy for her little boy, knowing he would love it, but forgetting he would never get to play with it. Every time she drove by the Quantico police station during the day she wondered if maybe she should go in and surprise her husband. She made it all the way to the front door once, but then…

JJ attributed it all to the fact that her case had finally come to a close. They had found each of the three men that had murdered her family guilty. They'd be going a way for a long time. Knowing that did help JJ feel a bit better, but she mostly glad to hear that they had released the wrongly accused boy that Will had tried to free and had arrested the actual offender. JJ and the team were present that last day of trial.

The team. They have been her lifeline throughout all of it. JJ wasn't sure what state of mind she would currently be in without them. It took JJ six months to decide that she wanted to return to the BAU. In the end, she knew it was what Henry and Will would have wanted her to do. They loved her and knew she loved her job. It made her who she is; it helped her become a better mother, a better person. Will used to tell her that he fell in love with her because of who she is and who she was continuing to become. So after a lot of contemplating, JJ decided to come back.

The team agreed with her decision in a respectful manner, but she knew they were jumping in victory on the inside. They helped her finally move out of Emily's place and into her own. Granted it was just down the street. And a week after her decision she was back in her office sorting through case files and deciding which one to send the team to.

And it felt good.

Looking back up at her empty bed, she picked her forgotten phone off the floor and began dialing the team. There was a job to do, people that needed them, and JJ knew the exact people who were best qualified to help. She just hoped that it would end well.

But according the current feeling her intuition was sending her, she wasn't so sure that it would.

So technically this is the sequel to Preponderance, but it can be read on its own. I wasn't sure about a sequel, but then this idea came to me and I wanted to share it. To those of you who read my last story, I never really got to thank you all for the reviews and for the support you gave. It really meant a lot. Thank you.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions or criticisms or any questions.

Thanks!

-HCB