A/N: This was written for the CCOAC Christmas challenge. My pairing was Rossi/JJ, and my prompts were Silent Night, the scent of cinnamon, cool blue Christmas lights, and a perfectly blended glass of spiked eggnog. Although none of them appear in this chapter, they will all be in the story.

This is just a little something for Tracia's Christmas stocking. ;) I hope you like it, as I love writing the warm fuzzies of Christmas!

She knew she should go home, but Jennifer Jareau couldn't find it within her to even stand. The holiday cheer that usually filled her during the Christmas season seemed to be MIA this year. Will had left her just after she'd returned to the BAU eight months ago, and since her job was so unpredictable, he'd been awarded primary residence for Henry. The judgment had broken her heart, and JJ had called her previous supervisor at the DOD begging for her old job back. But she'd been informed that they'd already found someone new to fill her shoes.

In the end it hadn't really mattered: Will had always been a decent man, and he was more than fair with the custody arrangement. He always manipulated his schedule to fit hers, and knowing how hard this had all been on her, he'd even offered to let her have Christmas with Henry this year. Henry's primary residence may have been just a piece of paper…but it was one that tore her heart to shreds.

And it was this very reason that at eight thirty P.M. on December 20th, Jennifer Jareau was attacking her paperwork like it was a lifeline. The minute she left the building, she'd be on stand down. They'd had a rough year, and Hotch had banned them all from entering headquarters until January 2nd. They needed time to regroup, he'd insisted. Though the thought was nice, sitting at home for the next two and a half days in her quiet little house without her little boy running around filled her with dread.

So she grabbed the next file…and plugged away.

David Rossi took a deep breath as he stood, tidying up his office before heading out for the next twelve days. Christmas wasn't an especially appealing time of the year for him. For others, the holidays meant hustle and bustle…picking out that perfect present…perfecting grandma's cookie recipe…but not for him.

For David Rossi, Christmas meant three failed marriages, the reminder that both of his parents were gone…and that his son, the precious baby boy who had lived a mere three hours and twenty-two minutes, was no longer with him. His arms felt empty, as they always did, at that last thought.

With a sigh, he took off his sport coat and placed it on the hook behind his door, trading it for his Chicago Cubs starter jacket. He shrugged into the coat, but there was no need to button it up. The Virginia weather wasn't that fierce yet.

He closed the door behind him and started walking down the ramp and into the bullpen. He was surprised to see the newest profiler was still sitting at her desk, so engrossed in paperwork she hadn't yet noticed him.

"Shouldn't you be home with Henry trimming the tree?" he asked softly, making a show of checking his watch as he sat down in the chair beside her desk.

"He's with Will," she answered, looking up from the pile of papers spread out on her desk. "I'm procrastinating."

"Is he with him until Christmas?"

JJ shook her head, her blond hair cascading over her shoulders with the motion. "No. I get him back on the twenty-third."

"Well, that's something," Dave said with forced enthusiasm, trying to cheer up those sad, blue eyes. The emptiness he'd never noticed before tugged at his heart strings.

"Yes, well, it would be if my parents weren't flying in on the twenty-fourth," she said dryly.

Ahhh," Rossi said, his tone understanding. "The parents."

"Yeah," she said, her eyes glued to the piece of paper on her desk. She was doodling as she spoke. "It's not going to be good."

"I thought you got along with your parents."

"I do, but…" she sighed heavily as she lifted her head. "I lied to them when I thought I wasn't going to see them for the holidays."

"What did you lie about?"

"They were worried about what happened with Will, and then Henry, so…I told them I'd moved on…that I was with someone." She winced. "I was just trying to convince them that I was OK, but apparently they were so excited, they decided it was imperative to meet him right away."

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"I…Rossi, I don't have custody of my little boy," she said, the emptiness in her eyes quickly filling with fire. "So, no. I'm not OK."

"I'm sorry, JJ. I know it must be tough not to have your son around—"

She knew they shouldn't have, but his words were like a dagger to her heart. No one knew how this felt. "No offense, Rossi," she said angrily. "But you have no idea how tough it is not to have my little boy around."

Rossi nodded thoughtfully, and she could see his jaw start to tick. He wasn't like most men; David wasn't angry when his jaw began to tick. That usually meant the wheels in his head were turning.

"Did you know I had a little boy?" he asked.

"I—I—" JJ stuttered in shock. "No. I didn't know you have a son," she said.

Rossi laughed caustically. "Had," he corrected. "For three hours and twenty-two minutes, I was the proud papa of the most beautiful baby boy you've ever laid eyes on," he informed her wistfully.

"Rossi," she said softly, reaching out to place her hand on his. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "It was a long time ago," he said.

She smiled sadly. "I'm a parent, Rossi," she reminded him. "I know it wasn't long enough."

He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. She almost flushed at the way her heart skipped a beat, and then immediately felt guilty. He was sharing a piece of his past with her, for God's sake, and she was thinking about how handsome he was!

"I would really like to spend the holidays with you and Henry," he said softly.

"You…you…you what?" she asked dumbfounded.

"I can help you out," he told her.

"Wha—no!" she said emphatically, shaking her head. "No! I—no!"

"It would take care of the problem with your parents," he told her.

But it would create so many more problems for her here at work. Especially if the pounding in her chest was anything to go by! "Rossi, it's so nice of you to offer, but I—"

He gave her a half-hearted smile. "You'd really be helping me out, JJ," he insisted. "Do you know that I spend every Christmas wondering what I would have bought him? I walk up and down the aisles in toy stores picking things out for him. Of course, he'd be thirty-two now, but in my head, he's just a boy."

Part of her wanted to jump at his offer just so she wouldn't have to deal with her parents. But the other part of her, the part that was still so devastated by her circumstances didn't want to drag him down with her. It wouldn't be fair. He was looking for a perfect Christmas, and that wasn't something she could give him. But here he was, telling her she'd be doing him a favor. And wasn't that Rossi's way? Lending a helping hand, all the while insisting you were the one helping him.

"Look, Rossi, I—"

He stood abruptly. "When do your parents fly in?" he asked.

"The morning of the twenty-fourth," she answered automatically.

He nodded. "I'll tell you what…if I don't hear from you, I'll be at your house that morning. If you decide you don't want to do this, you call me and let me know."

"Rossi—"

"Have a good night, Blue," he told her, and then turned to walk away.

"Blue?" she asked. "What's Blue?"

"You are," he informed her with a shrug. "It's either that or ocean eyes. Take your pick."

"Surprise me," she heard herself say before she could stop herself.

And sooner than she could utter another word, he was gone.