Rain drizzled down in a small suburban neighborhood, creating a misty haze in the night. Outside every pleasantly normal house the lawns were perfectly mowed and the bushes were trimmed. It was the true definition of a suburban neighborhood. The streetlights were spread unevenly down the street, leaving dark, sinister stretches of road behind. A car drove slyly down the road going unusually slow. In front of a light brown house it stopped and the headlights turned off mysteriously. A man got out of the car and walked around it to the sidewalk, waving over his shoulder at the other man who then turned the headlights back on and drove away. The man was wearing a dark blue hood and black pants. He put his hoods up and made sure to stay in the shadows as he walked through some of the yards. He has a determined, ambitious look on his face as he trudged through the bushes. He could see his destination from where he saw. A branch of a nearby tree blocked his view so he pulled it down out of his way. He could see one light on in the upstairs bedroom, he knew once that light went off it would be time. He pulled off his backpack and went through all his stuff to make sure everything was there. By the time he looked up again the light was off. The man waited another 20 minutes before walking towards the house. It was a large white house on the corner of the street. He walked through the back yard and up to the back door, making sure not to make any noise. He took out a crowbar and with great ease, pried the door open. It made noise, but not enough to wake the family inside up. The door led straight into the large kitchen area of the house which was attached to the dining room and the living room. He shut the door behind him and put the crowbar down on the table. Upstairs slept a happy husband and wife, the husband had his arms around the wife and in the next room a small boy was asleep under Star Wars sheets. The man put his backpack on the table and pulled out a container about the size of a gallon of milk, maybe more. He unscrewed the top and poured the liquid on the kitchen counters, all around the living room and on all the furniture. He walked up the stairs sprinkling the liquid on the stairs and down the hallways upstairs. This was when his intentions became terribly clear; the liquid he was pouring all over the house was gasoline. He returned to his bag and took out a match, getting ready to set the whole house on fire and end the lives of the pleasantly normal family that lived in it.

It was a stormy November night outside the offices of the FBI in Quantico, Virginia. Outside the wind beat the pouring rain against the windows, thunder cracked through the clouds and lightning flashed across the sky. Inside almost all of the lights were off except for in two offices; the office of Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner and Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jureau. They were both busy flipping through numerous papers and it still looked like they both had a lot left to do. Hotch's papers were case reports which he had to fill out after every case they finished and JJ was flipping through unsolved cases from all around the country with gruesome pictures, trying to figure out which case they should take next. Nothing had stuck out to her yet as urgent, they all looked like accidents and most that were murders had enough evidence to find the murderer without the FBI's help. She looked up as the lights in Hotch's offices went off and he walked out, shutting his door behind him.

"Go home soon, JJ." Hotch said, looking into her office as he walked by. He had a stack of papers in his arms that he would probably go home and finish.

JJ just nodded, she would go home right after she finished finding a case. So many people we're asking for their help, but none of them really actually needed them. The next case she opened was a suicide case in a small town in Missouri. She touched the necklace around her neck for a moment, thinking about her sister. She shut the folder a few minutes later, knowing that the BAU never really focused on suicide cases. Since it was getting late, she decided to take the rest home like Hotch so she could put her son to bed for once. She walked out of her office and shut the door behind her before walking over to the railing of the catwalk and standing against it for a couple seconds, looking over all the desks. She twisted her necklace gently between her fingers and then looked at the ground.

"JJ, what are you still doing here?" Penelope walked up to stand against the railing next to JJ. She was wearing a bright pink dress with bright green hand bag hanging over her shoulder. Her headband was bright pink too. Next to JJ's light blue shirt and black pants, she really popped out.

"Well I was just about to leave." JJ put a fake smile on her face because she didn't really want to talk about what was really bothering her. She hoped that Penelope wouldn't ask.

"Okay, what's up?" Penelope asked, suspiciously. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking at JJ.

JJ tilted her head. How did Penelope read her that well?

"I work with a team of profilers." Penelope said as if she had read her mind, "I pick up some tricks sometimes, but really JJ. Spill." She put her hands on her hips.

JJ shrugged, really not wanting to talk about it at all. "I just feel…" she paused, "I don't know. Nevermind." She shook her head. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"But I could help, you know. I'm really good at giving advice." Penelope said, hopeful that JJ would come out with it.

"I don't want to talk about it." JJ said a little bit more firmly this time. Her team was her family, but even in your family there are some things that you just want to keep to yourself. When she saw Penelope's hurt expression she shook her head. "I'm really sorry. It's just something I want to handle by myself."

Penelope looked over the desks, "I know what you mean." She nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled at JJ and then walked back towards her office.

"Night." JJ stood there for a couple more minutes before she walked along the catwalk and down the stairs to the front door. The first thing she noticed when she opened the door was rain pounding on the pavement. In the sky, thunder boomed and JJ flinched. She spotted her car in the parking lot and then started running through the rain, trying to keep the bag full of case files dry. When she got to her car, she unlocked the door quickly before climbing inside. She yanked the door shut and then rested her hands on the steering wheel. Today had been a hard day for her; it was a 15 year anniversary of her sisters' death. She just couldn't stop thinking about that day when she woke up only to find that her sister was…gone and her brother had wrapped his arms around her, as if shielding her from the pains of death. She wished right now that Travis could be here to shield her again, but after he graduated he had went to med school and moved down to Florida. JJ sighed, looking up at the water pounding down on the windshield. The weather really summed up how she felt; completely and entirely miserable. She knew that her sister was watching down on her, she could feel it, but not having her there…even after 15 years…felt empty. Now that she was out of the BAU she could stop holding it in. Tears streamed down her face and she put her head in her hands. Being strong was so hard sometimes, sometimes you just have to get everything out.. She didn't cry for long because she knew she needed to get home soon or Will would be worried. JJ stuck her key into the slot and started the car, sniffing slighty. The headlights came on and she had to turn on the windshield wipers too because of the rain. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she turned the radio up hoping that it would cheer her up. Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway came on and JJ smiled a little bit, this had been one of her sister's favorite songs when she had been alive. It reminded JJ of the good things about her, her quirky personality, her great imagination, and the way she could have made anyone smile.. JJ sighed and kept driving, feeling a little bit better now that she was thinking about the good memories instead of the bad. She pulled into her driveway and saw the lights still on in the living room. JJ sniffed, picked up her purse and got out of the car quickly, running under the covered porch to get out of the rain. She opened the door, only to see her husband sitting on the couch.

"You're late," Will paused, looking over at his wife, "again." He sighed, "I already put Henry to bed."

"I'm sorry I had to look through some cases." JJ shut the door behind her, took her coat off and set the cases she'd brought home on the kitchen table.

"You still have more? JJ, when does it stop?"

"We've already had this conversation Will. I'm doing what I love because it's who I am."

"I know, but you haven't put Henry to bed, let alone seen him in a week! It's about damn time that you get home." Will said, standing up.

"Will, my team is my family too and you know that. I can't just give them up. Henry knows that I love him." JJ protested, putting her hands on her hips.

Will shook his head. "JJ, you don't understand the problem. A boy needs his mom, sure I can teach him how to be a man, but what about when he's scared or hurt or even sick. Those are the times when you need your mom and you aren't there!" he said, raising his voice. "You and I barely ever see each other anymore or got out for date nights like we used to. If you're never home, how do you expect this marriage to work, JJ?! Did we make a mistake?" he asked the last question in a lower voice.

"You really believe that? We love each other Will! We're a family and I try to get home, I really do, but what if something happened to you or Henry? I would want someone to be out there doing something, wouldn't you?"

"You said that last time JJ!" Will shook his head, "If you are gonna choose your job over your family then something needs to change. Henry needs someone to rely on and someone to be there for him and that's not you, it never was."

That last thing hurt JJ the most and the new emotions mixing with the old ones made her feel completely terrible."I'm leaving." JJ said, her voice cracking slightly. Will looked at her, shocked. He wasn't expecting her to actually leave, he was just impulsively yelling. "Forever?" he asked, biting his lip now feeling terrible about what he had said.

"No, no. I just want to get out of here." JJ said, picking up her coat and her purse.

"I'm sorry JJ. I didn't mean any of it, I promise." Will said, stepping towards her.

"Will…don't make promises that you know aren't true. It's okay, you're right. I just want to get out of the house for a while." JJ replied, stepping away from him. "Don't wait up." She said as she walked out of the door and out to her car, now not caring if she got wet. She got into her car and knew exactly who she wanted to talk to, who would make her feel better. The radio was playing a sad song that she recognized from her childhood, but couldn't place. It made the mood she was in even worse, but hopefully she could get advice. She drove across town and parked in the driveway of a small dark brown house that looked very nice and welcoming. JJ jogged over to the door, but there was no covering so the rain just poured down on her as she rang the doorbell. Now she wished that she had worn the coat with the hood on it because she was getting completely soaked. The porch light turned on and the door opened to reveal Hotch, who looked surprised to see him.

"JJ? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. He could tell by her expression that it wasn't something about work.

"I just…can I come inside?" JJ asked him, already soaked from the rain.

"Sure, of course." Hotch nodded and moved out of the way so she could walk inside.

JJ stepped into Hotch's house, shivering slighty from the chilling rain that had now seeped into her clothing.

"So what's this about, JJ?" Hotch asked, helping her take off her heavy, damp coat. He frowned, not sure what this was going to be about; JJ never really made trips to people's houses this late without a good reason, but Hotch had a feeling that it wasn't work related.

"You remember on the plane when I told you about my sister?" JJ started and Hotch sat down at the table, gesturing for her to sit too.

"Yes."Hotch nodded, his suspicions were confirmed. This wasn't work related, it was about her sister.

"Well…it's the 15th anniversary of her death." JJ shook her head, "And Will doesn't think I'm home enough so he's starting to have second thoughts about us getting married in the first place."

Hotch listened to her and then rubbed his chin. "Haley and I used to fight about all those stupid things too, but let me tell you, when all is said and done you guys still love each other and you always will…I loved Haley until she died and I still do." He smiled, slightly. "You just need to talk to him, set boundaries."

JJ nodded, thinking about that day when Hotch had lost Haley. The phone call they had all listened to, when Haley and Hotch has confessed their love for each other and he promised to take care of Jack even when she was gone. All that was heard after that was a gunshot and the sound of the unit chief sobbing for his dead love. "Hotch…I'm sorry." She looked down at the surface of the table, she was complaining about minor things while Hotch had been through much worse.

Hotch nodded, "You and I are a lot alike JJ." The corners of the his mouth twitched, "We've both loved and lost, but at the end of the day we're better off." He smiled, "I promise if you talk to Will about how you feel, he'll understand. He loves you, JJ."

JJ nodded, "Thanks Hotch. I'll go do that now. Thanks for everything." She stood up and grabbed her coat before walking towards the door and out of Hotch's house. She drove through the traffic less road, thinking about what she'd say to Will. Just the thought of approaching him made her nervous, but hopefully everything would go okay. She parked the car in their driveway, the rain had reduced to just a drzzle so she casually walked up to the door and walked inside.

Will had been sitting on the couch, but when she walked inside he immediately stood up. He felt bad for yelling at her, he knew it was wrong. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm just…" he shook his head. "Sorry."

"It's okay…I've just got a lot on my mind." JJ sniffed and looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears were running down her cheeks. "We need to talk Will."

"I know, but I want you to know that everything I said wasn't me. I was just tired and agitated, so I'm sorry for all of it." Will told her.

JJ nodded, "So am I, but you were right. I need to be home more so I was thinking that maybe we could go on a family trip…maybe to California. Somewhere sunny, you know?"

"That sounds great and it'll be a great time for you and Henry to catch up." Will nodded and leaned against the wall. "So what's on your mind?" he asked, remembering what she'd said moments earlier.

JJ's gaze dropped to the ground. "It's Sarah…"

"Oh yea…" Will nodded. She'd told him what today was already, but he'd forgotten. Now yelling at her made him feel even worse. He reached over and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Come on." He took her hand and led her over to the couch. He sat down first and then she sat down leaning up against him. "I'm here for you, Jennifer."

"I know." JJ rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, feeling safer now that she was in his arms."They're having a memorial." She said, opening her eyes to look up at him.

"What?" Will asked.

"For Sarah, they're having a memorial."

"Why didn't we go? I mean, we could have gone."

"I had to work, they want me to find a new case by this week.." JJ sighed. The BAU really was taking over her whole life and JJ just wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. "I really wanted to go though. That's what's really bothering me."

"Hey." Will started, "Don't worry about it JJ, Sarah loved you and even though you didn't go to the memorial she still loves you and you need to remember that."

JJ sighed; knowing that after today it would be hard to get back into her old groove again. "Thanks Will."

Will just nodded, holding her close in his arms. They both fell asleep on the couch that night, wrapped in each other's arms.