"Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends." Joan Didion

Five years, that is how long it had been since Spencer and JJ had seen each other. The day that they last saw each other was filled with heartfelt tear shedding and pain as they went with two different agents that would be putting them in the Witness Protection Program until the unsub was caught. The boss, Erin Strauss, had told them that it should not take long for everything to blow over and they would be back to work.

In the five years that JJ spent buried under piles of paperwork, backstops, and name changes she was now finally settled in as Mary Sue Redline, who bakes for a living. Mary Sue Redline had one child named Henry Spencer Redline while Jennifer Jareau had no children and that was how it would have to say until everything was safe.

JJ pulled a batch of fresh cookies out of the oven and set the tray on one of the big counters in her bakery. Her son sitting by the cooled cookies that he would be taking to pre-school the next day because his teacher was making it a fun last day of pre-school for all the four year olds in the class. "Henry, what colors are you wanting to make the cookies?" she asks as she went to get the homemade frosting and plastic knives to spread the frosting onto the cookies. When she came back she set everything down.

"Pink, blue, green, yellow." Henry cheers to his mother as he stared at the cookies in front of him. When his mother finally allowed him to be busy decorating the cookies he was happy. He spent the time with the first five cookies telling his mother who they would be for and how he only wanted his friends to have a certain cookie.

JJ shook her head as she sat on a stool watching her dirty blond haired son frost cookies. Her life changed a hell of a lot in the past five years and some of it was for the good and some of it was not. She was proud to have a son with the man she loved and was raising him on her own because she did not know where Spencer was in the world and he did not know where she was. Where was she? Boston, Massachusetts.

Someone walked into the front of the store and went up to the front The man was tall, brown eyes, and neatly cut hair, wearing a suit made of decent material. He looked professional at least. Looking around to make sure that no one else was in the room before he spoke. "Jennifer Jareau." he called out, his voice familiar.

JJ's head snapped up at the voice and the name that she had not heard in more than five years. She had been undercover with Spencer for three years before that so it had been eight years since that name was really her own name and not just some distant memory that it now was. "You stay right here sweetie. Don't move." she tells Henry before she went out of the back room and into the area that people could order their goodies and then sit and eat them before going on about their day. "I don't know who you a..." she started before she made it to the front to see the man standing there. Her old boss, the one that worked at the BAU with her. "Hotch..." she could not form any other words to explain how shocked she was to see him standing in her bakery.

"You are safe now." Hotch tells her as he looked through the cakes and cookies that he could buy while he was here. "He was is dead and so are the few people he worked with. You are safe to come back to work."

JJ sighs as she grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the display of cookies that Hotch was looking through. "Here, try this. I'll send you a box of goodies for the team to eat with you."

"Are you coming back?" Hotch asks as he took the cookie from his old teammate handed him to try. Pulling a small piece off with his fingers and placing it on his mouth, letting the soft cookie with chocolate melt in his mouth.

"Of course I am coming back to be close to the team but working with the BAU is something I have to drink about." JJ had to think about her son now and could not just make such a big decision about going back to work as a FBI agent when she could die and leave her son behind without anyone really there for him that he could trust.

"You have a month to tell Strauss if you wish to come back before the job will be taken by a full time agent." Hotch did not want to see his agent no longer be on his team after this whole mess was over but he understood that people change a whole lot in five years. Pulling out his wallet to pay for the cookie. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, it's free." JJ shook her hand and head at him. "It's on the house."

Hotch nods. "Papers will be at your house by the time you go home to fill out and then you have a week to get everything packed up because the moving trucks will be at your place at eight in the morning on Sunday. Plane to catch at one pm. There are two tickets for that plane ride." he assures her without letting her know where he knew that she would be needing two tickets for.

"Thank you." JJ waved a small wave before she went back into the back to finish icing the cookies that her son would be giving to his class.

That sunday she was on that plane with her son beside her. She sat on the plane spending the time thinking about how much her life had changed and how she was no longer the agent she was back then. Agent Jennifer Jareau of before had no children and could do what she wanted with herself for the most part but this new agent could not do such things, could not be so reckless as she could have been before. JJ knew she would pass the tests to be an agent again with ease because she still worked out and kept up with all of the needs she had back then for the off chance that she would be back with the BAU someday.

Unpacking did not really start happening at her new place until Tuesday morning when she woke early to start unpacking the kitchen. After she unpacked the kitchen it was time to get her son up and go to the BAU to see Strauss.

JJ woke her son up with kisses to the forehead and cheeks. "Time to get up sweetie." she whispers watching Henry's eyes flutter open as he tries to think of where he was. "You are alright."

Dressed, teeth brushed, and shoes on before it even hit the next hour mark. JJ stopped to get Henry a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks and herself a coffee before heading to the BAU. She had to get a visitor pass but it was not as bad as she thought it was going to be.

The Bullpen was quite when she walked in with her son close beside her. It was like everyone that worked in the bullpen was shocked to see her alive. Whispers came about once the final ounces of shock were washed away from almost everyone but the heads of the BAU.

Garcia was the first to run and hug her, scaring Henry and making him hide behind his mother's legs.

"Oh my gosh, you look so...wow. How are you? Who is the cutie pie behind you?"

JJ hugged back before she turned around to Henry and whispering that she was safe. Once she had her son in her arms and her coffee in Garcia's hands she answered the two questions at hand along with adding a question of her own. "I am doing well, this is my son named Henry." she scanned the people looking for the one man she was hoping to see. "Is Spence hear yet?"

Garcia shook her head no before she went back to watching the child in JJ's arms.

A familiar voice came from behind JJ. "Hello everybody."