Title: Then and Now (1/?)
Author:
GBR15 aka E
Pairing:
JJ/Will
Rating:
K
Disclaimer:
Not mine.
Summary:
AU/Canon-ish. Their story was one of the ages—taking a look at past, present and future. JJ/Will.

Notes: English is not my first language, so apologies if there are any mistakes. I will do my best to get better!

Will and JJ are my favorite pairing on CM, and I thought I would write something about them. Essentially, there will be two "timelines" that is both AU and includes canon. Trying to weave a few things together while offering a different take on their story, adding more to what we know, and looking into the future! Wished there were more moments between these two and Henry on the show; but alas, I guess the world of fanfic is where it'll be at instead.

I do hope you enjoy, and please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

Chapter 1

then

Nine year-old William LaMontagne Jr., better known as Willy, quietly walked down the dirt path connecting the two properties together. It was a little past seven at night and the sun was already setting in the distance beyond the water. He carefully balanced the small box with his right hand as he saw the bright lights of his destination about a 100 yards away. He knew the path from his house to his destination like the back of his hand, having made this same trek between the homes a thousand times.

His family had just finished dinner earlier and he had quietly excused himself from the table, asking if he could visit their neighbors. His mother had smiled warmly at him-noticing that he hadn't touched his dessert at all-and said he could if he promised to back within the hour.

He nodded his head solemnly and promised his maman he would be back soon as he took his untouched dessert into the kitchen.

Manon LaMontagne had watched as her youngest and only son disappeared into the kitchen. She knew exactly what he was doing and smiled. Her son was a good boy, he was the splitting image of his daddy and had a heart of gold that any mother would be proud of.

Willy finally reached the side gate that led to the house. He quickly let himself in thru the gate and made his way around to the back of the house-he knew she liked spending her evenings after dinner out on the big back porch watching the water.

He found her exactly where he knew she would be-sitting on the swing chair drawing in her notebook.

"Psssst...Jenny, Jenny, can you hear me?" Willy whispered loudly, standing out of sight from the windows of the house next to the steps the led up to the porch.

Jenny looked up when she heard the familiar voice, and got up and walked over to the steps.

"What are you doing here Willy? You know you're not supposed to sneak around to the back like this!" she quietly said, sitting down on the step with her notebook. She knew from the inside of the house they wouldn't be able to tell she was talking with anyone.

"I know, I know...but maman made some of her famous sweet potato pie and I wanted to bring you a slice since I know you like it," Willy explained, gently opening the box he had brought with him and handing it over to her.

"Thank you," Jenny said with a grin, reaching for the box and taking the plastic fork found inside to grab a bite. She sighed happily after the first bite.

Willy watched quietly as Jenny ate his mamma's pie. The sun was dropping further down in the horizon, and Willy knew he had to get home soon.

"I should go, it's getting dark," he said, as Jenny finished the last bite.

"Ok Will-thanks for the surprise," she smiled, dropping the fork in the box and putting it next to her on the step. "You'll come by tomorrow morning?" Jenny asked, with a hopeful smile.

"Like always," Willy replied, his own face breaking out into a large grin. He liked making Jenny happy. He wasn't sure why, but she was his best friend. He couldn't remember a time in his life when Jenny Jareau wasn't in it. It was impossible.

"See you tomorrow," Willy whispered as he placed a quick kiss on Jenny's cheek before taking off in the direction he came from.

Once she saw him round the corner, Jenny got up from the step and grabbed the empty box and notebook next to her and quietly made her way back into the house. She threw the box into the garbage can next to the back pantry before retreating upstairs to her room, hopefully undetected by her parents who were at the kitchen table.

The LaMontagnes and Jareaus lived on adjacent properties and both families were close friends. Both couples were about the same age and started families at about the same time.

Jimmy Jareau was a lawyer who was born and raised in New Orleans-not too far from where his home was today. He met his future wife up north in Pennsylvania during law school; and was grateful that Sandy was willing to move with him home when he started his own practice. They had two beautiful daughters-Allison who was twelve and Jennifer who just turned eight. The family lived comfortably in a big house that they built and moved into several years after Allison arrived.

William and Manon LaMontagne had similar deep roots in the South. Their ancestors could be traced back to the French Canadians who settled into Louisiana and they were proud of their Creole roots. Will Sr. was a Commander in the New Orleans Police Department, proudly answering the call to serve that his daddy, granddaddy and great granddaddy did before him. He had three beautiful children one right after eachother-Isabelle, Juliette and William Jr. each arriving just a year apart from each other.

Both families spent considerable time with the other, and all their kids grew up together. But, it became very obvious to both couples that their two youngest were quickly becoming inseparable.

"Those two aren't very subtle, are they?" Sandy said, getting up from the kitchen table and taking their two cups to the sink to wash. Both her and her husband had spotted Willy coming from their side window when they heard the back gate creak open.

"Ahh...young puppy love, it's cute," Jimmy said with a chuckle. "Those two have spent almost every waking hour together this summer vacation..."

"Even longer than that, hun," Sandy said with a slightly nervous grin. "Willy is a good boy and his parents have raised him the right way. If it was any boy, I am glad it's William and Manon's son...but I just worry about them..." she trailed off, apprehensive about the large role the boy played in her youngest daughter's life.

"Sandy, they're still kids...Jenny's only 8 and the boy is 9. I wouldn't worry about it right now-they're happy and best friends; that's all that matters. When it gets more serious, we'll deal with it then."

"You're right. But mark my words Jimmy, those two are going to either be the greatest love story ever, or it'll be a complete disaster..."

"Then I guess we'll be along for one hell of a ride!"

now

"I have the cutest godson EVER!" Penelope laughed, picking up Henry and tickling him mercilessly. "Your fairy godmother missed you so much!"

"I miss you too!" Henry shouted, squirming in his godmother's arms while giggling excitedly.

Will watched with amusement as his son and his wife's best friend play together at the kitchen table.

It was a Friday night and Will was busy making dinner. It had been a long week-JJ and the team had been gone for 10 days now, working on a crazy case that spanned 4 states in the Midwest. It also didn't help that he he caught a big case at work as well, tracking down a serial arsonist who were targeting stores in DC. He barely had seen his son the last few days, thankful that they had such an amazing next door neighbor who was more than happy to watch Henry.

"I read about the case you worked on in the Post," Penelope said, holding Henry in her arms in a tight hug. "You even got your picture and a quote in there! Congrats Will!"

"Thanks Pen. I'm just glad it's over, and now I have a full weekend to catch up with Henry," he replied, turning to check on the casserole dish finishing off in the oven. "I just wished JJ was home right now."

He hadn't spoken to JJ all day-he was busy tying up loose ends with his arson case, and his texts had gone unanswered. He wasn't too concerned about this, knowing that his wife was busy-but he was somewhat surprised that she hadn't called or sent a message knowing what today was...she wouldn't have forgotten, right?

"Me too! I want momma home!" Henry said, clamoring out of his godmother's arms and grabbed the phone that was sitting on the table. "We call momma now?" he asked, waving the phone.

Penelope smiled at Henry's enthusiasm-he was like this all the time-whether it was to go to the park, have his favorite snack or random mundane things. Everything was exciting and important for the four-year-old.

JJ was one of her closest friends, and by default her young family were important people in her life. She loved Will and Henry like they were her own family. She knew the toll and strain it caused when JJ was gone for extended periods of time. and she did her best to help out.

Which was why she was making an impromptu visit to the LaMontagne house, on her way home from the Bureau. She had received a call from JJ a little after lunch, informing her that the team had literally just wrapped up the case-finally. The team still had a few more hours of work to officially finish the case, and would be flying home first thing the next morning. But, Hotch had granted her special permission to take the next commercial flight from Chicago home as he was aware of JJ's urgency to get home by the end of the day.

"Momma is busy bud," Will said, coming around the counter to pick up his son. "We'll talk to her later, ok?" knowing JJ always called home around Henry's bedtime. "Lets go wash your dirty hands and get ready for dinner, k?"

Penelope watched as they left the kitchen and felt her phone buzz. Grabbing it out of her oversized pink purse, she smiled when she saw who the text was from.

PG, are you there?

Yup. They're home and about to eat dinner-I have everything you wanted. She texted back quickly.

Perfect. I should be there in five minutes.

OK. I'll see you soon.

Penelope looked up when Will returned with Henry, placing him on his seat at the kitchen table.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us for dinner?" Will asked.

"I wished I could, but Kevin just texted and I'm going to meet up with him tonight," she replied, getting up and grabbing her things. "I just wanted to stop by and see my favorite godson."

"I'm your only godson," Henry said seriously.

Penelope laughed and gave him a big kiss on his cheek. "Depending on when everyone gets back, maybe we can have Sunday brunch all together?" she suggested, as Will walked with her to the front door.

"Sure, that sounds good. I haven't spoken to JJ all day, but I'm sure it'll be fine if she gets back by then."

She gave Will a big hug before making her way to her car parked on the side of the curb. She didn't have to wait long, as a taxi pulled up quietly next to her car.

"JJ, welcome home!" Penelope said, giving the blonde a big hug as she got out of the cab with her bag. "It's so good to see you."

"It feels amazing to be back," JJ said, her tiredness already starting to disappear. "Thanks again for helping me with..."

"Of course! It's the least I can do," Pennelope said. "I have everything you asked for-I snuck the balloons and cake into the garage when I got here, so you should be good to go."

"And my other request?" JJ asked, eyebrow rising slightly in question.

"Right here!" Penelope said, grabbing the familiar and well known pink bag from the inside of her car. "I take it this is going to be Will's big present?" she said with a laugh.

"Part of it, at least...hopefully he's not too upset that I haven't mentioned anything to him."

"He didn't say anything to me...but you know how he is."

"I do, that's why I wanted to make sure I got home today and surprised him..."

"Then GO! Your boys are going to be so excited when they see you!"

"Thanks PG," JJ said, giving her friend another big hug. "Want to do brunch together on Sunday?"

"It's like you can read my mind! Sure, I'll call you tomorrow to confirm?"

JJ waved as Penelope drove off. She made her way to the back where the garage was, punching the code into the panel to open it from outside. She dropped her bags next to the door and smiled when she saw all the things that Penelope had prepared. She went above and beyond what she asked-but that didn't surprise her.

She wasn't sure how she was going to get the decorations and cake into the house at this point, but she didn't really care-she wanted to see her boys. Quietly opening the door that led from the garage into the house, she softly padded down the hallway towards the kitchen.

She could hear Henry babbling away about something he did with Miss Kate today, and Will cutting up the chicken into smaller pieces for their son.

"This tastes good!" Henry said, taking a big bite of the chicken slathered in gravy.

"It's your grandmomma's secret recipe."

"It's better than momma's..." Henry said, taking another bite happily.

Will finished cutting up the chicken for Henry and grabbed his own fork.

"What's better than mines?" JJ said quietly, walking into the kitchen.

Both father and son stopped mid bite, dropping their utensils on the table and turned to look at the source of the voice.

It took both of them a second to realize she was standing in the kitchen, with an amused smile on her face.

"Momma! You're home!" Henry shouted, jumping out of his chair and running over to his mother. He threw himself into her awaiting arms and was lifted off the ground in a big hug.

"I am, little man. Surprise!" she said, showering him with wet kisses.

Henry laughed in his mother's arms and hugged her tightly.

JJ walked over to the table, placing Henry back into his chair. It wasn't a second later when she was wrapped up in her husband's arms, one of her favorite places to be.

"This is a nice surprise," Will murmured as he pulled back from a kiss. "Wasn't expectin' you today..."

JJ pulled back, lacing her fingers behind Will's neck. "Happy Birthday, baby" she said quietly, "I know I'm a little late, but I wanted to be home to tell you."

"I thought you forgot."

"Never. I just wanted it to be special when I told you."

"It's Daddy's birthday?" Henry piped up from his seat. "HAPPY BIRTHDADY DADDY!"

Will laughed at his son. He didn't have concept of days yet, and with JJ away, he didn't feel the need to let Henry know of the occasion.

"Do we get to eat CAKE?" Henry asked, knowing what his favorite part of birthdays were. "Presents?"

JJ gave Will another quick kiss before sitting down next to Henry at the table.

"Well, if you finish all of your dinner including your vegetables, I have a good feeling that there might be some cake..."

"YES!" Henry shouted, grabbing his fork and happily shoveling some of the mashed potato into his mouth.

"And presents?" Will asked, serving up a plate for his wife and placing it in front of her.

"Oh, you'll definitely get some presents..." she said vaguely. "...a little bit of this, a little bit of that..." she continued, giving her husband a look that he knew well.

Will smiled. JJ was home now, his birthday was finally complete.

then

"JJ, you think it'll always be like this?" Will asked, looking up at the pitch dark sky and the twinkling stars above them.

"What, lying on our backs staring at the sky?" JJ joked, grabbing his free hand that was resting in between their bodies.

"You know what I mean," Will said, nudging her side slightly.

He felt her squeeze his hand tightly, not letting go.

"School starts again tomorrow," she sighed, not wanting to think that their summer was coming to an end. "It won't be just you and me..."

"It'll always be you and me, JJ" Will said, quietly. "No matter what."

A comfortable silence fell upon them, as they continued to look up at the stars above them.

They both knew that change was coming-it always did with the start of the school year.

JJ turned her head slightly as she looked at the boy next to her-Will was her best friend, her confidant, her partner in crime. She was only eleven years old and still so young, but she already knew that the relationship she had with Will was something special.

They had spent their entire summer together, again, this year. Instead of chasing butterflies and playing make belief in their backyards, they were now older and spent countless of days in the hot Louisiana summer out on the bayou-exploring on the small boat the LaMontagnes used to go fishing.

They were at their favorite spot-about a 30 minute boat ride from their homes. It was a small island that was covered with cypress trees and green shrubs. The island had been used for centuries by the LaMontagne clan during the fall hunting season-there was a small cabin standing that was sparsely furnished and in a constant state of disarray. But, Will and JJ loved the island and nearly every day they would take the short boat ride out and spend their days in and around the cabin. They had spent the first couple of weeks fixing up the cabin, making it more pleasant-and the place became theirs.

Their families knew where they were-both sets of parents by then had reconciled that the connection between JJ and WIll was something unique, and trusted their children. They were both raised well and they knew that they wouldn't do anything silly to jeopardize their safety or their trust. JJ and WIll found themselves with a lot more freedom than your average 11/12 year olds, but they were both mature and responsible beyond their years and did not want to do anything to mess up this "arrangement".

"You really believe that?" JJ asked, breaking the silence between them. "That it'll always be the two of us?"

Will turned his head to look deep into those blue eyes he knew so well. He knew what she meant. They had spent another summer together, there was nobody else in the world that knew him better than JJ. If only she knew how much she meant to him.

"You know it is," he whispered.

"Not if Lizzie Parker has her way," JJ muttered, turning to look back at the sky.

Lizzie Parker was a year older than Will and had moved from up north at the start of summer. JJ had gone to the store to pick up a few things for her mother and was completely surprised to see a new girl talking to Will. She watched from a safe distance as Will said something to make the girl laugh and helped her with directions to the post office.

Lizzie Parker was a Big City girl, everything that JJ was not. She knew that it was only a matter of time for Will to realize this and not want to spend any more time with her.

"Hey, don't say crazy things like that," Will said, leaning up on his elbow as he reached to gently touch JJ's face, making her look back at him. "I don't like Lizzie, I like you, JJ..." Will affirmed, looking directly at her.

"For now..."

"For always," Will corrected her. "You're my girl, Jay...I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, or next week, or next year or even in the future-but the one thing I do know is that you're going to be there. That's all that matters to me."

JJ let his words sink in. She knew deep down inside that he felt this way-she felt the same way too.

"You believe me, right?" Will asked, snapping JJ out of her thoughts.

"I do, but-"

"No buts," Will said, cutting her off.

He leaned over and placed a soft, delicate kiss on JJ. She felt the same tingle that she did every time they kissed.

She wasn't sure what the upcoming school year would bring, but she was confident that Will would be by her side through it all.

now

William LaMontagne Jr was a man currently on a mission.

He had a specific list of items he had to pick up, and he was on the clock. To be exact, he had 57 minutes to get everything done, or he would feel the wrath for the rest of the day. He knew the items of this list well, having to buy the same items frequently for the last 3 months.

He scanned the shelf in front of him for the exact brand and make listed on this aforementioned list. Who knew that pickles came in so many varieties? He spotted a familiar looking jar sitting on the lowest shelf and quickly grabbed 3.

"Daddy, can I get this?"

Turning around, Will smiled as he saw his son perched in the seat of the shopping cart-hand reaching out to the bright yellow squeeze bottle of mustard on the shelf in front of him.

"Why do you want that, bud?" Will asked, dropping the jars of pickles into the cart and giving his full attention to his son.

Five-year-old Henry LaMontagne was a splitting image of his mother-long blonde hair, warm smile and deep blue eyes. While he looked every bit like his momma; Will knew his son had more of his laidback personality.

"Momma likes to use it when she's eating her funny things," Henry replied, matter of factly, waving his other hand at the abundance of random things that was sitting in their cart. "She likes it."

"She does, huh?" Will smiled, grabbing the mustard and passing it to Henry to throw into the cart. "I'm glad you're here with me so we make sure we get everything momma likes."

Will pushed their cart down the next aisle, grabbing things from the list as Henry continued to babble about random things. They were finally in the snacks aisle, grabbing the final items on the list.

"Momma likes the pretzal goldfish," Henry shouted, his eyes growing wide when he spotted the familiar white bag on the shelf. "We need to get her more of those! And the cheesy ones too!"

Will chuckled to himself, knowing full well that his wife was not the one who wanted the goldfish.

"Ok, we can get those for momma. Let me grab the popcorn she likes and we're done."

With a cart fully loaded, father and son proceeded to the checkout counters. Fifteen minutes later, they were parked in the visitor's parking lot and made their way quickly thru the standard security checkpoint. The security officer who looked thru the bag they had brought with them only smiled when he saw what was inside. He knew Agent Jareau well, having worked this post for the last 10 years, and realized quickly that her family was not only paying a social visit-they were bringing her much needed items.

"No running Henry," Will said as he watched his son take off down familiar hallways. Henry slowed down, waiting for his daddy to catch up. Together, they rounded the last corner before seeing the large glass doors that led to the familiar bullpen.

"Momma!" Henry yelled loudly dashing forward once the door was open, with no regard to the people working around him. He ran towards his mother's desk, screeching to a stop dramatically. He thrust the shopping bag he was carrying with him up.

"My favorite man!" JJ said, smiling as she took the bag being offered to her.

"I have your happy things!" Henry said proudly.

"I see, little man," JJ said, "it's like you could read my mind."

"We know what you like," Henry offered, as his mother picked him up and sat him on her desk. By now, Will was at her desk, as well.

"This is perfect, thank you sweetie," JJ said, seeing the contents of the special delivery. "I was totally craving for something sweet and salty," she continued, standing up from her chair and giving her husband a warm hug and quick kiss in greeting.

"When I got the text from Penelope, I knew you could use a pick-me-up," Will drawled, putting emphasis on his last three words. "And since I have the day off and we were nearby-thought a surprise visit to bring reinforcements would be appropriate."

"We smart, momma," Henry said knowingly, nodding his head rapidly.

JJ chuckled at her little boy, so proud of himself for helping his momma out. Her heart swelled with love at the two most important people in her life

She placed a hand on the growing swell of her stomach and could feel something flutter inside.

Check that, with the three most important people in her life.

TBC?

Please R&R! Thanks!