Okay so I know I keep going MIA but 2015 was a really rough year for me and I was up and down like a roller coaster and as much as I wrote a lot some days, others I did not and publishing was last thing on my mind.
This is a very long oneshot and it is very Christmasy I will say, it was supposed to go up on Christmas eve but I lost the document on my laptop and only a few hours ago realised I accidentally saved it onto my college USB and my coursework onto my laptop. After this very embarrassing mix up for myself, I fixed it and swapped them over and am finally publishing this.
It is VERY AU and by very AU I mean out of this would AU but I loved the plot line and as much as it is fantasy and supernatural which is a not what I usually do, I was made up with the outcome and hope you all like it as well.
I will leave it there and let you all read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it and hopefully I will be back soon with chapters for my very delayed stories and more oneshots.
Loving you all and please, please, please drop me a review, it means the world to me when I receive reviews and I want my first publish of 2K16 to be kicked off in the best way possible!
Aaron Hotchner woke up with a start, looking around him confused. He was lying on the floor in the bullpen, his team members around him still unconscious.
"What happened?" He mumbled to himself, standing from his place on the floor. He walked to Penelope who was closest to him, concerned due to the fact nobody was awake yet.
"Garcia, Garcia wake up" He shook her shoulders, jumping when she sat up with a gasp.
"Hotch? Where are we?" He heard Rossi groaning, looking up to see him, Reid and Emily waking. He walked to Derek who was stirring.
"Morgan" He shook him, the man rolling over and sitting up, rubbing his eyes in confusion
"What's going on? What happened?" He asked, Hotch standing in the middle of everyone looking around. They all stood, shaking themselves off.
"Are you all okay?" They all jumped up when a strange voice answered, turning to the corner of the bullpen. A woman with short blonde hair sat on a desk chair, messing with her fingernails as she looked to them all.
"Are you sure that's what you should be asking?" Hotch took a step forward, taking charge of the situation and his team.
"Who are you?" She shook her head, standing from the chair.
"You are still asking the wrong question. You shouldn't be asking if everyone is okay, who I am, what happened. No, you should be asking yourself if everyone is here" They all looked around each other, Derek clicking on when he realised his girlfriend was currently not with them.
"JJ. Where is JJ?" He said, the woman laughing as Derek took a threatening step towards her.
"Where is my girlfriend?" She raised her eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Girlfriend? If I remember rightly, you broke up with her over 3 months ago" His throat went dry, the team looking to him in confusion.
"You never told us that" Penelope said in shock, Derek looking away.
"You never asked him" The woman replied, ushering them out of the bullpen. They all looked to each other before following her, Emily gasping when she walked straight through the bullpen doors without opening them.
"Are we dead?" She whispered in terror, the woman giggling to herself.
"Not quite" They all winced when they walked through the door, Reid attempting but failing to grip onto the handle. They followed the blonde to just outside JJ's office, watching as she walked through the wall. They followed, Rossi immediately running to JJ's side. She had her head resting on her desk, her eyes closed.
"JJ! What have you done to her?" Hotch asked as they all surrounded her, their hands seemingly going right through her when they attempted to wake her.
"She is sleeping. You don't need to worry about her right now. Let me explain myself. I am the ghost of Christmas past, present and future. You may have heard of me as a myth, but I'm only true to those who need it. I have spent these past 5 months watching over you all and I decided to make you my charges. You are all currently unconscious in your office spaces, but time is frozen so when you wake it will be the same time as to when to fell unconscious. I'm here to teach you a lesson, whether you carry it with you or not is entirely your choice. Now, should I begin or do you all need a few minutes" They all stood in awe staring at her, though Derek didn't seem fully convinced.
"The ghost like the one off the movie Scrooged? Yeah, very funny" Penelope smacked his arm, Derek wincing as he looked to her.
"You seriously think that now is the time to be sceptical. We are walking through walls, nobody can hear us, and we all mysteriously woke up on the floor in the bullpen. You're girlfriend, well now suddenly ex-girlfriend is unconscious for all we know and you seem to be more concerned about yourself!" He looked down at JJ who wasn't moving, the situation dawning on him.
"You're right, I'm sorry" They all looked to the woman who was combing her hair with her fingers.
"You all ready? I mean, we have time but I'd like to get back before its Christmas Eve where I live" She laughed, them all looking between each other in worry.
"What exactly are we doing?" Reid asked, the blonde ushering them all back outside the office. She pulled out a small pouch from her pocket and got a pinch of dust out, throwing it into the air. They all gasped in awe when a portal opened in the middle of the corridor, their eyes wide in amazement.
"What is this?" Emily whispered in amazement, the blonde nodding.
"I know it's amazing. I've been doing this for 10 years and it never gets old. Right, let's begin with the past. Follow me" She guided them into the light, them all hesitating before following her in. A millisecond later they were in crowded pub, them all looking around in recognition.
"This is Billy-Joe's bar. We come here on all our night outs" Penelope commented, the scenery familiar to them all. They had been coming their ever since Emily joined the team.
"You are right. We are in Billy-Joe's bar, 9.46pm on December 23rd 2009"
"Yeah I remember. We were on our Christmas night out that year, we have it on the 23rd every year. We were planning Christmas Eve in JJ's and Derek's apartment and Christmas Day at my house" Rossi stated, knowing that the team didn't have much family and during Christmas time it got lonely so they spent the holidays together. Just like a family.
"Oh yeah, it was JJ and Derek's first Christmas together" Emily recalled, Derek smiling when he caught sight of him and his girlfriend on the dance floor.
"Oh my God there we are!" Penelope squealed, spotting them all sitting around a table 'oohing' and 'awing' at JJ and Derek dancing.
"We all look so happy" Hotch said, knowing he hadn't seen Reid smile like he was over there in a few months.
"You do. You look like one happy family" The blonde commented, ushering for them to follow her into the portal again. They appeared again in Rossi's house, the team minus JJ sitting around Rossi's large Christmas table eating their dinner.
"December 25th 2010, 2.23pm" They all recalled this Christmas a lot quicker, remembering it was the first year JJ wasn't with them due to being away with the Pentagon. She had tried to get home before Christmas but never ended up getting a flight till the 26th.
"JJ wasn't with us this Christmas. She was away" Reid stated, the 7 watching as they all laughed and joked with each other, Penelope and Emily pulling a cracker, arguing over who should read out the joke and get the hat inside.
"You all don't look as happy as the Christmas before, but you are still having fun"
"We had skyped JJ about an hour before this I think, she had told us to not let her being absent ruin the fun" Derek remembered, knowing that JJ wouldn't have wanted them to ruin their own Christmas because she wasn't there.
"Do you want to see how she spent her Christmas?" They all nodded, appearing next in tent, seemingly a hospital one. They spotted JJ sitting next to a hospital bed, a man lying in it with his eyes closed, the machine next to him making no noise.
"Damnit wake up. I can't lose another one" JJ cried, standing up from her chair to look down at the man. He looked very young, his t-shirt covered in blood.
"This is the exact same time on Christmas day. While you were all laughing and joking over your roast dinner, JJ was out here fighting for people's lives" They watched in horror as a man approached JJ, their friend shrugging away from his kind touch.
"This isn't your fault. Nobody could have known Jennifer" She laughed in disgust as she looked to him, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Really? So it isn't my fault that I have to call up his wife and 6 year old on Christmas day to tell them he won't be coming home when we do. That they have to spend their Christmas mourning the loss of their family member while we move on with the investigation, forgetting that I ordered for him to go out there. This is all my fault, and don't even try and say that it isn't" She stormed away from him, walking right through Derek as he tried to go after her.
"Where are we? Where is she?" He asked, the blonde shaking her head sadly.
"You know more than anyone that I can't tell you that. Come on, present time we go" They all looked behind them sadly as their friend left the tent, wishing they could know more about where they were and were she spent her time away. But the job come with secrets, they learnt that the hard way. Before they could focus on what was happening, they appeared in the BAU parking lot, looking at themselves from only a few weeks ago. They were all huddled around Rossi and Hotch's car, laughing and talking among one another.
"Wait- JJ isn't here" Emily noticed straight away, the memory coming back to her as she realised that JJ wasn't there. This was when they were planning the Christmas night out for tonight, but she wasn't with them when they planned it.
"We forgot to invite her" Penelope said, the realisation hitting them all.
"We have been a bit harsh on her lately" Hotch stated, the woman looking particularly at Reid, Penelope and Derek.
"No, not all of you" She said, Penelope and Reid sharing a look, while Derek looked across the way, spotting JJ coming out of the elevator. They all watched the blonde walk slowly to her car, all frowning when they never saw her with her bag or coat.
"Where is she going?" Reid asked, them all taking a closer step towards where the blonde was. They watched confused as she opened up her car boot, pulling out a carrier bag.
"Want to follow her?" Derek didn't need to be told twice before he was heading after the blonde. It was awkward, they all piled into the elevator with JJ, though she was absolutely oblivious to them being there.
"If she was here right now she would be laughing her head off" Emily said with a smile, though her eyes were sad as they stared at the clearly drained blonde who watched the numbers on the elevator slowly rise.
"Imagine when we tell her all this, she will think we are off our rockers" Rossi said, them all laughing in response, even the blonde who was watching them all intently. They reached their floor, them all filing out after JJ. They watched in confusion as she looked into the bullpen, as if checking they were all gone before going into the bathroom. They waited outside, the blonde emerging not 5 minutes later.
"What is she doing?" Reid asked in shock, the blonde coming back out wearing her pyjamas, her hair tied up in a bun. They all walked to her office, noticing how her couch seemed to be made up as temporary bed.
"Wait? Why is she sleeping her? I moved out of her apartment back into my own when we broke up, so she has the place to herself" Derek told them, though ashamed, he knew she could still stay there.
"You'll find out. Come on" The blonde looked away sadly, ushering them all out to see a portal outside her office, in a similar spot as their first one. They turned up next in a police station, the time on the wall reading 2.18am.
"It's November 26th. You all remember, it was a long weekend, the Saturday after a long case in New York"
"Yeah, we were all at Hotch's. Well, JJ wasn't" Penelope said, them all nodding in agreement.
"Why are we at the local police department?" Rossi asked, the blonde nodding towards an officer who was talking on the phone, they surrounded him, listening into the one sided conversation.
"I don't care if you have cleared her apartment, I want it dusting for prints again. I am not letting this go until I have something to go from. I want you to dust that place at least another 5 times before she is let go from the hospital tomorrow. She has been through enough already, I want her apartment sorted and spotless by the time I drop her off tomorrow" He said sharply down the phone, hanging up harshly before dialling another number. A few seconds later he was having a calmer more collected conversation.
"Hello can I speak to Doctor Hammond please?" The man went silent for a few minutes, taping his pen impatiently on the desk.
"Hello Doctor Hammond, its officer Smith" The team listened intently, the blonde standing at the back of the group, preparing for the outburst to come.
"Have you done the rape kit?" The posture of the office changed suddenly, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.
"I'm so glad, that was the last thing she needed. How is her concussion?" His posture changed again, the officer shaking his head in dismay.
"Are you sure? I mean, the tests could be wrong right?" He nodded solemnly to himself, the team looking around each other confused.
"I don't understand why we are here?" Derek asked, them all looking to the blonde who nodded towards the officer, mouthing wait to them. They nodded and turned back to him, the man fiddling with the edge of the case file on his desk.
"Will you fax me the pictures of her injuries so I can file them away? We are searching her apartment again for fingerprints but so far we aren't coming up with anything. I will be down in the morning to pick her up, please break the news to her easily. It must be hard" He hung up, opening the file. The team gasped as a smiling picture of JJ greeted them, their eyes wide in shock.
"JJ was attacked? In her apartment? Why was I not informed of this?" Hotch shouted in an outrage, Derek going closer to examine the file as the detective read over it.
"It says she was broken into. Why were we not told? He said she had a concussion, and something else. What was the news?" He turned to the blonde, his eyes tear filled.
"I need you to all keep watching. I can't tell until you have seen" She said sadly, motioning back to the officer whose cell began to buzz. He answered, his voice more drained than beforehand.
"Please tell me you have some good news" He sat up in his chair, scrambling around his desk for a pen and paper.
"This is great, get the prints sent to me as soon as you can and I'll get them tested. And I don't care what the courts say, I'm having this down as an assault and manslaughter. That man killed her unborn child, and whether the law agrees or not, she lost her baby and I am certainly not okay with it" The room fell silent as the detective hung up and began through the file again, everyone staring wide eye at the back of his head.
"She was pregnant" Emily whispered in astonishment, a tear rolling down her cheek as they all turned their heads to Derek.
"Why didn't she tell me? I could have helped her" He looked to the blonde in agony, her heart shattering as she felt their pain. The lesson had been taught and they had learned it but she couldn't stop. She had to continue their journey.
"Did any of you give her a choice? If you were being isolated from the people you care most about, would you come crying about this or would you keep it bottled up?" They understood, they had treated her terribly and she had to endure it on her own.
"Come on, we have one more stop left" She walked through the door of the police station to reveal another portal. Another blink of the eye and they were no longer outside the station but in a graveyard.
"February 15th 2013. Not even 2 months ahead of now" Penelope squinted as she looked through the rain and fog, pointing to a gathering in the distance.
"I'm sure that's us. Are we at a funeral?" She asked, the blonde nodding in confirmation. While the others slowly moved ahead, Derek ran to the gravestone they were all gathered around. Not spotting the one person he wanted, his thoughts were confirmed as he turned to look at the gravestone.
Agent Jennifer Anne Jareau
Respected FBI agent and loving friend
July 22nd 1978 – February 6th 2013 aged 35
In our hearts, forever and always
"No! She can't be! What happened?" Derek cried as he fell to his knees at the stone. Tears pooled in his eyes and fell from his cheeks as everyone read the gravestone in dismay.
"You all isolated her for months, left her alone. She came back from a traumatic time and just when things were looking up you all destroyed her hope of a new start. She spent Christmas alone, she was assaulted in her own home, suffered the loss of her unborn baby and nobody helped her. You are all she had left and she lost everything in one blunt hit. At 5.07am February 6th 2013 she sat on her bedroom floor with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. She was due into work at 8am and never showed, and it took until you all picked up a case at 9.18am for you to all notice she wasn't there. At 9.36am you kicked down her door and found her dead on the floor. She died at 9.03am. If you all had noticed that she never showed up for work when she should have, it wouldn't have happened. Brutal as it is, this is your lesson. What you think is simple grief is actually immature anger that results in the death of hers and your child and eventually, her own death. If Reid hadn't have kicked off on her in that precinct she would have gone to Rossi's cook off to make amends. If Derek hadn't have broken up with her and left the apartment, she wouldn't have gone on a downward spiral. If Rossi and Emily would have looked over everyone's big heads and saw her spiralling it could have prevented it more so. If Hotch would have been the boss he should have and called Reid in to apologise his grudge wouldn't have made her as uncomfortable to speak to you all. If Penelope would have stopped letting everyone's decisions influence her own she would have been able to help her best friend though it all. Every single one of you played a part in this and every single one of you caused her death. You have been brought here to learn from this mistake and fix it before this future image becomes a reality" They all stood looking in shock and horror as the blonde relayed everything, the anger of the situation finally exploding out of her. They turned behind themselves to look at the grieving faces of themselves, them all crying into each over the loss of their close friend. But the truth was, those faces didn't deserve to cry, and neither did the ones looking upon them. They didn't deserve the lesson, they didn't deserve to see all her suffering after it had happened, and they didn't deserve JJ as their friend. She deserved so much better.
"When she did it, did she hate us?" Emily asked, breaking the long and heart shattering silence that had fell upon them.
"Surprisingly no. She wrote you all a letter and after reading it, to be blunt and rather horrible, I was disgusted in her words. She apologised to you all and wished you all well in life. Now is it just me, or is that really not what you all deserve?" The reality of her words didn't offend them in anyway. They didn't deserve her apology or her wishing's. They deserved for her to be angry and hate them all. Even in her worst moments she was truly inspiring.
"I don't know about you all, but I think we should head back and give her the apology she truly deserves" Reid said, everyone looking hopefully to the blonde.
"Well if you all say so. I'm glad I am leaving you as different people, this doesn't always work" She pulled out her bag of dust and threw it into the air, a more purple tinted portal appearing in the middle of the graveyard.
"Once you come out the other end you will all be waking back where you were. Now just hope that the time spell I used worked, otherwise you might be getting a surprise on the other end" She laughed, the team sharing a nervous but heartfelt laugh between each other.
"Thank you for this second chance. I'm sorry for the grief I put you through" Derek said sincerely, Penelope nodding in agreement.
"Don't think this was for you guys, I have had my eye on that girl for a long time. But I'm grateful to have had this time with you all" She smiled, watching as the team started back into the portal, all waving goodbye.
"I never mentioned this, but do I know you from somewhere? I know it is impossible but you just seem so familiar" Derek said, looking at her in more depth as he let go of Penelope's hand, watching her disappear into the portal. The blonde laughed out loud, taping her nose teasingly.
"Spoilers" He laughed back, giving her one last smile and wave before disappearing himself. He awoke with a start, looking around at everyone as they all woke up. They seemed to all resting on desks, the offices dark from the night outside.
"What time is it? What year is it?" Derek asked suddenly, jumping up from his chair.
"Everything is turned off. I don't even know" Hotch replied, them all bolting towards the bullpen doors to JJ's office. They barged in the door, JJ jolting awake in terror.
"Oh my God you're okay!" Penelope screeched, running towards the blonde and wrapping her up in a hug, standing her from her chair. JJ accepted the embrace, a confused frown on her face.
"Yeah? What's going on?" Penelope pulled back, holding the blonde by her shoulders as a tear fell down her cheek. JJ pulled away, her confusion growing as she looked into the relieved eyes of her team.
"Am I missing something here? Should I be asking if you are all okay?" Emily stepped forward, taking JJ's hand.
"We want to apologise to you, for everything we have done"
"Yeah all of us" Reid said, JJ looking to him.
"I don't understand? Apologise for what? I thought I was the one in the wrong?" She asked confused, everyone sharing a look between them.
"No, you are not in the wrong. Not at all. We are the ones in the wrong because we have all treated you like crap and not taken you into consideration at all and we are so sorry and we want you to know we love you and we wouldn't be able to live without you" Derek said, JJ feeling tears pool in her eyes as she looked to him.
"I thought you all hated me" She whispered sadly, Hotch and Rossi shaking their heads as they joined the smaller circle around JJ.
"How could we hate you, we were surprised to find that you don't hate us?" JJ shook her head no, a small smile on her face.
"Can I ask why you are all here?" Penelope gasped, JJ jumping in response.
"What time is it? What day is it? Omg is the year still 2012?" JJ picked up her phone in confusion, a concerned look on her face.
"December 22nd, 11.09pm, and still 2012. Seriously, are you all okay?" Emily and Penelope cheered, everyone glad it was still the time they hoped it was.
"I'll explain later, come on, let's go home. Together" JJ hesitated before taking Derek's hand, them all following. They all went back to JJ and Derek's apartment, JJ sitting on the couch happy to be back home feeling safe with her family. Derek stared at a picture frame on their coffee table, nudging JJ, catching everyone's attention.
"JJ, who is that in the picture?" Everyone looked to the photo frame, their eyes wide as they looked to JJ in question.
"That's my sister, Roz, remember? She died when I was 11. I told you Derek ages ago" He nodded, everyone looking at the picture in awe.
"You know, I can picture her right now looking down on you. She is very proud" JJ smiled tearfully, kissing his cheek before burying her head into his neck.
Roz stood behind them all, a tear rolling down her cheek as she threw her dust to create a portal. She took a step into it, taking one look back at them all.
"Lesson well learnt my friends, lesson well learnt"