A/N Christmas crept up on me - I looked at the calendar and suddenly it's the 19th of December! This is my entry for Round Six of ilovetvalot's Fanfic Challenge 2010. My prompts were The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole, snow, a real Christmas tree, and a messily wrapped present. I think I managed to get them all in, in one form or another. This is set about...two and a bit years after JJ left the BAU. And there's obviously no Will in this story.

Special thanks to my beta flashpenguin, who battled bad weather and migraines to help me turn this into something readable. I don't know what I would have done without her! So I hope you enjoy, and Happy Holidays! :]

For canny-bairn. Have a great Christmas!

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own Criminal Minds.


Remember, this December, that love weighs more than gold.

Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

Breathing a sigh of relief as she opened her front door.

"Hello?" she called, confused at the silence within, "Anybody here?"

"In here!" came a laughing voice from the living room. Smiling to herself, JJ dropped her bag to the floor, kicking off her shoes.

Turning the corner into her lounge, her heart melted at the sight before her – a huge tree stood in one corner, partially decorated, and a five-year-old Henry sat on the floor surrounded by lights.

"Hi, Henry," she said, amused when his attention barely left the television to wave at her, the antlers on his head comically lopsided, "I missed you too, buddy."

Hotch stood up to greet her, crossing from his position on the sofa to catch her lips in a sweet kiss.

"How was work?" she murmured, content to just enjoy his surrounding warmth.

"Slow," Hotch replied softly, caressing the back of her head as his free arm snaked around her waist, "Reid and Rossi were down in Danville interviewing a man responsible for a string of home invasions in North Carolina. Emily spent the whole day avoiding phone calls from her mother..."

"The ambassador's in town?" JJ interrupted. Hotch chuckled.

"For a week."

"Poor Emily."

JJ shook the cold flakes from her hair, shivering as a stray fleck of ice disappeared down her shirt.

"Is it snowing?" Henry asked excitedly, finally dragging his attention away from the Disney Christmas special on the screen.

Hotch pulled the curtain aside, wiping away the condensation to peer out into the darkness. "It is. How about tomorrow we build a snowman?" he suggested.

He could picture it now – the boys darting through the snow, stray snowballs thumping against his coat, JJ's cheeks flushed from the cold and her eyes sparkling in the sunlight as he kissed a snowflake off her nose.

"Okay," JJ said, and he turned his head as he caught the exhaustion in her voice, "I need tea."

Hotch felt sympathy cloud his features, and gently stroked her cheek. JJ leant into his touch, smiling slightly.

"Long day?" he asked. She nodded.

"The worst."

He gently pushed her towards the kitchen. "Go."

Smiling gratefully, JJ headed out of the room. Jack looked up with a smile as she entered.

"Hi, JJ."

"Hey, sweetie."

"How was work?" he asked politely. She heaved a heavy sigh, making him laugh.

"It was okay." JJ leant against the island opposite him, flicking the kettle on. "So how was school?" she asked.

Jack shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. Danny wanted me to play soldiers with him at recess, but I told him guns and stuff were serious. Not a game."

JJ nodded, once again stunned at his wisdom. "So you didn't play with Danny?"

"Nope. I talked to my first mommy instead."

Jack sounded so self-assured, she wondered for a moment if she'd heard him correctly.

"Really?" she managed eventually. He nodded.

"I had to ask her what she wanted for Christmas."

"And what did she say?" JJ asked softly, almost afraid of what Jack's response would be.

"It's a secret between her and me," he replied firmly.

"Oh, okay." JJ turned back to the stove as Jack continued writing. She was trying so hard to meet him halfway, but nothing seemed to work. As the kettle whistled loudly, she turned off the burner and took down two cups. Filling them, she cast another glance as the little boy intently writing on a piece of notebook paper.

Christmas was the season of miracles. She wasn't asking for a miracle that Jack would accept her as his 'mom', but she did wish that they could meet halfway.

Picking up the mugs, she quietly left the room and joined Hotch and Henry to finish decorating the tree.

"Ches'nuts rollin' on a open fire," Henry sang loudly, glaring at his mother as she burst into laughter, "Jack Frosty nippin' at your nose. Yuletired carols being singed by a wire, an' folks dressed up jus' like Esk'mos."

He stopped, looking at his parents expectantly.

"Well?"

"That's it?" Hotch asked, "There's no more?"

"Nope." Wiping the tears from her eyes, JJ managed a brief round of applause.

"Great job, Henry. I'm sure your class will be great in the show."

"Will you and Daddy and Jack come see it?"

"Well, Jack's in it, bud," Hotch answered, "But Mommy and I will be there, and maybe we could ask Aunty Penny and Spencer too."

"And Emmy?" Henry asked in awe - it was common knowledge that the five year old was head over heels in love with his mother's best friend. He was, after all, the only person allowed call her Emmy.

JJ rolled her eyes just as Hotch snickered.

"Emily too."

Henry punched the air triumphantly, muttering a small 'yes'. JJ chuckled.

"Watch the end of your show, okay?" she said, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. Hotch shook his head in wonder as Henry's attention once again wandered.

"It's like it has secret powers," he laughed.

"Hey, what's Jack up to?" she asked, turning her head to observe him at the kitchen table. She had been expecting him to follow her in, but when he had instead remained in the next room, JJ had left him to his own devices. Hotch frowned slightly.

"He's working on his vacation homework."

She arched an eyebrow. "Before the actual holiday has started?"

"Evidently."

"JJ?" came the voice from the kitchen. She turned her head.

"Yeah, Jack?"

"How do you spell 'difficulty'?"

"D-I-F-F-I..." JJ began, leaving the warmth of Hotch's side to stand, "C-U-L-T-Y."

Jack thanked her, and she moved to his side, her hand gently coming to rest on his head.

"How're you doing?" she said. Jack looked up, sending her a small smile.

"I'm okay."

"You're working on your homework?"

"I was. Now I'm looking at my words I gotta say in the show." He pushed a piece of paper towards her. "Miss Jenny says we have to know them by heart."

JJ scanned the page. "Go ahead."

He shifted in his seat, his chest puffing up importantly.

"Christmas is not just a time for presents," he recited, a frown creasing his brow in concentration, "When we talk about the holiday, we have to remember that it wasn't always like it is now. It wasn't always about presents and trees and Santa Claus. We have difficulty finding the try meaning of Christmas, but I think I found it."

JJ smiled encouragingly, pride threatening to make her heart burst.

"Christmas is about finding warmth in the coldest time of the year," Jack recited slowly, finally lifting his eyes away from the table to look up at her, "And sharing those happy moments with the people we love, even if they can't really be with us."

JJ felt a pang in her chest as his bottom lip threatened to waver, but Jack pushed on to the end.

"This Christmas, remember to say 'I love you'. It's what Christmas is all about," he finished proudly.

JJ felt the tears rush to her eyes. Blinking quickly, she stared at the paper for a long time.

"JJ?" Jack asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She pressed her index finger to the corner of her eye. "I got something in my eye."

"No you don't; I made you sad."

JJ looked at him.

"No, Jack; I was just listening to you and it…" She searched for the right words to reassure him. "It just...it made me think."

"Honest?" Jack's eyes searched hers.

"Cross my heart." JJ sat down at the island. "I would never lie to you, Jack. You know that, right?"

The silence stretched on for what seemed forever, and she wasn't certain she'd get an answer. Eventually, much to her relief, Jack nodded.

JJ breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't much.

But it was a start.