Chapter 2
"I'll go check in with Garcia while you call Will." Emily said with a bright smile as she exited the room to go alert Garcia to their newfound plans for the evening, knowing before asking that the analyst would be on board with whatever intervention needed to be done. As expected Garcia was excited about the opportunity for some girl talk and ready to find out what was bothering her friend and took on the task of planning the rest of the evening while Emily returned to check on JJ.
Emily was surprised upon entering the media liaisons office to see that JJ still had the phone in hand with a worried frown on her face as she hung and dialed again, obviously having already done so a couple of times given her apparent mounting frustration. "Maybe he got called in to work?" she observed, trying to offer an explanation to calm her friend.
"I can't get an answer on Will's cell phone or the home phone, and he said they weren't going anywhere today. JJ said distractedly as she dialed again with same result, barely looking up at the other agent as she continued to punch numbers into the phone.
With a sigh of frustration JJ started dialing again, "I'm going to call our neighbor Ms. McAllister, she sometimes babysits Henry if Will is called in to work, though he usually calls me if this happens" JJ muttered as she dialed, her face darkening with anger and worry making Emily wonder how they hadn't seen the lines of stress on their friends face sooner.
While JJ spoke with the neighbor, Emily looked around the office furnishings, realizing for the first time that the only visible photos were of Henry and one of the team together taken after a case. "No luck?" Prentiss observed as she saw JJ hang up with evident mounting frustration, thinking a moment with her head in her hands before picking up the phone again.
"Not yet, I'll call the precinct, maybe he had to run in and get something and took Henry in to show him off." JJ said, referring to the Arlington Heights police department where Will had been working. Emily paid close attention now, her gut instinct starting to tell her something could be very wrong. She listened as JJ asked about Will, waiting as she was apparently being transferred to another department, only a few moments later it was obvious something was very wrong when all the color drained from JJ's face.
"Are you sure⦠did he say anything else?" JJ demanded as the conversation continued. "Ok, thank you." She quickly said as she hung up the phone and looked at Prentiss, her face ashen. I just talked to Will's captain. He said Will stopped by today with Henry and resigned, saying we were all moving suddenly due to something about my job, and he was sorry he couldn't give more notice. I don't understand." JJ sat almost dumbstruck for a moment, absorbing the facts before she became a flurry of action. "I've got to go home." JJ decided quickly as she grabbed her purse and car keys and started making a run for the door.
"I'm coming with you." Emily said, making more of a statement than a question as it was obvious JJ was starting to panic which could impair her blond friend's normally clear judgment and knew she didn't need to be behind the wheel in this condition.
"We'll be back shortly" Prentiss announced to the team as the two women quickly exited the building to make the short trip to the apartment JJ and Will had been sharing. They dashed out too quickly for anyone to ask questions, or to even see the worried looks exchanged between Rossi and Morgan who didn't need to be profilers to see something was going on.
"Think we should go after them?" Reid finally questioned as he looked at the other two agents, the lightheartedness of moments ago already past with the realization their friend could be in trouble.
"Let's wait a few minutes," Rossi slowly responded, "She has Prentiss with her, one of them will call if they need us." Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other two agents slowly nod in agreement as he rose from the corner of the desk he had been sitting on, deciding it was time to check in with Hotch as he had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't be long before the team did receive such a phone call.
"What is it Dave?" Hotch seemed exasperated as the senior profiler knocked on and opened his door without waiting for permission. "I'm not in the mood for one of your attempts to drag me out for lunch." Hotch had barely cast a glance at Rossi as he stayed focused on the papers in front of him.
"Excuse me, I thought you might like to know about JJ and Emily running out of here a few moments ago and that we may be called in to help." Rossi couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice, even as he watched Hotch's head shoot up at the mention of the potential problem, his paperwork obviously forgotten. Rossi couldn't help but make the observation that for all his focus on work and seemingly cold exterior at times that Hotch truly placed the welfare of his teammates and friends at the top of the list.
"Calm down, we don't know anything for certain," Rossi found himself saying as he saw Hotch rising and gathering his things as if to head out after them. "It could be something simple, all I know is that we were talking about JJ and how she'd seemed different lately, Prentiss went to talk to her and next thing we know they're both flying out of the building saying they would be right back. It could be nothing.." His voice trailed as he watched the cloud crossing Hotch's face, realizing that after the tragedy with Foyett that it had only intensified the man's protective instincts towards those close to him. "It's probably just something with Will that's best for the women to handle, you know Prentiss would have brought the whole team in if there was a hint of any danger." Rossi felt a small measure of relief as he saw his friends shoulders slightly relax.
Rossi knew he didn't even have to ask if Hotch had realized JJ's changed behaviors, knowing that no matter how distant he could seem sometimes, Hotch stayed acutely attuned to not only the team as a whole and their morale, but to them individually keeping a watchful eye if anything seemed to be going wrong. While it had been before he had rejoined the unit Rossi was well aware of what had happened with Elle and knew that had been a wake up call to not only the team but to Hotch to not ignore signs of distress or changed behavior in the future no matter how benign they might seem.
To Be Continued
