Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN: Thanks for the comments, they are much appreciated.
The taxi pulled up outside the front of the house and JJ paid the driver. Part of her wanted to tell him to turn around and take her back to the bar. It was the same part that was telling her she didn't want to be here. Not tonight. Not when there was something that just felt off with the situation. She looked up at the house as the taxi pulled away, relief washed through her as she noticed the lights were all off. Hopefully Will's asleep and things will be back to normal in the morning.
She opened the door quietly just to make sure she didn't inadvertently wake him if her hopes came true. She was greeted with a silent house. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips. She made her way upstairs to Henry's room and looked in. He was lying in his crib with his favourite teddy clutched in one hand, fast asleep. A smile played on her lips as she just watched her son sleep peacefully.
After a few minutes of watching him, she quietly made her way across the hall to her bedroom. The door was pulled to and so she opened it ever so gently to avoid any noise. What she saw as the door opened and the light from the hallway spilled in made her heart stop. The bed was empty. She turned the light on to check that what she was seeing was reality. No Will. She quickly moved from room to room looking for him. All the while her mind was racing. If he wasn't here then who had been looking after Henry. What if something had happened and there had been nobody there?
After checking every room and finding no trace of him, she collapsed on the couch. Thoughts of what could have happened filling her mind. She could feel the panic rising inside her as the scenarios playing out in her head became more disturbing. So much could have happened and there would have been nobody there to help or to stop it. Thoughts of Henry crying and not having anybody come to comfort him. Thoughts of someone coming in to the house and taking him. Thoughts of Henry becoming ill or injured and nobody there to save him. A vision of her standing in Henry's bedroom, looking down at him flashed into her head…Only this time he wasn't breathing. She felt her stomach turn at the thought and rushed to the bathroom before emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.
Slowly JJ managed to get her emotions back from the edge of panic. She couldn't reconcile the fact that Will had left their son alone in the house at night for god knows how long in her mind. There was no excuse for it. She knew that the next time she saw Will, there was a lot to say.
JJ spent most of the night pacing and checking on Henry. All the time her mind was racing with possibilities. She had tried calling Will's cell on several occasions but it had gone to voicemail every time.
Part of her wanted to never see Will again. She just couldn't understand how he could just up and leave without a thought for Henry's welfare. What kind of a father or man for that matter does that?!
JJ had started the usual morning routine of getting herself and Henry ready. The only difference being that today, Henry would be joining her at the FBI in the day care centre. She had just finished giving him his breakfast when she heard the sound of a key in the lock. Her jaw clenched involuntarily as her anger rushed through her. She waited for Will to appear in the kitchen but to her surprise, the next sound she heard was footsteps on the stairs.
JJ put Henry in his play pen before heading into the hall. "That it? You go out all night, leave our son alone in the house for god knows how long and then you just sneak back in?"
Will half turned to look back down the stairs at the blonde. "I'll do what I want. You seem to."
JJ felt the anger inside her rising to boiling point. "I told you I was going to be back late and Henry wasn't home alone. Where did you go that was more important than our son's safety?"
"Out." Will continued up the stairs with his one word response.
JJ wasn't going to let it go that easily. His wasn't something small or petty. This was a major issue and she deserved a better answer than that. She followed him up the stairs and found him in the bedroom. "Out? You think that is good enough? You left him! Alone! For who knows how fucking long and all you say is out?! What is your fucking problem Will?" She was shouting at him now. He had pushed her too far. All her fear and anger had combined and this was the result. Part of her was saying this was a bad idea but she was in too much of a rage to notice.
Until Will turned suddenly and pinned her against the wall with his arm across her throat. Her eyes widened in shock at what had just happened. Her mind was suddenly blank and her body frozen. His face was mere centimetres from hers and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. In a voice filled with venom he snarled back at her, "I'll do what I want, when I want and no fucking little bitch will tell me otherwise. Never dare to speak to me like that again or you will regret it." He applied more pressure to her throat to emphasise his last point before stepping away from her. He watched disgusted as JJ slid down the wall, coughing on the air that had rushed back into her lungs. Then he turned away and walked into the bathroom, leaving her on the floor.
Tears had formed in her eyes. The shock was starting to fade now and her instincts were kicking back in. She picked herself up off the floor, walked out of the room and went back downstairs. It was only as she picked up her badge and gun from the side that she noticed how much her hands were shaking. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as best she could before picking up Henry and walking out. Not knowing what to do other than get to work where she knew both herself and Henry would be safe and she could think about what to do next.
