AN: Hey, look I managed another chapter! Surprise! I think there will be one more chapter after this to wrap things up. Hope I've still got some readers out there.

After Amber and her family had left, Henry took out his school books and started in on his homework. Wendy had headed upstairs to take a warm bath, and Dave had retreated to his easy chair. Having settled in with the daily newspaper, Dave ventured a look over the top of it every now and then to check on Henry. The boy was steadily working on his homework with a diligence that Dave knew that he had never possessed.

When the doorbell rang, Dave actually jumped slightly at the interruption of the silence. Henry meanwhile had dropped his pencil and got to his feet.

"I bet that's, Dad," the teen said, hurrying from the room.

"Make sure you check the peep hole first," Dave called out to the boy, as he put the newspaper down and got to his feet.

"I will, Mr. Dave," Henry called back.

Reaching the hallway leading to the front door, Dave saw Henry peeking through the peep hole. "It's Dad!" Henry called, glancing briefly over his shoulder at Dave as he slid the security chain out of place and opened the front door.

Father and son had already exchanged hellos as Dave joined them.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on him and giving him dinner tonight, Dave," Will said to Dave, one arm around his son's shoulders as he stood just inside the doorway. Though the sun had already sunk almost all the way below the horizon, the D.C. detective still wore his sunglasses.

"Think nothing of it. Henry is no problem to have around, especially after chasing Wesley around the house all afternoon."

Will smiled. "I bet. They are a handful at that age."

"Have you eaten yet?" Dave asked, thinking that a conversation over a meal might be the best way to bring up the topic he wanted to discuss with Will.

"Not yet. I'll just grab a sandwich or something when I get home."

"Nonsense. There are plenty of meatballs left over from dinner - completely homemade."

As tempting as the offer sounded, Will hesitated. "I'm sure you and your wife would like to spend some time alone this evening."

"We'll still have plenty of the evening left to enjoy one another's company," Dave countered, dismissing the lame excuse. "Henry, why don't you go back to working on your homework while I get your father something to eat," Dave suggested.

"Okay," Henry said, stepping away from his father and heading back to the living room.

Dave turned his attention back to Will. "Come on in," he said, motioning to the detective to come all the way into the house with a sweeping gesture.

Seeing that Dave was not going to take no for an answer, Will gave a sigh and walked into the house. As Dave shut the door behind him, the New Orleans native slowly reached up and reluctantly removed the sunglasses, knowing that to leave them on indoors would only raise more questions. Dave immediately noticed the black eye that the glasses had been hiding.

"That looks like it hurts," Dave said, as he motioned with one hand down the hallway toward the kitchen. "What happened?"

Will shrugged. "It's no big deal," he replied, as he started down the hallway, purposefully not answering the question. Having been to Dave's house on numerous occasions, Will knew where he was going.

Dave let the avoidance of the question go for now. He had a feeling it would come back up during the conversation he planned to engage Will in. "How was your day at work?" Dave asked instead, deciding to start the conversation off on a more neutral topic.

Will started talking about his day as they entered the kitchen. Taking a seat at the table that Dave motioned to, he continued chatting while Dave warmed up the meatballs again and prepared a sandwich for him. It wasn't long before Dave was placing the plate and a glass of iced tea on the table in front of Will.

"This smells delicious," Will commented, inhaling the aromas of the homemade meatballs and tomato sauce.

"From the comments earlier, it tastes just as good," Dave informed him.

Dave gave the D.C. detective a few moments to eat his sandwich in peace before he started in on the conversation that he really wanted to have with Will.

"So, how are things going between you and JJ?" Dave asked, trying to sound casual. He might be retired for the second time but all the tricks he had learned during his years as a profiler for getting unwilling participants to talk were still there. Even if the skills were a little rusty, getting Will to open up was bound to be easier than getting a killer to admit to his crimes.

Will coughed as his surprise over the question caused him to choke on the sip of ice tea he had been taking. "We're fine," he replied once he had recovered. "We've both been busy with work lately but then you worked at the BAU so you know what that's like."

"Yeah, I do and I also know from experience, what working at the BAU, or law enforcement in general, can do to a relationship."

"Yeah, our jobs do keep us busy and add a certain amount of . . . complications to the relationship but we've always worked through them before."

"I think the key word in that sentence is before," Dave commented, knowing that he was walking on a fine edge. Getting involved in someone else's marital issues could be tricky, especially when both people involved were friends. However, Dave cared too much about Will and his family to let things go. To allow Henry to live in an unhealthy home environment if there was something that he could do to help.

Will was concentrating hard on the sandwich in front of him as he tried to avoid responding to Dave's observation.

Dave remained silent for a few moments, wanting to give Will a chance to respond and consider his next words. When the detective took another bit of the sandwich instead of replying, Dave chose to speak again.

"Will, I know you want to do what's best for Henry, and if things are bad enough, sometimes the parents staying together isn't always for the best. Henry made a comment here this afternoon which gave me the impression that you and JJ having an argument is as common as him going off to school or you and JJ heading off to work."

"It's not that bad," Will replied defensively, placing the remaining portion of his meatball sandwich down on the plate. "Things have just been stressful for both of us lately and JJ's been putting in a lot of time away. I could be more understanding on the day's she is home. Of course she's going to want to spend time with Henry and rest more than spend time cleaning the house."

Dave nodded. How many times had he heard excuses like that before from battered wives, not that he knew for sure JJ was hitting Will? Still, there was the black eye that Will was reluctant to explain and the bruises that Amber had mentioned.

"Did she give you the black eye?" Dave asked choosing the direct approach this time around.

"Sort of," Will admitted, shifting uncomfortably in the chair.

Dave leveled his gaze at the detective but remained silent, waiting for Will to explain further.

"We got into an argument about Henry's school work. His grades have slipped this last semester and I wanted to discuss the meeting I had with his teachers while she was away on the last case. The discussion quickly deteriorated into her blaming me for not offering help and making sure that he did his homework. I said something along the lines of if she thought she could do a better job then she needed to stay home with him more often," Will paused. He finally lifted his gaze from the table, and looked over at Rossi. "It was unfair of me, I know," he said, almost defensively. "Anyway, JJ picked up a pot that was nearby and threw it at me. It took me by surprise and I didn't move out of the way fast enough. The black eye is the result."

"Are incidents like that how the other bruises happened too?"

A look of panic crossed Will's face.

"I was talking to Amber earlier. She's concerned," Dave explained.

"I didn't want her in the middle of this. She and Spencer have been such good friends to us, it wouldn't be fair."

"Exactly why they are both concerned and want to help."

Will shook his head. "I just need to be more understanding."

"From what little I've heard, that could go both ways," Dave remarked, causing Will to look back down at the abandoned meatball sandwich. The New Orleans native started absently picking pieces of the roll off but didn't comment. "Look Will, take it from someone whose been through a few failed marriages, sometimes things just can't be worked out. Sometimes the timing is off. It's a hard decision to make but you need to consider that perhaps it would be better if you and JJ separated."

"But Henry-"

Dave didn't give him a chance to finish the protest. "I know you want what is best for Henry but you need to consider that perhaps staying together isn't for the best. If he's seeing you and JJ fight all the time, it isn't healthy for him. I'm sure he's noticed the bruises just like others have. What kind of message is that sending him? It may even be the cause for his slipping grades."

"I hadn't considered that," Will said. He paused briefly before continuing. "I still love JJ, Dave but lately it doesn't seem like she still loves me. When she is home, if she isn't at work or with Henry she still isn't home much. When she is in the house, we seem to yell at each other more than talk. She didn't even ask if I was okay when I got hit by the pot."

Dave reached out and rested his hand on the younger man's arm. "Will, I know how hard it is when a relationship that you're invested in doesn't work out. However, if it's not a healthy relationship than you need to get out. For your sake and for Henry's."

"I'll think about it," Will replied quietly, fully intending to think seriously about the conversation he and Dave had just had once he got home and had some time alone.

Dave nodded, satisfied with the answer for now. As much as he would like to, he knew that hew wouldn't be able to solve the marital problems of his two friends. Whatever steps were taking next, one of them had to take them. The only thing that Dave could do was be there for support, and from where he stood right now, it was Will that seemed like he was going to need support. Not that he was planning on cutting JJ out of his life, but Dave simply had more contact with Will these days since he wasn't traveling with the BAU.

The two made small talk for a few minutes before Will gathered Henry and headed for the car. As Dave watched father and son make their way down the front walk, he found himself whispering a short prayer for the pair.