AN: I know I'm updating super slow on this and I'm sorry. I explained about weekends at work being nuts and I managed to get sick in the middle of it so I spent all of my day off yesterday either asleep or curled up on the couch watching NCIS. Also, as of this weekend it is official: I have seen every episode of Criminal Minds at least once. I got my mother addicted so we started watching them from the beginning. Ion has Seasons 1-7 that they show in order. Now I just have to get her to watch Season 8 (which I saw all of) before 9 starts.
MN: For those of you not reading 'Freedom', AJ has had a terrible headache since about Saturday. Since I live in her mind, my whole world been painful. So, I may not be a huge help on this one.
JJ sighed as she pulled into her driveway. Will's car was in its spot, so she was probably going to have to deal with grief from him for getting home so late. She shifted her minivan into park and turned off first the headlights then the engine.
So got out quietly, hoisting her purse onto her shoulder before opening the back door. She quickly unbuckled Henry and gently pulled him from his booster seat. By the time she made it up the front steps, the door was open. Will was silhouetted from behind by the light, but she could tell his frame was tense, angry.
She brushed past him without a word, pausing only to drop her bag before carrying Henry to his room. She roused him enough to get him changed into pajamas and to go to the bathroom before tucking him in. To his credit, the hostility was gone when Will stepped in to kiss his son goodnight after she had done so.
As she returned to the lower level of the house to pick up her discarded purse and put it where it belonged, she could hear Will following her. She had made it through hanging up the bag and her keys and into the kitchen to start water for tea before he spoke.
"Did you even consider calling to tell me you would be late?"
JJ sighed as she placed the kettle on the burner and took a deep breath as she adjusted the flame before turning. "Late for what? It's actually still twenty minutes until Henry's bedtime. And I was pretty sure I said I would take him for the entire weekend. It's still Sunday. What exactly was I late for, other than your expectations?"
His jaw opened and closed a few times before he managed to find words. "Fine then, what exactly was my son doing out until nearly bedtime? I'm pretty sure I have a right to know that."
"You want to know? Fine. We spent the day house hunting. Then Spence took us to dinner and to play at the park. We lost track of time until it started getting dark and we still had to take Spence home before we came back."
The way she had phrased her answer struck a nerve just as she had intended and his eyes narrowed, confirming her suspicions of what he thought. "So you're house hunting with Reid?"
JJ turned to pull a mug and the canister of tea from the cupboard. "Not that it's any of your business, but he went along for moral support and a second opinion. He's my friend and Henry's godfather. I value his input."
When he didn't reply she turned back around, pleasantly surprised to find the space behind her empty. He had, apparently left the room. She turned back and clicked off the stove then poured the hot water into her mug for her tea. Overall she had had a good weekend and a cup of herbal tea and the last couple chapters of the book she was reading seemed like the perfect way to end it.
JJ woke with a start at the incessant ringing of her phone. She didn't bother to look at the caller ID before she answered it. "Yeah."
"Sorry to wake you, but we're wheels up in sixty. Headed for Seattle. We'll brief on the plane." Hotch's voice was thick with sleep. It was obvious he'd been woken as well.
"Got it. I'll call Reid and Rossi. You got Morgan and Blake?" JJ was already out of bed, heading for her closet to pull out clothes.
"Yeah. I'll have Morgan handle Garcia." He disconnected the call and she immediately dialed Rossi.
She had him roused and instructed on the timeframe and was waiting for Spencer to answer before she glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning. This time of day the metro ran infrequently; she'd have to pick him up. There went her chance at not having to choose between showering or doing her hair.
"JJ? Is everything okay?" Somehow he could go from asleep to alert in an instant.
"Yeah. Hotch just called. We've got a case in Seattle. Wheels up in an hour. I'll be there to get you in thirty minutes." He mumbled an agreement and they disconnected.
She rushed herself through a shower, not bothering to blow-dry or straighten her hair before dressing. She added a rain resistant jacket and a pair of galoshes to her go bag and moved it into the hallway. She paused in front of the door to what used to be the guestroom and was now Will's bedroom. At least until she moved out.
She knocked softly, but he slept lightly and a moment later she heard his groan of acknowledgment. She opened the door just enough to stick her head through. "I have to leave. We have a case. It's in Seattle."
"When will you be back? So I can tell Henry."
She heaved a sigh. "I don't know. Hotch didn't have time to brief me on the case. But I'll try to make time to Skype with him before he goes to bed tonight. I'll let you know."
He murmured in acknowledgement and she backed away, closing the door behind her. She retrieved her go bag and headed downstairs.
After Hotch had briefed them on the case, he'd instructed the team to catch a couple more hours of sleep on the flight. But JJ hadn't been able to fall asleep, so instead she'd gone through her contacts on her cell phone, moving the ones in and around Seattle temporarily to her favorites list in case she needed to access them. When she finished that she was considering checking her email when Spencer sat down across from her.
"Couldn't sleep either?" His question was rhetorical; open ended enough to leave her room to talk if she chose to.
"Had a hard enough time getting to sleep at home. Will and I had another…disagreement." It was a relief to have someone to talk to that she didn't have to worry was profiling her. It seemed to be a skill that he could turn off as he pleased and he was the only member of the team that didn't covertly profile the others when they were distressed.
"Was it because you were out later than normal or because you were out with me?" No, Spencer didn't covertly profile, he just cut straight to the heart of the issue.
"Both. And neither. I think it was just an excuse." JJ dropped her gaze to the table and fiddled with her phone.
Thankfully, he seemed to get the hint and changed subjects. "So, we didn't really talk this evening. What did you think of the houses?"
That improved her mood significantly. "I like the second we saw. But the fourth was probably my favorite. When we get back I'm going to see about having Morgan check them both out for me. If he approves I'll probably make an offer on the second one."
The look on his face conveyed his perplexity. "I thought you said the fourth was your favorite?"
She sighed heavily before responding. "It is, but it's got that basement apartment and it wouldn't get used and I would feel like it's a waste of space."
He pondered her words for a moment. "So lease it out."
She shook her head vehemently. "No way. I'm not letting a stranger live in my basement. Sounds like the start of a bad case."
His eyes rose to meet hers. "It doesn't have to be a stranger. My lease is up at the end of August and I would love getting to be closer to Henry. And I would feel better knowing the two of you weren't living alone."
She mulled over his offer. They weren't home for long stretches often and it would be nice to have someone to share the drive home from the airstrip with in the middle of the night or to cook for when Henry was with Will. Before she could finish thinking his face once again fell.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean…just forget I mentioned it, okay?"
She reached over and placed her hand on top of his on the tabletop. "Spence, it's a good idea. I just need to think about it, okay?"
He nodded but still didn't bring his gaze back up to hers. "Okay. Why don't you try to rest until we land?"
AN: Well, that didn't end up where we intended it. So what we had planned for next chapter won't work now either. Drat. Hoping to get another chapter up before the weekend because, although it is my weekend off, JenJen is coming to visit and we are celebrating my birthday a week and a half early (provided I am no longer feeling like death).