Every single little twitch was like a fire alarm in JJ's head. Every movement sent her on edge, every sound made her jerk. Every fiber of her being hoped that she would hear the sounds of little Henry and see him running into her arms.
And every time she realized that it was just a police officer or a crime scene guy, her heart sunk further into her chest.
"JJ," She was afraid to look up, afraid of what may happen if she acknowledged Hotch's presence. "You need some air?"
She had been sitting at her kitchen table, staring into the distance for several hours now.
"Yeah." Her voice trembled a bit. She got up slowly and followed him across the house and out the front door. The weather out there was bracing, but it gave her a bit more energy and made her feel more awake.
Hotch didn't say anything-he just kept that stoic, unemotional face. He was waiting for her to speak first, unwilling to force her to talk. Sometimes she forgot what an understanding man he was.
"I keep thinking," Her throat was dry and the words felt empty when she talked. "about all those kids we've worked with. I just can't stop seeing them in my head."
"JJ-"
"I don't want to lose Henry." Her voice broke, and something tore deep in her chest and sent the tears flowing.
"Jennifer, we are not going to let that happen." He insisted. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, something he rarely did. "I hate to do this, but you are going to have to help us."
"I know." She wiped the tears from her face and sniffled, feeling a bit better than she had earlier. The dread still lingered in her chest, but if felt like she had help lifting it now. "I'm gonna go make a list of everyone Henry's been in contact with in the last six months."
"Good. I sent Will and Prentiss out a few minutes ago to get you all some food and coffee. They should be back soon." He removed his arm and gestured towards the house. "I'm going to run by Henry's school and see if there is anything there we need to know."
"Okay." She nodded and headed inside.
"JJ," she turned just before walking through the doorway, "we will find him."
His words provided a little bit of reassurance, but she knew that it would still be a long day.
OoOoOoO
Four hours after Henry's disappearance, Reid found himself disembarking his flight from Boston into LaGuardia Airport in New York.
He hated flying commercially, mostly because he never had any privacy and the flights seem to last forever. This particular day, however, it felt like the world was trying to make his life hell. Not only was there a six month old sitting next to him, screaming, but there was a bratty two year old behind him kicking his seat for the entire plane ride.
He was glad when they finally touched down and he could stretch his long legs on the walk to his next gate. Morgan, whom he had called once more on the car ride to the airport, would be waiting for him.
A feeling of apprehension set in as he made his way down the terminal. Aside from the obvious tension going on, the idea of seeing Morgan again made him antsy. In all honesty, he was still a little angry with the man.
Not even three months after Penelope had walked away from the BAU, Morgan announced he was leaving for New York. Of course, Garcia's untimely departure had left gaping holes in each of their hearts, but Morgan's announcement just made them angry. And Reid, well, even five years later he was still irritated with his friend. It was that feeling of emptiness and betrayal that sent him to Boston, to a teaching position in the mathematics department that he had been offered a couple of times.
Of course, five years had dulled that feeling of emptiness, but he still felt incomplete.
"Hey pretty boy!" Spender stopped in his tracks, not even realizing that he had walked right past his gate. He turned slowly, a smile spreading across his face. When he saw his friend standing there, smile on his face, his hollow feeling seemed to dissipate.
"Hey Morgan." His smile became full-fledged as he embraced his best friend.
Morgan kept his arm around his younger friend as he led Spencer back towards the gate, where their next flight was boarding in less than an hour.
"Boston has been treating you alright?" Morgan gave him a sly smile. "I think you've gained some weight. You're less like a twig and more like a branch."
"And look at you. Did you stop your workout routine?" Morgan chuckled at the comeback and ruffled Spencer's hair.
"Look kid, I know we have a lot to catch up on, but I need to know what's going on in Quantico." The air between them seemed to become stuffy. Reid plopped into a chair and set his bag next to him. Morgan joined him on the bench.
"I don't really know much aside from what I told you." Reid shrugged. "He went out in the yard while they were inside making breakfast and when JJ went to check on him ten minutes later, he was gone. There aren't any new leads."
"Ok, so there's not much we can do." Morgan shook his head. "It's crazy."
"What is?"
"I was hoping we would all get together again sometime, just not like this." He rubbed a hand along his bald head.
"I called Garcia." Now that it was out in the open, he felt a bit better. However, the look on Morgan's face made him regret even saying anything.
"You did what?" Derek sat up, his expression a mix of anger and confusion. "Garcia is in the Middle East."
"Penelope is Henry's godmother." Reid replied, voice rising slightly. "I wasn't just going to keep that from her."
Derek groaned and sat back against the back of the chair, looking defeated. "Yeah, makes sense."
"Ladies and gentlemen, flight 247 to Dulles International Airport will begin boarding here shortly."
"Look you can be mad at me but can it wait until all of this is over?" Reid stood and shouldered his bag. Morgan's eyes widened briefly, but he nodded and stood as well.
OoOoOoO
"Hotch." Dave stood there, watching the chief's back as he stared catatonic out the window. "I heard you went to the school. Any luck?"
"No." Hotch shook his head and folded his arms. "The teacher doesn't remember anything out of the ordinary. A few uniforms went to pick up the babysitter. They should be-"
"That's not necessary." The two men hadn't even realized the young girl had entered the house. "Sorry. I drove by and saw the police cars. I wanted to make sure everything was okay."
"Your name?" Questioned Hotch, less than happy at her sudden appearance.
"Elaina Landsbury." Replied the red head, blue eyes wide. She looked terrified, which was a good sign in Hotch's book. "What happened?"
"Henry's has gone missing. Were you here last night?"
She shook her head, curls bouncing. "No, but I was here Thursday like usual. Will sometimes works late on Thursdays so I pick Henry up from school and give him dinner when JJ isn't here."
"Where were you last night?" Rossi spoke up.
"High school football game. I spent the night at a friend's house." Elaina looked like she was about to break. A single tear snaked down her cheek.
"We don't believe you had anything to do with this, Elaina. We are just trying to find out all of the information that we can." Rossi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you remember anything odd when you were here with Henry?"
She frowned, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, actually there was something. I didn't really even think much of it until now. There was a black SUV." Hotch stood erect, interest piqued. "It only caught my attention when I picked Henry up. Must have followed me for miles."
"What did you do?"
"I parked in a movie theater parking lot and took Henry in there for a bit. When I came out an hour later, he was gone."
"Can you tell me which theater?" Rossi pulled out his pen and notepad.
"The small one on Barnett Avenue." Rossi nodded and wrote it down. She frowned and glanced out the window behind them, watching as JJ and Will talked in quiet voices in the yard. "Can I go talk to them?"
The two men looked at one another. "Of course." Rossi replied, stepping out of the way so she could exit out the kitchen door. When she neared JJ and Will, the couple separated and greeted her with open arms.
Emily came in through the back door and stood next to them. "What do we know?"
"Nothing at the school. That's Elaina Landsbury, the babysitter." Rossi gestured to the redhead outside. "She said there was a black SUV that followed them for a while when she picked Henry up from school. I'm going to head to the theater now and see if we can get any surveillance feed."
"Emily, head to the school." Hotch directed. "See if you can pick up anything from the feed there."
A phone could suddenly be heard ringing. Hotch pulled his cell from his pocket and answered. "Hello? Yes. Yes, we're all here. Yeah, park down the road and let them know you're with us. I'll meet you in the driveway. Thanks."
"Who was that?" JJ appeared through the back door, looking at little bit hopeful.
"Reinforcements."
OoOoOoO
Thank god for private jets. The mantra kept repeating itself as she sat there, heading towards familiar territory.
The flight home would take almost fifteen hours, and she was only six hours in. So, while she sat there, she dug up everything. Her fingers were flying across her keypad so fast that they were a blur. Occasionally she would frown, push her glasses back up her nose, and bite her lip, which was quite amusing to her travel companion.
"I don't see why you ever left." The blonde leaned her head against the seat with her eyes closed. "Just sitting here, watching you, I can tell you really enjoy it."
"Caroline, I am working." Penelope replied back, gears in her brain going a million miles an hour.
"Anything I can help with?" Sensing that her tone was genuine, Penelope smiled slightly at her partner and sat back against her seat.
"Not unless you can solve this case in less than ten minutes." Penelope removed her glasses, a tell-tale sign to her partner that she was worried. "This is going to sound awful, but….it's hard to ever picture this happening to my family. It's supposed to happen to other people, not to us. We are supposed to be crime fighters, not victims."
Caroline sighed and thought for a moment. "Then make sure you get justice for it."
OoOoOoO
A/N: Yes there will be an OC, but she won't dominate the whole story. Her purpose will come in at the end. Thanks for reading babes.I don't own anything. Boomie out