Finally, we're getting into the story. This chapter will sort of open up the story and tie all the topics together.

I had a reader ask if JJ's "panic attacks will effect the baby", and the answer is: somewhat. JJ has medicine that she takes to help her panic attack symptoms, and since it's not safe for pregnancy (Paxil is the worst), she gets it changed over. The only really major problem that can sprout from panic attacks in pregnant women are physical and emotional stress on the fetus, and even then, it's usually mild. Thanks for the question! If you have any more questions, just ask!

Here's chapter 3.


"Morning sickness doesn't start right away," JJ told herself as she looked into the mirror, "you know better than that."

The woman looked down at the bathroom counters. Beside the sink sat two toothbrushes and toothpaste, and to the left of them, was a damp towel. She could already feel the tiredness kicking in. Splashing her face with water had not once helped her wake up.

There came a knock at the door, and at once JJ's mind ran blank.

"JJ? You alright?" Came her husband's voice.

Sighing, JJ turned around and placed her hand on the knob, "yeah, just finishing up."

She quickly turned back and lifted her shirt. She wasn't nearly far enough along to see anything, but the thought of carrying another child was still horrifying.

"We'll be okay," She sighed, dropping the hem of her shirt down to her waist.

She turned the knob and walked out to the hallway where her husband was, testing their two children.

The woman shifted awkwardly around the counter, coming in from the back. Her daughter's waist-length golden hair sat on her back, plaited. She played with it, wondering if she'd ever have another daughter. These days, that thought had come a little too often.

"You okay?" Hotch asked, throwing the kids' sharps into an empty laundry detergent container.

JJ nodded, giving her usual sincere smile, "just a bit sick...you know..."

"What?" Henry asked, hopping off of the counter.

"Um," JJ said, "nothing. I think I have the stomach flu."


It was late at night, past the children's bedtimes, but it didn't matter. It was a weekend. On weekends, they could stay up as late as they wanted, just as long as they were quiet and not cranky the next day. The rule was quite efficient, and, if broken, the child wouldn't be allowed to stay up again.

JJ and Hotch were downstairs watching a movie, while the children were in the playroom. Luke had fallen asleep after story time, and was in his bedroom. Jack, Henry, Tyler, Benjamin, and Grace were sitting in the playroom on their beanbag chairs.

"Hey, you guys," Jack started, "has anyone noticed how weird mom and dad have been lately?"

Grace looked up and nodded. "Daddy was rubbing Mommy's back this morning," she said, "and mommy said that it was only going to get worse."

"What do you think is happening?" Henry asked, "I haven't seen anything."

"Course you haven't, Henry. They're being all secret and stuff," Tyler said.

Benjamin shook his head as he pulled up his socks, "Jack, search it up."

"Huh?"

"Grace rolled her eyes, grabbing the older boy's iPad from him, "he said, search it up."

Within a few seconds, she had a hit. She was going to figure out what exactly was going on with her parents.

"What did you type in?" Henry asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Uh," Grace said, reading the search inquiry, "dad massaging mom's back a lot."

"Seriously?" Jack shook his head, "you typed in that? What even came up?"

The girl's eyes widened as she read what came up. Her little 5 year old brain was processing so much, practically anything was possible for her.

"Can baby feel when I rub my tummy?" She read.

Henry's eyebrows furrowed as he got up and walked over to where the girl was seated. "Gimme that," he said, "I wanna see."

Upon reading the words, he bit his tongue.

"Not again," he mumbled.

"What? What is it?" Tyler asked.

"Henry," Jack pressed, "if Grace can't figure it out, then you can."

Henry swallowed thickly as he glanced back at the screen. Yes, he had a huge imagination, but he was keen on this being true. It wasn't just imagination this time.

"I think mom's having a baby."


It wasn't far from 6am when Hotch woke up to the sound of his wife absolutely heaving her guts out. She sounded horrible, much worse than her other sicknesses.

Knowing she was being her usual self, not asking for help, he crept out of bed and went into the bathroom to assist her.

He knelt down beside her and grabbed her wavy blonde hair from the back and held it. His other hand supported her back, rubbing up and down until he could feel her calming.

When she was done, she slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. Hotch had, at this point, wet a towel and placed it on her forehead. Her face was red and sweaty, and she looked dehydrated, to say the least.

"I don't know..." JJ said softly, "how much more...I can take."

"Did they tell you how far along you are?"

JJ nodded, running her hand over her barely visible stomach. From a distance, it looked like she hadn't been watching her figure, but soon it would become a huge belly.

"Tests say about 7 weeks," She made out, bringing herself up to the toilet bowl.

Hotch swallowed thickly, holding back his wife's hair again.

This was only the beginning.


"Whatcha doing?" Tyler inquired, hopping up onto one of the bar stools.

JJ looked up. Her hands were sitting on the counter, her frame half leaning against it. She was very evidently having a panic attack, but the children didn't know.

"Ty Bug, I need you to get my phone for me," JJ said through a hard breath, "now."

Looking confused, the small boy jumped off of his stool and went around the counter, where his mother was heavily breathing. Their eyes met, and the child could see that she was scared.. At least, she looked it.

"Get my phone," JJ said shakily.

Tyler didn't want to move. His mommy was in trouble. He grabbed onto her waist and held her, in an attempt to stop her from shaking.

"Tyler, please," JJ begged, "get my phone."

The short blond haired boy remained holding onto his mom.

"Jack!" He yelled, feeling the violent shake of his mother beside him, "Jack!"

"What is it?" He yelled angrily as he made his way downstairs.

Tyler gulped as he looked into JJ's tear filled eyes, "mommy looks sick."

The 11 year old stopped in his tracks when he realised what his younger brother was on about. He had seen this before. It was all too familiar.

"Jack, I need you to.. To call dad," JJ made out, coughing. Her breaths were become more fast and shallow.

"Count to ten with her, that's what dad does," Jack said, dialling his father's number, "she gets better after that."

Tyler breathed in slowly and grabbed JJ's hand.

"Mommy, count to ten with me," he said worriedly, "one...two...three..."

Jack reached Hotch and managed to remain calm.

"Dad, mom's having a panic attack," He said as calmly as he could.

"Four...five...six," Tyler continued, helping his mother slow her breathing down, "seven...eight-"

"We need to be gentle," Jack said, his voice quite obviously becoming more alert and panicked, "she needs her medicine."

"It's...it's.." JJ tried saying, as she continued to shake violently. Her tears were very minimal, and by now, it was short, shallow breaths, a rapidly beating heart, and a lump in her throat that wasn't leaving.

"Where is your medicine?" Jack asked slowly, handing his brother the phone.

JJ maintained a steady grip on the counter as she tried grounding herself, making her body come back to reality.

"It's on...it's on my dresser," She said, her breathing becoming more delayed and heavy.

"Go and get it!" Tyler said, beginning his counting again.

Luckily, there wasn't anything in JJ's environment that was relatively dangerous to her or the kids. Panic attacks can strike at any given time, and being in the kitchen is one of the worst places to have them.

The poor 5 year old counted to ten six times, equalling a minute. By then, Jack had rushed back into the kitchen with JJ's medication. He was close to losing it. The sight of his mother in this state was next to living a nightmare. The constant fear of finding her like this had all of a sudden come true.

"How many do you need?" Jack asked, nearly shaking, himself. He had successfully unscrewed the child-lock and shook the bottle until 1 pink oval pill tumbled out into his hand.

"Just that...one," JJ coughed out, using her free hand to reach for it. She practically threw it into her mouth as Jack went around the counter to help support her.

"Mommy's eaten her medicine," Tyler told his father through the phone, "what else do we do?"

"Dad told me once," Jack said, "to just rub her back."

"He'll be 5 minutes," Tyler said, hanging up the phone, placing it on the counter.

Shaking her head after staying silent for a few seconds, JJ took a deep breath and looked at her two young boys.

"Th-thank you," JJ said, opening her arms.

Jack and Tyler hugged JJ from either side, holding on tightly.

"Are you okay, mommy?" Tyler asked softly, looking up at her.

Smiling as she let the last panicked tear trail down her face, she whispered, "I am now."


Later on, when he was sure his parents wouldn't be around, Benjamin crept out of his bedroom and walked down the hall. Stopping at the bannister that overlooked the living room, he leaned over it. Sure enough, as predicted, his mother and father were cuddling on the sofa.

He tiptoed along the hallway and turned the corner. When he found his brother's room, he knocked on the door. Hoping he wasn't asleep, he bit his lip.

"Who is it?" Jack asked.

"It's Ben."

"What do you need?" he asked, swinging open the door.

"Just let me in," Ben whined, "I need to talk to you."

When Jack led him in and sat him down on the bed, the younger boy was relieved, but nervous. Was he really doing this?

"If this is about mom going to the doctors tomorrow-"

"It's not that," Benjamin sighed, "can you listen?"

Jack nodded and shifted his position, "I'm listening."

The younger boy shook his head a little and began picking his finger.

"Are you going to tell?"

"It depends what it's about."

Benjamin signed deeply and crossed his legs, "how do you stop people from being mean to you?"

Jack's eyebrows furrowed, "why? Are people being mean to you?"

The little boy nodded, looking into his brother's eyes. He pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing 3 big, purple bruises.

"Little kids like you can't do that," Jack said, "can they?"

Benjamin shook his head, "I don't know."

"Did you tell the teacher?"

"No, 'cause they'll think I'm a baby."

Jack sighed, "Benny, look at me. You are a strong boy, and I know that if you tell a teacher, they can help. I know it doesn't sound like the right thing to do, but it is."

Ben scoffed, "how would you know?"

"Because I got bullied too," he said, putting on a brave face, "and dad thought I was being picked on, and I never told him 'cause I thought I was brave enough to solve the problem on my own.. But I wasn't. When I told my teacher, she sorted it out. And now, we're friends."

"No way," Ben frowned, "I am NOT being friends with them!"

"It's an example," Jack said, "not what's going to happen to you. All I want you to do is go to your teacher when everybody goes outside and tell her what's happening."

The younger boy looked up at his older brother. He bit his lip in thought as he judged his options.

"Can you come with me?"

"Course I will."

"Promise me?" Ben asked, putting his pinky out.

Jack hooked pinkies with the younger child, "I promise."


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