Disclaimer: I don't own them

AN: First of all a big thank you to those who have reviewed, they are greatly appreciated. My apologies for the delay in posting this chapter...last week was a bit hectic. Secondly a big thank you to T for getting me to sit down and write this chapter...This one is for you. ;o) Enjoy :o)

Chapter 7

Emily woke with a start as she felt someone touch her shoulder. "JJ?" Her eyes focused on the figure standing in front of her, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"It's just me Em." Garcia looked at her friend and could tell that the brunette was having to fight to keep herself together as the time JJ was missing grew longer.

Emily glanced down at her chest and saw Henry fast asleep, his hand still wrapped tightly around her locket. She gently stroked her hand through his hair as a small smile graced her lips. "Any news?" She watched as her friend shook her head regretfully. "What time is it?" She looked back up to meet her friends gaze.

"Just gone 4."

"Where's Will? Henry will need feeding when he wakes up."

Garcia frowned at the mention of Will's name. "I don't know. Last time anyone saw him was this morning."

Emily's eyebrows drew together into a frown as she ran through the possible reasons for Will leaving his son for so long. "Has anyone tried calling him?"

"No."

Emily felt Henry stir. She looked down to be greeted by his blue eyes half open. She watched as he yawned before focusing on the face looking down at him. "I don't suppose JJ has emergency baby food in her office too does she?"

"Who knows…She has a stash of most other things in there." Garcia smiled at the memory of making a comment about chocolate one day and having JJ produce a bar from one of her drawers.

"Do you want to go for a walk Henry?" Emily asked as she stood herself up, feeling her spine crack back into place after her uncomfortable pose she had fallen asleep in. "Maybe if you're lucky we can find something really good hidden in mom's office." Garcia walked with Emily out of the bullpen and over to JJ's office.

Emily walked over to the bag in the corner where JJ kept a bag of Henry's baby things for if he was ever in the crèche at the FBI building. Garcia made her way over to JJ's desk to check the drawers. As soon as she walked over she noticed something was wrong. While JJ's desk was normally covered with organised piles of folders around the edge, the middle of the desk was always clear. As she looked at it now, she saw a very different sight. Lying in the middle of the desk were some envelopes and a DVD case, to one side was a half screwed up piece of paper. "What the…" She started as she moved closer to examine the items.

"What is it?" Emily looked over from her corner at hearing the tech analysts comment. Seeing Garcia looking through some papers on JJ's desk she made her way over to stand beside her.

"Letters and this." Garcia passed the brunette the DVD case. She then reached out to pick up the screwed up paper. She scanned the words written on the page. As she kept reached the end, she realised what it was. "Oh no…no…no." She picked the letters up off the desk and flicked through the names before moving to the other side of the desk and opening the drawers, searching through the contents. "Shit." She looked up to meet the brunette's worried eyes, her fear clearly written in her own eyes. "He took them."

"Who took what?" Emily could feel herself begin to panic about what had her normally composed friend so frantic. She tried to keep her voice as calm as she could to avoid upsetting Henry.

"Will. The letters. He took them." Seeing Emily still looking confused she passed her the opened letter.

Emily looked at the letter in her hand and instantly recognised JJ's handwriting.

"The letters you all wrote in case anything happened to you." Garcia stated. She watched as Emily moved to sit on the couch, the DVD and letter still in her hand.

Emily put the DVD to one side before uncreasing the letter so she could read it.

Dear Will,

I always hoped you'd never have to read this but I guess things didn't work out the way I planned. I want to say thank you for everything that you have done for me over the past couple of years. You gave me the greatest gift in the world in Henry and for that I can never thank you enough. I want you to know that you were the perfect gentleman in the whole time we were together. I know that the fact that we had started to drift apart in recent times was hurting you. I know you would have done anything to solve that but sometimes, there just isn't anything to do. Sometimes there is no way to fix it. I know this sounds like such a line but it was never you, it was me.

Do you remember Miami? I think that was when things started to change. I realised something when we were there. I saw myself in not only the unsub but also some of his victims. People who spent their whole lives hiding from who they really were, only allowing themselves a weekend once a year when they would be themselves. That scared me more than anything. I was afraid that I would end up like them, living two lives. One life with you doing everything that was expected…Getting married and having a family. The other side, the real me, only being shown on rare occasions when away from home. I didn't want to sneak away to be myself, to spend most of my life hiding who I was. I know it was me that asked you back then but I was so confused. I'd finally thought I could accept who I was and pursue what my heart longed for but Emily told me to go after you.

Ever since then I have been fighting to keep this life I chose in one piece. Recently it has got too hard. The arguments are my fault. I was never angry at you, I was angry at myself for choosing the coward's way. I guess what I did was use you and for that I can never apologise enough. I'm telling you all of this because I don't want you to blame yourself for the way things were between us. You did all you could but there was nothing that you could do to make things right as it would mean changing me. I never meant to hurt you Will. I'm sorry that my choices have hurt you.

Herman Hesse once said, 'Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.' I should have let you go a long time ago Will but I had never found the strength. It is because of that weakness that I hurt you and I am sure my words now have hurt you more. Please know I never meant that to be the case.

Take care of Henry for me and make sure he knows I always loved him. I hope that you will find someone who can give you what I never could.

Love,

JJ

Emily looked over to where Garcia had taken a seat beside her. "Why would he take them?" Her voice was quiet as she processed what she had just read. She couldn't believe that JJ had been hiding her true feelings about Will and her relationship for all this time. One line kept repeating in her mind, I'd finally thought I could accept who I was and pursue what my heart longed for but Emily told me to go after you. Emily felt a stab of pain in her heart as the knowledge that it had been her words that had been the deciding factor in JJ's choice sank in.

"I don't know." Garcia looked at her friend, worried that the brunette would start to blame herself for the situation.

Emily picked up the DVD and looked at it, trying to decide if she should watch it or not. She wanted to know why when everyone else received only letters, she got this. Yet another part of her didn't want to see it. To watch it and hear what JJ wanted to be her last words to the brunette would be like she had accepted the blonde would never come back to her.

Garcia watched as Emily stood and walked over to JJ's desk. She expected her to put the DVD into the computer but instead she watched Emily pick up the other letters from the desk and place them carefully back into the drawer along with the DVD.

As Emily looked up having closed the drawer, she saw the confused look on the blonde's face. "It's JJ's last words to me. They are never meant to be heard before their time. I'll only listen to them when I know it is the right time. Now is not that time."

Garcia nodded, "We need to tell the others."

Emily made her way over to the door, stopping briefly to pick up the bag. Catching her friends questioning look she answered the unspoken question. "Baby food. She's always organised."


Will paced back and forwards, repeatedly checking his watch. He couldn't believe what he had read. He hadn't been able to stop the words replaying in his mind since he read them. It was like they had been burned into his memory. It was only as the phone rang that he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon detective. Did you get what I asked for?"

"Yes."

"Do you see the bench about 100 yards from where you are standing?"

"I see it."

"Put the information on the bench and walk away."

"What about JJ? Where do I find her?"

"Patience is a virtue detective. First I need to be sure that you have provided me with what I requested. Once you have left the information, go back to the FBI. You'll receive a call there once I have checked your gift."

"You will release her?"

"As I said, they took the one thing that meant the most to me. It is only fair that I return the favour."

Will heard the dial tone in his ear. He placed the phone back onto the hook before looking at the items in his hand. He knew that his decision to walk away without leaving the information would result in JJ being killed. If he left the information then the rest of the members of JJ's team would risk losing what they held most dear. Will walked over to the bench and looked around the park. There was nobody else in sight. He hesitated for a moment, the magnitude of his decision weighing heavily on his conscience. Then he placed the package onto the bench and walked away. He just hoped that after he got JJ back, the rest of the team would have enough time to protect whatever it was that they valued the most.


Foyet watched as Will stood by the bench. For a moment he thought the detective was going to walk away without leaving the information. He couldn't help but smile as he saw the detective drop the package and walk away. He waited until the detective had returned to his car and driven away before moving from his hiding place. He walked across the park to the bench and lifted the package, turning it over in his hands. The smile he now held was due to one simple fact…Knowledge was power and right now, he held the knowledge he needed to destroy the one group of people who might be able to stop him. He turned to head back to his own car, the thought of informing his captive of the latest development filling him with an unexpected rush of pleasure.