Author's Note: My muse left for awhile and real life way got in the way. Hoping to get back into writing :) I own nothing though I wish I did, can't wait for Season 7 where everything is going back to how it should be!

Chapter 9: Not Alone

JJ stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes from lunch as she watched out the window as Cate and Jack played soccer. Lunch had gone well and was filled up mostly with Cate and Jack's chatter. JJ was grateful for this because it didn't give Hotch a chance to ask questions at least not yet.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Hotch had gone outside briefly to make sure that the kids were ok but intended on taking this opportunity to talk to JJ alone.

"You'd need an awful lot of pennies."

JJ finished putting the last dish in the dishwasher and poured two cups of coffee. They both went to the table to sit down still having a view of the kids through the sliding glass door.

"I think that Cate may have said something to Jack that she may have not have intended to and I just want you to know because I don't want him to be upset."

Hotch cut her off before she could go any farther, "I know already he told me in the car."

At this point JJ just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for days, "I'm sorry. She tends to just blurt it out to people randomly I've been trying to work on it with her but she is still really confused."

"JJ you don't have to be sorry Jack is fine. He actually thinks it is kind neat that he now knows another kid around his age that went through the exact same thing he did."

JJ sat for a minute staring at her coffee mug when she looked up she met Hotch's stare, "We're just still sorting things out."

"He's fine really please don't add that to your list of worries. Speaking of sorting things out I wanted to talk to you about work."

"Hotch, I …"

"JJ stop let me finish. You can take as much time as you need. If and when you are ready to come back we can work out a schedule so you don't have to be out of the state with us as much."

"If I come back?"

Hotch caught that fiery look in her eyes the one she got when she was geared up for a fight. Way to go Hotch now you got her all riled up that is just great.

"JJ I just meant that you have the option to come back or not. No one is saying that you can't but this is tough I don't want you to feel pressured to have to come back too soon."

"I need to come back Hotch I can't sit around this empty house waiting for Will to come back when clearly that isn't going to happen. There are too many memories they are suffocating."

JJ stopped mentally chastising herself for giving him too much insight into how much she was truly suffering. That's just great JJ make him think you can't handle this and for sure he isn't going to let you come back.

When JJ looked back up at Hotch she was expecting to see pity in his eyes but instead what she saw was something different, something she couldn't quite place her finger on. He could see that JJ was studying him and he imagined that she expected the looks of pity and concern she received from everyone else. However he knew those looks and he knew that they did no good except to make you feel more confused about what you should do.

"JJ all I meant was that you can take all the time you need and when you are ready we will work something out. Just know that there is someone out there who understands exactly what this is like, you are not alone."

Just maybe for the first time since this whole ordeal happened she could start to believe that until Cate came barreling through the door with tears streaming down her face and her very skinned up knee.

"Jack what happened?" Hotch asked hoping his son had not in some way gotten upset and taken it out on a child younger than him yet again, something that had become a common occurrence since Haley died.

JJ held a crying Cate in her arms as she maneuvered around the kitchen, "I'm sure it was nothing she falls all the time this is why we have one of these in the kitchen, "JJ said holding up the first aid kit.

And it was true; ever since Cate had learned to walk she had two left feet constantly tripping over one or the other. Will used to tease her saying she took after her mother. Needless to say even with JJ's assurance Hotch was still looking at Jack for an explanation.

"The soccer ball rolled on the patio and Cate went to get it but she tripped and scraped her knee," Jack said very quietly as he sat in Hotch's lap.

The whole time he is describing this scene Cate is sitting on the table in front of JJ shaking her head yes. JJ knew the exact spot they were talking about with all the recent rain the patio had started to come up in one corner, it was Will's intention to take it out and build a deck instead.

Cate's tears were turning into sniffles as JJ was searching through the first aid kid for something to clean her knee with, as she did JJ absent mindedly confirmed what Jack was talking about, "She tripped on the corner of the patio that sticks up from the ground slightly, Will was supposed to be taking it out and building a deck…" she stopped knowing right at that moment mentioning his name would set Cate off and it did.

Those beautiful blue eyes of hers that looked exactly like JJ's welled up with tears again as she cried out, "I want Daddy. No Mommy no I want Daddy to do it, it's gonna hurt he makes boo boo's better! No Mommy."

JJ knew this had nothing to do with who took care of boo boo's better and everything to do with the fact that she missed her Daddy. She also knew that everything was going fine until she stupidly mentioned Will's name at exactly the wrong time. JJ at this point was at a loss all she could do was ride out Cate's crying and try to comfort her then worry about the scrape on her leg. Hotch too knew JJ was at a loss for her knew the many times he had gone through this with Jack.

Then through what seemed like chaos for the two adults sitting in the room came words that made sense, "I have a Daddy maybe he could make it better, he is good at making boo boo's better, " Jack voiced.

Cate heard this and looked at Jack her tears slowing a bit, "You gonna share your daddy?"

Jack nodded his head and looked at Hotch who in turn looked at JJ. JJ was not sure if this was going to work but it was worth a shot so she gave Hotch a go ahead look and handed him the first aid kit. Cate's crying once again turned into sniffling as she scooted in front of Hotch. Jack slid off Hotch's lap so he work and much to JJ's surprise climbed up in hers.

"Ready Cate, close yours and count to ten," much to Hotch and JJ's surprise Cate did as he asked as he cleaned off her knee blowing on it as he did so it would not sting, he then put some antibiotic ointment on, and to finish it off a princess Band-Aid.

Cate had slowly counted to ten so it wouldn't hurt, Hotch was kind of like her Daddy and she liked that, and then she opened her eyes, "All done?"

"All done," Hotch replied as she reached out and hugged him. He looked back at JJ as he set her down and put back everything into the box, "We should probably get going."

JJ walked both him and Jack to the door as the kids both still chattered back and forth as if the last half an hour had not even transpired. "Thank you, for everything"

"Just remember you're not alone"

As they left she thought to herself maybe just maybe she wasn't.