A/N Sorry for the lack of updates the past few days. Had a busy couple of days off with Christmas. I went back to work last night so I was able to write another chapter. I'm not sure if I like this chapter or not but it is what it is. As always thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and fallowing this.
Erin Strauss leaned back in her office chair as far as she possibly could, in that moment she didn't care if the chair flipped over, a concussion was a welcome distraction to what she was supposed to be focused on. The black box sitting on her desk emitted a monotonous voice that never seemed to stop talking. Erin was used to being the one on that phone barking orders to the various Unit Chiefs, she was in charge of, and today she was forced to sit through a never ending conference call.
"A freaking week until Christmas and the Director thinks today is a good day to discuss budgets." Erin grumbled, grateful for the mute button on the phone. The last thing Erin wanted to be doing today was listening to a bunch of bureaucrats complain about overspending. These guys had never been out in the field, her agent's didn't spend money unnecessarily. It wasn't like her agents were paper pushers, they were actually saving lives.
"Agent Strauss?" An annoyed voice called out from the phone. Erin suddenly realized they were talking to her, she had been day dreaming about being anywhere else and had stopped listening.
Quickly pushing the red button on her phone Erin acknowledge the impatient voice, "Director Comey my apologies my assistant was just giving me some important information." The Section Chief easily lied.
"Thank you for rejoining us Chief Strauss. We've all been briefed on the events of last week's shooting. Could you please update us on your Agent and the status of the BAU's 'A' team."
"Yes of course," Erin started. "As you are all well aware SSA Jennifer Jareau sustained critical injuries during a shooting in the Williamsburg Police Department, she was later flown to Fairfax Hospital. I spoke with SSA Aaron Hotchner earlier today, Agent Jareau is still in stable but serious condition. Agent Jareau has been in coma for just over a week and at this time has shown no signs of waking.
"SSA Hotchner, as we are all aware is Agent Jareau's husband," The only reason Hotch and JJ had been allowed to work in the same unit and still be together was because the Director himself approved of their relationship when JJ was allowed to transfer back to the BAU. "SSA Hotchner has taken an indefinite leave of absence. At this time SSA Derek Morgan has step up and is leading Hotchner's team. Due to the events last week and the severity of Agent Jareau's injuries the team has been put on stand down. I anticipate keeping them on stand down through the first of the year and reevaluating their status at that time." Erin finished up hoping her superiors would approve of her course of action, the idea of sending out Hotch's team right now when everyday was critical, wasn't appealing to the Section Chief.
A brief moment of silence filled the air as Erin waited for the Director. "Thank you, Agent Strauss. You'll be sure to let Agent Hotchner know that we all have Agent Jareau in our prayers and to please let us know if they need anything. As far as Hotchner's BAU team, I agree with your taking them out of the field for now but I want them back out in the field after January first, regardless of Agent Jareau's status."
"Of course." Erin agreed suppressing a sigh of relief.
"Unless there are any other questions or concerns that will conclude our conference call. Our next call won't be until next year. I wish each of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year." The director hung up his line not waiting for anyone's responses.
Just as Erin clicked her phone off the sounds of children's laughter filled her office. Looking around confused Erin realized the sound was coming from the hallway outside of her office. "What the hell. What is this place a daycare?" Erin mumbled to herself as she made her way out of her office.
Henry pushed the large broom down the halls as Jack ran from his little brother. The boys had minimum days all week, and today Garcia had brought them to the BAU in hopes of finding them odd jobs so she would have an excuse to give them money.
Garcia had expected to keep the boys in her office or the war room, she hadn't been expecting the generosity she had seen from her co-workers on the sixth floor. Everyone at the FBI knew Henry and Jack, their parents had been bringing them to work since they were babies. Not only were the two boys special to the FBI employees, but so was JJ. The blonde agent had long ago made an impression on everyone at the FBI Academy, she was one of those people who went out of her way to make sure the people she worked around knew that despite their pay grade they were important to the bureau.
Garcia's fellow analysts, upon hearing how the boys were trying to raise money for a special gift for JJ, had immediately found a 'job' for the boys. To Henry and Jack's delight they had spent an hour of their afternoon playing a video game the computer genius at the FBI had created. The analysts claimed they needed young people to play the game because it would give the bureau information as to the effects of gaming on young minds.
Clutching a ten dollar bill each Jack and Henry had excitedly ran back to Garcia's office to add the money to their growing collection of dollar bills. It was the elderly custodian, Charles Schmitt, who would get the boys in the pickle they now found themselves in.
Charles had been the lead custodian at the Bureau for over thirty five years, and for the last five he had refused multiple offers for retirement. It was with a mischievous glint in his eye that he asked his two favorite, as he called them, grandson's to help him with a very important job. Charles had led the boys to a very important hallway and gave them each a broom. Charles knew full well that leaving two small boys alone with no supervision and a broom was going to lead to nothing but trouble, at least for the people in the stuffy offices.
Just as Charles had predicted not even five minutes after he disappeared around the corner the boys had engaged in a heated battle, the broom had turned from boring sticks to light sabers in their minds.
Jack breathed deeply, pretending to be Darth Vader, "You'll never stop me Luke Skywalker!" Jack shouted as he ran down the hallway trying to get away.
"I'll stop you Darth Vader! I don't care if you're my father!" Henry's shorter legs fought to catch up with Jack, the broom too tall for the short blonde boy, who resorted to pushing the broom.
Henry froze as he ran straight into the older woman with the cross face. "I…I…I…I'm sorry Strauss…" Henry looked up his blue eyes filled with terror.
Jack stopped running when he heard his brother's laughter abruptly stop, he had reached the end of the hallway and quickly turned around, only to find his brother face to face with the Dragon Lady. Pulling his own broom behind him Jack sulked back to where his brother was, not letting the younger boy face the scary lady by himself. "Ms. Strauss, I'm sorry it's my fault. Mr. Schmitt asked me and Henry to sweep the floors. It was my idea to play Star Wars." Jack stepped up taking responsibility for their actions.
Erin eyed the boys carefully, "Mr. Schmitt uh? And why is Mr. Schmitt having you boys do his job?"
"We need money Ms. Strauss." Henry offered meekly.
"What do two young boys need with money?" Erin was fighting to keep the tough exterior up.
"Jack and Me," Henry started before being interrupted by Erin, "Jack and I," Henry nodded his blonde head, "Yeah, Jack and I, want to buy Mommy a special necklace so maybe she'll wake up. We gots out of school early today, Aunty Pen said we could work here and get more money. It's a very 'spensive necklace."
Erin watched as Jack nodded in agreement. The sad but innocent look on the two boys' faces was enough to melt Strauss's tough exterior.
Footsteps echoed in the quiet hallways. Derek's perfectly shined dress shoes gave out a hallow echo as he entered the quite room. "Aaron," Derek's dark hand lightly pushed on his friends shoulder, "Aaron," he whispered.
Aaron had fallen asleep not long before Derek had shown up at the hospital. His legs were stretched out in a chair he had pulled across from him, in an attempt to get somewhat comfortable. He leaned back in the hard wooden chair, his head leaned awkwardly against the back of the chair. As he felt his body move slightly his eye lids slowly opened revealing his dark brown eyes. "Morgan?" Aaron was surprised to see the temporary Unit Chief. Derek had spent little to no time in the hospital since JJ had been admitted.
"Aaron, why don't you go lay on one of the couch's in the waiting room." Derek had told the others to go home and get a full nights rest, he had offered to take the night shift with his injured friend. He wasn't surprised when Aaron shook his head in refusal.
"Thanks, Morgan. I don't want to leave her." In the last week Aaron had left the hospital only a handful times, each time it was because a team member had forced him.
"Come on man, give me and Blondie some time alone. I won't make you leave the hospital, just go get some real sleep, you don't look very comfortable there man." Morgan pushed further, not willing to take no for an answer. "Come on man, your son's have their Christmas show at school tomorrow, you need to be well rested for that."
Aaron watched his wife carefully, hoping for any sign of her waking, "You'll stay with her?"
Morgan shook his head, "I won't leave her side Hotch, me and Blondie here have some catching up to do." Morgan smiled down at his friend, who he had long since added to his list of sisters.
Hotch squeezed JJ's hands, "Alright," he finally agreed, once again thankful for his team. "I'll be down the hall if anything changes." Aaron stood from the uncomfortable chairs, stretching his sore muscles, "Thanks Morgan."
Morgan gave a small nod, "Anytime Hotch, anytime." The two men embraced quickly before Aaron went to find a more comfortable place to rest.
"Hey Blondie," Derek finally acknowledged the small woman in the room. "Sorry I haven't been here, I've been busy making sure the work gets done while that husband of yours is out of the office." Morgan leaned over placing a tender kiss on his friends pale forehead.
"Ok, ok that's total bull shit and you know it." JJ and Morgan were a lot alike, he knew if she was awake she would see right through his lies. "You know how much I hate these places. Damn hospitals, nurses interrupting you all hours of the night. Doctor's asking you stupid questions." Derek watched as the machines breathed for his friend, "Mostly I can't stand to see you like this, come on Jareau it's time to stop this shit and wake up. Your family needs you Jennifer…I need you."
Derek sat down in the now unoccupied chair that Hotch had been perched in, he took JJ's frail hand into his own. "You would be so proud of your boys Jayge. Those two boys are doing everything that can to be strong for Hotch. Garcia was telling me how much they want their Dad home at night but they've never let Hotch know that.
Garcia brought them to the office today. Let me tell you something Jareau your boys are as stubborn as you, when they get an idea in their head no one can stop them. They've got the entire Bureau wrapped around their fingers. Hell they even melted the ice queen herself." Derek laughed at the memory from earlier that afternoon. "I'm tell you JJ if I hadn't seen it myself I would have never believed it possible.
"Your boys playing Star Wars with our Section Chief, right in the middle of the FBI Academy. They had ole' Strauss using a dirty mop as a light sabre, those boys were chasing her up and down the hallways right through our bullpen. And I swear to God JJ, Erin was laughing." Derek laughed at the memory, he knew if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes he would have never believed it possible, "I know JJ it sounds crazy but I'm telling you those boys, especially Henry, can convince anyone to get into trouble with them. We're all in trouble when that son of yours grows up, let me tell you, if he's half the person you are, let's just say they world won't know what hit them."
Derek spent the next hour telling JJ all about her son's escapades at the BAU that afternoon, all the crazy situation's they convinced seasoned FBI Agents to join them in, at the same time those same people were happy to give the boys a few dollars claiming that something the boys had done was work, even though they all knew they had just as much fun as the rest of them.
"Come on JJ, you're stronger than this. You can beat some lousy bullet, a coma can't stop the Jennifer Jareau," Morgan turned his attention from telling funny stories to pleading with his friend. Morgan had never seen his friend in such a vulnerable state, needing machines to breath for her, incapable of following the most basic commands. "JJ you're one of the strongest women I've ever met, even before you were a profiler.
"When I first met you I just thought you were some pretty blonde who thought it would be fun to be in the FBI. I remember calling you 'FBI Barbie', of course not to your face. I'll never forget the first time I saw you in front of the media, I swear those people are worse than any UnSub I've ever fought. But, there you were controlling them, those fools were eating out of the palms of your hands and didn't even know it. There were quite a few cases there, where if it hadn't been you we would have never caught the UnSub.
"I'll still never forget the day they took you away from us. It was the case in Maryland, Kate Joyce had been left out in the middle of the ocean, and it was then when you told us that the State Department was trying to transfer you that I truly appreciated everything you did for us. You were always more than the pretty blonde Media Liaison, you took care of all of us Jareau. Your job was a lot harder than I ever gave you credit for." Derek remembered the night, after the Kate Joyce case, when they lost their friend to the State Department.
Giving her hand a tight squeeze Derek continued his trip down memory lane, "JJ there's something I've never said to you. When you came back to the BAU and the truth about Emily came out, JJ I was so mad at you. You stood in a hospital, just like this one, and told us our friend was dead.
"It was that moment when I first felt that strong feeling of hatred for you. You left us, for months you were gone and suddenly you were back and it was you that was telling us Emily was dead. I knew then it was unreasonable to hate you, it wasn't your fault she was gone. Then when you and Hotch stood there and confessed she had never died, that feeling came back. It was so easy to forgive Emily, she had been through so much and there she was alive and well. I was able to forgive Hotch, he was the leader of our team, and it was his job to protect Prentiss.
"I know it's not fair, but I couldn't forgive you. I've always had a hard time trusting people. Before that night I trusted you with my life, and then I learned this huge secret you kept from all of us. I know it wasn't fair of me to put everything on you, it wasn't fair for any of us really." Morgan felt the weight of those weeks after Emily came back on his shoulders once again. "JJ I don't know when it happened, maybe that case down in LA, when you gave that UnSub the ass kicking, but somewhere along the line my anger just disappeared, and I realized I had no right to be angry with you."
Derek allowed the tears to flow from his eyes, "JJ I never told you this but I forgive you and I'm sorry I allowed you to think that what you did still hung over us. JJ you're my sister and I love you. Please baby girl wake up and show me those beautiful blue eyes." Morgan watched his friend waiting for a sign that she could hear him.
Derek closed his eyes and lowered his head, "God, please don't take her from us." Derek turned his to his faith in the God of his childhood, praying that his prayers wouldn't go on deaf ear.
