Chapter 11
JJ watched as Garcia and Emily talked hushedly with each other. She remained silent, not wanting to disturb them at any cost. The pain was dull for now as the nurse had given her her a pain relief so that she could get some much needed rest. But she was never going to rest. The image of her aunt and Henry always woke her up from her sleep.
"Look, whose up," Garcia said. She sat down beside her. "We are so sorry Jay. I know it is not enough but I mean it. Don't, for once, think that you are alone. You are not. You have us."
"We weren't there but we will be from now," Emily put in. "We are so sorry. It wasn't your fault. Shit happens, we just realised it now. And we don't want to loose you."
"Does that mean that Hotch is not going to remove..."
"Whoever gave you that idea?" Hotch asked. "You are a member of this team and I wouldn't even think about replacing you."
"JJ?" she heard a tiny voice. JJ looked behind Hotch to see Jack standing behind him She smiled for him. Hotch almost smiled. This was the first time he saw her smiling genuinely. "Can I came sit you?" JJ nodded. Hotch picked him up and made him sit beside her. "Why you in hospital? Did the bad man hurt you?" He looked at his dad. "Dad, you send bad man away?"
JJ hugged Jack close. She held him tightly, the way she used to hold her little Henry. But Jack was also a part of her. May be Hotch did not know but Hayley had made her promise that she would always take of Jack and she did. She considered Jack her own and she loved her the way she did Henry.
Garcia smiled. "It's time to go home."
Morgan grabbed JJ's bag while the rest of the team made their way out of the room. Jack held on tightly to JJ. Hotch tried to take him away from her but couldn't. "It's okay," JJ said.
The entire team was at JJ's aunt place. Jack watched as all the adults sat together talking with each other about things that they had done when they were younger. But he couldn't shift his eyes away from JJ. His perfect auntie JJ. She was the only woman who loved him. Emily and Garcia did too. But JJ was special. Because his mommy told him that she would be the one person who will love him more than anyone else. And she did.
But she was sad.
And he knew why she was sad. His dad didn't tell him but he knew. His little brother had told him that she was sad.
"JJ," Jack said, coming to sit on her lap. "You are sad?"
"No, sweetie, I am not sad," JJ said. "I am smiling. See." She gave him her best smile.
"Henry says that you smile too well because you don't want us to be sad," Jack smiled.
JJ couldn't say anything. The mention of her little boy brought tears to her eyes. She swallowed hard. Her baby boy was no longer with her and here she was still living her life. She did not have any right to go on. Her baby was no longer with her.
"Henry said you will be sad because he is gone to where my mommy has gone," Jack said slowly. The rest of the team stared at Jack. Hotch frowned. He had not said anything to Jack about Henry. He shook his head when Rossi glanced at him. "He said that he would take care of mommy for me and I have to take care of his mommy for him."
JJ swallowed again as she tried to stop the tears from coming into her eyes. "Henry also said that it is okay to cry. He said that you never cried once when he went. But he says its okay. He loves you."
"I love him, too," JJ said.
"I love him too," Jack said and suddenly he hugged her tigthly. "I love you, too."
After a few minutes, Hotch came to stand beside Jack. He went down on his knees to come face to face with his son. "Buddy, when did Henry say this to you?"
Jack smiled. "When I asked you to take me to Henry and you were busy with work, I was sad. I cried in my bed and then Henry came in my dreams. He said that he was with mommy and she was being nice to him. He told me to take care of auntie JJ. He told me that she was lonely and missing him so much and there was no one to take care of her."
He frowned. "I don't know why he says that. But you all were there with auntie JJ."
Without saying a word, JJ excused herself from the group and went into the room.