Sandy was delighted to see her family at the airport, but then she had to work extra hard to not cry when she saw JJ's injuries in person.

It was going to be a long weekend, and there were a few, long overdue chats ahead.

Once Will dropped her and JJ off at their hotel and promised them they'd be fine, they were in front of the hotel for scarce but a minute before they were approached by the doorman. He was an older man by the name of Oscar, so said his name tag.

"Good evening, ladies. Please allow me to take these inside for you and page a bellhop."

He was talking about their luggage.

"Yes, please." chirped Sandy. "Thank you."

He looked to JJ, who was on her forearm crutches. "Would you like a wheelchair, m'am?"

"No, thank you," JJ found herself saying; making her mind up then and there to do her best in the face of her handicap. "But that's a nice offer."

Oscar bobbed his head. "Very well. This way, please."

JJ didn't pay much attention while Sandy was checking them in and the luggage was being taken care of. That was because they were in an upscale hotel in downtown DC, the kind that JJ had always seen as a kid and when asked about if they could ever go to one was answered with a, "Maybe one day." Now it looked like the day had finally arrived.

"JJ!"

She jumped when she realized that Sandy was watching her with an amused expression on her face.

"Come on!" Sandy beckoned to her. "This way!"

JJ closed the small gap between the two of them, and they followed behind the bellhop, who was pushing a cart that was piled high with their luggage. There wasn't much of a gap from where the bellhop was in comparison to Sandy as they followed along, but JJ was noticeably behind, yet. She hated the crutches, but still had her pride, and if it meant being a little slower so she could work on regaining strength in her legs, she would do it.

Sandy was already picking this up, so she fell behind to walk with her offspring.

"The room I booked is on the ground floor. There were others, but I'm old and walking is not quite your forté at the moment."

"You are not old, mom," (which was true—Sandy was yet sixty-four and had grown children in their forties) "But thanks for being considerate. You didn't have to slow down, just for me, though."

"Don't be ridiculous—I came to take care of you. There's no need to rush."

Though Sandy's tone was light, JJ recognized that there was no room for messing around. She meant business.

Finally, she said, "Thanks, mom."

When they reached their suite, the bellhop got them settled before making a quiet exit.

JJ plopped down unceremoniously on the nearest bed and began shucking off her shoes and coat. Her crutches were already against a wall.

"I'm glad we're doing this. Everyone's been so good to me, even Henry helps me without complaint, this is just different because you're my mom."

Sandy put their things away and sat with JJ.

"I will always be your mother, Jenny, and I will always have time for you, no matter what your emotional state is."

JJ's heart caught in her throat at being called Jenny. Unlike every other Jennifer she'd ever known, she'd spent her entire life being addressed by her initials, thanks to her brother and sister—a TJ, and an RJ. Even Sandy referred to her youngest child by her initials, but in these quiet moments, she called her Jenny.

"You've also been through a lot lately, and if anyone deserves to have a meltdown, you do. Crying, being angry, confused, or anything else are perfectly acceptable."

"Good to know, but right now, I'm just hungry. I also have to clean my wounds and change my bandages."

"I didn't realize you had any." Sandy said in surprise, looking JJ over. "Where are they?"

"On my feet. I was hit with a broom, and the bristles cut the soles up."

Sandy's heart lurched at the thought, but she kept her cool. "Who usually changes the bandages out?"

"Will does."

"Where are the things you need for this?"

"In the right side packet of my go bag."

Sandy retrieved a mesh pouch full of JJ's medical supplies and laid them out on the bed.

"How are your feet now?" she asked, sitting back down.

"Sore." JJ admitted. "I don't think I'll be able to get back up for awhile."

"I've got you, JJ. You just say the word, and I'll make it happen—I mean it."

Gingerly, Sandy propped JJ's feet up on a pillow and helped JJ out of her socks. Her feet had been wrapped in the boxer's wrap with gauze, but it was definitely time for the bandages to be changed.

"I had many years' practice of patching up yours, Rosaline's, and Theodore's wounds, you know. Your father's too." Sandy unwrapped the bindings and examined the wounds. "This is like riding a bike."

"Taking care of me?"

"That is something I'll never forget how to do, ever. No, cleaning wounds is an activity I'll never forget. I started taking care of your father's wounds when we were ten."

"I know you two met when you were nine because he stood up to the school bully on your behalf, but what happened when you were ten?"

"One Saturday, Rex decided it was a good idea for us to go play in Old Man Haywood's junkyard. The only reason I even followed him in was to get him to leave—but wouldn't you know it: we were there for ten minutes, and he fell into the fish pond."

"What the hell?"

"It wasn't very deep, so I pulled him out before he could squash the fish—or the fish could get him—and we hightailed it out of there to the drugstore."

"What? Why there?"

"Duke and Nettie Bell Clemons ran it, and they were our teacher's parents. Everybody knew that if they were in trouble, Miss Clemons' parents would help out."

"I take it they did?"

"This is what happened, yes. They found new things for him to wear since he was totally soaked to the bone."

JJ was hanging on to every word. "Okay, but how do you factor in?"

"Rex wouldn't let anyone but me touch him. I also found out the hard way that he was extremely ticklish."

"What did he do?" JJ said in surprise. "Kick you?"

"In the face, but it was an accident."

"Oh, my God. What did your parents have to say?"

Sandy laughed. "Even though this was back in the day when you would get yelled at for messing up your church clothes, we needn't have worried. Rex's parents had to go up to Hattiesburg, from where we were in Biloxi, to a funeral, and his parents asked mine to keep him while they were gone. They were just happy that I told the truth about where we'd been, and that I'd pulled Rex out of the water."

"What did they say about you getting kicked in the face?"

"They realized it was an accident, so they took care of me."

"Did daddy's parents ever find out?"

"No. After that day, I knew two things—one, that I was going to marry Rex Caleb Jareau one day, and two, that I was going to help him out with any further injuries. It was an extra good thing on the second one, because he was accident-prone."

Being a clumsy person herself, JJ asked, "Is he where I got it from?"

"Oh, yes. Jenny, you somehow managed to break your leg in the barn when you were eight, just feeding the horses."

Holey memory or not, this was one incident that would always be seared into JJ's brain.

"Don't ever tell that to Will, unless alcohol is involved."

Sandy smirked. "Too bad the photo albums with you in the cast are in the attic at your house, and everybody looked at them two Christmases ago."

JJ just groaned, so Sandy patted her hand.

"Look at that—I'm all done!"

True enough, Sandy had finished cleaning and dressing JJ's wounds.

"Thanks, mom!" JJ felt relieved.

"You're very welcome." Sandy said as she moved around the room, disposing of the dirty things and putting JJ's full mesh bag from where she'd gotten it. "Still hungry?"

"Quite, but we ate at home already…"

Sandy looked over at her. "What's going through your head?"

"Nothing. I just really want mashed potatoes right now, for some reason." JJ mused. "Pickles, too."

"Funny appetites and strange cravings are to be excited, you know. Forgive me if this freaks you out, but I was always craving mashed potatoes when I was pregnant with Rosaline, and when I was pregnant with you."

JJ groaned a second time and fell back on the bed.

"Will room service have mashed potatoes and pickles?"

— — —

Luckily, room service was very understanding about what JJ was craving, and they delivered. After that, and a full meal of a few other things, JJ was almost completely blissed out.

The only hiccup was the baby tumbling around in her midsection.

Sandy read her youngest child like a book. "We've talked about quite a few things already, except for the baby."

"I know." JJ sighed. "I mean, after a chat with Will, I at least have an idea of how many weeks I am."

"Oh?"

"About twelve or thirteen—I've been pregnant for the last half of Emiliana's life. When she and this kid are older and mobile, they're probably going to think they're twins."

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know."

Sandy patted her daughter's cheek. "Talk to me. It sounds like even though Will has been so sweet, you're still not saying exactly what you want to."

"I know I'll be over the moon about this kid when my memory comes back, but I've already given birth to two sons and a daughter. I've even miscarried before, according to Will."

"But…?"

JJ's eyes filled with tears. "I—I want to get my tubes tied after I have this baby. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Oh, Jenny," Sandy said sympathetically. "Not at all. Not at all."

"Are you sure? Because Will said we were surprised by all of the kids, but I found records that said we weren't even supposed to be able to have any more after Henry."

"And you love your babies—even now—and you love that fate surprised you the way it has, but you just don't want to be pregnant again?"

"Or be surprised by another pregnancy." JJ rubbed her eyes as hot tears made tracks down her face. "Are you sure that wanting this doesn't make me a bad person? Does it bother you that two of your grandchildren are going to be so close together?"

"I'm positive this doesn't make you a bad person, and it's your body, princess—you have the right to make your own choice abut it. Will is a gentleman, and he'll stand by you. His devotion to you is beautiful, and so is yours to him." Sandy said seriously. "And for the record, it doesn't bother me at all about the age gap. It just means another grandchild for me to love."

That was all it took for JJ's tears to really start.

"I know I should love my husband, and my babies, and the rest of my family and friends, but it's like I'm having an out-of-body experience; I feel things for them all because I still have a soul, but I'm still being held back, somehow."

"Does it feel like you shouldn't be allowed to have these feelings?"

"Yes!"

JJ's internal dam gave way at long last, and the floodgates erupted.

She was at such a loss for words as she wept, that she didn't try to resist at all when Sandy pulled her into her lap. The older woman's heart filled with sorrow for her daughter, so she held her, pressed kisses to her brow, and rocked her. Sandy had done this for JJ when she was younger, and it had always made JJ feel better.

"I've got you, Jenny." she handed her a few tissues and continued to hug her. "Just get it all out. You're okay."

JJ sat with her mother until she was all cried out.

Afterwards, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"I guess the world isn't over then, huh?" JJ said to her mother after she cleaned herself up.

"Nope. It's just spinning the wrong way for now." Sandy decided. "It'll right itself when your memories return."

"Whenever that'll be…"

"Soon, I expect. Your team is a group of miracle workers, according to all the stories I've heard over the years. They'll also work harder because they've always loved you, and because you are one of the team leaders now."

"Friends are the family you choose."

"Without a doubt, and your father was my best friend."

JJ's father, a firefighter, had passed away when she was a baby. She had no living memory of him.

"He'd be right here with me, holding you and giving you kisses. He'd also be telling you stories to cheer you up." Sandy smiled fondly. "Rex was delighted to be your father, Jenny, and he gave you kisses every day, especially when you were growing in my belly. In fact, one of the last things Rex did before he died was to hug your brother and sister, and hold you."

"I wish I could have had more time with him, but what you're saying is cheering me up."

"Good. That makes me happy."

"If daddy had lived, would you have had another baby? Or was I it?"

"We definitely wanted a fourth, so you could have a playmate. We even had a name, had it been a daughter."

"What was the name?"

"You already have Agnes as your middle names to honor my mother, and your father's mother, but had you had a younger sister, her name would have been Elizabeth Grace Daphne Jareau."

"That's beautiful. Elizabeth Grace was your stepmother, wasn't she? Aunt Jade-Marie's mother?"

Sandy's own mother had died when she was a teenager, but when she was thirty, her father got married a second time, to a woman by the name of Elizabeth Grace. There had been a very small age gap between her and Sandy, but Sandy hadn't cared because Elizabeth Grace had been lovely.

Unfortunately, Sandy's father and his new wife died just two months after Sandy's new baby stepsister, Jade-Marie, had been born. It was a car crash.

"Yep—Elizabeth Grace was Jade's mother."

"Didn't she also take care of you when you were just about on your deathbed with pneumonia?"

"Uh-huh, and she did it because she loved me like she'd always been my mother." Sandy reflected. "We were already up in East Allegheny, but she still dropped everything and flew up from Mississippi to take care of me. She even stayed until I was better, because Rex was away at boot camp. She even looked after your brother and sister…"

Sandy was the one quiet now, lost in her own memories.

"Mom?" JJ said after a few moments. "You still with me?"

Sandy smiled at her. "Yes. I was just thinking about Elizabeth Grace—she have me back the gift of hope. I'd lost it after my mother died, but in her own unique way, Elizabeth Grace gave it back to me."

"Wow."

"The hope she gave me was what led us to try for you, even though the doctors had said it would be impossible." Sandy hugged JJ for the umpteenth time. "Yet, here you are. You're a wife, a mother, a friend, an FBI agent. You've touched so many lives, just by being you."

JJ felt dazed. "I owe Elizabeth Grace my life."

"That's one way to look at it."

Sandy gave JJ's shoulder a gentle squeeze and then got up.

"Now—get the remote from the bedside table and see if you can find something good on TV."

"Pardon me? What are you doing?"

"Jenny, like I would really do all the traveling I've been doing recently without bringing my nail kit and things along."

JJ perked up—Sandy was really good at painting nails.

She turned on the TV and began channel surfing.

"Can you do a manicure and a pedicure?"

"So long as you say the magic word!" Sandy called from the other side of the room, where she was getting all of the equipment from her bag.

JJ actually giggled as she followed though. "Please?"

"Please what?"

"Please will you do a manicure and a pedicure on my nails?"

"Of course I will. You just make yourself comfortable."

A few minutes later, they were laughing at a ridiculous reality show that was playing, while Sandy began prepping her daughter's nails to be painted.

For the first time since waking up with missing memory, JJ forgot her troubles completely, and she was happy.


This is going to be the last post for awhile because I'm going to Disney World for a week, starting tomorrow ;)