A/N - I've been trying to post this all day and finally the site is updating. There is good news an bad news. The bad news is this story is almost over. The good news, the rest of the chaptera have been written and typed up so should be published in the next few days. These last chapters are some of my favorite so I hope you enjoy then as much as I've enjoyed writing them. As always thank you for your reviews, follows, and favorites. If you get a chance please review and let me know what you think.
Jack pulled the stack of bills out of the coffee can, hoping he and Henry had made enough money. Jack sat on the floor of the waiting room separating the bills. Reid was supposed to be watching the boy, but had left to use the men's room.
"Whatcha doing down there Jackster?" Emily had come to check on her friend and was surprised to see Jack alone in the waiting room.
Jack concentrated on the money in front of him, not looking up at the Agent, "Counting." He answered seriously, making sure to not lose count.
"Looks like you and Henry earned a lot of money, buddy" Emily tousled his hair as she sat on the couch next to him. "Yup," Jack barely grunted, he was reaching the end of the stack. "Where's your brother?" Emily glanced around the room looking for Henry.
Jack finished counting the bills and shoved them back in the can, "Henry's with Dad. He's having JJ time." Jack answered, he wondered to himself if he should count the money again, just to make sure he had counted right.
Emily looked at him curiously, "What's JJ time? And why aren't you with them?
"At home, when Dad and JJ aren't on a case, before we go to bed we have Daddy and JJ time. For thirty minutes each Henry and I get alone time, just us with Daddy or JJ." Emily nodded at the small boy, she had never known that was a part of JJ and Hotch's routine with the boys, but could tell it meant a lot to Jack, and most likely Henry as well. "What do you do during JJ time?"
Jack shrugged his shoulder, "Whatever we want. JJ always comes in my room with me first, while Daddy is with Henry, then they switch before they put us to bed. We can do whatever we want. Sometimes JJ plays the Wii with me, but usually we read together. Before the case we started reading Harry Potter. I always read one chapter and then JJ reads a chapter to me." Jack left out how the time he spent with his parents alone was his favorite part of the day.
Hotch sat back in the hard chair his focus on a true crime book he had found in the waiting room. It had been either the overly dramatic telling of a killer or an old copy of "Women's world". The tired agent focused on the book in front of him, trying to give Henry some sense of privacy. Aaron wasn't comfortable leaving the six year old alone with JJ, but wanted to give the boy his time alone with his Mom. Ever since the first graders melt down two days ago Henry had been much clingier with his parents.
Henry sat next to JJ on the hospital bed, mindful of all the hospital equipment that surrounded her, making sure not to disrupt anything. Henry's red and blue Spiderman backpack was filled with his favorite books, these were the same books he had grown up with his mother reading to him. Henry held JJ's hand tightly as he flipped through page after page, animatingly telling her the stories he loved to hear her tell. As his time alone with his Mom was ending his small hand pulled the last book from his bag, it just happened to be his and JJ's favorite.
Jack sat on the couch next to Emily, who appeared to be busy on her phone. Spencer sat on the other side of the room, his nose stuck in a book. "Aunt Emily, can I ask you something?" Jack had had something on his mind since JJ was shot, and was finally ready to get it off his chest.
"Of course buddy." Emily slid her phone into her pant pocket, giving the boy her undivided attention.
"My Dad isn't really Henry's Dad." Jack stated matter-of-factly. Emily shook her head, "No, not biologically, but your Dad loves Henry as much as he does you."
"I know." Jack thought carefully, his concentrated face resembling his father's. "Do you think Henry's real Dad, Will, do you think he would be mad that Henry calls someone else Daddy?"
Emily's face softened, understanding where this was headed. "We didn't know Will very well, he died too soon. But, I know when JJ got pregnant Will couldn't wait to be a Daddy. JJ told me he read all the parenting books he could find and made sure her house was baby proofed. Will wanted to make sure his child was loved and taken care of, he wanted to be the best Daddy possible.
"I think Henry calling Hotch 'Daddy' would probably have made Will a little sad at first. But, I think Will would have been very happy that Henry found somebody that he loved and trusted enough to call Daddy."
"Daddy likes being Henry's Daddy, even though he's not really his son like me." Emily nodded her head in agreement, as a Jack continued. "JJ loves me like she does Henry."
Emily wrapped her arm around Jack's shoulder, pulling him close to her. "Jack, JJ loves you very much. To JJ there's no difference between you and Henry."
Jack's brown eyes met with Emily's, she could see the concern in them. "But, I don't call JJ Mommy like Henry does. Do you think it hurts JJ that I don't call her Mommy, but Henry calls Dad, Daddy?"
"I know it doesn't hurt JJ." Emily told him confidently. "No matter what you call her; Mom, JJ, or even Jennifer, JJ loves you more than her own life, nothing you could ever do will ever change that Jack. JJ knew your Mom and she would never want to take your Mom's place, just like Hotch could never take Will's place in Henry's life." Emily reassured the boy who was far too young to have to worry about such heavy emotions.
"I love JJ to. Sometimes when the other boys are talking about their Mom's I want to tell them about JJ." Jack confided. Emily looked at him understandingly, "So, why don't you Jack?"
Jack looked down at his feet, not sure if he could answer her question. Finally with tears in his eyes he looked back up to his Aunt, "I'm afraid I'll hurt my real Mom, and that I'll forget all about her because I replaced her." Jack's memories of Haley had already faded over the years, he was terrified that loving JJ, as a Mother, would wipe away any memory he had left of the woman who died protecting him.
"Oh Jack," Emily tried to comfort him. "No one could ever replace your Mom. Your Mom, like Will, would be happy that you have someone that loves you and that you love enough to call Mom. JJ would never want you to forget your Mom. She and your Dad will make sure you never forget Haley."
Henry snuggled up next to his Mom, laying carefully in the crook between her arm and side. He held up the blue book with the star on it. He didn't need to see the words to know this story, his Mom read this to him every night before bed, even when she was on a case. "Look, Mommy, it's our favorite story, 'Bedtime for Baby Star'."
Hotch looked over the brim of his book, watching the quiet moment between Mother and son. Aaron smiled as Henry's soft voice filled to room, his voice covering the endless reminders that they were in a hospital room.
"Once there was a baby star. He lived up near the sun. And every night at bedtime that baby star wanted to have some fun." Henry snuggled deeper into JJ's body, needing to feel close to her. "He would shine and shine, and fall and shoot and twinkle oh so bright. And he said 'Mommy, I'll run away if you make me say goodnight.'
Henry tried to mimic the way JJ would read the story. "And then his Mommy kissed his sparkly nose and said," Henry whispered the last part in JJ's ear, "No matter where you go, no matter where you are, no matter how big you grow and even if you stray far." Henry tried unsuccessfully to keep his voice strong, he barely got out the last part, "I'll love you forever, because you'll always be my baby star."
By the time Jack finished his time alone with JJ, Rossi and Garcia were in the waiting room, playing an intense game of Candyland with Emily and Henry. Jack picked up the can that his brother was carefully guarding. They finally had enough money and it was just in time, tomorrow was Christmas Eve and the boys had decided to give JJ the necklace before the party at Rossi's.
"Aunt Penny?" Jack sat on the floor next to the blonde. "Hey Jack! Were you visiting JJ?" Penelope warmly greeted the ten year old who was nodding his head, "Yup, I read her a chapter of Harry Potter, just like at home."
"Oh, Harry Potter!" Garcia sighed in glee, "I love those books. One day I'm going to Hogwarts. I'm gonna play Quidditch and beat Slytherin. I of course would be in the house of Ravenclaw. You my Junior G-Men would definitely be Gryffindor."
Jack laughed, "Aunt Penny! Hogwarts isn't real." He answered back exasperated, but secretly glad she thought he was brave enough to be in Gryffindor.
"That's what they want us to think. One day I'm going to England and I'm going to find it, just you wait and see. I'll send you all pictures of me surrounded by magical computers in the Room of Requirement. I'll be writing mad code for Dumbledore's Army." Penelope had obviously thought this out.
"You're silly Aunty Penny!" Henry laughed as he picked up a card from the game board. He moved his blue piece to Candy Castle, "I WIN!"
Rossi threw his hands up in defeat, "Again? Come here you!" Rossi picked up the blonde boy, tickling him. "Where are you hiding the winning cards? I know you have them!" Henry's laughter filled the halls, nurses smiled at each other, glad to see a moment of happiness for the BAU family.
"Aunt Penny?" Jack turned back to Garcia, as the teams laughter died down. "Can you take Henry and me to the mall?"
"What's at the mall Jackster?" Penelope asked hoping the boys had made enough for the necklace. Jack got up on his knees and whispered in her ear. Garcia's face lit up, "Hey Em, want to take a ride to Macy's with me? I forgot to get a gift I can only get there."
Jack clutched his money can in one hand and Garcia's hand in the other. Henry and Emily followed them through the busy mall, the only available parking spot had been on opposite side from Macy's. The mall was crowded with Holiday shoppers who were trying to get last minute gifts. Jack couldn't believe he and Henry had done it. Inside of his coffee can was two hundred and sixty dollars, more than enough to buy the locket, and the two pictures he and Henry had chosen.
The boys stood in front of the jewelry counter, Jack's eyes locked on the precious gift he had his heart set on. "Aunt Penny, Aunt Emily, can Henry and I buy the locket by ourselves?" Jack and Henry had worked hard to get enough money, they wanted to be big boys and buy it all by themselves.
"Of course my dumplings. Emily and I will be right over there if you need us." Garcia pointed towards the racks of purses that had started the whole endeavor.
Jack climbed up on the chair overlooking the counter, he moved over so there was enough room for Henry. "Look, there it is!" Jack pointed out the necklace. "Oh and there's your birthday stone Henry!" Jack showed the younger boy the picture with the orange stone. Henry's eyes were wide in amazement as he whispered, "Cool!"
"You boys can't play over here, this isn't a toy store." An older lady approached the two brothers, already annoyed that they got finger prints on her freshly cleaned display cases.
Jack looked up at the greying woman with the scrunched up face, this wasn't the kind associate that showed him the necklace. "We're not playing Ma'am." Jack answered meekly, "We…we…we want to buy this necklace." Being careful not to touch the glass again, Jack pointed out the locket he wanted. "We brought two pictures to put inside and we know what birthday stones go outside."
The older woman lifted her hand silencing they young boy. "Slow down young man. First they're called Birthstones, not birthday stones. And before we can put your pictures or birthstones on there you have to buy the necklace. Do you have the money to buy this?"
Jack and Henry nodded their heads excitedly, even though she was scary, they knew they had enough money. Jack pulled the roll of cash from the can, "There's two hundred and sixty dollars Ma'am. We worked all week to earn enough."
The associate scanned the bar code on the chain, she turned back to the excited boys. "This isn't enough, this necklace costs Four hundred dollars."
Jack's jaw dropped, "No! The other lady said it was on sale. She told me it was two hundred and fifty." Jack knew there was no way he and Henry could earn enough money by the next morning.
"Well it's not on sale now." The associate answered back coldly. "I've got other customers to help, you boys come back when you have enough money."
Jack was on the verge of tears, they had worked so hard, and now they would have nothing to give JJ for Christmas. Henry didn't understand, he watched as the mean woman put his Mom's necklace back in the case and walk away. "We didn't do enough Jack?"
Jack could only shake his head, he was afraid to say anything and start crying in the store. Henry put his arm around his big brother, realizing that something had gone wrong, and they didn't get to buy the special gift.
"Hey buddy, I remember you." A friendly voice made Jack's eyes shoot up. It was the nice lady from the last time they were there. "What was your name again big guy?"
"I'm Jack, and this is my brother Henry." Jack answered disappointment still echoing in his voice.
"Well, Jack and Henry, I'm Jennifer." She gave them a warm smile.
"Hey! That's my Mom's name to!" Henry perked up.
"No way. Imagine that." Jennifer laughed internally, these two guys were too cute. "Now what's got you guys looking so glum? It's almost Christmas, you boys should be a little more excited."
"We wanted to buy JJ, Henry's Mom, that necklace. We worked real hard. We cleaned Uncle Dave's house and Dusted Uncle Spencer's books. Henry organized Aunt Penny's troll collection while I shined Uncle Morgan's special coins. But, it wasn't enough." The boy told her dejectedly. "We thought we got enough money, but now it's too much."
"Awe guys I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you could save your money and get it for Mother's day?" The young woman tried to help.
Henry looked up at his brother, "What if Mommy isn't here for Mother's day?"
Jennifer was concerned, "What do you mean Henry?
Jack answered for Henry, "JJ's in a coma, and she won't wake up, no matter how much we ask her to wake up she keeps sleeping. We wanted to get JJ a special necklace, so she would remember how much me and Henry loves her."
"And that's why you worked really hard to save money?" Jennifer's heart broke for the small boys. She had lost her own mother to cancer a few months after her eighteenth birthday. "Why don't you guys hang out here for a minute, let me see if there's anything I can do to help."
"What about this one Em?" Garcia held up a simple black purse, it was the kind of accessory Emily would love, but it was far too boring for the eccentric analyst.
"Oh, Penelope, it's perfect." Emily grabbed the purse immediately falling in love with it. Emily started grabbing items from her old purse trying them out in the one her friend found. "Oh crap PG we better check on the boys." Emily noticed the time on her phone, they had been gushing over the purses for almost an hour, stealing quick glances over at the jewelry counter from time to time.
"Hey guys, how's the jewelry shopping going?" Penelope put her arms around the boys, looking around for their treasures. The only answer she got was a shoulder shrug from Jack.
"Where's the necklace guys" Emily asked wanting to see what made two little boys so eager to do chores.
"Jennifer has it. It was too 'spensive." Henry told them, still disappointed they didn't have the gift for his Mom.
"What do you mean? I thought you saved enough?" Emily was confused, the team had been keeping their own tally, they had been certain the boys had more than enough money.
"It wasn't on sale anymore, the other lady said it was four hundred dollars. We don't have that much." Jack looked up just in time to see the mean associate approach them.
"I thought I told you boys if you aren't going to buy anything you can't play here." She practically yelled at them, ignoring the look of hatred in Garcia's eyes.
"Don't you dare talk to my nephews like that." Penelope yelled back at the employee just as Jennifer returned. "Susan, its ok they're my customers." Jennifer gave Penelope a friendly smile as Susan walked away.
"Sorry about her, she's not exactly full of Christmas cheer. I'm Jennifer and you're Henry and Jack's Aunts?" Penelope couldn't help but like the woman that shared her best friend's name. "Sort of. It's a long story. Can I ask how short these guys are, we can make up the difference."
Jennifer held up her hand, "No need. There was a mistake in the system, this necklace was never supposed to be marked up." Jennifer smiled as the boys faces lit up like Christmas trees. "We have enough?" Jack dared to hope for a moment.
Jennifer nodded her head, "You sure do buddy. They're putting your birthstones on the locket right now. Did you guys remember your pictures?" Jack quickly took grabbed the coffee can taking the pictures out and handing them to Jennifer. "Oh these are perfect. Now, I just need one more thing from you guys." Jennifer put a black tablet on the counter, handing Jack a stylus that looked like a pen. "Go ahead and write your names on here." Jack carefully signed his name in cursive like he learned at school before handing the pen to Henry. The six year old gripped the pen tightly and wrote out the letters to his name.
Jennifer took the tablet back, "Alright give me about ten minutes and I'll be back." Jennifer didn't tell them why she had them write their names, she had a special surprise for them.
True to her word Jennifer returned shortly, holding a Christmas gift bag in one hand and a royal blue jewelry box in the other. Emily, Garcia, and the boys were so excited they didn't noticed Jennifer's boss joining them. "All done guys, do you want to see how it turned out?" Four heads nodded at once. "Ok, Jack, would you like to do the honors?" Jennifer handed the ten year old the velvet box.
Jack's heart beat excitedly as his fingers grazed the soft fabric that covered the box. He carefully opened the box the anticipation of seeing the necklace growing. "Oh Jack, look at that." Emily gushed over the locket, "It's perfect."
"Jack look! It's our birthday stones!" Henry shouted pointing to the orange and pink stones.
"Jack can you open the locket so Emily can see the pictures you guys chose?" Garcia couldn't wait for Emily to see them. Jack's pudgy fingers cautiously split open the heart, revealing two pictures.
"Those pictures are perfect boys." Emily praised, loving the precious moments frozen in time inside of JJ's locket.
"Look at the back boys." Jennifer encouraged, excited for them to see one last personal touch. Jack pushed the box towards his brother, letting Henry do the honors this time. On the back of the locket Jennifer had etched the words, "Love, Jack & Henry" the boys' names written in their handwriting.
"It's our names! JJ will love it." Jack gave Jennifer a huge smile.
Jennifer watched as the two women guided the boys through the crowd, Jack clutching the bag tightly. Jennifer held the money the boys had worked so hard to raise. They had handed her the money for the necklace, each boy thanking her repeatedly for her help. Her manager who had witnessed the whole exchange rung up the necklace, the total coming to just over four hundred and fifteen dollars. "Thanks for letting me do this for them." Jennifer thanked the manager before handing him the money from the boys, once the money was safely in the register she handed him her credit card paying off the remaining balance.