Her Past Catches Up With Her

I don't own Criminal Minds, Higher Ground or Crossing Jordan.

Chapter 25

Peter and Sophie are waiting at the airport for Roger and their daughter. Peter and Sophie wanted JJ to get to know THEIR daughter. They feel they owe JJ that, at least. They had no idea how they were going to handle this. That's when they see Roger and their rambunctious ten year old daughter.

"Mom, dad!" The young version of JJ yells as she runs to them.

"Hey Peanut!" Peter yells, engulfing her in a big bear hug and twirling her around. Her feet swinging in the air along with the giggles radiating from the two. Sophie and Roger watch the two with big smiles on their faces.

"So, was the plane ride uneventful?" Sophie asks Roger.

"Yeah. Except for Annie asking all these questions about why she was getting to fly on an airplane without her mom and dad. I didn't know what to tell her. So I told her to wait and talk to you and Peter. In all honesty, I don't know what's going on either." Roger says, confused.

"I'll explain things on the way to the hospital. You don't mind a quick trip to the hospital?" Sophie asks.

"No, I don't mind. I'm glad to see you are ok. I was very worried. Especially when Peter said you were kidnapped. You're ok, right?" Roger says, leaning over and scooping her up in a hug.

"Roger, I'm fine. Jess wasn't so lucky. She was killed. She was pregnant too. She has a beautiful baby boy named Scott. She had a nice young man for a husband. He really treated her the way she needed to be treated. Shelby took it hard." Sophie says, and as she pauses, Roger interrupts.

"Shelby's here?" Roger asks in shock.

"Yes. She's in the hospital. I have some very surprising news. Shelby's Annie's biological mother. Shelby sent her to us." Sophie says, as she and Roger walk arm in arm as Peter and Annie goof around in front of then as they go to collect their luggage.

"So Annie was Shelby's baby?" Roger asks, in shock.

"Yes. Josh DID rape Shelby in that bathroom. Before she found out she was pregnant, she was in witness protection. She didn't want to keep the baby when she had to start over. She knew Peter and I wanted a baby desperately. Shelby and I had the same hair and eye color. Josh had Peter's hair and eye color. That's why we got all the stuff to start out with. She never held Annie. She gave birth and had them take her. While she was pregnant, she made out the baby book and the letters. She went through the whole pregnancy alone. And the effects of the rape. She's doing so well. Her new name's Jennifer Jearau. She's an FBI agent. She looks so good and healthy. You are going to flip when you see her. She does have a few bruises, cuts and hurts. She's grown beautifully. I can't wait for you to see her." Sophie says, like a proud mother.

"I can't wait to see her. This is why you wanted Annie here, so she could meet her." Roger says, catching on.

"Call her Jennifer or JJ. She gets mad if you call her Shelby." Sophie says.

"Got them! Let's go!" Peter says about the luggage. He leans down to whisper into Annie's ear, "we need to have a talk in the car."

"Ok daddy. Did I do something wrong?" Annie asks, confused and trying to remember what she could've done that was wrong.

"No Peanut. I'm going to tell you of a secret heroine. She's a big part of your life." Peter says, like he's about to tell her story. They reach the car and get the luggage into the car. Peter and Annie get in the backseat and Roger in the passenger seat with Sophie driving.

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JJ's sitting on a soft sofa. JJ was obviously pregnant. Her big baby belly under her hand as she gently rubs the fabric above it. She looks up as a man walks into the room. She looks at the face, and it's Shawn. She starts at him as he comes over to her, places his hand on her belly, then leans down to kiss her belly. He comes back up to her face, kisses her passionately and then pulls away. :Hey babe, hey baby. You be nice to mommy. Try to leave her bladder alone," Shawn giggles, making JJ smile with a little chuckle. "Honey, just stay on the sofa today and I'll bring you your cherry-chocolate milkshake and your cherry chip ice cream. Do you want or need anything else?" Shawn asks, sitting next to JJ, who's spread out on the sofa. In her words, 'like a beached whale'.

"No, hun. Just the shake, ice cream and you." JJ says, grabbing his tie and pulling him close to her to kiss. Once down with the kiss, Shawn pulls away, and smiles at her.

"With you being so horny while your pregnant, might be the death of me woman." Shawn says, with a little joy and happiness in his voice. Before JJ can answer, she looks past Shawn and sees the ghost of Josh and Walt.

JJ wakes up fast, sitting up and almost knocking Shawn off the bed. She grasps as little.

"JJ, what's wrong honey?" Shawn asks, still sleepy.

"Uh.. just a nightmare. Well, a nightmare of sorts. Sorry, did I hurt you?" JJ asks, trying fight the thoughts and feelings lingering from the dream.

"I'm fine honey. Wow, that must have been a doozy of a dream. You sounded like you giggling. That's part of the reason I didn't take the header to the floor. The giggling woke me a little. Then something changed. That's when you woke up. Are you ok?" Shawn asks, after standing up after catching himself before he fell completely to the floor. Standing up and his arm around her back, he waits for her to answer him.

"I'm fine. Will you do me a favor." JJ asks, still looking a little pale.

"Sure. What is it?" Shawn says, looking JJ straight in the eyes.

"Could you go find out when I can get discharged? I'd really like to see my old friends. Spend a little time with my little nephew. Then I have a few funerals to get to." JJ says, frowning at the last part.

"Sure thing sweetheart. Back in a minute." Shawn says, leaving the room. JJ leans back and takes a deep cleansing breath. She closes her eyes and tried to stay calm, but her thoughts keep going back to the dream. There was a knock at her door. This made JJ jump and gasp.

"Huh! Come in." JJ says, trying to cover her fear and shock. The door opens and in walks Peter and Sophie. JJ wasn't quite ready for this. Peter was the first to speak.

"Jennifer, we needed to speak with you." Peter says, walking over to the side of the bed that Shawn had just vacated. Sophie came up on the other side. Causing JJ to feel a little trapped in.

"Sophie, could you stand over there please." JJ asks, pointing to the spot where Peter was standing. JJ thought she might need to bee line to the bathroom. She just started to feel a bit nauseous.

"Sure darlin'." Sophie says, moving to stand next to Peter. Peter puts an arm around Sophie. JJ continues what she was saying

"Ok, but I may have to run to the bathroom. I'm feeling a bit sick to my stomach." JJ says, not looking into their eyes. She knew this was not going to be a good conversation.

"Why did you lie about what happened in the cliffhanger bathroom?" Peter asks, almost in tears.

"Because, Peter. I was afraid you'd look at me like you are right now. I guess I also was trying to forget about it. It wasn't like I haven't gone through ALMOST the same thing with Walt all those years and then on the street with Josh before. Yes, it was worse, but I thought I could get through it if I set my mind to it. I didn't expect to have to go into hiding. I might have told you if I was still there. I started to believe what you were saying. That I didn't have to keep everything bottled up and hidden away inside. But then I had to rely on myself, again. I would have called if I was permitted. I'm so sorry Peter." JJ says, looking at her hands that she was nervously fidgeting with.

"It must have been hard going through that nine months alone. No friends, no support." Sophie says, placing a hand on JJ's arm. This made her pull away and look at Sophie. Sophie looked shocked.

"Sorry. I'm just a little edgy. How do you know?" JJ asks, confused.

"We were there when you told Scott. You might not remember. We were given the most precious gift by you. We knew the person who sent us that beautiful bundle of joy was a special person. We never thought in a million years it was you. It broke my heart to hear you never held her or seen her." Sophie says, crying. She wipes her tears as they drip down her cheeks.

"I knew I couldn't start a new life with a baby. So I thought it out, long and hard. I needed to give her up. But I wanted a couple I would trust my life with. I thought of my saviors and then also thought it would be a piece of me with you always. I thought of you both as parents. I then thought the best thing I could do for her was to give her the parents we all wanted and needed. Also, if Josh found me, he wouldn't even know she existed. Is she healthy?" JJ asks, shaking at what she had just admitted to.

"She's completely healthy. You did a great job." Peter says.

"She doesn't have acid efflux? Did she have colic? Jess had colic." JJ says, crying. She brings her knees up to her chest in defense mechanism. Also distance herself from the situation.

"No, darlin'. She has never had either." Sophie says, smiling.

"Good. I'd hate to have given you a child that would just cause you pain. You know, seeing them suffer." JJ says, getting more uncomfortable.

"Jennifer, would you like to meet OUR," Sophie gestured to all three of them, " daughter? She's in the hall." Sophie asks, not knowing what to expect. JJ's breath catches in her throat. She quickly removes her blankets and rushes to the bathroom. Peter and Sophie can hear her vomiting. A few seconds later, they hear the toilet flush. JJ comes out, wiping her mouth with paper towel. Before JJ makes it back to the bed, Shawn opens the door and walks in. He hasn't a clue what he just walked in on. JJ turns around too fast and gets dizzy. Shawn sees her going down and rushes over to catch her.

"Woow! Hey, I go away for a few minutes and you wind up on the floor. Hello Peter, Sophie." Shawn says, holding a shaking JJ in his arms. He helps her back into bed. "The doctor says he'll come in to talk to you soon. Honey, what's wrong? And don't say nothing. You're trembling." Shawn asks, looking at JJ and then Peter and Sophie.

"Peter, Sophie, could you give us a few minutes?" JJ asks, hoping they know she needs to tell Shawn what's going on.

"Sure. We'll be out in the hall." Peter says, as Peter and Sophie leaves the room. Shawn sits down next to JJ and waits for her to start. JJ has fear all over her face.

"Shawn, Peter and Sophie run a school for trouble teens. You know this, right?"

"Yeah." Shawn says, grabbing one of JJ's hands in his.

"Well, I was a student there eleven plus years ago. That was when I was Shelby. Well, the last few months I was there, Josh… How do I say this?" JJ says, looking away from Shawn. Shawn had seen this look too many times before. So he tries to put her at ease.

"Josh raped you?" Shawn asks, trying to get a look at her eyes. When he asks that, it shocks her and she looks back at him.

"Yes." JJ says.

"It's ok honey. You did nothing wrong." Shawn says, pulling JJ in for a hug. While they hug, JJ musters up the courage to continue.

"Shawn, there's more. I got pregnant," JJ says, as Shawn pulls away and looks her in the eyes. He says nothing, so she continues. "I gave the baby to Peter and Sophie." When JJ said that, Shawn places both hands on JJ's face and brings her in for their first tender kiss. JJ's hair sands up on her neck and arms. She would later describe it as electricity running through her body.

They both slowly pull away, eyes still closed. They slowly open their eyes. When they meet gazes, they both smile. It was silent for a few seconds, but Shawn breaks the silence first.

"Sorry, but I felt that was the right moment." Shawn says, smiling.

"That was amazing." JJ says, smiling big.

"You are amazing. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Peter and Sophie seem like a very loving couple. You did good. You are my new hero." Shawn says, pecking a few little kisses on JJ's smiling lips.

"Shawn, I'm no one's hero. But Peter and Sophie just found out that I gave her to them. They have her right outside the door," JJ's smile fades and is replaced by fear. "They want me to meet her. What if she hates me for giving her up? I don't know if I can do this." JJ says, starting to shake again. Shawn pulls her into a hug.

"JJ, I'm here with you. Peter and Sophie will be here. You're not alone. You can do this. You got through the rape, the birth and giving her up, alone. So this should be a piece of cake. Do you want me to go get them? I wont leave your side." Shawn asks, still hugging her. JJ pulls away.

"Yeah. Let's do this." JJ says, wiping her eyes and starting to make herself a little more presentable. Shawn stands up and goes to the door. JJ can hear Shawn saying something, but can't make out the words. Then Shawn quickly makes his way back besides JJ.

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Sorry this took a little longer than I wanted to get up. Just in case those of you who know about my mom, she's fine. So hopefully that means I'll be able to get back to the story full force. I have always wanted you all to read and review. Now please tell me what you think of the story so far. I have a few more chapters already typed, but I want and need to know what you all think before I can continue to go. I don't want to get in the wrong direction and disappoint any of my favorite readers. Thanks to you all for reading and reviewing.