Author's Note: Special thanks to Alicia, Flames101, Messer Victo, 12wallflower, Pheonix1995 (and Happy Birthday!), Monkeywand, Nebula2 (and for the help always!), Canny bairn, whimisical-one-ga, and pandorabox82 (who caught up on some old chapters) for the reviews! And thanks to everyone who is continuing to stick with this story!

Of Mothers and Fathers

"Let go!" Henry ordered. He was in the hallway struggling against Jack, who was trying to pull him back to his bedroom. "I wanna see Mama!"

"No, Henry!" Jack protested. "Your mom is still sleeping. Go back to bed!"

With a huff, Henry pushed Jack as hard as he could and darted past him. He flew into JJ's bedroom and leapt onto the bed much to the surprise of both JJ and Hotch, who were tangled together. "Morning, Mama!"

"Henry!" JJ gasped, sitting up. She threw her arms across her chest before remembering that she was wearing Hotch's shirt.

"Morning!" Henry said, gleefully, snuggling in between the two.

JJ rolled her eyes as she looked at Hotch, who was battling to clear the sleep fog from his brain. "Looks like someone forgot to lock the door last night.

Hotch frowned as he angled himself against the headboard, pulling Henry onto his lap. "At least, I made sure that we put clothes back on before passing out."

"Dad?" Jack asked from the doorway. He had been quietly taking in the scene. "Why are you in JJ's bed?"

JJ and Hotch cringe in sync. She held her hands out to Jack, who shuffled over to her. "We have something to tell you guys."

Hotch turned his attention to Jack, too. "JJ and I have decided to, um, we've decided to see each other."

"I see you," Henry giggled, looking up at Hotch.

"What do you mean, 'see each other'?" Jack questioned, his eyes moving between the two adults.

Hotch took a deep breath. "We're, uh, dating, Jack."

Jack tilted his head. "Like Uncle Spence and Miss Lauren?"

"Yes!" JJ exclaimed, a bit too excitedly. "Just like that."

"But what does that mean?"

She swung his hands that were still grasped in hers. "It means that we're going be spending some time together alone without you guys. It means that you might catch us kissing or holding hands or-"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Sharing a bed?"

"Well, ah," JJ glanced back at Hotch for help, but all he did was shrug. "What do you think about that, Jack?"

"I don't know," he told her. Jack grew quiet for a moment. "Do you love each other?"

Hotch placed his hand on JJ's lower back as he moved towards Jack. "Very much."

"Are you getting married?"

"Not... anytime soon," JJ assured him. "And we'll have lots of talks with you and Henry if we ever get to that point." She waited a bit for him to ask another question, but Jack simply studied the two of them. "What are you thinking, Jack?"

Jack shrugged. He stared at the floor, his chin to his chest. "Can I call Anna?"

JJ was surprised by the relief that flowed through her. "Of course, you can. You can talk to Anna whenever you'd like."

"Daddy, I hungry," Henry told Hotch, breaking the tension in the room.

"Pancakes?" Hotch asked. Henry nodded. "With blueberries?" Again, Henry nodded. "Are you going to help me?"

"Yeah!" Henry shouted, jumping up. He grabbed Hotch's arm to try to pull him out of bed.

Hotch chuckled as he got out of bed. "What about you, Jack? Do you want to help?"

Jack shook his head. JJ smiled at him. "Why don't you use my phone to call Anna while I take shower and your dad and Henry make breakfast?"

"Okay." Jack took the phone and scrambled down the hall. He stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on the phone, remembering the steps to call Anna.

"Noise!" Anna muttered, flailing her arm in the direction of her nightstand. She smacked Morgan's chest during the move.

"Ow!" he whined, waking up. Wrapping one arm around Anna to pull her close to him, he used his free hand to answer the phone. "Hello?"

There was silence on the end of the phone for a few moments before Jack asked, "Who is this?"

Morgan struggled to keep his eyes open and his head clear. "Who's this?"

"It's Jack," Jack replied. "Is Anna there?"

"Oh, Jack. Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice. Hold on just one second." Morgan nudged Anna, carefully dodging the punch Anna sent his way. "Down, Sunshine. It's Jack."

Anna grabbed the phone and sat up. "Jack? Is everything okay?"

Jack nodded, though she couldn't see it. "My dad and JJ are dating."

"Did they tell you that?"

"Yes. They were sleeping in JJ's bed and Henry ran in there and woke him up even though I told him not to go in there," Jack told her.

Anna stifled a laugh. She glanced at Morgan. "So, what happened when you guys caught your dad and JJ in her bed?"

Jack sighed. "They said that were going to be spending time alone together and kissing and holding hands."

"And you don't want them to?" she asked, gently.

"I don't know." He hesitated to say more.

Anna bit her bottom lip. "You used to want your dad and JJ to be together, to get married."

Jack beat his fist against the bed in a soothing rhythm. "Yeah, but..."

"But, now, you're scared because of what happened when JJ and Henry went to stay with Uncle Spencer."

"Yeah," he admitted. "What if she leaves again?"

Anna closed her eyes as she felt tears well up. Her voice was low when she spoke again. "I can't promise you that your dad and JJ will stay together. Nobody can promise you that. What I can tell you is that JJ loves you just like she's your mom and there's nothing that can happen to change that."

Again, he sighed. "But, she didn't take me with her like she took Henry."

"She did take you the first night," Anna countered, "but she couldn't keep you because you had to stay with your dad. She called you every night, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"And she saw you as often as she could, right?" Anna pushed him.

Jack grinned. "Yeah, and she told me that she loved me all the time."

"Well, there you go. It's a good-" Anna jumped when Rossi walked into her room. "Hold on a sec, Jack." She covered the phone to muffle the sound. "Before you even start, Dave, yes, Derek and I are sharing a bed, but we are both, once again, fully clothed, and nothing happened."

"I-" Rossi growled. "I just wanted to know if you would like some breakfast."

Anna smirked. "We would love some."

Morgan chuckled as Rossi turned and marched out of the room. "You really love to push his buttons."

"I have to do something to stay entertained." She turned her attention to Jack. "Sorry, about that, HJ. Uncle Dave was just seeing if I wanted some breakfast."

"You and Mr. Derek?" Jack sang into the phone.

Anna blew out a long breath. "Yes. Mr. Derek stayed to help me sleep."

Morgan rubbed her back as Jack asked, "Like JJ does when I'm sick?"

"Just like it." She paused. "So, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go help Daddy and Henry with breakfast now. Bye, Anna! I love you!" Jack hung up the phone before she had a chance to respond. He skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Henry was sitting on the counter watching Hotch finish up the bacon and pancakes.

Jack snatched a piece of cut up fruit from a plate. "Can I help?"

Hotch pointed to the dishes on the table. "I'm almost done cooking, but you can set the table."

"Okay," Jack agreed, readily, surprising Hotch with his eagerness.

"That smells delicious!" JJ exclaimed, entering the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Hotch shrugged. "Not really. We're almost done."

"You can help me," Jack offered, holding out a cup to JJ. He hugged her when she took it from him. "I'm glad you and Daddy are dating."

JJ held him tight. "That must have been some conversation that you had with Anna."

Jack nodded. "Mr. Derek was in bed with Anna, but she told Uncle Dave that they were just sharing and not doing anything. She said that Mr. Derek helped her sleep like you help me sleep when I'm sick. What else would they do in bed?"

"Wrestle," JJ deadpanned. "They could wrestle in bed and Uncle Dave doesn't like that."

"Oh," Jack said, nodding. He returned to the table.

"Nice save," Hotch whispered, walking past her to put a plate of pancakes on the table.

JJ slapped his butt as went to grab Henry. "Just remember who's the wrestling champ in this house, buddy."

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"Heyyyyy, Morgan!" JJ called out, cheerfully as she got off the elevator.

Morgan hung his head. He had been hoping to get to his office without being caught by her. "Morning, JJ."

JJ nearly bounced on her feet. "So, I hear you had an interesting sleepover on Saturday night."

"I wouldn't call it interesting." He walked away from her quickly, only to find her following him.

"Really? You wouldn't call spending the night in your ex-girlfriend's bed interesting?" JJ bugged him.

Morgan turned around abruptly and hissed, "She's my friend and she had a rough night so I stayed to make sure she was okay. There's nothing more to it than that."

She patted his arm, patronizingly. "Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

"Hey, don't you have a boyfriend to go bother or something?" Morgan attempted to redirect.

"He took the day off," JJ replied, solemnly. "It's the, uh, anniversary of Haley's... you know..."

Morgan grimaced. "I should have realized. How's Jack?"

She shrugged. "He hasn't said much. We decided to let him come to us."

"How long is Hotch going to let that go?" Morgan asked with a smirk.

"I'm going to say about lunch time." JJ laughed as she walked away. She was nearly to her office when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

Hotch hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Jack won't talk to me."

JJ frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He just wanders from his room to the living room to back again. He grunts an answer if I ask him a yes or no question, but that's it. Last year, he didn't talk about Haley a lot directly, but he did talk. I'm worried."

"Well, he has had a hard time lately. Maybe, he's just had enough of talking." She sighed when Hotch didn't respond. "I wasn't really buying that either."

"Do you think it would be okay if we had him call Anna?" Hotch asked, timidly. "I mean, it seemed to help him yesterday."

JJ agreed nearly immediately. "No, I think you're right. Have him call her and then call me back." She hurried to her office where she began to pace waiting for a call back. She jumped when her phone finally rang. "Hotch?"

"No, it's Anna. Hold on." Anna fiddled with the phone for a minute. "Hotch, you there?"

He grunted his acknowledgment. "Did you talk with Jack?"

Anna rolled her eyes as she bit back a retort. "Yes. Guys, I'm not the one that Jack wants to talk to."

"Well, he doesn't want to talk to me," Hotch replied.

"Who does he want to talk to?" JJ asked.

Anna smiled. "He wants to talk to his mom... and I don't mean Haley."

JJ gasped. "He wants to talk to me?"

"Yep, so I suggest you head home." Anna quickly hung up the phone.

JJ let Morgan know she was leaving before hurrying home. She entered the house to find Jack laying on the couch staring out the french doors. Hotch was watching him from the chair.

Jack's head popped up when she entered the living room. "JJ? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," she told him.

"Really?" he asked. When she nodded, Jack flew from the couch and into her arms. "Are you going to stay here all day?"

JJ nodded. "You, me, and your dad. I asked Olivia to keep Henry at Uncle Dave's until after dinner."

Jack let her lead him to the couch. He sat on her lap, leaning his head back against her chest. "JJ, do you think my mommy's in Heaven?"

"I do," JJ told him. She remembered Hotch mentioning Jack's obsession with Heaven last year.

"Do you think Mr. Will is there, too? And Anna's mom?"

She kissed his temple. "I think they're all up there watching over us. And if Anna's mom is anything like Anna, she's got your mom and Will sitting around a table, drinking iced tea, and telling jokes."

Jack's grin soon faded to a frown. "Do you think my mom's still afraid?"

"Afraid of what?"

"Of the bad man," Jack whispered. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught his dad stiffen.

JJ wrapped her arms tight around him. "No, my Jack. Up in Heaven, you're not afraid of anything. All she feels is love and joy and happiness. She misses you, but she's glad that you are safe and that you are loved. You know that you are loved, right?"

He bobbed his head up and down. "Do you remember the day my mommy died?"

She hesitated briefly before responding, "Yes."

"I... remember my mommy crying and I remember hiding in the box waiting for my daddy," Jack admitted. Both adults had their full attention on him.

"What else do you remember?" Hotch pushed, gently.

Jack took a deep breath. "I remember my JJ picking me up and holding me tight. I remember her telling me that my mommy loved me and that everything would be okay." He turned slightly so that he could look directly at her. "You told me that you would hold onto me until I told you to let me go."

"That's right," JJ croaked.

"I love you, JJ," Jack said, throwing his arms around her neck. "I don't want you to let me go."

"Never," she promised, clenching him close. "Never."

JJ gazed from the doorway as Jack slept hours later, curled up in his bed. They and Hotch had spent most of the day laying on the couch watching old home movies of Haley. Jack talked little else about the day his mother died, but asked for stories about her while she was alive. He seemed to be in good, if exhausted, spirits by the end of the day.

"Hey," Hotch mumbled, walking up behind her and causing her to jump. "Henry's down. I think he was a little out of sorts when he realized that the three of us spent the day together without him."

"We'll have to let Henry pick the next family activity," JJ offered in response.

Hotch wrapped his arms around her waist. "You should get to bed. It's been a long day."

"I will," JJ agreed, "in a little while. For now, I just want to watch him sleep."

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"Thank you for doing this," JJ told Anna as she headed towards the door. "I hope Olivia is able to get home tomorrow. She was so worried that we would be angry that she got snowed in and wouldn't be here today."

"She takes her work ethic very seriously," Anna replied. "But, honestly, I'm a little glad. I've missed watching the boys."

JJ smiled, wistfully. "Well, nothing's changed with their schedules; it's still on the board. If you need anything, you know how to get in touch with us."

Anna nodded, holding back a sigh. "I got it. I used to be pretty good at this, you know?"

"I'm driving you nuts, aren't I?"

"Yes," Anna said, honestly. They both laughed. "Seriously, JJ, I got this. I used to be pretty good at it."

JJ spontaneously hugged her. "I know. I'm sorry. I- We trust you. Seriously. We'll see you when we get back. Have a good time."

Anna stood at the door until JJ drove away. She turned to return to the living room where Henry was playing quietly when her cell phone ranging. This time, she let the eye roll free as she answered the phone, "What's up, Derek?"

"Hello, Anna," he replied. "We're heading to the plane now, but I have a big favor to ask you."

"What's up?" she repeated.

Morgan hesitated just a moment. "So, my dog walker is sick. She's probably going to be out all week. Do you think you could stop by my place and take Clooney for walks while we're gone? He usually goes three times a day."

Anna chuckled. "Not a problem. Henry and I will head over right now."

"Henry?"

"Olivia got snowed in on her big weekend away and since you guys are heading out of town, they asked me to baby-sit the boys," she explained.

"Good," he said, unable to keep the smile from his voice. "Do you still have a key or-"

"I still have a key. I got it covered. Go catch some bad guys. I'll see you when you get back." Anna quickly got off the phone and headed to the living room. "Hey, Henry. How would you like to go and walk Mr. Derek's dog?"

Henry nodded eagerly. He jumped up and got his coat on without fussing. They made their way to Morgan's place and walked an over-excited Clooney. Anna left Henry and the dog playing while she straightened up Morgan's kitchen, which had been neglected between work and spending time with her over the last few days. After a half hour or so, Anna realized she hadn't heard any noises. She went to investigate and found Henry and Clooney curled up together in the middle of Morgan's bed, fast asleep. Setting an alarm on her phone to get them up in a few hours, she slid in beside Henry. As the scent of Morgan enveloped her senses, she quickly followed Henry and Clooney into dreamland.

Olivia returned the next day while the team was still out on their case. Anna spent the next two nights, restless in her bed at Rossi's. She was tired and irritable as she took Clooney out for his last walk on the third day.

"Come on, Clooney," she begged. "Just get into the cage. I'm exhausted." Clooney stared up at her with his dark, brown eyes. "I know you're missing Derek, but he should be home tomorrow after their paperwork gets done." Anna's stomach clenched with guilt over leaving him there alone. "Okay, fine. You win. Besides, Derek's bed was the most sleep I've gotten all week. He'll never know. Let's go."

Anna slipped into a pair of Morgan's sweatpants and a t-shirt before crawling into his bed. Clooney laid at her feet. Within minutes, they were both snoring. It was several hours later when a hand on her shoulder startled her awake.

"What the hell!" Anna shouted, causing Clooney to growl at his master.

"Sorry," Morgan chuckled, throwing his hands up defensively.

Anna ran her hands over her face. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sure this wasn't what you were expecting when you got home."

Morgan sat down on the bed. "Can't say that it was. What are you doing here?"

"Honestly?" she sighed. "I haven't been able to sleep since Henry and I took a nap here earlier this week so I thought I would try sleeping here tonight to see if it would help."

"And did it?"

She nodded. "But I should go since you're home."

Morgan grabbed her arm to keep her in place. "It's late. Stay. It's not like we haven't shared a bed recently."

Anna hesitated for a few moments before nodding her head in agreement. She laid back down and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of Morgan getting ready for bed. She had just drifted off when the bed dipped. Anna waited a beat before rolling over and burrowing into his chest. She breathed him in deeply before succumbing to sleep.

When she awoke the next morning, she was laying on her side with Morgan wrapped around her. He had one hand on her breast, held there by her own hand; his other hand lay above both of their heads. Morgan's nose was buried between her shoulder and neck. Anna turned slightly to look at him.

"Good morning," he told her, his voice husky with sleep.

"Morning," she whispered back.

Morgan brushed the hair away from her forehead. "How did you sleep?"

Anna smiled. "Amazing."

She reached up to trace her fingers along his face. He shuddered, shaking both of their bodies. She moved her hand behind his neck and pulled him until their lips met. She applied pressure until, with a moan, he opened up to her. Their kisses soon became hot and heavy as they drank each other in. Morgan moved his hand up to cup her face, causing Anna to break away.

"I'm sorry," Anna whispered, tears stinging her eyes. She jumped off the bed and set about gathering her clothes. "You deserve better than me."

"Anna-"

"I can't bring you don't to my level."

"Anna-"

"You're an amazing guy and you should have someone whole and worthy. I am so sorry."

"Anna!" Morgan called after her as she scrambled out of the room. He heard the front door slam a few seconds later. Morgan attempted to leap off the bed, only to get tangled in the sheets and fell to the floor. By the time he made it outside, Anna was gone with no indication of where.

Near frantic, Morgan called Rossi, and then Hotch, but neither had heard from her. He tried Reid next, but their resident genius didn't pick up. Vaguely, Morgan recalled that he was coming in late that morning to the office. Morgan dressed and hopped in the car, intent on going to Rossi's to group. His phone rang when he was nearly there.

"Reid's got her," Rossi said as soon as Morgan answered. Morgan let out a long sigh of relief. "He says she's upset, but she's fine. She keeps apologizing for not being the person that you need. What the hell happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Morgan confessed. He went on to explain how he found Anna in his bed and what had happened that morning. "I never meant to pressure her into anything. She initiated it all. I don't understand why she thinks she isn't worthy."

Rossi paused. "I'm going to send you an address. Meet me there as soon as you can."

Morgan frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Just do it," Rossi ordered.

"Rossi, what the hell is going on?" Morgan demanded, walking up to the address Rossi had given him. Hotch was standing next to him with the same confused look on his face as Morgan.

Rossi pursed his lips. "What I'm about to tell you, Anna doesn't want you to know. She's threatened to deny it if it ever becomes public."

Hotch growled. "Just spill it already, Dave."

"Anna's father was the one that hired Glenn Seligman to kidnap Anna and her mom in the first place."

"What?" Morgan shouted at the same time that Hotch howled, "Why?"

Rossi held up his hands. "Anna's mom threatened to go to the press about his treatment of the two of them if he didn't pay for her tuition for college. He did it to scare them; to show them he was the one in charge. The plan was to pay the kidnapper off after a few days, but Anna's grandmother got involved so he wasn't able to pay it off. Rather than admit what he did and who had kidnapped his daughter, he left them to... well, you know."

Morgan took a few steps away before coming back again. Anger burned in his eyes. "This is why she thinks she's not 'worthy'? Because her scumbag of a father wanted to prove his manhood?"

"Why are we here?" Hotch asked. Outwardly, he appeared calm, but the two men standing near him knew he was a powder keg.

"Because I happen to know that Theodore Kingston is working out of this building; has been for the last few weeks," Rossi replied.

Hotch glanced at Morgan, who nodded once. "Let's go."

They stormed into the building, bullying the security officers with their badges. They swarmed the meeting room where Theodore was holding court over the loud protests of his secretary. Morgan kicked the other employees out of the room and locked the door so only they, Theodore, and Anna's eldest brother, Teddy, remained.

"What is the meaning of this?" Theodore ordered.

"You don't get to demand anything," Morgan snapped. "You are an absolute waste of humanity."

Theodore stood, his eyes flashing. "I'll have your badge for this."

Rossi stepped forward. "The hell you will! See, we know exactly what you are. It's seems that your old pal, Glenn, was rather chatty the second time he kidnapped your daughter." Rossi's lips curled upward as Theodore's eyes widened. "He told her just why he had targeted her."

"What are you talking about?" Teddy asked, his eyes filled with questions.

"Your 'dear' father paid to have your sister and ex-stepmother kidnapped because he didn't want to pay for her college tuition; thought it was beneath him," Morgan spat out.

Teddy turned towards his father. "Is this true?"

Theodore shook his head. "Of course not."

"Oh, it's true," Rossi backed Morgan up. "He just hadn't planned on your grandmother getting involved and delaying payment."

"Father, what did you do?" Teddy hid his face with his hands.

Theodore huffed. "I didn't do anything," he sneered, "nothing you prove."

Hotch, who had been silent up to that point moved in front of Theodore. The fury on his face caused Theodore to shrink into his chair. "We don't have to prove anything. We just have take the accusation to the press and your company is done."

"What..." Theodore stumbled over his words. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to retire. I want you to turn everything over to your children. I want you to leave the country and never return. If I hear of you even thinking about returning, you're done. Do I make myself clear?" Hotch's eyes bore into him.

"He'll do it," Teddy told them. He turned slightly green when his father protested. "I think you've done enough, Father. Amber likes Italy; it's time for you to retire there."

Knowing he was beaten, Theodore agreed. He waited for Hotch to move before put his head on the table in disgrace. Teddy looked at his father as if he was a disease.

"Tell Anna," Teddy paused, clearing his throat. "Tell Anna that she never has to worry about him again. Tell her... that I'm sorry I wasn't the big brother that I should have been. I should have protected her."

"Yes, you should have," Rossi said. Taking in Teddy's contrite stance, he added, "but I'll tell her."

Hotch stopped at the doorway as they filed out. "I'll be watching. He has one month to get out of the country. One."

Teddy nodded. "I understand." He breathed in deeply. "Agent Hotchner? I do love my sister and if she ever wants to rejoin the family, I'll welcome her with open arms. But in the meantime, I'm glad she has you. Can you tell her that, too?"

"I will." With that, Hotch was gone. He, Rossi, and Morgan left the building with a slight spring in their step and small grins on their faces. It was a hard revelation to hear and they were pretty sure that Anna would give them hell for interfering, but it felt good to do something, anything, to lighten her burden.