Disclaimer: I don't own them.
AN: Many thanks to those of you who reviewed. I struggled to write this chapter so I hope it works ok. I wasn't going to post this but I had some encouragement so extra thanks to T who convinced me it was worth posting. x Enjoy :o)
Chapter 43
"It's good to be home." Emily said as they walked up to the front porch, her arm resting on JJ's partially for support and partially just to maintain contact with the blonde. The past few days while Emily had been kept in the hospital, JJ had stayed by her side. They had taken the time away from work to talk. They had discussed all of the issues brought up by Mrs LaMontagne and spoken to the lawyer Emily's mom had recommended. "One good thing about being signed off work is that I can finish our…" Emily's words died in her throat as she set foot inside the hall. The dust sheets were gone and everything was newly painted. She turned to look at the blonde, the question clearly evident in her eyes.
"The guys might have offered to finish it off for us. A welcome home present." When Emily didn't speak JJ began to grow concerned. "I know how much you were enjoying the fact we were doing it ourselves but it seemed too good an offer to turn down."
Emily silenced the blonde with a kiss. "Jay, the only reason I was so into the whole painting thing was because of the bribery on your part." She winked at the blonde. "I told you I'm not good with my hands. I'm more an ideas girl."
JJ couldn't suppress the smile that crept onto her face. "You are good with your hands Em…Very good." She was rewarded with a blush spreading across the brunette's cheeks. The blonde leant in and kissed the brunette, allowing her tongue the opportunity to explore the velvety depths of the other womans mouth.
"How about I remind you how good I am with my hands?" Emily's voice had taken on a decidedly husky tone as she broke the kiss.
JJ bit her lip to prevent the moan that was threatening to emerge at the images Emily had conjured in her mind with that one phrase. "As much as I'd love to say yes, we have 20 minutes until our first interview for Henry's nanny arrives."
"So? That's 20 minutes."
"You'll just have to wait Em." She placed a gentle kiss on the brunette's lips before stepping back and picking up their bags. As she moved past Emily she turned back, "What I have planned needs so much longer than 20 minutes." She winked at the brunette before heading up the stairs to put their bags away.
Emily watched her disappear around the corner before hearing the sound of knocking.
"Look who it is!" Emily heard the unmistakable voice of Garcia. Emily turned and saw her friend at the door with Henry in her arms. As soon as Henry saw the brunette he started to reach out towards her. "Guess someone is glad to see you." Garcia walked over to the brunette and handed her Henry.
"You mean you're not glad to see me? I'm hurt." Garcia rolled her eyes at the older woman.
"Where's that girlfriend of yours anyway?"
"Putting our bags out of the way before the nanny interviews start." Emily answered while smiling at Henry. She pretended to steal his nose and was rewarded with a giggle.
"Oh talking of…I ran full background checks on all of the applicants."
Emily stopped playing with Henry to look at her friend. "Garcia…You do remember the whole misuse of FBI privileges problems of the past right?"
Garcia just waved a dismissive hand at her friend. "Pah…Rules are there to be broken fraternization girl." She raised one of her eyebrows at the brunette. "Henry's welfare is more important. Besides you really think I left any trace of the searches?"
JJ came down to find Emily and Garcia laughing together. She loved seeing this side to the brunette. The blonde was so used to seeing the guarded and serious side to Emily that seeing the happy and unguarded side still felt like a rare treat. One that she itneded to see more of in the years to come.
"Oh Jayj…Did you know?" Emily asked between the laughs.
"Know what?" A slight frown creased her brow.
"Rebecca Sole." Emily couldn't continue talking for a moment as she broke down into a fresh bout of giggles. She managed to control herself for long enough to clear up the confusion so clear on the blonde's face. "LaMontagne. Her maiden name was Sole. Making her Rebecca Sole. R Sole."
"Couldn't think of a more appropriate name." Garcia managed between her laughter.
JJ couldn't stop herself from joining in with the laughter. She sank down on the couch next to Emily. "I needed that." She said after eventually regaining control of her breathing. She bent down to give Henry a kiss on his head, not wanting to disturb him from his game of pulling Emily's hair over her eyes so she couldn't see.
"Anyway ladies, your nanny candidates are all clear. On that note I shall leave you to find your very own Nanny McPhee…Just try to avoid the warts."
Emily and JJ were waiting in their lawyer's office to discuss the case before the meeting with Mrs LaMontagne and her lawyer. It had been a long week and they both knew that everything they had been working on over the past week had been building up to this. They hoped that after their meeting today Will's mom would see that pursuing the case through the courts would be a waste of her time.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." The man went and sat down behind his desk. "Right, based on the statements from your team and families, the appointment of a nanny and your living situation I really don't foresee a problem even if we have to go through the courts. I have won cases with less." He smiled kindly at the two women. "Now, I know there is going to be a certain amount of negative feeling towards Mrs LaMontagne but I have to advise you to remain calm and avoid getting drawn into personal insults."
"Not a problem." Emily reached over and took JJ's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as the phone rang.
"Are we ready?"
Both women stood and followed their lawyer out of the room, their hands remained interlocked as they walked along the corridor to the conference room. As they entered the room, Emily looked at the woman who had brought so much hurt and upset into their lives. She instantly felt a flash of anger rise inside her towards the other woman but the feeling of JJ's hand in hers helped her to regain her calm. They took their seats opposite the woman and her lawyer and listened as their lawyer began to speak.
"Good morning. Before we make a start is there anything that you need?"
"No thank you."
"Ok, my clients have had a chance to read Mrs LaMontagne's application to the court and we wanted to have the opportunity to meet to see if we can settle this without a long drawn out process."
Their lawyer then took each point of the application in turn and answered how it had been rectified. Emily made sure she kept her fingers intertwined with JJ's, offering her as much support as she could. The lawyers then drew their discussions to a close.
"Now, I suggest we take a break to allow everyone to discuss what has been said and hopefully we can reach a satisfactory conclusion." Emily and JJ made a move to stand to follow their lawyer when the voice of Mrs LaMontagne stopped them dead.
"No need for a break." Emily felt JJ squeeze her hand. Emily offered her own silent prayer that the woman was going to see sense and not continue with this action. "Are you going to give me custody?" Emily felt her heart plunge at hearing those words, knowing that all her hopes of the woman being reasonable were shattered.
"Never." JJ's voice was strong and clear. Her determination showing through in that one word.
"After what you did to my Will, you'll never win and you'll never see him again." The venom in her voice made Emily want to recoil.
"We'll see you in court." Their lawyer ushered them out of the room before the situation could deteriorate.
As soon as they were back in the privacy of the office, Emily turned to JJ expecting to see a sadness or defeat in her eyes. What she saw when she looked into those clear blue eyes surprised her, there was nothing but determination and confidence held within them. As she looked into JJ's eyes at that moment, she knew that they would fight and they would win.
