Hey all! If you are rereading this, or any future new readers, this Author's Note is going to be LONG. Sorry about that. I just want to give a little summary of what to expect in the story because it differs greatly from the first one. I was bored and decided to do a different version of BFF.

1. JJ is 3 years old and Emily is 12 years old. She is now 8 years older. This story begins in the summer of 1982, JJ is in preschool not kindergarten. In January of 1983, Emily becomes a babysitter for Sandy and Michael watching Rosalyn and JJ.

2. Because this is a different version, Jacob will not attack JJ. However, as in the summary, there are some very bad things that are happening/will happen.

The people included in this story: Sandy and Michael Jareau. Elijah, Rosalyn, and Jennifer. JJ's aunts and uncles – Maria and Caleb Scott, and Amber & Jackson Jareau – and JJ's cousins – Elizabeth & Margaret Scott, and Madeline, Natalie, & Leslie Jareau.

Elizabeth and James Prentiss:
Emily Elizabeth
Emily's extended family; grandparents, cousins, etc.

Please send me prompts! Anything from school related to what activities you Emily to do with JJ and Ros while babysitting. Birthdays, vacations, injuries, little misbehaviors, first times (first bike, first broken bone.), etc. etc.

Disclaimers: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters.
Spoilers: None.
Rating: K+

Emily: 11 years old (going on 12)
Elijah: 12 years old
Rosaline: 9 years old (going on 10)
Jennifer: 3 years old (going on 4)

Notes: Rosa, Jen, and Emily have known each other for 2 and a half weeks. JJ was a late talker. She began at 13 months instead of 9 months. She also has a speech problem and will mostly communicate by nods, head shakes, points, mumbles, etc.

Because of this, Jen is on a 28-month-old's speech and partly developmental level. To help with this, Emily is going to teach JJ sign language so she can communicate better. When I do have her speak, I will have the "normal" sentence in italics, to better understand.

Enjoy!

I'm in summer 1982.

*East Allegheny Park*

On June 3rd, 1982, Emily makes her way to the park. She's eager to get there to see if Rosaline and Jennifer Jareau have arrived yet.

When she does get to the park, she sees three-year-old Jennifer Jareau waiting eagerly at the fence. Her older sister, Rosaline, and older brother, Elijah, are over on the playground equipment.

When Emily gets to the fence, she has just enough time to get inside it before she is bombarded by a blur of blonde curls.

"Emmy! Ooh's bah!" The little blonde yells. Emmy, yous back!

Emily smiles, as she is finally able to understand the little blonde. It was so hard those first few days when she could not understand JJ, which would end in tears for Jen and sadness for Emily.

However, the past 2 and a half weeks, spending time at the park after school and on the weekends, have really paid off. Now, she is near an expert in understanding JJ with only a little trouble here and there. It is the fastest anyone has ever connected with the little girl and the fastest anyone has been able to understand her.

"Hey! Of course, I am. I promised, didn't I?" She picks the younger girl up.

JJ nods enthusiastically. "Come p'ay, Emmy!"

"Okay, okay. Let's go." The two run over to the swings and Emily helps JJ up into the seat.

"Now, remember, hold on really tight. Okay?"

"'Ay!" JJ tightens her grip on the chains and Emily begins pushing her. 'Kay!

After doing that for a few minutes, the two girls tire out.

"All right, Ladybug, what do you want to do now?" Emily asks as she lifts the girl back up and places her on her hip. JJ points over to something across the park. Emily follows and sees that she is pointing in the direction of the monkey bars.

They are set apart from the rest of the playground equipment as the park has two sizes, one that is a height for kids from 3 to about 6 or 7 and then the bigger one for older kids and teenagers who like to do flips and hang upside down.

"You wanna do the monkey bars?" Emily clarifies and when she gets a nod, Emily brings JJ over to the monkey bars. She goes to the smaller one. It is still going to be big because Jen is very small for her age, being about 2'6 and 28.5 lbs.

(**this will be explained later**).

"Okay, JJ, hold on real tight and I will hold your legs. Then grab ahold of the bar in front of you and swing forward." Emily gently instructs even as she sees fear crossing JJ's face. The almost-four-year-old wants so bad to be able to do the monkey bars, but she is simply too afraid.

"No!" JJ suddenly yells and let's go of the bar she is dangling from causing Emily to tighten her grip and catch the preschooler.

"Woah! Hey! What's the matter, Jen? I thought you wanted to do the monkey bars?"

"No," JJ repeats and buries her face in Emily's neck. "Me doh' wuhna do'it. ' Ay?" Me don't wanna do it. 'Kay?

"Okay. We don't have to do them. How 'bout we do something else?" She thinks for a moment. "How 'bout the slide? You want to go down the slide?"

JJ's head pops back up and she beams. "Yes! Sigh, p'ease!" The preschooler cheers. Then she adds, "Emmy cuh too, 'Ay?" Yes! Slide, please! Emmy come, too, 'kay?

"Okay, I'll come too. You wanna go down the big slide?" She turns so JJ can see the tall slide.

"No." JJ shakes her head, pointing to an object in the distance. Emily sighs.

"Okay, baby doll, you need to use your words to tell me. Can you use your big girl words and tell me which slide you want to go on?"

JJ nods and points again, this time adding, "Me wuhuh do da lil' sigh. 'Ay?" Me wanna do the little slide. 'Kay?

Emily nods too and takes the preschooler over to the 'little kid' slide. "All right, up you go." She helps the little girl up the stairs and then to sit on the slide.

"Emmy, ooh guhuh come, too?" The preschooler asks. Emmy, you gonna come, too?

"I'm too big for this slide, Jay. But I'll go down the big slide with you." JJ goes down the slide and beams at the bottom. She throws her hands up in the air, something Emily has learned is her silent way of saying, 'pick me up'. She swings the preschooler around and carries her on her hip.

The little blonde rests her head in the crook of her new best friend's neck and sighs. She reaches up and plays with Emily's locket that James had gotten her a few weeks prior as a way of saying, 'you survived elementary school and are going on to junior high'.

"Pitty 'ing, Emmy." She whispers. Emily is confused for a moment, as she doesn't know what JJ means. She looks down and thinks that maybe JJ has confused the heart-shaped locket part for an actual ring. She decides not to make a big deal out of it.

"This is my necklace. My daddy got it for me." Emily whispers back. The two stay silent, Emily can tell JJ is thinking really hard about something.

"Emmy," The little girl sighs. "If I… do da bih sigh, ooh do'it, 'oo? 'Ay?" If I… do the big slide, you do it, too. 'Kay?

"Of course, I will. You wanna go down it?" She clarifies. The preschooler nods and Emily moves quickly over to the tall slide. She helps JJ up the steps and they make it all the up before what they are doing catches up with the young girl.

As Emily is getting JJ situated in her lap, the younger girl gets a glimpse of how high up they are.

"Woah!" JJ leans back against Emily. "Dat high, Emmy. No bih sigh, 'ay, Emmy? No bih sigh." That high, Emmy. No big slide, 'kay, Emmy? No big slide.

"Yes, big slide," Emily tells her. "Close your eyes, baby doll, and lean back against me. Come on, sweetie," She coaxes the young girl. "Just your eyes. It's not that scary, I promise. It's actually really fun." JJ does as she is told and the two slide down.

At the bottom, JJ opens her eyes and beams when she sees she is at the bottom. Rosaline and Elijah run over and praise their baby sister for doing the 'big girl' slide.

"I dih'it!" JJ squeals. "Emmy, I dih'it!" Emily is beginning to also realize that while Jen uses 'me', she can also say 'I'. That is probably one of the reasons she isn't too concerned about the little blonde's speech. After all, everyone learns and grows at their own pace.

"You did do it, baby! Emmy's so proud of you!" Emily replies with the same enthusiasm.

"Jenny," Elijah shouts as he runs over. "You did it, baby sis! You went down the big slide!"

"Good job, Jenny!" Rosaline praises next causing the younger girl to beam even more with all of the attention she is suddenly getting. "You did it!"

"Me did'ih! Me did'ih! Dudda, Sissy, Me did'ih!" The little girl does her happy dance and then grabs Emily's hand.

"Emmy! 'Ell maw-me!" She pulls on Emily's hand. Emmy! Tell mommy!

"Are you ready to go home, baby sis?" Elijah asks. "We can tell mommy and daddy."

"Yes! Yes! 'Ell mamma an' dada!"

Emily swings the younger girl back up and puts her on her hip. Then the four make their way back to the Jareaus' household to tell of JJ's major accomplishment.

*Jareau Household*

Back at their house, JJ opens the door and comes running into the kitchen as fast as her three-year-old legs can carry her.

"Maw-me! Baba! Guess what! I did'ih! I did'ih!" She runs over to Sandy who is making lunch at the stove.

"Hey, baby!" Sandy greets. "How was the park?"

"Good! I bib'it, Maw-me!" She shouts again, jumping up and down.

"What did you do, sweetie?"

"Me-me, um…uh, boed dow da bih sigh, Maw-me! Me dih'it!"

Sandy beams at her youngest daughter. "You did?! Oh, that's great, baby! Mommy's so proud of you! Come here." She scoops JJ up and gives her a big hug.

Just then, Michael walks in with the rest of the kids.

"Oh Michael, you'll never guess what JJ did at the park." She tells her husband.

"No, Maw-me!" JJ shouts. "I 'ell Dada."

"Oh, ok. You tell daddy what you did."

"What did you do at the park, Peanut?" He asks.

"I-I-I, I-I-I," JJ gets caught up in the excitement and begins having a hard time speaking. Emily bends down beside her and places her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"JJ, slow down, Love. Take a breath, okay," JJ does so, breathing in deeply a couple of times. "Good girl! Now, tell your daddy what you did at the park." This is said gently, as Emily speaks to JJ the same she does to all her cousins who are under the age of 10.

"Me boed dow' da bih sigh!" She shouts excitedly causing Michael to beam also. Me goed down the big slide!

"That's great, baby! I'm so proud of you, Peanut!"

"Okay, guys," Sandy regains everyone's attention. "Lunch is ready. Emily, sweetheart, are you staying for lunch?"

"Yes!" JJ cuts Emily off. "Save, Emmy! P'ease!" Emily has a tiny smile at that, as JJ called the word "stay" as "save." She wonders if the little preschooler notices it or not.

"I guess I'm staying," Emily says and smiles as JJ cheers and then proceeds to tell Emily where to sit.

Here is the first chapter. Just some fluff. A little note about Jen's speech. A couple of years ago, I took a class in 12th grade that allowed me to go to the preschool and help a teacher with their class. My class had 3- and 4-year-olds. Some spoke with 'I' and some used 'me' when referring to themselves. Also, they did not speak as well as I thought 3- and 4-year-olds did.

This plus her language issues is what I am basing JJ speech on. Like I said above, she will communicate with nods, headshakes, etc., and Emily will be teaching her sign language. :)

Please review!

End notes: When JJ is excited, upset, or worried, she will mispronounce some words. The following are just a few of the ones she will mispronounce. As the story progresses, there will be more words that she mispronounces.

Mamma. This will become "Nawnaw". That is 'Mamma' said with an 'n' not an 'm'.

Dada. JJ will continue to call Michael this until she is about 6. Then she will say "Daddy". Dada/Daddy will become "Baba" or "Babby" when she is in an uncalm state.

Bubba. This will be "Dudda" or "Dubda".

Did. This will be "Bib" or "bid".