It was nearing three AM by the time Emily finally trudged through the door to her apartment, well and truly exhausted after her shift. She dropped her bag by the door and slipped off her shoes with a contented little sigh after having her feet crammed into heels the entire night.

Her path from the door to the living room was lit by the flickering TV screen, so she didn't risk stubbing her toe which was fortunate, considering the sleeping preschoolers in the next room. She really had no desire to attempt to lull them back to sleep should she accidentally wake them up...

It wasn't uncommon for her to arrive home to find JJ asleep on the couch in front of the TV and that day was no exception. Usually, she would wake her to let her know that she'd arrived home safe, unless JJ was fast asleep, in which case, she just turned off the TV and covered her with a blanket. (Afterall, Emily understood just how exhausting their lifestyle could be, between being mothers to young children and stripping, they barely had time to sleep, let alone do anything else.)

Having seen Emily's shadow pass by, JJ sat up, asking, "How did it go tonight?"

Emily hissed a curse under her breath, having been startled, thinking JJ fast asleep. "Dammit, Jayje, you scared the shit out of me," she whispered.

"Sorry," she said with a shrug. "Henry crawled into bed with me around midnight saying he had a nightmare and the kid kicks like a mule, so I've been awake ever since." She rolled her eyes – Henry was going through a phase lately where he didn't want to sleep in his bed, so it wasn't exactly a surprise that she was once again wide awake. "So, how was your shift?" she asked again.

Emily heaved a sigh, flopping down on the couch next to her. "The usual...horny guys, shitty tips, Dave being a total tool." She shook her head with a sigh. "Oh, apparently Dave finally hired a new bouncer."

JJ's brows leapt up her forehead. "Really?" she said, suddenly intensely interested in the conversation. "What's he like?"

"I don't know," she said, "Seems like the usual self-absorbed asshole that wants a job where he gets paid to stare at tits..."

JJ have a snort of laughter at that.

Not really interested in discussing Derek Morgan any further, Emily changed the subject, "How was Jayde tonight?"

"She was an angel, as usual. Once she stopped crying..." She smiled reassuringly, knowing how hard it was to leave a crying child. "She and Henry want to go to the playground tomorrow, by the way. I figured since it was your day off, you'd be okay with it."

"Maybe if I get more than an hour of sleep," she (half) joked.

JJ scoffed. "Yeah, good luck with that."

Emily enjoyed the warmth of the late spring sunshine beating down on her – she so rarely got the chance to just sit back and enjoy, well, anything with the life she lead. She sipped her coffee, watching as Jayde and Henry scampered about the playground.

"They really are adorable, aren't they?" she murmured to JJ beside her. Before JJ could respond, though, Emily shouted, "Jayde! If you found it on the ground, it doesn't go in your mouth!" She heaved a sigh, turned to JJ and rephrased, "I changed my mind – they aren't adorable, they're exhausting."

JJ just laughed, shaking her head fondly, but silently agreeing with the assessment. After a few moments of companionable silence, JJ suddenly asked, "So, have you heard from John lately?"

Emily choked on her sip of coffee, coughing and sputtering as she attempted to recover from the surprise of the unexpected question. She couldn't seem to formulate an answer, though, so instead she fired back, "Have you told Will the truth about your job yet?"

"Have you told your mother what you do?" JJ retorted with a smug little smirk, knowing perfectly well that she hadn't.

Emily huffed in irritation, realizing that she really had no choice but to indulge JJ's initial nosiness. "No, I haven't heard from him. I don't know the first fucking thing about him anymore. Last I heard, he was going to Spain. Or maybe prison. Who knows with John... To be honest, he could be lost in the Atlantic for all I care."

"So, you really don't give a fuck if he's alive or dead?" JJ asked.

She shrugged. "It's not like he's paying child support..." she pointed out. "He contributes nothing. And even when he does call me, it's for a booty call, not to check on his daughter. He's a sorry waste of skin and sometimes I think I'd be better off if he were dead. You don't know how lucky you are to have Will..."

JJ said nothing for a long moment, digesting Emily's furious diatribe.

Seeming to feel like she was being judged, Emily rushed to add, "I know what it's like to have an absentee father and I feel sorry for Jayde. I mean, look how great I turned out... But here's the difference: Jayde has a mother who actually cares and I'll be damned if I let her grow up to have my life."

JJ nodded her agreement. She was thankful for her job because it allowed her to pay the bills, but if she could at all help it, she didn't want any young girl to ever have to take her clothes off for money. And she certainly didn't want her son to grow up to be the kind of man who payed a girl to take off said clothes.

Before either of them could comment further, though, Henry and Jayde came sprinting over.

"Old MacDonald chicken sandwich!" Henry hollered at his mother.

Emily attempted to stifle her laughter as JJ frowned. "That's not how we ask for something, Henry."

"Mama..." Jayde said, batting her lashes, "Chicky nuggest?" She was working the puppy dog eyes to their fullest. "P'ease?"

Emily turned to JJ. "Well, what do you say? Have they been good enough for a treat?"