About three weeks had passed since Hotch told JJ to take a leave of absence, and JJ still wasn't doing any better.

She had not yet been able to fully accept Emily's death, which had resulted in restless nights. Almost every night she tried going to sleep, she could still see the image of Emily's lifeless body in her arms back in the warehouse. JJ tried to make sense of it in every dream, mostly of her fixing her strategies and rushing to save Emily on time, but every time she did, Emily still died in her dreams.

A knock was heard at the door and JJ furrowed her eyebrows. Opening the door, she was met face-to-face with Sandy.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" JJ was surprised to see her mom visit her. Then, it hit her. "Oh, I forgot you were coming to visit! Um, how did you get here?"

"Your friend, uh, Garcia," Sandy said. "She dropped me off here. I called you earlier but you weren't answering."

JJ felt bad having Penelope drive her mom all the way to her house. She was going to find a way to make it up to her next time. "I need to thank Pen for that," she murmurs to herself before letting Sandy inside the house. "Do you want anything to drink or eat? You're probably hungry by now." She checked her clock, seeing the time. It was 8:37 at night.

"I'll just have some water," Sandy smiles. JJ nods and goes to the kitchen to pour a glass of water for her.

"I'm sorry, mom. I forgot you were visiting us this week," JJ apologizes again. "I should've picked you up at the airport earlier. I just, um, got caught up in some stuff."

Sandy nods. "It's ok, JJ." Taking a look at the living room, she saw a messy pile of papers scattered around the coffee table and a mug of unfinished (possibly cold by now) coffee. There was also used tissues all over the couch and the floor, and a blanket resting on the couch.

JJ came back and handed the glass to her. "Here you go." She noticed her mom was looking at the living room. "Sorry, I'll just clean up over here and we can talk for a bit."

After getting things settled and tidying up the living room, JJ sat at the dining table with her mom. For about two minutes, there was only silence between them. It had been a while since they talked in person, in fact, the last time they saw each other was when Sandy visited JJ before Henry was even born.

Sandy took this moment to take in JJ's appearance. There were bags forming under JJ's bloodshot eyes, as if she hadn't slept in a while. Her shoulders were slumped and she looked a little paler. JJ seemed almost out of it, as she stared off into the distance. To Sandy, JJ looked like she wasn't doing so well, but she couldn't figure out why and it concerned her.

"So," Sandy starts after taking a sip of her water. "How are things going over here?"

JJ shrugs. "They're good." A pause. "How are you?"

"I'm good."

Another few seconds of silence. God, JJ doesn't even remember the last time talking with her mom had been this awkward.

"How are Henry and Will? Are they doing ok?"

The two questions made JJ tense as she blinked nonchalantly. "They're good." It was a weak answer, and they both knew that.

"I haven't seen or heard about Will in a little while now."

"He left," JJ said. "It's just Henry and me in the house."

"Oh." Sandy nods for a second. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"Things weren't working out between us, we called it quits," JJ simply explained.

"And how did Henry take it?"

JJ rolls her eyes in frustration. "Mom, what are you getting at?" Was she going to get some sort of lecture on how to become a perfect parent? JJ internally scoffed at the thought.

Sandy's eyes widen as she shrugs in defense. "What? I was just asking. You know, being a single parent is a lot of work."

JJ quietly huffs and mumbles under her breath, "It wouldn't be that hard if you had been there for your kids."

Sandy heard her and said, "Now, what's that supposed to mean?"

JJ stopped to close her eyes to calm herself down, and looked at her mom. "Ok, you know what, mom? You came here to visit, right? So, let's just spend some time together. Henry will see you tomorrow when he wakes up." She gave a polite and diplomatic smile, hoping it would end their argument.

Sandy concedes with a nod. "Ok."

The next day, Sandy finally got to meet Henry in person. She was used to JJ sending her pictures of her grandson, so she was more than excited to see him for the first time. She could tell that he was a little shy like JJ was when she was younger, but it didn't bother her.

"I'm going to get us lunch," JJ announces, standing up to leave the room. "I'll see what we have."

"Alright. I'll watch Henry here for you," Sandy says and JJ gives a small smile before exiting the room to cook lunch for them.

It was just Sandy and Henry in the living room. She watched as Henry played with his dinosaur figures, banging them against each other and making noises as he did.

"You like dinosaurs?" Sandy asks.

Henry nods and continues playing with his two dinosaurs.

"Where'd you get that?" She points to his toys.

"Emimy," he said, doing his best to pronounce Emily's name.

"Emily?" She definitely remembers JJ mentioning her before, when she came to visit the last time and Emily was still fairly new to the team. She also remembers how her daughter couldn't stop smiling when JJ talked about Emily.

Henry nods.

"Do you like Emily?"

Henry looks down at the floor and his toys with a shrug, and Sandy frowns. "What about your mommy? Does she like Emily?"

Henry thinks for a moment before slowly shaking his head. Sandy was confused. "Why do you think that, sweetie?"

"She hurt mommy," he mumbles, focusing his attention back to his dinosaurs. "Mommy gets sad."

Sandy was shocked to hear that. She hadn't met Emily and only heard about her through JJ. Her daughter said Emily was an amazing person, who treated people with respect, and made her comfortable and validated since they were the only two women in the BAU out in the field. When has Emily ever done anything to hurt JJ?

"Ok," JJ's voice broke through before she had a chance to ask Henry what he meant. "Lunch is ready."

Sometime after lunch and catching up (thankfully for both women, without arguing), JJ had taken Henry to his room for his afternoon nap before clearing the table of plates and napkins.

"So, Henry said something about Emily." Sandy sees JJ grow rigid at the mention of her from behind. JJ's shoulders are rolled back as she fixes her composure before turning around to face her mom.

"What did he say?"

"He told me she hurt you. JJ, is that true?"

JJ's eyes widen and she shakes her head. "Where would he get an idea like that?" She moved to pick up the plates to wash them in the sink.

"I asked where he got the dinosaur toys from, and he said they're from Emily."

JJ's tongue pressed against the inside of her cheek, glancing off to the side before looking back at her mom, with a hint of annoyance on her face. Her mom probably prompted Henry into talking about Emily. Placing the plates back down, she put one hand on her hip. "And what did you say?"

"I asked Henry if he likes Emily and he shrugged at me. He said you don't like her because she hurt you," Sandy explained, not understanding exactly why JJ hadn't told her that.

JJ blinks and chooses not to make eye contact with her. "She hasn't hurt me. I'm fine, mom."

"Are you? Because from the looks of it, you haven't. Your living room's a mess, you looked like you haven't slept a wink at all. When was the last time you've slept?"

"Mom," JJ sighs and puts her hands out to stop her. "I don't want to talk about it, so just drop it."

Sandy nods bitterly. She wasn't going to listen; she's going to push her into talking once again. "Now you're avoiding the subject. You know, if you just face your feelings head-on, you wouldn't have a problem with it. I learned that the hard way."

"And what way was that, mom?" JJ sarcastically asks. "By pushing others away?"

"And you aren't doing the same thing?" Sandy shakes her head with a frustrated huff. "Henry is going to figure it out sooner or later. And now, it looks like it's sooner!"

"Yeah, well, Henry is still too young to understand."

Sandy scoffs. "Understand what? Stop talking in code, JJ. You're acting like she's dead-"

"Because she is!" JJ finally shouts before going quiet again. Fixing her gaze on the floor beneath her, she bit her lip. "Emily died, mom," she said in a shaky voice and blinked away oncoming tears stinging her eyes. "She died right in front of me."

Sniffling, she sat down on the couch, not caring about the dirty plates on the table anymore. Her head was in her hands as she tried to calm herself down. What JJ didn't notice was her mom sitting next to her and placing a hand on her back.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Sandy quietly says, seeing JJ cry with her head down.

JJ hiccups before speaking again. "I- I couldn't save her on time. It's all my fault." She lifted her head to directly talk to her mom's face, giving a bitter chuckle at herself. "I knew there was something wrong and I just let her be. I could've stopped it before it even happened. Instead, I stopped trying to push. Mom, she died in my arms, and I let her. I just held her until Morgan came and the paramedics came. The last thing she told me was that she loved me."

She fell back against the couch and shook her head, letting her tears fall down her cheeks. "I didn't even get to tell her I loved her back," she finally cries out and wipes them away.

Sandy gave her daughter a sympathetic look and rubbed her back comfortingly. "Oh, JJ." She pulls her into a hug and lets her sob into her shoulder.

"I'm in love with her, mom…" JJ's voice is muffled into her mother's shirt.

Sandy nods. "It's ok. It's ok," she whispers and strokes her hair. She decided to let JJ cry. JJ didn't realize how much weight was being lifted off her shoulders, and her mom held her for a while. It was such a rare feeling for both women, and Sandy wanted to just be there for her daughter in support, something she hadn't done even when Roslyn passed away. JJ finally found this odd sense of comfort she's longed for from her mom, or anyone else for that matter.

After a week of her mom visiting, JJ also took that as time to reflect on her feelings on Emily's death and considering Henry's feelings as well. She decided to tell him soon, so JJ was tucking Henry into bed one night.

"Mommy, you're sad," Henry says, sitting up and using his hands to wipe her tears away. He hated seeing his mommy like this. JJ quietly laughs at the action and holds him closer. She loves how protective her son is already.

"Yes, Henry. Mommy's sad." JJ softly croaks.

Tilting his head up to look at her, Henry asks, "Emimy hurt you?"

JJ shakes her head. "No, Emmy didn't hurt me. Did, uh, did you tell Grandma that?"

Henry hid his face in her neck. "'m sorry, mommy," he mumbles.

"It's ok, sweetie," JJ whispers and hugs him. He was still full of innocence and JJ wished it could be like that forever.

"Is Emmy gone?"

He does catch on quickly. JJ nervously swallows and bites her lip, contemplating her answer carefully and wisely. "Why do you say that?"

"Emimy makes you happy," he said with a frown and a puzzled look. He tried to figure out what was wrong with JJ. "When can we see her?"

JJ lets out an exhale. "I don't think we'll be seeing her anytime soon, Henry."

Henry slumps his shoulders and begins feeling sad himself, too. "She doesn't like us?" He really misses Emily and JJ remembers how happy he used to be when Emily was around.

"No, she still likes us," JJ whispers and brushes his hair back to see his eyes more. "Um… Henry. You know where Emmy and I work, right?"

Henry nods. "You catch bad guys."

"Yeah. Well, a bad guy got Emmy, and now, she's… just gone. For a while."

He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "When does she come back?"

JJ shrugged sadly. "I don't know, buddy."

Then, she saw Henry's lip quiver as his eyes casted downwards. He began vehemently shaking his head and slamming his fists down onto his blankets. "But I want to see her! I want Emimy back!"

"Hey, hey. It's ok…" JJ softly coos and hugs him tight in her arms again.

Henry buried his face into his mom's neck again and cried for his Emmy to come back. It was such a difficult concept for Henry to comprehend, especially at his age. JJ wishes he could make his confusion and pain go away, but if she left him in the dark any longer, he wouldn't understand why Emily was here and gone all of a sudden. It hurts JJ to see that Emily's death actually did affect Henry, even if he couldn't really understand it right now.

Henry sniffles and looks up at her, wiping his tears with the sleeves of his pajamas. "I miss her, mommy."

JJ nods and gives him a sad smile. "Me, too."