Chapter Fourteen: Behind the Black Horizon

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss." -Jonathan Larson

"Alright, so my flight leaves at 3 o'clock so I should get in at about 7," Will told JJ as he calculated the time of the flight, factoring in the time change.

It was early February, and Will had decided it was time to head to DC for the weekend to plan for the baby with JJ. JJ had only had one free weekend since Christmas, and she'd come down to New Orleans, but they hadn't gotten around to having the more serious discussions about the baby.

"So, uh, what's your flight number?" JJ asked, slightly distracted since she was at work.

"You don't need to come to the airport, I can just catch a cab to your apartment and meet you there," Will assured her.

He knew that JJ already had a hard enough time getting off work during the weekends, and he figured this way she could spend another hour at work instead of leaving early to pick him up.

"No, I'm gonna come pick you up," she told him.

JJ was saying something about them picking out a crib when Will suddenly heard Hotch's voice in the background.

He let out a sigh, knowing the team probably had a case.

"Don't head to the airport just yet," JJ said, sounding apologetic.

"Alright, I won't". He knew JJ's job was demanding, but he couldn't help being slightly disappointed.

JJ promised him she'd call as soon as she could, before hanging up the phone. About half an hour later, she texted him saying they had a case in New York, and she wouldn't be able to get time off.

Will had almost accepted defeat before an idea began to formulate in his head.

Will watched as the team entered the lobby, unaware of his presence. He'd planned on just staying in DC, he really had, but when the killings in New York started to increase, he couldn't help himself.

He worried enough when JJ was on a case, trying to stop psychopathic killers, but his anxiety over her job had only increased tenfold since he'd found out about the baby.

Will noticed Spencer saying something to JJ and nodding his head in his direction, obviously noticing him sitting behind them on the armchair.

As he grabbed his bag and walked over to them, he could tell JJ looked slightly annoyed he had come.

"Will, what are you doing here?" JJ asked, astonished. "Where's Tate?".

"I caught a train from DC and Tate's staying with Beck and Amelia while I'm out here," he told her.

While Will was explaining his arrival to the team, JJ couldn't help but sigh a little. She loved Will, she truly did, and she'd missed seeing him over the past few weeks, but she was still bothered he'd shown up out of nowhere. He assured her all the time that he knew how demanding her job was, but him pulling stunts like this clearly said otherwise.

And then, of course, she basically had to tell the team she was pregnant. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she knew once she did, everything would change. And if there was one thing Jennifer Jareau hated, it was change.

JJ had learned during her visits to New Orleans that the LaMontagne family, or perhaps just southerners in general, didn't exactly have tact. Which was why when Will announced to the entire team that he'd proposed to JJ, she wasn't surprised.

Two days after Christmas

JJ and Will sat out on the porch, sipping cups of coffee. They'd finished dinner hours ago, and Tate had long since headed up to her room.

For the past hour or so, they'd been talking about baby names and all the things they'd need to get. They'd talked about basically everything except for the elephant in the room-where they were going to live.

JJ was curled up in Will's arms, and the pair watched the night sky in silence.

"Marry me," Will said suddenly.

It was safe to say that JJ almost choked on her coffee when he spoke.

"What?" she asked.

"Marry me," he repeated.

"Will…" JJ began.

"No, just listen to me for a minute, alright," Will interrupted. "I'm not saying this just because you're pregnant, alright? I swear I'm not. I'm asking you because I love you, okay? I'm the happiest I've ever been when you're here, and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. So please, marry me".

JJ hesitated for a moment, knowing what she was about to say would crush him.

"Will, I'm sorry, but I can't".

The look on his face, the disappointment and hurt, was like a knife to JJ's heart.

"Look, I love you more than anything. I'm just not ready to be married. And besides, why do we need a piece of paper to tell us that we love each other, that we're committed to each other?".

"Cmon, JJ, being married is different than what we're doin' now, and you know it," Will told her.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. I won't say no forever, alright? Maybe one day, you can ask me again and I'll say yes, but right now I'm saying no," JJ said, trying to compromise

Will sighed for a moment, biting his lip.

"Alright. I guess I can live with that," he agreed as he tugged JJ towards him and pulled her in for a long kiss.

Present

After Hotch had told JJ that they were meeting at 7 am, Will and JJ headed up to JJ's hotel room.

"So you didn't tell them you were pregnant," Will said slowly.

"Hey, I thought we were arguing about names and cribs," JJ said as she sat down on the bed.

Will set his bag on the floor and flopped down next to her.

"I'm not arguing about you not telling them, just wondering".

"Look, I just don't want them treating me differently, okay? I don't want them saying the same things you are, about how I shouldn't be out in the field," JJ said defensively.

"They should treat you differently. If you get hurt, it's two lives on the line," Will argued.

"I just don't wanna talk about this right now," JJ almost whined.

"JJ, eventually we're actually gonna have to talk about the things that matter".

JJ knew Will was right, but she was too exhausted to talk about important things tonight.

"One more night about talking about the fun things like names and then I promise next time we're together we can talk about the important things," JJ said.

Will sighed, before caving and nodding in agreement.

"Alright, well name wise Beck is still trying to convince me to pick Beckett, which definitely isn't happening," Will told JJ.

"I still like August," JJ said.

"You wanna name our son after a month?" Will asked as he let out a laugh.

"Oh and lemme guess? You wanna name him William LaMontangne the Third?".

Will shrugged a shoulder. "It wouldn't be after me, it'd be for my daddy".

JJ smiled a little at that. Only Will would want to give his son his name not for himself, but for his father.

"Tate and I both like Henry," JJ said softly. It was her top choice so far, but she had almost been scared to share it with Will for fear he might veto it.

"I like it. It's a good name," Will said decisively.

"Good," JJ said laughing. "At least we have one name we can agree on".

Morning had arrived all too quickly, and soon enough JJ had to go back to work.

Will could tell she didn't want him here, and had been embarrassed by him showing up. Although she'd gotten over it, he could tell something was still bothering her.

As he thought about JJ's behavior, he realized there might be a reason for her resistance to leave the field. If she was worried about potentially having to leave the BAU and move to New Orleans, then of course she'd want to spend all the time she had left in the field with the team.

Little did JJ know, Will had already decided that he should be the one to move. Despite the fact that he loved his job, and had his family back in New Orleans, Will knew JJ would hate living down there full time. Plus, the FBI office down there didn't even have a job opening, meaning JJ would not only not be with the BAU, but she wouldn't be with the Bureau at all.

Will hated that he had to leave New Orleans, and that he had to uproot Tate, who'd just gotten settled, but he knew it would be the best for everyone in the long run.

Writing a short letter to JJ, he tucked his badge into a manilla envelope, and dropped it off at the Federal Plaza. He then headed back to the hotel to pack up his things so he could catch the next flight back to New Orleans.

Just as he was hailing a cab outside of the hotel, he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see JJ dashing towards him, and had just enough time to set his bags on the ground before she hurtled into his arms, wrapping herself around him as she pressed a firm kiss to his lips.

"You're really gonna give up your life in New Orleans to come live in Quantico, Virginia?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

"JJ, one of us was always gonna have to make the sacrifice of moving, and seeing as how you're the one actually doing the whole carrying of the baby, I figured I had to pull my weight somehow," Will joked.

"But what about your job, plus Beck and Amelia and the boys? And you said it yourself, Tate's just finally settling in," JJ rambled.

"Jen, take a breath, alright? My dad and Charlie are gone, so my job is basically just a job at this point, one that I can do in DC. As for my brother and Amelia, they're grown adults so I'm sure they'll be perfectly fine. And as much as it'll probably suck, Tate can adapt, she's a pretty easy-going kid," he assured her.

As he finished his spiel, JJ leaned forward and kissed him again.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you?" she asked.

"Maybe once or twice, but it's nice to hear it again, cher," he joked.

"Okay, I promised Hotch I'd be back as soon as possible, so how about I drop you off at the airport, and as soon as I'm done here I will be on the next flight to New Orleans," JJ asked.

"It'll be hard to make it that long without you" Will said, leaning in for another kiss.

"I think you'll make it," JJ said laughing, before the pair walked towards the SUV JJ had parked on the corner.

The following week Will had once again come out to DC, and it so happened that his trip lined up with JJ's 20 week appointment. Due to both of their hectic schedules, Will had never gotten to accompany JJ to an appointment, and was very excited at the prospect of seeing the baby.

"Well, everything's looking good so far," the doctor said as she began the ultrasound.

The doctor shifted the wand on JJ's belly, and turned on the sound. A fast but steady pulsing noise filled the room.

"Is that…" Will trailed off.

"That's our baby," JJ said, gripping his hand.

He smiled softly before leaning down and kissing JJ softly.

"It looks like both babies are doing well," the doctor said.

"Alright, that's good-wait, did you say both?" Will asked urgently.

"Yes, both. You did know you were having twins didn't you?" the doctor asked, hurriedly looking over JJ's chart.

"No, we didn't," JJ said, feeling nauseous as she looked over at Will.

She was barely sure they could handle one baby, but two? No way.

Will was, to put it lightly, terrified at the thought of not having just one baby, but two, but one glance at JJ told Will she needed him to be confident right now. Because frankly, JJ looked ready to throw up, pass out, or both.

"Well," he said, tightening his grip on her hand. "The more the merrier,".

"Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." -A. A. Milne