Chapter Twenty-Five: A Few Good Men
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." —J.R.R. Tolkien
April rolled around and the twins had their first birthday. JJ could hardly believe that they were already a year old. She had always thought parents were exaggerating when they said time flew by, but it was true. Truthfully, it felt like just yesterday that she and the team had been sent down to New Orleans, and she'd met some crazy detective that liked to flirt with her. And now she was living with him and their three kids together. It'd been the best decision she'd ever made.
Will and JJ had sent the adoption application in, and now all they had to do was wait. Both of them had decided it would be best to wait until after they got approved to tell Tate, in case their application was rejected again. They had been worried about Tate after what happened with McClaren, but she seemed to be doing better than ever. She was doing great in all her classes, was the star player on the soccer team, and Abby was happy with her progress. She'd also been dating Carter, much to Will's dismay, but JJ thought it was good for her.
JJ was also finally back at the BAU working as a profiler. She still hadn't told Will about losing the baby; it was her fault, and it was her cross to bear. JJ loved being back with the team and working as a profiler, even though it did mean being away from home more often.
JJ came home from a case in mid-April to find Will standing in the kitchen making dinner.
"Hey cher," he said, setting the knife he was using down and pulling her in for a kiss.
"How's everything been going?" she asked him, peeking into the pot on the stove to see what he was making for dinner.
"Good, Kit's saying Bean's name now," he told her.
Kit was slightly for advanced than his brother; he had already said several words like Dada, Mama, Tate, and now Bean, and was much steadier on his feet. Henry, on the other hand, was taking his time and had only said Dada so far. JJ tried not to take it personally, as she knew Will was the one taking care of the boys most of the time.
At the sound of his name, Kit toddled over from where he and Henry had been playing on the carpet.
"Mama," he babbled, holding his arms out, and JJ picked him up.
As they'd grown, it was obvious the boys weren't identical twins. Henry was his mother's son, a little towhead with bright blue eyes, whereas Kit took after Will, with a head of brown hair and soft blue-gray eyes. Personality-wise, Henry tended to be more outgoing and sweet, while Kit was more observant and reserved.
"The principal called today," Will said as he put a tray with garlic bread in the oven.
"What'd she do this time?" JJ joked.
Tate never got in trouble at school, so it was rare that they received a call from the school.
"Apparently, they think it'd be best if she skipped a grade next year,".
"I thought we already had this conversation," JJ sighed.
The school had been after Will and JJ for months to let Tate skip her junior year, despite the fact that she was already a year younger than the rest of the sophomores. JJ supposed she couldn't blame them though; Tate was already taking three AP classes and still had a 4.0 GPA.
"Apparently, her math and history teachers have expressed their opinion again," Will replied.
"They just don't like it when she makes them look stupid,".
Tate's eidetic memory made history a breeze for her, and she just had the brains for math. She could do problems almost as difficult as what Reid could do, and her teacher's lack of attention meant Tate often had to tell her she was doing a math problem wrong.
"What are we gonna do about it?" Will asked her.
"I think we should let her skip if that's what she wants," JJ said.
"So, she'll be a fifteen-year-old senior? I'm not sure that's the best idea,".
"Will, we both know she's more mature than half the senior class, she'd be fine. Besides, it's not like she wouldn't have friends,".
"Oh great, she can spend more time with that Fuller kid," Will retorted.
"I hate to break it to you, but Carter is probably gonna be the sweetest of all her boyfriends. It's only gonna go downhill from here," JJ replied.
"Ok, say she does skip junior year, then she'll be going off to college at sixteen,".
"Not necessarily, she could take a gap year. Or she could go to Georgetown or somewhere else nearby and stay at home," JJ reminded him.
Will sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want Tate to get a better education, he just wanted her to have the chance to be a normal kid for once. Socially, it'd be better for her to be with kids her own age. But he knew JJ was right, she was already acting way older than the rest of them. Sometimes he wished she wasn't so mature, since he knew it was the result of a less than idyllic childhood. However, he knew this was a decision Tate was old and wise enough to make, so he should probably let her.
"Alright, I guess we can ask her if she'd want to," Will said.
"It'll be fine, you'll see," JJ promised.
JJ brought up the subject at dinner that night. Although Will had been hesitant about it, JJ thought skipping a year could be good for Tate. The girl was constantly complaining about how bored she was in class, and JJ knew that boredom only led to kids getting into trouble. Besides, why should she waste a year in high school if she didn't need to, and if it wasn't what she wanted?
"So, how would you feel about skipping a grade?" JJ asked Tate.
"You mean being a senior next year?" Tate wondered.
"The school thinks it might be a good idea," Will explained.
Tate was thrilled; she'd heard Will and JJ talk about having her skip a grade several times, and she was glad they'd finally decided to let her. Most of her classes were boring, as she already knew all the material, and half her time at school was spent sitting silently in class while other kids finished their work. It was unfortunate that she wouldn't be in as many classes with Lucy, Ellie, and Ben, but they'd still have some classes together, and she'd have more with Carter and Noah.
"Okay," she told them.
"You're sure? You don't wanna sleep on it, think about it for a few days?" Will asked.
"Nope," Tate said, shaking her head.
"Well, one step closer to Yale then," JJ joked.
"And what if I wanted to go to Harvard?" Tate quipped.
"Well, we'd have to disown you,".
Since Tate had a week off of school for spring break, Will decided to take the kids home to New Orleans for a few days. JJ would come down and join them if and when she had a break between cases. They flew in on a Sunday, and Beck had told Will ahead of time that Collins' family would be coming over for dinner.
So by 5 o'clock, Amelia was busy rushing around the kitchen trying to get dinner ready. Will had offered to help while Beck and Tate kept the boys busy. Once the food was in the oven, Will rinsed his hands off in the sink and went to the fridge to grab a beer. Collins and her family were due to arrive in half an hour, so they had some time to kill before then.
"You want Bud Light or Blue Moon?" he asked Amelia as he looked through what beers were in the fridge.
"Uh nothing, I'm fine," she said, washing a dish off in the sink.
Will grabbed a Blue Moon for himself and shut the fridge. It wasn't until he popped the cap off his beer that he realized something.
"I don't think I've ever heard you turn down a beer," he told Amelia.
Amelia hadn't poured herself a glass of wine earlier, which was something she usually did when cooking Sunday dinners, so there was no reason she would have turned down the beer.
"I guess I'm just not in the mood," she replied, and Will could tell she was lying.
Come to think of it, there had been several times Amelia had turned down a drink. Once when she was pregnant with Asher, and then again when she was pregnant with Ezra. Smirking slightly at his sister's horrible attempts to cover up the pregnancy, Will went over to the sink.
"So how far along are you?" he asked.
Amelia's head shot up and Will couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"Was it that obvious?".
"Sorta,".
"Listen, you can't tell Beck," Amelia said, lowering her voice.
That cleared up why Beck hadn't told Will yet. He could distinctly remember the day Beck told him Amelia was pregnant with Asher, and he was pretty sure it had been only hours after the pair had found out themselves. The same thing occurred with Ezra, which was why Will was confused that Beck hadn't mentioned anything. However, it was also strange that Beck didn't know yet. With her two previous pregnancies, Amelia had told Beck before she had even taken a test, and they'd looked at the results together.
"Haven't gotten around to it yet, huh?" he teased.
It wasn't until that point that Will noticed how upset Amelia looked; his sister seemed close to tears.
"Hey, what's wrong," he said, setting his beer down and gently taking hold of her arms.
"I-I'm worried he won't be happy about it," Amelia mumbled.
"You're kidding, right? This is Beck we're talking about,".
"This wasn't exactly planned, Will. And Asher's already twelve and Ezra's nine,".
"What does that matter?" Will asked. "Tate's fourteen and the boys are only a year,".
"That's different and you know it," Amelia said, sniffling slightly.
"Amelia, you and Beck are 36, this is when a lot of people start having kids. Hell, you could pop out two more after this and no one would bat an eye," he assured her. "Besides, I thought you two wanted a third,".
"Well, we kept trying but after a few years Beck thought we should stop,".
Almost three years after Ezra was born, Amelia and Beck had decided they wanted one more kid. So they tried everything, even IVF, but nothing happened. Will remembered the day Beck told him they were going to stop trying. It had been shortly after Ezra turned six, and Beck hated seeing Amelia's disappointment every time she got a negative test. So he had gently suggested that maybe they should just stick with two kids, and Amelia had agreed. Will could still picture the heartbroken look on Beck's face, as it had been just as hard for him as it had been for Amelia.
"Amelia, he just said that because he hated how upset it made you when you couldn't get pregnant. You were practically depressed," Will reminded her.
"You really think he'll be happy? I mean this isn't exactly the time for a kid, he just got promoted and he's gonna be working more and…" she trailed off.
"Amelia, I can literally think of nothing that would make him happier," Will promised.
"Okay, I'll tell him tonight," Amelia said, and Will hugged her.
"Maybe I'll get a niece this time," he joked as the doorbell rang.
He heard Beck calling from the living room that he would get the door, and soon he heard voices in the foyer. Amelia quickly wiped the tears off her cheeks and dried the last dish before telling Will to go meet everyone.
By the time Will got to the living room, Collins was already there with her husband and their two children. One was a boy, about seven or eight, and the other was a little girl around five.
"Hey, there you are. Will, this is Collins. Collins, Will," he said as Collins stuck out her hand.
"Pleasure," Will said, shaking it.
He could clearly see the resemblance between Beck and Collins, the only difference being Collins' sharp green eyes that differed from Beck's blue ones.
"This is my husband, Wells, and that's Tuck and June," Collins told him.
Will shook her husband's hand before he noticed Tate standing next to Beck holding Kit. After a quick glance around, he spotted Henry sitting on the floor with Asher entertaining him.
"The one over there with Ash is Henry, that one's Kit, and I've heard you met Tate,".
Beck had the decency to look slightly sheepish at Will's comment. So, maybe he shouldn't have brought a kid to a funeral without asking her parent's permission.
Amelia yelled from the kitchen that dinner was ready, and soon the family was sitting around the large table in the dining room. Over the course of the meal, Will discovered that Beck and Tate had been right; he did like Collins. She had the same humor as Beck and was nothing but nice to Will and the kids. He learned that Collins was a doctor, and her husband owned a few bars around town.
"So, Beck said you're a detective," Wells said.
"Yeah, for homicide," Will replied. "What do you do?".
Will knew Collins was a doctor, but he had no clue what Wells did.
"I own a few bars in town. Mon Cheri is probably the most popular, if you've heard of it,".
Will thought back to the first time he met JJ when they worked the Jack the Ripper case.
"Oh yeah, I'm plenty familiar with it,".
"And your wife is an FBI agent?" Collins asked.
Will saw Tate smirk slightly at Collins' question. JJ hated being referred to as Will's wife, or even worse, Mrs. LaMontagne.
"Uh, JJ and I aren't married, but yeah, she's a profile for the Behavioral Analysis Unit,".
"Those the ones who catch serial killers?" Wells wondered.
"Among other things,".
Silence fell over the dinner table when Amelia brought out dessert. After a few minutes of the only sound being forks scraping against plates, Beck looked over to Will.
"Are you planning on seeing Harlan tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yeah, Tate and I were gonna bring the twins with us,".
"He has Alzheimer's right?" Collins spoke up.
"Yeah, and uh…he's not doing too well according to his daughter, so I thought we should stop by," Will replied.
Tate glanced over at Will, able to read between the lines that Asher and Ezra couldn't. Harlan was dying. Well, he'd been dying for a while, but for April to call meant Harlan was close to the end. Tate was sad, as she'd grown to like the old man, but she'd be expecting it for a while. She knew it would be hard for Will and Beck though, when the time came, as the man had been like a second father to them.
Collins simply nodded quietly, obviously understanding what Will meant, and turned her attention to Tate.
"So, how's sophomore year?" she asked the girl.
"It's alright, kinda boring," Tate said.
"She keeps correcting her history teacher and the school isn't exactly happy about that, which means I get to visit quite often," Will told Collins.
He saw Beck stifling a laugh out of the corner of his eye, and glared at his brother. Tate needed absolutely no encouragement in making fun of her teachers.
"It's not my fault they hired some creepy guy that never even got his masters and has no clue what the Schlieffen Plan is. Besides, he quit last week," Tate argued.
"And you never thought maybe your attempts at coming for the man's career had something to do with his sudden resignation?" Beck quipped.
"Nope,".
Beck finally broke and started laughing, and was quickly joined by Wells.
The next morning, Will took the kids over to Willow Creek to see Harlan. Beck had pulled Will aside before breakfast and told him Amelia was pregnant, and Will did his best job to act surprised. He could tell his brother was thrilled at the thought of having another kid running around. Beck had also decided to join Will and the kids, and brought Asher and Ezra along with him. The seven of them arrived shortly after lunch and checked in before heading into the living room.
"Lila," Harlan called, smiling as he noticed them walking into the room.
"Hi Harlan," Tate greeted him as he motioned for the girl to sit down next to him.
"Oh and you brought Bill and Chuck with you, that's nice,".
"Chuck?" Beck whispered as he leaned towards Will.
"I dunno, just go with it," he told his brother.
"Harlan, nice to see you," Beck said.
"Chuckie, you didn't bring Izzy?" Harlan asked.
"Uh, no, not this time,".
Truth be told, this is why Beck didn't come to see Harlan as much as he should. He was awful at pretending to be whoever Harlan thought he was, and trying to correct the man only upset him. It was hard for Will since Harlan thought he was Bill, but he did a good job at it, and Tate was happy to sit with the old man and make up things about this Lila girl's life.
However, Harlan seemed happy to see them that day. Occasionally, he'd have his bad days, where he often got aggressive and slightly paranoid, but he was content playing a card game with Asher and Ezra and holding one of the twins on his lap for a few minutes. About halfway through their visit, Will saw a shift in Harlan's eyes. The man looked around the room for a minute, seeming confused before his gaze settled on Will and Beck.
"Well, well, what did I do to deserve both LaMontagne boys visiting me?" Harlan asked.
Will couldn't help but grin. Harlan's lucid periods, no matter how brief, were always a treat. He liked having the man he remembered growing up; the tough cop that would tell him stories all day long.
"We just thought we'd come to see you. And introduce you to the newest members of the family," Will said, and Harlan suddenly seemed to notice Kit on his lap.
"Who's this little guy?".
"That's Kit, and this is Henry," Will said, indicating the boy on his own lap. "They're my sons,".
"You're a lucky man, Willie," Harlan told him.
Will knew as he watched his kids with his uncle and brother that truer words had never been spoken.
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." –Winston Churchill