Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You
"Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence." – Eleanor Roosevelt
The first thing Will was aware of as he drifted back into consciousness was a burning sensation in his right shoulder. As he fought to open his eyes, another sharp pain went shooting through his shoulder. Forcing his eyes open, he saw a man and a woman kneeling in front of him pressing on his shoulder. He was confused why they were doing that, and why he felt so awful until he lifted his head slightly and saw the blood on his shirt. "So, that's what getting shot feels like," he thought to himself as he remembered the events of the day so far.
"Are you armed?" the man crouching in front of him whispered.
"No," Will said, groaning as the woman put more pressure on his wound.
"Damn,".
Will slowly began to realize that JJ had probably been right. He shouldn't have come in here, not without up or a plan. To be fair, he'd been hoping he could talk the King down, but that plan went off the rails the second the bullet he fired missed Will's vest. On the bright side, he didn't seem to care that people were keeping him alive, but they were still stuck in the bank. At the least, he should've strapped on an ankle holster before he came in here, but it was too late now.
"Are you a cop?" Will asked the man.
"Former marine," he replied.
As Will lifted his head to talk to the man he caught a glimpse of Tate across the room. She was still sitting on the floor between Ellie and Carter but was now staring straight at him. He suddenly realized how pale she looked and the severity of their situation hit him. If Tate hadn't been sufficiently traumatized before, she was now; she'd just seen her father shot twice. Beck and Jonesy had told him how shaken up Tate had been when Will was caught in the explosion, so he knew that seeing him get shot was probably a thousand times worse.
Tate was struggling to remember how to breathe when Carter nudged her with his elbow.
"See? He's fine," Carter assured her as Tate saw Will lifting his head to speak to the man helping him.
The weight that had been in her chest for the past few minutes lifted slightly, and Tate felt her panic recede just a little. For what felt like the longest five minutes of her life, Will had just been laying on the floor not moving as he bled out. She'd heard two shots ring out, but judging by the amount of blood she assumed only one of the bullets had hit him while the other went into his vest. Tate wasn't sure what she would have done if the King had gone for the kill shot as he'd done with every other person he'd shot. She would've lost everything. Sure, JJ loved her, but she knew the woman didn't want to adopt her. Tate had heard the hushed conversations between Amelia and Beck when they went home to New Orleans for Christmas; apparently, JJ wasn't interested in being a mother to Tate. Even if she was, JJ had the boys to take care of, and Tate was only under Will's custody, so there was nothing to stop CPS from sending her away if something happened to Will.
Her panic faded even more as she saw the man that had been giving Will first aid haul him to his feet. He stumbled a little and had a large bloodstain covering the right side of his chest, but other than that he seemed to be fairly okay.
As Matthew helped Will up, Will gave Tate what he hoped was a reassuring nod before turning his attention to Matthew.
"I need you to do me two favors. My girlfriend, she's a federal agent, tell her I'm sorry," he instructed Matthew.
"You don't wanna tell her you love her or something?" Matthew asked as he steadied Will, who had started to tip a little due to the dizziness from his blood loss.
"She already knows that,".
"And the second thing?".
"Once I distract him, I need you to get that kid out of here. No matter what," he told Mattew firmly as he nodded towards Tate.
Will knew there was a good chance he wasn't going to make it out of this alive, as much as he hated the thought. He despised the fact that he wouldn't be there to raise his kids, that JJ would be a single mother. The boys wouldn't even remember him. But he would do whatever it took to make sure everyone in the bank got out alive, to make sure Tate made it home. The thought of dying was horrible, but the thought of Tate dying was something Will couldn't even imagine. He never thought they'd be here—he never imagined that Tate would've wormed her way into his heart, or that he would've wanted to be her father. But there was nothing he wanted more in the world, and fathers did whatever they could to protect their children.
"Brown hair blue eyes sitting in between the boy and the girl?" Matthew inquired, and Will confirmed it with a nod.
"Alright, you have my word," the man assured him.
Will slowly approached the King, forcing himself not to meet Tate's eyes; if he did, he wouldn't be able to do this.
"Why aren't you dead yet?" the King asked.
"Let these people go," Will told him.
"I can't, we need them,".
"We? A ton of agents are about to burst through those doors and you're the only bad guy I see here,".
Will knew this was his only chance to get the hostages out. He needed to convince the King that his partner was working against him, otherwise it was all over and his efforts had been for nothing.
"You don't know what you're talking about," the King argued.
"She's setting you up to take the fall for this, boy,".
"And how would you know that?" the Queen asked as she came back into the room.
Will swore under his breath knowing his only opportunity was gone.
"Maybe we should let them go," the Queen told the King.
"Why would we do that?" he asked, annoyed.
"We'll just take the ever so helpful detective along with us for leverage. That way we can make a run for it and they can't shoot us on sight," she explained as she tilted her head towards the door, indicating to the team waiting outside.
"Alright, fine, they can go," the King said.
As everyone started to cautiously stand up, Will noticed the Queen looking through a familiar wallet. Somehow she must've grabbed it after he got shot. The woman suddenly glanced up with recognition in her eyes and looked through the crowd that was about to leave. Will felt a flash of panic course through him, as he knew what she had discovered.
"How sweet, we can make it a family adventure," the Queen said, holding up a picture she had pulled from Will's wallet. It was a family photo of him, JJ, and the kids from the day Grant took them out on the boat. Up until that moment, it had been one of his favorites, but now he planned on burning it the minute he got home.
The hostages had looked up at the sound of the Queen's voice, and Will noticed Tate freeze at the sight of the photo.
"Come here," the Queen said, waving Tate over.
Tate started to slowly walk over while everyone else stood still, but Will quickly threw himself between the Queen and Tate.
"No, she goes with them," Will said firmly.
"I don't think so, Detective. How else are we supposed to keep you in line?".
"You don't need her, you have me," he said, trying to convince the Queen.
"If you wanna be difficult about it, you have two options," the Queen said, suddenly pointing her gun straight at Tate. "Either you both come with us, or you can come by yourself and she can leave with a bullet in her head,".
Will was able to recognize when he'd been backed into a corner. He knew his best option, really his only option was to just agree to have Tate come with them. At least he'd be with her and could try his best to keep her safe. He glanced at Tate apologetically, and she gave a tiny nod, knowing she had to come.
"Alright, she'll come,".
"Excellent," the Queen replied coolly.
"Let's go then," the King said as he pointed the barrel of his gun at Will's back and forced him to walk forward.
As they headed towards the back hallway, the King making sure Will didn't try anything and the Queen keeping an eye on Tate and the hostages, Will could hear the rest of the group start filtering out the door. They had just made their way out the back entrance and into a black SUV when Will heard the deafening noise of an explosion. He glanced back at the bank to see it in flames and just hoped everyone had made it out on time. At the Queen's prompting, Will and Tate climbed into the back of the SUV, and the King pulled onto the street.
Morgan helped JJ up, both of them unsteady on their feet after the explosion.
"Did Will get out?" JJ asked in a panic, whipping her head around to look through the crowd.
"Go see if you can find him and check on Tate, I'll go inside and look around," Morgan told her.
JJ nodded hesitantly before heading back to where the hostages were being held behind the barricade. Most of them were either being interviewed by police or being checked out by EMTs, but JJ couldn't find Will. As she looked around, she noticed a head of bright red hair poking through the crowd. Knowing it was Ellie, she pushed her way through the mass of people until she got to Ellie, who was sitting on the back of an ambulance with Carter. When he saw her coming, Carter stood up and walked to meet her.
"Carter, have you seen Tate?" she asked the boy hurriedly.
"JJ…they took her and Will with them," he said slowly, still in shock from what had happened.
JJ shoved the panic that was building inside of her down and forced herself to stop and think. Tate and Will couldn't afford for her to freak out, they needed her to come up with a plan.
"What do you mean they took them?".
"They wanted leverage, I guess," Carter explained as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I have to get back to the team," JJ told him and turned on her heel to head back to the team, but Carter stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"Just…just find them okay?" he said as he stared JJ in the eye.
It suddenly struck JJ just how much Carter cared for her daughter. She had always passed off their relationship as just some high school fling, but she was beginning to realize that Carter might actually love Tate. To be fair, JJ thought they were way too young for that, but it's not like she could stop the boy from feeling the way he feels. Carter had been stuck in her mind as the 14-year-old she met almost 18 months ago, but he wasn't that kid anymore. He was 16 now and towered over her, being almost five inches taller than her and nearly two inches taller than Will. Somewhere along the line, the kid had grown up into a young man.
"I will, Carter, I promise," she assured him.
Tate sat silently in the back of the SUV as Izzy and Chris bickered in the front. They'd stopped by an ambulance and forced the EMT to patch Will up, so at least they didn't have to worry about him bleeding to death anymore. Will had tried to hide it from her, but she knew they'd killed the EMT too. Suddenly, the car pulled over onto a side street and lurched to a stop.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the plan," Chris snapped at Izzy.
Izzy fired several rounds into Chris' chest, and Will heard Tate let out a tiny whimper. Izzy pointed the gun at him and told him to get Chris out of the car. He sighed and sent one final look at Tate, knowing he had to do this to keep them both safe, before climbing out of the car. A few minutes later, Izzy had Will pull over to another side street, and they sat there waiting for a few minutes.
Tate tried to keep herself from panicking as she remembered the last time they had stopped. What if Izzy was planning on getting rid of Will just like she got rid of Chris? Will just sat in the front seat, frozen in place, waiting for Izzy to make a move. He wanted to do something because anything was better than staying there like a sitting duck, but he knew that complying was their best chance of making it out alive. The back door of the car opened and Tate froze as Will glanced in the rearview mirror to see who it was.
"Hi, Will," Matthew said, clapping him on the back.
He should've seen it coming. Why wouldn't they have another man on the inside? And of course, it didn't help that he'd told Matthew everything about JJ and Tate. He quite literally helped the enemy escape. Will felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt and regret that he didn't listen to JJ. He never should've gone into the bank. Maybe if he'd stayed outside, everyone would've gotten out safely. But that was just a maybe, and Will wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he'd done nothing and Tate had gotten hurt.
"So, what's this one named?" Matthew asked as he looked over at Tate.
Tate didn't like the way the man was looking at her, and neither did Will. It reminded both of them of the situation with Freddie Carlisle, and while Tate and Will had made it out unscathed, there was no guarantee this situation would end the same way. Tate bit her lip and looked away, not wanting to answer the man.
"Are we all just gonna ignore me? Where's the fun in that?" Matthew wondered as he stared Will in the eyes through the rearview mirror.
Will knew with how unstable the pair was that it was best to give them what they wanted. So, as much as he hated it, he told them.
"Tate. Her name is Tate,".
"Now, see, was that so hard?" Matthew quipped.
Will didn't respond and then Izzy pointed the gun back at him and told him to drive. He knew they wanted him to take them to the house, but every single part of him was fighting not to. Everything in him was telling him to keep them as far away as he could from their home, where the boys would just be waking up from their afternoon nap. But even if he did fight them, he'd just end up dead and they'd continue on to the house anyway. So, he slowly pulled out of the street and drove the familiar route home. Matthew stayed in the car as Will, Izzy, and Tate climbed out and entered the front yard through the gate. Izzy shut the wooden fence behind her as Kit and Henry raced over as fast as they could. At almost 15 months old, both boys were sufficient at walking, although Kit was slightly faster out of the pair. However, Henry had noticed him first and eventually ended up in Will's one free arm while Tate grabbed Kit.
"Hey Anna," Will said as he greeted the college student that acted as a nanny for the boys. "This is my cousin, Izzy, so she's gonna watch the boys while JJ and I deal with the case,".
"Ok, well, call me if you need me," she told them.
As they walked towards the house, Anna called out from behind them.
"Hey, Will, get some sleep. You look like hell," she told the man.
Will gave her a small smile. Anna, of course, had no idea that the reason he looked like he was about to drop dead was due to a gunshot wound and blood loss, as well as a lifetime's worth of stress. They headed inside, and Will flicked on the lights before hugging Henry goodbye and setting him down on the floor. He then took Kit from Tate and said goodbye to his other son before settling the brothers in the corner of the living room with some toys.
"You touch my kids, I swear to God I'll kill you," Will warned Izzy as he stared the woman down.
"I already told you, you touch me, he kills her, then you. Do you really want to do that to your kids, be the reason they're orphans?" Izzy taunted him.
Will noticed Tate jolt slightly at Izzy's statement and he pulled her into a tight hug.
"Don't try anything, just do whatever she says, okay? We're all gonna be fine," he promised her and he felt her nod against his chest.
Tate knew Will could make all the promises he wanted, but he couldn't guarantee anything. If there was one thing she'd learned in life it was that promises were made to be broken. After all, no one she'd known had ever really kept one, especially not a foster parent. But she trusted Will, and she knew he'd do whatever it took to get everyone out of this situation alive.
As he left the house and headed back towards the car, everything inside of him was screaming at him to turn around and run back to the kids. But then Matthew would go kill JJ and Izzy would kill him, and he couldn't do that to the kids, they needed him and JJ.
JJ and Rossi had just discovered Will's license was missing from his wallet and were currently speeding towards home. The robbers had almost an hour's head start on them, and JJ didn't even want to begin to imagine what she would find when she got home. If Will wasn't there to protect the kids then nothing would stop Downs and the woman from hurting them. When they arrived she wanted to race inside and find the kids, but Rossi convinced her that they needed a plan. Kate, who lived in the house next to Will and JJ, was playing outside with her daughter. The woman often watched Kit and Henry when Will and JJ needed to leave suddenly and Anna couldn't get there in time. So Rossi headed over to talk to Kate while JJ crept through the back door of the house.
The second the Queen was distracted by whatever was going on outside, Tate grabbed the boys and booked it upstairs. She knew Will had told her not to do anything, but after the woman had told that creepy story to Henry, Tate felt like she could hurt them at any moment. Of course, she'd known earlier that the woman could kill them if she wanted, but she hadn't thought she would until she watched the woman creepily hold Henry and tell him the story.
She ran into Will and JJ's room and set the boys down on the floor of the closet before closing the door behind them. It was dark inside with just a tiny sliver of light coming from the crack between the double doors, but Tate could still make out the clothing in the closet. She grabbed one of Will's belts and wrapped it around both of the door handles. Tate knew it wouldn't do much to delay the woman if she found them, but at least it was something. Sitting down next to the boys, she pulled the one that was closest to her into her lap. Once she was holding him, she realized it was Kit, and she could still see the outline of Henry sitting quietly on the floor.
Soon, Tate heard a loud shattering noise from the hallway and knew that JJ had arrived. The two women were clearly fighting and Tate pulled Kit closer, silently praying that JJ would win. The noises from the fight became louder, and Tate realized they had entered the bedroom. Suddenly, after a loud thud, the room went quiet and one of the doorknobs began to rattle. Tate held her breath as the knob twisted and turned and as someone yanked on the door. If the Queen managed to get into the closet, there was no doubt in Tate's mind that she'd kill them. Tate couldn't let her get to the boys. She was their big sister and older siblings were supposed to protect younger ones, no matter what. She'd always promised to look out for them, just like Theo looked out for her. After a few more seconds, the rattling stopped.
"Tate, open the door," she heard JJ say softly.
Tate quickly complied and removed the belt from the door handles, and JJ flung the door open. JJ quickly grabbed Henry in one arm and wrapped her other around Tate and Kit, holding her kids in her arms. The boys were oblivious to the danger they had been in, but JJ could feel Tate clinging to her. After a few minutes, she pulled back slightly and looked the kids over to make sure none of them had been hurt.
"Are you okay?" JJ asked Tate as she tucked a stray curl behind the girl's ear.
"Yeah, I think so. Is D-Will okay?" Tate replied, hurriedly correcting herself when she almost referred to Will as Dad.
"He'll be fine," JJ assured her, despite the fact that she didn't know if it was true. She couldn't help but let out a small smile at Tate's slip-up, but didn't bring it up since she could tell Tate wanted to ignore it.
Rossi had just gotten a call from Emily that they'd found Will and were taking him to the hospital, so JJ quickly got the kids in the car to go meet him there. When they got to the waiting room, JJ handed Henry to Rossi and turned to Tate who was holding Kit.
"Wait here with Rossi for a few minutes while I go in, okay?" she told Tate.
"Okay," Tate said, looking like she wanted to argue as she bit her lip.
JJ headed down the hall, looking at the room numbers on the doors as she went. When she finally caught sight of Will's room she quickened her pace and upon seeing him raced into his arms.
"They say I need another x-ray," he told her as she buried her face into his chest.
She'd had to keep it together over the past several hours, but now that everyone was safe the true severity of the situation hit her, and all her emotions came flooding back. Will had been shot and almost blown up, her daughter had been held hostage and threatened at gunpoint, and her little boys had been babysat by a psychopath. Will could've died, and she didn't know what she would've done without him. She knew she had a habit of distancing herself, of holding others at arm's length to protect herself, but she loved Will more than anything else in the world except for the kids.
"Hey, come on. No tears, it's okay. The kids are safe and it's all gonna be fine," Will assured her as he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
Emily had told him the kids were safe, and although he still wanted to see them to make sure for himself, he knew she wouldn't lie to him. So, he told himself that since the kids were safe and he and JJ were okay, there was nothing to worry about. Will hadn't even realized how badly JJ had been shaken up by the situation until now. Earlier she'd been distancing herself and stayed practical like she always did, but now it was finally getting to her.
As Will comforted JJ, it finally hit her; she wanted to marry Will. He'd asked her twice, and both times she'd shot him down despite the fact that she wasn't sure why. The first time he'd asked she'd been convinced he was just doing it because she was pregnant, and when he asked again just after the boys were born, it hadn't seemed like the right time. But now, she was certain that she wanted to spend the rest of her life as Will's wife, not just his girlfriend.
"Ask me again," she said quietly and she saw a flash of confusion go through his eyes.
"What?".
"Ask me,".
Will suddenly realized what she meant and a grin spread across his face as he pulled her closer.
"Jennifer Jareau, will you marry me?" he asked.
"Yeah," JJ replied, smiling.
"Oh, it's about damn time," he said laughing.
It had been one of the worst days of their lives, but right now Will just wanted to put it all behind them and move on. Their family was safe, and he and JJ were finally going to get married. So, despite the dangers that he'd faced earlier in the day, he couldn't help but be completely happy at the moment.
JJ and Tate sat in one of Rossi's guest bedrooms upstairs, getting ready for the wedding. JJ's mother had brought her dress, and JJ had just finished trying it on.
"So, how do I look?" JJ asked Tate, who was already wearing a light blue dress.
"It's perfect," Tate told her.
JJ looked at herself in the mirror; her mother's dress somehow fit her perfectly. As she glanced at the neckline, she noticed her necklace looked somewhat out of place with the rest of the dress. It was her sister's, so she wanted to wear it but it simply didn't look right. As she looked over at Tate, she came up with the perfect solution and undid the clasp.
"Could you wear this for me tonight?" she asked her.
"Are you sure?".
Tate knew the necklace had been JJ's sister's, and that it was one of her most important possessions. But JJ only nodded, so Tate allowed her to fasten the necklace around her neck, the heart resting just slightly above the gold pendant given to her by Harlan. As JJ put the necklace on her, Tate couldn't help but see the motherly way she gently brushed aside her hair. Tate had begun to realize that the more time she spent with JJ and Will, the more she longed for them to be her real parents. But tonight was about Will and JJ, so she shoved aside her feelings as the door to the bedroom opened just a bit.
"Mind if I join the party?" Amelia asked as she stuck her head in the door.
"You made it!" JJ exclaimed as she hugged her soon-to-be-sister-in-law.
"Of course we did,".
"Well, Will was a little worried you wouldn't," JJ explained.
"That's what happens when you decide to have a wedding at the last minute," Amelia chided as she hugged Tate.
"Have you been to see Will?" JJ asked.
"Yeah, Beck's with him now. Trust me, he's much calmer right now than Beck was on our wedding day,". Tate and JJ both laughed at that, imagining Beck, who was always so put together, freaking out. "I'm pretty sure Bill had to remind him that breathing is necessary to keep living," Amelia continued.
Another knock at the door drew JJ's attention, and she turned to find Rossi standing in the doorway.
"We're all set downstairs," he told her.
"You ready?" her mother asked her.
"Yeah," JJ said as she took a deep breath and smoothed down her dress.
Two short hours later, Will and JJ were married. Will couldn't help but smile as he looked at their family all on the dance floor. Everyone he and JJ loved was there, and it couldn't be more perfect. Of course, it also helped that he was currently dancing with his wife. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of calling JJ that. The rest of JJ's team was dancing with each other, along with Beck and Amelia, while Tate, Asher, and Ezra were watching the twins and Jack. As Will swayed back and forth on the floor with JJ, he noticed Beck approaching them.
"You better not be trying to cut in," Will joked.
"Before I forget," Beck said as he smacked Will on the back of the head.
"What the hell was that for?" Will asked as he rubbed his head.
"Getting shot like an idiot,".
"What are you really doing over here, huh?".
"Maybe I'm just here to give you your wedding present," Beck argued.
"We gave you all of a day's notice for the wedding, meaning the best thing you could've gotten us is a toaster," JJ said.
"Oh, you think so, huh?" Beck asked, pulling a manilla envelope out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Will. "I found this at the house when Amelia and I were dropping our stuff off,".
Since Amelia and Beck were staying with the kids while Will and JJ went for a quick honeymoon, they'd gone to Will and JJ's house first to get rid of some of their things. Will turned the envelope over and scanned the front, pausing slightly once he understood what it was. The envelope was addressed to Mr. William LaMontagne Jr. and Ms. Jennifer Jareau, from the District of Columbia Department of Child and Family Services. Will knew it could only be one thing, and he was almost afraid to open it. It was, after all, the paper that would change their lives.
JJ had also frozen once she read the envelope and waited quietly and Will opened it and pulled out a sheet of paper.
"Well?" Beck asked.
"I guess you're getting a niece, Beck," Will said softly as he broke out into a grin.
Will kissed JJ firmly before pulling her into a hug as he laughed. He'd been waiting for this moment for well over a year, the moment Tate could finally be theirs. She could finally be safe and stay right where she belonged. JJ pulled away from Will after a few moments and took the paper to read for herself, not quite believing it. Ever since they applied for the adoption, there'd been this piece of doubt inside her. No matter how much she tried to convince herself, she'd been convinced they were going to lose another child. But now, no one would ever be able to take her daughter from her.
As he looked over at Beck, Will noticed his brother standing there with a goofy smile on his face. Before he could say anything, Beck drew him into a tight hug and clapped him on the shoulder.
"I'm happy for you, Willie," Beck told his little brother seriously, and Will simply nodded in response.
Will noticed Tate looking at them from where she was standing and waved her over.
"Did you tell her yet?" Beck asked them, and JJ shook her head.
"Guess I'll leave you to it then," Beck said before wandering off to see the boys.
"What's up?" Tate asked when she arrived in front of them.
"Let's go over here," Will said, wrapping an arm around Tate and steering her slightly away from the party into the quieter area of the yard.
"Is everything okay?" Tate asked, concerned.
"Everything's fine, sweetie," JJ assured her.
JJ and Will were smiling, which made Tate slightly less worried, but she still thought they were acting weird. Ever since she'd seen them talking to Beck with serious looks on their faces, there'd been a pit in her stomach. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
"We just wanted to see what you think about this," Will told Tate as he handed her a piece of paper.
Tate could read incredibly fast, almost as fast as Reid could, and yet she had to re-read the document several times for her brain to actually process it. Will and JJ had applied to adopt her; they wanted her. For the first time in over half her life, someone actually wanted her. For the past eight years, she'd been tossed around from family to family, most of them who couldn't wait to get rid of her. But JJ and Will never wanted to get rid of her, they wanted her to stay forever. Tate's breath caught in her throat and she slowly glanced up to see Will and JJ smiling at her.
"So?" JJ asked.
"You're…you're sure?" Tate wondered.
Will's smile faded slightly and a sad look went across his face. He wanted to kill the people that made his daughter think like this; to make her convinced that no one wanted her. The poor kid looked almost confused as to why JJ and Will wanted to do this. Then again, why waste his energy on those people? Because if there was one thing he was sure of in his life, it was that no one was ever going to hurt his daughter again, and she'd never doubt that she was loved. Will bent down slightly so he was looking Tate straight in the eye and lightly rested his hands on her shoulders.
"Kiddo, we've never been more sure of anything in our lives," he promised her and JJ nodded her agreement.
Before Will could even blink, Tate had thrown herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as he laughed.
"I guess that's a yes, huh?" he asked.
He could feel Tate nod in response against his chest, and he knew from the light sniffles coming from the girl that she was crying. Will, however, hadn't noticed he was until JJ brushed a tear from his cheek. He looked over at his wife to find that she also had tears running down her face, but was smiling nevertheless. After all, how could they not be smiling? They were getting everything they'd ever wanted.
After a few minutes of Tate clinging to him, she abruptly let go and hugged JJ with the same ferocity. JJ buried her face in the girl's hair as she held her daughter tight. JJ wanted to kick herself for ever doubting that she wanted to be a mother to Tate. Tate, who was the sweetest, smartest, most loving kid she'd ever met. Will smiled softly as he watched his girls together. For once in Tate's life, everything was perfect. She had a home, and a family that loved her, and they weren't going anywhere. She'd never been able to feel completely safe since the day Thomas and Lauren Jacobs died, but here in her mother's arms, she'd never felt more protected.
"You never know the biggest day of your life is the biggest day, not until it's happening. The days you think are going to be big ones, they're never as big as you make them out to be in your head. It's the regular days, the ones that start out normal. Those are the days that end up being the biggest. You don't recognize the biggest day of your life, not until you're right in the middle of it. The day you commit to something or someone. The day you get your heart broken. The day you meet your soulmate. The day you realize there's not enough time because you want to live forever. Those are the biggest days, the perfect days." –Izzy Stevens