Zhangxinna, I'm so happy you're back XOXO

Emily made to excuse herself after the ultrasound portion of the appointment. She was nearly to the door when JJ called out.

"Please wait, Emelise!"

She stopped in her tracks at the sound of her rarely-used first name. It was listed on her confidential service record—but her preferred name was on the records that were open to the rest of the agency. Only one person amongst her friends had earned the privilege of learning the name that she had been born with.

She turned to face her partner. "Yes, Jennifer?"

"Are you going to go talk to the others now?"

Emily nodded. "That's the plan."

"Then take these." JJ held out the freshly-printed sonogram images of her youngest children. "Use them for emphasis when you talk to Hannah and my dad, okay? Just don't tell anyone outside of our family."

Emily tucked the pictures into the pocket of her inside jacket. "Okay. Anything else?"

Will handed Emily a family picture from his wallet. "JJ and I are going to have a chat about how far we let Clifford into our lives, but he should at least see a recent picture of us."

"Of course." Emily tucked the picture away with the others. "Thank you for trusting me with these."

JJ called out again. "Will you ask my mom to come here? I really want to see her."

"I'll make sure she gets here. See you later."

Emily took her leave of the LaMontagnes, to encounter Sandy first when she got to the waiting room.

"How is JJ?" she asked. "I'm flashing back to when she was nine."

"She's actually asking for you, and," Emily furrowed her brow as she processed all of what had been said. "What the hell happened when she was nine?"

Sandy smirked. "She never told you? Jenny broke her leg when she was tree climbing with Roslyn—she missed a branch and fell right out."

"Oh, my God."

"It gets worse."

"Of course it does." Emily sighed. "Did the recovery process make her go haywire?"

"In a manner of speaking. Jenny had a rather bad reaction to the pain meds, and they somehow triggered a fever. That made her hallucinate."

"What the hell?"

Sandy laughed now at Emily's bewilderment. "It's true. Most hospital-grade painkillers, and all fevers have made her hallucinate, ever since."

Emily shook her head in wonder. "I never would have guess those quirks of JJ."

"Nobody would. Is right now the first time you've left her side since the fainting spell?"

"Yes."

"Then you for always taking care of my daughter."

Sandy hugged Emily and then looked at her with the same kind of intense gaze that JJ had met her with so many times in the past.

"What room is she in, please?"

"305. I'm sure someone can give you directions."

"Thank you, Emily." Sandy said again. "I have something to do before I go see Jenny."

The older woman headed in the opposite direction of JJ's room. Emily's heart skipped a beat in a not-so-fun way when she scanned the waiting room after that to find that Clifford was absent. She couldn't take too long in putting out that fire.

"But you don't have time." Emily scolded herself. "They're adults who have a history together. You have people to talk to."

She scanned the room yet again.

August and Aurora, along with Lucy and Olivia, were on a couch together. Each person looked lost in their own thoughts. On balance, Emily elected to leave them alone.

Her sights fell next to a woman at the opposite end of the room. She was alone, and facing a big panoramic window. She was dressed very nicely in a way that suggested prominence, and even her voluminous blond hair had been styled into an extravagant hair bun. Had she been somewhere fancy that day?

But Emily this woman could only be one person.

"Pardon me," Emily said as she stood beside her. "But are you Hannah Jareau?"

The woman turned to her and nodded. She even spoke with an English accent heavier than August's.

"Yes, I'm Hannah." she studied Emily. "And you must be one of JJ's people."

"Mhm." the brunette extended a hand. "I'm Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss."

They shook hands.

"I'm JJ's partner and CO, but she's always been one of my closest friends."

"I'm glad you came here with her. How is she?"

"JJ's awake, sitting up, and talking." Emily said.

"That's a relief, but she must hate me. What do you know about me?"

If this was any other situation, Emily would have pounced on Hannah by now because of her loyalty to JJ, but this was reality.

So she conducted herself with professionalism. "I know that you are Clifford Jareau's second wife. I also know you are August's and Katherine's mother."

At the mention of her missing daughter, Hannah looked like she wanted to cry. "Any news on my girl?"

Emily shook her head. "Nothing that I've been informed of yet, but finding people is a skill that my team has always excelled at. The team also knows that Katherine is a widow."

Hannah sighed. "She said that she and Philemon were trying for their second child before he departed for his last deployment. I don't know if anything's come of it, but..."

"Katherine could be expecting." Emily realized. "I'll make that my people and the detectives are made aware of this."

"I appreciate that." Hannah steered her thoughts in a new direction. "Cliff and I aren't monsters, you know."

The abrupt change threw Emily. "Excuse me?"

"I see it in your eyes: your expression says 'investigator,' but your eyes are saying 'best friend of JJ.' Am I wrong?"

"No. She's the closest friend I've ever had in my life." Emily replied. "I care a lot about her."

"And I rest my case. When I met Cliff, I was a bright-eyed twenty year old, working in a coffeehouse to myself through elite photography lessons."

This piqued Emily's interest. "What do you do?"

Hannah stood proudly. "I work at the same zoo as August and Aurora, but I'm the director of public relations. I also shoot all of the zoo's promotional photography."

"That's really neat. What does your husband do?"

"Cliff was a math professor back then, but he's retired now. I fell for him on the spot."

"Did you know about the divorce?"

"Yes, and I felt sorry for him about it. He also told me about Roslyn." Hannah shook her head sadly. "On the nights it hurt Cliff the most, I just held him. Do you know how his and Sandy's marriage was during the last few years?"

"Tumultuous."

"Precisely. Nothing and no one could have saved them."

"Then why did you support his choice to drop out of JJ's life, Hannah?" Emily demanded. "I've known that woman for twelve years, and today was the first time I utter heartbreak on her face. Clifford looked straight through her because there was no recognition on his part."

Hannah had the decency to look ashamed of herself. "Honestly, the only reason I never took the option off the table was because I was too young and full of it in those days to think about any longterm damage. What I did see was that Cliff needed to restart. He felt that leaving behind all aspects of Pennsylvania behind—even his traumatized grieving child—was the right call. I would change that choice if I could."

"Then I take it that you regret making it?"

"Deeply, especially because having August and Katherine gave me a change of heart. Cliff remains too stubborn to come around." Hannah sighed. "It was his idea to not let the twins know of JJ—or her of them—for those eighteen years because we were both raised on old, traditional ways of thinking like that."

"What happened when you two finally broke the revelation of JJ to the twins?"

Hannah's shame deepened. "August and Katherine were both mad at us for awhile. They might still be angry, even though it's been a few years, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Why?"

"I supported August and Katherine in their choice to seek JJ out, but neither of them have ever told me anything solid about her. Never. I think it's their way of sticking it to me for helping to keep them in the dark."

Hannah surveyed Emily. She was impressed against her will that she hadn't had any bigger of an outburst towards her than what she'd already had.

"What must you think of me?"

Emily thought many things about Hannah, but she still kept her cool. "I think that they choices you made back then were harmful to August, Katherine, and JJ. Today alone, I saw the psychological damage that those choices caused in my friend. It was far from pretty. But… there is one good thing I'll give you."

"What is it?"

"You're showing remorse."

Hannah felt once again like she was going to cry. "I just want to know what my stepdaughter is like, but nobody will say anything—Cliff won't even say her name!"

"JJ is the best friend I've ever had." Emily told her. "She's very kind, wildly smart, and her combat skills are off the charts. I trust with my life because we've save each other many times."

"Wow." Hannah marveled. "What's her family like?"

"They're very close-knit, and they love to have fun together. Everybody loves them." Emily handed Hannah the photograph Will had given her. "Here. This was taken in October."

The image was of the LaMontagnes during a photography session at a park near their house. Emily had been there that day to wrangle Michael when he wasn't having his picture taken. The photographer even invited her in on some shots after awhile. As a result, Emily had pictures with Henry and Michael, JJ and Will each, and the family as a whole. All of the pictures were sitting in frames on her desk in her office. She treasured them.

Hannah was positively spellbound.

"They're so beautiful." she observed. "What's everyone's name? It's never said on the Christmas cards."

"JJ's husband is called Will. He's a sergeant, and he and his partner are the lead police investigators on this case." Emily then indicated the LaMontagne brothers. "These are his and JJ's boys, Henry and Michael. They're best friends."

"How lovely."

"Henry is even about to take a test at school to see if he can get into a higher level man class. Michael is obsessed with soccer." Emily smiled bashfully. "I love the boys as if they were my own."

"Even lovelier."

"I love these little ones already, too."

Emily handed Hannah the sonograms.

She also took a second to have a time-out, mentally.

Being a mother was on her mind because she'd been feeling the march of time in recent years. She'd just been squashing the feelings because she'd found happiness with Andrew Mendoza, but the one time she'd mentioned wanting to be a parent, his response had been to change topics after giving a vague answer. This was enough to plant one small seed of misgivings in Emily's head about him.

However, the couple was never exactly careful when they went to bed together—which was often—and the further Emily ruminated on the matter, the it was occurring to her that something was just different about herself.

She was tired all the time, her appetite was nearly insatiable, and... if her body was any more uncooperative than it had been recently, she was going to be late.

Then she told herself not to be ridiculous because as much as she wanted to be a mother, she was too old to be pregnant now. All of these feelings could be sorted out before bed.

Yes, that sounded like a good plan. So did sleeping like a log.

Emily shook her head to reorganize her thoughts.

Focus, and just stay in the moment, Emelise Adele, she told herself.

Hannah's voice brought her down to earth again. "JJ's pregnant with twins?"

"Yes," Emily confirmed. "She and Will just found out since leaving the station."

"Goodness gracious. Is your life ever quiet?"

Emily put the pictures away when Hannah handed them back. "No, and neither is JJ's, but I wouldn't change a day. Neither would she."

"I'm so glad. JJ looks like she's done well for herself. I'm incredibly happy for her."

Though it was plain to see that Hannah was telling the truth, it was even more plain to see that she was holding something back.

"What is it, Hannah?"

"There must be something in the water." Hannah gave a nervous laugh. "We just found out today that JJ, August, and Katherine are going to be big siblings later this year."

Emily felt her heart skip a beat for the second time already. Could this day get any more odd?

"Cliff isn't happy because he isn't exactly young. I'm hoping he comes around soon." Hannah went on. "I'm over the moon to a mother again—even if the rest of my kids are adults… and I'm less than five years from turning fifty."

Emily worked harder than ever to keep her cool. It was as if the universe was hurling signs at her for something. In the form of her dearest friend's stepmother. Thankfully, Hannah kept talking.

"We ended up in D.C. to eat—one of Cliff's favorite places to eat is down here. I was also trying to snap him from his funk."

"Did it work?"

Hannah shrugged. "I don't know because we got the call to go to the station when we were halfway through the meal. Other than the doctors, Cliff, and I, nobody else knows about kid number four. Will keep it to yourself?"

Emily's burden grew, but she nodded. "You got it."

"Thanks. Do you think a visit to JJ is a good idea? Be honest."

"I do think it's a good idea," Emily decided. "But will you allow me to offer some advice first?"

Hannah nodded. "Please, by all means."

"It would be a good idea to wait until after Sandy's been to see JJ. They probably want to talk their feelings out right now."

"That makes a lot of sense. I can wait."

"Good." Emily approved. "My second piece of advice is to just be JJ's friend. All she knows about you is that you're her father much younger second wife, as well as the person who aided him in the choice to keep quiet about August and Katherine for eighteen years. JJ loves them very much, but she feels robbed."

"I owe her the explanation for that…"

"I'm glad you have one. Do you think you could try to be her friend?"

"I do."

Emily offered Hannah a smile. "That's also good. JJ is not an unreasonable person, so I'm sure she'll come around faster to you than Clifford; she just has a lot on her plate. The fact that you're showing remorse, and seriousness about wanting to patching things up will work well in your favor."

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, so much."

"You're very welcome. Now, I need you to think—is there any reason that Katherine would have made the trek down to D.C. with Olivia? JJ said that everything they need is in Baltimore."

Hannah wracked her brain, and when she came up with an answer, she looked like she wanted to kick herself.

"I don't know why I only just thought of this!" she fretted. "I'm a terrible mother!"

"No, you aren't." Emily soothed. "The important thing right now is that you've remembered."

With renewed confidence, Hannah said, "Katherine told us a few days ago that she was going to go to a support group for war widows."

"That's great. Do you know why she chose to come to a gathering that's almost an hour away? Why not pick one closer to home?"

"She said that the group down here has childcare. The only one by us doesn't."

Emily had her notepad out now and was diligently taking notes now. "Do you know where it meets?"

Hannah stopped to think again. "Somewhere in the Adams Morgan area, I think. Maybe a different hospital or a church?"

Emily made a few more notes, knowing that Penelope would be pleased by these parameters. "Thank you very much. I'm going to let you go now because I have a phone call to make, and I need to talk to your husband."

"Okay. He and I aren't speaking right now, but there's a bridge a little ways back by the nurse's station that connects this building to the next one; you'll probably find him there because overlooks the street. Cliff is a people-watcher."

"Good to know."

"And I feel compelled to warn you—I saw Sandy head in that same direction after she spoke with you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes." Hannah confirmed. "I didn't tell Sandy, but she probably remembered the people-watching habit, too."

"Probably." Emily put her note-taking tools away. "You've been a huge help."

"I'm glad I could give you some insight about my daughter. Good luck with everything."

Hannah left Emily so she could go sit with August, Aurora, Lucy, and Olivia again. She needed them.

Emily left in search of JJ's parents. Her fingers were crossed that things hadn't escalated again.

Just as quickly, her mind was back on the subject of baby fever. JJ's news were stirring up her feelings tenfold. She wanted to be a parent, so it was time to have a serious chat with Andrew on the matter. That was going to be a fun time. Not.

Emily also found herself hoping against hope that the unusual things she'd been noticing about herself lately weren't in her head. She needed everything to be real.

What startled her was that for how ever much she let herself deny the idea of a visit from the stork, the more certain she was that she had already been visited by it.

"How is this my life?" Emily murmured as she headed in the direction of the bridge.

The last time her body had felt like this was the Italy mess.

There was definitely something in the water.