JJ, Emily, and Penelope departed the mobile command center as Matt, Tara, Walsh, Will, and Primrose emerged from the house.
But…
"Huh…" Emily mused.
Beside her, JJ said, "I also see it."
Penelope added her own commentary. "This is like the end of 101 Dalmatians, and the humans realize that their pets came back with a lot more than fifteen puppies. We just saved almost a dozen people from human trafficking today."
"I will definitely take that win." Emily decided.
"Same here." JJ deposited a stack of blankets she was carrying. "Hold on to these, Em. I have to go see my sister."
The profiler weaved her way through those working to comfort the rescued people, and called out. "Katherine!"
She lit up when she saw who had said her name. "JENNY!"
The sisters ran to each other and embraced.
"Oh, Katherine." JJ held her out at arm's length. "I am so happy to see you. How did you get a message to me? We were trying to figure that out."
"I forgot until the last second that I was wearing a smart watch, actually." Katherine showed it to her. "I sent the SOS moments before it died. What do you think?"
"I think you were extremely clever." JJ praised her. "We were only looking for you and five of these kids, Katherine. You helped bring five more to safety that we didn't even know about."
Katherine spoke faster, her English accent suddenly sounding heavier than usual. "Woah. It was already a relief to see Will as a first responder, and now this…"
JJ rubbed her sister's back. "We know about Faith, Hope, Dev, Dashel, and Esai, but who are the others? Will you introduce me?"
"You bet. Follow me."
The kids had been standing nearby in a tight cluster. They trusted the police, the paramedics, the police, and the FBI, but they trusted Katherine the most. She was their anchor. Their savior.
The little ones placed their trust in JJ at once because it had blown their minds that she'd actually shown up. To them, this was nothing short of amazing. A miracle. This was how JJ learned the names of the previously unknown kids. Alexa, Jude, Melody, Paris, Teagan. Each were safe now because Katherine had looked after them.
It was days like today that reminded JJ why she had chosen to become an FBI agent.
She knelt down in front of the Ridley twins in particular. "Faith? Hope? How are you doing?"
Faith furrowed her brow. "Did Zephie get in trouble?"
"Yes, but he's going to get help." JJ told her.
"Do you promise?"
JJ nodded. "I do."
Faith's bottom lip trembled. "I-is it okay to still love him?"
"That's what I was thinking!" Hope factored in quickly.
"It's definitely okay to still love your big brother." JJ hugged both toddlers again. "I have a surprise for both of you from your mama."
The girls were first astonished, and then elated when JJ presented them with their favorite toys. The gesture earned her their complete loyalty. When JJ told the twins that the paramedics were going to make sure that everything was okay, and even give them new things to wear, Faith and Hope were very cooperative. The rest of the kids followed their example.
While Emily and Penelope oversaw this part of the situation, JJ looked for Katherine again. She had moved away from the main throng. Now she was off to the side, watching things play out. Will stood with her.
"Katherine hasn't said anything, cher." Will told his wife when she joined them.
"I'm just trying to catch my breath." Katherine looked from one LaMontagne to the other. "Please tell me one of you knows where Olivia is."
"We do. She's with August, Aurora, and Lucy. We're in Dunn Loring." JJ informed her calmly. "It's about a twenty-five minute ride from where you started today."
Katherine began to calm down. "How on earth did Olivia even cross yours and Will's paths if you work in two separate divisions of law enforcement?"
The LaMontagnes gave her the civilian version of events.
Katherine felt stunned by the end. "So the stars and planets aligned to make sure that out of all the people in the world that Olivia could have run into, it was JJ's mother?"
"That's right." JJ said.
"Sandy's timing has always been very on point." Will tacked on.
"So if she showed up, and August, Aurora, and Lucy made it to D.C. from Baltimore, what of my mother?"
"Hannah is waiting back at the station."
Katherine moved back to her sister, wanting her sole focus. "What of our father? Have you seen him?"
JJ pulled no punches because she wanted her sister to know the truth. "I did see Clifford for the first time since I was eleven, and the encounter triggered a panic attack. It even put me in the hospital for a minute."
"I'm sorry!" Katherine cried quickly.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. None of what happened today is your fault." JJ gave Katherine a kind smile. "None of it."
Will came to the rescue of Katherine's guilt. "Something really good came from JJ being admitted."
"What was it?" Katherine said in bewilderment.
Will beamed. "We found out that she's pregnant—with twins."
Katherine congratulated them, and then changed lanes by squatting down. The feelings she'd been keeping contained all day where making her feel overwhelmed.
"You must think I'm being so odd." she sighed.
Will and JJ knelt with her.
"We don't think anything like that. We're on your side." Will also took on a comforting tone. "You just spent the day putting ten kids before yourself, even when you were so frightened. It's okay to feel things. You deserve it."
"My brain has been doing a million jumping jacks lately because I found out last week that I'm pregnant again. I just haven't told anyone but the two of you."
"Why's that?"
"I'm still coping with the loss of my husband, and trying to figure out how to raise two kids without him now. Part of the reason we came to D.C. was to see you guys." Katherine did her best to smile at Will. "I love my parents, but they can be smothering..."
Will rubbed Katherine's shoulder in comforting way. "So you just wanted to get some space from them?"
"Yes. Is that wrong?"
"Not at all. Our door is always open, and we love you so much."
JJ nodded in agreement. "Come for dinner soon—you need to meet your nephews, and Olivia needs to meet her cousins. We can talk about whatever you want."
Katherine hugged them. "Thank you both for everything."
"We're family." JJ gave her an extra hug. "Will and I are here for you in the bad times, and the good. Always."
"In that case, is it time to go? I need to be with Olivia."
They were all on the road, having piled into the mobile command center, in less than an hour.
Faith and Hope stuck with JJ on the ride back to town. This tickled her. It also caused her to wonder if the pair of miracles growing inside her were girls. She loved having sons, but she had always hoped for even one daughter. Maybe the universe would grant her this. Maybe.
After seeing Alexa, Jude, Melody, Paris, and Teagan off with awaiting social workers, reunions were had.
JJ even had her own special project.
She approached Katherine. "Have you heard from any of the Jareaus?"
"Will told me that August got in touch with him to say that they went for a bite to eat because Olivia and Lucy were hungry."
"Any idea on when they'll be back?"
Katherine checked her phone. It had been returned to her, and was now charging on a portable charger. "August just sent me a text to say that they'll be here in about ten minutes."
"Good." JJ said. "Then you have time to help me with something."
"Reuniting Faith and Hope with their parents?" Katherine guessed.
"Uh-huh. They also stepped out, but should be back any moment."
"I see. Then I will follow your lead."
So JJ addressed the twins. "How are you both feeling?"
Faith yawned and signed what JJ assumed was the word for tired.
Hope nodded emphatically. "I wanna go home."
Out of the corner of her eye, Katherine spotted Kent and Spring Ridley entering the room. "That should be happening very soon. You two might want to look around now."
The twins did just this, shrieking when they saw their parents and ran to them.
Will strolled over to JJ and Katherine at this point.
"This happy ending is a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" he said to his sister-in-law.
She nodded. "Oh, yes."
"Days like today are why we do what we do."
"He's right." added JJ. "For all the bad times, there are so very, very good days."
"Then I'm very glad I could be here for a good day." Katherine smiled warmly at the LaMontagnes. "I'm also very proud of the work that both of you do."
"Thank you, sweetheart." JJ said as they hugged her. "That means a lot. We really appreciate it."
The Ridleys approached as JJ, Will, and Katherine broke apart.
"SSA Jareau," Kent said to JJ. "Thank you for bringing our girls back safely to us."
"You are very welcome, although," JJ steered Will over. "My husband, Sergeant LaMontagne, was one of the first responders during the initial rescue."
Kent Ridley shook Will's hand. "Thank you, sir."
"We're very pleased that Faith and Hope are back where they belong." Will told him. "They rode all the way back here with my wife."
"Wow."
Spring Ridley walked up to the only member of the trio who hadn't spoken yet. "You must be Katherine."
She turned slightly pink at being noticed. "I am. Someone had to be the kids' person, so I stepped up for them."
"Are you a mom?" Spring asked curiously.
"Yes. That's what made it so easy for me to take care of everybody."
Kent stepped towards Katherine. "The other agents told us that our son Zephyr—the girls' older brother—was part of this whole thing. Did you see him?"
"I did. He was a little scary," Katherine admitted. "But he had a change of heart near the end because he said he was going to help us all escape."
This piece of information genuinely surprised Kent. "Do you have an idea what prompted that change in the tide?"
"Zephyr began expressing strong remorse at scaring Faith and Hope."
Kent let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Okay. Thank you—we needed to hear that."
Spring turned towards JJ. "Is there anything else that yours or your husband's agencies need from us?"
"No, Spring. You and your family may go home."
"Thank you again. We'll be on our way."
Things didn't even slow down after the Ridleys took their leave.
"MUMMA!"
Katherine's heart turned a cartwheel at the sound of Olivia's voice cutting through the air.
She turned around just in time to see her daughter barreling towards her at full speed. With ease, Katherine caught Olivia and held her close in a warm hug. The Jareaus watched from a few feet away.
"Oh, my sweetest Livvie-lou." Katherine pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead. "I really missed you."
Olivia put a hand to Katherine's cheek to make sure she was truly there. "Me, too! You!"
JJ watched the Spellingses chat with each other. She found it amazing that neither one of them had broken down from all that had happened since leaving their house in Baltimore.
That's what made her sad to break the spell. "Katherine?"
She looked away from Olivia. "Yes?"
"I'm sure you're dead on your feet for a number of reasons now, so I'll be fast—we learned about your new house during the investigation because we met Bex Alvez. She was a tremendous help."
"Really? I guess the cat's out of the bag with my surprises." Katherine laughed softly. "I'm not even mad."
"Excellent—call Bex and tell her that. She was extremely concerned."
"I'll call her later, then."
JJ continued, "Call me after you've had time to crash on a bed. I really want you to meet everyone else, especially my sons. How does that sound?"
"Really perfect." Katherine said. "I'm really looking forward to that."
"So am I."
They turned to face the Jareaus, only to see that all of them were staring.
JJ rolled her eyes. "What?"
Hannah remarked, "Those are some incredibly strong genes."
"Incredibly strong." echoed August.
Even Clifford could see the resemblance between his daughters. It was eerie.
JJ and Katherine could both see him processing this.
"Dad?" they said together.
"You're both beautiful." Clifford offered them.
Katherine grinned at the compliment.
JJ's heart just jumped. It was going to take awhile before she would be fully used to hearing kind words from her own father.
"Thank you." she and Katherine answered in unison.
Hannah hugged both of her daughters and then passed Katherine to the rest of the clan.
After checking on Katherine and giving her an extra hug, she passed her on to the others.
Then she only had eyes for JJ. "Thank you, my girl."
JJ felt like she could have started crying on the spot. Already she'd learned that Hannah loved her children fiercely. All of them. JJ also realized that using such a special term of endearment on her must have taken her stepmother a tremendous amount of strength. It made her love Hannah even more.
"You're so very welcome, Hannah." JJ hugged her. "I'm glad to know you now."
She then cast a look over at Clifford, arching an expectant eyebrow.
He gave her an awkward wave.
Coward, thought JJ.
It hurt her deeply that Clifford hadn't even been strong enough to say thank you. He'd made eye contact, but he couldn't even thank her for bringing Katherine back safe. What kind of a man was her father?
JJ merely returned the wave with a nod of acknowledgement.
Will broke the tension by taking the initiative in saying good-bye to his in-laws. JJ followed suit after another beat of ruminating. She was not going to fall down the rabbit hole. Not tonight. She had no time or energy.
When the rest of the family had also gone, the LaMontagnes escaped to a side room, away from the noise of the station. A moment alone was needed.
JJ looked at Will as if he was the only person in the world. "How are you?"
"I'm pleased that the case ended well, and I'm overjoyed that we saved so many people." he hugged JJ. "I'm also incredibly proud of you for wanting to work the relationships you have with your side of the family. That takes a lot of courage."
These words from Will immediately lifted JJ's mood about her father. "Thanks. I love you."
Will kissed his wife. "I love you, too. I also don't have enough words to say how happy I am that you're pregnant."
"Miracles happen." JJ smiled as she thought of their twin babies. "The family that you and I made together is living proof of that."
"I would never have our lives together any other way than how they've happened."
JJ gently nipped Will's jawline with a few of her own kisses. "We wouldn't be who we are without the people we've met, or the experiences we've had. I couldn't imagine being on this journey with anyone else but you."
"I agree, darling. I agree." Will hugged JJ closer. "The best is yet to come."