Will did his best to occupy himself after JJ left out dinner. Unfortunately, none of his distractions lasted long.

So he excused himself.

Emily gave her friend a few minutes before going to check on him. She found Will in the home theater. This part of the house was a sanctuary for him.

But he was just sitting in his armchair, staring at nothing.

Emily spoke with caution as she entered the room. "Hey, friend."

"Is this your way?" he asked with a soft laugh as he beckoned her in. "To come act as my conscience?"

"Well, JJ has an uncanny ability to drop from the ceiling when I need someone to talk to." Emily stood in from of him. "All of your quietness now is about her?"

"Yes." Will admitted. "I'm also feeling really restless. What do I do?"

"How about you go for a drive to the store?" Emily suggested. "Get whatever JJ would want for a comfort food meal?"

"You know, that's a really a good idea." Will stood. "Thanks."

"Anything for you. Katherine and I can hold the fort down."

At this, Will checked his watch. "It's almost time for Michael to go to bed. Maybe I should stay..."

"Go clear your head." Emily said firmly. "Everything will be fine. We can handle your baby boy, and it's just a blessing that he and Henry are low-maintenance."

Will folded when he realized that Emily was putting her foot down. "Let me go tell the boys what's happening. I'll set out after that."

"Good man."

Emily watched from a distance as Will spoke to his children.

"Henry, Michael, will you come here for a second?" he asked.

They abandoned their activities and walked over to him.

"Are you going somewhere?" Henry asked, reading into his father's body language.

"Only to the store." answered Will. "There are some things I need to get for your mama. She'll be wanting them later."

Henry's own answer came with indifference because he found the answer satisfactory. "Oh. Okay."

"I'm glad you get it." Will spotted Michael and picked him up. "Do you get it?"

The little boy bobbed his head. "I can go?"

"Not this time, son."

"Hmph." Michael crossed his arms.

"Well, you already have your pajamas on." Will plucked at the sleeper Michael was wearing. "You would be sleeping before we even got there."

This concept tickled Michael greatly because he went from scowling to giggling very quickly.

Will hugged him. "You and your brother are going to hang out with your aunts and your cousin. Does that sound good?"

"Uh-huh!" Michael returned the hug and then yawned as he pushed at Will's chest with both hands. "Bye!"

As Will had one last round of good-byes and then took his leave, he noticed that Henry has his thinking face on. Maybe Emily could help him sort out his woes. That would be good.

Henry parked himself on the couch so could ruminate on his thoughts. Katherine was beside him, working on a knitting project. Olivia was watching her. It wouldn't be long before she fell asleep.

Emily sat on Henry's free side. "What's on your mind, nephew?"

He looked at her in concern. "Aunt Emily, is there something wrong? With my parents?"

"No problems. What makes you ask?"

"They both left the house." Henry elaborated. "It feels a little weird."

Katherine looked up from her knitting. "Your mother had a meeting she already agreed to, and then your dad had to go get some things he didn't get at the store last time. That's all it is."

"Are you sure?"

"Very." Katherine glanced at the other adult in the room. "Right, Emily?"

She nodded quickly. "That's right."

Henry's mood improved a tremendous deal. "Alright. I feel a lot better now."

"That makes me happy to hear, Henry." Emily checked on Michael to see that he had already fallen asleep. "I'm going to go put your brother to bed. Why don't you tell Aunt Katherine some happy things? I bet she'd like to hear."

As Emily left the room with Michael, Henry began telling Katherine all about a school project he was working on. It was even more of a step up from the sulky mood of moments before. Now he would have good dreams when he slept that night.

Will drove with no immediate destination in mind at first. Mostly because his thoughts had gone from JJ to June McCann.

Who was this woman? Where was she? Was she even alive? Why couldn't he remember anything more about her? She had clearly been part of his parents' lives at some point, which meant that she had to have known him. Or about him. So why did everything just come up as a blank?

And where was his mother? Who was she? Was she alive? Perhaps there would be more clues in the book where he had found June's picture. Paradise Lost. Would she want to meet him? Why had she left? Had she realized the kind of life she would be condemning her son to? And where was she now?

Hopefully, they would get all the answers they were looking for.

Will prayed that his 'hopefully' would actually mean 'soon.'

The sergeant's phone rang just as finished loading the groceries into his car. He was quick to get back in the car when he saw that JJ was calling.

"What's up?" Will asked his wife. "Dinner with your old man that bad?"

Sniffling reached his ears; JJ was crying. "It was worse. I had to walk out on him, and I've never done anything like that before. Am I bad?"

"No—not at all. Removing yourself was the perfect call."

JJ sniffled more. "Will, could you please come get me? My car is in the twenty-four hour lot across the street. I can get it in the morning."

"Stay where you are. I'm already out of the house."

"What?" JJ furrowed her brow as she processed this. "Where are you?"

"Never mind that." Will said quickly. "I'm leaving now."

"Thank God. I can't wait to see you."

It felt like record timing in which Will made it to The Forest Fiddler. JJ was easy to spot because she was just outside of the restaurant with someone.

"Who was that, darling?" Will asked as JJ closed her door and buckled her seatbelt.

"The restaurant host. His name is Henry, and he kept me company while I waited for you. He was concerned." JJ wiped her tears. "I'm going to send the manager a kind word on his behalf."

"Well, that's nice. He made that much of an impression?"

JJ half-shrugged. "I might also be partial to the name Henry."

At this last part, Will felt a small ounce of relief that JJ could find it in herself to make even a tiny joke.

He kissed her. "What do you need?"

JJ's bottom lip trembled as her deflection faded.

"Just drive, Will. Anywhere." JJ leaned back in her seat. "Please."

"You got it."

JJ didn't speak until they pulled into the garage, and the door was closing behind them.

"My father is a grade-a jackass." she said bluntly before the rest of the story came pouring out.

Will turned off the car and faced her as his listened with mounting disbelief.

"Now I'm almost sorry that he's back in life. I really was better off without him." JJ said when she was done.

"I'm with you on that." Will finally said. "And I wish I could take the hurt away for you."

JJ heard his words and believed them, but she had already grown distracted. A memory had come back to her.

It didn't take Will too long to cotton on. "What are you thinking about?"

"A great many things flashed before my eyes when Clifford called things picturesque." JJ said sadly. "One particular instance comes to mind."

"The desert?" guess Will.

JJ nodded. "And the miscarriage."

Will felt his on stab of sadness. The loss of their lost child would never be the same for JJ as it would be for him, but he still thought about their angel from time to time. It also broke his heart whenever JJ spoke on this grief because he would never be able to fully comfort her the way he wanted to.

"I am so sorry, Jennifer. That's all I can say."

She shrugged again. "What if I had called you to tell you about Maggie Rose? She would be here today."

"I do wish that you had called me about her, but I understand why it wasn't an option. Michael would have never happened if Maggie Rose was with us. Another kid, probably, but no Maggie Rose Charlotte LaMontagne. Imagine that."

"I can't." JJ said after a moment of trying to imagine her present without her youngest son.

"Good, because neither can I. Sometimes life just happens. Like it did to us." he kissed JJ again. "Without Michael, we wouldn't have paved the road to these two treasures."

Will had put one hand on JJ's midriff, right over the spot where the twins were growing. JJ covered Will's hand with both of hers. This time, she even offered him a genuinely happy smile.

"I certainly can't imagine life without our girls." JJ told him.

"What if we ended up with sons? Again?" Will said in amusement.

"Then I would go crazy. We're getting our baby girls." JJ then caught sight of what was in the backseat. "Were you shopping? Is that what you were doing?"

"Yep. At a suggestion from Emily, I decided to go get you items for a comfort food meal. Those bags have everything we need for my turkey tetrazzini."

JJ beamed because this was her favorite thing to eat. "Wow, babe. Thanks a million. I'm especially pleased because I didn't get around to much eating."

"Let's go change that."

When they entered the house, they found Emily and Katherine playing a card game by the fireplace. Both of them rose to their feet.

Emily said to JJ, "I was just teaching your stepsister the fundamentals of Crazy Eights."

JJ tossed an amused look to the woman in question. "Kit, Emily is the team's reigning Crazy Eights champ. We play a lot of card games on the longer jet rides."

"I'll bet." Katherine gave JJ a puzzled once-over. "How are you here?"

"To say that dinner was bad is an understatement. Our father is awful. May I have a hug?"

Katherine happily followed through. She loved JJ and right then, she was the only other person in the world who could understand how sad she was.

"Are either of you doing anything else right now, other than playing cards?" JJ asked Emily and Katherine when the moment had passed.

"No." they chimed together.

"I already told Will what happened, but I need to tell you two at the same time. Repeating myself a third is not on my list of tasks for the rest of the night."

"So understandable." Emily said. "The kids are all sleeping now."

"We're all yours." added Katherine.

Will held up the grocery bags. "I'll go get started. There's enough in here for all of us to eat."

Emily and Katherine relocated their card game to the kitchen. Will followed them.

JJ proceeded to go upstairs.

When she returned in more comfortable clothes, it was to find the kitchen to be a small hub of activity. Will was in the midst of cooking. Emily and Katherine were at the kitchen island. They had moved on from Crazy Eights and now appeared to be playing Rummy. Quiet piano music drifted through the air from the kitchen speaker. Soft rain hit the windows outside. It was warm in the house. All the people in front of her were content.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked JJ as she sat down on the last barstool.

"Super thankful for family." JJ said. "I'm also ready to talk about what happened, but I need you three to promise me something."

"Name it." the other three said together.

"Besides my mother, I'm only going to share this with one other person. Please don't tell anyone else. Not even August."

"My lips are sealed." Will said first.

"And mine." Emily seconded, already having a distinct feeling about who that 'other person' was.

"You can also count on my lips being sealed." Katherine confirmed. "Take it away."

So JJ recounted the events of her rollercoaster-like evening once more. Emily and Katherine were both unsure of what to say by the end. Everything they had just been told was incredible—but not in a good way.

"What a giant mess." Emily remarked at the end. "How can we help?"

"Will you circle the wagons if Clifford comes back around?"

"The moment he arrives. No questions asked."

"I appreciate that." JJ traced a design on the cloth placemat in front of her. "All the notions I had of introducing the boys to Clifford now seem foolish."

Emily pursed her lips. "I wouldn't go that far. Maybe we should just shove this whole thing for a little while. Work on it another time?"

"Like when?" JJ wanted to know.

"Hopefully before the twins come."

JJ framed her middle with her hands. "That would be cool, but I also told Clifford that he needs to start apologizing to me, Will, you, and Hannah. I'm just not going to hold my breath because it'll probably be awhile."

"That would be correct."

The agents and the sergeant jumped. Katherine had spoken for the first time since JJ's update. She was not happy.

"What makes you say that?" Emily pressed.

"It took my father six months to apologize to me after asking if I really wanted to marry someone in the service." Katherine huffed. "We weren't even living in the country by then."

"Then fingers crossed it doesn't come to a level so drastic." JJ said. "Any suggestions?"

"Don't rush Clifford. He is ridiculously stubborn."

"Just like my mom." groaned JJ. "That's great."

"It's the only advice I've got." Katherine said sheepishly. "And I'm sorry that he was awful."

"None of it was your fault, but thank you for saying that. Is there anything else you can think of?"

"I'm afraid not." Katherine smiled. "Thank you for including me."

"You're my sister." JJ said simply. "I love you."

Katherine smiled at her. "I love you, too."

Emily watched them. As she did, she let her thoughts drift as she briefly entertained the thought of what would have happened if any of her life choices had changed at any point in her life. Even Virginia and Zion wouldn't have crossed her path.

"Hey, Space Cadet." JJ waved a hand in front of Emily's face. "You in there?"

"I'm fine." Emily blinked hard to clear her vision. "I was have having another 'what if' train of thought."

JJ shuddered. "Not a rabbit hole I want to go down tonight."

Will studied Emily. "But you're also thinking about something else. I can see it."

Katherine gave a nod of agreement. "I'm with them."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Even my thoughts aren't safe with you three around. I was thinking of Ginny and her boy."

"Hey, when are we going to meet them?" Katherine blurted. "Inquiring minds need to know."

"Well, I keep trying to ask her that, and I think she's trying to ask me, but we keep getting interrupted."

"That's a bummer. Do you at least have any Valentine's Day plans?"

"Hanging out with them at their place, and having dinner together."

Katherine grinned. "That sounds like fun. I hope you guys will finally get the question out of the way."

"My fingers are crossed for that."

JJ spoke up, although on something unrelated to the topic. "Do you two really think I should let the sleeping dogs lie for now?"

"Yes!" Emily and Katherine said together.

"Well, that's that." JJ glanced over at Will. "And what do you think?"

His answer was very straightforward. "I'm happy if you are, Jennifer."

"Then that really is that." JJ pointed to Will's cooking handiwork. "Need any help?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I have this under control."

When the food was ready, JJ, Will, Emily, and Katherine ate together. It was nice to hang out with some sort of looming peril overhead. They could just be people. A family.

Katherine retired to bed after helping to clear up the dishes. Pregnancy wore her out easily.

Still, Emily and the LaMontagnes remained. It was yet a little early. JJ and Emily could also see that Will was deep in thought, once more.

"What?" Will said in surprise when saw JJ and Emily watching him with crossed arms.

"You're still sitting on something." stated JJ.

"June." said Emily in a one-worded answer.

"Yes," Will confessed. "But earlier, I was also thinking about my mother."

Suddenly, Emily was a tad more talkative. "When? After you left?"

"Mhm. I really did go for a drive before I ended up at the store."

Emily made a humming sound, but said nothing.

JJ picked up the thread. "Any new thoughts?"

"Only one. It's kind of stupid."

"We're all actual crime fighters," deadpanned JJ. "And nothing in this mystery is remotely stupid. Go on."

Will sighed. "Remember how I said June's photo was in my father's copy of Paradise Lost when I found it? Well... what if there's another clue somewhere in the book?"

"I think it's worth a check, especially because you already know that story so well."

"Which is only because my dad read it often." Will recalled. "Senior was also the kind of guy to write in the margins of books he liked."

"Then go for it." JJ told her husband.

Emily tacked on a musing of her own. "Why would June's picture be in a copy of Paradise Lost? I read that when I was fifteen. It's about the creation of Eden—paradise—but highlights how Adam and Eve lost their standing. They were exiled. William Senior was definitely married. Right?"

"Yep." Will established. "He was married to my mother."

Emily chose her words carefully. "Don't shoot the messenger, but what if Senior was involved with June at some point?"

"That would be a hell of a plot twist. What if my mother left because that was the case?"

"I hope that wasn't it." Emily said sincerely. "Do you have more of your Louisiana things in the attic?"

"Yes, actually." Will replied.

"Let's look through them tomorrow."

"Then you two are going to have to do that without me." JJ told them. "I have a feeling that I'll be hanging out with Fitzhugh before the day is out."

"Seize the opportunity if it comes up. Seriously." Will told her. "One of us will set aside anything interesting for you to look at when you get back."

"That's a good idea. I like it."

"So do I." added Emily. "A small change of scenery before we go back to work will do you a lot of good."

Inspired, JJ stood taller. "I'll go run my laundry so I'll have something to wear tomorrow. Just in case."

She left the room.

When Will and Emily were alone, they turned to face each other. Things had fallen quiet very abruptly. Will was even antsy again.

"Talk to me." Emily told him. "What didn't you want to say in front of your wife? I don't have to be a profiler to see that there's another thing on your plate."

"The mystery with my mother is winding up." Will shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I know that you and JJ are bonded in that weird, inexplicable, beautiful way..."

"All one hundred percent true."

"If I have a moment of any sort where I spin out or just get some bad news, would you be my person and just be there for me?" Will sounded like a younger sibling making an appeal to an older one. "Please?"

"Without question. You're my brother." Emily said with compassion. "Are you afraid?"

"Afraid of what we could find." Will emphasized. "This is only the calm before the storm."