Emily had given her father's number to JJ before they all retired for bed, so the next day—Sunday—she stole a moment alone to call him.

The Prentiss patriarch picked up quickly.

"Hello?" came a warm, curious voice.

"Fitzhugh, this is JJ." the blonde greeted him. "I got your number from Emily."

"Is there something the matter?"

"Not with her, no."

Fitzhugh realized where this was going. "Have you seen your father, then?"

"Yes. It was all a travesty." JJ admitted. "Are you busy today?"

"Not at all. Would you like to go somewhere to talk?"

JJ smiled. "I would really love that."

"Excellent. Let's just talk." Fitzhugh checked his watch. "It's just coming up on ten o'clock now. Will please meet me at The Pink Angel? Say twelve-thirty?"

"Alright. The Pink Angel at twelve thirty. See you then."

Fitzhugh echoed her words back. "See you then."

JJ felt much better after hanging up with Fitzhugh. Relieved. Fitzhugh hadn't even asked that many questions because he had heard just in JJ's tone that all she wanted was a companion. They were even going to lunch together.

"Jayje? You good?"

She had made it from a side room to the front of the house without thinking about it, and just as Emily was coming the main staircase.

"Yeah." JJ confirmed. "It's all good. I just called your father."

Emily perked up. "Oh, really? What did Fitzhugh say?"

"After I promised him there was nothing wrong with you—he asked—he deduced that I'd seen Clifford."

"And what did you tell him?"

"The truth. Now he's invited me to meet him at The Pink Angel. He set the time for twelve-thirty." JJ said happily. "Fitzhugh said that we can just talk."

This made Emily even happier. "I've always been very close to my father because of his listening ear."

"Good. Then I'll find Will in a minute to tell him what's going on." JJ pointed to the phone in Emily's hand. "Who did you just get off the phone with? Ginny?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Emily informed her. "There's a possibility of me babysitting Zion in the near future because Ginny has a big meeting on the horizon."

"Did you tell her yes?"

"Mhm." Emily then heaved a sigh when she saw the look on JJ's face. "What? Don't think I don't know your expression of mischief."

"Should that babysitting actually come to pass, bring Zion here. This is your home." JJ kept a poker-straight face. "Tell Ginny that she and Zion will be expected to stay for dinner."

"Wow. You're seriously laying down the tracks, huh?"

JJ dropped her steely demeanor just as quickly. "Things are just a little too slow for my liking."

Before Emily could get so much as a word out, Michael dashed past, giggling like a maniac. The boy was also in just his diaper. Henry was running after him, in the midst of a lecture about he was was the one who should do the measurements in their experiments because he could actually read. Olivia was hot on her cousins' heels. Katherine could be seen at the other end of the hallway with her hands on her hips as she shook her head at what was unfolding. Will called his boys' names from somewhere upstairs. It sounded like something of a mess had been made.

JJ looked at her partner to see that she was at a loss for words. Everything had happened in very quick succession.

"I swear, it's never like this here. What kind of element do you think Zion will add?"

"Hopefully a restorative balance." Emily joked.

"What makes you say tha—"

Henry's loud tone carried through the air as he yelled, "No! I will get the animal crackers! You and Olivia stay put!"

Laughing, Emily headed towards the sound of Henry's voice. JJ headed upstairs to see what Will had found.

Life at the LaMontagne house was never dull.

The Pink Angel was a very quaint café that JJ had been frequenting for many years. Her earliest D.C. memories were filled of spending time at these tables, poring though Rossi's novels. It was also the first place she had brought Will to upon his officially moving to town. Today's adventure would bring new things to look back on in the years to come.

Fitzhugh was waiting for her at a table close to a fireplace on the side of the room. They would be cozy.

JJ greeted the man when she drew level with him. "Hi, Fitzhugh."

He helped her sit. "How are you?"

"Extremely sad because my father has ripped a hole in my heart all over again." JJ hung her jacket and purse on the back of her chair. "But… I didn't hit total despair because there were people waiting for me at home."

"One of whom was Emily. How many times has she kept you from bottoming out over the years?"

"I don't even know anymore," JJ shrugged. "But for that, I include her in many important things."

Fitzhugh grinned as he resumed his own seat. "I love that Emelise has made that much of a difference in your life and I want to talk to you about that, but we must address a practical matter first."

JJ picked up a menu. "Ordering food?"

"That, and the matter of me picking up the tab."

JJ's eyes widened in surprise. "You really don't have to."

"I insist." Fitzhugh countered with a gentle firmness. "Even if my only child wasn't fond of you like she is, I would still do it because you need at least one father in your life who looks out for you."

JJ was humbled on the spot. "Thank you very much."

Fitzhugh just beamed and then focused on his menu. Taking the cue, JJ did the same with her own.

"So," Fitzhugh said after their orders had been settled. "Just how close are you to my daughter? Her mother and I enjoy hearing stories about what you two do during cases."

JJ turned a slight shade of red. "Em has been telling stories about me?"

"For as long as she has known you. Elizabeth and I have been keeping tabs on your life from afar this entire time."

"Emily is one of the greatest people I've ever known and care for in my life. I don't say things like that lightly. Sometimes the best blessings just fall out of the sky." a smile flitted across JJ's face as an old memory came back to her. "In a way, Emily fell on to my doorstep at work."

Fitzhugh furrowed his brow as he searched his own memory. "But wasn't the first person she met after Aaron your tech guru? Penelope?"

"Yes. I was the second one."

"How's that? Emelise has never actually said."

JJ smiled more; speaking with Fitzhugh came very easily. "Then did you and Elizabeth ever find out about the paperwork mix-up?"

"We did. Emelise had to talk us down from pulling strings on her behalf because she was very determined to do it on her own."

"This trait still rings true today." JJ laughed. "We had just come back from a case and Emily was already exploring the BAU floor. She said it was because she was getting the lay of the land. I realized it was because she had been waiting for Aaron to have a free moment."

Fitzhugh pressed on. "What else did she say?"

"Emily said she had memorized the layout of the bullpen already, but there was also a thinly-veiled fib involved because she said she'd gotten lost on her way back from the restroom."

"How did you know this was untrue?"

"Back in those days, I worked out of an office, well away from where Emily's desk was in the bullpen... which is also where the facilities are."

"Sounds like Emelise was fishing." Fitzhugh said. "That's always been a talent of hers, from the time she was a wee thing."

JJ smirked as she filed that information away for a rainy day. "There was also music playing because I was just trying to forget what we had seen."

"My daughter can sing, and she has always loved all kinds of music. Just what did she encounter you listening to?"

JJ turned red again. "Rage Against The Machine."

Fitzhugh gave a wave of dismissal. "That is nothing to be embarassed by—especially considering that Emelise has seen them in concert many times."

"Wait, really?" JJ became very invested because she had a feeling that this wasn't information that Emily would share freely. "Who else has she seen?"

Fitzhugh indulged JJ. "In larger numbers? Metallica, Deftones, and Green Day. Suffice it to say that your best friend's goth phase was really very long. What were you like as a child?"

"Quiet and bookish, except for when my sister would egg me on with silliness… or when I hung out with our animals. One fun fact about me is that I grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania."

"That sounds really lovely. What were you like as a teenager, then?"

"Not as quiet, and way more into music. Rage Against The Machine was my 'gateway band.' I had a musical awakening the first time I went to Burning Man."

Fitzhugh spoke in an understanding tone. "Such was the feeling Elizabeth and I had after Woodstock."

JJ was kept from asking what it had been like at such a historical event by the arrival of their food and drinks. Fitzhugh had gotten a pasta dish. JJ had opted for a BLT and fries. He had iced tea, she had lemonade. Everything looked very appetizing. The atmosphere between JJ and Fitzhugh was already warm, friendly. That all by itself was a much starker contrast compared to what it was like outside.

The duo continued pleasantries with each other as they ate, but at one point, Fitzhugh pushed his plate back. He was changing lanes now. A profiler he was not, but he could spot a sad person from a mile off.

"We still stand by what we said about looking out for you. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?"

"Yes," JJ pushed back her own plate. "But it's about everything I went through last night."

"Please try me. I've always been told that I'm a great listener."

So JJ told Fitzhugh the story, and he listened without interruption. The sympathy he felt for her was all over his face. Her words were breaking his heart. And JJ wasn't even his child.

"What do you think?" she asked hopefully when she had finished.

"I think that it was quite a ride and that nobody deserves this. Nobody." Fitzhugh said seriously. "I'm so proud that you're still standing, and that you were able to walk away from Clifford. Even though it must have hurt."

JJ's heart wobbled slightly. "Do you mean that?"

"Yes. I haven't seen you though any insane tribulations before, but because of Emelise's tales, Elizabeth and I have always been aware of your instinct for self-preservation."

"Huh." JJ said as she mulled over this last part. "I've never thought about it like that…"

Fitzhugh's next words were extremely affirming. "You just went though an extraordinary amount of insanity in a very small space of time, but here you are before me, telling me everything. I find that incredible."

JJ spoke very graciously. "Thanks, Fitzhugh."

"Of course." he returned. "Who else knows about what happened?"

"Just you, and because I call her, my mother..."

JJ's words trailed off into a humming sound.

"Yes?" Fitzhugh prompted.

"Emily is a vault with secrets, and not just because she's FBI. Or my boss." elaborated JJ. "Now I'm getting the same impression about you and secrets. Am I accurate?"

"One hundred percent on the nose." Fitzhugh tapped his. "What's the second part of your thought detour?"

JJ shifted in her chair. "Can Elizabeth be trusted with secrets?"

"Yes, she can. Being a secret-keeper goes well in hand with being an ambassador."

"Sounds about right." JJ murmured. "And does Emily tell you two things?"

"Often. We've always been close, but we've been closer than ever since she came back from the United Kingdom."

This was good enough for JJ. "Alright. Emily knows everything I've told you, so it's okay if you tell Elizabeth. I…"

But JJ's words trailed off again.

Fitzhugh's patience didn't falter once. "What is it?"

JJ really wanted to tell Fitzhugh about the quest concerning Will's mother and June, but held her tongue on the matter. She wasn't the executor in that area. Instead, she chose to delve a little deeper into her soul.

"The next part of what I'm going to say might sound like I'm being overdramatic."

"Jennifer, I write best-selling crime novels, and my wife is an ambassador." Fitzhugh said without missing a beat. "Emelise is your partner in an elite FBI division. Any word with 'drama' in it is well-ingrained into our lifestyle by now."

JJ still chose her words carefully. "There is a certain path I've set down on with Will and Emily now. I don't want to say what it is, but it comes with an ill feeling."

"Such as?"

JJ shifted in her seat again. "Like there's a storm coming."

To Fitzhugh's credit, he didn't laugh. Or even challenge her. He just took her at her word.

"Dare I ask what sort of storm?" he finally said after a few moments.

"The kind where we already know that we can't go back, and because it's us, trouble will definitely show up. I'm just worried what it will do to everyone I love."

Fitzhugh's next words were said out of a fatherly love. "The Prentiss house will always be a safe haven to you or anyone around you who needs it. Elizabeth and I will do everything in our power to help or protect. That's a promise."

"Pardon me for repeating myself again, but thank you." JJ let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. "I don't even know if any of it will happen. All of this could just be my imagination running away with me…"

"You have a family to protect, and you are an FBI agent in the nation's capital." Fitzhugh pointed out. "I think that you are entitled to some leeway."

JJ bobbed her head in still more thanks as she pulled her food back towards herself. "I needed to hear that. Maybe I just needed some validation from an outside party."

Fitzhugh pulled his own meal within eating range again but privately wondered what JJ had meant by those last two words. "Then I'm pleased that I could help. You can always tell me whatever you want, whenever you need."

"I'll remember that." quipped JJ. "However, now I have a fun question."

Fitzhugh sat up straighter. "I am all ears."

"How did you meet Ginny Lynn? I'm dying to know. Emily hasn't even asked her that yet."

"And you would remember because Emelise would have told you?"

JJ nodded. "Yep."

Amused, Fitzhugh began to tell the tale. JJ gave him her utmost attention.

Back at the LaMontagne house, Emily and Will were in the attic, looking through his old belongings from New Orleans. Michael was having his midday nap. Henry was entertaining himself in another part of the house. There would be no interruptions for awhile. Good fortune.

Will even had several boxes of old photo albums near him, so as to move them at a later date. He and JJ would look at them together. Perusing through old books with Emily was enough of a thrill for the time being.

"Wow." the dark-haired woman remarked as she set aside a copy of The Invisible Man. "You really read a lot when you were younger."

"A good story was always a nice distraction at the end of the day. The adventures helped me to forget about how messed up things were when my dad would drink." Will cleared his throat because he had no desire to wander off the path. "What about you? Tell me your favorite book."

Emily overlooked Will's redirection. "It's a tie between The Great Gatsby, Fahrenheit 451, and For Whom The Bell Tolls."

"Fantastic titles." Will handed his friend one particular novel from a stack in front of him. "Check this out."

Emily received from him a battered copy of For Whom The Bell Tolls. "And who did this belong to?"

Will didn't look up from examining a copy of 1984. "That belonged to my father. I was made to read it in school. It wasn't so enjoyable for me because we also did an extensive project on it afterword."

"Come to think of it, I also read this a long time ago." Emily mused. "But it might have been in Korean..."

Her words died when she saw what was written on the front page. Under the title.

How little we know of what there is to know. I wish that I were going to live a long time instead of going to die today because I have learned much more about life in four days; more, I think than in all other time. I'd like to be an old man to really know. I wonder if you keep on learning or if there is only a certain amount each man can understand. I thought I knew so many things that I know nothing of. I wish there was more time.

Under this was another message.

See you around, W.

—J

February 1978

Emily's heart skipped a beat.

Just on a whim, she shook the book's pages to see if anything would come loose.

It did.

Right out of the book, and into Emily's lap fell an old photograph.

This one was of the mysterious June McCann, and a man who could only be one person.

Will's father.