JJ ate and slept, although when she woke up, she was very surprised to see Hope snuggled up in the bed with her.

"Hope," JJ said her name in surprise as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

The little girl sat up and gave her friend a delicate kiss on the cheek. "Derek brought me and Viv!"

She motioned towards a corner of the room where Derek was holding Vivian in his arms and cuddling with her. JJ thought of the surprise that Penelope was going to drop on him very soon, and her heart was immediately goo at the sight of big, badass Derek Morgan turning to mush because of a baby.

When he saw JJ looking, he approached her, smiling. "Would you like to hold Vivian again?"

JJ nodded. "Yes, please!"

Derek laid Vivian on JJ's chest, and the second JJ had an arm of support around the baby, Vivian let out a very contented sigh and began cooing happily, having missed JJ. Mindful of the oxygen support she was hooked up to, Hope gave her baby cousin lots of kisses and cuddles.

JJ even indulged herself, giving the children extra kisses and cuddles as she told them how much she loved them and was going to miss them. She didn't even notice Derek snapping a picture of the scene with his phone.

He had just out his phone away when reason caught up with JJ and she turned to Derek.

"Where are Emily and Penelope?" she asked him.

"Emily was really hungry, so Penelope took her to the cafeteria to eat; even Hope got on Emily's case when she saw that she was pregnant."

JJ laughed and leaned down, planting a kiss on the top of the little girl in question.

"Well, seeing as she was extra protective of me while we were gone, that doesn't surprise me."

She looked back at Derek.

"Is Elle awake yet?"

Derek nodded and fixed the oxygen tube in Hope's nose when he saw it was dropping a little bit. "She is, and Missus Greenaway will be pushing her in a wheelchair since she won't be walking without crutches any time soon."

"Because her ankle is broken." JJ remembered. "And you and I are going to return Hope and Vivian to her because we know her best?"

"That's right, Ace."

JJ smiled at the nickname. "And then how much longer after that do I have to stay here?"

"It shouldn't be too long, but Emily will be back before then because she did a lot of hemming and hawing about being away from you in the first place before we could get her to leave."

"Sounds like her…"

Derek was about to ask his friend a question regarding the nature of his newfound bond with Emily, but didn't get a chance because they were interrupted by a new voice.

"Is everyone awake in here?"

Luna Greenaway was just reaching the doorway, pushing Elle in a wheelchair. Mother and daughter were both tired, but looked very, very happy.

"Hope," JJ gave the girl another kiss on the top of the head in an effort to get her attention away from Vivian because she was still doting on her. "Look who's here."

Hope tore her gaze away from Vivian to do what JJ asked, and when she saw her family, she burst into happy tears.

Derek moved her into Elle's arms, and he and JJ watched as part of the Greenaway reconnected, but after a moment, Elle moved her chair closer to JJ's bed. Reaching out, she gave JJ's good hand a squeeze.

"Thank you so much for taking care of my babies and protecting them; you're going to be a wonderful mom when your babies come."

JJ beamed at that and then said, "I think Vivian wants to go back to her mommy now."

Elle held her arms out. "Oh, please let me hold her."

With Derek's help again, Elle soon had Vivian in her arms and was crying because she was just so happy to have her children back.

Luna kissed her daughter and her grandchildren and then pushed the chair to a different part of the room to give Elle, Hope, and Vivian what privacy they could have before moving back to Derek and JJ to thank them for everything.

When she got to JJ, though, she spent a little more time with her.

"Thank you so much, Agent Jareau, for bringing my granddaughters back safely." she said. "Elle and I were such wrecks because they're all we have left."

"Please call me JJ, and you are very, very welcome." the blond smiled at her. "Protecting civilians, especially children in that kind of situation, is all part of the job."

JJ framed her bump with her good hand and continued to smile at Luna.

"Some recent events in just the past few days alone have reminded me that family is everything."

"So you understand?"

JJ nodded. "I do."

Luna grinned and then bobbed her head in the direction of JJ's cast. "Is it alright if I add something?"

"Sure." JJ told her. "Go ahead."

Using the Sharpie from JJ's bedside table, the older woman wrote two words at the top of the cast, just along the top of the curve of it: The Greenaways.

Before long, reality settled in when Vivian made hungry noises, so the Greenaway family said their goodbyes and left.

Just a few minutes laster, Emily and Penelope arrived to JJ's room.

After Derek and Penelope departed, Emily sat on JJ's bed and smoothed her girlfriend's hair back as she spoke to her.

"How are you doing?"

"Wishing that I wasn't confined to this damn bed." JJ pouted.

"Have heart." Emily kissed her on the cheek. "It's almost time to go."


Later, on the jet ride back to Virginia, everyone but JJ and Emily killed time with doing different things: Rossi played Solitaire, while across the table from him, Spencer played chess against himself. Across the aisle, Derek listened to music on his MP3 player while Penelope sat in the window seat, staring out at the landscape many miles down below as she knit even more of the baby blanket that she had started on the ride out to New York. Over in the galley, Hotch was using his iPad to Skype with Haley and Jack. Way at the opposite end of the passenger area, JJ and Emily were camped out together on the couch.

"I've been thinking about spending the holidays with your parents." JJ told Emily.

Having just sent an email to her mother about JJ's likes and her dislikes for Christmas presents and stocking stuffers, Emily's eyes widened slightly.

"Not having second thoughts, are you?"

"Goodness, no. (Emily breathed a sigh of relief) "I'm just kind of… nervous."

"What about?"

"I haven't had a Christmas with both of my parents since I was ten."

Emily had always had a feeling that JJ had a dark and stormy cloud hanging over her head because she just projected that kind of aura, but then she also remembered that Penelope had said that bad that bad things had happened to her.

"What happened?"

"My dad was killed in a car accident when he was on the way home from the grocery store the winter that I was ten. And Rosaline…"

JJ sighed heavily.

"She slit her wrists in the bathtub on Christmas Day."

Emily's heart filled with sorrow for JJ, and she pulled her in for a hug.

"Oh, JJ, I'm so sorry."

JJ leaned against Emily, resting her head on the brunette's shoulder. "I was born on Christmas, and that made it really hard for years because we were very close. She loved me and treated me like her baby since Archer and I have never been that close, but it still felt like a slap in the face."

"I can imagine so." Emily said sincerely. "I'm so sorry that those things happened to you, Jayje, especially when you were so young."

"Thank you."

Emily gave JJ a gentle squeezing hug. "We don't have to tell my parents anything you don't want to, but you know what?"

"Do tell."

"My mother is already looking forward to seeing you again, and my dad is really looking forward to meeting you. They already spoil me, but they're going to spoil both of us for as long as we're with them."

"Are they, now? How do you know?"

"I was their last shot at having a baby of their own, so I came into the world already spoiled because they wanted me so badly."

Emily subconsciously pulled JJ close to her, making the communications liaison wonder exactly what the profiler wasn't saying.

"And because it's you and we're so close, they're going to have a field day because of our bond."

JJ actually smiled at that and sat up to look at her. "Do they know you like me?"

"Yes," Emily blushed. "But they don't know how much. They'll figure it out right quick because they're smart like that, but they're going to have a total field day when they do."

"Have you told them about my arm?"

"No, but I can tell you that they'll take turns waiting on you when they see the cast; you should let them."

"Your parents both have acts of service as their love language, don't they?"

Emily nodded. "They do."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Do they know we're pregnant?

Emily's blush deepened, and JJ was quite amused, so she gave her a peck on the cheek as she settled against her again.

"I'll take that as a no, but I can already think of something pretty neat."

By now, Emily was trying very hard to focus on the conversation and not the beautiful pregnant woman in her arms who not only fit perfectly when snuggled up with her, but also found her very comfortable.

"Oh?" Emily finally managed, stifling a snicker when JJ yawned. "And what would that be?"

"Not only will Elizabeth and Maximo be spoiling us over Christmas, but they'll also be spoiling all three of their grandbabies, too."

Hearing that from JJ made Emily's heart turn to mush and swell with joy at the same time because it really meant that she was in it the whole way: JJ was completely serious about being a family, but was already thinking of Elizabeth and Maximo as the grandparents of the babies that were currently growing away in her womb.

If it was possible, Emily fell even more in love with JJ, just for that.

"JJ?"

No response.

Looking down, Emily saw that JJ was exhausted and had fallen fast asleep, very comfortable with her.

True, JJ wasn't yet fully recovered from all that Baylor had done to her and would no doubt have nightmares again, but seeing her like this made Emily feel a lot better.

It was a step in the right direction.