Kaida was thrilled to pieces to have time with JJ and Emily because she adored them both, but was also equally thrilled to be adding to her wardrobe, because if anything, Kaida Jareau was a budding fashionista.
As far as the birthday party went, it was for her classmate, Kendra Fujimoto. According to Kaida, Kendra was the first friend she'd made at school after her family's move to D.C., and they were even in the same class together at the local language center where they were schooled further in the ways of the Japanese language and culture. When they were together, Kaida and Kendra were inseparable, which led Kaida to finding out that her friend was just like her, and not only in to fashion, but arts and crafts, too. In a phrase, Kaida Jareau and Kendra Fujimoto were two peas in a pod.
That was why JJ, Emily, and Kaida found themselves in the mall's toy store as the last stop on their outing—it housed a large arts and crafts area. It was even Kaida's favorite spot in the large venue.
After she picked out a card for Kendra, she went straight over to the kit section of the arts and crafts area, and with her aunts' help, she picked out craft kits for making pillows and quilts, dolls, and friendship bracelets. Kaida was quite pleased by the haul and assured JJ and Emily that Kendra would be, too.
Just as they finished getting the packages gift-wrapped, Kaida turned away from the register and looked towards the entrance of the shop, feeling puzzled by a sight in front of her, just outside in the hall.
"Kaida, what's wrong?" JJ asked when they caught up to her.
"Look!" she pointed ahead. "It's Kendra, but she's got a baby!"
JJ and Emily followed their niece's line of sight to see the little girl appearing utterly bewildered and trying to do the best that she could to hold on to a very wiggly baby girl in her arms. Kendra even had a backpack of some kind on her back.
"Kaida," JJ addressed her niece. "I need you to think really hard about a question I'm going to ask you—does Kendra have any little siblings?"
"No; she has three big brothers, and they're all in middle school."
"Anything else?"
"I told her about you and Auntie Emmy, so she knows you're good!"
"Thank you, sweetie; that's a huge help!" JJ gave her a quick hug and then extracted her FBI badge from her purse where it was hanging on the back of Emily's chair. "You stay here with Auntie Emmy, okay? I'll be right back!"
For luck, the little girl blew her a kiss, and then very carefully because she still didn't know what was happening, and because she didn't want to spook either of the children, she approached Kendra.
"Who are you?" Kendra asked suspiciously as JJ drew near.
"My name is JJ," she explained, showing her her badge. "And I work for the FBI. Do you know what that is?"
Kendra nodded, still suspicious. "The super special police. Are you Kaida's JJ?"
"Yes, I am, and she's right over there." JJ pointed her out, and without missing a beat, the other girl waved to her friend. "Are you lost?"
Kendra shook her head and tightened her grip on her tiny companion. "There's a mean man in that store behind me, and he told all of the kids to get out. We were the only ones, but I don't even know her name!"
Poor Kendra looked like she was on the verge of tears, but hadn't started crying yet because she was in mild state of shock. JJ erred even more on the side of caution when she noticed this.
Right at that moment, however, three things happened: the automatic iron grid door behind Kendra slid shut, trapping the customers inside while what appeared to be a masked man waved a gun threateningly about as he herded the customers and employees to the front of store where they could all be seen; a few people started running down the hallway in fear as one of the people in front yelled something about serious fights breaking out; and two pairs of hands pulled JJ and her tiny companions out of harm's way just as the small mob rushed by.
When they passed, JJ looked up to see Charlotte and Quinlan Fitzgerald. They were laden down with shopping bags, but also had Jack Hotchner in tow, although he was riding Quinlan piggyback with his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist, interlocking himself in place.
"What's happening?" JJ was genuinely surprised. "Where did you three come from?"
"Doesn't matter." Charlotte said quickly. "Where is Emily?"
"In the toy store with our niece. Come on."
They all hurried back in to the toy store just as the manager closed and locked the door behind them and a few other last-second stragglers. The rest of the store occupants were huddled together, trying to figure out what to do.
As JJ relived Kendra of the baby (Kendra's arms were getting tired) and hoisted her on to her hip so she could hold her better, she looked around the store. There weren't too many people to begin with because it was a Monday morning, and Kaida's and Kendra's elementary school was the only one in the district with a day off, so both of them, along with the baby girl Kendra had been given to look after, and Jack Hotchner were the only kids in the store, not counting the unborn ones being carried by her and Emily.
As for the adults, JJ counted herself, Emily, Charlotte, and Quinlan, two cashiers, the manager, and three other customers. All of the adults were checking their phones, but...
"Is anyone getting service?" JJ asked as she and Emily tried theirs.
There was a chorus of "No!" in response as one of the cashiers reported that none of the store phones were working, either.
JJ promptly turned to Emily and said in an undertone, "If even the landlines are dead, that means that someone's using a powerful frequency jammer and that the fights are connected to whatever's happening in the store that the girls just left. Plus, this also means that we can't reach anyone outside, like Hotch and Rossi. What do we do?"
"Batten down the hatches and pray that whatever this is, it catches their attention quickly."
The blond nodded, and then remembering that she was holding a baby, she looked down at her. She was dressed for the weather outside, and by JJ's estimation, was no more than five months old. The baby had been resting her head on JJ's shoulder, but when she looked up and smiled at her, JJ had a start.
"JJ, what?" Emily asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Not quite a ghost, but definitely someone I thought I'd never see again."
JJ motioned between her love and her itty-bitty charge.
"Emily, Kendra found Zooey."
Emily's heart skipped a beat. "Oregon Zooey?"
"Oregon Zooey." JJ confirmed.
Emily leaned back in her chair and blew out a breath. "You sure?"
JJ nodded and showed her a spot on the inside of the Zooey's right wrist—it was a bright red splotch in the shape of a z, funnily enough. "She's got the same portwine stain. I had Zooey for a week in Oregon, and this mark is one of things that has been burned into my brain about her."
Emily sighed again. "This going to be a long day."
Back at the House of Jareau, everyone was in the front room, hanging out with Cho, and in this case, 'everyone' was both of her parents and Haley Hotchner. They were all chatting with each other with the television on in the background while they folded baby clothes and sorted a few things yet that needed to put into the twins' nursery. Cho appreciated the company, but she was feeling a little uneasy, although for once, it wasn't because of her expectant condition.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Haley asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You could go into labor at time now, so you can't be wrinkling your nose like you are unless it's show time."
Cho bobbed her head in understanding. "It just feels like something is a little off, but not with my baby boys. Where are Jack, Charlotte, and Quinlan?"
"Charlie and Q took him to Meadowbrook Mall for a 'shopping/get to know you' day. Why?"
"JJ and Emily took Kaida there today to get her prepared for a birthday party..."
"I—"
Before Haley could finish her answer, Cho wrinkled her nose again, but winced as she framed the underside of her middle with her hands.
"That was definitely a contraction, Cho!"
"You're not wrong."
Cho's parents were immediately on alert, and Sakura pressed, "Sweetheart, do you want us to call Archer?"
"No, not yet—not util they're closer together because this could take all day, and he had to get some things done at the office." she steadied her breathing. "All things considered, I'm fine."
Her father spoke up. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
Before that conversation could be furthered, the daytime show on the TV was interrupted by a Breaking News report. Cho, her parents, and Haley all quieted just in time to hear the reported speak.
"This just in: Meadowbrook Mall in Foggy Bottom is currently on lockdown right now for reasons that are currently unknown. If you have plans to go to Meadowbrook today, authorities are strongly advising to rescheduling them, or, if possible, to go elsewhere until further notice. If you have any family or friends at Meadowbrook Mall at this time, stay tuned to KXRD Channel 4 News for further updates. We now return to the regularly scheduled programming."
Haley put the TV on mute and turned to Cho: they were in the same boat in more ways than one, all of a sudden.
"Stay with me." Haley patteded her friend's cheek when she saw her drifting off into a state of quiet that would no doubt lead to panic. "You do your best to stay calm because one contraction or not, you are in labor. Do you understand?"
Surprisingly, Cho responded in a levelheaded tone. "Yes. What should I do?"
"Call JJ and Emily to see if you can get through to one of them. After that, call Archer."
"Got it." Cho picked up the nearby landline phone. "What are you going to do?"
"Call Charlotte and Quinlan to check on them and Jack, and then Aaron. Even though he's on vacation, he still went to work to write some reports; he wanted to get a little bit ahead of the game before they go back."
Wanting to be included, Sakura chimed in, "Haley, is there anything that Toshio and I can do to help?"
"Yes, actually. One moment."
Using a pen and nearby scratch paper, Haley quickly wrote down a few names and numbers before sticking the pen behind her ear and handing the paper to Sakura.
"These are the numbers for JJ's mother and both of Emily's parents. Please call them to make sure they know what's happeni—"
"Hello?" came a new voice as they heard the front door open and then shut as a newcomer entered the house and put their things away. "I'm sorry to barge in, Cho, but Archer called, and—"
Sandy had arrived, looking distressed, but she located her daughter–in–law and the others before she finished her sentence.
"What did Archer say?" Cho asked.
Out came an explanation about receiving Archer's phone call just after parting ways with her friend at the coffee shop downtown, and a strong advisement to get to his house as quickly as possible.
"He just didn't say why, though." Sandy said at the end of her story as she sat in one of the armchairs next to the love-seat that Cho's parents were sitting on.
Haley dutifully brought Sandy up to speed on everything, including the part about Cho's contraction.
Reiterating that she fine, Cho tacked on for good measure, "I will tell you if anything changes, but for now, Haley is in charge. Ask her all of the important questions."
Indeed, Haley had taken charge of the situation without meaning to, but after spending the later half of her teenage years and then all of her adult life to date in first a relationship and then a marriage with Aaron Hotchner, she had over twenty years of experience of what do in a tense moment such as this one. (Being a labor and delivery nurse also had something to do with it) She had a system, and it was time to use it.
"Right." she said to Sandy. "You talk to Cho's parents, and they'll fill you in. Cho and I have some calls to make."
Sandy conveyed her understanding and moved her attention to them while Haley proceeded to call Charlotte, and Cho tried JJ's number first.
She put the phone to her ear just in time to hear the other line ringing. With her other hand, she caressed her middle where she could feel her sons kicking away, fed up with how cramped their living space was.
As Cho awaited the sound of JJ's voice, she found herself hoping that her sons would stay inside her womb where they were safe and warm for as long as possible because she had no idea what was happening with her family, and it scared her.
