A few days later, after wrapping up their case in New Orleans, the members of the BAU sat in their conference room listening to their beloved (former) Unit Chief tell them about her suspension. There was a mix of shocked and upset faces and a lot of questions. People lingered after Emily dismissed them to offer words of support or express their frustrations. This team was family, from veteran profiler David Rossi to the newest members of the BAU. JJ didn't move from her seat until Garcia, the last person left in the room, made her way out. She stood and made her way across the room as fast as she could without seeming too eager. She glanced out the door and saw no one around, so she wrapped her arms around Emily's waist.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, "but I'm so glad to be home.

Emily kissed the top of her head. "I'm fine now that you're here."

JJ pushed Emily's dark hair back behind her shoulder, letting her fingers trail down the older woman's neck down to the neckline of her shirt. Emily shivered and then her hands were tangled in JJ's blonde hair, pushing her into the wall, their lips crashing into each other's. Emily's entire body was pressed against JJ's for what felt like only seconds before JJ pulled back. She kept her hands on her best friend's hips, thumbs hooked into the waistband of her black pants, but concern showed all over her face.

"We shouldn't do this here," JJ said finally.

"I don't work here anymore." Emily's voice was thick with emotion.

"But we are going to fix that. In order to do that, we have to be careful."

"Everyone keeps telling me I need to be careful. That's the last thing I want to be right now."

"I know. I get it. Let's just get out of here." JJ kissed Emily's cheek before putting distance between them.

"You're coming home with me though, right?"

It was the first hopeful look JJ had seen in Emily's eyes since this whole thing started. "Of course I am, but I can't stay the night. I need to see my boys."

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JJ left Emily's later that afternoon, promising to come back as soon as she could. She stopped by the store to get groceries for dinner before heading home. Will greeted her at the front door with a kiss, taking the paper bags from her.

"How was Emily?" JJ heard something in his voice that told her he wasn't asking because he was concerned. She had to diffuse this situation as best as possible.

Thankfully, Henry came running down the hallway then. "Mom! You're home!" He wrapped his arms around her as she ruffled his blonde hair.

"I wasn't even gone a week and you grew a foot!" JJ always felt her boys grew and changed so much while she was gone. It made her feel guilty. "Where's Michael?"

"Playing in our room. He's fine," Henry answered.

JJ walked down the hall to the boys' room, where her two and a half year old sat on the floor, surrounded by toys. She sat down in front of him. "Hi, Mommy!" he said. He sounded excited, but went back to his toys. Michael was fiercely independent in a way that Henry never had been. It made it easier for her to go to work and easier for Will to know he wouldn't break down without her. It was a good thing, in theory, but it made JJ feel like crying. She pulled him into her lap and realized Henry and Will had both followed her to the room.

"Dad said you would be home early today." Henry's voice held a familiar accusatory tone. JJ gave Will a sharp glance. Her mama's boy seemed to be adopting some of dad's mannerisms.

"I had to help Emily with something."

"Emily's cool." Henry gave an approving nod. "Is she gonna come see us soon?"

"Maybe I'll take you and Michael to see her soon." By then, her younger son had wriggled his way off her lap and back to his toys. JJ stood. "Watch your brother for a little bit, okay? Dad and I will go start dinner." Henry took her place on the floor.

Will waited until they were out of the boys' earshot to speak. "You were with Emily?"

"I told you I would be." JJ emptied the grocery bags onto the kitchen counter.

"You said you might take her to lunch after this morning's meeting, but then you were gone all day. You didn't answer my texts or calls. I was worried." Will put a pot of water on to boil.

"I'm sorry, Will." JJ browned hamburger meat in a skillet. "You know she's going through a lot right now. She didn't feel like going out for lunch so we picked food up and went to her apartment. We got to talking about everything and lost track of time." She threw some minced garlic into the meat.

"So you couldn't answer your phone?" Will put pasta into the boiling water.

"I forgot to turn the volume back on after the meeting. I didn't realize you were calling." JJ poured a jar of spaghetti sauce over the browned meat.

"And last week? When you were gone all night?" Will grated Parmesan cheese into a small bowl. "You stayed at Emily's?"

JJ put garlic bread into the oven. "You know I did! I FaceTimed the boys from her apartment. Where else would I have been, Will?"

Will tossed the salad. "I don't know, Jennifer. You're spending a lot of time with Emily lately and I didn't know if that might be an excuse for...something else."

JJ took the bread out of the oven. "I don't know what else to tell you. I was with Emily. She's my best friend and she's going through a hard time and she needs me. She has always been there for me, through any and everything." JJ felt for a moment she might break out into hysterics for some reason and she took a breath to calm down. "There have been times she was the only reason I was able to make it home to you. She saves my life. I save hers. I show up for her. That's the way it..."

"Okay!" Will interrupted. "I get it. I do. You have a bond with her you'll never have with me. I came to terms with that a long time ago." Will filled plates with salad and bread and spaghetti topped with Parmesan. "I just needed to make sure you're still with me. Still with this family."

JJ started to say something, but Will walked away, carrying plates to the table. "Boys!" she called instead, voice noticeably shaky. "Dinner's ready!"

Henry and Michael ran to the table. "Sketti!" Michael shouted, more excited to see the food than to see his mommy.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!