JJ held a wet rag against her eyes, counting slowly.

36... 37... 38...

Her swollen eyes ached from crying, soothed by the cool rag.

47... 48... 49...

She sniffled quietly, not wanting to make too much noise. The last thing she wanted was to let Henry hear her crying. She always tried so hard to keep this from him. She didn't want him to know.

53... 54... 55...

She didn't want him to know that his father was a monster.

60.

Jennifer pulled the rag from her eyes and tossed it in the sink, examining herself in the mirror. The cool rag had done the trick, and her red, tear-swollen eyes had been reduced to looking just slightly irritated. Her cheeks weren't as flushed. But, as she turned her head to the side, she caught sight of a bruise in its early stages of development. It was high on her cheekbone, just alongside her hairline. She closed her eyes, breath hitching.

Will was angry, but he always was nowadays. The night before had been tense. He'd come home from a bad day at work, and JJ was smart enough not to make it worse. Instead, she poured him a drink, served him dinner, massaged his shoulders as he relaxed in his armchair. Whatever she could do to ease any of the tension in his body. Which is why when they headed up to bed, she didn't even protest as he slid her nightgown off, sliding his hands along her waist.

All of that effort to appease him, to not anger him, was all thrown out of the window. All because of a sleepy mistake.

She'd had another nightmare. She couldn't breathe. She could feel hands all over her. Her legs, her hips, her hair. Her neck. Something tightened around her throat and she struggled for air, reaching out for help, she couldn't feel anyone, couldn't see anyone. But she knew who it was. It was him. It always him.

JJ woke up in a cold sweat and for a few moments, she could still feel those hands around her neck. She was all too familiar with the feeling. After a few moments, she became more aware of her surroundings. She was in bed, and Will was snoring beside her. Her hands were shaking as she lifted her hands, swiping them over her face. Gently, JJ pushed herself up the rest on one elbow, reaching over and grabbing her glass of water. Sitting up more, she carefully took a sip, sighing as the water wet her dry lips. She took another sip as Will snorted loud in his sleep. Startled, she gasped, and started choking on her drink of water. The glass slipped from her hands and later she would swear that time froze as it landed on the bed, cool water splashing over Will's sleeping form.

He sat up with a shocked yelp, and JJ held her hands up innocently.

"Oh! N-no, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Will, I didn't mean to! It-it slipped!" She felt the fear rising up in her body.

It only took a few moments for Will to realize what had happened. When understanding dawned on his face, he scowled at her and reached out, grabbing a fistful of her hair. "You stupid bitch! I was fucking sleeping!"

JJ cried out in shock and pain, trying to pull away. Tears stung her eyes as she begged. "W-will, no, please! It was an accident! I'll clean it up a-and you can go back to sleep," she pleaded.

He let go, shoving her head away. "I'm already awake." She felt his hand connect with her cheek and she whimpered, biting down a loud yelp. "Next time you'd best be more careful," he warned her as he climbed out of bed.

She shook herself out of the memory, frowning at her reflection. She didn't know why she was so upset about this morning. That was nothing compared to the things she'd felt at the hands of her partner. The man who was supposed to love, support, and protect her.

Straightening herself, she swallowed hard, willing back any more tears. Walking back into the adjoined bedroom, she glanced at the bedside alarm clock. 5:39 am. JJ decided that she was going to get ready for work early and head to the office as soon as she could. It was almost time for her alarm to go off anyway. She shut it off, and, making her way to her closet, pulled out an outfit for work, taking it into the bathroom with her.

She applied her makeup first, making sure to conceal the forming bruise. It wasn't too difficult. It was small compared to some that still marred her skin in other places, and not nearly as dark. Once she'd finished that task, she slipped her clean clothes on, feeling better already. Grabbing a hair tie, she pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail. Looking in the mirror, she scrutinized her appearance. She was wearing a favorite outfit of hers. Black pencil skirt, sky blue blouse, and a black blazer.

JJ had owned this same outfit for years now, it was almost comforting. Except she could notice the small differences in it now. The tiny loose thread that was left from where she had to re-attach the button on her blouse after Will had torn it off. The way blouse was looser than it had been before, the way the skirt sat lower on her hips. She'd lost weight.

Closing her eyes, she turned away and slipped on her heels. She headed downstairs slowly, breathing a sigh of relief when she heard sounds from the garage. Will must have been working out. Hesitating, she headed back upstairs and into Henry's room. A bittersweet smile turned her lips as she watched his chest rise and fall, sound asleep. His little face smooshed against his pillow, drool soaking into it.

His innocent little face. As gently as she could, she leaned down and ever-so-gently pressed her lips to his silken hair. And just as she did every time she laid eyes on him, she knew. She knew she was doing the right thing. She was doing what she had to to protect her little boy. Her little boy.

Back downstairs again, she grabbed a banana and her purse, leaving the house before Will came back in.

JJ entered her office, the familiar sights and smells of the building soothing her worry. She wouldn't have to worry about Will all day. Instead, she'd get to see the team, and no matter how much pain she was in, that always brought a smile to her face.

She was quite early, but losing herself in the paperwork, it wasn't long until her friends, her family, arrived too. Aaron was first, as expected. He worked nearly as much as she did. Next was Emily, then Spence. And soon enough Dave, Pen, and Morgan were all there too. Unable to concentrate on her paperwork, she grabbed her empty mug and headed down into the bullpen.

Spence was the first to notice her and he smiled happily at her. "Hey, JJ," he greeted.

She found herself smiling back at him. "Morning Spence."

"Hey Blondie," Morgan called out as she made her way to the coffee pot in the small kitchenette.

"Hey," she responded. "How are you guys?"

"God, tired," Morgan responded. "I swear, my eyes are going to bleed if I have to fill out any more paperwork."

They chuckled and Reid shrugged his shoulders. "I like paperwork," he stated. "It's relaxing."

Morgan snorted and shook his head. "If you say so."

Spencer rolled his eyes, and as she passed by his desk on her way back to her office, JJ settled her hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her soft smile and returned it. After a moment she slid her hand off his shoulder and made her way back to her office, a smile still curving her lips.

Spencer watched her for a few moments before turning back to his desk. He raised his hand and settled it where hers had been, a sad smile on his face. Looking back up once more, he caught a glimpse of her as she slipped into her office.

His smile turned into a frown. He couldn't suppress his worry.

He'd noticed something going on with JJ. It had been going on for a while, but he didn't know what it was. She had lost weight, and she had dark circles under her eyes more often than not. Even though she was friendly and normal with them, he had noticed how she had withdrawn into herself. JJ had stopped going out with them after work. He knew that she didn't go on girls' dates with Emily and Penelope much anymore.

He wondered if maybe it was something between her and Will. But when he saw them together they seemed as happy as always.

Spencer shook his head in frustration. He hated that something was wrong, and he couldn't fix it. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and shield her from pain. That was all he had ever wanted.

Pushing those thoughts away, he focused all his attention on the file in front of him. He hadn't been lying when he had told them that he enjoyed paperwork. It really did relax him, and right then, that was exactly what he needed. A good distraction.