The snow continued to pile up as Aaron navigated his SUV down the road, following the directions Morgan was giving him. He frowned as he realized they had gone nearly two miles.
"You guys walked through this to my house? Why didn't you call me," he scolded lightly.
Morgan shrugged. "It didn't seem so bad at the time."
"You should have called."
"Yes, Dad. The SUV's over there," Morgan pointed to the left. The large black vehicle was sitting at an angle near the curb. The snow had piled up nearly two feet on the passenger side.
Aaron flipped on his hazard lights and pulled up next to the SUV. He looked over at Morgan, the corner of his mouth lifted. "I can't believe that you of all people ran out of gas."
Morgan sighed. "Under normal conditions it would have been fine. We ended up sitting on the freeway a large portion of the trek and when we finally exited, all the gas stations were closed."
Aaron nodded. "I'm not getting out to help. You know where the gas can is."
Morgan zipped up his jacket, opened the door and slid out of the vehicle.
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Several miles away, Alex lay wide-awake in bed next to her husband. She glanced at the clock then stared at the ceiling. Her husband stirred next to her.
She laid a hand on his shoulder and gently rubbed it in circles.
"Why are you awake," he asked softly.
"I don't know," she replied.
He rolled over to face her. He gave her a questioning look but remains silent.
"Something doesn't feel right," she admitted.
"Did anybody call or text?"
"No. I just… I can't explain it."
He reached over and caressed her cheek. "You don't have to explain it to me."
"I feel like I should call someone, but I don't know whom."
"If it bothers you that much, why don't you call your boss," he suggested.
"I don't want to bother him. He has a young son who is probably going to wake him early. Let him get some sleep," she chuckled.
"If it's not worrisome enough to bother someone else, then you should try to get some sleep as well," he pointed out. "If something has happened, you'll get a call."
"You're right."
He pulled her close. They both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.
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Aaron parked in the garage as Morgan pulled his SUV into the space next to the garage. They grabbed the suitcases out of the back of Morgan's SUV and made their way into the house after closing the garage door.
"How much time do you think we have," Morgan asked.
Aaron peered at the clock on the microwave, it was ten minutes to five. "If we're lucky, two hours."
"And if we're not?"
Aaron smirked. "Ten… fifteen minutes tops."
Morgan let out a deep breath. "I'm going to try to nap anyways."
Aaron nods. "Me too."
"See you in a few hours, I hope."
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"Oh my God," JJ groaned. "This is horrible! I shouldn't have called you."
Dave shook his head but didn't respond to the blond in the passenger seat. JJ had been sleeping the first few hours as Will kept Dave company but at the last rest stop, they had changed places and Will was now sound asleep in the back with Henry.
"Are you even listening to me? Good God why are you driving so fast!" she ranted.
Dave looked at the speedometer, he was doing 45 mph he eased off the pedal just to assuage her fears.
"This is appalling we're all going to die!"
Dave snickered earning a glare.
"This is not funny Mister!"
"Did you ever go to acting school?" Dave asked calmly.
"What?" she replied. "I took a few acting classes in high school. I was the lead in the school play during my senior year. We did a performance of The Taming of the Shrew."
"That fits," Dave muttered.
"Excuse me? What are you trying to say?"
Dave glanced at her. "Aren't you being a little overdramatic?"
"Overdramatic! I've already been in one accident because of this snow and I do not want to be in another, thank you very much," she explained.
Dave drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He reached over and placed his hand over hers. "Relax, Jen. I got this," he said quietly.
He squeezed her hand then released it and placed his own back on the steering wheel. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her shoulders lower as she sat back in the seat.
"You're right, I'm being overdramatic," she sighed. "I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize," he smiled.
She smacked him softly on the shoulder. "Stop being so damn nice," she grumbled.
"Why? Are you going to re-think your wedding vows?" he teased.
She glanced over her shoulder then spared him a small smile. "I don't think so."
"Good," he said brusquely. "Which brings us to a great segue."
"Oh?"
"You said something on the phone that piqued my curiosity," he began.
"Oh God," she moaned as she buried her face in her hands.
"Give it up Jareau, who were you talking about?"
"What makes you think I was talking about someone in particular?"
He gave her a side-glance. "Had you not just buried your face in your hands, I may believe that. However, I do think you are hiding something."