So sorry that I took so long to get this up! With Easter and work everything has been busy, but I hope this chapter will be worth the wait.
I know things are moving a little slowly in this chapter, but I just wanted to set a couple things up. I promise the trouble isn't over yet, and I have a couple things up my sleeves, coming up in a couple chapters. Stay patient and I promise it'll be worth it!
As always, thanks for reading! - J
Chapter 5
Emily had hoped that after her talk with Alex things around the house wouldn't be too bad. She had hoped that her daughter would gradually open up and eventually tell her and JJ what was really bothering her; but unfortunately that wasn't what happened.
Alex had remained completely shut off the whole weekend; shut up in her room where she worked on her schoolwork in silence. Every few hours either Emily or JJ would head upstairs to check on her or coax her downstairs to eat. Meal times were mostly quiet, and slightly awkward as JJ tried to force small talk with the teen, mostly to no avail. Whatever Alex's problem was, she had refused to talk about it and decided to take her grounding in near silence.
Since she had yet to find an alternative to where Alex would stay if the team got called away on a case, Emily was grateful for the fact that they were able to spend the weekend at home where she could keep an eye on her daughter and be sure she wasn't sneaking off to see her boyfriend. Due to her lack of communication with the teen, Emily had made Alex and appointment with Dr. Sullivan Monday morning; waiting until Sunday to let the younger brunette know. Alex hadn't argued, simply agreeing to be up early and ready to go when Emily and JJ were ready to take her on their way to work.
"So the car service will pick you up right outside as soon as your appointment is over," Emily told Alex, turning around in the driver's seat of the car to face her daughter, who was sat in the back. "The driver is going to call me and let me know that you've arrived at school."
"Great," Alex replied sarcastically, knowing her mother was having the driver call her because she was worried about her running off. "Will…will you guys be home tonight?" She asked, her voice quiet, and slightly worried.
"We're not too sure yet," JJ replied, since she hadn't heard anything about a case yet, but knew there was a good possibility that something had come up over the weekend.
"If we get a case we'll call the school," Emily added.
"But where will I be going?" Alex asked, her voice now slightly annoyed in typical teenage fashion.
"We haven't quite worked that out yet but don't worry we will and I will let you know," Emily explained. "But if you don't hear from us you need to go…"
"Straight home after school," Alex finished for her mother. "I know. Still grounded. Trust me I haven't forgotten," she sighed.
"Em, she's going to be late," JJ noted looking at the time.
"Right," Emily nodded. "Alright kid, well have a good day and hopefully we'll see you tonight," she said, wishing the teen would ease up on her anger just a little bit. "Be good. I love you."
"Love you too," Alex replied quietly. "Love you JJ," she added even though she wasn't meeting either woman's eyes.
"Love you too sweetheart," JJ said with a small smile. "We'll see you later."
"Okay," Alex nodded, grabbing her backpack off the seat beside her before hopping out of the car, shutting the door behind her and making her way towards Dr. Sullivan's office building.
"You know I thought that this whole Alex not talking to us thing would get easier, but I'm pretty sure it's just getting harder," Emily sighed, watching her daughter make her way inside. "I just miss her. We've been with her all weekend and yet I miss her."
"I know babe," JJ agreed sadly placing a hand on the brunette's knee. "But she's going to come around eventually," she said. "She loves you Em. Don't forget that."
"I know," Emily huffed, putting the car into drive and pulling out of her parking space. "You know what the worst part of this whole thing is?" She then asked.
"What's that?" JJ answered, watching the brunette questionably.
"She's acting so much like me," Emily said shaking her head. "I mean she's me as a teen to a tee! I can't even be mad about it!"
Laughing JJ nodded her head in agreement. "Definitely just like her mother," the blonde said, glad to see the brunette smiling.
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"So there's been no progress with the kiddo?" Garcia asked as she sat on the edge of Morgan's desk that morning, facing Emily, who was immersed in a file.
"She hasn't been saying much," Emily replied, shaking her head. "She's just been staying up in her room, which I guess is what she should be doing considering she's grounded, but I would really prefer she would talk to us and just go back to being my happy, easy-going teenager."
"Aww she will Emster," Garcia was quick to assure her. "She's such a great kid, she'll get back to herself soon. I'm sure of it!"
"And in the meantime at least we know she's staying out of trouble," Morgan added. "Has there been any word from that boyfriend of hers?" He asked, unaware that the young couple had broken up, since Alex had yet to tell her mothers.
"Well Alex's not allowed to use her cell phone so no," Emily replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean that's the whole point of grounding. No friends of boyfriends or technology of any sort."
"I know that," Morgan sighed. "I just thought maybe he'd show up to apologize or something."
"Really?" Garcia chimed in before Emily could reply. "Alex lives with two FBI Agents…with guns," she said. "Would you show up if you were him?"
"Good point," Morgan replied just as Reid came back into the bullpen, coffee in hand.
"That doesn't look good," the genius said, pointing to JJ who was waddling as fast as she could towards Hotch's office. "We must have a case."
"Crap," Emily whispered, still having no idea where Alex could stay while they were away. "I really hope it's local," she said as both Hotch and JJ emerged from the Unit Chief's office.
"Team Conference room in five," Hotch announced, as he went to knock on Rossi's office door before letting himself in.
"Jen?" Emily called, her stomach dropping in disappointment as the blonde shook her head.
"New Jersey," the media liaison replied, as Emily made her way up the stairs so she could stand next to her.
"Great," the brunette sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "What are we going to do? I still haven't figured out where Alex can stay," she continued. "Do you think Garcia could take her?"
"I think Garcia's going to have her hands full on this one," JJ replied shaking her head, wishing she had better news. "What about your mother?"
"She's still in London," Emily shook her head. "She won't be back for another week at least. God," she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I could call my mom, but it would take her a while to get down here," JJ suggested with a shrug. "Or we could just have her stay with the Hastings. I mean we could call Veronica and lay out the rules."
"I don't want to make your mom come all the way down here," Emily replied. "And Veronica and Peter just aren't home enough to actually make sure Alex is home and following the rules," she sighed. "I don't know Jen. Maybe I can stay back?"
"What's wrong?" Hotch asked, interrupting the couple's conversation, having noticed the worried look on both of his Agent's face.
Turning towards Emily and seeing that the brunette was biting her lip JJ decided to save her girlfriend from having to explain. "It's Alex," the blonde answered. "She's still grounded so we can't leave her with the Hastings while we're gone," she explained. "We're just trying to figure out an alternative."
"Oh that's no problem, I'll call Haley," Hotch was quick to offer, pulling out his cell phone.
"What Hotch no," Emily objected, not wanting to impose on her boss' wife. "I can't ask Haley to do that."
"You're not asking, I am," Hotch replied, hitting Haley's speed dial. "We told you when Alex moved here that we were here to help. Trust me Haley won't mind, plus Alex can help her out with Jack. It'll be good for both of them," he said, putting the phone to his ear, already heading towards his office so he could talk to his wife. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'll meet you in the conference room in a few," he said, closing his office door behind him.
"Well I guess that's taken care of," JJ said, turning towards Emily, who looked as if she wasn't sure what had just happened.
"Yeah," Emily nodded, silently hoping her daughter wouldn't give Haley Hotchner a hard time while they were away. "Apparently it is."
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"So what did your mom and JJ say when you told them about Logan?" Zoey asked as the four girls sat down at their regular lunch table that day. "I thought maybe they would have eased off your grounding a bit and we would have heard from you this weekend."
"Oh…no," Alex replied awkwardly, looking down at her sandwich. "I uh…I haven't told them."
"You didn't tell your mom?" Spencer exclaimed sounding surprised.
"No," Alex shook her head.
"Well why not?" Zoey questioned, all three of Alex's friends now watching her closely. "I mean you guys are so close. We thought for sure you'd talk about it with them."
"There's just nothing to talk about," Alex replied, continuing to pick at her meal even though eating was the last thing she felt like doing. "So Logan broke up with me. I told you guys I'm fine. It's not a big deal and I really didn't feel like spending the weekend discussing it, so I didn't tell them," she explained. "I'm grounded anyways so it's not like I'd be able to see him, so they won't even notice. I'll tell them eventually," she continued. "Plus mom will probably be thrilled about it…I mean she was pretty pissed about everything that happened."
"I'm sure your mom wouldn't be thrilled," Spencer assured her. "Whatever she feels about what happened, she wouldn't want you to be hurting."
"Yeah," Olivia was quick to agree. "And are you sure you're really okay Lex?" She then asked having seen how upset her friend was Friday afternoon when she and Zoey had eventually caught up with Alex and Spencer. "You were really upset on Friday. You know it's okay to be sad about it. You made a mistake. You didn't deserve that."
"I'm fine," Alex replied, trying to brush it off and still refusing to meet her friends' eyes. "Was I upset on Friday, yes, but I'm not going to keep crying about it," she explained, despite the fact that she had spent much of the last three nights crying about the breakup. "It is what it is. I'm perfectly fine."
Not fully believing their friend due to the sadness in the brunette's eyes, Spencer, Zoey and Olivia simply nodded, understanding that Alex was simply doing her best to hold herself together.
"You know we really need a girls night once you're un-grounded," Olivia suggested, breaking the silence. "We could go get our nails done and do some serious shopping or something."
"Yeah and we can go see that new movie you wanted to see Lex," Zoey added.
"Yeah sure," Alex nodded. "That actually sounds perfect," she said, looking up with a smile. "How long are you grounded for Spence?"
"Just until the end of the week," Spencer replied. "It's going to be weird not having you around at all this week," she then said. "Do you know what will happen if the team gets called away this week?"
"No idea," Alex shook her head. "I assume I'll end up with Garcia, or one of the Jareaus will have to come down, but I'm not really sure," she explained. "I guess we'll see if it comes up," she said, having no idea just how soon she would find out.
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Alex was in her last period class of the day with only ten minutes left when the classroom phone began to ring, interrupting her teacher who was in the middle of a long explanation, which most of the class had tuned out long ago. Having been doodling in her notebook, while thinking about telling her mother and JJ about Logan, even though she was still unwilling to talk about her nightmares, Alex hadn't even registered the sound. Lost in thought it took the brunette a moment to realize that most of the class was looking her way.
"Miss Campbell," her teacher called, for what obviously wasn't the first time; finally gaining Alex's attention as the young brunette looked her way. "That was Mrs. McKenzie. Your ride will be picking you up at the office today."
"Oh…uh okay," Alex nodded, feeling her cheeks reddening in embarrassment as the rest of the class continued to watch her. "Thank you."
Since class was almost over now, the teacher had assigned homework before dismissing the class just as the bell rang. Collecting her books, Alex left the class, quickly making her way through the halls towards her locker, slightly anxious to find out who would be picking her up, though still expecting Penelope.
"Hey could we go over a couple math questions on the bus?" Spencer asked her as soon as she made it to her locker; the taller brunette filling her backpack before throwing it over her shoulder. "I just want to make sure I'm doing the questions right."
"I'm not taking the bus," Alex replied. "The office called. Someone's here to pick me up and I'm not allowed to use the phone. We can go over them in the morning though?"
"Yeah sure," Spencer nodded as Alex finished packing her bag and shut her locker. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you," Alex waved before heading in the direction of the main office. Looking around for Penelope, Alex was surprised when another familiar blonde turned her way, smiling as she adjusted the little boy on her hip. "Haley…hi," Alex greeted, feeling slightly awkward, having never spent any time alone with Hotch's wife. "Hi Jack," she added, giving the one year old's hand a small shake, receiving a big smile in reply. "You're my ride?"
"Yeah the team's headed to New Jersey and Aaron called and asked if I would mind if you stayed with me until they got back," Haley explained. "I'll bring you back to your house so you can get your things. Your mom said she'd call you as soon as she can."
"Oh okay," Alex nodded, giving the blonde a small smile, despite her discomfort. "Sounds good," she added, wishing she could just go home to see her mom.
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Alex liked Haley and Jack. She liked that Haley was nice, and didn't try to force small talk, and she liked that Jack found everything she did hilarious, and had the cutest giggle she had ever heard. Despite these things though, Alex couldn't help feeling uncomfortable, unsure of what Haley knew about her grounding, and not really knowing what to talk about when she was with her.
Because of this, Alex was glad when Haley allowed her to work on her homework up in the guest room, only calling her down when dinner was ready. While they ate they talked about school, and Alex had helped with the cleanup before explaining that she had more work to do and making her way back upstairs.
An hour later, as Alex was just finishing up the last of her math, there was a light knock on the door before Haley poked her head into the room, holding up a portable phone. "Alex, honey it's your mom," she explained.
"Oh thank you," Alex smiled politely, making her way over to the door and taking the phone. "Hi Mom," Alex greeted as she put the phone to her ear and Haley left to give her some privacy.
"Hi Sweetie," Emily's reply came through the phone, the sound of many voices in the background. "Sorry I'm still at the precinct, I just wanted to make sure you got settled in with Haley okay."
"I did," Alex replied, pausing awkwardly. "Everything's good. I mean I was a little surprised when she picked me up but it's good," she explained, doing her best to give her mother more than a two-word reply.
"Yeah well Hotch volunteered, and I guess Haley was pretty happy for the company," Emily answered. "I know you don't know her all that well, but I thought you might enjoy spending the time with Jack."
"Oh yeah, it's fine," Alex quickly assured her, hearing the hesitation in her mother's voice and suddenly feeling guilty for the way she had been treating her and JJ all weekend. "So uh…New Jersey huh?"
"It's a mess," Emily sighed. "I don't want to get into it, but it's going to be a long night."
"That doesn't sound great," Alex replied, feeling suddenly saddened by the fact that she would have to spend another unknown amount of days without her mother and JJ.
"Trust me it's not," Emily said, her voice muffling as she answered someone in the background, Alex straining her ears to hear. "Listen kiddo I don't have a ton of time, but everything went well with Dr. Sullivan this morning?"
"It was fine," Alex replied vaguely, not really wanting to discuss the appointment, where she had done her best to keep her nightmares out of the conversation.
"Good, you've got another appointment Thursday after school right? I told Haley I would have the car service bring you and she said she'd pick you up afterwards, if we're not back by then" she explained. "And you have musical auditions Wednesday right?"
"Yep," Alex confirmed.
"Okay well I really have to go, but JJ says she loves you, and we'll both call you tomorrow as soon as we can okay?" The older brunette said, really wishing she didn't have to hang up.
"Okay, tell JJ I love her too," Alex replied, trying, but failing to hide the disappointment in her voice. "Be safe, and I love you mom."
"Love you too babe," Emily replied, a smile in her voice. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Talk to you soon," Alex sighed, listening to the click of Emily hanging up as she flopped down on her bed for the week and hung up the phone she was using. "Miss you."