Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds (sadly). There are some direct quotes from Season 7, Episode 1, but other than that, all of these ideas are strictly my own. Enjoy!
Present Day.
JJ took a deep breath as she stepped off the elevator at the FBI Headquarters in Quantico. She couldn't believe that she was back. She couldn't believe that the team wanted her back. When Rossi initially asked her to come back, JJ knew that she had a lot to think about.
She had just moved into a new apartment after she and Will separated, she had Henry to think about and something else too. It's not that she and Will didn't love each other, they just weren't meant to be and when things came up that couldn't be changed, and JJ told Will what had transpired before she left the BAU, it was just too much for their relationship to handle.
JJ was nervous about seeing him. She hadn't seen him since she helped Emily disappear and even then, things were so hectic, they didn't really talk. It's not like they could have. She wouldn't even know what to say. The only one who knew was Emily. They weren't able to talk much but JJ need to tell someone about what had happened. Mainly after a few months she wouldn't be able to hide much and once her, and Will broke up, it wasn't hard to deduce the obvious, that Will wasn't the father of her youngest child.
JJ smiled thinking about her little ones at home. Henry loved being a big brother to his little sister Elizabeth and JJ loved seeing her little girl grow up. Sure, Elizabeth was only four months old but every day there is something new to see with her little girl.
"JJ?" Rossi's voice came from behind her. She realized that she was just standing in the doorway, unable to move. "Are you okay?"
She nodded before stepping through the door. She noticed Hotch's door open, but he wasn't in his office. "Where's Hotch?"
"Heading up an investigative task force. With the team downsizing, he was reassigned," Rossi responded.
JJ felt a pain in her chest, not sure how she should feel about this. On one hand, she was glad that she wouldn't have to see him. It had been a struggle thinking about her feelings for Hotch and coming back to work for him. She wasn't sure how she would work with Hotch anymore, especially now that they had a child together, even if he didn't know about their daughter.
It's not that JJ wanted to keep it hidden from Hotch. Elizabeth was the light of her life, she just wasn't sure how he would take it. She knew that after their night together, she wasn't going to be able to see him and that's why she had decided to finish the rest of her work at home. She knew that it was going to be hard, that's why she started going to brunch with Morgan, Reid and Garcia. Once she really started to show though, she had told them she was sent away on assignment, which was true.
When that bomb went off in the Middle East, she thought she would lose the baby. She was far enough along that she was showing, and she was sure that she had lost her baby. But when she woke up, and her baby bump was still there, Cruz was sitting next to her and said that it was a miracle. She knew that her little one was a fighter, just like her mom and dad.
Elizabeth Rosaline Hotchner was born on April 24, 2011. She was a few weeks early, just like her brother and at first JJ was worried because she was a little underweight, but the doctor said that could have been because of the stress that was put on her body while she was pregnant. JJ wasn't sure if she wanted to use Hotch's last name for Elizabeth but knew that there would come a time that she would have to tell Hotch that they shared a daughter together. She still wasn't sure about what she wanted to say during that conversation.
"JJ!" She heard her name yelled before being bear hugged by Garcia. "I missed you so much! How is my godson? How's Will? How are you? God, I missed you!"
JJ laughed, missing Garcia and how she normally is. "Garcia, I've missed you too! Henry is amazing growing like a weed. Will is… okay," she said, not sure what to say about her ex-boyfriend.
Garcia looked at Morgan, who had appeared next to her. "What was that? She paused, why did she pause?"
JJ looked down at the ground, mustering up the strength to tell the rest of the team what was going on. She knew that she would have to tell them at some point, she just wasn't sure how to. "Will and I broke up, Garcia."
Garcia looked at JJ in shock. "What! What happened? Are you okay? I thought you leaving the BAU and going to the Pentagon would lessen your hours and you could spend more time with Henry and Will."
JJ nodded. "This is all true, but something came up and Will and I decided that it was best if we just weren't together anymore."
"Something came up? What came up?" Garcia questioned.
JJ shook her head, she wasn't ready to tell the team yet. Not because she was ashamed, but because she knew that she needed to talk to someone first. Hopefully she could talk to him before the team found out about Elizabeth. "That's a story for another time. I thought we had a case?"
Rossi nodded his head, knowing that the team got side-tracked. "We do, bullpen in five everyone."
As the team went their separate ways, JJ breathed a sigh of relief, that wasn't so hard. Now it was time to get back to work.
Two months later
Hotch was worried about coming back. It's not that he was worried, he just wasn't sure how he was going to react to seeing her. It had been almost seven months since he had last laid eyes on her and now they were going to tell the team about Emily.
Here he was, walking down the hallway to meet her after he had sent her an email telling her that they needed to speak. Little did he know, she was worried that he had found out about Elizabeth. She still wasn't sure why she hadn't told him yet, but it hadn't been the right time.
Now, here they were, face to face, for the first time in seven months. Hotch knew that he had to be professional, a child's life depended on it.
JJ had to keep her stance professional but seeing him, even with the beard, made her breath hitch. He looked the same as he did seven months ago. Elizabeth had only been a few weeks old when they faked Emily's death and even though Hotch didn't know about her, seeing the man that had fathered her daughter, made him even more attractive.
"What's going on?" She questioned, even though she knew the obvious. It was time, she could feel it.
"It's time," Hotch stated simply, wincing as his voice cracked. Seeing her brought up so many emotions. When he woke up in his bed the morning after they slept together, he was nervous to see her, but also excited. Then, he got to the office and Strauss told him that JJ had asked to finish her case load at home. Why had she done that? Did she regret it? Hotch knew that he didn't regret it, it was something that he had thought about doing for a long time, but he didn't think the blonde felt the same way.
"Why? What happened?" JJ asked. Even though she knew that this was coming, she still wanted to know why they needed to now.
"Decklin made a call and Emily got wind of it. She's on her way. Gather everyone in the conference room."
Once everybody was in the room, Hotch walked in. JJ held her breath, knowing what was about to happen was going to shatter the team and their trust, but what she and Hotch had done was necessary to protect Emily.
"Everybody, have a seat," Hotch began. Before he could get any farther, Morgan questioned it.
"Why? What's going on?"
Hotch took a deep breath and then looked at JJ, as if for guidance or confirmation or just comfort, he wasn't sure. All she could do was nod her head, she knew that he needed her support.
"Seven months ago, I made a decision that affected this team. As you all know, Emily had lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle," Hotch paused, waiting for this to sink in. He knew that there was a lot for the team to handle.
"But, the doctors were able to stabilize her, and she was airlifted from Boston to Bethesda under cover exfiltration. Her identity was strictly need-to-know, and she stayed there until she was well enough to travel," Hotch paused again, took a deep breath and looked around the room. He saw the shocked looks on Morgan, Garcia and Reid's faces, Rossi was just staring off into space.
"She was reassigned to Paris where she was given several identities, none of which we had access to, for her security." At that, some of the team spoke up.
"She's alive?" Garcia asked, shocked.
"But, we buried her," Reid stated.
"As I said, I take full responsibility for the decision. If anyone has any issues, they should be directed toward me," Hotch stated, looking directly at JJ. She looked down, unable to meet his eyes. She knew that he was saying that to protect her. She knew that she was going to face some backlash, especially from Reid.
"Any issues?! Yeah, I got issues," Morgan exclaimed, feeling extremely hurt. Hotch knew how he felt about Emily's 'death' and how he blamed himself and not once did he say anything.
Before anybody could say anything, Emily appeared at the doorway. "Oh my god," Garcia whispered.
After hugs were shared and apologies were given, it was fully speed ahead in locating Decklin and interviewing Doyle.
After things settled down, Emily and JJ had some time to themselves in the conference room. "How is the little one?" Emily asked, not wanting to say too much because she didn't know if Hotch knew yet.
JJ smiled at the thought of her daughter. "She is growing like a weed. I can't believe that she is almost seven months old. You know, I love Henry and I love having a son but, I always imagined myself having a daughter."
Before Emily could respond, somebody behind them said something. "Seven-month-old daughter?"
JJ froze and closed her eyes. He heard Emily, he was going to figure it out. When she opened her eyes, Emily was looking at her with worry written all over her face. "JJ…" Emily began, not sure what to say, and wanting to make sure that she was okay.
JJ looked at her best friend and nodded her head. She wanted to let Emily know that she could do this. She knew that she was going to have to tell Hotch eventually, but she wanted to do it on her own terms. She knew she should have told him before Elizabeth was even born, she wasn't sure how.
Emily walked out of the room, leaving the two parents to themselves. JJ hadn't turned around to look at Hotch, she didn't want to see his face. But when he said her name again, she finally got the courage to turn around.
"Hotch…" JJ began, not sure what to say. How could she become so tongue tied?
"Just tell me the truth," Hotch said, trying to keep his emotions in check.
"What do you want to know?" JJ asked. She wanted to let him ask the questions and she would be 100 percent honest with him.
"You have a daughter? Who's seven months old?" Hotch asked.
JJ nodded. "Yes, her name is Elizabeth Rosaline."
Hotch took a deep breath, noting that she hadn't said her daughters last name. "JJ… I need to know."
Once again, JJ nodded. "She was born on April 24, 2011. And her birth certificate reads 'Elizabeth Rosaline… Hotchner."
JJ looked down but then looked back up when she heard Hotch's sharp intake of breath. She could see the questions in his eyes, the wonder and the amazement. Pulling out her phone, JJ scrolled through and pulled up a picture from a few nights ago when they were watching TV, Elizabeth was on her lap and they had taken a cute mother/daughter picture together.
When Hotch took the phone and looked at the young girl in JJ's arms. He couldn't believe it. He noticed that she had blonde hair like her mom but those eyes… they were the colour of his. She had his eyes.
"She's… mine?" Hotch asked, although seeing the picture, he knew that there was no question that he and JJ shared a daughter together. He had a daughter.
JJ took a step forward and took her phone so that she could hold his hands. They pair looked straight into each other eyes, as JJ spoke next.
"Yes, Hotch… Elizabeth is your daughter,"
A/N: AHH what is this? Another chapter already? My inspiration for this story is on fire! Thank you to who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story. Your support means everything. As always, please review! I could have gone on for longer, but that seemed like a good place to stop. I have to work a ridiculous number of hours over the next three days (Almost 40 hours in 3 days anyone? No takers? Guess I'm crazy). Unfortunately, that means that when I am not at work, I am going to be sleeping and I won't be able to update until at least Sunday. Fear not though, there will be a chapter on Sunday! Thank you for all of your support! I can't wait to hear from you all. Until next time… xoxo