Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, and alerted to this story. I understand how this subject could be personal both to victims of abuse and to those who may have second hand experience. For that reason, I welcome anonymous and signed reviews. Thank you for your feedback.
JJ awoke the next morning to bright sunlight peaking through the blinds of Hotch's guest room. Cursing herself involuntarily for having slept in so late, she jumped up and quickly dressed. Pulling her hair into a tight ponytail, she rushed down the stairs, wondering how she could have let this happen.
She should be making breakfast—Henry needed a routine.
What was she thinking, sleeping in so late?
She was surprised at the smiling figure that greeted her as she rounded the corner toward the kitchen.
Hotch. In an apron. A red, frilly, apron. Making pancakes.
"Good morning." Hotch's voice was gruff and low, but there was a gentleness that surprised her as he gestured to a spot at the table next to Henry. "How many?"
"Excuse me?" She sputtered as she sat down into the chair.
"How many pancakes?" Hotch repeated with a smile. "You strike me as a person that starts off with two?" He guessed, flopping the warm pancakes on a plate and setting it down in front of her. "Henry, would you like another one?" Hotch asked.
If JJ had been surprised at Hotch making breakfast, she was astounded by what happened next. "Yeah." Henry grinned, his face messy with chocolate and dripping with syrup.
JJ blinked, completely astounded.
"I hope you're okay with me giving him sugar." Hotch cringed as he flopped a couple of pancakes on Henry's plate and smirking as the boy doused his chocolate chip pancakes with syrup.
"Um, yeah." JJ shook her head to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Yeah, that's fine." She blinked, still not quite comprehending.
Her son. Henry. Had just spoken.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she watched her son carefully cut his pancakes and happily shove them in his mouth.
Hotch seemed to appreciate the rarity of the situation, but didn't say anything lest he make the boy feel uncomfortable. Seeing JJ's awestruck joy, he bit the inside of his cheek as he prepared himself for a discussion he wasn't sure she was ready to have. "JJ, Garcia called. Derek and Emily are dropping her off here. They should be here any minute."
JJ's head snapped up in surprise, the pleasant easiness of the situation melting before her eyes. "Do they know?" She asked urgently with a glance toward the oblivious seven year old, attempting to stay vague for the sake of her son.
He didn't need to know everything that was going on.
People just didn't understand.
"She talked about how you had been in an accident." Hotch frowned at the thought of covering up what had happened.
But the relief that washed over JJ's face nearly made him sick.
"Thank God." JJ sighed, gratefully thanking the day she had ever met Penelope Garcia.
"They deserve to know." Hotch reminded her gently. It wasn't that he wanted to pry, nor was it that he didn't think that JJ was capable of making her own decisions.
It was just….this team, they were a family. And he cared for JJ more than he would ever admit.
But damn it, why did she have to be so stubborn?
"Why, so they can pity me too?" JJ scoffed. "I told you Hotch, this is none of your business."
Inside, he wanted to scream. None of my business? Loving you makes it my business! His heart longed to retort, but the broken look in JJ's eyes made him hold back.
He wasn't about to watch her get hurt, but there was something he had to do before he helped JJ rid the cancer from her life.
He had to convince her that she had a problem.
And just like addicts, that was the first—and hardest—step.
His thoughts were interrupted as a flash of color barreled into his home. "You're okay?" Penelope gasped, just about to wrap JJ in her arms before freezing as if suddenly struck with the thought that JJ could be hurt more than she appeared.
That thought wasn't too far off the mark.
Derek and Emily stepped inside gingerly, each shooting Hotch an uncomfortable smile as they stood in the doorway to the dining room.
"Nice apron." Morgan remarked, a teasing glint in his eye.
"Any of you want pancakes?" Hotch rolled his eyes, ignoring the jab. He bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to keep JJ's secret from spilling out of his mouth.
He hated this.
But JJ would hate him if he said anything.
"I'll take two." Morgan smiled, choking as Emily jabbed him sharply in the gut. "I mean, we probably need to get going." He amended, glancing briefly at the brunette who smiled her agreement.
"None for me, thanks Hotch." Emily agreed politely. "Is everything okay?" She asked hesitantly, somehow managing to clearly convey that she expected an explanation.
JJ sighed, smiling easily while Hotch and Garcia both prepared themselves for the lie. "Yeah, I just learned that coffee isn't enough to keep me awake at four in the morning." She smiled self-deprecatingly. "Light poles and cars just don't mix."
Derek and Emily both stepped back, startled as they looked to Garcia in confused surprise. "I thought you said Will was driving." Derek said, his eyebrow raised as he asked for clarification.
Something felt off.
He hadn't seen JJ in a while, but she looked older.
Sadder.
This just wasn't sitting right.
"He was." JJ amended quickly, shooting a glance at her friend before picking up the story seamlessly. "We were visiting my mom in Pennsylvania and Will had been driving all day. I tried to drive the rest of the way, but I was so tired so he switched me." She explained.
Emily frowned, not believing this story at all.
Like Derek, she felt the odd vibes that seemed to be radiating off everyone in the room.
Something wasn't right.
Quirking her eyebrow slightly, she eyed Garcia seriously. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." She promised, the underlying promise evident to all.
"Tomorrow." Penelope agreed, not breaking her gaze from cataloguing JJ's every feature—lest she miss some awful injury.
She couldn't fail JJ. Not again.
And whether the abused blonde knew it or not, she needed her help.
So Garcia would do her job. She'd make up stories, help JJ cover the trails. All the while cataloguing every piece of information. Skimming dollars and cents off Will's account for one set up in JJ's name.
Because one day, JJ would see she didn't have to live in the horror that had befallen her.
And when she was, Penelope Garcia would be ready.
Penelope sighed as she flopped onto Hotch's large comfy couch. JJ was up trying to make Henry take a bath and Hotch had run back to the office to grab some files.
She smiled at the unspoken message her favorite boss in the whole world had given her as he picked up his keys. Don't leave her side, we're going to fix this.
She hoped that was true. JJ meant more to her than any other person on this planet, excluding maybe Henry. And Kevin. Sometimes.
But this was more than just staging some Intervention. This was more than putting out carefully constructed arguments to show JJ that she logically should not be with Will anymore. This was a matter of the heart. And her misguided and humble, yet totally emotionally vulnerable, friend just couldn't see it.
She deserved better than this.
A knock on the door made her rise warily to her feet. Tired enough not to bother looking through the peep hold, she opened the door slightly to shoo away whatever invader wanted to disrupt this rare moment of tranquility.
Yet the very sight of the intruder on the other side of the threshold made her very blood boil.
Because there, standing with all cocky self-assurance was Will La Montagne.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Penelope growled protectively, closing the door so it was open no more than a mere crack.
"I should ask you the same thing." Will rolled his eyes with an annoyed smirk. "Where is she?" Will asked, looking over Garcia's shoulder to peak into Hotch's home.
"Like I'm going to tell you? You mean spineless coward." Penelope scoffed, slamming the door quickly only to have it bounce back open due to Will's steel-toed shoes blocking its closure. Because of the commotion, she failed to hear JJ descend the stairs and come up behind her.
"Oh, I'm sure you're filling her head with all sorts of lies about me." Will spat. "Attempting to destroy what we have you petty whore—"
"Garcia, who is—?" JJ asked, pulling the door open wider and stopping at the glance of her boyfriend. "Will." She stated his name gingerly, as if uncertain the response it would evoke.
"Oh JJ." He rushed forward, ignoring Penelope's furious cry as the separated couple embraced. "I can't believe this is happening."
JJ's heart lurched as if finally finding a bottom to the endless pit of self-doubt and despair that seemed to grip her at every moment.
It felt so good to be accepted.
To be loved.
She almost wished this moment would never end.
"They fired me." He sighed as he breathed in her scent. "But JJ, we can figure this out together."
"I'm so sorry." JJ murmured as Will snaked his hand through his hair. "Will, I don't know how this all got so out of hand."
"I know you didn't mean for this to happen. You'll just have to be more careful." Will assured, rubbing her back gently. "JJ, I love you so much, I would die without you. I can't live without you—"
"Get away from her." Penelope threatened, the blonde curls and pink flowery jacket undermining the protective flame in her eyes as she wedged her way between the pair. "Get the hell away."
"Penelope—" JJ sighed.
"No!" Garcia turned quickly, holding up her finger. "You don't get to tell me that it was an accident, I heard every word." She whipped back to Will and gritted her teeth angrily. "Get off this property, now."
"Last time I checked," Will sneered, the loving persona dropping immediately as he pushed her slightly in an attempt to force his way into Hotch's home. "You don't live here. You—"
"Get the hell away from me before I call the cops." Penelope screeched threateningly, holding her ground like a wall set in stone.
There was no way Will was getting near JJ again.
Not while there was still a breath in her body.
Will frowned, hatred burning in his eyes as he held up his hands and took a step back. Before Garcia could shut the door, he held up a phone and extended it toward JJ. "Call me and we can talk." He smiled gingerly, sending opposite messages to the two women at the door.
JJ felt her heart surge, the thought of repairing this broken relationship nearly bringing tears to her eyes. One day, she could have it all. It could be right, it could be good.
She just had to get through the rough patch.
Garcia, on the other hand, wanted to vomit. It was like staring down the devil himself, seeing the poison that the man inflicted but not being able to do anything about it. He was a cancer. He was a monster.
And her best friend loved him. How much more hinky could the world get?
JJ took the phone and waved apologetically as she backed away, letting a fuming Garcia shut the door with a bang.
"Look, I know what you're going to say—" JJ sighed, exhausted from all that was happening. "But—"
"JJ." Garcia rubbed her tense brow, fighting the urge to demand JJ destroy the phone right there.
Because that would make her no better than Will. And even if ordering her around might save her life, Garcia couldn't do that. She couldn't become him.
It wasn't as if JJ would actually listen to her anyway.
But she knew that look in her friend's eyes. She knew the way JJ's lips turned up slightly at the sight of that bastard what was going to happen.
Somehow, soon, JJ was going to go back.
And there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it.
"You're my best friend," The tech looked at JJ sincerely, tears welling in her eyes as she spoke straight from her heart. "You know that, right?"
"I know." JJ smiled, touched that her friend could care for her so much despite her messed up life.
"And you know I'd do anything for you, right?" Penelope asked, the tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Oh Garcia, I know." JJ hugged her friend tightly, certain that if Garcia just understood, she wouldn't stand in the way of her and Will's reconciliation. But she was trying, and JJ would never fault her friend for that.
"Then please. Pretty please. With a cherry on top." She begged, pleading with every fiber of her being, "Please don't go back to him unless you are 100% abso-poso-lutely certain that nothing like this, or anything else that's happened, will ever happen again."
"I promise." JJ assured, already knowing in her heart it was true.
Because if she went back right now, it would be better.
It had to be.
Because Will loved her.