A/N: Had a huge powerout today. Worked a four hour shift, beginning to end, by torchlight, and now I have a major headache. You're lucky I was able to look at the computer screen long enough to update you.
Disclaimer: I don't own CM.
Morgan looked up from his paperwork as Hotch descended the stairs from the catwalk.
"Going somewhere, Hotch?" he asked, sitting up fully and spinning around to face the older man.
"I'm actually on my way out so go and check on JJ. She's been taking an increasing amount of time off recently...I was just going to go and make sure that everything's ok," Hotch explained, walking up to Morgan as he looked down at his phone.
"Won't she see that as an invasion of her privacy? Shouldn't we just let her tell us what's going on?" Morgan countered.
"She might see it that way, but you know JJ would never give in and tell us if something's wrong. I'm getting quite worried about her. I just want to make sure that they're all ok," Hotch insisted. Morgan nodded.
"Fair enough," he said softly. Watching as his boss exited the bullpen and headed for the elevator, he hoped that everything was ok in the LaMontagne household. And he prayed that whatever had JJ acting so strangely could be fixed.
Upon opening the front door, JJ was surprised to find Hotch standing on the doorstep. "Hotch? What are you doing here?"
Hotch cocked an eyebrow. "Hello to you too, JJ"
JJ blushed slightly. "Sorry, you just..surprised me"
"I'm sorry that I came unannounced, but I just wanted to make sure everything's ok. You've been taking a lot of time off in the past couple of weeks," Hotch pointed out. JJ dropped her gaze, intentionally avoiding his eyes.
"Yeah. It's just...it's personal-"
"JJ!" came Will's panicked cry from inside the house. For a brief second, Hotch saw fear flash across JJ's eyes. She turned on her heel and ran down the hallway, towards Will's voice. Knowing that something was definitely wrong, Hotch knew he couldn't just leave. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him just as Henry ran up to him.
"Uncle Aaron!" he said excitedly. Hotch smiled, swinging the little boy up onto his hip.
JJ practically skidded across the floorboards as she rounded the corner into the ensuite bathroom. "Holy shit!"
Will was doubled over the sink, a cloth bunched firmly under his nose, blood staining the front of his shirt. There was blood in the basin, and his skin was paling.
"You only had a fever!"JJ exclaimed, grabbing a fresh cloth. Turning Will to face her, she made him move the other cloth away from his nose. Dark red blood spilled down over his top lip. She couldn't fight away the fear she was feeling as she pressed the clean cloth underneath his nose.
"I know, cher. I had just finished washin' my hands, and then I felt somethin' drippin' on my lip," Will explained. Neither of them noticed when Hotch appeared in the doorway, Henry on his hip.
"Will, you ok?" he asked, making JJ jump. Will shot JJ a look that clearly said 'You haven't told them yet?'. JJ glared at him, shaking her head slightly.
"Yeah, I'm ok...just a bad nosebleed," Will replied, half laughing. The laughter set off a coughing fit. JJ pulled away as he rounded for the sink, and promptly coughed up what looked like a blood clot into the basin.
"Oh my god. That's bad," JJ whispered, half to herself. Hotch's eyes widened as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Letting Henry down to his feet, he stepped into the bathroom.
"I feel kinda dizzy, cher," Will managed to say before his legs gave out underneath him. Hotch leapt forward, managing to catch the Southerner before his head hit the ground.
"I'm calling 911," JJ said quickly, hurrying from the room. Henry watched his mother run off, and then slowly approached his father and his uncle.
"Daddy? Is you ok?" he asked softly, looking extremely scared. Will weakly took Henry's hand, squeezing gently.
"I'm gonna be fine"
Hotch approached JJ as she sat in the waiting room. He'd taken the rest of the day off to make sure Will was ok, and had organised for Beth to come and pick up Henry so he could play with Jack.
Holding out a cup of coffee, he sat down beside the young blonde. JJ glanced over at him, taking the coffee he was offering.
"Thanks," she mumbled, taking a sip. As she tipped her head back, Hotch noticed that her eyes were red rimmed.
"JJ...it's just a nosebleed. Why are you so upset?" he asked gently. JJ bit her lip, his words causing tears to well up in her eyes.
"It's not. It's so much more than you think," she whispered. Hotch watched her, trying to figure out what she could possibly mean by that, when she looked up at him, tears cresting her lower lashes.
"Will has leukaemia, Hotch. He was diagnosed nearly three months ago," she choked out. Hotch exhaled heavily, his heart sinking with sadness.
"It can be treated, JJ. Radiation, chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants-"
"No...it can't. It had progressed too quickly and too aggressively by the time they found it...he's only got about five months left," JJ cut in, the tears spilling over and running down her cheeks. Hotch was lost for words. He didn't know how to provide comfort to someone who was going to lose a loved one.
"JJ, I'm so sorry," he said softly, sincerity and sympathy in his eyes.
"Jennifer," a voice called before either of them could say another word. JJ looked up and saw Dr Ramsell walking towards her.
"How is he?" she asked, jumping up as he reached them.
"Would you like to go somewhere more private to discuss this?" Dr Ramsell asked softly, noticing that JJ wasn't alone. JJ shook her head, wiping away tears.
"No. No, I want to know what's going on. Right now," she insisted. Dr Ramsell nodded knowingly, leading her back to her seat. Pulling a chair up in front of the two agents, he sat down, clasping his hands in front of him.
"Jennifer, Will has reached the turning point a little earlier than I expected. You knew that his liver and spleen had begun to fail?" he began. JJ nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah, uh...he'd been feeling pretty low. Fevers, nausea, the things you told us to look out for," she confirmed.
"Well, it seems that his kidneys have followed suit. The nosebleed he suffered was the calling card of kidney failure. And I have to be brutally honest, it's only going to get worse from here on out"
"Does that...does that mean he has less time?"
"I wouldn't think so, but with these types of cancers, you can never be sure. Dialysis twice a week would give Will the best quality of life. He would be able to get up and be moving around with minimal pain. I know it seems like I'm suddenly thrusting another treatment at you, but dialysis was always going to be needed from the very start"
JJ hadn't noticed that Hotch had reached over and taken her hand in a gesture of comfort. "Can I see him?" she asked tearfully. Dr Ramsell nodded, standing up and beckoning for her to follow. It was then that JJ realised Hotch had her hand...and was grateful for it. Letting go, she gave him a weak smile before following Dr Ramsell down the hall.
Entering the room, JJ couldn't help but be a little afraid. Will was extremely pale, with tiny bruises lining the left side of his jaw, just below his ear. A nasal cannula was helping him breathe properly until the bleeding in his airway cleared up.
As she approached the bed, Will turned his head to the right, and broke into a weak smile. "Hey. I was beginnin' to think you'd abandoned me," he teased as she leaned down and kissed his cheek.
"Never. I love you too much," JJ replied, pulling a chair up to the edge of the bed. Placing her arms on the rail at the side of the bed, she rested her chin on them, looking down at the physically drained man her husband had become in such a short amount of time.
"How bad is it, cher?" Will asked softly, seeing the fear and sadness in her eyes. JJ took a deep breath, blinking back tears.
"Kidney failure. You'll need dialysis twice a week to be able to get up and move around with little pain," she said gently. Will exhaled heavily, looking up at the ceiling.
"There's always somethin' else, isn' there?" he sighed.
"Will-"
"It's ok, JayJay. I'm gonna have the dialysis...only 'cause I wanna be able to spend time with you an' Henry," Will said quickly, giving her a reassuring smile. JJ smiled back, leaning down to give him a soft kiss.
"Thank you"