Hey, long time no see! It's too late to wish you a Merry Christmas. I can say Chanukah tov!, though that would be wrong Hebrew. But I am learning!
But I digress. This is the third chapter, and I don't like to admit it but I'm stuck.
I'm a bit further than this chapter, and I am just past a very important point, and everything I had in my mind can't be written down the way I wanted it to. It makes sense if you know what I'm talking about...
So if anyone would be willing to help me, 'cause I'm not gonna say it here, I would be very, very grateful. And if you don't wanna help, well, review anyway! Lol.

JJ felt much better the next day, having had a good night's sleep, not disturbed by any nightmares.

When she entered the breakfast area, she saw that the entire team was already there. Had they let her sleep in, knowing she needed her sleep? Knowing Emily's mother instincts, she suspected it was the truth.

"Hey guys," she said, sitting down on the only chair left. "Sorry I'm late," she added, even though they had allowed her to be late.

"That's okay," Rossi said nicely, and she nodded. Then, noticing the light mood, she looked around. "What have we got?" she asked, thinking there had been a breakthrough.

"A suspect," Reid replied promptly. "Zack Adams, 34, lost his wife to the storm."

"If he lost his wife, wouldn't it make more sense if he only killed women?"

"Not necessarily," Hotch said. "It does not have to be that his victims remind him of his wife. He could be killing simply for revenge."

JJ nodded; that made sense. "So we've got him?"

"Lewis is on his way right now." Lewis was the local police officer. "We'll find the tools used for the murders in his home, and hopefully there will be blood that links him to the murders."

JJ nodded again, this time grabbing a muffin to eat. She usually wasn't that fond of big breakfasts, but she was quite hungry.

Rossi was right. All the tools used for the murders were found in Zack Adams' barn, and a quick DNA-test showed that the blood matched that of at least three victims. It would be a solid case in court. The case was over.

They flew back that afternoon. JJ felt a bit sorry, she would have liked to spend some more time in the Big Easy. The spirit of the city still surprised and calmed her strangely. Maybe the mood here was exactly what she'd needed after so much drama in her own life.

She sat around the table, in the chair closest to the window. The atmosphere in the plane was not as dark as other days; they had managed to catch the unsub before he killed more people. Still, JJ noticed a dark edge that had to do with the mirror that had been held in front of them. The lack of help from the government after Katrina was a sore spot in many government functions, and JJ could see that some people blamed themselves.

She didn't let that spoil the atmosphere, though. Instead, she played a game of cards with the entire team. Surprisingly, Hotch and Rossi had both joined in too, so that the table was now almost too crowded.

As usual, Reid won the first game. He was good with cards: always had been, with his combination of growing up in Vegas and mathematical skills.

After the first game, it became less and less about the game and more about the talking. These were the talks she enjoyed, JJ mused, as she listened to a case Rossi had been on a long while ago. The moments where pieces of their inner selves shone through the exterior armour most of them had built up over the years.

"So you dated the woman in order to catch her?" Morgan asked disbelievingly, interrupting JJ's thoughts. "Is that even allowed?"

"It was, in this case," Rossi replied. "The ups were desperate to catch her."

"Makes sense," Morgan nodded. "What they want…"

The reference to politics made both Emily and Hotch tense, JJ noticed. She'd seen it before; almost as if they took anything relating to politics personal. She knew they both hated it.

A silence followed Morgan's words, but Hotch quickly broke it.

"I have arranged some time off for all of you, including you, JJ. Three days. I suggest you take your minds off the BAU."

"Really?" Emily asked, excitedly. "Great timing!" Today was Tuesday. Three days off meant they would have a very long weekend.

JJ frowned at her. Emily hardly ever let herself go. Emily, catching her eye, just smiled at her.

"What are you going to do?" Reid asked Hotch.

Hotch replied with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I'm going to try and get Jack for the next couple of days."

They all smiled softly. Hotch as a father just had a cute edge to it.

"What about the rest?" Rossi took after the questioning. "I mean, I know what I am gonna do."

"But we don't all have our own cabin, Dave," Morgan replied smoothly.

"True," Rossi laughed. "But we all have our hiding places, don't we?"

JJ froze. It seemed like a personal comment.

"I think I'll visit Chicago. Haven't been there for a while."

"Good," Rossi nodded.

"I think I will do some reading," Reid piped up. "This case has piqued my interest in how a natural disaster can disrupt people's mental states."

JJ laughed; it was so like Reid to study when he had free time. "Sure, kiddo," Morgan said to him, apparently thinking the same thing.

"I'm going to sleep," Emily groaned. "God knows my bed hasn't been used enough."

"I can help you with that," Morgan said softly, but loud enough for JJ to hear. Emily merely smiled, not acknowledging his comment.

"I can't wait to finally watch that DVD I bought months ago," JJ mused. After solving a case in Tucson, they had been stuck in Arizona due to a storm. Emily and JJ had used that time to their advantage. JJ had never been much of a shopping girl, but Emily turned out to have surprisingly much knowledge of good movies. JJ had ended up with a dozen more DVDs than she'd intended.

"I promise you you won't be disappointed," Emily told her. "Whatever movie you'll choose, you'll like it."

JJ nodded. "I'm sure," she said, half teasing.

They lapsed into silence after that, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. JJ sat back, closing her eyes for a while: the flight would be at least two more hours. She might as well use the time to the fullest…

When she woke again, she was aware of the fact that everyone was looking at her before even opening her eyes. She always knew when people were watching her: it was a gift she'd picked up during her teenage years.

"What?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"No-nothing," Reid stuttered, obviously surprised. JJ opened her eyes.

"Okay, what did I say in my sleep?" Though she cringed on the inside, she kept her words playful.

"Uhm…" Reid started, not knowing how to reply. JJ furrowed her brow. What had she been dreaming about in the first place?

"You were asking someone to tell Sophie you couldn't come today because you were flying the flag," Emily said gently, looking her in the eye. She and Garcia were the only ones who knew that name.

"Oh." JJ rubbed her eyes. "Well, at least it wasn't embarrassing," she said sarcastically. Damn, she though. Just what I needed.

"Are you okay?" Rossi asked her. His brown eyes looked at her with concern.

"Fine," she said, harsher than she'd intended. "I'm fine," she added more softly.

"If you say so…" Rossi trailed off, obviously not believing her.

JJ sat back demonstratively and closed her eyes. "I'm going to try get some more sleep," she said to no one in general. "Wake me up when we're landing, okay?"

JJ did not sleep any more. The simple words her team mates had exchange after she'd gone back to 'sleep' had kept her awake. They'd been talking about all sorts of random things, but sometimes their words would hit a bit too close to home. She knew they were trying to draw her out, but she simply did not want to comment on anything.

There was something going on; she could hear it in Reid's voice, but mostly in Emily's subtle tones. Being profilers, they thought they could hide it from her. After all, she was not a profiler.

But she picked up on it anyway and wondered what it was that made them act differently. It wasn't the usual aftermath of a case, though this case had been quite gruesome: something more was going on.

But JJ was too drained to go investigate. Instead, she chose to continue her pretend-sleep, content with listening and day-dreaming.

Morgan woke her when they had landed and they all departed the plane, taking one last detour to the office. When they arrived, Hotch held her back for a moment.

"JJ."

He said nothing more, but he effectively got her attention. She turned around to him.

"Yes?" She was impatient; she wanted to go home and get the rotten smell of bodies out of her mind.

"I know you have days off, but I still need that file on the Detroit case." It was a gentle reminder, but she knew she needed to hand in the file. After everything that had happened after Detroit, the revelations and the exposure, she hadn't remembered to finish the file.

"I'll drop it off tomorrow morning," she said, nodding. Her free time wasn't going to be very free, anyway. Hotch nodded and held open the door for her, entering the building after her.

--

The day continued peacefully. Emily decided to go back to JJ's apartment to watch the movie she'd recommended earlier: The Virgin Suicides. Frankly, JJ didn't see the brilliance of the movie, but according to Emily, it was very revealing.

After the movie, Emily hung around a little, unwilling to go home. JJ didn't object, grateful for some company, but eventually Emily's fidgeting started to irritate her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked her friend, referring both to the conversation on the plane and Emily's fidgeting.

"Going on?" Emily asked, a confused look on her face. Confused, and ever so slightly caught.

"You've been acting weird all day," JJ explained.

"Oh…" For a moment, it looked like Emily didn't know what to say. "The case," she finally said.

"It's not the case," JJ said shortly. When Emily didn't reply, she sighed. "Nevermind."

"We just… It's… You'll find out," Emily said, her voice slightly pleading. "Just… you'll see."

JJ nodded, seeing she wouldn't get anywhere. "Want some more juice?" she asked, resting the subject.

--

After Emily had left, she took a long, hot bath, relishing the feel of the heated water around her. The hotel in New Orleans hadn't had a bath, and, to be honest, she hadn't really been in the mood to relax. But now…

Lying in the hot water, she slowly drifted off, her thoughts becoming less coherent with the second.

When she woke up, the water was cold.

Sorry if the phrases, particularly the 'flying the flag' one, aren't correct. I looked them up because I pretty much suck at English idioms.

And the Virgin Suicides? I watched it the afternoon I wrote that part, mainly because AJ Cook was in it, and Hayden Christensen, though he had a significantly smaller role. I didn't really get the movie, either. I mean, I got the idea, but it didn't do much for me...