Chapter 33

JJ's parents arrived in the afternoon.

Dave was dozing in the chair he had occupied again beside Jennifer's bed, when they knocked on the door and entered when no one answered.

JJ had just finished feeding Hannah, and the nurse had brought a few bites to eat for Henry as well, and now she was contently sitting in her bed, holding her two children, and letting Henry cuddle with his tiny sister, gently holding him back every time he was unintentionally a bit too rough with her. She couldn't help the grin forming in her face when she had found Dave asleep on the chair next to her bed once she'd woken up from her nap. The position in which he was sitting on there would definitely cause his neck to hurt for a few days, but she had no intention of waking him up. He deserved a few minutes of rest after staying firmly by her side in the past twenty-four hours without getting any real sleep.

Feeding Hannah and Henry, she'd had a few moments for herself to think about the situation.

Her heartbeat sped up as she thought about the sight of him with the children, a flood of warmth running through her body, when she remembered the kiss he'd given her the night before, only minutes before their daughter had been born, but then her mind wandered back to the previous months, and how he had caused her more pain than anyone else ever had in her life.

She knew she had been in love with him for a long time, a feeling that had not subsided, and she was not sure if it ever would, or if she actually wanted it to do so. For a moment, she wished for someone to tell her what to do, but she knew that she had to come to a decision by herself.

With how readily he had accepted the father role all of a sudden over the past weeks, JJ knew that he wanted it all, being a family in the truest sense of the word. But was she ready for that? Could she ever trust him enough for that? She simply didn't know the answers to that questions yet.

As long as she could keep him at bay, she reckoned he would never be able to hurt her again the way he did. Now it was her turn to suggest being friends rather than being lovers. Getting the kind of friendship with him back that they'd had before her pregnancy, would surely be the best thing for her and the children.

Pressing a soft kiss on her daughter's dark hairs, she came to the decision to wait and see how the next few weeks would turn out for her and Dave, how she and Dave would get along. It would hopefully help her realize what they both were supposed to be for each other in the future.

*********

The arrival of her parents pulled her out of her thoughts, and woke Dave up from his nap.

At first, Mary-Ann and Robert Jareau only had eyes for their new grandchild. Numerous oh's and ah's were uttered as they took turns in holding her, and Dave grew more nervous with every minute that passed that they were ignoring him. Whether it was on purpose or because they were simply too stunned with their new granddaughter he didn't know.

Usually he would simply try and leave a good first impression on a love interest's parents by pulling all of his charm, but first of all, JJ wasn't just a simple love interest, and second, with everything that had happened, and what JJ's parents might have heard of him, they certainly already had an opinion about him, and it was safe to assume that it wasn't a good one, so his charms alone wouldn't help him here.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for Dave, JJ interrupted her parents' cooing over the baby and turned their attention to Dave.

"Mom, Daddy, this is David Rossi, Hannah's father. Dave, these are my parents, Robert and Mary-Ann Jareau."

Dave held his hand out and said politely: "Mr. and Mrs. Jareau, it's an honor to finally meet you. Jennifer has told me a lot about you."

JJ's parents stared at him icily for a few seconds, but didn't accept his outstretched hand.

"Under different circumstances I'd say it is a pleasure to meet you, but this does not seem appropriate right now," JJ's mother answered, never even bothering to hide her anger with Dave about what he had done to her daughter.

Robert Jareau didn't say anything at first, just looking Dave over from head to toe.

"How old are you?" He finally asked roughly.

"Daddy!" JJ hissed embarrassed.

"What?" Her father shrugged. "Can you tell me what you were thinking getting involved with a man as old as your father?" Turning to Dave again, he bit out: "Or you, couldn't find a woman your age?"

JJ took a deep breath. She knew her parents would react like that, which was why she hadn't told them Dave's age before, but she couldn't believe that her father would actually embarrass her like that in front of him. If anything, she would have expected them to make their disapproving remarks about the age difference in private, but their anger towards Dave was obviously strong enough to want to slap him in the face. God help her and Dave, when her parents found out that Dave was married three times and divorced as many times.

She had to give Dave credit, though. He never even flinched, let alone blinked at her father's harsh questions, but answered firmly in a calm voice: "I'm 54 years old, sir."

Seeing her mother wanting to add something and her father having another retort on his lips, JJ quickly intervened.

"Mom, Dad, please! I don't want a scene in front of the kids now!"

Then, much to Mr. and Mrs. Jareau's surprise, Henry felt the urge to be on Dave's arm again. He had dozed against his mother's chest while his grandparents were preoccupied with Hannah, but the voices becoming louder and angrier than before had confused him. He crawled down JJ's legs and called for his Da-da again, reaching his hands out for Dave.

JJ's parents were staring in surprise at the scene displaying in front of them, and Dave suddenly felt the overwhelming need for some fresh air, and asked JJ: "Do you mind if I take a little walk with Henry, so that you and your parents can talk?" JJ nodded and he gave her a gentle smile, nodding shortly at her parents, before leaving the room with Henry.

While JJ debated with her parents, and tried to explain them that Dave was a good man, despite what he had done, and that his age was nothing she was willing to discuss with them, Dave went down to the cafeteria again to get a little cupcake for Henry and some strong coffee that he felt he needed now for himself. Watching Henry chew happily on the cake, he felt relieved that his first meeting with JJ's parents was over and that he was actually still alive.