JJ

The house was unusually quiet for having six adults and an infant inside. Garcia was wrapped up in an afghan on the couch, her feet in Prentiss' lap as the others sat wordlessly around the darkened living room. As JJ came back downstairs, she paused in the archway to watch them. She'd been with the team for so long, seen so many people come and go, but one thing always remained the same - they were a family. Gideon's sudden disappearance had left a hole, one she and Hotch had scrambled to fill. They had rebounded well enough, and she knew she had to give a lot of credit to Morgan. While she and Hotch had been bogged down with bureaucratic responsibilities, Morgan had seen to the team's needs. With him gone, she wasn't entirely sure how they would recover.

"You get Henry down?" Will's drawl interrupted her thoughts, and she jumped even as she nodded. His hands rested on her shoulders, and she allowed herself to lean back against his chest.

"I just can't believe this is happening," she whispered, careful not to disturb her friends.

"I know," he kissed her head and rubbed her arms in a gesture of comfort. "I wish there was something I could do to make this better for you."

JJ lifted her arms and let him wrap his arms around her. Standing there, surrounded by him, she felt the first wave of relief wash over her. They would get through this together. Until then, they would have to mend their broken family the best they could. A soft knock interrupted their moment, and she pulled away from him to answer the front door.

"Hey Hotch," she smiled and stepped back to let him in. "Hey Jack." The four year old smiled and held out a sticky hand. She scooped him up from his father's side and brought them both into the house. "Everyone's just through there."

"How are they?"

"Garcia cried herself to sleep about half an hour ago, and Reid hasn't said a word since we left the office. Guess which one worries me more?" They shared a humorless smile as they joined their family in the living room. JJ led Jack over to Reid, who immediately perked up in the young boy's presence.

"Can I leave him with you?" JJ asked softly, and Reid nodded. Jack climbed up into his lap and began his favorite game of asking Reid any question he could think of. With the genius and four year old occupied for the moment, JJ joined Hotch and Rossi over by the door.

She knew the answer just from the look on Hotch's face, but she asked anyway. "You call his mom?"

"Yeah," Hotch kept his voice low to keep from disturbing the rest of them. Emily looked up from her bottle of water, but made no move to leave her seat. Garcia shifted in her sleep, but thankfully stayed under. Turning his attention back to JJ and Rossi, he continued. "I also contacted Dan Heffield at the NTSB. He's going to keep us updated on the investigation." He thought about the phone call he'd received just before he left. "And there's something else."

Rossi perked up. "Something else?"

Hotch nodded and turned to JJ. "Is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

"The den," she motioned toward the hallway, and the two men followed her through the kitchen. A love seat was pushed against the far wall facing a widescreen television. A baby bouncer sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by a plethora of infant toys and various supplies. JJ and Rossi sat down, but Hotch paced the length of the floor a few times before stopping in front of them.

"I got a call just before I left from a woman asking if I'd heard about the crash. At first she wouldn't tell me her name, and I thought it was some sort of sick prank. But then she said..." he paused, still reeling from the information the woman had given him. "She said the crash wasn't an accident."

"What?" JJ shot up out of her seat, and Rossi wasn't far behind.

"I don't understand," he probed.

"There's more," Hotch continued. "She said her fiance was on board, a researcher who was working on something big. She thinks someone crashed the plane on purpose to kill him."

"Did she give you a name?" Rossi asked. "Or even how she came by this information?"

"I wrote everything down, but I'm not sure how seriously to take this," Hotch shook his head. "She might just be looking for an excuse for her loss."

"She's not the only one," JJ added. "We walk into danger every day on this job, but this...we were all blindsided."

"Daddy?" Jack came around the corner, and Hotch knelt down as the boy came closer.

"What's up buddy?" He hoisted his son up to his hip, marveling at how big he was getting.

"Daddy, where's Uncle Derek?" The simple question left them speechless, and JJ covered her mouth with her hand to hide the quiver of her lip.

"He's..." Hotch struggled with the answer, before settling on an easy truth. "He's not here right now, bud."

"Okay," the acceptance of the answer came as easily as the question, and he squirmed in his father's arms. "Can I play with Henry?"

"He's napping right now sweetie," JJ told him. "As soon as he gets up, you can play with him as much as you like." She looked around at the toy-covered den. "In the meantime, can you play quietly in here?" He nodded and squirmed more until Hotch let him down. He settled onto the floor with a pile of plush blocks covered in various cartoon animals and bold, colorful letters. JJ waited until they were a few paces away before pitching her voice low. "What are we going to do?"

"Mrs. Morgan is going to let me know about funeral arrangements," Hotch said. "In the meantime, Strauss has approved a week of leave for the whole team. After that..." He trailed off, unwilling to voice what they were all thinking. One day soon, they would all have to go back to work. They'd lost members of their team before, but never had one been killed. Elle had resigned, Gideon had disappeared, but both were presumably still alive and well somewhere. But life went on, and they couldn't stop doing their jobs just because they'd lost a teammate. The question was, how long would it take for them to look at the new guy and not see just Derek's replacement.

"First thing tomorrow, I'll start looking for possible candidates," JJ said as her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and checked the ID. It was a number she didn't recognize, so she answered as professionally as possible. "Agent Jareau."

"Agent Jareau, this is Kevin Lynch," the analyst's voice was tight with worry. "I heard about what happened and I've been trying to get in touch with Penelope all day. Is she with you?"

"She's here," JJ confirmed. "We're at my place."

"Good," he sighed with relief. "Do you think it would be alright if I came by after work? I...I'd like to make sure she's okay." There was a strain in Kevin's voice she hadn't heard before. The unique nature of Morgan and Garcia's relationship had been a source of contention for him, and as Penelope's friend JJ had heard all about Kevin's insecurities regarding the matter. Still, it sounded like he was willing to put his own feelings aside for Penelope's sake, and JJ's estimation of Kevin shot up a few notches.

"Sure," JJ agreed. "She's asleep right now, but when she wakes up I'll let her know you're stopping by." She gave him her address and hung up before turning back to the two men still standing behind her. "Kevin's coming by later," she told them.

"Good," Hotch nodded. "She's going to need someone to lean on."

"You think she won't lean on us?" Rossi asked.

"We're too close," JJ explained. "She knows we're grieving, too. She won't want to add to our troubles."

"That's ridiculous," Rossi shook his head, and JJ agreed.

"That's Garcia," she chuckled. "She thinks about everyone else first. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I'll be able to walk into that bullpen knowing he won't be there." JJ took a deep breath and shook her head. "For her, it'll be ten times worse." With that, she left the two men standing in the den as she made her way back to the living room to sink into the quiet grief that had consumed them all.