So there was a couple things I wanted to do with this chapter in order to wrap up one thing and give you guys a little something you've been asking for! It's a lot of Alex because of this, but I hope you'll enjoy it!
Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, favourited or followed the story!
Enjoy! -J
Chapter 2
"Can't you just take an extra day off?" JJ asked with a pout, leaning against the bathroom doorframe, watching Emily through the mirror as the brunette did her makeup. "I only got one day with you. It's not fair."
"I know baby, but we still have to finish up the paperwork for the last case," Emily replied, knowing the blonde was going crazy being left on her own, but unable to miss anymore work. "I need to finish up my reports since I didn't get a chance to work on them yesterday and then we all have open cases on our desks since we've been away," she explained. "Can't let the team fall behind."
"Morgan could take your cases," JJ suggested hopefully, Emily turning to face her with a small smile. "This house is so big and lonely when you and Alex aren't here," she said as Emily wrapped her arms around her waist.
"I know it is, but pretty soon you won't be alone at all," the brunette reminded her, rubbing a hand over her stomach. "And I promise that when the baby comes I will take a couple weeks off and I will be right here with you," she said. "But for now I need to go to work so Strauss can't give me a hard time when Hotch does give me the time off for the baby."
"I know," JJ sighed, having been through this with the brunette already. "It doesn't change the fact that I hate being away from you."
"I know," Emily laughed. "But it's just a few more weeks baby and then you'll be too busy to even think of work," she said making the blonde laugh. "And Alex will be home after rehearsal tonight, and hopefully I will be home by dinner. Just try and relax. Spend your day with your feet up. Read a book. Watch those awful TV shows you love. Play with Sergio," she suggested. "And maybe if you're lucky I'll bring you a milkshake home."
"Fine," JJ agreed, unable to hide her smile. "But it better be a really big milkshake."
"You got it," Emily smiled, leaning forward to give the blonde a kiss.
"Mom could you drive me to school?" Alex's voice called from the bedroom, interrupting before JJ could deepen the kiss as Emily pulled away.
"Why can't you take the bus?" Emily asked, glancing at her wrist only to realize she had forgotten to put her watch on.
"Because I just missed it," Alex said, coming around the corner with her mother's watch, to show the older brunette the time.
"Well then I guess I better drive you," Emily replied, taking the watch and placing it on her wrist. "And if I'm going to make it to work on time we better get moving. Are you ready?"
"Just gotta grab my bag," Alex said, already leaving the room and heading down the hall quickly.
"Well apparently I need to go," Emily laughed, grabbing her briefcase and turning towards JJ. "You try and stay out of trouble today okay? Maybe get some extra sleep?"
"I'll do my best," JJ smiled, leaning in for a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too," Emily replied, unable to resist leaning in for another kiss.
"Mom! We have to go!" Alex yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "I'll be late!"
"And somehow that will be my fault," Emily joked, giving JJ one last quick peck. "See you later honey," she said, heading for the hallway. "Don't forget you need rest!" She called as she ran down the stairs, finding Alex waiting at the front door. "Alright kid let's go. If we're lucky I'll get you there on time."
"I've seen the way you drive," Alex replied. "I'll be on time," she smiled while following her mother out the door.
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Emily had gotten Alex to school in the nick of time, the teen giving her mother a quick hug before jumping out of the car, running the whole way to the building so she would make it to her homeroom before the bell. Knowing she was going to be late to the office no matter how fast she drove, the profiler sent Hotch a text saying she was a few minutes behind before pulling out of the school parking lot and heading towards Quantico. Though she had hit quite a bit of traffic, the brunette only ended up being 15 minutes late, her arrival into the bullpen drawing the attention of both Reid and Morgan who sat at their desks, already immersed in their case files.
"Little late today Princess," Morgan pointed out as Emily dropped her briefcase onto her desk before dropping into her chair. "What happened? Spending a little extra time with Blondie?" He winked.
"Actually my kid missed her bus," Emily replied, giving her friend a pointed look.
"Sure she did," Morgan laughed, refusing to cease his teasing as Emily simply rolled her eyes.
"How is JJ doing?" Reid asked in an attempt to get Morgan to leave the brunette alone.
"Well she's not doing very well with the whole being left on her own all day," Emily said as she took off her coat and started up her computer. "I'm not really sure if this early maternity leave is really going to help her blood pressure, but I guess she's getting a lot of rest," she explained. "She has become incredibly clingy though. Alex is just loving it."
"Well it's good they get along so well," Reid replied, missing his coworker's sarcasm, making Emily smile. "You know I'm going to the book store after work today, I could pick JJ up a few books so she'll have something to read during the day. Something about babies maybe?"
"Sure Reid, that sounds good," Emily nodded, doubting JJ would really read something Reid picked out, but not wanting to tell the young genius since he was just trying to help. "Do you guys know when we're meeting for our debrief?"
"Boss man said 10," Morgan replied. "Pretty Boy's already done his paperwork for the last case. Apparently that's how he spent his free day yesterday."
"Actually it only took me 10 minutes," Reid said, speed reading through a case file on his desk. "I spent the rest of my day playing chess at the park."
"Even better," Morgan said sarcastically before turning his attention back to Emily. "Anyways I'm almost done mine, but you better get moving if you want to be done on time."
"Thanks buddy, because I didn't already know that," Emily replied rolling her eyes. "Today's just off to a great start."
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Desperate to get most of her homework done at school Alex had spent every spare minute she had during her school day with her nose in a book. The teen wanted to spend some extra time after rehearsal in the backyard kicking her soccer ball around; one of the only leisurely activities she was allowed during her grounding. Hoping to spend the 10 minutes before rehearsal working on a few math problems, Alex had rushed down to the auditorium, taking a seat in the first row and pulling out her books.
She had just put her head down in order to read the question she was on when a voice startled her. "Hey," the voice called out from the stage. "Sorry," he apologized with a small laugh, realizing he had scared the girl.
"I didn't see you there," Alex replied, as her ex-boyfriend made his way down the stairs off the stage and towards her. "Thought I'd be alone in here."
"Yeah well I had a free period last period today so I thought I'd do some touch-ups," Logan replied gesturing towards the stage. "You got a lot of work to do?"
"No not really," Alex replied, putting her pencil down. "I was just hoping to get most of it done before I got home so I could practice for soccer a little after school," she explained. "I'm still grounded but my parents let me practice in the backyard since technically it's for school."
"Ah of course," Logan nodded, having heard that the brunette had made the soccer team. "Well I will leave you to it then. I don't want to disturb you."
"Right, thanks," Alex replied slightly awkwardly, watching as the blonde boy began to walk away before deciding to stop him. "Logan wait," she called; Logan turning around with a confused look. "I just…I wanted to apologize," she began. "For…well for everything. I treated you badly. I never should have lied to you about that day…so…I'm sorry."
"It's alright Lex," Logan replied. "I mean it wasn't…but it is now," he said. "How are things now? With your moms I mean? You seem better."
"I am," Alex nodded with a small smile. "You were right…I was going through some stuff and I just didn't know how to deal, but I'm doing better now," she explained. "I've talked to both my moms and I'm seeing Dr. Sullivan more frequently again, so things are definitely better."
"That's good," Logan smiled. "That's really good. I'm really glad for you Alex."
"Thanks," Alex replied, smiling back. "You know I know we haven't talked since all that…but…I just…I really hope we can still be friends," she said genuinely. "Because I do still have a lot to figure out and deal with…but I could always use another friend."
"Of course," Logan nodded, a big smile on his face. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
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"Mum I'm home," Alex called as she entered the house later that day; Zoey's mom having dropped her off.
"Hey sweetie, I'm in here," JJ called back from where she was getting dinner ready in the kitchen. "Thought I'd make us something tonight since I had some time to spare," she joked. "How was school?" She asked as Alex came over to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"It was really good," Alex smiled; grabbing a carrot out of the salad JJ was making and popping it into her mouth. "Rehearsal went really well today, and I managed to get most of my homework done during lunch," she explained. "I only have a few math questions left…they'll probably only take me like half an hour later," she said with a smile, knowing JJ would understand what she was asking.
"So you're hoping you can go out back and kick the ball around for a while?" JJ laughed as Alex nodded hopefully.
"I just really want to make sure I'm in good shape," Alex replied. "Just going to practice my kicks and run around a bit. Is that okay? Or did you need some help in here?"
"No, no I'm fine," JJ smiled. "You go ahead until your mom gets home," she said. "I'll come get you when dinner's ready."
"Thanks Mum," Alex said happily, giving the blonde another kiss on the cheek before running towards the back door.
Smiling to herself JJ continued getting the salad ready, grateful that she wasn't on complete bed rest, planning to watch Alex practicing after she got dinner in the oven. She was just finishing up, placing the casserole she had whipped up into the oven and was headed towards the backdoor when the ringing of the doorbell stopped her in her tracks.
Not expecting anyone, JJ checked the front window, finding Spencer standing on the porch, looking rather grim.
"Hi honey," JJ greeted when she opened up the door. "Is everything okay?" She asked, unable to ignore the look on the teen's face.
"I'm really sorry to come over," Spencer said quietly. "I know Alex is still grounded, but I was just…I was wondering if maybe I could just do my homework here for a while?" She asked, tapping her foot nervously. "I just really don't want to be home right now," she admitted in an almost whisper, knowing the blonde would understand.
"Come on in," JJ replied, holding open the door and putting her arm around the tall brunette once she was in the entryway. "Do you want me to get Alex?" She asked, knowing Emily would do the same thing despite their daughter being grounded since they cared so much about her friend. "She's just outside kicking the ball around."
"No it's okay," Spencer shook her head. "I'll just do my work," she said heading for the family room, moving to sit in front of the coffee table.
Worried about the teen, JJ went into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water before heading into the family room and placing the water in front of Spencer.
"Thanks JJ," Spencer said with a small smile as JJ sat down on the sofa facing her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" The blonde asked.
"My parents…." Spencer began, struggling for a moment with the right words. "They're both working on pretty big cases this week," she eventually said. "They can be a little...harsh I guess," she shrugged. "It's just a little tense there and they're arguing and they tend to take things out on me."
"I'm sorry sweetie," JJ said, feeling sorry for the teen, whom she knew to be so smart and sweet. "I know it must be hard, but I'm sure your parents are just stressed. They probably don't mean to give you such a hard time. Have you ever tried talking to them about it?"
"They're not the easiest to talk to," Spencer replied. "I mean they're not like you and Emily," she said, JJ feeling a tugging at her heart. "I don't know how to talk to them really. I don't know how to be open with them."
"Well I think that you need to try, but I know that can be hard sometimes," JJ said, having watched Emily struggle with the same thing with her mother for years. "I just hope you know that I'm here if you ever do need to talk. Me and Emily both are."
"Thanks JJ, I do know that," Spencer nodded, biting her lip as she considering bringing up something that had been weighing at her mind for quite some time. "Actually…you know what…never mind."
"Spencer," JJ said, giving the teen a pointed look.
"Well there was something I wanted to ask you," Spencer said hesitantly. "It's kind of a personal question."
"Okay," JJ nodded, not quite sure where this would go. "Well I promise to do my best to answer whatever you ask me."
"Well…" Spencer paused for a moment. "I guess I was just wondering how you knew…when…how old you were…when…when you realized you liked girls," she finally spit out, her face reddening as she took a sudden interest in the coffee table, missing the widening of JJ's eyes.
"Oh," JJ smiled, as Spencer kept her gaze firmly on the table. "Well I guess I was about 15 or 16 when I finally admitted it to myself," she answered. "But I think I kind of knew before that. I mean I tried my best to ignore what I was feeling until I eventually had to accept it."
"What made you admit it to yourself?" Spencer asked quietly playing with the pages of her notebook.
"I realized I was in love with my best friend," JJ admitted. "I dated this guy for a while, and I really liked him at the time, but eventually I realized that what I felt for him was nothing compared to what I felt for her, and I knew they weren't just friendly feelings."
"What happened? Did you tell her?" Spencer asked, looking up carefully.
"No," JJ shook her head, as Spencer raised her eyebrow questioningly. "See she fell for someone else. A guy and she was really happy," she explained. "And her happiness was important to me. Eventually I met someone else and I dated guys and girls and I found my own happiness," she said, watching carefully as the teen seemed to digest this. "Spencer…are you asking me this because of Alex?" She asked, her suspicions confirmed when the brunette's head shot up.
Opening and closing her mouth as she considered a reply, Spencer eventually sighed in acceptance. "Am I that obvious?" She asked, JJ doing her best to contain her excitement.
"Only to someone who has fallen for her best friend before," JJ replied with a small smile.
"I've just been so…confused," Spencer sighed. "I mean she's my best friend, but it's different than with Zoey and Olivia," she explained. "I mean I just…I want to be with her all the time, and I care about her so much and….and it was hard seeing her with Logan," she admitted. "And the whole thing is confusing and scary and I don't even know if I like girls. I mean I've never felt this way before…not with anyone."
"Aw honey I know," JJ said, moving across the room to sit closer to the teen. "Trust me I know it's scary and I know it's confusing, but it's also perfectly normal," she said. "I realized pretty early on that I fell for people because of who they were, not their gender. You may find that you only like girls or maybe you'll like guys too and that's okay too. Don't let that be the scary part," she advised.
"I just don't even know how I…my parents….they're not like you and Emily," Spencer said, repeating her words from earlier. "I mean they like both of you and everything but…they have expectations for me…for my life and I don't think this is really something they would just be okay with," she said, voicing one of her biggest concerns.
"You know I didn't think my parents would be okay with it either, and at first it was a little confusing for them, but eventually they learned to accept it," JJ explained. "I know you're parents are a lot different than my parents but maybe that's something you can talk about with Emily…she might have some better advice for you."
"I don't think I'm really ready to tell anyone else right now," Spencer said shaking her head.
"Of course," JJ nodded, completely understanding. "I get it. I won't tell anyone, I promise," she said. "But do you think I could give you a little advice…about Alex I mean?"
"Sure."
"Alex has been through a lot," JJ said as Spencer listened on carefully. "She's been through more than most people your age, and she's still trying to figure out how to deal with all of that, which is why things didn't work out with Logan," she explained. "You've been a real sounding board for Alex. You've been right by her side since she moved here, and that's something she really needs right now," she said. "You have to be patient with her, because I think she just really needs time still."
"I know," Spencer replied. "But…Do you think she might ever…I mean do you think she could…"
"I do," JJ interrupted, understanding what the teen was asking as she took her hands in hers. "I really do sweetie. She might not see it yet, but I see the way she looks at you. I see the way you two are together," she said. "You two remind me a lot of me and Emily, which is why I really do believe that."
"Thanks JJ," Spencer smiled, giving the blonde's hand a tight squeeze, just as Alex came through the backdoor, breathing heavily.
"Hey Mum I'm just going to grab a….oh hey Spence," Alex said, noticing her friend. "What are you doing here? Have you been here long?"
"Oh no not really," Spencer replied, hoping her friend didn't notice the rather heavy conversation she walked in on. "I just came over to get away from the house," she explained, knowing her friend would understand why. "Brought my homework," she said gesturing towards her books.
"Oh are you working on the math?" Alex asked, already going to get her own backpack from the foyer where it still sat. "You should have come and got me. We can do it together," she said, knowing her friend must be having a hard time if she came over knowing she was grounded.
"I didn't want to interrupt your practice," Spencer said as Alex sat down next to her and JJ stood from the couch.
"Oh please you can interrupt me anytime you want," Alex told her with a smile, opening up her own notebook. "It is okay if she stays right mum?"
"Of course," JJ smiled, already making her way towards the kitchen, wanting to give the girls privacy to talk. "I'll set another place for dinner," she said, knowing Emily would agree. "We'll eat as soon as your mom gets home."
"Thanks Mum," Alex called from the table, the girls already immersed in their homework.
As JJ made her way into the kitchen she couldn't help but smile to herself, glad to hear her suspicions about Spencer and Alex was at least half right; something, which made her incredibly happy. Though she wanted to tell Emily right away, she knew she would keep her promise to Spencer and keep the knowledge to herself; hoping that one day it would all come to light.
