"All the years I've lived on the East Coast, I've never visited Atlantic City," JJ said as she took a seat on the jet. Emily shook her head a little, and JJ wondered what was going through her head. "What? It's not like I've had the money to just head out there any time that I wished. I didn't get my student loans paid off until the third year I was with the FBI."

"Oh. I forget sometimes that not everyone has the same background that I do," she replied softly before reaching across the table and giving her hand a gentle pat. "Sorry. I just love spending weekends here."

"Especially those Sin to Win ones?" Derek asked as he came up to their sides, plopping down next to Emily and knocked shoulders with her. "You know, you never did tell me what those were all about. What sorts of sins did you commit to win the prize?" he teased.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied, reclining against the back of the seat. "That is just one of the things that is going to have to remain a mystery between us." Emily was trying to smile, but JJ noticed that it didn't quite reach her eyes. Yet with everything that she had been through in the last few months, she didn't blame Emily for not fitting back in as seamlessly as she could. And the lingering tension that existed between her and Morgan, and JJ and Reid, only seemed to drive home how far apart they all still were.

"If Strauss was here, she'd know how to fix everything," JJ whispered as she looked down at her stomach. No one seemed to hear her words, and for that she was grateful, but she couldn't help feeling like there were serious cracks in the foundation of their team. The rest of the way to Atlantic City, JJ found herself lost in her own thoughts, wondering what the case would bring them. This one seemed weird from the outset, and she hated those cases, since they never went well.

By the time they landed, Morgan and Emily had broken out a deck of cards and were caught up in a tense game of five card stud. JJ didn't play many card games, so she wasn't able to keep up with them, she only knew that Derek was losing, and badly from the faces he was pulling.

"All right, card sharks, we have to get to the precinct." They all looked up at Rossi, though JJ noticed that his gaze was fixed on her. "Are you ready to head out?"

"I suppose," she replied as she took hold of his outstretched hand and let him guide her out onto the tarmac. "What's up?" she murmured as they walked to the waiting vehicles.

"You seem tense these days. Is there anything that you'd like to tell me?"

Trust him to see way too much, even if she wanted to keep it hidden. It was the reason that he was so good at his job. "I wish that I could give you something that would make sense. There's just this lingering feeling of unease in me, and I don't know where it's coming from. Though I do wake up some nights with the taste of almonds on my tongue. Did you know, that after a while, almonds taste bitter?"

His head cocked to one side as he helped her into the back of one of the SUVs, climbing in beside her. "No, I can't say that I did know that, Jen." Rossi took a deep breath, as if he wanted to ask her something else, but was holding back for some reason.

"Well, they do." She fell silent, leaning her head against the window as Hotch got behind the wheel and drove them out to the precinct. The rest of the day passed in a blur, and JJ felt like she was just going through the motions of her job, while the others made actual, concrete, progress on the case.

She did catch Hotch looking at her in concern a few times, and she vowed to herself to act normal for the rest of the case. Which worked well up until Rossi put himself in the line of fire, and she cleaved to Hotch, feeling a fierceness in her breast that she hadn't felt in months. There was something so right about standing next to Hotch, even if it was only for a few tense minutes.

It had still been awful to see the man commit suicide in front of them, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to erase that image from her mind for a long time to come. Giving a half-hearted wave to the rest of the team, she trudged up to her hotel room and closed herself behind the door, sinking to the floor as she scrambled to pull out her cellphone and dial home. She needed to hear Will's voice, to have him reassure her that everything was going to be all right.

"Did you solve the case, Jay?" he asked before even telling her hello, and she felt a little bothered by that, by the lack of niceties in their conversations lately.

"We did, I should be home tomorrow sometime. Did Henry get right to sleep?"

"He was out like a light tonight. I think that he just played all the energy out of himself today. We went to the park after I got off my shift, but it wasn't the same without you. Oh, and a Matt Cruz called, asking after you. I thought you were done with him and all that business?"

There was a touch of jealousy in his voice, and JJ smiled at the idea that she was still someone he would get jealous over, that she was still desirable to him in that way. "I am, but we still have a few loose ends that might come up now and again. I suppose that's one of the drawbacks of a mission like mine. I'm glad that I'm back with the BAU, though, since I get to stay in the US."

"That is very true. Henry seemed to miss you more this case than in previous ones. I think that it was so close to home, you know?"

"How would he know that?"

"I've taken to showing him on the map where you all are. It makes him more comfortable with things, which is what he needs. Stability and comfort are the best things for a kid his age."

She could almost hear the vague displeasure in his voice that spoke of how much he resented the fact that she had chosen to return to the BAU rather than stay home permanently with Henry once her stint in Afghanistan had come to an end. "And I would love to be able to take a normal nine to five job, Will. That's just not in my blood. I know what it's like to bring down some of the monsters that are in this world, making it just a little bit safer for Henry when he spreads his wings and flies away from us. You know that same feeling, don't tell me otherwise."

There was a long pause, and JJ could almost hear him muttering a little on the other end of the line. "I suppose that you have a point there, Jay. I shouldn't have snapped at you, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, we all get like that. I'll see you soon?"

"Yes, you will, and Henry will be glad to see his mother." There was a long sigh before he spoke once more. "Love you."

"Love you, too," she replied before ending the call and getting up off the floor, making her way over to the bed. She was too tired to even think about taking her clothes off, and she crawled beneath the covers and pulled them up over her head, letting sleep claim her.