"I can't believe that you're heading to California twice in the space of a week, Jay. Don't they have their own branch of the FBI out there that could solve these cases?"

JJ tried not to roll her eyes at Will's complaints as she shook her head. "No, I'm afraid they don't. Or at least, not for cases like this. Everything is about to fly to pieces out there, and we need to stop it before the city erupts into violence. Then it really will be all hands on deck and who knows when I'd be home. An ounce of prevention…"

"Is worth a pound of cure. Yeah, I've read Benjamin Franklin, too, Jay. And I get it, but your son misses you."

She let out a long, slow, breath, counting to ten in her head as she tried not to explode on him. "The guilt trip thing that you've developed in the last year does not work so well on me, Will. We're going to be together forever, we have a child together, but we also knew going into this relationship that there were certain things that I would have to do for my job. Going out into the field was one of them."

Will shook his head angrily as he stomped over to their closet. "Fine, go off, then. You'll only have yourself to blame when he doesn't know who you are."

It was a low blow, and JJ longed to retaliate physically. Yet she didn't want Henry to walk in on something like that, she held her breath and counted to twenty this time as she waited for Will's next move. It came in the form of him throwing her go bag at her, and she scooped it up onto her arm. "Thank you, so much, Will. We'll talk more when I get home. And I'll call Henry each night at seven before he goes to bed."

"We'll see," he scoffed, and JJ couldn't help but flip him off before storming out of the room and down the stairs. Henry was peeking out of the living room, and she gave him a bright smile, pausing to see what he would do.

"Where are you going to this week, Mom?" he lisped out and she beckoned him to her side before hugging him tightly.

"I'm going back to California. Daddy won't even have to move the pin this time."

"Oh. You're out in California a lot."

"A lot of people live out there."

"I suppose." Her son kissed her cheek before hugging her tightly once more. "Stay safe, and look after Mister Hotch."

"I'll try, kiddo." JJ gently pushed him away and tousled his hair before heading out through the kitchen and into the garage. The drive to the BAU managed to soothe her frazzled nerves, and she found herself regretting her rash actions. She should keep her cool with her lover, especially since she didn't want her son overhearing raging arguments like she had, after Ros had died. "Dammit, that means I have to apologize," she muttered, wondering if she could get away with pushing that off until she got home from this case.

Shaking her head, she fought the urge to whip out her phone and call home, knowing that that might only serve to push Will closer to the brink of true anger. And yet, a small part of her felt like she was failing, again. The fact that the sensation lingered told her that she was having obvious issues with it, but she didn't want to talk to anyone about it, since it would mean that she would have to discuss losing her baby, her biggest failure of all.

Somehow, she made it to the parking garage without getting into an accident, and she parked in her normal spot. Turning her head to the right, she saw that Emily was already there, and she sighed a little before grabbing her fresh go bag out of the back and making her way into the building.

"Good morning, Jajye!" She paused to smile at Derek, letting him catch up to her before they continued over to the elevators. "So, how are you this morning?"

"Frustrated. I had to explain to Henry how I'm flying out to California today."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, Penny texted me this morning to tell me where we were heading. I think she does that with Hotch, too, so that he can tell Jack. It's easier when he knows where I'm at, you know?" She gave him a wry smile, and he nodded a little. "So, California two times in a week, huh?"

"Yeah, but at least it's not Florida. Nothing good happens in Florida." Morgan's eyes took on a faraway look, and JJ wondered what he was thinking of. "Have you seen Strauss yet? I thought that she was supposed to be back by now."

"Is she on vacation or something? Because I have not seen hide nor hair of her since we got back from that case in Florida. Is that what's bothering you? Did something happen after that case?"

He shook his head shortly, shifting his eyes away from her as he watched the numbers on the elevator rise. The tension in his shoulders told her that there was something he wasn't telling her, and she wondered how long it would take to drag it out of him. "There are some things that I can't tell you about, Jen, much though I would like to. I thought that it had filtered down to everyone already, but I guess that sometimes gossip doesn't make it down to everyone."

His cryptic answer bothered her, but it also relieved her, since it gave her something else to think about, other than her argument that morning. The fact that Morgan wanted to protect Erin meant that it was something big that had happened, but she didn't know what. In the back of her mind, she went over the late night conversation that she had had with Erin and Emily, wondering if that factored into things at all. "But why would she think that I would be disappointed in her?" she murmured as she looked down at her hands.

"What?"

"Just talking to myself, Der. We had a conversation one night while we were in Florida, and Strauss just said something that struck me as odd. She cares enough about our opinion of her that she doesn't want us to be disappointed in her."

"Well, she might have thought about that a few years ago when she was coming down on us so hard. Or before she sent you away. She has too many black marks against her for me to just blithely consider her feelings." There was something cold about the way that Derek said those words, and it hurt her heart a little to hear the callousness dripping from his lips.

"Sometimes, people keep their hidden heart buried away from public view, because they can't be that person in the workforce. There are layers to everyone, you should know that."

"I do," he replied, sounding a bit sheepish, "and I guess that I forget she's human at times. I'll try to keep in mind that fact, for your sake, at least."

"Thanks." They shared a short look and she tried to smile at him, glad that he had provided her with a short distraction from her troubles at home.