JJ still felt sick to her stomach at the events that had gone down in Seattle. That woman had been so deluded, and the fact that she had dragged another innocent young boy into her orbit just made her want to vomit. The mood on the plane was very subdued, and she kept finding her eye drawn back to Hotch. Finally, after all the others were occupied, she got out of her seat and made her way over to him.

"What can I do for you, Jayje?" he asked as she sat across from him.

"This was an awful case. I feel like every unsub has been trying to outdo each other this year. At least some years, they're somewhat predictable in their violence."

He nodded before looking down at his phone. "You try to protect your children from all the monsters that exist out in the world, forgetting to tell them that they can't trust their teachers. Because who ever really doubts their teachers? They're supposed to guide us into making good decisions, you know?"

"I do. And usually the women aren't even caught, or it's swept under the rug. Who knows how many lives she would have ruined had she been allowed to continue on as she was." Sighing, she rested her body against the wall of the plane and stared at Hotch. "And that poor baby, having to one day find out what his parentage is. I cannot imagine that conversation."

"I'm hoping that that conversation is never had. The poor child does not need those details."

JJ shook her head a little. "You know that when they get old enough to get on the internet, the first thing they'll look up is their parents, to see if there's anything on there about them. Hasn't Jack…?"

"Not yet, thank God. Granted, I have told him age appropriate information each year on Haley's birthday, but I know that the day is coming when he's going to ask about what really happened to his mother." His face took on the tight, guarded, tense, expression he normally wore when he was thinking about things that upset him. "I know that I have to be ready for that day, too, but I'm not."

"How could you ever be fully ready for that conversation, Hotch?" She slipped her hand across the table and covered his lightly, hoping that he wouldn't mind the contact. "If something like that were to happen to Will, I would have no idea how to explain it to Henry."

He nodded in agreement, not moving his hand, and JJ tried not to grin like a fool as the warm contact extended between them for longer that it probably should have. "I should take you to the gallery that Beth works for," Hotch said suddenly, and JJ tried not to let disappointment shine from her features as she nodded. Hotch just had to go and remind her that they were both in committed relationships, and that certain lines of thought were dangerous.

"That would be really nice. I should probably start introducing a little culture into my son's life, after all," she replied smoothly as she drew her hand back and rested it on her stomach. "Do you think that you'll have another kid?"

"I don't know. It's hard enough with Jack, and I don't know how right I would feel about bringing another life into the world and halving the attention I gave Jack to share with the new baby."

For some reason his answer bothered her, and she wondered anew if she should tell him about what they had both lost due to her foolishness and failure in Afghanistan. Realizing, though, that this wasn't the time, she held her tongue and instead let her eyes close, letting the dull roar of the jet engines sing her to sleep.

"Wake up, Jen," she heard some time later. Blinking open her eyes, she saw Hotch leaning over her, an open look on his face. And she was almost certain that she was mirroring that look of yearning as they looked away from each other. "We're just about to land."

"Thanks, Hotch," she mumbled as she sat up and prepared herself for the landing. Once they were off the plane, she automatically began to follow Derek and Emily, knowing that with Derek's lead foot, they would be back to the BAU in no time, and then she could head home.

She was surprised to see the lights on when she did arrive home, and her gut instinct was to reach for her gun, fearing that something was wrong. And then she saw Will silhouetted in the living room window, talking on the phone to someone, and she relaxed.

Climbing out of the car, she stumbled inside and dropped her phone and keys off on the counter before creeping into the living room, not wanting to disturb his conversation. "…has black hair? That's a surprise. She's not giving you too much trouble, is she?"

JJ came into his line of sight, and she watched the way his eyes widened almost imperceptibly, as if she wasn't supposed to overhear this conversation, and she wondered just who it was that he was talking to. "Will?" she asked lowly, cocking her head to one side.

"I have to go, Auntie Della. I'll talk to you soon."

Will hung up and tried to mask his panic with a smile as he slipped the cellphone into his pocket. "We got back earlier than I thought we would, Will. Who's your aunt Della? Have you ever mentioned her before?"

"No, I don't think that I have mentioned her to you. She lives in New Orleans, near where Daddy used to live. Her daughter just had a baby, I guess, and moved back in with them. We're trying to figure out where she got black hair from, since everyone in our family is blondish."

JJ nodded, not certain if she should believe his explanation. There was a shiftiness to his gaze that was making her doubt the words coming out of his mouth, though she wasn't really looking to pick a fight right that minute. "Well, if I remember right, being blonde is a recessive trait, so if the dad has black hair, it makes sense the baby would, too."

For some reason, she couldn't help but think once more of the baby that she had lost, wondering if she would have had dark hair like her father, or taken after Jack and Henry. "You look exhausted, cher. Let's head up to bed, I was just waiting for you to get home anyway, when I took her call."

"That sounds really great," she replied as she took hold of his outstretched hand and let him guide her upstairs. "Did Henry go to sleep without too much fuss?"

"Yeah, he was out like a light again. I wish that I could sleep like that. I think that he picked it up from you." She smiled to hear the teasing in his voice. It had been so long since she had joked around with him, or so it felt, that this was most welcome.

"Why would you say that?" she teased back, nudging him with her shoulder.

"Because I know that within two minutes of you crawling beneath those covers, you will be out like a light, and won't wake up until you hear the alarm. You're like that every night, especially on the weekends. Really, you should try to be less predictable."

"I'll try, if only for you," she tartly replied before stepping into their bedroom and starting to strip off her clothes. "Though I think that there might be a way for you to keep me awake…"