This story is a slightly altered universe. There are 3 things that are different.
1) JJ never cared what the team thought, she and Will became an item and he moved up to DC for her.
2) They never had kids
3) Everything else did happen
4) This takes place in the middle of S16/CME 1. The difference is there is no Voit or Bailey. (If that doesn't make sense to you, that is okay and also you should either buy the Season on DVD and watch it, or get yourself some heavy binge time with Paramount + to watch it, because it's FABULOUS!)
Here are the important parts you need to know for this story:
1) I am obsessed with the people who use various sexual kinks for healing purposes. I don't understand it at all and yet I am absolutely fascinated by it, because usually those people were abused by that same kink in the past.
2) I have MASSIVE amounts of respect for the writers and creators of this show, and I do not mean them any disrespect by writing this. If for some very odd reason one of them stumbles across this, know that I am just enjoying the world you created and I thank you for doing so.
3) I'm not good at writing, so my grammar and spelling are sometimes VERY off. I've edited this story a gazillion times so far, changed the plot at least 3 times and I am still finding mistakes. Please just roll with it as best you can.
4) This is still a work in progress and I have several key life events coming up. There will be delays in updating.
5) Thank you for reading
Everyone was sitting at the round table working to put the profile together. They started out working on Kylie Danvers when Dave's phone went off and he stayed in the room to answer. "Rossi," he said.
"Agent Rossi, this is Doctor James, do you have a moment please?" he asked.
"Of course Doctor James," he said kindly and everyone stopped what they were doing immediately. "I'm with my entire team, I'm going to put you on speaker phone," he explained. "Okay Doctor James, go ahead," Dave encouraged.
"Hello everyone. I was going through my records and I noticed something that you might be interested in. We do have singletons of the AB Community every so often. Over the past five years, I've had five singletons, who showed up, one time, and they all showed up right after the convention I attend to gather clients. I'm not for everyone, I understand that, and they might feel strange, coming by themselves, but maybe it helps you," he said.
"Can we have those names please?" Dave asked, nodding at Penelope and Luke pulled out a piece of paper to scribble names, just in case the doctor spoke too fast and Tara did the same thing. Everyone wanted to be sure they worked together and helped Penelope as best they could.
"Yes of course. Sarah Willows. Sarah spelled with an H. Wesley King, Steven Grazer. He is spelled with a V, and Grazer i r," he said spelling it out. "Nicholas Peters, and oddly Peter Nichols, spelle s," he explained.
Emily looked at Dave pointedly and he hit the mute button on his phone, so they could not be heard. "We need time to pull at that together, tell him thank you and we'll call him if we have more questions," she said and Rossi nodded, taking him off of mute. Tara raised her hand immediately and Dave nodded at her.
"Doctor James, my name is Agent Tara Lewis. You made mention of a convention you attend?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am, my office and I go every year. This year's conference is this weekend. It's three days and it's being held at the Courtyard Marriot, just outside of DC," he said.
"With respect to the community, would the people you mentioned be a part of this? Would they be in attendance at the convention?" Tara pressed carefully.
"They are all littles, looking for a caregiver the last time I saw them. They can attend as that, or they may have found someone and can attend now as a couple, looking to further explore," he said and the room looked to Tara as she took some notes, that she'd share later.
"Thank you very much Doctor James. We appreciate your assistance and we will be in touch," Emily said and with that they disconnected while Penelope did her computer genius thing.
"Man this is impressive," Penelope said. "Okay, the twenty seventh annual ABC Convention is being held all weekend, a total of two thousand people attending over the three days, and as long as you're good with this, I can hack in and get the registration list for this year and years previous," she said and Emily nodded at her.
She hacked in, got the current registration list, and the registration list for the past twenty years and ran it through a search. "First, it only goes back twenty years, so let me run her name against the lists I have," Penelope said.
"If she's going, she's using an alias," Rossi reasoned. "Penelope cross check the attendees from the last ten years with the names Doctor James just gave us as well as Kylie. See if she comes up from one of them," he suggested and she did so.
A few moments went by and results started pinging on the laptop and lighting up her screen. "Whoa," she said.
"She's there?" Luke asked.
"Kylie Danvers was in attendance nine years ago, and stayed on the list for five consecutive years, then her name drops off. One of the years, she appears on the list with Nicholas Peters. He is the only one who showed up though, and none of the other names are here, in any of the years," she said.
"She has to be using an alias after that year. We need to find those names," Emily said and she noticed Dave thinking extra hard about something, but Luke spoke first.
"Does anyone from the list doctor James gave us, have a missing persons report?" Luke pressed.
"Only one, Sarah Willows. Her boyfriend reported her missing and told police they'd only been dating a few weeks. He says the police gave up, the police say she ghosted him and it's not worth investigating," Penelope said.
"I very strongly disagree," Dave offered.
"You aren't alone," Emily sighed. "Okay, first are the Lansings on this list for this year?" Emily asked.
"Yes, and Wyatt has been on the list for the past six, sorry, seven years consecutively. He's a regular it would seem," Penelope said.
"Luke, Tara go talk to the boyfriend. Dave call the Lansings, talk to Wyatt and Victoria about how they plan on attending this year," she said. "Penelope, you and I are going to go and coordinate with cyber and UC, because we are headed to that convention ourselves," Emily said.
Wyatt sat in his office, holding Mackenzie in his arms. She'd had an exhaustive day. It had started very early with her dental work, followed by her cognitive and for the rest of the day, she was extra clingy and her speech had regressed greatly. "Kenzie my love, Mommy finished making dinner, why don't we go eat," he said and she whimpered and turned in toward him, unwilling to let go. "Shhh, you're okay baby girl, talk to me," he said kindly and then his phone rang in his pocket. The noise startled Mackenzie into tears and Wyatt sighed. She was a mess, and he wanted to take care of her and answer the phone, since it was Lauren calling to get an update. "Tor! I need help!" he called and that sent Mackenzie into hysterics. When she was this worked up, she didn't listen to reason, she was just scared and numb all over and couldn't bring herself to move properly.
Victoria showed up and stood in the doorway. "Am I taking Kenzie or something else?" she asked kindly, knowing she had to go slowly.
"Take Kenzie," he said, knowing he needed to take the call with Lauren. "I am not happy with those agents," he growled.
"Kenz, you're okay, come with Mommy" she cooed gently and Mackenzie went with her, hung on for dear life and Victoria looked at her husband with hard eyes as she rubbed Kenzie's back and kissed her temple. She had to make a point to him and there were moments where he was too stubborn to listen to her. "Hey, look at me," she said kindly to him. "I am not happy she's this upset. This is not what our lifestyle is all about, but Kenzie is a special case and we're going to let her feel things. She drudged up a lot of memories from the past that are upsetting, but also incredibly helpful to the federal government, so we are going to support her in helping them. Next, the agents were very gentle with her, so you calm down before you talk poorly about them. Third, she's been panic stricken ever since we left the dentist, so this isn't just the agents, although the timing doesn't help. Lastly, I love you and we will be in the kitchen, eating dinner. You do what you need to do in here and please join us," she said and turned to leave the room.
"Hey," Wyatt called after her. "I love you too," he said and with a quick kiss Victoria left the room. Wyatt picked up his phone and called Lauren back. "Lauren. Wyatt, I'm sorry for missing the call. Kenz is having an absolutely awful day," he said protectively.
"Calm down please Papa," Lauren said kindly. "You get very protective of her and angry, which is fine. I want you to have those feelings and move through them, but if she's with you, that will not help. Do you have a place to release your feelings without her near by?"
"Victoria took her to the kitchen, it's just me," he said.
"Then yell all you like. I can handle it."
"Those agents terrified her!" he said. "They came to her house, which we spent forever making a safe place for her, and they made her remember things that are terrifying her. I'm not happy with them," he said angrily.
"And that is very valid," she said.
"Why did they drudge up the past?" he asked, feeling slightly better that someone had validated his feelings.
"They are conducting an investigation and Mackenzie is the link they need. There is another little one, we think, who was also recently abducted and traumatized. It's my newest patient, so I am working very closely with the patient and the FBI, and I'm doing everything I can to tell them what Mackenzie has told me, so she doesn't have to relive it any more than absolutely necessary," she said.
"Right, and I'm not against helping, and that is still my baby girl and she's terrified and she's regressed, so much so that she's been in toddler mode since they left. She's never done anything little girl, for that long, and she's never been so young."
"Wyatt, please take a breath with me," Lauren encouraged. "You're being very protective, which is fine. I also need to point out to you that you keep switching between Master and Daddy. Mackenzie isn't looking for Master, just Daddy, which was her decision. I need you to remember that there is no play, sexual or otherwise, to this for her. She was abused and it was presented sexually, and you and Victoria are helping her move through that, but she is not ready to move through it and then try it again safely. She never chose that. It was forced upon her. If she ever decides to move to the more sexual side of things, we will work with her for that, but right now, she just wants mom and dad and she wants to be able to experience an actual childhood of sorts. All of that means, she very well may go to what you refer to as little girl mode and you just have to know it's where she needs to be. You are her surrogate parents and that is all she wants right now. She's got to heal from the past. She needed a good family then and didn't have one. She has one now, so she's going where she needs to go mentally, so she can feel safe and process and heal."
"It's very confusing being that I know she's in her twenties," Wyatt sighed. "I know my job is just to communicate with her and let her communicate back however she chooses. Most of the time recently, her speech is just off. When I look at her though I see a little girl in need of comfort and when she speaks, at least most recently, it's toddler level. She's been doing it since they left, and she's so super clingy and scared," he said, sounding a bit broken as he spoke. She'd been with them long enough she really was like their child. "I will repeat, I'm not against helping, but I'm very much back in the camp of is what I'm doing helping or harming," he admitted.
"Which is why you and I started talking in the first place all that time ago. You've reached, what I call a recycle point, so you are back to lesson one my friend. You know things now though. You know, deep down, that you are not harming her. Now you just need to focus on asking for help for yourself, and remembering all the basic techniques you learned in the very beginning. Sometimes starting over is okay. Here is what I am sure of, the more she helps, the more she may want to stay young. As she processes her feelings she might come out of that, but I can't guarantee it. I can speak with her and try to get you a better understanding if you like," she offered.
"She's so upset, I don't know that she'd hear you," he sighed.
"You are being very protective which is why she wants her parents and right now you are that, she's not playing. You have to remember that now. You have Mackenzie, possibly stuck at post surgery six year old Mackenzie, who just wants people to support her. You and Victoria can and will do that," Lauren reminded him.
"Without breaking confidentiality, how awful is your newest patient?" he asked.
"On a scale of one to ten, I would start at about eight. I want to come back to your family though. Besides how Mackenzie is doing in this moment, I'm calling to find out how the dental appointment went and how your plans for the weekend will be affected, if at all."
"We are scheduled for the convention this weekend, all three days. We've told her what's going on, but I honestly don't know if she hears what I'm telling her. As far as the dental appointment goes, she did great. Doctor James was wonderful and we will be using him again," he said.
"Very good. I will make sure I find you then. Just to check in with Mackenzie in person," she said. "So, for now, are you sure you don't want me to talk to Mackenzie?" she offered.
"How late can we call you?"
"As late as you want," she said kindly.
"Thank you Lauren," Wyatt said kindly and they disconnected. Once that was done, he took a deep breath and made sure he was very calm, before he went to join his two ladies. Before he could the phone rang and he sighed. "Wyatt Lansing," he answered.
"Mr. Lansing, this is David Rossi with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit," he said and Wyatt forced himself to remain quiet. He wanted to yell and scream and throw a tantrum, but he knew that wouldn't help. "I was wondering if you had a few moments. I will not take up much time," he said.
"Yes Sir,' he sighed. "How can I help you?" he asked, hoping to get this over with quickly.
"We have learned that there is a convention happening this weekend, for your community of people and we are wondering if you'll be attending," Dave explained, even though he already knew the answer. He didn't want to spook Mr. Lansing with too many details so soon.
"We are planning on it yes," he answered.
"Great. My team and I will be there as well," he started.
"Agent Rossi, I would really appreciate you not…," he started.
"Mr. Lansing, let me interrupt you for a moment. We are not there to talk to Mackenzie at all. I understand she had a very intense cognitive today, so I can only imagine how upset she must be. I have done them myself and I know they are not fun. The entire team has had them and so we fully understand. The reason we will be there is for protection and to stop the person who did this; not only to Mackenzie but several others. Currently our count is eight people. Our job is to protect everyone there," he explained and Wyatt sighed.
"I am very sorry agent. My wife told me you were kind and while I do believe her, I'm having trouble not being ultra protective of my little girl," Wyatt said.
"I understand Sir," Dave smiled. "Let me assure you of this. We will only come find you, if we need to. The overall goal is to have everything go so smoothly, you won't even know we are there," he told him.
"Thank you Sir, and I do appreciate the heads up," he said honestly and with quick exchanges of a goodnight, they disconnected and Wyatt walked into the kitchen, to see Mackenzie sitting in her own chair, next to Victoria, being hand fed, and asking many questions in between each bite.
"Daddy!" she said.
"I'm coming baby, hang on," he smiled and took a seat next to her, where his own bowl was waiting. "What are we having?" he asked.
"Mommy maze gubbo," she said softly and Wyatt smiled. Her speech was very young, which meant she was still very distressed. He and Victoria decided a long time ago, that when her language slipped and regressed, they would just speak normally to her, to help encourage her to relax. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't.
"I like gumbo. Do we all have it?" he asked.
"Mmm," she said and Victoria managed to slip her another bite.
"Daddy?" she asked. "We go in two days?" she asked, being very clear in her word choices.
"Yes, we are going to the convention in two days time and we are staying for all three. I have to give one lecture and attend other lectures and demonstrations to be better at my job. I believe you and Mommy have a few days to spend at a swimming pool," he told her.
"Wif you Mommy?" she asked.
"Well I wouldn't let you have fun without me, so yes," Victoria smiled.
"We be safe?" she asked.
"Kenzie, this will be the most safe this convention will have ever been," Wyatt promised her and then opened his arms to her and she quickly stood up in her chair and climbed into his lap. "Will you tell me who you saw today please?" he asked, cuddling her close.
"Miss Emmy," she said softly.
"We also saw Miss Tara and they are from the FBI they told us," Victoria added kindly, because she could see her little girl, starting to shut down again. In the last two months she'd been with them, Victoria and Wyatt realized they needed to slip in details that Mackenzie would sometimes forget about. It helped her to remember the full story and be less nervous.
"So they have a whole team of people. I just talked to their friend Mister David and he told me, they will be there too. They aren't going to talk to us, unless they absolutely have to. They are coming to keep us all safe," he said. He left out the part about them also being there to catch a bad guy, because he was sure that would terrify her.
Luke and Tara walked off the porch, got back in the truck and Luke took a good look at the house, one last time as he buckled up. "This looks like an exceedingly normal house, as did the dental office, and I know we were here to learn about some sexual fetish, that I do not understand, gone wrong," he said.
"You should have seen the Lansing's house," Tara said and he looked at her funny. "Straight out of home and garden magazine," she said. "Also, this isn't learning about a fetish, this is track down leads in an investigation," she said.
"Yes, well this lead got us absolutely nowhere. He's just a nice man, who lives with his sister and is absolutely heart broken that the woman he managed to fall in love with has disappeared," Luke offered. "Unless you picked up on something I missed," he told Tara.
"I don't know," she sighed. "It's like the Unsub doesn't know what he wants, or where he fits, it's like he's still practicing," she sighed. "The only thread for sure is Danvers, and my guess is she's the patsy, but I don't know what she'd get out of it," she mused.
"Maybe the unsub is paying her to abduct these people. Between Mackenzie and Hazel, they seem to be going for small statured women and on top of that, they're are being injected with novocaine in their legs and face. It's like the Unsub doesn't want them to be able to walk. Maybe the Unsub is weak in some way," Luke suggested.
"We should bring what we got back to the team and try to link Danvers and the dentists together. I think we'll get further if we head in that direction. We have her at one place," Tara said thoughtfully.
"Speak of the devil," Luke said when the phone rang. "Garcia, just the person we need."
"Prentiss says come back to HQ, we have a plan in place for the convention," she told him.
"We're on our way. We need backgrounds on the dentists please," Tara said.
"Anything specific?" she asked, poised to take notes.
"We're thinking the dentists have something in common, that we can tie to Danvers and link it back to the Unsub," Tara said.
"Done, also, when you come back, we all need to be gentle and calm. JJ and Will are headed back with Hazel and from what I heard, she's not having an easy transition."
"Will do. Back in twenty," Lewis said and with that they all disconnected.
Will drove as smoothly as he could from the hospital to Quantico. JJ was in the back seat with Hazel, who was in quiet tears from being in the car at all. JJ noticed and spoke gently to her. "Hazel, look at me," she said kindly as she took her hand. "Talk to me please," she encouraged and Hazel shook her head no and her face crumbled. "Okay, let's do this, let's look at my credentials then," JJ offered. "I need you to know, you are in a very safe place," she said and she pulled the badge out of her pocket and handed it over to Hazel. "Look, this has my name, my birthday, my badge number, how long I've been with the government. All of it," she said and Hazel took it and tried to read. Everything was blurry because she was crying, but JJ was trying and she hadn't done anything violent yet. She hadn't even raised her voice. Hazel just didn't like being in the car. Everything in the car, reminded her of how violent things had eventually turned.
Hazel waited a few minutes and at a red light, she pointed toward Will.
"Would you like to see Will's credentials too?" she asked and Will smiled at the rearview mirror.
"Hazel, I will happily give them to you, but we need to get to a parking lot first," he said kindly and she nodded and then looked to JJ.
"Maybe I can tell you a little bit about Will and someone else who you will meet today. Her name is Penelope Garcia," JJ explained. "So Will is my husband, and we've been married for ten years, but I've known him for fifteen years," she said and she was glad to see Hazel was starting to relax. "He is my best friend and knows almost everything about me," JJ said.
"Ahm-oh-s?" Hazel asked slowly.
"See, that would be my friend Penelope Garcia. She really does know everything about every one, if we ask her to look them up for us. She is my coworker. I have a team of people I work with and she's our tech guru. If there is something to be found on someone, she finds it. She is the team's technical analyst," JJ explained and as she continued to tell Hazel about the various members of the team and who she was going to meet, Hazel calmed down enough to regulate her breathing. When Will parked the car, she got tense again.
"I'm just getting my credentials Hazel," he promised her and then he handed them back. She looked them over, gave them to JJ and then collapsed against her. She was sore and tired and her body was not cooperating with anything she wanted it to do.
"Hazel my friend, do you think you'll be ready to go upstairs?" JJ offered kindly. She wanted to move slowly, but not so slowly that she held up whatever team meeting was going on. "I have to get to a meeting with the rest of my team," she explained and before she could say anything further Hazel burst into tears. "Okay, okay, come on," JJ said kindly and she very easily shifted Hazel to her lap for a cuddle. "Let's sit here together for a moment, you did that very well in the hospital," she told her and Hazel just cried against her.
"They gave me the wheel chair. It's in the trunk. Do you want it?" Will asked knowing he had to move slowly too. They were both doing their best to be gentle with her, especially when it came to moving her around, due to her bruised ribs.
"Yes please," JJ said and Will got out of the car, got the wheelchair out of the trunk, set it up, and then opened the car door to help Hazel out and into the wheelchair. That didn't go as planned though, because Hazel was off in her head, living some memory, and when Will took her away from JJ she screamed bloody murder, fighting as best she could, to get back to JJ, who was the one person that made her feel safe. The fighting turned to screaming as her violently rapid movements sent her body into floods of pain. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy, easy, come on," JJ said and she made Will sit Hazel down in the wheel chair and then got in front of her, and worked on getting her to focus. "Hazel," she said in a slightly warning tone. "Hazel, I need you to look at me," JJ said and Hazel's eyes locked in on her and she reached forward, silently begging to be held.
"I can push you both if you want, or you can carry her," Will offered as JJ carefully stood back up. Hazel lunged forward, wrapped her arms around JJ's torso and didn't let go, digging her fingers into JJ's skin and whimpering as her body vibrated with pain.
"Okay my friend, come here," JJ said and she carefully lifted Hazel into her arms, still surprised at how small and lightweight Hazel actually was. She looked and felt like a little girl, rather than a nineteen year old. It made it hard for her to focus on speaking to her as an adult. JJ shifted Hazel in her arms, sat down in the wheelchair and held Hazel on her lap. "Shhh," she said gently and kissed her temple, needing her to relax.
"Ready?" Will asked kindly once Hazel had stopped making any vocalizations.
"No," she said. "Hazel, I need you to focus please. I want you to raise your hand when you're ready to listen to what I have to say," she said gently and twenty seconds later, Hazel raised her hand. During that twenty seconds JJ repeated to herself over and over that Hazel was a nineteen year old woman, who was severely traumatized and would require a certain type of speech. "Good job, now, I'm so glad that you trust me and I promise, I will protect you, as will my team. You also know Will, and he is going to protect you too. I cannot begin to imagine how scared you are or how much anxiety you are feeling right now as you experience all these new things. I do need you to trust Will as much as you trust me though. He is a very good man, he's a police officer, and he's married to me. He will help you, just as much as I will," JJ offered and Hazel whimpered softly.
Will moved in front of both of them and spoke kindly, not even attempting to take Hazel away from JJ. "Hazel, if you want to stay with JJ you can. If you want to sit in the wheel chair so we can take you upstairs, you can sit by yourself or with JJ. If you want me to carry you, I will do that too. We do need to get inside though," he said kindly. "Do you think you are ready to make the decision of what you'd like?" he asked her. Hazel understood that JJ wanted her to trust Will, so this was how she was going to do it. She took a deep breath and after a moment, she leaned forward and wrapped herself around him, holding on tight and trembling slightly. "Okay tiny love, let's all go upstairs," he said and he carried Hazel into the building, while JJ pushed the wheelchair. They made it all the way to the sixth floor where Penelope met them at the door. She was surprised to see Will carrying someone, while JJ pushed an empty wheelchair.
"Hi," she said and in her hand was a glass of something dark with a straw and a long handled spoon inside.
"Well hello," JJ grinned.
"Hazel, this is our friend Penelope, can you say hello?" Will pressed her gently and Hazel turned her face to look. Penelope gave her the kindest smile she could, took a moment, and waved, forcing herself not to squeal. Hazel was too adorable for her own good as far as Penelope was concerned.
"Hi Hazel, it's nice to meet you. I don't know if you're up for a drink or not, but this is a blueberry smoothie. I was doing some research and it turns out that there's a few properties in blueberries that will help heal your body of all the novocaine you had. I also put some honey in it to cut the bitter taste. Would you like to try a sip?" she offered and Hazel simply opened her mouth. She didn't move at all, she just figured she'd let these people do anything to her at all. Some days she reverted back to the torturous past her parents had given her, and the neglectful past she'd had with her grandparents. In those moments, it was just easier to let anyone do anything and wait for it to pass. These people were different. They seemed safe. She was in a very high security building, but she wasn't ready to participate in anything, or speak, if she didn't have to.
Penelope helped her to take the drink and as Hazel drank, JJ spoke softly. "Where's the team?"
"In the round room. Prentiss said to meet her there when you can. I already know what's going on, so I can sit with Hazel in my office, where it's calm and quiet," she offered.
"Day-day," Hazel cried. She hated the sound of her own voice, but calling for JJ was important. She didn't know Penelope at all and now they were sending her off with another stranger.
"Shhh, I'm right here sweetheart and Will is here too. We aren't leaving you," she assured her and Will made a little face that JJ happened to catch. She peaked at his back and then moved her hand over Hazel's. "Breathe Hazel, we are right here," JJ told her gently. Hazel uncurled her fingers from Will's back, stopped drinking all together, put her head on his shoulder and trembled against him.
"Why don't you go meet with your team and Hazel and I will join Penelope in her lair, which I know is calm and quiet," he said making it a point to reiterate key details for Hazel's sake. Then he made a point of giving JJ a kiss to her cheek.
"Sappy couple," Penelope teased them with a smile and took hold of the wheel chair.
"I will see you all in a little while," JJ said and with that she left and Will held Hazel close.
"Let's go see Penelope's lair Hazel. I've heard there are a lot of cool gadgets in there we can mess with," he said hoping to engage her somehow.
"You look thrilled," Rossi said when JJ entered the room.
"We have what I can only imagine is a very terrified little girl out there. Or at least, a terrified person, who doesn't know how to be anything other than a little girl, despite her level of academia. The only reason they released her was because the IV drip finished, they can't find anything "wrong" with her tox screen and she was released into our care. The charge nurse told me that she knew Hazel would be safe with us. However, Hazel is an absolute wreck. The drive from the hospital here wasn't the best. She was afraid to be in the car at all, and it's even worse when we took her out of the car. She can't actually tell me what's wrong, at least to a point where I understand what she's saying and the transference on that girl is off the charts. I would not be surprised if I heard the word Mom come out of her mouth," she said.
"Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel," Luke said.
"JJ, you say little girl. If you had to guess, how little?" Tara asked.
"Well she looks about six to eight. Garcia got me her medical file and it's a wonder she's still alive with the parents she had. Emotionally, I'd guess a very terrified four, maybe."
"Clinging to you or Will like her life depends on it?" Tara asked and JJ nodded. Tara turned to Emily and sighed. "It's the exact same behavior we saw with Mackenzie. Their situations are varied, but they were attacked by the same Unsub. I think they need to meet," she said. "It might bring Hazel some comfort to know that she is not alone," she offered.
"Hang on. I completely understand your reasoning, but I did promise Wyatt we would not interfere with them, unless we had to," Dave pointed out.
"Okay, first where is Hazel now?" Emily asked, taking charge of the situation.
"With Will and Penelope in her office," JJ answered.
"Let's go over the convention plan now, and then Tara, head over and meet her. Based on what we saw this afternoon with Mackenzie, meeting us one at a time feels like the best course of action," she said.
"It's three days of lectures and demonstrations," Luke said. "Garcia is also running background checks on the dentists. We're hoping to find a link between the three of them and tie it back to Danvers," Luke explained.
Emily nodded and pulled out the remote for the screen. "This is the convention center and this is the hall just outside of it. Garcia and I talked to cyber and undercover. Cyber is setting up their command in this hallway, as it is away from the general public. They are installing overhead cameras to cover all angles. Garcia has gotten some of the new hires to be her extra assistance for running details on people we feel need to be checked. We will deliver a profile to our UC's and send them out into the crowd. We will be the eyes in the sky to help get the UC's to capture images of people and send it back to Garcia for facial recognition. Any questions with what we have so far?" she asked and everyone shook their heads. "Good, because with all that said, we need to know this is a very fluid situation and we're going to have to roll with changes as fast and as best we can." The room fell quiet and everyone gathered their thoughts, letting all the details they had so far sink in. "Lewis, head over to Garcia and see how far you can get with Hazel. See what overlaps with Mackenzie," Emily said and with that Tara left.
"I'm going to go over the profile and facts one more time, see if anything jumps out at me," Luke said and as he stood up, Dave joined him.
"I'll join you. I still feel like we're missing something, so let's try and nail it down before we deliver any profile at all," he offered kindly and the two left, leaving Emily and JJ alone.
"Why do you look more distressed than I've ever seen?" Emily asked.
"She's a mess Emily, a massive mess and I hate saying that about her."
"Okay, tell me more," Emily said, taking a seat next to JJ, taking her hand and letting her know she could vent.
"Where do I start?" JJ sighed.
"Start with leaving the hospital," Emily suggested and JJ told her everything that happened, from the time they left the hospital, until they got to the sixth floor, where they met Penelope, and then that brought it up to the point where JJ joined the team meeting. "So what are you most worried about?"
"She has no one, that I can figure anyway, and I haven't been able to ask Garcia for assistance in figuring that out. I don't want to say anything in front of her. I don't want her to think I'm getting rid of her. Her transference is so strong. She was holding on to me so tightly, her nails were digging into my clothes, and then she did the exact same thing with Will. It's to the point where her behavior is not that of a nineteen year old girl."
"Okay, so let's go and see Garcia. Lewis is there, Hazel still needs to meet the rest of us, and you and I together can prepare her for the convention, because we have to go. The unsub will be there, and if not him directly, the partner will be. I am not going to let them get another victim," Emily said protectively.
"And Will says I'm a Mama Bear," JJ joked.
"You Jennifer Jaraeu are the best Mama Bear on this team," Emily smiled.
"I feel like it's more of a four way tie," she said.
"Come on," Emily said and with that they went off to Penelope's lair. Upon entering, they found Will seated in the wheel chair, Hazel in his lap and Tara was hand feeding her more of the blueberry smoothie while asking her some questions.
"You are doing so well Hazel, I'm very proud of you," Tara praised her and offered her another spoonful of smoothie which Hazel refused. Tara set it down and gave it a minute before continuing. "Let's try this, I know it hurts you to talk so why don't I ask you some yes and no questions," she said, but as soon as she noticed JJ she reached for her.
"Den-fer," she said reaching for her.
"Well hello Miss Hazel," JJ smiled moving in close and Hazel lifted up her arms so she could be held, not caring that it made her body shake with pain. "I can hold you if you want, but you look very comfortable sitting with Will," she offered and Hazel left her arms up toward JJ.
"She's not wrong. I want you that much too," Will smiled and JJ rolled her eyes.
"Okay, so let's sit and answer Tara's questions as best you can. The more you try to talk, the easier it will be. Your muscles need practice and they won't get that by staying silent. I also want you to meet Emily," she said and Hazel simply laid her head on JJ's shoulder, resting quietly for a moment, but allowing JJ to shift her onto her hip, so she could see everyone.
"I need to check in with the chief, are you ladies all good here?" Will asked kindly and they all nodded at him. Hazel had tears well up in her eyes, the second he left the room though and Tara caught it first and tried to reassure her.
"Hazel, I promise you, Will is going to be back very shortly. Can you tell me this nice lady's name though please?" she asked.
"Den-fer," Hazel whimpered.
"Yes, Jennifer, very good," Tara praised and before anymore could be done, Hazel turned in toward JJ, wrapped herself around her, and just cried. Everything felt too much for her, and she just couldn't handle anymore. "She's overwhelmed."
"Do you need to sit?" Emily asked JJ and JJ shook her head no. Emily quietly moved over toward Penelope and picked up one of her post it pads. She wrote carefully, asking Penelope to get a height and weight confirmation from the hospital based on Hazel's latest stay and Penelope did as asked. Hazel looked small. Not quite as small as Mackenzie, but very close and JJ was able to easily hold her and sway with her and be generally mothering with this terrified young lady, who seemed to have a very great connection to Will and JJ. The hospital records appeared on screen and Emily wrote down what she needed, showing them to Tara, before speaking. "Why don't we all head to the round room and order dinner," Emily suggested. "The new Mexican place opened up a few blocks over and they have vegan," she said and everyone nodded their agreement.
Hazel was able to calm down, relatively quickly as they all sat in the round room together and she didn't seem to mind all the new people, because she was sitting in Will's lap and JJ was on her other side. The two of them alternated feeding themselves and Hazel, and while they didn't push her one way or the other, everyone noticed she wasn't really doing anything for herself. After a very late dinner Penelope pulled up the game show network on television and they all sat together watching that for a few minutes, before Emily noticed that Hazel was in fact asleep. She waited two cycles of commercials before speaking. "Will, how heavy is?" she asked, trailing off but motioning discretely to Hazel. She purposefully kept her question vague, so that in case Hazel wasn't truly sleeping, she could still ask her questions and hopefully not upset Hazel.
His response was a sharp intake of breath, followed by Hazel opening her eyes and then crying instantly. "Mia," he said looking at JJ. "She needs new clothes," he said softly and JJ looked at him for a moment. Peaking down she saw a wet stain growing on Will's pants, and an even larger one on Hazel.
"I can meet you in the bathroom, I know where all the good clothes are hiding, and the real ones will be here tomorrow" Penelope said and she simply left the room.
"Hazel, come on sweetheart, let's get you cleaned up and changed," JJ said and she simply lifted the young lady into her arms, and carried her toward the bathroom, not even bothering to make any other kind of statement as she left the room.
"Was I supposed to go with them?" Will asked curiously.
"I have extra clothes," Dave offered and he noticed the look he got from Emily. "I never cleaned up my office. I live at home, don't worry!" he scolded her and she simply held up her hands in defense and the two men left the room.
Luke waited until everyone left and then decided to voice his opinion. "Is it just me, or is the transference seemingly working both ways?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Tara asked kindly. She was having the same suspicions.
"Hazel has latched on so tightly to Will and JJ, which is fine, but they look to have fallen very hard into 'parenting' her," Luke said, "and I'm not sure that's going to be good for anyone, once this case is solved," he offered.
"You make a very fair point, and one I am starting to agree with. For now, let's just get through tonight and tomorrow. We build this like any other case. Come in as strong as possible. We will heavily brief the under cover team, and we need to find a way to get JJ away from Hazel, so she does not hear the profile. I'm worried she'll shut down completely," Emily said honestly and then she thought for a moment. "Why don't you two start heading home, we're all going to do the same thing shortly ourselves," she offered.
"No, we're a team, this is all brand new, to all of us, I'm willing to stay," Luke said.
"What about Roxy and Lou?" Tara asked.
"Babysitter," he answered. "I'll make a call and she'll just keep them for a few days. They like her. She spoils them rotten and she and her husband have a few kids, an in ground pool and a fenced in backyard, so the dogs get a lot of exercise," he explained and with that he pulled out his phone to make a call.
"And you?" Emily asked Tara.
"I'm not leaving and if you both have a worry about transference, then we should count me in that group too. I'm worried I won't want to help her along, without one of us with her," she said honestly.
"When did we become a bunch of saps," Dave asked, entering the room and smiling at his coworkers. "Count me in too," he said, having caught the last bit of Tara's statement.
"Rossi, you've got the most experience, how do you see this working out?" Emily asked honestly.
"Option one, we do our jobs, we get Hazel the help she needs, and because her transference is so strong, it won't matter what capable hand we put her in, because we will put her in them. We will do the research and background checks and know without question she is safe."
"Option two?" Luke asked with a smirk, curious as to what the answer would be.
"We all cave into the transference ourselves, start a little cult of our own, get different jobs, and take turns babysitting Hazel," he said. "Like shared custody," he said and everyone laughed, because they knew that would not happen. They all loved their jobs too much to quit.
JJ brought Hazel into the bathroom, into the handicapped stall, because there was more room, stood her on the floor, and knelt in front of her. Hazel of course screamed in rebellion, because she was't happy with what was going on, and now she was afraid JJ was going to leave her. "Hey, hey, hey, breathe, I'm right here," she said and she gently placed Hazel's hands on her shoulders to help her stay steady. Hazel leaned forward and cried hard. Her legs were not prepared to handle her weight just yet. This was too much for her. Her mind was brilliant and now by the hands of someone else, she was forced back to toddlerhood and she hated it. She was too distressed to understand her experiences and her perceptions were currently based upon her stress levels. "Hazel," JJ said rubbing her back. "I need you to look at me sweetheart. I don't want to do anything you are not first aware of," she said.
Hazel didn't hear her, she just held tight to JJ and cried. "Jayje?" a new voice called and JJ sighed.
"Down here," she said and she turned to unlock the door to let Penelope in. Penelope opened the door and her heart broke for the young woman before her, who was having a complete break and also looked like a small child.
Penelope ducked back out of the stall, got a few paper towels, wet them down, then grabbed a few dry ones, went back into the stall, and carefully set it all down on the ground next to the clothes she'd brought in, and then knelt next to Hazel, speaking kindly. "Hazel, this is Penelope, I'm going to help you clean up a little bit. I have new clothes for you to put on, and then you'll feel more comfortable, I'm sure of it. JJ is going to keep holding you and I'm just going to work around you," she said lovingly and then set to work.
She placed her hands gently on Hazel's hips, curled her fingers into the waistband and carefully pulled down her pants and underwear. Once that was done, she used the wet paper towels to carefully clean Hazel and free her of any stale urine on her skin. Then she used the dry ones to pat her dry and looked at JJ. "Hazel, listen please, I'm going to sit you on the toilet," JJ told her and Hazel shook her head no, holding on tighter. "Hazel," she said kindly.
"Den-fer," she whimpered and JJ waited for her to say more. She did not want to rush anything if she didn't have to, but Hazel said nothing more, she just tried to lean forward and stay with the one person she deemed the safest.
"Let's get you dressed into the new clothes Penelope got you and then we can go back and rest."
Hazel managed to push out some unintelligible sentence as tears ran down her cheeks and while no one understood what she said, JJ continued gently, making sure the young lady with her knew as much as possible.
"Hazel, look at me, you had an accident. No one thinks you wet yourself on purpose. You have spent many hours in a hospital, having a lot of drugs and medications pumped through your system. Your body is stressed. Your mind is stressed. This is just how your body handled it this time. It will not stay like this, and now we all know to remind you that maybe after a few hours, we try going to the bathroom again. This is going to be a massive learning curve for all of us," JJ explained.
"Day-day," she said sadly and fell forward again, having nothing but pain shoot through her torso and she did not care. She simply suppressed her screams of pain, having them escape her body as muffled shrieks.
"Yes, JJ, very good," she praised her. "Come on, let's get you into new clothes, and go back to Will and the rest of my team. We will simply sit and rest," she told her.
"Ow," she said softly.
"Okay, tell me what hurts the most please," she said and Hazel put her hand on her thigh. JJ smiled and nodded. "Do you want a new bandage for your thigh?" she offered and Hazel shook her head no. "Does it hurt to walk?" she tried and Hazel nodded yes. "I carried you in, I can carry you back out, it's okay," she assured her and Hazel leaned forward, almost falling off the toilet. "Hang on, let's get your new pants on. Penelope brought you nice comfy sweats. Let's get those in place, wash our hands, and then we can go," JJ told her and they did just that.
They slowly walked back into the room and no one made any mention of anything. JJ sat down with Hazel in her lap and everyone returned to watching television, keeping everything calm and relaxed. After an hour Emily spoke.
"Will and JJ, you tell me, do you want one of the safe rooms in the building, or do you want to take her to your home?" she asked. "Where I will put a protective detail on you," she continued.
The couple looked at each other and finally Will spoke. "I will do whatever you think is the right move, but I'm all for staying in this building and not putting her in a car again. That did not go well."
"We'll take a room here," JJ decided and Emily nodded. "We should go soon though," JJ said feeling Hazel getting heavier in her arms.
"Before you go, is there anything we should know about?" Emily asked.
"I would love to have Doctor Page, or even the Lansings meet here with us tomorrow. Maybe not Mackenzie, but either of her caretakers because Will and I need a little more guidance in what we're doing," JJ said.
"I'll set it up for the morning," Emily said and with that, Will and JJ went to the little safe apartment that was on the other end of the building while everyone else took a quick break before meeting to work up a more complete profile.
"Doctor Page," she answered.
"Doctor this is Emily Prentiss," she said.
"Agent, yes, how can I help you?" she asked.
"We need your help. Your newest patient has been released from the hospital, as you know, and is here, with us, in protective custody. She has bonded very well with one of my agents, and we need help and guidance, so we can properly guide her. We're seeing levels of transference that we rarely see. Agent Jareau would just like to meet with you and get some ideas about how to properly guide Hazel in her recovery while they are together, before she's placed in some other situation," Emily explained.
"Transference? How intense is it?" Lauren asked as she pulled up the case notes on Mackenzie. They were too similar not to at least review, and she remembered Mackenzie not doing well to any type of change in the very beginning either.
"I would have to let Agent Jareau tell you all of that, and she and Will have taken Hazel to rest for the night. It's been a very long day for her," Emily said and Lauren nodded.
"Well I do have a phone call that I must make in the morning, but I can be cleared the rest of the day," she said.
"Would you be able to come back to our offices around ten a.m. to meet with Hazel, Will, and Jennifer and we'll figure everything out from there," she asked and with a few pleasantries exchanged, they disconnected. Emily looked at her doorway to see Luke and Dave standing there.
"That is not a happy face," Luke offered.
"We've had tough cases before, but the logistics of this case," she sighed and they both walked in and sat down.
"Anything I can help with?" Luke asked.
"No, thank you," she smiled at him.
"Hey! No, no. We don't go it alone, remember?" Dave scolded and she made a face at him. "Sorry, I'm not as smooth as you when it comes to having words come back and bite you," he said shrugging a bit.
"I didn't know they were your words. I thought they were Gideon's," she defended.
"As true as that is, I needed to be reminded then and you need to hear them now, so let's go work this out together. We let JJ and Will take care of Hazel and the rest of us will plan out the logistics for the upcoming days, because tomorrow might be calm, but the weekend is going to be crazy," he said.
Penelope was next knocking on the door and Emily smiled at her. "Are you here to help rally me too?" Emily asked.
"I didn't know you needed rallying. Are you okay? Do you need a compress? Or a compliment? Or I could put on a pot of coffee for you?" she offered, wanting to do anything possible to assist.
"No, that is okay, what can I help you with?" Emily smiled.
"I was in the bathroom with JJ and Hazel. Hazel needs clothes. I went shopping for some basics, and it will all be here in the morning. Where am I delivering it to?" she asked.
"Keep it in your office, text JJ when it comes, they didn't tell me what room she's in, I just know it's in this building."
"Come on boss, we are going to help you figure out logistics," Luke said taking Emily's hand and tugging her along gently. She got up and they went into the round room where Tara was already waiting, and making a general list of tasks accomplished so far and ones that still needed to be. Dave and Penelope pulled in a crime board and they started writing and setting everything up, making corrections where needed. This team knew how to work together and now they just needed to do so.
Hazel woke up in a dimly lit room and noticed Will on the couch opposite the bed. "Hey there," he smiled at her.
"Wiw," she said softly.
"Yes, good, I'm Will, I'm glad you remember. JJ is in the bathroom, she's getting ready for bed," he said kindly. "It's only ten thirty," he told her.
"Nye tye?" she asked curiously and very slowly, so she knew she could be understood.
"Yes, ten thirty at night. I know it's hard to tell with no windows in this room," he said kindly. "We're in a safe house, still in Quantico, so we are very very safe here," he assured her. "I'm going to move to the fridge to get myself some water, would you like some?" he asked, moving very slowly for her and she shook her head. "Okay, well I won't force you, but I will get you a bottle of water and set it on the night stand beside you, so that you can help yourself whenever you want," he offered her. Then he got himself a bottle of water as well, and once hers was near her, he sat back down and began to drink his.
"Wiw," she said softly.
"Yes?" he asked kindly, glad she seemed to be trusting him; at least a little bit. They needed her to start communicating to them and it was hard not to help her along with that. They also knew it was hard for her to even try communicating, with all the muscles of her mouth still under heavy influence of drugs.
"Ow," she said and she carefully laid her hand on her stomach and he nodded.
"I have some pain medicine for you. It was prescribed by the doctor at the hospital, let's try that," he suggested and she nodded, watching him carefully as he moved around the room and got what she needed. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing her and offered her the pills. With a lot of guided assistance from Will, she took the pills and drank the water, hoping it would have an immediate effect on her. She curled up tight into herself and fell silent, willing her pain to go away quickly as she tried to go back to sleep. Will let her be for a moment before speaking. "Hazel, if you stretch out a little bit, you won't be in as much pain," he offered.
"Co'da," she said slowly and then he saw her shiver.
"I think that might be the novocaine still wearing off. What if I held you on that couch over there and we covered you with a blanket to keep you warm on all sides," he offered.
"Ooooh mah-da," she said carefully.
"Mad? Why would I be mad?" he asked with genuine confusion and she looked at him intently. She didn't know if he was teasing her, or trying to be playful, or what was going on. Part of her wondered if she dreamed the whole thing at this point.
"Four-ah, I pee," she said, trying to get her point across and then he saw her face twitch in pain, so he made a point to start asking more yes and no questions to give her a break.
"I'm not mad you had an accident. Your body is still recovering, and I suspect it's going to maybe do a few more things you aren't quite prepared for. It's part of my job and JJ's job and her team's job to help protect you and guide you when those things happen," he told her. "Now after you had your accident earlier, you went to the bathroom and got a change of clothes, and then you, Jennifer, and Penelope went back to the round room. When you got there, you cuddled up in JJ's lap, and she's been holding you ever since then. She carried you all the way here, and sat with you in the bed, holding you gently, until she decided to go take a shower before bed. If you want, I will hold you until she gets out," he offered and she nodded tearfully and reached for him.
He moved in, carefully scooped her up and rubbed her back gently, hoping to give her some comfort. "Uhhh," she said trying to think about the easiest way to communicate her desire. "I pee," she told him as he stood there with her and she realized her body was about to do something she was not ready for.
"Bathroom it is, come on," he smiled and he carefully took her toward the bathroom. "Hazel, I want to remind you of something," he explained as they went down the little hallway. "You are not a tiny little girl, you are nineteen. JJ and I know that. We also know that your muscles are still a little bit swollen and out of practice. Please understand that is why I'm carrying you," he offered and she just rested her head on his shoulder. "You do understand that yes?" he asked and she remained quiet. "I just don't want you thinking we're doing anything purposefully against your desires," he explained, but she still said nothing. He got to the bathroom door and knocked. "JJ, we're coming in," he called.
"Come on!" she called back. She was in the shower and listened as Will spoke to Hazel.
"I know you need help, and I will help and I will do my best not to look at anything. Stand up against the toilet for me please," he said guiding her to where she needed to be and she automatically put her hands on his shoulders once he knelt in front of her. "We're just sliding everything down, then you can sit," he said and he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her sweats, pulled them down gently and once she felt them at her ankles, she sat down and he stood up and moved over to the sink, locking eyes with her and not moving them. "I will step out to give you privacy," he told her and she nodded at him and he left the room.
As soon as he was out of the room, Hazel's body released whatever it was holding on to, and she broke down into sobs. She couldn't seem to help herself at all. Her body was radiating pain everywhere, she couldn't move or talk properly, and she had no one to rely on long term. Nothing felt any better since leaving the hospital and she was afraid to get too close to Will or JJ, because she didn't know how long she'd need them. She also knew she needed someone. She was trusting strangers right now, which was difficult. She didn't know how long they would keep her safe, or assist her. Every what-if thought flooded her brain and she just wept. It was too much to think about and handle right now.
JJ stepped out of the shower herself, moved in front of Hazel and spoke gently. "I think a warm shower and a good night's sleep will help you Hazel. When you're done using the toilet, you let me know," she said and Hazel simply fell into her and continued to sob. JJ silently counted to sixty, giving Hazel's body a full minute to process everything. After a minute, nothing more happened and JJ carefully lifted her from the toilet and brought her into the shower. She had her sit just outside the spray of water and stood behind her to help support her. She finished her own shower, before tending to Hazel. JJ took the wrap off of her ribs, knowing they'd have to put it back in place later, double checked that the bandage on her thigh had waterproof tape over it and then began the process. She washed her hair, her face and as much of her body as she could, without being invasive. Once that was done, she took the shower head down, rinsed Hazel, then herself one last time, turned the water off, got out of the tub, dried off, got dressed, got Hazel out, wrapped her in a towel and called for Will. "Babe!" she yelled down the hall. "There's a blue bag by the door, it has everything I need, can you bring that?" she asked. Hazel was hysterical at this point and really wasn't aware of anything that was going on. It was like she was back in the car again and so JJ and Will moved carefully.
"I don't want her to think I'm taking advantage of her," he said upon arrival.
"I don't think she's really aware of anything that's happening anyway. Even if she is, I can't wrap her ribs on my own, so I do need help please," JJ said.
He nodded and knelt down behind Hazel, while JJ fished in the bag, pulled out everything she needed, and they set to work. Penelope had given her a small go bag just before they left, that had all of the hospital supplies they'd brought with them earlier, plus two sets of clean clothes, underwear, and some pajamas that Penelope thought would give Hazel some comfort. They got her bandaged and dressed, and JJ then got herself dressed. "I gave her pain meds just before we came in, so she's set for the night," Will said kindly and JJ nodded.
"Okay Hazel, come with JJ, and will go rest for the night," JJ said and she carefully lifted Hazel, who glued herself to JJ and just wailed. "I am so sorry love," JJ said gently and she just stood there, swaying with the young lady in her arms, rubbing her back, and waiting for her to relax. JJ kept Hazel close and just walked around the little safe space with her. She made a circle around the living room area, paced into the kitchen, made a u-turn out of the kitchen, went down the hall toward the bathroom, paused at the wall just beyond the bathroom, turned around and headed back toward the living room, before repeating the pattern over and over again. In thirty minutes Hazel calmed down. In an hour, she was finally asleep and JJ was able to just sway with her, while trying to figure out her next move.
Will seemed to understand this, because he very calmly and quietly spoke up. "I'm going to suggest the couch to start," Will said and JJ looked at him curiously. "She is asleep now. You can cradle her carefully, sit yourself down on the couch, and then cover her with a blanket, staying still and peaceful while I shower," he explained and JJ nodded, turned her body carefully and kissed her husband.
"Thank you for being with me," she said and with that she took Hazel to the couch. She got them set up comfortably and Hazel shifted a bit, but didn't wake up. Fifteen minutes after that Will emerged and together they carefully got Hazel into bed, stretched out carefully to help her ribs, and then sandwiched her between them to increase her body heat. She was very cold over the last few hours and had even vocalized it to them at least once. They settled into bed and Will smiled when Hazel rolled onto her side, snuggling up close into JJ and falling back into a deeper sleep. "I got a text from Emily."
"That sounds ominous already," he smiled and JJ smirked. "Mia, it's okay, whatever happens, happens, and I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "What did Emily say?"
"She'd like us in by ten, and Doctor Page is going to be there was well," she explained. "She's the trauma therapist that has been assigned to Hazel from the hospital, and the theory is whomever hurt Hazel also hurt Mackenzie Lansing, who is the first female victim that also survived and is one of Doctor Page's patients," she explained.
"You want to go in early, don't you?" he smiled.
"I do, but not at the expense of terrifying Hazel," JJ said.
"It's headed to one in the morning and we've all had a very long day. Let's set your alarm for eight. You are good at being ready quickly, and then you can get in before ten, Hazel should be awake, we will explain things to her and she will adjust as best she can. This is a massive learning curve for all of us," he assured her.
"Do you think I'm making it worse?" JJ asked.
"By caring for her?" he questioned.
"By caring for her the way I am. Tonight, from the time you brought her to the bathroom, to the time we got her into bed, I've been caring for her as if she were a true toddler and she's not. I'm very worried I'm making this worse," she said.
"I don't know how you can help her any other way JJ. She's honestly little. You aren't belittling her," he said.
"I showed you those documents, her parents tortured her and her grandparents neglected her."
"You're right, that did happen. She experienced all of that at a very young age. Then she grew up super quick, and now she's been forced back to young girl status due to her injuries. We're only helping her through things. Maybe you caring for her, the way you are, the way we are, is actually healing another part of her in some way," he offered.
"I love you," JJ said and with that they all fell asleep.