A/N: I was going to put another chapter in before this one but decided not to. Hope you like this one! Little bit of insight into JJ's past (which was written before The Tall Man aired, so it's not canon).

"Stop it," JJ giggled as Will's fingers tickled her side. He laughed, pulling her against him and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. She draped an arm around his neck, looking at him with an amused smile. They had spent the day watching the Olympic finals so that JJ could see them properly, and had now migrated to the kitchen in search of food.

"You're such a shit stirrer," she teased, making him tickle her again as she squealed and tried to pull away. When he finally relented, she fell against him, giggling as he spun them around and pressed her back against the counter.

"Your nose is still cold," she laughed as he nuzzled the side of her neck. He chuckled, pulling back enough to see her face as he gave her a handsome smile. She stretched up, pulling him in for a sweet kiss. It was only meant to be quick, but once together, neither of them wanted to pull away. JJ lifted her arms, wrapping them loosely around Will's neck. His hand was sliding up her back, coming to rest just beneath her shirt, warm and soft against her skin.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The two of them jumped apart, Will suddenly looking very nervous as a pink blush hit JJ's cheeks. Michael was standing before them, and to JJ, he looked surprisingly mad. "It's time for Will to go," Michael said, his voice scarily calm.

"What?" JJ exclaimed in surprise.

"No, it's alright," Will said quickly, grabbing his phone and keys from the counter. "I'll call you later Jayje"

"No, Will-"

"Really Jayje, it's alright. I'll talk to you later"

JJ watched in disbelief as Will quickly edged past her dad and hurried out of the house. Seconds later, her face set in furious stone, she turned back to her dad, rage boiling in her stomach. "You're unbelievable," she scoffed.

"So you just expect me to stand there and watch him running his hands all over you?" Michael exclaimed.

"Are you serious? He had one hand on my back, are you seriously that medieval?"

"What about the fact he had you pinned against the counter?"

"Oh my god, Dad, we were just mucking around! Am I not allowed to kiss my boyfriend?"

"You shouldn't even have a boyfriend-"

"I'm eighteen! You can act like I'm still six all you like Dad, but I'm eighteen years old, I'm a goddamn adult!" She furiously pushed past him, heading into the hallway. The anger she was feeling was something she hadn't felt before… this wasn't like her. But her dad was being unreasonable.

"Jennifer Jareau!"

"Leave me alone"

"Jennifer!"

"Don't, Dad! Ok? You don't get to make Will feel unwelcome in this house when there's never been an issue for the last ten years. I don't know what your problem is, but DON'T project it onto me!"

Raging, she turned and stormed up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her so hard that the windows shook.

Michael followed, having every intention of berating JJ for the way she was speaking to him, but as he reached her door, he froze. His hand hovered above the handle, but he didn't go in. He knew JJ was right, but that didn't make him feel any better.

With a huff, he turned, crossing the landing and walking into his and Sandy's room. He threw the door shut behind him, sending a resounding bang echoing through the house.

Downstairs, Sandy looked up from the tests she was marking with an irate expression. She'd heard the argument, and upon hearing how well JJ had stood up for herself, she had decided to leave it for the two of them to sort out. But now, with all the door slamming that she repeatedly asked everyone not to do, she had had enough.

Rising from her desk, she made her way out of the office and up the stairs to the master bedroom. When she opened the door, she found Michael pacing the room, his face set in stone.

"What on earth is your problem?" she exclaimed, closing the door behind her so their voices wouldn't carry across the landing.

"She's gonna get her heart broken Sandy, I just… I came into the room and he had his hands all over her and I can't, I can't stand idly by and watch her end up like Roz-"

"Michael, she is NOT Roz!" Sandy said, her voice rising. "She is JJ, she's an entirely separate person, you need to get that into your head!"

"But she is like her, Sandy! She's shy, unsure of herself… if Will decides he wants to take advantage of her, she's powerless to stop him, she's half his size!"

"Will is not like those boys, it's not the same!" Sandy cried. "You have no faith in your daughter at all, Michael, she's not powerless! She's growing and changing every single day, and she is finding her voice, but she sure as hell isn't going to find it any goddamn faster by having her dad interfering in her relationship!"

Michael let out a huff, throwing himself down on the bed and burying his head in his hands.

"She's eighteen years old, Michael, and mature beyond her years. You actually have to let her make her own choices and experience the world, or she's never going to be able to cope on her own. If things with Will go pear shaped… then she'll grow and learn from it, just like every single person on this planet who has felt the sting of heartbreak," Sandy said, fighting to bring the level of her voice back down. "But she's not Roz. She's not going to experience that pain that Roz felt. And it's Will, Michael. Sweet Will who we've known for years, who was raised by wonderful people, who's had stars in his eyes since he first looked at JJ. I really don't think he could hurt her if he tried"

Michael sighed, looking up at his wife.

"I know," he said softly, shaking his head. "I know that, I do, I just… she's our baby girl… I'm just scared of losing her the same way we lost Roz"

"We won't," Sandy assured him, coming to sit beside him. "She's had one of the happiest years of her life. Have a little faith in her Michael"

Michael sighed again, nodding.

"I think you'd better go and apologise to her. You riled her up something good," Sandy chastised gently.

Nodding, Michael pulled himself off the bed. Sighing, he smoothed down his shirt, before turning and leaving the room. He walked quietly along the hallway until he came to JJ's closed door.

Slowly, he lifted his hand and knocked gently on the door.

"JJ? Can I come in?"

He heard nothing from within, until moments later, the door clicked open, allowing him into the room.

JJ dropped back down onto her bed, leaning back against the headboard with her arms folded across her chest. Her expression was set, a fierce glare up at her father as she sat there.

"JJ, I… I'm sorry," Michael started, slowly coming to take a seat on the edge of the bed. JJ scowled, remaining silent.

"I just… got over-protective," he continued softly. "And I know that's not fair on you… or Will"

"Do you even like Will?" JJ asked.

"Of course I do. I've known him for ten years"

"You better apologise to him the next time you see him. You know he's already intimidated by you?" JJ shot back, sitting up further as she locked eyes with her dad. "Ever since we started dating, he's been terrified of stepping one foot wrong in front of you, because he knows how protective you can be of me. Do you think that's fair?"

"No," Michael breathed.

"And now you've just made it worse"

"JJ, I'm sorry. I am. I'll talk to Will the next time I see him. He… he really shouldn't worry, I know he'll do right by you because that's how he's been raised, it's just… sometimes it's hard to let you go. I know you're an adult, and I know I need to start treating you as such, it just… feels like you've grown up so much in such a short space of time"

"Is that what you and Mom were talking about?" JJ asked quietly. Michael looked up in surprise, his mouth dropping open as he fumbled for what to say.

"I… not really," he said softly.

"Because I heard some of what you said. You were talking about Ros. About how you don't want to lose me too?"

"I… well… you-"

"Ros was having a hard time with some of the boys in her grade," came Sandy's voice from the door, making them both look up. "They were humiliating her and making her life miserable"

"What do you mean?" JJ asked softly as Sandy slowly crossed the room to sit beside Michael on the edge of the bed. JJ shuffled forward, squeezing between the two of them as her mom took a deep breath.

"Ros… sent a picture of herself to her boyfriend at the time. A nude picture. He broke her trust, and… sent it to everyone in their grade. From there it just spiralled. Within a day or two, the entire school had seen it"

JJ felt her stomach drop. She looked up at her mom, her angry expression now replaced with sadness. "How could someone do that?"

Sandy shrugged as Michael took his daughter's hand.

"And is that why she…?"

Her parents both looked at each other, and JJ's resolve stiffened once more.

"Tell me. I'm an adult… I can handle it"

Michael let out a heavy sigh, and JJ could see his eyes growing brighter.

"The weekend before she… she went to a party. And the guy who had sent her picture around… he pulled her top up in front of probably half the upper grades in the school and exposed her to everyone. Someone… someone filmed it"

"What the hell?" JJ exclaimed, leaping up from where she was sitting and turning to face her parents. "Who does something like that? That's fucked up! Were they held accountable?"

"Language, JJ," Sandy reminded her gently. "And no, they weren't, but-"

"They should be! God, I'll hold them accountable myself!"

"JJ," Sandy said softly, reaching out and taking JJ's hands. JJ let out a heavy breath, allowing her mom to pull her a little closer. "We can't live with this anger. It's no way to live your life. As horrible as it is for us, we just have to live to the best of our abilities while knowing that the people responsible for that have to carry the guilt of what happened to Ros forever"

JJ exhaled heavily, before nodding once. Sandy squeezed her hands, grounding her back to where she stood in her bedroom. She turned to look at her father with a pointed look on her face. "Is this why you're so weird about Will?"

"I don't mean to be… but yeah," Michael replied. JJ came to sit back down beside him, allowing him to take one of her hands in between his own. "I just… you're my baby girl, JJ, and if anything like that were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself. I… don't ever want to see you go through what Ros did. And I know you're a strong and capable girl who can stand up for yourself… but when it comes to guys and sex and everything else involved, the world can turn into a really cruel place"

"But Dad, it's Will"

"I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to flip out on you earlier… I guess I'm still carrying a lot of emotional baggage from when Ros died. But it's unfair of me to project that onto you, so I'm really sorry," Michael said softly, looping an arm around JJ's shoulders.

"Why don't you see if Will wants to come back for dinner?" Sandy suggested gently. "And we can all clear the air"

"Ok," JJ replied. "I'm not making any promises on him coming back though… he's already scared of you"

Michael swallowed hard as Sandy gave him a pointed look.

"That's exactly why he should come back. So your father can set this straight"