"Welcome home!"
JJ grinned at Garcia and Hotch, seeing that they had made it home before they had. "You made good time, Hotch," JJ said as she led Kacey inside. Erin followed after them, Henry in her arms, while Blake brought up the rear with their bags.
"Penny wanted to make certain that things were in order here," he replied as he closed the door.
"I had some help, though. Jessica's finishing up in the living room."
Erin slowly lowered Henry to the floor as she stepped next to JJ, slipping an arm around her waist. "What's she finishing up?"
"She means that she worked my fingers to the bone to make certain this homecoming was smooth for you." Jessica came into the foyer to join them, a soft smile on her lips. "All the beds have fresh sheets, the laundry is finished and sorted to be put away, and groceries are bought and put away."
"Jessie did the same for me, after…" Hotch's voice trailed off, but they all knew what he was going to say, and Erin nodded a little as she smiled. "And I believe that pizza is on the way. Penelope said that she was going to order it."
"You're right, it's going to be here in about twenty minutes. Now, Henry, why don't you go see what Jack's watching in the living room, okay?"
Henry nodded and ran off without a backwards glance. Kacey looked at them, and JJ watched as Erin went over to her side and gave her a soft hug. "You can go, too, honey. We're going to have some grown up talk before the food arrives. Okay?"
"Okay, Mama." Kacey kissed Erin's cheek before smiling sadly at JJ. As she drifted off to the living room, JJ couldn't help but notice that she was carrying the bear Penelope had given her and she smiled as she took hold of Erin's hand.
"We should head into the kitchen so that we're not overheard," Hotch said, and Erin nodded as she guided them into the other room, taking a seat at the table. JJ sat next to her, unsurprised when Blake to the chair at the end next to Erin. Garcia and Hotch filled out the other side. Jessica looked down at them before focusing her attention on Erin.
"I think I'm going to head home now. Thank you for letting me take care of you."
"And thank you for doing this for us. I appreciate it so much." Erin gave Jessica a small smile before the other woman turned and left. "Your sister is such a lovely woman."
"She is, and I don't know how I would have carried on in this job without her. Now, the hard conversation." Hotch drew in a deep breath as he looked at JJ. "Will's aunt, most likely the one who you dealt with in New Orleans, has already claimed his body and it has been shipped down to Louisiana for whatever funeral service that she's going to hold for him. Would you like me to find out more about that? For Henry?"
JJ scooted her chair closer to Erin before letting her head come to rest on her shoulder. "I haven't told him that Will is dead yet. I haven't found the words. How, how did you tell Jack?"
"That George was a bad man who wanted to hurt me, and he did so by killing Haley. It took him a while to understand that meant that Haley wasn't ever coming back, and there are still times when I wonder how much her truly understands, but he knows. It will be harder for you, since Will was the bad guy in this situation. He drew a gun on me, and Rossi took the shot. It was clean, he didn't suffer, but he knew what he was doing by aiming at me."
JJ nodded, tears springing to her eyes in moments. She hadn't expected to have any feelings left for Will, but it still felt like a moment of loss. Erin tightened her hand in hers, and JJ looked at her before drawing in a shaky breath. "He's gone, Erin."
"I know, Jenny. Would, would you like me to tell Henry?"
"Maybe. Tonight, when everyone's gone?"
Erin nodded before turning her face so that she could kiss JJ softly. "Now, since he and JJ weren't married, I'm assuming that his death benefits will go to his aunt?"
"No, as long as he was on the birth certificate, the death benefits will go to Henry. I'm not certain about the life insurance, however. You'll probably have to speak to the company itself. And Henry will receive Social Security until he turns eighteen."
"Even though we don't need that?" JJ blurted out.
"You could put it into Henry's college fund. It's nice to start building a nest egg as soon as possible. That's where the majority of Hailey's insurance money went."
"That's a good idea, Aaron."
JJ wanted to say something when Erin's phone rang, and they frowned in unison. "Don't they know we're busy?" JJ asked, and Erin let out a little laugh as she pulled her phone out of her purse. "Erin?"
"It's Victor. None of you leave this table." JJ nodded, seeing the others copy the motion as she answered. "Hello?" JJ could hear the angry voice pour out, even though Erin didn't have it on speaker, and she glanced at Blake before turning her gaze back to Erin. "We just got home from hospital. Henry's father was killed when he tried to shoot one of my colleagues. We're all fine. No, no! There's no reason for you to come here, Kacey's fine! How did you even out about what happened?" Another barrage of angry words, and JJ watched the way Erins nostrils flared with her own fury, even as she tried to keep her cool. "It made international news? Oh, so you have my name set up in your alerts? That's not fucking creepy! And what do you mean your flight lands tomorrow afternoon? You're not needed here! Ugh, I do not have time to deal with this. No, we will not see you tomorrow. You're not needed!"
Erin pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it in disgust. "Did he hang up on you?" Hotch asked, and she nodded.
"That bastard is going to be here tomorrow, and you'll be at work, so I'll have to deal with him alone. There is not enough gin in the universe to prepare me for dealing with him."
"You're not going to get drunk over him, Erin, he's not worth it. We'll get through this together. And I'm not going to work tomorrow." JJ looked at Hotch, and he nodded. "I have the feeling that we're owed some leave, don't you?"
"I, I didn't think about it like that. Penny, you probably know more about that than we do. Do we have leave lined up?"
Garcia nodded and she grinned at them. "Yes. I arranged for you both to have two weeks of paid leave. Hopefully, that will help you both settle Kacey and Henry after what happened to them. Now, the real question is, do you want me to deal with Victor? I can make it so that he can't fly tomorrow, you know that I can."
"And then you might end up in prison, dear, and I think that Aaron would have my head if I allowed that. I'll just have to deal with my ex-husband problem with my own brain."
"My brain, too," JJ interjected, and Erin smiled at her as she nodded. "We'll face him together. Even if it will suck."
Erin nodded as she looked around the table. "I know that the food will be here shortly, but Jenny and I need some alone time before that happens. Would you three please keep the children occupied until then. It's not what you're thinking, but…"
"Of course, Erin. Take your time." Hotch gave them an understanding look, and her lover nodded as she rose to her feet and tugged JJ from the kitchen and upstairs to their room. Jessica had not only changed the sheets, she'd placed a bouquet of flowers on the nightstand, and JJ smiled at the sight and scent.
"We don't have time for sex, Jenny, but I want skin to skin time to erase this craving. Just our chests. Please?"
JJ nodded and hurriedly tugged off her polo shirt before unclipping her bra, setting both garments on the trunk at the end of the bed. Erin was just as quick to strip, dropping her clothes on top of JJ's before stretching out on top of the covers. JJ joined her moments later, and they plastered their bodies together as Erin let go of her emotions, sobbing into the crook of JJ's shoulder. This allowed her to start crying as well, and she felt the soft kisses that Erin pressed against her skin in an effort to soothe her. She reciprocated the gesture as best she could, and they eventually fell into a light sleep.
"Erin? Jen? The pizza's here."
JJ groaned a little as she went to sit up, only to feel Erin's arm holding her down on the mattress. "Who is it?" she asked tiredly.
"It's Alex. Garcia and Hotch thought it would be safest if I came up to check on you." JJ looked over Erin's shoulder to meet Blake's gaze. "I remember sleeping like that with her." JJ's eyes got large, and Blake drew in a quick breath as she shook her head. "No, no! Not exactly like that. No, there were a few times when she just had to shut down during the Amerithrax case, and we found that if she had someone to hold on to, it was easier to see things objectively. I'm glad that she has you, truly."
Blake turned on her heel, and JJ let out a long breath as she flopped back on the mattress to stare at Erin. She could tell that her partner wasn't quite asleep, by the way her weight had shifted against JJ. "How much of that did you hear, sweet Chloris?"
"Enough. And she's right, we did fall asleep like this a fair few times. Fully clothed, of course, but it was a balm for my soul, those moments I could find away from Victor. And now I have you to hold me. That was the first thing that I loved about you, Jenny. Being held by you." Erin leaned in and gave her a soft kiss before slipping off the bed and picking up her bra, slipping into it before pulling her blouse over her head and smoothing it down her torso. "Are you coming, Jenny?"
She nodded and clambered out of bed, hurriedly dressing before joining Erin at the top of the stairs. Reaching out, she took hold of Erin's hand and they went downstairs together. "Where is everyone?" JJ called out as they reached the last step, and Garcia answered quickly.
"In the living room!"
Erin headed in that direction, JJ at her heels, and they entered the room together. Their children were on the floor, a pizza box in the middle of them, while the others were on the sofa. That left the settee open for them, and JJ brought Erin over there. "Aren't you going to get any pizza?" Kacey asked, and JJ listened to Erin's stomach rumble hungrily.
"Food would be nice." Erin murmured, and JJ patted her knee before she popped to her feet and went over to the coffee table. She grabbed two slices for each of them before filling glasses with soda. Carefully, she balanced the plates atop the glasses before bringing them over to the settee, holding one set out to Erin. Her partner took hold of the glass and plate as JJ sat down. She watched Erin place the glass between her legs before she took a large bite of pizza.
"Mama, can I sleep with you tonight?"
JJ glanced between Erin and Kacey, almost knowing what the answer would be. "Of course, darling. Henry, would you like to join us, too?"
He nodded absently as he and Jack continued to talk and giggle together, and JJ melted a little at the sight. "It will be a full bed tonight. Are you okay with that, Erin?" she murmured in her ear.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have suggested it. Though, I suppose that I should have asked if you were all right with the arrangement, before I agreed."
JJ shrugged before pressing a kiss to her cheek. "It will be nice to have a cosy night. Because I really don't want to be away from them right now."
Erin nodded as she turned her focus to the others in the room. "So, Aaron, I was talking to Alex, and I was thinking that perhaps we could find her a position on the team. After all the work she did to reunite our family, out of the goodness of her heart, I thought that I would do whatever I could to see that a wrong was made right. Would you be willing to support me in that with Director Shepperd?"
Hotch nodded, and the smile on his lips made JJ smile in return. "I think that I would be more than willing to help you with that, Erin. Blake was a great help on this case."
"Well, it's certainly good to know that I haven't lost my touch," Blake quipped before she took a drink from her glass. "And it would be nice to be back in the action, especially with such a solid team. Now, I hate to eat and run, but I'm expecting a call from my husband."
Blake rose to her feet, and it didn't surprise JJ when Erin handed over her glass and plate before she also stood up, guiding Blake to the door. She could hear the lower murmur of their voices before the door opened and shut. Erin returned to her, a delicate smile on her lips as she sat back down. "Thank you, Jenny," she said as she took her food back.
"You are more than welcome." JJ gave her a small wink before they started talking with Garcia and Hotch. It was an easy conversation, which was exactly what they needed that afternoon, and all too soon, both Henry and Kacey were yawning deeply. "I think that we should call it an evening, guys. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, if Victor makes good on his threats, and our children are dragging. Thank you for bringing us home."
"Anytime, Jayje!" Garcia said as she stood, gathering all their plates. "I'll throw these out, if you want to put the leftovers in the fridge, Aaron."
He nodded and began to fold up the boxes, carrying them into the kitchen. JJ also got up, gathering the glasses and following the others. "I wish that you both could be here tomorrow when we deal with Victor, but there's probably a lot of paperwork that you have to do after what happened."
"Unfortunately, that is the case. However, if he does give you any grief, reach out to me and I will get here as soon as possible. He might do better to pick on someone his own size, after all."
"Thanks, Hotch. I'll keep that in mind." She smiled at him before leaving the room and heading back to the living room. Kacey was already gone, but Henry and Jack were still talking. "All right, Jackers, it's time for you to head home. We'll have a playdate soon, I promise."
"Okay, Aunt JJ." Henry and Jack got up, and she watched them hug tightly before Jack ran out to the kitchen.
"And it's bathtime for you, kiddo," JJ said as she scooped her son up into her arms. "Mama Win will pick out a book for us all to read in the meantime, okay?"
"Okay!"
JJ looked back at her love, taking in the tender look on her face, and gave her a small wink before heading upstairs with her son. She set him down and let him run into the bathroom while she slipped into his room and grabbed clean pyjamas before joining him in the bathroom. He had already taken off all his clothes and put them in the hamper by the time she entered the room, and she ruffled his hair as she plugged the tub and began to run the water. Once it was the right temperature, she helped him in and they sang together as he splashed around in the water.
Once he was clean, JJ helped him out and wrapped his duck towel around his body to dry him off, and once that was done, he pulled on his pyjamas before running from the room and into her bedroom. JJ followed after at a more sedate pace, knowing that her family would be there when she arrived. Erin was already stretched out on their bed, Kacey curled up next to her, and she grinned at the sight. "You're not dressed for bed, sweetheart."
"Give me three minutes," she replied as she rummaged through their dresser to get her own pyjamas. "I'll be right back!"
"Okay, Mom!" Henry called out as he climbed into bed next to Kacey, which told JJ that she would be on the outside like Erin for the evening. Again, she smiled at them before disappearing into the master bath and quickly changing. She wished she could take a quick shower, but knew that would probably have to wait until tomorrow morning. Sighing, she pulled her hair up into a soft ponytail before rejoining her family, climbing in next to Henry and pulling the covers up around them.
Kacey met her eyes, and she reached over to rub her shoulder gently. "Mama's going to tell us a story from memory tonight. I kind of goaded her into it."
"Those can be the best stories," JJ replied as she shifted her gaze to Erin, seeing the gentle smile on her lips as she reached for JJ's hand, threading their fingers together as she started to spool out her story. Under the rise and fall of her voice, Henry and Kacey were soon asleep, and JJ also found herself drifting off, soothed by the dulcet tones of her partner.