Archive of Our Own

“Jayje, baby, have you seen my keys!” Emily yelled as she shuffled through the various pieces of mail, homework, and drawings strewn about the kitchen. After coming up empty, she turned to check the living room.

“I’m right here, no need to yell.” JJ came around the corner swinging Emily’s keys from her finger. Emily slid to a stop in her sock feet and her unbuttoned shirt fluttered with the abrupt movement. “They were on that fancy thing we keep all the rest of our keys on.” JJ pulled them back when Emily reached for them and tapped her chin with the car key fob. “What do we call that again? Oh, right, a key hook. It’s almost like it was made specifically as a place to keep your keys so you don’t lose them. Weird, eh?” JJ smirked as Emily huffed in annoyance.

“I’m so late, please don’t mess with me.” Emily pleaded as she buttoned her shirt.

JJ handed over her keys and pulled Emily closer by her shirt. “I can’t help it, it’s my favourite past time.” JJ started undoing the buttons Emily just did up. As Emily started to protest, JJ rolled her eyes. “I’m not trying to jump you, you’re crooked you goober.” JJ finished fastening Emily’s shirt for her properly.

“Thank you.” Emily gave JJ a rushed peck and slid across the hardwood to the front door, tucking her shirt in as she went. “Can you give a hug and a kiss to the boys for me? Henry was still in the shower when I came downstairs, and Michael was finishing his homework. I know he’ll be pissed but if I distract him now, he’ll never finish it.” Emily hopped on the spot as she put on her boots.

“He better finish it. I told him to do it last night after dinner, but someone thought that playing Mario Kart for four hours was a better idea.” JJ crossed her arms and blinked at her girlfriend in humour.

“Jennifer, he was trash talking me. I had to beat him.” Emily dropped one boot with a thud and looked at JJ dead on. “I couldn’t let a seven-year-old disrespect me like that.”

“And it took you four hours to finally beat him?” JJ asked not bothering to hold back her look of condescension.

“Well, no, he got tired of playing.” Emily traced the lines on her hand with her pointer finger while trying to ignore the snort that came from JJ. “But I’m gonna beat him tonight.” Emily said petulantly.

JJ just pursed her lips in disbelief. “I’m sure you will.”

Emily crossed her arms with a huff. “You don’t think I can beat him.” JJ just raised her hands in surrender, but her face said betrayal. “I am a trained spy, Jennifer. I am very capable.”

JJ threw an arm around Emily’s shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Emily’s hands rested on JJ’s hips pulling her closer even though she wouldn’t look at her. “I know baby, you’re the best spy I know.”

“I’m the only spy you know.” Emily rolled her eyes, but finally gave up the façade and wrapped her arms fully around JJ.

“Honey, just take the compliment.” JJ pat her cheek. Emily just grinned goofily at her and leaned in to press their lips together. When JJ started to pull away, Emily gripped her tighter and deepened the kiss, bowing JJ’s back. JJ place her hands on Emily’s cheeks and tried to participate but ended up giggling too much. Eventually they were both smiling too widely to call it kissing anymore and JJ wriggled out of Emily’s arms and gave her a pat on the bum. “You need to go or you’re going to be late.”

Emily snapped out of her daze and seemed to remember that she had to get moving. She picked up her other boot and pulled it on roughly. “Drive safe, okay?”

“Of course. Although Morgan will probably insist on driving.” JJ helped Emily slip into her coat and Emily shot her a wink as she turned to walk out the door.

JJ watched Emily make her way down the path to get into her car, giving her a final wave as she backed out of the driveway. JJ closed the door and leaned her back against it. She let a big smile stretch from ear to ear as she surveyed their front hallway cluttered with Henry’s soccer cleats, Michael’s SpongeBob backpack, and Emily’s designer coat that had a packet of goldfish crackers hanging out. She knew that the living room held a badly worn Kurt Vonnegut book with a bright blue spaceship bookmark in the middle of it. The dining table had a copy of Grade 9 French along with various other French reading material. Her home showed her three favourite people jumbled into a big, beautiful mess and nothing could make her life any better at this point.

Distantly JJ registered the herd of elephants that came thundering down the stairs. As they got closer to the bottom, she paused waiting. There was silence for a fraction of a second and then the resounding thud of Michael jumping the last few steps.

“Hey, Hen. Did Mama already leave?” Michael asked Henry who must have already come downstairs and was in the kitchen.

“No, she’s at the front door, smiling like a dork.” JJ rolled her eyes and pushed off the door coming around the corner into the kitchen and flicked her son in the neck. “Child abuse.” He muttered as he rubbed the spot.

“Yeah, yeah.” She ran a hand through his slightly damp hair and pulled him in for a hug. Michael rushed past her and looked around the corner towards the front door but turned back with slightly drooped shoulders. JJ scrunched her eyebrows briefly as she took in her youngest son’s disappointed demeanor. She reached out and gripped Michael’s shoulder and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “From Emily. She’s sorry she missed you this morning.”

Michael nodded sadly but tucked into his cereal that Henry had poured for him. JJ looked towards Henry and nodded at Michael in question. He just shrugged and shook his head. JJ nodded briefly and jerked her head towards the living room. Henry picked up his cereal and left the room.

JJ went to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup before leaning on the counter across from Michael. “What’s up, little bug?” JJ reached a finger out to scratch the top of his hand affectionately.

“Nothing, really. I just don’t like it when I don’t get to say goodbye.” JJ leaned back slightly at how heavy her little boy’s emotions were. “I just never know when you guys might get a case and have to leave.”

“Buddy, we’ll always come back.” JJ tried to reassure him.

“Yeah, I know.” He said in a way that sounded like he didn’t fully believe it and realization dawned on her that Michael was at the point where he figured out just how dangerous their jobs could be. Even though she’d already been through this with Henry years ago, it didn’t make it any easier to navigate this conversation now.

“Come here, babe.” JJ sat on one of the stools that lined the island and held out a hand to him. He took it and let her pull him into her lap. “Nothing is going to happen to us. Okay? We have a great team behind us that is always watching our backs and Emily is an extremely capable agent.” JJ couldn’t help the twitch of her lips as she reiterated Emily’s phrasing from earlier.

Surprisingly, this got a laugh out of Michael too. “I know.” He turned his head to look at her and rolled his eyes. “She told me many times last night.” JJ’s heart lifted slightly at the change in Michael’s mood.

JJ just shook her head and chuckled lightly with her son. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. Just next time, tell her to say bye to me.” Michael shifted off JJ’s lap and picked up the spoon for his cereal.

“Well, she was going to, but she didn’t want to distract you from finishing your homework that you were supposed to do last night.” JJ raised an eyebrow.

Michael held up a hand. “Mom, please trust me. I tried, but she wouldn’t let me leave.” He said it so seriously that JJ had no hope in hell of keeping a straight face.

“I think you need to take one for the team and let her win tonight.” JJ lifted her mug and took a hearty sip.

“I don’t think I can do that.” JJ caught the mischievous smile that lit up his face and shook her head.

“Okay.” JJ shrugged. “But you may be singing a different tune another four hours in. I don’t know if you grasp exactly how stubborn and childish she is.” JJ gave him a pat on the shoulder and went to finish getting ready for the day.

JJ leisurely went through the process of doing her hair and makeup, relishing in a very rare day where she didn’t need to be out the door just after the ass-crack of dawn. Today, she and Morgan had a consult with the Baltimore Police Department and since they both lived in DC, it made sense to go straight there before coming into the office.

Just as she put the finishing touches on her makeup, her phone rang. JJ tensed slightly but relaxed when she saw the call display.

“Hey, Will.” JJ put the phone on speaker and set it on the vanity in front of her.

“Hey, Chere. How are the boys?” Will voice rang out through the phone.

JJ moved into the bedroom and sat on the end of the bed to put her shoes on. “They’re fine. Michael was upset this morning that Emily didn’t say goodbye to him, but I think it’s more that he’s realizing the risk of having jobs in law enforcement.” She worded it carefully so as to include him in the mix because she didn’t want to rehash that argument. “So, just watch out for that in case he brings it up.” She heard Will grunt on the other end, but he didn’t say anything. Eventually the silence got awkward, and JJ rolled her eyes getting up from the bed and grabbing her purse. “Well, I’m just about to take the boys to school. Were you calling about anything specific?”

“Uh-” Will stumbled awkwardly. “Um, I just had something that I wanted to ask you for a few days now.” JJ waited for him to continue but again all she got was silence.

“Okay?” JJ said, her face scrunching up in confusion as she took the phone off speaker and held it to her ear.

“You know what Michael said to me the other day?” Again, silence.

JJ’s eye twitched from the awkwardness. What the hell is wrong with him? “No, what?”

“He said that Mama was going to come chaperone his class field trip to the aquarium next month.”

JJ’s head jerked back in shock. “Uh, no the hell I’m not. I love him but there’s no way I’m getting anyway near that many fish.” JJ said trying to jog her memory on when she had talked to him about that but came up blank. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of walking through those underwater glass hallways.

“That’s what I said.” Will said quickly, his voice getting revved up. “And he said to me, and I quote “No, I knew not to ask Mom, but I asked Mama.”.” Realization dawned on her as her morning played out in her head. “Why the hell didn’t you guys talk to me about them calling Emily that?” Will’s voice was just angry now. “Don’t you think I deserve to be a part of that conversation!”

“I didn’t tell them to do anything!” JJ whisper-yelled into the phone, hoping that there weren’t any little ears wandering the hallway outside the bedroom.

“Well, maybe she’s been telling them that!” JJ flinched from the venom in his tone.

“Will, Emily would never do that, and you know it. She has always been painfully aware of where the line is and making sure she never goes over it. The boys and I have to drag her over that line because she’s thinking of you and how you would feel, so don’t you dare accuse her of shit like that.” JJ balled her hand into a fist and just shook her head. She was met with another beat of silence, but she didn’t let it stretch as long. She took one final breath and shuffled towards the bedroom door. “Look, we can talk about this later, but I have to get the boys to school. Okay?”

“Okay.” He said much quieter and her demeanor softened at the sad inflection on his voice. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled like that.”

“We’ll talk this weekend.” JJ hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment confused about how that got to that point. She and Will have had quite an amiable relationship since they separated years ago. They haven’t had an argument like that since they got divorced. Shaking her head once more, she trudged down the stairs. “Are you boys ready? We gotta go.” She called from the front hallway checking her watch.

“Ready.” They both chimes from the living room couch, backpacks on.

Both boys jumped up and followed her to the car. Michael tried to call shotgun which JJ turned to tell him no friggen way, when Henry beat her to it. The drive to Michael’s school was relatively peaceful. Michael pouted; Henry fiddled with the radio until JJ told him to just pick a station. When they pulled up to Michael’s school, JJ turned in her seat to make sure he was okay after their conversation this morning, but he was already out and running towards his friends.

“Uh, oh.” Henry chuckled.

JJ just smirked and opened her door to stand on the running boards so she could see over the top of the vehicle. “Bye Mikey! Mommy loves you!” She yelled with an enthusiastic wave. Michael turned to look at her open mouthed. He raised his hand to send her a half-assed wave and took a step towards his friends before turning back to the car and jogging over to her side.

“Bye Mom, love you.” He gave her a hug. “Also, I know we talked about saying goodbye and all that, but did you really have to yell like that?” He asked with red tinged cheeks. She just gave him a shrug and ruffled his hair which resulted in an eyeroll before making his way into the school.

“What do you think?” Henry asked as she pulled away from the curb. “Two. Maybe three more of those and he’ll learn it’s better to say it in the car?”

“You took six.” JJ shot him a wink.

Henry just chuckled but it stopped short. “What were you and Dad fighting about?”

“We weren’t fighting.” JJ mumbled. She turned to look at him when she felt the side of her cheek burning from his gaze. With a roll of her eyes, she huffed. “What do you think about Emily and the role she plays in yours and your brother’s lives?”

Henry scrunched his face and gave his head a slight shake. “What?” Yeah, okay maybe a weird way to start. “I don’t really know how to answer that. She’s just there. Like you and dad are.” Okay, that was a better answer than I expected.

JJ nodded a few times slowly. “Michael calls her Mama.”

“Oh.” Henry mimicked his mother’s nodding but JJ could see his features fill with understanding.

“Have you heard him say that?”

“I mean I say it.” Henry said with a shrug. “Well, I guess I don’t say Mama, exactly, but when I talk to people about you guys, you’re just my moms.” He gave her another shrug. JJ pulled up to a red light and looked over at her son for a few moments. She never even had the thought that this would be another step in Emily and the boys’ relationship, but now that it was staring her in the face, something seemed to click in place for her. It made her feel like everything had fallen into place. “Dad doesn’t like it, does he?”

JJ started driving again when the light turned green. “I think it caught him off guard. I think he thought it was a decision we made between the four of us and didn’t include him.”

“But we didn’t. Honestly, with me, it’s a little bit about convenience and a little bit about the relationship. She feels like a mom. She loves us like a mom. She yells at me like a mom.” Henry smirked but gave her a shrug that was so matter of fact. “It’s like a knee jerk reaction to call her one of my moms. As for Michael though, I’ve heard him say it once or twice, but I didn’t know he was talking about Emily.”

JJ nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Me too.”

“How do you feel about it?” Henry asked after a few moments.

I love it. “We need to talk about it with all five of us, but personally, I think it’s a decision for you boys to make.” JJ parked next to the curb outside Henry’s school.

Henry let a small smile cross his face as he digested his mother’s words. “Okay.” He said with a nod and took hold of the backpack at his feet. “Bye mom, love you.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He learned well. JJ watched her son with pride as he walked into the school. Such a mature conversation for a fifteen-year-old.

JJ started to pull away from the curb but had to slam on the brakes as a boy stepped in front of her car. She waved an apology at him, though he didn’t see it with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head. He was dressed in dark clothing that hung off his small frame, and his shoulder curled in on himself. JJ’s eyebrows scrunched in worry as she watched the boy weave in and out of the crowd. Nobody moved for him, nobody got out of his way. Nobody noticed he was even there.

*

French was Henry’s best subject. He was acing French because Emily had been teaching him to speak the language for the last two years. Thinking of Emily made him think of his dad and how he might feel about how she has become a part of their family. He doesn’t want his dad to feel bad, but he loves having Emily in his life this way.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he wasn’t listening to anything Madame LaFleur was saying, so he stuck his hand up and waited for her to call on him.

“Henri?” She said with the flair she always put on his name.

“Puis-je aller a la salle de bain?” Figuring a little break to clear his head would do him some good.

“Oui.” Henry’s mental dilemma must show on his face because his teacher normally asked them to answer a question in French as payment for a bathroom break.

Henry quickly shuffled out of the classroom but slowed down as soon as he hit the hallway. He felt like he was betraying his dad for not missing him when he stays at his mom and Emily’s home. Well, he misses his dad, but he doesn’t miss what type of family they were when they all lived together. He remembers what it was like, and it wasn’t a good time. His dad always seemed to be holding onto his mom for dear life and his mom seemed to be forcing herself to stay. Neither one of them was happy. Henry wasn’t happy. Michael was too young to know what happy was. But now he loved the time he got to spend with his dad at his house, and with his mom and Emily at their house. Everyone for the most part was happy, although he knew his dad still wished they were all together.

Henry shook his head as he entered the boys bathroom. This is too much for me to worry about right now. He splashed a bit of water on his face and shook off his thought for now. Mom said they’ll talk about it all later, no sense worrying about it right now. And he definitely wanted to have that talk.

He looked around the bathroom, not needing to actually use it and figured he’d take the long way back to his classroom. He passed the gym and peered in the window seeing what looked like grade twelves playing an intense game of dodgeball. I love dodgeball. I hope we get to play that today too.

Henry tucked to the side of the hallway and stuck a hand out dragging it along the locks that kept the lockers closed as he walked slowly down the hall. He turned a corner and almost ran right into someone.

“Sorry, man. Wasn’t watching where I was going.” Henry said with a sheepish smile. The kid stared at Henry for a fraction of a second before giving him a nod and shuffling around him. Henry watched the kid for a moment before shrugging and turning to continue around the corner.

He came to the staircase that would loop around to the second level of the gym wondering if he could sneak a peek at that dodgeball game without getting caught. Ultimately, he figured he was pushing his detour a little too far and turned towards the dark hallway full of deserted classrooms that would take him back to French. He’d barely taken a few slow steps when he heard a series of loud bangs from the direction he just came that made his blood turn to ice. He froze not believing his ears even though how many times had he been to the gun range with his mom. He knew that sound.

Run in the opposite direction and find the nearest room with a lock. Emily’s voice rang through his ears and unfroze his limbs. Against Emily’s instruction he turned around and eyed the main storage closet that he noticed was ajar when he had passed it. He figured the storage closet was a better bet than the series of most likely locked classroom doors.

He pressed himself to the wall of lockers and quickly shuffled in a slight crouch cautiously trying to avoid hitting the locks. He panicked when he heard pounding footsteps running towards him and broke into a run though still trying to keep his footsteps as light as possible.

Fifteen feet away from the slightly ajar door, the same kid he almost ran into came sprinting around the corner. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” The boy was almost screeching in panic. His breathing was bordering on hyperventilating and his face was split into sheer terror.

He was about to pass him when Henry hooked his arm and yanked him into the storage closet.

“What are you doing?” He screeched again. Henry gave him a little shove when he tried to go back out the door and quickly but silently closed the door and threw the lock.

Henry let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and slid down the wall. “We’re safest in here. Any rooms that way,” Henry waved a hand towards the deserted hallway, “are most likely locked. No one ever uses those, and they don’t want students hooking up in there.”

The boy looked like he was about to protest but ended up running both hands roughly through his hair and slumped down on the opposite wall. He hugged his knees to his chest rocking and mumbled incoherently to himself.

“Hey man, we’ll be okay in here. Do you know where it came from?”

“Gym.” The boy whispered not bothering to look at Henry.

“Did you see who it was?”

The boy froze for a moment and then slowly shook his head before resuming his rocking. Henry slowly got up and came to sit next to the boy leaving about a foot of space between them. Both boys jumped when the heard the code red alarm come over the speakers. Briefly Henry registered that it could have only been a couple minutes since the shots were fired even though it felt like so much longer.

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” The boy started mumbling again and rocking even harder.

“Hey, we’re okay.” Henry laid a hand on the boy’s forearm, but he flinched so severely that Henry jerked his hand away. “I’m Henry. What’s your name?”

“Jake.” Jake whispered so quietly Henry barely caught it.

Henry stretched a hand out so that it was in Jake’s eyesight. “Nice to meet you.”

Jake stared at it for a long moment before tentatively placing his hand in Henry’s.

*

Emily pressed her face closer and closer to her computer screen, soaking in every ounce of information from the article she was reading.

“How to become a pro Mario Kart racer.” A voice said from over her shoulder.

Emily whipped around and looked into the innocent face of Spencer Reid. “I was just-”

“Trying to become a pro Mario Kart racer.” Reid deadpanned but his face did eventually twitch into his signature dopey smile.

“I just need an edge. I was so close to beating the beautiful little jerk last night, but he was “too tired”.” Emily did her best impression of the whiny brat that conveniently decided to end the game right when she had him on the ropes.

Emily got up from her chair and made her way toward the break room with Reid on her heels. She pulled out two mugs from the cupboard filled them both with coffee. When she turned to hand Reid his coffee, she caught a glimpse of the small TV that hung in the corner of the room. The mug slipped from her hands and shattered on the ground. Storming past Reid and over the mess she created she reached for the remote and clicked the unmute button.

“-shots have been fired at Thomas Jefferson High School. We have no further information as police haven’t yet arrived on-.”

Emily whipped the door open to the break room and sprinted across the bullpen to her desk dumping the contents of her purse on the surface. She shuffled through the items to find her car keys, vaguely registering Reid yelling to Hotch. Clutching them tightly in hand she sprinted to the elevators and smashed the button. She waited all of about three seconds before shaking her head and lunging for the door to the stairwells. Emily sprinted down the staircase skipping the last few steps of each flight, finally bursting through the door to the parking garage. Her lungs burned as she ran to her parked car.

She heard the elevator ding as she frantically pushed the unlock button on her key fob. “Prentiss!” Hotch yelled behind her. Emily didn’t stop. Her breathing was becoming erratic which had nothing to do with the physical exertion. “Emily! Stop!”

“Hotch-” She started to yell but he cut her off with a yell of his own.

“Lights and sirens!” He was now running to one of their black SUV’s. Emily slammed the door to her own vehicle shut and sprinted once more across the parking lot.

Hopping into the passenger seat, Hotch peeled out of the parking garage. As soon as he hit the street, he flicked on the lights and sirens. Emily braced herself with the grab bar and the center console as he whipped down the streets, partially because of the speed but mostly because she needed to ground the panic that was rising within her.

“Oh my God, Hotch.” She choked out frantically and raised one hand to press it to her forehead.

“Emily, keep it together. Take a minute and then you need to call JJ.” His gruff, all-business voice grounded her enough to take three purposeful breaths. She mustered every bit of control she’d ever had over her emotions and every ounce of her compartmentalizing skills. After one more breath she nodded in a more controlled manner than she felt.

“Okay, I’m okay.”

Emily pulled her phone out and let her thumb hover over JJ’s contact. With a shake of her head, she scrolled down and pressed a different contact. Emily held the phone to her ear, closing her eyes briefly to keep her control in place.

“Hey, Princess. You couldn’t-”

“Morgan.” She cut him off aggressively. “Did you drive to Baltimore? Or JJ?”

“I did. What’s going on?”

“Don’t give JJ the keys. I need you to hand her the phone.” When he was about to protest again, she added a firm “please”.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s right here.”

Emily heard the crackling of the phone switching hands and then JJ spoke into the phone cautiously. “Em, what’s wrong?”

Emily took another small breath and tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. “There was a shooting at Henry’s school. I don’t really have any information, it seemed to have just happened, but Hotch and I are on the way.” Emily powered through as JJ started sputtering. Emily could already hear her starting to hyperventilate. “Jennifer, I promise you, I will get him out of there.” Emily felt a tap on her shoulder so she turned to face Hotch who mouthed ‘Will’. “Honey, I need you to stay calm. I need you to call Will. We need them to invite us in.”

“Okay, okay.” JJ repeated over and over, her breathing slowly returning to normal. Emily could hear footsteps pounding and eventually a car door slam through the phone. “Okay.” She said one final time. “Go get our boy.”

Emily blinked away the heat that pricked at her eyes and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “I will.” She disconnected the call quickly and leaned her head against the head rest closing her eyes tightly.

“It may be nothing, like you said we have no information.” Hotch said quietly.

Emily nodded methodically but didn’t answer him. It might have been the risk to one of the three most important things in her life or years of experience, but she had a bad feeling.

*

“Fuck!” JJ slammed her hand against the dashboard in front of her and ran a rough hand through her hair.

“Come on, baby, you gotta calm down.” Morgan reached a hand and gripped her leg just above her knee.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to tell a woman to calm down?” JJ spat at him but still gripped the hand that was on her leg firmly.

“We both know that Emily will do anything to get your boy out of there.”

“I know. But that also terrifies me. I could lose one of them. Or both!” JJ slammed her head into the headrest behind her. “Jesus Christ! Why the fuck can’t we just be happy!”

“Honey, nothing has happened yet. We don’t know what the situation is yet at the school. Right now, you need to stay calm, and you need to call Will.” JJ nodded her head vigorously and pulled her phone out with shaking hands. “Hold up. Take a breath.” Morgan breathed with her slowly in then out. “Okay. Make the call.”

JJ breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth as she found Will’s contact.

“Jayje, I was just about to call you.” Will stammered out as soon as he picked up. She could hear him panicking.

“Is there any word yet?” JJ choked out.

“Not much, we’ve had a few calls from teachers that all said they heard around five or six shots. We don’t know if there’s any injuries or casualties.” His voice hitched on the word casualties.

JJ closed her eyes tightly before shaking her head. “You need to have your department call us in.”

“We’re already handling it. The first few officers should be on scene by now.”

“Emily and Hotch are on their way. They’re going in.”

“What? You think I can’t get our son out of there?” Will spat into the receiver.

JJ’s eyes flew open and sat up straighter in her seat. “Are you fucking kidding me Will?” She yelled. “You need to check your insecurities and think about Henry. This had nothing to do with your competency as a single officer. This is about the resources and training of an entire organization. So, who do you want going in there to get Henry, the FBI or the local police department. Plus, Emily is going in there whether you make the call or not, so I need you to make it legal for her to be in that school!” JJ huffed out and gripped Morgan’s hand tightly again.

“I know, I know, I know.” He mumbled desperately. “I’ll get it done.”

JJ nodded her head as she tried to calm down. Morgan rubbed soothing circles with his thumb on the back of her hand. “I’m on my way from Baltimore. Morgan is driving as fast as he can, but we’ll still be at least another forty minutes.”

“Okay, tell him to drive safe.” He paused slightly as he took a shaky breath in. “And I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-. Anyways, I’ll get you guys in there as quick as possible.”

“Be careful when you get there.” JJ mumbled, numbness setting in as they hung up. “Can you call Spencer or Rossi and ask one of them to pick up Michael?” JJ asked in a quiet voice as she leaned her head against the headrest and closed her eyes tightly.

“Of course.” Morgan gave her hand one more squeeze before pulling out of her grip and reaching for his phone. JJ let her head loll to the side and watched out the window. What would her life look like in forty minutes?

*

Emily opened her eyes when Hotch made the turn onto the street the school was on. Emily stilled her whole body as she took a few more moments to prepare herself for going in there. When they pulled into the parking lot, Emily made the decision she was wrestling with the whole drive. She pulled her badge from her pocket and her gun and holster off her waist setting it on the dash as Hotch put the SUV in park next to a couple of police cruisers that had just pulled in. Emily whipped the door open and started to take a step towards the school.

“Emily!” Hotch yelled.

“Hotch, I am going in there to get my boy. Henry is the only thing that matters to me right now so I can’t do my job and any threats to my job will not stop me.”

“I know I can’t talk you out of it and I won’t. You realize I have to stay out here, right? I can’t come in with you yet.” He said seriously. She nodded immediately. Emily knew that they had absolutely no jurisdiction in that school. “But I’m not about to let you go in there naked, either.” He leaned into the back seat and pulled out a vest which he tossed at her. Then he lifted his foot to rest on the running board of the SUV and pulled his backup out of its holster on his ankle. “Put your radio in. I’ll work on getting you backup as soon as I can. Emily, please be careful.”

Emily nodded and quickly strapped herself into the vest. She tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants and pulled her hair into a ponytail as her and Hotch marched toward the police cruisers. Emily didn’t slow down as she passed them but heard Hotch say FBI and hoped no one was going to try to stop her. Luckily no one did and she marched with determination to the front doors.

She allowed one final deep breath before she pulled the gun from her waistband and opened the door as silently as she could. Emily crouched slightly with her gun raised, taking deliberate but quick steps as she cleared the small entrance hallway. Without lowering her gun, she checked the watch on her wrist. Second period. French. Emily thanked her lucky stars that Henry had asked her to join in on meet the teacher night so she could meet his French teacher. Second floor.

Emily crept along the hallway, head on a swivel as she made her way to her goal. She leaned against the wall at a corner, checking around her one more time before peeking around into the stairwell. When she didn’t see anyone and heard no movement, she pushed towards the stairs. She kept her back to the wall and steadily took each step, quickly making it to the second floor. Checking around another corner she started down the hallway where Henry had his French class.

The final few steps were agonizing. What was she going to find? Was his classroom hit? Is Henry even in there? If he is, is he okay?

“Stop it.” She hissed lowly to herself, stuffing down the panic as her mind went to worst case scenario. She clenched her fists tightly in her hold against the gun, mindful of the trigger, to release some of the tension in her body. Now standing outside the door to his classroom, she looked around once more before gently tapping on the door.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap tap, tap tap.

Emily held her breath waiting for the door to open. Come on Henry, you know it’s me. Emily and JJ had made up that knock years ago when they started letting Henry stay home alone. Emily pressed her back to the wall as she waited. She lightly hit the back of her head against the wall in frustration not knowing where to start if he wasn’t in there. She was about to move on, when she heard an extremely muffled voice followed by aggressive shushing from the other side of the door. Emily’s eyes lit up when she saw her FBI access card still clipped to her belt. Emily ripped it off and shoved it under the door.

“Is Henry in there?” She risked a whisper near the crack of the door. She jumped when the lock clicked and the door pulled open just enough for her to slip into the classroom. Once she was in, she immediately flipped the lock back into place.

Emily scanned the huddle of kids in the corner of the room, her stomach sinking when she didn’t see Henry’s long blonde hair. She turned to face Madame LaFleur who looked at her with wide, terrified eyes just shaking her head.

“Where is he?” She whispered lowly taking her access card back from the teacher’s shaking hands.

“Bathroom.” She choked out, pressing a hand to her mouth.

“Where’s the closest boys bathroom?” Emily barked out seriously, all business.

“By the gym.” Madame Lafleur let out a half sob but waved a hand vaguely in the opposite direction she had come from. “I think the shots sounded like they came from the gym. They definitely came from this floor.”

Emily gave her one hard nod and pushed back the bile that threatened to come up. “I need you to open the door for me. Keep your hand on the lock so you can throw it as soon as I’m passed the threshold. Do not hesitate.”

The teacher nodded shakily and got into position. Emily pointed her gun at the crack in the door and gave the teacher a nod. Once the door was opened Emily slipped out quickly checking both directions. Once she heard the lock click into place she moved away from the closed door and continued down the hallway.

She started to feel overwhelmed as she passed classroom after classroom. What if he’s in one of these classrooms? Emily shook the thought out of her head. She figured it was most likely that if he happened to be in this hallway when the shooting happened that he would have just made it back to his classroom. Hopefully.

Emily turned a corner and spotted the boys bathroom. Emily gritted her teeth as she walked through the empty doorway and the winding hallway that led to the stalls. She knew Henry wouldn’t be in here. They told him to get to a door with a lock, but she scanned the bathroom anyways and came up empty.

Her hopes brightened slightly as she realized this hallway didn’t have any classrooms, it only held the gym. Less rooms to circle back to later, but she felt her forehead bead with sweat as she eyed the gymnasium doors. Don’t be in there, don’t be in there.

Emily peered through the gym doors and saw a small smear of blood on the shiny wood floor. Her face scrunched in panic briefly before shaking her head, once again, to school her emotions. She tried the handle, but it was of course locked. She shuffled in place in front of the door as she debated what to do. She doubted she could risk knocking loud enough for someone to hear her, and she didn’t think anyone would come to a set of double doors with such large windows even if they did. Why would he be in the gym? He has no business being in there right now, so he might have just done a loop when walking back from the bathroom.

Emily nodded to herself, liking her reasoning and pressed the button on her wrist for her radio. “Hotch, send people to the gym when you can. There’s blood but I can’t get in.” She whispered.

“Okay. We just got called in and our SWAT team is on the way.” She heard Hotch’s voice crackle into her earpiece.

“Have you gotten any more information about the shooter?” Emily continued down the hallway as she waited for his answer.

“No. Nothing yet. Penelope is trying to get into the cameras.”

“Keep me updated.” Emily looked to the ceiling and saw a camera right above her. She eyed a closed door down the hallway that read ‘Equipment Room’. Emily noticed more cameras as she shuffled quickly to the door and did their special knock. She waited ten seconds before moving on. There was a girls bathroom at the end of the hall with the same layout as the boys bathroom. Coming up empty, she once again moved on around the corner to start on another hallway which was shorter than the others and only had four doors to check.

*

“What am I going to do? What am I going to do?” Jake repeated as he continued his rocking. Henry had no idea how long they’d been sitting there but figured about thirty minutes based on when the bell rang that signalled the end of second period. They sat mostly in silence apart from Jake’s occasional mumbling.

“Jake, come on man, we have to stay calm. We’re safe in here. The police should be here soon, and someone will come and get us.” Henry said trying to calm the boy. At the mention of the police the boy stood up quickly.

“I have to get out of here.” He said in a panicked tone and scrambled towards the door.

“No!” Henry whisper yelled. “We have to stay here, it’s not safe out there.” Henry held onto the boy by the shoulder and yanked him away from the door.

Jake twisted aggressively to rip away from Henry’s grip. “Don’t touch me.” He whispered venomously.

Henry put his hands up. “I’m sorry. I know you’re scared but this is exactly where we need to be right now. My parents told me to get to a locked room and wait for the police to get here. We’re probably even safer because the shooter won’t focus on looking for a couple kids in a random storage closet. He’ll go to more populated areas.” Henry fidgeted with his glasses and swallowed the fear bubbling in his chest. “Like the gym.” He said quietly.

The boy closed his eyes, face contorting with fear and pain. Henry shifted slightly so he was partially in front of the door in a better position to stop him if he tried to open it again.

“We should actually step away from the door. The walls are all concrete so it would be safer to sit against it.” Henry held out an arm gently guiding him to the left of the door without touching him.

Jake looked at him with wide, wild eyes before giving in and taking a seat on the floor once again clutching his knees to his chest.

“What class are you supposed to be in?” Henry asked as he sat on the floor as well.

“Gym.” He said quietly.

“You’re in grade twelve?” Henry tried to hide the shock as he looked at the small boy in front of him. He himself had at least a few inches on him and most likely still had a growth spurt in his future.

“Yes.” Jake said curtly, his lip turning up into a sneer.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Henry subconsciously leaned away from the boy.

“Yes, you did.” Jake spat quickly, whipping his head around to look Henry dead in the eyes. “I know what I look like, okay?” He said with a shake of his head and went back to staring at his hands. “It’s not like anyone would let me forget if I could.” He mumbled so softly that Henry could barely make out what he’d said.

Henry opened his mouth to try to make him feel better but gaped like a fish as he heard something outside the door. “I can hear someone.” Henry whispered so softly. His palms started to sweat as he hoped for the best but prepared for the worst.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap tap, tap tap.

Better than the best. Henry almost cried out in relief as he lunged for the door.

“What are you doing?” Jake hissed, standing up and shuffling to the back corner of the room.

Henry ignored him as he flipped the lock and quietly but quickly opened the door. When strong arms pulled him into a hug, he couldn’t help the sob that escaped his lips. He was shuffled into the room and heard the click of the lock.

“Who is that?” Jake asked cautiously clutching his backpack tightly in front of him, his eyes taking in the bulletproof vest and gun in her hand.

“One of my moms.” Henry felt Emily’s breath hitch, so he pulled away to gauge her reaction. “Is that okay?” He asked quietly went he saw her frozen face.

“Jesus buddy, of course it’s okay but seriously not the time.” She chuckled incredulously but leaned in to kiss his forehead. She put the gun in the waistband of her pants and pulled him in for a tighter hug.

“One of your moms works for the FBI?” Emily’s eye twitched at the slight way his voice squeaked at the end. Her eyes settled on the boy in her sightline and pulled away from Henry. He shuffled in place, his eyes wide in…panic. He’s panicking. But why?

“Both of them do, and my dad’s a detective.” Emily watched as the boy started to fidget and his arms loosened around the backpack. There was just a shooting, of course he’s panicking. “How did you get here so fast?”

“Well, if we weren’t in an FBI vehicle, we probably would have broken every road law there is.” Emily chuckled slightly but watched the boy shift from foot to foot.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Henry said incredulously.

“Nothing would have been able to stop me from coming in here to get you.” Emily gripped either side of Henry’s face and pulled him in so she could kiss his forehead again. She noticed the boy had stop fidgeting and looked at them with longing and jealousy? She thought she could see a bit of anger too. His hands were shaking, and he met her eyes for a second before flicking his focus away from her. “Do you guys know what happened?” Emily asked keeping her voice as steady as possible. Her head started to buzz as a bad feeling settled in her stomach.

“It came from the gym.” Henry said quickly.

“Were you outside the gym when it happened?” Emily asked focusing on Henry but shifting her gaze to the boy that looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“No, I was at the end of this hallway, but Jake came from the gym hallway. He was supposed to be in gym class with the rest of the seniors, but he must have been running late. He didn’t see who did it though.” Emily nodded quickly trying to swallow her own panic that was settling in her throat as she eyed the boy head to toe. He definitely didn’t look like a senior. Honestly, he didn’t look like he belonged in high school let alone on the cusp of adulthood. He was dressed in ratty clothes that hung off his small frame. His skin was gaunt and sickly looking, and his eyes had a purple hue under them. Those eyes shifted around the room occasionally settling on Henry and frequently flicking to the door. He wouldn’t look at her again. It’s me. He’s scared of me. Oh, God.

Emily started undoing the Velcro on her vest. “Put this on.” Shoving it at Henry. Get him covered up, then deal with this kid.

“What about you?” He asked, not taking the vest.

“Doesn’t matter.” She thrust it at him again. “Put it on.” She said seriously, enunciating each word. Henry reluctantly took the vest and started putting it on. She noticed Jake froze and finally looked at her. He had shifted his hold on the backpack, so it was being held up by one hand unnaturally covering his midsection. The other had disappeared behind it. His body was squared up with Emily. Oh God.

“Are you getting us out of here?” The boy asked quietly. Emily reached out to quickly pull the straps tight on Henry and fasten the Velcro. I took too long. I won’t get my own gun before he can pull the trigger.

“It might be safer to stay here.” Emily gave the boy a soft smile. Make it seem like you don’t suspect him.

“Please, I need to get out of here.” He said desperately. Emily tried not to let her eyes flick to the subtle protrusion in the middle of the thin backpack.

“In the next hall over, there’s a stairway that leads right outside.” Henry said trying to be helpful. “We can make it.”

“Henry, I don’t think we can risk it. I have no idea where the shooter is, and I have both of you to look after. At least you have my vest, but Jake doesn’t have anything to protect himself.” At least if I keep them here, I can keep an eye on him until SWAT gets in the building.

“I’ll be fine. Please, get us out of here!” The boy said slightly hysterical. “He’s right, it’s not that far, and no one ever uses it.” Emily blinked hard. He’s going to try to run.

“What’s in your backpack?” Henry asked. The boy froze, his eyes snapping to Henry. “Do you have any textbooks in there?” The boy thawed and shook his head vigorously. “Oh, here!” Henry took two steps towards one of the racks that lined the wall and pulled a few thick, dusty math books off it. Emily tracked the boy out of the corner of her eye and subtly closed the distance between him and Henry. The boy’s body shifted with her. Emily needed Henry to stop trying to help so she could think. “A few of these will be decent protection, I saw a video on it.”

Emily clenched her jaw, trying to focus herself enough to figure out what to do but also still seem oblivious. In the next moment, the boy took away the latter problem as he dropped the bag and muttered a quiet “please.” She could see his body fill with dread. He didn’t want to have to pull his gun on her.

Emily shuffled in front of Henry and put her hands up slightly. “What are you-” He looked at Emily in confusion and then his eyes settled on the outline of the gun through the boy’s hoodie pocket. “Oh my God.” He whispered.

“What are you doing? I’ve got the vest on!” He hissed in her ear as she squared up with the boy, blocking Henry as much as she could.

“Quiet.” She said quietly but so forcefully that he didn’t say another word. The boy’s face softened only a fraction at the gesture. He looked longingly? at her. She wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been profiling for most of her life.

“You can go.” Emily pointed her chin at the door.

“No, I can’t. There’s probably cops everywhere and as soon as I leave this room, you’ll tell them where I am.” He pointed briefly at the radio in her ear.

Emily ripped the wire out of her ear, pulled it from her shirt, and threw it at his feet. “There, no more radio.”

“That doesn’t solve the problem of the other cops. No, you need to walk me out of here. If anyone sees us, it’ll just look like you’re getting us to safety.” He had pulled the gun out of his pocket and held it out at arms length.

“He stays here.” She said with a steely edge to her voice.

“No, he has to come. You were obviously looking for him. Wouldn’t it be weird of you to help a random kid, that is medically fine, leave the building before you found your son?” He started to spit his words at her bitterly.

“I’m an FBI agent, I still have a job to do.” Emily tried to sound as matter of fact as possible.

“But he’s your son.” He gestured the gun as if to point at Henry behind her. Her jaw clenched so hard she probably should be worried about cracking her teeth. “Isn’t that what mothers are supposed to do.” He sneered the words with so much venom but shook his head jerkily. “You’re here for him and you’re not leaving without him.” He said with finality. His shoulders drooped in defeat, but Emily could see the resignation in his features. He gave Henry one more look that was laced with jealousy before turning his attention to Emily again. His grip on his gun tightened, his held it with more focus. “Your gun. Put it on the shelf and step towards the door. Both of you.”

Emily hesitation earned her another painful ‘please’ to escape the boy’s lips. He really doesn’t want to fire that gun again.

“You point that gun at him, and all bets are off.” Emily gave him a steely look and slowly reached behind her to grip her gun and set it on the shelf like he asked. If she was alone, she might have risked raising it in return, but with Henry here, she needed to do what he said. She just needed to buy more time to figure out what to do.

*

JJ had the door open before Morgan stopped the car. She flicked the car door not bothering to care if it actually shut of not and marched to the cluster of police officers.

“Ma’am, you have to step back.” A police officer tries to stop her.

If her son and girlfriend weren’t inside that building, she might have given him an understanding smile and she definitely wouldn’t have barked, “FBI,” at him as she shoved past. “Hotch!” She yelled as soon as she spotted him and jogged the last few feet separating them. “Any word from Emily?”

Hotch’s gaze shifted away from her and settled on Morgan then he turned back to the laptop that showed the view from various cameras in the school. “We heard from her about seven minutes ago, but she hadn’t found him yet.” Hotch’s voice had a strange inflection on the word ‘yet’.

She narrowed eyes at him. “Yet?”

Hotch let his eyes lock with hers before once again looking away. “She found the storage closet he was hiding in a few minutes ago. They’re still inside.” He lifted a hand to gesture towards the cameras.

“Hotch, what is the problem?” She said forcefully, enunciating each word. She knew this man better than he probably thought she did. There’s something he isn’t telling her.

“They’re not alone in the storage closet. The shooter is in there with them.” He turned to face her head on and braced for impact.

She faltered a moment and then, “what!? How?” She spluttered. Morgan took a step closer to her and put a hand between her shoulder blades rubbing slow circles.

“Henry was just down the hall when the shooting occurred. The shooter attacked the gym but immediately bolted. Henry must have thought he was just running away and pulled him into the storage closet with him. He was trying to help him.” Hotch said softly.

“Oh my God.” JJ’s heart dropped to her stomach, and she had to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. “Have you told her?”

“I tried her radio, but she never responded so we can’t be sure if she knows and doesn’t want to let him know, or…” Hotch trailed off.

“Or something went wrong, and she can’t answer.” JJ finished for him numbly.

“How many of us are in the school?” Morgan asked.

Hotch paused and JJ knew what his next words were going to be before he said them. “She’s the only one in there right now.” JJ grew hot with anger, she shoved both of her palms into his chest.

“You let her go in there alone?” JJ roared with anger. She pushed him again. “How could you let her go in alone?”

Hotch stood there and took another shot from JJ. He kept his steely eyes on her. “JJ, you know why.” He said softly despite his hard features.

JJ felt her body sag with defeat because she did know why. “Why did you let her go in there alone?” She pleaded more pathetically than she would have liked. Her heart pounded in her ears.

Of course she knew why but Hotch still answered her question. “There was no way she was going to wait even a moment. She went in there as a mom, not an agent. But leaving her badge behind is only metaphorical. She is still an agent, and I am still an agent so one of us needed to stay out here so that we could make it seem like we did it by the books. Her back up is here now,” he pointed at the large SWAT truck that was coming down the street, “and we know where she is, so let’s go get her.”

JJ nodded methodically a few times. Her heart felt heavy, but there was a sliver of lightness that shone through. She went in there as a mom. Hotch is right. She’s his mom just like I am. JJ stood up straighter as something flickered on the laptop in front of her. She lunged forward and rested her hands on either side of the screen.

“Goddammit Emily.” She muttered as the picture showed three people emerge from the storage closet. First came Henry, followed by Emily, and finally, the shooter who held a gun pointed at Emily’s back.

“She gave Henry her vest.” Morgan commented unnecessarily.

“Of course she did.” JJ whispered. It’s what I would have done. JJ tried to shake the fog that had been floating around in her head since Emily called her. She tightened one of the straps on the vest she had put on in the car as she watched her girlfriend and son shuffle down the hallway. “Ok, so how are we doing this?” She locked her hard gaze with the two men in front of her. She noticed Will weaving in and out of police officers to make his way over to them.

Hotch moved around to the desk and peered at the screen. He watched the trio walk steadily down the hallway heading away from the gym. Moving over to the map laid out on a table, he scanned it until he found their position.

Will came up next to JJ and put a hand on her back immediately. “They’ll be okay.” He whispered into her ear although his voice shook too much for it to help.

“There.” He pointed to a stairwell that led to an exit by the dumpsters. “He’s going to try to run.”

“Well let’s meet them there.” Morgan said pulling his gun from its holster.

Hotch stared at him a moment and turned to JJ. “How well do you know the school?”

“I know that floor. Henry has his volleyball games in that gym.”

Hotch nodded and turned to Will. “We’ll take a few of your officers and go through the school. I need you relay to the SWAT team where we need them to be and have them set up outside by the dumpsters. Tell them to hold their position because if they come straight at them, the shooter may start shooting and Emily and Henry will be in his way.”

Will nodded quickly. He turned to JJ and grabbed her elbow. “Be careful.” He said seriously before taking off towards the SWAT truck.

When a few officers quickly joined them, Hotch pulled out his gun and turned to JJ. “Lead the way.”

*

Emily made sure to keep herself between the boy and Henry. She knew she could overpower the boy so easily, but she couldn’t risk a wild shot hitting Henry. He was scared, well both of the boys were. The one in front of her was taking cautious steps, worried that any misstep would be their downfall. Sweat plastered his hair to the back of his neck and he kept clenching and unclenching his hands trying to stop them from shaking.

The boy behind her fidgeted and she could hear his sneakers squeak slightly every so often on the glossy hallway floors. She figured he kept stumbling because his head was on a swivel, constantly checking behind him.

Think Emily, think. She eyed the cameras on the ceiling. Which don’t really help me. If Garcia got into them, they could probably see me but what other information can I relay to them that would be helpful?

Emily held in her huff of frustration. She didn’t know what to do beside hope that someone is watching them and figure out their own plan to help them. For now, she just needed to keep Henry safe and the boy calm.

Emily subtly slowed her pace, trying to not only slow them down but to try to put more space between Henry and Jake. When they got to the first corner, Henry turned it and was momentarily out of view. She figured now was a good time to make a move until she felt the barrel of the gun press into her back.

“Keep moving.” The boy said quietly and gave her a slight prod with the gun.

She continued around the corner and saw Henry looking back at them. He had unshed tears in his eyes and a slight pout to his chin which reminded her of how he looked as a little boy.

“Eyes front, bud.” Emily gave him a soft smile and pointed her chin down the hallway. “Keep walking, okay?” He nodded numbly and it almost broke her to see one of his tears trail down his cheek as he turned his back on them.

They kept a slow and steady pace down the hallway and eventually made it to the stairwell. The boy put an arm on her shoulder and dug the gun into her back again. “When we get down there, please just let me go. I won’t hurt either of you, but just let me go.”

Emily nodded immediately. At this moment, she couldn’t care what the boy did as long as Henry went home tonight completely unharmed. In the back of her mind, apart from the gun he had in her back, he really wasn’t that much of a risk. He obviously hadn’t thought this through, and he was entirely too twitchy to not be totally traumatised by what he did. He didn’t like what he did, and he doesn’t like what he’s doing right now. She figured he wouldn’t get very far anyways.

“Go.” He muttered quietly and let go of her shoulder. She didn’t feel the pressure of the gun anymore, which was nice, but she knew the barrel was still trained on her back.

She waited for Henry to get a couple steps ahead of her before she followed him. She saw the natural light on the landing below them and her body tensed. How much would we be able to see out of the window? Would there be officers there? If there was, what is this kid going to do?

Emily kept her jaw clenched and screamed at Henry in her head. Don’t look out the window! She held her breath as she watched him pass the window. His head didn’t move towards it, but she saw his hand clench and he stuttered ever so slightly before continuing down the last few steps. He saw something. She hoped the boy didn’t notice. She didn’t turn her head either, but she saw it out of the corner of her eye. Blurry figures of law enforcement hidden behind various dumpsters and other large objects. She was almost positive she even saw Will peering around a corner of the building facing the door they were hoping to get through. When he didn’t stop her and she took her first step down, she let out the breath she was holding.

Emily was down two steps before she felt his hand on her shoulder again as he pulled her back. Her momentum from the tug had her calves hitting the back of the steps and she fell on her butt hard.

Henry whipped around and took a step towards her, reaching out a hand. “Mo-”

“Don’t move!” Jake yelled and Henry froze as he looked down the barrel of a gun.

Emily saw red as she looked behind her at the boy. She reached out and yanked the boy’s ankle hard, pulling him off balance. It gave her time to get up, but he ended up stumbling into the back wall still standing rather than getting him off his feet completely.

“I told you not to point your gun at him!” She said menacingly, the boy cowered away from her but still aimed the gun at her chest.

“Stay back!” His voice quivered. She saw his finger twitch over the trigger. She clenched her jaw and shifted to move towards him.

“Do what he says.” Henry said almost hysterically. She looked back at his look of terror and nodded, taking a step back from the boy.

She held a hand out to Jake palm up. She waited a moment and slowly lifted her other arm and beckoned Henry towards her. The boy looked out the window as Henry walked slowly towards her. His face scrunched in worry as Emily settled Henry as far away from the boy as possible in the small space and once again used herself as a shield to block.

“What am I going to do?” The boy moaned pathetically. “What have I done?” He muttered so quietly over and over. She could see his eyes twitch around the ground below, taking in all the officers Emily saw and the ones she didn’t.

She took a small step forward which made his head whip around and level the gun again more securely. She stopped and held her arms up once again with her palms toward him. “Nothing that can’t be fixed.”

“Nothing that can’t be fixed?” He repeated hysterically. “I shot up a school! I know I hit at least one person.” His eyebrows pinched high up on his forehead and his eyes got a faraway look of pain and regret. “I’ve basically held you two hostage.” He waved the gun at them.

“The people in the gym, they’ll be fine. I saw them before I got to the storage closet.” She said, lying through her teeth. “And I’ve had my fair share of experience in hostage situations. If you let him go,” Emily jerked her head at Henry, “this becomes a much smaller issue. He’s just a kid, he doesn’t belong in this situation, but you and me, we’re supposed to do this. I’m supposed to be here with you to try to figure out where to go from here.” She could see her words were getting to him. “Let him go.” She said softly.

The boy shifted his gaze between the two of them and then out the window before nodded his head quickly. “Just him?” He asked.

“Just him.” She agreed.

“No. I’m not leaving you.” Henry hissed from behind her. He took a step forward and grabbed her hand.

“Yes, you are.” Emily swallowed roughly. “Go find your dad, he’s probably out there.” She gave his hand a squeeze and released her grip.

He didn’t let go. “Mo-”

“Henry, please buddy, you have to go.” Emily cursed the break in her voice. She couldn’t hear him say that right now. Not like this. She didn’t know what it would do to her to hear him call her that in this moment. She gently pulled her hand out of his.

“To the moon.” Her eyes welled up with tears as he said the words he’s said to so many times over the years. She turned her head and nodded at him, her throat too closed up to say what she was supposed to say. He nodded like he understood and gave her one last look before shuffling quickly down the stairs.

When they heard the loud clunk of the door opening and closing, she gestured to the window. “Can I just see if he finds his dad?” She said quietly.

The boy nodded sadly and gestured with the gun lazily to the window. She peaked through and watched as multiple men moved towards Henry, guns pointed. She could see them shouting at him and she watched as he raised his hands and dropped on his belly. She saw Will sprint towards him yelling at the SWAT team around him. When he got to Henry, he gripped him around the vest and pulled him off the ground and into a hug. The sight brought a small smile to her face before she turned her head to the boy.

“Whose gun is that?” Emily asked softly.

The boy lifted his head to look at her briefly before dropping his sights to the floor. “My foster dad’s.” He said so quietly. She nodded thoughtfully.

“How’d you get it from him?”

“Picked it up from his bedside table this morning while he was asleep.” The boy shrugged but didn’t look at her.

“Is it just you and him?” The boy nodded. “How long have you been with him?”

“Too long.” He muttered lowly. A pang of sympathy struck her heart as she looked at the boy in front of her. Now that Henry wasn’t in any danger, she just saw a scared boy that made a mistake.

“Where’s your mom?” Emily chanced asking.

When his head whipped up to meet her eyes, she almost flinched at her poor judgement. “Don’t know. She never wanted me.” He said venomously. “The kids at this stupid school love to remind me of that.”

“And that’s why you brought that gun to school today.” She held her ground as he started pacing slightly.

“I just wanted them to stop!” He yelled and leaned against the corner opposite her. “I’m just so tired.” He slid down the wall and pulled his knees to his chest while still keeping the gun trained on her. “And now I’ve fucked my life up and the kids who have been making it hell for me for the last four years get to go on with theirs!” He said hysterically.

“Your life isn’t over.” She says confidently. “Like I said, everyone is going to be fine. We can fix this.”

The boy just shook his head, his face scrunched up in pain as he let a few tears drop. “We can’t.” He cried out, sounding more and more like a child.

“I will do everything I can to help you, but you need to help me. I won’t lie to you; you will have to leave this building in handcuffs but the more you cooperate the more I can help you. I need you to give me the gun.” She tried to put as much compassion and truth into her words as she could.

He shook his head again and raised it to look at her. “I shot up a school. I’m miserable. Maybe I don’t even want to leave the school.” He said hollowly. “There’s nothing outside these walls that is worth me leaving for.” Worth me living for. Those are the words he meant.

“There is!” She said quickly. “You just haven’t found it yet. You’re what, seventeen, eighteen? You have so much life left to live and there is so much out there for you to find what makes everything worth it. You’ve been dealt a really bad hand to start your life and I’m so sorry about that. I know what it’s like to have a mom that doesn’t want you, the only difference is that she kept me and reminded me herself everyday how much she didn’t want me.” She saw the boys face smooth out slightly and his gun dropped a fraction. “I moved around a lot growing up, so I didn’t have many friends and I did a fair bit of damage to myself trying to fit in. I know how suffocating it can be, but I am so grateful for all the hard things I had to go through because it’s what got me to where I am today. I have a job I love and a family I love even more. You can find the same happiness I’ve found but you have to put down the gun.” She pleaded with him softly. “Let me help you.”

He looked at her with tears running down his face. He looked so small as he huddled in the corner. His body sank to the floor, and he tucked his knees to his chest. He slowly nodded his head and started to lower his gun.

Emily felt relief far too soon as she reached a hand out to take the gun. A door slammed from the hallway above them, and she felt the white-hot heat in her stomach before she registered the bang. The boy looked at her with horror. It took everything in her to stay standing as she stumbled back a few steps. She pressed her hand to the wound as hard as she could but didn’t dare look down as she felt the blood start to pool behind her fingers almost immediately.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She says before the boy could speak. Glancing out the window, all the agents that had been set up outside had surged towards the school. She saw Will holding Henry back. He was screaming and clawing the air trying to get out of his arms. She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the way her world was fuzzing around her. The sound of the boy hyperventilating broke her out of her fog, and she turned her attention to him. “It’s okay, I’m okay. You need to put the gun down though. They’ll have heard the shot and they’ll be coming. I won’t let them hurt you, but you have to give me the gun.” She said it with as much authority as she could.

His mouth was agape, his eyes wide with tears flowing at a constant rate. He was frozen apart from his erratic breathing. They could hear footsteps closing in now from above and below them. “I won’t let them hurt you.” She says again and took a shaky step towards him. He slowly closed his mouth and put the gun in her hand. She backed up a few steps and leaned against a wall trying to keep herself up. “Good boy.” She whispered as she closed her eyes briefly.

The footsteps were right on them now. She saw the SWAT team first coming from below. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot him!” She yelled at them. Then she saw her team coming from above. “Don’t shoot!” She says one more time for good measure. A SWAT member tried to move towards the boy, but she put a hand in front of him. “No. They’ve got it, take this and give him some space.” She handed the man the gun, but they didn’t move. She shifted her gaze to look into Hotch’s stoic face as he descended the last couple stairs. “Hotch, we’re fine. Jake is gonna go with you guys calmly and quietly, right buddy?”

The boy nodded and Hotch told the SWAT team to stand down.

“Emily!” JJ breathes as she pushes past Hotch and flings herself into Emily’s arms. Emily felt lightning shoot through her stomach as JJ jostled her body. “Are you hurt?” She pulled back and put her hands on Emily’s cheeks.

Emily smiled quickly at her before turning to Morgan. “Be gentle.” She pleaded with him as he pulled the boy up rougher than he needed. Morgan caught her eye and gave her a nod. He clipped the cuffs tight enough that he couldn’t get out of them but loose enough that they won’t bite into his skin and led the boy down the steps. She turned her attention back on JJ. “I’m fine.” She said weakly reaching her free hand up to smooth out the worry lines between JJ’s eyebrows with her thumb.  She tried to smile reassuringly but her vision started to darken, and her knees weakened. Emily gripped JJ’s shoulder tightly as her knees give out bringing JJ down with her. JJ’s hands held Emily’s waist tightly to break their fall.

“Emily!” JJ yelled again. “Hotch!” She yelled next. JJ pulled away from Emily and immediately felt the way their shirts peeled apart. Looking down she saw the stain on her shirt that had lined up perfectly with the growing stain on Emily’s. “No, no, no.” JJ immediately pressed both of her hands to Emily’s stomach and applied intense pressure causing Emily to cough. JJ felt something wet hit her face, but she didn’t care. All her focus was on the sight of the blood seeping through her fingers.

“Sorry.” Emily slurred weakly and reaches up to wipe a thumb over JJ’s cheek. JJ finally looked away from her fingers into Emily’s eyes. JJ let out a sob she’d been trying to hold in as she saw how red Emily’s lips were. Emily tried to swipe at another spot on JJ’s face but her hand dropped with a thud as darkness overcame her.

*

Four-seventy-six, four-seventy-seven, four-seventy-eight. JJ felt like she was losing her mind as she counted the beeps coming from the machine that told her Emily was still alive. She sat with one hand in Emily’s and the other stroking the hair on the boy’s head that laid on her lap. She’d been staring so long at the wall she’s surprised there wasn’t a hole burning through the brick. Five-oh-one, five-oh-two, five-oh-three. Thankfully the boy stirred on her lap and broke her out of the trance she’d been in for far too long.

“Anything yet?” Michael asked as she furiously blinked some moisture back into her eyes. Her youngest rubbed his eyes deeply with the back of his hand and straightened up from the awkward position he’d fallen asleep in. She quickly glanced over at the large recliner chair where her oldest sat in the same position he’d been in for hours. He sat upright in the chair barely blinking with his eyes trained on Emily. She’d tried talking to him, tried telling him it would be okay, but nothing worked. He needed her to open her eyes. Me too, bud.

“Not yet. Soon though.” She gave him a soft smile.

“You don’t know that.” Henry spat out but it didn’t really have any power behind it. He whipped his head around to look at her but only briefly. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he had dark circles under them. He had refused to leave the hospital since Emily was brought in two days ago. Everyone had tried to get him to take a break, tried to get him to go home and sleep but he was adamant that he wasn’t leaving until Emily woke up. JJ didn’t even think he’d slept a wink since they’d been there even though he told her he had. He returned his gaze to Emily so quickly it was like he thought he’d miss something. JJ gave Michael’s shoulder a squeeze. “How about you go get something to eat with Aunt Penny and Uncle Derek. They’re just outside in the waiting room.”

Michael nodded and slid off his chair. “Do you want anything, Henry?” He just shook his head. Michael’s face scrunched up at his brother’s sadness. Then he turned to his mom. “You?”

“Maybe just a sandwich.” She wasn’t really hungry but knew her little boy just wanted to be helpful.

“A club?” He asked with a hand on the door.

She looked at her other son quickly before looking back at Michael. She nodded and held up two fingers to him. He gave her a thumbs up and tried to return the wink she’d shot him. Chuckling slightly, she let her tired eyes scan Emily’s face. She was so pale and gaunt looking, but still stunningly beautiful. “She’s gonna wake up, buddy.” She said as she reached a hand up and traced the laugh lines in the corner of Emily’s eye. When Henry didn’t say anything, she looked over at him and saw the tears he’d been holding back since he got to the hospital that first day pouring over. “Oh, come here babe.” She held her arms out to him. He hesitated only a second before leaping out of the chair and closing the distance in record time. Her boy curled up as best he could to her even though he was almost as tall as her.

“I’m so sorry!” He wailed. His breath hitching jaggedly as he sucked in air. “It’s all my fault!” His anguish rapidly filled her eyes with tears.

“Buddy, how is this your fault?” She stroked her thumb soothingly along the back of his neck.

“She was coming to get me, and I pulled him into that storage closet! He wanted to leave but I wouldn’t let him!” He sobbed hysterically.

“You wouldn’t let him leave because you were trying to keep him safe. You didn’t know it was him, but I’m so proud of you.” He tried to pull back, most likely to protest but she held onto him tighter. “I am. I’m so proud of who you’ve grown up to be. You’re someone who’s first instinct is to help someone else. You’re so good and so brave.” She whispered softly as his sobs died down slightly. She pressed her lips to his temple and started to slowly rock him.

“Just like your mom.” A hoarse voice interrupted. JJ’s lucky she pulled her head back or she’d probably be missing a few teeth with how quickly Henry sat up. He let out another sob as he launched himself at Emily. He wrapped his arms loosely around her torso while being mindful of her stomach and buried his head into her neck. Emily brought a hand up and rubbed his back methodically.

The tears JJ had been fighting spilled over and she tightened her gripped on the hand that had barely left Emily’s. Emily’s eyes met hers and she gave a weak smile. “You’re right. He’s just like his mom.” JJ whispered and tried to convey with her eyes what she meant. She thought maybe Emily got it by the way her eyes shifted away slightly and her cheeks darkened just a hair.

“Hey.” Emily patted Henry’s back a few times. “Look at me.” She brought a hand up and wiped his tears away with her thumb. “Love you.”

He heaved a sob. “To the moon.” He croaked out.

“And back.” She said as he settled back into her.

*

Emily winced as she shifted slightly in the hospital bed. She was so sore and so uncomfortable, but she’d endure it.

“Go fish!” Michael yelled and bounced slightly on the end of her bed. Emily made a point of groaning loudly and childishly as she leaned forward for her card. She tried to hide another wince, but it was a little too unexpected to reel in her facial expressions.

“You okay?” JJ asked her quietly, appearing immediately at her side. Emily leaned into the warm, comforting hand that rest on her shoulder blade.

“I’m good.” Emily said looking lovingly into JJ’s bright blue eyes.

“It’s a wonder how you’re any good at your job.” JJ smirked slightly at Emily’s confused look and leaned in close to her ear. “You’re a shit liar.” She whispered. Emily just rolled her eyes when she pulled back. “Why don’t I get one of the nurses and they can give you something for the pain?” JJ brought her hand around to Emily’s face and brushed a thumb methodically over one of her eyebrows.

“Really, I’m okay. It really is manageable. It makes me so sleepy, and I just want to soak up as much time with the boys as I can, even if it’s in the hospital.” Emily handed over a card that Michael had shouted at her and asked for one of her own. With a frown she picked up another card.

“Just so you know, when we get home, you’re taking every last pill the doctor prescribed you even if I have to pin you down and force feed you them.” JJ laid a kiss just over her ear and turned to go sit back next to Henry at the tiny table she had in the corner of her room. She was about to ask Henry how his French homework was going when the door creaked open, and Will popped his head in.

“Dad!” Michael cheered and jumped off the bed and leapt into his arms. The way he had scrambled off the bed jostled Emily a bit too much. She hoped no one had heard her quick hiss of pain but her hopes died when Henry’s head snapped to her.

“Mikey! Be careful.” Henry scolded a little too harshly. He’d become extremely overprotective since she woke up. Always asking her if she needed anything or if she was in pain. He was worse than JJ.

“I’m okay, bud.” She gave him a smile which he returned with a small one of his own.

JJ started packing away the various items Michael had laid out around Emily’s room into his SpongeBob backpack. Zipping it closed she handed it to Will who took it and laid it on the floor next to him. “Make sure to do one of your math sheets while you’re at your dad’s. I don’t want you to get too behind.” JJ gripped Henry’s chin and gave his cheeks a small squeeze making his lips squish together. He bat her hand away with a roll of his eyes. He hesitated in gathering his stuff up and kept looking over at Emily.

“I’ll be here when you get back.” Emily said, knowing what his dilemma was.

Will took a step into the room and turned to JJ. “Maybe the boys could use some ice cream before they come with me.” Michael cheered immediately. “Would you take them?” Will asked JJ awkwardly. JJ stared at him in confusion and Emily had to bite back the groan she felt coming up as she saw his head point subtly in her direction. It’s not that she didn’t like Will, she did, but he also didn’t hide the fact that he never wanted him and JJ to split up and he held some underlying resentment towards her.

JJ nodded slowly. “Alright boys let’s go. Michael, one scoop. I’m not arguing when we get down there.” JJ picked up her wallet and put a hand on the top of a grumbling Michael’s head to guide him out of the room.

Henry hovered by the door. “Do you want some?” He asked her.

“Sure, surprise me.” She said knowing that if she didn’t get some, he wouldn’t leave. He gave her a nod and followed his mom and brother out the door.

Emily watched Will lean against the back wall of the room. “He’s having a hard time?” Will just his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the door.

“Yeah. He feels guilty. I keep trying to tell him it’s not his fault but he’s having a hard time believing it. He’ll be okay eventually. Probably will help once I’m out of a hospital bed.”

Will nodded methodically as he seemed lost in thought. She didn’t really know what to say so she figured it was best just to wait for him to say what he needed to say. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long. “I want to thank you.” He said gruffly and finally met her eyes.

Emily started shaking her head immediately. “Will, you don’t need to thank me.”

“I do, although maybe not in the way you think I am.” Will paused a moment to collect his thoughts. “I feel very threatened by you.” Emily jerked her head back, not expecting him to say that at all. “I know exactly how much those boys love you because they tell me all the time. Maybe not in such exact words, but I can hear it every time I ask them how their week’s been with you guys. The way that Henry is adamant about learning French from you and does not like my input.” Will did crack a smile at the way Emily tried to hide hers. “I know you never liked my accent.”

“I didn’t say anything to him.” She laughed, putting her hands up in surrender.

Will just laughed with her and nodded. “He’s also a lot more sarcastic than JJ or I ever could teach him.” He shook his head a gave her a roll of his eyes. “With Michael, it’s a little different then with Henry. Obviously, you’ve always been around with Henry, but you helped raise Michael pretty much from the get-go. So, when he started tying his shoes and he did it differently than how we taught Henry, I knew that was you. Or how he used to sing some lullaby in French that I couldn’t quite figure out what it was because he was too young, and I don’t think he knew how to say the actual words.”

“Au clair de la lune. My father used to sing it to me before he died.” A small smile stretched across her face as she remembered singing it to the little boy.

Will nodded in recognition and gave another little chuckle. “I know the song. Either French isn’t in his wheelhouse, or you may not be as good at it as we thought.”

“Is that sarcasm I detect?” Emily asked cockily.

Will just gave her a look. “Emily, the boy is relentless.”

“Well, look at the bright side. Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit-”

“But the highest form of intelligence. Yeah, thanks. Now I know he gets it from you because every time I give him shit for it, he tells me that.” Will just shook his head at her sheepish smile. He paused for a few moments and his face turned slightly solemn. “Michael calls you Mama.” He said quietly but his mouth quirked up in a half smile.

“I didn’t-” he cut her off again.

“I know.” He nodded reassuringly at her. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, especially from him. You’ve been there as much as JJ and I have been. It probably confuses him. I’m so happy that they love you and you love them. You make them happy, so how can I be upset about that.” He paused again and his eyebrows crinkled slightly. “But there’s always been this nagging part of me that has been worried that, because you’re so amazing and they love you so much, that there will become a point where they won’t need me anymore.” She was about to interrupt him, but he held a hand up slightly. “But because you love them, because you see them as your children, my son is still alive, and I could not be anymore grateful to you and the relationship that you have built with them.” Emily felt her throat tighten up and her eyes started to burn. “So, I’m not thanking you for going into that school because I thought about how weird it would be if JJ had said that to me. It’s a no brainer, right? It’s your job to keep your kid safe not matter what. So, what I’m thanking you for is creating that bond with them and becoming someone my kid’s can rely on to keep them safe.”

By now her tears had pooled over. For a few moments all she could do was nod. Eventually when she found her voice she said, “I need you to know that I have never wanted to get in the way of you and the boys and just like how you told me about the ways the boys love me, I know how they love you. Michael constantly talks about you. Daddy said this or daddy did that. I can’t wait to show dad. He’s nonstop. He is looking forward to seeing you as soon as you leave. And Henry says he might want to be a detective, like you. JJ and I asked him if he’d want to be a profiler and he said ‘that would be cool too, but Dad helps more people. You guys catch all the really bad ones, but Dad stops many people from doing bad things every single day’. He looks up to you so much.” Will let a soft smile form on his lips and she could almost see his whole self brighten. “Oh, and they do have the accent, Will. Especially Henry. When he’s pissed, it really comes out. And sometimes they say things that even after almost a decade with you, JJ has no clue what they’re talking about.” This time he laughed loudly.

“Good. I’ll have to actually sit down and teach them all the New Orleans phrases.” He smirked.

“God help us.” She shook her head and chuckled. After a few moments their laughter had died down and Emily was struck with a thought. “How’s Jake?” Will cocked his head in confusion. “The shooter.” Will shook his head quickly like he couldn’t believe he’d forgotten his name.

“He’s in the county jail right now in limbo.”

“I know your department will be taking over processing him and I was hoping you’d be able to do me a favour.” He gave her a slight nod. “I know he obviously needs to be properly charged for what he did but he didn’t do all of that because he’s like one of the sick individuals we chase. He did it because he was hurt, and he didn’t know how else to get the people who were making his life miserable. I am in no way trying to make excuses for him and I’m not saying I want him to get a break on anything. I just think that the kids who pushed him to do what he did deserve to be looked at. I don’t know if it will pan out to anything, but I just think it’s worth it to look into and make sure these kids aren’t doing it to anyone else.”

Will nodded thoughtfully for a few moments. “I’ll see what I can do.” He was quiet a moment before chuckling. “The kid shot you and you still care about him.”

“He didn’t mean to.” Emily said quickly. “And that’s what I’m gonna tell the judge when the time comes. He didn’t kill anybody, and I don’t want the whole ‘assault of a federal agent’ thing to be his biggest charge.”

Will just shook his head and kept chuckling. “You’re really something else.” He looked at her with crazy eyes which made her join in with her own laughter. A few moments later, that’s how JJ and the boys found them. JJ slowly opened the door and looked at the two of them with wide eyes, but her lips quickly turned up at the corners.

“I got you pralines and cream.” Henry held out a cup to her. He looked sad and she knew he didn’t want to leave. It was the first time he wouldn’t be back in a few hours or in the morning since she’d been in the hospital.

“My favourite, thanks bud.” She took the cup from him and set it on the table next to her bed before grabbing his hand and giving him a tug. He quickly followed her, and she put her lips to his ear. “I’ll be fine, buddy. You have fun with your dad. I’ll be here when you get back. Love you.” She whispered so only he could hear.

“To the moon.” He whispered back and hugged her closer.

“And back.” She finished and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He pulled away and gave her a smile, one that was more real than she’d seen in days.

Will picked up Michael’s backpack by the door and held out a hand for Henry’s when he’d tucked away his schoolwork. “Okay boys, say bye to your mom. Both of them.” He shot Emily a wink and a smile.

Emily’s face scrunched up as she tried to hold back the tears at his words and tried not to look at JJ. Henry came back for another hug and when he pulled back, he went around to hug JJ who was helping Michael onto the bed gently. “Bye Mama!” He yelled right into her ear as he gave her a tight hug. Henry helped him off they bed and the three of them gave the girls a wave as they left the room.

Emily still didn’t look at JJ as she tried to force the tears away. When she thought she had a handle of them she finally looked at JJ who was sitting by her bed looking lovingly into Emily’s eyes with her own tears in her eyes.

“I didn’t know Michael was calling me that, Will just told me. Is that okay? I don’t want to step on-” JJ cut off Emily’s ramblings with a kiss. It was short but her chest burst with all the love JJ poured into it.

“Marry me.” JJ whispered against her lips.

“What?” Emily pulled back in shock, but her mouth quickly turned up in a shy smile. JJ just laughed at her expression.

“Marry me.” She said again and leaned in to give Emily another kiss.

“Of course I will.” Emily didn’t hesitate to say when they pulled apart.

“Oh, baby, I wasn’t giving you a choice. You’re stuck with me forever anyways, I just need to make it harder for you to run away.” JJ said with a goofy smile.

Emily just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like that will ever happen.” Emily pulled on JJ’s hand until she got the message and gently joined Emily in the bed.

“I’m not taking any chances.” JJ said as she snuggled into Emily’s neck.

*

“Michael you’ve gotta get your stuff together to go to your dad’s!” JJ yelled from the kitchen.

“I know Mo-” Michael started to yell back.

“One more game!” Emily yelled louder.

JJ looked to the ceiling and gave a long sigh. “For the love of God.” She said as she threw the dishcloth onto the counter and went to the living room. Michael was lazily lounging on the couch, only partially paying attention to the game and 100% bored. “Em, seriously. At some point you have to admit defeat. You’re not gonna beat him.” JJ crouched next to Emily who was sitting on the floor about two feet from the TV. She moved her arms like she was driving a real race car and had the tip of her tongue sticking out. Seeing her like that completely wiped away any bit of annoyance she had for Emily’s sick obsession with beating their seven-year-old son at Mario Kart. “You shouldn’t be sitting down here either, you’re still recovering.” JJ went to tuck a strand of hair behind Emily’s ear, but she jerked her head away quickly.

“I swear to God JJ, I am having the race of my life and if you mess me up, I am making you sleep outside tonight.” Emily barked.

JJ just chuckled and stood back up. “I’ll pack your bag.” She said to Michael, then leaned in close to him. “Ready to take one for the team yet?” He just nodded numbly. “Make it look real or it’ll just be worse.” Michael sat up straighter on the couch so he could concentrate on how to lose.

JJ quickly hopped up the stairs and stuck her head into Henry’s room. “You all ready for Dad’s?”

“Yeah. Is Ma still holding Michael prisoner?” He asked as he flipped through a sports magazine.

“Oh yeah. I think he’s about ready to give in and just let her win.” JJ chuckled.

“Thank God.” Henry shook his head in exasperation. “The sound effects and music are starting to make my skin crawl.”

“Oh, I hear you buddy, I’ve been there for days.”

She left his room with a big smile on her face as she made her way into Michael’s room. She still hadn’t gotten used to the kids calling Emily mom. Michael has stuck with ‘mama’ but Henry had to try out a few things. He didn’t like ‘mom’ because it was too confusing. He also felt like he was either too old for ‘mama’ or didn’t have a good enough southern accent to pull it off. He finally settled on ‘Ma’. He especially liked it after Emily started teasing him with a New Yorker accent. I know he also liked that it was something that was just theirs. He’s definitely levelled out a lot in the weeks since the shooting. He’s still overprotective of Emily but JJ thought that seeing her getting back to normal every day was showing him that she was okay, and she wasn’t going anywhere.

Just as JJ had finished packing up Michael’s bag, she heard an extremely loud yell of celebration. JJ hoped that this would be the end of that stupid game. As she hit the last few stairs she put on her best celebratory face and excitedly shuffled into the living room. “You won?” She asked in fake surprise.

“Yeah, I did! See! I told you I could beat the little brat!” Emily stuck her tongue out at Michael, who she had to look away from immediately or she was at risk of bursting out laughing at how he was trying to hold it together.

“Hey, I told you that you were the best spy I know. Definitely the most capable.” She said as she brought her arms around Emily’s neck and pressed a kiss to her cheeks.

“Damn right I am!” Emily practically slapped a knee in celebration. JJ had never been so happy to hear the doorbell ring because if she had to stand there any longer, she was at risk of popping a few blood vessels.

She opened the door for Will and let him in the house. “Come on in, they’re pretty much ready to go.” Henry came bounding down the stairs and gave his dad a hug. “Mickey, let’s go bud.” She yelled into the house.

Emily sauntered into the from hallway with a disgustingly smug look. “He’ll be here in a sec, he’s just drying his tears.”

Henry stared at her with slight horror on his face and leaned in close to his mom. “I think this might be worse.” He whispered into her ear. JJ just nodded slowly. Will shook his head in confusion but quickly brushed it aside as Michael joined them.

“Hey, bud.” He said as Michael gave him a hug. “Ready?” Both the boys nodded and gathered their things.

“Bye Mom, bye Ma.” Henry said giving them both a hug and a kiss. JJ didn’t miss the way Emily’s face morphed into something softer.

Michael said his goodbyes too. “Might want to play a few rounds while you’re at your dad’s, it seems like you could use a bit of practice. I could always give you some pointers if you want. You know since I beat you and all.” Emily waved a hand petulantly.

“How old are you?” JJ said incredulously.

“It’s not polite to ask a woman their age.” Emily crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose in the air.

“Well, sorry, but you’re acting more like a child than an adult.” JJ poked her in the side.

Micheal just shook his head as the three of them turned to leave. “When we get back, we destroy that game.” He whispered to Henry who held his fist up for Michael to knock his against.

“Ohh, you finally let her win.” Will said stupidly.

“What?!” Emily shrieked.

“I will kill you.” JJ hissed lowly at him.

The boys each grabbed one of Will’s arms and dragged him to the car. JJ closed the door and briefly pressed her forehead against it before turning back to face her doom.

“He what?” Emily hissed. The vein in her forehead popping out.

JJ shrunk back slightly and tried not to gape like a fish as she floundered. Ugh, whatever. She rolled her eyes dramatically and crossed her arms over her chest. “Babe, kids these days are like sea turtles, they are born knowing how to get to the ocean. Children come out of the womb knowing how to do this shit better than you or I ever will. I think you just need to let it go.”

Emily’s face turned up into a grimace. “I don’t like losing.” She said it with such a look of disgust, JJ couldn’t help herself. She let out the chuckled she’d been holding in for the past five minutes and went to wrap herself around the pouting adult.

“Well, on the bright side, losers get to have a nice, hot bath with naked me.” JJ chuckled as Emily’s face immediately turned up into a satisfied smirk.

“Well, only if it’ll make you feel better about my loss.” Emily wrapped her arms around JJ’s waist but immediately snuck both her hands under JJ’s shirt.

“It would.” JJ leaned in to place her lips against Emily’s. JJ led Emily upstairs and into their bathroom. She turned the water on, and they slowly peeled each other’s clothes off. JJ checked Emily’s bullet wound, even though she’d checked on it yesterday, to make sure it was still healing okay. It was pretty much closed up now, just still a little pink and she knew it stung slightly to the touch. JJ pressed a soft kiss over the spot before standing back up and helping Emily into the warm water. JJ shook her head when Emily went to scooch to the back of the tub. “I want to hold you.”

Emily sat forward and let JJ settle in behind her. When both of them were comfortable, JJ wrapped one arm around Emily and let the other fiddle for the tiny box she’d hidden in there earlier.

“I have something for you.” JJ said softly as Emily drew patterns on JJ’s forearm.

“You do?” Emily asked sleepily.

“Mmhmm.” JJ opened the ring box with her dry hand and held it in front of Emily in her eyeline. Emily gasped and quickly twisted her head to look at JJ. “I proposed weeks ago but I never gave you a ring.”

Emily snorted slightly before twisting back to look at the ring again. “I thought it wasn’t a proposal.”

“True, but the ring shows everyone you’re mine.” JJ said softly and left a light kiss behind Emily’s ear.

“It’s beautiful.” Emily whispered as JJ pulled the ring out and placed it on Emily’s finger. She turned her head so that JJ could capture her lips in a searing kiss.

“So are you.”