Chapter Text
For Jennifer Jareau the day started as any other. It was quite ordinary, if we’re being honest. Until it wasn’t.
── 3 months and 2 weeks earlier ──
“Hey, Hotch! Do you have a minute to talk?” Asked JJ after knocking twice on the open door.
“Sure, JJ. What do you want to talk about?” Hotch sat aside the paperwork he was holding while the blonde media liaison shut the door and walked over to the chairs to sit down.
“As I’m sure you know, I have a lot of vacation days and I was thinking if I could take all of it out?”
“All of your vacation days? That’s like a whole month.” The eyebrow rise showed his surprise at the statement from the blonde woman. It wasn’t about her being gone for that long, they would manage, but to use all at once was quite strange.
“I’m aware. But I need all of it. In two months.”
“May I ask why? Why do you need to take off a whole month? What are you planning?” Hotch was understandably confused.
“Well, I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve gotten engaged, and we planned the wedding and the honeymoon, but I’ll need at least two weeks before the wedding to finalize it. That’s why I need the month off.” The smile on the media liaison’s face brightened the room instantly with how blinding it was.
“You’re getting married in two months? To someone you don’t even know?” Alarms were going off in the older man’s head, he must’ve heard it wrong.
“I think I know my fiancée, thank you very much.” The blonde was getting agitated with the way Hotch was questioning and doubting her.
“You met him in October! I’m sorry, JJ, but I can’t let you marry a man you’ve known for 6 months.”
“Him? A man? Hotch what- who are you talking about?” Nothing made sense anymore for her.
“Will! Will LaMontagne. Who do you think I’m talking about?”
“Well certainly not my fiancée.” The liaison laughed at the misunderstanding, now realizing what his problem was.
“What?”
“I’m engaged to a woman! A woman, whom I’ve known for 7 years. She’s been my partner for 6 of those. We live together, hell I’m even carrying her child!” The last part slipped out without her meaning it, but she couldn’t take it back and if she was honest, she didn’t want to. It was the best news she heard in all her life, after all.
“What? Why am I just now learning this? I thought you were in a relationship with Will!”
“Well, I’m not. I never was and I never will.” There was a glint in JJ’s eyes as she spoke those words.
“Then please accept my apologies and my congratulations. A child and a marriage in just a year.” Hotch’s smile was small but not insincere. A child really was a blessing, especially with the love of your life.
“Don’t forget the engagement.” Winked JJ at her boss.
“Can I ask who this lucky lady is?”
“Her name is Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss. She works in the- “
“-Joint Terrorism Task Force.” Finished the dark-haired man for her.
“Yes, how would you know?”
“Because I just finalized her acceptance to our team.”
The silence that fell upon the room was deafening. Both were stuck on the given information. Their eyes were darting everyway but they couldn’t meet the others.
“Her acceptance? To the BAU? To our team?” She had to make sure she understood it perfectly.
“Yes, and I really want her with us.”
“That complicates things a bit, but if you would prefer, I could still talk to her and work out which one of us stays here. The other teams are not so bad either.”
“No, they aren’t but that would mean you would work opposite hours, you would never see each other or spend time with your child together as a family. I can’t make you do that and even though I don’t know her personally, like I know you, I trust you and I believe you’ll remain professional. We’ll play it as it is: a complete and utter coincidence. Plus, her acceptance was before I knew you were connected, and you don’t have to report your private relationships to me.”
“Thanks, Hotch. I can’t wait to tell her the good news tonight if you give me permission.” The blonde got up to leave.
“Sure, go ahead. One less phone call, right?” As she was almost out the door Hotch called after her. “Oh, and JJ? Congratulations, again, you’ll be a wonderful mother. You both will.”
JJ was almost skipping on her way back to her office with a radiant smile on her lips. The happiness and contentment she felt was almost equal to Emily’s presence. She couldn’t wait for Emily’s reaction to the news. Although it wouldn’t compare to her reaction when they found out about the baby.
*A few hours later*
“Baby, I’m home!” Came the typical shout after the opening of the front door. Then the rustling of clothes and loud footsteps. “Something smells really good!”
The taller woman appeared in the doorway of the kitchen in her work clothes. By the looks of her clothes today meant field work. She had a tight tank top and khaki jeans on. Biceps on full display and her belt buckle off-centered. That little detail drove JJ wild. She couldn’t have been more attractive in that moment to JJ. Not even in underwear.
“Hi, babe. How was your day?” The blonde’s smile could have melted icebergs. “Please tell me you weren’t wearing just that outside. As sexy as I think you look like this, it’s still quite cold and I- “
Before the liaison could’ve said more the brunette swooped in and encircled her long arms around the younger woman, pressing her lips to her neck.
“You needn’t worry, my love. I don’t want to waste any free time I could spend with you, by being sick.” The flirting was still very much a prominent thing in their relationship even after 6 years together. “As for your other question, my day was fine, but every minute I spend with you makes it even better.” She was prepping kisses up JJ’s neck while her hands started to caress her stomach. “How are you? Is the little one giving you any trouble? Can I do anything for you?”
The media liaison was putty in her arms. Her heartbeat doubled at the sweet way her partner was acting. Although it was an everyday occurrence, she couldn’t help falling even more in love with her. The older woman’s attention, protectiveness and worry was making her emotional. JJ would’ve loved to blame the hormones, but she knew it wasn’t just those.
“We’re good, there wasn’t anything for you to worry about. I haven’t been sick since this morning, but I love you for asking.” And she did. She really, really loved her but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take advantage of the situation. “But since you offered, could you massage my back or maybe my legs after dinner?”
“How about, after dinner I run a hot bath for you to soak in while I clean up in here and after that I massage any body part you want?”
“I knew I said yes for a reason when you proposed.” A cheeky wink and grin followed her answer.
Later that night when all the promises were kept and a much more exhausting act took their breath away, they laid in bed trying to regulate their breathing. Prentiss was laying on her back, arms around her fiancée, while the liaison was cuddled to the brunette’s side, hands splayed out on her chest.
“You know there’s something I wanted to tell you but I don’t think I have the energy to celebrate with you so I might just keep it to myself for tomorrow.” Teased JJ with a sly grin, knowing Emily was maybe the most inpatient person on Earth.
“Noooo, Jen, please. Please, please.” She was the only one allowed to call her anything other than her preferred nickname. “You know I hate waiting. Please, baby!”
Emily’s puppy dog eyes and unusual begging were making JJ cave in. She tried to stay unconvinced, but it was hard playing the part with said sad eyes searching your face. “Okay, okay. Just stop with the eyes, it’s unfair.”
“Yes!” Cheered Emily. “Tell me. Tell me, please!”
“I was talking to Hotch today regarding my leave of absence for our wedding and honeymoon and he kept saying I couldn’t marry someone so soon. I was pissed at him, and we started to argue. Anyway, it turns out he thought I was with Will.”
“Will? What Will?” The confusion on the brunette’s face was quite adorable. JJ leaned up to press a kiss between her eyebrows.
“Will LaMontagne. The detective from New Orleans.”
“Oh. I hope you set him straight, Jareau!”
“It’s soon to be Jareau-Prentiss!” That earned her a beautiful smile from the other woman. “And yes. After I understood what- who he was thinking about, I set the record straight. So, we got to talking about it and he asked who was lucky enough to have me.”
“I really am lucky. The luckiest but where is the surprise in this?”
“Yes, yes you are. Now hush, I’m getting to it.” Scoffed the younger woman, not all that upset. “So, as I was saying, I was just telling him what your name was and what you did when he just finished my sentence for me. I was baffled he knew you. Imagine my surprise when he said he knew you because he just approved your application for a spot in the team. Our team.”
The room was filled with silence just like it had when the conversation first took place earlier that day. It wasn’t icy or uncomfortable. It was just silence and then the shaky breathing and jerky movements began.
“What’s wrong, my love? Are you not happy?” Asked JJ as she glanced up to the silently sobbing woman, her heart twisting in painful ways. She was not expecting that from the brunette. She got ahold of Emily’s jaw and turned her face to her so she could gently wash away her tears.
“No! No! I’m happy! So incredibly happy. God, JJ, I wanted to be a part of that team since I joined the FBI, but to be a member on the team with you? It’s beyond perfect. I… I was so afraid they wouldn’t pick me and even if they did, I would be sent to some other team. It really stressed me out these past few weeks, especially since finding out about our little nugget.”
“Why would that worry you more?” The question wasn’t judging her, and it wasn’t meant to. It was just a simple query.
“I didn’t want to be an absentee parent and wife. I want to be here, by your side every moment of our life. It’s difficult as it is with the job but being put on any other team would have meant our time together would be nonexistent. I’ve seen people losing their families because of the hours and the travel. It’s always my biggest fear.”
“Oh, Emily. We wouldn’t let that happen. Not in this lifetime, not in another. The best part of me is us.”
“The best part of me is us, too.” They shared a gentle but passionate kiss which was full of emotion. “Thank you. I love you, so much.”
“I love you, too, Emily Prentiss. There’s nothing in this world that could keep us apart.”
── Present day ──
Oh, how wrong she was.
Maybe there was something that could keep them apart. Something or someone. After all, it wasn’t the ordinary day it started as.