Chapter Two:
Predictions
I wake up when JJ starts to stir. She seems very sleepy so go to make some strong coffee, I need it too. JJ comes up behind me and hugs me resting her chin on my shoulder. I spin around handing her coffee and she takes it thankfully. I watch her sipping it. She looks tired and we lean back against the counter sipping the strong hot coffee.
We lean there in silence for a moment before JJ speaks up.
"You know today... Will be tough." JJ says quietly.
I sigh "I know I'm worried about the team." I say.
"Me too. But I'm more worried... About your mom." JJ says.
I sigh knowing JJ was going to bring this up.
"She got really... Freaked yesterday." JJ finished.
I think of what to say, "I know." I whisper.
"Are you worried about this case?" JJ says quietly.
"JJ, I promise I'm letting nobody hurt you." I say grabbing her and pulling her closer to me, she grabs my hand. She's scared too, definitely more scared than I am.
"I know you won't let anyone hurt me." JJ says quietly.
"I won't." I say letting her compare her hand size to mine.
I think she's distracting herself from the real reality of the case, but I guess it's a good thing.
Suddenly mom appears, hair already combed, and eyes filled with sleepiness. I hand her coffee. She watches JJ playing with my hand and JJ let's go of my hand blushing a little.
Now we all three lean quietly on the counter.
Now that were all up Jack appears and Is rubbing sleep from his eyes. He walks into the small hotel kitchen, and says "Hi."
Mom bends down and lift Jack onto the counter tops were he sits wearily, yawning a little. I pick Jack up and he lays his head on my shoulder. He yawns again and shuts his eyes.
"Daddy I'm hungry." he says quietly.
"How about on the way into work we stop and get you breakfast." I say, and Jack yawns loudly nodding his sleepy little eyes.
I set Jack down, to see Emily awake now, hair tangled.
"Hi." I hand her coffee and she looks completely worn out.
"What time do we have to be at the police station? "
"About an hour." I reply.
"Are you serious?" she sounds tired, and I nod.
The girls start getting ready, occupying the bathroom for a long amount of time, how long does it take a women to do her hair and makeup? JJ emerges first wearing her gun on her side, and her hair is in a long ponytail. Mom emerges moments later her hair tied back, and Emily follows her hair in a ponytail too. I waited for them for half an hour to put their hair up?
Jack's already ready so we head out the door, all making sure we have our credentials and our guns. Even moms got a gun, which is a little shocking, I didn't know she had a gun.
She laughs when I raise an eyebrow at her gun.
"I can carry a gun too." she whispers.
We stop at a McDonalds and the girls insist we order 15 hash-browns. I open my eyes wide, and JJ looks serious.
"Were starving." she says.
I tell the lady I need 15 hash-browns, and that's all. The lady seems Tired because she lazily replies the cost, and says to pull around to the next window.
On the way to the department, JJ eats at least five hash-browns, because even though she's super tiny she has an appetite. Jack only eats two, and mom and Prentiss eat four.
I eat a bite of one of JJ's, but I'm not hungry really. JJ sits in the front next to me and she looks a little paler as we get closer to the station.
"You ok?" I ask.
"Yeah just nervous." she replies.
"Why?"
"Just nervous about what were gonna find today."
"Hm."
"Aren't you?"
"A little." I admit.
We pull up and everyone hops out of the car.
(JJ's Point Of View)
We pull up and I look out the window briefly then open my door, and step out. It's not cold, because I mean it is California. I roughly shut the car door, and once inside we find the others already here. Blake seems much more quiet today, and nods at Erin who nods back. Blake has always got on my nerves, and I personally wish he wasn't here. I don't know what El sees in him, but then again it's El.
El is really close to Blake who walks over to Aaron and Erin. I smirk at Blake who doesn't see me. El walks over.
"JJ I'm sorry... For yesterday. I know Blake acts out sometimes, and he just... He needs to talk to her." El says.
I nod. "It's ok... He just needs to talk to her your right, and... I wish he'd understand shes changed." I say watching Erin.
El squirms a little "He's scared to admit he does want to talk to her, he's afraid of her in a way." El says.
"Why doesn't he just go say he forgives her? He's her son." I say angrily.
El sighs "He's scared too, he knows she... He knows shes his mom and believe me he does care, but you know, he just doesn't... Doesn't have the guts to admit that for once, he is wrong."
I guess I understand, but still, Blake's always been so annoying, and such a player, and now he still is having some trouble admitting he's a self centered jerk. Sounds like a classical case of denial, and El just defends him. Go El.
Of course El was watching Blake and she seems upset today, who knows, maybe Blake is truly sorry for his actions recently, but then again Blake was never sorry, which sort of made this whole thing worse. Ever since the boy got here he's been ALL over the girls. It's like he's shopping for the ones he wants, it's so gross, and now Him and El are together which is like, beyond gross. But I can see a bad boy like Blake with El, after all, El wasn't such a good girl herself.
El walks off and Emily comes over and stands next to me.
"Did she just come apologize?" Emily ask.
I nod and Emily makes a disgusted sound.
"Her and Blake... So gross." Emily says.
"So I'm not the only one getting annoyed with the two" I say.
"Definitely not, Derek was just talking to Rossi about how he'd love to hit Blake, because apparently him and El have been a little annoying to everyone." Emily says.
"I wish Blake and El wouldn't hate on Erin." Emily says.
"Erin's like... Erin treats me like her daughter, she's so nice..."
"I know, I think she's good for Aaron, and Aaron's food for her." Emily says seriously watching Blake and El.
"Erin's like the mother I never had." I say quietly.
"Hm... Does that mean were talking mother in law soon?" Emily says grinning.
I roll my eyes, blushing a little, laughing, so does Emily.
"We've been dating six months, almost seven, and besides, I don't think he's ever going to want to get married after Haley..." I say.
Emily nods "I wish... I wish Haley was still here, and I'm sure Aaron does too but, JJ, she can't be, and Aaron knows that, so do you." Emily says.
We stand there quietly.
"So are we talking wedding bells?" Emily says brightening the mood, and her smile makes me think for a second seriously.
"Well I don't know, he's nice and handsome and... Really a good kisser..." I dreamily stare at him and Emily laughs.
"That is way too much info." she jokes laughing.
"Maybe he's the one." I sigh knowing that just maybe Aaron thought the same thing.
"Jeesh you got it bad. The un-cureable disease. Love."
"Jeesh Emily that's taking it a little fast..." I laugh.
"ok so has he told you he loves you?" she hits my arm.
My eyes open wide "No!" I say looking down.
"Hm... Maybes he's waiting for he right time when he ask you to Mary him." she jokes.
I roll my eyes "Ok miss dramatic let's work on the case that might cost us are lives!" I say seriously.
"Forgot about it for a second... Thanks for reminding me" she says as we walk towards the team, the joking ending suddenly.
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(JJ's Point Of View)
About an hour later were all reviewing the case, and Garcia has taken Jack in another room because Garcia really does not like looking at this case. I don't blame her.
"So our unsub, he wants us dead." Derek says and we all nod quietly listening to him say it. We know it's true.
Reid has tapped up each picture on the timeline.
"So theses pictures, we thin they symbolize his fantasy, what he wants... The knife for example, the people he has already killed. The plane, us arriving here. It's like he's got this whole thing planned, and were the actors." Reid says looking down thinking.
"The other pictures. Think, there's one picture for each of us. I mean like, the larger pictures, the more important things on the timeline to him. I think these are ways he... Wants us to suffer." Rossi said.
"Or die." El says.
We all bite our lips, El's perfectly right, it's what he wants.
"It's so well planned... Us coming here, he knew we would, and now, he's got this whole other thing planned." I say.
"He's smart... He knows how things will play out." Rossi says.
"He's very smart, he's sly to, to snap all these pictures of us, he's Probably normal looking, blends into a crowd." Derek says sitting back in his chair.
"See what the real question is is, why is he after us." Aaron says.
The team all considers this, and nobody speaks up. I'm stumped I mean... There's nobody I can think of.
"That's just it, we know the person. How else would they know what's going to happen. How else would they know how we think. It's someone close to us, it could be anyone. Anyone we've worked closely with, anyone we've, even worked with. A former employee. Maybe someone we worked with a whole ago on a case. God knows but, I'm assuming we'll know them in the end." Erin says trailing at the end of her thinking.
The team looks around.
I think.
Derek thinks.
El thinks.
Reid thinks.
Blake thinks.
Rossi thinks.
And everyone in that room thinks.
"Ok so who do we know." Derek states.
"Well that could take ages to think about! You know how many teams we've helped?" I say.
"Hm. Maybe someone who has anger at us." Rossi says.
"Someone we... We couldn't help?" Aaron says.
"Exactly what I was thinking. Someone who wishes we had done something different... Someone who... Who wishes us dead. Someone we failed." Reid says.
Later when everyone is getting hungry Erin offers to go pick up lunch. I say I'll go with her. Aaron doesn't seem happy with Erin going alone but I tell him we'll be ok, and he hugs me before we leave.
Driving in the car we start talking.
"So, you and Aaron." she starts off grinning slyly.
"I just had this whole talk with Emily." I say moaning.
"I know because me and Emily already talked about it."
"Really?" now even Erin was in on this whole thing.
"Yep." she seems amused.
"So are you and Aaron serious?" she ask still looking ahead.
I blush a little "I don't know..." I say sheepishly looking down.
"Alright." she says, I know she's still curious, she looks at me.
"You know I think the world of you JJ. You make him happy."
I gulp when she says it. In true honesty her comment makes me feel really good about myself and I smile a little.
"Same here. Your sort of almost a parent to me. It sounds cheesy but, it's true." I say quietly.
Erin looks a little shocked but she smiles a little.
"You really think that?" she sits up a little straighter.
I nod "Your like a mom I never had." I say quietly.
"You feel like family. To Jack too." she says.
"I cant replace Haley..." I say feeling my eyes blur a little.
Erin gets very quiet then she speaks up "Aaron talks about you when your not around, about how much he likes you, and how your like a mom to Jack now." she says looking ahead still.
I gulp "Really?" I say gaining confidence that Aaron might actually care more about me than I could imagine myself.
She nods "Yep. That's why... Thats why I look at you like family JJ, in true honesty, sometimes I forget were not family. Not yet anyways." she grins a little and I roll my eyes.
"You and Emily, you two already have my dress picked right?"
Erin laughs "Just saying it's been six months. Almost seven."
"Exactly why we are not yet getting married." I say.
Erin still laughs "Don't jinx yourself."
"We'll see...."
We pull into a pizza place where I say ill run in to get the pizza. Erin nods and says she'll pull the car around front for me, and I nod walking inside to get the pizza. I walk up to the front counter where a women with blonde hair ask for the name we put the order in.
"Strauss." I say smiling. I start thinking. Ya know. Jennifer Strauss. Sounds pretty. Then I laugh to myself, Emily and Erin really have me daydreaming now.
I hear a loud crash and squealing wheels. I turn around and stare wide eyed at the wreckage of Erin's rental SUV.
"Somebody call 911!" I rush outside.
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(Aaron's Point Of View)
I drop my cellphone and quickly rush out the door. I jump into our other rental SUV and put the keys into the ignition. I blare on the sirens rushing to the hospital going 100 mph, and my hands shake. It feels like eternity and I focus on the road even though I keep thinking about what might be waiting for me when I get to the hospital. I don't stop at red-lights, I simply speed as fast as the car will let me go.
I get there and leap out of my car literally running inside.
I see JJ sitting in the lobby her eyes red, crying more than she's ever cried. I shut my eyes hoping not to here the words "sorry for your loss". I shake and walk over to JJ who lifts her head and buries her face in my chest.
"Aaron I... She's in a coma."
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Ok so guys please comment :) hey criminal minds will be on sometime soon so I'm just wondering what you all think right now. Personally I have to defend Strauss because I like her. I think she is misunderstood and a lot of people really hate her. Just google it and read. Anyways is Strauss a good character in this story, I know it's hard to imagine her differently but try ;) please comment and tell me what you think. Sorry but I have a soft spot for Strauss, so writing this story I portray her as a good character. Tell me what you think... I'm desperate for comments please comment!
I might post another chapter later... Marathon of criminal minds on now so if not you know why :) watch A and E for the marathon :)