Chapter 16

JJ had left the apartment that afternoon, and true to her word she had given Emily her space. The only contact they had had was strictly work related, and had happened in a very diplomatic fashion. She hoped that sooner rather than later Emily would come to her and that they could find a way to pursue a relationship together, or at the very least restore their friendship. But Emily had avoided her as of yet, and JJ had been struggling with the situation. Especially with the cases they had worked, the skills of their coworkers and the close proximity in which they had to work together.

However, apart from the situation with Emily, she also had her issues with Will to figure out, and Henry to take care off; she had been quite busy over the last two weeks, leaving little room to actually worry about the situation with the brunette. That didn't mean that her feelings had changed though, on quite the contrary.

Today however, she had to deal with Will, who had called her last night and asked to meet up. It had shifted all of her attention toward the issues that could develop between them regarding Henry's care.

Therefore, JJ found herself standing in front of the mirror with a worried look etched onto her face, as she combed through her long blonde hair when her doorbell rang. Her heart jumped and a bellyache settled in her stomach, she knew that it was due to her worries. The blonde tried to smile but failed miserably and hoped that she would manage to smile more convincingly when she opened the door.

Walking down the stairs; JJ took a little longer than she needed to, in order to prepare herself. The blonde opened the door and looked up at the Southern man; despite what had happened between them, he smiled at her with his genuine, warm smile. "Chere, I was thinking that you and I could go to the diner down the street. The one where we took Henry a while back?"

"Uhm ... okay. Let me get my jacket and purse." She said, a little too obviously surprised by his demeanor; she was confused and unsure what to think of it just yet. JJ only hoped that Will didn't think it was an indication of her wanting to fix things between them by agreeing to meet with him today. That there was a choice to be made in the near future for anything other than Henry, because she had certainly closed that door days ago. She knew from past experiences that rekindling an old relationship hardly ever worked because most of the issues would come back in time.

Once ready, the blonde closed and locked the door behind her, and together they walked to the diner. It was a beautiful, sunny day, warm enough for a nice stroll. They enjoyed some small talk on the way over, but they both knew that they would eventually have to get into their issues, sooner rather than later. It would only become harder to talk about the situation at hand as more time passed.

It wasn't long before they were seated and given menu's, and as soon as they finished ordering their lunch, JJ was no longer able to contain her curiosity. "Will, why did you ask me to meet you today?"

The Southern man smiled at her with his handsome smile, the smile that used to send a shiver up her spine. And while he still smiled the same way, she no longer felt the same way about him; a realization that was still difficult to comprehend. She thought about it while he shoved a spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, and almost missed his softly spoken words.

He took his time, carefully chewing the food while he watched her intently before he replied. "Chere, I took some time to think and I came to a conclusion. I know that talking in hindsight is always easy, because you have all the facts and clarity, but I should have seen that you weren't happy, and I didn't. In fact, I should have told you a couple of months ago that I wasn't happy either. But I didn't do that either."

JJ snapped her head up at his revelation, shocked to say the least; "What are you talking about, Will?"

"I love you, Jayje, and I love Henry. I always will. We did good." He drawled out the words in his Southern accent, looking down for a moment as if he wanted to gather his thoughts before continuing. "When you told me that you were pregnant I was over the moon. Granted, our relationship before that moment had been rocky, and we really hit a bump in the road when we were in Miami. But at that moment, everything seemed to fall into place, and I wanted nothing more than to take the first flight here so I could take you in my arms and tell you that everything would be okay. And for a while things seemed to be incredible, I was happy and I loved living here. I was optimistic that I would find a job here and that you would be able to stay at home with our baby once you gave birth, and that I would provide for my family. Those were dreams and none of that came true. I wasn't able to find that job and you didn't want to stay home."

JJ wanted to interrupt him, but Will stopped her; "No Jayje, please let me explain what I want to say to you. I need to be able to tell you my way of thinking, so that you can understand why I'm making the choices that I'm making. I get why you didn't want to stop working, you don't have to defend yourself. You worked hard to get where you are today career wise, and you love the team as if they're your family, and I should have understood that back then when I asked you to become a stay at home mom. I know that was part of the reason why you left East Allegheny, because you didn't want to live the life most of your high school friends live. I get that, really I do. Though, I have to admit that throughout your pregnancy I hoped that you would change you mind, I can't deny that. I hoped that you would decline doing fieldwork and do your press conferences from Quantico. I know that you love Henry, and that your choice to continue working doesn't make you love him any less. I also know now, really know, how much the team means to you and how hard you work. Also, the fact that I hadn't been able to find a job prevented us from having any further discussion on that topic. I just want you to know that I understand your decisions."

JJ once again opened her mouth to interrupt him, but Will stopped her before she could utter a single word. "You don't have to defend yourself, I really do understand where you stand on the subject. I know that you love Henry and that you would do anything for him." Will smiled genuinely before he continued; "I can't deny however, that while you were working on the cases in other cities I was taking care of Henry. And as much as I love the little man, it's been hard to be Mr. Mom."

He sat back and pushed his plate forward on the table, carefully choosing his words before he spoke again. "I should have talked about this sooner rather than later, because it could have changed how our relationship ended. These last few month have been extremely hard on me, not being able to provide for my family and staying at home with our son in a city which I hardly know has made me feel inadequate as a man."

JJ looked up at him, shocked to say the least. For a man who hardly ever talked about his feelings that was quite the revelation. "Will! You are not inadequate as a man because you take care of your son.''

"Jayje, I love you, you know that. And I love Henry. When I moved here I was positive that I could find a job anywhere, but with the way the economy is these days and the fact that I know hardly anything about DC, it's been hard for me to find my way. I never complained because I knew that we needed the money, and your job is better paying than I would make as a cop."

He fidgeted with his hands before he looked up at her; "I agreed with your wish to continue working because I had no choice, but I miss my job, and while taking care of the little tyke is great I need to be able to be amongst grown ups every once in a while. I'm not happy here, if we're not together anymore there's even less of a reason for me to stay here."

JJ wanted to interrupt him but he held up his hand, effectively stopping her once again. "Chere, I love you and I don't blame you. I should have talked about this sooner then maybe things would have been different between us. Now that I have the chance, I want to go back to New Orleans. I miss it too much, and I've called my supervisor and asked if I can get my ol' job back. He told me that I can work there, not on my old team but at least I'll have a job. That does however, not mean that I am abandoning my son, but it does mean that he will see me a lot less than he's used to."

JJ felt relieved in a way, relieved that he wasn't going to fight her for custody as she had expected him to do. After all, since JJ rejoined her team at the BAU, Will had been the primary caregiver to their son. As strange as it might sound to outsiders, he had been the full time dad while she would travel with the team, hence he would spend more hours with Henry than she would in general. Nevertheless, he was willing to give that all up so that Henry could stay with her while he went back to New Orleans.

"Will, I ... Will, are you sure about this? Is this really what you want, to go back to New Orleans?" She needed the reassurance, she needed to know that he wasn't going to turn around and realize that he wanted to have their son with him in New Orleans.

"Jayje, it's my home. It's where I belong, I moved here for you because I knew that your job was important to you. And because after what happened down south with my father and the hurricane, for a while it didn't feel like home anymore. I thought that I had nothing holding me there after my father died, but now that I've been living here, I realize how much I miss the feel of the city. The way the people talk, the food and ... well everything."

He smiled, his eyes gazing in the distance, no doubt trying to remember all the things he missed. "I want Henry to be able to visit me and I hope that you will consider joining him when he visits. I want to show him where his daddy is from, and I want my boy to know how important he is, even if his mommy and daddy no longer live together. I want him to know that I care about him and love him. That's all I ask in return, that you won't make me the bad guy."

"Will, how could I ever make you the bad guy after all the sacrifices you're making and have made in the past for me?" JJ moved closer to him, touching his hand lightly. His eyes focused on hers and he smiled back at her. She knew that he put a lot of thinking into his speech, and that he revealed quite a lot in the few words he spoke.

"I've seen enough marriages go sour, and I know that this isn't a marriage but … well, you know what I mean. Children getting guided into disliking the other parent or caught in the crossfire, I never want that for my kid. I promise you that I will never do anything to put you in a bad light, and I just want to make sure that you understand where I stand in this. And more specifically why I'm making the choices I'm making."

"Will, what're you saying? You're going back to New Orleans, going back to your old life permanently?" JJ asked him, wondering if that really was his plan.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying, with the exception that I now have a son. I want to be part of his life, though it's my choice to go back to New Orleans, I'm not resigning as Henry's father. I promise you that." Will leaned in and placed his hand on top of JJ's. "Don't blame yourself for what happened, I've been in denial. I let the signs pass me by, hoping that we would be okay in the end, Chere." He smiled sadly; "I know that it was a naive of me to think that way, since we broke up I've been thinking a lot and now I want to try and establish the next best thing, which would be you and me working together to make sure that Henry knows that he is loved by both his mother and father. Even if we're no longer together."

JJ had tears in her eyes as she listened to the man who she hurt so much, who took a few days to consider his options and came back with a plan. One that would provide them both with a strong base to build up their new lives apart from each other, but still have a strong foundation for their son. JJ opened her mouth but words wouldn't come out, she tried again and this time she was able to speak though her voice was barely above a whisper. "I would like that very much." She smiled and for the first time in days her smile actually reached her eyes.

"I've seen the result of relationships gone bad where kids became the victims. I never want that for my son." Will wiped his hands clean on his napkin and placed it back on top of his plate, he waved the waitress over and asked her for a refill, she cleared the table before she returned with their coffee. They both enjoyed their coffee while talking about random stuff. While they walked back to JJ's house thirty minutes later, Will told JJ that he would leave for New Orleans the next day.

Though JJ was the one who caused the break up, she was still saddened by his departure. She stood in front of her front door, trying to figure out what to say to Will before she could hide inside her house; "Will you call me to let me know when you arrive in New Orleans?" She asked him while she bit her lip nervously.

"Of course I'll let you know, we'll still be friends right?" Will smiled; "Once I found a house and I am settled in I will let you know and maybe you and Henry can come visit me?"

JJ smiled and nodded and leaned in, she hovered for a couple of seconds before she kissed him on his cheek, she didn't want him to give him the wrong impression. He said his goodbyes and turned around, walking down the path towards his car. JJ opened the door to her house and closed it as soon as Will drove off. The blonde leant against the wood and smiled, the conversation went better than expected. She dug her phone out of her bag and called Garcia, who was babysitting Henry for her and who was very anxiously waiting for JJ's phone call.