Stand In The Rain

Twenty Eight

As it turned out, Oscar Lee had been in the beginning stages of starting a counterfeiting ring, and everyone he killed had either figured it out, or had gotten close to it. All of the evidence to this was discovered when the local authorities raided his house. He also had an obscene amount of illegal marijuana growing in one of the back rooms  of his house, and after some further investigating, it was discovered that he had already been selling it in the seedy neighborhoods and had had plans to move his business to Florida, and eventually Cuba. If Oscar Lee hadn't already been dead at this point, the amount of marijuana on his property alone and the sales of it would have been enough to send him to jail for the rest of his life with no chance of parole.

By the time everything was over, JJ and Emily were let out of the hospital and taking it easy, as per the doctor's orders. They were also dreaming of their bed back in Virginia because they'd never missed it more.

The rest of JJ's family that had been flying in from different destinations were all finally in town by the time the ordeal was over and converging at Foxworth Hall. Although the main reason they were gathered was for a funeral, they were pleased to meet JJ's Quantico family, and when they found out that she and Emily were a couple, they were over the moon to welcome her into the fold. They were just as excited to learn about the babies, too.

Because a member of JJ's family had been killed and because he'd spent his entire adult life in the Army, the BAU team stayed for the funeral.

Everything went smoothly until they ran into a snag when they went to the airport, intending to board their jet so they could go back home.

A snowstorm was coming in, and fast. There was no way that they'd be able to fly any time soon. Adding insult to injury, while the jet pilot still had his room at the hotel, all of the agents' rooms had been given away not long after they vacated them.

In a word, they were stuck in Alabama.

As the team huddled together in a corner of the airport's VIP lounge, it was Emily who thought of the first good idea.

Turning to JJ, she asked, "In your opinion, would Foxworth Hall have room for all of us and your family?"

"Probably," JJ responded as she dug her phone out of her pocket with her good hand. "But if I tell either of my grandparents of our predicament, they wouldn't have the willpower to turn me away because they've spoiled me completely rotten for my entire life, and they also take the meaning of 'southern hospitality' to heart. You all would just have to put up with me speaking French or Russian as a reflex, and slipping all the way back into my southern twang. Once I'm around my mom and everyone, I can't turn it off until I'm on the way home again."

They promised to put up with JJ's ways in her 'natural habitat,' as Derek had so cheekily put it, and after Hotch sent him to arrange for a car that would house all of them, JJ finally placed the call to the landline at Foxworth Hall.

Her grandmother answered on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Nana, it's Jenny."

Taken aback but thrilled to hear from her again so soon, Pearl chirped, "Jenny, is there something you and your friends need?"

"Yes, actually. We're stuck her because of the storm that's coming, and we don't have anywhere to sleep now."

"Then you all can come here and stay for as long as you need, alright? Everyone is here, bunkering down, but there is plenty of room for you and your team, too. Do you have a car, or should I send one of the chauffeurs?"