Moving Forward

Part 45

Jennifer Jareau's POV

Hotch has just finished to explain us the case. Someone knocks on the doorframe. Hotch makes us sign to wait. Then he gets out of the Conference Room. Emily doesn't seem to feel good.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah... It's just that morning sicknesses suck as hell..."

She looks at me and I smile to her.

"And you? You seem pretty tired as Spencer."

"Yeah. Hope and Jaeden have been sick last night."

Emily opens her mouth to say something but gets cut off by Hotch entering the room with a beautiful brown-haired girl.

"So this is Kate Callahan. She has been working on this case for over a year."

Everyone welcomes her.

"We need to send one of the girls undercovers," Hotch says

"I'll go," I answer, without thinking.

"Wha...?!" Spencer exclaims.

"Spence. We need Penelope behind her computers, Joy has been stabbed a month ago and Emily's pregnant. I'll go."

"You have two kids with leukemia! You can't go there like that! Why doesn't Kate go undercover?"

"I was undercover. But I got badly injured and I had to go to the hospital and I faked my own death because I knew they were doubting about something."

I look at Spencer, waiting for him to say something.

"How... How long will it last?" He asks Hotch.

"A few days. But we don't want it to last more that a month."

"I'll be okay, Spence," I say, moving closer to him and looking at him right in his eyes.

"I know... But I'm scared."

"It'll be okay. I promise," I say, kissing him.

Then I turn back to see Hotch.

"First, can I say goodbye to my kids?"

"Of course. Take your time."

I nod and I walk to Penelope's office. Luckily, they are with Penelope today because my mom was unavailable. I enter her office without knocking. Seeing me, the kids walk to me. I lean to hug them.

"Hey, my loves. Mommy has something really important to tell you."

I hold them both and I get up.

"Mommy has to work a lot. You'll have to stay with daddy and you won't see me for a while."

"You leaving forever?" Jaeden asks.

"No. Don't worry buddy. I'll be back as soon as possible."

I start to cry because I don't know if I'll come back. Penelope knows that something is wrong, but she doesn't understand.

"Why you crying?" He asks.

Hope clumsily passes her hands over my cheeks.

"Because I love you both. I'm so proud of you."

"Love you too, mommy," he says.

"Love! Love!" Hope says.

I hug them tight. I don't want to lose them. I release the kids who go back to play. Penelope looks at me and hugs me. She then looks me in the eyes.

"What's going on?"

"I've been sent undercover for about 4 weeks, maybe less."

"Are you kidding me?" She asks, her eyes filling up with tears.

I hug her.

"I didn't tell anyone, but I'm scared. What if I don't come back?"

I release Penelope and she takes me by the shoulders and makes me look at her.

"Everything's gonna be fine, okay? My sweet piece of cake will come back from this case, okay? You have to trust me. You have to believe in you. I know what you're capable of and, believe me, I know you have seen worse. Everything's gonna be fine," she declares, wiping my tears away.

"I know. I know."