Love Unexpected

qptq7. Chloe ❤️

Narrator's POV

To say that JJ was surprised when she walked in on her seemingly always stoic unit chief laughing with Emily and her teenage daughter while he and his son helped the pair paint their nails would be an understatement.

It was no secret that Hotch and Emily were close. The team was well aware of the friendship they'd formed through unbreakable trust and loyalty, but what JJ witnessed was a man spending time with his family. The pair were beaming at one another, so lost in their kids and each other that her presence went unnoticed. She was happy to see her two closest friends so content with each other. It was clear that the pair were in love, she just didn't know if they'd realized it as yet.

"Mom" Aubrey who was first to notice their visitor called "I think you have company"

"Hi" JJ greeted the group "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk" She told Emily

"Come in" Emily encouraged her "Aubrey this is SSA Jenifer Jareau we call her JJ, Jay this is my daughter Aubrey" She introduced the pair

"It's nice to officially meet you Aubrey" JJ greeted

"The pleasures mine" Aubrey responded politely

"Hi Jack" She smiled at the little boy

"Hi auntie Jen" He waved excitedly "Look! Daddy and I made bre's fingers pink"

"That is so pretty. I'm sure she loves it" JJ smiled

"Jack my Nona just bought me these super cool headphones, do you want to test them out for me?" Asked Aubrey "I can play paw patrol on your tablet" She offered, knowing they wouldn't want Jack overhearing their conversation

"I like paw patrol"

"I know you do" She smiled, setting up the tablet for the happy little boy "You can go ahead and talk know" She told the adults

"Thank you." Emily spoke to her daughter before addressing her best friend

"What's so important" Hotch questioned JJ who looked to Emily for approval before continuing

"Emily called me early yesterday morning, said something wasn't right" JJ began "She reached out to the friend she left Declan with and they haven't responded so she asked me to help her find him"

"What did you find?" Asked Emily

"With the help of Garcia we found where your friend Louise and Declan were living. I asked the local police to go check on them and they found Louise's body inside the house" JJ informed her "She was brutally beaten to death, the security you hired to watch over the family was executed in his car that was parked in the driveway and there were clear signs of a struggle in Declan's room" She explained

"How is that possible? Doyle had no idea where she and Declan were, that's why he went after Aubrey. Until I told him otherwise Doyle thought his son was dead"

"That's what worries me" Said JJ "He's obviously not behind this and the overkill on Louise suggests the killer knew her. This was personal. Is there anyone else you can think of with a grudge against Louise and or Ian Doyle?" She asked "The team's gonna need all the help they can get with this one, we're already behind the clock"

"I can't remember anything" Emily answered, frustrated with herself "I promised Declan I'd keep him safe. I promised to protect him and now he's out there with God knows who and I can't remember"

"Hey, it's okay" Hotch went to her side in an attempt to comfort her "You have a head injury, that's common" he reminded her "I know you're upset, but we will do everything in our power to bring Declan home safe. You have my word" He promised