Long Distance Call

Chapter 1: Let It Be Me

AN 1: So here is my first attempt at a JJ/Emily multichapter story. This is going to jump around a little, just so everyone knows that. It starts immediately after the events of 6x2 "JJ", and will progress from there. To my Change of Heart readers, I'm not giving up on that story at all. I'm in the process of reworking my next chapter, and will post that as soon as I can. I'm just not happy with what I had written, and because I want you guys to have the best I can do, am taking a little time away from it to gather my thoughts and rework what I have written. However, I will try to post that soon. And in the interest of keeping the author's note short, I'm just going to end it here with my usual disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. If I did...well, I think everyone can tell what I'd have done if I owned Criminal Minds from my other stories. I also do not own "Let It Be Me" by Ray LaMontagne or the quote used at the end. Now onto the story.

There comes a time, a time in everyone's life

Where nothing seems to go your way

Where nothing seems to turn out right

There may come a time you just can't seem to find your place

For every door you open, seems like you get two slammed in your face

That's when you need someone

And when all your faith is gone

Feels like you can't go on

…

If it's a friend that you need

Let it be me

-Let It Be Me by Ray LaMontagne

JJ's POV:

I ran my hands tiredly over my face once the elevator doors slid shut. A part of me still couldn't believe that this was happening to me. As I stared at the cold metal doors, the words I had written for Strauss' evaluation came back to me once more.

"I'm thankful for my years spent with this family, for everything we shared, every chance we had to grow. I'll take the best of them with me and lead by their example wherever I go. A friend told me to be honest with you, so here it goes. This isn't what I want, but I'll take the high road. Maybe it's because I look at everything as a lesson, or because I don't want to walk around angry, or maybe it's because I finally understand. There are things we don't want to happen, but have to accept. Things we don't want to know, but have to learn. And people we can't live without, but have to let go."

In my heart of hearts I knew that I had wrote the truth, and that it would be more than likely cast aside with all the other reports without so much as a second glance, but I couldn't help but hold onto the small hope that it would help me keep my job. The people I had just said goodbye to were my friends, my family. They had been with me for the good times and bad; they had seen me at my best and at my worst, and they had never blinked. I meant what I had said to Garcia; I had no intention of allowing this transfer to affect how much I saw her or our other friends. However, I also knew that she was right. We would both become busy, even if we were both staying inside the same area. Refusing to allow myself to cry, I drew in a deep breath as the elevator came to a halt and walked to my car with my head held high.

I pulled out my phone and called Will. If there was one good thing coming out of this transfer, it was the fact that I would be living a nine to five life, complete with weekends off, which I knew he would be happy about.

"Hello?" his Southern drawl came through the phone on the second ring.

"Hey," I replied, still trying to clamp down on the flood of emotions I was feeling.

"Whoa, what's wrong, chère?" he asked, immediately picking up on my upset tone.

"My transfer to the Pentagon was settled today," I murmured. "It's a done deal; I start there on Monday."

"That's good, isn't it?" Will asked in a confused voice. "You'll be able to spend more time with me and Henry that way."

"Yeah, no, it's great," I replied, forcing myself to sound happier than I really felt. "I just…they're my family, Will. I can't believe that I'm getting forced to leave my family."

"Come home," he replied, voice softening in understanding. "I know it's hard, Jayje, but maybe it's for the best. Come home and I'll take care of you."

I barely managed to get out an "okay," before I hit the end call button. I knew he was right; this arrangement would enable me to spend more time with my son and boyfriend, but I couldn't really pretend to be happy about a forced transfer right now. I had been with the BAU for six years; we might not be related by blood, but we were family. We were as much of a family as Will and Henry and I, which was something that no one outside of our unit seemed to understand. The wounds were still too fresh and raw for me to cover up like I normally would. My phone began to ring again, and I picked it up to answer without checking the caller ID and fought to keep the sadness out of my voice. "Jareau."

"Hey," Emily's voice sounded through the phone. "I didn't see you before you left, so I wanted to call and check up on you."

I managed a small smile at one of my best friend's thoughtfulness. "Thanks, Em. I'm alright though."

"Which is code for 'I'm not really okay at all'," she said knowingly. "I worked for Interpol before I came here, Jayje. And even if I didn't have that experience, I was an ambassador's kid. We lived practically everywhere when I was growing up. If there's one thing I know, it's how it feels to suddenly have to pick up and move without much say in the matter."

My small smile grew a little wider at her words. I knew she was right. "So what do I do?" I asked softly, hoping that she would have the answer I was so desperately wanting to find. "How do I stop myself from feeling this way? How do I stop from feeling like I've just lost my family?"

"Lots and lots of booze," she replied jokingly, causing me to laugh despite my somber mood. "No, seriously, I don't know the answer to that, Jayje. You would think I would, but I can't really say. It's different for everyone."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I was afraid of that," I admitted as I parked my car in my driveway. "Listen, Em, I'm beyond thankful for you calling me. I just made it home though, so I'm going to have to talk to you later. Will wants to talk about this promotion of mine."

"No problem," she replied sympathetically. "If you ever need anything, you know where to reach me." I was about to hang up when her voice came through the speaker again. "And, JJ?" she called. "It'll get better. I promise."

"Thanks," I replied, and hit the end call button. I exhaled softly and ran my hand through my hair again. I knew that it was more likely than not that Emily had said that simply to reassure me, but I appreciated it nonetheless. It was more reassuring to know that she, along with the rest of our team, was still there for me despite the transfer. I opened the door to my house wearily and set my phone and keys on the small table that was situated next to the door.

"Mommy!" my son's excited voice called out as he barreled down the hallway and launched himself into my arms.

"Hey," I said, wrapping my arms around his small body and spinning him around in a lazy circle. "How was my little man today?"

Will moved into the entrance hallway and watched the two of us with a small smile on his face. "Perfect, as always," he drawled, leaning against the wall. "We went out to the park, didn't we, Henry?"

Henry nodded excitedly. "Daddy helped me make it across the monkey bars," he replied, using his 'grown up' voice.

"He did?" I asked, picking him up and heading into the living room, Will trailing behind us. "That must have been really fun." I sat the both of us down on the couch and looked at his angelic face.

Henry nodded seriously and peered at me with his piercing blue eyes. "Did you catch any bad guys today, Mommy?" He wrapped his chubby arms around my neck as he did so, causing me to smile at the intelligence he displayed, even as a two year old.

"You know, I did, little man." I responded, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Are you going away for a long time again?" he asked. Will's eyes flickered over my face, silently asking me what I would tell him, before he recognized my need to spend some time with my son alone. He moved off into the kitchen, and I could hear him pulling dinner out of the oven.

I returned my gaze to Henry's face and felt my lips tugging upwards in a smile at his eager expression. "Not anytime soon, buddy. See, Mommy got a new job that will make sure that I get to spend more time with you and Daddy."

"You did?" he asked excitedly, bouncing on my lap. His face fell slightly after a moment's deliberation. "Won't that mean I won't get to see Aunt Emmy or Uncle Derek anymore?" he asked in a more subdued voice. "I like Aunt Emmy and Uncle Derek," he admitted.

I was touched by his admission. "Of course not," I replied, although I was unsure of exactly how much he would get to see the team from here on out. "You'll still get to see all of them."

"Aunt Penny and Uncle Spencer too?"

I kissed his nose, causing him to wrinkle it in surprise. "Aunt Penny and Uncle Spencer too," I repeated and set him down. "Now, it smells like your daddy has gotten a really good dinner waiting for us. I forgot, so what is it we do before we eat?"

Henry took off down the hall again. "Wash our hands," he called as he ran to the bathroom.

"Thank you!" I called after him, smiling softly at his exuberance. Even if I had lost a huge portion of my family, my son was still the joy of my life and was always capable of brightening my day, no matter how bad I felt. I already felt better after spending time with him. I moved into the kitchen and placed a kiss on Will's right shoulder, silently thanking him for the understanding he had shown tonight.

"You know, Jayje," he murmured as he turned around. "I know this isn't what you wanted, and really all I want is for you to be happy, but maybe there's a reason this happened after all." He planted a soft kiss on my lips and cupped my face gently. "Give it a try at least, okay, darling?"

"Okay," I replied, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'll give it a try."

"Mommy," Henry called tiredly as I moved towards his door. I had just finished reading "Baby Star" to him and tucked him in, which was something that I had missed while we were away on our last case. The fact that I would be able to do that from now on was something that I would not regret about this new job.

"What is it, little man?" I asked, moving back towards his 'big boy' bed.

"Am I really going to still get to see Aunty Emmy?" he asked shyly, his eyes sad. In his hands he clutched the plush lion that Emily had gotten him for his first birthday. Henry adored that lion, and refused to go anywhere without it, much to Emily's delight. I crouched back down so that my eyes were level with his, willing him to see that I would try to keep our little makeshift family as together as I possibly could.

"Why would you think you wouldn't?" I replied, running my hand over his hair in a comforting manner.

"Because," he mumbled into the lion's mane. "You were gone a lot; I heard Daddy talking about it to one of his friends one day. And Aunty Emmy works with you, so that means that she's gone a lot too. I don't want to not see Aunty Emmy any more. I like her a lot."

I gave him a sad smile and kissed his forehead reassuringly. For a two year old, my son was extremely observant and wise beyond his years. "I know you do, buddy. I do too. But I promise you, Aunty Emmy will visit us again as soon as she can. She's good like that."

His wide blue eyes peered into mine. "And Uncle Derek, and Aunt Penny, and Uncle Spencer?" he asked. "Will I get to see them too? Cause I like them lots and lots too."

I chuckled. "You'll get to see Uncle Spencer and Aunt Penny and Uncle Derek too," I replied, reaching over and tickling his belly as I did so, causing him to giggle loudly and pull his shirt down. "And you'll even get to see Uncle Dave and Uncle Aaron."

"Promise?" he asked, with the wide-eyed innocence that only a child could accomplish.

"I promise," I said. "Now you need to go to sleep, bud." I bent over and kissed his forehead one last time before standing up. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you, Mommy," he said sleepily, nestling further into his blankets.

"I love you too, kiddo," I responded, gently running my hand over his hair again and heading for the door.

Henry's concerns about no longer being able to see my former teammates had really struck a chord in me. I moved into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water, still musing over his questions. I knew the little boy completely adored everyone I had worked with, even the reserved Hotch. How was I supposed to explain to him that their visits might become a less and less permanent fixture in his life? I sighed and retrieved my phone from the entry hall. The device beeped, showing me I had a new voicemail in my inbox.

"Hey, Jayje." Emily's voice came through the phone after I unlocked it and accessed the new voicemail. She chuckled nervously, causing me to smile softly. "I know you said you'd call me back, but I really wanted to get this out before we got called away on another case. You asked me how to stop feeling like you had lost your family, and I can't really tell you how to stop that feeling. But I can tell you something that will help. You talk to a friend. You make plans and you don't let this promotion separate us any more than it needs too. You're going to go through life feeling like everything feels like it's been turned upside down and all the doors around you are getting slammed in your face at times. Those are the times when you need a friend. And when that happens, I'm more than willing to be that friend. Let it be me, Jayje. I've been where you are, and I know it's hard. But whenever you need a friend, you can call me. I'll always pick up; and if I don't, then I'll always get back to you. And I know that you've got Garcia, and Morgan, and Reid, and even Rossi and Hotch, and I swear I'm not trying to detract from that. I just want you to know, you've got me too." She paused, and I could almost imagine her picking at her nails nervously as she continued. "You're my best friend, Jayje, so I don't want this to be the end of that. I really care about you. So, hit me up whenever you need to talk. And the next time we're both free, I'd really like to see you and Henry. You guys brighten everything you come into contact with. Well, I probably should go now, so I guess just give me a call back whenever you can. This isn't a goodbye though, JJ. It's an 'I'll see you later'."

The message ended with a click, and I smiled widely. Despite her sometimes rather secretive nature, Emily was one of the most giving people I had ever meant. The fact that she had called to tell me she still had my back, especially after both mine and Henry's concerns, was beyond reassuring. Her voicemail had rekindled the small flame of hope in my chest that this assignment would be temporary, and failing that, that my friends – no, my family – would be there for me no matter where I worked. I opened my texting app and typed in Emily's number. "Just got your message," I typed quickly. "Thank you for being there when I really need it."

The reply was almost instantaneous, and caused me to smile once again. "Always."

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

-Albert Schweitzer

AN 2: Okay, so...thoughts? Comments? All that jazz is welcome. I will be posting more soon, especially if the demand is high enough. I know the title says "Long Distance Call", emphasis being on the "long distance" part, but I felt like it would be cool to start at the "beginning" so to speak, which is when JJ is poached by the State Department. However, long distance will be coming into play soon, so I guess what I'm trying to say is hold out for it. There is a method to my madness, I swear! Again, let me know what you guys think, pretty please. Reviews are like candy! Darklighter out.