Lead the Way - Chapter 098 - Support
I think I said everything on the subject of coming outs last time so I will keep this short. "Give honesty a chance". Hurray \o/
Lead the Way - 098 - Support
When JJ woke up the next day, her legs still felt sore from sitting in the tree house the night before. She got into the shower and tried to brace herself for what she had planned that day. Despite Brad’s awful reaction she had to tell her parents. She didn’t want to die and leave parents behind who didn’t even know her. Her last case had proven to her, that that was always a possibility.
When she came down her mother was cooking lunch.
“Back from the dead, are we?” JJ looked at the clock, it was already half past noon.
“Sorry, Mom. It was a long night.”
“Don’t worry. At least I got to spend time with my grandson. He’s getting so big.”
“He is.” JJ smiled at her toddler. He was dribbling all over his stuffed dragon in his cot, Andrea had rolled into the kitchen.
“Lauren said, Brad left last night. I thought he would be joining us for lunch.”
“We had a little fight.”
Her mother turned around and looked at her with an unreadable expression in her eyes.
“About what?”
“Can I tell you later?”
“Sure.” She turned back to the sink, clearly not at all happy with Jenny’s choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey Garcia, it’s me.”
“Em, hi!”
“Do you have plans for today or tonight?”
“We were going to watch DVDs and have a lazy day.”
“So Kevin is with you, well never mind then.”
“Mind what?”
“Well JJ has gone to EA to tell her parents about us…”
“No need to say more, we’ll be over in…” There was a pause. “An hour. Do you have popcorn?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Alright, I’ll send Morgan to do some shopping.”
“Morgan?”
“Never send Reid to shop for snacks. You’ll end up with all those crazy flavored chips and cracking powder and none of the good stuff. We’ve got to hurry now, talk to you later.”
The call was ended before Emily could object to her inviting everyone over. She stared at the phone and thought: ‘That’s what you get for calling Garcia.’ She started cleaning up the place and getting ready.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Mom, Dad, there’s something I have to tell you.” Under the table she squeezed Lauren’s hand. The family had just finished eating and before her mother was about to disappear into the kitchen to clean up, she needed to say it.
“Geez, Jenny, you make it sound like something bad. I told you last night, it’s good news.”
“What is?” Andrea looked puzzled at her daughters.
“Jenny’s in love.”
“Well Lauren’s right, Pumpkin, that’s great news! What’s his name?”
JJ shifted nervously on her chair. She was glad that Lauren tried to help, but there was no easy way for her to say it out loud.
“Her name is Emily.”
Silence.
“You mean, you’re dating a woman now?”
“Yes, Mom.” JJ looked down on her empty plate.
“So when do we get to meet her?” Frank asked and Jenny looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she’s obviously special or you wouldn’t have told us. I want to meet the woman who’s so important to you.”
“You mean, you’re not angry?”
“Angry? I think you spend too much time with creeps, Pumpkin. Why would I be angry at you? I mean I might be angry at her, if she’s not good to you, but…” He couldn’t finish because his daughter had jumped up and was hugging him.
“Thank you, Daddy!”
“Nothing to thank me for. Andrea, don’t you have something to say?” His wife, busied herself cleaning the table.
“I guess it’s all the same. But, do you, I mean… do people have to know right away?”
“Andrea.” Frank said warningly.
“What? I have nothing against it, but you know how people can be and Rachel has been looking for an excuse to take my position at the gardening society.”
“So you will deal with the consequences and be proud of your daughter.”
Andrea didn’t look convinced, but at least she hadn’t yelled at her or called her a dyke.
“It’s okay Mom. We don’t have to tell anyone yet. I mean, I don’t even live here.”
Andrea smiled sadly at her.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend you. I’ll love you, no matter what, you know that, right?”
“Of course Mom.” And she hugged her.
“So is this why you had a fight with Bradley?”
“He went nuts, Mom.”
“You’re always so eloquent, Lauren.”
“I’m sorry, but there is no nice way to describe the things he said. I’m not talking to him until he apologizes to Jenny.”
“Dear Lord, what did he say?”
“I’m not sure, I want to know, Honey.” Frank took his wife’s hand. “Do you want us to talk to him, Jenny?”
“I think, he just needs a little time to digest it.”
“You always defend him. Face it, sometimes he can be a real prick.”
“LAUREN!”
“I’m sorry Mom, but it’s true. He said I shouldn’t have let it go on and that he could have fixed it.”
Andrea’s face showed that she wasn’t entirely opposed to that concept.
“She’s happy Mom. That’s all that matters. Or at least it should be all.”
Mrs. Jareau sighed and looked at her youngest child. “Are you?”
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m scared that people might not accept us, that it will be hard working together, that she might leave me again, but I’m happy.”
“Hold on. You’ve been with her before?”
“Yes, around New Year’s.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Like you said, Dad, I’d tell you if it was serious. And it wasn’t then. That’s why she left.”
“But it’s serious now?”
“I certainly hope so.”
Her mother nodded.
“And, you said, you work with her?”
It was JJ’s turn to nod. She took Lauren’s hand again, because if he hadn’t been until now, her father was sure to get angry over this.
“Emily? Isn’t that the woman you’ve talked about whenever you had the chance? The one who grew up in the middle east, who speaks three languages…”
“Four. That I know of.”
“Isn’t she your boss?”
“Not my boss, but, strictly speaking, she has more years of service.”
“Did she pressure you?”
“God, Mom. No!”
“What about the rest of the team?”
“Some know, some don’t yet. We’ll have to tell them eventually. I know we’ll be putting them at risk, because we’re not supposed to fraternize within the unit, but we’ve tried to ignore it for over two years and that wasn’t exactly healthy either.”
“Have you talked about what’s going to happen if they find out?”
“Not yet. We just got back together.”
“But you already know it’s serious enough to tell us?”
JJ nodded at her mother again.
“Jenny.”
She looked up. Her father’s expression was one of unconditional love and she relaxed a little.
“Do you love her?”
She swallowed hard. He had been so kind and said all the right things, he deserved the truth.
“I haven’t told her yet.” She paused. “But yes, Dad, I love her more than I thought possible.”
“So, I’ll ask again: When can we meet her?”
Lead the Way - 098 - Support
When JJ woke up the next day, her legs still felt sore from sitting in the tree house the night before. She got into the shower and tried to brace herself for what she had planned that day. Despite Brad’s awful reaction she had to tell her parents. She didn’t want to die and leave parents behind who didn’t even know her. Her last case had proven to her, that that was always a possibility.
When she came down her mother was cooking lunch.
“Back from the dead, are we?” JJ looked at the clock, it was already half past noon.
“Sorry, Mom. It was a long night.”
“Don’t worry. At least I got to spend time with my grandson. He’s getting so big.”
“He is.” JJ smiled at her toddler. He was dribbling all over his stuffed dragon in his cot, Andrea had rolled into the kitchen.
“Lauren said, Brad left last night. I thought he would be joining us for lunch.”
“We had a little fight.”
Her mother turned around and looked at her with an unreadable expression in her eyes.
“About what?”
“Can I tell you later?”
“Sure.” She turned back to the sink, clearly not at all happy with Jenny’s choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey Garcia, it’s me.”
“Em, hi!”
“Do you have plans for today or tonight?”
“We were going to watch DVDs and have a lazy day.”
“So Kevin is with you, well never mind then.”
“Mind what?”
“Well JJ has gone to EA to tell her parents about us…”
“No need to say more, we’ll be over in…” There was a pause. “An hour. Do you have popcorn?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Alright, I’ll send Morgan to do some shopping.”
“Morgan?”
“Never send Reid to shop for snacks. You’ll end up with all those crazy flavored chips and cracking powder and none of the good stuff. We’ve got to hurry now, talk to you later.”
The call was ended before Emily could object to her inviting everyone over. She stared at the phone and thought: ‘That’s what you get for calling Garcia.’ She started cleaning up the place and getting ready.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Mom, Dad, there’s something I have to tell you.” Under the table she squeezed Lauren’s hand. The family had just finished eating and before her mother was about to disappear into the kitchen to clean up, she needed to say it.
“Geez, Jenny, you make it sound like something bad. I told you last night, it’s good news.”
“What is?” Andrea looked puzzled at her daughters.
“Jenny’s in love.”
“Well Lauren’s right, Pumpkin, that’s great news! What’s his name?”
JJ shifted nervously on her chair. She was glad that Lauren tried to help, but there was no easy way for her to say it out loud.
“Her name is Emily.”
Silence.
“You mean, you’re dating a woman now?”
“Yes, Mom.” JJ looked down on her empty plate.
“So when do we get to meet her?” Frank asked and Jenny looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she’s obviously special or you wouldn’t have told us. I want to meet the woman who’s so important to you.”
“You mean, you’re not angry?”
“Angry? I think you spend too much time with creeps, Pumpkin. Why would I be angry at you? I mean I might be angry at her, if she’s not good to you, but…” He couldn’t finish because his daughter had jumped up and was hugging him.
“Thank you, Daddy!”
“Nothing to thank me for. Andrea, don’t you have something to say?” His wife, busied herself cleaning the table.
“I guess it’s all the same. But, do you, I mean… do people have to know right away?”
“Andrea.” Frank said warningly.
“What? I have nothing against it, but you know how people can be and Rachel has been looking for an excuse to take my position at the gardening society.”
“So you will deal with the consequences and be proud of your daughter.”
Andrea didn’t look convinced, but at least she hadn’t yelled at her or called her a dyke.
“It’s okay Mom. We don’t have to tell anyone yet. I mean, I don’t even live here.”
Andrea smiled sadly at her.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend you. I’ll love you, no matter what, you know that, right?”
“Of course Mom.” And she hugged her.
“So is this why you had a fight with Bradley?”
“He went nuts, Mom.”
“You’re always so eloquent, Lauren.”
“I’m sorry, but there is no nice way to describe the things he said. I’m not talking to him until he apologizes to Jenny.”
“Dear Lord, what did he say?”
“I’m not sure, I want to know, Honey.” Frank took his wife’s hand. “Do you want us to talk to him, Jenny?”
“I think, he just needs a little time to digest it.”
“You always defend him. Face it, sometimes he can be a real prick.”
“LAUREN!”
“I’m sorry Mom, but it’s true. He said I shouldn’t have let it go on and that he could have fixed it.”
Andrea’s face showed that she wasn’t entirely opposed to that concept.
“She’s happy Mom. That’s all that matters. Or at least it should be all.”
Mrs. Jareau sighed and looked at her youngest child. “Are you?”
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m scared that people might not accept us, that it will be hard working together, that she might leave me again, but I’m happy.”
“Hold on. You’ve been with her before?”
“Yes, around New Year’s.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Like you said, Dad, I’d tell you if it was serious. And it wasn’t then. That’s why she left.”
“But it’s serious now?”
“I certainly hope so.”
Her mother nodded.
“And, you said, you work with her?”
It was JJ’s turn to nod. She took Lauren’s hand again, because if he hadn’t been until now, her father was sure to get angry over this.
“Emily? Isn’t that the woman you’ve talked about whenever you had the chance? The one who grew up in the middle east, who speaks three languages…”
“Four. That I know of.”
“Isn’t she your boss?”
“Not my boss, but, strictly speaking, she has more years of service.”
“Did she pressure you?”
“God, Mom. No!”
“What about the rest of the team?”
“Some know, some don’t yet. We’ll have to tell them eventually. I know we’ll be putting them at risk, because we’re not supposed to fraternize within the unit, but we’ve tried to ignore it for over two years and that wasn’t exactly healthy either.”
“Have you talked about what’s going to happen if they find out?”
“Not yet. We just got back together.”
“But you already know it’s serious enough to tell us?”
JJ nodded at her mother again.
“Jenny.”
She looked up. Her father’s expression was one of unconditional love and she relaxed a little.
“Do you love her?”
She swallowed hard. He had been so kind and said all the right things, he deserved the truth.
“I haven’t told her yet.” She paused. “But yes, Dad, I love her more than I thought possible.”
“So, I’ll ask again: When can we meet her?”