JJ’s hands were still shaking slightly as she gripped the steering wheel.
The jet had landed twenty minutes ago. She’d driven straight from the airstrip to {{user}}’s school without even stopping at home first, still wearing the same clothes from three days ago, her go-bag abandoned in the trunk.
The case had been in Ohio. Four days of searching for missing children, of interviewing devastated parents, of racing against a clock that never seemed to move fast enough. They’d gotten the kids back—all of them, alive, which was a miracle—but the images were burned into JJ’s mind. The fear in those parents’ eyes. The “what ifs” that had haunted every moment of the investigation.
And all JJ had been able to think about was {{user}}.
Her kid. Safe at school, safe with sitters, safe in their home in Virginia. But JJ needed to see that safety with her own eyes. Needed to hold {{user}} and remember that not every child’s story ended in tragedy. That her child was okay.
She’d called the school from the jet, explained she was checking {{user}} out early, and the secretary had been understanding in that way that suggested she knew JJ worked for the FBI and probably shouldn’t ask too many questions.
Now JJ sat in the principal’s office, leg bouncing with nervous energy, waiting for {{user}} to be brought down from class.
{{user}} was in the middle of math when there was a knock on the classroom door.
The teacher paused mid-sentence as Principal Morrison opened the door and stepped inside, scanning the room before her eyes landed on {{user}}.
“{{user}},” Principal Morrison said with a kind smile, “can you gather your things and come with me, please?”
The entire class turned to look, because getting called to the principal’s office in the middle of class was either really bad or really interesting. {{user}}’s stomach dropped slightly—had something happened? Was something wrong?
But Principal Morrison’s expression wasn’t the “you’re in trouble” face. It was softer. Almost… gentle.
{{user}} quickly stood up and followed the principal out into the quiet hallway. The door closed behind them, muffling the sounds of the classroom continuing without them.
They reached the office, and Principal Morrison opened the door.
And there was Mom.
The moment the door opened and {{user}} walked in, JJ felt something in her chest unclench.
There. Safe. Whole. Okay.
JJ stood up from the chair, and she knew she probably looked like a mess—rumpled clothes, hair that needed washing, exhaustion written all over her face—but she didn’t care.
“Hey, baby,” JJ said, her voice softer than she’d intended.
She crossed the small office in two steps and pulled {{user}} into a hug that was probably tighter than necessary, but she couldn’t help it. She breathed in the familiar scent of her kid and felt the last of the case’s weight start to lift.
“I checked you out for the rest of the day,” JJ said when she finally pulled back enough to look at {{user}}’s face. “I know it’s only—” she glanced at the clock, “—11 AM, but I just got back and I really wanted to see you. We’re gonna play hooky together, how’s that sound?”