Criminal Minds 1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

_**Small Favors**_

JJ took a sharp intake of breath. "Adam, I said no." She told her older brother for the fifth time. The two siblings stood rigid in the middle of JJ's office completely oblivious to the cautious looks that JJ's co-workers were sending them.

"Please Jen. I need your help. It's your responsibility. You're part of the Jareau family whether you like it or not." He pleaded, although his voice was losing its petitionary tone and beginning to turn to a tone of anger. JJ sighed shutting her eyes tightly, shaking her head once more. "Jennifer." His voice was now much more stressed, uncontrolled. "I need your help. Your family needs your help. After the hell you put us through, I'd like think you'd do this one little favor for us." His eyes were stony, cold, unforgiving.

JJ recoiled as if she had been slapped. Her hands began to shake, as she fought for control of her voice. "Get out." The two words were plain, simply. Adam, however, stood unmoved by the raw emotion prevalent in her voice.

He laughed a short forced laugh. It sounded sinful. "That's right Jenny," He told her, his tone acid as he hissed the sound of her once beloved childhood nickname. "Hide. Runaway. Avoid me. You've always been a coward."

JJ could feel as her blood boiled beneath her skin, she yearned to slap her brother with all the force she could muster, to knock him to the ground and call him insulting names. But she didn't. Instead, she took a large gulp of air and took a step for her door. "I have to brief my team on a case we have in Ohio, I assume you can find your way out." She told him coldly over her shoulder. She didn't even spare him a glance.

Before she could reach the door, an iron grip crushed her forearm causing her to halt. "We're not done disusing this Jennifer." He told her as she struggled to get out of his grip.

"Let go of me." She hissed, her tone dripping with hatred, but his hold remained unbreakable. He steered her so she was standing in front of him and he was blocking the door, her only means of escape.

"No!" He yelled. "Not until you agree to help us!"

For a moment, JJ considered flagging down one of her co-workers. She could tell the Morgan was just waiting for an excuse to bust down her door, Spencer was watching her facial expressions closely, standing not far from where Morgan was leaning up against his desk, ready to signal the older agent as soon as she displayed any signs of need help. Rossi sat at Spencer's desk, leaning back in his chair, watching her intently. Emily also remained seated at her desk, her face was stoic, but JJ knew that if she simply said the word, Emily would be at her side in moments.

JJ couldn't do that though. She couldn't show her co-workers just how bad her relationship with her family was. She couldn't show them signs of weakness. JJ focused all of her attention of her brother.

"Mr. Jareau, I am requesting politely that you release me and remove yourself from the premises, if not, I can always call for some security to escort you out of the building." Her voice was tight, formal. She worked hard to keep her face emotionless.

That was the final straw for Adam.

He spun her around and then slammed her roughly against the neutral back wall of her office. JJ blinked once in confusion, but knew she should have known better than to have provoked Adam. "Jennifer you owe it to us!" When she didn't immediately answer him he drew back his hand and slapped her with brute force. "Don't turn your back on your family again!" He spit and JJ's world was spinning.

It was also apparently the final straw for Morgan.

Morgan came rushing to the aid of his friend and co-worker as soon as Adam slammed JJ against the wall. He crashed through the door of her office and pulled the red-faced Adam off of the younger agent. He, in turn, slammed Adam into the wall with the same force as Adam had just a few seconds ago.

Spencer, Emily, and Rossi were at the heels of Morgan. Whether it was for emotional or physical support, JJ was unsure of. She blinked once slowly, her world beginning to refocus.

"I don't know who you are," She vaguely heard Morgan tell her older brother, "but I do know that you've just assaulted a federal agent."

"Only because she deserved it." Adam hissed back at Morgan who tried to hide his surprise at his confession.

"Morgan. Stop. He's my brother." JJ told him, stumbling a little before Spencer and Emily reached out to steady her.

Morgan's face took on the expression of surprise, but he didn't loosen his grip on Adam. "JJ?" Morgan asked simply, wanting her to explain what exactly was going on.

"Just let him go." She commanded and Morgan's face flickered with various emotions. He went from indecisive to resentful till he finally pushed Adam away with a disgusted look coloring his face.

"I better not see you around here again." Morgan threatened as Adam collected himself.

Adam ignored the man's words and walked slowly over to JJ. Spencer and Emily quickly slide in between the large man and their liaison but Adam acted as if they weren't even there. "Think about what I said Jennifer. My flight leaves at five tonight. I have your ticket; call me when you stop being such a selfish idiot." He told her and before anyone could react he was gone.

"JJ-" Morgan started but before he could finish JJ was pushing her way by them, making a beeline for Hotch's office.

Her three co-workers wasted no time in chasing after her, Rossi having taken it upon himself to make sure that JJ's brother left without making a scene.

They all shouted questions at her, ones that even if she wanted to answer she wasn't sure if she could because she couldn't make them out over everyone talking at once. As she approached Hotch's office, she took a deep breath to calm herself. She knocked once on the door before opening it and walking quickly to the front of Hotch's desk.

"I need to take some personal time." She said rather quickly, and as a trained profiler Hotch knew that something was wrong. Besides the obvious emotion displaying on her face, Hotch knew that the rest of the team was right behind his door and listen intently, something they did when something was wrong.

"Of course JJ, is anything wrong?" He asked, trying to extract some answers from the blonde quickly.

"It's just some family issues that I have to deal with." She answered, finally collecting herself and putting on what the team had deemed as her 'press face'.

"Well, if you need anything just let me know. We're here for you JJ." Hotch assured her, knowing that it'd be useless to try to get anything from her now. "Will a week be enough time?" He asked and she nodded.

"More than enough. I only need three days." She told him and he nodded.

"Well, if you need any more just call me." He said and tried to study her without making it blatantly obvious he was breaking the 'no inner team profiling' rule.

She nodded and quickly headed out of his office. As soon as she pulled open the door, Morgan, Emily, and Spencer fell forward, almost falling on top of each other like in the cartoons. If it had been a different situation JJ might have laughed. But not now. She excused herself and stepped around the, heading quickly towards her office.

The three stooges, as JJ had now decided to call them, followed her hastily. "JJ, you can't be serious." Morgan started off and JJ had to bit her tongue not to snap at him.

"What do you mean Morgan?" She asked dully, entering her office and stacking files on top of each other to try to find something.

"You can't seriously be thinking about going with your brother." He answered unfazed as JJ threw open a drawer and took out a key.

"I'm not thinking about it, I'm going." She answered swiftly and stuck the key into her pocket, now reaching down underneath her desk to grab her go bag.

"But JJ!" Spencer exclaimed and she turned on him sharply. He gulped, but bravely didn't back down despite JJ's intense glare. "He just manhandled you in the middle of the FBI!"

When JJ didn't say anything Emily added, "Who knows what he'd do to you behind closed doors." She told her friend, concern lacing through her voice.

"He wouldn't hurt me." JJ told her co-workers shaking her head and started to try to leave her office before Morgan stepped in the way.

"That bruise on your arm begs to differ." He told her and she sighed, her composition dropping for a moment to reveal a vulnerable women.

"Please guys. I have to do this." JJ pleaded with her teammates.

"Why JJ? What's going on?" Morgan asked, his stance softening at the look on JJ's face.

"I can't tell you." She said, shaking her head and pushing past Morgan, who was unprepared. She walked out of the bullpen and before Morgan, Emily, or Spencer could go after her, another blonde figure rounded the corner and confronted them.

"Where is she?" Penelope cried, trying to see past Morgan and into JJ's office. The three stooges shifted uncomfortably.

"Who?" Emily asked, deciding it best to play dumb, but Penelope shot her a look that would have made even Aaron Hotchner cringe.

"She left Mama." Morgan told her honestly.

"What? Why would she do that?" Penelope cried in outrage. "And why did you let her?" She asked him and his eyes widened and he held his hands up in surrender.

"She was determined to go, I couldn't stop her." He told her and tears began to form in her eyes.

"She can't go back home!" Penelope cried, looking truly terrified.

Morgan's eyebrows rose a little. "Do you know something we don't?" He asked and Penelope hesitated.

**AN: I've kind of been on a writing frenzy lately! I'm excited for this story as JJ is my favorite character! I'm hoping that this interest you! I've had this idea in my head for a while but I just never got around to writing it. Anyway! REVIEW! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update! **


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two **_

_**Family Matters**_

JJ's knuckles had long ago turned white due to the death grip she had on her steering wheel. She was driving rather recklessly to the DC's nation airport, where she was going to meet up with her brother and fly out to Pennsylvania. JJ had thrown rational thinking out the window the moment she decided to go with her brother back home. Of course, she was using the term home loosely. She hadn't been back to East Allegheny since she was seventeen and a senior in high school. After she graduated she packed her bags and never looked back. She had kept in touch with her brothers for a while, but even though they talked on the phone, it was clear just how different JJ was than two of her three older brothers. Adam, who was older than JJ by four years, stopped talking to JJ shortly after he became a leader at the local church. In fact, besides the surprise visit to her office, the last thing Adam had said to JJ was that he would find a way to 'rid the devil's soul from her body'. Adam had always believed every lie their father had put into his head, he had taken every single one to heart and he was probably their father's pride and joy. Chris, on the other hand, being ten years older than JJ knew a little better than Adam. Chris, while he didn't believe in everything that his family did, was still an active member of the community's church. He knew that some of the things his father claimed were far from the truth, but he was too afraid to leave the community. Then there was Jackson, who was by far JJ's favorite brother. He was the only brother that JJ was still in contact with. Jackson was the only other person who seemed to get it. He knew that what their family and most of their community believed was a load of bull shit. Jackson, who was older than JJ by only a year, was the only person besides JJ herself to pack up and leave East Allegheny. He was where JJ got her courage to leave. Without Jackson's support and example, JJ was sure she'd still be living in East Allegheny as an active member of the church. It took guts to do what JJ did. To pack up and leave everything that you had ever known and everything that you had believed, but JJ did it. JJ did it and it was probably the best decision she had ever made. Finally being free from her family, JJ was able to think for herself for once. She figured out what her morals were and what she believed. That changed everything. She could no longer even be in the same room as her parents when they were 'preaching'. Her parents tried to stop her from separating herself from the family, but it was of no use. JJ had set her mind on getting out of the Jareau family, and she did. The only person who she still kept in contact with was Jackson, who understood her struggle and supported her through everything.

It is for that reason that JJ could not believe she was going back to East Allegheny. She wondered what Jackson would say if he was there. He'd probably tell her not to go. It was hard enough to escape there the first time, she wasn't sure how'd she do it a second. JJ pulled up into the airport's parking lot. She swiftly got out of her car and swung her go bag over her shoulder. She took a quick glance at her watch, learning it was fifteen minutes to five. She picked up her speed and practically ran through the front doors. She got by security quickly by using her badge, something she really wasn't supposed to do but at this point didn't care, and made her way down to terminal 32B, where her brother had said to meet. As she neared the terminal, she found her tall brunette brother sitting in one of the uncomfortable chairs. He rose as she approached, slightly out of breath.

"You're late. We almost missed this flight." He reprimanded her and JJ shrunk back due to old habit.

"I'm sorry. I had to take care of some personal business." JJ explained her voice small and her eyes casted towards the floor.

Adam did appear to care. "Whatever. Let's just go." He said and placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her to the boarding area.

As they took their seats JJ couldn't help but cast back to the last time she had been on an airplane with her brother. It had been the summer of fourth grade. JJ's parents couldn't come so it was just the five children flying together. At that point Charlotte had still been alive. Back then, everything was good. JJ was a happy child who loved her family so much and could never imagine them doing another wrong. JJ and Adam had been best friends, despite the four year gap in age. Adam had always looked out for JJ. But that was a long time ago. Adam was a different person then. So was JJ. They were all close actually. Chris, Charlotte, Adam Jackson, and Jennifer. When Chris left for college when JJ was eight it was hard. JJ had never not had all of her siblings around. But Chris lived so close that he was there almost every weekend. It wasn't until Charlotte's suicide that JJ truly experienced what it was like to not have a sibling there. She saw things that she didn't see before. She noticed things that she supposed Charlotte had too and that had been the reason for her suicide.

JJ settled in for the flight, closing her eyes briefly, taking a moment to calm her nerves. She opened her eyes and turned to Adam. "Is Jackson going to be there?" She asked nervously and Adam looked over at her coldly.

"Chris was sent to get him; I assume you remember how Chris is. However, I think that once he finds out you're going he'll come just to make sure you're alright." He informed her before turning his attention back to the window. JJ took comfort in this small fact. She'd at least have her someone she could lean on, someone who understood.

**AN: I was going to add more on, but I figured I might as well post this then just make a new chapter. I'm sorry these chapters are taking so long to finish! I'm just really busy. Anyway, a little background for this story . . . It is set somewhere in season five, but Will and Henry do not exist (sorry Will and Henry fans.) JJ is also about twenty seven in this. I know that's young, but it works out with my plot line, so please just role with it. Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews! They really helped motivate me in writing this! So please, continue to be awesome and review! **


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Criminal Minds, Drama, Friendship