A/N: So this moment has been a long time coming and I have to say that it's really hard for me to end this. The amount of response and support to this series has been amazing and I feel a little guilty about leaving it behind. But 9 months, 1005 reviews and 204076 words later it is finally coming to an end. When I started the first story I never imagined there would be two sequels to it, but I am happy that I wrote them. I hope you all enjoyed this ride as much as I did and I hope to see you all at my other stories.

And because I am having a hard time letting off this journey, I am working on sort of a spin-off story in which Griffen West along with the law firm, Parker & Watson (a.k.a. Parker & West), and all its characters will be back for a new journey. I do know it will be named ''Crossroads''. I don't know if I will update it tomorrow, in a week or in a few months. It all depends on how much my muse wants to work with me. But I hope you all come back here to read it!

Thanks for the amazing response! I can never thank you all enough. You are the reason why I keep writing these stories.

Special thanks to jenny crum, Kimd33, K8e1, Westie80, Snowbeardolphin, Christiangirl and waiyeex90!

And an amazing thanks to CriminalCrazy for being my beta and friend!

I don't own criminal minds!

Chapter 39: Epilogue

JJ's point of view

Ten years later…

It is ten years later when I am sitting on my front porch and I look up at the bright blue sky, like I have done many nights before. It's a moment when I remember the losses and I give myself a moment to grief and remember the people l loved and still do love. I see their faces, I relive certain memories and I promise myself to never forget each and every one of them.

Right now, I remember my mom, my dad, my sister and my beloved husband. Together and apart they made me who I am today. But I try not to be sad about the losses I experienced. Instead, I remember them. I remember my mom's soothing voice when she used to read me bedtime stories. I remember the embraces of my father as he wrapped me in his strong arms, making me feel safe when I was still young. I remember the games of soccer I played with my sister, and the necklace she gave me, which I still wear on this very day.

And I remember Griffen. The man who gave me the most precious gift in my life. Our beautiful daughter. A true West, like her father. But I also remember the way he healed my broken heart. He was the one man who taught me to open up to love again. He gave me back all the happiness I needed to survive. And in a way I believe he prepared me for the amazing life I live now. I don't think he died for a reason. I could and never would believe that, because I miss him every single day. But as I look up at the stars, like Griffen asked me to in his goodbye letter, I know he's with me. He's in my heart and memories. But he's also with me in the form of his daughter. Lucy reminds me of her father in every single way. She might look like me, but her personality is all Griffen and I love that about her.

It was about nine years ago when I looked up at the stars for the first time, and told Griffen I was finally moving on with my life. That I was living a life without pain and hurt and that I no longer felt guilty for it. It was the night that Aaron proposed to me, and it was then that I realized nothing in my life was truly missing. I had everything I was ever going to need, and I knew my family along with Griffen would always be in my heart. It was the first day in a long time that I could truly let go of the pain of missing them. It was also the day I took the first step to repair my relationship with Tom, and I still struggle from time to time, but I have moved past it.

Something changed for me then and my life took a different course and I can't say that I have ever been happier than I am right now in this moment. I am sitting on the porch of the house where my family lives. It's the place filled with love and laughter and even more promises for the future. It's where I found myself again and where I learned to appreciate all that I have. Right now I wouldn't change anything in my life, even though I have lost a lot along the way.

Most moments of my life have been around loss and grief, but in the past ten years I feel like that has all changed. So many good moments have happened. Like the day I married Aaron, the day we welcomed little Henry into this world and the day our daughter, April, was born. It's all those moments that have made me happier than I ever could've asked to be. My life is everything I wanted to be when I was younger, even though it was filled with heartache and a long road to get here. I am happy. I am truly happy.

My life in DC has been a true blessing. Ever since I started at the BAU, a big part of my life changed. I was suddenly surrounded by new colleagues and I quickly became part of their tightknit family. But it wasn't always an easy road for me. Deciding to work at the BAU meant leaving behind my career at Parker & West, but that wasn't the worst. I left behind Griffen's legacy. It was an awfully hard choice but in the end, I knew I could never be happy if sat in his office and do the job Lauren required me to do. It would've taken too much of me, and something I wasn't able to give. So after much consideration I made the choice to look for someone to keep his legacy alive. Someone I trusted with that job. It was Benjamin who immediately accepted the job when Lauren and I asked him. I told him I would keep my shares and stakes in the firm and he just had to do the job. He accepted and he has been keeping the name West alive for all these years, and I am blessed to say that it was a great choice. Griffen was one of the reasons that Parker & West became such a success. His abilities as a lawyer had no boundaries, and I still admire the work he managed to do. I don't believe anyone could ever forget it. His work will always be remembered by those who worked side by side with him each day. And I of course had the luck of knowing him in another capacity. I knew him as a loving husband and devoted father. A man who never failed those he loved and I am forever grateful for the life and love he gave to me. He owns a part of my heart no one will ever be able to claim or own until the day I die.

It's my love for Griffen that sometimes sneaks in and causes a problem with me and Aaron. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does I know he has a hard time dealing with it. He has always given me the space to remember him for the sake of Lucy, but that doesn't make it easy on him. I have always known that part of my life could make it harder, but I don't hate it. It's a part of who I am and who I have become, so I long ago made a choice to never apologize for that. And I know Aaron doesn't want me to forget who Griffen was. He supports no matter what happens. He hasn't left my side since we got back together. He was been a true angel, someone who showed me the light side of life. He has given me a different outlook and it's because of him that I live a life of happiness. My love for Aaron was a fire that was quenched for years and then got reignited when he reappeared into my life again. And since then I have come to know him as a different person than he was when he were still so young. He was no longer the dangerous guy I fell deeply in love with. He was a better man. And I love him more than I ever have before and I don't think I can love him any less than I do right this second.

And as I sit here, I realize my life was divided in three parts. The beginning, the middle and the end. Aaron was my beginning and now he is my end. He's the last man I ever want to be with, and I intend on making that happen...

"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for."

~ Thomas Edward Bodett

The end!