First Jemily fanfic! This is a story I wrote more than two years ago.
"When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about"
(Haruki Murakami)
Emily Prentiss was sitting in a corner of the jet, alone. She was deathly pale. Her knuckles were white from clutching the armrest. The jet of the BAU rocked heavily while flying through a storm back to Quantico.
"It's just a little bad weather, nothing to worry about" she tried to calm herself. One of Reid's statistics came into her mind, about the probability that a plane was hit by a lightning bolt. She remembered he said something about "pretty unlikely" and that it would be "more likely to die at home falling off a chair while trying to pull the Christmas tree decoration out of the upper corner of the closet" or so, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen.
"Not so helpful Dr. Reid" she muttered to herself.
A bright flash of light. Then a loud roll of thunder. The brunette pressed her lips together to prevent herself from screaming, a wave of panic washing over her. She turned her eyes away from the window and looked around in the jet.
It had been a rough case in Minnesota, the whole team was exhausted. Morgan was sitting a few meters away in his seat, eyes closed, listening to his music. His head moved up and down to the beat. Next to him, Reid was reading one of his psychologic science books. On the other side of the aisle, Hotch had fallen asleep. None of them seemed to notice what was going on outside the jet.
JJ was talking to Rossi. Emily couldn't see the male agent, her sight was blocked by the backrests, but JJ didn't have a phone in her hand and she obviously didn't talk to herself. The brunette saw her lips moving, but she couldn't hear the words that were spoken. She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the constant uneasy feeling in her stomach.
JJ had been watching Emily since the jet had taken off. She was worried about her friend, Emily looked extremely pale, nearly white. Her whole body was tense and pressed against the cushion of the seat. Even though she had her eyes closed, the blonde could read in her face she was uncomfortable.
A load rumble interrupted the silence. To JJ's surprise, the brunette nearly jumped out of her seat, panic in her eyes. Emily Prentiss showing emotion, especially fear, was a rare sight, the woman normally hid her feelings behind the mask of the tough FBI agent.
JJ felt guilty. They'd had a big fight yesterday and since then they hadn't spoken a word that wasn't related to the case. She had said many ugly things, things she regretted. JJ had tried to apologize, but Emily had cut her off every time.
"You should go talk to her" Rossi's voice brought her back to presence.
"She won't let me in after everything what happened" the young agent said sadly. "She… she hates me and I can't blame her. I would hate me too" she hung her head.
"If you are really her friend, that shouldn't stop you from helping her"
Emily opened her eyes when she heard high heels walking into her direction. She saw JJ taking the seat opposite her.
"What do you want?" she asked bluntly. Jennifer Jareau was definitely the last person she wanted to see right now. JJ intentionally overheard the repelling undertone.
"How are you?" she asked calmly.
"I'm fine" came the prompt answer. The profiler's face had turned into an iron mask, only her eyes giving away that she was anywhere but near fine.
"Emily" the blonde started softly.
"I'm fine. Just go away!" Emily's voice was cold as ice. JJ was shocked how harsh those words came out of her mouth, but she tried to pretend it didn't bother her and pressed her lips together, silently swallowing the lump in her throat. The plane rocked violently and a gasp escaped the older agent's mouth, her fingers clinging deeper into the cushion of the armrest. Despite her efforts to calm herself, panic started creeping up in her again.
"Hey, what's wrong?" JJ asked, her face softening again. Emily just shook her head and focused on her pulse to normalize again. The younger woman took the chance and leaned forward.
"I… I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday. I was tired and exhausted, I didn't mean it" When Emily didn't interrupt her, the blonde quickly continued.
"I know that's no excuse. You're my best friend, you're important to me. I know you're angry and hurt, I understand that, but please let me in"
"JJ" Emily whimpered in a voice that touched her heart. The younger agent leaned closer. Suddenly, the plane fell down a few meters and the brunette gasped, pure panic in her eyes. JJ quickly moved to the seat beside her friend and put her hand on Emily's. When the older woman released her death grip on the brown cushion, JJ grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"Everything is okay" she reassured her. "Relax, nothing is going to happen"
"It's fine, I'm okay" Emily said weakly, but another growl of thunder made her gasp again and proved JJ the opposite. A single tear escaped her eye and slid down her left cheek, leaving a wet salty track on it. The blonde scooted closer and put her arm around the woman's shoulders. Emily tensed, struggling to fight her emotions back and keep from breaking down.
JJ sighed when she saw her friend desperately fighting against herself. It was so typically for Emily to hide her feelings, but her walls had already crumbled, showing a side of her that was vulnerable and in need for someone to hold her. She pulled her a little closer and let her fingers run through the dark hair.
The intimate touch must have triggered something inside Emily as she finally gave in to the embrace and buried her face in the blonde's neck. Tears were flowing freely now, silent sobs rocked her body. JJ's hands were rubbing circles on her back. The young woman offered her best possible comfort in order to calm her friend, whispering soothing words into her ear. She knew this was not all about the bad weather, the female agent normally didn't have a problem with turbulences as they had to fly so often in their job. But the storm was the final drop in a barrel of fear and despair that had threatened to overflow for a long time, drowning the brunette from inside, and JJ was glad that Emily allowed her to hold her while it poured all out of her leaving behind a woman that just wanted to be loved and cared about.
It took a few minutes for Emily to calm down. When her breathing had normalized again, JJ pulled away and looked into her eyes. They were red and puffy from crying and there was still a hint of panic, but not as much as before.
"I'm sorry" Emily whispered and looked down, obviously embarrassed. JJ sighed again at her friend's apology. She reached out and lifted Emily's face with her hand so she could look directly into the warm brown pools again.
"Emily, it's okay to be feared. We all are sometimes. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you human" she said softly. The jet shifted to the left side and the panic returned. JJ noticed it and brushed over her cheek with her thumb.
"Shhhh, come here, you're safe with me" She pulled Emily close again, stroking the dark hair. A smile formed on her lips when her friend rested her head on her shoulder. They stayed like this for a while, breathing in sync, and Emily found comfort in the silent presence of her friend.
With the minutes passing, JJ noticed her friend's body getting heavier against hers. She shifted a little and noticed the brunette's eyelids fluttering as if she was having a hard time to keep her eyes open. Then JJ realized how tired she was herself. With one hand, the blonde pulled a blanket out of a box below the seat and placed it over them. Emily's fingers grasped JJ's and their hands twined naturally underneath the thick fabric.
"Go to sleep" JJ whispered. Emily snuggled into her, nestling her face in the crook of her neck. The blonde pressed a soft kiss onto Emily's hairline and rested her head against hers.
The storm outside had subsided, the jet was flying calmly now, and both women drifted off into a peaceful sleep.