KaviLeighanna and Sienna27 - Prompt Set #36 - January 2012.
A wonderful thank you to my awesome beta, HGRHfan35!
I do not own the series Criminal Minds or its characters.
Enjoy!
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Game of Thrones
(Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things)
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"Uh…" a painful groan emitted from the bathroom.
"Are you done?" Uttered a weak and raspy voice from the bedroom where the bathroom was adjoined.
"Yeah…but I…oh…my body is aching…sore…"
"I need to use it…"
"Again? I just got in here! Oh! Hang on…I…" sounds of throwing up and more painful groans coming from within. "Please, someone…end my misery. I can't take this anymore."
"Get out! Jayge…get out…I need to…" Emily rushed into the bathroom, hurling herself over a prostrate JJ who was leaning against the tiled wall next to the toilet bowl.
JJ saw Emily's expression and her weakened body tried as hard as she could to get out of Emily's way who was kneeling in front of the bowl, emptying her contents into it. Once done, she sat down hard on the floor and heaved heavily from the effort it took to throw up for the umpteenth time.
"God, flush it, will ya…damn smell is making me…op!" Covering her mouth, JJ scrambled and nudged Emily out of the way as she threw up into the bowl, her foul contents mixing with what Emily had 'put' in there just moments ago.
"Oh my god! I could have sworn there is no more crap in my stomach!" JJ wiped her mouth as she leaned back against Emily who had fallen over, lying flat against the cool tiled floor, clutching her stomach.
A loud knock on their hotel room door.
"Who is it…?" Emily mumbled as her cheek was pressed against the floor, having no strength to lift it up.
Needless to say, whoever was knocking didn't hear her and knocked on the door again.
"Shiiit…make it stop!" JJ winced as she covered her head with her hands. "My damn head is going to explode!"
Emily nodded dazedly, "I'll get it." She tried to get up but couldn't as she was weakened by her last bout of throwing up and the fact that JJ was now lying on top of her. "Geroff Jayge…can't move…breathe…nngh."
"I'm trying, Em…oh god, it hurts to move…"
"Help." Emily tried to call out but her voice was raspy and soft.
Emily? JJ? Are you guys in there?
It was Hotch calling.
"Hotch?" Emily rasped. "In here…" But it was only a whisper, going no further than the bathroom itself.
Do you think they are in the lobby waiting for us already? Dave asked.
I guess. Let's go downstairs.
Emily tried to shake her head and waved her hand weakly, "No…don't go…" as she heard retreat footsteps. "Hotch, Dave…in here."
She wanted to cry but realized she was too worn out to do so as her eyes closed in exhaustion.
JJ began to pat Emily's shoulder, "It's okay. It's okay…don't worry…they'll be ba…" JJ drifted off before she could finish her words.
…
"Emily! JJ!" Hotch called out as soon as he opened the door with a keycard the receptionist had given to him. Dave followed behind him as they scanned the room.
Hotch walked to the bathroom and was startled by the sight of Emily and JJ piled on top of each other. "In here, Dave!" he said as he rushed inside and then the smell of throw-ups hit him, almost gagging him. Dave walked in and almost backed away as the smell hit him too.
"Guess we know what happened to them. But the question is how?" Dave's heart skipped a couple of beats as he stared down at the pitiful form of JJ whose normally soft and silky blonde hair looked stringy and dull.
Hotch was worried too as Emily was looking pale, her shiny brunette hair looked lanky and wild about her. He quickly got down to her and shook her shoulders gently, "Emily? Emily? Can you hear me?"
Dave did likewise to JJ, "Jennifer? Hey…what's going on?" he gently smoothed her hair, lingering on her pale cheeks.
Emily tried to shake her head but winced, "Think it's bad tuna…JJ and I had tuna sandwiches yesterday…smelled funny but too hungry to care…oohh…my stomach hurts…"
Hotch and Dave looked at each other and without words, picked them up and moved them to the beds.
"How long have you been in there?" Hotch knelt beside Emily. He was really worried about her color.
She was silent, Hotch was about to pose the question again when she answered, "Past midnight…I think…dunno…long…thirsty."
Hotch looked around and saw the mini-fridge. Grabbing two chilled bottled water, he passed one to Dave and kneeling again next to Emily, he picked the back of her head and put the opening of the bottle near her lips and helped her.
Dave did likewise with JJ as he gently ministered the water bottle to her lips.
"They need to go to the hospital." Hotch pointed as he unconsciously flicked Emily's hair away from her pale face.
"Yeah. Do we take them or call for an ambulance?" Dave asked.
"I'll call for one and stay with them, you head out to the PD. Reid and Morgan are there already."
Dave shook his head, "Um…I'll stay with them and you go."
Hotch frowned, "No Dave. As unit chief, it's my responsibility to ensure they are well taken care of."
"No, as unit chief, you should be on the case at hand."
"Look Dave, I'm responsible for their well-being and I…"
"No Aaron. They will be taken care of at the hospital. I'll stay there, you can update me every hour or I can call Garcia for that. You're needed on the field much more than me. I'm just the consultant."
"Bullshit Dave…you know you're as important and as needed in all the cases. You're crucial to us."
Dave was getting flustered, "Look, who's the Unit Chief? Who's in charge of the cases? You are. So, go and be Unit Chief out there! I can take care of them till the EMTs arrived."
"But Dave…"
"No buts Aaron. I'll keep you apprised of their conditions."
Hotch was silent as he stared at Dave who was pulling out his cell phone from inside his jacket.
"Dave, I'll stay till the ambulance arrives…"
"Oh for god's sake! Quit arguing!" JJ opened her eyes as she frowned at them. "I have a mother of a headache and your damn voices are killing me!
Dave tried not to laugh as he was talking on the phone; Hotch's eyes were wide as he had never seen JJ being this angry!
"Stop bitching…worse than us!" Emily said feebly as she closed her eyes. "Both of you quit fighting…just call the ambulance and get out of here. Don't want to hear your voices…making my head worse."
"Um Emily, I…" Hotch was speechless and slightly hurt at her tone.
Emily winced again as she tried to shake her head, "Much as I love you Hotch, you're wearing out your visit here…please go."
Hotch, Dave and even JJ was stunned as they stared at Emily.
Did she just declare herself to Hotch?
Hotch's face began to redden.
It was then that Emily snapped her eyes opened, "Oh. My. God! Did I freaking say that out loud?"
"Yeah, you did." JJ tried to smile but bent slightly as she grabbed her stomach.
"Oh, I'm going to be so sick…" Emily sat up fast and bolted to the bathroom as she hurled up more into the toilet bowl. "Oh shit…my stomach…my head!"
Hotch rushed into the bathroom just in time to catch her from falling. Wrapping one hand around her shoulders and another under her knees, he picked her up gently and walked back into the bedroom. Then he returned to the bathroom and flushed the toilet bowl and wetting a washcloth with warm water, he came back and cleaned her face.
She tried to grab the washcloth from him but he held on, "Please Hotch, please let me die."
Hotch smiled, "Not going to happen in my watch, sweetie."
When she realized what he called her, Emily opened her eyes and looked at Hotch closely and saw his soft expression in his eyes and smiled.
Dave stared wide-eyed at his friend and then hearing a chuckle from JJ, looked down at her, "What are you chuckling? I thought you're sick."
JJ smiled, "I'm not sick, just food poisoning. And you should look at your own face."
Dave frowned, "What about my face? Do I have scrambled eggs on me?"
"Not this time, love. Just that you shouldn't be surprised by that."
"Did you just call me love"
JJ stopped smiling, "What? I did not!"
"Yes. You did. And I liked it. But…uh, what about him?" He was referring to Will LaMontagne.
JJ shook her head, "He is gone. Left me and Henry a month ago."
"What?" Dave was stunned as he sat down beside JJ and took her hand. "What happened?"
"Long story, and I'll tell you about it when I'm feeling heaps better. Right now, my head feels as if it's going to explode, and my body feels like a pile of mush."
Dave lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, "Ah, you're lucky I like mush, a lot."
"Not funny Dave." JJ shook her head but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.
As the sounds of an ambulance arriving, Emily said, "Hear that, JJ? Our chariot arrives."
"Just as long as they give me something for my head, I'll be good as gold."
Hotch's phone buzzed; it was Reid. After a few minutes as he told the young agent what was going on, he hung up and looked at Dave.
"Guess one of us is heading back to work." Dave grinned at Hotch.
"Yeah, and that's you. Reid wanted you to go over the Sloan's case, the one you handled 20 years ago. He thinks it's a copycat killer."
"He wants what? When did he start to become so demanding?" Dave griped.
"Just get over to the precinct. Garcia should have that file faxed by then."
"The kid can look over it himself." Dave tried to shake it.
Hotch shook his head, "There may be something missing from the file that you know or remember."
"Alright. That is it." JJ tried to sit up but glared at Dave as he restrained her. "Dave Rossi, get your butt over to the precinct and help Spence. When you're done, you can come see us at the hospital."
Emily nodded, "And please, take your buddy with you. I'm tired, I'm feeling ill and my head is having a congo party."
Hotch looked hurt, "But Em…I thought you…"
"No Hotch. I'm really beat. And beaten. All I want to do is get over this food poisoning and sleep. I'm feeling so crippled right now, I can't even spout any more endearments to you. As Unit Chief, it is your responsibility to be out there on the case. That's more important. JJ and I are going to be fine."
"You're sure?" He asked, reluctant to leave her but she was right; he was needed on the case.
JJ watched them with an approving smile than turning her attention to Dave who was watching her all the time. "What?" She asked, rather impolitely as she was feeling uncomfortable under his stare.
Dave smiled, "Nothing. Just wondering when would be an appropriate time to take you out for dinner, to your favorite restaurant?"
JJ groaned, "Please, don't talk about food, any kind of food. I don't think I want to eat again."
As the EMTs came in, Hotch and Dave walked away from the bed, allowing them room to work on Emily and JJ.
Emily looked at Hotch, "Go Hotch. The case is waiting. Go get the bastard who has been killing the women. When you're done, we'll have a long talk."
Hotch smiled, "Yes. We'll talk."
"Let's go Aaron," Dave tugged at his sleeve. "The sooner we get to the case the sooner we get back to our gals."
"Our gals," Hotch looked at his friend. "I like that." He walked back to stand near Emily and said, "Behave, don't you cause any troubles, okay?"
Emily chuckled, "I don't think I have the strength to fight at this moment."
Impulsively, he leaned over and kissed her gently on her forehead, "Good. Maybe I'll have a reward for you for good behavior."
Emily's eyes widened, "Are you serious? This coming from the usually stoic Unit Chief?"
He nodded.
"Well now. I like rewards." She smiled. Then looking at the EMT attending to her, she said, "Excuse me, why don't we hurry this up. Get us there already okay? I want to get this over with."
The EMT shook his head, "We have to make sure you are in a stable condition before we'll get the stretcher in."
The BAU team saw the look in her eyes and began to shake their heads, they had seen that look before; it was a prelude to something they themselves did not wish on their worst enemies.
Emily leaned forward from her pillow and grabbed the EMT's shirt, pulling him close to her, she said quietly, "Listen here buster! When I said, let's go, we are going. Five minutes ago. You get that? I'm a federal agent and sick or not, I'm not that weak to shoot you in your groin. So, if you wish to procreate and contribute to the future, I suggest we move…NOW!" she released her hold of him and laid back down, the effort had weakened her. The EMT had not moved from his position, still leaning over her, and his eyes were almost bulged and mouth opened in shock.
"Emily!" Hotch uttered, "Threatening him won't earn you any good points."
Emily gave him a pointed look. "He's not moving fast enough."
Luckily, said EMT recovered by now and after mumbled something about a stretcher with cuffs he quickly left the room.
The other EMT who was checking on JJ watched his colleague in disbelief until JJ gave him a look as well. "Er…right. The stretcher. Be right back." And he scooted away.
Dave and Hotch shook their heads as their phones began to buzz again.
"We have to go. Morgan found something." Hotch sighed after he read the text message on his phone, Dave as well. He wished he could stay with her but knew the case was important.
"Go…We'll see you later." Emily nodded, her face was paling again as she clutched her stomach and winced in pain.
Hotch went over to her and quickly kissed her forehead again before he left; he knew that if he stayed longer, he would not want to leave, case or no case.
Dave kissed JJ's cheek quickly before whispering something in her ear, causing her face to blush lightly and he left as well.
When the ladies were alone again, they looked at each other and grinned. "Ah, we got our fellas!" Emily exclaimed
"Yes, we did. I…oh…god…not again…" JJ quickly stood up and headed for the bathroom, arriving just in time as she became sick again. "I hate throwing up!"
Emily smiled weakly but before she could utter a reply, she felt her stomach heaving again and quickly dashed into the bathroom. "I hate tuna sandwiches!"
The End
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