It had been 2 weeks since JJ had told the team that she faked Emily's death, and it had been 2 weeks since any of them talked to her.
*Flashback*
"The thing is, Emily...isn't dead."
The team stares at her unable to take in the information. JJ sees Morgan give a look to Hotch. She quickly says something before he can think anything.
"Hotch didn't know guys, I was given orders to fake her death, he is just as unaware as you are."
Before the team can do anything Hotch interrupts them.
"My office now." He says with a dead glare eyeing her. She keeps her head low but she can still see the team staring at her dumbfounded.
She enters Hotchs office and closes the door.
"JJ, why?"
"They can't know you had any part in it, those glares I can handle."
"And I can't Jennifer." He says a bit mad
"You are fully capable of doing that but-"
"We were both supposed to do this, we-"
"Stop!" She takes in a big breath. "If they know you had any part of this your authority would be compromised. They need to trust you right now."
"But-"
"No buts Aaron, it has to happen this way." And with that she walked out of his office and they both went back to the conference room.
"I know all of you guys are shocked but we need Emily for this case-"
Before she can finish her sentence Morgan and Reid leave.
"Derek...Spence." Next Garcia stands up.
"Penelope, I had too." Garcia sniffles and walks out meeting Morgan and crying into his shoulder.
"David?" Slowly he stands up and leaves the conference room.
"How could you betray our trust like that Jennifer." JJ brings her fingers to the bridge of her nose knowing she has a headache coming on and takes a seat. That's when she notices Hotch is still in the room.
"You should go, you don't want to be seen with the traitor." Knowing JJ wouldn't leave Hotch alone until he did what she said he abided by her wishes
After a couple of minutes JJ stood up and walked into the bullpen. She couldn't help but glance at her teammates huddled with each other.
She couldn't help but try to guess their thoughts.
"How could she."-Derek
"I trusted her."-Penelope
"I came crying for 6 weeks to her house."-Reid
"Traitor."-David
She kept her head low and went into her office.
*End flashback*
That how it worked for a day or two then Emily came back and it got worse. Hotch, the one who was on her side, was too caught up in paperwork and safety of Emily to worry about her and how the teammates treated her. Emily was in the same situation and as time continued JJ was neglected and isolated.
One day the team saw Hotch get out of his office with the meanest glare they had ever seen.
"Think that's for Strauss?" Garcia asked
"No someone more evil." Morgan said. Penelope gave a questioning look.
"Did you forget already...agent Jareau." Ever since the day they wouldn't call her JJ, only friends did."
"Wonder what's happening." Emily said
Hotch barged into JJs office
"You could knock."
"I would have agent, but I don't care right now." Hotch said with a icy glare.
"What's that for?"
"You lied to me." JJs face got softer.
"I had to."
"No you had to lie to them, not me."
"I needed to know that if anything were to happen that he couldn't attack you Hotch."
"Do you not trust me?"
"Of course I do Hotch."
"Agent Hotcher, and no you don't if you did you would have told me, get back to work agent Jareau." JJ was speechless Hotch had never acted that way to her.
She had nothing and no one.
She would walk into her office everyday, past all the judgmental glances, and work straight until the end of the day where she was the last to leave the office.
Even Will got mad at her for lying. He didn't know why she had to lie to him and couldn't get past it. He moved out a couple of days after the ordeal broke out. And because of his hours he got to see Henry more than she could.
One day when JJ had been looking at some extremely tough cases she left her office. For the past three weeks her coworkers hadn't seen her besides her walking in, never did she eat lunch with them or take a bathroom break, afraid she'd have to see them judging her, but today she needed a break.
She walked from her office and into the bathroom. When she got there she was taken back by the girl she saw staring back at her. She looked pale, boney, lifeless, and hard. She wasn't her lively bubbly self and this is when she noticed it. She touched her face and that's when she cracked. She couldn't hold back the retching sobs that attacked her and the tears that flowed like a waterfall down her face. She lost everything, her work family, her family, her husband, and her son, she had nothing and no one. She only let it get to herself for a couple minutes before she was able to compose herself. She wiped her eyes and straighten her back putting a wall up. She walked out of the bathroom and started for her office when she looked into the bullpen. Inside she saw Morgan, Reid, Rossi, and Hotch all talking and laughing. She didn't realize she didn't stop walking until she bumped into people.
"I'm so sorry." She said looking up and them quickly to her feet when she saw who it was.
"Hey JJ." Emily quickly greeted her. "Hi." She said very content with gazing at the floor.
"Jayje?" Penelope asked "you can look at us."
JJ gave a cold laugh but eventually did look up. The two gasped at her appearance. She looked ghostly.
"Jay are you okay?"
"Yeah...I uh... Have to get back to work, sorry." And with that she squeezed through them and back into her office.
"She looked awful."
"I didn't even realize she was..."
"Em, don't you've been so busy coming back here...it's me I should have not been such a jerk to her she was just saving you, and I, and, we've all been... Poor JJ." Garcia said.
JJ stayed in her office extra late that night so she wouldn't have to deal with Emily or Penelope. She was afraid they would be mean or laugh at her. She turned the lights off in her office but kept a small desk lamp on with the blinds closed to make the appearance that she wasn't there. She looked up from a folder on her desk placing it in a finished pile when she realized she was nearly out of paperwork to do. Never in all her years working had she almost completed the seemingly endless work but from the non-stop work she had been doing for weeks it finally was tolerable.
When the clock hit 10:15 she decided it was safe to leave. She had heard Hotch leave at 9:50 but wanted to be sure it was all clear. Slowly she packed up al her things put them in her briefcase and walked up. When she opened the door she wasn't surprised that the cleaning staff was there, she had been working hours like this for weeks now and it became a custom to see them packing up their equipment when she would leave.
"Hey JJ." JJ looked up to see Adam rushing over to her. She was able to suppress a small smile for him.
"Hey Adam. How you liking the job?" Adam had been working for the BAU cleaning staff nearly a month now.
"Good, funny thing though, everyone else leaves so much earlier than you and gets here later than you...why is that?" JJ's smile fell at that.
"They just aren't as committed as I am." She said with a fake smile.
"JJ I don't know what happened but you deserve better than that."
"Thanks Adam, that means a lot, but everything is fine."
"I hope that true Jayje. Have a nice night."
"You too." Before she could get into the elevator he stopped her.
"Jay you know you can talk to me right?" She bowed her head.
"No I can't. If I do there wouldn't be this friendship." He stared at her dumbfoundedly. She took a big sign and looked down.
"I won't judge you, you can trust me." He says placing his arms on her shoulders. She gives a weak smile and feels herself telling him the whole story. When she gets to the end she feels a distance grow between them.
"And that's why this friendship ends." She starts to walk to the elevator but Adam stops her.
"Jennifer wait." Surprised by his tone and the usage of her full name she turns to him.
"You were doing your job, you were just protecting them, I think your friends may hate you now but once they get over the lie, which needed to be told, they will thank you, for saving her life."
"It's not that easy, this whole no family no friends thing is killing me." Again he stares at her blankly. "My husband left me for the lie and now I don't get to see my kids most nights, I have nothing."
"You have me JJ, I'll be your family." He pulls her into a tight embrace and she finally lets out all the tears that she has been holding back.
That's when everything took a spin. JJ got better, she got back to her weight, the color came back to her face, and she had a little more pep in her step. She still didn't talk to her team, only when they needed to did they talk to her, and she still worked long days, but that was for another reason. Adam had asked JJ out a couple days after she told him everything. They were hanging out every night together. They hadn't kissed yet but both felt like they weren't ready.
JJ walked into the building at around 8 the next morning to see the building swarming with people. JJ did her usual beeline for her office when someone knocked into her.
"Adam? What are you doing here?"
"There was a lockdown last night, apparently someone is a target in the bureau." JJs eyes grew wide.
"Omg Emily." She whispered. She tried to run past Adam but he stopped her."
"Everything okay Jayje? Take a breath."
"My friend is in danger."
"The friend."
"Yes."
"Okay text me if you need anything." He gives her a peck on the cheek. Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red and she saw him smile at her.
"Bye Adam."
"Bye JJ."
When the elevator doors closed JJ remembered about Emily and ran into the bullpen. But she wasn't there.
"Derek where's Emily?"
"Don't worry about it." Her tells her coldly.
"She's my friend Derek."
"None of us are Jennifer." Reid says
"Spence-"
"You don't get to call me that. Why don't you just go back to your mistress." JJ was shocked.
"What?"
"You know the guy that just kissed you, I thought you cared about your family Jennifer, but cheating on Will, hurts him and Henry," He laughs a cold laugh "and we all know how you treated this family." Tears threaten to fall down her cheeks. She can feel the sting behind his words and each one is like a dagger into her heart.
Emily shows up behind them.
"What's going on here?" JJ turns around and Emily can see how she broke. She saw her and how she had gotten better but she looked completely destroyed. JJ looked them all in the eye and left without a word. Emily goes to grab her arm, but JJ is too fast and is out the door in no time.
She goes into her office and locks her door. She gets a text from Adam. 'Let me know if your friend is okay, text me when you can.'
She replies with a 'everything is fine' but not 5 minutes later does she hear a knock on her door.
"JJ it's me, please let me in."
She opens the door and he can see her. She empty.
"Oh Jayje, come here." Adam spends the next 10 minutes calming her down as she tells him the story.
"Now I'm going to take you to the bathroom and your going to wash up okay, I'll be right outside, okay?" She nods slowly and gets up. He takes her to the bathroom and stands outside the door. He is waiting patiently when he sees Morgan and Reid walk past him and give him a look. They walk into the bullpen and Adam can feel his blood boil. He gets up from leaning in the wall and walks into the room.
"Hey Derek, Spencer!" They both turn to face him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Why don't you leave this office now you home wrecker before I make you regret ever messing with that family." Derek says heatedly
"You don't even know what your talking about man, shut up and leave her alone."
"They have a kid, how could you get between that."
"You really have no idea about anything stop talking before I make it impossible for you to ever talk again."
"I'd like to see you try home wrecker." Adam takes a sprint as does Derek an they meet in the middle feet, fists and people fly everywhere.
JJ walks out of the bathroom to see everyone running into the bullpen.
"Adam!" She runs into the office to see Derek and her boyfriend in a full out brawl.
"ADAM stop!" Adam looks up but gets a right hook to the eye from it. JJ runs over between them and pulls Adam away.
"Adam stop, please." She says gently.
"These guys don't get to treat you like shit for no reason."
"No reason like hell no reason, we have every reason."-d
"You don't know anything man." Adam yells back. Morgan and Adam starts yelling at each other while the team tries to calm down Morgan and JJ tries to calm down Adam.
"Agent Jareau, my office now!" Hotch yells, which makes everyone stop screaming.
JJ looks at the damage around her. Desks moved out of place, files everywhere, and a growing black eye on her boyfriend's face.
"Jay I'm so sorry." She gives a sad smile and silently walks into her bosses office.
"Agent Jareau sit. This kind of behavior is not acceptable."
"Hotch-"
"Agent Jareau another outbreak or any kind of misdemeanor you will be let go. Because of this you have a suspension."
"I didn't even do anything and what about Morgan!"
"Your 'boyfriend' was the one who caused this, he stormed in and started the fight. So you are involved and I'm not his boss."
"Hotch-"
"You may go now."
"Hotch!"
"You aren't working for the rest of the day go home now." JJ stood up and left his office. She passed Adam and grabbed his arm taking him to her office.
"JJ I'm so sorry I just got so mad at what they did-"
She quieted him with a long soft sensational kiss.
"Thank you." She smiled up to him. "Now let's clean up your face." She took his hand in hers and exited the bureau without looking at any of her coworkers. She got to her car unlocked the trunk and pulled out an ice pack.
"Here sit." She gently placed the ice pack on his face.
"Owww softer."
"Sorry...Adam I appreciate it but you really didn't have to do that."
"They were saying things about you that wasn't even true of course I did." He looked up and smiled at her " plus it was kinda worth it." He stared up into her blue eyes trying to read her reaction. She smiled back at him and took the ice pack.
"I'm really glad I met you Adam." He stood up to be more with her height.
"Me too Jennifer." He leaned into her and their lips slowly touched. Warmth spread through her body an electricity danced on her lips. She felt his tongue on her lips asking for permission and she quickly accepted. Adam suddenly stopped the kiss.
"JJ?"
"Yes." She smiled at him but it quickly fell when she saw his face.
"Adam?" He tried to place his body I front of hers but she felt a bag cover her face. She let out a ear piercing scream when a pair of arms grabbed at her. She could hear Adam yelling and grunting as they hit him. Then she heard nothing.
"Adam?" The bag was lifted from her face and she could see Adam passed out on the floor with a little bit of blood on his face. She tried to turn to face her attackers.
"Ughhh." She receives a hard blow to her stomach and falls to the ground. She can feel herself not breathing as the punch knocked the wind out of her. Then she saw the masked men getting closer to her with a cloth. She tried to fight them off but when they placed the cloth on her she felt her world go black.