Disclaimer: I do not, in any way shape or form, own the fantabulous show Criminal Minds. Nor do I profit from this piece of fiction in any way.
Rated T, just because I'm a little paranoid about ratings. Probably more like K, or something.
A/N: This one is really short but I only just caught up to 'Lauren' in the sixth season about half an hour ago, and needless to say I'm in complete shock here! I mean, seriously, just ... wow.
Anyway, this is written in 3rd person but from the POV of JJ after episode 6.18 'Lauren'. Hope you enjoy!
It's one of the hardest things she's had to do.
And that's definitely saying something, considering all the things she'd done at the BAU and all of the things she's doing now, working at the Pentagon.
But this … informing her friends – her family – in a cramped hospital waiting room that someone they all loved and respected was never coming back, seeing the pain on their faces; standing by with a tear-filled eye and clasped hands as an empty casket is lowered into the ground; sitting at a café in Paris, passing a manila folder to her best friend whose funeral she'd only just attended; knowing that the few words that could ease the suffering of four people back home in Virginia are ones she can never say …
She knows that it would be an unacceptable risk, to let anyone else in on the secret. She, Hotch, a handful of higher-ups and Emily herself are the limit on people who can know the truth.
But she sees Garcia trying to wrap her head around an unimaginable reality; sees Rossi allowing himself to openly feel in the presence of others; sees Morgan trying desperately to cling to his last vestiges of composure for Penelope's sake (and failing) … sees Spencer, face crumpled and pleading helplessly, "I never got to say goodbye."
It's one of the hardest things she's ever had to do; to save the life of one … and, in the process, damage those of four others.
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