AN: I've been having some rough writers block on my other story so someone, helpfully suggested that I try a one shot and gave me some prompts to choose from.
Emily slowly made her way up the stairs to her apartment at almost one in the morning. The team had just wrapped up a case and they could have waited until morning to fly home, but it had been the kind of case that in the end they just wanted to leave the people of the town to grieve and cope because there was nothing else they could do for them. So she practically stumbled down the hall to her door, her purse on one shoulder and her go bag slung across the other; the way it felt like it weighed fifty pounds was just another testament the fact that she was so tired that she literally ached. All she wanted to do was take a shower and sleep this case off.
Not only had this been another one of those horrible cases that could shake her faith in humanity to the very core, she had been the only woman to fly out with the team on a case of an unsub with violent hate for women. The emotional toll built up fast. Not that she would have wanted to put JJ in the position of facing down the unsub when they had nothing definitive to tie him to the crimes, or have her witness the carnage of the crimes if it could be avoided at all, but it would have been easier just having JJ in the hotel room at the end of the day. She made a mental note to call to check up on her in the morning. JJ hadn't been on this case because Hotch had made her take some time after a run in with an unsub left her with bruised ribs, a handful of bruises, and a nasty bump on the head.
So Emily locked the door behind her, set the alarm, dropped her purse and keys on the small table in the entry way, her go bag in front of the hall closet, and grabbed a bottle of water before heading upstairs. She walked straight into her bedroom, not even bothering to turn on the main light in the room, instead opting for just the little lamp on her dresser to remove her gun and badge and put them away, and grab a pair of pajamas from the second drawer. It wasn't until she pulled her belt loose from her pants and moved to put it away that she noticed a figure in her bed. The shot of adrenaline that rushed through her sent her body into action in a split second. She dropped the belt and was reaching for her gun before her brain caught up and she realized that she recognized the slight figure and blonde hair. And while she was no longer in stranger danger mode and her pulse was slowing down, she was faced with the question of why JJ was asleep in her bed.
It wasn't exactly unusual for JJ to be in Emily's bed; they'd slept over at each other's places more than a few times and, because JJ doesn't have a guest room, had gotten used to sleeping in bed together, even though Emily has another room. And how JJ got in wasn't really a mystery; she had the key and knew the code to the alarm system, and had been known let herself in from time to time. It was unusual for her to be in Emily's apartment when she wasn't home, especially without letting Emily know or asking, but Emily had turned her phone off when they left the police station for the air strip and still hadn't turned it back on. As she looked around the room and took stock she could only find JJ's purse and worried that something had happened that had caused JJ to leave her house with nothing but the clothes she was wearing and her purse and she had missed the call because she had turned her phone off.
Emily moved back around to the side of the bed that JJ was laying on, her side of the bed, she noted, and looked her sleeping friend over. As far as she could tell there were no new bruised on her face or neck, and though she couldn't be sure about injuries to the rest of her body, covered by the soft sheets and comforter, JJ seemed to be sleeping comfortably. But, while Emily found that to be of some sort of a relief, it still didn't answer the question of why JJ was asleep in her bed. She didn't know if she should wake her up and ask or just let JJ sleep, get ready for bed herself, and join her. As she knelt down and watched JJ sleep for another minute she found that she didn't want to wake her up. She looked so peaceful and somehow even in her sleep she was stunning. So, she figured that whatever was going on, JJ must really need some sleep, and she could get some answers in the morning. It wasn't like this was an inconvenience or anything. So she gathered her pajamas from where she'd left them on the dresser, turned the light off, and crept from the room.
But as Emily started her routine for a relaxing shower, her gut was telling her that she shouldn't stay away from JJ. She tried to brush it off as irrational; JJ was in her room, safe in her bed, and sound asleep. But in her heart she seemed to know that there was more to it than that. And when her heart and her gut teamed up, there was nothing her head to could do, especially when it came to JJ. So she took a quick shower, dried off, and threw her damp hair up into a messy bun, put on her pajamas, tiptoed back to her bed, and carefully climbed between the sheets next to JJ, who had rolled over to face the middle of the bed at some point. As she settled in, Emily knew she had woken JJ up by the way her body tensed up and her head shot towards the movement that had disturbed her.
"Emily?" JJ's voice was tense and Emily could see in the dim, almost darkness that she was still disoriented from sleep.
"Hey, yeah," she replied softly, "It's just me."
"Sorry," JJ said after she relaxed back into the bed. "I sent you a text."
"It's ok, I turned my phone off after we finished the case," Emily told her.
"I couldn't sleep," JJ explained. In the brief pause she took Emily could just barely see the tears well up in her eyes, and she took a tight breath before she continued. "I just needed…" She had to stop to wipe at the tears as they escaped her eyes. Emily quickly scooted closer to JJ and pulled her into a hug. "I just needed to feel safe and I didn't know where else to go," JJ finished as she clung to the front of Emily's shirt and buried her face against Emily's shoulder.
Emily felt like her heart literally clenched at the desperation in JJ's explanation and the feeling of JJ's tears soaking into her shirt. "Are you ok?" she asked, hugging her a little closer. JJ nodded but continued to hold onto Emily's shirt and cry quietly. So Emily started to rub gentle circles on her back until JJ was only hiccupping quietly and her grip had loosened slightly. Only slightly less worried but still thoroughly confused, she asked, "Jayje, what happened?"
"I couldn't sleep," JJ repeated her explanation as she pulled back from the embrace slightly to look at Emily. "I just want to get a good night's sleep. I'm so tired." She let her forehead drop back onto Emily's shoulder. Emily held her a little tighter and started rubbing her back again, hoping it would prompt her to continue. "Nightmares," JJ said after a few seconds and her fingers immediately went to the still prominent bruises across her throat.
"Oh, sweetie," Emily said sympathetically. "How long have you been having them?"
"Since you dropped me off at my apartment," JJ said and Emily knew she was talking about the morning after the unsub had attacked her.
"That was almost two weeks ago," Emily said, shocked by this bit of information. "Why didn't you say something?"
"I expected to have some nightmares at first," JJ told her. "And you were busy with work."
"You could have called me," Emily said softly. "You can always call me."
"It's so bad, Em," JJ said, her throat tight, causing her voice to come out as a tense whisper. "I can't close my eyes without feeling his hands around my throat. And when I fall asleep everything is spinning like when he hit me over the head and I know he's coming but I can't catch my breath because he kicked me in the side. I can't do anything." She was breathing heavily and her whole body was trembling. "And when I wake up, I can't…" A sob broke her sentence and her hands went back to her neck, her fingers curling, like she was trying to pull something away from her throat.
"Hey, it's ok," Emily soothed. She gently took JJ's hands and pulled them away from her throat. "You're ok now."
"I couldn't breathe," JJ cried and her hands fisted into Emily's shirt again, pulling her closer. "He wasn't going to stop." After a few minutes, JJ took a deep breath and said, "The only night I didn't have a nightmare was when you came to check on me after the short case last week and you ended up staying the night. I didn't want to feel like this again tonight."
"So you came here," Emily finished. The fact that she was JJ's safe place made her feel warm inside.
"I'm sorry," JJ said. "I couldn't do it another night."
"It's ok," She put her arms around JJ again and pulled her close, pressing a short, soft kiss to her forehead. "You can sleep, you're safe now."