AN: So I should be continuing to work on the next chapter of Flume (it's coming along!) but after that amazing finale, I couldn't help but write this little oneshot. Perhaps there are even some new JJ and Will shippers reading this, hmm? I think the finale may have found us some new shippers so welcome new shippers, if you are there! One little encouragement to all JJ and Will fans - give writing a go! We need more JJ and Will fanfiction. Hope you all loved the finale and that you like this little oneshot. Please leave a review! Warm wishes to all. X
Flood
The blurring of her vision came as a surprise and it took her a second to realise she was crying. The tears were gentle, yet determined as they escaped down her warm, pale face.
'Oh. God, I'm sorry,' JJ stammered, embarrassment flushing her suddenly wet cheeks.
She tried to shift away from her husband of just hours, but the loving weight of his body braced above her prevented an escape. Self-conscious, her eyes left his. She gazed down at the dark shadows dancing in the small spaces between their upper bodies. Tears continued to fall.
'Sorry,' she repeated softly, her voice shaky.
'Hey, shh,' he whispered, leaning on one elbow and smoothing her hair back from her face. He caught a teardrop on his finger. 'Did I do something?' he asked with worry in his whisper.
'No, no, no,' she said assuredly, his concern only making the teary river flow faster. 'I just...'
JJ pressed her lips together tightly as if to pull herself together. She didn't succeed. Her breath caught in her throat. She sniffed and brought a hand to her upper lip, as if fearing her nose was about to become as runny as Henry's had been when he was a baby.
'I don't know,' she said weakly as her hand dropped and she gave a shaky glance up at Will. Her bottom lip wobbled ever so slightly and her naked shoulders hunched as if in self-preservation.
As more tears escaped, Will patiently kissed each drop from her skin, his lips never leaving her face, lightly dusting across the surface as he chased her tears. He stroked a soothing hand over her slightly messy hair. He mumbled comforting words against her skin.
'I'm sorry,' she said through shaky breaths.
'Shh, it's okay,' he said gently, lifting his face ever so slightly to look at her. Her eyes were closed as tears leaked out the corners.
Will was not shocked by JJ's tears. She had cried a little when she had seen him in the hospital the day before, but since then, her eyes had been dry. Will had known she had been putting on a brave face for him and for Henry. He'd known that she couldn't keep it up forever. Nor did he want her to.
Yesterday had brought trauma and fear. Tonight had brought joy and love. The moment just shared had brought connection and another dose of love. The emotions had overwhelmed her. With her body bare, her heart had followed suit.
'I'm here,' he said. Her eyes opened and looked back at him as if to make sure he truly was.
Her tears slowly eased as she looked up at Will, his eyes looking back at her in loving attentiveness.
'Hey,' he whispered down to her when the tears had stopped.
She smiled weakly, heat burning in her cheeks.
'You okay?' he asked, the back of his hand brushing down her jaw.
'Yeah, I'm sorry,' she said softly.
'Honey, you don't have anythin' to be sorry for.'
She sniffed and rubbed a finger under her left eye. When she sniffed again, Will reached for the tissue box on the bedside table.
'Your shoulder...' JJ said in concern as Will grabbed a tissue.
'It's fine,' he said.
His arm was meant to be in its sling, but he'd stubbornly insisted he didn't need it. She had managed - with some help in the form of Rossi Charm - to convince the nurses to let her and Henry stay with Will in the hospital the night before.
After the day they had had, she hadn't wanted to be away from Will even for a second. Nor had she wanted to leave him alone in a hospital room replaying the day in his head and letting irrational guilt nag away at him. One of the nurses had given Henry a quick check-up, just to ease JJ's fears. Garcia had stopped by their house and picked up some of Henry's toys and a change of clothes for JJ (and Will and Henry, too). She'd given them each a hug - Henry got a few extra - and told Will that she didn't want to see him on her screens again any time soon.
As Will leant back over her - a comforting closeness - JJ took the tissue he handed her, dabbing her cheeks and blowing her nose with as much subtly as was humanly possibly.
'Some wedding night huh?' JJ said sarcastically. She waved a hand toward her face as if presenting it as evidence.
'Hey,' he said, shaking his head a little. 'It's been perfect.'
He took the tissue from her hands, ignoring her awkward protests that it was gross. He tossed it onto his bedside table and lay down next to her, gently rolling her onto her side and wrapping his body around hers, cocooning her in his warm embrace.
His arm rest over hers, all the way from shoulder to fingertip. His thumb rubbed soothingly against her hand as she loosely gripped the sheet against her upper chest.
He let the silence blanket them, knowing she would talk when she wanted to. He'd deliberately positioned himself behind her, knowing she sometimes found it easier to vulnerable and honest when she didn't have to look him in the eye. Especially when she already felt embarrassed. Not that she needed to.
'I didn't know if you were alive,' she said softly after a moment.
'I know.' He used his nose to push her hair to the side and then kissed her below her ear. His forehead brushed her ear. It felt a lot warmer than when it had when he had touched it earlier to remove her earring. 'But I am. I'm here.'
She let out a breath and he felt her chest collapse under his arm. 'I think it all just caught up with me...' she said, trying to explain the tears that she hadn't been able to hold back.
The very first time they had made love, there had been a mist in her blue eyes accompanied by an unruly tear that she'd blinked away before it properly escaped. Yet there had never been any tears like those she had just shed.
'JJ, it's okay,' he said sincerely. He understood the tears. If anything, he only loved her more for them. 'You're beautiful.' Inside and out. The unspoken depth of meaning was clear.
She twisted around to look at him, releasing her grip on the sheet and bringing a hand to his face. 'I just love you so much,' she whispered.
He smiled at her and leaned even closer. 'I love you so much,' he whispered. He spotted a final tear balanced on her top lip, and with his own lips, he made it disappear.