I wrote the first 1000 words on my blackberry while flying so thank you US Airways for providing such luxurious seating… Every time I'm forced to be awake I end up writing a story forcing someone else to wake up…its only fair…
Summary: JJ calls Emily in the middle of the night and leaves the line open. Emily rushes over to JJ's house and gets pulled over along the way. The scream on the other line springs both Emily and the officer into action as they go into JJ's house guns drawn.
Pairing: JJ/Emily
Most importantly…Thank you Egoofy34 for the wonderful beta job… You're the best!
I'm Right Here
Emily cursed whoever was calling her at the late hour. She'd ignored the phone the first time it rang. She figured if it was that important they'd call back and call back they did. A few minutes of silence had passed before the phone rang again. Removing the pillow she'd placed over her head to drown out the sound, her hand fumbled around her night stand in search of the loud object.
"Prentiss." Emily answered her cell, voice husky from sleep. Thanks to the last case none of the team had gotten any decent sleep. "Hello." Emily said into the phone. She was greeted by silence.
She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the caller ID. The minute she saw the media liaisons name her frustration disappeared. Any opportunity to talk to the blonde was ok in her book, even if she was calling to inform her about a case, which in this case she really hoped she wasn't. The silence on the other line however worried her. JJ was always straight to the point especially when it came to the early wake up calls.
"JJ? Are you there?" Emily sat up in her bed turning the lamp at her bedside on.
"Jen, what's wrong?" Something didn't feel right though she couldn't quite place what that something was. She wanted to hang up and call the blonde back but her gut told her it would be a bad idea.
She sat up straight pushing the phone hard into her ear. She could've sworn she heard something. Emily sat perfectly still paying close attention to the sounds on the other line. She jumped when she heard the sound again. She was sure this time. Had that been a whimper? Her heart raced. Adrenaline kicked in, she jumped out of her bed and ran for her closet. Putting on sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt she left her room in search of her tennis shoes the phone never leaving her ear. Besides the occasional whimper the line remained completely silent.
"JJ? JJ can you hear me?" Emily tried to reach the blonde again. Grabbing her keys and gun Emily drove towards JJ home hoping she was there and nothing bad had happened. She didn't know what she'd do if something did happen to her.
The day had been bad enough as it was. Finding her in the barn, shaken, scared and disoriented had been extremely hard. Reassuring her that it was her and not anyone trying to hurt her had been difficult. She was glad Morgan had been with her because for a second her ability to compartmentalize had done nothing for her and she'd frozen.
"JJ, its Emily. I'm on my way okay? Just hold on Jen. I'll be there soon." Phone still at her ear she drove in silence, occasionally attempting to reach the blonde. She was a good twenty minutes from JJ house when she saw the blue lights flashing in her rearview mirror. Emily cursed as she pulled over. After placing the phone on speaker she put it on the dashboard as she looked for her badge. "Damn it." This really wasn't a good night at all. In her rush to get to JJ she'd left everything at the house except for her gun.
She rolled down the window as the officer approached her car lightly touching it with his fingertips as he moved in closer. "Do you realize how fast you were going ma'am?" The officer asked. He was usually lenient with drivers going over the speed limit but when his radar alerted him the vehicle was going 30 over he immediately followed.
"I know I was speeding but." Emily tried to explain.
"Ma'am you were going 30 miles over the speed limit. I'm going to need to see your license and registration." He didn't have time for any excuses. It was late and he didn't have the energy.
"My name is Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss." At giving her name the officer directed his flashlight towards her. "BAU?" He asked. Emily nodded in relief. Thank God he knew of the BAU. "We had a serial killer a few months back. I'd just joined the department when your team assisted in catching him." He explained. He introduced himself as Officer Lincoln and asked Emily why she was in such a rush.
"One of my colleagues is currently on the line and I can't get her to talk to me. I need to get to her." As if on cue a shrilling scream filled the car. Emily immediately grabbed the phone. "JJ? JEN talk to me." Emily looked at the cop pleadingly.
Getting JJ's address from Emily the officer got on his radio and notified dispatch that he would be going to the address to assist another agency. "Follow me." Emily sighed in relief and thanked him. Seconds later the officer pulled in front of her vehicle his lights on.
Emily made sure to keep a safe distance just incase as she followed the officer. She tried to reach JJ several more times without any luck. She thanked god the officer had sense to go cold and turn off the lights as they approached JJ's block. Killing the lights both vehicles got close to the house without raising alarm. Looking at the house from the outside everything looked fine. The officer notified dispatch they'd arrived on location and would be searching the interior of the house. With a nod both of them approached the front door. Checking to see if it was tampered with at all Emily found it perfectly fine and locked. Quietly she pulled her car keys out and found the one that belonged to JJ's place. Unlocking the door she pushed it open slowly and moved back as Officer Lincoln pointed his gun in the open doorway. Once they were sure there was no immediate threat they moved in.
Officer Lincoln and Emily entered the house shoulder to shoulder each clearing one side of the hallway leading to the living room and kitchen. The sound of a gun going off and glass shattering immediately drew the duo's attention. Quickly clearing the remainder of the first floor they went up the stairs to JJ's second floor. A quick look through the guest room and bathroom told them that the house was clear; all that was left was the master bedroom. Emily grabbed the handle to the door and slowly turned it. They entered the room not making a sound. Officer Lincoln looked at Emily questioningly when they found the room empty. Emily looked over to JJ's bed and found it to be empty also. She took a step further into the room and caught sight of the shattered glass next to the closet. A sniffle echoed in the quiet room. Emily turned to find JJ sitting in the corner of the room; gun in hand.
Emily turned to Officer Lincoln telling him not to move further into the room. "Do you have your tazer?" Officer Lincoln nodded placing his gun back in its holster and pulling out his issued tazer. "Put it on the lowest level of voltage and unless she shoots me you do not under any circumstance taze her." The officer nodded as Emily placed her weapon down on the edge of the bed, the blood stain on the bed caught her attention immediately. Officer Lincoln stood back his tazer pointed at JJ.
"JJ?" Emily made sure JJ could see her before she stepped closer. "Jen?" She took another step. "Jen its Emily can you hear me?" Emily took the final step being careful not to startle the blonde.
She crouched down and looked into JJ's eyes and felt her compartmentalizing ability dissolve. She'd never seen anyone look so lost, not even a child. Slowly Emily placed her hand on the muzzle and pushed the weapon away carefully taking it from her. Emily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear cupping her cheek. "JJ?"
"Emily?" JJ broke out of her daze, her eyes filling with tears. "Emily?" She asked again.
"Yeah Jen it's me. What happened?" JJ continued to stare at Emily as the tears ran down her cheeks.
Not getting an answer Emily thought she'd try and find out what was going on later. Remembering the blood on JJ's bed she decided it was best she take care of her first. "What do you say we get you off the floor and take a look at that arm?" JJ looked down to her arm noticing the blood for the first time. The sight of blood seemed to be a trigger, she shook her head and pushed herself further into the corner. "Jen what's wrong?" Emily wasn't sure it was a good idea but she took a step closer.
"JJ, honey, please tell me what's wrong." Emily begged; her worry for the blond became too much to compartmentalize. JJ didn't look at her. She shook her head and continued to avoid the brunette.
"Did I do something to hurt you?" Emily prayed the answer to that question was a no.
"Wh…What?" JJ stammered. She wasn't sure she'd heard her correctly. Her mind was racing and she couldn't piece everything together, only one thing was running through her mind clearly and it was that one thing she was desperately trying to get away from.
"Did I do something? Is it me?" Emily dreaded her answer and it felt like forever before she saw the blonde nod her head. Everything moved in slow motion as Emily fell back from her position in front of JJ and sat on the floor, tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about what she could have possibly done to upset JJ.
Seeing Emily near tears JJ snapped out of it. "Em, I." She became frustrated when the words wouldn't come out. "You…You didn't do anything." She wiped at the fresh set of tears that fell. "I. I did." Emily looked on confused. What was she talking about? What had she done that was causing her so much pain?
"Jen what happened?" Emily asked, a new sense of confidence overtook her now that she knew she hadn't done anything to upset her friend. Once again JJ shook her head only this time she didn't try to back away; instead she reached out her right hand and took hold of Emily's forearm. "Please Em, I don't want to think about it, please don't make me."
Emily sighed, seeing the fear return in the teary blue eyes she nodded. "Okay Jen. Will you let me take a look at your arm?" JJ nodded thankful that the brunette didn't push her for information. Hearing footsteps outside her bedroom door she tensed, tightening her grip on Emily's arm. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else in the house. Emily looked over her shoulder and spotted Officer Lincoln standing in the doorway. He smiled and held up a first aid kit.
"I'll be downstairs." He placed the kit on the edge of the bed next to Emily's gun, without another word he stepped out of the room quietly. Emily made a note to talk to her mother about getting Officer Lincoln an award or a letter of appreciation, he had gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Standing up Emily extended her hand out for JJ to take. Helping her stand Emily led JJ into the master bathroom. Putting the toilet lid down, she helped the blond take a seat. Putting the stopper in the sink Emily turned the water on and let the sink fill while she grabbed the first aid kit Officer Lincoln had placed on the bed.
She returned to find JJ hadn't moved from where she'd left her. Seeing she was okay Emily turned off the water and went back into the room in search of clean clothes. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt and placed them on the bathroom counter.
Emily knelt down in front of JJ making sure to make eye contact before she took a hold of her hands. She reached for the bloody bandage and slowly started to remove it. Getting rid of the last of the bandage Emily examined the wound. She needed to clean the blood off before she could make an assessment of whether JJ had pulled any of her stitches. Grabbing a hand towel she soaked it in the sink, ringing the excess water she began to wipe the blood from the blondes forearm. "Sorry." She apologized when she heard the blond hiss.
"It's okay." JJ gave a weak smile. Finally, with the blood removed Emily got a good look at the wound. "Well the good news is you didn't tear any of your stitches." JJ gave her a small smile as Emily placed a clean bandage to her arm.
JJ hadn't been surprised at how gentle Emily was with her, so motherly. It was just like Emily to care for others, she'd seen her with victims and their families, it was one of the reasons she'd been attracted to her. Her eyes were so focused on Emily's hands as she bandaged her she didn't notice Emily looking at her. "You okay?"
JJ nodded not trusting her voice. Emily stood up to get the spare change of clothes. She was startled when JJ grabbed her wrist holding on tightly. "I'm just gonna grab you a fresh set of clothes." Emily pointed to the clothes she'd place on the other end of the counter. Embarrassed JJ quickly let go of Emily's wrist and watched the older profiler move a few feet from her to grab the clothes. Kneeling in front of her again, she made eye contact with the blond. "I'm going to be right outside if you need me okay?" Getting a nod from her, Emily walked out of the bathroom leaving the bathroom door open just incase, JJ's silence was really starting to worry her.
Emily moved to the bed and took the sheets and comforter off the bed and placed them out in the hallway. Finding the linen closet she found new sheets and a comforter to match. Making the bed Emily returned to the bathroom. "Jen?"
"Jennifer?" She called moving closer to the bathroom. Sticking her head in the bathroom she saw that JJ hadn't moved. Emily was stating to get really worried; maybe she should have taken her to the hospital.
"JJ maybe we should go to the hospital and have a doctor look at you." Emily regretted the words as soon as they'd left her mouth, pure fear overtook JJ and a fresh set of tears ran down her cheeks. "Jen. Jenny sweetie please don't cry. I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you. We don't have to go if you don't want to." JJ relaxed slightly.
"Help me." JJ motioned toward the clothes still in her lap. "Ok, but lets get you out of this bathroom first." Settling JJ on the edge of the bed Emily helped her take her shirt off. Her fingertips burnt as they grazed against JJ's sides. Emily new she'd be in big trouble if she didn't change her thought pattern, but she felt JJ shiver when she'd touched her and that only made her mind wander more. Keeping her eyes locked on JJ's she helped her put her shirt on. Getting JJ into the sweats was a bit more difficult but the pair managed with little incident. "You want to try and get some sleep?" Emily already new the answer. It was confirmed as JJ shook her head no.
"Are you going to leave?" Her voice was so innocent, so childlike. "I'm not going anywhere. Come on, I'll make us some tea." That seemed to calm the blonde.
"Why don't you pick out a movie, while I make the tea?" JJ nodded and turned on the TV. She went through the Netflix options she had as she waited for Emily. She could hear faint talking in the background but she was too tired to listen. Finally deciding on a movie she curled up on one end of the couch.
"Officer Lincoln I can't thank you enough for all the help you've provided." Emily was truly grateful for the man.
"I'm just glad I could assist Agent Prentiss. Is she alright?" Emily nodded.
"She will be. She's pretty shaken up. She hasn't said much." The officer nodded. He knew the horrors they faced with each case, he was just glad he could help if only a little bit.
"I've notified dispatch of the gun going off incase they get any calls. If you need anything; anything at all Agent Prentiss I'll be on duty for the next ten hours. I'll be doing extra patrol in the area just to be safe." The officer handed her his card and with a final thank you he left. Emily returned to the living room ten minutes later with two cups of tea.
She wanted to give JJ space but at the same time she wanted to be as close to her as possible so in compromise Emily sat in the middle of the couch. "27 Dresses?" She questioned handing JJ a cup of tea.
"It relaxes me." JJ answered simply and returned her gaze to the movie. Emily loved JJ's couch because all three seats reclined. The brunette slouched down in her seat and got comfortable. She could feel eyes on her throughout the movie but she didn't want to embarrass JJ by letting her know she knew she was being watched. She was hoping that in giving her time she would talk about whatever it was that was bothering her. Taking a risk Emily looked over and thankfully JJ's attention was on the screen. Her body curled in a small ball facing Emily, she'd pulled her knees to her chest and placed her hands on top of them. She looked exhausted. The last case had really taken its toll on her and Reid. Emily knew she blamed herself for Reid's kidnapping and she didn't know how to make the blond understand it wasn't her fault.
"It wasn't your fault." Emily said finally unable to stand the silence any longer. It took several seconds before blue eyes met her brown ones. They seemed lost, confused. Emily couldn't understand why. Sure she'd seen guilt before but never like this. "It wasn't your fault Jen." Emily repeated. Seeing she had JJ's attention she took the empty tea cups and placed them on the coffee table and continued. "It could have been any of us you understand that don't you?" She was grasping at straws. She had no idea how to help her friend. Sighing Emily did the only thing she could think of that would provide comfort. Tentatively she extended her arm out and grabbed a hold of JJ's hand. She'd hoped that the gesture would calm JJ and help her open up she wasn't prepared for the hiccup that was quickly followed by a gut wrenching sob.
Emily's first instinct was to pull her hand away and engulf her friend in a hug but she didn't want to scare her. JJ's grip on her hand tightened as she rested her forehead on their joined hands. Emily could feel the tears soak her hand. So not to scare her she slowly sat up and moved closer. Using her other hand she stroked JJ's hair gently. JJ moved closer to Emily as she continued to cry occasionally mumbling she was sorry. Not knowing what she was sorry for Emily stayed quiet and just held her. The more time that passed the less space separated the two. It wasn't long before JJ sat curled up in Emily's lap, her head nestled under Emily's chin as she clutched a fistful of her shirt. It felt like holding a child that'd just fallen and hurt themselves. Placing soft kisses to the blonds head Emily reassured her that everything would be alright.
"I…I pu…pulled the…the trigger." JJ hiccupped and cried even harder. Emily was confused. The only time she could recall JJ pulling the trigger on the case was when she'd shot the dogs.
"Jen honey you had to. Those dogs would have killed you." Emily didn't know how else to make her friend understand that she'd pulled the trigger to save her own life.
"No…not the…dogs." She took deep breaths to calm herself. She knew she wasn't making sense. "I pulled the trigger." She repeated again this time more clearly. "In the bathroom." She took a deep breath as she re-gripped Emily's shirt. "When you…" She felt like she couldn't breath as the world was closing in on her. Emily tightened her grip around JJ rocking her gently. "I pulled the trigger when you came in the bathroom." And just like that all the progress she'd made to gain her composure was gone. Emily felt as though someone was continuously punching her in the gut. "I didn't know it was you Em…I didn't know." Emily could barely make out what JJ was saying.
Emily tried to sooth her but she knew her friend wasn't listening. She was back in her dream. She was reliving the moment. "They took you…to the hospital…but you didn't make it…" JJ buried herself closer into Emily. Emily was sure someone had just ripped her heart out. So she had been the reason for JJ's pain. She was upset and in tears because she'd thought she'd killed her. "I'm so sorry." Emily couldn't take it anymore; her own tears were now falling.
"JJ?"
"Jennifer Jareau I need you to look at me." She tried to pull the blond away so she could look at her but she wouldn't have it. Her tight hold became a death grip.
"Jen." Emily spoke her name softly. "Jenny baby I need you to listen to me." She looked down as best she could but JJ wasn't moving.
"It was just a bad dream. I'm right here. Do you hear me? I'm right here." Emily had lost any control she had of her own tears as she spoke. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." She placed her hand on top of the one JJ was using to grip her shirt. Gently rubbing it until her hand loosened Emily took her hand and placed it over her heart.
"Do you feel that?" Emily asked. She waited for any sign that JJ heard her but she didn't get anything. "Do you feel it Jen?" She put more pressure on JJ's hand. "That's my heart beating can you feel it?" Ever so slightly she felt JJ nod. Relieved Emily relaxed her hold. "Honey it was a bad dream. You didn't hurt me. You would never hurt me." Taking a deep breath Emily felt JJ do the same.
"I'm sorry." She said finally.
"Jen why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong." Emily was just happy she'd gotten through the hysteria phase.
"I just. I couldn't. The thought of losing you. I don't know. I just. I feel something for you Emily. I can't explain it and when I thought…When I thought I killed you I…"
Emily didn't know what to say. So many conflicting emotions were going through her. Should she jump for joy that the woman in her arms felt something for her? Should she dismiss it all due to the shock she was probably experiencing? "Emmy." Her small voice brought her back.
"I'm still here." She sighed. "I'm still here." She repeated pulling JJ tightly to her placing a soft kiss to her head.
"Jen." Emily said after minutes of silence. JJ pulled away slowly as she looked into Emily's red puffy eyes. It was then she realized she'd been crying too. Emily reached out and wiped the last remaining tears off of JJ's face. "I feel something too." She said simply. They would figure out what that something was when they weren't both physically and emotionally drained. Leaning in she placed a soft and gentle kiss to JJ's lips before pulling her back in her arms.
Minutes passed in silence as the women sat comfortably engulfed in each other. Emily sat up pulling JJ with her. "How about we get you to bed?" Emily could already feel the blond tensing up. This wasn't good. She'd thought they'd moved passed her fear.
"No Em can we please stay like this? Please." She pleaded. Emily sighed leaning back pulling JJ with her. "You know I need to learn to say no to you." Emily covered them with the blanket that lay on the back of the couch. "Will you start working on that tomorrow?" She asked innocently batting her eyelashes. Emily narrowed her eyes and watched her skeptically for several seconds. "Fine." She gave in.
"What?" She couldn't figure out why JJ was laughing, though she certainly didn't mind the sound of her laughter.
"I was just giving you an opportunity to say no…but..." She trailed off.
Emily couldn't help but chuckle. It was good to have JJ back. "Just go to sleep." JJ didn't say anything as she snuggled into Emily's side; she could really get use to this.
AN: Well that's it folks… I really didn't like the episode with Tobias but this came to me and it made me tolerate the episode….
Now…if you know me…you know I absolutely love and miss JJ terribly so every opportunity I got to put her name in this story I did… so if you feel its overused its probably because it is… I just miss Jennifer Jareau….
I hope you enjoyed…
