Finally alone, Emily collapsed onto the hotel room bed. She and JJ were doubling up, but the younger blonde had deemed pizza necessary, and had ventured in to down town LA, hunting for the perfect pepperoni pizza.
"Room service pizza isn't going to cut it, after today." She had insisted, and Emily could only agree with her. She had nodded understandingly, both to be able to get five minutes alone time and also because something so completely unhealthy sounded amazing right now.
This case was rough. Rape victims. Torture victims. Murder victims. Just the mere thought of what they had observed at the crime scene of the latest murder was enough to make Emily's skin crawl, to make her wrap her arms tightly around herself as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that was on the wall opposite the bed.
"Keep it together." She whispered to herself determinedly, forcing herself to sit back up and change into a pair of pyjamas- some comfy leggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She tugged the hair tie from her hair, finally letting it relax from the tight ponytail she had placed it in earlier that day, massaging her aching scalp.
She couldn't bring herself to think about the scene on the plane that morning. She had spent the whole weekend working herself up for work that week, preparing every excuse and practicing her best poker face. And still, it had still all gone down the drain within two hours of returning.
It was annoying, irritating beyond belief, that it appeared that this man was going to have an effect on her life. Before her shame, her pain, and her heartbreak came her anger. She was supposed to be Emily Prentis, badass FBI agent who didn't flinch at anything, and here she was, lying on a hotel room bed, thinking about her feelings. Ugh.
Unable to sit still with so many thoughts reeling around her head, she took to pacing around the room, almost rhythmically going back and forth. She jumped when she heard the door open and immediately sprung to the other side of the room, flattening herself against the wall furthest from the door and pulling her gun from her jacket pocket and pointing it at the door, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Hey, so they didn't have any pepperoni but- Jeez, Em!" JJ gasped, dropping the pizza boxes to the floor and raising her and in surrender.
As soon as she realised who it was, Emily let her hands fall to her sides and she closed her eyes, turning away from her blonde friend, tears building up in her eyes yet again.
"Oh, uh, sorry, Jayje. I just, didn't expect you back so soon." She mustered out, trying to conceal her shaking hands as she returned her gun back to her pocket and sat down on the be carefully, taking a deep breath to calm herself before looking up at JJ, who had a look of both concern and confusion on her face.
"Yeah, well..." JJ began slowly. She didn't know whether or not to pry Emily on this, because she knew when it came to putting up walls, the brunette was a pro. Sighing, she continued. "They didn't have pepperoni, so I just took some ham and pineapple because it was all they had." She said, picking up the pizza boxes, happy to note that nothing had been harmed.
"You? Not waiting for pepperoni?" Emily asked, phased. She had known JJ to literally wait over an hour in the past for a pepperoni pizza, claiming that all other pizzas were nothing in comparison at a classic pepperoni.
"Yeah, well, I'm so hungry. And I was more concerned about getting back to you. And given that I just walked in to you pointing a gun at me, I made the right decision." JJ said, half laughing, but also indicating her head pointedly towards the bed, and from the look in her eye, Emily knew that she expected an explanation.
And deep down, Emily knew she deserved one. Not only had JJ stuck by her through everything that arisen over the last few years, from finding out about the abortion she had at fifteen to faking her own death and fleeing to Paris, but she had also just had a gun pointed at her for no apparent reason, and had not deemed Emily crazy.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed beside JJ, she took a deep breath. She didn't even know where to start, let alone explain the whole thing. How could she explain to JJ what this man had done? How she felt? What had happened to her? She didn't even understand it herself. It had all happened so quickly and she felt overwhelmed.
"I went on a date on Friday night." She began, closing her eyes as the image of the blonde haired, blue eyed man came back to her, his once charming smile from the other side of the dinner table, candle light casting shadows over his face. "His name was Joseph. Joseph Lane."
The word felt like acid on her tongue. It was the first time, since introducing herself that night, that she had said his name out loud. It somehow made the whole thing real. Giving him a name made him a real person who posed real danger, instead of a simple monster under the bed.
Seeing that Emily was struggling, JJ again placed a comforting hand on the brunette's arm. "How did the date go?" She prompted.
"It went perfectly. He was charming and funny, he made me laugh. I was hopeful, because he seemed understanding of my job, and all of the crazy hours and time out of the country. He was unassuming and witty and kind. Everything I could have hoped for, really." Emily said, blushing slightly at her romantic ramblings. Pressing the palm of her hand against her cheek, she kept going.
"I had planned on seeing him again. I gave him my number and let him walk me to the door, we kissed. I got back in to my apartment feeling ten years younger." She said with a smile. However, she realised the happy, fluffy part of her story was over. She swallowed, and clenched her fists tightly.
"I think I was so eager to find someone, that I didn't notice a lot of things. I mean, I'm a profiler, I should be able to notice these things..." She trailed off. "Looking back, he asked a lot of questions about me, but never really spoke about himself. He was very observant, always picking up on little things. I wasn't in profiler mode, I thought it was charming, for god's sake." She spat.
"When we said goodnight, he cottoned on to the extra security on my door. He asked about it, and I told him it was because all these years in the FBI taught me to at least have a good security system in place. I never really thought anything of it, he probably was just curious about all of the locks on the door. We said goodnight, and I went to bed."
This was the part she was dreading most. The part where things took a turn for the worst, like a plot twist in a tragic movie. Expect this wasn't a movie, or something she could dissociate from. This was her life, this had happened to her, and she needed to face it.
Seeing once again that her friend was close to tears, JJ frowned and took one of Emily's hands in to both of hers. "You don't have to tell me, it's okay if you can't I shouldn't have pushed, I-"
But Emily cut her off. "No, it's okay. You deserve to know, and I need to actually say it."
It took her a few more moments, in which the words were stuck in her throat, the weight of what had happened seeming to hold them back. She swallowed a few times and took a few deep breaths, and, squeezing JJ's hand tightly, went on.
"I'm not normally a deep sleeper. I think it's an FBI thing, you know, always sleep with one eye open. But I'd had a few drinks, I was happy, and I was out like a light.
"I don't remember a lot, just pain. I woke up, and all I could feel was a deep, searing pain. I think he might have punched me awake... And he was there. He was dressed all in black this time, with his hood up, but it was his smile. That damn, charming smile... except it was twisted. Arrogant. And he came closer and closer... And I tried, I really did, but..."
Her words caught in her throat.
She had expected to cry. To bawl and sob and to lose all dignity. But she didn't. She didn't have the energy. She just sat there, staring blankly, while the events played themselves over and over again in her mind.
JJ stared at her in horror. There was one word, slowly spelling itself out in her mind. A word that sent shivers running down her spine and caused her stomach to rise to her throat.
"Em... Did he... Did he r-rape you?" She choked out, tears falling from her eyes as she tried to keep her shit together for her friend.
Emily didn't say anything. She couldn't, because all of a sudden what little she had eaten that day seemed to revolt against her insides, and she staggered towards the en-suite bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time to empty the contents of her stomach. JJ dropped to her knees beside her, holding back her hair and running a soothing hand over Emily's back. She understood that perhaps, in that moment, everything had become too much.
Sinking back into JJ arms once her stomach was officially empty and her throat burned with nothing but bile, Emily felt defeated. Empty. "Sorry." She mumbled, wiping some stray tears from her face.
"Don't me sorry." JJ whispered, sliding from on her knees on to her bum, her back leaning against the bathroom door. It seemed natural to sit there, with Emily in her arms, although there was nothing about natural about the situation at all.
They sat like that for longer than either of them cared to count. Through the window they could see the last of the daylight slipping away in golden haze, the inky black sky making its appearance.
"Have you been to the hospital?" JJ asked quietly, breaking the silence. She knew it was a pointless question- Emily Prentiss hated hospitals. Every time she had been injured on a case, from head lacks to internal bleeding, she had been stubborn enough that it took a team full of FBI agents to convince her to be checked out. She couldn't even imagine the fight she would put up this time.
Unsurprisingly, Emily shook her head, looking dejected. "They say it's worse... And I can't do any worse."
JJ sighed. She knew the statistics. She had interviewed rape victims before. She understood why Emily didn't want to go to hospital, to relive the events of that night over, to make herself a victim. Part of her wanted to drop it, but then her eyes fell, again, upon her friend's bruised face, her tired eyes. The way she had her eyes screwed up, almost as if she was afraid to open them.
"Em..." She trailed off. She didn't want to have to beg her friend. But there was something about Emily being hurt that sparked a protectiveness in her, and she couldn't let it go.
"In the morning." Emily sighed. She knew herself that her injuries were beyond bruises. Her left ankle throbbed with every step, her ribs sent shooting pains through her body every time she breathed, and she knew she had a few nasty tears that wouldn't heal themselves. She knew JJ was right, and she was tired of fighting. She just wanted to rest.
JJ smiled weakly. Although she would have preferred Emily to have urgent medical attention, she knew that there was only so much one person could take. "Okay. How about we settle down, try and get some sleep?"
Emily nodded, the exhaustion from the past few days catching up to her. Wincing as she stood and her body ached in protest, she took JJ's outstretched hand and leaned heavily on her as they walked back through to the room.
Less than an hour later, Emily had passed out on the bed, the pain and emotional distress having knocked her out.
JJ watched her sleep, and felt anger rising in her chest. A hot, bubbling anger at the man who had done this. It was that anger that fuelled her as she pulled out her phone, making her way on to the balcony of the hotel room, the cool night air welcoming to her messy thoughts, and dialled Garcia's number.
"Gumdrop, it's late, is everything okay?" She heard Garcia's naturally chipper voice answer.
"I'm sorry, I know it's late. I'm fine. But I need your help. I need you to find everything you can on a man named Joseph Lane..."