I don't own Criminal Minds! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Like a word on a page that you've printed and read a million times, that suddenly looks strange or wrong, foreign. And you feel scared for a second, like you've lost something, even if you're not sure what it is."

-Sarah Dessen

"We'll be landing in ten minutes," announced JJ reclaiming her seat next to Morgan. As she took a sip of her coffee she managed to skillfully avoid Hotch's attempt at getting her attention. She knew she needed to tell them, but she wasn't quiet ready for the team to find out the secret she'd been hiding for such a long time.

It's now or never, she thought, "There's something else I need to tell you," her voice taking on a softer tone. No one said anything waiting for her to continue.

"Emily is going to be joining us in this case," like a band-aid, just rip it off.

"What? Emily is coming?" asked Morgan excited at the idea of seeing his partner.

"She'll meet us in Wyoming later tonight," she looked up at Hotch, silently asking for help.

When he didn't come to her aid, she bit the bullet and continued, "I was having a tough time this morning, well I guess I've been having a hard time for a while now, the whole Hastings thing," she stopped to collect herself, "I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you, I thought I could deal with it on my own. But then Will this morning, something broke and before I knew it Emily was on the phone and now she's on a plane. Things just slipped out of my hands and I…" her emotions taking over as she tried to fight back the tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't do JayJe. Don't hide from us anymore," whispered Morgan, "there's no shame in admitting this, and if we get to see Emily on top I'm happy. I just wish I'd been able to see it, to be there for you sooner."

The team stayed silent for a few minutes, absorbing this new piece of information. All of them were happy to see Emily, but they weren't pleased that the reason was JJ's wellbeing.

For all that Reid knew he was at a loss in this situation, he had no words, his mind flashing back to his own captivity. He knew that no words could ease JJ's struggle. Back when it'd been him in her place he'd crave physical contact, so he reached across the table and took her hand, trying to pour as much love as he could in that one gentle squeeze.

Rossi, stood on the sidelines, he'd been watching the younger woman for a while now. He'd been the only one that noticed the pain she tried to hide behind her perfected mask of happiness. He'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop, no matter how good you were at compartmentalizing, what had happened to JJ was serious, things like that leave a mark.

It didn't matter how long she'd been a part of the team, it was moments like these that made Alex feel like an outsider. The other members of the team were too close; they could read each other too well. They'd perfected the art of communicating without even speaking. And no matter how much they tried to include her, there was too much history. She didn't resent them for this; on the contrary she was fascinated by their dynamic. It was then, taking another glance at the blonde woman that she noticed how tired she seemed; she noticed how JJ seemed to have lost some weight. The haunted look in JJ's blue eyes would be an image that would stay with the linguist for a very long time.

"Ok, enough of this," said the blonde, pulling her hand away from Reid, "I'll be fine, let's focus on this case."

She's embarrassed, thought the unit chief, noticing how the rest of the team picked up on her emotions. Reid began putting away his chess pieces, Morgan fidgeted with his cell phone, Alex went back to her book, everyone was giving JJ some space, knowing what it must have taken to admit what'd been happening. Sharing a meaningful look with Dave he spoke up, "It'll be close to 11pm when we land, get some rest tonight, I want you all on your game for tomorrow."

The Sheriff personally greeted them as the piled into the tiny Sheridan airport, "Good evening, thank you for coming," said the man, sporting the cliché cowboy hat, boots and large belt buckle, "I'm Sheriff Randy Kinney, this is Deputy Parmer," he pointed at the man standing next to him.

JJ seamlessly slipped into her old role of media liaison taking the Sheriff's outstretched hand, "How do you do, I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau, here are SSA's Morgan, Rossi, Blake, Dr Reid and SSA Hotchner."

"It's a little late how bout we take you to the hotel and we'll meet at the station in the morning. I've got you a few all-terrain vehicles secured, follow me," said the Sheriff heading out.

-o-

I need a shower, it had been a long day, and being on a plane for over six hours didn't help the matters. She looked over at the alarm clock on the night table and tried to do the time difference math in her head, gotta call Henry.

Quickly dialing the familiar number she waited a few seconds before Will picked up, "Will, it's me. Can I talk to Henry?"

"He doesn't want to talk to you," he answered, clearly still upset.

"Will, don't do this, not now. Please put my son on the phone," she said getting a little tired of his attitude.

"His movie will be over in ten minutes, how about you and I talk until then?" JJ wanted to avoid this confrontation, Will was still upset and so was she.

"I don't want to fight, I'll call back in ten minutes," she said quickly.

"On no Cher, we're going to talk until Henry is ready to talk to you, that is if you still would like to be able to speak to him tonight," he threatened, making JJ worry about a future custody battle.

"What do you want to talk about?" she played dumb.

"Well about this morning Cher, what happened in the kitchen," his demeanor changed, "I didn't mean any of those things I said, I do love you and I want to take care of you."

"Ok Will, don't you think this is conversation we should be having in person?" she asked.

"…and I know you didn't mean the things you said either, we're a family babe, we stick together," he continued ignoring her.

"Will listen to me," she said forcefully, "don't assume things on my behalf, I did mean the things I said this morning, and I think you did too. I need sometime to figure this out. We haven't been happy for a while now, I don't think I want this anymore Will. It's not fair to Henry to see his parents like this," she continued honestly.

"No Jennifer, what isn't fair to Henry is you breaking up his family. Don't you think I deserve to be mad after all the shit I've put up with since you decided to go and get kidnapped?" the 'real' Will made an appearance.

She was getting tired of this argument, he was hurting her and she was letting him, "I'm done talking to you, please put Henry on so I can say goodnight."

She heard a frustrated huff before Henry's sweet voice greeted her, "Hi mommy, you chasing bad guys?"

"Hey baby, yeah I'm chasing bad guys," she felt a large lump growing in her throat, "I love you."

"I love you too, daddy tolds me to tell you not to gets killed. Mommy you be careful, don't let bad guys hurt you. Goodnight mommy, daddy says it's bedtime," he had gone through several emotions in the two minutes they talked.

"I love you too," she whispered back to the silent phone.

Now she was almost certain that things with Will were over, he'd once again used their son to get to her. How could he do that? Her mind questioned over and over. Had he always been like this or was it the kidnapping that changed him, it changed me. She ventured a look at the time; bright red numbers stared back, telling her that it was much too late to be awake. Quickly she took a shower and crawled into bed, hoping that just for tonight the nightmares would stay away.

It wasn't until much later that her mind betrayed her. She was back in that damp basement, electric shocks going through her ribs. She could hear herself crying but she could also feel a soft hand caressing her forehead.

"Wake up sweetheart, it's just a dream," whispered a familiar voice.

"Stop, please stop," cried JJ to her imaginary assailant. When the attack had happened the first time she hadn't yelled or cried, she'd kept her composure, maintained a leveled head even with the torture. In her dreams everything intensified, the fear, the pain. But what consumed her was the absolute desperation that flooded her body.

"Jay, come back," she felt soft lips pressed against her temple.

"Emily, please," begged the sleeping woman, too far gone to realize she was dreaming.

"I'm right here, Jennifer you need to wake up," the voice was now a little firmer.

Just as her nightly torment started, it ended. JJ sat up in her hotel bed, sweat dripping out of every pore, salty tears cascading down her face. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't stop crying. The dream had left her hypersensitive to everything. The sheet she clung to felt rough, the air was too cold, her body hummed with adrenaline, making her skin hot to the touch.

Her heart raced once again when she felt a pair of strong arms pulling her close to a body, a body that hadn't been there when she fell asleep. At first she fought against it, but in her weakened state she was easily to subdued by the massive hug. Every now and then she'd gasp for air as the sobs kept on coming. There was no notion of time or space as she finally gave into the comfort and held onto the person holding her.

It felt familiar and different at the same time. It was definitely a woman holding her, it couldn't be Alex, and Garcia had stayed back in Quantico.

"Emily," she breathed out, her foggy mind connecting the dots.

"Shhhh Jay, I'm here, shhhh," replied the brunette, holding her a little tighter, "sleep, we'll talk tomorrow. I'll be right here."

With that promise JJ was able to drift back to sleep, finding comfort in Emily's voice. Tomorrow they could talk and dissect what she was feeling, right now she just needed the support only Emily could provide.

R&R!