Chapter 6
"Hey, Emily. How are you doing?"said JJ softly.
She was in a wheelchair and had been brought by a hospital volunteer she had managed to persuade to help her. JJ thanked the girl and she left. JJ eased herself into the seat next to Emily. She hated the wheelchair but it still hurt to walk and it was a large hospital, JJ hadn't wanted to waste any time.
"JJ! How are you? Are you okay?" said Emily, slightly startled.
"It hurts and I'll have to carry Henry on my other side for a while but I'll get by. Emily, how is he?" pressed JJ.
"He's umm, hooked up to all kinds of things. He hasn't woken up yet and the doctors are worried about brain damage from the shock and blood loss. It seems that might have caused his brain to be oxygen deprived and they can't tell until he wakes up. But the longer that he doesn't wake up..." her voice trailed away.
'The less chance he has of ever waking up,' supplied JJ mentally. She winced at the thought of losing Derek.
"Oh, Emily," she reached out and grasped both her hands warmly.
Emily was staring at the floor and willing herself not to cry. She looked at JJ.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. We were wrong, we should have told you guys," she said sadly.
"Don't worry about that, Em. It's over and done with," soothed JJ.
"It would've been better if we'd said something even if it cost us our jobs. Then he wouldn't have gotten hurt," reasoned Emily, in a flat voice.
"No, Em. You can't think that way. Sometimes bad things just happen. There's nothing you could have done," protested JJ.
Emily stayed silent. JJ put an arm around her friend and hugged her lightly. Emily just sat and stared at the floor.
X * X * X * X * X * X
"Mommy, look! I'm flying a kite! It's flying!" yelled the excited little boy.
"I see you, sweetheart. You're doing great!" she called back with a big smile.
She lifted the baby girl in her arms and pressed the girl's chubby cheek against her own, pointing towards the little boy with the kite.
"Do you see that, baby? Your big brother's flying a kite! Can you see him?" she told her daughter, bouncing her.
The baby giggled and cooed, stretching out her arms as if reaching for the flying kite.
"Hello, Princess," said a deep voice, as a pair of arms snaked around her waist from behind and a loving kiss was placed on the side of her neck.
The baby turned immediately at his voice and squirmed impatiently to reach out for her doting father, babbling incessantly.
"Hello, beautiful baby girl. Aren't you a happy baby girl?" cooed Derek, laughing as he took the eager baby into his arms.
"She's such a Daddy's girl," said Emily with a laugh.
"She's perfect," he said proudly, rubbing noses with his adorable baby daughter making her squeal in delight.
Then he replaced one arm around his wife's waist and drew her close. Emily settled into his side with a blissful sigh and turned to watch their son playing.
Emily woke up with a gasp to find that she had fallen asleep against JJ's shoulder. JJ hadn't left her side since the morning. Her heart twisted in anguish. It had all been a dream. Just a dream.
"Has there been any change?" she asked the blonde.
"His sister came during her lunch break and she went in for this hour. We didn't want to wake you up," said JJ.
"Yeah, of course. That's fine," said Emily, still shaking off sleep. She hadn't slept at all through the night and had not slept well for the past few nights due to the case.
"Em, you need to get some rest," said JJ gently.
"No, I'm not leaving," said Emily stubbornly.
"JJ, Prentiss," said Hotch, suddenly appearing.
"Hotch, what are you doing here?" asked JJ.
"My surname is Morgan," said Emily firmly.
Hotch and JJ exchanged worried looks.
"We'll get that sorted out as soon as possible," promised JJ.
"The doctor says you can go. I couldn't find you in your room but a nurse told me that you were here. I can take you back to the hotel where you can rest," said Hotch.
"Oh, thanks, Hotch. But I think someone needs to be here with Emily," said JJ with concern.
"JJ, you're not well either. You need to rest so that you'll recover faster. You need to think about being well for Henry. I know that you hate being in hospitals. Emily should come back with you," insisted Hotch.
"No! I'm not going anywhere. He might wake up at any time and he needs me," said Emily stubbornly.
"What Derek needs when he wakes up is to see that you are well and taking care of yourself. Do you think you'll be doing him any favours if you look like hell when he wakes up? He's going to wake up and then he's going to be worried sick about his wife because you'll be about to fall over from exhaustion. I can absolutely guarantee that he's not going to be pleased about that!" scolded Hotch, in a low but firm voice.
Emily looked at him with wide eyes. She felt a flash of anger.
"How dare you?" she said angrily standing up.
"Emily, there are other people who care about him. Other people care about you too. You can't do anything for him right now but he'll need you when he regains consciousness. Get some rest so that you'll be able to actually be there for him when he wakes up," continued Hotch firmly, not backing down.
"He's right, Emily," said Desiree's soft voice.
"Aaron Hotchner," said Hotch, after a pause, introducing himself. He held out a hand to Desiree.
"Desiree Morgan, you're their boss," said Derek's sister.
"I'll stay and you can go back to your hotel or you can go to Mama's place if you like. I have the rest of the day off and Mama's coming back later," said Desiree.
"I can't," insisted Emily.
"I promise I'll call you if anything changes. Derek wouldn't want you to suffer like this. It's okay," reassured Desiree.
Finally Emily agreed to go back to the hotel with JJ. Hotch slowly led the two women out of the hospital, assisting JJ as she kept a hand on a reluctant Emily.