Here's the next chapter guys, I hope you enjoy it. Please review and constructive criticism is always welcome.
Derek sat on the uncomfortable hospital chair with his head in his hands, trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the past hour. He was confused and stressed and sleep deprived but he knew there was something he was missing, something big that seemed to be running away every time he got close to realising what it was.
He took a deep breath and stretched out his body, deciding to take his brain through everything he could remember and see if there was anything else that he could pick up on that would help him work out what was going on and how any of this had even happened, cause it shouldn't have. Emily should have been safe with the team, not in the hands of some psychopath. Well, ex-psychopath now.
When he and JJ had entered the house it had been alarmingly obvious that it was being lived in and someone had been there recently due to the fact that the radio was playing and the kettle was still warm. In fact as far as they knew Britton was still in the house, and that meant Emily probably was too. They had called for back-up but also mutually agreed that they weren't going to wait for it, not when Emily was at risk. Any slight doubts they may have had about Emily's whereabouts or their own safety were eliminated at the sound of a scream that had them racing down the steps towards the basement. Derek wasn't sure what he had been feeling at that point. On one hand they had known that Emily was at least alive but on the other hand they had also known that she was definitely in pain, which had meant relief definitely wasn't the right word.
As he and JJ stood behind the door that they knew Emily was behind they had looked at each other and although no words were exchanged they had both known what the other was thinking - keep Emily safe whatever it takes. He couldn't kick the door down straight away, he'd had to take a moment to prepare himself for what he was going to see on the other side cause he knew whatever it was it wasn't going to be pretty. He knew that JJ had been doing the same - she had been so off since Emily had been missing and he knew it was just due to how much she cared but it was still weird.
Kicking the door open had been easy and quick and within seconds Derek had been standing in a dingy cold room with his gun pointed at Britton who was holding an obviously weak Emily in his arms with a bloody knife next to her neck. A quick glance around the room had confirmed a lot of what the BAU had assumed. Derek knew he probably wouldn't forget the fresh blood stains on the floor any time soon. He definitely wouldn't be forgetting the sight of Emily either. He had seen her bleeding out before but this was different somehow. If he was profiling himself he'd say it was different because he knew that she'd been suffering for days and he had known exactly what was being done to her whilst she was missing but the irrational part of his brain was creeping in with the fact that it was his fault. Whatever anyone said it was him that Emily as with when she was taken, he was the one who'd failed to look after her and therefore caused all of this.
He and JJ couldn't see Emily's back from the angle that they'd been standing at but they had been able to see the red stains on her shirt and the way it hung off her body - clearly showing that it had been cut open at the back. Britton has been completely unstable, yelling threats and edging the knife he was holding closer and closer to Emily's neck. Derek had tried every trick in the book to get him to surrender but it hadn't worked and he knew that time was running out. He had been able to see the way that Emily's legs were shaking and it was obvious that she wasn't going to stay standing for much longer, she probably hadn't eaten since she'd been taken and Derek was still trying to avoid thinking about exactly how much pain she'd been through. The brunette had been pretty much out of it for the whole time he and JJ had been in the room. She had been completely unresponsive to everything that had been going on around her but Derek hadn't missed the way her eyes seemed to focus on JJ for a moment and her facial expression change to something that seemed almost close to calm, like she knew what was going on. That had been in the moments before her legs collapsed beneath her, the jolt of her movement causing Britton to slice the knife along the side of her neck. Before Derek had even had a chance to process what was happening JJ had taken a shot, landing it straight in between the bastard's eyes.
Derek felt the sick feeling returning to his stomach as he recreated the scene in his head. Emily was lying on the floor - eyes closed, blood dripping from the gash in her neck on to the stone floor. Britton lay a few metres away from her, blood gushing from the hole in his head and the knife laying next to his still hand. Derek had stood still as JJ had raced to Emily's side, checking or the brunette's pulse before beginning to move her into the recovery position and applying pressure to her neck. Derek had sprung back into action then, calling for medics before joining JJ by Emily's side.
She had been alive, the small rise and fall of her chest was enough to tell him that but he hadn't had a chance to feel relieved as he noticed Emily's back. It was covered in cuts which created some kind of intricate image of Britton's creation. Some of the cuts were deeper than others, some were starting to heal whilst others were still bleeding, having obviously been done just before they had found her. They were going to be there forever. In that moment an overwhelming wave of guilt had washed over him and it hadn't really left since. She was permanently scarred and it was down to him. He had forced himself to look away, and instead turned his gaze to JJ. The blonde was quietly crying, tears rolling down her face as her eyes fixed on Emily's back as she had held the unconscious woman's hand in her own. Derek knew she would have been having the exact same thoughts as he was but it didn't change anything. He was to blame.
"She's going to be okay." Derek had said.
JJ had stayed silent.
They had stayed silent for a few minutes until the medics came racing in and Emily was bundled away into an ambulance with JJ by her side and Derek had followed in his car, letting the team know to meet him at the hospital.
And now he was here. Sitting in some waiting room. Waiting. And something still wasn't adding up. He didn't have any more time to think about it though as the rest of the team came rushing in.
"What's happening?" Hotch questioned, his dark eyes filled with concern.
"She's being examined by the doctor now. JJ went for a walk to clear her head while it's happening. She should be back soon." Derek stated.
"Okay, now tell me everything that happened."
JJ sat on a bench right outside the hospital, taking deep breaths in an attempt to pull herself together before having to face everyone. After shooting Britton she had let herself fall apart slightly. Seeing Emily lying there with all the cuts and the blood had hurt so much that she didn't know what also she could do except cry. It wasn't like it was the first time she had seen someone she loved in that kind of position (and god thinking about that made her feel so sick) but she still hadn't got any better at dealing with it and compartmentalising her emotions. If anything she'd gotten worse. Maybe it was because no one else knew exactly how much Emily meant to her, and were therefore expecting her to be stronger and more focused but she just couldn't.
Even now, when she knew that Emily was alive and safe in the best place possible JJ couldn't push away the pangs of anxiety attacking her stomach and she knew they wouldn't go away until Emily was definitely going to be okay.
The blonde glanced down at her hands, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat as she remembered what they had looked like ten minutes ago - covered in her lover's blood and shaking as she was forced to let go of Emily as they wheeled her off towards some room.
The cut on her neck hadn't been fatal, even with her lack of medical knowledge JJ could see that it hadn't cut any veins or arteries but Emily had lost so much blood already that JJ didn't know if she could have coped with losing anymore. The paramedics in the ambulance had been throwing around words and numbers that JJ didn't understand and they seemed so busy that she hadn't wanted to interrupt them. All she had done was sit silently next to Emily, holding her hand and praying to anyone that would listen for the brunette to be okay.
This whole situation was a mess. Two days ago she had everything figured out. She had her family and Emily and yes she knew it made her a bad person but she was content and happy and now - now her head was a mess and she had no idea what she was going to do. Emily meant everything to her (after her children of course) but Will was still her husband and he had done absolutely nothing wrong. She just didn't love him anymore, not as much as she loved Emily anyway.
JJ was distracted from her thoughts as her phone buzzed, signalling that she had a message which turned out to be from Derek. 'The nurse just told us that the examination is finished and the doctor will be out to talk to us in a few minutes.'
Derek paced along the corridor, searching for room 23. The news about Emily had been relatively good. A few of the cuts including the one on her neck had required stitches and she was severely dehydrated but other than that she had escaped without any major physical problems. It was the psychological effects that Derek was more concerned about. Emily had always been so strong and independent and good at compartmentalising her issues but being covered in a permanent reminder of them was not going to be good for her at all. She was going to need a lot of help to recover from this but Emily wasn't always the best at accepting it and if she tried to deal with this on her own the consequences would not be good. Hotch and the others were already concocting a plan to make sure she got everything she needed over the upcoming weeks or months or however long it took for her to get better.
The doctor had said that Emily would be sedated for about 24 hours to allow her body to begin to heal, after which they would wake her up and do some more tests to make sure that they hadn't missed anything. They wouldn't know how long Emily would need to stay in hospital after she woke up either. Knowing the brunette she was going to try and leave as soon as she could and they were all going to have their work cut out trying to keep her there until she was fully recovered.
The doctor had also said that there was only one person allowed in the room with Emily whilst she was sedated and JJ had gone first. However she had been gone for about an hour now and Derek had decided to go and check that everything was alright with the blonde. She hadn't coped with Emily's absence well, probably because of the argument that they'd had the night before and Derek just wanted to make sure that she was okay now.
The muscular man stopped outside room 23 and glanced through the window. Emily was lying on the bed in a hospital gown with her eyes closed. Her chest was moving rhythmically upwards and downwards and she almost seemed peaceful. If it wasn't for all the wires connecting her body to the machines next to the bed Derek could have almost convinced himself that she was just sleeping, not recovering. He let a small smile on to his face at the sight of JJ sitting in the chair next to the bed. She had one arm on the bed with her head resting in the crook of it and she was fast asleep. It was a good thing that she was getting some rest, none of them had slept much over the past 48 hours and they all needed to regain their strength.
Derek was about to enter the room and wake JJ up when he noticed that her other hand was intertwined with Emily's, their fingers interlocked as they slept.
That was when he finally realised what hadn't been adding up.
He now knew exactly what he'd been missing.
"Oh shit." He murmured quietly.
JJ was in love with Emily.
