So sorry for the delay on this chapter! I had one ninety-five percent written a week ago, but I just couldn't find the motivation to finish it because I wasn't happy with it at all. So I scrapped it and started fresh, and here's an entirely different story based on the same prompt. I'm much happier with it, so I hope you all will be too!

Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I am honored to have received so many thoughtful comments.

Here's Chapter 8: H is for Hands.

The first time she takes JJ's hand, Emily doesn't think twice. Garcia's just been shot, and JJ is sitting there looking like she has the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. Reid is pacing and Morgan's missing, and Hotch and Rossi are being, well, Hotch and Rossi, and Emily knows she's the only one in any position to be even close to what JJ needs in that moment. So she sits next to her, gently touches her wrist, and when JJ's hand turns and grasps her own, she ignores the butterflies she feels in her chest and stomach, pushes down the urge to take her other hand and brush the hair off of JJ's face, drowns out the voice in her head reminding her that this is not a good idea, that she should keep a respectable distance, that this is her colleague whose best friend has just been shot.

Even so, she does let her thumb trace gentle circles against JJ's knuckles as their hands continue to rest together.

They sit quietly for a while, with no need for words between them, and then the surgeon appears and announces that Garcia will be okay. Emily is glad, so glad, but then she feels a sudden emptiness when JJ lets go of her hand, rushing to give Reid a hug, to tell Hotch she'll be the one to stay, to ask the doctor when she can see Penelope.

Emily mumbles a goodnight and follows Rossi out the door on her way to spend what she's sure will be a sleepless night alone at home.

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The next time she takes JJ's hand they are, ironically enough, back in a hospital. JJ's the patient this time, having just been admitted to a labor and delivery room, and somehow Emily ends up sitting in the chair beside her bed. Hotch had politely excused himself to the waiting room as JJ got settled and Garcia was flitting about making phone calls, checking in with Will to see when he'd arrive, letting JJ's parents know, notifying the rest of the team still in Vegas that they might want to hurry back.

Unlike the first time, Emily thinks before acting. It's like she's suddenly hyper aware of every move her body is making and she can't push down that voice, instead buying in to the reminders that she doesn't belong here, this isn't her family, she can't be what JJ needs right now. But then she hears a groan and sees a wince, and before Emily even knows what is happening she's reaching out and JJ's hand is clutching hers, squeezing tightly as she waits for the contraction to pass.

"Don't leave me, Em," she grits out, and Emily hates the part of herself that allows a spark to ignite deep in her bones. "I don't want to be alone. Please stay until Will gets here."

Oh. Right.

And even as that spark fizzles out as quickly as it appears, Emily stays at her bedside, one hand in JJ's and the other periodically sweeping the hair away from JJ's sweaty forehead. She stays through Garcia's multiple comings and goings, blowing into the room a colorful burst of excitement unable to sit still for more than a few minutes before remembering another call she has to make or the most adorable teddy bear she saw in the gift shop that she just has to go buy. She stays through the nurses' visits, attempting to excuse herself when they check JJ's progress only to immediately flop back down in the chair when JJ lets out a terrified whine and squeezes her hand that much harder. She stays until, an hour or so later, Will rushes in the door all mumbled apologies and takes JJ's other hand, prompting JJ to immediately release Emily's and wrap that arm tightly around her baby's father.

She had thought she had herself under control, her emotions all packed up into a neat and tidy little box, but Emily feels her heart break that much more as she watches their hug, watches them transform from two people into a family. Moving quietly to the door, she looks back when she hears Will's voice call out to her. "Agent Prentiss," he says. "Thank you. Y'know, for being here when I couldn't."

Emily forces a smile and nods once, then looks straight into JJ's eyes. "You're gonna do great, Jayje. We're all so proud of you."

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The third time, it's JJ who reaches out to take Emily's hand. She's been married all of three hours and Emily can't help but watch her on the dance floor with her new husband, the look of pure contentment she sees on JJ's face making her involvement in this whole impromptu wedding feel worth it. When JJ looks up and they briefly make eye contact she looks away, knowing it's not the first time that night she's been caught staring, and she doesn't see JJ press a quick kiss to Will's cheek before excusing herself and making her way over to where Emily is lingering near the gift table.

"You're being weird," JJ speaks, Emily jumping slightly as the other woman makes her presence known.

"Congratulations," she forces a smile, hoping with everything she has it looks authentic, before slightly raising the glass she holds in her hand. "You look beautiful tonight, JJ."

Emily swears she sees a slight blush rise on JJ's cheeks before she speaks again. "You're definitely being weird. What's going on with you?"

"It's nothing," Emily dismisses. "Seriously, don't worry about it. It's your night."

JJ grins. "Exactly. It's my night, and you're my friend, so you have to tell me why you're being weird. Is it – I mean, are you…" she pauses, suddenly unsure of herself. "Do you not approve of this marriage?"

"No, JJ," Emily rushes. "God, no. As long as you're happy, I'm happy," and that part, at least, is the truth.

"Then what is it?"

Emily averts her eyes, chewing unconsciously on her lower lip. She's searching for the courage to speak, to say this all out loud and make it real. She finds it when JJ reaches forward, grabbing her hand. "I'm taking a job with Interpol."

She hears JJ suck in a deep breath, and only then returns her gaze to her. The look in JJ's eyes makes Emily wonder if she could call Clyde right back and tell him she changed her mind. When JJ laces her fingers through Emily's, she almost does.

"Where?" JJ speaks a moment later, her voice barely a whisper.

"London."

"Oh, Em," she sighs, her hand squeezing tighter against Emily's. "It won't be the same without you, but," she laughs quietly, even as her other hand reaches up to brush away the couple of tears forming in her eyes, "as long as you're happy, I'm happy."

And Emily laughs too, because she knows if she doesn't she might cry. She laughs, and she squeezes JJ's hand, and this time she's the one who lets go. "Go," she shoos. "Be with Will, spend time with your family. We'll talk more another time."

JJ gives her a sad smile but heads back over to where Will is now dancing with her mother. Emily says a silent goodbye before slipping away herself.

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Some twelve years have passed since that first time she took JJ's hand, and Emily doesn't keep count anymore but they're back in that same hospital, a mirror imaged hallway in an opposite wing two floors up, but it brings Emily right back just the same. JJ still sits there, older and wiser but as beautiful as ever, and this time it's Will who's pacing and Michael who's not there, though she knows he's safely at home with Garcia, probably hyped up on leftover Christmas cookies and working on at least his second mug of hot chocolate. Henry had been sledding at the park with some friends when he'd veered off course, one of the trees that lined the side of the hill eventually breaking his momentum. He hadn't hit his head, thankfully, but the unnatural angle of his leg and the bone sticking out through the tear in his snow pants made it pretty clear that surgery would be in order.

"He's gonna be fine, Jay," Emily whispers, sitting next to her and gently touching her wrist, just as she had all those years before. "He's gonna be just fine."

"I know," JJ whispers, her hand turning and grasping Emily's. Henry was conscious and talking and in a lot of pain for sure, but ultimately okay. But he is JJ's baby, and Emily knows her wife is nothing if not fiercely protective of her family.

They both stand together when the doctor comes out, and still JJ hangs on to her hand. Henry is going to be fine, and she can feel JJ's body relax beside her, can feel the tension in her hand dissipate immediately and the circles she draws against JJ's knuckles come naturally now. She hears the doctor say that Henry will be waking up soon, that they can go back and see him, and she feels JJ tug at her hand as she takes a step forward.

Emily blinks, her feet refusing to move, her grip on JJ's hand loosening even as JJ continues to hold on. "You guys go," she says, suddenly unsure of herself in a way she hasn't felt in years. "I can wait here, give you some time together."

JJ looks at her curiously, but she still holds on.

It's Will who speaks after a beat of silence. "Come on, Emily. He's gonna wake up soon, and he's gonna want you there, too."

She feels JJ's hand squeeze hers, a quick pulse against her palm, but she still doesn't let go. And then Emily meets JJ's eyes and smiles shyly, and her feet are moving again.