Disclaimer: The characters still aren't mine, and I don't profit from any part of writing this story.

Pairing: JJ/Emily, femslash

Something about JJ had been off lately, and Emily could not figure out what it was. The media liaison had been uncharacteristically distant and troubled since even the hours leading up to the team's departure four days ago on their latest case. The jet was now making its way back to Quantico, and because it was nearly midnight and everyone was exhausted from the inevitable late nights working the case, nearly everyone on the team was asleep. Everyone, that is, except for Emily, who was trying to concentrate on the book in her lap, and JJ, who was leaning against the back of the couch looking out the window at the swirling darkness below.

Emily decided to give up on her book, since she was too concerned about JJ to focus on it anyway. There was no point in further wasting her time. She stood up, stretched, and tried to shake the sleep out of her legs. Then she walked past JJ to the galley, removed two bottles of water from the refrigerator, and returned to the couch, tapping JJ on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Here." JJ accepted the proffered water bottle and gave Emily a wan smile of gratitude, more for the company than the drink, though she was a little thirsty. She unscrewed the cap and took a few cursory sips.

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Hey, is everything okay? You haven't really seemed like yourself these last few days. We're all getting a little worried about you. Especially me. Mostly me."

JJ avoided her gaze and began staring out the window again. Emily sat on the couch facing her and rested her hand on her blonde friend's knee. Her deep brown eyes never left JJ.

"JJ, honey, it's okay to tell me. Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it—I won't mind. I'm here for you, Jayje. Please let me help if I can." She practically begged her, unconsciously rubbing JJ's knee hoping the soothing motion would calm her friend enough to speak. It appeared to be working, because the younger woman reached out and placed her hand on Emily's, stopping her movements for a moment as she adjusted herself on the couch so that her back was flush up against Emily's torso and the hand that had been on her knee she now curled around her own stomach, leaving her hand on top of it. Emily felt their fingers intertwine, and instinctively brought her other arm around JJ's waist, pulling her closer as she bent down to place a small kiss on JJ's shoulder.

"Tell me." JJ sighed at the warmth and urgency of Emily's breath in her ear.

"It's Will."

"What about him?"

"I … broke up with him. Last weekend. Before we left."

"You broke up with him? I'm so sorry, Jayje. That must have been hard for you. How did he take it?"

"Not well. He just froze. Couldn't speak, couldn't move. It took most of the day Sunday for me to convince him to leave the couch and at least take a shower, and when he finally heard me, he looked shocked by how much time had passed that he hadn't noticed at all. He was in such a daze. I had given him his old detective's shield back the day after we broke up. He just kept turning it over and over in his hands. It was so heartbreaking for me to look at him, to see how much pain I was putting him through, that I avoided him most of the weekend. He slept in the guest room Sunday night, and Monday morning I got up early with Henry and brought him to the daycare at work. Then we left for the case. I haven't heard from Will since. He was supposed to fly back to New Orleans yesterday, I think."

Emily tightened her arms around JJ in an effort to ease her sadness. "I'm so sorry, JJ. How about you? How are you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess. I mean, our relationship wasn't perfect by any stretch, but he was a huge part of my life for the last couple of years, and I did love him—Neither of us was the person the other one needed us to be. It hasn't really sunk in yet for me that what we had is over, either, because I only had a day to process the breakup before we caught another case. Will was still there when I left, so I'm sure that however I am feeling about it now will change when I walk in my front door tonight and no one is there. The house will be empty, just like it was when I met him. His clothes will be gone from the closet and drawers, and the sheets will be cold. There probably won't even be dishes in the sink to remember him by. I don't know if I am ready to deal with that empty house yet. I don't know if or when I ever will be."

Emily reached over to kiss JJ on the cheek as a tear made its way down her face. She caught it with her lips and kissed JJ again before asking, "Is there anything I can do to make it easier on you?"

JJ shifted a little in Emily's arms so she could look at her. "Can you … Can you stay with me tonight? I just really don't want to be alone. I'm not ready for that at all."

"Of course, baby. Whatever you need. You don't have to go through any of this alone. But we've still got a few more hours before the plane lands, so why don't we try to get some rest?"

JJ snuggled deeper into Emily's arms and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before her breathing slowed and her body relaxed. For her part, Emily preferred to stay awake so that she didn't miss a single moment of holding the blonde.

Three hours later, JJ felt a hand rubbing her arm and heard Emily tell her quietly that it was time to get up. They were about to land. JJ pretended not to hear and instead burrowed her face further into Emily's shoulder. Unfortunately, the rubbing graduated to shaking. She was not going to get out of waking up that easily.

"Come on, sleepyhead. You need to get up now. We'll be on the ground again in five minutes, and I'm not about to carry you and both of our bags to the car. Let's go."

"Mmphghre," was JJ's only reply.

"Jennifer, this is your last warning. If you don't get up right now, I'm going to get Morgan to help me throw you off this plane."

JJ groaned but still did not move.

"That's it," Emily said, chuckling. "Morgan, grab her legs."

"You got it, Prentiss. Which part of the tarmac do you want to dump her onto?"

JJ bolted upright when she felt Derek's hands start to grip her ankles.

"Alright, alright, alright. That's enough. I'm up. I'm up now, okay, so let go."

Derek's grin widened as he maintained his grip.

"Derek! Don't make me use my gun on you." She pointed her index finger at him and pulled back her thumb.

Derek backed off, his hands raised in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. I give up, Jareau. You win. Just please don't shoot."

Reluctantly, JJ put her feet on the ground and stood up for the first time in hours. She started gathering up her things and tidying the plane. When she was finished, she ran her fingers through her hair, straightened her shirt where it had pulled up a little when she slept, and located the nearest available seat so she could prepare to land. She found the seat belt and fastened it tight around her.

After the plane landed, Emily found JJ waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, her ready-bag in hand. They walked back into the building together, put away the files from the case, and left for home. The followup paperwork could wait for all of them until morning.

When they pulled up to the house, Emily climbed out of the car and went to the trunk to remove their bags. She was about to carry them up to the door when she noticed that JJ hadn't gotten out of the car yet. She was just staring at the dark, lifeless windows of her house. Emily opened her door and took the younger woman's hands in her own, startling her out of her reverie.

"Jayje, it's okay. I know the house looks empty, but it won't be for long. I'll be in there with you, and I will stay there as long as you need me to. It won't be empty anymore. You don't have to face this alone. I want to be by your side for all of it."

JJ nodded her permission and allowed Emily to help her out of the car. They walked hand in hand to the door, and Emily waited patiently for JJ to find the key and let them in. When the door opened, Emily flipped on the light switch, pulled JJ in behind her, and immediately headed for the stairs. She tried to move quickly so that JJ would not have time to notice how empty the house felt. She set both of their bags on the bedroom floor, and as she turned toward the bathroom, she heard a strangled sob. JJ was standing frozen in the doorway, staring at the freshly made bed.

"He changed the sheets." That was all she could say. Emily nodded, confused.

"Probably."

"He changed the sheets." JJ repeated herself, frustrated that the brunette couldn't see the significance. "That was all I had left of him. Of us. His smell. And he changed them. It was all I had left, and he took that away from me." She sat down on the ground and rested her head on her knees as she pulled them to her chest. Emily knelt on the floor beside her and snaked an arm around her shoulders.

"Shhh. Jennifer, baby, it's okay. I know you miss him, and I know this is going to be hard for you, but I'm sure he didn't do that to hurt you. He probably changed them because he didn't want to hurt himself by having another reminder around of what you used to be. Besides, the fewer of his things you have lying around, the better you are going to be able to heal from this and move on. And that wasn't all you had left, okay? Do you hear me?" Emily cupped JJ's chin, forcing her to look her friend in the eye. "You still have Henry. If you need to remember him, all you need to do is look at your son, and you'll think of Will. You still have everyone at the BAU. And you still have me. You will always have me. He only did what you asked him to do, what he needed to do to be happy—he left. You did what you needed to do to take care of you both. And now it's my turn to take care of you. That starts," here she nodded toward the bed, "with sleep. You'll feel a little better when you've had some rest."

Emily helped JJ to her feet and when she was confident that the blonde was going to be fine, she retrieved her toiletry kit from her bag and headed off to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. JJ took the sound of the shower as her cue to start moving. She trudged over to her dresser and pulled out pajamas for them both, dressing herself and laying the remaining clothes on the bed for Emily. She turned down the sheets on the bed and sat down, taking a deep breath before sliding in between them and pulling the covers up over her head.

Emily stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a large, thick towel. She spotted the clothes JJ laid out on the bed for her and smiled at her thoughtfulness. She slipped the shorts on under her towel before removing it. She was about to slide on the t-shirt when she noticed movement on the bed and a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her.

"JJ, my eyes are up here," she said jokingly. Despite how tightly the blankets were wound around the blonde, she thought she saw a faint blush creep up as she finished pulling the shirt over her head. Emily smiled and crawled on the bed, pausing only to yank the blankets away from JJ.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know. I had this crazy idea that sharing your bed meant that I would also get to share some of the covers, say … half? It's just so weird how my mind works sometimes."

JJ growled and folded her arms across her chest. Since she was no longer holding the blankets hostage, Emily pulled them around to cover them both and slid closer to JJ. She placed a trail of kisses leading from her bare shoulder up the blonde's neck. She'd reached her ear when the younger woman turned her head and stopped her.

"Em, we can't. Not yet. I want to … but it's way too soon. Will is hardly gone."

Emily rolled back over and sank her head into the pillow. "I know, Jayje. I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the moment."

"I know you did. But remember what you said about not wanting any shortcuts? I don't, either. We have to do this right, take our time so neither of us ends up hurt. I don't want you to think that you're just a rebound for me. I don't want to do anything with you that we'll both regret in the morning. If we're going to be together, it has to be for the right reasons, not because it's late, and I'm lonely, and you're trying to help me forget about him. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah, I do. And I promise, I'll wait. I will even let you set the pace for us. I just want you to be happy, and I know I can make you happy. However long you need me to wait, I know it will be worth it to be with you in the end."

"You are so right about that." JJ grinned suggestively, dragging her finger down the center of the brunette's chest.

"See that? How am I supposed to behave when you say things like that?" Emily whined.

"I believe it's called discipline, sweetie." JJ kissed her on the forehead and snuggled into Emily's arms.

"That or cold showers," muttered a clearly disgruntled Emily as she wriggled out of JJ's grasp, picked up her towel, and headed back to the bathroom. JJ giggled and closed her eyes. She was asleep when Emily returned to the bed, and only stirred slightly as Emily pulled her into her arms again. After a few minutes, both women were asleep.

The next morning, the alarm went off and it was JJ's turn to roust a grumpy, stubborn Emily out of bed.

"Come on, Em. We have to get up now or we'll be late for work." She shook her a little as she spoke, but Emily made no sign of moving, so JJ changed tactics. Placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her waist, she pushed on her, rolling her over and over until she was wrapped up in the blankets like a mummy and teetering on the edge of the bed. With one final push, Emily hit the floor with a thud.

"Ow." The brunette opened her eyes to assess the damage. There was a bump on her forehead, but when she tried to raise one of her hands to feel it, she found she couldn't move. She looked down at the blankets wound tightly around her. "JJ! Damn it, get me out of this. Help me untangle these blankets so I can kill you."

"Tempting offer, Em, but I'm going to have to say no. Besides, I need to get ready for work. You should think about doing the same."

"Jennifer Jujubes Jason Juniper Jesus Jareau! Get me out of these blankets this instant, woman."

"Or what?"

"Or … or I will tell everyone one of the embarrassing stories your mother told me about you when you were little."

"Wait, you've been talking to my mother without me?"

"What? I happened to be in your office one day, looking for a file, and she called. I told her you weren't available and asked to take a message. One thing led to another, and within a minute, she was telling me all kinds of motherly dirt about you."

"I'm not sure I believe you, but I can't take the chance that you are telling the truth. So fine, I'll help you up."

She grabbed one end of the blankets and lifted it until a rather undignified Emily Prentiss rolled out. Her face bright red, Emily stood up and stalked off toward her ready-bag, pulling out the last clean work outfit she had in it and headed to the bathroom to change. JJ laughed and walked over to her closet to select her own outfit. When both women had showered, changed, and brushed their teeth, they walked downstairs with just enough time for Emily to grab her car keys off the table by the door and for JJ to lock up the house. They climbed into the car and headed to work.