Sorry it's been a while. I have to admit, it took a long time before I was really happy with the feel of the chapter. Hope you enjoy!
It was September the 26th. Forty-nine days had come and gone since JJ's raw confession to Will. Since she had purposed in her heart and told her husband about some of her feelings and about what was going on.
In the days that followed the long overdue conversation, truth be told, it seemed as if things had gotten a little...easier for the blonde.
Maybe, it was the fact that she didn't have to go it totally alone. The fact that she could talk to someone, to Will, if need be (although she hadn't).
Or, maybe it was the fact that Hotch had recently hired a new addition to the BAU, which meant everyone's workload had lessened in degree. It also meant that there were fewer items on her plate of heaping responsibilities—fewer things that held her attention and required effort, allowing more energy to be placed on preceding each situation with care.
It could have been a culmination of things. Who knows? The only thing that truly mattered was that things had gotten a little...better. And, it had been a good night...
"Night baby," JJ whispered softly as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Henry's forehead. Placing the book on his nightstand and quietly moving from the bed so as not to stir him, she smiled and made her way to the door.
Silently pulling it to, JJ turned to see Will; back against the wall and arms folded across his chest, just taking in the sight before him. Just reveling in one of the rare moments where he caught his wife with her walls down, and a true, genuine smile was on her face.
"Henry's out," she snorted, body turning to face him.
"Like a light." Will finished her sentence in his thick, Southern drawl and lightly chuckled.
"Will..." JJ's brow furrowed momentarily at the sudden shift; at the abrupt silence between them and at the look her husband gave—the one that spoke volumes without ever having uttered a single word. The look that confessed...I've missed you.
It wasn't that the two of them hadn't been intimate ever since the conversation that night—because they had been. It was just that, during their times together, the blonde was always on guard. And, in all actuality, it was more for Will than anything. But standing there, upon catching his look, JJ came to realize just how much she had missed him too.
With darkening eyes, she bit her lip and took his hands, leading them towards their bedroom.
Making it into the room, Will barely had enough time to lock the door and turn around before he was met with a soft pair of lips on his.
JJ could feel his lips turn up into a smile as she kissed him, truly kissed him, and started to express in a language all of its own that she had missed him too. She had missed...being with him. She missed the feeling of being whole—complete—especially since she wrestled the thoughts that she had lost a part of herself.
While quickly becoming lost in the conversation of kisses, JJ still had enough faculties to notice that Will was moving them towards their intended destination. But needing to be the one to confess—to express just how sorry she was that she had neglected him...that she had neglected them—JJ intentionally turned them so the back of her husband's legs hit the edge of the bed instead.
Will sensed her hands had moved to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. More than willing to let his wife set the pace for the evening, his own hands started to explore and slowly moved down her arms before landing at her waist.
Desiring more contact, Will began to tease the skin under her shirt. And, upon hearing the hum of approval, his hands fanned out and sensually rubbed her sides.
"You're an attractive woman Jareau," a familiar voice echoed in the blonde's ears at that moment and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.
Feeling the fog of arousal lift instantly, JJ released the hold of her husband's hair, and her hands fell to her sides. Her eyes then closed as she focused on trying to gain control of her breathing.
"No more games." Glassy, blue eyes snapped open at the words...at the threat...at...HASTINGS.
Will eventually came to register the loss of contact and lack of response to his touches. Opening his own eyes, he quickly took in the rapid movements of his wife's collar bone as well as her glazed, unfocused stare. He removed his hands from under her shirt and swallowed.
"JJ?" He cupped both sides of her face with his hands in attempt to make eye contact. "Cher?"
There was no response apart from the nonverbal raising of her arms, and her hands made their way on top of his and gripped—working to escape from the unwanted hold.
Gotta...get away. JJ forced herself to push past the paralyzing fear and focused on the task with urgency, gritting her teeth in determination.
"Look at me Cher. Come on," Will gently implored—still keeping his hands at her face; still hoping that she would just look at him and make her way back to the present—back to him.
Eye contact was futile though as he noticed her head began to thrash from side to side in frustration. I have to...He can't...The blonde could feel the fear clawing at her chest, ripping the very breath from her lungs.
"JJ, Please." Will's voice cracked as her thrashing increased in extent and she began to kick in defense.
Setting his jaw and taking a deep breath, Will steeled himself for what he had to do next. Please forgive me Cher.
Unable to break the mental chains, but needing to keep them both safe from potential harm, he swiftly released the hold at his wife's face, spun her around, and sat them down on the edge of the bed.
Faint whimpers could be heard the moment she detected arms and legs had wrapped around hers to form an effective pin.
How can...I need to...JJ couldn't think past the puffs of breath at the back of her neck, and her eyes closed momentarily as she swallowed down the bile making its way up her throat.
"You're the price," the deceptively smooth voice carried the promise of what was to come.
Not much time. Can't let him...JJ clenched her jaw and bucked out of desperation. Her actions doing nothing except exerting energy and making the hem of her shirt rise up in the process.
Adjusting around his wife's arms during the abrupt movements, one of Will's calloused hands landed at the side of her stomach and unknowingly rubbed her scar.
"Maybe…we can make you another one." The blonde gasped at the contact and was flooded with a sense of dirtiness...contamination. IF she survived the following act, how could Will ever look at her the same?
...wait...
JJ's body suddenly hunched forward, and sweaty strands of hair shielded her expression of absolute heartbreak.
"Will...I'm-'m..." Her voice wavered with unshed tears as she came to the dark realization that she wasn't going to come back to him...to Henry.
Feeling the tears well up in her eyes, JJ pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth in effort to prevent the sobs from escaping. But it was no use, and soft cries tore from her throat anyways.
In the midst of her agony, the blonde was vaguely aware of the shushing in her ears. Hastings was taunting her.
All at once, it was as if all of the energy had drained from her body the exact moment she felt herself being forced to lie down on her side. JJ trembled as hands wrapped around her waist, and her eyes closed—sorrowful tears continuing to roll down from them.
"I'm sorry," she apologized for her inability to save herself. "'m so sorry."
"It's okay," Will soothed, spooning her from behind. All the while just wishing he could absorb the pain that she was experiencing into his own body.
JJ let the words wash over her. At least in her final moments, she would hear her husband's voice...even if it was in her mind.
Feeling herself being rolled onto her back, she replayed his words over and over as she prepared for the beginning of the end.
JJ expected the next actions to be rough. Violent. Degrading. Ripping her apart in every sense of the phrase. But with eyes still closed, she was confused as instead she was met with a tender touch at her face.
"It's gonna be okay," Will gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek and wiped at her tears.
JJ tried to bring the tears to a halt, but they continued to trickle down in a steady stream. "Will," she sniffled and worked at the lump in her throat. "Hastings...I can't...I can't get him off."
Her husband removed the caress at her face and picked up her hand, holding it in his. He swallowed down the lump in his own throat. "I'll help you get him off Cher...WE'LL get him off, but you gotta open your eyes for me darlin'. Look at me."
The blonde's heart ached at the request. "But if I open my eyes, then...then you'll be gone. I ca-I can't..."
"I won't leave you," she heard the conviction in his words.
So desperately wanting to trust him, she was still uncertain. "I'm scared," her confession nothing more than a broken whisper.
"I know darlin'. I know. But I'm here." Will gently squeezed her hand. "I'm right here."
Heart violently pounding within her chest, JJ finally gathered up the courage to step out on faith, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Hopefully the next update will be sooner rather than later. I have a timeline of events already mapped out, but I may try to add one more thing into the mix. Any other requests?