Chapter 10- Where Does The Good Go

Carrie awoke to her own blood-curdling screams, sitting up fast in bed, panting and in a cold sweat.

She calmed herself slowly, taking in her surroundings and thankful she hadn't woken Haley or Jack.

She looked at the time; 3:43 am, and crawled out of bed, groaning. She knew there was no way she was going to sleep now.

Even if she was home with Emily there, it was close to impossible to get a full nights sleep, but the fact that she was staying somewhere else made her not even want to attempt it again.

She quietly made her way down the hall and into the bathroom, washing her face to wake herself up properly, before creeping downstairs into the kitchen and making some coffee.

She flopped herself on the couch, coffee in hand, and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels.

After hours of mindless TV, a light turned on in the kitchen and Carrie turned her head to see a surprised Haley.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." Carrie exclaimed, jumping up off the couch. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Haley smiled tiredly. "Carrie, don't worry about it. I didn't even know you were up yet. My alarm woke me up."

Carrie breathed a sigh of relief and ran a tired hand through her hair. "What time is it?"

"Just after seven." Carrie came over and took a seat by the bench.

Carrie looked up surprised. "Already?" She asked confused and Haley laughed.

"Yeah already. Were you up all night?" Haley looked concerned and Carrie shrugged her off.

"Just since 4."

Haley looked concerned and walked over to place a hand on Carrie's shoulder. "Everything okay?"

Carrie sighed and forced a smile. "Nightmares. But it's fine. I mean, they hardly ever come anymore." She lied. "I'm dealing with it."

"Does Emily know?"

Again, Carrie sighed. "Yeah… I mean, they're kind of hard to hide."

Haley frowned and rubber Carrie's back comfortingly before walking back over to the kitchen and pulling out ingredients. "You know you should talk to someone." Carrie rolled her eyes and Haley laughed at her attitude. "I know of a few great psychologists, but even if it's not a professional, you should still try to talk to someone. I realize it's hard to talk to parents sometimes, but Emily could really help. And so could JJ. I know she had a hard time sleeping last year after a case. She might know of some techniques that could help you."

Carrie smiled and stood up. "Thanks Haley." She said sincerely. "I'm going to go shower."

"Okay." Haley smiled back. "Think about it!" She called after the teenager and Carrie waved back in response.

Emily stood over a table, pictures and notes spread in front of her as she gathered them together, packing them away. The room was silent with the exception of the daily sounds of the precinct they were currently at in the other rooms, and the only other person in the room was JJ.

Usually conversation flowed easily between the two, but now, considering the fact that neither knew what to say and both noticed the other stealing glances of themselves, it was unbelievably awkward.

"Hey, are you guys almost done in here?" Morgan's voice sliced through the awkward tension and Emily breathed a sigh of relief, both women looking over at him.

"Almost." JJ smiled tiredly. This latest case had taken a lot out of all of them, and Hotch had given the entire team the rest of the week off.

"Alright well were all heading back to hotel in a few minutes." Emily and JJ exchanged a glance and both women looked as if they'd just found out the worst news of their lives. Morgan smiled at their expressions. "I know." He agreed, rubbing his head. "But the weather's still too heavy to fly. Hopefully it'll clear up by the morning."

Morgan smiled tiredly once more and left the room. Usually the team would've gotten together for dinner or something following a case if they were required to stay an extra night, but it was obvious everyone was tired and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

Emily and JJ went back to packing up the files, until Emily spoke up, taking into account what Carrie had suggested. "Hey, Jayje, you want to go grab some take-out on the way to the hotel? And, you know, just collapse and watch a movie."

For the first time since they had landed, JJ smiled brightly. "Sounds perfect."

Emily packed up faster than she had for any other case, fuelled by a new level of adrenaline.

They settled on Chinese and arrived back at the hotel half an hour later.

"I'm going to take a shower quickly." JJ spoke as they walked into the small hotel room.

Emily nodded and smiled at JJ as she placed the bag of food on her bed. "Go ahead. I was going to call and check on Carrie quickly anyway."

"I won't be long." JJ smiled as she walked into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door.

Emily waited until she heard the shower start before she speed dialed Carrie's cell.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Emily smiled, realizing how much she missed Carrie.

"Em…" Carrie sighed happily, her tone a mixture of exhaustion and relief. "Hey. How's the case going?"

"Solved." Emily sighed as she sat on her bed, not wanting to give Carrie anymore information that could destroy her remaining innocence. "How are you? How's school going?"

"It's going." Carrie answered simply and Emily laughed. "But it's okay. I'm actually doing my English essay at the moment." Carrie drew in a breath before continuing. "When are you coming back?"

Emily sighed. "Not till the morning. I'm sorry, honey."

"No… it's okay." Carrie sighed, lying. To be honest, she wanted Emily back. She wanted her mom.

"Are you going to be okay to stay with Haley and Jack for another night?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Carrie asked rhetorically. "I'll be fine. Haley's been great. Jack too. He's so cute."

Emily smiled. "That he is." She agreed.

"So how's it going with JJ?" Emily could literally hear Carrie grinning.

Emily's only response was a laugh.

"Emily, come on, you promised! She loves you, I know she does. Just tell her how you feel."

Emily sighed, leaning back. "I can't loose her." Emily spoke more to herself than to Carrie. "If I tell her I love her and she doesn't feel the same way… I can't risk that. I can't risk loosing her."

"But you'll never know until you try." Carrie said gently. "Please Emily. Just trust me."

"I do." Emily sighed nervously. "Okay I will. Tonight, over dinner. I promise."

"You wont regret it I promise!" Carrie almost yelled excitedly. "Hold on a sec." Emily could hear her say something in the background. "Hey, Em, I've got to go. Dinner's ready. But call me back as soon as you talk to her okay? And tell JJ I said hi."

"Will do, honey. Have a good night."

"You too." Carrie replied before hanging up.

Emily sighed and relaxed back into the cushions, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels.

"Emily?" Emily knew immediately that something was wrong from the tone of JJ's voice. She quickly jumped off the bed, turning to look at the blonde.

JJ stood in front of her, clearly in shock. "Is it true?" She asked, wrapping her arms around her stomach protectively.

"Jayje…" Emily trailed off, certain JJ had heard her phone conversation.

"Do you love me?" JJ asked again, stumbling back a little when Emily tried to touch her arm.

"JJ, I…" Emily was visibly upset when JJ pulled away from her touch.

"I-I'm sorry, Em. I can't do this right now. I'm sorry."

Neither woman even attempted to wipe away the tears streaming their faces as JJ grabbed her bag off of her bed and moved past Emily towards the door.

Emily dropped to the ground the second JJ had left, her knees hitting the carpet floor hard as she bent over, sobbing uncontrollably.

A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update! But I promise to update asap! And of course, I promise everything between Em and JJ will be resolved soon. Please review :)