A/N: This chapter is kind of JJ centric but there are good plot based reasons for this and for just about every detail of this chapter. Also I can't resist the opportunity for a JJ/Will/Henry scene. But again, there's a reason for bringing them in. I promise!
Anyway, thanks once again for all the support with this fic. Love to see that people are reading and (hopefully!) enjoying it! :)
The team had left Emily's room to let her rest – the previously kind nurse had been quite insistent on the matter – but they refused to stray further than the waiting room at the end of the corridor. Garcia and Hotch joined them after many hours spent trawling through the recordings made from the video stream, which Penelope had managed to retrieve. While their UNSUB was as careful as always to hide his identity, the recordings confirmed that he had been entering Emily's apartment, lacing drinks from the fridge with drugs and messing around with her belongings. It was no wonder Emily had appeared as though she was losing her mind. Most disturbingly of all, they had seen the footage of Emily's face-to-face encounter with him on the night she fell and hit her head. It appeared that Emily had no recollection of the incident but it was clear that he had been right beside her, even touching her. Garcia had felt sick to her stomach at the thought.
No one felt much like sleeping but after they had discussed all that they had discovered they began to fall asleep. They couldn't do anything else until morning and they needed to rest. However, sleep would not come to JJ. As the early morning light broke through the untidy blinds at the window of the waiting room, she was the only one to be found awake. It wasn't that she was more concerned than the others – they were all equally worried for their friend and desperate to track down the man who had hurt her. Instead, JJ was being kept awake by an increasing sense of unease which started as they discussed the details of Emily's case and began to formulate a profile. She couldn't put her finger on what was wrong but she didn't like how she was feeling. As soon as a nurse informed her that Emily was awake, she visited her friend, hoping it would settle her mind.
"Hey," JJ smiled as she entered the room, relieved to see that some of the colour had returned to her friend's face and that she was sitting up. "How are you feeling?" She took a seat beside the bed.
"Better," Emily answered, managing to return a small smile. "I heard you got into a bit of a fight with my door," she continued, attempting to displace the attention from herself.
"I like to think that I won," JJ chuckled, attempting to keep the tone light and downplay the incident. "Though your locks were stronger than I anticipated!"
"I can see that" Emily nodded towards the blonde's shoulder. "Does it hurt?"
"It's not too bad," JJ assured her. "Hurt like hell when they fixed it though. I can tell you now that if I ever dislocate anything again I am not toughing it out without pain relief!"
"I'd say that's probably a good plan," Emily responded with a slight laugh. "Thank you," she added, turning serious. "From what my doctors told me I wouldn't be here if you hadn't called for the paramedics so quickly."
"I'm just grateful that I was there," JJ replied, pursing her lips and shaking her head once. She sighed, feeling a renewed sense of relief, as she compared the outcome to what could have happened.
"Me too," Emily agreed. Lines of worry and evident distress appeared across her face as her mind was flooded with thoughts of the person who had stalked and drugged her. He was still out there.
"We're going to find this guy," JJ stated was somewhat false confidence, easily reading the brunette's expression. "And we're going to make sure you're safe until we do."
"I hate being the victim," Emily sighed with a shake of her head.
"I know," JJ replied, her expression understanding and sympathetic. "But it won't be for long."
"You don't know that," Emily muttered dryly. JJ didn't disagree – she knew it could take time to catch the individual in question.
"I was thinking you could stay with me for a while after you're discharged," she offered. As she'd sat awake, with only her growing sense of disquiet to keep her company, she had been met with an even fiercer desire to protect her friend."Will and I tend to work alternate shifts so that one of us is home for Henry, so there would be someone there most of the time. Unless you want to go home that is?" she added, careful not to trap Emily if she wanted to be alone. Emily immediately shook her head.
"I don't want to go back yet," she answered fearfully.
"OK, then," JJ smiled, giving Emily's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll give Will a call and ask him to make up the guest room."
"I don't want to put you to any trouble and I can't stay away from my apartment forever," Emily backtracked, not wanting to become a burden and feeling uncomfortable with her newly acquired status of someone requiring looking after.
"Emily, it's no trouble," JJ firmly reassured her. "And you don't have to go back, or stay on your own, until you're ready." Emily nodded, silently thanking her friend and accepting what she had said. "Besides, as soon as you're up to it you can repay us with your excellent babysitting services," she added with a grin.
"Consider it a deal," Emily laughed.
"Good. Now get some rest and I'll come back to check on you later." JJ rose from her seat and gently patted Emily's leg before she left the room.
"JJ, is something wrong?" Emily stopped her, realising JJ had hardly made eye contact since she entered the room. "You seem a little off." She also hadn't failed to notice her fellow profiler's overly cheerful attitude – she'd been cracking too many jokes and the smile on her face seemed permanently strained.
"Everything's fine," JJ replied, acting as though she was surprised to hear the question. "Just a little tired."
"Then maybe you should get some rest too," she suggested.
"I will," JJ responded with another unconvincing smile. Whatever was bothering her was not something which had been eased by the reassurance that Emily was recovering.
/
/
"Daddy, is Grandma and Grandpa staying?" Henry asked, as he watched his father struggle with the sheets on the bed in the guest room. As far as he was aware, the room was only used when his grandparents came to visit.
"Not today, buddy," JJ answered, appearing in the doorway and ruffling her son's hair. She had returned home and come straight upstairs to find her husband.
Will instantly clocked her distressed expression but decided not to question her with Henry in the room.
"You need a hand there?" she laughed, momentarily distracted from the deep-set uneasiness, as her husband pulled the sheet over one end of the bed, only for it to slip off the other.
"I think we must've shrunk the sheets in the dryer," he muttered as she came to his assistance.
"We?" she grinned, raising her eyebrows.
"Who's staying?" Henry piped up, saving his father further humiliation.
"You know Mommy's friend, Emily?" JJ answered, the flash of amusement disappearing, and Henry nodded. He liked Emily; she coloured with him when he had the flu and had to stay home from school. "Well, Emily's not feeling very well. She's in the hospital just now and then she's going to stay with us for a little while." JJ hoped Henry would be satisfied with this explanation – she didn't know how to tell the full story in a child friendly manner.
"What's wrong?" he asked, and JJ felt herself let out a quiet sigh. She loved that her little boy was so curious but it could be problematic when it came to matters relating to her work and the types of people that she dealt with.
"A bad man hurt her," Will stepped in, resorting to their default "bad man" answer. Part of him looked forward to the day that they wouldn't have to give such simplified answers to their son, but a larger part of him dreaded the arrival of the moment when his son could comprehend the evil they dealt with. "He made her sick but Momma's team are goin' to catch him and we're all goin' to make Emily feel better."
"Thank you," JJ mouthed to her husband, in gratitude for his quick thinking, as she came to stand behind Henry and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Henry, why don't you go and draw Emily a picture? I'm sure she'd love that."
"OK," he nodded, but paused before heading off to his room. "Mommy, is your arm hurt?" he frowned.
"A little bit. But I'm OK," she reassured him.
"Did the bad man hurt you?"
"No," she smiled comfortingly. "It was just a little accident. Now you'd better get to work on that picture."
Without any further questions, Henry scurried off to his bedroom and JJ let the reassuring, motherly expression slide from her face. Something inside her mind had clicked into place while she had been talking to her husband and son and the reason for her unease was now apparent. Will abandoned the pillows he was placing on the bed and came close to pull her into a hug.
"You doin' all right?" he asked, placing a kiss on her forehead, before pulling away so that he could make a proper assessment of her state.
"Not really," she mumbled, tears pooling in her tired eyes.
"Your shoulder?" he asked, searching for the exact reason for her upset, but she shook her head.
"Is it Emily? Did something else happen?" He pushed her hair from her face in a soothing manner. She shook her head again.
"No, she's doing OK. Or at least as well as can be expected." She took a deep breath and sighed, trying to stave off the tears.
"Then what is it darlin'?" he questioned, taking hold of her hand.
"Will, I really screwed up," she replied tearfully. "I think this is my fault."
