A/N: I'm sorry.

That clock must be broken, Will thought. It seemed as though, for every hour, the minute hand moved only once. Or maybe it was imagination, time passed slowly.

He checked his watch again, and it showed him that he had only been sitting in that cold, plastic chair in the hospital waiting area for nearly fifty minutes. They must be almost done; he thought to himself, they had told him forty-five minutes, to an hour.

They had rushed JJ away on a stretcher as soon as they had arrived at the hospital, JJ already knocked out from the sedative in the IV they had hooked her up to in the ambulance to calm her down. Mutterings of 'endotracheal tube', frightened Will, as he didn't know what that was, and how that would help JJ.

Will's thoughts were dispersed when he noticed the surgeon he had noticed when JJ was rolled in; wearing scrubs make his way towards where Will was seated. Will immediately jumped up,

"Mr LaMontagne?"

Will nodded, taking a step towards the man,

"I'm Richard Greene, I was the one operating on your girlfriend..."

"What's wrong with her?", Will asked, his voice shaking as he struggled to string a sentence together.

"Jennifer", the surgeon started, "was suffering from a very severe case of appendicitis, where the appendix had actually burst, which caused an infection and we had to perform an emergency surgery to remove the appendix and surrounding tissues."

Will nodded, wringing his hands together, "Is she alright?"

The surgeon studied Will's face, and it seemed to the detective that it took half a lifetime before the man spoke again,

"She's fine, she's just coming around after the anaesthetic, and she'll be a bit groggy, but you can see her, this way"

Will followed the surgeon down a corridor, turning right, then left, and then right again before stopping in front of a large wooden door, and the surgeon nodded towards it, giving Will a small sympathetic smile, before turning and walking back the way they had just came. Will frowned at the man's back, feeling as if there was something they weren't telling him.

He pushed open the doors and walked into the room, seeing JJ's bed in the corner. From where he was standing, he could only see the top of her blonde head, and he almost ran to her bedside.

"Darl", he started, stopping when he caught sight of her face.

She was half-sitting up in the bed, the white sheets pulled up to her chest. And although she was just coming around after the anaesthetic and was supposed to be still out of it, her face told another story. Instead of her eyes being glazed, and a blank expression on her face, as he had thought, JJ's face shocked Will.

Her cheeks were a very strong pink, and tears fell from her eyes quickly, leaving her short of breath, and every time she gulped for air, she would wince and move a hand to the side of her abdomen that they had just stitched up.

"JJ?", Will said quietly, kneeling down on the floor, taking her hand in his, "What's wrong honey?"
JJ turned her head to face him sharply, as if she hadn't realized until now that he was even in the room,

It took her a moment to respond, and when she did, she whispered, so low that he thought that he might have been imagining it, "I don't feel good. I think something's wrong…"

Will felt the room spinning, and he had to clutch on to the metal railing on the headboard of the bed. His eyes started to blur, seeing only the blonde of JJ's hair in front of him. He felt her hand close around his wrist and shake it gently, hearing her voice rise slightly as it swam around his head.

Slowly, he shook his hand, JJ coming back into focus, her eyes flashing with concern for him, her red-rimmed eyes widening as he seemed to lose his balance, his knuckles growing whiter as he clutched on to the bed tighter.

"Will...", JJ's voice cut through his mind, pulling him back into reality, "Will...", she said again, squeezing his wrist. He looked up at her and followed the direction of her eyes, to where Dr Greene was standing in the doorway.

"Miss Jareau," he said, looking at some papers that he was holding, "You're awake..."

JJ nodded as the surgeon made his way over to her bed, "What happened?", she asked sharply, her voice slightly shaking at the last word.

"Miss Jareau, you were suffering from appendicitis, which is the inflammation of the appendix, and you had it quite severe. My guess is, your body was sending you signs that you had appendicitis, for example, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, which you may have contributed to something else, and ignoring the signs can cause the appendix to burst, which then causes infection and if not treated then, sometimes death," he paused for a moment, seeing JJ raise a hand to her mouth.

Will squeezed her hand gently, nodding for the surgeon to carry on.

"The cause of appendicitis relates to blockage of the inside of the appendix, known as the lumen. The blockage leads to increased pressure, impaired blood flow, and inflammation. In your case, Ms Jareau, a bacterial infection in your digestive tract led to swelling of your lymph nodes, which squeeze the appendix and cause obstruction. This swelling of lymph nodes is known as lymphoid hyperplasia. We still have to run some more tests on you, to determine the cause of the bacterial infection…", he stopped for a moment to read the notes that he was holding,

"The procedure that was carried out on you is known as traditional, or open, appendectomy procedure, where an incision two to three inches long is made in the right lower abdomen several inches above the hip bone. The incision opens both the skin and divides the abdominal muscle tissue, allowing us to see the appendix and pull it closer to the surface for better access. Once the appendix is identified, it is cut away from the surrounding tissue, including the intestine, and infected tissue is removed. The incision is then closed by first sewing the layers of muscle together, then closing the skin with stitches or staples."

JJ nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, before closing it. Dr Greene, noticing this turned his attention toward her.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"What about the baby?", JJ's voice rang around the room, bouncing off the smooth, white walls.

"Baby?", Greene repeated, looking over his notes, "There's nothing here about a baby, Miss Jareau..."

JJ scrunched up her face and pushed her hair out of her face, "I'm twelve weeks pregnant…"

Wrinkles appeared on Dr Greene's forehead as he flipped pages frantically, before shaking his head. "There is no note of this, I'll have to get someone in to give you an ultrasound in the morning...", he muttered, turning and leaving the room.

JJ turned to face Will, trying to sit up quickly, but the pain was excruciating when she tried to move, so she winced and remained lying down. Her face was full of fear, and Will could see that she was trying very hard not to burst into tears.

"What did he mean?", she asked quietly, her hands clinging on to his, and he could feel her fingernails digging into his hand. "Will…what did he mean when he said…when he said…"

Will sat down on the edge of her bed, pulling her towards him gently, as to not hit off her bandaged side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she buried her head into the side of his neck, and he felt her silent sobs shake the bed. He stroked her hair softly,

"Hush, hush, honey", he whispered, pressing his lips to the top of her head, "It's a mistake, it's just all a mistake..."

JJ gulped for air, her throat making a strangled noise, as she tried to calm herself, tears falling from her eyes. She looked up at Will through her soaked eyelashes, her eyes trying to look into his, to figure out what he was thinking, but all she could see was her reflection looking back at her.

JJ closed her eyes as she felt the cold gel on her stomach, and then opened them as she felt the wand roll over her abdomen, her eyes focusing on the screen that was set up beside her. She could feel the warmth of Will's hand cover hers, but she couldn't get herself to tear her eyes away from the screen.

An image of her womb appeared on the screen, and her eyes searched for the little flashing image, that would reassure her that her baby's heart was still beating, that she still had something to hang on to. The technician moved the wand around on JJ's stomach, avoiding the side where her bandages were.

Suddenly, the technician stopped, removing the wand and stood up. With a 'I'll be right back' , she left the room, and JJ and Will could hear the sound of her shoes squeak on the polished floor as she moved away from the room.

Will felt JJ's body start to shake again, as he saw tears spill over her eyes again, falling quickly down her cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when the arrival of another doctor, the technician behind him.

The doctor picked up the wand where the technician had left it, and moved it over the area again. Looking at the screen, he frowned, and stood up.

"Ms Jareau, Sir…", he said, addressing the couple.

"I am very sorry…it seems as though your baby has no heartbeat...".

A small squeak came from JJ's throat, and Will squeezed her hand rightly, to stop himself from turning into a wailing wreck.

The doctor carried on, pointing at the screen,

"The sac is still there, Ma'am," he said, pointing at the small sac that sat in JJ's womb, forlorn.

"The foetus is there, and by my estimates, by growth, the heart stopped around the eleven week mark…"

JJ gasped, "My baby...", she rasped, "my baby, has been…been…for a week?"

The doctor nodded and consulted his notes, "You will have to be scheduled for a D&C…"

"I want it today…", the urgency in JJ's voice shocked Will, and the doctor looked up sharply,

"Ma'am, I don't recommend that you have one today", he started, "One can be arranged to tomorrow, to give you some time for the news to sink in..."

He was cut off as JJ's voice sounded, "I said, I want it today…"

Will squeezed her hand softly, "Hon, if the doctor said it ain't recommended…I think you should-"

"Do not tell me what you think I should do Will," JJ shrieked at him, blinking furiously to see through her tears.

"If you want it today Miss," the doctor said calmly, obviously used to the sudden outbursts, "I can do it, but as long as it is noted that I have suggested against this.."

"Noted...", JJ said, her voice shaking.

Will walked slowly into JJ's hospital room, pushing the door open quietly, so as not to wake her, if she had managed to sleep. The doctor had advised her to stay another night, to recover fully from her surgery.

As Will rounded by the end of her bed, he saw her eyes open slowly, and he moved to the head of the bed, quickly taking her left hand.

"How are you feelin'?" , he asked softly, moving away a strand of her hair that had fallen into her eyes.

She turned to look at him, and he could tell that she had either cried herself to sleep, or had been crying while she was asleep, judging from the tracks down her cheeks. She narrowed her eyes at him,

"How do you think I feel?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, and wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned into him, her head resting on his chest.

"Sssh," he said softly, rocking her gently so as not to aggravate the side where she'd had her appendix removed. She began to protest, and push him away but it only made him hold her tighter. After a while, he felt her dissolve into tears again, her whole shuddering as she sobbed silently, an action that scared Will more than he could say. It was the silent cries, the silent screams, which said more than any other noise JJ could have made did.

He pulled her tighter to him and rested his head on the top of hers, and the scent of her shampoo filled his nose. He struggled to blink back tears, and felt one slowly trickle down his cheek, quickly reaching up to wipe it away before she saw. He had to be strong for her.

JJ carried on crying, her heaving the only sound that filled the room, and Will tried his best to comfort her, softly whispering 'I love you' into her hair, smoothing her hair as her hands gripped at his shirt, balling the material in her fists. He turned so that her head was pressed against his chest, and slowly, the heaving of her shoulders slowed, the silent sobs turning into soft, audible ones as she gasped urgently for air.

Will wrapped his other arm around her other side, and she let go of his shirt, sliding her arms around his neck, pressing the side of her face against it. Will could feel her damp face, and he pushed her back, holding her face in his hands as he wiped away her tears. She avoided his eyes as his fingers brushed against her cheeks.

She sniffed and wiped her own hand across her face and back into her hair, taking a few big breaths.

Will looked down at his girlfriend, and he could feel a sharp pain in his chest, that he knew was his heart slowly braking, as he saw her sitting there, looking so lonely. Her hair was falling around her shoulders, and kept falling into her face, so she had to keep pushing it away. Her face, and her eyelids had grown puffy from all the crying, and she was blinking furiously to try to stop the burning of her eyelids.

"I want to sleep now...", she gasped, her voice quiet as it broke the silence that had settled in the room while the two of them had sat there, her breathing deeply as he stoked her hair, his fingers catching every now and again on the stitches on the side of her head.

He nodded and stood up, "I'll sit over here then," he said, pointing at a small armchair to the left of the bed, stopping when he saw her shake her head.

"No, I want you to leave…go home Will…"

"JJ, I'm not going to drive all the way back to your apartment and then come back later..."

"I meant, your home…New Orleans…"

He stared at her, feeling his jaw drop slightly, "What?"

She lifted her head to look at him straight in the eyes, "I don't want you here anymore…go back to Louisiana…"

And with that, she slipped down in the bed and turned on to her un-bandaged side, pulling the sheets up around her neck, before closing her eyes.

Will stood there watching her for a few minutes, trying to process everything. He checked the time on his watch; it had been almost twenty-four hours since they had originally arrived at the hospital. He thought back to that evening when he had arrived at her house, after her attack from the UnSub, and he felt anger begin to bubble inside of him. If that bastard was the reason all of this had happened to her, he thought.

JJ coughed softly, and then groaned with pain, as she wasn't supposed to cough, as pulled at the stitches in her side. It brought Will's thoughts back into reality, as he remembered that she had asked him to leave.

He knew why she had told him to go back to New Orleans. JJ, he had come to realize, was someone that wanted to deal with any situation inwardly, and didn't want to be a nuisance to anyone else. He knew that she didn't handle bad situations well, as she had told him one evening, curled up on his sofa. She had said that when she was a teenager, she had gone off the rails a little, after something had happened and he knew that what she had said, when she asked him to leave, she hadn't meant. She just wanted a little time, to move on in her own way.

Will decided that he would wait until the morning, to see whether she had changed her mind. He silently lifted the armchair and moved it to the far corner of the room, so he wasn't seated so close to her, but he could still see her.

He settled in the chair once he had found the right spot, and closed his eyes. He hadn't slept at all the night before, and he was surprised once he found his eyelids begin to grow heavy and droop. He leaned back into the chair and sighed, inviting sleep in.