Thanks for all the reviews
Here's next installment
oooooo
Melanie checked her watched then looked up at the 'arrivals' board to confirm their plane was on time. She was looking forward to seeing the two of them again it was rarity she got to physically follow up with patients like JJ and Morgan and while not the most ideal set of circumstances she was looking forward to seeing them to see the progress they'd made and to help them get the closure they obviously needed.
She'd be lying if she said the phone call from their D.C. therapist surprised her. From the moment she learned Harvey Watkins had been killed by the police when JJ and Morgan were rescued she knew closure would be elusive to them. Not impossible but not easy either. For many of her patients closure came when they confronted their abuser either by testifying or giving a victim impact statement at sentencing regardless they 'faced' their abuser and were able to express the barrage of thoughts and emotions they were experiencing.
JJ and Morgan didn't have that and they never would Watkins was dead and buried. So any closure the two were going to get would come at a heavier price than most. As she watched them exit the gangway she could see apprehension and anxiety in them no doubt at being back where their lives changed forever but as they had during their captivity and their time at the hospital they leaned on each other for strength and support. She noted they appeared to be far more secure and open with regards to affection as opposed to when she first met them and they only touched or embraced as a safety blanket, a way to cope with what they had experienced and while there appeared to still be hints of that in their body language it was far more obvious to her the real reason was because they loved each other.
She was relieved to see genuine smiles from them as they made their way over to her. As they got closer and she could make out their features better the bags under both their eyes told Masters neither was getting much sleep.
"How was the flight?"
"Not bad" replied JJ studying the doctor to see if her question had a double meaning attached to it or if it was just that; a simple question
Masters immediately picked up on the young woman's trepidation
"You can relax I wasn't grading your answer just making conversation"
"We haven't relaxed since we got on the plane to come here doc" Morgan retorted
Masters could see that while they were both uneasy to embark on the upcoming journey they were both anxious to get started and while she applauded their confidence to face their demons she was leery of moving too fast.
"We're gonna do this ok? There's no clock or stop watch on this. We're gonna take it one step at a time and at whatever pace you too are most comfortable with. Rome wasn't built in a day"
JJ and Morgan nodded and exhaled deeply both visibly relaxing at being told there was no preset time table for them to figure it all out. The only time table was the one they set themselves.
"Alright let's go to the hotel get you guys checked in I made sure the hotel put us on the same floor just a few doors apart then we'll grab something to eat and catch up because written reports only tell me so much" Sure she probably sounded like a drill Sargent but structure was important to what they were doing if there was no structure even super rigid then chaos could ensue and that wouldn't be good for anyone involved.
"You're staying at the hotel with us?" Morgan asked surprised as well as slightly confused
Masters nodded "I live nearly an hour away figured it'll speed things up and we can get earlier start if I don't have to commute"
JJ cocked an eyebrow while Morgan pursed his lips both weren't buying the doctors lame excuse
Masters chuckled. She should have known to have a better excuse ready they were profilers after all.
"Ok truthfully, I want to be close by" Morgan started to say something but she quickly cut him off finishing her explanation "not because I think you two are going to collapse but because when it's 3am and you need to talk I'll be down the hall not an hour away"
"Thank you" whispered JJ grateful and touched by the gesture and the length at which the doctor was willing to go to help them
"You're welcome. Shall we?" Masters held out a hand indicating for them to head out
"We shall" replied Morgan who like JJ was grateful for Masters generous act
oooooo
The trio's first stop the next morning was Stephanie Long's former house. The young couple who lived there now had amazingly agreed to allow them access to the house so JJ and Morgan could start where it all began.
"We won't be long" Masters assured the young couple as the three of them entered the house
"Take all the time you need" the young woman replied as she and her husband stepped outside giving JJ and Morgan some privacy.
Morgan watched the couple as they stood at the top of their driveway and talked quietly
"How did you get them to agree to this?"
Masters followed Morgan's gaze out the window
"I was honest explained your situation. Her brother is a former Marine who served two tours in Afghanistan. He suffers from PTSD. He sees a therapist and she says it helps a little but the doctors at the V.A. are understaffed and overwhelmed so he doesn't get the attention he needs. I do work with veterans mostly those who have been tortured but she said if I agreed to take her brother on as a patient she'd let us in. So here we are"
"Wow"
"Yeah so now that you have her life story and avoided the reason we've come here long enough why don't we get started?"
Damn this woman definitely didn't pull any punches Morgan thought as the doctor walked passed him in the foyer
"The two of you entered the house- Derek where did you go first?" Masters said as she turned around to face both agents
Taking a deep breath and clearing his throat Morgan pointed down the long hallway
"I headed towards the back of the house to check the bedrooms"
"Ok" Masters replied indicating for him to show her
Slowly and unsteadily Morgan headed down the hallway. As he walked he couldn't help but notice while smelled a little different it was still the same. The smell of the old hardwood floor mixed with the sound of it as it creaked under his feet sent his senses into overdrive. Images from that day began swirling in his mind causing his heart to pound and chest to tighten under the anxiety of the memories. Breathing deeply he pushed himself to continue his movements opening two of the bedroom doors and checking the small rooms as he had done that day.
Masters could see it wasn't easy for Morgan he was sweating and the excessive rise and fall of his shoulders told her he was breathing heavily and yet as she had anticipated he pushed through the assault on his senses in order to complete the task. If there was one thing she'd learned even in the short time JJ and Morgan been her patients they were two extremely strong individuals but they were even stronger when they worked together.
She turned away from Morgan to look back down the hallway to where JJ was standing in the foyer. Even from the distance she could see the young woman was shaking. Hearing the floor creak behind her Masters looked over her shoulder to see a worried Morgan take a step in her direction- she quickly stopped him. As much as he wanted to rush over to her these were the moments and the emotions which accompanied them that they needed to face.
"JJ where were you?"
JJ extended a shaky hand and pointed to the room adjacent from her current position.
"I went into the living room first" Her replay came out hoarse and crackled as her mouth and throat were dry and sticky as if she hadn't had a drink in days. Her shaking legs carried her into the room where she stood for a moment her eyes scanning over the homeowner's photos of friends and family which sat on the fireplace mantle. JJ noted those weren't there that day as Stephanie Long didn't have much family to speak or much to be happy about in her life. She started to feel the sting of tears forming behind her eyes so she hastily retreated back to the foyer where Masters who had now moved the edge of the entrance to the kitchen was waiting.
"After I cleared the living room I made my way into the kitchen"
As she entered the room JJ's heart began to quicken and her palms became wet and clammy
"What was the first thing you saw?"
Swallowing hard JJ shook her head "It wasn't sight….it was the smell that hit me first"
JJ closed her eyes and the image of the kitchen doorway appeared in her mind then the strong copper smell of blood assaulted her nose.
"What did you smell?"
"Blood. It wasn't overwhelming but I could smell it in the air"
"Was it then that you realized something was wrong?"
JJ shook her head
"No it wasn't until I stepped inside when I saw the blood. It was smeared on the floor. There was a trail of leading to the other side of the kitchen table where…where I saw Stephanie Long's body"
"Did you know immediately she was dead?"
"Yes her throat had been slit"
JJ's voice by this point was extremely rattled and a lone tear streaked its way down her cheek as she remembered the image of the poor woman lying in a pool of her own blood the shocked and pain expression on it her empty eyes staring back at JJ
"Then?"
Blinking several times to erase the image from her mind's eye JJ continued her explanation of what she remembered happened next. It was the moment that changed her and Morgan's lives forever.
"Um I'm about to call out for Morgan when I feel something bite into my neck" JJ absent mindedly rubbed the spot on her neck where the needle had gone in "I grab for whatever it was that caused the sensation but my limbs started to get heavy I tried to called out but there was a hand over my mouth so I couldn't. I tried to struggle but before I knew it I'm falling to the floor"
Masters looked down the hall to Morgan indicating for him to take over
"I heard a loud thud so I ran toward the sound"
"Derek? What happened next?"
"I didn't check" he whispered. Morgan bit his lip as he remembered his sense of fear as he haphazardly ran from the back of the house. His biggest mistake and his biggest failure- had he just slowed down to do as he'd been trained to check his surroundings he would have seen Watkins and he and JJ never would have endured what they did.
Masters started to ask him what he had said when Morgan seemed to snap out of his stupor cutting her off
"I um I came around the corner into the kitchen saw JJ on the floor and I went to check on her. Watkins came up behind me and hit me with a Taser"
"Derek" Masters approached him "what were you thinking just then?"
Morgan rubbed his hand across his face. He looked over to JJ with an apologetic expression.
JJ shook her head she didn't want him to go there
"I'm sorry" he whispered with tears in his eyes
JJ adamantly shook her head
"No. It's not your fault"
"Yes it is. If I had just checked the damn room then"
"And what?" she asked approaching him coming to stand right in front of him "You don't know that he still wouldn't have overpowered you or gained the upper hand." JJ held his face in her hands to keep his gaze locked with hers "I didn't blame you then and I still don't blame you"
The damn shattered
His face contorting into a sea of raw emotions Morgan broke down pulling JJ against him burying his face in her shoulder. The two latched onto each other their tears flowing out as strongly and freely as their emotions.
As she watched them cling to each other Masters had her answer as to whether or not they'd be strong enough to get through this.
oooooo
Please don't forget to review