A/N: Well either the cliffhanger worked or my own personal angst is helping my muse I'm hoping it's the first. Here is another chapter. I'm disappointed on the lack of reviews the last chapter got but still here is another one. Thanks to diaza44, CAFBOV, and Pink Jover for the awesome reviews that make me smile.
Emily felt the pain rip through her shoulder as she crashed to the ground. She remembered the dream vividly. She had come home from a case to find JJ packing her bags.
"I can't do this Emily. I love Will," JJ said with a sad look in her eyes.
The words resounded in her head as she heard JJ quickly run to the bedroom. Emily felt the hot tears run down her face and not for the pain or the fear that blood was now soaking through her shirt.
"Emily, what happened? Are you ok?" JJ said rushing to the floor beside Emily trying to untangle Emily's foot that was still caught in her sheets. Emily sat back dumbfounded letting JJ move the sheets and winced as JJ held onto her good arm helping her up.
"I guess I got tangled and fell. I'm ok JJ," Emily said softly trying to wipe away the tears before JJ could see them and she failed as she saw JJ look up at her and tears filled the blue eyes.
"You're not okay. What's wrong? Let's get you out of this shirt and see if you need to go back to the hospital," JJ said quickly realizing this meant seeing Emily without a shirt on and color began to rise in her cheeks. Emily realized the same amount of awkwardness between the once best friends that were now caught in between a friendship and a relationship.
"No hospital Jayj, please I don't want to go back there. I can handle this," Emily said standing up to grab a shirt from her chest of drawers.
"Ok, where do you keep your gauze and first aid then?" JJ asked and Emily told her where to go as JJ retreated to the hall closet that carried anything that would be needed from a simple splinter to if an earthquake hit. JJ stood amazed for a minute staring at the closet and laughed to herself. Emily had once said she was prepared for anything, JJ now knew she had meant it.
JJ returned and helped Emily get the shirt off the injured shoulder and would try to scrub the blood out of it later. Emily blushed as she stood there in nothing but a bra in front of JJ and couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable because of the closeness of the blonde.
"You really meant it when you said you were prepared for anything. I have never seen a first aid kit quite like that Em," JJ said joking trying to clear the tension from the air but the joke came out pained and Emily could tell that the blonde was hurting just about as bad as she was.
"Always be prepared. Boy scouts honor," Emily said making yet another pained joke. She knew they would need to talk but right now she was trying to bite the bullet when it came to the pain the bullet Will LaMontagne Jr had put into her shoulder.
"Emily, you did boy scouts?" JJ asked a little taken back by the fact that Emily had mentioned boy scouts or anything about her childhood for that matter.
"Yeah, my mother used to joke that she had two sons instead of just my brother. I got kicked out girl scouts for being too rough and wanting to learn everything about the outdoors. My mom eventually had me spend some summers up in the French mountains with my grandfather. We did nothing but learn the woods and that's when he decided boy scouts would be good for me," Emily said mentioning a brother and more about Emily's childhood than JJ had ever heard before.
"I didn't know you had a brother?" JJ asked as she quickly gauzed up Emily's wound that had just broken open a little bit and helping Emily get a new shirt on. Emily quickly sat back against the headboard of the bed and JJ sat Indian style in front of her. Here comes the talk. Maybe she'll open up to me. JJ hoped.
"I had a brother yes," Emily said with a sad look in her eyes. "He was 13 when he died, I was 15. His name was Erik Gustaf Prentiss. We always used to joke that he had such a plain first name and then mom and dad had stuck him with some prestigious middle name like they had mine. Of course my middle name is just my mother's name but in the Prentiss household having the Ambassador's name as part of yours was a big deal. Anyway, we were coming home from my grandfather's house up in the mountains one summer and our driver lost control of the car. We went over an embankment. They were both killed instantly. I barely had a scratch. I never went back to my grandfather's after that. I couldn't bear the drive home," Emily revealed allowing a tear for her brother to flow from her face. JJ's eyes had tears in them, sad for Emily, and knowing her own story was quite tragically similar.
"I'm so sorry Emily. Losing a sibling is one of the hardest things in life to do," JJ said wiping the tear from her own face and wiping the tears from Emily's. Emily wanted to lean into the touch but resisted as she wondered how JJ knew this.
"He wanted to work law enforcement, so I took his dream and just went a little further with it. Come to find out it was my dream too and it led me to you so I can never regret going down this pathway, injuries or not," Emily said softly. This was the most she had opened up to anyone on the team but JJ was more than just a member of the team. Emily knew that even though they had never been together that she had loved JJ from the start even when they had just been friends.
"Your injury isn't exactly job related Emily. So what happened? Why did your foot get tangled and why were you crying when I got in here?" JJ said prying a little further.
"Since the second day I woke up in the hospital, I've been having nightmares Jennifer. I'm sorry I've snapped at you and I've been distant but I just don't think I can handle the pain if these nightmares were to happen and it's bad enough dreaming about it," Emily said confusing JJ even more. What is she talking about? JJ thought to herself.
JJ quickly wiped another tear from her face as she saw the pain in Emily's eyes and she realized that she had caused this pain. This pain had been caused by when she had walked away from Emily in the first place to go for Will LaMontagne, it had been caused by the constant outings where Will had come along to keep JJ on a tight rope, it had been caused by JJ allowing Will to control her and leave bruises on her, and it had been caused by Emily's own insecurities. JJ knew that this pain, pain brought on so very unintentionally, would take time and only JJ would be able to make this pain go away.
"What are the nightmares? Talk to me baby," JJ said softly wiping the tear away from Emily's face again and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. This time Emily allowed herself to lean into the touch and JJ quickly leaned forward kissing the brunette ever so softly. Emily's heart fluttered as JJ had made the first move.
"In every dream it's the same. You've changed your mind and I come home to you packing your bags except Will's still alive and your leaving me for him all over again," Emily said breaking down into a silent sob as JJ quickly and carefully embraced Emily.
"I'm so sorry Em. I'm sorry I did that to you and I'm sorry you are still afraid of it but baby," JJ said carefully guiding Emily's chin so that she looked up to her in the eyes. Emily quickly shut her eyes not wanting to see those blue eyes, fearing what was next, "Open your eyes Emily. I'm not going anywhere this time. I love you and I've come to terms with the fact that I'm madly in love with a woman. I'm not scared anymore. Please forgive me," JJ said slowly rocking Emily as she let tears fall down her own face.