Disclaimer: Not mine.
AN: First of all, thank you to all those who reviewed...They are always greatly appreciated. Secondly, my apologies for the big delay in getting this chapter written. Real life took over thanks to the incompetent muppet in my department leaving me with his mess to clear up. I hope this was worth the wait. Enjoy :o)
Chapter 25
Emily felt her cell vibrating in her pocket as she walked down the sidewalk to her car. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the display. A slight frown appeared as the unrecognised number flashed on her screen. Part of her felt a sense of deja vu as she looked at the numbers. She reached into her other pocket retrieving the slip of paper the nanny had handed her as realisation dawned. As she glanced at the two sets of numbers she knew who was calling. Her thumb moved over the keypad to the answer button and she paused.
JJ refused to look up at Will. She could feel his eyes watching her for any reaction. Every second that passed signalled another ring that went unanswered. The longer she waited, the more she began to doubt Emily wanted to talk to her. The brunette always answered her phone promptly but not this time. Part of the blonde wanted to hang up and call when Will wasn't there to eavesdrop on her conversation. Yet she knew that once she put the phone down, he would take it with him just in case the nanny called. JJ listened to the ring once more before hearing the sound that made relief flood through her body.
Emily stared back at the display for a moment longer before her thumb moved and pushed the button it hovered above.
"Hi."
As soon as JJ heard the word she spoke. "Em, it's..." JJ's voice died in her throat as the brunette's voice continued.
"You have reached SSA Emily Prentiss. I'm unable to take your call right now but leave your name and number and I'll return the call at my earliest opportunity."
JJ listened to the message play out as the relief that she had felt was washed away by the sadness at only hearing a recording of the other woman's voice. She sighed sadly before hanging up the call. Perhaps Will had been right about Emily holding her responsible for the situation with Foyet.
"I'm sorry JJ. Maybe she was driving or something." Will spoke, his voice held an air of sadness. He placed his hand onto hers in a comforting gesture as he spoke. "Are you going to be ok?"
JJ merely nodded, not feeling inclined to talk to him at that point in time. She felt him withdraw his hand from hers.
"I'll be back in the morning. Try to get some rest." With that he turned and left the room. It was only after she heard the door click shut that she realised that he had taken the cell with him as he withdrew his hand from hers. JJ turned her head to look towards the window in the room as she let her own guilt and the feelings of isolation consume her.
Emily put the phone back into her pocket. If there was one thing she couldn't deal with right then it was another earful from Will LaMontagne. She had considered answering the call and demanding Will let her talk to JJ but she knew the man would not grant her demands. Until she knew where the blonde was, there was no way around the former detective. She just hoped that when the team managed to locate the younger woman, the blonde would decide that staying with the team was where she belonged. Emily felt the phone vibrate twice, telling her she had a voicemail. She ignored it as she opened her car and drove away from JJ's house.
Emily knocked on the wooden door of Garcia's apartment and waited for the blonde to answer. Her mind had been continually replaying the events of the past day since she got back into her car. The feelings of loss seemed greater now she knew JJ was awake somewhere but not willing to talk to her. The door opened to reveal the quirky blonde.
"Em! Where have you been? Are you ok? We were worried." Garcia reeled off the stream of questions without giving the brunette a chance to answer.
Emily looked at her friend and didn't know what answer to give to the question of if she was ok. She might be holding it together but if she stopped to actually consider her feelings and her thoughts fully then she couldn't guarantee that would remain the case. She chose to ignore the questions at that point and focus on the one thing she knew would keep her from drifting down into her own doubts and fears. She reached into her pocket and pulled the number out, extending her hand towards Garcia. "Can you trace this cell?"
Garcia took the slip of paper from her and glanced down. As she raised her eyes to meet her friend's gaze, her unspoken question was answered.
"It's Will's cell and he is with her."
Garcia's expression was replaced by a smile at that moment. She pulled Emily into an impromptu hug. "Emily Prentiss...You are a genius." She released her friend from her embrace. She made her way back over to her computer as she spoke. "You just gave us the way to find our girl." As soon as she was seated, she began typing. A few moments later, she sat back in her chair. "Voila...One cell phone location and the only private medical facility within twenty miles is Grace Health Care."
"Let's go." Morgan stood from his seat on the couch as he spoke, ready to get in the car and stop sitting around waiting.
"I'm coming too." Garcia stood and made her way over to where the others stood. "I am not sitting here to wait for another phone call. I'm fast developing a dislike of that particular invention."
Before they could move out of the apartment, Emily felt her phone vibrate once more. She contemplated leaving it unanswered once more but curiosity got the better of her. She lifted the phone out of her pocket. As she read the display, her eyebrows drew together in confusion. She pressed the answer button before lifting the cell to her ear. "Hello?"
Garcia and Morgan both watched their friend as she listened to the voice on the phone, both intrigued to know who was calling.
"Yes. What can I do for you?" There was quiet as Emily listened to the reply from her caller. Her expression changed from confusion to anger once more as she listened to the words from the other person. "Can you meet me?" Emily then gave the address of Garcia's apartment to the caller before hanging up the cell. She turned to meet the enquiring gazes of her friends.
JJ had tried to sleep but found it eluding her once more. Part of her wondered if after spending time in a coma, that her body was simply too rested to allow further sleep. Yet the greater part knew that the truth of the matter was that her mind was in no state to relax. Ever since she had called to speak to Emily and had the brunette fail to answer her call, her mind had been filled with questions and doubts. Everything that had happened in the past few days ran in circles in her mind. As she glanced at the clock once more, she wished that she was able to sleep, if only to escape the thoughts of having created an irreparable rift in her relationship with Emily.
A knock at the door roused the three agents from their conversation. Emily was the one who stepped over to the door to answer it. As soon as the door was opened, they were greeted with a middle aged man and woman. Even if Garcia and Morgan hadn't been told who was coming to the apartment, one glance at the couple would have answered their question.
"Agent Prentiss?" The woman asked as she regarded the dark haired woman at the door.
"Emily. These are Agents Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia who are also with the BAU." Emily gestured to her friends.
The woman nodded before stepping into the apartment at Emily's gesture. "Could one of you please tell us what is happening with our daughter?"
Emily took a breath as she motioned for the couple to take a seat. "What do you know?" She didn't want to spend time going over details they were already aware of when they could be making their way to where they believed JJ to be.
"We got the call from Agent Hotchner telling us what had happened with Jenny and we got here as soon as we could. We just arrived at the hospital and were told Jenny has been moved to a private facility by her husband. I told the hospital that Jenny wasn't married but they refused to believe it. I tried calling Will on several occasions and I've left him messages but he hasn't replied. Where is our daughter?"
Emily and Garcia shared a look before the brunette spoke. "Will moved her to a private facility while JJ was still unconscious. He has refused to let us have access to visit her."
"Why?" JJ's dad asked the question as soon as he heard of Will's restrictions on who was allowed to see his daughter.
Emily took a deep breath before answering. "He blames us for JJ being taken."
JJ's father watched the expressions that crossed the brunette's face as she answered his question before hearing his wife ask another.
"Do you know where she is?"
"We traced Will's cell phone and we believe she is at a private medical facility. We are just about to leave to go there as soon as the rest of our team arrived."
"Is she...I mean, do you know how she is?" JJ's mom's voice was quiet as she spoke, the concern clear in the tone.
"She's awake." At Emily's quietly spoken words, Garcia and Morgan snapped their attention to their friend, hearing the news for the first time. As they took in Emily's body language, they knew that for whatever reason, the brunette hadn't spoken to the blonde. Emily kept her attention on the floor at that time, not willing to meet the looks she knew her friends were giving her. When the silence extended, Emily excused herself to get some fresh air while they awaited the arrival of Hotch and the others.
Emily sat on the steps out the front of Garcia's apartment block and closed her eyes, trying to quash the emotions threatening to engulf her.
"She won't blame you."
Emily spun at the sound of the voice coming from her side. Her eyes landed on JJ's dad sitting on the step beside her. "How do you know?" Her voice was quieter than she had intended, betraying her own doubt about that particular topic.
"I remember her coming home after a case a few years back. It's something that she has only done a few times in all the years in her job. Usually she just comes home and doesn't talk about it. This one time was different. She asked me how relationships survive these experiences that are so devastating in one way or another that it is easier to blame the other person for mistakes that were made."
Emily listened to what was said and tried to think of which case JJ had been speaking of but gave up when she realised there were so many that could fall into this category.
"She asked me why we didn't blame her for her sister's death."
Brown eyes looked over at the gentle face of the man beside her as he continued to speak.
"She always thought that since she was the last one to see her sister that she was somehow responsible. She really thought that her mother and I blamed her for not knowing something was wrong and not stopping it." He paused for a moment as he sighed at the memory sadly.
"What did you tell her?"
"That sometimes things happen that are beyond the control of anyone on Earth. That you can't allow these trials to destroy the love you have for someone else." The two sat quietly for a moment as JJ's dad let his words sink in with the other agent. He glanced at her expression and could still see the doubt there. "Do you blame Jenny for what happened to you?"
Emily's eyes grew wide. "Not at all."
"Why?" He watched as Emily opened her mouth to speak a couple of times before closing it without any words. He smiled gently at the young woman beside him before placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's for that very reason that I know Jenny won't blame you either." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before making his way back inside the apartment.
Emily didn't have a chance to pursue the topic any further as she saw a SUV pull up outside the building and the rest of the team climb out.