Warning: Descriptions of Violence

The trial lasted 3 weeks. 3 long, arduous weeks full of long days at court only for Emily to come home to hold JJ as the small woman battled through the panic attacks she had held in all day.

The jury was out for deliberation for all of 30 minutes before, "has the jury reached a decision?"

"We have your honor."

"And what is your verdict?"

"We find the defendant, William LaMontagne Jr. guilty of all charges."

Emily vaguely heard the judge dismissing the jurors, but she was far more focused on JJ. The blonde had tears pouring down her face and her knees were collapsing in relief. Emily just barely managed to hear the date of sentencing as she supported JJ's weight in her arms. The team was about to jump the wall between them in excitement, so Emily began to lead JJ out of the courtroom.

They'd almost passed the wall dividing the audience from the proceedings when they heard a commotion. Emily spun around in time to see Will elbow the guard handcuffing him in the nose, clearly breaking it from the blood that then spurted from it. Another guard ran to grab Will but JJ's ex was practically frothing at the mouth in adrenaline and outright rage. He hit the guard in the stomach, elbowing the man's kidneys as he fell. Will stooped for just a moment to grab the gun from the fallen guard. Even as more men in blue ran toward him, Will leveled the weapon at JJ.

Emily saw the events unfolding in slow motion. She saw Will's gleam of fury in his eyes. She watched the guards running toward him, inches from him. Saw his hand squeeze the trigger just as another guard pulled his own weapon, saw the bullet glint in the lights of the courtroom headed for JJ. She saw her own hands lift from her sides, shoving the blonde to the floor. She heard her own voice screaming for everyone to get down as she, herself, dropped to the floor. She heard another gunshot and saw Will collapse before a pile of officers tackled him, making sure he was dead and kicking the pistol away from him.

When she heard the scream, time sped up again. JJ looked around wildly, terrified at the events that had just occurred. Emily glanced around as well, her eyes settling on a group of people behind them. It was the team. She could see Penelope, Hotch, Reid, Rossi…Morgan! Where was Morgan? Emily helped JJ to her feet quickly before hurrying over to the group.

Morgan was on the ground in the center of their friends, clutching his shoulder.

"I'm fine, guys. Just a graze." He assured them with a grimace just as the EMTs walked in.

"We'll need everyone to step back, please," one of the EMTs stated. Once the team was sure Morgan was in good hands, they crowded around JJ instead. Each of them gave her a hug and their own words of encouragement before stepping back to give her space. As they finished, the EMT spoke again.

"Alright, Agent Morgan. The bullet didn't hit anything important. You don't even need stitches. If you'd like, we could take you to the hospi-," she suggested, but Morgan interrupted with a resounding "No." None of the team liked hospitals. "Okay then," the woman continued, unphased, "for the next three days I'll need you to irrigate the wound with an alcohol solution and wrap it in gauze. You may be sore for a while, but, without complications, you'll be good as new in about 2 weeks."

"Thanks, doc," Morgan told her, pulling his sleeve over his freshly bandaged tricep. She nodded and gave him a smile before she joined the rest of her team beside Will. The group shuffled out of the courtroom to some more space and privacy in the hall.

"Is he-," Penelope began in a small voice, unable to finish her question about Will.

"I'm afraid so," Alice interjected, walking up to the group. JJ's grip tightened on Emily's hand at that, but Emily wasn't sure if it was relief or sadness flashing through her eyes.

"Well, I guess that means we don't have to show up to sentencing," Emily deadpanned. Whether it was the tension of the situation, the whirlwind of emotions of the past month, or purely Emily's comedic genius, Morgan couldn't stop a snicker, and then the whole team burst into laughter. It was a solid five minutes before anyone could get themselves under control again.

"Anyone up for pasta at my place?" Rossi asked once the last giggles had died away.

It was just what they needed. A night of joking, laughing, and friendship. Reid impressed them all with his magic, particularly the trick where he didn't spout a single fact the entire night. Penelope spent all night by JJ's side, providing her comfort in the very touchy-feely way that was Garcia's personal technique. Emily held JJ's hand whenever possible. Rossi made his famously delicious food. Hotch even told them they were all told to take an extended vacation after what they'd been through. Morgan joked and messed with JJ. All in all, Emily couldn't be more grateful to her friends.

The party finally started winding down. Morgan declared his arm hurt too much to play another round of darts. "I know it's not my throwing arm, but you get your whole body into the toss," he'd explained. "No, it's not because she beat me the last 4 games."

It was around 11 PM when JJ and Emily said their goodbyes with promises to meet up again soon. Emily couldn't stop glancing at JJ's face as she drove them home. It seemed more peaceful than it had in years.

"Does it make me a bad person?" JJ asked, breaking the silence in the car. "That I'm relieved he's dead?"

"No, of course not," Emily assured her, having expected these feelings from her girlfriend. "He put you through trauma after trauma. It's natural to want to be free of that."

JJ nodded and Emily reached over the console to grasp the blonde's hand.

"We'll be okay," she promised. "You will be okay."

JJ glanced over at Emily and the brunette could see the pain in her eyes, pain that would stay there for a long time to come. But she also saw the acceptance. JJ believed Emily and knew she was right. They would be okay. They had a long journey ahead of them, but they were both in it for the long haul. They would be okay.