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Chapter XXXVI Alone at Last
"Is she Snow White mama?" JJ's son asked her. She and Emily chuckled at the innocent question.
"I don't know baby." She shrugged. "You can ask her when she wakes up."
"When she gonna wake up?" Henry asked only to be met with silence. "Hm?" he shook his mother's shoulder, awaiting an answer.
"I don't know buddy. Maybe soon." JJ said quietly as she held onto Leila's hand and squeezed. Please be soon.
"I want her to wake up." Henry stated matter-of-factly and propped himself on the bed by Leila's feet.
"Me too." JJ smiled at her son as he made himself comfortable around his aunt's legs.
"Do you need anything JJ? I'm going to get some coffee." Emily asked. JJ replied that she would love one.
"Me too Emmy!" Henry cried and Emily chuckled as she bent over and picked the five year old up. Propping him on her hip, she pinched his nose.
"Maybe in a few years buddy." She told the boy. "Do you want to come with me?" Henry looked to his mother and when JJ nodded he replied,
"Let's go!" he wriggled in Emily's arms.
"Em, you don't have to carry him, you know. He's getting pretty heavy." JJ told her friend.
"You saying I can't handle all 40 pounds of him?" Emily raised an eyebrow.
"Go ahead Wonder Woman but don't come crying to me when you pull a muscle." JJ waved her hand at the brunette and went back to looking at Leila while the two scurried away, Henry still in Emily's arms. It seemed to JJ that she had memorized every angle of Leila's face in the time she had spent with her. Afraid to look away lest something happen to her, the blonde had spent every waking second with the girl. Secretly, JJ just wanted to be the first face Leila saw when she woke up. She was angry at herself at not being able to help the girl in the basement and that Emily was the one that comforted her after JJ was shot. Placing a hand on her own injury, JJ resolved that the aching should have stopped by now. She lifted her shirt and picked at the stitches. She reached into her bag and pulled out the cream Dr. Kepner had prescribed her and applied some to the wound. It stung, as usual, but JJ didn't mind much. At least she was still alive to feel it. Before JJ could reprimand herself for the thousandth time over what she had allowed to happen, she felt the slightest bit of pressure on her hand. Startled, she dropped her purse and shot out of her chair. Still holding onto Leila's hand, she eased closer to the girl.
"Leila?" she whispered softly. "Are you…are you awake?" The girl frowned and squeezed JJ's hand with a little bit more strength before a groan escaped her lips. Her face scrunched up, apparently feeling every one of her injuries, and JJ used her free hand to cup her jaw. "Open your eyes Leila. You're safe now, I promise." Slowly, Leila's breathing increased its pace and her head began shifting. Still frowning at the unexplained pain, Leila groaned again and tried to shift her body only to be stopped by a gentle hand to the shoulder. "Don't try to move."
"So we got you coffee, Jell-O, and some-"
"Get the doctor, she's waking up!" JJ cried towards the doorway. She heard Emily usher Henry out of the room and call out for Dr. Avery. The rest of the team made their way into the room and stood in a corner. Emily rushed back in with Dr. Avery in tow within seconds.
"Has she said anything yet?" Avery asked JJ.
"No, nothing." JJ was slowly pushed out of the doctor's way. "Is she alright?" Avery ignored the question as she examined Leila.
"Leila, my name is Joan. You're in the hospital. Can you open your eyes for me?" she asked the teenager. She received a groan in reply as interns and nurses rushed in to help Avery. A few ragged breaths escaped Leila's lips as Avery instructed the others one what to give the girl and when to do it. Emily kept JJ from shoving Avery out of the way for a few extra seconds by holding onto her hand while the doctors examined her. Finally, Avery turned to JJ and smiled. "She's going to be alright." Without warning, the blonde rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the other woman causing everyone in the room to chuckle.
"Thank you." She whispered softly in the doctor's ear.
"There's no need to thank me." Joan assured her as JJ released her grip and advanced to Leila's side. She briefly noticed Hotch gaining the doctor's attention and striking up a conversation on the medication Leila would be on. JJ nervously glanced behind her and saw Emily, Morgan, Reid, and Rossi all signaling for her to approach the girl. Apparently she was going too slowly for Emily's taste so the brunette leaned forward and gave her friend a little shove. Before she knew it, JJ was at the bedside of an awake and very confused-looking Leila.
"Leila?" JJ said meekly. The teenager's eyes slowly adjusted to the light and turned their sapphire gaze towards the blonde. JJ's voice caught in her throat as she finally realized just how similar the two looked. "My name-" JJ cleared her throat, "my name is-"
"Jennifer." Leila managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper. "I remember." JJ sighed, not sure exactly what Leila thought she remembered. An uneasy silence came over the sisters until Emily stepped forward and broke it.
"Hi Leila. I'm-"
"Emily." The girl finished for her. "Derek, Spencer, David." She motioned to the men standing the background. Each offered her a smile as she recalled their names. "Eidetic memory." She explained, earning herself a wider smile from Dr. Reid.
"So you…you remember everything?" JJ asked the girl, partially afraid of the answer she would give. Leila nodded and took a deep breath. Wincing, she placed a hand over her heart, feeling the raised skin from the stitches she had received. Her breath hitched again as she tried to raise her right hand and regretted it. Instinctively, JJ moved closer to the girl.
"Try not to move too much." JJ told her quietly.
"What happened?" Leila motioned to her chest.
"You had open heart surgery. Because of the um, the electric shocks." JJ explained delicately.
"Oh." Leila mumbled as she cradled her injured hand.
"We'll give you two some time." Rossi said quietly, ushering the three agents out of the room.
"Thank you." Leila called out to them. "For saving me." All four agents nodded and smiled before leaving the siblings on their own. JJ gulped as she heard the door close behind her friends. She didn't realize how much their presence comforted her until they were gone. Never before had Jennifer Jareau been this afraid.
ugh she's finally awake! What will happen next? How will Leila react to her new 'family'? Review to find out faster :P