Chapter 35
''I feel like I'm intruding Em,'' JJ said for the fifth time in an hour. She had only been here two hours.
Mick and Emily had spent those last two hours trying to persuade her that they wanted her here and she was very welcome. She wouldn't believe them.
JJ was used to being the one people turned to when they had a crisis. Not the other way around. It felt strange and alien to her to ask for help. Even at work, the victims relatives came to her. That's why it was so weird to be asking Emily for help.
Mick offered to help JJ un-pack but Emily insisted that she would do it. So Mick just hung on at the side, watching. Although he felt very sorry for JJ, he liked JJ, it was nice to see Emily and JJ together. Emily was so good with her, and he felt very proud of her. She knew how to handle JJ, and when JJ was ok again, Emily would have a true friend in her. Their friendship was already strong, but it would be stronger again after this. It was like they were sisters, they seemed to know what the other was thinking, and they wove around each other perfectly. It was like when Mick was moving in. They had the same kind of bond, but with a sisterly love.
After they un-packed JJ started crying again. Mick, feeling lost, did the only thing a man could do in that situation, he brought her tissues. Emily said he was kind of getting in the way and was sent to the store for ice cream. He arrived home with JJ's favourite :Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Emily and JJ sat all night on the couch watching some sappy movie and eating ice cream. JJ's tear stained face was resting on Emily's shoulder, while Emily's arm kept a firm grip around JJ. Mick thought Emily was afraid she'd break. Mick was anyway.
At just after midnight, JJ went to bed with a hot water bottle provided by Emily. That left just Mick and Emily downstairs. ''Is she ok?'' he asked, seeing the tired look on Emily's face.
Emily slid onto the cream leather couch alongside Mick. He put an arm around her and held her tight. She rest her head on his chest. She sighed and said ''Eventually. The next few days are going to be hard for her. I hope she can handle it.''
She slid her head closer onto Mick and closed her weary eyes. She couldn't keep her eyelids open any longer. ''What caused this? I thought they were ok,'' Mick stated. He had only met Will once but he seemed like a nice guy. JJ seemed perfectly happy with him too. It must have been an act. They were pretty good actors if that was true though. He was a profiler, and would never have seen that coming. Though when he thought back, Will had seemed kinda shifty.
''JJ had seemed kinda off recently but I thought it wasn't that important. I never knew it was that bad. And I was the only one that noticed. Even Garcia didn't. JJ was so good at hiding it, it must have been eating her up , I feel awful for not noticing it quicker,'' she lamented sadly.
''Em, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for something that happened between them. Was it Wil? Did he cheat?''
Emily explained the story to Mick who listened attentively. She left out the part about Hotch though. JJ had sworn her to secrecy, and as much as she hated lying to Mick, she couldn't break a promise. Emily nearly broke down in tears as she re-told the story as her sometimes helpful excellent memory remembered JJ's broken face in excruciating detail. Mick held her silently, as this was clearly something that affected her. But he knew there was something she wasn't telling him, but he wasn't going to press. She wasn't telling him for a reason.
''It's better for her then isn't it? He sounds like a jerk.''
''Ya, he is,'' Emily yawned. She closed her eyes again as she leaned into Mick's warm shoulder. Soon, she was fast asleep. Mick carried Emily's sleeping form upstairs and gently laid her down on the bed they shared together. He carefully removed her clothing until she was only wearing her underwear. Miraculously, she didn't wake up, she only stirred when he removed her pants.
He found one of his old shirts in the drawer and threw it on her. He got her settled under the covers and changed into his own pyjamas. She was lightly snoring when Mick slid into the bed beside her. She had a hard day, and must have been wrecked. Mick couldn't help but be blown away by her beauty. She was beautiful even when she slept. And she was completely awesome, because she said that she had kicked Will in the groin. What an awesome woman. And she was all his. He understood exactly how lucky he was.