"Calm down, baby girl. You did good. You saved the day." Morgan had his arm wrapped around Garcia's shoulders, kissing her lightly on the head.
She was trembling. "But I shot him, Derek. Me. With a gun. And bullets."
"I know, but he's going to make it. And who knows what could have happened if you didn't do what you did. You're a hero, baby girl.
She nodded but didn't believe him. They were sitting in the hospital waiting room with Rossi and Reid. Hotch and JJ were behind the ICU doors talking to Emily's doctor. From Morgan's understanding, Emily was being rushed into surgery but he didn't know why other than the bullet in her stomach. Neither of them knew whether or not the wound was bad.
Bradley Beene was shot in his collarbone. For the most part, the doctors expected him to make a full recovery. Only one of Garcia's shots had hit him.
Garcia, on the other hand, was an absolute wreck. The only time she had ever held a gun was when JJ asked her to in the apartment. The fact that she was able to properly shoot one at the distance was a miracle in itself. But she didn't see it that way. Morgan could only imagine what she would be like had the shot killed Beene.
The doors opened and Hotch walked out with a devastated-looking JJ clinging to his arm. He shook his head at Rossi and Reid stood to their feet.
"She won't need surgery, after all." He said, lowering the blonde into a chair.
Garcia got up and sat next to her, stroking the back of JJ's white dress with her hand. "Then why are you crying, sweet heart?" she whispered.
JJ didn't look up. She had her head in her hands, her body trembling from the emotions of the day.
"They won't let her see Emily yet." Hotch frowned. "They're still finishing packing the wound, and apparently Prentiss is still unconscious."
"But she's going to be okay, right?" Morgan asked, taking a sip of his coffee. They were all still dressed in the wedding attire, but his suit was ripped and his white shirt had blotches of blood and dirt smeared in its fabric.
Hotch nodded again. "She lost a lot of blood, but they gave her a transfusion. After she wakes up, they'll move her out of ICU. She should make a full recovery."
Garcia felt her muscles relax. "JJ," she soothed, "It's okay. Emily is going to be fine and we'll finish the wedding right here."
JJ shook her head, "He shot her and all I could so was stand there and stare. What kind of person does that make me? What kind of agent does that?"
"Oh, honey… You were in shock. That was the last thing anyone expected to happen today. No one can blame you for not knowing what to do." Garcia pulled the blonde into her chest, engulfing her in an embrace. "It's okay."
JJ sniffled, fighting to break an arm away from Garcia's hug to wipe her tears. "I know. I just… I was so scared."
Morgan whispered to Hotch, hoping JJ wouldn't overhear. "Do we know what Beene's plan was?"
Hotch shook his head. "He's not talking. But I have a feeling Elizabeth is involved."
Nodding, Morgan said, "That makes sense. She'd have an alibi because of the party. It would be a perfect plan."
"They found an assault rifle by a tree in the park. They think he was going to try it that way, but changed plans at the last minute."
Morgan's forehead wrinkled. "I wonder what spooked him."
"I don't know. But it could have been a lot worse if it hadn't."
Hotch was interrupted by a nurse's voice. "Jennifer Jareau?"
JJ jumped to her feet. "How is she doing?"
The nurse smiled, "She's asking for you, agent. Just follow me."
Garcia took Morgan's hand as JJ disappeared through the ICU doors. "Is she really going to be alright?" Penelope asked Hotch.
"As far as they can tell, the bullet missed anything critical. She'll be sore, but she should be fine." He smiled, a rare act for their unit chief. "But you, Garcia… I owe you a thank you."
Garcia ferociously shook her head. "Oh sir, I didn't- you don't… please, don't mention it."
Morgan put a hand on her back. "You did what you had to do, baby girl. If you didn't, I might not be here. Who knows who Beene would have hit next."
Reid whispered, "And Emily might not have made it."
Garcia lifted her head. "What? Why? What does me shooting Beene have to do with that?"
His eyebrows arched. "Well, think about it." He said. "Emily lost a lot of blood. If you didn't stop Beene from shooting at us, the paramedics wouldn't have been able to get to her so quickly. And if they didn't, she most likely would have bled out."
Garcia's face flushed. "I didn't think of that."
Reid smiled. "So really, you saved all of us."
"Not bad for not believing in guns." Morgan winked, rubbing her back.
"And I still don't. That was the first and last time I will ever touch one of those horrible things. I don't know how you do it." She mumbled.
"Hey, baby." JJ smiled, brushing the hair from Emily's forehead.
Emily opened her eyes, her face brightening as she saw the blonde. "This doesn't look like our honeymoon suite." She joked, wincing as she laughed.
"I think we're going to have to postpone that, sweet heart. I'm sorry."
Emily reached a hand to JJ's cheek. "Let me hear your vows." She whispered.
"What?" JJ's forehead wrinkled.
"Your vows. You heard mine, but yours were interrupted."
JJ smiled. "Maybe later, you need to rest right now, Em."
"No. Now. This is still our wedding day, and I want to hear them."
The blonde shook her head. "I have an idea, but you're going to have wait a few minutes, okay?"
Emily frowned but nodded. The nurse knocked on the door, "Agent Jareau? If you'd like, you can follow us. We're going to move Agent Prentiss to room 174."
JJ smiled. "I'll be right there, Em. You won't even notice I'm missing." She grazed Emily's lips with her own and left the room before they wheeled the brunette out.
"Garcia, I need help." JJ panted, bursting through the ICU doors.
Penelope's face fell, "What's wrong? What happened?" Everyone stood to their feet.
JJ just grinned, plotting in her head.