Here's the next chapter even though the previous one only had 1 review :(
Chapter XXXVII We'll Figure it Out
As the four agents closed the door behind them, they caught a sidelong glance at their boss handing Joan a piece of paper and smiling at the doctor. Realizing he was being watched, Hotch made his way to his team.
"Really?" Rossi frowned. "We're in a hospital and you think this is a good time to hand out your number to a perfect stranger?"
"Jo- Dr. Avery saved Leila's life, Dave. I gave her my business card to make sure that I had all the details regarding her treatment." Hotch winced slightly as each member raised their eyebrows.
"You mean the business card that just happened to have your cell phone number on it?" Emily asked, a smirk making its way onto the woman's features.
"Says the woman who hasn't stopped texting a certain detective since we got here." The dark haired profiler added. The other three men didn't even bother to hold back their snickers as Emily blushed.
"Low blow, Hotchner." She mumbled. The playful banter ceased as Reid drew their attention to the blonde haired couple making a b-line for them.
"We heard she's awake." Sandy Jareau stated and crossed her arms as Emily and Derek protectively blocked the door with their bodies.
"She is." Hotch told the two and waited. Robert Jareau seemed to grow impatient and took a step closer.
"Are you going to move?" he asked Emily and Derek. Both simply crossed their arms across their chests, their already hard gazes turning to stone.
"This isn't the time or place for this." Rossi stepped between the eldest Jareau and his teammates. "JJ's talking to her now, maybe you could come-"
"So Jennifer gets to talk to her but we don't?" the man asked defensively, his voice rising quickly.
"Jennifer's not the one who abandoned her!" Reid burst forward and stared angrily at the couple. Hotch placed a hand on the younger man's arm, holding him back. Reid's prior experience with parents leaving their children behind wasn't going to help diffuse the situation.
"Dave's right." Hotch said calmly. "We're all a bit worked up and tired. Now that we know Leila's going to be alright, we can rest and…solve this another time. Mr. & Mrs. Jareau?" he glanced at the couple who reluctantly backed away. Just as the two were out of view, the door behind Emily and Derek opened, revealing a doe-eyed JJ. Apparently she had waited for her parents to leave before emerging.
"You okay?" Reid took a protective step towards the blonde who smiled and nodded.
"You were in there for…" Emily checked her watch, "four minutes. You're going to tell me that all you had to say to your long-lost, week-long comatose sister could be said in four minutes?"
"She fell asleep Em. What did you want me to do; rip the IV out of her arm?" JJ asked sarcastically.
"Well that would be…excessive." Emily admitted and smirked.
"Not to mention rude." Rossi said.
"And illegal." Hotch added quietly. As a whole, the group erupted into a fit of giggles before sobering up. JJ turned and made her way down the hallway.
"Where do you think you're going?" Morgan caught up with her.
"To find Will and Henry. I don't think it's a good idea for Leila to meet Henry so soon." JJ told the man. "Where are you going?"
"You don't honestly think you're going anywhere alone, do you?" Morgan raised an eyebrow and ignored the woman's scowl. "Besides, don't you think that should be up to her to decide?" JJ stopped and shook her head.
"I don't know." She admitted. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Should I keep my-our parents from seeing her? Do I even have that right? What'll happen if I introduce her to Henry? Does she even want to know me?"
"Whoa there Blondie, slow down." Morgan placed a hand on JJ's shoulder. "No one expects you to know all the answers. You gotta play it by ear JJ. But for that last question, I'm sure she does. You saved her."
"Emily and Knox saved her." JJ stammered.
"Bullshit." Derek said forcefully. "You honestly think she'd still be alive if you hadn't delayed Parrilla the way you did? Or if you hadn't waited for the precise moment to shoot him? Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Jennifer. There's nothing that can be done to change the past but you did everything in your power to save her and guess what? You succeeded, so stop sulking and be happy!" Derek flashed another award-winning smile and waited until she returned it.
"You're right." JJ sighed and massaged her temples.
"Besides, the Bureau is probably gonna give you some award for bravery or whatnot." Morgan guided her through the hallways. "Think of how much fun that's going to be." JJ rolled her eyes and groaned at the thought.
Emily had gone to sit with Leila after JJ and Morgan went to search for Will and Henry. She didn't feel like the girl should be left alone for even a minute; not with Parrilla still out there. As she watched Leila squirm in her sleep, Emily recognized the signs of a nightmare and couldn't help but think of her own personal boogeyman, Ian Doyle. Doyle had kidnapped her, hurt her, threatened her family, and put her in the hospital exactly like Parrilla had done to Leila. Perhaps the two women had more in common than hair color. Debating on whether or not to wake the girl and end her nightmare, Emily failed to hear the knock on the door as Detective Knox strolled in.
"Heard she woke up." His voice jolted Emily out of her thoughts and out of her chair. "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you."
"It's alright." Emily reassured him as he took a few steps closer to her. "Yea, she did. Even talked to JJ for a few minutes before falling asleep."
"That's great!" Chris exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Emily's waist and drew her towards him. She couldn't help the smile, or the reddening in her cheeks, as she inhaled his cologne. "So what's going to happen now?"
"Well, I'm fairly certain that JJ's going to ask her to come back with them to DC but-"
"Not what I meant." Chris interrupted softly. Realization dawned upon Emily and the mood suddenly plummeted.
"I…I don't know Chris." She admitted.
"What do you want to happen?" he asked her as his brilliantly emerald eyes bore into her ember ones. Emily gulped; she wasn't accustomed to sharing her feelings even with her closest friends and even when she did, she never expected her wishes to come true. "Do you not want to talk about it?"
"No, no, I do!" Emily cried, fearful that he might start believing she didn't care for him. "I'm just…not used to talking about my feelings."
"I understand. I just want you to know that I'll be waiting for an answer…whenever you're ready to give it to me." he smiled, showing her his perfect teeth once more. Emily smiled back, feeling her heart thumping harder in her chest as Chris' lips made their way closer to hers. How her arms had found their way around his neck, she would never know but in that moment, Emily was glad for the closeness. She hadn't allowed anyone to hold her since Doyle and that had been almost ten years ago. Granted, she didn't go ten years without…experimenting but it was nothing like this. No one had ever made Emily Prentiss speechless or made her giggle like a little girl or made her heart hurt at the mere thought of being away from them before. This was completely uncharted territory for her and hell, Emily loved risk. She tangled her fingers in Chris' thick black hair and hiked herself up on her toes to reach his lips. Mercilessly crashing her own against them, Emily desperately tried to memorize the man in her arms as he did the same to her. Just as their kiss turned more passionate than affectionate, the couple was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.
"Sorry to interrupt." Dr. Avery smiled as the two were helpless to stop the blood from flowing to their cheeks. Emily cleared her throat.
"It's alright. Is everything ok?" she asked as the woman started unwrapped Leila's bandaged hand.
"Of course. Just want to make sure this doesn't get infected." Joan looked up at Emily. "I'll be out of your hair soon enough." Emily smiled, appreciating the doctor's nonchalant attitude.
"When do you think she'll be able to head home?" Chris asked the doctor and Joan frowned.
"That's up to her. If she can get up and move around without trouble breathing or tearing her stitches, then I say she's free to go." Avery shrugged.
"Leila's on an athletic scholarship to Stanford." Emily informed her. "I don't know if she'll be willing to go all the way to the west coast anymore but if she is, would she be able to participate?"
"That's difficult to say." Joan frowned again. "The stitches should be healed by the time the semester starts but her hand is a different story. I'm told she's also a musician?" Emily nodded. "Unfortunately, I can't guarantee that that hand will ever function 100% again. At this point I could wager at 40, maybe 60% capability. I'm sorry." Avery finished the dressing and left the room.
"How exactly am I supposed to tell JJ that?" Emily asked the doorframe. Chris' hand came to rest on her shoulder and Emily turned to face him, allowing herself to be enveloped in his arms. Burrowing her face in the crook of his neck, she felt him sigh.
"We'll figure it out, Emily. Everything's going to work out. You'll see." Chris promised her as he kissed the top of her head. Emily's heart couldn't help but swell at the man's sentence. We'll figure it out. She smiled into his neck as she nodded.
"I suppose we will."
Please let me know what you think; it only takes a moment. Also, I'd really like to know whether you guys want to see any smut later on in the story. Your wish is my command.