Insomnia makes for a new (and longer) chapter and thanks to a certain review (you know who you are) it's filled with a lot of angst. I've felt a little torn about this chapter, unsure whether I should really include it but since I wrote it already I might as well post it for you, right? Let me know what you think and thanks for your amazing support!
(and get those tissues ready, you're gonna need them!)
Dropping Amelia off at preschool the next morning was hard for both JJ and Emily since the girl had been closed off ever since they woke her and refused to talk about what had happened the night before.
Emily had found her sleeping on the floor about an hour after they had left Amelia to herself and had gently picked her up and put her back into her bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead before quietly leaving the room, hoping to at least get some more rest before they had to get up again.
Now they were saying their goodbyes, Lia barely reacting as she walked into her classroom and JJ and Emily reluctantly left, knowing she would be in safe hands while they were at work.
When they got a phone call mere hours later none of them could have been prepared for what they were about to hear.
JJ had picked up the call as she sat at her desk, going through several files, and stopped every movement the second she heard what had happened, her throat tightening painfully and her heart racing hard and fast in her chest.
As soon as the call had ended she went off to find Emily, her legs shaking as she made her way down the stairs and towards Emily's desk.
"Emily", her voice trembled and when Emily turned around she saw how pale JJ was and immediately shot up from her chair to get to her side.
"JJ, what's wrong? Are you okay?", her eyes were filled with concern and she held onto JJ's upper arms as a sob tore from her throat when she told Emily what had happened.
"Lia is gone, Emily, she's gone", JJ cried, her entire body trembling before her legs finally gave in and Emily barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
"JJ, hey JJ, look at me, please look at me sweetie", Emily tried her hardest to remain calm as she guided JJ into a lying position on the floor even though her heart was racing just as fast as JJ's at the news.
"Okay, now take a deep breath for me, can you do this? And then tell me what happened", by now Reid had raced off to get a glass of water and Morgan was crouching down next to JJ, being worried about her as much as the rest of the team.
"They can't find her anywhere, Em. They think she ran away", JJ eventually brought out in between heavy breaths before another panic attack hit her.
"What if anyone has her, what if we don't find her in time, Em-", at this point she wasn't able to form a clear thought, let alone coherent sentences and Emily was growing steadily worried about both her and Amelia's whereabouts.
"Listen JJ, I really need you to calm down first and then we are going to drive to the preschool to find out what happened, okay?", Emily calmly explained their next steps and waited until JJ had taken a few sips of the water Reid had given her, taking a moment to collect her own thoughts while the team took care of JJ.
"We're going to gather the team to help you, JJ. We're going to find her, trust me.", Morgan's expression was serious and JJ hoped he was right and that they would find her in time.
When JJ was ready to get off the floor again they drove off, ready to meet with the principal to figure out what had happened.
"We still don't know how she managed to get outside but the security footage shows that nobody has taken her so she must have ran off on her own", Mrs. Wells explained, her features tense as she spoke to them.
"How is that even possible, I thought those doors had safety locks!", JJ's voice rose in anger as Emily put a hand on her upper arm to signal her to calm down.
"I'm really sorry, we aren't sure what happened but think one of the parents must have forgotten to put the lock into place again when leaving. We already contacted the police as well and someone should be arriving any minute now." The principal knew there was no excuse for what had happened but she still hoped they would understand and that they would find Amelia soon.
"God knows where she is right now, she doesn't even know this part of the city", JJ's voice was shaking once again and Emily guided her towards a chair before she broke down for the second time that day.
"We're going to find her, I'm sure we will. The police will send out officers and the team is helping too. They know what they are doing." Emily's voice was soft, softer than expected, her mind wandering to all the things that could happen to Lia while she was out there but she tried to push them aside, for both her and JJ's sake.
"What if she ran away because of what she heard last night? Or because she thinks we left her alone or don't love her anymore", JJ's shoulders slumped as heavy sobs escaped her lips and Emily carefully pulled her into her arms, trying to comfort her when everything seemed to be spinning out of control.
The minutes after that were a blur. Police officers arrived and their team joined them not long after that, all ready to head out and look for the missing girl.
They had discussed whether or not JJ and Emily should go home in case Amelia found her way back, but had decided that it was unlikely since they were too far away from their house and the girl had no way of getting this far in such a short amount of time.
Filing out they all headed into different directions, intently scanning their surroundings and calling Amelia's name every now and then, waiting for a response but getting none for the first hour.
It was another half hour later when JJ walked into a small alley and saw a small girl cowering on the ground, her back pressed against a brick wall and her small arms wrapped around her knees.
"Lia!", JJ ran towards the girl, needing to know if she was okay.
"Mummy", Amelia sobbed when she saw JJ approaching her, her relief outweighing her panic as she scrambled into JJ's open arms.
"Oh my god Lia, we were so worried", JJ pressed her tightly against her chest, one hand running through Amelia's hair as she took a deep breath, relieved to have the girl in her arms again.
"I'm sowwy, mummy, I'm sowwy", Lia brought out between sobs and JJ gently rocked her in her arms while one of the police officers let everyone else know that they had found Amelia and that she was safe and okay.
"It's okay, Lia, it's okay now, I'm just glad you are safe", JJ soothed her and noticed that Amelia was freezing and that her knees seemed to be scraped.
"Come on, let's get you home", JJ's voice was quiet as they walked out of the alley and back onto the main street where Emily was getting out of a car and running over to them.
"Mama", Lia cried the moment she saw Emily coming their way and immediately curled up in her arms when Emily opened them for her.
"Oh Lia, it's okay, I'm here now, I'm here.", Emily quietly reassured her and held her close, much like JJ had when she had first found her.
They were quickly heading home after that, aware of the stress Amelia was under and knowing she needed to warm up again and have her knees treated after everything she had been through.
"Are you sure we shouldn't see a doctor about this?", JJ quietly asked, once they were back home, Amelia wrapped in a blanket on her lap as Emily crouched in front of them to take care of her knees.
"I don't think we should put her through this right now. Let's just keep an eye on her for now and if anything feels off we can still call her doc.", Emily's voice was equally quiet as to not startle Amelia even further, who was tightly pressed against JJ's chest by now.
"No hurt me, pwease", she whimpered, aware of what Emily was about to do and thinking she wanted to punish her.
"It's okay, Lia. We don't want to hurt you. This will not feel very nice but we just want to help you feel better.", Emily carefully explained and showed her the items in her hand before carefully pulling off her jeans to treat the wounds.
As soon as the disinfectant touched her skin she started to whimper again, trying to get away from Emily who did her best to be gentle with her.
"Shh, it's okay bug, it's over soon", JJ whispered into her ear and carefully held her in place so Emily could finish bandaging her knees.
"There, all done, see?", Emily told Lia, before getting up and settling down next to her and JJ on the couch, hoping Lia would be able to relax now.
"Hurts", she meekly whispered and curled up against JJ once again, allowing her to rub her back in a soothing manner.
"I know bug, but it's going to get better real soon. Now rest a little, Emily and I are not going anywhere", JJ quietly reassured her as Emily's hand joined hers on Amelia's back, patiently waiting until the girl had drifted off from exhaustion.
"We have to tell Melissa about this", JJ whispered after a while, her voice laced with worry as she thought about the upcoming visit from the social worker.
"I know, but it's going to be okay, trust me.", Emily comforted her and wrapped an arm around JJ's waist to pull her close, hoping her words would prove themselves to be true when Melissa came to visit them the following week.
"I'm just so glad she's safe and okay. I don't know what I would have done if-", JJ trailed off, not being able to finish the sentence when all the possible, horrible outcomes crossed her mind.
"It's okay now, she's okay. We're going to be okay", Emily reassured her one last time, being just as relieved that Lia was safely back in their arms again.