Chapter 48
''Baby girl, how could you possibly think Rossi is having an affair with Strauss? I mean, ewww,'' said Morgan. He and Garcia were having a movie night. As per usual, they lost interest half way through and began their flirty banter.
''I have seen things through my mystical computer screens my chocolate thunder god. Things that will disturb you,'' she replied filicking a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
''What did you see? Did they kiss or something?''
''She smiled.''
''What?''
''Strauss, super cruel mega bitch, smiled. Rossi was talking to her and she smiled.''
''That doesn't mean they're having an affair honey.''
'Have you ever seen Strauss smile? They are so sleeping together.''
''You have a dirty mind baby girl.''
''Huh that's one of the things you love most about me,'' she smiled.
Morgan stole the popcorn off her when his phone rang. ''Morgan.''
''Morgan, it's JJ.'' She sounded upset, like she'd been crying.
''JJ what's up, do we have a case? I thought we were focusing on Emily's one. JJ, is there something wrong?'' He heard JJ's quiet sobs at the other end of the phone.
''Is there something wrong with my fair haired wonder maiden?'' asked Garcia who was suddenly paying attention.
''Well I don't know about that, but there is something wrong with JJ.''
''Is that Garcia with you?'' JJ asked.
''Ya, ya it is? JJ, what's up?''
''It..it's Emily. She...she...she's been shot Derek,'' JJ stammered.
''Wait, what?'' Morgan shouted into the phone. ''JJ, JJ answer me. Is this true?''
''Yes. J..jus...were in Sibley Memorial.'' Morgan heard no more as JJ started crying and hung up. He turned to face Garcia who looked Garcia. ''Morgan what is it?''
''Emily's been shot Garcia.'' Garcia nearly fainted. Morgan had to hold her up. ''Sssh baby girl, were going to see her now.''
They went out the door but not before Morgan kicked the coffee table over. ''That son of a bitch,'' he said under his breath as he slammed the door behind them.
The journey in the car was quiet. Garcia held tightly onto her colourful bag with the dolphin pattern as she turned paler and paler. ''Is she going to be ok?'' Garcia croaked through sobs.
''I don't know baby girl. But this is Emily, she'll fight.''
Once they arrived they ran to join JJ and the rest of the group. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and there blood on her shirt. Hotch and Rossi were already there, and Mick was pacing in the centre of the room. He had quite a bit of blood on him.
JJ smiled weakly when she saw them coming. Garcia ran over to JJ and hugged her. ''Oh Jayje, please tell me it's not true.''
''I'm sorry Pen.''
Reid arrived in then. ''I just heard. Is she ok?'' he asked.
''We don't know yet. She's still in surgery,'' JJ replied.
''JJ, can you tell us what happened?'' Hotch said. It was important they knew. Mick came over then. ''It was LaSalle,'' he growled.
''Wait, LaSalle as in Gina LaSalle on your team?'' Morgan asked. Mick nodded his head.
''Oh god, I slept with her,'' he whispered. ''Tell us what happened.''
JJ started first. ''I couldn't find Emily at work. I called Mick and he hadn't heard from her either. We drove home and up in the bedroom was LaSalle holding a gun to Emily's head.''
''Emily was tied up and she was gagged,'' said Mick taking over. ''She said she was responsible for everything. She was the killer. She said she did it because she was in love with me. She viewed Emily as a threat, so she wanted to kill her. She went to shoot her, and JJ shot her. One shot, to the head, beautiful shot. Of course I fired as well after, emptied my clip,'' he growled, staring into space.
''So did I. But before she died she pulled the trigger. It missed her head, but it got her in the stomach. Mick tried his best to stop the bleeding and I called the ambulance. They have forensic investigators over there now,'' JJ added.
''It was her all along. How could I have been so stupid!'' Mick shouted, kicking one of the plastic chairs the hospital provided.
''Mick, you couldn't have. The profile was wrong. We were going by that. She fooled everyone,'' JJ said as she took his arm.
''But I worked with her. Everyday, when I was telling her about my worries about Emily and she listened, knowing full well it was her fault! If she wasn't already dead, I'd kill her.''
''So would I,'' agreed Morgan.
''We all would,'' ended Rossi.
Everyone tried to get settled then. Those chairs didn't help their feeling of fear and unease. Mick continued pacing, and muttered something under his breath. Hotch and Rossi stood over by the coffee machine, their usual cool appearances replaced by fear and worry. Morgan and Reid were over by the vending machine. Reid was eating candy, he said candy relaxed you and made you feel calm. But then he said it wasn't working. JJ sat on one of the chairs, her head in her hands. Garcia came over to join her and handed her a coffee. ''Here drink, it'll make you feel better.''
''The only thing that will make me feel better Pen is Emily coming out of that operating room healthy.''
''I know pet. It's what we all want.''
JJ took the coffee and drank some. It scalded her throat, but she didn't care. It was mearly a cut to the pain she was feeling.
''You know when you got shot Pen? We were all in the waiting room just like this. I was sat down on a chair, just like I am now. Emily came and sat beside me. She saw how upset I was and she took my hand. I just wish I was in there instead of her, and she could take your hand. I can't do it, I'm not like her. I'm not as strong.'' Garcia looked at JJ with compassion and took her hand. She squeezed it tightly and said ''I'll be your Emily.''
Two hours passed. Still no news. They were all going insane with worry. Surely they should have heard something?
''Is this what it was like when I got shot JJ?'' Garcia asked. JJ looked up at her, she was lost in thought. ''Huh?''
''Is this what it felt like when I got shot? The fear, the uncertainty, the way you just want to scream hurry the hell up and get her out of there?''
''Just like this. Exactly like this. I thought I'd never have to through that again,'' JJ whispered.
''She'll be ok Jayje,'' Garcia said, seeing the fear in her friends eyes. ''She's a fighter. She'll pull through just to give out to us for worrying.''
JJ smiled slightly and turned to look at Garcia. ''I hope you're right.''
''When have I ever been wrong?''
Mick stopped pacing. It was doing no good. Nothing he could do would help her. He hated feeling useless. There had to be something, anything he could do for Emily.
JJ saw him out of the corner of her eye. ''Pen, Mick stopped pacing.''
Garcia looked up and saw him too. He was shaking and his fists were clenched tight. His eyes were red, he wasn't afraid to cry. ''There stands a broken man.''
''Do you think we should do something?''
''What can we do? If there was something, I'd be doing it JJ.''
''I'm going over to him. Wanna come?''
''Ok.'' They walked over to Mick who had started biting his nails. ''You know, my mom said that I used bite my nails whenever I cut myself when I was small. It was my way of dealing with the pain.''
''Mick, how are you doing?'' JJ asked placing a hand on his shoulder.
''Well my girlfriend has just been shot by a woman who I thought I could trust and I feel like my life is going to fall apart. I can't stand this anymore JJ,'' he said looking at her pleadingly. ''I can't.''
''This is killing me too. There has to be something we can do,'' spoke Garcia.
''All we can do is pray. She needs our support,'' JJ sighed. ''Come on Mick, sit down, you must be exhausted.'' He wasn't but he sat down anyway. There was no way he could sleep, not knowing she was in there, possibly dying.
Every time a nurse passed seven heads snapped up. None of them had any news. It was getting late. It was well past midnight. Hotch called all of them over and said ''I think we should go home and get some sleep. Were not doing any good here.''
''I'm staying here,'' Mick stated. ''She could be out any minute. You go home, I'll call you if there's any news.
''I'm not going home,'' Morgan said too.
''Me neither,'' agreed JJ.'' We probably can't go in there anyway Mick.''
''I'm not going either,'' stated Rossi.
''I'm staying,'' said Garcia, taking JJ's hand. ''My girl needs me.''
''I'm staying as well,'' Reid piped up. ''The probability of me getting any sleep is slim anyway.''
''Then I guess were all staying,'' said Hotch. ''Excuse me, I have to call Jessica.''
It was a long night. Reid drifted in and out of sleep, but it was the kind of sleep that just took you away from your worries. It didn't make you feel better.
Rossi and Hotch fell asleep as well and Garcia fell asleep on Morgan's shoulder. The only ones awake were Mick and JJ. Mick refused to sleep. He couldn't anyway. Every time he closed his eyes, the image of Emily lying on the bed bleeding appeared. JJ was too scared to sleep. She was like a ghost, pale and with wide eyes, and staying unnaturally still. The only light was from the light outside the window and it shone on JJ's face, making her look paler.
At around 4 a.m., a nurse appeared. Mick ran over to her straight away, while JJ went over the minute she realised what was happening.
''Please tell me this is about Emily Prentiss,'' Mick pleaded. His hair was all over the place and he was almost in hysterics.
''It is. She's out of surgery. It went well but tonight is critical. We'll get a better view of her condition in the morning. However, I'm afraid she lost the baby.''
''Wait baby? What baby?'' Mick asked, horror spreading across his face.
''She was pregnant. Did you not know?''
''No. I had no idea.''
''I'm sorry you had to find out this way. She was a few weeks along, were guessing about three. I'm very sorry.'' The nurse left them. Mick's face had a look of shock, horror and sadness on it. ''She was pregnant,'' he murmered.
JJ felt him going weak and grabbed him. She could feel tears forming in her own eyes. ''Did you know?'' he asked, facing JJ.
''No I didn't. I had no idea Mick,'' she responded. ''I don't even know if she knew herself.''
Mick was being surprisingly calm. He looked shocked and hurt yeah, but he wasn't moving.
''I can't believe it. She was pregnant,'' he whispered. ''She was pregnant,'' he repeated this time a little louder. ''She was pregnant,'' again this was louder. ''She was pregnant!'' he cried, waking up Morgan and Hotch. The others just stirred.
''What's happening? Was there any news?'' Morgan asked, standing up.
Mick looed at JJ for help. ''She's out of surgery. They think it went well but they won't know until the morning,'' JJ informed.
''Well that's good then isn't it?'' Morgan stated.
''She was pregnant. She lost the baby.'' Hotch and Morhan were stunned. ''Mick, man I'm sorry,'' Morgan stated, walking over to him. ''This must be a hard blow.''
''I never knew. I never knew, that's why I'm shocked. Sure, it hurts like hell anyway, but I never knew,'' he murmered.
Hotch offered his condolences as well before speaking to JJ. ''Did they say anything else?''
''They said she was about three weeks along,'' JJ said biting down on her necklace.
''Did you know? You are her best friend, it's like something she'd tell you.''
''I had no idea. I really didn't.''
Hotch looked over at Morgan and Mick. Morgan was consoling Mick and they weren't likely to disturb them. He pulled JJ over to the side and said ''Did you get the tests back?''
''Oh, I did. I forgot about them in the middle of all this.''
''And?''
JJ looked straight into Hotch's eyes. ''You're the father.''
Hotch didn't blink. He turned away and put his hand up to his face. ''What does this mean?''
''It means I get custody of Henry. Will can't have him since he's not his biological father. I'll let you see him if you want.''
''Of course I want to see him. I'm not going to ignore my son, even if I only found out he was my son know.''
''Where does it leave us Hotch? Strauss will kill us if she finds out. She wouldn't waste any time in firing us.''
''We'll have to try and keep it a secret.''
''And what about us? Where do we stand with each other?''
''JJ-''
''Hotch, I think I love you. I want you to be a part of Henry's life. I want him to be a part of Jack's life. I know this sounds stupid, but I want to be a family.''
JJ braced herself for his answer. It was a stupid thing to do but she couldn't keep it inside her anymore. She had slowly fallen in love with her boss, and only realised it when she left Will. She was positive he didn't feel the same way. It wasn't long after Haley.
''I love you too JJ. I want to have a family with you, Henry and Jack. I know it's love, it's like Haley, but you're different to Haley. You're a completely different person, but I can fall in love twice can't I?''
JJ smiled. ''Yes you can. I was in love with Will, but I'm not anymore. I know it's nothing like Haley, but I get what you mean.''
Then Hotch smiled. JJ thought it was one of the cutest things she ever saw. He didn't smile much, but when he did it was magical.
''I love it when you smile,'' she admitted.
''I think I'm going to be smiling a lot more now that I get to come home to you every day.'' He reached down and kissed her passionately. All their trapped feelings came out as they deepened the kiss.
Mick was sitting over with Morgan when he noticed them. ''Derek, look over there!'' he pointed, smiling for the first time in hours,''Hotch and JJ!''
''Oh my word! I gotta get Garcia.'' He woke up Garcia. ''What is it? Is it about Emily?''
''Ya, but first I have to show you something.'' He took her over to where Mick was sitting and pointed at the new couple. ''Oh my god, Hotch and JJ!''
''I know! It's a complete surprise!''
Mick and Garcia looked at each other. ''Ehh it's not really.''
''What do you know that I don't?''
''Hotch might be Henry's father!'' squeeked Garcia.
''By the looks of it, he is Henry's father,'' stated Mick. ''Oh his hand moved to her ass, definitely the father.''
Reid and Rossi had woken up by this point. It was from the noise. ''What's all the hassle about?'' Rossi asked, rubbing sleep out of his eye. The three of them pointed to Hotch and JJ, who were still kissing.
''Wow,'' Rossi remarked.
''How long has this been going on? Why do I miss everything?'' Reid asked.
''We don't know pretty boy. We just found out now.''
Garcia wasted no time in telling them the full story. They were shocked to find out Hotch was Henry's dad. Mick then told them about Emily, and the baby.
The morning finally came. They all fell asleep, except for Mick. He watched as JJ fell asleep on Hotch and smiled. He had gotten to really like JJ, and was happy to see her happy.
The nurse came at about eight. Everyone else was still asleep, so she related the information to just Mick. ''How is she?''
''We've stabilised her condition. She should be waking up soon. You can go see her if you want.'' Mick breathed a sigh of relief. ''Should I wake up the others?''
''I think you should go in first. You can tell them then.''
Mick followed the nurse to Emily's room. He was surprised to find her already awake and arguing with the nurse. The last bit, he wasn't so surprised about.
The other nurse walked out of the room and smiled at him. ''Are you Mick? She's been asking for you.''
Emily couldn't see him yet. She was fiddling with the machines she was hooked up to though. ''Can I go in?''
''Yes you can. Oh and tell her to stop messing with the machines? She won't listen to me but she might if you say it.''
''I will.'' He walked into the room. Emily looked up and smiled at him. ''I thought you weren't coming.''
''Why would you think that? You know I can't stop myself from seeing you.''
He sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand. With the other, she started messing with the machines again. ''Will you stop that? They're there to help you.''
''I know but they're annoying.''
''I'd take a pissed Prentiss to a dead Prentiss anyday.''
''You haven't seen me when I'm really pissed.''
''I don't want to. How are you feeling?''
''A little tired, a little sore, but don't tell the nurse I said that. She'll give me some stuff I don't need.''
Mick smiled. It was a very Emily thing to do, pretend you don't need help because you're too dam stubborn to ask. ''I was worried Em. Worried sick.''
''I knew you'd be! You worry too much.''
''Maybe I do but this was for good reason. I thought I'd lost you Em.''
''Well you haven't, so you can stop worrying. I'm fine.''
''You lost the baby Em.''
''I guessed as much,'' she said, the smile leaving her face.
''When were you going to tell me?''
''I was going to wait until our wedding day. I was going to tell you during our first dance, I had it all planned out. I didn't want you to find out like this.''
''I know you didn't, but we can try again right? That is if you still want to have kids.''
''More than ever.'' He leaned over and kissed her. Her heart rate monitor started beeping faster, causing the nurse to come in. ''Sorry, my fault,'' he smiled.
The nurse smiled back and left the room. ''Be careful ok? She's still sensitive.''
''If she's worried about my heart rate she shouldn't let me see you. You don't have to kiss me to make it rise.''
''Emily, that is so you. Thinking about sex when you're in a hospital bed.''
''It is big enough. And as long as we keep quiet she won't come in,'' Emily smirked.
'''Emily, no. You've just been shot. And anyway, you couldn't be quiet even if you wanted to.''
She smiled and started playing with his fingers. ''What happened to LaSalle?''
''She's dead. JJ and I both kinda shot her but JJ got the fatal shot.''
''Oh, that's going to affect her. She wasn't right for a few weeks after she shot the last guy.''
''I think she's already forgottne about she was so worried. And she has something to tell you.''
''What?''
''I think it's better coming from her.''
''Mick Rawson, I am ordering you to tell me! I just got shot, you have to be nice to me!''
''No I'm not telling. And anyway she'll want to tell you herself.''
''Mick please!''
''I'm sorry Em. I'm more afraid of her at this time because you're stuck in this bed and can't get me while she's walking about and I know from last night she has a great shot.''
''Don't remind me.''
Mick chuckled. ''You're so cute when you're frustrated.''
A small smile tugged at Emily's lips. ''You know nothing she said is true. I don't love her, I love you.''
''I know. But I can understand why she did it. You are a pretty great guy. If I thought I couldn't have you I might do the same thing.''
''No you wouldn't. Emily, she was sick. And you'd never dream of hurting another person. And, I'm all yours. You'll never have to feel that way.''
''I'm all yours too. I love you Mick.''
''I love you Emily.'' He hugged her tight. ''Oww Mick that kinda hurts.''
''Emily, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!''
''I know you didn't. Now, please kiss me.''
