Authors note: This is the second part of this series, We've Been Living on a Fault Line. The third and final is coming soon. I recommend re-reading the first part, there has been a few minor changes but nothing major.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and/or the established storyline, they are credited to the writers and creators of the show.
Synopsis: Following JJ and Emily's engagement, the team heads to Colorado on a case.
'til Forever Falls Apart
The team had already spent five days in Colorado. Five women, all of whom resembled JJ, had been abducted and killed. Before the team boarded the plane and flew out of Quantico, Emily tried to persuade JJ to stay behind and work with Penelope.
"They look exactly like you," Emily reasoned, "If something happened to you I would never forgive myself."
JJ didn't want to admit she was apprehensive about going on the case, the similarities she shared with the victims, she saw them too, as did the rest of the team, but there was no way JJ could stand by and do nothing. The unsub had already murdered five women, and as she stood talking to Emily there was another woman, Sarah Bloom, that was missing.
"I'll be fine, Em, I promise."
Even though JJ had completed the same training as Emily to graduate from the academy, she noticed that her fiancée had been more cautious than usual when it came to being in the field during the case. Emily had constantly been volunteering to speak to suspects or be the first in the door when they needed to sweep the building; anything to keep JJ out the line of fire.
JJ knew that being protective was in Emily's nature; she had been like this since they'd met, but never to this extent, and it had started to irritate the younger agent. She despised the fact that Emily had suddenly lost faith in her ability to do her job, so when Penelope called with a name, JJ forwarded the details to Hotch, who gave her the go-ahead before she grabbed Tara and so they could check out the address.
"Hey," Tara said, "You okay?"
"Huh," JJ looked at Tara quickly and then back to the road, her knuckles turning white at the question. "Oh, yeah, I'm good."
"Don't let Emily get to you," she said.
"I know, but I have the same training she does. I know how to do my job," JJ huffed. "Actually, you know what? Instead of talking about my asshole of a fiancée, let's focus on finding this son of a bitch."
JJ and Tara arrived at the downtown motel five minutes later. As JJ parked the SUV outside the front door, both agents commented on how run-down it was. They had seen places like this before, they were usually used by junkies and dealers because of how remote they were. The man sitting at the front desk didn't seem all with it, most likely high on something, so when the agents passed the threshold, they held up their ID badges.
"Supervisory Special Agent Jareau and Lewis with the FBI," JJ said as they walked up to the desk.
"I run a respectable operation–" the man started to defended.
"We need to talk someone staying here, Samuel Ashcroft."
The man swivelled in his chair without hesitation and clicked away at his computer which looked like it was from the early 2000s. "Room 204," he said, "Have the master key, I don't need y'all kickin' in my doors."
Tara took the key, and the two of them walked down the parking lot and up a flight of stairs, turning left at the top to find the room. As Tara knocked on the door, she looked over at JJ. It was a routine question and answer visit, but both agents knew how things quickly could go sideways.
"Mr Ashcroft, we're from the FBI, we have a few questions we need to ask you."
Silence.
"Samuel Ashcroft?" Tara placed the key into the lock, allowing them to enter if needed.
"Something isn't right," JJ said, but there was a loud crash in the room as she spoke.
Tara drew her Glock from it's holster as she forced the motel door open with her foot, just in time to see the suspect jump from the bathroom window. Tara and JJ bolted back down the stairs, JJ jumping the final two steps. Tara turned left, and JJ turned right, intending to meet at the back of the building, hoping one of them would run into the suspect along the way.
With her Glock at her side, JJ rounded the building, narrowly avoiding a pile of crates littering the alleyway. When she was halfway down the alleyway, she saw the suspect sprint by with something in his hand.
As she rounded the bend with her finger on the trigger, JJ shouted. "Samuel Ashcroft, FBI!"
The bang seemed to be louder this time; JJ wasn't sure if it was because she knew the bullet was headed straight for her, but she flinched. The blonde agent flew backwards as the bullet pierced her abdomen, the impact knocking her off her feet.
It hurt. Everything hurt.
A burning sensation ran up JJ's left side from where the bullet had penetrated her body, becoming far more painful with every breath she tried to take. Breathing became more painful, and JJ could feel something in her throat, but her vision was instantly blurred when she coughed. Raising her right arm with what strength she had left, JJ wiped the substance from her eyes with the back of her hand. When she looked at her hand, she saw the blood. JJ struggled to stay calm as she wiped her mouth, every cough brought more blood, and she had no idea how to stop it.
"Em–," she attempted to say, but the blood filled her throat faster than she could clear it.
The world suddenly faded to black. JJ had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but when she eventually came to, she could hear Tara calling her name.
"We need a medic and an ambulance to the motel off of 49th street! We have an agent down!" Tara shouted into her radio as she knelt down. "I repeat, we have an agent down!"
JJ squeezed Tara's arm as she attempted to speak; she wanted to tell Tara to tell Emily how much she loved her and how sorry she was, but with every attempt, all she could do was spit blood.
"Hey," Tara said softly as she wiped JJ's cheek with one hand while applying pressure to the wound on the agent's side with the other. "You're gonna be fine, Jay. Y–you're gonna be fine 'cos you still have to marry Emily, right?"
JJ nodded, her gaze fixed on Tara's chocolate brown eyes. Right now, Tara was her guardian angel; if it hadn't been for her, JJ knew she would have bled out. The agent was doing everything she could to keep her eyes open because despite how unbelievably irritating and frustrating Emily could be, she wasn't ready to lose her; she wasn't prepared to lose everything they had.
"No, no!" Tara shouted when she saw JJ's eyes flutter closed. "Stay awake, come on! Keep those eyes open for me!" Lifting her hand from the bleeding wound, Tara clicked her radio, "Where's the damn ambulance! I have an agent bleeding out here!"
+/+\+
With coffee in hand, Emily and Morgan entered the conference room to talking over different strategies to identify the unsub. Hotch ended his phone call when he saw them walk in, turning to them as they sat down at the table. Not much could unsettle the unit chief, but when Morgan and Emily saw the look on Hotch's face, they knew something had happened.
"What's up, Hotch?" Emily asked.
"I just got a call from Tara. She went with JJ to question someone."
"They find something?" Morgan asked.
Hotch looked at Emily and swallowed hard. "JJ's been shot."
Everything stopped. Everything slowed down, even the disposable coffee cup that dropped to the floor beside Emily. There had been occasions in the field where JJ had walked away from a confrontation with an unsub that had resulted in a broken cheekbone or a black eye, each time Emily's heart had plummeted knowing that she wasn't there to keep her safe; but this was different. Emily had never felt anything like this before.
Their life had only just started, they had just gotten engaged five days ago. They had barely done any of the things they wanted to do; Emily wanted to take JJ to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, JJ wanted to take a road trip down the west coast from Seattle to LA. It couldn't be over already.
"Give me the keys," Emily demanded, turning to Morgan.
"Prentiss–"
"I said give me the fucking keys, Morgan," she demanded again.
Morgan rolled his eyes. "I'm driving, you're in no condition to drive."
The two of them ran out of the precinct and over to the SUV, Morgan speeding off before Emily had a chance to close the door entirely. The drive was simultaneously the most prolonged and slowest drive Emily had ever done. She knew her fiancée would be in surgery when she got there, but Emily needed to see her; she needed to know that JJ was going to make it.
"We're gonna get the son of a bitch that did this to her," Morgan said. "She's gonna be okay."
Emily knew she needed to keep her emotions in check. Being hysterical now wasn't going to do anything for JJ, but Emily couldn't help but think it was her fault her fiancée had gotten hurt.
"If she's not, I'll never forgive myself," Emily murmured.
When Morgan came to a halt outside the hospital, Emily swung the door open and bolted into the emergency room, hoping to find someone who might provide some kind of information on her fiancée's condition. Before she got to the desk, she saw Tara in the reception area, her hands covered in dried blood. Emily came to a standstill when she saw Tara's expression; her eyes were hollow, and she chewed on her bottom lip as she paced.
"No," Emily whispered, the back of her hand covering her mouth. "Tara, tell me she's still alive."
Tara swallowed hard as she walked over to Emily and she pulled her friend in for a hug. "She's in surgery, but it's touch and go. They told me to wait here."
+/+\+
Even with Tara's encouraging words, Emily's thumbnails had taken the brunt of her heightened anxiety. Four hours had passed until a surgeon came to speak with Emily and Tara. By then, the older agent had almost worn a hole in the floor from her constant pacing.
"Agent Lewis?"
Tara stood up. "Yeah?"
"I'm her fiancée," Emily said instantly. "Is– is JJ–"
The doctor nodded. "She's alive, but barely. The bullet entered her upper abdomen, it caused damage to her liver and we had to remove her spleen. Jennifer lost a lot of blood during the surgery, but we did all we could and repaired most of the damage. The next twenty four hours are critical, so we're going to be keeping a close eye on her."
Although they both knew that twenty-four hours could change everything, both women breathed a sigh of relief that JJ was out of what seemed immediate danger. The team had been through so much in recent years that they couldn't stand to lose another member, Emily wasn't sure if she could take losing someone she loved again.
"Can I see her?" Emily asked hesitantly.
The doctor nodded. "Just you for now."
Emily was taken aback by how small JJ looked as she entered the hospital room. For a woman that had always been full of life, always with a joke to crack or a witty retort to something Morgan had said, Emily thought she looked fragile; she hated that someone had done that to the woman she loved.
Emily brushed JJ's blonde hair back, wishing that her bright blue eyes would open. "Hi, baby," she whispered.
Sitting down in the chair next to JJ's bed, Emily held her fiancée's cold hand. Looking around the room, she couldn't believe how many wires were coming from JJ; her fiancée hated hospitals as much as she did.
"I need you to fight, okay. I need you to get better so I can tell you how much I love you,. I'm staying right here, so you're not alone. I'm here."
That's precisely what she did. Emily remained by JJ's side while the rest of the team went off to catch the unsub. She stayed in the same position, curled up in the chair with her knees tucked up to her chest, her thumb rubbing along the back of JJ's hand.
Around one am, Emily started to fight her exhaustion as her eyes started to close. Pulling the chair closer to the hospital bed, Emily tucked her right arm under her head, still clutching JJ's hand; she was scared that if she let go, something terrible would happen. As the older agent drifted off to sleep, she fought off dreams of having to live a life without JJ with hopes of the life she knew they should be living.
Coming out of anaesthesia was the strangest feeling JJ had ever experienced; she had no idea what was happening, and her mind felt sluggish, but her recollection of being shot was crystal clear. The harsh light of the hospital corridor overwhelmed her senses when she finally opened her eyes properly, and she winced at the brightness.
After a few short blinks, JJ looked down and smiled. Emily was fast asleep. Swallowing, the agent prepared herself to speak, but all that came out was a croak. As she cleared her throat, JJ smiled when she saw Emily start stir and when the older agent lifted her head, JJ's hand instantly ran her fingers through Emily's hair but coming to a stop to run her thumb against her cheek.
"Hi," JJ croaked. "I'm okay," she added when she saw the concern on Emily's face. "I promise, I'm okay."
Emily leaned into the touch, closing her eyes. "I love you," she whispered, "God, I love you so much."
"I know."
"I thought I'd lost you."
JJ's features relaxed, and she tried to swallow the lump on her throat. She hated being vulnerable just as much as Emily did, but what JJ hated more was that she had put Emily in a position where she felt like she could lose the most important person in her life.
"Hey," JJ tucked her finger under Emily's chin, forcing the brunette to meet her eyes. "I promised you 'til forever falls apart, that isn't now."
"You're so cheesy."
"But you wouldn't have me any other way."
Emily relished in the fact that JJ was okay. Her fiancée was fine. There was going to be time to take her to Paris, time to road-trip down the west coast, time to watch JJ run around after a miniature version of herself. There was time; they had plenty of it.
"I'm going to find your doctor, see when I can get your arse home."
JJ nodded. "I love you, Emily Prentiss."
Emily turned around as she walked out of the room, smiling at her fiancée. She had no idea how she had managed to deserve a love as sweet as JJ's or have the chance to love someone as fiercely as she did JJ. Since they had started dating three years ago, Emily knew more than ever that she would do anything for JJ, even if it meant leaving the FBI; even though JJ loved the work as much as she did, Emily knew the younger woman would never let Emily quit because of her.
Pulling out her phone, Emily sent a quick text to the rest of the team, letting them know that JJ was awake and that she would probably be allowed visitors later on in the day. As she reached the nurse's desk, Emily slid her phone into her back pocket.
"Hi, I'm not sure how everything works here, but my fiancée in room twenty-eight has just woken up."
The nurse looked up from her computer with a smile. "Sure thing. I'll get someone–"
"I need a crash cart in here stat!" a nurse shouted.
Emily turned around to see a red light blinking above JJ's room and a nurse with a cart running in with a team of other medical staff rushing in. With the nurse a few steps in front of her, Emily darted down the hallway. As horrible as it felt to think it, Emily couldn't help but hope it was someone else that needed the attention.
As soon as she reached the room and saw it was JJ, Emily tried to force her way past the abundance of nurses surrounding the bed.
"Ma'am–"
"That's my fiancée, you need to let me help her."
"We're doing everything we can for her, but you can't be in here."
Emily stood on the sidelines, watching as the doctors and nurses worked on JJ. Her days of praying and believing in a higher power were long gone, she was sure she'd forgotten how to pray at this point, but from outside the room, Emily willed with everything she had that her fiancée would be okay.
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