A/N - I have a big test coming up next week,
so I don't know when I'll be able to
upload the next chapter, sorry :/
Enjoy this one and let me know what you think!

"Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of overcoming it."
[Helen Keller]

Reid opened the door of Emily's hospital room slowly as if he was afraid to actually see what was inside of it; JJ looked in his direction and managed to give him a little smile, "I run into the doctor, he said her situation is improving hour by hour, she will be okay," he paused, he put his hands in his pants pockets and stared at JJ, whose eyes were fixed on Emily, "And, how are you feeling?"
"Me?" the woman turned her gaze to him and pretended to be surprised by the question, "I'm great."
The boy genius sighed, "Jayje, we don't lie to each other, you promised that a long time ago. It's okay if you're not okay, just talk to me."
"Spence! I'm not the one who was shot, am I? I told you, I'm fine," she raised her voice, regretting that almost immediately.
"Physical pain is not the only pain one person can feel, Jayje. Please, don't shut yourself down."
"I'm not in pain Spencer, I don't feel pain at all. All I feel is anger, I'm so angry with myself and I'm so…" her voice cracked as tears had begun to form in her eyes, "...scared," she concluded, before getting up and approaching the window from which she could see the hospital parking lot; she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stared into the grey sky outside.
"Scared of what, JJ? I told you, the doctor said she is going to be okay, so what are you scared of?"
"I am scared because apparently I just realized that something like this could happen every day to her, to each of us to be honest, and I can't handle this anymore. Each time we pick a case, each time we pick a psychopath to go after, it's like we run towards death with open arms and I can't do this anymore. I can't lose any of you, and I can't lose…" she sniffed back and wiped some more tears that had fallen on her cheeks "...her. I can't lose her."
Spencer didn't know what to say because everything she had just said was true; their job was risky but, each time they saved even just one innocent person, it was so rewarding. They all had chosen that job to help others, and Jennifer Jereau on top of everyone was doing that job to help others. Reid understood that there were no right words to say and nothing could ever fix how his friend was feeling; he also thought that what she said was driven by all the tension and the stress she had accumulated since the day before and that she would be okay, eventually. So he just opened his arms and offered some comfort as JJ crashed into him, slightly sobbing, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Spence" she eventually said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
"It's okay, Jayje."

-

"Oh, look who's back," Penelope said, the perkiness back in her voice, "Hello, sleepyhead, how are you feeling?"
Emily tried to sit up straighter but winced in pain; the brunette let go a sigh then suddenly opened her eyes wide, panic in her sight, "What happened to JJ? Is she okay? Simon?"
Penelope grabbed her hand and started stroking her arm to calm her friend, "She's fine, Emily, don't worry. JJ is fine, she shot Simon just milliseconds after he shot you in the leg. She blames herself, of course, but she's unharmed. You, on the other hand, were not fine at all; you lost a lot of blood and your heart stopped more than once and I'd like it if you wouldn't do that ever again, thank you."
BAU Unit Chief managed to crack a little smile at Garcia's latest comment, "I'll do my best."
"The team was here this morning but they got called on an important case in Philly, they thought of sitting this one out but I reminded them that you wouldn't be happy if some serial killer got away with it because you were at the hospital. Also, JJ refused to leave this room so she's consulting on the case from here. And I mean here in the hospital, not here in DC. She went to grab some coffee, she-" Garcia was interrupted by the door opening, "Oh, there she is! Jen, look, she woke up! I'll go send a message to the team, letting them know you're up and fine!" and with that the tech analyst left the room, giving some space to her friends so that they could talk.
"So you're up, how do you feel?" JJ asked with a soft smile approaching her boss.
"Not that bad, actually, I'm a little sore but I've been worse."
"Emily, I'm so sorry. I don't know how it happened, it was all so fast and one moment you were fine and the moment after you were bleeding on the floor. I should have been faster; I should have been better. I am so sorry. I thought you..." JJ trailed off, not being able to continue that last thought.
"Hey, Jen. Look at me," Emily began, her voice still rusty, waiting for JJ to meet her eyes, "It was not your fault. You did everything right, we all did, but sometimes the job leads to these events and we can't avoid them. It's part of the job, you know it."
Jennifer Jereau did know that; actually, she was the one constantly telling those words to her son each time he asked why his father was dead and his friends' dads were all there, it was part of the job and he was a hero.
"Jennifer, please, don't blame yourself. Besides, I'm all good, see? It takes more than a bullet near my femoral artery to get rid of me. I'll be out of here before you know it and we'll go on another case together and get another bad guy."
"Yeah, sure, as if I don't know you're hiding your pain from me so I can feel better about everything that happened" JJ stated, crossing her arms on the chest and raising her eyebrow.
"Is it working?" Emily asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Not really," JJ chuckled "Do you want me to call a nurse for some painkillers?"
"That would be awesome, thank you. And Jen," Emily reached out to the blonde and grabbed her hand, "It was not your fault, and thanks for being here."
JJ shifted her weight from a foot to the other hesitating but eventually smiled at Emily and squeezed her hand, "Always, Em."