A/N: This is a rework of the original story for the first few chapters. My new story will follow on at the end of chapter 3. Thanks for taking the time to reread this story. I have suffered from MS for ten years and have experienced the embarrassment of falling into a bush and not getting up until help arrived.

Chapter 1

Emily was a troubled woman she had been suffering from some strange feelings in her right arm and legs for the past few months and feeling tired all the time no matter how long she had slept. She woke up yesterday morning and had her shower and needed to have a nap before getting dressed. She felt exhausted after a 12-minute shower. She had kept her fears from JJ, fearing stupidly that she would leave her.

She wandered around the park aimlessly, trying to decide what to do. She had not told JJ and refused to book herself in to see her doctor. Her right foot started to drop, and her whole leg felt weird. She slowed her pace down to accommodate her strange gait. Unfortunately, her right foot caught a raised section of the pavement, causing her to stumble and fall into the city police officer who saw her before she fell to the ground

"Ma'am, let me get you to this bench to sit down." He offered to assist her across

Emily noticed how his face changed as she stumbled across to the bench.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have drunk so much. It's a bit early, don't you think. You be careful, Ma'am," he chastised Emily as he walked away

Emily was astonished at his accusation; typically, she would have run after him and given him a piece of her mind. But she was too emotional and couldn't even walk to him. Emily sat on the bench, waiting for her leg to return to normal. But she noticed her normal was different now. Each time she had a significant attack, she never returned to normal before the attack. Things had gotten worse over the last few months. It was beginning to be difficult for her to hide it from JJ.

Her right hand and lower arm continually felt like she had slept on it all night. She struggled to hold onto things like a coffee cup. While she waited, she decided to Google her symptoms finally.

She typed in

' strange walking

reduced sensation

tiredness

emotional difficulties

bad memory

talking problems

dropping things a lot

Concentration

Loss sex drive.'

She pressed search and waited for her results. She scanned her search results, and one stood out to her Multiple Sclerosis. She clicked on the link and started to read the website. She got so engrossed in the website she had lost track of time. She stopped reading and bookmarked the site.

EJ

Emily sat across from JJ, just looking out the window in the condo at the national monument. She continued to think about how her symptoms matched a lot of the MS symptoms.

"Emily! Planet earth to Emily." JJ sarcastically told her wife

"Err, what? I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm just tired. What's up?" Emily asked. It was then she saw her wife in a beautiful green negligee. She watched her wife's face drop as soon as Emily turned around, admiring her outfit and yawned.

JJ just sighed inwardly, no sex for her again tonight. They hadn't been intimate for two and a half long months. JJ had even brought out her big guns and still nothing. She was concerned about Emily. She knew she wasn't having an affair, but what was the problem? She had even dressed as Amelia Pond, Emily's favourite Dr Who assistant dressed as a policewoman.

Emily had gotten excited as she had hoped, but she couldn't do anything and fell asleep. JJ was starting to worry but didn't know how to bring the subject up to Emily without causing her to shut her out.

EJ

Jennifer is sitting at her desk in her office in the BAU, a troubled woman. Emily had been distant the last few months. She was still her Emily, but something was not quite right. Their usually active sex life was now almost nonexistent, she sighed. She suddenly decided enough was enough. She would cook her a nice meal tonight and then confront her and force her to tell her what her problem was.

Emily entered the Quantico gun range for her annual tests. She was an excellent shot, almost as good as JJ. She would never dare beat her Range score as she didn't need to have her wife sulk for the next few weeks. But today, Emily was more concerned about passing. Her right hand and fingers felt strange. She could hardly pick up things without dropping them. She would not touch her trigger, but she worried more about holding her weapon without dropping it.

She stood in her lane and waited to start

"Engage your targets at Will, your weapon re qualifying tests start now," the range master instructed

Emily picked up her loaded magazine but dropped it onto the floor. She tried to pick it up but struggled to get her fingers to grip it properly. She hoped her fumbling hadn't been noticed.

'Thank god, got you', she thought to herself

She loaded her weapon and commenced her test. She noticed her hands had a slight tremor, causing her accuracy to suffer, and her trigger squeeze was brutal. After running through the targets, she safes her weapon and holsters it. The range master hands Emily a pink sheet of paper indicating that she failed. Morgans going to love this, she thought.

Emily returns to the bullpen and goes to Hotch's office

She hands her weapon, re-qualifying failure notice to him. "I failed! I'm stuck in the office or precinct for the next month until I can be retested," Emily says, hotch

"What happened? Your nearly as good a shot as your wife," Hotch asked, concerned.

"Tired, I guess, I've not been sleeping well," Emily lied,

"Go home, take your wife, I'll see you both in the morning, rested," Hotch tells Emily, a little concerned

Emily knocks on JJ's door and goes in. "Hi, we have been sent home by Hotch", her wife informs her

"I know he just rang, forgetting the little snippet, about your failed gun re-qualification," JJ mentions

"I would have told you, honestly," Emily smiles

"Sweetheart, are you ok! You can speak to me, you know," JJ asked, very concerned. It had been a difficult few months

"Not here!" Emily says in a quiet voice

EJ

Emily handed her keys over to JJ, and she started to drive them home; suddenly, Emily asked her to pull into the parking lot of a park.

"Let's walk. I will tell you everything," Emily smiles, rubbing her right hand.

They walk along hand in hand in silence. JJ knows from years of marriage Emily will talk when she is ready.

They started to walk towards a park bench. JJ notices her wife's right leg is moving strangely. Suddenly Emily stumbled and crashed into the bush she was walking beside.

"Emily, are you all right?" A concerned JJ asks

Emily does not attempt to get up. She suddenly started to cry. JJ sits down next to her, not giving a damn that she was sitting in a bush.

"Talk to me, sweetheart; what's wrong?" A concerned JJ asked

"My Right leg feels strange, it seems to feel heavy, and it feels strange. Watch," Emily tells JJ

JJ watches her wife kick her leg out to the front. Suddenly it started to move rapidly like it was being electrified. It stops when she lowers her leg a little. She repeated the demonstration a few times until JJ yelled, "stop! you'll hurt yourself."

"It doesn't hurt unless they hit something," Emily sniffs

They manage to get to the bench. Emily sits down, dropping her head into her hands.

"I failed this morning. [Sniff, Sniff] I could barely feel the pistol grip in my hand. The trigger, I could hardly feel. My right arm and hand feel like I have slept on them all night. ... the more I use my fingers, the fatter they feel and more useless they become. Oh, Jen, I've googled my symptoms...I might have Multiple Sclerosis! You're going to leave me. You are not going to want me now... "JJ stops Emily's rant,

"You stop, stop now, I vowed to you at our wedding, in sickness and in health. Now look at me, look at me! I'm going nowhere, and you're going to the doctors. Do you understand me?" A stern JJ told Emily looking directly into her watering brown eyes.

Emily reluctantly agreed, knowing they both needed to know. They returned to the condo, and Emily explained all the symptoms; she also explained why she hadn't been intimate with her in the last few months.

Emily was an emotional wreck after telling Jennifer everything she had hidden from her. JJ was mad at Emily for a fraction of a second, but her emotions soon became concerned for her wife. JJ decided then she would take charge of booking her wife's doctors appointment first thing in the morning before Emily was awake.

EJ

"Wake up, Emily, wake up," JJ asked her wife

"Too Early, Jen, sleepy." JJ continued to try and wake her.

"Your doctor's appointment is in 2 hours." JJ smiled

"My what?" Emily asked sleepily

"Your Doctors appointment I've just arranged for you. I'm in charge now, so ass in the shower NOW!" JJ had her don't screw with me look on her face, arms crossed on her chest.

Emily knew her wife was serious, so she crawled out of bed and into the shower.

One hour later, the couple walked into the hospital hand in hand, ready to find out precisely what Emily had wrong with her and not a self Googled diagnosis.

EJ

Emily and JJ sat in the neurologist's office, waiting for Emily's results. She had been subjected to an MRI scan, Lumbar puncture and nerve conduction tests.

"good afternoon Emily, Jennifer. How are you both holding up?" The doctor asks the pair after the battery of tests Emily had been subjected too

"Worried " is all Emily manages

"I'm afraid you have Multiple Sclerosis Emily," the doctor tells Emily and Jennifer

JJ grabs Emily's hand. Emily sits stunned. The doctor is used to this response from his newly diagnosed patients.

"You have primary progressive multiple sclerosis, and you have multiple active lesions on your brain and down your spine causing your current symptoms. Any questions so far ?" He points out some lesions on her MRI before JJ tells him to stop.

JJ responds, "we've read about some injections people take to help with treatment,"

"Sorry, Jennifer, there not suitable for this type of MS. We can help with Emily's symptoms as they worsen. MS is an incurable, progressive neurological condition. I'm sorry, Emily" he smiled

"Can I still work?" Emily asks

"Yes, desk duty only with your current symptoms and extent of disability, I'm afraid," the doc reply's

"Surely as long as I'm care...," Emily is interrupted by her annoyed wife

"Emily! Listen to your doctor. I'm sorry my wife can be so annoying and hard-headed sometimes," JJ interrupted

"That's fine, Jennifer. It's not the first time. Are you armed at the moment?" He asked

"Yes, yes I am," JJ tells him

"Make your weapon safe. Place the bullets in this kidney dish, please. And then give it to your wife," JJ looked at the doctor bemused.

Emily is now sitting with JJ's empty gun in front of her. The doctor tells her to place the magazine in and then eject it. She complied, moved her right thumb down to the magazine release switch like she had done thousands of times. She can't feel it; her thumb is useless. She eventually finds it after looking for its position and released the magazine.

"Point taken, Doc, what can you do?" A dejected Emily answers

"Here's a prescription to help with your fatigue and spasticity in your right leg," he passed the prescription to JJ.

He gave JJ a few websites so they could find out more about Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Emily seems to have shut down after her diagnosis and is just on autopilot.

EJ

Once they arrived home, Emily lay on the settee with her head in JJ's lap. JJ gently ran her fingers through Emily's hair. Emily hadn't said much since leaving the hospital. JJ thought it best to leave her to try and comprehend everything they had just been told.

"I am not telling anyone on the team yet. I will tell Hotch just before my firearms re-qualification." Emily gently tells her wife.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," JJ smiles

JJ had been carefully watching her since they returned from the hospital and noticed her emotional state was tied to her symptoms. Emily peaceful slept on the settee whilst JJ started her crash course into MS. JJ had tears streaming down her face the more she read. Emily was going to find it difficult having to depend on other people's help, even hers. The condition was progressive and far too big for her to squash into one of her boxes.

The weekend was spent in quiet contemplation. A lot of tears and shouting occurred as well. Emily's emotional state was very fragile. She was crying at the moment, watching the weather report. Both JJ and Emily, laughing at the fact Emily was crying over a cloudy Monday morning tomorrow. They had decided Emily had the MS, and the MS didn't have Emily.

Emily smirked. "Maybe MS won't kill me, but it might annoy me to death!" She said, still crying over tomorrow's weather.

EJ

Monday morning found Emily in Hotch's office. On the way to work, she decided to come clean to Hotch and tell him about her diagnosis.

"Did you have a relaxing weekend, Emily?" Hotch asked as Emily handed him the doctors medical restriction certificate.

"I am unfit to use firearms and restricted to the office or if needed, the police station," Emily tells Hotch and then takes a deep breath.

Hotch asks with a troubled look on his face "how long for, Emily?"

"Indefinitely, I was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis on Friday. I am going to get progressively worse, ...(Emily burst into tears..)

JJ quickly enters Hotch's office without knocking, hugging her crying wife to comfort her.

"Sorry, Hotch, she gets massive emotional swings now. She started crying, watching the weather report last night. She was about to ask to leave the team. It would help if you had another gun-toting agent. She still wants to help." JJ informed him, tears running down her face. "Wait! I've just had a great idea. Let Emily take the Media liaison course, and she could become our liaison freeing me up to be a profiler. Days where she needs help, I'm here to assist." Smiled JJ as she looked at a confused Hotch.

Hotch is momentarily speechless. He regains his composure. "I'm sorry, it doesn't seem to be enough, Emily. what about telling the team?"

The girls are a little too emotional to answer

"I think telling them now would be a good idea. It might help explain why two normally stoic agents are blubbering messes," Hotch explains

Hotch asked Morgan to assemble the team in the round table room. He turned to JJ, "I think your idea has merits. Emily can stay on the team as the media liaison and still use her profiler skills in the police station. It's a win-win for us; Strauss will rubber-stamp it as we are her best profiling team."

The remaining members of the team assembled in the round table room. Hotch walks in 'what's this about a chorus of voices chirp. Hotch stands aside, letting Emily and JJ walk in. Everyone present can see they have both been crying.

Emily started, "I was (she burst into tears again..)."

JJ sighs, tears streaming down her face " Emily was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis on Friday, she is restricted to office or police station only. Her firearms qualification has been revoked," an emotional JJ manages to say

The team are speechless for a while; eventually, they all come over and talk with Emily and Hug her. Emily goes and informs Strauss about her MS diagnosis, but to her surprise, she is very understanding, tells her about her sister who had it. She gives her a long speech about not being her usual hard-headed self and purchasing and using disability aids. She even writes her a list of what her sister used. And to Emily's surprise, she is given three days free leave to her and JJ.

EJ

The remaining members of the BAU are once again assembled around the table in the briefing room. Garcia pressed a button on her remote, and a picture of a nerve appeared on the screen. Garcia started a presentation on MS for the team. She intends to understand what MS is and its effect on Emily, and what support she might need because the family does for the family.

Work in the BAU stoped while they all found out about Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. By the time Garcia finished, the remaining team members had a practical knowledge of Emily's challenges ahead of her.

The team members all received tasks for the afternoon. Garcia intended to make the bullpen safe for Emily. The team removed tripping hazards and protected the edges of her desk, amongst other things

EJ

They arrived at the disability aid superstore. JJ was fuming at her wife. All she had done was moan like a little girl.

"Shut up! Shut up! Woman!" JJ exploded at her wife, "we will purchase everything on this list, any pouting, huffing and you will be in the spare bedroom in that large bed all alone, understand?" Explodes JJ

"Yes, ma'am," Emily says with an eye roll

"Roll your eyes at me again. I'll kick your ass. And don't forget you have a spastic leg," smirked JJ

"Jennifer, you are a scary little lady," smirked Emily

They get everything on their list and a few other items JJ thought might be helpful. JJ spots something and points it out to Emily.

"You're getting tired, sweetie, and your legs are starting to shake. Sit on this." JJ points to a seat on a four-wheeler trolley like thing.

"I am not using something like this, Jennifer", Emily almost growled at JJ.

"Oh, you stubborn women, you would rather fall into a bush, Eh," JJ snorts at

Emily, JJ walks off, quietly swearing to herself.

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, you are one stubborn pigheaded woman, you are going to purchase the blue rollator Walker, or this is as close as you will ever get to touching my bare skin again," JJ tells Emily indicating up and down her torso

Emily admitted defeat, and they took all their purchases and paid for them.

EJ

They sit on the settee in the condo, not a single word uttered by either woman. "I'm sorry for being a cow. It's tough for me. But I am coping without all this crap." Emily points out to JJ

JJ doesn't even utter a word. She gets up, leaves and goes to the kitchen, pours two cups of coffee and returns. She places the two cups in front of Emily.

"Go on, drink up," JJ tells Emily, the look in her eyes telling Emily there is no point arguing. Emily picked up the coffee mug and dropped it, spilling coffee everywhere. Without a word, JJ clips a cup holder extra handle they had purchased earlier from Strauss list onto the second mug. JJ indicates to the second mug. Emily picks up the mug and takes a satisfying gulp.

"Now, Mrs stubborn, I know best, was that hard or degrading. Eh?" A pissed off JJ asked

"It's me. I don't like feeling helpless, and I'm sorry for being a bitch. Please forgive me?" Emily asked meekly

"On one condition, you use any aid that will help you. It's not a weakness. It's keeping your life as close to normality as we can. And I get to tell you I told you so regularly." JJ smirked and kissed her wife.

EJ

Emily returned to the BAU after her three days off. She had listened to JJ and started to use all the aids they had bought. She walked through security earlier, and the guards had admired her rollator as she used it to step in. She noticed some looks of pity on her fellow agents faces as she walked past. JJ had noticed how Emily had slowed down as she started to get annoyed by the looks. She placed her hand on Emily's shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze.

Even within the confines of Quantico, Emily overheard snide comments from a few of her fellow agents about her using her rollator and "she doesn't look ill" and "can I get a ride?". She tried to put them in one of her boxes, but they still hurt her.

Garcia had gotten her hands on Emily's rollator and gave the boring thing a little Penelope Garcia makeover. It now had various furry friends attached and even a small emergency light set complete with its siren and FBI badge. Emily was very proud of it.