"Come on, JJ—you can do this!" Emily soothed. "You are so brave!"
"No!"
It was time to set JJ's arm and put it in a plaster cast, but there was a hiccup: owing to the nature of the break, the orthopedic doctor had to break the arm a little more for it to be safe to set. JJ's anesthetic was on a different, safer level, and while it was doing its job, JJ was still only allowed to have a specific amount in her system, which meant that in the end, even if it was only going to be a little bit, she was going to be able to feel the break happening.
Needless to say, JJ was freaked out—especially since she'd never had a broken bone before—and now she was acting like a stubborn little girl, giving Emily and Penelope a glimpse at what JJ must've been like when she actually had been one.
"I know you're scared," Emily continued. "But I'm right here, and so is Penelope."
The bespectacled woman stepped forward and rounded the table so she was holding JJ's good hand. "That part will over in a second. You'll see."
"You two aren't going out of the room?"
Penelope shook her head as Emily stepped a little closer to the examination table and guided JJ to lay her head on her torso, effectively right against the area where her unborn baby was gestating.
"It's okay, Jayje." Emily was already caressing JJ's hair in a very comforting way. "You just lay your head right here."
JJ relaxed into Emily's touch immediately, and with a heavy sigh, held out her injured limb. "Please just do it."
Doctor Chung held JJ's arm in her hands and then counted three before: SNAP!
JJ cried out and pressed her cheek against Emily's torso as she squeezed Penelope's hand tightly. Being the good sports they were, Penelope didn't complain, and Emily continued to comfort the woman in her arms.
"You did so well!" Emily kissed JJ's temple when it was over. "Good job!"
JJ gave her a small smile and then turned to the doctor, who, along with a nurse, was prepping the next part of the procedure.
"Time to set the break?"
"Yes. Please lay back."
JJ did as she was told and watched as her her arm was set and then stabilized before being wrapped in gauze and plaster. When it came to choosing what color she wanted her cast to be, she immediately chose white, so that way, any names that were signed on it would show up easily. Part of her also thought that it would be a good tool in case she worked with children in the next eight weeks.
By the time JJ's cast was completely dry, it had been decided that she was going to stay with Emily because she lived closer to work than Penelope did. The technical analyst was completely fine with that, and after she signed her name on JJ's cast with the new sharpies the doctor had provided her patient with, she left.
"Emily," JJ turned to the other woman when they were finally alone. "Come sign my cast."
Emily laughed and raised an eyebrow as she chose a marker and sat next to her on the bed. "Aren't we a little McBossypants already?"
"Good thing you didn't know me when I was a kid." JJ joked. "I was quite a brat."
Emily held JJ's wrist atop her own baby bump to keep it steady. "Please. I've been an only child for my entire life, and rebel though I was, I also happened to be the brattiest kid you ever met. You've met my mother, but if you met my dad, then he would be able to provide plenty of stories to back me up—mother has completely blocked out the more exciting ones."
At the mention of having both of Emily's parents in one room, JJ felt her heart skip a beat, but she said nothing and just watched Emily neatly print her name on the cast. When she finished, she put JJ's hand back in her lap and got to her feet.
JJ laughed when she located Emily's name. "You just had to pick that spot, didn't you?"
"Damn straight."
Emily had written her name square in the middle of JJ's palm, and for an extra measure, put a heart at the end. That made JJ's own heart flutter, but she worked on schooling her emotions at least a little because she was still hooked up to the heart monitor, and she didn't want to send the machine into distress.
"Emily?"
The brunette looked over at JJ. "Yes?"
"I—"
JJ was going to say something about how close she was already feeling to her, but it was interrupted by the arrival of her primary doctor, who happily gave her a clean bill of health, all things considered.
Once JJ signed her release papers—which took some extra effort, now that she was right-handed—Emily sat with her again and her take off all of the tubes, wires, and patches she was hooked up to. Emily even helped to wipe off the sticky residue that the patches left behind, but only because she wanted another excuse to touch JJ.
The blond seemed to be on the same wavelength, because when Emily finished cleaning everything up, JJ held the older woman's hand to her bump, keeping it in place.
"JJ?" Emily questioned.
JJ leaned forward and kissed Emily on the cheek, very close to the mouth and then looked at her with complete adoration.
She also had to bite back a laugh when Emily reacted by looking stunned and then a touch smitten at the same time.
"Thank you for coming to my rescue today." JJ told her. "I really don't know what I'd do without you."
Emily finally got back to the program—just for a second, she'd been imagining doing more with JJ than just kissing her—and gave JJ a look of love akin to the one she'd just dished out.
"Anything for you, JJ. I mean it."
JJ's heart jumped at that. In a good way.
They decided to stop by JJ's apartment to collect some of her things, and JJ was thankful for the company because if she'd gone back alone, she would have curled up on the floor and cried herself out. With Emily beside her, she felt stronger.
To a point.
"Hey." Emily sat with JJ on the edge of her bed, a packed overnight bag between them. "What's going on in your head?"
JJ had been staring into space as a sudden thought dawned on her. It was just a matter of putting it into words.
"I want to tell you something, Emily, but I don't want you to think I'm forcing myself on you or trying to take advantage of your hospitality."
"Tell me, anyway."
JJ turned to look at her. "Emily, I'm scared to come back here and be by myself after my stay with you is done. A lot of bad stuff happened in this apartment, and I mean a lot. Even if I wasn't pregnant, I don't think I'd be able to deal with being here alone."
Even from where Emily sat, she had no problem in recognizing that JJ's fear was rolling off her in waves; she was terrified of her own thoughts.
"Come stay with me." she said. "I will admit that I'm kind of lonely when I'm at home—when I'm actually there—but why don't you come stay with me while your arm heals, hm? I could also help you if or when you get hit with a stumbling block, or something."
JJ was very taken aback by this offer because of all things, she had not expected Emily to extend her hospitality further.
"Are you sure? My sentence for the cast is at least eight weeks, and we already see each other almost every day!" JJ laughed nervously. "Plus, I'm not the only one of us here who is carrying precious cargo!"
At that, Emily got off the bed and squatted in front of JJ, resting her hands on the blond's knees to keep her balance as she looked up at her. "You are my friend, JJ, and I really care about you; I really want you to be happy and safe. I'm offering my home to you because of those reasons, and because I want to."
JJ rubbed at her eyes with her good hand as tears formed in them. "I don't want to be in your way."
"I'm going to take a guess and say that Baylor did or said something to you that made you think that nobody would want to be friends with you… or even want you."
"He did, and it was awful…"
"You don't ever have to tell me about that if you don't want to, but I want you to know that two babies in your belly or not, you would never be in my way. Ever." Emily had seen too much in her extensive career to turn her back on an abuse victim when she saw one, and because it was JJ, she would do everything she could to show her love when started spiraling or question her self-worth. "I want to be your friend, and I want you. You are so loved, JJ—more than you could ever know."
Though JJ had recently spent months under Baylor's thumb, she knew once more that Emily was being genuine and heartfelt. In response, she moved to the floor with her and pulled her into a warm hug.
No words were said because none had to be, but they both knew that a very special bond was being formed between them; they had become best friends on the day they met, but now, after everything that had happened today, they were in that very special place that was known as that sacred space between best friends and lovers… and they both really liked it.
After a minute, JJ kissed Emily on the cheek, just like she had on the hospital and said, "Thank you, Emily. I don't know what to say, other than that you are a precious, precious friend, and that I appreciate every last thing you've done for me tonight."
I'm also falling in love with you, JJ thought.
"Does this mean you'll come home with me and stay for awhile?"
"Yes." JJ actually laughed because Emily was being incredible adorable now. "It also means that I'm going to be needing my luggage set."
Emily stood immediately. "Where do you keep it?"
"In the front closet—it looks like something you'd see in a Hepburn movie, but with wheels, and all of the pieces are bright pink."
Emily scuttled off immediately to get the luggage, leaving JJ to really laugh and shake her head in amusement.
She still hurt—in more ways than one—because of all that Baylor had done, and it would take awhile until she was completely better, but as long as Emily was with her, she knew that no matter how many different obstacles she would encounter during the healing process, she wouldn't be alone or fall too far down any rabbit hole, should any tempt her.
She also knew that something wonderful had just been set in motion in regards to her bond with Emily, and that gave her hope.
