Baylor had fallen just to the side of the closet door, but Hotch made quick work of moving it to the side so Penelope could get to JJ and the kids, who were still in the corner of the closet.
"It's all over." Penelope told her kindly as she knelt down in the doorway. "You're safe, and so are Hope and Vivian."
Remembering that Hope had been hiding, JJ used her good hand to move the little girl's blanket off her.
"Everything is good now, sweet pea." she told her. "Will you sit up? I want you to meet one of my friends."
Immediately interested, Hope sat up and gave Penelope a glance-over before looking back at JJ. "Is that your love? Is that your Emily?"
"No." JJ answered, fighting back a blush at Penelope's raised eyebrows. "That's a different friend—Penelope."
Hope made to move towards her, but she shrank back again when she saw Derek kneel down next to Penelope.
"It's okay, Hope." the technical analyst told her. "That's my buddy, Derek."
Hope looked to JJ again, her own eyebrows raised. Nobody could blame her for wanting extra reassurance.
"They'll care of you and Vivian, and they both know your Aunt Elle."
That seemed to sit well with Hope, and when Derek held out a hand to her for a high five, she gave it to him, right away.
"How are you doing, little princess?" he asked her. "You ready to go?"
Hope nodded. "But what about Vivian?"
Penelope spoke directly to her. "If it's alright with you, I'll take her to the hospital."
Hope's eyes widened slightly. "The hospital?"
"So that you and Hope can get checked out," Penelope expounded. "And also so you two can get something to eat. "
Hope looked back at JJ yet again. "You're coming, too, right?"
"Of course, and I'll make sure that you and Vivian get back to Aunt Elle, but until then, my friends will take care of you two, okay, sweet pea? If it helps, think of Derek and Penelope like Robin Hood and Maid Marion. You know—heroes."
At the mention of her two new favorite fairytale characters, Hope finally relaxed and let Derek pick her up. She even cooperated with him when he picked up her blanket and draped it over her to 'keep her warm,' although the adults knew it was really to keep her from seeing Baylor. And when Hope asked, her new friend promised to collect her inhaler pouch before they left.
Penelope got JJ to hand Vivian to her, but before the tech analyst could ask the communications liaison if she could walk, Vivian began to cry with hunger. Hotch, who had been directing the Crime Scene Unit to Baylor's body, noticed the infant's discomfort and he directed Penelope to go outside to the ambulances with Derek and Hope; he would take care of JJ for the time being.
JJ kept her eyes averted and her good hand was holding tightly to the blanket covering her lower half.
"Please don't touch me, Aaron. He took my pants."
Hotch respectfully scooted back and spoke gently to JJ.
"Tell me how I can help. It looks like you're covered in costume blood."
JJ was thrown for a loop.
"Costume blood?" she echoed, giving the dry reddish-brown substance on her arms and legs a quick second look. "This isn't real?"
"It's completely fake." Hotch told her. "When Prentiss and Garcia were tracking McMath's financials, they found costume blood amongst his purchases. He probably got it to scare you with."
"It worked." JJ shuddered. "Baylor told me that it was Emily's blood—he told me he was going to hurt her."
"JJ, she's right outside, waiting for you."
JJ's heart jumped. "Please ask her to come here."
Hotch did as requested and when Emily came in, he followed the CSU people out helping them take Baylor's body out on a stretcher.
Emily and JJ were alone very quickly.
Now that this was the case, JJ was herself again, although all she did was tremble; she was too traumatized to cry.
Seeing this, Emily took out the earpiece she was wearing and draped it over shoulder. Without that, nobody would be listening in on their conversation.
"JJ?" Emily knelt in front of her, taking in how traumatized she was. "Hey, I'm right here. I'm right here, baby."
The term of endearment seemed to unfreeze JJ, and she began to cry. Emily scooped the scared woman into her lap and pressed kisses to her brow.
"It's all over, JJ. Baylor is finally dead, and you saved Hope and Vivian. We can bring them to Elle when everything checks out."
JJ forced to take some calming breaths, but her words still came of softly as she looked Emily in the eye.
"I never thought I'd see you again." JJ held on tightly to Emily's vest with her good hand as they continued to hold each other's gazes. "I didn't think I'd even get to say what I've known for months but didn't feel completely until you rescued me the other night: I love you, Emily—very, very much. Remember how you told me that you wanted me when I doubted it?"
Heart hammering in her chest, Emily nodded. "I remember."
"Well, I want you."
Emily felt so much love and joy and love in that moment that she thought she was either going to cry or spontaneously explode from the power of the emotion alone. Even still, she managed to respond to JJ.
"I love you, too, JJ, with all my heart, and like I told you back at your place, I want you because I want to love you and treasure you. You and the babies deserve all of that."
Now it was JJ who had a hammering heart; this all felt like a dream, even though she knew it wasn't. "Are you saying that you want to be a family with me and raise our kids together?"
"Only at the pace you would want, but yes." Emily said quickly. "Is this a thing you'd want?"
"More than anything," JJ admitted. "And slow is the pace, but I want it now."
"We can go slow," Emily promised, hugging her again. "And I want it now, too."
JJ rested her head against Emily's shoulder, feeling the beginnings of an adrenaline crash. "You make my heart happy and full."
"And you do the same for mine." Emily dropped a few more kisses onto JJ's brow. "Now let's get you to the hospital, hm? You need to get cleaned up, and I imagine that you're quite hungry by now."
Right on cue, JJ felt her stomach rumble, and it made her groan. "You have no idea."
Once at the hospital, JJ couldn't help it, she freaked out when the nurses prepared to wash her of the dried costume blood; though she was now free of Baylor because he was dead, she was extremely uncomfortable with a stranger touching her when she was feeling so vulnerable.
The nurses were very understanding and had no objections when Emily volunteered to do it.
The agents talked with each other while this was happening (because what else were they supposed to do?) and other than Emily marveling over how beautiful JJ was, neither agent really said a word about JJ's being in the buff. In fact, it kind of 'sealed the deal,' so to speak. And they were both alright with that.
JJ already had a hospital bracelet, having been issued one after admittance, but once she was clean again, she was not only calmer and more reasonable, but also wearing fresh undergarments and a hospital gown that the nurses had thoughtfully left for her since the clothes that she'd been wearing at the time of her abduction were completely ruined now.
She was also feeling cold, so Emily found a blanket from the closet and spread it over JJ's legs, although remembering that one of the nurses would be arriving soon to do an ultrasound on the babies and to hook them and JJ up to different monitoring devices for the sake of precautionary measures, and the sort, she left JJ's belly exposed.
As for their friends, they were scattered around the hospital, some checking on Elle, some looking after Hope and Vivian, while the others were in the waiting room, waiting for JJ allow them to come see her.
For the time being, Emily and JJ were alone.
"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Emily asked JJ when she saw that she'd gone quiet, thinking about something.
"Baylor told me he went after you, Emily," JJ said at length. "And I believed him, especially when he started to wonder if you'd bleed badly. I spent most of the night wondering if he was actually going to follow through, and then when I could sleep, all I did was have nightmares that bad things had happened to you and the baby."
"He didn't come near us at all," Emily told her. "And Baby Bear and I are both fine. Have a look."
Her jacket and vest had since been set aside on a chair in the corner, so Emily lifted up the material of her own shirt to expose her own blossoming bump to JJ. When she saw her turn to mush at the sight of it, Emily put JJ's good hand on her middle, allowing her to feel it because she probably wanted to make sure it was there.
"Wow." JJ breathed, caressing her thumb on the taught skin. "This is incredible."
"That's what I think whenever I feel him wiggling around in there, happy as a clam."
"You're a happy little camper, aren't you, Baby Bear?" JJ cooed to the bump. "Mommy loves you already and can't wait to meet you!"
Emily's heart fluttered as JJ talked to the baby and refer to herself as mommy, so she held JJ's hand in place, brushing her fingers with her knuckles. She really couldn't keep her hands off her.
"He's in there, growing away. I swear he gets wigglier whenever you're around."
"So you think it's a boy?"
"Mama's instinct." Emily shrugged, fixing the material of her shirt and smoothed it out. "What do you think you've got?"
JJ rubbed her hand over own baby bump. "Two little girls, and I really hope they look like me. Am I wrong, wishing for that?"
"No." Emily responded immediately. "Not after everything you've gone through."
JJ breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in her bed. "The babies both saved me last night."
"What do you mean?"
"Baylor was going to have me again, when he was covering me in all that fake blood, but he didn't get that far because I had a random bout of morning sickness. He decided I wasn't worth it and didn't touch me like that again."
"They really did save you, didn't they?"
Feeling playful, Emily placed a single kiss on JJ's forehead, her cheek, her throat, and her chest before placing a flurry of gentle ones all across JJ's middle.
"Thank you for taking care of mommy, little ones." Emily pressed a few more kisses to the bump, even putting in a little more effort when JJ arched her back in response. "Mama really appreciates that and loves you two all the way to the moon and back already."
The pair could have stayed in their bubble for even longer, but they were brought back to reality when the nurse finally arrived to outfit JJ and the twins in monitoring devices, and also give JJ a rundown about how long she'd be in hospital.
Not long after she left, JJ sent Emily to collect the others, and when they arrived, Hope and Vivian were in tow.
One thing JJ noticed about Hope right away was that while she was in clean pajamas and had her elephant toy clamped under one arm with her free hand slung over Derek's shoulder, she was hooked up to a nasal tube, which was in turn hooked up to an external oxygen supply, which Derek was wheeling along beside him with one hand. He was supporting Hope with the other as she sat atop his forearm and looked at JJ.
"How are you, Hope?" JJ asked her, subconsciously readjusting her own oxygen tubing.
"I don't like this," she patted the nasal tube going up her nose. "But the doctor said I have to have it until I see Aunt Elle, after I eat."
"You haven't eaten?"
Hope just shook her head and rested her head against Derek's shoulder, spent.
Taking pity on her, Derek filled JJ in on the details. "Apparently, Elle has yet to leave her hospital room because she had a lot of trouble sleeping through the night, worrying about Hope and Vivian. She's in the process of sleeping off some very powerful knock-out drugs, but should be waking up before you're discharged. Penelope and I are going to look after Hope and Vivian until that happens because you've had your share of excitement by now. All you need to worry about is you."
JJ smiled, thankful, and then asked, "Why hasn't Hope eaten?"
"She's upset that Vivian won't take a bottle from me." Penelope said, stepping forward, pushing a rolling bassinet containing her tiny charge. "Do you want to give it a try before I take her again? I have her bottle, too."
A very short time later, little Vivian was nestled in the crook of JJ's left arm and contently guzzling down formula from the bottle she was feeding her. Vivian looked like she was in heaven.
When JJ looked up, she saw the others all watching her fondly; they'd all of them always known that JJ had always wanted to be a mother, and if she had been wonderful with baby Zooey out in Oregon and was now as equally wonderful with Vivian, then she was going to fantastic with her own babies when the time came.
Hotch broke the silence first. "How long do you have to be here, JJ?"
"Two hours," she sighed heavily. "But after that, I'll be free to go."
Taking that information into account, Hotch turned to Spencer and Rossi. "It looks like it's just the three of us now. Do you guys think we can find something to do for two hours in New York City during Christmastime?"
"I know the perfect spot for breakfast." Rossi responded. "Let's go."
Enticed by that, Hotch and Spencer followed his lead and bade the others goodbye. Derek left next, after convincing Hope that since Vivian was being taken care of, it would be alright if she got food, too.
It was Penelope who hung back, wanting to ask her friends a question, now that the others had gone.
"Are you two a couple now?"
JJ and Emily looked up from fawning over Vivian, who had finished her bottle and was now being burped by Emily.
"We are," JJ answered, watching Penelope as she retrieved what looked like a sling from the bottom compartment of the rolling bassinet and set it up on herself. "But can you keep it to yourself until after we all come back from vacation, please?"
Now that things were done, they were all officially on an extended break because their caseload had been unreal, as of late.
"I am a vault."
Penelope said this with the utmost sincerity, but shifted her weight from on foot to the other, butterflies appearing in her stomach as Emily swaddled Vivian and set her the sling.
"Cough it up." Emily told her when she saw Penelope drifting.
"Right." Penelope cradled Vivian through the sling, almost instinctively. "I always go home with Derek to Chicago for the holidays, and we're going to fly out tomorrow, but…"
"Yes?" JJ prompted.
"Last night, I really wasn't feeling well and couldn't sleep, so I paid a visit to this hospital's free clinic for an appointment and found out that I'm pregnant!"
JJ and Emily expressed their joy for the woman they both loved as a sister, and this immediately bolstered Penelope's confidence.
"Derek and I aren't 'together,' in the classical sense, but we've always loved each other in some deep way. We just didn't really stop think about things until I was recovering from being shot."
She rocked Vivian in her arms as she snuggled close to her, almost like it was a reflex.
"I'm due around the same time as you two probably are."
"This means that our kids are all going to grow up together." JJ mused. "We won't say a word, but does Derek know?"
"No. I was planning on telling him when we get back to Quantico."
Happy in the sling and in love with the sound of Penelope's voice, Vivian let out a content sigh and fell asleep. The tech analyst took that as a sign to go look for Derek and Hope, so she left.
JJ and Emily were alone again.
"Well," Emily kissed JJ's forehead. "It can only get better from here, huh?"
"Most definitely." JJ agreed, smiling from the kiss.
And they were both right: the better days were just ahead.
