A/N im not even half way threw yet
AJ x
Amy slammed the door to the Cliff Hanger lodge closed behind her.
"Well she seemed pleasant." Rossi scoffed throwing his bag down on a bed.
"I wonder what she's here for." Reid wondered out loud looking at the closed door.
"What are you talking about genius?" Garcia asked.
"Well the reason all these kids are here is because of addiction, abuse and disorders. I was just wondering what category she falls under."
"Reid, I think you that's one of those questions you shouldn't ask while were here." Hotch placed his bag on the one next to Rossi's. Spencer was the smartest person he had ever met but his people skill lacked…a lot.
They unpacked their bags and sat on the beds in their own thoughts.
"Baby girl, you ok?" Morgan asked Garcia from across the room. She was sat in the middle of the bed with her laptop rested on her legs just staring at the screen. Morgan got up and joined her. Everyone else either sat up or turned to watch them.
"What you doing baby girl." He looked at the screen and say that she had typed the name 'Shelby Merrick' into one of her search boxes. But her finger was hovering over the send button "Penelope, Who's Shelby Merrick?" Morgan had a feeling he didn't need to ask that question.
"JJ is Shelby Merrick." She handed him a picture and the others joined her near the bed "This was on the floor next to the bed when we came in." Garcia pointed to the blonde girl in the picture. The girl's eyes were sunken and haunted. She was skinny and looked lost. "That's JJ; the names are on the back in order and it says that girl is Shelby" The team scanned the picture for a moment "I'm scared were loosing our gumdrop and I want to find out what she's hiding but I don't want to betray her trust."
"Then don't." A cold voice came from the other end of the room making everyone jump.
JJ walked over to the team surrounding Garcia, dropped her bag and took the picture from Morgan's hand.
"I remember this." JJ smiled at another memory "I was such a bitch to everyone. I refused to get close to anyone, to trust anyone because I thought if I let them in that they would hate what they saw and would leave me, so I kept them all away with my attitude." JJ sighed and gave the photo back "Please don't Pen. There are things in there that I don't think I'm ready for you to know just yet." JJ looked at her best friend with pleading eyes. Garcia nodded and closed the laptop. She didn't want to read about it, she wanted to hear about it from JJ.
"Thankyou." JJ picked her bag up and looked at the whole team gathered on one bed "So which ones mine?"
Rossi pointed to the bed last bed in the corner "That one."
"Of course it is." JJ sighed and laughed.
"What is it JJ?" Hotch asked standing up next to her.
"That was my bed when I was here." JJ laughed at how ironic the situation was becoming and walked over to it.
"We can swap if you want to Jayje." Emily offered.
She just shook her head then dropped her bag on the bed.
"Morgan will you give me a hand please?" JJ didn't move her gaze from the top of the bed.
"Sure." He got up and walked over.
"Could you pull it out?" Morgan nodded and started to pull the bed away from the wall. JJ walked over to the wall and bent down.
"Its still here." JJ smile at the carving on the wall that said 'Shel and Jess, fighters till the end' JJ's smile faded when she saw another carving next to it 'I need to be saved from myself' in her own handwriting. JJ had forgotten she'd written that the night she left.
Emily knelt down next to her "Did you write that" She pointed to the second carving.
JJ didn't answer; she stood up with tears in her eyes and headed with her bag to the bathroom. She whispered "I need to take a shower" just loud enough for the others to hear.
They all listened for the shower to start.
"What does it say Emily?" Hotch asked.
"It says 'I need to be saved from my self'." Emily sighed and sat on her bed.
"What the hell has happened to our girl?" Garcia started to cry.
Emily was worried for her friend. She was hiding something big and it was tearing her apart. The cracks in the mask were starting to show, soon enough it would be gone, and she would have to face her past, with nothing but the teams support to fall back on. She prayed that it was enough... it had to be or they would loose her.
JJ spent the next 90 minutes in the shower. Burning hot water cascading down her body, she scrubbed and scrubbed till her skin was raw, till some of it bleed but still she didn't feel clean. It had been years since JJ had felt that way and she had scrubbed her body till it bleed. Sighing at the fact that cleaning herself wasn't going to make her feel any less dirty JJ washed the soap of and climbed out.
The steam poured from under the door and into the room everyone was sitting in. Reid, Hotch and Emily were reading, Morgan was playing on his IPod and Rossi and Garcia were on their laptops.
"She's been in there ages, do you think someone should check on her?" Reid asked. Before anyone answered the shower shut off and JJ stepped out wrapped in a white towel. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Her eyes were puffy, her hair was dripping wet and she tiny blood drops on the top of her arms. Garcia let out a little gasp. JJ rubbed her arms to protect herself.
"Emily can I borrow your hair brush please, I think I left mine at the motel."
"Sure." Emily grabbed the brush and handed it to JJ. Emily got close enough to get a proper look at JJ's arms. Emily gave her a sympatric look and JJ walked back into the bathroom.
"Was the blood on JJ's arms?" Reid asked.
"Yes" Emily ran her hand threw her hair. Her best friend was in more trouble that she first thought.
"From what?" Reid asked again.
"She's been scrubbing her body. There were a few on her legs too." Morgan answered and that was when something clicked inside his head. He knew what was going on with JJ.
He knew some of it anyway.
JJ walked out of the bathroom, her hair dry and she had fresh cloths on. She handed Emily her brush just as there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Morgan yelled watching JJ moving round the room.
"Hey guys sorry to interrupt." It was Peter "Dinner's ready."
"Great thanks" Hotch got of the bed he was sitting on and grabbed his jacket along with everyone else. Peter walked to the other end of the room to where JJ was putting her jacket on.
"Shel," He took a deep breath, he wasn't sure how she was going to take what he was about to say. The team stood looking at them waiting for Peter to speak. JJ looked up at him "Their all here."
"Who?" JJ started to sound panicked.
"The other Cliffhangers. I called them all after you phoned about Jess. They all wanted to come a say goodbye."
JJ stood in shock. She hadn't even thought that she might have to face her old friends.
"Peter no…i…I'm not ready, why didn't you tell me?" JJ looked hurt.
"Because we knew you'd run again. You need to face them sometime. Their not going to go away."
Garcia walked up to JJ and grabbed her hand pulling her out of her momentary trance.
"C'mon you haven't eaten all day and I doubt you ate last night." Garcia pulled JJ out the door with the others.
In that moment all the emotions and feelings she had as Shelby came jumping out of her box and overwhelmed her. She could feel Shelby starting to taking over again and this time she didn't think she could control it.
They follower Peter into the dining hall.
"All the students have finished eating so it will just be you and the old Cliffhangers." Peter stopped before they entered.
"mmmmm, yum Horizon food, There's something I haven't missed." JJ laughed lightly trying not to sound as petrified as she was feeling.
"Its not that bad Shel, I've lived of it long enough." Peter folded his arms across his chest.
"That doesn't fill me with confidence my captain." Peter felt his heart swell at the use of his old nickname from her. He gave her a glare along with a smile pressed on his lips and walked in to the dining hall. JJ cautiously followed him along with the others close behind.
"SHELBY!" As soon as JJ walked through the door a tall very pregnant skinny brunet came running towards her and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.
"Hey, Jules." JJ whispered in her ear and pulled back placing a hand on her swollen belly "look at you!"
A muscular man, a dark skinned woman and another man with curly black hair came up next to the brunet.
"How you holding up lost girl?" The muscular man asked wrapping his arms round the skinny pregnant woman.
"Lost girl, really? Who came up with that?" JJ raised an eyebrow at the four people in front of her. The curly haired man raised his hand.
"Well Thankyou for that Ezra." The man known as Ezra smiled at JJ.
"Your welcome. Who are your friend's Shel?" He tipped his head to her team standing in the doorway.
"Their the people I work with. That's Agent Hotchner…" JJ would have kept going but was stopped by the dark skinned woman.
"Your FBI?" she asked, Hotch just nodded.
"And that would make you FBI as well." Ezra asked JJ who also just nodded. Ezra turned to Hotch "You gave Shelby a gun!" Ezra sounded shocked and scared at the same time.
"Oh thanks Freaken." JJ looked a little hurt at him although she could understand. They Girl he knew should NEVER be given a gun.
"Actually." Reid started to talk at the back of the group "She's the best shot on the team." Rossi put his hand on Reid's shoulder to stop him from talking.
"Really?" The muscular man looked shocked; every member of the team nodded their heads.
"Watch your back Auggie, don't piss her off." Ezra teased.
"Anyway" JJ want back to introductions "That's Agent Hotchner, Agent Rossi, Agent Morgan, Agent Prentiss, Dr. Reid and Penelope Garcia." JJ turned to the team "Guys this is" She pointed to the pregnant brunet "Juliette Waybourne" Then to the muscular man "Augie Ciceros" to the dark skinned woman "Kat Cabot, Ezra riedken….." JJ would have kept going to the other two people at the back of the room but was interrupted.
"YOU BITCH!" The angry brunet at the back of the room lunged through the small group of people landing on JJ, pushing her to the floor and hitting her round the face. Morgan, Emily, Peter and Sophie ran to them and pulled the angry brunet off JJ. Morgan held her back as Emily helped JJ of the floor.
"It's nice to see you to Daisy." JJ rubbed her jaw. The woman went to lunge for JJ again but Morgan held her back "Pull that again Dais and you will find out how far my foot goes down your throat." The woman stopped fighting "You can let go Morgan." And he did but he stayed close incase she did it again.
"And here I was thinking you might have changed." Daisy spat and went back to her spot by the window.
"You ok JJ?" Emily asked looking over the small split lip she was now sporting.
"Yeah I'm fine." JJ rubbed the bit of blood on the back of her hand.
"JJ?" The blonde man at the back for the room questioned.
"Scott i…" JJ was loosing the colour in her face fast. It broke her heart to see her first true love look so lost.
"Why did she call you JJ?" Scott asked looking confused. JJ walked closer to him.
"Because JJ's my name, well Jennifer Jareau." Scott went from looking confuses to looking angry in less than a second.
"No wonder we couldn't find you. We looked you know, we all did." JJ looked at the other Cliffhangers and they were nodding looking sad "You changed your name!" He paused and looked JJ up and down "You let him win!" He spat.
"Scott don't do this, you don't know the reasons I left. You're not allowed to judge me!" JJ was getting mad as well.
"Oh I think out of everyone in this room I'm the only one that can judge you." You could see the anger in his eyes and JJ could see he was about to say something she didn't want him too.
"Scott" JJ glanced over her shoulder at the team who were watching JJ interact with the other people "stop."
"Oh my god." Scott let out a cold laugh "They don't know do they?"
JJ gave him her best Shelby warning glare and he stopped laughing.
"Why don't you want them to find out what happened and what you did?" he asked still fuming but now it was her turn to get really mad at him.
"Before you judge me, my actions or the things I did Scott take a good look in the mirror because you're not perfect, you've made mistakes." She was too mad to think about the group of people behind her "Can you blame me for not telling them? For not telling anyone?" She got up into his face and was yelling "After the way you acted when I told you. I trusted you Scott to hold it together, to hold it together for me. And what did you do when you found out? What did you ask me SCOTT?" JJ was pushing her finger into his chest "Go on. WHAT DID YOU ASK?
"How many…" Scott whispered now feeling really bad for getting angry and causing JJ to act this way.
"With those two little words Scott you shattered every little bit of faith I had in you. I could see it in your eyes, I disgusted you. You looked at me the way I look at myself in the mirror every morning." Tears were falling down JJ's cheeks again.
"Shel, I'm sorry I didn't mean too…"
"Leave it." JJ turned and walked out the room.
"JJ come back." Emily called after her but JJ just kept going and slammed the door closed behind her.
"Well that went better than I thought it would." Peter whispered to Sophie."
A/N Next there will another Higher Ground person.
Review for cyber hugs and good Karma!
AJ x