JJ sat there, head in hand and the other resting on her thigh as they awaited news on Garcia's condition. The bubbly tech analyst had been shot and was currently in surgery, fighting for her life. he had completely zoned out when she felt a breeze next to her, and then a hand touches her own, fingers lacing into hers and clutching tightly in both support and comfort.

"She's going to be okay Jen." Emily's voice was almost silent.

"I can't lose her Em." JJ looked at the brunette with red, teary eyes, grasping onto the support hand even harder.

Hours passed them by, and Emily's hand was still looped in JJ's as they waited for the update on Penelope. At some point, JJ had rested her head against Emily's shoulder, needing more close comfort to keep her from going insane whilst thinking about her best friend. The rest of the team were pacing, sitting, standing, each scattered around the hospital waiting room. JJ couldn't care less what the others thought of the proximity between her and the brunette, she just wanted Penelope to be okay, and she was enjoying the comfort from her friend. Lover? Whatever Emily was to her, she enjoyed it. It wasn't long before they got the visit from her best friend's doctor.

"So, what are you saying?" JJ asked, staring intently at the surgeon.

"One centimeter over and it would've torn right through her heart. Instead, she could actually walk out of here in a couple days, and I'd say that's a minor miracle." The doctor informed them; several sighs of relief being heard with the news.

"She needs her rest; you can see her in the morning." he finished.

"Thank you." JJ spoke again, turning to face Emily. She threw her arms around the brunette's shoulders, slamming their bodies together as close as possible. Morgan glanced over at Reid at the unusual encounter, even Hotch and Rossi shared a look. When JJ caught herself, realising what she had done, she let out a nervous laugh. Releasing Emily, she walked over to Spencer and did the same, then moving to Derek. JJ pulled away, looking sneakily over at Emily who looked a little gobsmacked, then quickly correcting her expression just in time for no one else to see. And that's when Hotch updated them on the case information, and they all got to work.


JJ had been quiet for the rest of the day and Emily was concerned. She had shot and killed the unsub, in the BAU bullpen, essentially saving the lives of everyone in there. Hotch had dismissed them for the remainder of the week whilst the bullpen was logged as a crime scene and thoroughly cleaned before they could re-enter the area. JJ however, decided to take to her office and work through file after file. One stack for the BAU team and the rest were to be sent to other departments.

Emily stayed behind, lurking in Penelope's lair and working on her own paperwork until around 10pm, keeping a close eye on JJ through the CCTV camera situated just outside her office window. When the blinds were open, the camera had a clear view into her office, and she knew JJ was still in there working away. She decided to call it a night and go to retrieve the blonde on her way. She knew JJ wouldn't talk about the events of that day, but if she could at least get her home and in the comfort and safety of the blonde's own apartment, she would be happy.

"Jayje?" Emily spoke softly as she opened the door to the blonde's office.

"Hey Em." JJ's voice was sleepy as she looked up the greet the brunette with a soft smile.

"I'm heading home, can I give you a ride?" Emily asked.

"I was gonna stay a bit later and get these sorted." JJ waved her hand to the two remaining stacks of files on the side of her desk.

"Jen, you've been at it for hours." Emily's expression was full of concern as she entered the office and closed the door quietly behind her.

"I'm fine." JJ chuckled lightly.

"You've had a traumatic couple of days... I- I think you need to go home and get some rest." Emily reasoned.

"We've all had a traumatic couple of days Em, it's not just me." JJ started, sitting up in her chair. "Pen got shot, that bastard came in here and pulled a gun on Hotch and Rossi... I can't leave knowing there's more people like him out there."

"I know sweetie, but you need to sleep. We can come back on Monday and sort through all this, I'll come and help." Emily breathed.

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep Em..." JJ whispered so quietly that Emily almost missed the confession.

"Jen." Emily hesitated. "Do you want me to come home with you? At least then you won't be alone if you don't sleep."

"I can't ask that of you. There's no point two of us being tired tomorrow." JJ shook her head.

"We're off for the rest of the week. Really, it's no trouble." Emily gave her a warm smile when JJ's eyes met hers.

"O- okay." JJ nodded slowly, closing the current file that was on her desk and pushing it towards the other departments stack.

"Come on honey." Emily circled the blonde's desk and picked up her satchel, swung it over the same shoulder her own was sat on and held out a hand for the young agent. JJ stretched herself out in her chair before letting her hand meet Emily's, them walking slowly past the missing glass section of the bullpen and into the elevator. A comfortable silence fell upon them as Emily helped JJ into her range rover and set off out of the parking garage.

"My place or yours Jayje?" Emily asked quietly.

"Mine, if that's okay?" JJ looked over to Emily.

"Of course, I've got my go bag." Emily smiled at her. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." JJ bit her bottom lip as she tried to remember the last time she'd consumed anything. She hadn't even had a cup of coffee after hearing of Penelope's admittance to the hospital. No wonder she was so exhausted.

"Pizza or Chinese?" Emily asked.

"You choose." JJ didn't even have the strength to decide what she wanted to eat. She didn't want anything, but she knew that Emily wouldn't take her home until she picked something up for them.

"Chinese okay? I know you like the orange chicken from Chow's." Emily suggested.

"Sounds good." JJ offered her a smile in return.

Emily collected their food from the Chinese restaurant on the way to JJ's house, helping the blonde out of her car and grabbed her go bag out of the trunk before making their way inside. She made sure JJ was comfy on the couch before grabbing their food, along with a glass of water and a glass of wine each and settled in for an evening of unrest. JJ let Emily choose a film on the TV to give them some background noise whilst they ate, Emily glancing over at JJ as she picked her way through the container of orange chicken in her lap.

"Do you wanna talk?" Emily asked.

"I- I'm not sure. I feel a bit out of sorts." JJ admitted.

"Well, that's understandable." Emily nodded in agreement.

"He targeted her for the stupidest reason. I mean, it's Penelope. She's the most harmless person you could ever meet." JJ breathed.

"He had Hero Syndrome Jen; it was in his nature to target someone as innocent as Pen." Emily reasoned.

"Why are you making excuses for what he did to her?" JJ shot back, an accusing glare at Emily when she turned to look at the brunette.

"I'm not - I'm just saying that it's the way he worked." Emily shrugged, feeling a little tense from the look JJ was giving her.

"Sorry..." JJ mumbled, putting another piece of orange chicken in her mouth.

"Nothing will ever excuse him for what he did to Garcia, and if I was there, I would've happily been the one to shoot the bastard." Emily stated. "And you don't have to apologise Jayje."

"I don't think I'm ever going to get the image of him bleeding out on the floor out of my head." JJ whispered, trying not to choke on her words as she felt her eyes sting with tears.

"You will. It might take a bit of time, but you'll get there." Emily's hand came to rest on JJ's knee.

"I killed someone Em." JJ looked up at her with sad eyes and Emily felt a pang of something unknown in her chest.

"I know sweetie, but he was a bad guy. You stopped him before he ended up killing Agent Fuchs and Hotch and Rossi, and god knows who else." Emily tried to reason with the blonde, but knew it was probably useless by now.

"I don't know how to feel." JJ faltered.

Emily placed her takeout container on the coffee table in front of them and shifted closer to JJ. "Honey, there's no guide on how you're meant to feel after taking someone's life. It's different in every circumstance. Sometimes, you'll feel proud and like you've done your job and rid the world of evil. Other times, you'll feel sad and uncertain that it was the right thing to do."

"I just want to feel something Emily, anything other than this- uncertainty." JJ felt the tears rolling down her cheeks before she was able to stop them. Emily cupped her chin and made JJ look at her, brushing away a tear with her thumb as it travelled further down her face.

"Tell me what I can do to help, I'll do anything to stop you feeling this way. I hate seeing you so vulnerable..." Emily pleaded with the blonde, offering anything to help her push away the sadness and guilt she was feeling.

"Kiss me." JJ whispered.

"Jay-"

"Emily, just kiss me. Please." JJ looked at her with puppy dog eyes, still brimming with tears as her gaze flitted between Emily's lips and her brown orbs.

So, that's exactly what Emily did. It was unbelievably gentle, the way her lips brushed against JJ's, still moist with tears and saliva from where she'd been worrying them with her teeth. This was on JJ's terms, and when Emily felt the blonde's tongue snake out to graze against her bottom lip, she welcomed the intrusion. Emily had never comforted a sad lover, JJ being her first of most things recently and added this to the ever-growing list. She let JJ lead, feeling the blonde grab hold of her hand and place it between her legs, silently pleading for contact to get her mind off the events that had unfolded that day.

Emily did what JJ needed her to do, unbuttoning her slacks and slipping a hand between warm skin and fabric as she delved into the moisture that had begun to collect at the apex of her thighs. JJ whimpered into the older agent's mouth; their kiss deeper than she could've ever imagined as Emily carefully inserted two fingers into her. JJ pulled away, gasping for breath from the depth of the kiss and Emily's now moving digits within her, resting her forehead against the brunette's shoulder as she was slowly worked further into her distraction.

"Emily." JJ moaned when she felt the brunette's thumb brush against her throbbing bundle, hips rocking forward at the touch.

"It's okay." Emily reassured her, bringing their mouths together once again to keep JJ grounded to her and her mind off the plaguing thoughts threatening to overwhelm her. It felt closer than she'd ever been with anyone before, but she pushed it away, focusing solely on JJ and her release.

"I'm so close Em, please." JJ sobbed, hips meeting Emily's hand with every slow thrust the brunette made.

"Just let go baby." Emily assured, her thumb coming to brush again her clit a few more times, pushing JJ over the edge into the intensely emotional climax. JJ cried, partly from the release of not only her pleasure, but for feeling something other than pain and guilt for the first time since the incident earlier that day. Her tears were scorching against her cheeks as she rode out her orgasm, mouth coming to meet Emily's again and pulling the brunette closer to her than ever before.

The words were on Emily's tongue, but she bit them back as hard as she fucking could. There was a first time for everything, but Emily was not going to let this moment be that for them. This was for JJ; she couldn't be so selfish as to burst the bubble they created when they shared these experiences with one another.

JJ slumped against her chest, racked with sobs as Emily pulled her hand away and cradled her shaking body. Emily sat up and JJ immediately wrapped her legs around the brunette's waist. Emily carried the blonde to her bed, and just laid there with her until her tears subsided. She pulled the hair tie from JJ's hair, brushing her fingers through the loose waves and comforted her the best she could. It wasn't until JJ let out a deep sigh that she was positive the blonde had stopped crying.

"Are you up to having a shower?" Emily suggested quietly.

JJ nodded with a quiet hum, detaching herself from Emily's body and slowly sitting up. "Can you come with me?"

"Sure." Emily gave her a small smile, walking into the blonde's en suite and turning the shower on before returning to aid the young agent in getting undressed and into the shower. JJ didn't want to let go of Emily, so Emily quickly rid herself of her clothing and joined her under the stream of hot water. She washed JJ's hair, running soapy hands through the blonde locks and untangling the small knots under her sweet-smelling conditioner before grabbing the shower head and rinsing it through with the water. Emily couldn't care less about washing her own body, giving herself a quick once over with some shower gel and shut the water off, wrapping JJ in a towel first before grabbing an identical one for herself. She watched JJ dry herself off and then slip between the sheets on her bed. She followed the same, sliding into the other side, and lying next to the blonde. JJ was on her again, hands clutching to her forearms and pulling her closer.

JJ needed that contact more than anything in the world, desperate to feel normal and human again, and Emily was the only feasible way of giving her just that. She wrapped her arms around Emily's waist, protective and needy at the same time, but she didn't care. She needed Emily more than the brunette could probably ever understand.

"Thank you." JJ whispered, breaking the comforting silence that had filled the room.

"It's okay." Emily returned in the same soft tone. "It's all going to be okay Jayje, I promise you."

"You don't know that." JJ breathed.

"That's true. But I'm here, and I'm going to keep you safe. No one can get to you here; I'm not going anywhere." Emily affirmed.

"Promise?" JJ whispered again, mumbling against Emily's chest but looked up to the brunette when she finished.

"I promise JJ." Emily reassured, kissing the blonde on the forehead before feeling the young woman settle back into her, nuzzling her face into the warmth of her chest and breathe deeply against her. Emily fought her exhaustion until JJ fell asleep, watching the blonde for longer than she cared to admit for any signs of her in a nightmare. By 3am, sleep was winning over her and she finally let herself get dragged into her slumber.

By morning, she'd hoped JJ would feel a little surer of herself and her decision the previous day. Hopefully, they'd talk, and JJ would be happy again and give Emily the beautiful smile she lived to see. JJ was the one person she knew most in the world deserved to smile and be happy, that she was certain of.