AUTHORS NOTE: Again, a quick reminder, that I know that this particular case took place in season 8 when Emily wasn't even around. But because I'm looking for a certain situation, I'm using the cases that work for what I'm looking for. Also, in case you might be wondering, everything that happened in the show up to the end of Season 6 did take place WITH EXCEPTION of Emily faking her death. She did not fake her death here and instead was saved and stayed at the BAU the entire time. Just makes things easier for this :)

Chapter 2

It had been a day. JJ had always wondered what that saying actually meant; of course a day was a day. But after the case they had just finished and the day she had, she finally understood it.

They had thought they were going to have a head start when the team made their way to Los Angeles to deal with the "Nanny Killer." Turns out, after bumping up his timeline they were more behind than ever. This was one of those cases that had bothered JJ since she had started working it so many years before. It was one of the ones that got away and maybe why that is she always held onto it.

JJ was thrilled when Tara finally decided to cooperate with them. She knew it wasn't going to be easy but she also knew it was the best chance at finally putting this guy away for good and putting her own mind at ease.

It was always the cases about kids that got to her the most. This one, while the Unsub was never harming the children, always made her think of her own son. She and Will both worked odd hours and of course they had no other choice but to to keep a nanny on staff. They had interviewed dozens of women before deciding on the one and Garcia had even blurred the lines between legal and not so legal when doing an extensive background check on the poor young woman.

Now with the case wrapped, the blonde profiler was standing in the small bathroom of the hotel the team was holed up in for the night. She had just finished her shower and despite feeling some relief from the warm water on her body, her senses were still on high alert. She was struggling to relax from the day. After all, she had shot a man and killed him and despite that being her job, it never got any easier each time she had to do it.

She lets out a huge sigh, taking in her reflection in the mirror in front of her. She can't believe how tired she looks. Without knowing why, she feels the tears start to pool in the corners of her eyes. She bites at her lip, attempting to push them back but they win the battle this time. They fall unceremoniously down her cheeks and before she knows it, her right hand had gone to her mouth to stifle her sobs while her left hand is clutching the sink in an effort to keep her upright.

Outside the bathroom door, Emily was just making her way back into her shared room. The BAU had always been stingy when it came to budgets, so it was never a surprise when JJ and Emily were asked to share a hotel room when they were on location. Especially in LA, where even the cheapest hotel was expensive, they knew they were going to be rooming together. Of course, considering the secret affair they were having, neither one of them ever argued and instead used the time to get a little extra time together that they might not be able to have otherwise.

The brunette had been downstairs drinking with Morgan when JJ had gone up to shower. The blonde had sat there with the team, Reid, Rossi and Hotch included, through dinner and for several drinks before announcing her need to wash away the memory of earlier that day. They had all understood, each of them having been there at one point or another.

Emily wanted to immediately follow the younger woman, but she knew the rules that had been put in place between her and JJ. There was a long list, but at the top of it was not doing anything that might create suspicion as to the nature of their relationship. She knew that if she went up at the same time as the blonde, it would be more than suspicious, considering Emily was never the first to leave from a night of drinking.

So instead, she had pushed down the feelings of guilt and worry for another hour before finally relenting to Morgan that he could out drink her. She said her good nights to the rest of the team and had to mentally remind her legs not to make a run for it to the elevator.

She knew that JJ wasn't doing alright after the case that afternoon. It was never easy to be the person that ended another life, but for JJ she always took it especially hard. Add that to the fact that the case involved children, this one in particular, children with their nannies, which JJ most certainly had, and Emily knew the blonde's emotions were going to be all over the place. She wanted nothing more than to get to her and comfort her the way she knew only she could.

As Emily quietly enters the hotel room and closes the door she can tell that JJ is still in the bathroom. The door leading to that room is closed and had been open the last time she was in there, so she knew that behind the door was the woman she loved. As she makes her way further into the room she can hear the muffled sounds of JJ's tears and Emily's heart breaks slightly at the sound.

She opens the door to the bathroom, causing JJ to spin around immediately, wiping at her eyes with both hands, but not being able to stop the tears from actually falling.

"Come here babe," Emily says, her arms held out for JJ to fall into. The blonde does just that, her body practically falling into the taller brunette as she clings to her. JJ's face is now buried on Emily's chest, tears freely flowing out and quiet sobs the only noise in the room.

After about five minutes of just standing there, carefully running her hand up and down JJ's still bare arm and whispering soothing words to calm her, Emily feels the younger woman pull out of the embrace. She doesn't let go of Emily, her hands still linger on the brunette's hips, holding her from moving anywhere.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what..." JJ starts but Emily doesn't let her finish. Instead she moves forward and captures the blonde's lips in a loving kiss.

JJ immediately reciprocates. Her tongue swipes across Emily's bottom lip, seeking entrance to her mouth, which Emily allows. Their tongues battle for dominance as their legs instinctively move them backward out of the bathroom doorway and toward one of the double beds situated in the middle of the room. Emily's knees bump against the bed and just before she falls backward, she finds the energy to pull her lips apart from JJ's.

"Hey, look at me," Emily says reaching up and tilting JJ's chin so brown eyes can meet blue. "You did what you had to do today Jayje."

As much as Emily would have loved to let their heated kiss become so much more, and as much as she loved the woman standing before her, she also knew that whatever was about to happen between the two of them was only a band aid for the pain that JJ was really feeling. The blonde had a tendency to try to mask her emotions, not wanting to appear weak, especially in front of Emily.

"I know," JJ responds quietly, now fiddling with the towel that is still wrapped around her body. "Doesn't make it feel any better, you know?"

"I do," Emily reminds her, thankful she's able to relate the same feeling JJ has right now. "But I know that it's more than just being the kill shot that got to you Jayje," Emily finishes, not wanting to get caught up in the lust of everything before she was sure that JJ was really alright. "It's about Henry, isn't it?"

A brief smile immediately appears on JJ's face. Just saying the name of her son had that effect on her. There was no one in the world she loved more than that little boy. However, it disappears almost just as quickly when she remembers the nannies and children effected today.

"Tara asked me about Henry today," JJ remarks, allowing Emily to pull her down into a seated position on the bed with her. JJ leans her head onto the brunette's shoulder and Emily wraps her arm around to embrace her. "She asked me where he was and I guess until that moment, I never really thought about the fact that he was with the nanny."

"It scared you," Emily states knowing where JJ's head had gone earlier that day during the case. "But I promise you babe, Henry is safe and sound tucked into his bed right now."

"I know," JJ admits. "It just... if that ever happened to Henry and Sarah," JJ starts, referring to Henry's nanny who had been with them since Henry's birth. "I don't know what I would have done."

"You will never have to find out," Emily reassures the blonde next to her, placing a loving kiss to her temple and holding her hand in their lap. "Henry is the safest kid in the entire universe. He has a dad who is a detective, four federal agent uncles, two federal agent aunts and the most badass mom on the planet. No one in the world is stupid enough to mess with that cutie."

JJ nods knowingly and her eyelids start to droop in her comfortable position on Emily's shoulder, the weight of the day finally catching up to her entirely. Emily smiles, pulling the blonde further back onto the bed so that she can lay down, before snuggling up behind her, wrapping her tightly in her embrace.

She listens to the sound of JJ's steady breathing and feels her chest rising and falling lightly where her hands are latched with the blonde's in front of them. Emily places a tiny kiss the nape of JJ's neck, not wanting to wake her, but wanting to reassure the blonde, even during slumber, that she was there and safe in her arms.

"Mmmm," JJ purrs at the feeling of Emily's lips on her neck. She snuggles even further into the brunette before letting out a large breath. "Goodnight Em."

Emily waits for a few minutes, wanting JJ to be fully asleep before she responds. For it's only when JJ is sleeping that Emily can tell her how she really feels. Eventually, the brunette leans down again, this time, her lips connecting with JJ's cheek.

"Goodnight babe. I love you," she whispers.