Thanks for all of the reviews. They keep me encouraged and striving to do better. I know this goes without saying, but I do not own anything "Criminal Minds."
Staring up into David Rossi's big round eyes as he promised her safety and security was Jennifer Jureau's undoing. She didn't know why, but she felt that last wall that she had erected around herself for her own protection crumble to the ground. For years, she had built her walls of fortitude brick by painful brick. The moat surrounding that fortress of protection had only recently been dug out in the last couple of weeks. Not having realized how poorly a job she had done at hiding her own problems, JJ was caught off guard by David's admission of care and concern. And that's what did it. The last stubborn brick to her defenses had been crumbled to nothing but pebbles by the older agent. The problem that now lay before her was to either let the destruction lay as it was or to immediately rebuild. It soon became obvious that David wasn't going to let her have the time to think about it.
"JJ. Say something, please. I promise, no pushing. It just kills me to see you in pain. And don't tell me that you're fine! I have eyes. I know very well that you're not. Whatever it is, I will help you. You believe that, don't you?"
For some reason that Rossi couldn't fathom, it suddenly occurred to him how important it was that JJ believe him. He prayed that all the rumors she was sure to have heard over the years, and any preconceived notions she may have about him didn't come in the way of her feeling his sincerity at that statement. Hopefully, she had grown to care about him in some way over their years of working together. Even if she didn't harbor the same feelings for him as he did for her, he, at least, cherished their friendship. He would never do anything to harm it and would protect it with his life if he had to.
JJ's guard faltered and a lone tear slipped out of her eye. Before she could stop its path, David tenderly wiped it away with his thumb. "Oh, honey. Tell me it's not that bad." He pulled her into a warm embrace, stroking her long blonde hair.
Almost immediately, their embrace was interrupted as JJ turned away, hand covering her mouth, and ran towards the closest tree. Collapsing to her hands and knees, JJ vomited until the only sounds she was making were retching noises. Trying to allow her an appropriate amount of privacy, David grabbed the water and tissues from JJ's purse and walked to the other side of the campfire towards the small woman.
Kneeling beside her, David handed JJ the water bottle so she could rinse out her mouth. "Take it slow, honey." he advised as he handed her a Kleenex. "Guess I got so caught up in my fact finding mission that I forgot the most important thing – you. Come here." David quickly picked JJ up and carried her closer to the campfire, away from the scene of her previous sickness. Sitting down gently, he kept JJ in his lap, cradling her like a new babe. Careful not to rock her, as he was intuitively wonton to do, he stroked her back and held her until he could feel her heartbeat slow down. And then, she began to cry. Not some girly cry that screamed of embarrassment because he had once again witnessed her getting sick. No, this cry concerned the legendary profiler. He had heard it one too many times, usually from one of the countless victims he had interviewed while on a case. David continued to stroke JJ's back, all the while murmuring words of comfort in her ear. Once her sobs had abated, David placed a kiss to JJ's temple. "You ok, honey?"
Not feeling strong enough yet for words, JJ nodded her assent. David just grinned at her response. "Ok. You still feeling sick?" Shaking her head for no, JJ was content just resting against David's broad chest. "You need another sip of water?" he asked. JJ pulled apart slightly, just enough to look into his eyes. "No," she replied thickly, "but a mint would be great." David chuckled as he grabbed the purse he had previously thrown to the ground while running to comfort her. Pulling the pack from her bag, he handed her a mint. "Just one, JJ. You don't want to get sick again."
Once again resting her head against David's strong chest, JJ found strength in his surrounding arms. After several minutes, David took the bull by the horns and tipped JJ's chin so that he could look her in the eyes. Their red rims told a tale he wasn't interested in knowing. "You're scaring me, kiddo. Are you feeling worse than before? Any double vision or headache?" David was silently praying for a negative response, knowing that a positive one would only lead to more problems than he was currently equipped to handle.
Feeling stronger JJ tried to assuage his fears. "I'm fi…" she stopped as she saw the look on his furrowing brows. "Ok, I'm not fine. But I'm not any worse than I was. I think everything just caught up to me all at once and I got overwhelmed. I'm sorry if I scared you." JJ resumed her resting place as Dave continued to stroke her back. "I'm so tired, David." She murmured into his chest.
"I know, honey." David continued his ministrations, sensing that she wasn't just talking about tonight. Against his better judgment he offered up a plan. "Tell you what, " he began. "your symptoms haven't gotten any worse over the past couple of hours so. In my best medical opinion, I would say that you have a slight concussion. Are we in agreement on that?"
Unsure where this was headed, JJ nodded her assent.
"Well, in my limited experience, patients with a slight concussion just need careful and direct observation. I honestly don't know how long we're going to be out here. It's already been a couple of hours and we have another hour before the team is to expect us. I'll agree to let you sleep on one condition."
JJ immediately looked up at Rossi, her aching body thrilled with the aspect of getting some sleep.
"Anything." she replied eagerly.
"As long as you're comfortable where you are, you stay right here where I can keep an eye on you. In addition, I will be waking you up in about twenty minutes. If you're ok then, we'll talk about extending your nap time. Capisce?"
"Capsice!" JJ burrowed into his chest once more, trying to get as comfortable as possible while also trying to erase all of the images of the past couple of hours, much less the past couple of weeks. It wasn't long before her breathing grew steady and David could feel her strong slow heartbeat against his chest.
Enjoying the weight of the fragile beauty in his lap and the feel of her heart beating against his, David once more wondered how on earth they were going to get out of here. And how on earth he was going to keep her with him when they did.