Always.
A/N: I'm realizing just now that I've had this written since November, but I had forgotten to post it… I apologize.
Disclaimer: I do not own the show or the characters.
Derek took in a deep breath as he slowly released his friend's hand.
The room had been silent, except for the consistent beep of Emily's heart monitor.
"Em. You have to fight this." He sucked in a deep breath as he gave Emily's cold hand a squeeze. He rubbed his thumb along the back of her palm and closed his eyes. "Come on, Em. Do this for Hotch." He pleaded quietly.
It killed him inside to see his friend so still. Barely even breathing, tubes down her throat, IV drips stuck into her arm. His chest pounded as he stared down at Emily's frail state. She was so pale, almost blue even. As he stood up to his full height, the consistent beeping of the monitor beeped louder and more rapidly. Within seconds, a team of nurses came sprinting in. "She's coding!" One nurse shouted as the beeping intensified.
Another nurse pushed Derek out of the way in order to get to Emily's side. "You have t leave, sir." Derek stepped back, his head growing heavy, nearly stumbling over. He pushed through the doors and let the nurses take over. Many orders were shouted, but the one that stuck out to Derek the most was, "Her temp's still at 80." He heard before the doors closed, blocking him from seeing inside any longer.
His best friend was dying.
JJ came running around the corner, sliding on the tile. She stopped in front of Derek and shook her head. "Derek. She's going to pull through."
Derek shook his head and looked up slowly. "You don't know that, Jayje… People die."
Jayje stood next to him and folded her arms over her chest. "I know people die. People die in front of us every day. But I believe Emily will survive this." She inhaled softly and nodded once, a tear trickling down her cheek, "I-I believe in the good. I believe that it's been a hell of a year. And I believe that in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, we will all be okay. I believe that my sister is always with me. And I believe that if I eat a tub of butter and nobody sees me, the calories don't count. I believe we survive, Derek." She sighed softly and looked back at the door of Emily's room as they heard more commotion. "I believe that believing we survive is what makes us survive."
Derek didn't know what else to say. Instead he rolled his lips into his mouth and nodded slowly, taking in everything JJ had said.
The faint sound of the monitor emitting a continuous tone sounded, and JJ sucked in a breath, her chest pounding. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the door, trying to see inside.
Shuddering, she leaned against the wall in the hallway and shrank down to her knees, covering her face with her hands. "Em…" Was it too late now? After a few minutes, Hotch approached slowly, a blanket wrapped around him.
He glanced down at JJ and then up at Derek, panic beginning to set in. He shook his head. "No." Throwing off the blanket, he turned on his heel and bolted into Emily's room, startling one of the nurses. She screamed and bumped into one of the carts by the bedside table, knocking it over completely. The tray hit the ground with a loud clang as Hotch knelt beside Emily. "No. Emily. Come on." He was openly sobbing now, fighting away Derek's muscular arms as the dark skinned man tried to remove him from the room.
"Hotch!" Derek finally managed to hold him steady, pulling him away from her. "Hotch. Emily is not dead yet. Look!" He gestured at the heart monitor and sighed as a nurse continued compressions on Emily's chest. Another nurse barked out orders to the others. Hotch stood completely still as he watched the scene playout in front of him. He couldn't help but think how he did the same out in the field, barking orders at his team. He could barely hear Morgan as he spoke from beside him, "She's young and healthy, her temp's still going up, and it's going to keep going up, and her heart will start again! Now, we have to leave the room, and let the doctors take care of our Emily, okay?"
Hotch nodded and slowly allowed Derek to lead him out of the room. He shut the door behind him and shook his head. "Emily is strong. She will pull through." Hotch and Derek met up with the rest of the team in the waiting room for any further details.
Just after a little over ten minutes, one of the nurses peeked through the door of the waiting room. She looked around the room, her eyes focusing on the team as they sat in silence, "Agent Aaron Hotchner?"
Hotch sprang up from his seat and inhaled suddenly. "Is she…?"
The red headed nurse nodded slowly and bit her lip, "I'd like you to come with me, please. I'll explain to you what is happening while we walk." He followed obediently, leaving the room with one last backwards glance at the team. As the doors closed behind them, leaving them on their own, the young nurse spoke, "Your girlfriend, Agent Prentiss, is on a lot of meds at the moment." Hotch didn't even bother correcting her at the mistake. He just nodded and followed quietly, listening to everything she was saying.
"She is stable right now, and we finally got her temperature above 98. We'd just like you to try to talk to her, try and see if you can get her to respond a bit, find out what she remembers." She led him back into the room and held the door for him. "We will be observing from just outside the room." She passed him with a brush of her hand on his shoulder and a tiny nod, making sure he was alright with these instructions. "If anything happens, anything at all, we will be right there."
Hotch nodded and stared down at his agent on the bed. He heard the door close behind the nurse, and he took in a deep breath as he walked up to the bed. Emily. His Emily, lay fast asleep. It was a wonder how tiny she appeared now. So pale, so frail, and so… not Emily. It was as if she was the same woman she had always been, but yet so different. "Emily." Her given name rolled off his breath as he took in her image. He pulled a chair right up to her bedside, and reached for her hand. He held it in his warm one and sighed softly.
The nurses wanted him to speak to her… but what could he possibly say to her? Could she even actually hear him? He stared down at her, his eyes roaming over her face. He stood up at last, and began to pace the room. "Emily. God," He shook his head, the words beginning to come to him almost immediately. "You have to wake up, Emily. You've got to. Do it for me." He inhaled softly, just pacing to himself as he spoke softly to her, more-so to himself now. "You're a huge asset to this team, Emily. We can't lose you. Not now, and not ever. I guess I've never given you enough credit in the past." One step, two steps, three steps, four, five, turn, repeat. He continued this pace, running a hand through his short hair. "No, I know I definitely haven't. Emily, you're the best agent I've ever had on my team. I know I was cold and cruel to you your first year, and I… I want to apologize for that." He paused and stared down at her for a brief moment before turning again.
"Emily… I don't know if you can hear me now, but you're one of the greatest people I've ever met. You're kind, sweet, brilliant, funny… beautiful." The last word had slipped out by accident. He took in a steady breath and shook his head, not noticing that Emily's eyes began to flutter open. "Em, if you were to wake up, now would be a good time. The truth is, Emily… I've fallen in love with you. I have, and I don't know what to do, and that's what scares me the most… Is that I love you." He closed his eyes and paused for a few minutes, just standing with his back to the hospital bed for a few moments. Silence stretched on in the room, the coldness of the room making him shiver. If only it had been him on that bed instead of Emily. He shook his head and walked towards the door, reaching out for the handle. His hand hovered over the door handle and he froze.
He heard a soft whimper from behind him. He turned around quickly and in the next instant, he was by her side again, holding her icy, stiff hand. "Emily?"
Another moan.
"Em, can you talk to me?" He looked down into dark chocolaty eyes as they opened. "You're back…" A grin spread across his face, dimples peeking out and indenting his cheeks. "Emily-"
As Emily tried to speak, her throat constricted, making her wheeze for oxygen. She coughed a few times and then managed to breathe out, "Say it again." The brunette stared up at him, a small smile displayed on her face. "Say it…" She whispered softly, her voice completely hoarse. "Please." Her dark eyes pleaded silently as Hotch worked his jaw, not quite sure as to what she was referring to.
"Emily. I don't know what you're-" And then it hit him. During his ramblings, he had mentioned that he loved her. He swallowed hard, kneeling by her side and taking her hand in both of his larger ones. "Emily Prentiss." He leaned closer and tucked a strand of hair from her face. "God, I am so glad that you're awake now. Emily Prentiss, I love you. I always have." He gently stroked his fingers through her hair and breathed her name while Emily took in his scent. She reached up
She returned his smile, grinning slowly as she cleared her throat and gave his hand a light squeeze. Her eyes were already beginning to flutter closed again. She stifled a yawn and nodded slowly, "I love you too, Hotch."
He shook his head slowly, "Call me Aaron." He watched as she struggled just to keep her eyes open. "Rest, Emily. You need it. Rest now." He helped her settle back in against the pillows. As her eyes closed completely, he loomed over her, pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Emily Prentiss." He reclined back into his chair with a new energy. His Emily was alive. She had woken up, and she loved him. He grinned to himself and brushed the hair from her forehead as she slept soundly.
A/N: Thank you to all who have stayed with this. I know I'm not great at updating, but I try to do it whenever I can. I've been lacking the motivation and time to write recently.
Please be sure to leave a review. They make for a happier author, and a happy author means more fics. Thanks !
-Em.