Her Past Catches Up With Her
I don't own Criminal Minds, Higher Ground or Crossing Jordan. Maybe not be suitable for all.
Chapter 18
In the ambulance, Hotch washes JJ's hand so he can hold it.
"Jennifer Mae Jearau, wake up this minute! That's an order!" Hotch says sternly. He wait's a few seconds and no response. "JJ, this is Aaron. I need you to wake up. Can you do that for me?" Hotch says and waits. Jens hand moves a little. She says something, but she has the oxygen mask over her face. Hotch removes it.
"What's happening?" JJ asks slowly and groggy.
"You're in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Can you tell me what happened between you, Josh and Walt?"
"Can't they tell you?" JJ asks with a whisper.
"No honey, their both dead."
"NO!!" JJ says, thrashing about.
"Okay, oxygen mask back on." The EMT says.
"We need to have her blood drawn. She might have be drugged like my other two agents."
"already on it." The EMT says. The EMT cuts JJ's shirt and pants off to see if she was injured as well. The EMT finds a small cut on her right side. It was bleeding, but not bad.
"How did we miss that?" Hotch asks.
"The knife didn't go through the shirt. So that must mean that her shirt was pulled up or was completely off." The EMT says, looking uncomfortably at Hotch. Hotch just looked at the EMT and JJ. Hotch's too shocked to say anything. "Maybe we should have a rape kit done at the hospital, just in case."
"That's probably a good idea." Hotch says, still holding JJ's hand. They pull into the hospital and unload JJ into the emergence department.
"Where would you like this young lady?" The EMT asks the ER nurse.
"Probably exam room 5." The nurse says, getting a new chart and a clipboard with a ton of paper work for Hotch to fill out. She walks into the exam room and holds out the clipboard to Hotch. "Could you please fill these out. You can go out to the table and chairs next to the nurses station. We'll come out as soon as we have info on her condition. If you have any questions about the paper work, just ask one of the nurses and just do the best you can." The nurse says, closing the door in Hotch's face. Hotch stands there for just a few seconds, then heads to the table and sits down. About five minutes later, Garcia, Scott and Daisy come rushing into the ER.
"How's she doing?" They ask simultaneously.
"They haven't examined her yet. I have to fill out these forms. Penny, can you do this? I'm just not fully confident that I know any of this info." Hotch says, handing Penelope the clipboard.
"I can help if you need it." Daisy says, sitting next to Penelope. Hotch stands up and paces. Scott just sits silently watching Hotch pace.
"She has a cut on her side. She can't remember anything. I think Josh and or Walt spiked her water. Probably GHB, so they could do anything to her and she wouldn't remember. I don't like this. It's leaning towards JJ as a killer. I want to believe it's self-defense." Hotch says, under his breath, just talking out loud. Shawn hasn't arrived yet at the hospital.
Back at the double murder scene, Derek, Reid, Gideon, detective Hoyt and the M.E, Jordan Cavanaugh are investigating the crime scene.
"I'd say that an estimated time of death for this one," talking of Josh, "Was one to two hours ago. And I would place this ones time of death…hmm. At the same time. When I do the autopsy on them, I'll get better time of death. But cause of death looks to be stabbing in both bodies. I don't see any defensive wounds on either body. I'll ask to see all the photos of marks on Agent Jearau. There are two sets of fingerprints on each one of those murder weapons. We'll test the blood on both of them. Make sure the blood matches the victims. Have the CSI team dust other areas to see about fingerprints, to see if we can piece together what really happened here." Jordan says, while Nigel zips up the body bags. Then the other officers carry the bodies out of the room and down the corners van.
"So, is there any way that JJ was unconscious when they were killed?" Hoyt asks.
"Sure, but then these two would've had to kill each other. It's strange, but not unheard of. I'll make sure all three autopsies are done ASAP and done correctly." Jordan says.
"You need to know that Ashley Bowers was pregnant. JJ wanted me to make sure you knew." Morgan says.
"Thanks for that information. I'll note that on her file. I'm sorry about your friend and college. And about Ms. Bowers. I'll see you all later. Bye." Jordan says, then leaves.
"She's really great at her job. You don't have to worry." Woody says about Jordan.
"That's good. Well, we can't really do much more here. Maybe we should go check on JJ." Morgan says to the team.
"Yeah, I'm sure Hotch could use some support." Emily says, with her heart skipping a couple beats at the thought of Aaron.
"Yeah. Come on, I'll drive." Gideon says to the team.
Two hours later, the BAU team, Daisy, Scott, Shawn and Det. Hoyt are all sitting waiting for word on JJ. Finally a nurse comes out.
"Jennifer Jearau." Everyone stands up and walks over to her. "Wow, this is a lot of people. Can I speak with one of you?"
"You can talk to me. I'm her boss Agent Aaron Hotchner. You can just call me Hotch. Is Jen okay?" Hotch asks.
"She'll be fine. She did have a mild wound. A couple of stitches. Her blood work up did come back positive for GHB and a very mild sedative. She's still kind of sleepy. So if you'd all like to go get some sleep, I can call you when she's ready to be discharged." The nurse says. She doesn't comment either way if JJ was raped. JJ had asked her not to tell anyone. The nurse thought that it's a rape survivors healing process to tell whoever whenever they are ready.
"I'll send everyone else to the hotel. I'm staying." Hotch says.
"Okay. Is there anything I can get you to make you a little more comfortable?"
"No. Thank you anyway. Could you come get me when she awake. I just need to see her." Hotch says, like a nervous father.
"Sure sir." The nurse says, patting his arm reassuringly. Then she turns and walks away. Hotch walks over to the group. Once they all stop talking and look at him, he gets ready to tell them what he was just told.
"Okay, listen. JJ was cut. It was a minor wound. Just a few stitches. She'll be fine. She's just flushing the GHB and mild sedative out of her body. She's probably going to be sleeping for a while. So, you should all go back to the hotel and get some rest. I'll be here and will bring her to the hotel when she's discharged. So go, if anything happens I'll call." Hotch says, trying to minimize the situation.
"I'm not leaving." Shawn says.
"Me either." Scott says.
"I can't leave." Daisy says.
"Fine! No one else is staying!" Hotch cuts in before everyone says their going to stay. So the rest of the group leave, reluctantly.
Jennifer's sleeping, but not a restful sleep. She wakes up and keeps looking around, looking for Josh and Walt. The nurse comes in and sees JJ awake.
"Hey there. How are you feeling?"
"Well, you sound like you're far away. Is this normal?" JJ ask, sitting up and getting a little pain in her side.
"From what little I know of the effects of GHB, yes. I talked to an Aaron Hotchner. I didn't tell him of the rape. But here's a card for a rape crisis counselor, a pamphlet about the morning after pill. These are your discharge papers and your scripts for antibiotic and pain meds. You need to take this first morning after pill now. The second is to be taken in twelve hours. If you don't take the second pill, then the first is ineffective. So it should be taken at," The nurse looks at her watch and calculates twelve hours. "Ten pm. Take it with food or milk or you'll get sick to your stomach, It's like the flu times ten. Do you have any questions?"
"Yes, will I ever remember what happened when I was drugged? Not that I want to remember a rape, but two men are dead and I don't know if I did it." JJ says, tears building in her eyes.
"I can't really say. Some people have and some people never do. Here's my cell phone number in case you need to talk and don't want to tell anyone you're with. I've been through a rape, so I know what you're going through." The nurse says.
"So have I. That one resulted in a baby. I gave her to a couple I knew. They don't know she's mine. They couldn't have kids, so I thought they were the perfect people to raise her. It was tough, yet in ways easy. No one knew of her. I went through the pregnancy and delivery alone. Except for a nice sweet nurse like yourself. Thank you for your help." JJ says, hugging the nurse.
"No problem honey. Us women have to stick together. Oh, here's another script. It's for xanax. Just in case you have a panic attack. If you have any bad reaction to any of these meds, come back in. Here's some new cloths. The others were cut off. I'll go let Mr. Hotchner know you're ready to go." The nurse says. She then leaves the room to let JJ get dressed. This is when JJ sees all the bruises and few cuts. She quickly starts to gets dressed.
"Mr. Hotchner." The nurse says, shaking a sleeping Hotch in one of the chairs.
"Wha…yeah." Hotch says, waking up.
"Ms. Jearau is getting dressed, then she'll be ready to go. She has all the paper work and scripts. Give her a few minutes. We had to give her new cloths, as you know Agent Hotchner, her cloths were cut off in search of wounds. Miss, if you knock first, you may go check on Ms. Jearau." The nurse says, with a smile.
"Thank you." Daisy says, bee lining to JJ's exam room. Daisy knocks.
"Who is it?" JJ asks, a little startled.
"Shel, it's me Daisy. May I come in?"
"Just a moment." JJ yells. Daisy can hear the agitation in her voice. A few seconds later JJ yells, "Come in!" Daisy turns the knob slowly and hesitantly opens the door.
"Hey Shel, are you okay? Do you need some help?"
"Hey Das, no I'm good. It's so great to see you again!" JJ says, uncomfortably reaching out to hug an uncomfortable Daisy.
"It's great to see you too." Daisy says, still hugging JJ. They pull apart. They both are smiling fake grins.
"Oh, Daisy could you call me Jen or JJ? Shelby died the day I left Horizon. But JJ has a fantastic life. She saves people. Well, almost saves people. I couldn't save Martha, Jess or… Anyway, I want to get out of here and go get something to eat. Will you go with me?" JJ asks.
"Sure, but let's get you back to the hotel so you can shower and change into something of your own. Plus, everyone wants to see you. All of the available Cliffhangers are here. Scott, Agent Hotchner, Agent Michaels are out in the hall waiting for you. No one wanted to leave until they had word that you were okay. You have a lot of people that love you. JJ, you're very lucky to have all these friends." Daisy says, trying to uplift JJ's mental state.
"I guess I am. I'm normally a very happy go lucky person. For some reason, officer Jensen kissed me outside the BPD. But I also get the feeling that someone else expressed their feeling to me. I was some place weird. I only remember bits and pieces. I remember seeing you, Sophie and Kate. Then being inside the house. The last clear thing I really remember was walking up stairs. Then it was kind of fuzzy. I believe I saw Jess' dead body. I also believe Josh had been nice. Then I was alone with Josh and Walt. I drank something. I couldn't move. Then I was in a different room," JJ says, squinting her eyes as if trying to see something across the room. "I was in a vehicle with Hotch. He was talking and holding my hand. Then I woke up here. I have a few stitches, but I'm fine." JJ says, smiling and shaking a little.
"Well, if you don't mind, I thought we could share a room at the hotel and catch up on the last ten years. It's been pretty lonely without my best friend." Daisy says, looking down at floor sadly.
"I would love to bank with my OLD friend." JJ smiles and jabs Daisy with an elbow.
"Hey! You be nice or Peter will put you on shuns!" Daisy says, playfully.
"Let's get out of here. I want to hear all about college and what you're been up to recently. You know, guys and work." JJ says, pulling Daisy's arm as they head out to the waiting room. They step out and the three guys rush up to the two girls.
"Jen, are you okay?" Hotch asks.
"Yes sir. Thank you for asking. Thank you all for caring so much. I'd really like to go to the hotel and shower. You know, get into some of my own cloths. I want out of here." JJ says, smiling. She felt a little uncomfortable knowing she had visible bruises on her face. She's grateful that those are the only visible marks that they can see. She starts walking and has a noticeable limp.
"What's wrong with your leg?" Shawn asks.
"My foot hurts. No big deal. Let's go guys!"
"May we sit with in the back seat?" Scott asks, about him and Daisy.
"Sure. I want to hear about your family." JJ says. Scott suttly grabs her hand to hold. JJ startled, pulls back, then grabs tighter. They smile at each other.
At the hotel, Emily and Penelope are nervously awaiting for JJ's return to the hotel.
"They should be here by now." Emily says.
"Let's give the another fifteen minutes, then call to see what's going on." Pen says. Their phone rings.
"Hello?" Emily answers.
"Em, we're leaving the hospital. We should be there soon. Have everyone else notified. She looks much worse than she really is. Let everyone know she has a bruised face and a limp. She has stitches in her stomach. She wants to shower and change. Then we can have a big party in a restaurant downstairs to welcome her out of the hospital. I'm hoping Daisy and Gideon can get JJ to open up about what happened to that house. The doc thinks she might not be able to remember what happened in there. She still has to say good-bye to Jess' body. Then id the bodies of Josh and Walt. She's the only one that can positively id them." Hotch says.
"I know. How are you doing Hotch? You sound tired and drained. I can give you a massage. I'm real good with my hands." Emily says.
"Sounds good to me. I could use one. Got to go, pulling up to the entrance to let the other in. Bye."
"Bye."
"Hotch?" Pen asks, smiling.
"Yes. Could you and Morgan spend some time in here so I can give Hotch an massage. He needs one. He could probably do without the razzing. Please?" Emily asks.
"Okay, but you owe me one. I'll go talk to Derek about it." Pen says, exiting the room.
Sorry it took so long to update. I hope this doesn't disappoint. I'm writing other stories. I have to work on the ones that I don't have writer block on. But I do have more of this story written in long hand. So I'm hoping it will get at least another chapter. Thanks for the reviews.