A/N I'm glad everyone likes the story and thank you to anyone who reviewed. I'm glad Emily is finally out of the hospital, but I'm gonna miss getting to use all the medical terms, it appealed to my nerdy side! I may not be able to upload a new chapter tomorrow since I'll be visiting family who don't have any internet connection (the horror! :o), but I will try my hardest, and I'll try to make this a little longer to compensate!

I don't own Criminal Minds, if I did, it would have been Emily, not Will, marrying JJ in the season finale!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Chapter Ten

Emily was still awake when I got back, refusing to rest as I'd told her to. The card from Henry had an amazing impact on her mood and as soon as she'd seen it her stoic face blossomed into an infectious smile. She'd insisted that I keep it by her bed, so she'd always be able to see it, and I gladly obliged. I was in the middle of telling her a story about Henry when the doorbell rang. I got up and walked to the door, comfortable in Emily's apartment as if it was my own. Penelope, Spence, and Morgan stood there, Morgan clutching a kitty carrier.

"We figured since Emily's back, we could return this little guy to his home." Morgan offered. I wasn't quite sure how okay I was with everyone coming here, I didn't want to overwhelm Emily, but I couldn't rightfully kick them out. I allowed the guys into the apartment, stopping Penelope with a tug on her bright yellow sweater.

"I thought I said not too many people?" I muttered quietly, trying to mask my irritation.

"Well, Hotch and Rossi aren't here, and I couldn't quite blow them off, they're worried about her!" she exclaimed wildly. I rolled my eyes before sighing in defeat.

"Fine." I groaned, before speaking up, "Emily, Morgan, Pen and Spence are here, are you feeling up to visitors?" a muted "uh-huh" drifted from her room, and I led them all in. Morgan had passed the cat off to Reid, who was trying to stop Sergio from knotting his claws in his sweater-vest, climbing his shoulder and playing with his hair. The crazy crew filed into her room, Sergio taking a flying leap off Spence's shoulder, causing the gangly doctor to flinch in surprise, and the cat landed on Emily's bed happily. Morgan took Emily's hand before speaking.

"You had us worried there Princess."

"Well, I'm just waiting until I can get out of here, I'm fine! I'm going to go stir-crazy sitting here on medical leave!" she cried, a little too loudly, trying to convince everyone, including herself, that she was alright.

"You've got to recover first, we need you one hundred percent healthy before you're back to work, kicking down doors with my chocolate Adonis and chasing America's creepiest." Emily had the most adorable childish pout right about now, and it was taking all my resolve not to throw our friends out and kiss her senseless.

"I'm fine." She insisted, and this time it was Reid's turn to speak up.

"Denial is the first stage in the Kübler-Ross model, more commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, followed by anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The hypothesis was first introduced by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, compiled from her work with terminally ill patients, even though they can be used in people who've been through traumas, life-altering loss, loss of a family member, the ending of a relationship. The stages arent chronological, and the presentation varies from person to person-" Spence rambled on before I jumped in, noticing Emily's blank face as everyone in the room zoned out.

"That's Spencer-speak for, you aren't fine, right?" I quirked an eyebrow at Spence, who nodded in agreement, knocking his messy bangs into his eyes with the motion. Emily had gone silent, either on the verge of shutting down or bursting into tears, so I was grateful when Morgan changed the subject to more neutral terms.

"Hey, enjoy the vacation you've got, we had to ride Strauss for days for her to finally give it up. I swear that woman's gotten frostier than the North Pole and pricklier than a cactus recently! And she's still mad at JJ for the stunt she pulled with the plane." He informed, and I was still dreading that discussion. Between Will at home and Strauss at work, I wouldn't be staying at Emily's just to help her out; I would need a place to hide! Emily gave me a questioning look when Derek mentioned the plane stunt, I felt an embarrassed blush flood to my cheeks at he thought of my incredibly impulsive decision.

"Um yeah… I kind of promised the doctor in Syria that I was sending a plane to take you home without consulting anyone. Then Hotch supported me, but he had to coerce Strauss into allowing it. Basically I commandeered a Medevac plane to fly across the ocean there and back, all on the Bureau's dime." She had an amused look on her face, and just saying the decision out loud made it seem worse, "frankly I'm lucky to have escaped with my job."

"Aww, you messed with Strauss and risked your career for me?" I could tell she was putting on an act for our friends so they didn't worry, but I played along, hoping at the very least she'd trust me enough that she could be not-okay.

"Anything for you Em." I promised, which was essentially true. Morgan gave me a knowing look before saying goodbye, the others trailing along behind him. Before leaving he leaned down and gave me a hug, quickly whispering in my ear so the others wouldn't overhear.

"Take good care of her JJ." The door slammed shut, and all traces of warmth our friends brought to the home were dispelled to the far corners of the room. I walked back to Emily's room, where she was struggling to get up. I rushed to her side to help her, but was pushed back with an irritable sweep of her hand.

"I'm fine! I can walk to the kitchen by myself, you don't have to coddle me!" she yelled, and I was taken aback by her anger.

"I'm just here if you need help." I stepped back, putting my hands out in a pacifying gesture.

"Why are you here? What do you even want from me Jennifer? Am I your charity case now? Just a toy to play with? You tell me you love me and you take me home and play nursemaid to me, but why?" she was crying now, standing shakily on her own two feet and staring at me.

"I'm doing all this for you, because I love you Emily." I interjected, pouring every drop of emotion I felt for her, all my love and concern into those words, trying to convince her.

"But you're with Will, you have a son! You have a life! So why screw around with me? Why, why…" she panted heavily, the anger fizzling in her voice, betraying her true feelings, her fear. "Why was she even there? If she wasn't so damn concerned with her image and her name she would still be alive! And why did she have to drag me along? I wasn't even supposed to be there, this isn't supposed to happen to me! I'm not supposed to outlive my mother! I'm not supposed to hate her because she died before she could prove she really cared about me! I'm not supposed to- to" she broke off as her bad leg buckled beneath her, sending her scrabbling for her crutches which were already out of reach. I rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her into my figure before freezing, unsure how she would react to me holding her up. She didn't push me away, but instead righted her balance and leaned on the bed.

"I'm being horrible to you, I keep yelling or crying, I can't- I cant, why are you still here? Why haven't you left me like everyone else?" her brown eyes locked onto mine, and I froze under their penetrating gaze. From here I could see past all her walls and instead see the fear and frustration she tried so hard to keep a secret. I sat on the bed beside her, stroking her hair soothingly.

"Because I love you. You, Emily Prentiss, Not calm, collected Agent Prentiss or the dignified daughter of Elizabeth Prentiss the diplomat, I love you. And this is you. This is you after a devastating, horrific experience that no one deserves to go through. And despite what you may think, you're still there, that scared, frustrated, desperate, lonely, scarred part of you that you keep trying to hide, that you've buried deep behind your walls, that's you, that's who I love." Something clicked inside of her, a light flickered to life in her eyes, and before I knew it, her hand was knotted in my blonde locks and her lips were pressed roughly to mine. I could taste all her pain and fear in the kiss, salty tears tainting the luxurious feel of her plush pink lips. Without warning I felt her tongue tracing the line in between my lips, begging allowance. My heart fluttered in my throat as her tongue slid across mine, and I knew right there what she was doing. Trying to forget. I knew I had frozen for too long when I felt her softly nip my bottom lip, redirecting my attention. I pulled away slightly, and even before the hurt could flash in her eyes, I pressed a fleeting kiss upon her tender lips.

"I thought you- I thought." She stuttered, obviously taking my pulling away as a bad thing.

"No, it's not that. It's not that at all. But I don't want you using this," I gestured between us, not really sure what to call our relationship at this point. "To bury your feelings and hide." The hand that had been stroking her hair had moved down to cup her cheek, and I was intimately stroking the soft skin there with the pad of my thumb, wiping away her tears.

"Oh. But what about Will?" I rolled my eyes out of irritation at hearing his name, when it occurred to me. What I had just done, with Emily, counted as cheating. I had just cheated on him. I was used to being able to blame all the pitfalls in our relationship on his drinking, but now I'm just as culpable as him. "I'm sorry, I was the one who kissed you, it's my fault." Her face fell, and then I knew. I took her hand with a renewed strength.

"No Emily, we didn't do anything wrong, our relationship was over the moment he picked up that bottle of bourbon. I was just too desperate to feel loved and too cowardly to admit it out loud." I went silent for a few seconds, thinking about the past few months of our relationship. "He accused me of neglecting my son because I wanted to be here for you." I admitted in a small voice, and Emily softly rubbed my back as a response.

"You're a great mother, don't doubt that." She reassured me, and I laughed humorlessly.

"I'm supposed to be the one comforting you." Emily repeated my earlier motion, gesturing between us.

"Hey, in "this" I'm as here for you as you are for me." She pressed a soft kiss to my temple before laying back and yawning. I took that as an unspoken admission that she was tired, and I gently tucked her into bed before shutting the lights.

"Goodnight Emily."

"Goodnight Jen." She had taken to calling me by my full name, something few people dared to try, and only the stupid ones dared to try again. I had never liked how it sounded, but coming from Emily, she made it sound beautiful. I lay on her couch, snuggled under the blanket, staring out at the amazing view of the Capitol Building, an ironic choice for someone who hates politics. My eyelids grew heavy, distorting the car headlights and streetlights to make them look like twinkling stars that someone had stolen from the sky and just tossed on the ground carelessly. As the last fallen star faded to black, I heard a strangled cry from down the hall, Emily. I leapt up, abandoning the blanket and rushing to her room. Her blankets had been strewn aside, and she was writhing and whimpering in her sleep. As soon as I came closer and laid my hand on her shoulder her eyes flew open, and she clung to me in a desperate hug, trying to rid her mind of the awful images designed by her subconscious specifically to torture her. I held her close, feeling the sobbing that wracked her chest vibrate in mine.

"I couldn't save her." She whimpered softly.

"Save who?" I thought she might be talking about her mom, but I wasn't certain.

"That little girl, I was holding her hand, and the bomb went off, and she was gone." She recounted, trying to quiet her sobs. I had nothing to say, no words of comfort that would make the slightest difference to her. If I had I would have yelled them to the high heavens until she was better again, but I had none. Emily's always been struck hard by cases with child victims, we all were, but she took them personally, and witnessing a child being ripped from her grasp by the force of the explosion was something that would haunt her. I just let her cry until she physically couldn't cry any more if she needed a shoulder to cry on, I could do that, at the very least I could give her that. I moved to go back to the couch, not wanting to leave her, but not wanting to impose when her soft plea broke the silence.

"Can you stay with me Jennifer, please?" she begged, and without needing any more permission than that, I snuggled up beside her, tucking her head into my chest and wrapping my arms around her trembling figure. In the dark of night, when she let her guard down, she seemed so much smaller than she really was, and I counted myself lucky, in an odd way, to be able to witness that. Because Emily was one of the most guarded people I had ever met, and her trusting me to see her broken, was like I was handed the greatest treasure in the world.

A/N so what did you think? I wasn't so sure about putting the kiss in here, I wanted to hold off for a bit, but I felt that it was needed. Plus hopefully this helps tide you guys over until I really get into "this" as they call it. Please review; they're what give me the inspiration to write! Without all your feedback I would be like… a car without fuel! I'd just sit in the driveway! (or insert equally appropriate simile in here)

-Nightshade