A/N sorry again about the absence, but the odds seem stacked against me here! The renovating of the house means all hands on deck, moving furniture and packing boxes, which severely cuts down on writing time. Plus I've been slightly under the weather recently, and am currently writing this chapter under a splitting headache. And the icing on the crap-cake is that we're gonna have to unhook the computer, so I'll be seriously inconvenienced anyway! So I apologize ahead of time for spotty updates, but I assure you that I'm doing my very best! Also, in about a week's time we're going on vacation, to a cabin, where the only internet hotspot is a random site in the woods (while everyone else is relaxing or hiking or swimming, I'll be the weirdo sitting in the middle of the forest with a laptop whirring away!) I had hoped to finish the story before then, but I'm not so sure how likely that is now. But, since I'm an eternal optimist and I must look on the bright side, the down-time gives me plenty of time to not only mentally plan out this story (and improve the writing quality) , but brainstorm ideas for others! So enough about me, on to chapter fifteen!

-Nightshade

I don't own Criminal minds, if I did, then I wouldn't need to write a disclaimer at all.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Chapter Fifteen

After that night on the roof, Emily seemed to have been imbued with a new fire. I could see it glistening, lighting up her warm brown eyes from within like liquid starlight. Currently I could hear the delicious sound of her laughter playing over the air as she played hide-and-seek with Henry. He had finally officially moved into the apartment, and despite his rambunctious nature he was gentle and cautious of Emily's injuries, to which I was eternally thankful for. My cell phone buzzed at the arrival of a text message, and I scrolled through it quickly. Hotch wants to talk to me about Emily. I absentmindedly wondered if she would be able to return to her old job, with all the running and tackling unsubs, and gun-wielding involved, but I figured I'd leave the professional opinion to the myriad of doctors, therapists, and trainers who would need to sign off on her condition. I walked into the main room, where Emily was comically searching for the giggling toddler who was curled up underneath the coffee table. I missed this, that lightness in her posture, the smile on her face. She looked out from behind a curtain as I entered the room, and she tossed me a playful glance.

"JJ, I can't seem to find Henry! I've looked just about everywhere and I think I may have to give up! I didn't know I was playing with a hide-and-seek champion here!" she exclaimed happily, her smile widening infinitely at the chorus of mischievous giggles from the table. Henry popped out of hiding, his shaggy blond hair mussed in the cutest way possible.

"Here I am Auntie Em! I winned again!" he scrambled over and gave her a hug around her good leg, before glancing at me. "Mommy, I winned free times!" he held up three pudgy fingers proudly, before darting into my arms.

"Wow! That's awesome Henry! Now mommy has to go into work for a little bit, but I'll be right back as fast as I can, and in the meantime, maybe you can show Aunt Em all of your toy cars?" Emily's interest was piqued at the mention of work. My son leapt out of my arms and made a beeline to his room for his collection of cars. I seized the moment alone with Emily, immediately scooting over to her side and tucking my arm around her waist.

"So are we just going to keep sneaking around behind your son's back until he goes off to university?" she teased light-heartedly while settling into the physical contact.

"Nah, only until I figure out how to explain to him that his mom is dating his aunt without confusing him too much." I snuck in a quick kiss on her cheek as I smirked happily.

"Hmm… eventually I'm gonna have to start taking you on dates! At least I won't have too much trouble picking out clothes; I guess with this leg I'll be the one who wears the pants in this relationship." She gave a soft chuckle before gesturing to her wounded leg. She was still insecure about it, and probably would be for a while, but I was determined to help her through that small hurdle too.

"Duh! With those legs exposed in a skirt, I doubt I'd be able to resist you long enough to call it an official date!" I purred, giving her one of my mega-watt smiles along with a seductive wink. She smiled incredulously, and I swore I saw a slight tear of happiness glinting among the sea of cocoa that are her eyes. She gave me a fleeting kiss of gratitude, one that landed upon my lips with the softness and spirit of a butterfly.

"So when am I going back to work?" she perked up at the idea of working again, and I swore I'd never seen someone so excited by the prospect of chasing serial killers.

"That's what I have to talk to Hotch about. Of course that all hinges on me still having a job there as well." Before she could even open her mouth to answer my question I continued. "I may have yelled at Strauss when she refused to let me stay with you." I admitted sheepishly. Even though I wasn't looking at her, I could feel her smile.

"Well, if Hotch and Rossi can do anything about it, then they've put Strauss in her place as well, you'll be fine." She reassured, placing another chaste goodbye kiss upon my lips. I called goodbye to Henry before walking out the door, smiling at how domestic and natural it all felt. A life with Emily and my son. Everything I wanted was in reach, and Emily was improving by leaps and bounds. Of course there were still the occasional flashbacks where she'd freeze up momentarily due to a sound or a smell, and the nightmares still haunted her sleep, waking her up in the middle of the night crying for her mother, or that little girl, or sometimes simply just crying. But we dealt with it, and she healed faster than I had thought. It was as if that inner strength she'd always had was suddenly sick of being squashed down, and fought back in all its force, driving her out of the darkness. I pulled into my usual parking space at the BAU before heading to the bullpen area, which was oddly calm. Spence was sitting in his chair reading a thick book with a title that I couldn't pronounce and Morgan was zoned out to his music, or maybe even asleep. There was no sign of Penelope; she was probably hidden away in her lair playing one of those multiplayer internet games she was enamoured with. I walked over to Hotch's office; passing by Rossi's to see him buried in a file while nursing a cup of coffee. Hotch was up to a similar nothing, and invited me into his office silently.

"It's quiet here today." I felt the need to point out the obvious.

"Keep your voice down, I don't want to jinx it." He shushed, with a rare hint of humour to his voice. The vacant seat across from his desk was beckoning, and I sat down, waiting for him to address the elephant in the room.

"So, how's Emily been recently?" he asked professionally, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond. Do I tell him about her near-suicide?

"Well… there was a bit of a rough patch there, but she's bounced back quickly and she's excited to get back to work." You could see him making a mental note of that, before his face softened slightly.

"Do you think that she's ready?"

"I hope so, but she's healing, and this is just another obstacle she'll have to surmount. She'll have to adjust to the leg injury of course, the burns damaged some of the nerves and it's a bit stiff and awkward feeling at some points so she won't be kicking down any doors too soon-" Hotch cut me off gently.

"I mean psychologically." He clarified.

"Only time and experience will tell if she's ready on that front sir." I wasn't quite sure how she would adjust. We look at pictures of dead people all the time, which could trigger flashbacks. The sound of a gunshot was very similar to the sound of an explosion. Any part of this job could trigger her, and I truly couldn't predict how she'd react. Hotch got up, aligning the files on his desk before striding to the door.

"in that case let her know that she has a psychiatric evaluation next Tuesday, firearms requalification on the Thursday, before all that I need a form from her doctor that says she's physically fit for the job, and that we can't wait to have her back." I gave him a grateful glance before I was showed out of his office. The bullpen was as quiet as it was when I entered except for the constant flipping of book pages and the repetitive sound of Morgan snoring, and I slipped out unnoticed. I was anxious to get back to Emily's apartment, which was now simply considered home, to tell her the good news.

A/N there you have it! Emily's not magically healed, but she's doing exponentially better! It's nice to write some happier stuff once and a while! Happy reading!

-Nightshade