Hello! So here is chapter five! Only one review on the last chapter makes me sad but oh well. Not sure when I will be able to update again, but hopefully next week sometime. Enjoy.

Chapter 5

Shadows in the Night

JJ shot out of her bed the instant she heard Emily scream. She didn't care that it was the middle of the night or that she had been in the middle of an amazing dream; she honestly feared that something was truly wrong.

Her finger fumbled as she switched on the bedside lamp; she quickly knelt down by Emily's bed. "Hey, Emily, wake up. It's just a dream."

When she was still for a moment, JJ placed her hand on Emily's head but was shocked when she let out another muffled scream

"Em, come on honey. You need to wake up." She tried again, placing a hand on her shoulder. She knew from experience that waking someone from a nightmare wasn't always good, but her worry grew the longer Emily refused to wake.

There was pounding at the doorway and JJ got to her feet quickly and opened it, not bothering to see who it was; she knew the whole team had heard Emily.

Morgan stood in the doorway, gun drawn and breathing hard, Rossi and Hotch hanging back behind him and she saw a faint glimpse of Reid, still half asleep standing halfway in his own room across the hall.

"I can't get her to wake up." JJ said as she and Morgan hurried back to their friend's side.

Even thought she'd only been gone a few seconds, it already seemed that Emily had calmed, but she still wasn't awake.

"Prentiss." Morgan said forcefully and grabbed her shoulder; he knew something wasn't right.

Emily's eyes shot open and she took in a ragged breathe. Her hand immediately shot to her left shoulder, were it still ached in pain.

Suddenly she came into realization that she wasn't home alone in the comfort of her own bed, but she was in a hotel room surrounded by her concerned teammates. Her face instantly flushed with embarrassment.

"You alright there?" Morgan's voice was soft; like he was afraid he'd scare her if he spoke any louder.

She only nodded her head, not trusting her voice.

"I'll go get you something thing to drink."

Her attention went to Rossi who was standing closest to the door; he gave a sympathetic smile and then turned away. Hey eyes then fell on Hotch; his gaze was intense but also held a hint of concern.

"Try and get some sleep." Hotch said and gave a slight nod, he knew what those nightmares felt like and knew the last thing she wanted was to be interrogated by the team. "Morgan?"

Morgan let out a sharp sigh at the sound of his name. He knew he should leave, but he didn't want too, the sound of his friend's fearful cry still ringing in his ears. "You're sure you're okay?"

Trying to regain some dignity, Emily sat up in the bed, making sure she was still completely covered. "I'm okay."

He watched her a few seconds longer before following Hotch out of the room. Once the door closed behind him, the two women were trapped in an uncomfortable silence. Emily, still too embarrassed to speak and JJ had no idea what to say.

A soft knock at the door moments later saved them both from having to make the first move. As JJ went to open the door for Rossi, Emily took the opportunity to take her hair back into a messy ponytail, hoping that the redness in her cheeks had gone down.

Rossi smiled but didn't say anything as he sat at the end of her bed, handing her the cup of the steaming tea.

"Thank you." Emily said, thankful that her voice came out smooth and even.

"I figured you might need something to smooth your throat." Rossi said as he handed her a steaming cup of tea.

She graciously accepted; thankful as its warmth spread into her cold fingers and also glad that as she held it tight it masked the shakiness in her arms. Slowly taking a sip, she averted his powerful gaze.

"I'm uh gonna go grab myself a cup of coffee." JJ said, sensing that this may be a conversation that didn't need an extra set of ears.

Rossi gave a slight nod in acknowledgment but kept his gaze trained on Emily. Her eyes were blood shot and dark circled stood out against her pale skin. And even though he could tell that she tried to hide it, the trembling of her body did not go unnoticed.

Once he heard the door close, he slowly placed a hand on her knee, causing her to look up. It didn't surprise him that her eyes filled with tears, but it did make his sorrow for her bury even deeper into his heart.

Emily closed her eyes and a single tear escaped, rolling down her cheek until it fell slowly. "I couldn't make him stop."

"It's more than that, isn't it?"

She looked at him, her eyebrows pushing together in question.

"He may be the monster in your dreams, Emily, but he's not what makes you lie awake at night. "

Angrily, she brushed another tear from her cheek, ashamed that she had let her guard down so much; let herself become so exposed. She rolled her shoulder, trying to ease some of the tension so the throbbing pain would subside.

She was silent for a moment. Trying to form words to answer him in truth; after all she knew he was right and he deserved honesty. This was bigger than Chandler or Doyle. They may be the moving blocks that started her downward spiral but they weren't the core reason.

"Dave, I'm not sure I can do this anymore."

"There's nothing wrong with that. This job can be brutal; it's thrown a lot of curve balls into your life." He watched her for a moment, noting the distant look in her eye. "Why did you come back after Doyle?"

"I had to see if I could still do it." A sad smile pulled at the corner of her mouth, as if she were ashamed by her reason.

Rossi flashed a small smile. "You've proved that. So why are you still here?"

Placing the half empty cup on the nightstand, she began picking at her nails; she hated talking about these things. But she owed to Rossi, and to herself. She knew she couldn't keep burying it and acting like nothing was wrong.

"I don't know; because I love this team. We spend our days toeing the line between jaded and a good agent. I mean, we put ourselves into the minds of these horrible people and we're expected to leave it all at the office and go about our lives like normal."

Rossi took both her hands in his. "No one is asking you to act like nothing is wrong. No one is making your pretend to be alright if you're not.

And if you're putting that kind of pressure on yourself then you aren't the woman that I know. You're much stronger than that."

"And what if I'm not?" A hint of anger filled her voice as she spoke. Pulling her hands from his, she stood up, suddenly feeling claustrophobic just sitting there. "What if I'm not that strong anymore? What then?"

"Then no one would think less of you-"

"But you just said I'm stronger than that." She looked him in the eye as she spoke, no longer pushing away her emotions but letting them flood through her like fire; embracing them. "I am asking you, what if I'm not."

"You remember when you told me about Michael and Rome?" Rossi kept his voice even as he spoke, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

His question caught her off guard, pushing up memories she'd rather wish be kept locked away.

Rossi continued, knowing his question didn't need an answer. "You knew with conviction that something was wrong. You knew, in your heart, that it wasn't right. You were willing to fight against authority and jurisdiction for someone you hadn't seen in years."

Emily's voice had lost all passion; it was now soft and meek like a child's. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You have a passion that I've seen only a handful of times, and you could do anything you wanted with it. And yet, you choose to hunt monsters. This isn't just some job you do for the thrill, there's always a reason behind it.

Maybe right now you're not at your strongest, and considering the last year, some recovery time is more than justified. But if you let this go now…you'll never forgive yourself.

You came back after Doyle for more than just to prove that you could. This is what you do Emily. And you're good at it. Don't let some psychopath take that away from you."

Casting her blurry vision to the floor, she let the tears fall silently. She was no closer to figuring out what she was going to do, nor did she feel any less fear of the unknown that lay ahead of her.

But for the first time in a long time, she felt like she didn't have to face it alone.

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