"Faster, Morgan!" JJ ordered, matching the street signs they were passing to the GPS tracker Garcia had sent. Prentiss and Reid's SUV was at a standstill, just a stationary red dot on her phone a few miles ahead. Hotch and Rossi were in the back seat, strapping on Kevlar vests as they struggled to stay upright with Morgan's speeding. Rossi passed one over to JJ, who hesitantly slipped it over her head. As soon as it was fastened, JJ's eyes returned to the screen.
"Can you guess anything about their location?" Hotch asked, trying to prepare.
JJ shook her head. The stationary dot didn't align with any buildings or structures; it was like they were stopped in the middle of the highway, which didn't make sense.
"Okay. Then wherever they are, Morgan- you take the lead. Rossi the rear around back. JJ, you're with me behind Morgan."
Agent Jareau nodded, itching to get wherever they were headed. With one hand on her phone, the other was already fingering her holster.
Emily lifted her head and blinked, trying to focus her eyes. Everything was blurry, the sound of car horns etched in her ears like a tornado siren. Her neck was heavy and hard to hold, the pain in her shoulder searing; she kept blinking. Where am I? I know I was doing something… something important. The world around Emily began to come back into focus.
Reid was unconscious beside her, his forehead dripping with blood. "Shit! Spencer!" She struggled to lean over, checking his pulse. To the brunette's relief, it beat strongly under her fingertips.
"Fuck!" She panicked, remembering the car in front of them. The amber alert- that's what I'm was doing. Chasing the unsub. Somehow, Reid had crashed into the back if the SVU.
The passenger-side door was crushed shut, unable to be opened, so Emily kicked the remainder of glass out of the frame. Ignoring the pain, she used both arms to pull herself out.
The SUV they were chasing had crashed into the highway barrier, its front end wrecked from impact after spinning around. Carefully, she approached its side; one suspect was slumped over in the driver's seat, another screaming for help in the seat by him.
"Help!" He cried, pleading. "My legs, they're stuck. Please!"
"FBI! Let me see your hands!" Her voice was surprisingly calm, the Glock steady in her left hand.
He didn't move, failing to let her see his hands. "You shot the tire and we lost control!" The voice whimpered. "You shot the tire!"
"I'll shoot more than the goddamn tires if you don't show me your hands!" Emily bellowed. Still, nothing. But Emily could see a third figure squirming in the back seat; it was the perfect sized shadow for that of a five-year-old boy. She took a step closer to the passenger window. "Hands! Now!"
Emily inched further along, barely ten feet away. The unsub called out, "Are you going to help me?"
"Not until I see that you aren't armed. Here's what I want you to do- put both hands through the window and place your left on the handle; open the door slowly."
"Okay! I'm trying. I have to readjust so I can reach," the guy started to say, his voice quivering. "Just give me a min-"
Before he could finish, Emily saw the reflection of a gun in the shattered side view mirror.. "Move and I'll shoot!" She screamed, stepping to the right a few degrees so she'd have a clear shot.
The figure jolted, extending the .22 out the window. Before he could fire, Emily squeezed the trigger and watched as his body went limp. The the brunette knocked the rifle out of the vehicle after checking his pulse, then opened the rear passenger door and found Adam Schwabber staring back at her, clutching a toy dog to his chest. "Hi Adam, my name is Emily. I know you're scared, but I'm a police officer and I'm going to take you back to mommy. Okay?" She did her best to smile warmly, knowing that her present state wasn't doing much to instill confidence. He nodded, but continued to frown.
"Come on, little guy. Let's get you out of here."
JJ stopped breathing when she saw the wreck. The hood of Emily's SUV was smashed into the bumper of the unsub's, its windshield lined with bullet holes. Reid was collapsed against the driver's side window, but Emily wasn't in the vehicle. Rossi went to Spencer as the rest of the team surrounded the unsub's car, weapons drawn.
"Don't shoot!" Emily's voice rang from the back seat of the SUV. "I've got Adam. But I can't get him out. His leg is pinned."
Hotch was still cautious to approach. "What about the two up front?" He called, staring through the mirrors for signs of movement.
"Both dead. One from the crash; one tried to shoot me. "
That was all the confirmation JJ needed before breaking orders and choosing to climb into the back with Emily. "Adam, this is Jennifer." Emily smiled, running a thumb under his chin. "She's my best friend and she's going to help us. Is that okay?"
The kid nodded. JJ tried to focus on him, but it was hard to ignore the bright red splotches oozing from Emily's bandage- or the blood trickling from her scalp and right eye. "Hi, Adam. Can you tell me if anything hurts?"
He pointed to the right leg pinned between the driver's seat and the middle console. "I tried, but I couldn't work it free." Emily frowned, staring at where his foot was trapped. "Not with one arm, anyway."
"Adam, I need you to be really brave for me, okay? Because I know this is scary and that it hurts, but if you trust me, by the time you count to ten, we'll get you out of here. Can you do that? Can you trust me?" JJ smiled.
Adam looked to Emily and back to JJ before nodding again. Emily took his hand in hers and began to count with him, starting at one and going slowly.
JJ first worked at his shoe, trying to wiggle his foot free. When that didn't work, she decided to try a new approach; using all her strength, she pulled the seat cushion to the side, opening an inch of space between it and the console. Emily quickly pulled his leg free.
"See?" That wasn't so bad, JJ said, relieved.
Reid had come to in the ambulance, but the doctors still insisted on doing an MRI on for he and Emily. And she had another X-ray done of her shoulder, just to ensure that nothing was fractured or worsened in the accident.
Both agents were diagnosed with concussions, but Reid was the only one forced to stay overnight. Emily was free to go, the nurses unwilling to fight with her again about observation being a good idea. Morgan drove her and JJ back to their room before heading back to the hospital to stay the night with Reid.
"Kiss him goodnight for me." JJ said, hugging Derek before closing the door.
Emily's head was pounding, but the adrenaline was still pumping through her veins from earlier in the day. "Are you hungry?" She asked, trying to avoid any deeper conversation.
JJ felt the distance, but chose to ignore it for now. "A little. Want me to order something?"
The brunette tossed her the room service menu. "Can you just get me a salad? I don't want anything too heavy."
"Sure." JJ replied, eyeing her friend more than the menu. She was surprised to watch Emily walk into the bathroom and lock the door. A few seconds later, the water turned on.
JJ frowned but went ahead and ordered the food, using the opportunity to change. She sat down on the bed they had shared the previous night, but then switched over to the extra queen bed sitting a few feet away. As the water turned off, she quickly jumped back to the other bed, unsure of where to sit or what to do.
Emily came out, toweling her hair, to find JJ's eyes following her. "What?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
"Nothing." JJ sighed, unsure of what to say.
The brunette continued to change, stumbling a few times as she reached for her clothes or tried to brush her hair. "Can I help with anything?" JJ asked, uncomfortable with the silence.
Emily responded with a sharp, "No."
It felt like a blow to the pit of JJ's stomach; she had to fight back tears. "Em, I know today was- rough… but what's going on? Did I do something? We were getting so close and now, it's like you hate me." Her voice trailed off, lost for words.
Emily sunk into the mattress. "No, Jen. I'm sorry." Her tone shifted, softening. "I don't know what's wrong with me. But I promise, you haven't done anything. I want you here with me."
The butterflies returned to JJ's stomach. "Really?" She asked, hopeful. "Because if you don't want me here, you just have to tell me. I'll leave. I can go get a room with Garcia or something"
"Trust me, Jen. There is no one I'd rather spend a night with. Especially after a day like today. I'm sorry I'm being weird. Maybe I just need some food." She smiled, repositioning herself so that her good arm could wrap itself around JJ. "I love you. You know that."
JJ immediately relaxed, recognizing the weight of the fear she had been carrying about losing Emily all day as she let it go. "I love you too, Em. Always."
The doorbell sounded and JJ tore herself from the blankets to answer it, balancing two trays of food carefully as she tried to clear of the desk.
"Em, food is here." She said, popping off the lids.
No response.
"Emily?" JJ turned around. Emily was fast asleep, her uninjured arm still under JJ's pillow.
JJ melted and put the containers in the fridge, choosing instead to crawl into bed and cling to what she had feared had been lost most of day. When Emily didn't stir at the shift in weight on the mattress, JJ got brave- overpowered by the sensuous scent of a freshly showered Emily, JJ curled up close and rested her cheek against the worn fabric on the brunette's chest, allowing her hand to sleep on Emily's bare skin between her t-shirt and the waistband of her shorts.
Emily, in a daze, felt the change in position and eased into it, her breathing becoming more relaxed as the two agent's heartbeats synched into rhythm.
Hazily, she opened an eye to be sure that JJ was really sleeping with her like this, that it wasn't a dream. She tenderly smiled as they both drifted off to a peaceful sleep.