"Emily? Can you hear me?"

JJ's voice sounded distant as if she were miles away, instead of in the driver's seat of the SUV. Emily's head was suddenly swimming, pounding with pressure and she winced in pain. She had waited so long to have this conversation with JJ, the conversation where they would finally lay their feelings out on the table and be honest with each other.

"Jayje?" Emily whispered as her vision began spinning. She blinked in confusion, while the images of JJ, of the SUV, of everything around her melted away and gave way to a bright light. She cried out in agony as the pressure in her head built and the light flooding her eyes overwhelmed her.

"Emily, I'm right here," came the blonde's calming voice. Emily felt a hand on hers, but the room was too bright to fully focus on much else.

Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before using all her strength to open them again. She was staring into florescent lights and a white ceiling. Her mouth was dry and she heard the robotic beep of a heart monitor.

"What..." Emily trailed off finding it hard to speak.

"That asshole slammed your face into a table, you've been out for two days." JJ answered, knowing what Emily had been trying to ask.

"Two days?"

"Yeah, we got him though. Ryan Gentry is one sick fuck. We found all the evidence we need at his house," JJ explained, gently caressing Emily's hand.

"Gentry? But what about the other victims?" Emily questioned

"What other victims? Em, we took him down in the bar. Don't you remember? He came at you with a knife!"

Emily was suddenly trying to remember what happened. She saw visions of the bar fight, her head reminding her of how hard Ryan Gentry had slammed her face into a table. But if she had been out for two days... It meant everything else, the hotel, the second night at the bar, the safe house, none of it had happened.

"Oh, doctor Barner! She's awake!" JJ announced to the doctor entering the room.

"Barner?" Emily asked, looking up at the doctor.

"Hello, Agent Prentiss. That was some concussion you suffered. Don't worry, Agent Jareau hasn't left your side for even a moment." The doctor smiled kindly with a nod towards JJ who blushed slightly.

"But I remember everything so clearly. There were two more victims and we went back to the bar and the hotel only had one bed," Emily rambled as she tried to piece everything together.

"One bed, huh?" Morgan quipped as he entered the room. "Welcome back, Princess."

"It's common for head trauma patients to have vivid dreams when they're unconscious. Sometimes, the brain doesn't realize it has been injured so it goes on to continue the story line of whatever was happening, in your situation it sounds like you were still working the case," Dr Barner explained as she scribbled notes in Emily's chart.

"Sounds about right. Still working away even after being knocked out cold," JJ laughed. She sat on the edge of the bed, still holding Emily's hand in hers absent-mindedly.

"Well, all your tests look normal, I'd like to get one last MRI to monitor the swelling, but you should be able to go home tomorrow. For now, I think you should just rest." Doctor Barner checked a couple of numbers on the monitor showing Emily's vital signs, then pushed a dose of morphine through Emily's IV, to make her a bit more comfortable.

"Thank Doc," Derek shook the doctor's hand on her way out.

"We really got the guy?" Emily winced as she tried to sit up. Derek leaned in and helped support her, so she could get more comfortable.

"Yep, thanks to you two and your convincing undercover skills," he laughed.

"Well, I guess we'll let you rest," JJ offered. She stood up, motioning towards the door.

"Actually, I don't mind the company." Emily whispered shyly. Her mind was replaying the final moments of her dream and she wanted so terribly to tell JJ everything that had happened.

Taking the hint Derek kissed Emily on the forehead and headed towards the door, "I'll go pick up some lunch and call Hotch to let him know you're awake."

"Thanks, Derek," Emily replied as he made his exit.

"The rest of the team is already back in DC, but Morgan wouldn't leave until he knew you were out of the woods," JJ said softly.

"And apparently neither would you," Emily smiled.

"Well, I am your wife after all!" JJ laughed, the sound filling the small hospital room, transforming the mood from sombre to cordial with just the tone of her voice.

Emily let the sound calm the anxiety which had begun to settle in her chest upon waking up. The pain medication was coursing through her veins, lessening the pressure in her head while also weighing her eyelids. She fought the urge to close them again, still wanting to talk to JJ about what had happened.

"Em, I was so worried," JJ whispered. She brushed Emily's hair out of her face, while blinking back tears.

"Tis' merely a flesh wound!" Emily replied in her best Monty Python voice. It was just enough to break the seriousness in JJ's eyes and a small grin slipped across her face.

"I'm just glad you're okay," JJ wiped the corners of her eyes. "So, tell me about your dream. What's this about a bed?"

Emily blushed as all of the images of her dream came rushing back to her. JJ cuddling her at the hotel when she had a bad dream, the second night at the bar, the wet t-shirt contest (maybe she wouldn't tell JJ that part), the safe house, all of it had been concocted by her subconscious. What did it all mean? She had even imagined Doctor, or detective, Barner. She must have heard the name while she was out and it had made it's way into her dream. Emily suddenly understood why Dorthy was so confused to wake up at the end of 'The Wizard of Oz', it had been the most magical two days of her life, but none of it had actually happened.

"It was nothing, really," Emily looked away to hide the flush of her cheeks. Nothing, was the exact opposite of what she had imagined. She thought back to how good it had felt to have JJ's arms wrapped so tightly around her body when she was having nightmares. How calming and easy their conversations had been. She thought of the flirtation between them at the bar and how the "Detective" had urged her to make a move. She should have guessed it was all her imagination, since everything seemed to be going so well.

"Well, whatever was going on in that head of yours it seemed to be pleasant," JJ said. She watched Emily's expression, trying to figure out what exactly the brunette was clearly trying to hide. "You were smiling in your sleep a lot."

"Despite being concussed, I suppose it was nice," Emily admitted. "You really didn't need to stay here the whole time. You must be exhausted, I can't imagine that couch is very comfortable." Emily pointed towards the small loveseat situated at the opposite end of the room.

JJ stretched her back and yawned, she had spent the past two days so worried about Emily, she hadn't actually realised how sore and fatigued she was. Now that the constricting anxiety had subsided, she was heading towards an adrenaline crash and she felt like she would be able to sleep for days. Emily moved over in the bed, patting the free space next to her. JJ nodded in understanding, climbing into the small area to lay her head on the pillow next to Emily's.

"Get some rest, Jen."

JJ smiled softly and shut her eyes, falling asleep almost immediately. Even after days of being cooped up, JJ was beautiful laying next to her. Emily watched JJ drift off to sleep, wondering if JJ would ever think of her in the same way, if she would ever truly feel attracted to her in the way Emily felt throughout the course of her prolonged dream. Emily sighed, while the something she had always felt for JJ, but had never been able to place a name to, was fluttering in her chest. That familiar feeling settled in the pit of Emily's stomach as she realised suddenly, unmistakably, the something she had felt for years when she looked at JJ, was very clearly and obviously... love.

Emily stifled back tears as she let the realisation wash over her fully. She nestled into the pillow as the morphine pulled her back to sleep. "For what it's worth, I could get used to this too." she whispered softly, closing her eyes, hoping maybe she could return to the dream where everything had felt so right.