13 Hours Later

"Hey, Will, here you go," said Emily softly, having seen that Will was almost asleep. She handed him a coffee. "Have they said anything yet?"

Emily and the team had all followed the ambulance to the hospital, stopping only to pick up Will from where he had been briefly visiting his sons at home. When they had arrived at the hospital, it was to find that JJ had been whisked into surgery immediately after she had lost consciousness and started bleeding from her nose and mouth in the ambulance. They had found Reid sitting in the waiting room, tears pouring down his cheeks after witnessing it. After almost twelve hours, a doctor had emerged from the operating room to tell Will that JJ was out of surgery and in the ICU, and that they expected her to make a full recovery in time. She was unconscious at that time, but had since woken up. A nurse had laughed when she had told Will that JJ had awoken asking for him, and that every question they asked her was met with an 'I want Will'. So, Will had followed the nurse to the room JJ was currently occupying. As soon as Will had sat next to the bed, JJ had calmed down and the nurse had been able to check her over. That had all been done in ten minutes, then Will had returned to the waiting room.

"They're still waiting on the test results, but they think JJ will be fine. She doesn't seem to have lost any memory, she can move all her limbs and fingers and toes, and the X-rays of her back aren't showing any spinal damage. With rest and time, she should be able to come home in a week or so," answered Will after a sip of coffee. "Thanks, by the way. I needed this."

"You're welcome. Can she have visitors?"

"The doctor wants to wait until the scans of her brain are back for people to be in there, just so she doesn't get overwhelmed right after surgery. I mentioned that our boys are going to want to be with their mother, but they have to wait until tomorrow. Too much excitement right now, or something like that, anyway."

"I guess that's understandable. She's trying to help JJ get better. I'm sure Reid and Garcia are happy to stay the night so JJ's mum can go home for a bit."

"They both said they can look after the boys for as long as I need, and Sandy is coming back tomorrow afternoon, along with my mother. I'll have plenty of help," agreed Will. "Is it bad that I'm relieved I'll have that help? I don't want to leave JJ."

"Which is exactly how anyone would expect you to feel. Your wife needs you right now."

"So why do I feel like I'm wrong?"

Emily smiled. "Because you are a family man, and they are everything to you. Sometimes, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. This is that situation, unfortunately."

Will sighed. "I guess I just wish that there was something I could do, instead of just sitting here."

"Yeah, me too, Will. Me too."

JJ let her eyes flutter open as the sunlight warmed her face. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room, she turned her head and smiled. Will was sitting in the chair that was by her bed, fast asleep. Someone had draped a blanket over him. She didn't want to wake him, but she also wanted some water and didn't have the strength to reach it herself.

"Good morning," came a familiar whisper.

JJ turned her head in the opposite direction and found Emily standing in the doorway. She smiled a little, happy to see her friend. "Hi," she whispered, reluctant to make too much noise while Will was asleep.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Thirsty," JJ replied. "I can't reach it at the moment."

A grin spread across Emily's face. "No problem. Here you go." She held a cup out to her friend, steadying it when JJ's hand shook.

"Thank you," said JJ when Emily had taken the empty cup back. "How long has he been sleeping like that?"

"About an hour. He was finally allowed to come in here around two this morning. He stayed for about half an hour, then went home to check on the boys, and I stayed in here with you. He came back around six am, looking like he had been awake for years. Apparently, Michael wouldn't go to sleep for Reid and it took two hours to get him down, then Henry woke up from a nightmare and it took Will half an hour to calm him enough to go back to sleep. Poor guy was exhausted, but determined that he wouldn't sleep until you woke up, in case something happened. When I came back at seven this morning, he was sleeping there, shivering."

"You covered him."

"I couldn't leave him there to freeze. You seemed okay, so I borrowed the blanket that was left for you."

"Thank you, Em."

"Of course."

"And thank you for rescuing me," JJ said after a few minutes. "I don't remember much after you got me out of there, but I remember hearing your voice and I remember you not leaving my side in that hole. Thank you."

"Don't thank me. You don't have to. I did what anyone would have done."

"No, actually. Not many people would jump into a tight hole made by debris without a thought for their own safety."

Emily smiled again. "Maybe not. Regardless, I don't need a thank you. I just need you to recover. Alright?"