Chapter Text
They were on the jet. Everyone was exhausted as they were on back to back cases and the one they just wrapped up had been long and difficult. JJ and Emily were in the back next to one another and Emily had dozed off as soon as they finished ascending. JJ took a moment to admire the woman sitting beside her.
It was only in times like these, asleep and safely nestled in the clouds that Emily truly looked at peace. With every exhale a strand of hair that rested across her lips dusted up towards her nose before settling back down, only to softly rise up again. ever since the plane ride home from the case in Denver they had been closer with one another than anyone on the team, except for maybe Garcia.
Growing up, especially after Roslyn, JJ had never really had any close friends. She didn’t know what it meant when her chest tightened every time Emily looked at her, she didn’t know why her stomach fluttered when Emily touched her, and she wasn’t sure why, after almost a year, she still hadn’t told Emily about Will. This next case was in his jurisdiction, and she knew that Will and the BAU would be crossing paths. She was worried that Emily, trained as she was to read behavior, would figure out that her and Will LaMontagne were on more friendly terms than detective and SSA. Sure, she had thought of telling Emily countless times, but every time a big ‘what if’ would stop her. ‘What if she gets mad?’ ‘What if she stops talking to me?’ and soon her thoughts would spiral so much that she would decide against telling Emily all together. What worried her the most however, is that Emily would be happy for her. Whether or not she acknowledged it, JJ hated the idea of Emily jumping for joy at the news. Logically, JJ knew that the ideal situation would be Emily saying she was happy for them, but the thought of it made her inexplicably sad. Before she could think about it any longer however, she was shaken out of her reverie by a startled movement on her left.
~~~
Emily and JJ were on the plane. They were chatting and laughing, and the look on JJ’s face made Emily’s heart soar. She allowed herself to hope for a few lovely seconds before shoving that hope back into its compartment and slamming the door. In Emily’s eyes hope was a luxury, and therefore a waste of time. She contented to bask in the warmth of the blonde's presence, half listening to her babble on about some tv show she had started. But then something changed. She felt something cold on her wrist, and when she looked down she saw a thick iron handcuff. She could feel that her other wrist was encased too, but her eyes were moving very slowly. She finally managed to look back to JJ, and choked down a scream at what she saw.
JJ was strung up from the ceiling, hoisted into the air by her wrists. Her toes were just barely touching the ground, and from the way she hung limply she had probably been hanging for several hours. However, that was the least of JJ’s problems. All she was wearing was a ripped up t-shirt and a pair of underwear. Due to the position of her arms, the shirt only went to the top of her rib cage, where the carnage began. TW!! Her stomach and sides were lacerated with a variety of cuts, deep slashes and stab wounds, except for a small patch on her navel. She was also covered in burn marks and a plethora of bruises on her torso, arms and legs.
Emily tried to reach her, but she was too tightly restrained. Finally managing to look to both sides, Emily realized that she was chained in between two vertical pipes, the manacles on her wrist pulling so hard they were cutting into her skin. She tried to free herself for a second longer before realizing that it was fruitless. In desperation, she began to sob, looking at JJ for any sign that she was still alive.
To her immense relief, she saw JJ twitch, but began to scream when she saw a long gash carve its way into the empty space on JJs stomach. “JJ!! JENNIFER!!” Emily yelled over and over, but she didn’t, or couldn’t respond. The gashes continued for what felt like forever, but then they stopped. When Emily looked carefully at them however, she began to cry even harder. “YOUR FAULT” they spelled out, red with JJs blood. “YOUR FAULT. YOUR FAULT. YOUR FAULT.”
A deep chuckle filled the room, and Emily looked around wildly, but there was no one there except for her and JJ, bleeding out in front of her eyes. Soon the laughter faded, replaced by warm words spoken by a different person, along with an unspoken sense of safety. The words got louder and louder, and then Emily's eyes snapped open. end TW
~~~
JJ looked over when Emily flinched, and saw that she was still asleep. Emily began to whimper quietly, tears spilling from her eyes. JJ didn’t know what to do, but she instinctively knew that something was wrong. Emily never cried, never.
All of a sudden, Emily screamed. It wasn’t very loud, but everyone on the plane jumped up immediately, expecting the worst. How could they not, when they were surrounded by the worst of humanity every day?
“What happened?” Hotch said, peering over his seat to look at JJ. She was sitting there, hovering over Emily, but hesitating to touch her even as Emily continued to cry, every so often punctuating her tears with another shout.
“I- I don’t know Hotch! She just started to cry! And I mean- should I wake her up?” JJ said frantically, her hands moving to Emily's shoulders.
“No don’t!” Reid cried, “she's most likely experiencing a parasomnia, a- a night terror of sorts! Waking someone up while they’re so disconnected can be dangerous and disorienting for the person experiencing it. You know, it's interesting that Emily is having one, approximately only 2% of adults-”
“Ok Spence, but what do I DO? I have to help her! She's scared!” JJ cut in, still holding onto Emily's shoulders. She hated to see her friend look so terrified, so helpless.
“JJ! JJ! JENNIFER!!” Emily screamed, significantly louder, and JJ flinched. She never, ever wanted to be the cause of Emily's pain. JJ felt her own eyes prick with tears at the sight of Emily sobbing in front of her.
“Try and comfort her. You know, um, talk to her, be calm and quiet, and just be there for her. The rest of us should probably give you some space, extra stimuli can be detrimental when she wakes up” Reid explained quickly.
JJ nodded in return, eyes never leaving Emily. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched everyone else settle back into their seats. JJ carefully put one arm around Emily's waist, and the other one gently turned her in the seat so that JJ could pull her close. Her hand then began stroking Emily’s soft brown hair, pushing her bangs away from her face. She put her head on Emily’s shoulder and began to softly talk into her ear.
“Hi Em, I need you to come back to me. I know that you’re scared, but I’m right here, I’m ok. You’re ok, you’re safe with me.” JJ began, relief flooding through her when the sobs wracking Emily’s body began to subside. “Ok good, we’re ok, I got you Em. You’re gonna be just fine.” She pulled back to cradle Emily’s face in her palm, and ghosted her lips over the brunette’s temple. She gently pushed away some of the tears still leaking from the corners of Emily’s eyes, and realized that there were tears running down her face too.
All of a sudden, Emily's eyes shot open. “JJ?” She croaked, heart racing.
JJ gasped, “I’m right here Emily!”
Tears began gushing down Emily’s face anew as she took in the sight of Jennifer Jareau sitting in front of her unharmed, if a little teary. Noting that JJ’s arm was still around her, she burrowed into the blondes embrace, craving the physical affirmation that JJ wasn’t hanging from the ceiling and bleeding out.
“They- they had you! They hurt you and it was because of- it was all my fault!” Emily gasped out, struggling to push away the images of JJ that kept cropping up in her mind. She snaked her arms around JJ to clutch at her back, reassuring herself that JJ was ok.
JJ’s heart nearly broke when she heard Emily speak, she sounded so scared. For a while longer they just sat there, holding onto one another, before someone else on the jet coughed. It was quiet, but when Emily heard it she pulled back rather abruptly, shooting down the part of her that wanted to stay exactly where she was, holding onto the younger woman forever. JJ felt a pang of something in her chest when Emily pulled away, but she decided to ignore it.
Emily stood up and made her way to the small bathroom on the jet, realizing that she probably looked terrible. Once she got the door shut, she allowed herself a small smile. JJ had been acting a little different for almost six months now, and Emily if had to guess, it had something to do with her not-so-secret weekend travels. She had hesitated to ask Garcia where JJ was going yet, because she was afraid she already knew the answer. After all, Detective LaMontagne hadn’t exactly been subtle during their last visit. But no matter what, Emily knew that she would never forget the feeling of being completely safe in JJ’s arms, wrapped up in her warm scent of vanilla and cinnamon.
Looking into the mirror above the small sink, she was met with quite a sight. Her bangs were all over the place, plastered to her forehead in some places, and her eyes were red from crying. She was also blushing. ‘Because of the crying’ she scolded herself, because it definitely wasn’t the lingering memory of soft blue eyes only inches from hers. She fixed her hair, splashed some water in her face and mentally prepared herself to face the rest of the team. Emily could hear her mother’s voice ringing in her ears, ‘Prentisses don’t cry Emily, it shows weakness.’
She opened the door and was met with JJ, hand poised like she was about to knock before the door opened. “Are you ok Emily?” JJ said concernedly, deftly raising her hand and putting it on the startled woman's arm.
“Yes, I’m fine. I probably didn’t get enough sleep, what with the case and all,” Emily replied rather briskly. She slipped past the worried blonde and turned to address the rest of the team. “Sorry for all the commotion everyone, hope I didn’t disrupt anyones beauty sleep,” she grinned, forcing it to reach her eyes. “Have we debriefed on the case yet?”
“No not yet, I figured we all needed to rest for a short time,” Hotch replied, looking at the files spread on the table in front of him. “Let's get started.” He opened the laptop and with a few clicks Garcia appeared on the screen. “Hello my crime fighting superheroes, settle in because this one’s a doozy!”