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“Paging Drs Jareau and Garcia to the ER.” the voice over the tanoy boomed through the hospital, making the petite blonde jump, and her best friend giggle beside her.
“Six years in this hospital and she still makes me jump every time she talks through that goddamn speaker.” JJ groaned.
“Won’t be long Jayje and we’ll be going for our boards and be outta here!” Penelope babbled excitedly.
JJ was a 5 th year resident at Grey Sloan Memorial along with her best friend and fellow doctor, Penelope Garcia. She'd already known her specialty from her first day in medical school and knew she would thrive as a general surgeon. Currently, the pair were in the Ortho wing of the hospital, having just finished their lunchbreak.
“You heard her Jareau, down to the pit.” Dr Torres ordered from behind the desk, as head of the Ortho department and another close friend, she nodded and started the short journey down to the first floor of the hospital.
“I wonder who we’ve got to deal with today. Car accident or maybe a failed suicide attempt...” Penelope continued to chat away, JJ rolling her eyes at the blonde’s enthusiasm for a gruesome medical case. The ER was bustling with energy when they walked through the heavy double doors, heading straight to the desk to answer the page and grab the patient file.
“Get the hell off me, I’m fine!” JJ heard a woman raise her voice from the small room beside her, trying to tune it out to listen to the nurse behind the desk.
“Fair warning, she’s pissed to be here. 29-year-old female suspected broken ribs, nasty head lac and possible internal bleeding.” the nurse pointed in the direction where the heated argument was happening.
“Thanks Grace.” JJ smiled before turning on her feet and walking towards the small side room. She knew exactly where this woman was, and almost stopped in her tracks when she got a good view of the patient through the open door. She was gorgeous, even with half her face covered in blood and a decent sized gash on her forehead. She was furious, the tone of her voice intimidating. JJ wasn’t one to cower away from an angry patient, she didn’t take shit from anyone, and this woman certainly wasn’t going to be the first one to break her. Penelope went in first, getting her consult out of the way so that JJ and Dr Shepherd could assess her other injuries after.
“Miss Prentiss.” Penelope called out.
“It’s agent.” the woman snapped back.
“Sorry, Agent Prentiss. I’m Dr Penelope Garcia, the Ortho consult on your case. How are you doing?” Penelope smiled awkwardly at the abrupt comment from the brunette.
“I’m fine, I don’t need to be here.” she huffed.
“Prentiss I’m not gonna tell you again. Sit your ass on the bed and let the lovely doc check you out.” Derek Morgan growled from beside the bed.
“Thank you, sir. It says here that you might have a couple of broken ribs, I just need to have a feel to see if we can rule it out or not.” Penelope explained, trying to ignore the blush on her face from the man’s compliment.
“I’ve had broken ribs before, I can tell you they’re not. Probably just bruised.” Prentiss shrugged, wincing at the pain shooting through her.
“Well, I'd like to check just to be sure. Do you mind sitting up straight for me?” Penelope asked, the brunette huffing before doing as she was told. Penelope did her exam and concluded that the woman was right, nothing broken but certainly bruised. “Okay, you’ve got the green tick from Ortho. I'll send our general surgeon over and she can have a look at your tummy, and I'll make sure that nasty cut on your head gets seen to asap.”
“Thanks doc.” Derek nodded, smiling brightly at the bubbly blonde before she walked away quickly. JJ got the go ahead from her friend, and Dr Shepherd joined her just in time to assess the head laceration.
“Miss Prentiss, let’s take a look at that cut.” Dr Shepherd smiled, containing his laugh when the woman rolled her eyes.
“It’s agent.” JJ and the brunette both said at the same time. Morgan and Dr Shepherd looked at each other with a smirk.
“Apologies, Agent.” Derek Shepherd smiled.
“I’m Dr Jareau, I heard you might have some internal damage. Can you tell me what happened Agent Prentiss?” JJ started, feeling the brunette’s dark eyes boring into her very soul as she stood at the end of the bed.
“Uh, we were chasing the unsub-”
“Unsub?” Shepherd looked at the two agents.
“Unknown subject. We're with the FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit.” Derek explained.
“Yeah, anyway. We were chasing the unsub, he disappeared from my line of sight, so I stopped to take a breather and outta nowhere he tackled me. He's like over 200 pounds so I think you can imagine the force in which I hit the ground.” Emily scoffed, rolling her eyes again. JJ stood there and wondered if the agent was always this blasé about chasing a murderer.
“Dr Garcia ruled out broken ribs?” JJ asked.
“Yup, just bruised.” Prentiss nodded.
“Okay, I just need you to lay back so I can check your head.” Dr Shepherd suggested, nicely of course as not to piss the brunette off anymore. “How did you get the cut Agent?” he continued doing his exam, checking her pupils and looking at the laceration. He placed a gauze pad over the wound, making sure it’d be clean until someone came and stitched it up.
“Uh, he had a gun, pistol whipped me.”
“Did you at any point lose consciousness?”
“No.”
“Okay, once Dr Jareau here has checked you for any signs of internal bleeding, I want you to get a head scan.” Dr Shepherd concluded, scribbling down notes in the file before handing it to JJ and leaving.
“This shouldn’t take long. I’m just going to roll your shirt up, is that okay Agent?” JJ asked politely. Emily nodded, arching her back to allow the blonde doctor to do so.
“I’ll stay as long as you need me doctor.” the brunette smiled. “And please, call me Emily.”
“Of course, Emily.” JJ nodded.
“You create merry hell about comin’ here and all it took was a pretty little blonde to be your doctor and you’re acting all nice again?” Derek raised a knowing eyebrow, teasing his best friend.
“She’s being nice to me.” Emily shrugged, making JJ laugh.
“The other two doctors were nice to you, and you were an asshole Prentiss.” Derek scoffed.
“She’s pretty too...” Emily smirked.
“She has a name.” JJ said bluntly, not liking being spoken about like she wasn’t there.
“And that is?” Emily raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“Dr Jareau, or you can call me JJ, I don’t mind.” JJ smiled.
“JJ, what’s the first J for?” Emily asked.
“Jennifer.”
“Hmm, Jennifer. Pretty name for a pretty lady.” Emily winked, watching the blonde blush at the compliment. JJ tried to distract herself from the blatantly obvious flirting from her patient, rolling her hands over the brunette’s stomach.
“So, I can’t feel anything serious, but I want to be sure by getting an abdominal scan done alongside the one Dr Shepherd requested. Don't want you walkin’ out of here thinking you’re fine and you’re not.” JJ explained.
“Sure, how long will it take?” Emily asked.
“I can take you up and get the scans done now, you’re my last patient of the day.” JJ smiled.
“Let’s go then Doc, I've got places to see, people to do.” Emily sat up quickly, wincing again at the pain rocketing through her abdomen. Derek sniggered at Emily’s comment, playfully swatting her on the arm.
“I don’t have to tell you that there shouldn’t be any uh-” JJ coughed awkwardly, “partaking in any sexual activities whilst you’re healing.”
“Not even with you?” Emily furrowed her brows.
“With anyone.” JJ gave her a semi-serious look, making the brunette regret the remark immediately. Inside however, JJ was suppressing her giggles and the heat that was rising in her face.
“Prentiss for god sakes.” Derek mumbled, his hands covering his face in embarrassment for his colleague.
“What?! I’m just tryna lighten the mood.” Emily rolled her eyes. “Sorry doc, I was just joking.”
“You’re fine. I'm just gonna get a wheelchair and I'll take you up. Agent Morgan, we won’t be long and then I'll stitch up her head lac and you can get on your way.” JJ smiled to Derek, him nodding in understanding.
Emily’s scans came back clear, no internal bleeding or damage to her brain, unless you count word vomit a brain injury because she couldn’t stop embarrassing herself in front of her doctor. She was back down on the ER floor, in a room alone with the pretty blonde whilst she was stitching up her head.
“Where’d your friend go?” JJ asked.
Emily shrugged, “Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s hooking up with a nurse right now.”
“Ha. So, do you work here Emily?” JJ asked, changing the subject quickly.
“No. We're based in Quantico; we travel all over assisting police departments giving profiles for unsubs.” Emily gave her a small smile, trying not to move her face too much whilst the blonde was patching her up.
“Ah, I wondered why I hadn’t seen you around before.” JJ chuckled.
“How long have you been doing this doc?” Emily asked.
“6 years, I've got my boards next month and then I'm moving for a fellowship at another hospital.” JJ revealed.
“Aren’t you like 22?” Emily quizzed, thinking the blonde looked too young to be that far into her medical career.
“28 actually. I may have been put forward a year or two in high school.” JJ laughed.
“Wow, smart and beautiful. Don't stumble across that every day.” Emily grinned.
“Thank you, Emily.” JJ blushed, finishing up the stitches on Emily’s head. They looked clean and neat and would most likely leave little to no scarring once healed. “Okay, I think we are all done here.”
“Damn, you sure? I was kinda enjoying myself here.” Emily slapped her hand on her thigh lightly, playfully showing her annoyance that their time together had come to an end.
“You’ve changed your tune.” JJ laughed loudly.
“Wouldn’t you if you had a beautiful, smart and friendly doctor to look after you?” Emily posed.
“You’re persistent Agent Prentiss, I'll give you that.” JJ patted the brunette on the shoulder and rolled backwards on the chair.
“And if I'm ever in Seattle again?” Emily sat up, raising an eyebrow at her question.
“Don’t tackle unsubs and end up in the ER because I won’t be here to look after you.” JJ smirked.
“So, that’s it then.” Emily looked sad at the thought of never seeing Jennifer again.
“Sorry.” JJ gave her an apologetic smile, looking straight into brown eyes.
“Prentiss! We ready to go?” Derek walked in the small room, breaking the moment the two women were sharing.
“Uh, doc says I’m good.” Emily shook herself from her trance, catching herself getting lost in those icy blue orbs.
“She’s okay. I'm requesting that you take it slow for a couple of weeks whilst you heal, so no chasing axe wielding murders, and uh, go easy on the interpersonal activities Agent Prentiss.” JJ chuckled.
“Awh man, you’re ruining all my fun.” Emily rolled her eyes jokingly, then winking at the blonde doctor.
“It’s two weeks princess, I’m sure you’ll cope being on the bottom for a bit.” Derek joked, earning a smack round the head for the comment.
“I do not ‘go on the bottom’.” Emily snapped back, pointing a finger at her friend.
“And that’s my cue to go and finish my shift. Take care of yourself Emily Prentiss.” JJ let her hand rest on Emily’s shoulder. Saying goodbye to the brunette was not what she wanted to do, but she had to.
“You too, Jennifer Jareau.” Emily smiled, her own hand resting over the blondes on her shoulder.
JJ left the room quickly after, waving goodbye to the two agents and went up to the locker room on the next floor.
Emily left the hospital feeling a little sad. There was something about the blonde doctor that did something to Emily, she couldn’t quite describe it.
6 months had flown by since JJ and Emily had their encounter and JJ had received her marking for her boards, smashing it out of the park and landing herself in the top 5% in the country. The hospitals she’d interviewed at for fellowships were practically begging her to join their teams, and of course JJ chose the best one which was also the closest to home so see her family as often as she liked. Penelope was also one of the lucky ones, having scored well in her own exam and ended up choosing the same hospital as JJ to carry out her Ortho fellowship.
“Are you excited?” Penelope looked over to her friend on their flight, practically bouncing in her seat.
“Of course I am PG! I will say I think I'm more excited to decorate our house than I am to start at the hospital.” JJ laughed.
“Me too! Ooh this is going to be so good Jayje, the start of the rest of our lives as fully qualified doctors!” Penelope squealed, catching the attention of several other passengers onboard the plane. She lifted her plastic cup of vodka and orange juice and proposed a toast to her best friend.
“To the rest of our lives together Penny!” JJ grinned, clinking her identical plastic cup with the other blondes.
“Emily, don’t be an idiot.” Derek huffed.
“Morgan, I can pull it out, it’s barely in there!” Emily groaned, standing next to the ambulance.
“Miss, we advise you do not do that.” the paramedic grabbed Emily’s hand before she had a chance to pull the 6-inch piece of glass out of her abdomen.
“Prentiss, get in the ambulance or I’ll fire you.” Hotch threatened.
“You wouldn’t...”
“I will. Get in and get yourself sorted out at the hospital.” Hotch ordered, pointing to the vehicle with bright flashing lights.
“Fine.” Emily rolled her eyes, groaning loudly.
“Be extremely careful getting on the gurney miss, we don’t want to move the glass.” the paramedic guiding Emily onto the bed and shut the doors behind him.
“Give her an hour, if we’ve not heard anything then go over and see if she’d made nurses cry again.” Hotch spoke to Derek, who just nodded in agreement.
“Prentiss - an hour in a hospital without making anyone cry... we’ll be lucky.” Derek scoffed, hearing Hotch laugh in response.
It took 15 minutes to get to George Washington University Hospital, and Emily was already finding herself with a short fuse for being messed around with. She'd fallen out with the paramedic riding in the back with her, mostly because she didn’t want any medication and them insisting because after the adrenaline had worn off, she’d most likely be in a fair amount of pain.
“I’m fine. Just get me in the damn room and find a doctor who can help me out.” Emily huffed. “Please.” the paramedic just nodded. Emily knew she was being a pain in the ass, it wasn’t their fault that an unsub had decided to blow himself and his house up, causing the piece of glass protruding from her abdomen to hit her. She was wheeled in, nurses flooding around her as she was sent into the first free trauma room.
“Miss, are you in any pain at all?” A short brunette nurse asked, cutting her shirt open around the penetrating wound.
“None.” Emily spoke loudly, fully laid back on the trauma bed once she’d been transferred over from the ambulance gurney.
“A warrior queen.” The nurse chuckled.
“You know it princess.” Emily smirked, watching the nurse blush at the comment she’d made.
“The doctor will be here any minute and we can talk about getting this new accessory removed.” the nurse smiled, reassuring her patient the best she could whilst injecting a little humour into the situation.
“Awh really? It was kinda growing on me.” Emily laughed, wincing instantly after at the pain shooting through her left side.
“Hey guys! Wow, how’d you manage to get that stuck in there?” the female voice entered the room, and Emily was immediately intrigued to see what this person looked like.
“Some idiot blew up his house, and I got this lovely new piece of jewellery as a gift.” Emily’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, making a few of the trauma nurses laugh.
“How considerate of him. Have we cleared her c-spine?” the voice was just as sarcastic as Emily’s, and it made her smile.
“Yeah, she’s good, just don’t want to jostle her around too much. Apparently, she was threatening to pull it out herself before her chief ordered her to come here.” the short brunette said to the doctor, and it made her laugh. Emily would never forget that laugh, it sent electricity through her entire body and made her shudder.
“Can I sit up please?” Emily asked politely, hoping that they would let her.
“Hold on one second.” the nurse patted Emily’s leg.
“Let’s get cardio down here to make sure there’s no damage to her lungs.” the voice spoke again, firmly yet calm as anything. Emily felt the bed jolt, and the mechanical whirring as she was being propped upright again, careful not to make her uncomfortable or move the piece of glass still stuck inside her side.
“Hey there she is! I’m Catherine by the way, I probably should’ve told you that before I started prodding at your belly.” Catherine smiled. Emily took in the room, and the voice she thought she’d recognised matched no one there, making the smile fall off her face.
“So, who do I talk to about getting this thing outta me?” Emily shook herself right again, putting on a fake smile to mask her disappointment.
“We’ve got to get you a scan to check it’s not in any vital organs. Then we’ll go from there. Can I get you anything whilst I'm here, pain meds, water-”
“Your number?” Emily asked, smirking at the petite brunette.
“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” Catherine chuckled.
“I’ve gotten far in life with my boldness, and I will continue to use that to my advantage.” Emily beamed.
“I’m going to go find you some scrubs to wear out of here once you’re all patched up. We had to cut your shirt off.” Catherine patted her hand and left swiftly. Emily sat there for a moment, finally having a moment to herself whilst her nurse went about her business and shut her eyes to revel in the quiet.
“Emily?” there was that voice again, she was sure she was imagining it. After all, the last time she heard it, they were on the other side of the country. She breathed out, and there was that sharp pain again which made me eyes shoot open.
“Jennifer?!” Emily shook her head; sure that she was seeing things.
“Are you following me?” JJ chuckled, walking over to the side of the bed.
“Um, I’m pretty sure I lived here first.” Emily raised her eyebrow.
“What is it with you and unsubs...” JJ took in the brunette for the first time in 6 months, wondering how on earth she’d gotten more beautiful.
“Eh, I think I've just got a giant bullshit and trauma magnet inside of me.” Emily shrugged.
“Sure.” JJ laughed, “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve got a bit of glass sticking out of my side.”
“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Emily.”
“But the highest form of intelligence.” Emily grinned.
“They’re ready for her scan Dr Jareau.” Catherine poked her head round the door before disappearing again.
“Let’s go doc.” Emily smiled. JJ held back her laughter, taking the breaks off the bed and wheeled it out of the room with help from another nurse. It was often that doctors took their patients up for scans and stayed with them, but JJ simply didn’t want Emily to be with anyone else. At least she kind of knew JJ and thought it would be reassuring for the brunette. Once the images were through, and it was confirmed that there were no internal injuries, Emily found herself back in the same room, with the blonde doctor.
“I’m going to give you some pain medication through a drip, and I’ll also inject around the area. It’s an inch deep, so we shouldn’t have too much trouble doing it here.” JJ smiled at the brunette as she grabbed a sterile tray and the already premade bag of medication and hooked it up to the canula in Emily’s hand. She replaced her gloves, giving them an extra snap, which made Emily laugh.
“So, how have you been Jennifer?” Emily asked, trying to distract herself now that her adrenaline had begun to subside.
“I’m good. I aced my board exams, which is why I'm here in D.C.” JJ shrugged, filling the syringe with the medication to numb Emily’s stomach.
“Congratulations.” Emily smiled, “So, anytime I'm injured, can I expect you to look after me now?”
“Oh god- seriously?” JJ laughed.
“What?! It’s just a question.” Emily returned the laughter.
“I guess so, just don’t go doing anything stupid in hopes that you get to see me.”
“Sweet.” Emily grinned; her face was starting to ache with the amount of smiling she had been doing since she’d seen the blonde again.
“Okay, this is going to sting like a bitch, but it’ll be over pretty quick.” JJ squirted a tiny bit of the fluid out of the syringe before injecting Emily with the needle. Emily sat there, as still as she could whilst JJ got to work.
“Can I pull the glass out?” Emily asked.
“Wha- really?” JJ looked gobsmacked at the brunette.
“Dead serious.”
“No.” JJ chuckled.
“Please?” Emily pouted.
“What am I going to do with you Agent Prentiss...” JJ shook her head. “You can wipe that grin off your face right now.” JJ said, looking down at the wound, but knew the brunette was smiling like an idiot at her comment.
“I mean, you can do whatever you like with me Dr Jareau...” Emily pursed her lips together before continuing, “But I usually take a woman out for dinner before I get to that side of business.”
“How chivalrous of you.” JJ chuckled.
“I try.”
“Well, well. What have you done this time?” another familiar voice entered the room just as JJ was getting ready to pull the glass out of Emily’s side. They both looked up to see Penelope stood there.
“Hey PG.” JJ grinned at her best friend.
“Dr Garcia, right?” Emily tilted her head in question.
“Agent Prentiss.” Penelope nodded and smiled.
“Can I apologise for the way I spoke to you when we were in Seattle. I was such a bitch to you.” Emily let out a breathy laugh, feeling awkward and guilty.
“Don’t worry about it honey, I completely understand.” Penelope’s smile turned into a grin. “So, how are we getting on in here?”
“All good, Jennifer was about to let me pull the glass out.” Emily played.
“No, I was not.” JJ glared at Emily.
“Feisty this one.” Emily nodded her head at JJ, making Penelope laugh.
“I’ve got an Ortho consult to do; I'll see you at home later Jayje.” Penelope turned to leave.
“See you later Penny.” JJ held her hand up to wave goodbye.
“I’m going to pull it out now, are you ready?” JJ looked up into brown eyes, seeing the slight hesitation on her face, it was gone within seconds.
“Go ahead, I trust you’ll go gentle on me.” Emily gave her a weak smile. JJ nodded, giving her a reassuring smile before grabbing her forceps and got a firm grip on the piece of glass. Carefully, and incredibly slow, she eased the sharp object out of the brunette and dropped into the metal dish, quickly grabbing the gauze to apply pressure on the wound. She heard the sigh of relief from Emily and let out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding herself.
“All good?” JJ asked, looking at Emily again.
“Yep. Stitch me up good Jennifer.”
“Who’s coming to collect you once you’re cleared to leave?” JJ asked.
“Uh, I was just gonna walk home. I don’t live that far from here.” Emily shrugged.
“That’s not happening.” JJ scoffed.
“What? Why not?” Emily questioned quickly.
“Emily, you’ve got a penetrating abdominal injury, you’ll be out of the field for at least 4 weeks until it heals, and you’ve gone to your primary care physician for a check-up.”
“You said it only went in an inch!” Emily raised her voice, annoyed that she would yet again be pulled from active duty temporarily.
“Doesn’t matter how deep it went, you are not walking home. Don't make me call your chief.” JJ’s voice was stern, not backing down.
“Fine. I’ll call Derek.” Emily rolled her eyes. She grabbed her phone from her coat, reluctantly pressing speed dial to call her best friend. She huffed a couple of times and then hung up. “He’ll be 20 minutes.”
“Perfect, enough time to get this stitched up and get your antibiotics sorted.” JJ smiled. Emily was quiet after that, watching JJ work, but also holding in what she really wanted to say. That Jennifer was the most beautiful woman she’d ever laid eyes on, and how much she really did want to take JJ out and show her how much fun she could be.
“So, you and Dr Garcia, are you an item?” Emily broke the comfortable silence, with possibly one of the most inappropriate comments she could think of.
“No, she’s my best friend.” JJ chuckled.
“Oh sweet. Does that mean you’re single?” Emily was grasping at anything to make her time with JJ last.
“It doesn’t mean anything Emily. But yes, I am single.” JJ peered up at her through long lashes, still focused on stitching Emily’s wound. Just as Emily was about to make another comment, and as JJ was tying off the last stitch, Derek entered the room.
“When I didn’t get a phone call saying there was an agent resisting treatment, I shoulda known...” Derek chuckled when he saw the familiar face.
“Hi Agent Morgan.” JJ smiled at the agent.
“How’s it going blondie?” Derek asked.
“JJ has done a crack job of patching me up, as usual.” Emily chimed in.
“And I hope it doesn’t have to happen again anytime soon.” JJ smiled, dropping her tools in the metal tray and grabbed the gauze stick to clean up the rest of the wound. “I’ve already told her, but I get the vibe from her that she’s not a rule follower, she’s not to be in the field for a few weeks. Until she heals at least.”
“You are correct with your assumption. I'll tell our chief. Hotch asked me to take you home, you’re off for the rest of the week.” Derek was gearing up for an argument with the brunette but was met with nothing of the sort.
“Yeah whatever, take it easy, I'll listen to the good doctor here.” Emily rolled her eyes.
“Damn, what did you do to her doc?” Derek laughed.
“I’m not sure... maybe it’s the pain meds?” JJ returned the laughter, looking at Emily roll her eyes again.
“Derek, can you go get my meds from the pharmacy and I'll be ready by the time you get back.” Emily asked.
“Sure princess.” Derek nodded, heading out of the room.
“Why does he call you princess?” JJ asked, placing a gauze patch over Emily’s wound and taped it to her stomach.
“Because I'm filthy rich.” Emily grimaced, the pain starting to get to her now that the meds were wearing off.
“I didn’t know the FBI paid that well.”
“Eh, it’s alright, I guess. My mother is a US Ambassador, and my father was the CEO of a huge company in London. That's where the real money comes from.” Emily shrugged.
“Makes sense.” JJ nodded. “Okay, you are all ready to go Emily. I know it goes without saying, but please be careful.”
“I know, I will. Thank you, Jennifer.” Emily smiled warmly, face softening when their eyes met. There was a silent conversation happening with their eyes, nothing they would dare bring into the real world, but it was there.
“Let’s make a break for it princess, before they decide to keep you here overnight.” Derek re-entered the room, holding up the bag of antibiotics.
“I wouldn’t mind too much.” Emily laughed, looking into blue orbs once again.
“Em...” Derek turned his head so not to look at the brunette once she took the sheet away from her chest, uncovered herself.
“What?” Emily looked down, only just realising that you could see her nipples through the lace of her bra. She started laughing, covering herself up but not before JJ looked away blushing a furious pink at the same time. “Someone could have told me I was giving everyone a show earlier!”
“It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.” JJ smiled awkwardly, grabbing the scrub top Catherine had left in there earlier and handed it to Emily.
“Thanks.” Emily accepted it, being careful redressing herself. She shuffled off the bed with the help of JJ and straightened herself before walking hesitantly towards her best friend in the doorway.
“Take care of yourself Emily.” JJ beamed, a little too enthusiastically at the brunette, but it was welcomed with a matching grin from the other woman.
“See you soon Jennifer.”
As much as JJ hoped that soon wouldn’t be that soon, she was wrong. Emily was wheeled into the ER not 7 weeks later with a head injury, and JJ just so happened to be working on the patient in the bay next to where she was waiting for her neuro consult.
“We meet again Dr Jareau.” Emily sniggered.
“Oh god, what have you done this time?!” JJ groaned playfully.
“An unsub and a two by four.” Emily laughed; the young guy next to her rolling his eyes.
“I don’t think we’ve met.” JJ looked at the young man.
“Dr Spencer Reid.” he nodded, smiling at the blonde.
“Dr?” JJ asked.
“PhD, not medical.” Spencer smiled awkwardly.
“Just as you’ve healed from your abdominal wound... Emily are you trying to get the world record for ER visits in a certain amount of time?” JJ joked.
“No, I asked him to do it so I’d have an excuse to see you again.” Emily rolled her eyes. “It’s not the first time I've had a head injury.”
“Really?” JJ asked, not surprised that the brunette had similar injuries in the past.
“Yep. Got beaten up by some cult leader asshole in Colorado. Then there was that car accident... And that guy in Seattle with the pistol whip.”
“Oh, I remember well, you’re a badass... are you being seen to?”
“Yeah, waiting on the fancy neuro god to come tell me I'm not bleeding into my skull.”
“Do you have to be so blunt about it Emily?” Spencer piped up from beside her.
“Spence, if it were happening, I don’t think I'd be cracking jokes and flirting with the most beautiful doctor in this hospital.” Emily scoffed.
“Has she had morphine?” JJ looked over to the young doctor.
“No, she refused any pain medication.” he told her.
“Of course she did.” JJ laughed nervously. She needed to focus on her own patient and not get distracted by the brunette. Just as JJ was about to make another comment, the neuro consult arrived and quickly whisked Emily off for a head CT. She didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Emily this time, but she checked the brunette’s medical file to reassure herself that Emily was in fact okay and was sent home on light duties at work for a week.
The next time Emily saw JJ, it wasn’t her that was in the ER, so to speak. It was Derek with a deep knife wound on his upper arm. Emily was applying pressure to the bleeding wound as she walked him through the door. JJ rushed to her side, escorting them into the same side room that she’d treated Emily in 3 months before.
“He’s broken his wrist as well, fucking bastard got him good.” Emily told JJ as they got him on the bed and the flood of nurses overwhelmed the room.
“Okay, someone page ortho and get Agent Prentiss here a pair of gloves.” JJ ordered the room, people quickly shuffling around. A nurse stood next to Emily, holding a sterile glove out for Emily to slip her hand into. Once that one was on, she switched her hand holding pressure on the wound and put the other glove on.
“You need to hold pressure on that wound Emily, just until I can get his drip in and get myself gloved up to take a look, okay?” JJ asked, eyes flitting between Emily’s hands on the wound and those mesmerising brown eyes.
“Sure.” Emily nodded quickly.
“What happened Agent Morgan?” JJ asked the agent, trying to access how aware he was.
“Unsub came outta nowhere, sliced my arm real deep and then pushed me off the balcony, broke my fall with this arm and felt the break.” Derek recollected, wincing when JJ pierced his skin with the canula to give him an IV.
“Did you injure anything else?” JJ asked more questions.
“No, just my arm.” Derek nodded towards the injured limb.
“Has he lost a lot of blood?” JJ then asked Emily.
“Uh, bled through a t-shirt on the way over here and all over mine as well.” Emily looked down at her now blood soaked, white shirt and then back up at JJ and gave her a breathy laugh.
“Someone called for an ortho consu- oh my goodness!” Penelope walked in quickly.
“Hey peaches.” Derek smiled brightly at the other familiar face.
“Agent Morgan! Uh, what can I do to help?” Penelope gave him a weak smile.
“Broke my wrist. I'm sure you can fix me up like normal again.” Derek winked at the bubbly blonde doctor.
“Subtle.” Emily whispered loudly.
“Oh, you’re a fine one to talk.” JJ piped up from beside her. “PG, can you do me a favour and get Emily a clean shirt here whilst we get this bleeding under control.” JJ asked her best friend, knowing she’d be more than happy to assist in any way possible.
“Sure, I’ll be right back.” Penelope turned on her feet and jogged out of the door.
“Okay, let's see this lac.” JJ snapped her fresh gloves on, moving her hand over Emily’s. Emily’s breath audibly hitched when JJ touched her. It wasn’t like they hadn’t had contact before, so it confused Emily slightly. She willingly let JJ move her hand away from the wound and the soaked shirt, watching the blonde step into the space she was stood and peel the material away from the cut. There was still bleeding, but nowhere near as much as when it first happened, thankfully.
“This is good, the bleeding is minimal. We can stitch up and then let Dr Garcia work her magic on that wrist.” JJ smiled brightly, happy with the assessment of the wound. She grabbed her tools and got straight to work whilst Emily sat at the end of the bed with Derek. Penelope returned not long after with a fresh shirt for Emily. Emily waited until JJ was done before she left her friend in the capable hands of the ortho goddess that was Penelope Garcia.
“Um, I know this is cheeky but is there anywhere I can get cleaned up?” Emily turned to JJ just as the blonde was about to walk off.
“Sure, I'll take you up to the attendings lounge.” JJ guided Emily in the right direction, through the door into the huge lounge.
“Woah, this huge.” Emily let out a breathy laugh.
“The bathroom is there.” JJ pointed to the door, turning and grabbing the pot of coffee and pouring some into her mug. As she turned, she saw Emily had already stripped her shirt off and was wiping herself down with a few wet paper towels to get the dried blood off her stomach.
“Sorry, I hate having other people’s blood on me.” Emily smiled awkwardly at the blonde, suddenly feeling more self-conscious about herself.
“I totally understand. It's even worse when it’s a friends.” JJ related, offering a warm smile in understanding. Emily was too busy cleaning herself up to notice JJ’s eyes on her, admiring the view. She loved how toned her stomach was, how perky her breasts were and how gorgeous she was in general.
“Sure.” Emily nodded in agreement. Obviously, JJ’s job meant she was usually elbow deep in someone’s abdomen, but Emily often had other people’s blood on her for a completely different reason. JJ watched Emily pick up the scrub top and redress herself, feeling a little wrong having watched the brunette but she couldn’t help herself. Emily was a gorgeous woman, lying on a hospital bed or not. JJ noted the gun and handcuffs attached to her belt and wondering silently to herself just how many people Emily had shot in her line of work.
“I’m happy that you’ve kept yourself safe and out of harm's way the past month Emily.” JJ started, trying to lift the mood of the room.
“Yeah, well I try. Plus, you weren’t all that happy seeing me in here last time.” Emily shrugged.
“Because you’re always injured when I see you.” JJ countered, knowing her reason was more than valid.
“Well, I've been on my best behaviour for you. Well actually...” Emily trailed off, sparking more interest from JJ. JJ raised an eyebrow at the statement and didn’t know if she wanted to know what else Emily had done.
“They’re probably done in x-ray with Agent Morgan, shall I take you back down there?” JJ changed the subject.
“Oh, it’s okay, you’re a busy woman.” Emily smiled, throwing the paper towels in the big and heading towards the door.
“I need to ask Penny something anyway.” JJ shrugged, leaving her coffee mug on the side and joining the brunette. Once they were back in the ER, Penelope was plastering Derek’s wrist, openly flirting with one another as the two women walked back in the room.
“Hey princess, this woman is an absolute goddess, did you know that?” Derek grinned like an idiot.
“How come?” Emily asked.
“She’s the top female ortho fellow in the region! Couldn't have anyone better fixing my wrist than Pen.” he nodded, clearly happy with the service she’d given him.
“It’s a good thing you got her then isn’t it stud.” Emily sniggered.
“No active field work until that wrist is healed Derek.” Penelope finished laying the last strip on the cast, cleaning away the scraps before saying her goodbyes.
“Until next time Jennifer.” Emily bowed her head to JJ, smiling warmly at the blonde.
“Look after yourself Emily.” JJ smiled, giving the brunette a little wink. Emily felt her heart soar when she saw it.
“30-year-old female suffered two gunshot wounds, one to the abdomen and one to the shoulder. The shoulder is through and through. Wounds packed and morphine administered on the journey. Her heart rate keeps dropping dangerously low, we suspect there internal bleeding from the abdominal injury...” the paramedic rushed, making sure not to mix his words at all as he gave the information to the trauma team at the hospital.
“Emily, can you hear me?” Dr Hanson raised her voice, trying to bring Emily out of her morphine induced slumber.
“Hmm, yup doc, loud n clear.” Emily slurred, eyes fluttering but barely opening. The light was too bright, hurting her head as she tried to move it from side to side. The brace on her neck prevented that, much to her annoyance.
Meanwhile, in the attendings lounge, Penelope and JJ were finishing off their coffees when JJ felt her pager buzzing in her pocket.
Consult in ER.
“Gotta go pen.” JJ shot out of the room and straight down the stairs to the first floor, finding the nurse at the desk with the file in her hand.
“Prentiss is back.” Catherine smirked, not knowing herself the severity of the situation.
“Of course she is, I knew she’d be back within a few months.” JJ chuckled. She walked over to the closed door, opening it with an almighty swing.
“Emily Prentiss what have I tol- holy shit.” JJ dropped the clipboard on the floor and rushed over to her patient. “What the hell happened?!”
“GSW to the abdo and shoulder. Suspected severe internal bleeding, she lost consciousness two minutes ago. She's losing too much blood doctor; we need to get her into surgery now.” Dr Hanson informed JJ of the situation just as she was finishing intubating the brunette.
“What are you waiting for? Let's go!” JJ rushed ahead, ducking into the room to get scrubbed in for the surgery when Emily’s bed came flying through the door, a whole commotion snatching her attention away from her cleaning ritual.
“She’s crashing!” the surgical nurse shouted to JJ through the window, making JJ panic. She watched her surgical team move around each other in a synchronised dance, someone performing chest compressions on the injured brunette and the other bagging her through the intubation tube that had only just been put in. She rushed, but still made sure that she kept sterile, slipping into the gown and gloves that the nurse had opened for her. Just as she was about to intervene, her resident who was performing the chest compressions announced that she was back and stabilising, quickly disappearing herself to get scrubbed in and allow the surgical team to prep the patient for surgery.
“Okay, let’s get to work.” JJ nodded over to her resident, trying to focus on the surgery instead of who was laying on her table. It was hard, and honestly all she wanted to do was cry, but she did it.
“Emily Prentiss?” Dr Hanson walked into the waiting room, finding the crowd of agents stand up quickly.
“Yes.” Hotch nodded.
“It was touch and go for a while; Dr Jareau is just finishing up in surgery but she’s stable.” Dr Hanson informed them
“Oh, thank goodness.” Rossi held his hands up to pray, thankful his colleague was going to be okay.
“When can we see her?” Spencer asked, clearly shaken by the situation.
“She’ll be heading up to the ICU until we’re sure she’s not going to need to go back into surgery.” the doctor told them. “But once she’s awake, I don’t see why you can’t come up for a little visit.”
“Thank you so much doctor.” Derek shook the young woman’s hand, grateful that his best friend was still alive.
“Straight up to ICU, I just need to sort something out and I'll be there.” JJ ripped off her gown and gloves, her mask following soon after as she let out a shaky breath. Emily was still alive, she’d have a couple nice scars as a reminder, but she was here and that’s all that mattered.
“Dr Jareau, I informed her colleagues of the situation.” Dr Hanson poked her head in the scrub room where JJ had gone to clean up.
“Thanks Becca. Um-” JJ rubbed her brow, “Would you and Dr Lake be able to take care of my patients whilst I wait for Agent Prentiss to wake up?”
“Of course, JJ, just page me if you need anything.” Becca nodded, giving the blonde a warm smile before disappearing again. JJ felt slightly at ease knowing she’d be able to keep an eye on Emily and would be able to be there when she woke up.
The amount of time for a patient to come round from a major surgery varied from person to person. So, when Emily was still out for the count 6 hours after arriving in the ICU, JJ started to panic a little bit. She knew that it wasn’t the same for everyone, but even then, Emily should’ve at least shown some signs of coming round by that point. The trauma from the incident and then the surgery probably meant her body was still in shock, and maybe that was stopping the brunette from waking. JJ sat beside Emily’s bed for a little while longer, before pulling out her phone and texting her best friend for some support.
JJ: Talk me out of ordering every test available on Prentiss.
PG: Jayje honey, she’s going to be fine. You did an awesome job fixing her up, she’s probably being her usual stubborn self and taking her sweet time to come around.
JJ: I never got to go out with her...
PG: When she’s fully recovered, you know what you’ve got to do.
JJ: I know.
JJ put her phone away and looked back up at the brunette, checking her vitals and for any signs of coming around, yet there was still nothing. She sat there for a little longer before she was broken from her trance by an older man.
“Sorry, I didn’t realise you were in here.” Hotch apologised, sliding the door closed as he stepped in.
“Hi. I'm Emily’s doctor, Jennifer Jareau.” JJ stood up, extending her arm for the man to shake her hand.
“Aaron Hotchner.” He introduced himself before continuing, "How is she?” he asked, looking sad at the sight of the brunette.
“She’s still stable, which is good. Just taking a little longer than normal to come round from surgery.” JJ gave him a weak smile.
“She’s stubborn at the best of times.” Hotch let out a little laugh.
“So I've heard.” JJ returned the laughter. “She’ll be okay, I know she’s a fighter.”
“She is. My team want to come and say goodnight to her before we head home to sleep. Is that okay Dr Jareau?” Hotch asked.
“Of course, Agent Hotchner. I'll give you guys some privacy.” JJ nodded, grabbing her white coat and moving to leave the room. Outside was Agent Morgan, Dr Reid and another man who she’d not met yet.
“Hey doc, how’s our girl?” Derek asked, trying to get a look through the cracked door.
“Stable, Agent Morgan. I’ll be staying here tonight to keep an eye on her.” JJ gave him a smile.
“Thank you.” Morgan smiled at her before she turned to walk away.
She found herself in an on-call room, staring at the ceiling as she attempted to get some rest before checking in on Emily again. It felt wrong being away from her, even though it had only been 30 minutes, she didn’t want to leave the agent's side. She huffed loudly to herself, finally giving up and shuffled off the bed, throwing her scrub top back on and leaving the room. She spent the entire night pacing in Emily’s room, sitting down occasionally to watch the brunette, only to then get up and start pacing again. Penelope dropped in to give her some food, which by morning was still sat on the table next to Emily’s bed.
She’d never let herself get attached to a patient quite like she had with Emily, silently cursing herself for doing so. She was now sat on the floor, against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched the brunette. She estimated she’d been sat there for a couple of hours, judging by the way her lower back and ass were aching. She was startled by the door sliding open around 6am.
“Oh, sorry doc.” Derek held his hands up as he apologised for making her jump.
“Agent Morgan, what are you doing here so early?” JJ asked, stretching her legs out to ready herself to get up off the floor. He offered his hand to help, which she gratefully accepted, and they both sat in the chairs next to Emily’s bed.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Derek shrugged. There was a long pause before he spoke again. “She’s my best friend ya know. She jumped in front of that bastard to save me.”
“I think I know Emily enough now to say I’m not surprised. You guys seem like family.” JJ rest her hand on the agent’s arm to show her support and comfort him. She saw how close the two of them were in previous visits, and sometimes wished that she had a close-knit unit like the brunette did.
“We are, we spend a lot of time together, so it was inevitable for us to become as close as we all have.” Derek gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to his best friend.
“I’d love to know what’s going through her head right now.” JJ spoke quietly.
“Me too – but knowing Prentiss, it’s most likely hot chicks.” Derek chuckled, making JJ laugh as well. It felt good to laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation, she needed that release. It made her feel more human.
“I feel like an idiot for not giving her a chance.” JJ said.
“She likes you a lot, blondie. She talks about you all the time.” Derek revealed, making JJ smile. “She doesn’t ever let that happen; you mean something to her.”
“I do?” JJ asked.
“Yeah! I know you’ve got a rule about dating patients but seriously, you’d be stupid not to give this one a chance.” Derek smiled. JJ just nodded slowly, taking in that piece of advice and let her mind wander. Derek was there for a little while longer before leaving to go to work. He said he’d be back later that evening, saying they were all on standby until Prentiss was awake.
“Come on Emily, just give me a sign that you’re okay.” JJ whispered, holding onto the brunette’s hand for dear life. The tears that had been stinging her eyes for the past 12 hours finally fell. JJ sat there, quietly sobbing to herself and the brunette, praying to whatever higher power was watching over the agent to bring her back, to make sure that she was okay.
“Please...” JJ sniffled, resting her head on Emily’s bed and letting her eyes close for a few minutes.
‘God, I feel awful’ Emily thought to herself. She didn’t know where she was, but it was relatively comfortable, despite the dull aching in her stomach and her shoulder. She remembered being shot twice by the unsub, having jumped in front of Derek after the suspect unexpectedly pulled out a gun. She remembered everything up until being wheeled into the ER.
Emily wanted to open her eyes but was scared at the thought of what she’d see. Was she dead? Was she still laying in the ER? Or was it all just a bad dream... The internal battle with herself to look was won when she felt the warmth of another person's hand in her own, clutching tightly. Her senses were coming back fast, the smell of hospital disinfectant assault her nostrils made her face scrunch up. There was something familiar in the air however, woman’s perfume. It was faint but she recognised it, she just wasn’t sure where from. She could hear the quiet beeping of what she thought might have been a vitals monitor, it must have been her own heartbeat making the machine beep.
She got over her fear quickly when she heard the quiet snores coming from next to her, deciding to take a small peek through her tired eyelids. And what she saw was possibly the best, and most unexpected sight she could’ve thought of.
“Jennifer...” Emily whispered, her throat sore and hoarse as she spoke. She squeezed the blonde's hand as hard as she could, knowing it was going to be painful trying to wake the blonde with her own voice. She did it a couple of times before she got a reaction, feeling the blonde jerk awake.
“Emily?!” JJ sat bolt upright. She didn’t know if she’d dreamt Emily was squeezing her hand, but she could’ve sworn it was real. She sat there intently watching as Emily’s eyelashes fluttered, the hand in her own squeezing once again. She heard the small moan from Emily, and she instantly started to tear up again.
“Emily, can you hear me?” JJ asked, a little louder. Emily responded with a hum, letting her eyes open a bit more this time. JJ thought her heart was going to explode when she saw the small smile appear on Emily’s lips, her emotions completely overwhelming her all at once. She let out a sob, tears rolling down her cheeks as Emily finally opened her eyes completely.
“Hey, why are you crying?” Emily rasped, trying to lift her hand to wipe the blonde’s cheek.
“Happy tears.” JJ choked out, pressing her own hand to Emily’s on her cheek with pure joy and relief.
“Hmm, what happened?” Emily asked.
“You got shot. You had some pretty severe internal bleeding, tore right through your spleen.” JJ told her, watching the brunette’s eyes slam shut again.
“Is Derek okay?”
“He was here this morning; they were all worried about you Emily.”
“I’m fine.” Emily let out a breathy laugh, instantly regretting that decision.
“Careful honey.” JJ held her hand tightly again.
“Jennifer...” Emily started.
“It’s okay Emily, I'm not going anywhere.” JJ promised, scooting her chair closer to the brunette so she could comfort her.
“I really like you, and I hate that I have to get hurt to see you.” Emily swallowed harshly; her throat felt dry. “JJ, I don’t want to almost die just to see you.”
“I know Emily, I know.” JJ squeezed her hand harder.
“Do you know how happy it would make me just to be able to spend some time away from this goddamn hospital with you...” Emily gave her a weak smile.
“Okay.” JJ nodded.
“What?”
“Let’s do it.”
“You’re not just saying that to shut me up, are you?” Emily raised an eyebrow.
“No.” JJ laughed. “I want to spend time with you, I want to get to know you. I want to be there to tell you to be careful all the time and get mad at you when you’re not.”
“You do?” Emily’s own tears glistened in her eyes, a big smile breaking out on her mouth.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you in Grey Sloan ER.” JJ told her, only making the brunette choke out a broken sob.
“Well, maybe that can be my gift for when I finally get the hell outta this place.” Emily joked.
“Definitely. We'll go out for dinner, and drinks and then maybe...” JJ paused, looking into bright brown eyes, “you can show me just how much Emily Prentiss doesn’t go on the bottom...” JJ winked, referencing back to the comment the brunette made the first time they met.
“It’s a date.” Emily grinned, letting out a little laugh at the prospect of finally getting to see JJ outside of their usual setting.
A week later, Emily was finally well enough to be discharged from the hospital, which made her excited because it meant she was one step closer to getting to take JJ out for their date.
“So, you’re off work for another three weeks. Have you got someone close that can help out if you need it?” JJ asked, helping Emily pack her go bag.
“Um, I think so.” Emily shrugged. She wasn’t typically one for letting people help her, but with her shoulder strapped up and her stomach still sore, she knew she’d need it.
“I’m going to give you my number. You call me day or night and I will be there Emily.” JJ scrawled on the back of Emily’s discharge papers before handing them to the brunette.
“God, you know the one thing I’m most pissed about?” Emily huffed, pulling up her top to reveal the scar on her stomach. “I hate the scars.”
“They make you look badass.” JJ shrugged, chuckling to try and lift the mood. “Your scars are souvenirs that you’ve won, you beat whatever tried to hurt you.”
“Yeah, I guess they’re kinda cool.” Emily let her finger run over the stitches before looking up at JJ. “But the best souvenir I have is you.”
“You’re so sappy.” JJ rolled her eyes playfully, laughing at the comment.
“It’s allowed! So, when do I get my departing gift Jennifer?” Emily let her top fall back against her stomach and took a step towards the blonde.
“Hmm, how does now suit you?” JJ winked, taking her own step towards the brunette.
“Perfect.” Emily grinned, her hand reaching out to clutch onto the blonde’s scrub top and pulling her in closer. Emily’s eyes flitted between ice blue orbs and the blonde’s pink smile before closing the distance and letting her lips brush against Jennifer’s. JJ melted into the embrace when she felt Emily’s mouth on her own, failing to hold back the whimper that left her throat. They stood there, not letting the kiss deepen past the brushing of lips against the others, until Emily pulled away to look into those beautiful blue eyes.
“Don’t go doing anything stupid Agent Prentiss.” JJ let out a small laugh as she stepped back from the brunette, slinging Emily’s bag over her shoulder.
“I promise Dr Jareau.”