Chapter Text
Emily adjusted her grip on her crutch as she reached for the keys to her apartment. After a particularly gruelling case left her ankle in bandages, she was told to take it easy, splitting her time between her sofa and the bullpen. The team were still out in Seattle, dealing with a suspected serial killer targeting homeless women in the area, with Emily begrudgingly staying put. Fumbling in her bag, she hooked a finger around her keyring, only to lose grip on the stick half-supporting her weight. Letting out a sharp breath, she eased herself down to grab it, only for something to catch her eye.
The grey carpet beneath the door blushed yellow with light. As a woman of strict routine, Emily never left the lights on before leaving for work - only the lamp on the desk by the window. Wondering whether she'd taken one too many pain meds, she felt a swelling dread in her stomach. Eleven months after Doyle, Emily was still uneasy; small things she could usually shake still lurked with dull paranoia. She hated the weaknesses he'd left her with. Grasping the crutch, she propped herself back up and reached her keys to the lock with a hesitant hand.
Shit! Startled by a clatter against the door, JJ locked eyes with Penelope. They were so close to pulling it off - Emily's apartment glittered with silver balloons and a cheesy banner. They knew she'd be having a rough time being so hands-off, and wanted to make tonight special. Without a word, JJ gestured towards the sofa, stepping calmly over, preparing to crouch down. Penelope grinned and followed suit. Peaking over the cushion, she watched as Emily's shadow drifted across the crack under the door. A click in the lock disturbed silent anticipation. The door creaked open, the women holding their breath waiting for their friend's reaction.
Nervous, Emily pushed open the door. Attempting to quell her lingering fear, she paused for a second, Sergio trilling expectantly at the sound of his companion returning.
"Shh, Serge!"
A muffled voice from inside the apartment replaced Emily's apprehension with confusion, just unable to pinpoint the speaker. Then, after a second, "Shush yourself!" countered another, hushed.
Relief washed away any lasting doubts as she stepped through the entranceway. Being honest, Emily was only semi-aware of the date, with most of her week feeling so motononous and mundane. She'd never been big on birthdays, let alone had many people to celebrate with. In the years passed, the girls from the BAU had gone out for drinks, with Emily insisting keep it low-key, shying away from attention they tried to shower her with. She didn't feel like mentioning it this year. After recent events, Emily was more than happy to get the year behind her. JJ and Penelope had other plans.
"Suprise!!"
The women jumped up from behind the couch in unison, enthusiastically flaunting their handiwork.
"I- you guys!"
"They got back earlier than expected. I hope we didn't freak you out too much, oh, oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Penenlope grinned expectantly. Emily dropped her bag by the door, barely able to realign her crutches before the two women came rushing towards her. They put this together, for her?
"This all looks amazing, really. Hey, watch the ankle!" Her friends threw their arms around Emily, one either side, as she took in the scene in front of her.
"We've got snacks on the coffee table, a rom-com already loaded up, and wine at the ready" JJ sounded proud of their preparation.
"Thank you guys, honestly. That wine can't be opened fast enough" Emily replied, eager. She loved that they knew her so well, that they could organise something so simple but so perfect after the week she'd had. The women made their way to the sofa, three glasses waiting alongside a plethora of sweet and savory snacks in bowls just in front of them. JJ reached to pull a blanket over the three of them, as Emily pushed play on the remote, settling into the comfort of her two best friends squashed beside each shoulder.
"You guys ever want that?"
The movie ended after several glasses of wine and a cocktail from a jar.
"What?" Emily responded to Penelope's intrigue.
"You know, the rom-com life. Girl meets guy, it's playful love at first sight, settling down? I think about it sometimes" The blonde replied, pausing the credits and leaning towards her friends. It had reached the point in the evening where the deeper questions started to get asked, alcohol dragging out the curiosity in all three of them.
"I don't know" piped up JJ, "I mean, eventually I guess? I'd want to meet the right person. I don't know if we can really envision our lives like that, with our jobs and all, commitment is difficult. But I look forward to spending the rest of my life with someone special"
"Totally! There's still time for fun, but sometimes I feel like Mr Right can't turn up fast enough. How about you, Em?"
"Hm? Yeah, yeah, something like that" Mr Right. Not like Emily had spent the last twenty years lying awake wishing he'd show. Or, anyone. She'd dated guys before, but never felt that spark people around her started to gush about as they settled down, one by one. She'd kind of given up, really, each mind-numbing date slowly killing any hope she had left of finding the perfect man. It mostly felt unimportant at this stage of her life. She had her friends, who she loved to death, she knew that for certain. Honestly, the idea of spending the rest of her life with her friends, with her best friend, seemed way more appealing.
"You okay?" Penelope broke Emily's train of thought, interrupting the awkward pause following her response.
"Yeah, of course - more booze?" Emily redirected the focus of the conversation to the remaining unopened wine bottle on the table in front of them.
"Read my mind" JJ replied, reaching for her empty glass.
An hour, another bottle and a few deep conversations later, JJ and Penelope called a cab. They'd hugged each other goodbye, dragging it out for as long as possible with tipsy jokes and more plans to meet up. Her friends' departure made Emily realise how tired she was, after spending all day at the office surrounded with paperwork she felt like laying down for a comforting hour of nothing. She could tidy tomorrow. She filled a glass with water from the kitchen tap and turned the lights of behind her as she shuffled into her bedroom, Sergio weaving in and out of her crutch. Letting it drop beside her bed, she pulled off her daytime clothes and replaced them with a baggy tshirt, before heading to the bathroom.
Sick of tossing and turning, Emily switched on her bedside lamp with a frustrated sigh. The women had spent all evening chatting about every topic under the sun, but it was the first question Penelope had offered up after the movie ended that really stuck in her mind. The more Emily thought it over, the more confident she became that a domestic lifestyle wasn't for her. She'd tried to picture living with a husband, some faceless, personality-deficient man, raising a family together, owning a home, making breakfast in bed for her picture perfect family of four. She imagined herself as she was now, lying in bed, taken over by a snoring sprawled-out guy. Nope. Staring at the ceiling, her wandering mind morphed her half-asleep thoughts to something more comfortable. Emily smelled vanilla, a faint but familiar scent lingering beside her. She rolled to one side, smiling at the messy trail of blonde hair pouring down the pillow. She watched the covers rise and fall with the steady breathing of the person underneath, until it became faster, concious. Emily's shuffling had woken her gently; she felt warm as the blonde hair was gathered to the side and JJ rolled over, their faces mere inches away from each other.
"Can't sleep?"
She smiled, wrapping an arm around Emily's torso. The brunette rolled over, tucking herself tightly into JJ's arms, unease replaced with butterflies deep in her stomach. She felt JJ land a kiss on the back of her head, sighing, and relaxed as she prepared to fall back to sleep. The two lay in silence, holding each other.
3:50AM. Emily's eyes widened suddenly. The lights were off and Sergio stirred, seemingly annoyed, at her feet. She glanced to her bedside table, hit with a wave of deja vu as she flicked on the lamp next to her. Did she imagine waking up before? She must have fallen asleep pondering Garcia's chatter. Did she imagine...?
Emily picked up her phone, knowing it would throw away any hope she had of going straight back to sleep. Dreams are weird. She had a single notification, from two hours ago: Scrabble With Friends - CheetoBreath has played her turn! Time to place down a word! She opened the app. Beige animated tiles fell into place to make up 'KNOWN' for 12 points. Not bad. Glancing at her letters, Emily didn't see any particularly good move, other than playing her one-point tiles. She spelled 'LESSON', playing off one of JJ's 'N's that appeared moments before. 6 points, kind of rubbish. Switching her phone off, Emily peered down to the end of the bed where Sergio had quickly fallen back to sleep, and lay back with hopes of doing the same. Her eyes shut tight, willing herself to conjure up a vastly different scenario to send herself to sleep. But before she could get comfortable, her phone buzzed lightly.
[JJ]: "Can't sleep?"