JJ dropped onto the seat beside Emily's hospital bed, finding it hard to believe that the normally strong and independent woman could look so completely fragile and fractured. It was a strange mixture of vulnerability combined with the fact that Emily looked so unguarded that had JJ's eyes wide with compassion and sorrow. Looking at her girlfriend, the blonde felt, if only for a flash, that she was really seeing Emily.

That's not to say that she hadn't witnessed Emily in this relaxed and stress free state before; in actuality there were plenty of nights and mornings where JJ had to take a moment to soak up how different her girlfriend looked in her sleep versus when she was awake. Realizing how much more beautiful Emily got when she was at ease was something that had a tendency to take JJ's breath away.

The thought lines that always made her look so pensive, the stoic look upon her face and the way she carried herself as though she were trying to make it appear as if the world wasn't resting on her shoulders – it was as if she was always putting up a front for the benefit of the people around her. But watching her sleep, the pain medication making her oblivious to the façade she needed to upkeep or the world around her, she looked so much more at ease and carefree. Emily looked to be completely untouched by all the things that seemed to plague her most days.

With what felt like an eternity spent waiting to hear if the pediatrician would pull through her surgery, then sitting by her side for two more days waiting for her girlfriend to finally wake up, JJ had had more than enough time to think about the woman before her. Emily seemed to perpetually get the short end of the stick and even now that she had worked through most of her issues, it seemed that the universe had yet to turn her luck around.

It made the blonde angrier than ever to imagine that someone who had been through as much as Emily had, for someone who had been forced to grow up so soon and squeeze herself into a mold she didn't want nor choose, to finally break free and take back the reigns, to successfully make a name for herself only to have a psychopath knock her back down again.

Just thinking about it made JJ's heart clench in sympathy; her body filled with anger and compassion while her eyes filled with pure sorrow as she looked at the slumbering woman before her. Unconsciously, her hand tightened against Emily's as she took in the multitude of bruises and injuries that marred her body – if only to remind JJ that Emily was still there, despite or maybe in spite of it all.

With a reverence only reserved for her loved ones, JJ's hand stroked along Emily's bruised cheek, her fingers lightly tracing the outline of the jagged blue mark that resided upon pale flesh. As her finger finished rounding the large deeply colored wound, Emily began to stir in her sleep.

The pediatrician's eyes fluttered as she struggled against the heaviness of her eyelids and the warmth that slumber provided her. After a moment to blink the cobwebs of sleep away, Emily's eyes finally slid open, her hand automatically squeezing the one JJ had wrapped around it to signal she was relatively okay.

Before Emily even had a chance to question where she was, JJ was offering her a kind smile and an explanation. "You're in the hospital."

The raven haired woman nodded silently, knowing that speaking was an impossibility, at least while there was a tube crammed down her throat – or what she hoped was a tube.

Without another word, JJ grabbed onto the buzzer and rang for a nurse, wanting to know that Emily was okay but wanting even more to hear the familiar and husky voice of her girlfriend. Until she could hear the voice she loved so much and could audibly confirm that Emily was okay, or as okay as she could be given the circumstances, JJ didn't think she would fully believe that they had managed to get out of things alive and fairly well.

Seconds after the buzzer had been pressed, a nurse came in with a smile on her face, seeming much happier than all of the other nurses had seemed since JJ started her vigil by Emily's side.

"Oh, I see you're awake," the nurse said in a bubbly tone, her smile widening as she glanced from Emily to JJ. "Let me just go get the doctor and see if we can't get that tube out," she offered after giving Emily a quick once over, making sure that she was fit enough and conscious enough to be seen by the doctor in charge of her case.

Not a minute later, the doctor who had informed JJ of Emily's condition the day before was strolling through the doors and offering both women a small smile before he picked up Emily's chart and looked over her condition. "Emily, it's good to see you awake and well," he said kindly, moving closer to her as he began to check her heart rate and blood pressure, occasionally poking and prodding at what she assumed were her more extensive injuries. "I'm the doctor in charge of your case, Miguel Rivera."

After scribbling down a few more things in her chart, he pulled her blanket down and lifted her gown to expose the gauze pad that covered the stitches on her abdomen, quickly giving them a once over before nodding in approval. "I'm going to remove the tube from your throat." He said softly and slowly, "when I count to three, I'm going to need you to cough, okay?"

Emily nodded slowly, wondering if the man knew that she was knowledgeable enough about basic medical procedures like these to know what was going to happen. Instead, she chose to refrain from rolling her eyes and settled for just going along with it. The less of a fuss she put up, the sooner the thing would be removed.

"Alright," Doctor Rivera said, slipping into his doctorly persona as he removed the tape from the tube that held it firmly against Emily's skin, "1…2…3," he counted, looking to Emily as he said the final number and prepared to pull the tube out.

At three, Emily wasted no time coughing, trying not to show how uncomfortable it was to have the tube removed from her throat despite the fact that it had to be one of the worst sensations she'd ever experienced. That was easily something she sorely hoped that she would never have to experience again.

With the tube successfully gone, it was still a bit harder than Emily would have imagined to remain focused on the doctor and the conversation at hand. Her head felt fuzzy, her body ached and there was the predictable but thoroughly irritating scratchiness in her throat that was no thanks to the breathing tube that had been lodged there.

"We successfully removed the shard of wood from your stomach as you can see," he said somewhat jokingly, his hand gesturing towards the woman's obviously stake free body. "We did run into a few complications along the way but nothing irreparable and certainly not long-term."

Emily nodded absently at the words, already having guessed that she was on the mend and out of the woods.

"I've already explained this to Ms. Jareau but for the sake of full disclosure, I feel you should know that while we were able to repair all the damage done by the wooden stake, it wasn't without complications." All sense of joking was gone from his tone as he looked at Emily with a serious expression on his face, clearly trying to make it known how grave the complications had been.

"While you were being transported here you flat lined once but the medics on scene were able to bring you back well before any serious damage could be done. However, halfway through the removal process, you went into cardiac arrest again. It took slightly longer than we had hoped to stabilize you but from what I can tell, there aren't any adverse affects appearing."

Setting Emily's chart back into place at the foot of the bed, he turned his attention back towards the woman lying prone in the bed. "Our worst fear at the time was that once the stake was removed, that the internal bleeding combined with the leaking gastrointestinal fluids would cause more damage than we could repair. As you know, once the stomach has been perforated and stomach acid starts to leak out, the chance of infection and sepsis skyrockets and though antibiotics can usually stave off the infection, it's not always a foolproof plan."

Glancing to her left, Emily finally took notice of the bags that hung from her IV drip, just then realizing that she was being pumped with some serious antibiotics despite her doctors reassurances that she was in the clear so far.

Seeing that, her doctor spoke up again; wanting to assuage any worries and make sure Emily knew that she was expected to make a full recovery. "While there was a considerable about of bleeding and a slight perforation to your stomach, you were brought here soon enough that we were able to prevent any chance of a serious infection. The antibiotics we're using right now are more of a precaution than anything else. From what I can tell, you can expect to make a full recovery, but just to be safe, we'll be keeping you here a little longer for observation and to make sure that nothing else pops up."

"How much longer?" Emily croaked, unable to keep her voice from cracking slightly. Just after the words left her mouth, JJ was holding a small paper cup to her lips and Emily eagerly took a sip, casting a grateful look to the blonde.

"Three days," Doctor Rivera answered, his expression showing understanding and sympathy but also letting Emily know that the length of her stay would be for the best. "With your stomach wound and the two cracked ribs you sustained in addition to the severe burn to your chest, it would be best to keep you here until we're sure no bad will come from sending you home. I would rather have you cranky and upset at being here but healthy than send you home early and have you develop something we could have easily detected and treated here."

While Emily wanted to protest and say that if he was giving her a clean bill of health there was no logical reason for her to stay there any longer, she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. It was clear, just from a quick look at JJ, that the blonde was still worried and Emily wasn't cruel enough to leave the hospital just because she didn't want to be there and leave JJ to worry even more.

So instead of complaining and putting up a fight, Emily nodded morosely and watched as the doctor left the room.

Once the room was blanketed in silence, Emily turned her attention towards JJ, quickly and easily noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the ashen pallor to her normally tanned skin – a clear sign that JJ hadn't been outside in quite awhile and probably hadn't gotten much rest since Emily had been admitted if not before she had been taken.

Hoping to lighten the mood, the raven haired woman offered a tentative and weak smile at the woman beside her and made a confession that was something akin to a childish whine. "I hate hospitals," Emily croaked, her voice sounding hoarse from lack of use combined with the dryness in her throat from the heavy medications.

"You're a doctor," JJ said in slight amusement, preferring to lose herself in humor rather than the worry that had been running through her veins like ice water for the past few days.

Even looking paler than usual and clearly still weak from the heavy medication, the raven haired woman still managed to turn her head towards JJ to give her a look that clearly said, 'and your point is?'

"How can you be a doctor and hate hospitals? That's like being a phlebotomist who can't stand the sight of blood or a mechanic who hates cars." JJ couldn't hide her disbelief even if she tried, finding it strange that she hadn't known this little fact about Emily but also finding it hard to believe that someone who specialized in medicine and had to spend time doing her residency in a hospital could hate the place. It was truly puzzling; but then again, Emily was a conundrum all on her own so in a way it made sense.

"I don't like the smell," the other woman responded, her voice wavering slightly, though JJ couldn't exactly tell if it was from the medication or just an unpleasant memory. "And even though I had to do my residency in a hospital, I still hate them."

JJ knew the hospital smell fairly well, especially since she had seen more hospitals than she could count throughout her time with the BAU. If she, herself, wasn't the patient then she was there for one of the other team members, but no matter who it was, the unique odor that could only be associated to hospitals, remained.

"I think you're going to need to get used to the smell," JJ said in sympathy, already noticing the antsy look in the brunette's eyes, "because you're not going to be leaving any time soon."

Emily groaned loudly, wincing slightly from the action as it pulled at the stitches on her abdomen.

"Stop doing that," JJ chastised, wondering if that adage about doctors being the worst patients was actually true; if Emily's near constant fidgeting and what she could only guess were the beginnings of her complaining, she figured the saying must have some sort of credence.

With an uncharacteristic pout on her lips, Emily's eyes started to glaze over as she stared at the wall in front of her.

"Are you pouting?" JJ asked in amused shock, leaning forward in her chair so she could get a better look at the other woman; it wasn't often that Emily employed a pout and JJ didn't think she would get many more chances to see the adorable look.

"No," Emily drawled, the word sounding completely unconvincing as she tried and failed to stop her lower lip from jutting out. "I don't pout," she countered, her arms beginning to cross over her chest before JJ's hand immediately stopped them.

"You're going to aggravate your stitches," the blonde muttered sternly as she pulled Emily's arms down completely and slid her hand into the doctor's empty one. "And you do pout because you were just doing it. Quite adorably, I might add."

The raven haired woman narrowed her eyes as she attempted to glare at JJ, but the action was considerably lessened in effect considering Emily couldn't seem to maintain her focus as her eyelids started to droop, her pursed lips wavering before tugging into a slow, reluctant smile.

"I've never seen you high on medication before," the blonde remarked casually, finding that Emily without her inhibitions and lowered guard was one of the most adorable things she had ever seen.

"Because I don't need 'em" Emily said slowly, the newest wave of medication slamming into her in waves, her words beginning to slur as her eyelids opened again only to droop a second later. "I've seen you on 'em," the doctor managed to get out, her sleepy gaze trained solely on JJ as a dopey grin spread across her face. "You're cute."

"Cute, huh?" JJ teased, knowing she had said her fair share of dopey things when she had been shot up with morphine for the few injuries she had sustained throughout their relationship. "Tell me more," she prodded, wondering just what the other woman would say now that she basically had no filter.

The blonde widened her blue eyes and fluttered her eyelashes for added affect, her penetrating gaze trained on Emily's sleepy and drug-happy face.

"You already know," Emily mumbled, her hand disentangling from JJ's hand as it moved up to stroke the few blonde tendrils of hair that hung in the other woman's face.

"Then remind me," JJ said quietly, watching with a soft smile as Emily continued to play with her hair, an enamored look on her face like it was the most astounding thing to ever be in her hands.

"I like your hair," the doctor said confidently, the surety of her declaration only slightly lessened by the fact that her words continued to slur. "It's soft and blonde," she pointed out needlessly, her stroking becoming reverent as she finally pushed the strands behind JJ's ear. It was tempting to ramble on about what else she loved about JJ's hair (like how it looked like spun gold or how it always smelled of lavender or even the tiny fact that Emily found herself constantly wanting to wind her fingers in those silky strands), but in the interest of not looking and sounding like a complete sap, Emily tried to keep her sentences short and concise, hopefully minimizing her shame later upon remembering what she'd said.

"What else?" The blonde prompted, her smile widening at the simple action on the other woman's part.

"Your smile," the doctor said sleepily, her head turning to the side on her pillow as she stared unabashedly at JJ, her fingers tracing the outline of JJ's lips before her hand fell with a muted thump onto the hospital bed. "It does weird things to me," Emily muttered in bewilderment with a furrowed brow, her words starting to run together as the time between her eyes opening and closing seemed to grow. When JJ flashed the other woman a dazzling smile, Emily forced her eyes to remain open as she let the warmth of that smile wash over her, feeling for all the world like she had the heat of the sun's rays spreading over her skin. To her left, the heart monitor's beeping pickup up in pace, the staccato suddenly a few beats faster. "Like that," the pediatrician murmured distractedly, her eyes unable to remain focused on JJ's breathtaking smile as she succumbed to sleep.

Torn between chuckling at the quiet and sleepy confession and swooning in her seat, JJ settled on simply staring at the other woman in wonder. It was no secret that Emily was a bit reluctant to share her emotions but when she did finally say what she was feeling, she did it so much better than anyone else. Apparently a high on morphine Emily was just as good with her words as a sober and drug free one, just a bit less reluctant to hold them in.

"What would I do without you?" JJ asked softly into the quiet room, her hand moving up to Emily's cheek as she stroked over the soft and lightly bruised skin, her eyes softening as she gazed at the slumbering woman. It still made her chest tighten to think that if she had been just a few minutes later she might not be sitting there with Emily but it was so much easier to cope with things now that the unbearable weight on her chest and the knot in her stomach had finally subsided. Emily was fine – or as fine as someone could be given her injuries – and she was safe and JJ couldn't have hoped for anything more than that.

JJ wasn't sure at what point she had fallen asleep or for how long she had been passed out but she did know that she was no longer alone in the room with Emily. The two figures that had been in the doorway stood there for a moment before one of them came bounding towards the blonde, the excited manner in which they ran and the happy squeal of delight automatically clueing her in to exactly who it was.

"Oomph," the blonde grunted as she knelt down, the air momentarily knocked out of her as Henry collided into her body, his tiny arms wrapping around her neck tightly as he buried his face into the crook. "I take it you missed me?" She murmured as she returned the hug, standing at her full height and bringing him along with.

His head nodded fervently against her neck, clinging to her as though he thought she might disappear.

With her hand running through his shaggy blonde hair, JJ turned her gaze towards the other figure in the doorway, her smile widening as she immediately recognized the other person. "Hey Pen," she said quietly, already moving towards the other woman and fully prepared to give the friendly face a tight hug.

"Miss me?" Penelope teased, repeating the same question JJ had just asked Henry, her smile widening as she wrapped her arms around the media liaison, ignoring the giggles that erupted from the little boy who was smashed between them and clinging to JJ's neck like a koala bear.

"I'd be lost without you," JJ said good-naturedly, parroting back the phrase that Garcia often employed whenever she spoke about the people in her life. "Isn't that what you're always saying?"

Penelope smirked at the joke and shrugged, her expression showing that she truly believed no one would be able to function without at least a small dose of Penelope Garcia in their lives. "And it's one hundred percent true. Just look at you guys," she teased again, pointing towards JJ who had her son holding on for dear life and then towards Emily who was fast asleep with a small smile playing at her lips.

"This proves nothing," JJ said dismissively, though the smile on her face and the twinkle in her eye negated the words.

Garcia nodded, stifling a chuckle as her head nodded towards Emily's slumbering form, "How's she doing?"

The smile on JJ's face faltered a little, her eyes gravitating towards Emily and the bruises that covered her face, "Pretty well considering all that's happened to her."

"She's a tough one," Garcia said after a moment, breaking the temporary silence that had befallen the room, "if anyone can pull through this kind of thing, it would be Emily."

"That's what I keep telling myself," JJ said softly, her hand gingerly stroking over Henry's messy blonde hair, finding comfort in having her little boy close and safe.

Penelope placed a hand on JJ's shoulder, "Don't worry so much," the tech analyst said softly, her voice soothing and comforting, "you'll give yourself wrinkles."

And with that, JJ's somber mood was broken, her free hand shooting out as she smacked the other woman for the borderline rude but totally Penelope Garcia-ish comment. "Sometimes I wonder why we're even friends," the media liaison joked, her voice falsely serious.

"Well, while you ponder that very important question," Penelope said lightly, her smile widening as she stared at her friend, "I'm going to go grab a cup of a coffee and see if I can steal a few minutes with my Chocolate Adonis."

"Of course you are," JJ teased, having already known that Penelope would be unable to resist staying away from Morgan for too long now that they were in the same city.

With that, Penelope disappeared through the door with a flourish, leaving JJ and Henry alone in the room with a heavily medicated and quietly snoring pediatrician.

When Emily awoke again, she could feel frustration building within her. She hated that she kept slipping in and out of consciousness, that she felt completely unaware of her surroundings despite knowing exactly where was and why she was there. She despised the way her heart rate spiked every time she woke up from her medically induced sleep and she especially hated that for a brief moment, when she lingered between sleep and consciousness, that she couldn't help the sliver of fear that ran down her spine at the thought that she had been imagining everything would end up back in that dank warehouse with Doyle hovering over her.

It only took a few blinks of her eyes and the tightening of her hand as it fisted the crisp white sheet of the hospital bed for her to realize that her moment of fear was unfounded. Clarity and lucidity came quickly, each and every time, but that didn't mean that she didn't still hate feeling like she was a victim – even if it was only for a few seconds.

With wild eyes that were quickly masking the temporary hysteria and fear of her situation, Emily glanced around the room, like she had done every single time she had woken up. She looked at the plain walls, briefly staring at the generic pictures that broke up the monotony of the eggshell white painted walls before she was looking at the starkly contrasting door and then, like always, her eyes drifted towards JJ's sleeping form.

The blonde was in her usual spot, beside Emily's bed, with her head resting on her bent arm while her free hand remained firmly attached to the doctor's.

But something was different this time and it took just a few seconds for Emily to finally grasp what that difference was. She blamed the heavy and quite potent drugs that they had her on for the momentary lack of awareness because it was a little embarrassing to admit that she had missed something so big and noticeable.

Slowly, her head turned to the side, because it felt like someone had slammed her face into a brick wall and rubbed it against the hard surface about a hundred times, plus she doubted that fast movements would help the pain that the worn off medication was doing little to relieve, and saw a mass of shaggy blonde hair resting on her shoulder.

For a second, brief as it was, her mind supplied her with an image of Declan and her heart stuttered in her chest – but then clarity once again hit her and she realized that the boy she saw in her mind would always be just that, the boy in her mind. He had no place on this Earth anymore and Emily had already accepted that as fact. It didn't make her miss him any less, didn't make the fracture to her heart any less painful, but it meant that she could accept what had happened.

Letting out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding, Emily raised a shaky hand to the tiny figure beside and her ran her fingers through his hair, a smile automatically tugging at her lips. Her fingers continued to comb through his hair, the simple movement somehow calming the raging thoughts in her head and giving her a moment of pure calm.

So absorbed in the boy beside her, Emily didn't notice JJ raising her head off the side of the bed or the soft quirk of her lips at the sight. "You're awake," the blonde pointed out quietly, her attention solely on the woman and her slumbering son, relief evident in her voice and on her face.

Emily blinked in surprise, a mirroring smile appearing on her face as she looked at the blonde. "I don't think I could sleep any more even if I tried," the pale woman replied dryly, more than happy to be free from the confines and haziness of sleep.

"I give it another two hours before you're out like a light again." While JJ hadn't had this exact conversation with Emily, she had had some variation of it and despite Emily's grumblings about never sleeping again or any time soon, she usually passed out a few hours later. The medication they had her on was the main culprit for her relentless drowsiness but JJ figured that even without it, Emily would probably still have spent most of her time sleeping.

Her body had been through a lot and it only made sense that she would need time and rest for it to heal. Emily should have known that better than anyone considering she was a doctor, but from the way she was acting, JJ doubted it.

"When did he get here?" Emily asked, her head tilting towards Henry.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, JJ replied quietly, "A few hours ago." Leaning forward, she pulled the hospital blanket further up and covered her son, "Pen brought him."

Clinging to the lucidity that she knew probably wouldn't last, Emily tried to sort her thoughts and work through the haze that had taken up permanent residency in her mind. "Is your team going back to D.C.?"

JJ frowned at the question. "I'm not entirely sure," the blonde replied honestly, having been a bit out of the loop since she had basically been holed up in the hospital room since Emily had been admitted. "I mean, Pen just got here so I doubt they'll be going back tonight but they probably won't stay for longer than a day or two."

Emily looked at the blonde, thoughts whizzing through her head as the silence of the room increased tenfold. "You and Henry should probably go with them," the pediatrician finally said, her eyes pointedly fixed on the broken television in the corner of the room, the woman unable to meet the, no doubt incredulous, look on JJ's face.

"And why would we do that?" JJ asked in a mixture of frustration and surprise when it was clear that Emily wasn't going to offer anything more on the suggestion.

"You've been sleeping in that chair since I got here," Emily said obviously, her eyes finally moving back to meet JJ's. "And now that Henry is here, you can't exactly keep that up. You two should be back in D.C., not stuck here."

JJ frowned, her hand reaching out as her fingers intertwined with Emily's, wanting to dissuade the other woman's obvious turmoil over the situation.

"Emily," JJ said softly but sternly, "I'm not going to just suddenly abandon you just because Henry is here and you can't push me away either. Henry can handle a few days in the hospital until your well enough to come back home. I'll get a room at a nearby hotel; we'll crash at night and come back here as soon as we can."

The words were sincere enough and Emily knew that JJ would have no problem sticking to that plan, but the fact of the matter was that the doctor didn't like the fact that if felt like JJ was putting her life on hold while she recouped. Realistically, a few days off of work wasn't all that much of a burden on JJ, and Emily knew that, but it still felt like she was putting JJ through an unnecessary amount of trouble. It seemed just as crazy to put Henry through all of that too when a majority of the time Emily was just going to be unconscious.

Just as Emily opened her mouth to say as much, there was a tentative knock on the door just before it swung open and Penelope popped her head into the room. She took two steps in before the tension in the air gave her pause, a quizzical look on her face as she glanced from JJ, to Emily, to a still slumbering Henry.

"Am I interrupting something?" Garcia asked, looking like she wouldn't be bothered in the least if she was.

"No," both women said simultaneously, not wanting Penelope Garcia of all people to get involved in their discussion.

"So then you two won't mind if I snatch Henry so he can nap in a bed that isn't currently occupied by an injured woman, right?" Her eyebrow quirked, a smirk on her lips as she stared unblinkingly at both women.

"No, that sounds great Pen," JJ offered up weakly, only able to half pay attention and she tried to figure out a way to get past Emily's stubbornness and need to hide all signs of vulnerability.

"Ookay," Garcia drawled before carefully picking up Henry and making her way out through the door, only looking back once to give both women a stare that they couldn't quite decipher but knew that somewhere in there, there was a threat.

"I think she wants this sorted out by the time she comes back," Emily said the moment Penelope disappeared, already aware that Garcia would have no problem demanding what their 'discussion' was over and establishing a ruling that would most likely side with JJ.

JJ ignored the comment and got back to the conversation they had been having before Penelope came in and whisked her son off. "There's nothing to sort out, we're staying."

Emily pursed her lips and thanked the heavens that she wasn't due for her next round of medication for another hour or so. Had she not been so lucid, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have willingly embraced JJ's desire to stay with her throughout her stay in the hospital. Now that she was awake and aware of what was going on, her growing guilt was getting the better of her and she wasn't as comfortable with the idea of making Henry and JJ stay for the duration of her sentence in the hospital.

"I'm out of more often than not, JJ. There's no point in the two of you being here if I'm going to spend most of my time sleeping – I can't ask either of you to do that." Emily's voice wavered, her fingers clutching desperately at the crisp white sheets of her bed, her gaze imploring JJ to understand where she was coming from.

The blonde leaned forward and placed one of her hands over Emily's clenched fist, a sympathetic look on her face as she met Emily's gaze. "You aren't asking, I'm offering. I don't care if you're unconscious the entire time, Em, I'm not going anywhere. If it'd make you comfortable, I can ask Pen to take Henry back and watch him until you're well enough to come back to D.C. but there's no way in hell I'm leaving you here alone. I can't do it."

Emily could see the emotions swirling in JJ's eyes and any rebuttal or remark she had on the tip of her tongue was instantly wiped away. There was something lingering in that loaded look that she couldn't quite put her finger.

"Jen–" the pediatrician tried again feebly only to have her words cut off by JJ's finger pressed against her lips.

"No," the blonde said forcefully, making it clear that she wasn't going to hear any more excuses and wasn't to be interrupted.

"Look, I get it. Trust me Em, I get it." JJ said soundly, "You don't want to feel like you're making me put my life on hold and you don't want to feel like your imposing on Henry's and my life. You're vulnerable right now and knowing you, you probably hate it. I get that, probably better than most. It is a terrible feeling." There was a hint of knowledge in those words, a familiarity of what she was saying that struck accord with Emily.

"But I'm not going anywhere. I can't go anywhere." And just like that, all the strength in JJ's words, all the conviction she had been wielding moments earlier, was gone in a flash. Like a balloon with a hole in it, all the energy seeped out of her as a look of pure sorrow and helplessness flickered over her face.

The blonde shook her head from side to side, like she couldn't quite fathom what she was about to say next, the fear of it making her heart seize and the words tumble from her lips like an accusation and a vehement denial. "You flat lined twice!"

Her words were said slowly but quietly, her volume low but lacking the sudden forcefulness from just moments earlier, "You died, Emily, do you get that? Do you understand that your heart stopped beating and for just a few minutes, you were legally dead?" Her voice cracked on the last word, her eyes filling to the brim with tears that hadn't yet fallen.

The pain in her voice, the worry lines that were etched across her beautiful face had all the stubbornness leaving Emily in an instant. Her shoulders slumped and she sunk further into the hospital bed. The raven haired woman didn't know what to say, her mind was suddenly blank now that she was looking at the pure anguish on JJ's face. Her heart feeling as though it were clenching so tightly it would burst into a pile of dust.

"I–" Emily started, but her mouth quickly snapped shut, finding it hard to find a response to JJ's fears that didn't sound like a simple placation or dismissal.

Truth of the matter was that Emily hadn't thought JJ should be around, not while there was the constant beeping of machines around, not when all Emily could do was lay in bed and hope for a change of scenery. It wasn't that she didn't think her girlfriend couldn't handle it – far from it, but she didn't want the blonde to feel obligated to stick around and torture herself by watching Emily struggle. This was the doctor's rock bottom and even she didn't want to witness the struggle she was experiencing; as ridiculous as it seemed, she wanted to give JJ an out card should she want it.

Obviously though, that tactic had been the wrong one. She really should have known better; had the roles been reversed and JJ was the one seriously injured in the hospital Emily didn't think that anything less than being forcibly dragged from the room would keep her from holding vigil by JJ's side.

"If I go home with Henry, I'll spend the entire time sitting there twiddling my thumbs wondering if you're really okay – if you're still alive." The media liaison shook her head, the hurt of that scenario etched clearly onto her face.

Without even thinking about it, Emily stretched her hand out and grabbed hold of JJ's, clinging to it like it was the only thing that was keeping her afloat the rocky waters. "Jen, it's okay," she soothed, her voice soft despite the way it cracked with the force of emotions surging through her. It felt like there was a permanent lump in her throat, the tightness making it hard to swallow let alone breathe; the weight of her feelings resting on her chest like a bag of bricks.

"I just didn't want you feeling like you had to stay here and watch over me. I know you have work and Henry to think of and keeping you here with me, making you put those things on the back-burner while I'm basically bedridden – it felt selfish. Like I was imposing myself on you." For as much progress as Emily had made with JJ and all the insecurities and hang ups she had gotten over, that frustrating voice in her head that sounded hauntingly like her mother, always insisted that self-reliance was the only way to make it in the world.

Looking at JJ though, seeing the softened expression and the sheer look of tenderness, Emily could easily cast that low murmuring voice in her head away.

So much time had been spent being angry with her mother for perverting her views on the world, for stripping away an innocence that, once gone, had begun to fester and bubble with cynicism and disgust. Her past was set in stone and remaining tethered to the ideals and structure her mother had set up was only doing more damage than anything else.

Emily had struggled to free herself from that hole of depression and self-hatred, clawing and scratching her way to the surface through nothing short of pure willpower and to have that nagging voice in her head attempting to undo it all was not something the pediatrician was going to stand for.

She might not be able to change her past or the rocky path it had set her down, but she could sure as hell change her future and the way she lived her life.

There were people who were willing to help, people who cared and to throw it all away because she was still stuck with one foot in the past and one toward the future was just plain foolish.

"I'm stubborn," Emily said suddenly, eyes averted as she tried to reconcile who she had spent years being and who she wanted to be for JJ – for herself. With a shaky breath, Emily let go of her reservations and hesitancies, "I have a tendency, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, to want to do things on my own. I've been licking my own wounds in solitude for so long that it doesn't even register half the time that I'm still doing it."

Despite how much she thought she had changed since her relationship with JJ, Emily was still very much aware that, while many of her old habits had been worked through and for the most part disappeared, there were still a few that she had relied on for far too long to have been completely squashed. Being stubborn and needing to seclude herself while she healed, in whatever form that might take, was something that would take more time and effort.

"I can't say that I'll stop being stubborn in all things," with a small smirk forming, Emily lifted her gaze towards JJ, "if I gave that up, there would be no denying who the real person in charge in this relationship is."

With a snort of amusement and disbelief, JJ gave Emily's hand an affectionate if not patronizing squeeze, "You don't need to give anything up for it be clear that I'm the one wearing the pants in this relationship, Em."

"Um, Sweetheart, you only think that because I let you think it," in retaliation, Emily gave JJ's hand the same patronizing pat, a winsome smile on her face.

"Oh, really?" JJ asked with interest, her eyes gleaming in a way that Emily knew was not good in the slightest.

"Really," The pediatrician confirmed, unwilling to cede defeat and distinctly aware of the hole she had just dug and buried herself in.

"It's a good thing I have you around to remind me of just who's in charge in this relationship," the blonde said smoothly, her voice calm despite the promise of regret that swirled within her blue eyes. "I'll be sure to remember this wonderfully informative conversation later."

With a weak cough, Emily attempted a last minute backpedal, "You know what, why don't we just call it an even trade-off and forget this entire conversation happened. I mean, should relationships really have one person who holds more power than the other?" If Emily's tone was just a tad hysterical, then she blamed it entirely on the pain medication and not at all on the fact that she knew this little discussion was going to come back and bite her in the ass later.

"Uh-huh," JJ drawled, her eyebrow rose as she shot the raven haired woman an incredibly unimpressed look. "I'm starting to think I should have taken you up on your offer earlier and left you here to wallow alone."

Moving as quickly as a drugged-up, injured, bandaged and bedridden person could, Emily's hand shot out and grabbed onto JJ's arm, her lips tugging into a knowing smirk, "Sorry, but that was a onetime offer. Since you so kindly declined earlier, you're now stuck with me for the foreseeable future."

Huffing out an entirely exaggerated sigh, JJ leaned forward, "I suppose if I'm stuck with you–" the rest trailing off as she allowed herself to get swallowed up in the feel of Emily's lips pressed firmly to her own.

It was only when JJ pulled back, eyes glassy and her mind just a tad hazy, that she realized how easy it really was to get lost in the force of nature that was Emily Prentiss. One moment she could be the equivalent of a giddy schoolgirl, the next, a nervous wreck. Then there was the fact that her mind had a tendency to turn to mush whenever Emily so much as brushed their hands together – kissing was something else entirely and JJ was only mildly dismayed to admit that sometimes a simple kiss could feel like her brain was short circuiting.

Touching Emily was a lot of things, but most of the time, it was like touching a soothing stone; the mere hint of skin on skin contact serving to send crashing waves of calm through her until it left her mind in a wonderfully quiet buzz and her body thrumming with emotion.

So JJ couldn't say she was entirely surprised to find that when Emily finally pulled away, a hint of a pained grimace tugging at her lips while she leaned back against the thin pillows behind her, it took the blonde quiet awhile to remember what they had been talking about before they had devolved into easy banter and charged kisses.

The silence that had quickly descended upon them was a comfortable one, and though it sent a jolt of regret through JJ, she couldn't help but find her nonplussed smile slipping away only to be replaced with its previous one of seriousness, sympathy, and most of all, understanding. "Hey, Em?" The blonde asked softly, her voice sounding loud in the quiet that surrounded them.

Emily already had a guess as to what was coming, had known that once the floodgates had been opened it would be inevitable – that everything they weren't entirely sure how to bring up or were too afraid to voice would come pouring out. Realistically, she knew it was good that everything was laid out on the table but that didn't stop her fingers from tightening their hold on the thin hospital blanket as though she could physically hold on to the calm and obliviousness that had cocooned them.

"Yeah, Jen?" The pediatrician finally responded, her head reluctantly turning towards JJ, the last vestiges of mental emptiness fleeing as she felt the familiar weight of the past few days in her bones, dragging her down to reality like lead.

"You know I'm not going anywhere, right?" JJ asked, wanting to make sure that Emily knew the sentiments from their previous conversation weren't one-sided. No matter what, JJ was in it for the long haul and before they discussed anything else, she needed Emily to know that there was someone in her corner.

Diverting her gaze, Emily took a moment to gather herself, holding on to a breath for a moment before letting it go, "I know," she all but whispered, the two words just as loaded with meaning as JJ's question had been. There was an unmistakable rawness to her voice that made her sound so vulnerable and open, even to her own ears, and there was nothing she could do to cover it up, not that she really even wanted to.

She hated feeling like this, like her chest had been pried open and all of her insides were open and visible to anyone who cared to look, giving them the power to just reach in and root around until they were satisfied with the damage done. This feeling, the one where she felt so utterly naked was unnerving to the point where she wanted nothing more than to squirm away from the discussion and make a speedy exit.

"I'm just–" Emily shook her head, trying to rid herself of the raw feeling that left her with the phantom sensation of her chest burning from the inside out, a nervous churning of her stomach and a dry lump that was quickly forming in her throat. "I know I'm going to need to talk about what happened, and it probably won't be nearly as bad as I'm making it out to be in my head, but I just want to escape reality for as long as possible."

Emily wouldn't cry, though she could feel the tears prickling at her eyes as she finally turned to meet JJ's eyes, "For the sake of honesty, I want nothing more than to crawl into a hole of denial, compartmentalize the hell out of everything, laugh it all off and just pretend none of this ever happened but I've got the wounds and a clover shaped brand on my chest that means that even I can't ignore what's happened. No matter how badly I might want to."

As if struck by compulsion, Emily's fingers tugged back the front of her gown, dropping inside as she started to peel away the tape securing the gauze bandage over her brand. Emily knew what she would see, had felt it when it happened, had seen it before it was hastily covered by Doyle, but some part of her felt compelled to verify that it was actually there. The bubble of obliviousness she surrounded herself in had been popped, leaving her with a twisted need to verify that the events that played nonstop in her dreams had actually happened and weren't a product of her mind.

JJ's hand shot out, stopping Emily from doing anything further with the bandage. "We'll get through this together Emily," the media liaison said with unwavering conviction, pushing away Emily's hand and pressing the tape back into place, taking only a second to make sure the burn was completely covered again.

"It's going to hit me," Emily said morosely, resigned to her fate, "I know that I'm going to feel fine for a little while and then I'm going to hear someone say something or I'll see this stupid brand in the mirror and I'm going to break." She didn't need to be a psychiatrist to know that at some point, the relative calm she was feeling towards what she'd gone through would crumble to a pile of ash in a matter of seconds. It wasn't taking much effort not to dwell on what had happened at the moment, the medication had her asleep more often than not and when she was awake, her thoughts were muddled and her memory hazy; but the moment she left the safety of the hospital and the ignorance it allowed her to feign, when she was left alone without any distractions and forced to deal with her thoughts, it would hit her like a ton of bricks. Emily prided herself on being strong but even she knew she wasn't strong enough to weather this alone.

"Maybe this is just putting off the inevitable and asking too much of you after what you've had to go through, but can we just pretend, at least for now, that nothing's happened? I think I just want to have as much calm as I can before the inexorable storm hits." Emily didn't want to sound like she was pleading, but she knew that was exactly how she was coming across. She couldn't find it in herself to care much though because she just wanted as long as possible to feel relatively normal and at ease before she had to deal with the impending fallout and her recovery.

JJ could only stare at her girlfriend, eyes soft and reassuring as she rose from her seat, gingerly situating herself on the bed beside Emily, careful not to disrupt any of her injuries or jostle the wires and IV lines in her arms, "Yeah, Em, we can do that."

It wasn't easy for JJ to pretend like things weren't going to get worse before they got better, but with Emily looking at her with such a desperate need for even an ounce of normalcy, however temporary, the blonde couldn't find it in herself to take that little bit of reassurance away.

If Emily needed to feel normal to make it through things, if she needed a rock or just someone to be there to pick up the pieces and glue her back together, JJ would be that for her.

"Whatever you need Em, I'll be there." JJ guided Emily's head to her shoulder, running her hand soothingly through the pediatrician's black hair, "We'll be there." She and Henry weren't going anywhere and JJ was going to make sure Emily knew there was a support system there, ready and waiting.

"I love you," Emily mumbled faintly and sleepily, her nose pressing against the nape of JJ's neck as she started to give in to the tug of exhaustion that had suddenly hit her.

"I love you too," JJ responded just as quietly, her gaze never straying from Emily's face.

Both of them knew that the road to recovery, mentally, emotionally and physically, wasn't going to be an easy one. Emily was stubborn and bound to put up a fight, and JJ knew she would eventually get exasperated with the pediatrician's bullheadedness; but no matter what, they were going to get through this.

Relationships, like all things in life, weren't meant to be easy. Maybe theirs strayed from the normal problems couples faced and maybe working through everything that had just happened would break them in ways they couldn't even imagine but maybe it would also bring them closer together; maybe it would solidify their relationship in ways that neither of them could do without everything that had transpired having happened.

The road ahead was most assuredly going to be a bumpy one, but like was so often the case, nothing was worth having unless it required a bit of effort and a little pain, and neither woman was about to give up the potential for something great without putting up one hell of a fight.