Work Text:
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The morning was perfect, you woke up to her gorgeous blue eyes already staring at you and you couldn't help but smile. Something about seeing her first thing in the morning always put you in the best mood, "Good morning my love," she whispered so softly you just wanted to curl up next to her and sleep all day, but there were killers to catch and crimes to solve. "Hi, jayje" you said while moving closer to her and laying your head on her chest.
"You don't wanna get up yet?" you heard from above you as her fingers brushed through your hair. "Not yet, 5 more minutes?" she gave in like she always did and so you soaked up the warmth and smell of comfort for as long as you could.
When she finally did drag you out of bed it was only with the promise of a shared shower before work, and of course any moment alone with her was enough to charge you up for the day.
You both worked around each other like you have for months, you made the coffee while she grabbed your go bags, badges, and guns. JJ always needs to be moving in the mornings or else she gets tired so she'd take whatever tasks can be done in the time it took for the coffee to brew.
She met you at the door with a kiss as you both exchanged necessities, mornings with her were always so easy because there was no one who needed you yet, no one calling you away, and no one giving you a headache, just you and the woman you love.
The car ride was filled with laughter and a feeling that felt like home. Only when you reached the Quantico building did you leave her side, you went in first and JJ followed only 2 minutes after as not to raise suspicion since none of your family yet knew the secret of who held your heart.
You and JJ had been friends for years before you started going out but after that first date you'd both decided to keep what you are to yourselves at least until you were sure that you were ready to tell everyone with no regrets. Soon no regrets passed and it came to when the work load died down a bit, then it passed over to whenever the right moment came across. It wasn't that you were scared of the reaction so much as you'd both grown comfortable in secret dates and whispered moments.
So here you were dating for 6 months yet you both still hid like teenagers in love.
You didn't have much time to dwell on it though as the second JJ walked in everyone was called to the round table for a new case.
~~~~
An unsub in Denver is killing college students, girls who have barely even lived, whose lives have only just begun. They suffer in their final moments before they're killed by a gunshot to the neck.
All you could think of was the fear and pain they must have been in as he violated their bodies and then murdered them. The only thing that shook you out of your mind wasn't Emily calling your name but it was when JJ's hand fell onto your thigh and you realized you were had reached the airstrip.
As you took your seat next to Emily you noticed that the other seats of the 4 seater were filled by Garcia and Morgan, your eyes found JJ sitting on the couch and as much as you ached to be with her you stayed seated.
"So what do we know?" Hotch asked in a cool tone.
"The unsub is most likely male considering the semen found on the victims," Emily added first.
"He's meticulous, probably thought a lot about how each moment of his attack would go, every gunshot hit the carotid artery and they bleed out within minutes" Morgan seemed a bit more mad than upset.
"He gets off on taking them and having them against their will, it's like taking the girls is his version of foreplay. He probably has some sort of sexual assult charges or at least aqusations on him from childhood or teenage years." You say hating every moment of it.
"He isn't taking girls from just one school so he likely knows a few places where college students go from when he was in college," Reid added already wanting to make a geographical profile.
"An unsub like this probably would have just barely finished his post secondary education, he's messy and unfocused with fixations on small points and his grades probably reflected that." JJ's voice was strong and steady but you knew her so well you could hear the smallest shake in her voice, she still worried about her profiling abilities no matter how much you praised her.
"He takes these girls and keeps them for a day and dumps her the next but he never uses weekends even though he'd have the most options to pick from, he probably has a job that keeps him from using the weekend instead," Rossi notes.
When the jet lands Hotch, Garcia, and Reid go to the station, You and Emily go to the latest dump site, JJ and Morgan go to the latest victims dorm and talk to her teachers, and Rossi goes to the M.E's office.
The day felt longer than it probably was but between local cops taking down to you, getting yelled at by multiple family members for "not doing your job", and not seeing JJ since the jet you were beyond ready to call it a night.
"This case clearly won't be solved tonight so lets head to the hotel, get some rest, and start again tomorrow." With that Hotch had sent everyone to the cars, Reid and Morgan took one car back from the crime scene, Hotch and Rossi took another as they left after everyone, and finally you, JJ, Emily, and Garcia took the last one.
Food was ordered fairly quickly after the 4 of you gathered in Emily's room, you all tried to put the case in the back of your minds so when Garcia recommended playing a game you all jumped at the chance of just enjoying the night for a bit.
"Emily would you rather sleep with someone on the first date or wait for six months?" Penelope asked first.
"What kind of question is that?" she asked, "Answer the question Prentiss!" you say now very invested. "Fine, ok I guess on the first date cuz I wouldn't want to wait 6 whole months."
"Alright my turn, JJ would you rather dominate or be dominated?" Emily asked with a huge grin. "Wha- Ok fine, I would rather.. dominate" she answers happily but you have to fight the blush that threatened to crawl up your neck. "Really!" Garcia asks but then JJ asks you next.
"Y/n would you rather have sex in the shower or on the kitchen table?" Your eyes widen at her knowing you've done both with her, "I would.. I don't know! Uhm I guess I'd rather on the kitchen table, it's more spacious," at this point everyone was having fun and you were blushing more than you thought you would today.
"Penny would you rather say your ex's name during sex or your partner's best friend's name?" you ask not even sure what to expect. "Ohh both would be so bad! I'll say ex's only because at least I've had sex with all my ex's, it wouldn't make sense for their best friend y'know?" She was more than happy to answer and you were surprised when she went for the more logical option.
The game went on and was exactly what you needed to take some weight off your shoulders so later that night when you cuddled up to JJ in bed you felt just the slightest bit lighter.
~~~~
The next few days were grueling but when you found out the unsub was a professor for 3 of the students and had been a substitute teacher in the rest of the victims classes you had all left to get to his house. You, JJ and Morgan were the first to get there so you all went in first and began clearing the house, no matter how much you didn't want to split up there wasn't enough time for you all to go together without risking the unsub escaping.
You had taken the second floor, Morgan had the basement and JJ took the main floor you all worked fast clearing the house but time froze when you heard a gun shot go off. Before you knew it you were running downstairs and saw the unsub with a gun standing above JJ who was bleeding on the floor, you didn't even think before you raised your gun and shot him dead center in the forehead.
The second you did your focus shifted from him and solely to JJ, so much so you hadn't even noticed when Morgan came up and checked on him before calling for an ambulance for JJ, all your focus was on keeping pressure on the wound and keeping JJ awake.
"JJ! JJ stay awake! Please baby stay with me!" you begged and pleaded and when Morgan noticed the way you were shaking he took over holding pressure as you moved up to her head. "Jen please look at me, I need you to stay awake!" she didn't say anything but you saw the way her eyes were drooping and how it took longer to blink each time. She squeezed your hand with a smile but couldn't find her voice so all she could do was mouth "I love you," but it was enough. "I know, I know baby, I love you too so you need to stay awake, you need to stay with me!" You hadn't even noticed you were crying till a tear fell down onto her face.
The paramedics had arrived and Hotch had to pull you away so they could help her. After that time had slowed, you fell to the floor and only got back up when Emily and Rossi brought you to the hospital.
Everything was a blur, your mind was blank.
All it took was 5 seconds to turn your whole world upside down.
When you got to the hospital you heard Hotch's voice but it was muffled, "We're here for Jennifer Jareau," It was like your head was underwater. "Are any of you family?" at that you launched forward not a single care for secrets anymore, "I'm her girlfriend." You didn't even see the looks of surprise, you only saw the doctor nod at you, "She's in surgery now but it'll take some time as they think the bullet may have punctured an organ. I'll be back with more updates soon."
You didn't move when the doctor turned and walked away, at that moment everything hit you like a bag of ice. You just looked down and saw her blood on your hands, then in a blur you were in a washroom with Emily and Penelope who both looked at you with concern. "What?" you barely croaked out, "I said we should get your hands clean first and then you can change," they both pulled you forward and ran you hands under warm water.
In another blur your hands were now clean and Garcia held fresh clothes from your go bag as Emily tried getting your attention again. "I'm sorry, I don't know what.." you started but trailed off before you could finish. "It's ok, I just need you to lift your arms so I can change your shirt," she helped you take it off before putting you in the hoodie you always kept in your bag. It was warmer now, you hadn't even realized you were cold.
You never told anyone the hoodie was JJ's, you kept one of hers and she kept one of yours, that way on the nights you couldn't be together you could still feel the other. Now you weren't sure if you'd ever feel her again.
In the next blur you were sitting in the waiting room with the rest of the team and Rossi was in front of you with a cup of coffee for you. You took it quickly with a nod, you were starting to get used to the blurs now, it wasn't as jarring to refocus in an entirely different place.
Another blur, Emily shook your shoulder and you realized the doctor was looking at you so you stood, "They've removed the bullet and controlled most of the bleeding so now they're focusing on making sure nothing else in damage before they closer her up." All you can do is nod in response to her.
When you finally do turn you see Emily, "I don't know what to do right now," you whisper out but your voice is rough from what you now realize was hours without use. She just wraps her arms around you but you don't even have the energy to just lift your arms around her, "I know, but JJ's strong so she's going to make it out of this, she'll come back." She then pulls you back down to the chair between her and Penelope as you try to find some comfort in JJ's hoodie until you can see her again.
~~~~
It had been 6 hours since JJ was brought in and you had been present for maybe 1 hour in total. The team all saw the way this hit you harder than anyone else and they'd also heard you say you were her girlfriend but no one knew what was real right now. They all just watched as you floated in a gone state with millions of questions but not one would be voiced till they knew JJ was ok.
~~~~
The next time the doctor came out was when you finally broke, "She's out of surgery now during which they removed her appendix as it had been grazed by the bullet. She is now in the recovery room, they'll monitor her there for an hour before moving her to a post-op room which is when you'll be able to see her. I'll come get you when it's time," and she walked off.
That's when you finally let your tears fall and fully let Penelope and Emily hold you.
~~~~
You had been counting down the minutes since the doctor left for her to come back and bring you to see JJ, it was the first time in hours that you were fully alert and focused. You'd been pacing to pass the time and to stretch your legs when the doctor came back, she'd brought you to the room and quickly showed you where everything was before leaving.
When she finally did is when you fell into the chair and grabbed her hand. You pressed your forehead to hers and fought back tears as you actually felt her warmth next to you, you finally felt her alive. She wasn't awake yet, they said it could take a few hours but all you could focus on was seeing her in front of you not dying.
~~~~
2 hours of you sitting by her bed and holding her hand passed before she started to stir, her eyes flickered open before she turned her head to you. "Hi," she said with a hoarse voice and you let out a small laugh filled with relief. "Hey baby," you had a huge smile now, she asked for water and so you helped her drink it.
"Are you wearing my hoodie?" she asked a bit more awake now, "Yeah I am, Garcia grabbed it from my bag. How are you feeling?" you then asked, "I don't really feel much right now, I think they gave me a lot of drugs," she said while squeezing your hand. "But y'know if you want me to feel better then I think a kiss would be very beneficial to my healing," you let out a laugh "Yeah and I think that you are very high right now," she just gave an innocent smile and said "Both can be true" as she traced your jaw with her finger.
"I need to call in a doctor so they can do some tests," you say with your face very close to hers, almost giving in to her request. "Call them after," is all she says before pulling you into a kiss.
The doctors eventually do come in to run tests on her but they end up having to work around you as JJ refuses to let go of your hand. You find it endearing but also feel a pang in your chest knowing it was partially because she knew how close she came to dying today.
"You know you're like soooo pretty," the doctors had left and you were learning that JJ on pain killers meant lots of compliments for you. "Yeah?" "Mhmm, you're like my favourite person ever." "That's good, at least now I know you'll never leave me." at that she pouts, "I would never leave you, what could I possibly do without you, that's just not an option." She says very vehemently and turns her head away, "Ok ok I'm sorry Jay', I won't say it again, I promise."
~~~~ An Hour Later
You bring in the whole team to see her and she laughs a bit at seeing them, "I don't get how I just got shot but you guys look worse than I do," you are now sitting by her side again holding her hand. "Well you had us all really worried kid," Rossi says and everyone agrees with him, "Yes you did so please don't ever get shot again!" Penelope says while hugging JJ, "Alright, I'll try my very best but don't worry cause I already promised this one too." She said now pointing to you.
"Speaking of which, what exactly is going on here?" Morgan asks while gesturing between the two of you and everyone also starts asking too, you just turn to her though, "I think you should tell them." you say still just staring at her alive face, "Ok so Y/n is my girlfriend, or you could say love of my life, person I'll spend the rest of my life with, future wife, whatever you prefer." She had this look of absolute love as she looked at you.
"How come none of us knew?!" Emily asked, "We were waiting for the right time, which in hindsight kinda ended up kicking us in the ass," you say now looking at her. "Maybe but I still don't regret anything about us," she says while looking into your eyes. "I feel like we shouldn't be here for this" Hotch says making his once in a blue moon joke and everyone erupts laughing.
You're not sure what you'd do without JJ but here surrounded by your family you choose to push that thought back and enjoy the people who are your home.