“Garcia, I need that security feed right now!”
“Emily, I know. I am working as fast as I can.” Emily and the rest of the team on command center can hear Garcia typing furiously. “Okay, I can use that algorithm, and that, and, okay, we’re in. You should be able to see what the cameras are seeing in your monitors.”
Garcia realized what they were looking at and whimpered, “Oh my JJ and Reid.”
“Garcia, can we get audio?”
“Unfortunately, no. The camera doesn’t have that capability.”
“Okay, Tara, tell SWAT to carefully snake in a mic.” Emily ordered.
“Looks like JJ took Melissa’s place in playing his game.” Matt observed. “They’re both still tied up.”
“Audio is live.” Tara radioed.
“Casey, I know what it's like, to be wrongly accused, sent to prison for a crime you didn't commit.” Reid tried to empathize with the unsub.
“Yeah, right. You went to jail?” Casey scoffed, “I'd like to see that, pretty boy.”
He took one more look at Reid but promptly turned his attention to his new player. “Ok. Agent…”
“Jareau” JJ said bitterly.
“Agent Jareau. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Very well. But if I think you're lying or stretching the truth in the slightest, I'll kill him.” The unsub pointed his gun to Reid. JJ nodded. “Let’s begin then. You ever shoot anybody before?”
“You enjoy it?” The unsub asked with a grin on his face.
“No.”
“ Liar!” Casey said as he shot one of the hostages on the leg. JJ’s face faltered.
“No, no, no. I'm not lying.” JJ looked at the victim, trying to think how she would answer. “Ok, I'm not lying. The people I shot I had no choice, but I did not enjoy it. I didn't.” JJ reiterated.
“Ok, you asked, and I told the truth, ok. I told you the truth. So now it's my turn. Right? That's how this game's played. We take turns.” The unsub looked at JJ incredulously. “So, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“What's it gonna take for all of us to walk out of here alive, for this to end peacefully?”
“Nothing. I ain't going back to prison. My turn. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” JJ said, scared that if she chooses dare that she would have to shoot someone here.
“I want you to say something you're afraid to say, that you'd never tell anybody. And you better make it good, 'cause if it's not, it's gonna be the last thing you ever say. What's it gonna be?”
JJ looked at the cameras, knowing that Penelope likely had already tapped into the security system and will likely hear what she’s going to say.
“There are only 4 people I trust in this world.” JJ stammered.
“Wrong answer!” Casey shot someone, “JJ, are you always this boring? Next!”
“Um... My... My baby I lost, I, um…” JJ closed her eyes, not wanting to think about the only daughter she could have had. “I wanted to name her Maggie.”
“Boo hoo, wrong! Come on, I know you can do better than that.”
“I can. I know. Okay.” JJ said, trying not to cry.
“Last chance.” Casey walked towards her, “Something you would never say aloud, not to your team,” Casey pointed outside. “not even to your partner here. Your deepest, darkest secret. Impress me or I kill him.”
JJ didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and the unsub became impatient.
“Come on!”
“Um…” JJ looked to the window but she couldn’t see anything, so she turned around and looked straight into the camera. “I've always loved you. And I was just too scared to say it before. And now things are just really too complicated to say it now. Emily, I’m sorry.” JJ finished and tears were falling down her face.
“We got ourselves a little lesbian here. Hot damn! That's what I'm talking about. Now those are some last words right there. But not good enough to save your life.” The unsub said before turning with his gun pointed to Spencer. But before he can fire, Spencer has already pulled out his second gun and shot the unsub.
As soon as the team saw the unsub down, they all rushed inside. Emily rushed to JJ.
“JJ, are you okay?” Emily asked.
“I…” JJ took a deep breath, “I’m okay.”
“Thank god.” Emily said as she tried to hug JJ, but JJ didn’t really return the hug.
…
“Alright, my name is Emily Prentiss, but I hope you all know that because Dave has talked to you about me and our team. I’d like to say, I hope it’s all good things but you know.” Emily laughed and sipped some wine.
“Anyway, we’re here to talk about the newlyweds. When Dave got engaged, he pulled out all the stops. Some of you might not know this, but he proposed to Krystall in our elevator at the FBI, which was perfect. If she said no, he could just go back to work and she had a built-in escape.” The guests laughed at this. “But thankfully that back up plan never needed to be used because she said yes, and well here we are.”
Emily paused to prepare for what she was about to say next. “Of course, our good friend David Rossi has been here before. This isn't his first rodeo, as they say. Strangely enough, though, he has never been to an actual rodeo. But I digress. Penelope says that this was fate, that their marriage was in the stars. Dave and Krystall are twin flames, two souls that are always meant to be together. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes it takes a parallel universe or something, but the thing about twin flames is that nothing can keep them apart. They are a magic unto themselves. And together, they light the way for all of us.” Emily sighed.
“I know this is supposed to be for you two, but I do hope that each and everyone in this room finds that type of love. Where two souls are just meant to be, no matter what. No matter how long it takes.” Emily looked longingly at JJ throughout, but she saw that her hand was intertwined with Will. “So, to David and Krystall!”
“To David and Krystall!” Everyone joined in and clinked their glasses.
After Emily’s speech, she went straight to the bar to get water.
“Hi, could I get water, please?” Emily asked. “Thanks.”
Emily was about to go back to watch Penelope and Luke dance when JJ appeared next to her.
“Emily, can we talk?” JJ asked.
“Um. Okay.” Was all Emily could say. They walked to the corner, secluded enough, but not to the point that people will get suspicious that they’ve disappeared.
“Look, I don’t know if you heard what I said back there, but I, uh…”
“I did. I did hear them.”
“Right.” JJ took a sip of her drink. “Em, I needed to say something that would get his attention.. You know, so, I, uh, I just needed to throw him off balance, so that Spencer can shoot him.”
“Jennifer.” Emily looked at JJ softly, “Truth or dare?"
“Truth.”
“Did you mean it?” Emily asked, but instead of an answer, JJ just looked at Emily. Lovingly, but there was sadness in her eyes. As if asking her not to make her say it out loud.
“Hey, they’re about to cut the cake, come on!” Spencer interjected.
“Yeah, we’ll be there. Thanks, Spence.” JJ said. Emily took a step, but before she could take one more, JJ took her hand. “Em.”
“Jennifer, it’s okay.” Emily said with sadness in her voice. “We’re okay.”
“Okay.” JJ said as she rubbed circles on Emily’s hand.
…
“Dave, I’m really sorry. You were right.” Emily said through her phone.
“Not about everything. Lynch wasn’t our unsub. He was the mastermind. He pushed Hurst over the edge. It was just a smokescreen to throw us off his trail. That son of a b¡tch played me like a fiddle.”
“I should have trusted your instincts.”
“Hey, I've been in your shoes. I wouldn't have believed me, either.”
“But Dave, if I had, maybe…” Emily’s voice falters, “JJ, she wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“No. Emily, you are not to blame. Everett Lynch is.”
“I know, but…” Emily choked up.
“Emily, I’m not going to pretend that I don’t know what this is about. We all heard. So, I know that this isn’t easy for you. Waiting for news about JJ, while waiting for Will to show up.”
“That’s not.”
“Yeah, you’re going to say something about how you’re concerned because you’re the unit chief. Which, let’s be clear, you are concerned about that too, but Emily, you can be honest with me.”
“Dave, I’m scared. And I feel awful because I want to care for her the way a partner would, but I am no one to her.”
“You’re not no one, Emily.”
“After she coded, the nurse asked if I was her spouse.” Emily sobbed, “And I had to tell them no. You know what they told me?”
“They told me to call her spouse and that they better get here quickly. Dave, I can’t be here the way I want to be here for her. I have no right to that.”
“I’m sorry, Emily. Truly.”
“I know.” Emily sighed. “I’ll stay here, could you run point instead?”
“Of course. Stay as long as you need.”
Emily sat down in the waiting room. Blood still in her hands, replaying JJ’s words to her.
“I’ve always loved you.” but the image of JJ lying in a pool of her own blood is now mixed with the memory.
“Agent Prentiss?” JJ’s doctor called her.
“Yes, do you have any news about JJ?”
“She’s stable now, but we need to get her to surgery to retrieve the bullet and really close the artery. Is her husband on his way?”
Emily felt a pang in her heart. “Yes, he’s on his way. He just had to drop off their kids to a family member.”
“Okay, that’s good. I’ll let you know more soon.”
“Thank you, doc.”
A few minutes later, Will showed up.
“Will.” Emily said as she offered a hug.
“Emily, how did this happen? Why was she not wearing her vest?”
“She was. The bullet missed the kevlar and entered just under her arm.” Emily explained.
“They told me that her heart stopped, I need to see her.” Will said with urgency in his voice.
“It did, but she’s stable and in surgery now.” Emily placed a hand on Will’s shoulder, “It’s probably going to be a while.”
Will sat down and rubbed his temples.
“Is it alright if I wait with you?” Emily asked.
“Yeah, of course. She's gonna want to see you, too, when she…” Will was holding back tears.
“When she wakes up.” Emily paused, “Will, she’s going to wake up.”
However, she was awoken by JJ’s doctor telling her that she is now out of surgery and in her room. Emily tentatively walked inside JJ’s room.
“The doctor said you might not hear me, and I think this is the only place I’m brave enough to tell you what I really want to tell you. And don’t worry, Will is out there calling Henry and Michael, telling them that you’re out of surgery. You know, JJ, I kept going over it in my head. I thought I had everyone accounted for. Maybe if I realized earlier… I’m really sorry. As unit chief, I should have.”
Emily paced back and forth by the foot of the bed.
“Things have been a little awkward between us lately, you know, ever since you released to the world that you love me. I know you didn’t know if we could hear you, but I did. I heard you. I thought I would be happy if I heard those words because I’ve longed to hear those words from you, but I don’t even know if you meant it. Did you? And Jennifer, if you did, what does it mean?”
Emily stopped to fix JJ’s hair, “You didn’t say anything after the wedding and so I also didn’t bring it up. Maybe that’s my fault because I said that we’re okay. But what happened was we just stopped having a relationship beyond coworkers, and I didn’t mean for that to happen. But now,” Emily softly touched JJ’s cheek, “none of those things even matter. Jennifer, I would trade anything in the world just to make sure you’re okay. I just want you to wake up so that I can have more time with you, no matter what that looks like.”
Emily wiped her tears, “Because Jennifer Jareau, my twin flame, I cannot imagine a world without you in it. I do not want to imagine a world without you in it. So, please, wake up. Please don’t leave me.”
After her big speech to JJ, she went back to the waiting room. Thankfully, Will was just coming back from his phone call to their kids. They exchanged a nod before Will went to his wife’s room. As soon as she sat down, she started to notice her exhaustion. Emily couldn’t help but close her eyes. The last thing she remembered was Will texting their kids’ on his phone.
“Emily, wake up.” Will gently tapped Emily. “Hey, she’s awake. And she asked to see you, come on. I’m going to get the boys.” Will said as he ran to the exit to drive to where the boys were.
She walked to JJ’s room but stopped at the door
“Emily, I can hear you breathing.” JJ said.
“Hi."
“Emily.” JJ said her name, in the way that only she does, muh instead of me.
“I’m sorry. I should have found you sooner.”
“Em, you saved my life.” JJ nodded for Emily to be closer. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Jennifer, you’re my best friend. Where else would I be?”
JJ sadly smiled with the word best friend.
“I should go. You should rest and besides I should relieve Rossi.”
“Em, please, not yet.” JJ said as she weakly held Emily’s hand. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“It’s my fault that things have been weird and distant with us.” JJ whispered. “What I said, we needed to talk about that.”
“No. We really didn’t need to. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let it drive us apart, JJ.”
“Em, I needed to say something real. Something that even I would be surprised with… and that’s what came out. I never told anyone I’m bisexual, I mean I never even let myself accept it.” JJ sighed, “I’m really sorry, I never meant to put you in this position. It really was something I was prepared to take to the grave. But, now… it’s out there and I can’t lie to you.”
“Emily, I did mean it. I do love you. Emily Prentiss, you were my first love and I’ll always love you. And it’s not fair because I have Will and our boys. I love my children. They’re a big part of who I am and who I am growing to be. But, so have you, Emily.” JJ sobbed, “You are my heart, Emily. You will always be. I think about it a lot, you know, maybe if things were different.”
“In a parallel universe.”
“Yeah.”
“In a parallel universe, Jennifer Jareau, you and I are together. Maybe even married. With kids.”
“Emily, I’m really sorry.”
“Jennifer, you never said you love him.”
“Emily.”
“You said, you love your children.”
“Emily, I know what I said.”
“And, so why can’t we?” Emily stepped closer to JJ, “Why can’t we be the type of love that poets yearn for, a love that is so strong, nothing can keep them apart? Because JJ, you are it. You are my twin flame.”
JJ closed her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks. “This is the point of no return. I can either keep it safe and comfortable, or I can plunge into the deep beautiful unknown.”
She opened her eyes and she knew her decision. And it scared her.