The planets bend between us

Chapter 25

A few days later...

She was awake. Like most nights. Emily tried her hardest to hide her insomnia from her girlfriend, but she also wished that some nights she could just get up and do something so she didn't have to lay in bed and pretend that she was asleep. She was thankful when her phone rang. She got up and answered the phone in the living room.

"Hello?" Emily asked the blonde who called her.

"Em? I'm sorry... I probably shouldn't have called. You were sleeping and I just woke you up and-"

"I wasn't asleep, JJ. Insomnia hitting hard today. What do you need?"

"Henry is crying non-stop and I have no idea what to do! I'm just... I can't...."

That's when Emily realized that JJ was crying and possibly hyperventilating. "JJ, I'll be right over. It'll be ten minutes, okay? I'll be there soon."

She hung up and walked to her bedroom.

"Is everything okay?" Remi murmured slowly.

Emily stared at the woman half-sleeping on her bed. "Everything's fine. There's a case," She lied as she grabbed her go-bag. "I'll see you later, Remi."

"M'kay," Remi whispered. "Love you."

The profiler froze. She took one last look at Remi. She left the room silently. She didn't know why she lied to her girlfriend. Sometimes things came out of her mouth before she had time to think about it. She stopped at Maia's bedroom and looked into the room. Maia was sleeping soundly. She mentally told the baby girl that she loved her.

She left her apartment and headed to JJ's.

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Emily only had to knock once before JJ opened the door. The profiler heard the wailing from inside the apartment. She took one look at JJ and knew that she made the right decision coming.

JJ had dark circles under her eyes. Her skin looked pale. She looked disheveled like she hadn't showered in a while. Tears stained her clothes.

The brunette sighed and pulled her friend into a hug.

"I shouldn't have called you," JJ sobbed into her shoulder. "I just didn't know what to do. I'm so lost."

"Of course you should have called me! I told you before that you weren't going to go through this alone. Come on, let's go see your son." She took the blonde's hand and they walked into the apartment.

Emily walked to the crib and picked up the screaming baby. "Shhh..." Emily whispered as she bounced the baby gently. "It's okay, Henry. You've stressed your mommy out, haven't you? Awe, Henry. It's okay. You don't have to cry."

"I've tried feeding him, I've changed his diaper, I've tried swaddling and swinging him like the books said. Whatever the hell that means. Nothing seems to help."

Emily nodded and took a seat on the rocking chair. "Sometimes, babies match the emotions that their parents feel. You're overwhelmed, Jen. He feels that too. We just have to be calm. And here..." She reached over and turned the window fan on, creating a loud constant sound. Henry started calming down. Emily smiled, looking down at the little boy. "This little one's just tired, I think. Just like his mom." She looked up at JJ, who had tears running down her cheeks.

"How'd you do that so easily?" JJ asked her, with sadness in her voice.

"It took me a month to realize that it would help Maia," Emily admitted. "I realized she was calmer and fell asleep faster when Remi vacuumed the apartment. Some babies like constant sounds."

"I thought... I thought it would be natural, you know? Like I would just know what to do."

Emily nodded sympathetically. "If only it worked that way. But no parent is natural at being a parent. They learn. And they get better with experience. And now, you are going to go to sleep. I'll stay up with this little munchkin."

JJ shook her head. "You don't have to. I can stay up with him. I've already asked you too much."

"No, you haven't. I wasn't going to sleep tonight anyway. Please, go to bed. You need it more than I do."

"Thank you, Em. Seriously. I don't know how to make it up to you."

"Just promise me that you'll call me anytime you need help in the future. Day or night."

JJ smiled at the profiler. "I promise."