Twisted Vengeance

Consolement

JJ opened the conference room door, seeing Emily, burying her face in her hands. JJ knew better than to think that Emily was sad. Emily was angry, and it seemed to be as though the person she was most furious with was JJ herself.

Emily never got mad at JJ. It wasn't like her to get angry at people, especially her girlfriend. If Emily got visibly irritated at someone, she was furious. Emily knew exactly how to keep her cool in situations most couldn't.

JJ stood in the doorway, watching Emily throw her hands up and begin pacing. JJ eventually entered the room after around 30 seconds of watching Emily think. "Emily-" JJ started, trying to sound compassionate for her girlfriend.

"JJ, I'm sorry I got mad, but this case- God damn it- it's so weird. I've hardly been at the BAU for two years, and someone is targeting me. I'm the profiler! I should know who this is. It's my fucking job!"

JJ walked over to her, sitting down next to where Emily was pacing. After seeing JJ sit, Emily sat down next to her. "Emily, I know I'm only the media liaison, but I've been with this team enough to know that you can't blame yourself. It's the unsub's fault." JJ's condolences did nothing for Emily at all. 

Emily got back up and started pacing around the room again. "There has to be something I'm missing." She was muttering to herself. She had this deep-down feeling that she knew what this case was. It was like she had experienced it before, almost.

"Emily," JJ said sharply. "You are hurting the case more by doing this to yourself. I can't help you if you don't want to be helped. The unsub is killing surrogates for you, and you want to go home? You are willing to get shot in the stomach! For what? There's no guarantee the unsub will stop killing once she kills you! For once, Emily care about yourself!" 

JJ didn't like to yell. She never yelled. Emily knew she was in the wrong. But whether she elected to acknowledge or ignore the decision was up to her. 

JJ buried her head in her hands, angered and saddened. How was this relationship going to work if Emily didn't care for herself? Emily was too selfless, and JJ feared for her life. Usually, it was the other way around in a relationship. It would be better if Emily was too caught up in herself.

Emily stuttered, trying to find the words to explain her actions in the bullpen. But were there any? JJ did have a valid point, there was no guarantee the killer would stop. Emily had let her judgment be clouded because of personal connection. Emily knew that that was dangerous.

Still, Emily kept pacing. She was trying not to cry. Emily wasn't going to cry, though. She was too tough to allow her emotions to show through onto the outside, even with those she loved most. Emily sat down again, fidgeting with her hands.

Emily began speaking to JJ. "JJ, I'm sorry. I never meant to ruin this case- I just- I don't want people to get hurt all because of me. I just can't pass up the opportunity to save other people."

"Em, see, that's the thing. You are blaming yourself for this. I have no idea why the people on this team think that they should put others before them when they don't need to. It's like you want to sacrifice yourself for no reason."

Emily let out a small laugh, but her expression remained solemn for the next few minutes. They just sat next to each other, completely quietly for a few minutes. "Are you ok, Em? I think we're going to give the profile soon, so-"

Emily interrupted. "Yeah. We better get back to work. And, JJ, you're right. I guess my self-defeating behavior isn't good. I promise to try not to get shot. If I can."

JJ laughed. "That's not a good promise, but you can work on it." But really, what kind of promise was that? Something very bad was going to happen to Emily if she wasn't careful, and even JJ knew that. But she was going to laugh. Because Emily would try her hardest to stay safe. She had to.

The two girls left the room, walking down the stairs. Reid spun around in his chair to face them, and the rest of the team's eyes stared at them as they exited the conference room. Hotch turned his head down. "Are you guys ok?"

Hotch didn't sound very compassionate. He struggled to be positive and happy, but who could blame him? This job was hard. It was surprising that he was the only one that struggled to smile. Considering the trauma the entire team had been through, they all managed to put on a smile. And that seemed to be enough to keep coming back every day. Every single day.

"We're good," Emily said. "We worked some things out." That was the truth. But there were some things that still seemed off. They left laughing, but they were still upset. Though neither of them could or would say anything to the other one.

Hotch nodded towards them. "Ok, Prentiss. I don't want anything like this to happen again or you're gonna be off this case. If it gets too personal, you're going to hurt the case more than help. Understood?" 

Damn. Hotch was serious about this. But Emily knew that he was right. JJ knew that he was right. The rest of the team also knew that Hotch was right. But no one was going to explicitly say what they were thinking.

"It's understood, sir." Relationships like this were weird. They were all best friends, but in the end, they were coworkers. They had to have work come before everything else. But they would always be there for each other. Because maybe the friendships that they made here did come before anything else.

"Ok," Hotch said. "We're ready to deliver the profile."

Authors Note:

Thank you so much for being patient while I wrote this story. I know this chapter is shorter than usual, so sorry for that. Either way, I'm really excited to write the profile being delivered in the next chapter (Just in case you didn't know what it might be about). Also, I love the cover. Just wanted to say that this was a cute unofficial Jemily scene in the show. The story is coming along really well, I think. I just wanted to thank you so much for the support. I never imagined my fanfiction would do this well. It truly means a lot to me. I'm trying really hard to get the next part out as soon as I can.