champagne problems x jemily/hotchniss

thirty-five: penelope

i'm living on the edge with my grades slowly coming in to see if i have a 4.0 this semester, fingers crossed bestie😩

happy readings and stay safe besties! -salem🤍

TW: minimal swearing, hallucinations, mentions of alcohol, mentions of death
word count: 4675

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Penelope: "I love you every day. And now I will miss you every day." Mitch Albom.

"Okay! Breakfast burrito of egg, cheese, and bacon just for you," Penelope said and walked into her lair with a brown bag in her hand. She set down the burrito in front of the empty chair and smiled as she grabbed hers. "You didn't eat all day yesterday, Em. It's not good to skip meals. Well, I can because I work but you no. You need to take care of yourself. So eat up."

Garcia took a bite of her burrito as she turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. She was doing her regular morning routine of checking for Doyle's alias to be used.

Nothing.

Penelope looked over at the empty chair next to her. "I'm sorry. And I'm a little mad at you. This would be a lot easier if you just opened up to us about him. We would have held him and protected him more than anything."

Penelope sighed as she grabbed her burrito. This was her life now. She was spending double the money on food for Emily. It was starting to concern everyone else on the team as well. But if it made Penelope feel closer to Emily, they opted not to say a word about it.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in!" Penelope yelled and continued typing away at her computer. JJ walked in two coffees in her hands. She handed one to Penelope before sitting herself down on the chair next to her.

"Good morning, Pen," JJ said and crossed her legs as she sat down. Penelope didn't say much. She just smiled as JJ ran her hand over the woman's arm. That's when JJ noticed the extra burrito right next to her.

"I know, you don't have to say anything," Penelope said and took off the paper from her straw. She sipped on the cold brew JJ generously got her.

"Oh, I shouldn't even be talking. At this point, all the workers at Em's favorite coffee shop know me by name," JJ said and shook her head. "They already have my order started by the time I walk into the shop."

Penelope and JJ both chuckled as they looked down towards their coffees. "How did the interview go? Was Hotch tough on you?"

"Well, he asked me how I was feeling. As if much has changed since the last interview one month after her death. I had to be careful with what I said. But for the most part, I was honest with him," JJ said and sat back in her chair. "When do you go in?"

"Today, later at night," Penelope said and pursed her lips. "I'm thankful for that. Everyone will be gone, so they don't have to see me with runny mascara and puffy red eyes."

The two fell into silence. The presence of Emily was haunting the two of them. It was almost as though she was sitting right there in the room with them. Needless to say, both of them didn't want to believe that Emily had died. They were bargaining and pleading with the higher beings to bring her back. But they both knew that that would be a miracle if she came back.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Garcia!" Hotch yelled from the other side. JJ sighed as she got up. That was her sign to leave. She didn't even want to be in the same room as Hotch anymore. She feared that she would snap and hit him or do something that would definitely get her arrested or fired. Penelope handed her the extra burrito before she left. As Aaron walked in, JJ walked out. Neither of them saying a word to the other. "Anything?"