Seeking comfort

Chapter 9

Reid's heart was thundering in his chest, his muscles frozen in case any wrong move sent Will over the edge. The fear in JJ's eyes nearly broke him in half, but he kept it together, knowing that she would do the same. His training for high-stress situations nearly went out the window. There was a silence before Will continued, and it weighed a hundred pounds on Reid's ears.

"So how long has this been going on?" Will asked, his voice uneven with anger as he inched sideways away from the door. Reid's words stuck in his throat because he knew nothing he could say would suffice. Will would assume he was lying either way, hearing only the response that he "knew" to be true.

"Not until after I left," JJ said, attempting to mask the tension in her voice. The feeling of the tip of the gun pressed to the back of her head kept her spine rigid and her muscles tight. This wasn't her first hostage situation, but this was the first she could remember where she was the hostage. Part of her felt like Will would never do it, but another part of her could sense the seriousness of the situation and knew that his actions weren't rash, they were calculated. The gun pressed harder to the back of her head, and she tightened her eyes shut, wondering if she would hear the gun-shot if he pulled the trigger.

The thing that weighed the heaviest on her heart was the thought of Reid seeing her die. How would he live with it? He would think it was his fault, blame himself, never move forward with his life.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders from behind, his hand holding onto her opposite arm. He could put her in a choke-hold so easily and there'd be little she could do to fight it.

"Don't lie to me," he said, jerking his arm and shaking JJ for a moment. The calm in his voice made her uneasy. It was the calm of a person who had complete control over a dire situation.

"She's not lying to you, Will," Reid said. Reid's words were quick and somewhat rushed, like he was trying to get the words in before Will cut him off. He took an involuntary step forward and Will moved, repositioning the gun more evenly at her temple. JJ's eyes that were at first squeezed shut, opened and locked onto Reid, willing him not to move. Reid froze, hardly even breathing.

"JJ would never have been unfaithful to you, you know that," Reid said, reaching for some sign that Will was holding onto reason. Instead he noticed the unsteady twitch in Will's right eye. The way his hand shook on the gun. His dilated pupils that shot back and forth and the overall disheveled look. Reid just needed to keep him talking until Prentiss got there. If she opened the door, would Will pull the trigger?

The grip on JJ's shoulder was painfully tight, his fingers biting into her skin like a vice. She just needed to distract him long enough to get the gun away from him.

"Then why is she here?" he asked, his voice hard. JJ didn't want to provoke him by saying it was because he hit her, because she knew he wouldn't be rational. Reid didn't speak up either. Lying in this situation would be dangerous, but the truth wasn't going to be helpful either. Will was going to believe whatever he wanted to believe and it didn't matter what they said.

Just when Reid was starting to think Prentiss might not show, there were three loud knocks on the door. Everything else happened fast. When Will looked away toward the door, JJ threw her head back, her skull connecting with his face and smashing his nose.

Will stumbled back but didn't fall. He wasn't disoriented for as long as JJ hoped he would be. The door swung open, and Emily's gun muzzle came through the door first. Will was quick, leveling his gun in their direction, pulling the trigger at nearly the same time as Prentiss took the shot.

Reid felt the thud of the impact before he felt the sharp, burning pain in his stomach. His insides were on fire, and before he thought to do it he was on the floor, his hands pressing against the wound because he knew he needed to keep the blood in.