Hope for the Hopeless [Jemily]

Reckless Love

I wiped tears off my face and walked over to Hotch while sniffling, "I uh... I think Emily and I need to talk to you about our relationship."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Oh you don't say?" I giggled and sniffled my remaining sadness away. Hotch handed me a tissue and assured me, "We'll talk back at the BAU, everything will be fine. For now, ride with Emily to the hospital. I'm tasking you with Emily duty although I guess you're used to it by now." I nodded and walked outside, catching up to the EMTs and climbing into the back of the ambulance.

I sat next to Emily and held her hand, "I'm here, baby, everything's gonna be fine." She nodded, clearly very fatigued. The ride to the hospital was quick and they brought Emily to an OR right away. The six of us, Garcia now included, sat in the waiting area, inpatient for updates.

I paced as Garcia comforted me from her seat, "Everything's gonna be fine, pumpkin, a bullet wound to the leg is usually harmless."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, "I know, Pen, honestly I'm more worried about what happens after this."

"After?"

I quietly said, "Hotch knows about us."

"He does? How did that happen?"

"Well, I... I sorta kissed Emily after she got shot. Out of panic. And relief."

"Ah. Gotcha. Did Hotch seem upset with it?"

"A-Actually, no. He didn't. He definitely already knew."

"Well there ya go then. It won't be an issue, I'm sure." I nodded, still visibly anxious.

Just then, Hotch walked over and put his hand on my shoulder, "Emily's out of surgery." We all got up, me in toe first, and followed the surgeon to Emily's room.

When we arrived I asked Hotch, "Do you mind if I go in alone first?" He ushered me inside with a look of understanding. I closed the door behind me and headed over to Emily's bed.

She picked her head up and rasped, "Hey, you." I smiled and gently held her hand.

"How do you feel?"

"Not bad. They got goooood drugs in this place." I laughed at that. "Where's everyone else?"

"Waiting outside. I wanted to come in alone first."

"Good because I actually," she sat up against her pillows, "I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Something important." She looked nervous.

"Okay. Is it bad?"

"That's subjective." Emily cleared her throat and explained, "I figured it would probably come up at some point while I'm here because we're in a hospital and that's where I always have to talk about this thing."

"What thing, Em?"

Emily looked at me and stated, "I'm intersex, I was born with a penis." My mouth fell slightly agape. "I-I know how it sounds, and I know you're probably wondering why I haven't said anything yet." She sighed, "And I know things have been a little rocky for us lately, I don't wanna make anything worse with—"

"Worse how? You're not making anything worse, Emily."

"No?"

"No, baby. I'm not gonna say this wasn't a shock, but it doesn't change how I feel about you."

"It doesn't?"

"Of course not, Emily. You're still you." I kissed the top of her hand, making her blush. "Did you not wanna tell me sooner because you were worried about how I'd react?"

"Yeah. I thought you'd... care about that."

"Em, I do care. Just not in a bad way." She smiled softly at my words, clearly relieved. I brushed her hair back and asked, "Do you still want me to refer to you as she/her? Or do you prefer other pronouns?"

"She/her is good."

"Okay. If that changes we can always talk about it, you know?"

"Thanks, Jennifer. I love you so much, babe."

"I love you too, Em." I kissed her forehead and then giggled, "I guess this explains why I haven't seen you naked from the waist down yet." She laughed at that and I heard her heart rate pick up on the monitor. I smiled and asked, "Want me to get everyone else now?" She nodded in agreement, so I walked over to the door and let everyone pile in.

Garcia giddily skipped over, "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh! How are you, my sugarplum? You okay?"

Emily chuckled, "I'm all good, Pen, don't worry."

Morgan dapped Emily up, "You're a tough cookie, princess. You should be proud of yourself."

"Thanks, D. Hell of a shot you took."

Morgan joked, "Well after you decided to get yourself shot I had to take on the reigns myself."

Hotch asked Emily, "Prentiss, did your doctor give you a timeframe for when you can get back to work?"

Reid, who was skimming Emily's file, lectured out, "Well considering the GSW impaled her thigh and didn't hit any major arteries, she likely won't need any kind of physical therapy and in that case, she could probably be fully functioning again in about 14 days."

Hotch quietly corrected, "Reid, I asked Emily." Spence put his head down.

Emily chuckled, "It's all right, sir, everything that Doctor Reid just said is pretty much what my surgeon told me. The bullet actually wasn't too deep so 10 days is more of an accurate window."

Hotch nodded, "I'll put the word in for Strauss. Excuse me." He scurried into the hall to call our director.

I gently rubbed Emily's shoulder, "I'll stay with you until you're ready to go back to work. Just in case you need an extra hand getting around your apartment."

"Thanks, babe."

Morgan laughed, "Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that sexy little smooch you two shared!"

Reid squeaked, "Huh!?"

Garcia held his arm and explained, "Our two favorite ladies have been something of an item for the last month."

Reid gasped, "So it's true?! How'd I miss that? W-What with micro-expressions and body language an—"

Emily smugly said, "Well I guess we're just good at what we do."

Rossi nonchalantly added, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Emily and I simultaneously turned to him and questioned, "You knew?!"

He smiled, "Let's just say the walls of most hotel rooms are exceedingly thin, ladies."