Serendipity

Chapter 4

For the purpose of the story, Emily did get pregnant in Rome, but she had the baby in Chicago. Date wise…that would have been 1985. In order for Isabella to be 30, the story takes place around 2015. Or whatever, time doesn’t exist.

I shift POV to JJ halfway through, fyi.

Chapter4

Emily had not expected to be hit with the door on her way out of the bathroom, and even less so to be faced with the puffy eyed girl. She didn’t know why she felt the need to hug her, she wasn’t a touchy person with anyone except JJ, but she felt a weird pull toward Isabella. “It’s okay.” she kept saying. Over and over and over. She ran her hand up and down the woman’s back in soothing motions, at least, she hoped it was soothing. She felt Isabella relax a bit, and at the same time hold onto her tighter, burying her face in Emily’s shoulder. Emily could feel the tears soak through her shirt, but she had more pressing matters to focus on. She had no idea what to say to make it better, whatever it was, so she just held her. When the sobs had stopped and Isabella had let go, Emily almost felt empty. Holding Isabella had made her feel like she had gotten back a missing piece. She nearly cried too.

She and JJ walked into their shared hotel room just after 11pm. The moment the door shut, Emily had JJ pushed up against it. She kissed her hard, pouring all the day’s frustrations into the kiss. JJ moaned her name as they separated and Emily rested her forehead against JJ’s. “I love you, baby, but we can’t do this on a case.” JJ’s voice was hoarse, and so soft that Emily might not have heard it if they were any further apart. “I know. I just needed that.” Emily placed one peck to JJ’s nose before turning and walking toward the bed. JJ giggled at the rare moment of her girlfriend being cute, and followed Emily into the room. They showered together, both of them being very well behaved. They had been doing this long enough to know not to tempt fate while they were on cases. Emily dug through her bag and pulled out the bottle of bourbon she always packed. The thought of Isabella being so emotional was mulling around in her head, and she was suddenly overcome with the need to make sure the younger agent was okay. “We should go check on her.” She said to JJ. JJ started to object, but Emily went on, “I found her crying in the bathroom after she and Rossi got back. She seemed very upset, and I just…” Emily gave JJ a pleading look that JJ just couldn’t say no to. “Okay.”

Isabella opened the door wearing pyjamas. She had obviously just gotten out of the shower. Emily doubted her decision to show up in the middle of the night for about half a second before she pushed into the room and started pouring three cups of bourbon. Isabella let JJ in and closed the door. “So, how was your first day?” Emily tried small talk. “I mean, apart from the obvious.” Isabella let out a puff of air. “It was good. Nothing like counter terrorism.”

They sat cross-legged on the bed talking for another hour. They had finished about half the bottle of bourbon, and Emily was sure they’d all have major headaches in the morning. “Where did you grow up?” Emily asked, maybe she could learn something useful. “I grew up all over the planet.” Isabella snickered, “I was adopted when I was a few days old. We lived in Chicago for a few months, then London. My mum was British intelligence, so we moved along with her.” Emily was surprised, “Wait, you’re adopted?” Emily had registered ‘Chicago’ and ‘adopted’ and she felt like she had been tossed off a building. This had to be a coincidence, right? It couldn’t be her.
“Yeah, my parents couldn’t have a baby, so they used to visit an orphanage near where they lived. They took toys, and gifts, and played with the children. One day they got there, and there was this little newborn baby girl that had been left at the door the previous night. My mum said it was love at first sight, for both of us.”

Emily’s mind was going a mile a minute. “And how uhm, how old are you?” She knew she was acting weird. She could see it in the way Isabella frowned. She also knew JJ had caught on when her hand was grabbed and squeezed tightly. “I’ll be 30 in September. What is going on?” Isabella was still talking when Emily jumped up from the bed. She felt faint, and she was sure she was going to be sick. “I need to go.” She all but cried, as she ran out the door, followed closely by JJ, who simply yelled “I’m sorry!” at the very confused redhead still sitting on the bed.

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JJ had initially been confused by Emily’s reaction to hearing Isabella was adopted, but when Emily asked her age, she knew. Emily had told her that she had made a stupid mistake when she was 15. September this year would mark 30 years since Emily had given up her baby. The daughter she would give everything to have been able to keep. She grabbed hold of Emily’s hand and squeezed, hoping to draw her attention away from the information that was quickly unravelling her psyche; it didn’t work. JJ could see the colour drain from her face as she realised it was all too specific to be a coincidence. “I need to go.” Emily was out the door before either of them registered what was happening. JJ hurried after her, throwing an “I’m sorry” over her shoulder at Isabella.

JJ found Emily pacing their hotel room, her breathing shallow and rapid. “Emmy…” She walked toward the distraught woman slowly. Emily kept pacing, “It can’t be, Jen. It’s not possible. She isn’t…” Emily started crying and wrapped her arms around herself, JJ saw her knees give out and she stepped forward just in time to catch her. They sank to the floor slowly, JJ pulling Emily into her lap, and holding on to her like she might float away. She rocked them back and forth slowly, “Shh. It’s okay, you’ll be okay. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.” JJ knew it wasn’t. “She looks like him.” Emily mumbled through her sobs. “Who?” “Her dad. She looks like him. That’s why she looks so familiar. I would have seen it sooner if her hair hadn’t been dyed red.” JJ didn’t know what to say to that. She knew Emily would have loved to be able to keep her baby, she knew Emily would have been a great mother; she despised Ambassador Prentiss for her role in Emily not being able to have that. “Can we move to the bed, baby?” JJ asked softly, her back and bottom still hurt from sitting in those uncomfortable desk chairs for most of the day, she didn’t want to spend any more time on hard surfaces if she didn’t have to. Emily nodded and moved off of JJ’s lap, but she remained standing in the middle of the room as JJ went to shut off the lights and pull back the covers. JJ took hold of her shoulders, guided her to bed, and slid in behind her. Emily turned to face her , threw her arm and leg over the blonde, and buried her head in the crook of JJ’s neck. Resuming her crying, albeit not as violently as before. JJ pulled the comforter over them and hugged Emily tightly to her chest. Her heart broke a little more with every sob bubbling into her neck; she held on tighter.

The sun peeked through an opening in the curtains and hit JJ right across her eyes. She tried to turn away, but found she was trapped under an Emily shaped lump. Emily was fast asleep, JJ smiled. She was worried Emily might not be able to get any rest after the eventful night she had. The shocking revelation about the new agent’s identity could not have come at a worse time. They had a killer to catch, and she had a suspicion that neither Emily nor Isabella was going to be able to focus much. Isabella was probably still extremely confused at the events that transpired, and JJ knew Emily would not be telling her the truth anytime soon, if ever. She hoped saying that Emily had had too much to drink would do the trick.

The body atop her stirred and let out a small moan. She really didn’t want to wake the woman, but they would be late if they didn't wake up right then. “Emmy,” She cooed, not wanting to startle her. Emily shifted and opened her eyes to look at JJ. JJ could clearly tell she had been crying. She would have to put on some extra make-up. “How are you feeling?” Emily closed her eyes again, “Like crap. I didn’t dream all of last night, did I?” JJ wished she could say yes.

“Are you going to tell her?” JJ asked as she rifled through her bag for a shirt. “No.” Emily answered without a beat, then “Maybe. I don’t know. Jayje, what if she hates me?” “She’s not going to hate you.” “I left her, Jen! I left her. On the steps of an orphanage, in the middle of the night. With just the one blanket Matt had bought her, and a stupid letter from a 15 year old saying sorry that no one probably ever gave her.” Emily was very close to another breakdown, and JJ decided the conversation should rather wait. She pulled Emily into a hug, “It’s going to be okay. Let’s get you dressed, fed, and caffeinated. We have work to do. We can talk about this more after, okay?” JJ hated that she had to make Emily bottle up for now, but they could not have her a wreck during the case, for all of their sakes. Also, Emily would never allow herself to seem so weak in public. JJ made a mental note to keep tabs on both women during the day. She was the only one privy to what was going on, and she needed it to stay that way.