someone to stay, ⁹¹¹

𝟎𝟐𝟎.

JJ was fine. JJ was always fine. Going through abuse as a child? She was over that now, it was the past. Seeing her Dad crushed by a fire truck? As soon as she saw him walking again she was okay. Surviving a tsunami? She lived. It was fine.

But was it? Or was the tsunami the final straw leading to a breakdown?

Because the girl that woke up covered in sweat and tears wasn't JJ. The one who had a panic attack whenever she was in the shower too long. That wasn't JJ. It was Juniper. The lonely traumatised Juniper.

But she was fine. She definitely wasn't having a mini breakdown in front of her boyfriend.

"I can't sleep, because if I sleep then I'll think of the tsunami and I'm sick of thinking about the fucking tsunami." She paced the room, tugging on her hair.

"JJ, you need to sleep." Ashton walked up to her slowly, taking her hands away from her hair. "No. I need to stay awake, I need to stay awake." She whispered to herself.

"And I can't go to my Dad, because he has so much to worry about right now. And I can't go to Sophia because she'll go to my Dad and Eddie. And I can't go to any of the team because they'll think I'm crazy."

She wasn't talking to Ashton anymore, she was talking to herself. "And I'm not crazy."

Ashton stared at her for a moment. He didn't know what to do. They were sixteen for god sake! Did he call Buck? Sophia? 911?

He didn't know how to help the girl in front of him. She'd been through so much in her short time on earth. And it was too much for him.

He didn't think he wanted to help her. It sounded cruel, but he was her boyfriend. Not her therapist. And that's clearly what she needed in this situation. "JJ-"

"I'm fine, Ash. Really, I am. I just need something to stay awake." Now that. That was something he could help with.

"I know what can help you."

"Dad! I'm home!" JJ walked through the front door, kicking her shoes off before hanging her jacket up.

She quickly rushed up the stairs and threw her bag in her room, as she didn't want her Dad seeing what was inside of it.

A bottle of pills rolled out of her bag as it hit her bed, almost mocking her. If they could talk, she'd think they'd say something like "Ha! You're so low in your life that you've resorted to using me!"

She quickly shut her door, heading into the kitchen where she could hear her father. "Hey." She sat on the stool in front of him while he mixed up the pasta sauce.

"Hi, sweetheart." He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes, and neither did hers.

Buck and JJ were at opposite ends of a sinking ship. They were both dealing with so much, that they couldn't reach out and save each other.

Which is why Buck knew this conversation wasn't going to end well. JJ had been short-tempered lately, and he was mentally preparing himself for the argument they were about to have.

"So.. did you talk to the chief? Are you allowed back?" She took a can of lemonade out of the fridge before sitting back down. "About that.." He sighed.