A Blessing in Disguise

Rhyme and Reason

Emily jumped at the sound of the gunfire. Everyone looked toward Derek and Garcia. Morgan still had his gun trained in the same area, even though the shot was already taken. Janet's lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. Suddenly, Juliet turned around, searching the room for Prentiss. When their eyes met, she jumped out of the chair as fast as she could, and ran over to her. Prentiss put her gun away and caught the girl in her arms. Now, everyone had their eyes fix on those two. Juliet was completely balling, but no one could see her because she was hidden in Emily's chest. Prentiss tightened her grip on the girl and closed her eyes. Juliet held on to Emily and just cried. She squeezed her eyes shut and tears just kept falling. Emily didn't even notice that her whole team was staring at them, and so was the rest of the BAU. All she cared about was making Juliet feel safe again. Juliet however, could feel everyone's eyes on her and she hated it, so she whispered something into Emily's ear. The brunette nodded and picked up the small child. Juliet laid her head on Emily's shoulder and hid her face, so no one could see her. She placed her arms around Prentiss' neck and closed her eyes. Emily walked over to Garcia and followed her back to her office with Juliet still in her arms crying. Hotch told the rest of his team to go with them, and make sure they were okay and that he would join them as soon as someone showed up for Janet's body. Then, he told everyone else to get back to work and try and focus. Once Prentiss and Penelope reached her office, Emily placed Juliet on the couch and sat down next to her. Penelope sat on the other side of Juliet. Just as they sat down, the rest of her team, except Hotch strolled in. Juliet, still crying and in shock, let herself fall onto Emily and cry even harder. Prentiss put both her arms around her and pulled the girl onto her lap and held her. Juliet was sitting sideways on Emily and had the arm of the couch on her back for support. She wrapped her arms around Emily and refused to let go. Emily rested her chin on Juliet's head and closed her eyes as she rubbed the crying girl's back. Her team just watched silently and Hotch showed up around 15 minutes later. By that point, Juliet wasn't crying, but she still wouldn't let go of Emily. Juliet closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep and wake up back in Emily apartment snuggled up next to her. After a while, Prentiss noticed Juliet's breathing got steady and she thought she cried herself to sleep. So, Emily started to let go of Juliet and get up. Immediately, Juliet woke up and tried to keep her from getting up. Prentiss got the message but still tried to get Juliet to let go. Of course, Juliet started crying again, because she thought Emily was trying to leave.
"Hey I'm not going anywhere. I just want to lay you down to make you more comfortable, so maybe you can fall asleep. I'm going to stay here with you, don't worry," she said to the kid. Juliet was hesitant at first, but released her grip on Emily and laid down. Prentiss sat down near Juliet's head, and the girl scooted up a little and rested her head on Emily's lap. Right away, Emily started stroking her hair. Within 10 minutes Juliet drifted off to sleep. Once she felt Juliet's breathing get constant she looked up at her team and drew in a big breath.
"She's going to be okay, Em," JJ said reassuringly.
"I know, but still, I hate seeing her like this," Emily stated looking down again. "We had a rough morning I think we should maybe take a half day today and start fresh on Monday, what do you think?" Hotch asked. Everyone agreed. "Maybe to lighten the mood we should have a Friday night dinner at my place. I'll even cook," Rossi offered. Again, everyone agreed, except for Emily. "Em? What do you say, wanna come over for dinner?" Rossi asked hopefully.
"I do, but I'll have to see how this one is doing," Emily said looking down at the small child. Rossi understood and nodded his head. The whole team decided to stay in Garcia's office until the center of the BAU was cleared and they could go. Morgan took a seat next to Penelope in her chair, Reid found a comfortable spot on the floor, JJ sat on the other end of the coach and Rossi and Hotch stayed standing. Prentiss was so focused on Juliet that she didn't even notice everyone staring at the girl too. When she casually looked up, she saw everyone's eyes on her. She decided to ignore that and said,
"Hey Morgan. Thanks for saving Juliet."
Morgan smiled and said, "Anytime." Emily smiled back at him. "You too Reid. You helped distract Janet," Prentiss said looking down at the genius.
"No problem," he replied.
"Emily," Hotch interrupted. Prentiss looked over at her boss, still rubbing Juliet's back.
"Have you given any thought about what's going to happen to Juliet after the case, because once we catch William, it's going to be over," Hotch stated.
"I don't know," was all she could say. "What's not to know?" Hotch asked. "Well I want what's best for her, but I don't think that's with me," she started to explain.
"You're kidding, right?" Morgan asked. Confused, Emily responded,
"What do you mean?"
"Since the day you met Juliet, you have been treating her like your own. Look at you now, you can't stop rubbing her back, and comforting her. It's your maternal instincts kicking in. You want her to feel safe and loved, and trust me, that's with you," Morgan said finishing his statement.
"I agree with him," Penelope added. "Me too," Reid joined in.
Emily looked over to JJ.
"Morgan's right, Em. Juliet needs you and I think you need her too," JJ told her friend truthfully.
"I knew you'd make a great mom, and now's your chance to prove it."
Emily still looked unsure.
"What's holding you back from adopting her?" Hotch asked.
"I don't want her to feel abandoned or left behind again. If I die in the field then she will be all alone again. Or if something bad happens to her because of what we do, I don't know what I would do."
"Stop thinking about the 'what ifs.' I already told you this. You're creating problems that aren't even there," JJ said sternly. Emily scanned the room again, but this time left her gaze on the innocent sleeping girl laying on her. She really did care about Juliet, but she knew something was holding her back from adopting her.