Accidental Attractions

Chapter five

I woke up for the first time while still in the ambulance and once again they flooded with me with questions in an attempt to keep me awake. All I see is the faces of the EMTs and the stressed look on the younger ones face. I could barely see, my vision was blurry. There was one EMT putting pressure on my wounds and applying more gauze. I still feel the warmth of my own blood on my body along with the stinging burning sensation of where the bullets trailed through the soft tissue of my torso and upper arm. I could hear the fast paced beep of the heart monitor and watched as the little neon lines burst up and down on the screen in time with my heartbeat. Then one of the EMTs spoke again, "Agent Prentiss I need you to stay awake for me ok. Do not go to sleep." He said in a calm even tone. His voice was low and scratchy. His demeanor was collected but nervous at the same time. "JJ-" was all I could get out, my hoarse voice rang out through the vehicle. Tears threatened my eyes which were struggling to stay open. Everything began to turn darker and fuzzier and warmer. I could barely make out one of the EMT's nervous yell as he began to say, "She's flatlining..." before slipping out into darkness for the second time.

I regained consciousness four hours later in a hospital bed. The smell of cleaning solutions swam through my nose and bright lights that hung over head stung my eyes. Again I could hear my heartbeat as it chimes on the screen although this time it was even and rhythmic. I looked around as I found an IV in my arm and squirmed when I saw it; I've never been too fond of needles. i breathed in slowly and evenly and was focused on the feeling of my lungs inflating and deflating. I turned to my left to see JJ asleep in a chair next to my bed holding my hand. I could smell her amazing perfume from here. Her blonde hair carefully strewn out against her shoulders and a strand resting on her cheek. My movement woke her up though. She began to stir and stretch as she slowly opened her eyes, which were trying to adjust to the light. She saw that I was awake and immediately she spoke. "Emily hi how do you feel?" She said in a concerned tone with her eyebrows furrowed. "I feel fine, really. Honestly I've been through worse." I laughed quietly; JJ did not find it funny. Her sweet eyes looked red from previously crying and lack of sleep I assume.

"Hey I'm sorry I'm just trying to deflect, it really isn't that bad." I said while
squeezing her hand a little tighter. I begun to bite my lip. I can't tell if the statement made her feel any better as her expression stayed similar. "Deflect from, what?" JJ said a bit confused. A small wrinkle appears above her nose in between her eyebrows. "I guess from the fact that I could have died." I said looking down away from her gaze. The sentence felt
awkward escaping my mouth, I'm not a normally serious person except when the topic is work related, so the conversation is quite uncomfortable to say the least. "Don't be silly I would never have let you die, not without repaying all of the loans I've given you." She said as we both laughed and stared into each other's eyes. I couldn't help but blush. I think she noticed because once my face became slightly pinker, hers did as well.

Her eyes quickly darted away and blinked furiously when we were interrupted by a doctor. "Hi, Emily Prentiss?" He said looking at some papers in his hand. "My name is Dr.Richard and I am here to check in with you." He said. His name pronounced as 'reeshard'. He is a tall dark haired man with a very broad build. He has a very mild but noticeable Cajun accent and he smells like cedar wood. I find it very odd how they say and spell things here, the Louisianians, but at the same time I find it fascinating. "We were able to remove the bullet from your arm but decided that it was best to leave the other one in. We stopped the bleeding and you should be fine. You are very lucky though, the bullet barely missed all vital organs and your spinal column." At that news I sunk further into my bed and squeezed JJ's hand a bit harder and then released. I was relieved to a great extent and let out a sigh of relief. "You will not be able to return to work for at least four weeks. Other than that you need lots of rest and possibly an assigned guardian. You will be discharged tomorrow night. Until you are fit, you must restrict all fast and erratic movements and take things slow for a while. If not you could rip your stitches and cause bleeding and infection." He nodded slowly and left the room after asking if I had questions which I responded with a simple no.

After he left the room the rest of the team filed in and each gave me their condolences. All with slight almost uncomfortable grins on there faces as they surrounded my bed. Garcia provided me with a gift basket of knickknacks and candies and such. It had a very large pink bow and a card that read get well soon, signed Sergio. "I am so glad that your okay kiddo." Rossi said as he planted a kiss on my forehead. Rossi is a huge father figure in my life and the kiss was ever so comforting. While backing away, he patted his large, gentle hands on my leg and smiled sweetly."We are all very pleased you made it and that you saved the most recent victim and all citizens in the vicinity. The unsub, whose name was Bud Robicheaux, did not make it " Hotch said with his trademark straight face. Wrinkles forming around his mouth after staying in such a stationary grimace. Then Reid walks over to me with watery eyes and gives me a hug. "Hey, boy genius, I'm fine. I'm okay. It's okay." I said while hugging back the young agent. His hair framed his face and looked unwashed. I hate the worry I must have caused the poor kid. He's so fragile, and for good reason. His boyish charm and incredible intellect are a facade to hide the inner, more sensitive and emotional side of himself. "I know, I know I was just a bit nervous." He said in a slight wimpier. A small smile begins to creep onto his face as he looks down at the ground."Ah, we all know it takes a lot more than a couple bullets to take down Emily Prentiss herself." Morgan said with a chuckle while patting Reid on the shoulder. Reid cringed comically in reaction to the gesture from the very physically fit agent standing beside him.

"I am also very very relieved you are okay. Girls nights wouldn't be the same without you." Garcia said also tears eyed. I feel worse for Garcia than for anyone. I must have scared her out of her mind and I hurt thinking about what she went through. She's already lost so much and I couldn't imagine what this has been like. I gave her a long, tight hug. I noticed a strand of her hair was recently died a new shade of blue. "Thank god you were there to save me JJ." I said contently to the younger agent. "Ya, well I owed you one since you won me a stuffed animal." She chuckled. I saw as Morgan's face lit up a bit. Before he could say anything undoubtedly uncomfortable, JJ stopped him and announced that I should get my rest. They all exited the room with slight waves and quiet goodbyes, and Garcia blew me a flamboyant kiss. JJ was getting up to leave when I grabbed her hand and said, "Thank you." "For what?" JJ said, confused. The wrinkle above the bridge of her nose appearing once more" I don't know, but, thank you." She smiled and left the room.

A/N hi I'm Katelyn, right now I know no one is reading this but I am going to keep writing because I enjoy it. I will not write anything too inappropriate since I don't feel comfortable, but I will write as much as I can. Also the town and fair I mentioned in these past chapters are based on my hometown and my favorite festival in my area. I hope you enjoy.