One shot: Emily/JJ fic
Title: One Moment More
Author: Red
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Emily/JJ
Rating: PG-ish
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly, it belongs to those people who aren't even able to appreciate great actresses like A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster.
Author's note: WARNING! This chapter contains a spoiler for the last episode, Lauren (6x18). The setting took place right after the last scene. So if you haven't watched it and don't want to be spoiled, please don't read it.
I, again, am feeling a tad depressed lately so I decided to write something that suits my mood at the moment. It's somewhat a drabble and I know that Emily and JJ are really OOC in this chapter; forgive me for that. I'm not satisfied with this chapter, too many things left unsaid, imo. But I hope you'll bear with me, though.
This chapter is unbeta'ed. All mistakes are mine and mine only. English is not my first language so you can expect many errors in it. If you find weird grammatical rules, spelling, phrases and expressions that need fixing, please be kind and tell me about it. I will fix it.
Okay, one more thing before I silence myself: The chapter is inspired by a song by Mindy Smith called "One Moment More".
“Thank you,” the woman replied when she received the bundle with passports in it. She stroked the surface of the bundle before inserting it to her large handbag.
“Good luck,” JJ whispered - the words caught in her throat as she tried to swallow the tears.
She watched longingly as the tall brunette offered her a weak smile before taking her leave, leaving JJ at the table without even looking back once. The blonde couldn’t tear her eyes off the retreating figure even though watching the other woman went away was the last thing she wanted.
The blonde took a deep breath; waiting for her heart to stop hurting, waiting so badly for the pain to subside - or at least become numb - but the farther away the other woman moved from her, the greater was the pain. JJ closed her eyes briefly before opening it again hastily. She didn’t want to miss every second she had to see the tall woman. Who knew when JJ would be seeing her again? Maybe not in this lifetime, she thought. She immediately regretted the thought, though.
And against her better judgements, or rather, before her brain could register what she was doing, JJ was already on her feet, frantically walking to the direction where the woman had left earlier. It was dark and there were a lot of people on the street. JJ looked around, hoping that she hadn’t lost sight of the other woman. When she began to get frustrated, she saw a glimpse of her.
JJ ran after her, in her heels, in the middle of a cold evening in Paris. It wasn’t until she was a couple of steps away from the woman did JJ call out to her, “Emily! Wait!”
The dark haired woman stopped in her tracks upon hearing the name. But what surprised her more was the voice calling out that name. She turned around, thinking that she was hallucinating. But she wasn’t. Jennifer Jareau was walking at her direction; her bright blue eyes pleaded her not to walk away.
So she waited.
There was no hesitation when JJ opened her arms and pulled the older woman into her embrace. She could feel the dark woman stiffened under her touch, but JJ didn’t care. She breathed in the sweet scent of the woman, relishing the moment of being able to hold her.
“Don’t go, Emily, please,” JJ whispered in her ears.
Dark orbs stared at JJ’s blue eyes and JJ could see the inner struggle in them. “Don’t,” the woman whispered back.
“Em...”
“JJ!” the woman spoke with a harsher tone. “Emily Prentiss is dead,” she said as if chanting a mantra to herself, “There is no more Emily Prentiss.”
The blonde felt as if she was slapped. “You are not dead,” JJ retorted, carefully dropping the name at the end of her sentence.
The woman laughed bitterly and JJ could hear a hint of frustrated sob in the chuckle. “Who am I, JJ? Who am I?” she asked. “I’m nobody - I don’t even have a name now.”
JJ shook her head vigorously. “So what? You can be Emily, you can be Lauren...” The flinch didn’t go unnoticed by the blonde at the mention of the latter name. “You can be anyone you like and for me you’re just you. For all of us, you are just you!” JJ emphasized the last sentence on purpose. She felt the body in her arms relaxed and JJ tightened her grip.
“What do you want, Jennifer?” The voice was devoid of energy that JJ wanted to cry right there and then. And Emi - this woman - calling her Jennifer made JJ almost come undone. “What do you want from me?”
Again, JJ shook her head. She rested her cheek on the woman’s shoulder, burying her face on the crook of her neck. “Hold me,” she murmured, “give me one second to feel you. Just a second to convince myself that this is not a dream - that it is you I am holding.” That you are not dead, but JJ didn’t say so.
The dark haired woman looked around. They were still out in public but the parking lot where they were standing was relatively empty, so she gave in. She tightened her embrace on the smaller woman, feeling the warmth of her skin seeped into her own, giving her a fake sense of normalcy - a sense that she belonged, that she was still who this blonde woman knew her to be.
“I want you to come back with me to D.C,” JJ stated. And before her companion could let out a protest, she added, “We can protect you. I can protect you.”
“I can’t. JJ, you know I can’t. It’s too risky,” the woman refused, “I can’t... I don’t want to pretend anymore, Jennifer. I don’t want to have to spend the rest of my life hiding.”
“And you’d rather run?” The accusation in JJ’s words stung.
Once again, she stared at JJ. There was no anger in her fixed gaze, only exhaustion. “I’m no danger to anyone if I’m on the run,” was her only explanation but JJ read right through it.
She is running because she doesn’t want us to get hurt, JJ thought. “We are federal agents; we are capable of taking care of ourselves,” the blonde stated matter-of-factly.
“You don’t understand,” she said in defeat.
“Make me,” JJ insisted.
The dark haired woman smiled sadly. Her shoulder sagged as if carrying a heavy burden. She glanced around the parking lot - in case someone was watching them - and let out an audible breath when she spotted no one. “One day,” she promised.
“When?”
“When it’s safe to come home,” to you. The last two words were left unsaid. “I have to go now.”
“No!” JJ exclaimed, clinging tight. “Please, one... one more second,” pleaded the former media liaison.
The profiler sighed, giving in. She closed her eyes and slowly leaned down to kiss the top of JJ’s head. For a second there, she let herself forget who she was and what she was, making JJ the center of her world.
“I love you, Jennifer Jareau,” she whispered. “You are the most precious person I’ve ever met in my life.”
JJ felt a tear rolled down her cheek. She stifled a sob that had threatened to escape. “And I love you, too. I love you, remember that,” she whispered back. JJ didn’t say any names. No, she didn’t just love Emily Prentiss. She loved this woman, this nameless woman in front of her. She let the other woman slip from her embrace, knowing that it was time to let go. “Come back to me.” It was not a request.
A smile appeared on the taller woman’s face despite her pallid face and tears in her eyes. “Pinky promise,” she said, winking at JJ then turned around to leave.
With that, Emily Prentiss - or whatever name she assumed now - went into the abyss of the dark night in Paris.
A/n: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the ride.
Author: Red
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Emily/JJ
Rating: PG-ish
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly, it belongs to those people who aren't even able to appreciate great actresses like A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster.
Author's note: WARNING! This chapter contains a spoiler for the last episode, Lauren (6x18). The setting took place right after the last scene. So if you haven't watched it and don't want to be spoiled, please don't read it.
I, again, am feeling a tad depressed lately so I decided to write something that suits my mood at the moment. It's somewhat a drabble and I know that Emily and JJ are really OOC in this chapter; forgive me for that. I'm not satisfied with this chapter, too many things left unsaid, imo. But I hope you'll bear with me, though.
This chapter is unbeta'ed. All mistakes are mine and mine only. English is not my first language so you can expect many errors in it. If you find weird grammatical rules, spelling, phrases and expressions that need fixing, please be kind and tell me about it. I will fix it.
Okay, one more thing before I silence myself: The chapter is inspired by a song by Mindy Smith called "One Moment More".
“Thank you,” the woman replied when she received the bundle with passports in it. She stroked the surface of the bundle before inserting it to her large handbag.
“Good luck,” JJ whispered - the words caught in her throat as she tried to swallow the tears.
She watched longingly as the tall brunette offered her a weak smile before taking her leave, leaving JJ at the table without even looking back once. The blonde couldn’t tear her eyes off the retreating figure even though watching the other woman went away was the last thing she wanted.
The blonde took a deep breath; waiting for her heart to stop hurting, waiting so badly for the pain to subside - or at least become numb - but the farther away the other woman moved from her, the greater was the pain. JJ closed her eyes briefly before opening it again hastily. She didn’t want to miss every second she had to see the tall woman. Who knew when JJ would be seeing her again? Maybe not in this lifetime, she thought. She immediately regretted the thought, though.
And against her better judgements, or rather, before her brain could register what she was doing, JJ was already on her feet, frantically walking to the direction where the woman had left earlier. It was dark and there were a lot of people on the street. JJ looked around, hoping that she hadn’t lost sight of the other woman. When she began to get frustrated, she saw a glimpse of her.
JJ ran after her, in her heels, in the middle of a cold evening in Paris. It wasn’t until she was a couple of steps away from the woman did JJ call out to her, “Emily! Wait!”
The dark haired woman stopped in her tracks upon hearing the name. But what surprised her more was the voice calling out that name. She turned around, thinking that she was hallucinating. But she wasn’t. Jennifer Jareau was walking at her direction; her bright blue eyes pleaded her not to walk away.
So she waited.
There was no hesitation when JJ opened her arms and pulled the older woman into her embrace. She could feel the dark woman stiffened under her touch, but JJ didn’t care. She breathed in the sweet scent of the woman, relishing the moment of being able to hold her.
“Don’t go, Emily, please,” JJ whispered in her ears.
Dark orbs stared at JJ’s blue eyes and JJ could see the inner struggle in them. “Don’t,” the woman whispered back.
“Em...”
“JJ!” the woman spoke with a harsher tone. “Emily Prentiss is dead,” she said as if chanting a mantra to herself, “There is no more Emily Prentiss.”
The blonde felt as if she was slapped. “You are not dead,” JJ retorted, carefully dropping the name at the end of her sentence.
The woman laughed bitterly and JJ could hear a hint of frustrated sob in the chuckle. “Who am I, JJ? Who am I?” she asked. “I’m nobody - I don’t even have a name now.”
JJ shook her head vigorously. “So what? You can be Emily, you can be Lauren...” The flinch didn’t go unnoticed by the blonde at the mention of the latter name. “You can be anyone you like and for me you’re just you. For all of us, you are just you!” JJ emphasized the last sentence on purpose. She felt the body in her arms relaxed and JJ tightened her grip.
“What do you want, Jennifer?” The voice was devoid of energy that JJ wanted to cry right there and then. And Emi - this woman - calling her Jennifer made JJ almost come undone. “What do you want from me?”
Again, JJ shook her head. She rested her cheek on the woman’s shoulder, burying her face on the crook of her neck. “Hold me,” she murmured, “give me one second to feel you. Just a second to convince myself that this is not a dream - that it is you I am holding.” That you are not dead, but JJ didn’t say so.
The dark haired woman looked around. They were still out in public but the parking lot where they were standing was relatively empty, so she gave in. She tightened her embrace on the smaller woman, feeling the warmth of her skin seeped into her own, giving her a fake sense of normalcy - a sense that she belonged, that she was still who this blonde woman knew her to be.
“I want you to come back with me to D.C,” JJ stated. And before her companion could let out a protest, she added, “We can protect you. I can protect you.”
“I can’t. JJ, you know I can’t. It’s too risky,” the woman refused, “I can’t... I don’t want to pretend anymore, Jennifer. I don’t want to have to spend the rest of my life hiding.”
“And you’d rather run?” The accusation in JJ’s words stung.
Once again, she stared at JJ. There was no anger in her fixed gaze, only exhaustion. “I’m no danger to anyone if I’m on the run,” was her only explanation but JJ read right through it.
She is running because she doesn’t want us to get hurt, JJ thought. “We are federal agents; we are capable of taking care of ourselves,” the blonde stated matter-of-factly.
“You don’t understand,” she said in defeat.
“Make me,” JJ insisted.
The dark haired woman smiled sadly. Her shoulder sagged as if carrying a heavy burden. She glanced around the parking lot - in case someone was watching them - and let out an audible breath when she spotted no one. “One day,” she promised.
“When?”
“When it’s safe to come home,” to you. The last two words were left unsaid. “I have to go now.”
“No!” JJ exclaimed, clinging tight. “Please, one... one more second,” pleaded the former media liaison.
The profiler sighed, giving in. She closed her eyes and slowly leaned down to kiss the top of JJ’s head. For a second there, she let herself forget who she was and what she was, making JJ the center of her world.
“I love you, Jennifer Jareau,” she whispered. “You are the most precious person I’ve ever met in my life.”
JJ felt a tear rolled down her cheek. She stifled a sob that had threatened to escape. “And I love you, too. I love you, remember that,” she whispered back. JJ didn’t say any names. No, she didn’t just love Emily Prentiss. She loved this woman, this nameless woman in front of her. She let the other woman slip from her embrace, knowing that it was time to let go. “Come back to me.” It was not a request.
A smile appeared on the taller woman’s face despite her pallid face and tears in her eyes. “Pinky promise,” she said, winking at JJ then turned around to leave.
With that, Emily Prentiss - or whatever name she assumed now - went into the abyss of the dark night in Paris.
A/n: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy the ride.