Chapter 16

My eyes slowly opened, squinting against the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights overhead. For a moment, everything was hazy—the steady beeping of a heart monitor, the soft murmur of voices just outside my room. My body felt heavy, weighed down by exhaustion and the lingering ache of my injuries.

Blinking away the blurriness, I tried to move, but a dull pain radiated from my side, a sharp reminder of what had happened. My mind struggled to piece everything together, flashes of the prison, the fight, the gunshot—it all felt like a distant nightmare.

A chair creaked beside me, and I turned my head just enough to see Morgan sitting there, arms crossed, watching me with relief and frustration. “About damn time,” he muttered. “You had us worried.”

“About damn time,” I laughed, mocking his tone, though it came out weaker than I intended. My throat felt dry, and my body sore, but at least I was awake.

Morgan shook his head, but I caught the small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Yeah, real funny. You almost bled out, but sure, crack jokes.”

I tried to sit up, only for a sharp pain to shoot through my side, making me wince. “Guess that shiv got me worse than I thought,” I muttered, sucking in a slow breath.

Morgan’s smirk faded, replaced by something more serious. “You scared the hell out of us,” he said, his voice quieter now. “Hotch has been pacing the hallway for hours. I’m pretty sure Prentiss threatened to sedate him. I told everyone to head back to the hotel and get some rest.”

I huffed a small laugh, shaking my head. “Sounds about right.” Then I met Morgan’s eyes, letting my voice soften. “I’m still here.”

His shoulders relaxed just a little. “Yeah,” he nodded. “You are.”

I looked at the clock—3:00 a.m. The world outside was quiet, but inside, the steady beep of the heart monitor and the soft hum of the hospital filled the silence.

Morgan leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out with a sigh. “You should get some rest,” he said, though his tone made it clear he wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon.

I smirked. “You should take your own advice.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you. Can’t have you waking up and trying to sneak out of here.”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, Derek,” JJ said from the doorway. “Go back to the hotel, get some rest.”

Morgan shook his head, clearly unconvinced. “I’m good right here.”

JJ gave him a pointed look. “Derek.”

He sighed, running a hand over his face. “Fine. But if you try to sneak out, I’m dragging your ass right back here.”

He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze before heading to the door. JJ pulled the chair close to my side.

JJ took a shaky breath, and when I glanced over, her eyes were glistening. She tried to blink the tears away, but one slipped down her cheek. She quickly wiped it, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, voice unsteady. “I told myself I wasn’t going to do this.”

I frowned, shifting slightly despite the dull ache in my side. “JJ…”

She let out a broken laugh, her hands gripping each other tightly in her lap. “I was so scared,” she admitted, her voice cracking. “When I saw you on the ground, covered in blood—I thought we were too late. I thought I lost you.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. I reached out, my fingers brushing over hers, and she immediately clasped my hand, holding on like she needed the contact to steady herself.

“Baby, come here,” I lifted the covers and made space for her on the bed.

JJ hesitated, her teary eyes searching mine. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, giving her hand a gentle tug. “I’m positive.”

That was all it took. She climbed in carefully, mindful of my injuries, and curled up beside me. The warmth of her body against mine was comforting, and grounding. She rested her head on my shoulder, her fingers tracing small, absent-minded patterns on my arm.

“I’m sorry that I scared you. This whole case was a shit show from the start.”

“For a second, I thought I’d never get to do this again,” she admitted softly.

Her fingers paused, and I could feel her breath steadying against my skin. “When we got back to the hotel, I couldn’t sleep,” she confessed quietly, her voice almost a whisper in the dim room. “I kept replaying everything. The what-ifs. Wondering if it was the last time I’d—” She swallowed hard as if the words were hard to say.

I tightened my grip on her, as if holding on could erase the tension in her voice. “You’re here now,” I said, the words simple but true. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

She kissed me—soft at first, as if testing the waters, but then it deepened, a quiet urgency behind it. I responded without thinking, letting go of everything except her, the warmth, the way her lips molded against mine. My pain was relieved just by her touch.

When she pulled back, her forehead rested against mine, her breath mingling with mine in the space between us. “I needed that,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

I brushed a strand of hair from her face, my thumb gently grazing her cheek. “I think we both did.”

I felt my pain medicine kick in, slowly numbing me into sleep. The warmth of JJ beside me, the steady rise and fall of her breathing, made it easier to drift off.

I was able to rest for a couple of hours before a dull ache in my side pulled me from sleep. Blinking against the dim light, I shifted slightly, immediately regretting it as pain flared through my ribs. I let out a quiet exhale, trying not to wake JJ.

A nurse knocked at the door, “Hey, Y/N, just checking in, she said softly as she stepped inside.

JJ stirred beside me, her fingers twitching against my arm before she blinked awake. She lifted her head slightly, her eyes immediately scanning my face. “You okay?” she murmured, still half-asleep.

“Yeah,” I said, though the ache in my side told a different story, my face showing that.

The nurse gave me a knowing look as she checked the monitors. “Pain coming back?”

I hesitated, but JJ’s sharp glance left no room for pretending. “A little,” I admitted.

“I’ll adjust your meds,” the nurse said with a small smile, making a note on her chart before moving to the IV. “You’ve been doing well, though. Once we get this pain under control, we can get you discharged.”

“Perfect, I appreciate it.” I gave the nurse a warm smile.

The nurse returned the smile as she adjusted the IV drip. “Just give it a few minutes, and you should start feeling some relief.” She glanced at JJ. “She’s in good hands with you.”

JJ smirked. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t let her overdo it.”

The nurse chuckled. “Good. She looks like the type to push herself too soon.” She finished up her notes and gave me one last look. “Try to rest. If you need anything, just press the call button.”

As she left, I exhaled slowly, already feeling the meds start to take the edge off. JJ shifted beside me, still watching me with quiet concern.

“Babe, can you find my phone? I probably should text my mom,” I said, glancing around the room.

“Of course,” she said, getting up and grabbing her purse. She pulled it out and handed it to me with a small smile. “It was in the lockers at the prison.”

I took it from her, but before I could unlock it, JJ tilted her head slightly, studying me. “You’ve never really shared much about your family.”

I hesitated. “Yeah… I guess I haven’t. Well, my mom had me when she was younger, so we’re really close. My dad and I have had a rocky relationship, but we’re good now.”

JJ nodded slowly, processing my words. “So, your mom and dad are still together?”

I shook my head. “No, they split up when I was a toddler. It was for the best, they were young and didn’t function well.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Mom did most of the raising. She worked hard, put me through private school. Dad… he went to prison when I was young, but when he got out, we worked on our relationship. Your turn.”

She let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “That’s only fair, I guess.” She took a deep breath, settling against me. “My parents are still together. High school sweethearts. The kind of couple that actually makes it work.”

I smiled. “That’s rare.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I had a sister, Roz, but she um-“

JJ’s voice wavered, and I felt her grip on my hand tighten like she was grounding herself in the present. My chest ached at the raw pain in her voice, the kind that never really fades, only buries itself deep.

“I was eleven,” she continued her voice barely above a whisper. “I walked into the bathroom, and she was just… there. On the ground.”

I swallowed hard, the weight of her words settling between us. “JJ…” I whispered, my fingers tightening around hers.

She let out a shaky breath. “I remember screaming, but everything after that is a blur. My parents—God, they tried. They did everything they could to hold it together, but losing her shattered them. Shattered all of us.” She paused, blinking rapidly. “For the longest time, I thought maybe I could’ve done something. Maybe if I had noticed something was wrong… if I had said something—”

I cupped her cheek gently, turning her face toward me. “Hey,” I said softly, my thumb brushing against her skin. “You were just a kid. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

A tear slipped down her cheek, but she didn’t pull away. “I know that now. At least, I try to. But that guilt… it never really goes away.”

I understood that feeling all too well. The ‘what-ifs.’ The weight of carrying something that was never ours to hold.

I pressed my forehead against hers, letting the silence say what words couldn’t. “I’m so sorry,” I murmured.

She sniffled, then gave a small, watery laugh. “I didn’t mean to dump all of that on you.”

I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “JJ, you never have to apologize for opening up to me.”

She searched my face for a moment before nodding, exhaling shakily. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I kissed her temple, lingering for a moment. “Always.”

She curled into me, resting her head against my chest. I held her close, letting my presence remind her she wasn’t alone. And as the quiet settled around us, I realized that maybe, just maybe, neither of us had to carry our pasts alone anymore.