Listen To Your Heart (6/11)
Sorry about the longer wait. Exams, they kind of mess up my spare time.
Comments are still very much appreciated. Tell me what you think, please.
Chapter 6
JJ decided to go and see Emily that night. She was still worried about the profiler, even though the doctor in Colorado had cleared her. But, stubborn as she was, she would only be reassured when she saw Emily for herself, knowing that people don’t recover that quickly from a beating like that.
JJ parked her car in front of Emily’s building and got out. She walked over to the entrance, and for a moment she thought she had the wrong address when she looked inside. If it weren’t for the fact that she had copied it from Emily’s file, she would have just turned around, sure that it was the wrong place. She knew Emily’s family had money, of course, but it wasn’t until now that she realized just how much, and how much of that money was in Emily’s possession.
When she tried to get in, she had to flash her badge at the doorman, and even then he was reluctant to let her in. JJ knew she probably shouldn’t show up at Emily’s apartment without notice, but on the other side, she knew Emily too well. She knew Emily would probably just decline every offer for help, saying that she was just fine. So knowing that showing up unexpected was most likely the best way of not being shot down, she didn’t feel too bad about it. When she got to Emily’s floor, she walked over to her door, but she stopped when she saw that door opening. A tall, good-looking woman stepped outside, turning around to say something to the person inside.
“Look, I like you, Emily, but you and I both know this isn’t going to work. You seem to have a talent for getting injured, and I’m not that happy about playing nurse. And besides, it creeps me out knowing that I have to share you with all the serial killers out there. So, goodbye, Emily.”
After this, she closed the door and walked down the hallway, passing JJ on her way to the elevator.
JJ still stood in the hallway, baffled. Emily is gay? How did I not see that? was all she could think. After a few moments she had worked up the nerve to knock on the door. She only had to wait a few seconds before the door was opened by a clearly irritated Emily.
“You’re too late, so just turn around and take your - Oh. You’re not the pizza boy.” Busted, she thought. Her long kept secret was not so secret anymore.
“So you’ve noticed, huh?” JJ tried to joke. It worked, a small smile formed on Emily’s lips. No matter how bad Emily felt, JJ always managed to put a smile on her face.
“Erm, can I come in, or is this a bad time?” JJ asked.
“Oh, no, come in. For you, it’s always a good time,” Emily smiled. She stepped aside so JJ could come in.
“Have a seat. Do you want anything to drink?” Emily offered JJ, hoping she wouldn’t try to talk about what had just happened. It didn’t work though.
“No thanks, I’m good. Who was that woman?” JJ asked as soon as she sat down on the couch. What’s the point in wasting time, right? She knew that it was none of her business, but she had to know.
“That was Lisa,” Emily said dryly, not giving any more information. She knew she’d end up telling JJ everything she wanted to know, but she wasn’t going to give it up easily.
“And Lisa is your girlfriend?” JJ tried.
“No, she’s not my girlfriend. And even if she was, she wouldn’t be anymore,” Emily replied a bit sadly. “We’ve gone on a couple of dates, but as you heard, she dumped me five minutes ago.”
“I’m sorry. Were you two serious?”
“Not exactly, no. Between work and well, work, we hardly ever spent time together. And I guess it wasn’t enough for her. Plus, she didn’t want to play nurse, and with my ability to get injured…” she said, pointing at the bruises on her face.
Again, JJ felt a wave of jealousy, of a woman she didn’t even know. That woman, Lisa, had been able to be with Emily in a way JJ could only dream of. Because, even if Emily was gay, that didn’t change the fact that JJ was still pregnant. It only hurt more, because now she knew that there might have been a chance for them, if it weren’t for her pregnancy.
Then she suddenly remembered why she had come to Emily in the first place, and she felt bad she had forgotten about Emily’s injuries while she was feeling bad for herself.
“That’s actually why I’m here. How are you feeling?” she asked worriedly.
“Like I’ve been run over by a bus,” Emily answered truthfully. “My head hurts like hell, and I can barely move because of my ribs.”
“Well, I don’t mind playing nurse, so why don’t you sit down and relax, and I’ll make you something to eat.”
She wanted to get up when there was a knock on the door. That was when she remembered Emily greeting her as the pizza boy, and she figured he must have finally arrived.
Emily, who still hadn’t sat down, turned around to get the door, but JJ stopped her.
“No. You sit down, I’ll get the door.” Emily didn’t even bother to argue, the determined look JJ was giving her told her there was no use for trying. So she sat down and waited for JJ to come back with the pizzas. She realized she would rather eat with JJ than with Lisa anyway.
They sat next to each other on the couch, eating their pizza in a comfortable silence, both lost in thoughts. JJ was the first to break the silence.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. Now that the first feelings of surprise had passed, she felt a bit hurt that Emily had never confided in her.
“I never told anyone,” Emily said.
“Why not?”
“I’m a Prentiss.”
It wasn’t much of an answer, but at the same time, it was the best answer she could give. JJ knew where Emily came from, how she was raised, so the reason made perfect sense to her. She understood why Emily had felt the need to hide that part of herself, but that didn’t stop her from feeling sorry for her. She knew that Emily, although she never showed it, sought the approval of her parents, especially her mother’s, just like every normal person. It made her sad that Emily needed to hide who she was, trying to please her parents. She placed her hand on top of Emily’s knees.
“You don’t have to hide, Emily. Not from me.”
Emily smiled at JJ gratefully.
“Thank you. That really means a lot to me.”
“So, what was all that about with Lisa?” JJ asked, trying to change the subject to something lighter. “She didn’t like playing doctor with you?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. There has been no playing doctor of any kind between us,” Emily replied with a sad smile.
“Really?”
This surprised JJ. Apparently Emily wasn’t the womanizer JJ thought her to be.
“Why does that surprise you so much? I’m not a player like Morgan, I like to take my time, build up to something.”
Wow, who would have thought Emily Prentiss was such a romantic, JJ thought.
“And besides that, well… I’ve been away on cases pretty much non-stop. The few times we got to see each other, I was so tired I kind of fell asleep,” Emily admitted.
“Aw, and here I thought you were being romantic for wanting to wait,” JJ teased.
“Just so you know, I can be quite romantic when I want to be. I guess Lisa just wasn’t the one I really wanted to try for.”
“And is there someone you do want to try for?”
“Erm, how about we watched some TV?” Emily quickly avoided the question. JJ decided not to push the subject, so they settled for watching a movie that was on. After about half an hour, JJ fell asleep, her head resting on Emily’s shoulder. Emily sat really still, as to not wake JJ, but she wasn’t in a very comfortable position, and her bruised ribs were killing her. She tried to change her position as smoothly as possible, but she still woke JJ up.
“I’m sorry JJ, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she apologized.
“No, I’m sorry, for falling asleep on you. I should probably go home.”
“No, you don’t. JJ, it’s late, and you’re clearly exhausted. I can’t let you go home like that,” Emily explained when JJ looked confused.
“You can sleep here. I have a spare room, so it won’t be any trouble.”
JJ didn’t argue. For one, Emily was right, she really was tired, and it wouldn’t be smart to drive now. But, more importantly, she didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay with Emily as long as she could, so she easily agreed. There was one small problem though.
“I don’t have my go-bag with me. I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Just borrow some of my clothes, I don’t mind.”
“Emily, I’m six months pregnant. Let’s face it, we don’t really have the same size anymore,” JJ pointed out, looking at her grown stomach.
“Just give me a minute, I’m sure I’ve got something that’ll fit.”
Emily went upstairs to her bedroom, and came back minutes later with some baggy sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt.
“Here, try these. The spare bedroom is upstairs, second door on your right, bathroom’s the second on your left. I’m just gonna put these away, and then I’ll be up too,” she said, pointing at the empty glasses on the coffee table.
Once upstairs, Emily went over to her spare bedroom, and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Emily walked inside, and looked at JJ. Six months pregnant and wearing sweats, and she still looked gorgeous to Emily. She took the moment to take in JJ’s body appreciatively. JJ, doing exactly the same, didn’t notice.
“Good, I see that the clothes fit. Okay, well, goodnight, and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Emily said.
She suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable looking at JJ like that, like she was somehow perving on her or something, so she wanted to get out of the room quickly.
“Goodnight,” JJ replied, and after one more look Emily turned around to go to her own bedroom.
Part 7