Chapter Text
JJ walked into work and headed straight to her office, not in the mood to talk to anyone. Things had been rough with Will for about a year now, but last night was by far the worst. For the first time, he had physically forced her to lay in bed while he got himself off. She felt tears sting her eyes as she sat down in her chair. Why didn’t she fight harder? Why didn’t she run? Then she felt a kick and she sighed. For him, of course. She was terrified that if she fought too much, Will would really hurt her and in turn, hurt their son.
The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her seat, tears stinging her eyes as she looked into her phone camera to make sure her bruises were all covered, jumping slightly when she heard a knock on her door.
“Come in.” She called, putting her phone away quickly as she tried to make herself look busy.
Emily walked in, smiling as she sat down across from JJ. “Hey. How are you feeling today? How’s the little man?”
JJ smiled, rubbing her stomach. “He’s good. Just kicking away.” She replied, wincing as she shifted slightly.
Emily leaned forward a little. “What, what’s wrong?”
“Just a strong kick to my ribs.” JJ lied, biting the inside of her cheek. “Was there something you needed? I’ve got a lot of cases to sort through.” She said firmly, looking down at the file that lay open in front of her.
Emily frowned. “Oh. Uh..no. No, I just wanted to check in on you. I’ll go.” She said softly, standing and walking out, shutting the door behind her.
JJ sucked in a shaky breath, letting tears slip out once the door was closed. She felt terrible for snapping at Emily, but she could only keep her composure for so long before she cracked and the last thing she wanted was Emily profiling her. The tears fell freely for a few moments before she sat up, wiped them away, and went back to covering her bruises with a concealer.
***
At the end of the day, JJ packed up her things and headed home, praying that the Will she returned home to would be the kind one who she’d fallen in love with, but preparing for the one she’d been with last night. She walked in the door, biting her lip when she saw his jacket hanging from the coat rack. The blonde put her things away then headed to the kitchen, grabbing the chicken she had defrosted and beginning to cook dinner. As she cooked, the smell of the food and the feeling of the raw chicken began to mess with her stomach. She groaned, covering her mouth as she walked quickly to the trash can, bent over it, and threw up.
Will, hearing the noise, came into the kitchen and kneeled beside her. “Jen? Are you okay?”
JJ wiped her mouth and nodded weakly. “Y-yeah just the chicken sm-” She gagged and threw up again.
“Aw baby…” He sighed, pulling her hair back so it wasn’t in her face. “Can I do anything?” He asked once she was done again. “I can finish dinner if that would help.”
JJ looked up at him, biting her lip. “Um..yeah. If you could finish the chicken that would help a lot.” She whispered, flinching slightly when he raised his hand, though he didn’t seem to notice because he just cupped her face, stroking her cheek.
“Sure. Is there a recipe to follow?” Will asked, placing a kiss on her head as he stood up, grabbing the trash bag and tying it up before setting it on the ground.
“Mm-hm. It’s on the counter with the chicken.”
“Okay. Let me take this trash out then I’ll get to it.” He grabbed her hands, helping her up and walking her to the couch.
JJ laid down, resting her hand on her stomach, watching as Will walked outside. Every time she lucked out and came home to the Will she fell in love with, she wondered if he would stay that way. She would try and shove down the memories of what he had done to her and just enjoy his gentle touches, the way he played with her hair and said he loved her. But every time, he changed again. It may take hours, days, sometimes it even took weeks. But he would always change back to the one who yelled at her and left bruises scattered on her skin.
Laying on the couch, JJ fell asleep, only waking up when she felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder.
“Jennifer. Dinner is ready.”
JJ nodded, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “Thank you so much for finishing it, babe.” She mumbled tiredly, smiling softly as he slipped his hand in hers and helped her up.
“No problem. Feeling any better?”
JJ grabbed two water bottles from the fridge, handing him one before sitting down. “Yeah, I think I’m fine. The raw chicken was just too much for me.” She laughed softly, cutting her chicken and taking a bite. “This is good Will. You did a great job.”
“Hey, I just followed a recipe. It was the least I could do.” He chuckled, taking a bite. “Mm. But it is good.”
JJ giggled, smiling at him as she continued to eat, trying her hardest to shove down the thought that he could snap again at any time.
An awkward silence settled over their house and all JJ could hear was the sound of forks and knives hitting the plate. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, trying to think of something, anything, to say that wouldn’t piss her fiance off. Will seemed oblivious to her internal struggle, just happy to be eating his food. Letting out a soft sigh, she went back to eating.
They sat in silence for several more minutes before she felt Will’s foot slide up her leg and she froze. Swallowing hard, she looked up and saw Will looking at her with a grin on his face. She started to open her mouth and tell him no, that she was too tired and still felt a little off from throwing up before. But she stopped, thinking that maybe she was the problem, maybe he only got angry because she had done something wrong. If she just said yes, he would have no reason to hurt her.
“Can I..finish my food first?” She asked softly.
***
When JJ showed up for work the next morning she was sore and in a terrible mood. Will, for once in his life, had wanted to go more than one round. He enjoyed himself tremendously but she hadn’t wanted to have sex at all and, unsurprisingly, didn’t get off once. She rubbed her stomach, which had been causing her pain off and on since they finished their activities last night, and headed to Emily’s desk, offering her a weak smile as she sat on the edge.
“Hey Em.”
The raven-haired agent smiled and looked up at the blonde. “Hey JJ. How are you?”
“Pretty good.” She nodded, rubbing her stomach with both hands. “Can I talk to you for a second in my office?”
Emily frowned slightly but nodded, standing up and offering JJ a hand.
In her office, JJ sat in her desk chair, looking at Emily as she sat across from her. “I just…” She bit her lip, trying her best to keep eye contact although she wanted nothing more than to look away. “I wanted to apologize. I kind of snapped at you yesterday. It’s just...things have been rough lately and I guess I took it out on you.”
Emily gave JJ a soft smile as she reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “It’s okay JJ. I’m a big girl, you didn’t hurt my feelings.” She promised, frowning slightly as she processed the rest of JJ’s sentence. “What do you mean things have been rough lately?”
JJ looked at Emily and nearly burst into tears. The older woman was looking at her with such a concerned look on her face and she could tell by the look in her eyes that she really, and truly cared about her. She almost came clean about the abuse right then and there because she knew Emily would take care of her. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Just with the pregnancy. I’m tired and so sore. I’m not sure how I’ll make it these last few weeks.” She winced as her stomach tightened. “Especially if I’m going to be having contractions the whole time.”
Emily, who had leaned back in her chair to relax, sat up with a start. “Contractions? You’re having contractions?”
JJ laughed softly, shaking her head. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s just false labor. I’ve been having them since last night after..” she paused, realizing she almost shared a very intimate detail. “After we went to bed. But they haven’t become more frequent. I’m getting one every 30 minutes to an hour. That’s not labor.” She winced again, sucking in a breath. “Although this one hurts a lot more.”
JJ whimpered, leaning forward slightly as she took shaky breaths. Emily noticed JJ gripping the edge of her desk so hard her knuckles were white so she sat on the edge of the desk and took her hands.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Squeeze my hands Jen.”
JJ nodded, squeezing the brunette’s hands for a moment until she felt the contraction end. “That was..a short one. I think we’re okay since they aren’t consistent or long. They just hurt.” She whimpered, still feeling a little tightness in her stomach.
“Okay. Is there anything I can get you?”
“Actually, I am feeling super nauseous. Could you go make me some ginger tea?” She leaned back in her chair.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” Emily smiled and headed out the door.
JJ stood up to grab her purse when she felt her water break. “Fuck. Em?” She called out softly, raising her voice when there was no response. “Emily!”
Emily rushed back in. “What, what happened?”
“My water just broke,” JJ spoke softly, her eyes wide and her face panicked.
“Holy shit. Um..okay. Let’s go, I’ve got you.” She walked over and wrapped her arm around JJ, leading her out of the office.
JJ leaned against Emily as they walked out to the bullpen, her nails digging slightly into the brunette’s arm.
“Guys! JJ is in labor.” Emily said quickly.
Garcia, who was perched on Morgan’s desk, rushed over and took JJ’s free hand, Morgan and Reid following behind.
“You okay JJ? My car’s right outside, I can drive you to the hospital.”
JJ nodded, shooing Reid and Morgan away, assuring them she was fine. “Yeah, that would be great Pen.”
“Thanks, Garcia. I’ll be in the waiting room waiting to meet that handsome boy as soon as I finish my paperwork.”
“Wait Em.” JJ stopped walking and looked at Emily, biting her lip. “I want you to come.” She blushed when Emily looked confused and knew she needed to give her an explanation fast. Sure they were close, best friends even, but she had never mentioned having Emily in the room before and she knew Emily must think it was odd that she was bringing it up so suddenly. “I just..it might take Will a while to get there considering he’s at work. And I’m worried he might be one of those husbands who passes out because they’re squeamish and I don’t want to deliver this baby by myself. Plus, even though Garcia is the godmother, she’s already told me she wouldn’t be able to handle the screaming and blood. Will you come?”
Emily smiled and nodded. “Of course Jen. As long as it’s okay with Hotch.” She replied, looking over at her boss.
“Go. We’ll split your paperwork between the rest of us and meet you there whenever we can.”
Emily grinned, taking JJ’s hand again and helping her out to Penelope’s car.