Family isn't Always Blood (A Criminal Minds fanfic)

Chapter 28: Flashbacks

JJ's POV:
I stand rooted to the spot, frozen with fear. My ears are ringing from the gunshot. I feel something running down my face so I reach up and wipe it off. I pull my hand away to see it covered in blood. Spencer runs up and hugs me. My heart is still pounding out of my chest. I look over my shoulder to see the body of Deputy Peters lying limp on the floor. A tear rolls down my cheek as realisation hits me: I could've died, but my family saved me. I bury my face in Spencer's shoulder and he hugs me tighter. "It's okay Jage, you're okay" he says quietly.
The rest of the team comes over to make sure I'm okay, "Who was it?" I ask, "Morgan" Hotch says, "Thank you" I say and give him a hug. A jealous look flashes across Spencer's face and I laugh, "It's okay Spence, I still love you" I say and kiss him passionately on the lips, "I love you too Jage" he whispers into my ear. I pull back and Spence frowns at me, "I'm going to wash this off" I say, gesturing to the blood splattered all over my face. I turn and walk over to the bathroom.

I turn on the tap and look in the mirror. I grab some paper towel and start wiping away the blood.

Once all the blood is off I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Staring back at me is a scared, 11 year old girl, crying as she realises that she will never see her sister again, never get to hear her laugh, never be able to make her smile again.

The little girl looks up from what she's doing as her big sister walks into her room. She sits down on the bed and looks at the small girl, "Jennifer" she says, "I want you to have this" she hands the little girl a necklace with a love heart on it, "But this one is your favourite" the little girl says, handing the necklace back, "Yeah I know, but I want you to have it" the older girl says, undoing the clasp and putting it around the little girls neck, "Thank you!" the little girl says, wrapping her arms around her sisters neck. "I love you" the older girl says and leaves the room.

The little girl wakes up to the sound of her parents crying. She gets up and walks over to her parents standing in her sisters doorway, "Mummy, Daddy, what's wrong?" she asks. Her mum continues to cry and the little girl turns around to see the horrifying sight of her sisters lifeless body lying on the bedroom floor. She turns and runs from the room, heading for the bathroom. Being 11 years of age, she is old enough to understand what has happened. She stares at her reflection in the mirror and a year rolls down her cheek. Her sister is gone.

"JJ?" A voice says, snapping me back to reality, "Just a minute!" I call and wipe away the tears. I open to door to see Spencer standing there, "Jage, what's wrong?" he asks, "Nothing, I'm fine" I lie, "No, you're not fine, your eyes are red and puffy and you spent 7 minutes longer than you should've to wash off that blood" he says. A tear rolls down my cheek and he wipes it away with his thumb. I open the door wider and step back, letting him in.
He enters the bathroom and awkwardly looks around, noticing the small changes between the girls and the boys bathrooms. "JJ, please tell me what's wrong. I can see that you're hurting and when you hurt, I hurt too" he says. I take a deep breath and start to cry,"My sister" I say, unable to hold it in anymore. A sad look forms on his face as he remembers what happened to my sister, "It's okay baby" he says, stepping forward to hug me. I cry into his chest as he embraces me, stroking my hair with his hand. I step away and look into the mirror again, wiping away my tears before heading for the door. Spence follows me over to the rest of the team and they all look at me in question. When I don't answer they drop it. "Let's get outa here" Hotch says and we grab our things to leave.

We board the jet and I take a seat in the back corner, away from everyone else. We fasten our seat belts as the jet takes off.
Once safely in the air I remove my seatbelt and get up to get a coffee.
I pour the liquid into my cup and walk back over to my seat. Spencer comes over and sits down opposite me. "Jage" he says, taking my hands, "Are you okay?" he asks, "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry about earlier" I say quietly, "Don't apologise, it's completely natural for memories to resurface in a stressful situation like that" he says, "Thanks Spence" I say and let go of his hands. I lie down on the seat and curl up, closing my eyes. Spencer covers me with a blanket and kisses my forehead, "Sweet dreams" he says and walks off.