Safe now ( Emily prentiss )

A quick outing

Addie tossed and turned in her bed, ruining Emily's work on her hair. She stared at the ceiling counting sheep: one sheep, two sheep...nothing was working. Looking at the clock on the opposite wall, she saw it was almost 1am. She groaned as she accidentally hit her shoulder on the bed frame. Deciding she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon she ventured into the kitchen. Quietly, she grabbed a cup and filled it with water before splashing her clammy face.

Five minutes later Addie found herself back in the room, eyes glued to the plain wall. Sleep came abruptly - encasing her body in a hazy, sluggish state. Even so it didn't last long before nightmares clawed her fragile mind.

"It's ok. I'll be gentle..." he crept towards her. She fought: kicked and punched and struck him as hard as she could. But it was useless. She felted dirty as he ran his hands up her thigh. "Stop. Stop it," she pleaded, tears threatening to spill from her lifeless, brown eyes. It was no use; she wasn't strong enough. Her delicate body shook violently. "Stop. Don't. Get...away... please?" She recited these words.

"Stop. Get away. Please," a shadow of a voice begged. Emily was a light sleeper and heard the distant wishes being uttered in the next room at once. She waited six minutes, sometimes dreams can end abruptly - it didn't. The pleads continued, growing in volume. The dark haired woman got up and stumbled, groggily, to the opposing room. Her heart shattered at the girl in front of her: backed into the corner of the bed, arms pressed protectively against her chest. "Addie?" Emily spoke clearly. Walking forwards, Emily reached the small girl and placed her hand on Addie's arm. "Addie can you open your eyes?" The girls breathing only quickened. "Addie, it's Emily. You're safe. I'm going to sit next to you. Okay?" She gently climbed into the bed, keeping some distance. They stayed like this for seven minutes until Addie's trembling stopped and she slowly opened her eyes. "Addie, it's Emily. You're safe, okay?" The small girl nodded. "Can I come closer?" Addie shook her head. "Okay... do you want me to go back to my room?" She nodded tentatively. "Okay. I'll be in the next room if you need me. Try to get back to sleep if you can."

Addie desperately craved for Emily to hold her; to tell her everything was fine and that she would protect her. But no. This wasn't her house - her home. Jj and Emily might regret taking her if all she does is have nightmares and wake them up.

The ceiling wasn't particularly interesting however, there wasn't anything else to look at in the bare room. Addie thought about what it would be like to live here. She would be safe; or at least as safe as she could be. She wouldn't be scared to come back home after school or meet her father's new work friends: it was safe, Jj and Emily hadn't hit her yet. She thought about eating dinner round a table with them and them listening to her talk about school. She thought about how she would decorate the room ( she hadn't really lived anywhere long enough to even consider decorating it ) and how her friends could come over. She thought and thought and thought.

Morning arrived faster than Emily would have liked it to. Yawning, she sat up and glanced at the peaceful looking Jj. She kissed her on the forehead before drifting over to the bathroom and then to Addie's room. Silently, she placed the covers back over the girl and headed to the kitchen. There wasn't much food in the fridge for the two profilers hardly ever spent a full day at home. Hotch had given them a week to figure out what was going to happen and whether or not Addie would be staying with them. If she was then either jj or Emily would have to be home with her, at least for the first few weeks until she would be able to ,hopefully, stay with Penelope.
Emily gave up on trying to find a reasonable meal and made coffee instead; noting to buy groceries. Jj joined her girlfriend less than twenty minutes later. "Morning," Jj mumbled, pouring herself a coffee. She sat next to Emily and leisurely sipped her coffee. "Did you sleep well? I heard you get up," the blonde questioned. "Addie had another nightmare..." Emily replied, tediously biting her nails. "Was she okay?"  "I think... I don't really know. She didn't want me to hold her. It's like she's punishing herself by not allowing herself comfort... she was looking at me like I'd hurt her," Emily shrugged. Jj put down her coffee and took Emily's hands. "Or maybe she's just gone through something traumatic and couldn't deal with touch? She doesn't have to trust us immediately. She's been through a lot, we just have to give her time. Okay?" Emily nodded.

Addie woke to the sound of her name meaning spoken in the distance. She brushed her hand against the wall as she walked towards the voices. She was still wearing the clothes they had found her in and greatly wanted to shower. Emily, hearing footsteps, turned to find Addie awkwardly standing there, tugging on her clothes. "I'm sorry. About last night. I...didn't mean to be so loud..." she stared attentively at the floor, "I'll be quieter next time... I promise," she whispered. Jj and Emily shared a concerned look. "You don't have to apologise. If you ever need to wake us up that's ok. We're not going to punish you for something you can't control." Jj said softly. Addie stared at her. "Are you feeling better?" Jj continued. Addie felt stuck. Emily realised the girls nervousness and changed the topic of conversation, "I was thinking we could maybe go out today? We need groceries and I was thinking we could buy some clothes for you,". Addie sat down on the sofa and brushed her hands through her hair. "Um... I... need to shower...and I don't have any money." "Oh honey, don't worry about money." Jj smiled at her. "I can't shower... it's... too much," Addie fumbled for the right words, "it... reminds me of him. When... he would," Addie said under her breath. Emily nodded her head in understanding. "Honey, you need to shower. Trust me you'll feel much better when you're out of them clothes. Emily or I could sit outside the door? Or...?" Jj said gently. "Um... could I maybe stay here? I won't make a mess or be loud or touch anything im not suppose to," She said, looking to Emily for guidance. Before Emily could speak a phone rang loudly. Addie flinched and looked between Emily and JJ. JJ went to answer the phone while she and emily sat on the sofa.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Emily asked, though she knew the answer. Addie simply shrugged and looked around the room.
"Okay... how about we skip the shower and just go shopping?" Addie nodded.

Rain drizzled against the windows as they drove. Addie felt strange wearing clothes that didn't belong to her but it felt oddly comforting to wear Jj's joggers and Emily's purple top. The scenery rushed past, blurred by the soft sprinkling of rain. "Ok ,so, I was thinking we could get something to eat first and then start looking for clothes. I'm not quite sure what teenagers nowadays wear, there's a few shops I think you might like though," Emily stated. Addie hummed in response.

Addie bumped into a stranger; the busy atmosphere was quickly enclosing in on her. "Sorry," she mumbled, biting her lip. Jj took her hand as they proceeded into the first clothing store. She tried on a few things: denim jackets, leggings, pyjamas, t-shirts. Emily noticed the girl purposely skipped past the underwear section, instead heading towards the make-up section. Furtively, she pocketed a few lipglosses. She didn't usually steal however, for some reason, she felt an unstoppable urge to. Emily pretended not to see as she bought the few things the girl had picked out. They went to the food court next. "I think I'm going to get the burger," Emily declared and looked towards the two other girls. "I'll get a salad," Jj replied, "Addie?"  Addie stopped biting her nails for a second and shook her head, "I'm not hungry."  "Are you sure?" Emily questioned. The small brunette nodded.

Addie hadn't got that many clothes compared to what Jj and Emily thought she needed. Emily blocked her when they were about to get in the car while Jj was starting the car. Emily looked at her. "Pockets," Emily demanded. Addie looked confused. "I saw you take them. Empty your pockets."  Addie fidgeted with her hair before taking out the lipglosses. "I'm sorry," she uttered, looking down. The older brunette watched the girl intensely. "I'm really, really sorry," Addie whispered to the ground. Emily raised her hand slightly - about to put it on Addie's shoulder but Addie flinched violently. "Don't..." she begged, slamming her eyelids shut and covering herself with her arms. Emily realised what she had done and, calmly, approached Addie. The girl seemed to shrink under her pitiful gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Let's get in the car."  Addie nodded but her breath stayed staggered. Jj noticed the change in mood as they all got into the car. Emily signalled to the blonde she would tell her later. Jennifer looked back at Addie whose eyes shimmered in the dim light. Fierce rain splattered down the glass windows encapsulating the car in a muffled silence as Addie studied the outside, her breaths slowly evening out despite her light trembling.