Title: It Happened So Fast
By: snoozie2105
Pairing: Rossi/JJ
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: As ever, I do not have any claims to CM or its characters.
Summary: "I'm sorry. I remember you and Hotch yelling to take cover, but I was too slow, I guess."

***

"It happened so fast."

David Rossi kept repeating those words to himself as he kept vigil by his wife's bedside. A week ago, they, along with Hotch, Morgan, Reid and Prentiss, had gone to a murder scene they'd thought was secure, only to be surprised by the unsub they'd thought was long gone. He saw her go down, but it didn't immediately register that she'd taken a bullet. Only after Rossi squeezed off the round that killed the unsub did he notice Jennifer still on the ground. And the blood. There was so much blood.

For seven days now he'd blamed himself and alternately prayed to and pleaded and bargained with a God he wasn't sure he believed in. An inch to the left, her doctor said, and she would've been gone.

As he caressed her hand and stared at her pale yet still lovely face, his mind went back to their last visit to this hospital, three years ago, for the birth of their daughter, Anna Jareau Rossi. He remembered it like it was yesterday – Jennifer waking him up at three in the morning to tell him it was time, calling her doctor, helping her into the car, helping her out of the car and into a wheelchair, breathing with her, coaching her, encouraging her, physically supporting her, and finally kissing her deeply through their tears when Anna entered the world just after seven that evening, announcing her arrival by screaming at the top of her small and obviously healthy lungs.

And now, in this hospital where Jennifer had struggled to give birth, she fought to live. The doctor was optimistic, telling him that the coma was the body's way of healing itself, and to be patient, but so far there had been no change, and she hadn't woken up. For once in his life, Rossi couldn't call in a favor or use his considerable wealth to get his way. Helpless was not a feeling that he had much experience with.

The team had taken turns sitting with him, and after a long discussion that almost turned into an argument, it was decided that Garcia or Prentiss or both would stay with Jennifer so he could go home to Little Creek, get a shower and change clothes, and finally spend time with Anna at Hotch's before going back to the hospital. He wouldn't have agreed if it hadn't been for Anna. According to Haley, she had cried for her mommy and her daddy, and that caused his heart to break even more. This had become his routine, and as much as he hated it, he'd continue it as long as he had to. He would never give up on Jennifer.

Her doctor had told Rossi that it might help if he talked to her, so talk he did. As he stroked her hair, he told her how much he and Anna loved her, how much they missed her, how much they needed her to wake up so she could come home and they could be together again. He asked her what she thought they should do for their anniversary, where she wanted to go on vacation ... anything that came to mind. Garcia and Prentiss read articles from Cosmo and Glamour, Reid shared his latest existentialist joke, and Morgan told her that he had been canceling dates on her account. The love and support of their team – no, their family, as Jennifer had often corrected him – meant more to him than he could express, but it still didn't wake her up.

~*~

Day nine dawned bright and sunny, but Rossi's mood was anything but bright and sunny, despite the fact that Jennifer had been successfully weaned off the ventilator and the doctor had assured him that her vitals were getting stronger. It seemed she was healing, though slowly, but he was getting desperate to see her bottomless blue eyes and hear her sweet voice.

There was only one person he could think of who might get through to her. Anna. It always made him smile to see how their faces lit up when they saw each other after being apart even for an hour. Anna had his dark eyes, but Jennifer's blonde hair and personality; it was obvious whose child she was from her looks and her behaviors. Whenever Morgan reminded him that she would be a heartbreaker when she grew up, Rossi vowed and declared that she would not date until she was forty. Jennifer just smiled, patted his hand as she rolled her eyes and said, "We'll see."

The doctor reluctantly agreed to a visit, so Rossi called Garcia and asked her to pick Anna up at Hotch's and bring her to the hospital. An hour later, a soft knock at the door signaled their arrival, and Rossi got up from his chair by Jennifer's bed to step into the hallway.

He heard Anna chattering away to Garcia before he even made it out of Jennifer's room, but as soon as she saw him, she reached out her chubby little arms and cried, "Daddy!"

"Hey there, bambina," he said brightly, taking her from Garcia and kissing her forehead. To Garcia, he said quietly, "Thanks for bringing her here."

"My pleasure," she replied as she patted Anna's back and offered Rossi a smile. "I just hope this works."

"Me too," Rossi murmured before turning his attention back to Anna, who had wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. He needed to prepare her to see Jennifer; part of him was terrified that it would frighten her, maybe even scar her for life, but the other part of him knew that it just might be what Jennifer needed – it was a chance he was willing to take. "Listen," he said as he looked into her eyes and stroked her soft cheek with his thumb. "I'm going to take you to see Mama. She's sleeping, and there are a few machines around her bed, but don't be afraid. You can talk to her, tell her you love her and want her to wake up."

She nodded seriously. "'Kay, Daddy."

Rossi carried Anna into Jennifer's room, Garcia following in case the little girl became upset and needed to leave quickly. He noticed that Anna's lower lip quivered and her eyes grew wide at the sight of her mother lying so still; for a second was afraid that she would start crying, but she didn't. "Mama?" she whispered as Rossi sat down down on the bed and settled her in his lap. "Mama?" Getting no response, Anna turned her inquisitive brown eyes on him.

"It's okay," Rossi soothed, "it's okay. Remember I told you that Mama was asleep?" Again Anna nodded. "She's having a nice long rest, and though she can't open her eyes, she can hear you. Why don't you tell her what you've been up to the past few days, hmm?" he suggested as he ticked her stomach, which never failed to get a giggle out of her.

~*~

Anna held up wonderfully well; Rossi's earlier concern that the visit might upset her was dispelled as soon as she started telling about playing with Jack, helping Haley make cupcakes, reading the newspaper with Hotch, spending an afternoon at the park with Emily and Reid and everything else she'd been doing. When the twenty minutes the doctor had allowed them were up, Anna kissed Jennifer's cheek, said, "'Wuv you, Mama," and went on her merry way with Garcia, the promise of stopping for ice cream foremost in her mind. He needn't worry about his little girl, he thought as he hugged and kissed her one last time and told her he'd see her the next day.

When Anna and Garcia disappeared into the elevator, Rossi went back to Jennifer, closing the door behind him for privacy. He sighed as he sat down and took her hand before dropping his head to the pillow on which her arm rested. His physical, mental and emotional exhaustion catching up with him, he dropped off to sleep within minutes.

~*~

A slight squeeze of his hand woke him an hour later. Thinking in his drowsy state that it was probably another muscle spasm in Jennifer's hand, he closed his eyes again, hoping he could go right back to sleep, but seconds later it happened again. As he raised his head, he noticed her eyelids flutter. In an instant he was awake and sitting beside her on the bed.

"Jennifer," he said, squeezing her hand back. "Open your eyes ... come on, baby, open your eyes for me, please."

His heart and spirits soared as her eyes slowly opened. "Welcome back," he smiled, fighting back tears. "Let me go get your nurse."

She shook her head almost imperceptibly and tried to clear her throat. "No," she whispered, grimacing as she tightened her grip on his hand, "not yet."

"Okay, okay. It's just me and you, but only for a few minutes. Your doctor will want to check you out."

That seemed to satisfy her. "H-how long have I b-been here?"

"Nine days. How do you feel?" he asked softly as he stroked her face with the back of his free hand.

She gave him a brief, weak smile and replied, "Stoned."

He stop the chuckle that rose up in him. "Oh, baby," he whispered as he bent to kiss her forehead, "I was so scared. So scared I'd lost you. So scared that we'd lost you."

A tear slid down her cheek. "I'm sorry. I remember you and Hotch yelling to take cover, but I was too slow, I guess."

"Don't apologize. It could just as easily have been someone else. We didn't know he was there. We didn't know he was waiting for us."

"How long did it take you to convince yourself of that? If I know you, and I do, you've been sitting here blaming yourself for what happened to me."

He could hide nothing from her; he should've known better by now than to even try. "Till just now," he confessed. "I'm just so happy that you're awake."

~*~

That evening, after the doctor had pronounced her "definitely on the road to recovery," and after she and Rossi had both taken a brief nap, she asked him to hold her. "You know I'd love to, but I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," she assured him. "I need to feel your arms around me."

Once they were settled, Rossi asked her what it had been like. "Like sleeping," she answered, her voice close to breaking, "but I could hear you – and Anna. It sounded like she'd been on a mini-vacation. I so wanted to open my eyes and talk to you both, but I just couldn't. I'm so glad you two haven't been alone through all this. We'll have to have everyone out to Little Creek for a barbecue soon."

Rossi was quick to reply. "Yes, but not before you're ready."

Her husband, ever the protector, ever the guardian, she thought with a smile as she tucked her head underneath his chin. "We have so much to live for, to be grateful for, you know?" she whispered.

"I know," he replied, cautiously wrapping his arms more snugly around his wife. "I know."

***