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“Okay, spill.” Penelope said, slamming both hands down on JJ’s desk and smiling widely.
“Spill what, Garcia?” JJ asked, not looking up from her work.
“The beans, Jareau.” Penelope frowned. “I know that you’re shacking up with Agent Prentiss, and now I wanna know exactly when, why, and how it happened. Also where, if that’s an interesting part of the story.”
JJ froze, her cheeks turning pink as she registered what her friend was saying. No one was supposed to know about her and Emily, they were actually quite proud of the fact that they were able elude the great ‘goddess of information’ for a little over a year. JJ supposed it was just a matter of time.
“H-how do you...?” Her brow furrowed as she looked at Penelope.
“I know everything.” Penelope replied, rolling her eyes. “Now, you give me your information, and I’ll give you mine.”
“Does anyone else know?” JJ frowned.
“To my knowledge, I am the only one who holds that information.” Penelope crossed her arms. “I dished, now you.”
“What do you want to know first?” JJ asked, looking Penelope in the eye.
“When?” Penelope said quickly. “And I don’t want you to tell me which cases it happened in between... or during, I want to know the exact date and time.”
“It was in May.” JJ said evenly, watching as Penelope considered the answer.
“Three months isn’t that bad.” She nodded.
“Of last year.”
Penelope’s jaw went slack for a moment. “...You and Emily... have been secretly doing it for over a year?!”
“... Yes.” JJ said slowly, looking back at her files.
“How?” Penelope choked out.
JJ frowned. “Alcohol at first.” She paused. “Then a second time, and the third. I’m pretty sure we were sober the fifth time, but neither of us remember that well.”
“So you guys got drunk and hooked up four times?” Penelope asked, looking scandalized. “How does that even happen?”
“Well, certainly not on accident.” JJ replied with a small laugh. “What else do you want to know?”
“Everything!”
“Well, we’re at work, so how about we continue this later?”
“You owe me an explanation lunch.”
“I have lunch plans with Emily.”
“I can interrogate the both of you, then.”
JJ watched as Penelope turned her heel and left the room before pulling out her cell phone and sending Emily a quick text, warning her about their lunch with Penelope. She watched from the doorway as Emily checked her phone, smiling at the look of horror that formed on her mostly secret girlfriend’s face. Their eyes met and Emily frowned at her, mouthing the word ‘how’ at her with a small glare. JJ shrugged at her and shook her head before looking back at her files.
Lunch came around quicker than JJ would’ve liked and Penelope had managed to drag her and Emily into her office. JJ sat down at the table near Penelope’s computer, while Emily crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. JJ watched as Penelope sat in her chair and leaned back, she gave each of the agents a long look before taking in a deep breath.
“You two certainly are stealthy.” She said after almost a minute of silence. “I’ll admit it, I didn’t suspect a thing until you screwed up.”
“What do you mean ‘screwed up’?” JJ asked after she and Emily shared a glance.
“Ah,” Penelope smiled, a smug smile forming on her face. “Well, you see, when people start to get comfortable in their lies, they get lazy, they leave breadcrumbs.”
“Get on with it, Garcia.” Emily frowned, her tone dripping with irritation.
Penelope’s smile widened. “JJ butt dialled me last night when you were getting it on.” She let out a little chuckle. “And I find it incredibly hilarious that you call each other agent in bed.”
JJ was quiet for a moment, watching out of the corner of her eye as Emily’s face paled. She watched Penelope laugh, silently hoping that no one else would ever find out about that little quirk that they had. With a small scowl, JJ leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table..
“You can never tell anyone about that.” JJ said, her voice cracking. “I mean it.”
“I don’t listen to kisses and tell.” Penelope replied quickly, letting out another chuckle. “Even if the story is this ridiculous... Agents...”
“Garcia.” Emily said in a warning tone.
“I promise I won’t tell.” Penelope put her hands up in mock surrender. “But only if you tell me everything, from the beginning.”
JJ sighed and told Penelope about the first time she and Emily hooked up. It was just after a long case, and the entire team decided to go out for a drink, or five. The others had left sometime around two in the morning, leaving the two of them to their own devices. The rest of the night was a blur consisting of the both of them uttering the phrase “we shouldn’t do this” at some point, followed immediately by doing what they said they shouldn’t be doing.
JJ woke up in an unfamiliar place with a killer headache, and backache, and between her thighs ached as well. She sat up and looked around, it definitely wasn’t her apartment. There was movement in the bed beside her, causing JJ to jump and look over.
“Shit.” Emily muttered when their eyes met.
She watched as Emily looked around the room with a furrowed brow before rubbing her temples. The room was quiet, but somehow the buzzing from the air conditioning seemed much louder than it actually was. JJ looked at the clock on the nightstand and frowned, it was ten thirty in the morning, JJ counted herself lucky that it was the weekend.
“This isn’t my apartment.” Emily said slowly, looking under the blankets quickly. “I’m still wearing my skirt and bra from last night...” She glanced at JJ. “What about you?”
JJ frowned and checked quickly. She was still wearing a tanktop and her underwear... which was on backwards. “I’m... decent... ish...”
“Ish?” Emily asked, looking at JJ with a furrowed brow.
“I think we... had sex last night.” JJ said quietly. “Do you remember anything?”
“I remember saying something like ‘we shouldn’t do this.’” Emily replied, climbing out of the bed. “I don’t live here, did we rent a hotel room?”
“I don’t know.” JJ shook her head and grabbed her pants off the floor, slipping them on quickly before tossing Emily her shirt, which was on the bedside lamp. “I... don’t.... I think we had sex.”
“I think you’re right.” Emily said quietly. “Do you remember if we drove at all last night?”
“I hope we didn’t.”
“We can’t do this again.”
“Definitely not.”
“Where was the hotel?” Penelope asked.
“Kentucky.” JJ sighed, her cheeks burning when Penelope stared at her. “Don’t ask how, neither of us remember.”
“Oh my god.” Penelope smiled widely. “That’s better than the agent thing.” She paused. “So you guys decided not to ever do it again, and then did it again...?”
“That’s exactly what happened.” Emily said with a frown.
“For two smart people, you sure are dumb.” Penelope laughed. “Why didn’t you just stop drinking together?”
JJ was quiet and looked over at Emily.
“I can’t speak for JJ, but...” Emily paused, letting out a dry chuckle. “I guess in the back of my mind, I wanted it to happen again.”
“That’s cute.” Penelope said, giving Emily a small smile. “Are you guys dating, or are you just hooking up?”
“We can’t really go out on dates.” JJ said with a frown. “But I think our relationship is more than just sex..” She looked at Emily. “So does Emily.”
“Right.” Emily nodded. “We mostly just eat take out at either my place or hers... We try to stay away from hotel rooms, it was a bitch to get back home from Kentucky. Especially without our cars”
“Emily rented a car and we spent three and a half hours trying to find our cars.” JJ sighed, leaning back in her seat. “It was the worst Saturday ever.”
“Sounds awful.” Penelope sighed.
“It wasn’t so bad.” Emily shook her head. “We ate some greasy breakfast foods, that wasn’t too bad.”
“That part was awesome.” JJ said, looking at her watch. “Lunch is over in two minutes. Is there anything you need before we can get back to our jobs?”
“Yeah.” Penelope nodded, giving each woman a hard look before speaking. “Are you guys serious about this relationship? Because a year is a long time to be together in secret.”
“I’m serious.” JJ said, looking at Emily with a small frown. “What about you?”
“Of course I’m serious.” Emily replied quickly. “I find your lack of faith disturbing, by the way.”
“Put a sock in it, Vader.” Penelope sighed, smiling softly at the two women. “You both make a cute couple, so you have my blessing.” She turned to look at her computer. “Just make sure to be more careful about butt dialing your friends when you decide to get it on, okay?”
“Are we free to go?” Emily asked, looking at the clock.
“Go on, my two sapphic lovebirds.” Penelope gestured to her door. “I wish you both the best of luck in all of your sneaky endeavors.”
“Thanks, Garcia.” Emily smiled, opening the door.
“Thank you, Penelope.” JJ said quietly as she stood up. “Sorry about the phone call.”
JJ left the office with Emily right on her heels. “I can’t believe you butt dialled Garcia.” Emily hissed, putting a hand on JJ’s waist and spinning her around to look at her. “Out of all the ways we could have been caught...”
“Don’t be a bully.” JJ said, slapping Emily’s shoulder lightly.
“I’m not bullying you, I’m just saying-”
“And I’m just saying that you should watch yourself.”
When JJ got the call from Morgan telling her that Emily had literally been hit by a truck, her heart jumped out of her chest. Part of her desperately wanted to go to the hospital and see for herself if she was alright, but the larger, more professional part of her knew that there was a killer on the loose again and that she had had to tell the team. She wrote down the partial license plate number that Emily remember and hurried into the conference room to tell the others.
Morgan called to give her an update twenty minutes later while she was getting photos from the crash, telling her that Emily was arguing with doctors about her concussion. She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle before she looked at the photos. Her affectionate smile turned into a look of horror when she saw the destroyed car.
It took all night, and a good part of the morning to catch the unsub and find the family that he’d taken captive. JJ was more than relieved to be on the jet, and everyone else seemed that way too. Morgan and Reid had fallen asleep in their seats, while Rossi and Hotch were looking at some files, JJ glanced over at Emily, who really did look like she’d been hit by a truck.
“Hey,” JJ sighed, sitting beside Emily and handing her a water bottle. “How’s your head?”
“Killing me.” Emily replied with a wry smile. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a car.”
“Better than a truck, right?” JJ chuckled, putting a hand on Emily’s knee.
Emily let out a bark of laughter. “Yes, better than a truck.” She nodded, glancing out the window. “Apparently I have a concussion.”
“No, you definitely have a concussion and I already told Hotch that I’m gonna drive you home.” JJ smiled at the look of horror on Emily’s face. “And I also volunteered to wake you up every hour to make sure you’re still alive.”
“I really don’t like you.” Emily muttered, resting her head against the window.
They were silent for the rest of the plane ride, the only noise was the hum of the jet’s engine and the sound of rustling paper. There was a scowl on Emily’s face as they started to land, JJ took Emily’s hand in her own, offering a small smile. Emily returned the smile and squeezed her hand once.
“So, are you ladies going to spend the night together?” Morgan asked Emily as they were packing up their desks so they could leave.
“What’re you talking about, Morgan?” Emily sighed, glancing at JJ, who was seated on her desk.
“You don’t remember, do you?” Morgan let out a loud laugh. “I told you that you were concussed!”
“Derek.” JJ said, glaring at the other agent. “Seriously.”
“Well, when I was trying to force Prentiss onto the gurney, she was babbling about how we needed to call you.” Morgan said, his smile still in place. “Then she took my phone and dialled ‘eight-six-seven-five-three-oh-nine’ seven times.” He paused, letting JJ absorb the absolute idiocy that was Emily Prentiss for a moment. “And after I explained that we aren’t in a Tommy Tutone song, she got really mad and said, and I quote, ‘I think I know my girlfriend’s phone number.’”
“Oh my god.” JJ watched as Emily fell into her chair and put her head in her hands. “Oh my god.”
Part of her wanted to laugh at the situation, another part wanted to rub Emily’s face in it, but at the moment, the smarter, more rational part of her brain knew that she had to silence Morgan. Taking in a deep breath, she affixed Morgan with an angry glare and leaned forward, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper before speaking.
“You cannot tell anyone.” JJ said, her tone dripping with venom. “I mean it.”
Morgan was quiet for a moment. “You guys are seriously together? Like together-together?”
“Yes.” JJ nodded. “And as insurance, you can talk to Garcia about what happened.”
“Garcia knows, doesn’t she?”
“Of course she does.” Emily groaned, leaning back in her chair. “I remember it now, oh my god.”
“Don’t worry, JJ.” Morgan sighed, shouldering his go bag. “I won’t tell anyone other than my baby girl. You know she’ll find this hilarious.”
“I hope one day everyone knows this story and we use it to ruin Emily’s life.” JJ replied as Morgan left before turning to her girlfriend. “Now do you believe that you have a concussion and you need a ride home?”
Emily nodded quietly and stood up, shouldering her bag as she did so.
“You know, there’s a bright side to this entire situation.” JJ said as she and Emily left the bullpen.
“Yeah?” Emily asked with a frown. “What’s that?”
“We have a new nickname for you, Tutone.” JJ found herself smiling.
“This is going to suck.”
“It’s going to suck until the day you die.” JJ nodded. “It’s going to suck worse than anything you’ve ever experienced.”
“Worse than you woke yourself up with your own snoring?”
“We don’t talk about that.”
JJ awoke with a start one morning to an unfamiliar noise. She shot up in bed and looked around, frowning a little when she heard Emily’s laughter beside her. Turning her head to look at the other agent, JJ’s brow furrowed.
“What’re you laughing at?” She asked, stretching her back and sighing.
“You don’t know what happened?” Emily’s smile widened. “Seriously!?”
“Please just tell me.” JJ rolled her eyes.
“You snored so loudly that you woke yourself up, babe.” Emily said, barely containing her laughter.
JJ froze for a moment before looking at Emily with wide eyes. The grin on her girlfriend’s face told her that there was no way she was lying. A blush formed on JJ’s face and she looked away from Emily, looking out the window with a frown.
“JJ, it’s okay.” Emily chuckled, wrapping her arms around JJ’s waist and pulling her close. “... It’s kind of... cute.”
“Shut up.” JJ muttered, letting Emily pull her down into the bed.
“I mean it.” Emily pressed a kiss to the back of JJ’s neck. “You’re adorable. I love you.”
“I can’t believe I snored myself awake.” JJ sighed, taking one of Emily’s hands in her own.
Emily laughed again but didn’t say anything.
“Did I wake you up with my snoring, too?”
“I can’t answer that...”
“Why weren’t we invited to wedding number seven?” Emily asked as Rossi entered the conference room wearing a tuxedo.
“I’ve been married three times.” Rossi sighed, holding up three fingers. “Just three. It’s not that many.”
“Three more than me.” Emily said quietly, just loud enough for Morgan and JJ to hear.
“Soon to be two.” Morgan whispered, earning an elbow to the ribs.
JJ sighed and briefed the team on the newest case. Six bodies were found in Akron, Ohio, each of the women were violently mutilated. She idly wondered why it took the local police so long to call in the FBI while the others talked about victimology before Hotch announced that they would be leaving in thirty minutes.
“This is gonna suck.” Emily muttered as she grabbed her bag.
“I know.” JJ nodded. “Sorry to ruin your Saturday night.” She smirked a little. “Especially since you said that you had a hot date, too.”
“Yeah, one really, really hot date.” Emily said with a wink. “I hope I can reschedule...”
“I’m sure he understands.” Rossi sighed as he walked by. “You had to have told him what you do for a living, right?”
Emily frowned. “Girls might think the FBI agent thing is super hot, but it’s different with guys.” JJ chuckled at the look on Rossi’s face. “They either see the badge and freak out about a girl being able to beat him up... or they ask if I’m willing to use my handcuffs in bed. There usually is no in between.”
“Well, sorry about that.” Rossi replied with a small frown. “I never knew.”
“Well, you’ve never tried to date a man before, either.” JJ laughed, as she and Emily started to leave the bullpen.
They talked about the killer while they were on the jet. According to the weather forecast, there was going to be a large thunderstorm in Akron. Just as the team got off the plane, the rain started to pour, drenching the agents as they got into the cars.
“I hate Ohio.” JJ mumbled to herself as she and Hotch went straight to the police station. She frowned a little at the thought of Emily and Morgan being forced to stand in the rain and look at dead people.
“No one’s happy with the weather.” Hotch said quietly. “But, you’re right. This weather is awful.”
It took them three days to identify the unsub, a twenty-seven year old man, named Chuck Sanders who was experiencing a psychological break after his wife left him for another woman. Hotch, Morgan, and Reid went to the unsub’s house, she, Emily, and Rossi went to a storage unit that he had rented. The S.W.A.T teams were ready, and JJ knew that they were going to be able to catch the guy, but it little to quell the anxiety in the pit of her stomach.
Emily was shot twice in the abdomen by the unsub, and the unsub once in the chest by Rossi. Time seemed to slow as Emily fell to the ground, JJ watched as Rossi went over to the unsub and checked his pulse before JJ knelt down next to Emily and looked at the kevlar she was wearing. She sighed in relief when Emily made a move to sit up and wrapped her arms around the brunette, holding her close.
“That hurt like a bitch.” Emily grunted as Rossi called Hotch to tell him that they caught Sanders. “Thank god for kevlar, right?”
“Right.” JJ sighed in relief as she helped Emily to her feet. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Emily said, smiling a little before looking over at the unsub. “Is he-?”
“Yeah.” Rossi nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “... How long has this been going on?”
“How long has what been going on?” Emily asked, as she and JJ shared a glance.
“How long have you both been... I think you call it hooking up...?” Rossi said with a smug smile.
“Do you want the truth or the lie?” JJ sighed.
“Truth would be good.” Rossi replied, looking at his watch. “You have two minutes before Hotch, Reid, Morgan, and the coroner arrive, so I’d hurry if I were you.”
“Since May...” Emily said quickly.
“Well, it’s September, you’re pretty good at covering your-”
“Of last year.”
JJ watched as Rossi’s eyes widened before he recovered.
“I don’t want to know.” Rossi put his hands up. “I’ll keep quiet about it, as long as the both of you stop making fun of my marriages.”
“All of them?” Emily blurted before covering her mouth.
“Yes, all of them.” Rossi sighed.
“Deal.” JJ said, giving Emily a look when she saw the brunette about to speak again. “Right, Em?”
“Right.” Emily nodded. “I won’t make one more joke about your obscene amount of marriages.”
“Good.” Rossi said, walking out of the unit. “I’ll get Hotch and the others, you two try and stop looking like such a couple.”
“This is turning into the worst kept secret in the BAU.” Emily muttered as Morgan and Reid entered.
JJ listened as Emily talked to Reid on the phone on a Friday night with a small smile on her lips. Apparently there was a showing of Solaris in the original Russian at a local theater, and Reid wanted to know if Emily would go with him. JJ knew that Emily didn’t want to hurt Reid’s feelings by declining the offer, but she also didn’t want to end their dinner and other activities early.
“You can go if you want.” JJ said quietly, offering Emily a small smile.
“Reid, isn’t that movie four hours long?” Emily asked Reid quickly, a small smile forming. “... five hours? Wow...” She looked at JJ, her smile widening. “I was gonna hang out with JJ, but I don’t think I can pass up on offer...” JJ frowned at Emily. “... You know, I didn’t consider that, I’ll ask her.”
“What did you do?” JJ hissed. “You know that I don’t speak Russian.”
“Spencer wanted me to ask if you wanted to come with us.” Emily said with a smile. “It’s one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, Jayj... Reid even said he’ll pay for the tickets because it was such short notice.”
“I hate you.” JJ sighed. “Tell him I’ll go. But I need you to translate for me.”
Emily nodded and spoke directly into the receiver. “We’ll meet you at the theater, Dr. Reid.” She smiled. “... Yep... Oh, don’t worry about that, I already told JJ that I’d translate for her... Oh, no, she’s excited. Believe it or not, she’s never seen it before... We’ll see you there... Okay, bye.”
“You’re evil.” JJ muttered, standing up from her place on the sofa. “What time do we have to leave?”
“We have ten minutes.”
Emily drove her and JJ to the theater and met Reid inside. He smiled widely and handed them each a ticket before talking about how the cinematography was unique to the movie. Emily seemed to listen intently while they walked into the theater.
Never in a million years did JJ ever think that she’d be watching a 1970’s sci-fi movie in its original Russian. Even with Emily telling her exactly what was going on, JJ had no idea what the movie was about. But somehow, she wasn’t irritated at all. She had popcorn, soda, Emily was there, and Reid seemed incredibly happy with his movie choice and would frequently turn and point out some “Easter Eggs” every couple minutes.
By the time the movie had ended, JJ was sure that she had fallen asleep twice during the movie, only to be woken up by Emily. JJ stood up when the credits started to roll and stretched before looking over at Emily and Reid.They didn’t look nearly as tired as she felt.
“I have to hand it to you, Reid, it was pretty great.” Emily smiled, putting her hands in her pockets. “Right, JJ?”
“It was better than I thought it’d be.” JJ nodded with a small smile. “Thanks for inviting me, Em.”
“Sorry if I ruined your date, by the way.” Reid said to Emily. “But I knew I’d feel awful if I didn’t invite you.”
“My date?” Emily’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“You and JJ.” Reid said quickly, looking at the both of them. “You are together, right? I don’t mean to offend you if you aren’t, but I’m fairly certain that you are.”
“How did know you, Spence?” JJ asked with a frown.
“Easily.” Reid replied. “I just assumed that you were hiding your relationship, so I didn’t say anything for, well... Over a year.” He paused. “Unless something else is going on...”
“No, nothing else is going on.” Emily frowned a little. “Thanks for keeping the secret, Reid.”
“Does anyone else know?” Reid asked.
“I accidentally told Morgan while I was concussed.” Emily said. “JJ butt dialled Garcia while we were trying to be... intimate.”
“Rossi asked us two weeks ago.” JJ added, earning a nod from Emily.
“But you’ve known the longest.” Emily put a hand on Reid’s shoulder.
“Does Hotch know?”
“Probably.”
“How does a secret we’ve kept for over a year end up blowing up within two months?” JJ asked as she and Emily ate take out food while watching some old slasher flick.
“They say that three can keep a secret if two are dead.” Emily replied, flinching a little when the villain brutally murdered another unsuspecting teenager. “This unsub has some serious issues.”
“You’re pretty calm considering the fact that everyone knows about our dating.” JJ sighed, taking a bite of Emily’s lo mein.
“It doesn’t really change things too much.” Emily said with a shrug as she tilted her container to let JJ get some more of her food. “We still have to be professional at work, so it’s no big deal. Besides, now I don’t have to lie about who my hot date is.” Emily smiled at JJ.
“Why are you so sweet to me?” JJ laughed, kissing Emily’s cheek.
Before Emily could answer, JJ’s cellphone went off. JJ took a look at the caller I.D and offered Emily a small frown before taking the call. She listened as a detective from Oregon describe why he was calling the FBI and watched Emily pack up the leftovers. The detective’s situation seemed dire, and JJ had to admit that it was good that he had called the FBI so soon.
“How bad is it?” Emily asked as she grabbed her keys.
“This guy is abducting women, holding them for two months, then burning them alive and leaving them in a ditch.” JJ replied with a frown. “They just found the third body, and another woman is missing.”
“Call the rest of the team in, I’ll drive.” Emily sighed.
No one was particularly thrilled to be called in on a Saturday night, though Penelope did ask if the new case was “interrupting some kind of sapphic ritual,” so at least she knew that not everyone was entirely angry. The drive back to Quantico was tense. JJ listened as Emily mumbled a few things about the case and the possible unsub that seemed to cross her mind as she thought about it.
“This guy sounds like a sexual sadist.” Morgan said when they were meeting in the conference room.
“Why do you think he uses fire, though?” Rossi asked, looking around the table.
“It could be a forensic countermeasure.” Emily replied, looking at some of the crime scene photos.
“Or he could be burned in some way and want others to feel how he felt.” Reid said quickly.
When they finished talking, Hotch announced that they’d be ‘wheels up in thirty,’ and the team got ready to go. JJ looked over at Emily and watched as she and Morgan spoke some more about the case. Their faces were grave every time they glanced at the crime scene photos, not that JJ could blame them.
“I can’t believe we actually had to use dental records to identify these women.” JJ mumbled as she and Emily boarded the jet.
“I can’t believe these women were burnt to death.” Emily replied grimly.
It was a five hour plane ride to Oregon, giving the team a good chunk of time to work on victimology. Neither of the women had much in common, other than being pale with brown hair and brown eyes, and the fact that they were both abducted, tortured, and killed with fire. JJ frowned at the photos before looking back at Emily, she noticed that everyone else seemed to make the connection as well.
The police station was set up just as JJ specified, allowing the team to get to work immediately. They worked through the night and well into the morning, seemingly getting nowhere. That is, until another woman went missing from her home, just like the others.
“This is ridiculous.” Morgan growled when he, JJ, and Reid went to look over the victim’s home.
“There aren’t any signs of a struggle.” Reid said as he entered the bedroom.
“Do you think she was drugged?” JJ asked, looking at the near empty wine glass on the table.
“She could’ve been.” Morgan replied, frowning a little at the open window near the back door. “None of the doors were busted in and all the windows are closed... except this one.”
“You think that’s how he got in?” JJ frowned, crossing her arms.
“It makes sense.” Morgan nodded. “Unless she let him in.”
“I doubt it.” Reid said, coming out of the bedroom. “The front door still had a chain on it.”
They went back to the police station and started to work on the profile when JJ got a call about a another body being found. Hotch sent Emily and Rossi to the crime scene immediately, before telling JJ to contact the family. That was her least favorite part of the job.
“Just so you know,” Hotch said as he and JJ made their way to the room where the victim’s parents were. “We’re all thinking the same thing about Prentiss.”
“Looking like the victims doesn’t mean she’s going to become a target.” JJ said with a sigh.
“But it does make you worry.” Hotch replied, still looking ahead. “Especially given the nature of your relationship.”
“How long have you known?”
“How long has it been going on?”
“Over a year, sir.”
“That’s a long time to keep a secret.”
“We didn’t want it to interfere with work.”
Hotch nodded. “And it hasn’t.” He said quickly. “Hopefully it won’t start now. You need to keep your head, no matter what happens. When we’re on a case, you both are just agents. Nothing more. It might seem harsh, but you’ll thank me when our victims are all blondes and Prentiss starts to get reckless in her attempts to keep you safe.”
“I know.” JJ said quietly.
“Do you?” Hotch asked, putting a hand on JJ’s shoulder.
“Of course I do.” JJ replied, frowning. “And I promise that I won’t do anything reckless.”
“Good.” Hotch nodded once. “Let’s talk to the family’s.”
It took three more days before they’d catch John Kropf, a garbage man who went after women who reminded him of his old high school flame. Emily and Morgan found him running through the forest, they returned to the precinct covered in mud and pine needles. JJ noticed that Emily had some blood trickling down her forearm.
“Asshole bit her.” Morgan muttered, gesturing to the sterile white bandage on Emily’s arm.
“Ew.” JJ frowned, putting down her file. “Is she alright?”
“Irritated.” Morgan shrugged. “But she’ll be fine.”
“You’ll never guess what Hotch said to me.” JJ said as Emily drove them home.
“That he knows about our relationship and now I have to transfer into the state department because he’s reporting us to Strauss.” Emily grinned, earning a small smack on the shoulder from JJ.
“No!” JJ exclaimed, frowning a little when Emily slapped her back gently. “You’re only half right, though. He said that our relationship didn’t interfere with our work, so we’re okay.”
“Good.” Emily nodded.
“He also told me not to freak out just because the victims looked like you.” JJ continued, smiling a little. “And he said that he’d tell you the same thing when there are victims who look just like me.”
Emily was quiet for a moment. “So he’s okay with this?”
“Well, he didn’t say we were cute together, but he didn’t fire me on the spot, so...” JJ chuckled.
“You know,” Emily said as she parked outside her building. “I’ve been keeping another secret for a while, myself.”
“Oh really?”
Emily nodded and led JJ into the building and up to her apartment. JJ tried to get Emily to reveal her secret the entire way up the stairs and down the hall, but Emily didn’t crack. It was to be expected though, keeping secrets was one of the things that Emily did best.
“Okay, fine, I’ll tell you.” Emily rolled her eyes and sighed before stuffing her hand in her jacket pocket and pulling out a small, velvet box. “I bought this a while ago and I was waiting until everyone found out before I’d give it to you.”
JJ’s heart stopped when she saw the box, her eyes widening. “Y-you... You bought a ring?”
“I did.” Emily said, opening the box and revealing a ring. “I also had a speech planned, but it doesn’t mean much now, does it?” She let out a nervous chuckle. “I love you, JJ. And I know you love me, even though you mostly say it when I feed you or when we’re in bed. So, would you-”
“Yes.” JJ nodded, a smile forming on her face and tears forming in her eyes.
Emily slipped the ring onto JJ’s finger and grinned. “Well, now we have another surprise to tell the team...”