Thank you for reading! It was fun to explore what their thoughts might have been that first weekend together.
The plane was beginning its final descent into New Orleans, and JJ's stomach was fluttering right along with it. She was more than used to planes taking off and landing again, but usually what waited for her on the ground was less exciting—and less frightening—than the man who was picking her up today.
Her visit this weekend was the result of nearly a month's worth of calls and emails and texts, most of which made her heart beat faster and her cheeks heat. Will LaMontagne's courtly charm and open admiration shone in every form of communication. Especially on the phone—that slow drawl that she pretended to make fun of melted her into her seat every time.
But for all that, she'd been reluctant to agree to go visit. New Orleans was a beautiful city; Will a man she wanted to know better; her usual weekends certainly didn't offer anything more enticing. But she was afraid to go. Afraid to try. Afraid, if she were willing to admit it to herself, to put herself in a position where she might get hurt. And while JJ had dated plenty, she had never gone quite this far for a first date, never looked forward to it quite this much, and it was that very anticipation that had her nerves screaming for extra caution.
JJ looked out the window, watching as the bright lights in the dark night that had settled over New Orleans came closer, and fidgeted with her hair. She wished she'd had time for a shower and a change of clothes before getting on the plane, but she had come straight from work—she hadn't dared trying to leave early, not with an office full of profilers watching her every move. They had all made an agreement long ago not to profile each other, but who were they kidding? Everyone on the team knew everything they could find out about each other—and they made inferences from every piece of information. In some ways, JJ liked that, because she knew it came from being a team, a family, as Garcia liked to say, and having each other's back. In other ways … JJ guarded her privacy, didn't want to be answering questions or making a statement or bearing the weight of the speculative looks they would all give her. She got enough of that on the job.
Closing her eyes as the plane touched down, the rest of the passengers suddenly grown chatty and restive as they waited for the plane to taxi to the gate, JJ tried to bring Will's face to mind and found she couldn't quite manage. A feature here or there, but not the whole thing. What if she had made up this unaccountable attraction, charmed by his gentleness, the way he listened and didn't always feel the need to offer alternatives when she talked, his slow voice like warm honey rolling over her? What if she walked out of the terminal and saw him waiting there and wanted to turn around and run the other way? It was possible, and how humiliating would that be … for both of them? She could imagine his mouth turning down, his eyes sad and hurt, and she crossed her fingers and hoped this wasn't all a big mistake.
JJ deplaned with the rest, unused to the fits and starts as the passengers inched their way down the aisle. The BAU jet was much better; the only waiting she was used to having to do was for Spence, who liked to stop every couple of steps and turn around to expound on something until Morgan or Emily dragged him bodily off the plane. But she could hardly take the jet on a date, much as it would have made the flight more pleasant. JJ swung her go-bag down from the overhead compartment, breathing a sigh of relief that she had made it all the way through the day without anyone looking inside it. She could only imagine what Morgan and Emily—or Garcia—would have said if they had glimpsed inside it. Heels, lingerie, perfume, a nice dress in case they went out. JJ wasn't sure if she hoped they would, or if she hoped they wouldn't.
Was she being ridiculous thinking this weekend would lead to sex? Was she expecting too much too fast, would that turn him off? Their phone conversations had gotten intimate several times; surely there was an expectation. She knew she had one … or she had, until the plane landed and she was suddenly here and wasn't really sure of anything any more.
You'd think she'd never been on a date before, she thought tartly, stepping onto the jetway and feeling the heat and humidity surround her like a blanket. Sometimes she liked the feeling. Right now, it was more suffocating than anything else, and JJ was gripped by a sudden desire to turn around and run back onto the plane, retake her seat, and let the plane fly her to wherever it was going next. But she had come too far to back out now, so she forced her feet to keep going, carrying her off the jetway and into the air-conditioned terminal.
He was waiting for her, leaning against the wall with one leg casually crossed over the other, looking totally relaxed, and the sight of him there, a single beautiful pink rose held in one hand, soothed JJ's concerns at the same time as it set her heart pounding.
Suddenly she was sure—for whatever reason, this was where she was meant to be at this moment. A smile spread across her face at the way his eyes lit up when he saw her, and she hurried to him, putting her arms around his neck and holding on tight.
"Welcome to New Orleans."
"I thought I'd never get here."
Courtly as ever, Will took her bag, handing her the rose, and she walked out with him into the velvety-warm New Orleans night.