Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. Also, I'm sure that there are many people out there that have written one-shots about the same scene(s) that I will in this book. I assure you I'm not copying from anybody.

Basically, this is what I think should have happened at the end of "Proof". This says a lot of things that I feel were left unsaid in the series. I felt like poor Reid was treated so unfairly. I also wanted to further explain both his and JJ's feelings.

*This has been edited since the first time I posted it, so you may notice a few minor changes.

Gathered at Rossi's, the BAU was having a fairly enjoyable time, considering the circumstances. Emily Prentiss had come back from the dead, after weeks of Hotch and JJ telling the team that she was gone for good. Rossi and Morgan were taking things well; however, the resident genius was not. In fact, he wasn't even there with them, and they all felt his presence like a gaping hole.

"Now, in a large pan, we fry up our pancetta, keeping a sharp eye on the edges," David Rossi instructed, stirring the ingredients around in a pan. "Make sure the edges are crisp."

"But careful not to burn the onions," Hotch interjected, earning a 'bravo' from Rossi.

"Now, sauté until translucence," he instructed. He opened his mouth continue the cooking lesson, but the sound of the doorbell interrupted him.

Everybody turned to look at the front door, hoping it was him.

"I've got it," Morgan offered, walking to the door. And, sure enough, it was Dr. Spencer Reid standing on the other side of the door.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he approached the rest of the group, who were huddled around the island in Rossi's kitchen. He and JJ made eye contact for a moment, and then turned away.

He knew he'd been treating her unfairly. But, regardless of the reason for secrecy, she'd still hurt him. He'd gone to her house for weeks mourning Emily's "death", and she'd never even hinted at there being a possibility that Emily was still alive. He was mad, and felt he had every right to be. What, did she expect them all to just forget that they'd been mourning her death for all of those weeks? Because he couldn't. He felt betrayed.

JJ knew that she should have been more compassionate towards Spencer, but he had made it practically impossible. All of his passive-aggressive comments aimed at her had chiseled away at her compassion. Of course she expected him to be a little upset, but never had she anticipated him to be so harsh. He was acting so immature, just like a child. Shouldn't he be elated right now? He was simply angry at himself for not being able to detect the lie at the hospital, and was now taking it out on her. Or at least that's what she told herself.

After offering a quick greeting to Spencer, everyone turned their attention back to Rossi for the cooking lesson. They all tried it out on their own, laughing as they did so. Rossi praised his friends and coworkers as he taught them how to make the delectable meal. Except for Derek, who received neither praise nor an increase in his cooking skills. When trying to sauté, he had the heat turned up too high almost set the fire alarm off. They were left coughing and waving away the smoke, making fun of his cooking skills, or lack thereof. In fact, they were still joking when it was time to actually eat.

"I don't think I sautéed my onions for long enough," Emily commented as she spun a bit of noodles around on her fork.

"Maybe you should've worked with Derek. Then, both of you might've had something edible," JJ joked.

The whole team laughed, except for Spencer. Although he'd had a decent time until that point, he'd remained rather taciturn. He simply wasn't at ease with the way things were left between him and JJ. He felt as if she didn't understand, as if she was refusing to see things from his perspective.

"Hey, hey! Leave my chocolate prince alone!" Penelope said, placing a hand on his arm.

"That's alright, Baby Girl, I'm tough. I can take it," Morgan replied, grinning.

"Unlike somebody we know," JJ muttered to Emily, barely audible.

Had somebody accidentally clanked his glass or dropped a piece of silverware, her words would have been completely masked, and nobody would have been the wiser. But just the opposite happened. While she uttered those four words, there was a lull in the conversation. Nobody was talking, setting their glass down, or clicking a fork against their plates. They made it to Spencer's ears rather clearly.

"Really, JJ?" he asked, exasperated. He shoved himself away from the table and stood, making his way to the exit.

"Spence, don't!" she called after him, slightly embarrassed that this was happening in front of everybody, but determined none the less to hold her stance.

He froze and started shaking his head. "Don't what?" he asked bitterly, walking back over to the table. "Feel devastated that you lied to me, even though I had been relying on you for comfort for weeks? Feel betrayed and angry because you're still being mean to me? You never even validated my feelings when I needed it! It's like you just expected us to all simply accept the fact that Emily is alive and you were lying, without us even batting an eyelash!"

"You should be happy she's alive! And by the way, you haven't been so kind to me recently, either," JJ defended.

"I am happy that she's alive. But you know what? We grieved for her, all because you didn't tell us what really happened. Did you really think I wasn't going to be mad at you?" he questioned. "And before you say anything, I know you had to, to protect Emily. Yeah, that hurts, but the way you've treated me recently has stung a lot worse than that. I think that you're feeling guilty, and are trying to deflect it by taking it out on me."

"I think you need to calm down and look at thinks rationally," JJ replied. "You'll realize how childish you're being after you've had more time to think."

"Childish? What, do you think I'm just having a tantrum? It's much more than that! You've been a terrible friend through all of this! I needed you to be understanding, but instead you just act as if I'm being completely irrational!" he snapped, and then turned on Emily before JJ could reply. "Don't misunderstand what I'm about to say, I know what you went through was hard. Losing friends is an awful experience, but on the plane, you told me that you'd grieved for six friends when I only had to grieve one. That's just a big lie. You didn't mourn our deaths! You knew we were alive and well, and that you'd probably get to see us again, so don't even compare that to what happened to us."

Emily opened her mouth and then closed it, unsure what an appropriate response would be. What she'd gone through, aside from being separated from them, was a terrible experience, one that she wouldn't wish upon a dog.

JJ didn't waste any time, replying instantly when Emily paused. "Spencer, don't antagonize her!'

"Isn't that what you did to me? Or have you forgotten all that you said to me? JJ, you even criticized my profiling skills. I'm not pissed because I didn't figure out the secret. I trusted you guys! We all did! That's why it was so easy for you two to lie to us all of this time, not because you're so good at hiding your micro expressions!" he shouted louder, his anger clearly evident.

By this time, JJ had risen to her feet as well, and was glaring at him from across the table. "I didn't call you immature just because you're mad. I said it because Henry has handled this whole thing better than you!"

"Wow," he said, taking a step back and shaking his head. "Have you ever stopped to think about how I feel? If it was you who got caught on the outside?"

"I know I'd handle it a lot better than you!" she shouted back.

"Oh, really? Imagine if your dead sister walked through that door, and everybody but you knew that she was still alive!"

Everybody at the table froze, completely shocked by his words. JJ's lip started trembling, and tears filled her eyes. Emily shot a glare at Spencer and then rubbed JJ's shoulder in attempt to comfort her. Penelope gasped, gagging on the bite of pasta she'd had in her mouth. Morgan let go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, stunned, and looked over at Penelope to make sure she wasn't truly choking. Hotch attempted to say something, but couldn't force any words to come out. Rossi raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised by the words that had come out of Spencer's mouth.

But Spencer didn't need to see their reactions. He knew he'd said the wrong thing as soon as they passed through his lips. "JJ, I… went way too far. I-I'm sorry."

Spencer dashed away from the table and out the front door, not quite believing what he'd actually said. They were so harsh. So cruel. JJ didn't deserve that.

Spencer had walked halfway down Rossi's walkway when he heard his name being called.

"Spence."

He balked and turned his head around, responding to JJ's voice. She was standing at the edge of the porch, staring at him with pain in her eyes, and mascara smudged around them.

"I'm a jerk. I shouldn't have said that. I crossed the line," he confessed, slowly advancing towards her. He prepared to be cursed out, something he felt he deserved. But her words surprised him.

"Is that really how you felt?" she whispered, so low he had to strain to hear her.

"Yes, it is. Or, at least that's the closest you'll come to understanding what I felt," Spencer replied gently and slowly. "But that didn't give me the right to-"

"No, it didn't," she said quickly but softly. "But I think I understand. And I'm sorry, too."

It didn't seem appropriate to tell her she was forgiven, so instead he hugged her tightly. She sighed and hugged back, resting her chin on his shoulder.

After several seconds, she pulled away and said, "Let's go back inside and finish dinner. I'm sure everybody's worried about us."

Spenser nodded and opened the door for her, following her back inside to what would surely be an awkward experience.