A/N: I do not own Criminal Minds!

Hey guys! I'm back with my chapter long stories! These chapters are going to be shorter, don't worry. :)

Chapter 1

"Prentiss, what has that tequila done to you?" Derek Morgan asked as he took a seat next to his friend and colleague.

The profiler, who had been sitting at the bar for hours, rolled her eyes. "Morgan, please, don't. I really just want to be alone."

Derek frowned. "Emily, I know you don't like to talk about your feelings, but we just got home. You should be drinking in celebration that we solved that case and finally got out of that heat. Not moping around like you just got your heart broken."

Emily flinched at those words, and Derek noticed the change in her body position. He reviewed all of the past few hours and Emily's change in mood and demeanor, and the realization dawned on him.

"I'm sorry, Prentiss. I didn't know you, er- had feelings for… JJ." He waited for a reaction from her.

She remained still and looked back at him. "It's fine. She's with Will. He makes her happy. That's alright with me."

"Did she even know how you feel about her? I thought you were the one that convinced her to go to him?"

Emily did another shot. "Look, Morgan, you're a good guy. But I'm not just going to drink here and talk about my feelings. I don't do that. You don't do that. We don't do that. So you are just going to walk away and keep this to yourself, yeah?" She didn't want to hurt his feelings. She just wanted him to go away.

"I know we don't talk about our feelings. We're work partners. We spend all of our time together. I get that you don't want to talk to me about this kind of thing. But I'm here for you. If you ever need someone to talk to you, I'm here." He smiled at her and got up to leave her alone.

She felt guilty for pushing him away. Before he turned away, she muttered, "Wait. Stay. Maybe I do need to talk about this with someone. I don't want to be all… feel-y when I see JJ next."

Derek sat back down and ordered a beer. He took a sip and asked, "Why didn't you tell me, Emily? I mean I think we all knew that you're gay. You've never shown any interest in men. Hell, even me. But you could have told me."

"I don't tell anyone. It's not a big deal. I don't do relationships. It's probably a good thing JJ is straight. I wouldn't be able to handle a relationship anyway."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit, Emily."

She sighed. "Really, Morgan? I haven't been in a relationship longer than a few months since college. Besides, you don't do much better. You do what I do. Hit it and leave it. No emotions. The system works."

Morgan glared at her. "It doesn't work when you want to get over someone. Look, if you want to get over JJ, then you need something real. You can't just have sex with whoever you meet at the bar. You'll never get over JJ. Because you won't have feelings for anyone else. They will still all be there for JJ."

"But you know relationships in the BAU don't work! Look at Hotch and Rossi!" Emily argued passionately. "No one understands what we do. They don't get our hours or our nightmares."

"That may be true, but maybe it just takes a little more work from some of us. Look, you need to find someone that you can come to at night. I know you like to be a lone wolf, but you have to tell someone about those feelings of yours. It isn't healthy to keep it all inside. And it's even less healthy to follow JJ like a puppy. Besides, if she does have feelings for you, she'll be jealous if you're in a relationship."

She considered his point and found what he said to make sense. "Fine. You're right. But I'm not dating alone, okay, pal? If I don't get one night stands, neither do you. We're both going to try this dating thing. Besides, if you run into someone gay, you can pass her to me, and if I find someone straight, I'll send her your way."

Derek grinned at her. "I like this little agreement, Prentiss. But I have one addition: we are going to be honest with them. We are going to tell them the truth. About the job. About JJ. I don't want to hurt anybody."

She didn't necessarily like that addition to the agreement, but she nodded. They shook hands, Derek being excited and Emily looking worried.

"Don't worry, Prentiss. This might be fun. We can be each other's wingman. Ooh, hot chick looking back at you at the end of the bar."

Emily rolled her eyes at his childishness. But she did look around. There was a girl there, around Emily's age, looking alone, and in desperate need of company. She looked naturally beautiful. Her chestnut colored hair held in a bun with wisps of it caressing her face. She took a sip of what seemed like vodka.

"She your type, Prentiss?"

She didn't answer him. The girl was definitely her type.

"Take a deep breath and talk to her, Emily. She won't bite you. Unless… you're into that kind of thing."

Emily glared at him as he laughed. Deciding that she preferred to embarrass herself in front of this mysterious stranger rather than talk to Derek Morgan any longer, she got up and walked over to the woman in question.

The woman looked up when Emily sat down next to her.

"You looked like you needed some company," Emily muttered awkwardly, not knowing how to do this.

The woman raised her eyebrows at her. With a light accent, the woman replied, "Yet you seemed to leave your company."

Emily shrugged. "He was the one who got me to come to talk to you. If you're interested."

The woman let out a chuckle. "I am definitely interested. I'm guessing you aren't used to this either? I just got stood up by this hot girl I met yesterday. Dating isn't going so well for me. How about you?"

Emily laughed. "The girl I have liked for a year just kissed a guy in front of me after I spent the day telling her to be with him. I am awful at these things."

The woman lifted her drink. "I'm glad I'm not the only one. I'm Remi. Remi Ramirez. I know, a weird mix of names. My dad's Latino and my mom's-"

"French," Emily answered. She closed her eyes, mad at herself for being so weird. "Oh, sorry."

Instead of being freaked out, however, Remi grinned, impressed by Emily. "Don't apologize, love. How'd you know?"

"I lived in France for a year as a kid. I moved around a lot. My mother's in politics."

Remi nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "I moved around a lot, too. My dad's a geographer. Never stayed in a place longer than two years. Probably the reason why I can't stay in one place for too long. How long have you lived in DC… I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Emily Prentiss. And I've lived here for about two years. First time I've been in the states since I was a kid. How about you?"

"A month, actually. Just got here from Argentina. I usually only stay for a semester or two. That's why I never really dated but…" Her voice trailed off, not wanting to admit the truth.

"But it gets lonely." At Remi's nod, Emily added, "I understand. So semester. Are you a professor?"

"Yes, actually. Currently, I'm teaching Psychology in Pop Culture. All my classes are about psychology, though."

Emily raised her eyebrows. She was surprised by how interesting this woman was. "Wow. That's awesome. I love thinking about that kind of thing. I can always tell when a psychopath or serial killer is portrayed incorrectly. I'm a profiler for the BAU."

Remi's eyes widened. "The BAU? The Behavioral Analysis Unit for the FBI?" At Emily's hesitant nod, she flushed. "That's incredible. I've read about you guys. I can't believe I'm talking to one right now."

"It's not that special. We see a lot of rough things. It gets hard, but I love the job. And I love the team," Emily explained happily.

"I bet it's hard. Don't worry. I won't be one of those people who makes you show me your gun and go into horrifying detail about your cases. You and your team must be pretty close. Is the girl you liked in the team of yours?"

Emily nodded. "Yep. The media liaison. She's happy, though. I just have to get used to it. And yes, as a team we spend all of our time together. We travel together constantly. It gets tough."

"I'm sure. And I hope this isn't too premature, but would you like to speak to my class? You have such a cool perspective about things."

Emily shrugged, a little unsure. "Do you think people would really be interested? I mean, who cares what I think? I could rant forever about the how souls represent empathy and morality in Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Remi's eyes widened excitedly. "Are you kidding me? I think about that all the time! That would be the perfect thing to talk about! That's my favorite show and it's most of what we talk about in the class."

"Really?" Emily asked carefully, surprised that it was someone else's favorite show. At Remi's nod, Emily grinned. "I didn't know it was anyone else's favorite show. The only other person I know who watches it is the human encyclopedia on the team, Spencer Reid."

"Well, we can talk about it whenever you want. It's a brilliant show."

Emily was astonished by this woman. They stared at each other in silence. It wasn't awkward. They were purely just in awe of each other.

"Shit," Remi muttered suddenly. "I'm so sorry. I want to continue this conversation all night. It's just that, I told the babysitter I hired that I'd be back home in twenty minutes."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "You have a kid?"

Remi shook her head as she pulled out her phone. "No. I actually foster kids. This time, a baby. No matter where I stay, I foster a kid for as long as I stay there. I love kids. I guess that's why I'm dating. I would have one of my own, but I need help. I want to be with someone who wants to be with me. Who wants to have a family."

Emily was surprised by her honesty. She didn't know how to reply to the bluntness.

"Fuck, did I just scare you off?" Remi asked Emily, looking bummed. "It's okay. I know that's a lot to take in when we just met. But I thought… I don't know. That we have a connection or something. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Emily said quickly. "I'm actually glad you are so honest. I think we have a connection, too. Can I give you my number?" She didn't know that was how she felt until she said it out loud.

Remi grinned and typed her number on Emily's phone. "Yes, thank god. Sorry, I'm just so happy you're interested. This is the best conversation I have had with someone in a long time." She gave her phone to Emily. "Call me if you want to have dinner? My nights are usually free."

"I don't know the next night I'll be free, but I'll call you when I have the chance."

They stared at each other again, smiling flirtatiously.

"I'll be waiting, Emily Prentiss." Remi got up from her seat and walked away. Emily watched her go.

Emily couldn't stop smiling. She hadn't felt anything that real for a long time.

"So…" A voice said from behind her. "That looked like it went well. And you watched her go. You in love, Prentiss?"

Emily rolled her eyes and smacked Derek's stomach. "Shut up. She's… different."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Damn, Prentiss. Are you actually in love?"

"No," Emily said too quickly. "Please, don't make fun of me for this. Can't we just grab a cab and go home."

"Fine," Morgan agreed simply. "If you tell me everything about her!"

Hey guys! "In Heat" is referenced a bunch. (Though Will isn't in this chapter, thank god. I'm not a fan of him.) Do you guys think Derek is right about Emily getting over her feelings for JJ? Do you guys like Remi? I know you guys will want to hate her because if Em's with her, she isn't with Remi. But I don't want you guys to hate her. She's really a good person and I love her so much. Thanks for reading, guys! Hope you enjoy the rest of the story! Reviews are welcome and highly appreciated! XX