A/N

I was aiming to write a fairly forward femslash fic. (see what I did there?) Apparently my desire for hurt/comfort got in the way of the juicy smut I planned, so it took the turn down towards caretaking road instead. And it's not meant to be played too seriously either.

Um, in this universe JJ never followed Will when he walked away, and hence there was no marriage and no kid. I didn't feel like doing the whole "breaking up a family" thing just because I wanted to get these two together. As for Blake, she's divorced here. I never liked that husband of hers anyway. ^^

This is part one, and I'll update it whenever time and muse cooperates. :)

The BAU team had only just reached the hotel and tried to check in. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.

"What do you mean, four rooms? We booked six!" Morgan said.

"I'm terribly sorry Sir, there must have been some error in the booking system. The hotel is booked to the roof the next three days. Well… there is one more room available, but just the one… but it's big enough for two to share…"

It was no use arguing. It had been a long day for them all, as they had been called directly from wrapping up another case.

"Alright, anyone willing to team up and share a room?" Morgan called out. None of his colleagues looked particularly eager, and he didn't blame them. Finally Blake spoke up;

"I don't care if I bunk with the Bogeyman himself, as long as I get a shower and some sleep within the next few hours."

Rossi gave her an odd stare.

"Am I the Bogeyman?" he wondered out lout. Blake was too tired for banter, she looked straight ahead pretending she hadn't heard him, while her overnight bag seemed to gain pound after pound on her shoulder. Her entire body was aching.

"I'll share with you, Blake," JJ said. "Can we please just get the keys, thank you?"

"Or is that Hotch?" Rossi continued to nobody in particular.

"Let it go, man," Morgan said. "The ladies just took one for the team. Thank God. I was afraid I'd end up sharing with Reid."

"Hey! Why would that be a bad thing?"

"Because you go through statistics all the time?"

"Oh. That."

"Mm. That."

"Uh, Blake?" JJ put her bag down and called over her shoulder for her colleague who walked a few steps behind, eyes fixed on her cell phone.

"Yes, what?"

"Do you want to take a quick trip down to the City Hall and make it official first?" JJ joked.

"Make what-Oh my God!" She dropped her overnight bag on the floor with a thud and came dangerously close to dropping her phone as well. "The honeymoon suite?! Really?!"

"Apparently so."

"Well…" Blake looked around and tried not to look at the ridiculously large and embarrassingly inviting bed that dominated the room. It seemed to taunt her, as if it knew more than well that she had been eyeing JJ with a little more interest than that of a co-worker or even friend lately.

"Is there an extra bed in here somewhere?" she asked after clearing her throat. It felt somewhat sore, as if she had been shouting.

"Meant for the third part that most honeymooners bring on their wedding night?" JJ teased. Blake could have smacked herself.

"Sorry, that was dumb. But, eh, where will I sleep?"

"Aww, you're such a gentleman, aren't you?" JJ laughed. "Just assuming I'll get the bed. I'll sleep on the floor. I can build a little nest out of covers and pillows. It'll be like a slumber party."

While she tried to sound gleeful, Blake knew she was just as tired as she was, and that JJ's effortless floor-sleeping slumber party years were in her past.

"It is big enough for both of us," she said hesitantly. While part of her wanted nothing more than sharing a bed with JJ, another part of her was terrified of just that.

"I don't mind sharing," JJ said and sat down on the side of the bed. Blake eyed her nervously. "What's wrong?"

"That's…" she gestured towards the bed and seemed awfully uncomfortable. "…my side."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but it does."

"Okay," JJ said without pushing the issue, threw herself back and rolled over to the other side. "Oh wow, this is the comfiest bed I've ever lain on!"

Blake swallowed nervously - and winced at the pain in her throat as she did - and licked her dry lips while trying to look anywhere but at the younger woman.

"Come on, try it!" JJ said, patting the spot next to her.

"No. I'll go and take a shower," Blake said and abruptly turned around, dug into her bag almost blindly, grabbed a few items and disappeared into the bathroom. She all but slammed the door behind her. JJ looked up in surprise.

"Oookay…?" She frowned. "Did I say anything wrong?" She shook her head and decided to chalk it up to their general tiredness. Besides, Blake wasn't the most social person, and having to share not only a room but also a bed, probably bothered her a lot more than she wanted to admit.

"You are the most obtuse person in the United States, you know that, don't you?" Blake said to her reflection in the mirror. "Also, you are talking to yourself."

She shook her head in frustration and began to peel her clothes off, briefly glancing at herself in the mirror again, this time in just underwear. While she had kept fit and taken good care of herself, she was way past forty and she would never look younger again. Normally it didn't bother her, but…

"Oh what does it matter, you'll never catch her eye anyway," she told herself out loud and was surprised at how much the words stung. "And, stop talking to yourself," she added before dropping the remaining pieces of clothing on the floor and stepping into the shower. The hot water felt wonderful against her aching body. She wished she could stay in there forever... but of course that was another impossible thing.

When she came back into the room, towelling her hair dry, JJ checked something on her phone and barely looked up.

"Do you want to go downstairs and have something to eat, or order room service?" she asked casually. "I've talked to the guys and they all decided to order up food."

"Room service sounds good to me."

"Great. What would you like?"

"Just… whatever you're having. I'm not in a decision-making mode at the moment."

JJ tore her eyes away from her phone and viewed her colleague carefully. The older woman seemed exhausted, with dark circles around her eyes, face almost ashen. Perhaps it was only the lack of makeup, but Blake didn't use a lot of makeup normally and JJ had never seen her look so… off. Not just down or tired, but utterly worn-out.

"You okay?"

Blake straightened and offered a forced smile.

"Yep, I'm fine."

In reality, she had begun to wonder about that. It wasn't just that she felt slightly depressed and slightly troubled by sharing a room - the honeymoon suite, at that! - with the woman she possibly was developing some kind of infatuation with. She felt a tad feverish. A little under the weather. Okay, quite frankly, more than just a little.

She smiled even wider and repeated the lie.

"Just fine."

JJ called room service and gave their order, while Blake huddled up on her side of the bed and pulled out a novel from her bag. She had decided to try and keep the distance to JJ, but still relax this precious evening off before they had to start on the next case tomorrow morning.

When room service arrived, it was JJ that answered the door. As she had her back to Blake, the older woman hid her face into her sleeve and sneezed, trying to make it as quiet as possible so not to raise any questions. If she was indeed getting sick, she would prefer to keep it a secret.

"Wow, the look on that guy's face," JJ giggled as she returned with the food. "I had to explain to him that we're with the FBI and not each other."

"Uh-huh," Blake replied and sneezed again, not being able to keep it silent this time.

"Bless you. I swear, his eyes nearly popped out when he looked past me and saw you on the bed!" JJ continued and laughed out loud.

Blake exhaled in relief, not knowing that JJ had noticed and registered all indication that her colleague wasn't feeling well. For the time being she decided to keep her peace, though, knowing how private Blake was.

"How provoking that must be," Blake remarked.

"Of course it must be, two beauties dissing him for each other," JJ said in a joking tone. Blake nearly choked on her food. Beauties? Did JJ think she was beautiful? Of course not. It was a joke. Even Blake caught that. She hoped.

She must have had a strange look on her face because JJ gave her a weird stare, but she said nothing about it.

They ate in silence.

Blake usually had a healthy appetite - which was an elegant linguistic twist on saying she was a glutton - but tonight she pushed the food away without finishing it. She knew JJ would notice, but there was no way she would be able to eat more. Just the thought of chewing was exhausting. She pretended she was too engrossed in the book to bother with food.

"Right, I'm taking a shower," JJ said, licking some chicken grease off her fingers.

"Okay," Blake replied and struggled not to cough or sneeze before the door had closed behind JJ, but then she did both. "Ugh, this does not bode well." She could chalk it up to allergies - and was tempted to - but she was well aware that they never made her feel this run down.

I'll feel better once I get a good night's sleep, she told herself. Much better. It's just allergies on top of being tired.

Yes, she could tell herself that as much as she wanted to, but she knew it for what it was. A lie. Just like the one she liked to tell herself about not being interested in JJ.

She had, by fate or coincidence, gotten into a perfect situation - and it was to be ruined by evil viruses and her own lack of social skills. It was not fair!