A/N: Many, many thanks for all the reviews for the first chapter! Special shout-outs to, Daisyangel, SunnyInOregon and CaliforniaWriter for their prompts of the letters I had been missing. THANK YOU!

Here's chapter 2, finally. Enjoy everyone! Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, please note that this is sort of a post-ep to last week's episode "Snake Eyes", so there are some spoilers in it!


The Rossi/JJ-Alphabet-Series

B = Brain


It had been a successful day for the BAU team, well, sort of. They couldn't keep their Unsub from committing suicide, but at least they had been able to save his wife and her sister. Now they could get everything wrapped up and get ready to fly back home to Quantico.

JJ knew she should be relieved that they had taken another criminal off the streets. That, however, was as far from her thoughts as it could be at the moment.

Huffing angrily, she shoved all her belongings into her duffel bag, not bothering to fold her clothes properly.

"You know, if you clench your teeth any harder you'll push them through your jaw," her roommate Emily commented, slightly amused by her behavior.

"Don't you have your own bag to pack, Emily?" JJ shot right back.

"I'm already done," Emily grinned, holding up her packed bag as proof.

"Hmpf," was JJ's only reply to that.

"So, tell me, JJ, you and Rossi?" Emily started to question her then, clearly excited about the idea that two of her co-workers seemed to be a little closer lately than they had before.

"Don't mention his name!" JJ immediately bit out, her tone furious.

As if on cue, there was a sharp knock on their hotel room door and the colleague in question called from outside, "JJ, Emily, you ready?"

"We're almost done!" Emily yelled back and intended to open the door for him.

"Don't let him in!" JJ hissed and held her back. "The last thing I want to see right now is his face!"

"Come on, don't be ridiculous. We're about to fly back home. In the confined space of our jet nonetheless. You won't be able to avoid him for the next few hours anyway."

"Which is why I need those next few minutes to be asshole-free!"

"Fine," Emily conceded. "We'll be right down!" She shouted to Rossi.

Turning back to JJ, she began again.

"All right, don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" she asked.

"Overreacting?" JJ shrieked. "Should I be overjoyed with happiness that David Rossi suddenly behaves like a brainless fool with a hero-complex?"

"JJ, he had to go into that house to save the two women," Emily tried to argue, but JJ vigorously shook her head.

"Without Kevlar and gun? You've gotta be kidding me! Reid was right to bring up his age! Only I would say that at his age, he must have forgotten how to use his brain. Or maybe he has left it at home entirely."

Before JJ could talk herself into a rage, Emily interrupted her and threw in, "You wouldn't be half as agitated if Morgan or even Hotch had done the very same thing."

"That's because Morgan generally has a thing for suicidal actions and Hotch suffers from the same delusion every once in a while. But Rossi has never been like that. He has never taken any unnecessary risks. He doesn't drive around in ambulances equipped with bombs, or runs into burning buildings ready to explode, or tries to talk heavily armed kids down in the middle of the street with no Kevlar on. Rossi's the only one I thought I wouldn't have to worry about."

"JJ, you know that's not entirely true. We're all living on the edge in our line of work. We worry about each other all the time. "

"Emily, I get that he'd leave his gun outside. No unnecessarily antagonizing the Unsub. What I don't understand is why he took off his freaking vest before he went in! It's not like the guy didn't know that he was law enforcement." JJ got more and more worked up.

"What Rossi did wasn't any riskier than Morgan's, Hotch's or Reid's actions," Emily replied. "The only reason you're so much more worried about him is that you're in love with him."

"Damn right I am," JJ confirmed, the words leaving her mouth before she could even realize what she was saying. When she did, she felt herself blushing deeply. "Well, shit."

"No kidding," Emily smirked. She had exactly the answer she was looking for. "So, how long has this been going on between the two of you?"

Instead of an answer JJ preferred to busy herself with finishing up packing. Of course, she knew Emily would never let it go.

"Done," JJ announced a minute later, pulling the zipper of her bag closed.

"I know what you're doing, Jayje, and it's not working," Emily said. "Sooner or later I'm getting my answer."

Sighing deeply, JJ rolled her eyes and gave in.

"Fine. Three months. And it's not what you think."

The two women walked through the hallway to the elevators.

"What am I thinking?" Emily returned.

"We're just friends," JJ said.

"Uh huh, tell that to your grandmother, she might believe you," Emily retorted.

"It is what it is," JJ insisted. "If you want to believe it or not."

Emily stopped in her tracks.

"You mean, you and him, you've never...?" she asked incredulously.

JJ shook her head. "As I said, we're strictly friends. No benefits."

"Why?" Emily couldn't believe it. Why would she pass up a chance like that? "You're in love with him!"

Seeing Emily raise her eyebrows in question, JJ elaborated.

"We began seeing each other outside of work shortly after his wife, well, ex-wife died. He made it clear from the beginning that he wasn't interested in anything beyond friendship."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? He's still grieving and after Will, I'm honestly not that interested in a new relationship either. It's good the way it is."

"But you love him!" Emily repeated.

"Enough that I would never ask anything of him that he's not willing to give," JJ replied. "And now, can we please change the subject, another thing I'm not interested in is broadcasting my feelings to the whole team."

They arrived down in the lobby where their male teammates were already waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" Morgan wanted to know.

"Girl talk," Emily simply answered.

~.~.~

"What's wrong with JJ?" Hotch asked Rossi as they were riding to the airport together.

JJ had quickly slipped into the second SUV with Morgan, Reid and Emily in an attempt to avoid Dave for as long as possible.

"Don't know," Rossi answered shortly and continued to stare out the window.

Hotch eyed him from the side, clearly not convinced with this answer.

"Is there anything going on between you and her that I should know about?"

"No." The tone in Rossi's reply made it clear that he was absolutely not up for a conversation at the moment.

Usually, Hotch would respect this, but what with JJ's and Reid's struggling friendship after Emily's return and the fact that it took a while for the team to mend the fractures it had suffered in the past year, he didn't need a new conflict among his subordinates.

"Start talking. Now."

"There's nothing to tell," Dave insisted. "I haven't slept with her if that's what you're afraid of."

"But you want to," Hotch said.

"Doesn't matter what I want. I've made it very clear that that wasn't an option. And I don't think that after her breakup with LaMontagne she's interested anyway."

"You're in love with her," Hotch stated matter-of-factly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Dave dismissed him. He wasn't, was he? Somehow, he wasn't so sure about that anymore.

"Whatever you're doing, Dave, I'm warning you now. If you hurt JJ-"

"I would never hurt JJ!" Rossi interrupted him, daring Hotch to question his words.

Hotch smiled to himself. He knew his friend would never do anything to cause her pain, because despite what three failed marriages might suggest, David Rossi was a good man. One that would rather deny himself to be happy if it meant protecting the person he loved.

"Well, you've definitely pissed her off today, and I suggest you fix it."

"I will," Dave agreed quietly.

"While we're at it, what the hell possessed you to take off your vest before you went into that house?"

"Pot meet kettle," Dave only retorted dryly.

Hotch shook his head. His friend had a point.

"I figured he'd be more easily accessible if I didn't wear anything that shouted Feds. You would have done the same. Oh, what am thinking, you did the same! It was the best shot we had."

"Try to convince JJ of that."

"She knows it, too. She's just... I don't know."

Hotch noticed Dave's hesitation. He'd seen his two colleagues interact with each other over the past few months and he knew that something was going on between them, even though they hadn't realized it themselves yet. This day's events and the conversation with Dave just confirmed his suspicions.

He knew he should be careful with two of his subordinates fraternizing under his command, but he couldn't stop himself from being happy for them. If there were two people who deserved some lasting happiness in their lives then it was his best friend and the woman he'd come to love like the little sister he never had.

Now if only they would open their eyes and see what was right in front of them. He wanted to give Dave another nudge in the right direction, but they arrived at the airfield and their talk was finished.

~.~.~

JJ shot Dave a warning glare to stay away from her as she climbed the stairs to their jet. She immediately went for the couch in the back and stretched out, making it clear that she didn't want any company during the flight.

Dave sighed an sat down next to Morgan and opposite to Reid and Prentiss. He noticed Emily look like she wanted to say something to him, but indicated with a small head-shake that he rather be left alone right now as well.

Morgan and Reid, luckily, were far too oblivious as to what was happening around them. Reid was still too giddy about the fact that he was finally allowed into a casino again, even if it wasn't Las Vegas, and Morgan was mulling over Garcia's recent aloofness.

Leaning back, Dave closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep. He had to realize soon though, that that wasn't going to happen.

He couldn't get the image of JJ out of his mind, the shocked adn disapproving look on her face when he took off his Kevlar and went into the house unprotected. A look he had only ever gotten from his mother before, back in his hometown Commack, when he was a ten year old boy. He had been thinking it was an awesome idea getting pulled through traffic on his roller-blades by hanging onto the back of a truck. To this day, he thought it was a minor miracle that his Mama had ever let him see the daylight again.

And much like he had known back then that he never wanted to give his beloved mother that much grief again, he felt right now that JJ didn't deserve that kind of sorrow either.

Sure, their job was dangerous, but that didn't mean he had to take any unnecessary risks. If JJ had done what he had, he'd have been beside himself with worry. He probably would have restrained her to keep her from going into that house. At least had she decided to do it without a bulletproof vest.

Accepting that he wouldn't get any sleep at this point he decided to get some ideas for his next book down. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that unlike him, almost everyone else had fallen asleep. Only Hotch was still awake, and, judging from the content smile of his face, was watching videos of Jack over his laptop.

Looking over to where JJ was lying, the same gentle smile made it to his own face. She was curled up on the sofa, the book she'd been reading had fallen on the floor when she fell asleep over it. She looked peaceful and more relaxed than earlier, but her concern was still evident on her face.

Dave watched her for a while.

Letting his mind wander to all the times they'd spent together over the last few months, he realized that what Hotch had said back in the car was spot on.

He was in love with her.

Aside from when he spent time with Hotch and Jack, he was most himself when he was with her.

With JJ he didn't have to worry about appearances, or making sure he didn't say anything wrong. With her he could just be Dave, he could smile and laugh about the silliest things. Her friendship meant everything to him, and now he wished deep down that the concern she had for him was more than a friend worrying about another friend.

Why had he so clearly insisted that being friends was all he wanted from her? What would she say if he told her now that he'd changed his mind? That friends only wasn't enough anymore?

Seeing her shiver in her sleep he stopped his contemplation.

Without thinking about it, he got up from his seat, grabbed one of the blankets stashed behind it and walked over to her, ignoring Hotch's watchful gaze and the knowing smile on his face.

He knelt down next to her and gently draped the blanket over her. She automatically snuggled into it and pulled it tighter around her body.

Dave had to fight the urge to take her into his arms, but there definitely wasn't enough space on that couch for two people, and he didn't want to wake her to have her sit up.

Watching her again, he couldn't resist brushing the strand of her blond hair out of her face that had fallen into it. Her features visibly relaxed at the tender touch of his fingertips, and he let his hand linger for a moment.

~.~.~

JJ had been awake the moment Dave had sat down next to her. She had only been dozing anyway. Her initial instinct was to sit up and tell him to get his ass back into his own corner, but his presence alone had spread such a warmth in and around her, she almost forgot that she was mad at him.

She was also sincerely grateful when he spread the blanket over her. It wasn't really cold in the jet's cabin, but she did feel chilly just lying there without moving. She was freezing easily these days, anyway, ever since Will had been gone. She missed having someone around, a partner to keep her warm with his presence alone. And it wasn't seldom that she imagined David Rossi filling that void.

There had been moments before, especially recently, that she'd get the feeling Dave wanted to be more than just a friend for her. Moments like these, when his actions spoke loud and clear, and they spoke a completely different language than the words usually coming from his mouth.

Most of the time she didn't get a chance to make sense of it, because they were either called in for a new case or got otherwise caught up.

And it wasn't like she was exactly forthcoming with her feelings either.

She knew she hadn't given him one deliberate clue that she was falling for him. Mentioning Will on every occasion just to prove that she sucked at relationships and didn't need anything like that again surely wasn't hinting at Dave that she might be ready to move on.

God, she definitely needed to change her attitude! Before he was ready to move on with someone else.

But maybe, she didn't have to worry about that.

The feel of his gentle touch against her cheek nearly brought her to tears. If she had any doubts about his feelings for her up until this very moment, this tender gesture convinced her otherwise.

~.~.~

Feeling him stir and try to get up after some minutes, she instinctively reached out her hand to hold him back. Opening her eyes, she met his, filled with obvious surprise.

When he realized that she wasn't angrily going to tell him to back off, he settled back on the floor.

She turned to lay on her side, while he stretched his legs out and leaned his shoulder against the sofa. With an encouraging smile, she took his hand, linking their fingers together.

"JJ-" Dave whispered softly.

Reaching over, she touched a silencing finger to his lips, indicating that she didn't want to talk at the moment.

"We'll talk about everything when we're home, okay?" she said quietly.

Dave nodded. This moment between them was too precious to destroy it with a conversation.

He simply held on to her, relishing how comforting her much smaller hand felt in his, and laid his head on her shoulder.

The floor wasn't all that comfortable, and he knew - at his age - once they were back home his body would curse his decision to sit on the hard ground, but he honestly didn't care right now.

Neither did he care about the questions from their colleagues that would certainly come up once they were all awake again.

He had a distinct feeling that JJ didn't care either and it filled him with relief and also made him feel special. He knew she was usually a rather private person, much like they all were, and remembering how secretive she had been with Will in the beginning, it felt good to know she didn't seem to want to repeat this.

Within minutes both their eyes grew heavier. They had managed to soothe and relax each other with just being next to one another. It didn't take long and they were just as fast asleep as the others, finally getting their well-deserved rest on their journey home.