A/N: WOW! I am completely blown away at the outstanding response I've gotten to this story! So many reviews and even more alerts…and the number of hits! WOW! Thank you all so so SO much! It means the world to me. Not to mention it is a great motivating factor. I hope you all enjoy this as much as you did the last one!
A/N: Thanks to Melissa for being my Beta! You are quite possibly the best Beta ever! Thanks to Tayy for helping me hash out the ideas. The story is going to be so much better because of you the two of you!
-IF-
A soft smile graced the lips of the brunette profiler as she strolled into the bullpen at exactly 5:30am. This was her home away from home. Truth be told, she would normally prefer to be here than her empty condo, because at least at work, she was surrounded by family. Growing up as the only child of a US Ambassador, she had grown accustomed to being by herself. However, once Emily joined the BAU that changed. She found that she quite enjoyed having a loving family who cared about her because they wanted to, not because it was an obligation thrust upon them by being blood related. The latter of which she experienced throughout her entire adolescent life until she escaped the charade at the tender age of 18.
Emily made her way to her desk to drop off the few things she brought with her to work. On the way, she realized that she had actually made it to work today before Morgan and Reid, which was a rare occurrence. Usually, Emily was the last to arrive at the BAU on a daily basis. Although she was always on time, and frequently early, she still couldn't seem to arrive ahead of anyone. She chalked this up to her morning commute from DC, but if she was honest with herself, she knew it had something to do with her inability to drag her dead weight she called a body out of bed.
After disposing her items on her desk, Emily quickly made her way towards JJ's office. As the door came into view, Emily felt her smile grow. Even though she had just seen the blonde agent yesterday, she was nonetheless excited about spending the day with her again; even if it was because they were working on a case. Once she reached the door, Emily knocked twice before hearing a soft come in from the other side. "I come bearing gifts," Emily said as she walked fully into the room. As her eyes traveled to the woman behind the desk, Emily held her breath in fear that if she didn't, she would gasp at the sight in front of her. Although she saw JJ almost every day, the sight of the blonde still took her breath away.
JJ was sitting behind her mahogany desk as usual. Piles and stacks of case files littered the area around her, both on top of and around her work area. However, the space right in front of the blonde was clear of any debris. It quickly became obvious to Emily why. JJ had been laying her head down in an effort to get a few minutes more sleep. Even though the blonde was clearly exhausted to the point of uselessness, Emily still found JJ to be the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes upon. Today JJ was wearing a light blue button up shirt that made her blue eyes seem even more vivid than normal. Her blonde hair fell in cascades around her face. Though there were dark circles beneath her eyes, JJ's porcelain skin glowed with its normal vibrancy. Her perpetually rosy cheeks grew in color as Emily walked into her office. JJ never failed to look stunning.
Before JJ made eye contact with the brunette agent, she allowed her eyes to rake appreciatively up Emily's body. She noticed that the older woman wore the blonde's favorite pantsuit. It was a black suite that hugged the curves in all the right, toned place on the brunette. The button down red shirt fit snuggly around the formed abs and voluptuous figure Emily had. As JJ finally made eye contact with Emily's deep brown eyes, the grin on her face grew into a full grown smile. "About time you got here Prentiss. As you can see, I'm falling asleep on the job. Pretty sure that is against some kind of rule around here."
Emily closed the space between herself and the desk before responding. "Well it's a good thing I arrived when I did then Jareau. I wouldn't want you to get fired or something. Although I'm pretty sure you have Hotch wrapped around your little finger, so I doubt that would be much of an issue."
As JJ accepted her coffee from Emily, she allowed her fingers to linger a little longer against the brunette's than necessary. Finally withdrawing her hand, JJ retaliated, "You know, I resent that. Just because Hotch likes me does not give you the authority to use it against me. Maybe if you started turning your paperwork in on time instead of procrastinating and barley making the deadlines, he would like you little better, too."
"Touché JJ. You've got me there. Although most of the time my paper work is late has something to do with the fact that I am helping out a certain blonde friend of mine. I think it has something to do with a certain four year old boy who has stolen my heart," Emily stated as she glanced down at the picture on top of JJ's desk. It was a picture of the little boy she often thought of as a nephew, or on occasion, a son, although she would never admit that out loud to a soul.
"Alright, alright Em. You win. It is usually ninety percent of the time my fault that you're late. But can I help that Henry just loves his 'Aunt Emmy'? Really, that's your fault for being so dang good with him. Sometimes I think he loves you just as much as he loves me." It amazed JJ how loving and caring Emily always was with Henry. It was almost like there were two separate people living in one body. In the work place, Emily was ever the professional. She was always in charge of every situation and confident in her abilities. But with little Henry, the hard exterior just melted away. Emily became almost more overprotective than JJ herself. It was endearing. "He misses you, you know?" JJ whispered before she took a sip of her coffee.
Emily sighed as she responded, "I know. I miss him so much, too. I just have been so busy lately helping the Ambassador out with her events. I know she is just using me and it is starting to get irritating. Especially since by helping her, I am missing time with you and Henry. I'm starting to wish she was still stationed in some foreign country, far away from here. But we need to plan something soon. Maybe we could all go to the zoo. I think he would like that. Is he still with your parents right now?" Emily loved Henry more than she thought she would love a child and she missed him when she didn't see him for days at a time.
"Yeah, I had to call and ask them to keep him for the day again. I'll swing by and pick him up tonight. But we'll definitely go to the zoo. He would love that. He hasn't been in ages." JJ glanced down at her picture of him also before looking back up to Emily. The brunette was still gazing down at Henry's picture and she had even begun to outline his little face with her finger. The look of adoration and unconditional love shone in the woman's eyes, and JJ felt her heart clench at the scene. It was as unguarded as JJ had ever seen Emily be. It was then that she realized that the last case they had all worked had affected Emily just as much as it had her and Hotch.
Before allowing Emily to fall back into those memories of the traumatic case, JJ spoke up again. "Hey Em, we should probably get into the bull pen. I'm sure everyone is here by now and I need to brief the team on the new case."
Emily snapped out of her trance at the soft sound of the blonde's voice. "Yeah you're right. Lead the way, Agent JJ."
With that, both women walked out, side by side, to the bull pen. As they entered, they both noticed that everyone was accounted for. Without breaking stride, JJ spoke to the group, "Conference room in five guys."
As the blonde made her way to the room to prepare before everyone came in, Emily broke off and went to her desk. She knew JJ liked to prepare alone before addressing the entire group. As she sat down, she looked toward her best friend, Derek Morgan, with his head placed firmly in his hands with his elbows resting on the desk and his eyes closed. Before she could say a word, he spoke up, "Don't even go there, Prentiss. I got all of three hours of sleep. So don't go talking to me in your love-sick, sappy, mushy-gushy voice you always get when you come out of JJ's office. Just save it."
That statement effectively shut the brunette agent up. No one on the team knew her secret, except for Morgan. And although there was no one around to hear his nagging, Emily was still horrified that he would even bring it up at work. "Derek, you better shut the hell up before I kick your ass. I think that you and I both know that I can, and will, follow through with that threat." Emily had confessed everything to Morgan on a drunken night after a particularly hard case. None of the other members came out to the bar with the two, so when Morgan started asking probing questions, Emily couldn't deflect and get out of confessing everything. She not only let out that she was gay, which he had picked up on anyway, but she let it spill that she was falling, had fallen actually, madly in love with the blonde hair, blue eyed agent. Instead of being completely dismayed like she had expected him to be, he supported and encouraged her. Finally having someone to talk to and lean on had been her saving grace many a time.
Before Morgan could respond with a threat of his own, Reid walked past with Garcia. "When you two are done arguing like bickering siblings, you're more than welcome to join us in the conference room. I mean, we do have a job to do and all," Garcia said as she passed the duo. As she was walking away, she threw a quick wink in Morgan's direction to let him know she was just kidding.
"She's right. Let's go before we're yelled at for being late. We all know how JJ gets with punctuality," Morgan stated as he rose from his chair and started for the room.
Emily chuckled to herself because she understood that sentiment all too well. As she came into the room, she realized that she was the last to arrive. What she also realized was that her usual seat by JJ was taken. Although JJ usually stood at the front of the room and paced back and forth as she went over the details of the case for the team, Emily still liked to be as close as possible to the blonde agent. As she glared at Morgan, who had purposefully taken her chair, she sat down at the head of the table in the back. Before she turned her attention to JJ, Emily saw Morgan look back at her and wink, with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes. Turning her glare into one laced with daggers, Emily broke eye contact with the male agent and turned her full attention to JJ.
JJ made eye contact with Emily before beginning. The team always had a difficult time when one of them fit the unsub's victimology. This time wasn't going to be any different. Taking a deep breath before tearing her blue eyes away from brown ones, JJ turned to face the board with a list of the current victims. "Alright guys. This unsub is local. The DC police have been tracking him for a month before they called us in. He has taken a total of four victims, each one exactly a week away from each other. Every victim is taken on a Wednesday night and found murdered on a Friday morning. The dump sites have all been in different places along the Potomac River. We know this is the same unsub because he likes to carve a heart into the victim's flesh. Each heart has been carved into the middle of the woman's back. Now, these women have a few things in common. They all have good jobs, they all are single mothers, and they all live in the same area just this side of DC."
Before JJ could continue her introduction of the case, she was interrupted by a soft voice in the back. "You forgot to mention that they all have blonde hair and blue eyes, JJ."
Silently cursing, JJ turned to meet the brown eyes belonging to the voice who had just spoken. "Well yes, there is that, too, Emily."
Emily shook her head gently and held her firm eye contact before continuing, "You fit this victimology to a tee, JJ. Did you not notice? Or were you hoping that we would just ignore that utterly obvious fact?" Emily just couldn't believe how JJ tried to ghost over the fact that she could very easily be victim number five if she wasn't careful. Although she tried her hardest not to get mad, Emily couldn't help but be a little upset. Sure, she knew that JJ loved her job more than anything except for Henry. And normally, she wouldn't have a problem with JJ being a little unworried about her obvious relation to the victimology. But this time was a different story. This time, the unsub was in their area. If for whatever reason the team couldn't apprehend this guy, they couldn't just fly away back to DC. This guy was in DC.
Before either woman could make an additional comment on the matter, Hotch stepped in and spoke up, "I agree with Emily, JJ. You have every single commonality with each of the victims thus far. And usually I would not have a problem with your continuing contribution as a full participating member of the team. But this case is too close to home to allow for normality. I'll still want you involved in all aspects of the case, but from behind the scenes. You'll be required to stay in the office with Garcia. I'll assign the rest of the team to meet with the families of the victims. Emily, should we need to give any statements to the press, which I'm assuming we will, you will be assigned to read them off. JJ, you'll still write the press release, but I want Emily to present it since she has the most experience with public speaking other than you." Emily never had a problem with speaking in large crowds. Her mother was a US Ambassador, thus forcing Emily to lose the fear of being in front of a large group of people at a very young age.
After Hotch finished with his order, JJ immediately began to argue. "Hotch, this is ridiculous. You cannot be serious about pulling me. The unsub is not going to attempt to kidnap and murder a high profile member of the team that is trying to track him down. I've fit the victimology before. Hell, Emily has too. But you've never pulled her off of a case because of that. Besides, I'm not some little girl who can't fend for herself. We all know I'm the best shot in this room," JJ finished in a huff. She was not going down without a fight.
Everyone knew she had Hotch wrapped around her finger. But they also knew that Hotch cared about protecting his team more than anything. "You will be stationed in the bull pen for the duration of this case. That is an order Agent Jareau." Hotch reinforced his statement with a hard stare directed at the young blonde. He considered her like a little sister and would stop at nothing to ensure her safety, even if it did mean restricting her whereabouts to the confines of the BAU office. "Now, please continue JJ."
Before going back to the board, JJ slid a glance towards the brunette seated at the head of the table. From her vantage point, JJ had a clear view of Emily's face. The look of contentment that she saw caused two things to stir inside of JJ. The first, and foremost, was anger. She was furious that Emily had brought up the similarities to begin with. Sure, she knew that one of the members was bound to mention it, but JJ was a little disappointed that that someone ended up being Emily. She, of all people, knew how much JJ loved doing her job. But the second emotion that aroused inside of JJ was one of appreciation. She knew that Emily was just looking out for her safety. If JJ was actually honest with herself, she would pull Emily off of every case the team worked where the brunette fit the victimology herself if she had the authority to do so.
After glowering at the brunette for a second to make sure she knew that the blonde wasn't happy, JJ began her presentation again. "Well as I was saying, the victims have many similarities, including looks. The DC police want this solved ASAP. The case is already getting local coverage. Pretty soon, it's going to make national news. Apparently there is going to be a big charity event held next weekend at the White House. We want to get this solved before then if at all possible."
Hotch stood up at this point to delegate tasks. "Alright guys. I agree with the police. We need this solved and closed before the charity event. Reid, I want you to work on the geographical profile. Garcia, begin working on a paper trail. See if you can find any similarities between these women that we missed. See if they go to the same gym, use the same daycare, or anything else. Morgan and Prentiss, you go visit the first two families and see if you can get any new information. Rossi and I will visit the third and fourth families. JJ, you start working on a press release in case we need to release one soon. Questions?" After receiving "no's" from the entire team, Hotch released them to work on their respective tasks with the instructions to meet back up at three o'clock that do to go over their results.
Hotch and Rossi were the first to leave. Garcia and Reid walked out together talking about the geographic profile and constructing a computerized map of the area in question. Derek turned to Emily and gave her a quick look. Emily nodded her head understanding that Morgan was telling her to come find him when she was done talking to JJ.
Once JJ and Emily were alone in the room, the brunette profiler spoke up first, "I'm sorry, JJ. I didn't mean for Hotch to pull you off the case. I was just pointing out that I was worried about the similarities."
JJ faced Emily once she heard the soft voice come out of the tall agent. She looked deep into brown eyes before responding, "I know. But you've never been inclined to mention anything before when I have fit the profile. Why now? I mean you know how much I love my job. You know that I am damn good at it, too. I can take care of myself you know."
Emily sighed before she responded. "I know JJ. I'm just worried about you is all. This guy is here, in DC. Usually we're in another state when we run across the rare case that you fit the victimology. But this time, I couldn't stop thinking about the what if's, What if we don't find him and you've been all over the news talking about him? Then he'll know what you look like. What about Henry? I honestly don't know what came over me. I was just worrying about you unnecessarily. I'm sorry."
JJ didn't respond immediately to Emily's admission. She knew that Emily hadn't been the one to demand she not work on the case full time. She also knew that if Emily didn't bring up the similarities, then one of the others would have. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, JJ, never having taken her blues eyes away from Emily's brown ones, responded, "I know Em. I'm just upset. You know I like to be with you and the guys out in the field. I may not be a profiler, but I like being there for the families in these hard times. Besides, I have the best shot on the team. Who's gonna be there to watch your back, Prentiss?" JJ finished with a crooked smile on her face. Try as she might, there was no way she could stay mad at the brunette, especially when the profiler was being so emotionally raw with her today.
Emily breathed a soft sigh of relief. For some reason, her normal barriers and compartmentalizing wasn't working as normal today. She knew that JJ could tell she was worried about the blonde. She also knew that normally, that worry would be hidden into a compartment, usually in the depths of her mind. But something today was amiss. And because of that problems, she knew there was no way that she would have been able to work normally knowing that JJ was mad at her. "Well JJ, although you may be the best shot on the team, you know as well as I do that I run a close second. I think I can handle the pressure for one case," Emily finished with playful banter of her own.
Before either woman could continue with their conversation, they were interrupted by Morgan sticking his head in the door, "Hey Prentiss, we've gotta roll. Hotch and Rossi just left. We should probably head out, too."
Looking over her shoulder to respond, Emily made eye contact with Morgan, "I'll be right there." Watching as the handsome agent left the room, Emily turned back towards JJ. "Well, you heard the man. I've got to head out. You know how impatient the man can be."
"Oh I know. He is about as impatient as you are. Which is saying a lot, because you are the most impatient person I know. But, I understand. Be safe out there today. I wouldn't want to have to break Hotch's orders to come save your ass," JJ said with a smirk on her face, the previous disagreement already forgotten about.
"Always. And even though you'll be on temporary house arrest, you be safe, too. I wouldn't want to have to leave the field to come babysit you," Emily replied right back.
JJ watched as the brunette profiler quickly made her way down into the bull pen where Morgan was anxiously awaiting her arrival. The two friends made their way towards the parking garage to start their day of questioning the victim's families. Her previous excitement about working with JJ was already long forgotten and buried away since it was no longer a possibility. The desire to finish this case and take the mother and son pair to the zoo now resided at the forefront of her mind.
-IF-
A/N: Again guys, please read and review. Put in any suggestions you have, like I said, I'll implement as many as possible! I hope you enjoy!