A/N: I don't own the show or characters, though I wish I did!

Chapter 2

They woke up tangled in each other's arms. Two days they had spent together, and it felt like only a minute. Neither of them wanted to leave the bed. And they only did so when they needed to use the restroom or eat food. They tried to avoid getting up at all. But now, it was Monday. And as the alarm rang, neither of them got up.

JJ groaned, "Do we really have to get up?" She wrapped her arms tighter around the brunette. "I think they could do without us for a day."

"Are you kidding?" Emily whispered. "They couldn't last a day without you. Besides, wouldn't that seem suspicious if we both didn't come to work today?" She breathed in the blonde's scent. She'd never get used to it. To any of it. Never, in a million years, did she think she could have the woman of her dreams.

"Yeah," JJ admitted sadly, "But how long could we hide it anyway? I mean, we can try to hide it. But it's going to be difficult. Every time I see you I'll remember these couple days, and I don't know how I'll not blush and smile."

"Making you all hot and bothered, am I?" Emily whispered seductively.

JJ let out another moan. "Jesus, Em. Don't. You're going to make us late." She turned around and tried to get up, but Emily latched on. "Emily, we have to go. You know that."

"Fine. But I call the shower firs-"

"FUCK!" JJ shouted as she crawled out of bed. "I don't have any extra clothes."

Emily snickered, "Jay, just wear one of mine, it's no big deal." She grabbed some close from her closet and threw some at JJ.

"We have totally different styles. Somebody is going to notice. At least Penelope will." JJ decided as she looked closely at the clothes.

Emily sighed. "I think you are being overdramatic, but if you are that worried about it, if we hurry up, we can stop by your place on the way." JJ nodded, acting more nervous than usual. And Emily definitely noticed. "Jen, what's up? Is it us?"

JJ quickly shook her head. "No. We are perfect. I love- I love us. It's just, I don't know how to deal with all of this. I haven't even broken up with Will yet. I'm just a bit anxious I guess. We really aren't allowed to date. It's against the rules, and I love this job and-"

"Jayje," Emily interrupted, putting her hands on JJ's shoulders to steady her. "It's all going to be okay. No one has to know. And if they do, we'll deal. Like we always do. No one in our team will rat us out. And if someone like Strauss finds out- we'll work through it. I will never give up on us."

JJ sighed, absorbed by her kind speech. "You're right. Of course, you're right. Thank you. That makes me feel so much better."

"You take a shower first and calm down," Emily told her and leaned in for a quick kiss. "I'll make us some breakfast."

JJ raised her eyebrows at the brunette. "You can cook?"

"JJ, babe, what can't I do?" Emily teased with a huge smirk.

The blonde rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Emily's head. She gasped playfully and threw it back. "Jesus, Em. I'll go, I'll go." JJ kissed Emily once more on the cheek and then ran into the bathroom.

Emily grinned and shook her head. She couldn't be happier.

"I'm glad that you both have finally joined us," Hotch said sternly as Emily and JJ entered the conference room.

Emily rolled her eyes but JJ blushed. "Sorry, sir. Em— Prentiss picked me up, my car didn't start this morning." They avoided each other's eyes, knowing that if they looked, they would never be able to look away.

JJ gathered her things and stepped up to the projector to present their case while Prentiss sat down at her normal chair. Morgan watched her carefully, knowing something was off. "Nice break, Prentiss?" He whispered with a slight swagger.

"Of course, Morgan," Emily said harshly. "I didn't see you for a few days."

Morgan raised his eyebrows and chuckled silently. "Damn, Prentiss."

"CHILDREN!" Hotch called out to Derek and Emily. The two quickly turned their attention back to Hotch and JJ as they tried to contain their laughter. "Thank you. Please continue, JJ."

JJ continued her case review. Three girls, with no connection or similarities, are all dead in Garner, North Carolina. Just a typical case for the BAU. At the words, 'Wheels Up,' every agent got up and headed to the jet. This killer was killing with only days in between. A victim could turn up any time now, and they couldn't risk any more deaths.

Prentiss purposely sat as far away from JJ as she could. But she realized halfway through the short plane ride, that choosing to sit next to Reid wasn't the best idea. As she tried to read the case file, Reid spurted out, "Isn't that weird to think about? There is a whole different species of bacteria in hairspray? Just think about all the times you have spray-"

"REID!" Emily shouted as she was starting to get a headache. "Can we please just talk about the case?" She told herself that next time she should sit next to Rossi.

Spencer, only slightly offended, nodded. "Right," he said before he looked through the case file. "The first victim, Olivia Stoltz, died from three stab wounds."

"Which is different than his second, where he strangled her. Why the change in M.O.?" Emily added. She tried to stay focused on the work. And though it was working, she couldn't help but keep going back to the memories of the blonde in her bed.

"Maybe the second was more personal?" Reid suggested.

"Stabbing 17 times was definitely personal too. Its overkill shows that the kill was sadistic and sexually motivated." Prentiss theorized. "And that's not even including the third victim- who died from blood loss when thrashed on the floor." She shook her head, trying to get that visual out of her mind.

"Maybe the UnSub was trying out different methods," Morgan said from behind them. "We've seen it before."

"That also explains why he would be killing so close to each other. He may be trying to find the most satisfying way to kill his victims." Reid added thoughtfully.

"Which means," Emily gulped. "More victims and less time in between kills."

Emily and Spencer shared an empathetic look. They knew this case wasn't going to be an easy one.

"Victimology," Hotch began, looking as emotionless and stoic as usual. "Let's start there. Why pick these girls?"

"They are all under the age of 17," Morgan stated. "But they look nothing alike. The first and third victims were blonde, and the second had her hair dyed blue. They were all different sizes, different classes, different schools."

"Maybe he doesn't care about that stuff," Emily offered, glancing through the pictures of all the dead girls. "Maybe he is purely sexually motivated and chooses his victims by convenience."

"Then why would he kill them so violently? This has to be personal on some level," Derek said, getting angrier by the second. It tore him up to see things like this.

"Either way," JJ commented, talking for the first time. "The media is going to have a field day. If this UnSub's only motivation is to get as many girls as he can without a type, no girl is safe."

Emily could hear the worry and fear in JJ's voice. All she wanted to do was hug her, hold her, kiss her, tell her that everything was going to be okay. But she couldn't. And she physically felt pain from it. She shivered and noticed that Morgan had noticed. He looked at her with calm eyes saying, 'Are you okay?' She gave him a reassuring smile, but he wasn't convinced.

Hotch checked his watch and said, "We're going to hit the ground in a few minutes. When we land, Prentiss and Morgan will go to the last victim's body site. See if you can find out more about the victim? Reid and Rossi, you both will visit and talk with the parents of the victims. JJ, you and I will go to Garner PD. We need to get the media handled before this turns into a storm."

Before everyone retreated to themselves again, JJ and Emily shared a quick look, making sure the other was okay. Of course, neither of them were okay. But they had to do what they had to do. Emily turned back to the doctor. "Reid, what's Garner like?"

Reid started to ramble on about statistics of the small town near the city of Raleigh. Emily tried to listen as hard as she could, but every thought was on Jennifer Jareau.

Garner was smaller than Emily had expected. Not many restaurants, not city-like, but not like a small town either. Secluded, but not together. Big enough for two major high schools, but too small for a bookstore. A paradox in some ways.

"I could never live in a place like this. There isn't even anything to do," Morgan snorted as we drove through the town to the third victim's residence.

Emily chuckled. "Yeah, it's cheap though. All of the victims are middle class or lower. So what do you think that it means that each body was found in a different part of town? One in a lake, one in a trash can and one in an abandoned factory. Why?"

"Maybe he's just trying to not get caught. Adapting. Which is never good." He said grimly. As he drove, he took a quick look at Emily and caught her looking at her nails. "Prentiss, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Emily replied without hesitation. "I just hate cases like these."

"You mean all cases?" And while it was a joke, his tone was nowhere close to playful. "This isn't you. I know everyone has a breaking point, but we have seen much worse than this. What's up?"

Emily wished that he would stop talking. She hated lying to him, even if it was for a good reason. "Nothing. I'm fine, Morgan. I swear."

"We had a break for the first time in months and you are more tired than before," Morgan said out of worry for his friend and partner. "Are you having nightmares, Emily?"

Emily sighed. She felt terrible to lie to him. "Derek, believe me when I say that I'm fine. I'm actually better than fine."

Derek took her words seriously and didn't say anything else on the subject. "Why would he go from dumping a body in a lake to a trash can? If the UnSub is smart enough to change dumping sights, wouldn't he go somewhere that has less evidence? He goes from smart with the lake to risky with the trash. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe he respected the first victim more. Maybe he felt more guilt. Or, maybe he thought that the second victim deserved less. Maybe he thought she was trash. We've seen that before." Emily theorized carefully.

Morgan nods, but he seems uncertain. "Something just seems off about this case. Like something is missing."

Emily couldn't disagree. There was an odd sense that the UnSub was playing a game with rules they didn't have knowledge of. "I think we are supposed to turn here," She said as they entered the more factory district.

"Nothing," Derek muttered with a bit of anger. "There was nothing at this crime scene. No fingerprints, no pieces of fabric, nothing that could tie us to the UnSub. This guy is as organized as it gets."

The rest of the team sighed as they looked through the photos of the previous crime scenes, lost of how to proceed.

"Reid, there's nothing that connects these victims?" Hotch impatiently asked the nerdy profiler.

"Besides being teenage girls in this town, there is nothing. There is no sign that these girls knew each other existed, there is no sign that they had friend connections." Reid said heartlessly.

"It's a small town," JJ said quietly. "There has to be a connection somewhere."

"Well, actually, it's not that small of a town. The area radius is small, but the neighborhoods are clearly well separated. It is highly likely that the girls have never heard of or seen each other," Reid refuted.

JJ shook her head, disturbed by the fact that the team had no leads. "What am I going to say to the public? We have nothing to go on. Nothing that points us to an UnSub besides the fact that these were girls who were alone while walking home. It's going to put this town into a frenzy."

"Agent Hotchner!" A detective called out as he ran into the small room where the team had set up. "Another girl has gone missing. Skylar Chappell. 15, here's her picture."

"Based on when the other victims died," Reid stated. "We have twelve to fourteen hours to find her." The tone of the room flattened even more. Everyone was on high alert.

"Morgan, call Garcia. Get her to get into the victim's internet history. Maybe they have a commonality there. JJ, make a statement to the press, get the whole town searching." Hotch turned to Prentiss and Reid. "Go talk to the girl's parents. Find out everything you can."

"Hotch," Morgan started. "How are we supposed to get anywhere without a profile? We know nothing about this UnSub. We all know something is off about this guy."

Hotch nodded. "When you are done calling Garcia, you and Rossi will go check out local bars, public places, ask around if anyone is a known sexual assaulter. I'll comb through the reports here with JJ, maybe we'll find something here."

"This is a long shot," Morgan said with a slight edge of fear.

"I know." Hotch agreed. "But it's all we have."

"Mr. and Mrs. Chappell, I'm Agent Emily Prentiss and this is Dr. Reid, we're from the FBI in the Behavioral Analysis Unit." Emily shook hands with both devastated parents as Reid awkwardly waved from behind her.

"Was she taken by the man who took the other girls?" The mother asked her hand twitching back and forth.

Emily took a deep breath. This was definitely part of her job that she despised. "Let's go sit down somewhere. We can talk everything through."

The husband and wife nodded and took them to their living room. They all awkwardly sat around. "Agent, how long do we have to find her?" The man grunted, obviously not sober.

"She has some time. We are doing all that we can to find her at the moment, but I have to ask some questions that might not be easy to answer. Is that okay with you both?" Emily asked.

The couple looked at each other and nodded.

"When did you notice that your daughter was missing?"

"Skylar didn't come home from school. She walks home, you see. And she always called if she was going to be late. And when she didn't, with everything going on, I called the police right away." The mother whimpered as she spoke.

"You did perfectly the right thing. Mr. Chappell, can you give Dr. Reid a description of her exact route from school to home?" Emily directed to the husband.

He nodded and took Reid to the kitchen where they could talk in private.

"What is your daughter like, ma'am?" Emily questioned with a sympathetic look.

"She's kind. Intelligent. Never gets in trouble. She knows what it's like in the real world. It's her dream to be a doctor- pediatrician. She loves little kids." The mother smiled in memory of her daughter.

"Can you tell me if she has been acting any differently or paranoid in the last couple of weeks? Any unusual mood swings? The smallest details could tell us a lot."

The mother took a few seconds before answering. "She's a good girl. Always kind and respectful. She's been acting normal, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Would you consider the relationship you and your husband have with your daughter to be healthy? Are you all close?"

"I'm more close with her than her father, but I guess that's normal. Isn't it? Agent Prentiss, how much time do we have?"

Emily was torn. Was it ethical to tell a grieving mother how much time her daughter had left? "Usually, the first twelve to twenty-four hours is very crucial. But ma'am, we are confident that we will find her."

"Why Sky? She's only ever been a good girl." Her mother asked, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I couldn't answer that. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Your daughter, you, and your family do not deserve this. I'm so sorry that your family has to go through this. Is there any reason at all that you think could make your daughter a target? Any bad friends? Drugs? Clubs? Boyfriend?"

The wife kept shaking her head over and over again. "She goes to school, comes home and does homework and sees friends on the weekend. She's a better daughter and student than I ever was."

Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out her card. "Call me, if you think of anything. No detail is too small."

Mrs. Chappell took the card with a nod. Nervously, she whispered, "Do you really think that you all will find my baby?"

"I have faith in my team that we will find her," Emily replied, trying to keep the woman hopeful. "But you have to put on a brave face and stay straight. And make sure your husband tries to stay sober. He can't help us if he is drunk."

She nodded and Reid and the father entered the room. "Ready to go, Prentiss?" Spencer asked her, holding the map. Emily nodded and they both left the house, with more questions that they had before entering.

"She's a normal kid with a normal family. She was coming home on her normal route," Emily informed the team back at the station.

"Her route was clear, nothing there that pointed to a struggle. But it was out in the open, anyone could have seen it," Reid added.

"So how do these seemingly normal and good girls get targeted like this?" JJ asked the team, confused on what was happening.

"Every teenager has their own secrets. Big or small, they are there. Maybe they will tell us why they were chosen." Emily suggested grimly. She shared a small glance with JJ. Being a female, this case hit close to home.

Morgan then got a call. Picking it up, he said, "Hey, baby girl. I'm putting you on speaker."

After putting the phone on speaker, the voice of Penelope Garcia came through. "Hello lovelies, you asked me if there is a website that was common among each victim. Well, I found it. Each girl had a Tumblr account- which for you old fogies is a social media community specializing in outsiders. It's not as popular as other social media sites."

"Okay, what type of information is out there that the UnSub could find? Have they posted something similar? Could it be used to meet people?" Rossi asked the savvy tech analyst.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. None of them used it to find people from what I can tell, but they did have one thing in common. They were all apart of this one LGBTQ community. In fact, they were all apart of this one group. They posted and emailed and instant messaged each other." Garcia told the team.

"So what?" Rossi asked. "They were all gay?"

"Well specifically, from what I can tell from the posts, the first two victims were bisexual, the third victim was lesbian and the fourth identifies as queer," Garcia explained from over the phone.

"None of the parents mentioned that," Reid said with slight confusion.

"Kids hide this kind of thing, kid." Prentiss reminded Reid sadly. She and JJ shared yet another yearning look. Now, it really hit close to home.

"Emily's right," Garcia added as she typed more things into her computer. "This community was specifically for closeted people."

"Good job, Garcia," Hotch thanked her. "Can you see if anyone voiced their hate for these people? And also see if they ever discussed where they lived or a meeting place."

"Will do, Captain!" Garcia said light-heartedly and hang up.

"So, is this a hate crime? If so, it's a totally different story." Morgan mentioned with deep hearted pessimism.

"Morgan, Rossi, Reid, will you three re-interview the parents? Ask them about their knowledge of their child's sexuality. JJ, Prentiss, I have an idea that might not work, but I'll need your help if it does." Hotch told the team.

Reid, Rossi, and Morgan left while JJ and Emily were left stuck in confusion. "Sir?" Emily asked after a few minutes of silence. "What is it that you would like us to do?"

"I want to set this UnSub up. I want to go undercover. I thought since you both are female, you could do a lot better than me at making an account." Hotch directed the two agents.

JJ and Emily looked at each other awkwardly and nodded. "Okay, let's do it."

"Most of the parents had no clue. The Chappells knew and were supportive from what I could tell. The second and third victim's parents were clueless, and the father of the first victim seemed to have knowledge of his daughter's sexuality and was angry about us asking." Morgan reported to the team. "Nothing stood out. It seems like none of the kids were out to more than close friends and family."

"We got a message!" JJ shouted as she turned to the computer. "Says that they want to meet and talk about a similar situation."

"Bingo," Rossi said. "This has to be the UnSub." Anticipation spread through the air, encasing each person.

"Tell him, yes, but we get to pick the place," Hotch ordered JJ.

JJ typed a reply and after a few seconds, she got a reply. She cleared her throat and announced, "He asked where and when."

"Tell him 30 minutes at the park benches at Lake Benson Park," Hotch told JJ.

The blonde nodded and typed a reply. After a few seconds, she said, "Done. He said he'd meet us there. Do you think this is going to work?"

"I think it could. Garcia, just in case, can you try to track down the user— find an address or name?" Hotch asked, talking into the speaker.

"Will do, Sir," Garcia replied and hang up the call.

"JJ, do you think you could make yourself look younger? We need someone to at least lure him. He'd know it was a trick right away if he didn't see anyone there." Hotch asked JJ.

JJ frowned but nodded. Emily was more worried about her girlfriend than the blonde herself. Emily thought that JJ was never supposed to be in danger. "Sir, can't we find someone else?"

Hotch turned to Emily surprised that she imposed. "JJ knows this UnSub, Prentiss. JJ, are you comfortable with this?"

JJ looked between Emily and Hotch, torn between her job and her lover. "I'm comfortable, Sir. I can do this."

"It's settled then. Let's get a move on. Prentiss, help JJ get ready. Car leaves in fifteen minutes." Hotch ordered the team before they dispersed.

Silently, with a touch of awkwardness, JJ and Emily walked to the bathroom after finding clothes and makeup that could help JJ's appearance seem younger. Once they reached the bathroom, JJ turned to Emily, knowing that there was a storm headed her way.

"Em, I'm so sorry. I didn't- I know you don't want me out on the field but it's my job." JJ searched her face, looking for a sign that they were okay, or even if she was angry.

But Emily shielded her emotions. She rebuilt those walls that JJ took down only a few days previously. "I know. Let's do this quickly. We don't have much time."

Her words hit JJ hard. JJ would have preferred anything besides an emotionless Emily. She would prefer her to be yelling at her, screaming at her, anything. "Emily, I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong." Emily knew she was turning herself off. She just couldn't let JJ in- especially if something were to happen to her today. She couldn't open herself up to that pain.

JJ bit her lip, holding in her tears. "Don't do this, Emily. Don't close yourself off from me. Going into the field doesn't change what we have. You would be doing the same thing if you were in my position and you know it."

Unfortunately, Emily did know it. And she did know how much of a hypocrite she was. But she couldn't handle this. "You're right. I have to go. I'll see you when all of this is over."

Leaving JJ there speechless, Emily left the restroom with tears in her eyes. She tried to separate herself from everything. If she isn't attached to anything, when it's gone, it'll hurt less. At least, that was always her motto.

They were all watching from different areas of the park. Eyes were on JJ always as she sat on the park bench pretending to play on her phone. It took all of Emily's effort to not stare at her. She couldn't- no- she wouldn't lose her. Not today. Not after everything that has happened. But she also knew she couldn't blow her cover. So she couldn't watch her.

And then- someone was coming towards JJ- but it wasn't the UnSub. It was the first victim's father, who she immediately recognized. With the earpiece, she heard him say, "Agent Jareau, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for the girl?"

JJ looked around quickly, knowing that this was definitely something that could blow her cover. However, Emily couldn't hear what she replied because Garcia called her. Picking up the phone, the tech wizard shouted, "Emily! Is everything alright? No one is picking up their phones."

"JJ's undercover, we are trying to catch the UnSub, but she is almost being blown. The first vic's father is chatting with her-"

"Wait! Are you talking about James Stoltz?" Garcia shouted with worry.

"Yeah," Emily asked confused with where she was going. "Why?"

"He's the UnSub! I tracked his location through Tumblr!" Emily was stunned. She immediately hung up and opened her coms with the team.

"Garcia found out James Stoltz is the UnSub. I repeat- JJ is talking with the UnSub right now." She harshly whispered. Morgan caught her eyes and they both quickly ran up behind JJ and the UnSub.

But the UnSub must have heard them because he immediately took out his weapon. Emily's heart beat faster than ever. She almost let out a gasp when he put the gun to JJ's head. JJ quivered with nervous fear. "Drop your weapons!" The father shouted. "Or I will kill Agent Jareau."

Morgan and Emily turned to each other and put down their guns. "Mr. Stoltz. If you let her go, you can have a chance. A trial."

He grunted. "Yeah, right. I killed three girls and I put a gun to an agent. I'm going away for life. Or death penalty."

"If you let her go," Morgan told the UnSub calmly. "And tell us where Skylar Chappell is, the death penalty will go off the table. And the jury could see that you have a conscious."

Mr. Stoltz rolled his eyes and snorted. "That girl deserves to die. She's infecting all impressionable girls with her satanism."

"Was your daughter infected, Mr. Stoltz? Is that why you had to kill her? Did you find out that she was more into females than males?" Emily asked the UnSub with apprehension.

"She wasn't my daughter! She was overcome by the devil! Going on these hellish websites promoting their disease." He snarled, his spit flying out of his mouth in all directions. He pulled on JJ tighter, causing Emily to flinch. "They all had to pay for their sins."

"And they did. But the girl you have gunned hasn't committed any of these sins. She just got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Will. She wasn't infected. You'd be killing someone pure." Emily told him, lying through her teeth. Anything- she'd say anything to get her girl back.

He looked at JJ, sweat trickling down his face. "I just wanted to save my baby from the devil. And help some other girls." He was diminishing, and everyone knew it.

"I know, sir. But you have to let her go. We can then find the other girl together, and we can send her to a place where they can professionally purify her, I promise." Prentiss told him, praying that this would work.

He looked between JJ and Emily and eventually pushed JJ over and fell to the ground. Immediately, Morgan got his weapon and put him in handcuffs. Emily ran to JJ who began to sob. She wrapped her arms around the blonde and they both fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Emily," JJ repeated over and over again.

Tears came to Emily's eyes. "Are you kidding me? You're sorry? I'm so sorry. Jayje, I'm so sorry I blocked you out."

"You can't do that to me," JJ commanded fiercely. "Ever again. Emily, I need you to trust me that I won't die and leave you."

"I do," Emily said, holding her tighter. "I'm just glad you're okay." They didn't even notice all the confused looks they were receiving from the rest of the team before Hotch told them to give the girls some space. None of them knew why the two were so emotional, but they knew that their relationship wasn't just a working one.

"Are they gone?" JJ asked in a whisper as they both looked around to see where their team had gone. At Emily's nod, JJ leaned in for a kiss that could last a lifetime.

After finding the girl, The team was too tired to go fly home: it being already 11:00 when they were done with paperwork. So, they decided to stay in Garner, or Raleigh as there are more hotels there. As they all entered the Inn, they were all surprised to find Will LaMontagne Jr. waiting in the lobby.

Emily's face fell. Seeing Will was surprising for everyone, not just JJ. It scared Emily more than anything. Will could give JJ the life she deserves, and Emily knows that.

"Will?" JJ asked as she walked up to him, looking as confused as everyone else. Once she reached him, he hugged her, and she didn't refuse it. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't come visit me this weekend." Will reminded her, his accent shining through. "And you didn't answer your phone. I thought something was wrong. I called Agent Hotchner and he told me that you guys were here."

Emily refrained from glaring at Hotch. JJ looked overwhelmed, obviously embarrassed by the way that the team stood there, watching. Hotch cleared his throat. "Let's leave them alone."

It took all of Emily's will to leave them, not knowing what was going to happen. She hoped, prayed, that JJ would follow her. She went to her room, avoiding the rest of the team. Without doing anything beforehand, she laid on the bed. Her thoughts were going faster and faster in her head. All the possible scenarios were playing and anxiety was growing in the pit of her stomach.

However, only a few minutes later, JJ knocked and entered her room. "Em…" her voice trailed off, looking torn.

Emily knew right away what that face had meant. "You're not staying, are you?"

JJ had tears in her eyes. She knew this was hurting Emily, but she had to handle things before anything else could continue. "Emily, I'm so sorry. I need to talk things through with him."

Anger rose up in Emily as her walls were building back up. "So you can't just say: I'm breaking up with you, I'm not in love with you?"

JJ shook her head. "I can't- he's a good guy. A really great friend. I might not be in love with him, but he deserves to be treated well. And I- I'm losing a lot with losing him. This- us- as right and special as it is… it's a huge risk."

Though JJ was just being brutally honest, and even though Emily understood it wasn't malicious- her words caused pain for the brunette. It tore through her heart. "I know that he could give you so much more than me. I just thought we were more than a risk."

JJ's eyes swelled up. "We are. Emily, I love-"

"Please go." Emily interrupted, not wanting to hear the ending to that sentence. "Please Jennifer, I can't do this right now. I'm tired."

Tears fell down JJ's cheeks, knowing that nothing she could say would fix what had already been said. "Okay." She lingered for a second before leaving the hotel room.

Emily sluggishly changed her clothes and put her hair in a bun. She tried to go to sleep, but her brain wouldn't turn off. She started to shake. She realized in one moment, that she was afraid to be alone. In her pajamas, she got up, walked out of her room and went to someone else's. She knocked on the door to find Reid with Star Wars pajamas on.

Spencer was utterly confused. Never had Emily shown up at his door. He didn't think they were ever that close. "Emily…?" He asked, not yet have gotten to sleep.

"You know when you offered to talk about the book to movie adaptations of Harry Potter? Can we talk about that now?" Emily asked, shaking and trying to not cry.

Reid noticed all the signs. he could tell that Emily wasn't okay- and wasn't going to be okay for a while. "Sure. Come inside."

Emily smiled, happy to just be with someone. She followed him inside and they both awkwardly sat on the small bed. "Thanks, Spencer." Without thinking, she yawned.

Reid grinned. "Emily, are you sure you just don't want to sleep? You can stay with me. I mean, the bed isn't big but- it's shareable."

Emily raised her eyebrows. She would have never expected that Reid would be so okay with her staying with him. "Thank you, Spencer. That- that means a lot."

They both dug into the covers and hugged the corners of the bed. Suddenly, Reid whispered, "Emily, there is something I have been meaning to ask. Why did you- why did you tell Cyrus you were the agent? I mean, you could have said I was the agent- but you didn't. You let him torture you for me? Why would you do that?"

Emily sighed, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Because you're my family, Spencer Reid. You're like my brother. And I would do it again and every time."

Spencer smiled to himself. "I'm so sorry I was a jerk to you when you first joined. I was having issues." He paused. "I hope I didn't make you think that I hated you- because I think of you as a sister as well."

"It's okay, Reid. Really. I knew that wasn't the real you talking. I'm just glad that you were able to get clean."

Spencer rolled over, surprised she had known so much. "You knew?"

Emily rolled over as well, staring at him. "I'm familiar with drugs, Reid. My best friend during high school was addicted to drugs. And I hate to admit that I dabbled too. You're so strong, Spencer. For getting clean."

"I'm still an addict," Spencer grumbled.

"But you're clean now. And that's all that matters."

Reid stayed silent for a second, not knowing if what he was going to say was going to cross any lines. "Are you in love with JJ?"

Emily raised her eyebrows, surprised that he had found out, especially out of all the team. "How did you-?"

"Why else would you be here so upset? And you weren't upset before Will came. It's the only logical answer."

"We- we slept together. We decided that we were going to secretly date. But, she could still have feelings for Will."

"I know. But I see the way you both act around each other." He said with a touch of sadness.

And Prentiss definitely noticed his sudden mood change. "Do you love her, Spencer?"

"I don't- I mean I do- just not romantically. I- I think I have feelings for Derek." Spencer admitted, afraid of the reaction that he was expecting.

A small smile grew from her lips. While she had not expected that- she wasn't surprised. "Me and you- Spencer. The unit gays."

Reid grinned and laughed. "I guess so. I have never told anyone that. I'm glad you came, Emily. You made my night tolerable. And if things don't work out with JJ, you can always hang out with me. I mean you can either way."

"Of course. Thank you. You've made me feel so much better. Now that we know each other's secrets, I don't think there is any way we won't be hanging out together all the time. Besides our gay nerd asses need to stick together."

Reid, for the first time without the weight on his shoulders from the secret he had been keeping in, muttered, "Goodnight, Emily."

"Goodnight, Spencer."

Without any romance, the two slept near each other. Even touching. Neither of them remembered a time previous that they had felt more comfortable sleeping next to someone who isn't a significant other. Eventually, through the night, they both wiggled into each other's arms. During this night, two damaged souls were starting to get healed.

Thanks for reading the second chapter! Many more to come! Will JJ choose Emily or Will? Find out soon! XX