JJ found her in the locker room, sitting on the bench, head in her hands. She didn't really have to ask – she knew Emily, and the decisions her friend was prone to make. Sitting down beside her, she rested her forearms on her thighs.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

Emily didn't lift her head. "It was perfect."

"That wouldn't be a problem for most people."

"It was a fake date, JJ."

"Was it?"

Emily lifted her head and glared at her friend. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't play devil's advocate. Don't give me reasons to think this might have been real."

JJ wasn't entirely sure why Emily refused to ever believe that good things could happen to her. But it broke her heart to see her this way. Reaching out, she rested her hand on top of hers.

"I'm not playing devil's advocate," she assured her. "I just…he took you out. You apparently had a great time. He…"

"Kissed me."

JJ stopped short. "Excuse me?"

Emily shut her eyes tightly. "When he drove me home, he kissed me and asked me to have dinner with him again."

JJ just stared at her in disbelief. "What did you say?" she finally asked.

Emily wiped at her eyes. "That we couldn't do this."

"Oh, Em," she whispered. "Why?"

"Because it wasn't real! Because he was just proving a point, or…caught up in the moment, or…or…" She shook her head, choking on her words.

JJ rubbed soothing circles across her back – she knew all about running. Had been a master of it, in fact, until recently.

"Did it feel real?" she asked quietly.

Emily nodded. "Yes. "But Jayje…I'm really bad at this."

"At what?"

"Dating."

JJ shrugged. "Don't date him then." When her friend frowned at her, she gave her a small smile. "Let him date you."

"There's something wrong with that logic."

"Nonsense. That came straight from Penelope Garcia. And you know she's never wrong."

Emily sniffed, leaning her head against JJ's shoulder. "If only that were true," she whispered.

"Something wrong?" Hotch asked. When Dave looked at him quizzically, he gave a small shrug. "You're sighing like a twelve-year-old girl."

Dave snorted. "You would know."

"I do seem to recall you making similar comments about me a couple of weeks ago."

"You deserved it. And despite the fact that I helped you get the girl, I don't recall receiving any thanks."

"Consider this repaying the debt."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Hotch just kept staring at him. "If that were true, you'd be hiding in your office instead of invading mine."

Dave was silent for a minute, rubbing at the hair on his chin.

"We went out."

"You and Emily."

Dave nodded.

"Either it went very well, or it went very poorly."

"I thought it was going well," he grumbled.

Hotch forced himself to remain stoic, despite the fact that he wanted to roll his eyes. Sometimes getting information out of his friend was more difficult than interrogating a suspect.

"What happened, Dave?"

The older man sighed, sounding very tired. "When we got back to her apartment, she invited me up. I declined…I don't want to be every other guy she's gone out with."

Hotch nodded. "I would have done the same."

"And then I leaned in to kiss her on the cheek."

Hotch's eyebrows rose slowly. "I take it that didn't go as expected."

"Not when I ended up kissing her for real. And then asked her to go out with me again."

His eyebrows were as high as they could go. "She said no?"

"She said we couldn't do this."

Hotch's surprise turned to a frown. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"It's obvious she doesn't want me."

"It's obvious that she's running from you and the way you make her feel."

Dave gave him a withering look. "You don't know that."

"It's what you'd be saying to me."

"I thought it sounded familiar."

Hotch's mouth quirked upward. "A wise man once told me to give a woman three chances. Perhaps it won't take her all three tries."

"It took JJ all three."

Hotch had the grace to look embarrassed. "Actually, it took four." When Dave looked at him sharply, he shrugged. "I'm a glutton for punishment, obviously. The point is, Dave. Don't give up on her. Not yet."

He sighed. "I just don't want to look like an old fool."

"You're only a fool if you let her get away."

He sighed again and looked out into the bullpen. "Right."