Happy Valentine's Day!
Saturday evening JJ stood in her bedroom with Garcia hovering behind her. "Seriously Pen, I think I can manage picking out an outfit by myself." The tech analyst had seemed almost as excited about this date as JJ had been and had since been hovering around JJ as she got ready.
"Sweetie, it's adorable that you think that, but no, you can't." Garcia said patronizingly, the smirk on her face taking the sting out of her words.
Before JJ could comment, she held her hand up to stop her, "I know these things. You'll pick an outfit and you'll be fine for maybe five minutes before you start to second guess yourself. And when you've worked yourself up and are busy throwing clothes onto the bed, you'll call me in here. It'll take me ten minutes to prove that the first outfit you picked is perfect. I'll tell you it's revealing but not slutty and that it makes your already gorgeous eyes pop and your skin glow. You'll give me a skeptical look but eventually cave. And then you'll bow down and recognize me for the awesome and omnipotent goddess of knowledge that I am."
JJ quirked an eyebrow at the last comment, unable to refute the other points because as much as she hated to admit it, that's probably how things would have played out. Instead of arguing she just accepted her fate and opened her closet, letting Garcia rifle through her things until she found something worthy.
Surprisingly, it didn't take very long for the analyst to find what she was looking for because the dress in question was practically shouting out, 'Pick me!' and that's exactly what Penelope did.
Among all the outfits JJ had, a single deep blue backless dress seemed to stand out, and the liaison was secretly relieved that Garcia had picked said dress. She had been planning to wear it tonight and was sure that it would be the perfect thing for her first date with Emily.
JJ stripped down and started to slide into the dress when Penelope's enthusiastically nodding head halted her movement. "What?" The liaison asked; bewildered as to why her friend was giving her a thumbs up before the dress was even completely on.
"I see we went with the sexy lingerie for our first date," her eyebrows waggled suggestively, "planning on putting out on the first date?"
JJ sputtered and looked down at the clothing in question, "What?" she asked innocently, "These old things? I wear stuff like this all the time." As hard as she was trying to sound convincing she could tell her friend wasn't buying it.
"No, you don't. No one who does our job or who has a child, dresses like that," Garcia supplied happily, her hand motioning towards the very racy lingerie.
A blush graced JJ's cheeks as she finished putting her dress on, "Wait, are you saying I dress like a mom?" She zipped up her dress and stared indignantly at her friend, her hands firmly on her hips.
"I never said that," Garcia kindly pointed out, "I said that no mother I know wears underwear like that unless her partner has just bought her some very expensive jewelry."
Grumbling quietly as she stepped into her heels, JJ tried her best to avoid eye contact as she confessed what Garcia had already known. "So, I wanted to look good in case anything happened. Sue me."
Since JJ was doing her best to avoid looking directly as Garcia, she missed the devilish smirk that her friend was currently sporting. "Gonna get a checkup from Dr. Sexy after dinner?" Garcia joked, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively again "Maybe get that Dr. Sexy-itis treated?"
JJ blushed even harder as she smacked her friend in the arm, "Sometimes, I really hate you Pen."
Garcia chuckled, "Please, you would be lost without me." Suddenly her hands clapped together and she looked over JJ's dress and shoes before nodding approvingly. "Now that this crisis has been averted, I'm gonna go make some grub for Henry and you're gonna finished getting ready."
Penelope was already walking out the door when JJ scowled and yelled after her, "There wasn't any crisis to avoid, Penelope!"
JJ continued getting ready, pointedly ignoring the haughty laughter and the muffled "I know, and you're welcome for that," that was coming from the kitchen downstairs.
Twenty minutes later JJ was walking out the door and heading towards Emily's condo. Her hands were a bit clammy and fidgety but otherwise she was doing pretty well.
When she pulled up to Emily's place, she stepped out of her car, took a deep breath and strolled confidently into the building, refusing to let her nerves show.
She stood outside the door, ran her hands down her dress to smooth out any wrinkles and knocked.
Time seemed to slow as she waited with baited breath for the door to open. What was probably only about thirty seconds felt like hours to her and it took everything in her not to start nervously shuffling while she waited.
Her hand rose to knock again, when suddenly the door swung open to reveal a smiling and absolutely gorgeous looking Emily Prentiss.
She was dressed in a strapless red dress that hugged every curve of her body. Her pale skin seemed to glow and JJ had to remind herself to breathe and not ogle the woman. If she hadn't been nervous before seeing Emily, she certainly was now.
It seemed that no matter what Emily wore, she always looks stunning.
JJ smiled broadly after snapping her open mouth shut, her eyes straining to keep from obviously checking the other woman out again.
While JJ had been appraising the doctor, Emily had been doing the same thing. And she wasn't surprised to see that JJ looked magnificent in her blue dress, not only did it accentuate her wonderful figure but made her blue eyes seem that much deeper.
Outwardly, Emily may not have seemed nervous, but seeing JJ in that dress had her stomach doing somersaults and her head a feeling little dizzy.
"You look…amazing," JJ breathed, not even bothering to hide the fact that she thought Emily looked incredible.
Emily mirrored JJ's smile, "I could say the same thing about you. Jennifer that dress, it was made for you." Her brown eyes looked over the other woman's outfit again, making a show of just how much she enjoyed that outfit on her.
JJ blushed lightly, a shyness overcoming her at the compliment.
"Thanks." She stepped aside and motioned towards the hallway, "Shall we?"
Emily nodded and locked her door before boldly grabbing JJ's hand; walking down the hallway and out the doors.
Both women felt the tiny shock when their hands touched, reveling in the tingles it sent shooting up their arms and the sudden quickening of their hearts.
Their hands only separated once they got to JJ's car, and though neither showed it, they both missed the contact and the familiar warmth it brought with it.
They pulled up to the restaurant and walked inside, their hands immediately intertwining as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
After taking their seats and ordering, the Q&A portion of the date started.
"So, you know what I do for a living, what about you?" Emily leaned forward, making JJ the sole focus of her attention.
"I'm the media liaison for the BAU at the FBI." JJ took a sip of her wine and waited for the usual flurry of questions.
Emily's brow furrowed for a moment before they widened and she snapped her fingers, "The behavioral analyst's, they profile serial killers, right?"
JJ nodded, "Yeah, they do the profiling while I pick the cases and handle the media during the case."
Emily smiled encouragingly, finding JJ's job so far very fascinating. "So you guys travel all over doing these cases?"
JJ was a little surprised Emily was taking such an interest considering how many others had cringed at the thought of tracking serial killers. "Pretty much, though it's usually only a case per week. The rest of the time it's phone consults and paperwork." The blonde shrugged as she took another sip of wine.
"When I was in college I had thought about joining the FBI, maybe even doing some undercover stuff." Emily shook her head ruefully, a shadow of something flashing in her eyes before disappearing completely. "Things didn't exactly work out. By then I was already well on my way to becoming a Pediatrician."
JJ looked at her quizzically, "What made you want to be a pediatrician?"
Emily opened her mouth to respond when they were interrupted by the waiter and their food. Once the server had gone, Emily responded, "I wanted to feel like I was doing some good. Plus, I've always loved kids, so it just made sense to become a pediatrician."
JJ smiled and laughed lightly, "I would hope you like kids, because, as you know I have a son, otherwise this could get a little awkward." It was meant to be a joke but the undertone of seriousness in it made Emily pause and reconsider her next words.
She reached across the table and placed her hand on top of JJ's, a sign of comfort as she put as much conviction into her words as possible. "Jennifer, I know that you have a son and while I don't know all of the details, you can rest assured that that part of your life isn't going to send me running for the hills." Emily looked her straight in the eye, a smile pulling at her lips, "Now, if you were a mother and a serial killer, then I might have to break things off."
"Really?" JJ asked incredulously, "Serial killer is where you draw the line?"
Emily just shrugged and smirked, "Gotta draw it somewhere."
JJ laughed and shook her head, "I guess I'm safe then, considering I'm just a stalker."
Emily smirked "I knew it! Henry isn't even your son, is he? You probably hired him to pretend to be your son so we could run into each other at the park and my office." She smiled victoriously, her chocolate brown eyes shining with amusement.
JJ threw her hands in the air and huffed dramatically, "This is what I get for trying to trick a doctor. I should've known you would foil my plans."
Emily and JJ laughed together, enjoying the comfortable atmosphere they had created.
As they ate, they continued to get to know one another, talking about their jobs, hobbies, and even swapping the occasional dating horror story.
When dinner was finished, they linked hands again and instead of going back to the car, they walked down the street to the park where they had first run into one another.
"Did you grow up here?" JJ asked out of the blue as they ambled down the graveled path, past the jungle gym.
Emily shook her head, "No, I moved around a lot as a kid. I spent most of my childhood in various parts of Europe."
JJ's eyes widened as she allowed that information to sink in, when Emily saw her reaction she chuckled quietly, "My mother is an ambassador so it meant we spent a lot of time moving around abroad." She shrugged as though it weren't a big deal, though JJ could see beneath the lackadaisical front Emily was putting up.
"It must have sucked having to move so often, but at least you got to see and experience Europe. It's much better than growing up in a little nowhere town like me." JJ bumped their shoulders together as they wandered further into the park.
Emily cracked a smile, "I think I'd rather have had the nowhere town instead. The most I got out of my childhood was a plethora of languages and European customs." She ran a hand through her hair and suddenly her whole face lit up with a dazzling smile, "Besides, I'm sure you were popular in your hometown. I doubt you could go anywhere without knowing every person you saw."
JJ blushed lightly but didn't deny it. "I'm not sure if it's sadder that that's true or that I'm a little proud of that."
Emily swung their intertwined hands, "I think it's nice," she said softly, her voice sounding almost wistful.
They continued to walk through the park until they ended back up at the jungle gym, where they sat down side by side on the swings.
"I'm glad you called," Emily finally said, her eyes focused on the blonde woman next to her.
"Me too," JJ said quietly, feeling as though the other woman's gaze was slowly pulling her in, like a tractor beam.
She was surprised to notice that she was slowly leaning closer to the other woman, their faces getting closer and closer until they were almost touching.
JJ's eyes darted down towards Emily's inviting lips and just as she was about to close the distance, her phone started to ring.
The media liaison had to resist the urge to slam her phone into the ground or shoot it for interrupting what would have been a very magical moment. She pulled the offending object from her purse and glared menacingly at it before answering.
"Jareau," she said in a clipped tone, making her displeasure well known.
"We've got a case." Hotch's voice responded, showing no reaction to her sour attitude.
JJ rolled her eyes at the terrible timing and pinched the bridge of her nose, "But I didn't schedule any cases," 'because I have a hot date,' she added mentally.
"This one came straight to me. How soon can you get here?" He answered, making the importance of the case known with that little bit of information.
She sighed and looked down at her outfit, knowing she would have to go home and change before coming in. "Alright, I can be there in…" she glanced at her watch, "about twenty minutes."
"Be ready to go, we don't have time to waste on this one." Hotch didn't wait for a reply as he hung up, most likely to get in contact with the rest of the team.
She looked over at Emily and saw that she was biting her lip to stifle a laugh.
"Work?" Emily asked, her voice sounding far too amused for JJ's taste.
"Yeah," the blonde replied sadly, "I guess we have to cut our date short. I need to go home and change before going back into the office." JJ was not pleased with the turn of events. She was supposed to have the day off and enjoying her date with the woman who had been haunting her since she first saw her.
Emily placed her hand on top of JJ's, "Hey, it's no big deal. You'll just owe me another date," she smiled broadly and JJ couldn't help but smile back.
"Well, this one did get interrupted so it seems only fair…" They both got up off the swings and started walking back towards the park entrance.
"You know, I could call a cab to come get me. We don't exactly live near each other and there's no way you'll be able to change and be there in twenty minutes if you have to drop me off at home." Emily pointed out.
JJ shook her head, "No, I couldn't do that to you Em. I picked you up and I'll drop you off."
Emily shook her head, "Seriously, it's not a problem. Besides, I already called for a cab; it should be here in about five minutes."
"How did you get a cab without me knowing?" JJ hadn't even seen Emily on her phone.
"There's an app for that," she said cheekily.
JJ stood with Emily outside while they waited for the cab to pull up, figuring it was the least she could do seeing as how it was her fault their date and subsequently their kiss got cut short.
As the blonde stood there, she made sure to find a way to give Hotch hell for his terribly timed phone call.
Just as she started to think of ways to torture him, the cab pulled up and she reluctantly watched Emily start to walk towards it.
"So, date number two?" JJ asked, needing to confirm that there would, in fact, be a second date.
Emily held up a finger to the cabbie, asking for a minute before walking back over to JJ. "There will most definitely be a second date, and probably a third one too, and this…"
JJ didn't even have a chance to comprehend what the last part of Emily's sentence meant because the other woman placed her hands on either side of JJ's face and closed the distance.
Their lips met and everything around them faded into the background. A shock rippled through their bodies as their lips collided; JJ's hands wound themselves in Emily's hair, pulling the doctor infinitesimally closer.
At some point, JJ's eyes had slid closed and she couldn't focus on anything other than the woman she was holding onto for dear life, feeling as though if she let go she would either melt into a puddle of goo or float off into the air.
When they broke apart, both women had smiles on their faces and a faint blush. "Goodnight, Jennifer," Emily husked, before pressing their lips together once more for a chaste kiss.
JJ stood there, her brain momentarily overloaded. "Bye," she squeaked; watching as Emily climbed into the cab and disappeared down the street.
As the blonde walked back to her car, her fingers pressed to her still tingling lips, needing to confirm that what she just experienced really did happen.
Once she was safely inside of her car, her hands gripped the steering wheel and she couldn't help the giddy excitement that flooded her system. She would definitely be getting excited about this later, but for now, she had a work to do. And she knew she wouldn't be able to fully appreciate what just happened until this case was over and done with.
