Waking up in someone else's company was…interesting, to say the least—at least on Emily's part. It was easy to fall into the habit of sleeping next to someone when there was already a foundation of comfort there, but it was shockingly easy to lay down beside JJ and just relax.

Relaxation was not always something Emily found especially easy to do; her mind seemed like it was always 'on' and only in the rarest of situations could she experience those fleeting moments of mental white noise.

So it was a shock to be able to share a bed with someone and not feel the need to over think every single movement or motion, to not have to psychoanalyze what it would mean or the consequences. There was that underlying layer of comfort that Emily reveled in.

It was that odd level of comfort and fearless ability to engage physically, at least in order to win a bet—though Emily could tell that the lines that separated the bet from something more could be easily muddled and tangled— that made it all too easy to slip into the idea of the two being in a relationship.

Plus, it didn't hurt that Emily was the more logical of the two, leaning more towards tangible facts rather than relying on emotions. Too many of her emotions tended to get buried and pushed aside for her to really rely on the accuracy of them or to feel comfortable making a decision based solely on them.

Which is why it stood to reason that a relationship between them was basically just friendship combined with intimacy and exclusivity. That was something Emily could easily agree to.

It's not like men — or women if her ease and willingness to enter into a relationship with JJ was anything to go by — were lining up to date her. Who would want to be with someone who could at any moment need to just up and leave for days at a time? To be with someone who had a dangerous job that required the need to wait by the phone, to stay at home and wonder if that was the day she wouldn't be coming home? Relationships were hard enough as it is, adding in Emily's profession only complicated matters.

So in that sense, Emily could see the promise the temporary relationship offered.

But the fact remained that the profiler was in it to win it and if she needed to wine and dine the blonde to achieve the desired outcome, she would do it. She was far too competitive to lose to the worst gloaters in the world—Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan.

With that thought firmly ensconced in her mind, Emily slowly slid out of the bed and went through her morning routine before making her way downstairs to prepare breakfast.


Just as the bacon was beginning to crisp, Emily heard the telltale signs of JJ's approach. The stairs creaked quietly as the blonde descended the steps and lazily made her way into the kitchen, her eyes closed as she inhaled the scent of coffee, bacon and fried eggs.

"Breakfast?" The media liaison asked as she made to prepare her ritualized steaming cup of coffee.

"Yeah," Emily responded distractedly, her mind focused on plating the food and setting it on the table.

"I didn't know one of the perks of this bet was getting made breakfast," the blonde mentioned offhandedly, already taking her seat at the table.

"I offer a plethora of services," the profiler said cheekily, her statement meant to be innocent but the inflection in her voice and the devilish glint in her eyes making the blonde think otherwise. "Some you'll be discovering very soon."

JJ, choked on her mouthful of coffee, staring wide eyed at Emily.

The profiler, for her part, just took her seat at the table and began to read the newspaper while occasionally taking bites of her food, completely unfazed by JJ's shock at the comment.

As Emily continued to eat her food and read the paper, JJ sat rigidly in her seat and pondered over the implications of her actions with Emily the night before and the hidden meaning in the words she had just muttered.

It seemed no matter how casual and relaxed she tried to be with this situation, a niggling sense of worry always resurfaced. And when given the chance, her mind broke things down until she was left feeling out of her element and slightly uncomfortable.

"JJ, shut up." Emily said calmly but sternly, never lifting her gaze from the newspaper in her hands. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible." She added as an afterthought, before taking a bite of her food.

"I didn't say anything," JJ responded confusedly, her eyebrows knit together as she tried to figure out if she had accidentally voiced her thoughts aloud.

"You didn't have to," Emily groused, still focused on the article she was reading. "I can hear your obnoxiously loud thoughts from here."

Peeved at the comment, JJ huffed and went back to eating, choosing not to respond to Emily's comment.

Sensing no resolution in the near future, Emily dropped her fork onto her plate and slowly folded her newspaper. "Okay, what's the problem?" The profiler asked, sounding only slightly exasperated at the need to pull the information from the blonde, knowing that if she didn't address whatever the problem was, that it would only lead to trouble later.

Shuffling the food around on her plate, JJ quickly shoved a forkful into her mouth to avoid answering the question; or to at least buy her some more time to mull over what she wanted to say.

Emily watched as JJ slowly chewed her food, wondering if the blonde would employ the thirty-two chew rule just to get out of saying whatever was on her mind.

Swallowing her food, unable to chew it anymore, JJ took a long a measured sip of her coffee before turning towards Emily.

"Oh my God, JJ," Emily finally said, her humor at the pained expression on JJ's face evident in her barely suppressed laughter. "Stop looking like I'm going to yank your teeth out." The profiler shook her head in disbelief, "I only asked a question."

"How can you act so normally?" The blonde blurted out, her finger suddenly pointed accusingly at Emily.

"Uh," The profiler dragged out, her eyebrows practically disappearing into her hairline as she struggled to see the problem. "Should I be acting differently?" She said slowly, eyes focused on JJ as she asked the tentative question.

JJ, not understanding how Emily could forget their behavior from the night before, could only gape at the other woman. "Are you serious?"

Emily, still having no idea what the hell JJ was going on about, just continued to stare back blankly. "This must be how guys feel in a relationship," Emily mused quietly, now understanding why men in relationships complained about not understanding what their girlfriends were freaking out about. Because as it stood, Emily had no idea what JJ was having an embolism over.

"Jen, we're close and all, and most of the time I can guess what you're thinking or trying to say but right now I don't have a damn clue." Emily said truthfully, her wry smirk returning at her next words. "Unless the rest of your sentence was cut off because you hit a frequency that only dogs can hear, because honestly Jen, that was surprisingly high pitched."

"It was not!" JJ snapped, even more annoyed with Emily for trying to make a joke when the blonde was clearly overwhelmed. "And stop acting so...casually!"

Snorting in amusement, Emily waved off JJ's comment. "And what, pray-tell, am I acting casual over?"

Narrowing her eyes at Emily's nonchalance, JJ glared at the other woman. "Everything."

"Everything?" Emily questioned, her smirk disappearing as she struggled to understand just what it was that JJ was complaining about. "What's 'everything'?"

"This," JJ waved her hand between them, "Last night, when we were dancing," she exclaimed, her blue eyes blazing as she waited for Emily to catch on. "The kisses, the groping, the way we were practically dry humping on the dance floor last night!" The blonde hissed, her cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment at the last point.

Emily's mouth dropped open in a silent 'O' as she finally grasped what JJ was complaining about. "So, no dirty dancing then?" The profiler asked calmly and seriously.

"No dirty dancing?!" JJ shouted, torn between yanking her hair out in frustration and slapping some sense into Emily. "Are you purposely missing my point?"

Realizing she was the only one amused by the conversation, Emily attempted to sober up and address JJ concerns seriously.

"Sorry," she muttered, though both women knew she wasn't all that apologetic. "But I'm failing to see the problem here. What exactly has you so worked up?"

"All of it!" JJ exclaimed again, wondering why Emily was being so dense over things when not so long ago she was voicing the same concerns.

"I thought you were fine with all of this?" Emily asked, slightly exasperated with the way JJ was being so wishy-washy. Honestly, the whole thing was on JJ anyway, at least Emily had the decency to point out all the freak-out worthy things before the bet started; JJ was just being ridiculous waiting until they were on their third day to have her melt down.

"When I mentioned the hand holding, the kissing, the intimacy, you were all like, 'Oh my God, Em, we do that stuff all the time! We're practically girlfriends as it is!" Emily mimicked in an overly high pitched voice, her hands fluttering in the air as she did the poorest imitation of JJ possible. "And we're both extremely attractive and would make a beautiful power couple. I'm a media liaison and you are the embodiment of perfection, what with your mastery of various languages, unparalleled beauty and overall level of awesomeness." Her imitation continued as she pretended to dramatically swoon during her description, her eyelashes fluttering and her hands clasped gently over her chest.

"First of all," JJ grumbled, "I sound nothing like that. I don't even think it's possible for my voice to go that high." The blonde, noticing the devilish smirk on Emily's lips and the no doubt unnecessarily dirty comment or joke about ready to be said, immediately cut her off. "Don't even say it!"

Emily's mouth snapped shut, the sound of her jaw slamming shut echoing in the otherwise silent room.

"And I said that we do most of the couple-ish things already. But it's easier to say that stuff when you aren't so caught up in the moment that you're practically dry humping your dance partner," JJ snarled, her usually calm attitude fizzling away as she got to what had really been bugging her.

"That's what's got you so worked up?" Emily asked quickly before JJ's fiery look had her clearing her throat unnecessarily. "Sorry," she said quietly, her eyes averted so as not to upset the blonde any more. "But that's what you're freaking out over? How we danced last night?"

JJ, still not getting how Emily was acting so calmly and rationally, could only gape at the profiler. "Of course that's what I'm freaking out over! Who knows how much further things would have gone if Garcia hadn't dragged us out of there."

At that, Emily snorted, her chuckle throaty and completely inelegant. "You can't be serious," the profiler said between laughs. "Do you honestly think that little of my self-control? We were dancing, not having sex. There was no way I was going to let things escalate that far."

"You can't know for sure," JJ challenged, her face steely with determination even though deep down, she knew Emily was right.

"I can know that for sure." The profiler responded just as confidently, her eye roll a given as she returned to her breakfast. "Besides, why are you freaking out about this stuff anyways? Aren't you supposed to be one the who's trying to get me to relax?"

"I would, if you didn't seem so at ease with it all," the blonde muttered petulantly, mirroring Emily's actions and returning to her breakfast.

"It's not that I'm at ease," Emily stated casually and slowly, measuring her words as she tried to phrase it in the right way. "I've just surrendered myself to the inevitable. You should try it."

"Surrendered yourself to the inevitable?" JJ parroted, her puzzlement evident as she tried to figure out just what the hell Emily was talking about. "Are you saying that us getting together was inevitable?"

"Stop being so literal," Emily sighed, once again waving the blonde off. "All I mean is that we've locked ourselves into this bet so there's no point in getting squeamish and over-thinking things that we can't do much about. Neither of us are willing to forfeit, so we have to resign ourselves to the inevitable." The profiler shrugged, the motion clearly saying 'what can you do?'.

"So you're telling me, the stoic and slightly uptight Emily Prentiss is perfectly fine being intimate with another woman? Her best friend?" JJ questioned, making sure all her bases were covered.

Shrugging again — a movement that was beginning to grate on JJ's nerves — Emily swallowed her food and nodded, "Basically, yeah." The raven haired woman tilted her head in contemplation, "I mean, as far as compatibility goes, we're a pretty solid match. Our jobs are the same, we've known each other for years, we're best friends and if the last few days are anything to go by, breaking through the physical barrier isn't all that hard."

"Is this your way of saying you want to date me for real?" JJ questioned, curious as to what Emily had spiked her coffee with to make her come up with such crazy ideas and notions.

"Jareau, you're so full of yourself!" Emily said in shock, her face scrunched up as she contemplated months if not years of what JJ was currently putting her through. "We're only on our third day and I feel like we've processed our feelings at least twice a day since then. If you're this high maintenance, then no. I'm just saying that I'm not going to act squeamish an withdrawn during the next eleven days."

"I'm not high maintenance," the media liaison countered, indignant at the accusation. "I just like to talk things out instead of letting them build up, sue me."

"You are the epitome of a lesbian cliché, Jen." Emily said breezily, unfolding her newspaper and beginning to reread the article from earlier.

"What, just because I want to talk things out?" JJ asked, narrowing her eyes challengingly at Emily, despite the fact that the profiler couldn't see her.

Emily put down the paper and held up her index finger, "You asked me to move in before our first official date," her middle finger went up, "you feel the need to constantly discuss feelings." Her ring finger went up as she ticked off the third thing, "And I can already tell you're going to need to process and talk about every single thing we do, like dancing or holding hands and figure out what it means in the grand scheme of things." Her pinky finger rose as she rolled her eyes skyward and tried to think of a fourth thing. "I'm sure there are others, but they aren't really coming to mind, so that's all I have for now."

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, "Either way, you're kind of a cliché so stop over thinking things and just enjoy the ride." Emily eyed the blonde for a second, "Worse case scenario, you made out with your best friend for two weeks, best case scenario, we win the bet and get a free dinner."

"Who are you and what have you done to my friend Emily Prentiss?" JJ asked seriously, still not seeing how Emily could have such an abrupt change in opinion on the matter. Just a few days ago she was about five seconds from a panic attack about kissing, and now she was practically devouring JJ on the dance floor. It wasn't really adding up for the blonde.

Emily rolled her eyes again, sighing in annoyance at the sudden emergence of JJ's thick skull. "I've already said. I'm not going to panic about every little thing we do and neither should you. This is supposed to be fun and if you spent every second worrying about what us holding hands or kissing means, you're going to be miserable. So shut up and stop being a whiney girlfriend."

JJ, not entirely used to this carefree take-charge attitude Emily was employing, could only nod and go with the flow.

"Okay, one condition though, Emily." The blonde said, her tone suddenly serious as her blue eyes stared into Emily's brown ones.

Hesitantly, Emily nodded, "Okay, what is it?"

"You have to promise not to fall in love with me," JJ said suddenly, her solemn gaze still on the profiler, her voice shockingly serious.

"Uh" Emily floundered, unsure where that was coming from and not entirely sure how to respond. "Okay?" She finally settled on, her response coming out as a question.

"Really?" JJ practically shouted, lightly smacking Emily in the arm as she tried to read if the profiler's puzzlement was genuine or not. "A Walk to Remember?"

Pursing her lips and shaking her head slowly, Emily continued to stare at the blonde. "That's a movie, right?"

Sighing in exasperation, JJ's head shook sadly, "Garcia would have gotten that reference."

Grabbing her phone and pretending to dial the number, Emily smirked and let her finger hover over the button to start the call, "I'm sure she'd be more than willing to swap. After our dance last night, I'm sure Morgan would be on board too."

As her finger moved slowly downward, just millimeters from starting the call, JJ slapped her hand away and snatched the phone. "No, nu-uh, no way," the blonde said vehemently, her head shaking wildly. "There is no way I'm swapping you out for Penelope, especially not after what she started telling me yesterday." JJ visibly shuddered, her face screwing up in mild disgust and fear.

"Don't be so melodramatic Jen," Emily chided, making a feeble attempt to get her phone back, "Garcia would do wonders for you. She'd have you embracing lesbianism before you even knew what was happening."

"Embracing lesbianism?" JJ repeated, dragging out each word as if she couldn't understand what they meant. "There has to be a connection for it to be considered a lesbian relationship, though, right?"

Rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time, Emily snatched her phone back and started to place her dishes in the sink. "I wasn't being serious, Jen. But knowing Garcia, she would consider it a challenge to make you engage intimately with her. She kind of a sex fiend."

"Too much info, Em," JJ quickly said, only seconds away from jamming her fingers into her ears to block out any further comments on Penelope's wild and raunchy sex life.

"Whatever you say, Pooky Bear," Emily said dismissively, taking the moment to try out one of the many over the top pet names she had come up with for JJ.

It took a moment for JJ to realize what Emily had called her, but after it finally registered in her head, she snapped her head up and glared at the profiler. "What did you just call me?"

Quirking an eyebrow and smiling devilishly, Emily quickly adopted an innocent look, her shoulders raising and falling as she tried to pass the name off as casual as possible. "Pooky Bear?"

"Where the hell did that come from?" Not entirely opposed to nick names, JJ wasn't all that willing to accept a name as ridiculous as Pooky Bear.

"I dunno," the profiler responded, having pretended to think it over despite having been brainstorming possible names since the bet had started. "But, fun fact, I'm pretty sure he's the teddy bear Garfield used to have."

"You named me after a fat cartoon cat's stuffed animal?" the blonde asked incredulously.

Emily, not sure what JJ's problem with the name was, could only stare. "Well, no. I didn't know that was the teddy bears name until after I picked the name. But if you want, I can pick a different one."

"I don't want a pet name, Emily."

Ignoring JJ's comment, Emily started to list off as many names as she could remember. "Sweetie is a little bland and Garcia has it practically trademarked so that's out. So is Pumpkin, but I'd never call a significant other that, it sounds a little too childish. How about snookums?"

Affronted by the suggestion, the blonde emphatically shook her head, "No way. That's just as bad a Pooky Bear."

Sighing in faux annoyance, Emily leveled an unimpressed stare at the blonde, "If you don't like it then suggest something you would, otherwise I'm just going to pick one and stick with it."

Unperturbed by the threat, JJ squared her shoulders and prepared to leave the area. "If that's how we're going to play it then that means I'll get free reign on the pet name for you and trust me Em, you won't like what I choose or how often I employ it."

Unwilling to back down but not entirely willing to test the truth of JJ's threat, Emily straightened her back and prepared to follow the blonde out of the room. "Fine, we'll put a pin in this, but trust me, by the time our two weeks is up, you'll have a pet name."

JJ's response was to simply laugh at the persistent profiler, knowing full well that they would both probably have names for one another and positive neither would entirely enjoy them. "You keep telling yourself that, Em."

Narrowing her eyes at the condescending tone, Emily huffed quietly and stopped trailing behind the blonde. "I will," she grumbled petulantly, idly wondering why being around JJ so much was reducing her to childish tendencies.


As the day wore on and the need to get out and do something was growing, Emily decided to drag the blonde somewhere where she would be comfortable and in her element.

"Hurry up and get down here, JJ" Emily shouted from the bottom of the stairs, giving herself the once over in the mirror as she waited. The profiler, clad in a plain black v-neck, a pair of jeans and gym shoes, tapped her foot impatiently as the blonde took her sweet time getting ready.

"Seriously, Jen, hurry up! How hard is it to throw on a pair of jeans and a shirt?" Emily once again shouted, wanting to beat the probably nonexistent rush to their destination. It wasn't like they were going to an extremely popular place or would be fighting crowds of people.

"Calm down," JJ said suddenly as she made her way down the stairs. "It's not like we need to rush."

"Yeah, well," Emily started to say, her attention momentarily diverted as she looked at the blonde in her casual attire. Looking at her with minimal makeup, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and sporting jeans and a t-shirt, Emily thought, not for the first time, that there was little to nothing JJ couldn't pull off. Quite honestly, JJ looked stunning, especially when she wore blue shirts that made her eyes look infinitesimally deeper and bluer.

"We, uh, we should go," Emily muttered, her eyes quickly averting so as to not get caught staring again. With JJ still being a little skittish, it wouldn't do to be caught openly appraising her outfit.

"Yeah, definitely," JJ responded, just as dazed as Emily had been. The blonde had been out with Emily countless times before, they had seen one another in ratty sweats for their lazy nights and also dressed up and ready to hit the town, but no matter what the profiler wore, she always seemed to make it look elegant. Though this time, dressed casually, JJ couldn't help but think Emily looked even more beautiful. It was her relaxed expression and sudden openness that made JJ do a double take, her mind starting to go places she wasn't entirely sure she wanted it to go.

Shaking the thoughts away, JJ grabbed her bag and followed the profiler out the door.


Smiling widely, JJ rushed up to the line, her arm swinging backward before she swung it forwards and sent the ball in her hand flying down the lane.

Emily sat at the computer, her pride long since dead as she punched in JJ's score for the round—yet another strike.

The profiler knew she was going to be terrible at this game, having only played it a handful of times and never having scored above a fifty, but she didn't think she would be this bad at the game.

It probably didn't help that JJ seemed to be a professional bowler, having divulged after the first frame that she often spent her free time as a kid either bowling or playing soccer.

As the blonde sauntered back to the chairs, a wide and overly (though completely justified) cocky grin on her face, Emily felt the need to defend what little dignity and pride she had left. "Just you wait until I'm warmed up Jareau."

JJ, completely unfazed by the profilers words, shrugged her shoulders and widened her smile. "Exactly how many more games until you're warmed up, Em? Because we're on our third game and so far, you've gotten progressively worse."

"I just haven't found my groove yet," Emily retorted as she grabbed her newly acquired ball and approached the line just before the lane. "Watch how it's done, Jareau," Emily taunted, so caught up in defending her pride that she momentarily forgot just how terrible she was at the sport.

"I'm watching," JJ replied, amusement evident in her voice and expression as she witnessed the profiler toss the bowling ball down the lane.

Both women kept their eyes glued on the black ball as it slowly rolled down the lane before veering to the left and solidly landing in the gutter. Resisting the urge to swear or will the ground to swallow her up, Emily reluctantly turned around and once again came face to face with the overconfident blonde.

"Wow, you sure showed me," JJ taunted, making sure to exaggerate her movements as she entered Emily's score of zero. "Can't wait to see your unparalleled skills for this next throw."

"I hate you," Emily grumbled, once again grabbing her newly returned ball and swiftly approaching the throw line. With more force than last time, the profiler swung the ball, watching with barely hidden hope as it rolled quickly down the lane before veering once again to the left.

The profiler nearly pumped her fist in joy as the ball knocked down five of the pins, having learned to appreciate whatever score she could get.

"Way to go, Em," JJ said genuinely, finding the sight of Emily just then almost too adorable to mock. Almost being the key word. "In about ten more games, you might actually come close to beating me."

Huffing in annoyance, her joy short-lived, Emily took her seat behind the computer and prepared to punch in yet another one of JJ's inevitable strikes. "I hope you get a gutterball."

"Please," JJ said breezily as she reared her arm back and released the ball, not even bothering to watch it as it rolled down the lane. "I never get gutterballs, that's all you Emily."

The sound of pins clattering echoed behind the blonde and she involuntarily smiled.

Emily smacked her head into the table, wondering just how much humiliation was worth the knowledge that JJ wasn't obsessing on the bet.

As the profiler bit her tongue and grabbed her ball, she was shocked to find JJ following behind her as they approached the throw line. "If you're going to mock my terrible bowling skills, I only ask that you do it from at least five feet away. No need to destroy what's left of my shriveled and battered dignity Jen."

Ignoring the words, JJ's hand wrapped around Emily's wrist as she slowly guided the profiler's arm into the correct position. "Relax your arm," JJ instructed, her grip tightening just a fraction as she straightened out Emily's wrist.

Slowly, she pulled Emily's arm down and back, showing the profiler the best way to throw the ball so it would go straight and keep from skewing to the side like it had done so many times before. "Keep your wrist straight and try to aim for the middle pin."

Emily, unaccustomed to being walked through things, having always been too stubborn to ask for help, found herself only half processing the advice, all too caught up in the proximity of the other woman.

Nodding dumbly, the profiler took a much needed step away from JJ, her brain suddenly less foggy and her breathing returning to normal.

Swinging her arm back and doing her best to keep her wrist straight, Emily lined the throw up and tossed the ball down the lane, watching with curiosity as it followed a straight path down and collided into the middle pin. As the middle pin tumbled, the pins surrounding it fell like dominos until none of them were left standing.

"Congrats, Em!" JJ said excitedly, immediately wrapping the profiler in a hug.

"Thanks," Emily mumbled, wondering why she was suddenly feeling like an awkward teenager. Playing a game that she was terrible at had clearly taken away some of her ever-present confidence and she could only hope that when their date rolled around, she wouldn't feel like such a blundering dork.

"Seriously, Em," JJ said as they approached the computer to enter the score, "that was great."

The sudden seriousness of JJ's words made Emily think she was being complimented on something other than her improved bowling ability, but rather than dwell on it, she simply nodded and prepared to fetch a new pitcher of beer.

One pizza and three additional games later, the two women were calling it a day and heading back to their shared home. "I had fun tonight," JJ said quietly, surprised to have forgotten just how much fun bowling could be.

"I'm glad," Emily responded, smiling softly as they made their way to the car. "But it'll be nothing compared to our first date."

"That confident?" JJ asked after a moment, having partly believed that outing to have been their first date.

"Completely," Emily replied easily, having already come up with a list of things she wanted to do for her planned date. JJ wasn't going to know what hit her.

"I'm looking forward to it," the blonde said, her curiosity piqued as she tried to imagine just what an Emily Prentiss planned date would consist of.

Choosing not to reply, Emily simply nodded her agreement, completely confident in her ability to knock JJ's socks off once their date night arrived.