Chapter Seven

"I think-I think when it's all over, it just comes back in flashes, you know? It's like a kaleidoscope of memories. It just all comes back. But he never does. I think part of me knew the second I saw him that this would happen. It's not really anything he said or anything he did, it was the feeling that came along with it. And the crazy thing is I don't know if I'm ever gonna feel that way again. But I don't know if I should…" Taylor Swift

"Sor-ray...I'm sor-ray, baby...I'm sorry, baby...Ye-ah, I am sorry."

Morgan looked at the blonde and shook his head. He was glad that Garcia and JJ had come out with him after the case, but this was another side of JJ that he hadn't seen in the years that they had been working together. When he turned to say something to Garcia, he noticed that she had been recording the smaller blonde on her iPhone.

"This is new," he stated.

"What's new?" Reid asked from his side of their table.

"JJ singing," Morgan replied.

"Not really," Reid and Garcia stalled together.

"What do you mean not really?" Morgan asked as JJ rejoined them at the table.

"She's been doing karaoke since we got back from London," Reid told him.

"And, this is the first time than I've heard it?" Morgan asked them upset than JJ had sung for him yet.

"I have to be in the mood. Besides Reid und Garcia stumbled into the bar I was singing at one night, so don't be mad at them for you not knowing about it. It wasn't something that I was broadcasting," JJ told him and then picked up her beer taking a long pull.

"So, just randomly after some cases you go out and sing?"

"Yup," she replied talking another pull of her beer.

"Well, alright. You'll let me know next time, right? I might join you on stage," Morgan told her.

"You do that my Chocolate Thunder and I better be there," Garcia replied.

They all laughed. It had been a tough case and they were all tired. They needed the time to unwind and JJ needed to let loose a little. Reid and Garcia were surprised that she even agreed to go out with them. Usually when they got hack, she went straight home to see what new information had come in about Emily. But, not tonight, tonight she was different, lighter somehow.

Reid and Garcia shared a knowing look. They were silently happy that JJ had agreed to come out and then go back to Garcia's for the night. JJ needed the break from everything. They were even more surprised that she agreed to let Reid babysit Henry after they got done since they had the next day off.

"What time does Jessica leave?" Reid asked JJ leaning over to hear her.

"She has class in the morning at nine, so I told her that you'd be there a little after midnight.

Reid looked at his watch. It was barely ten thirty. He looked up all JJ and smiled, grabbed his drink and finished it. He then stood grabbed all the empty glasses and bottles.

"Anyone need anything?" he asked before going to the bar.

They all shook their heads "no." He awkwardly made his way to the bar with a goofy smile on his face. Morgan tracked him the entire way, unsure of those around them. This was the first time that he had come to this bar, but he was more relaxed because he knew that they all frequented it. He smiled as he watched Reid coming back with two beers and two sodas. He set the beer in from of JJ and Morgan and gave one of the sodas to Garcia, keeping the last one for himself.

'To friends and family," Reid toasted, looking right at JJ as he took a sip.

They all clinked glasses and repeated after the young doctor. Morgan watched them. He was trying not to profile his friends and co-workers, but there was something different about them. It was like they all had a secret to share, but they were afraid to tell him. He knew it wasn't JJ's singing. He could understand her not wanting it to get out, but this was something deeper.

He looked at the beer and mentally shook his head. She couldn't be pregnant because she was drinking. He turned and looked up into her bright blue eyes in the dim light of the bar. There was a mystery there but he couldn't pull it out of the fathoms of her sapphire depths. He sat back and watched her though. For the first time in months, she seemed more relaxed, happier even.

"What gives, JJ?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked and took a drink of her beer.

"You're happy."

"You act like I am not allowed to be happy," she countered.

"What happened?" Morgan question help as he took a pull on his beer.

She looked over at Garcia and Reid, who were both studying Morgan. She cut her eyes back all him and stared into the dark orbs trying to figure out what he was asking. She took a drink of her beer and set it down on the table before them, spinning it and playing with the label, while she thought of how to answer his cryptic but poignant question.

"What do you mean what happened? We went to California. We caught a bad guy. We came home and I wanted to go out. I called Garcia, who invited you and Reid," she told him.

Her phone dinged, but she barely heard it over the music in the bar. She felt the vibration and pulled it out of her pocket. She glanced up at Garcia, who noticed that it wasn't her work phone. She smiled at them and jumped up from the table.

"Sorry, got to take this," and walked off before Morgan could say anything in return.

"New man?" he asked Garcia.

"Nope, my beautiful, black Adonis, there is no new man in her life," Garcia told him.

"Then what was that smile about?" he asked.

"She's been looking into something," Penelope replied.

"Looking into something?" he questioned with slight anger in his voice.

"Yeah, and no, it doesn't have to do with work. Just let it go, Morgan. She's allowed to have secrets.

"As long as they don't affect work," Morgan stated still annoyed that he didn't know what it was.

"A little mystery between friends keeps things interesting," Reid added and took a long drink.

The look that Morgan gave him was murderous. He couldn't believe that they wouldn't just tell him what was making JJ so happy. The fact that Reid knew about it chapped him a little bit. He turned to Garcia hoping that he would get somewhere with her, but she just shook her head at him.

"Not going to work tonight, Sugar," Garcia told him.

"Seriously, Baby Girl?"

"As a heart attack, Morgan. When she wants us to know, she'll tell us. Until then, leave her alone."

Morgan sat back in the chair and stared at them. He didn't like not knowing. It reminded him too much of when Emily shut down because Doyle was hunting her at the time. He always kept an open ear and mind for his coworkers. He knew that they all knew he would be there for them regardless of what they had done or the situation. This was different though. This wasn't like JJ had done something. It was more like she was doing something and he didn't like it.

"Gonna give me a hint?" Morgan tried again.

"Nope," Garcia stated as she finished her soda and gave Reid a look.

Reid answered before Morgan could ask him directly, "Don't ask me. They don't tell me anything. I think at one point I was told it was because I wouldn't understand. Me, who has three doctorates, wouldn't understand what they were trying to tell me."

Morgan smiled at the younger man. He could only guess at what JJ and Garcia were talking about. He knew that the young doctor was oblivious to certain social situations, especially when it came to couples and flirting. He hoped that JJ would tell him if she had started dating someone. He would have to do something that he didn't want to do because he knew in the end that JJ would be mad at him, but he had to know that she was okay. He would follow her, tail her for a while until he figured out who the man was. Once he knew that, he would run a background check on them to make sure that they were worthy of hardened, blond agent. Garcia would kill him later for it, but if they wouldn't tell him who it was, he'd have to find out on his own.

JJ came back to the table and sat down. Her smile was a little larger than it had been when she left the table. She glanced at her watch quickly and then met Garcia's hazel eyes. She nodded and Garcia smiled back at her. She reached over and took Reid's soda and finished it.

'Well, come on, Kitten. Time to go, eh? Come on, Reid. We'll drop you off on the way," Garcia said, pulling Reid out of his seat.

"Oh, no, you can't leave me now," Morgan protested.

"We have to go, Morgan. Henry has a play date in the morning. I'm staying with Garcia so we can have a rom-com marathon and Reid is babysitting. We told you that earlier. It's almost eleven thirty. That gives us just enough time to take Reid and get back to Garcia's for the movies."

"What if I want to come with you?" Morgan asked pouting his bottom lip.

"Oh, if I only believed that you would want to stay up tonight drinking a good wine and watching Hugh Jackman strut around on my TV screen buck naked. I would let you come. Now, go home and pout. And, pray that we don't get called in tomorrow. See y'all later," Garcia said pushing JJ and Reid out in front of her before Morgan could say something else to her. They got in the car and headed back to JJ's house. On the way, the Girl's Night Out plans turned into Girl's Night at JJ's with Reid. Reid didn't mind. He wanted to get back to the maps and intel. He already knew that as soon as he got Henry to bed that he would be working their "case" until sometime in the early morning. He would sleep when Garcia and JJ came back.

They entered the house quietly. JJ paid the babysitter and asked if she could come over again the next night. Once everything was settled and JJ had kissed Henry goodnight, the three of them settled in JJ's living room with a bottle of wine. Reid sat on the floor with a map spread across the coffee table still trying to plot points. Garcia and JJ sat on the couch. JJ had her legs tucked up under as she sipped, slowly, the red wine that Garcia had picked.

"So, Kitten, what did she say?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Aimee, what did she say? She was the one that called you at the bar, right?" Garcia questioned and took a long sip of her wine.

"She did."

"So, what did she say?" Reid asked, now paying attention to the two women before him.

"She told me again where to meet them, but still didn't give me enough to find it. I know that she called it the 'Queen City' in the Northern South, but that doesn't mean anything to me. I don't know what she meant by that. Do you have any idea?" JJ asked them.

"I don't speak German, so no," Reid told her.

"I could use a translator, but it would only tell me what we already know," Garcia added.

"What do you know so far, Reid?" JJ asked, redirecting the conversation back to the case.

"No more than we had a few weeks ago. They left London for Manchester and then went to France. They left France for Canada or somewhere in New England. After that the trail goes cold somewhere around upstate New York near the border with Canada."

"Yeah, I got some sort of report of some strange murders up there. There was nothing solid to go on though. I got the case flagged in the system. The NYPD is still waiting on DNA to come back on one of the samples. But, by all accounts, it was either Aimee or Emily that was at the scene. I am doing what I can for her through Justice and our own channels but depending on what pops, they might be called to testify."

"Is that the strange case of the missing neighbors?" Garcia asked.

"Yes, I dug into deeper. I might have let the lead detective know that it was similar to another murder across the country and we were watching it. He agreed to give me all the evidenced as long as he got his perps. I told him that it wouldn't be a problem," JJ told them.

"Until it comes back at Emily or Aimee," Reid said.

"I know that. Justice is trying to figure out how to cover her for the case. They were all too happy to help when they realized who the two guys in the apartment were. I think that is what drove Aimee to contact me. Emily still doesn't know," JJ said.

"Aimee hasn't told her?" Garcia asked.

"No, she told me that Emily forbade it. She said it was something along the lines of Emily was trying to protect us all, again. You would have thought that she would have learned after Doyle that we aren't going to let her go without a fight, but she is just so damn hard-headed."

"Sounds familiar," Garcia quipped.

"Anyway," JJ replied and took a sip of wine. "I think that we should make another video. Can you help me with that, Garcia? And, Reid, there is some intel that came in from Aimee last night in the top drawer of the China hutch. Figured that you might want to go over it."

Reid nodded his ascension and reached in his pocket for the keys to the locks for JJ living room. Garcia and JJ went out to the garage to work on their newest music video. They took their wine and the bottle with them, knowing that Reid was done with the alcohol for the day.

"Girlie?"

"What, Garcia?" JJ asked, grabbing the acoustic guitar and a stool.

"You need to talk to Morgan."

"About?" JJ asked as she fiddled with a laptop to pull up a song to perform.

"Girlfriend, he is going mental about you singing tonight. He was upset that he didn't know that you have a decent set of pipes and could hold a tune. He might do something stupid if you don't let him in a little bit. He is worried about you. I think that Emily said something to him about watching over you since she wasn't going to be here."

"Why would she do that?" JJ asked her.

"You are a dense one sometimes, Love. But, seriously, you need to tell him something. We both know he'll go crazy and follow you around if you aren't careful. He is worried about you. I think that Emily said something to him about watching over you since she wasn't going to be here."

"Why would she do that?" JJ asked her.

"You are a dense one sometimes, Love. But, seriously, you need to tell him something. We both know he'll go crazy and follow you around if you aren't careful. I am not saying that you have to tell him everything, but you are going to have to give him something," Garcia told her.

"Was it that bad tonight?"

"No, but he is noticing that you are happier now that Aimee's contacted you. Kitten, we've all seen it. I know that you have come to terms with how you feel about Emily and how she feels about you. But, I know that you won't be happy truly until you see her," Garcia explained.

"That doesn't matter at the moment."

"Then what does?" Garcia asked her.

JJ stared at her. She wasn't sure anymore. She started this search in order to find Emily and make sure that she was safe. She knew that know, but she hadn't stopped the pursuit. She was still trying to get a lock on Emily, but she wasn't sure why anymore. She couldn't tell herself it was just because she wanted to make sure that Emily was safe. She needed to touch her. She needed to see her. She needed to yell and scream at her for leaving again.

"We need to talk," JJ replied quietly.

"Honey, that talk is long overdue. But, that isn't going to stop Morgan. You are going to have to give him something. He isn't going to drop it, Kitten and you know it. You're like the baby sister of everyone on the team. And, we both know how protective that Morgan is. He might be mad with you for a while, but he could help."

"You want to bring him in?" JJ asked.

"Not necessarily, but he is going to find his way in and if you don't tell him…"

"He may never trust me in the field again," JJ replied.

"Well, there's that, too."

"Fine."

"You're going to tell him."

"I don't see where I really have a choice," JJ stated.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Film me singing and then I'll deal with the Morgan issue."

Garcia just nodded. She knew that it would be for the best to bring Morgan in now, rather than later and him finding his own way into the investigation that they were running. He was known to hold a grudge and after everything that happened with Doyle and then Hastings, they knew that he wasn't going to be as forgiving the second time around.

JJ tuned the guitar and looked up at Garcia. She was waiting for the multi-colored blond to give her a thumbs up for the recording. She could only hope that Aimee understood who the songs were for and passed the information on to Emily. It was a long shot, but she didn't care. She wasn't doing this for the follows and likes on YouTube. She was doing it for the conversations that were held in secret among the comments, because in those, she knew that Emily was still alive and still fighting.

"Ready when you are," Garcia told her turning the camera to face.

JJ looked up at her and smiled. The performer inside took over and JJ played the part. Garcia would never know why JJ picked the songs she did, even though she speculated who they were for. But, she had to admit that JJ had a sultry voice and had she been of JJ's persuasion, she'd pursue her herself. Too bad, she was still hung up on Morgan, she thought to herself as JJ started to strum the guitar to some love sick country song. Garcia just sighed, smiled, and recorded.

"I knew his world moved too fast and burned too bright. But I just thought, how can the devil be pulling you toward someone who looks so much like an angel when he smiles at you? Maybe he knew that when he saw me. I guess I just lost my balance. I think that the worst part of it all wasn't losing him. It was losing me." Taylor Swift