A/N: I am so, so sorry it's taking me so long to post, but I've had a lot on my plate and I had writer's block like you wouldn't believe. Try as I might, I just could not figure out what to write for this chapter. Took me a while to come up with this, but I think it works with what I have planned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.


JJ had been gone for almost an hour by the time Reid finally put down his pen, finished with his paperwork for the day. Morgan looked over at Reid from his own desk and grinned.

"You took your sweet time today, kid," he laughed. Normally Reid would be finished hours before Morgan and Prentiss were even close, but Reid had had thoughts of a certain woman on his mind.

"I still finished before you did," Reid retorted, gesturing towards the still-uncompleted stack of files on Morgan's desk.

Morgan gave an exaggerated grimace in agreement with Reid's words. "I'm gonna be here all night…" he groaned.

Over at her own desk, Prentiss smirked as she finished her last file. This, the banter between the team, was what she would've missed the most if she had left. They were like a family. No, they were a family. "Aw, poor Morgan here all by himself!" she teased.

Morgan sighed, looking between his paperwork and the door before making a decision and dropping his pencil onto his desk. "I give up," he announced. "I can't concentrate anymore. I'm either going to leave this until the morning, or slip it onto Reid's desk when he isn't looking."

"Hey!" Reid exclaimed, affronted. "It's your paperwork- you should do it!"

"Oh, come on, Reid," Prentiss laughed. "We do it all the time."

"I know you do," Reid sighed, but then a slight smirk appeared on his face. "And I still finished before you guys. Although that might have something to do with the fact that whenever you slip me your files, JJ gives you two extras when you're not looking."

Prentiss and Morgan were shocked by Reid's words; they had no idea that JJ had been doing that. "Seriously?" said Morgan. "Why does she do that?"

"I don't know," said Reid absently, knowing full well the answer to that question. "She feels sorry for me when you give me extra files, I guess." In his head Reid added, She does it because she cares, and she doesn't find it fair that I always ending doing more work than you two. She does it because she loves me.

Prentiss shook her head. "Ah, our JJ," she said wistfully. "Well since you're done, Morgan, you up for hitting a club?"

Morgan grinned. "Why Prentiss, I thought you'd never ask." He turned to look at Reid. "What about you, pretty boy?" he asked. "You wanna join us?"

"Nah," Reid answered, shaking his head. "I don't think I will."

"I'm sure Garcia will be joining us, too," Prentiss added. "And you never come out with us, Reid."

"I know I don't," Reid agreed, "And usually it's because clubs aren't my thing. But I have plans tonight."

"Come on, Reid, what's your real reason for not joining us?" Morgan pressed.

"I'm serious, Morgan," said Reid, and his two fellow agents could tell by his face that he was. "I honestly have plans tonight."

"Well, well, pretty boy," Morgan chuckled. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Reid blanched. "N-n-no, nothing like that!" he stammered quickly. "I'm not just going out with some random woman!"

Prentiss laughed. "Come on, Morgan, leave him alone," she chided. "This is Reid we're talking about, after all. He wouldn't do something like that. Now you, on the other hand…"

"Oh ouch, Prentiss," said Morgan jokingly, putting a hand over his heart. "That one hurt!" He turned back to face Reid. "So you're not coming with us, then?"

Reid shook his head. "Sorry, Morgan," he replied. "Have fun, though." And with his mind clearly on other things, Reid slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and walked out of the bullpen.

"You ever get the feeling he's keeping something from us?" Prentiss asked Morgan once Reid had left.

Morgan laughed. "This is Reid we're talking about, Prentiss. Do you think he could really keep something like that from us? We are profilers, after all."

"Touché, my friend," said Prentiss. "I'll go get Garcia, 'kay?" As Prentiss walked away towards Garcia's lair, Morgan really thought about her question. He hadn't been totally honest when he had answered her. It was difficult for Reid to lie to them- but he wasn't lying to them. He just wasn't saying anything.

When Morgan really looked back, he realised that Reid had been acting differently lately. It wasn't like after he'd been kidnapped, when the team had known he was heading downhill. Morgan knew that there was nothing wrong- but he also knew that something had changed in Reid's life. And he was beginning to have an idea of what that something might be.


Reid drove into JJ's driveway about twenty minutes later, his body thrumming with a strange feeling of nervous anticipation. He didn't know what, but he knew that something was going to happen that night. The feeling had been dogging him ever since JJ had left work that day, and he knew that it wasn't going to leave him alone- just as he knew that that night was going to be big.

That familiar feeling of happiness and warmth filled Reid when the front door opened and he caught sight of JJ's beaming face. "What took you so long?" she said with a smile.

"I had to finish my paperwork," Reid replied, stepping into the house and wrapping his arms around JJ. "And Morgan and Prentiss waylaid me, tried to talk me into going to a club with them and JJ."

"And you didn't go with them?" said JJ, slowly snaking her arms around Reid's waist.

"I had a much better offer, actually," Reid smiled, lowering his face towards JJ's and kissing her softly. "I've spent the last few days, while we were in Salt Lake City, worrying about Hotch, Prentiss, and Gideon, thinking that I was the reason they left. That was stupid, I know- I know now that they'd never leave this job because of me. I should never have thought that they did, it was just after everything I went through, and then that dream, I-"

"Spence, stop!" said JJ, looking Reid in the eye and cutting off his rambling. "Yes, you shouldn't have been blaming yourself, because it wasn't your fault and it never would be. But I don't blame you, after everything you went through. You were still so raw, still recovering properly, so for them to leave… and then you had that dream. But they're back, and I'm never leaving. So you have nothing to worry about."

Reid smiled and stepped even closer to JJ, kissing her again. "I know that now," he said. "You're not going to leave me."

"I'm not going to leave you," JJ confirmed with certainty. "I'm never going to leave you." The couple kissed again. And kissed, and kissed, and kissed… Reid found himself unable to stop, unable to remove his lips from JJ's for any reason other than to catch his breath, and even then for only the briefest of seconds. He had one hand in the small of her back, and one in her sweet-smelling hair… JJ pressed herself again Reid, wanting him. Needing him.

Reid's hands slowly drifted from their positions, stopping at JJ's stomach. He then slowly and cautiously slid them under her shirt, feeling her soft delicate skin.

JJ froze, when she felt Reid's touch on her bare skin. Reid had never done this before, never gone this far… never been so close to her.

Reid looked down into JJ's eyes. "If you… if you want me to stop, you can just tell me," he whispered.

"I don't want you to stop," said JJ instantly. Reid stared at her for a moment, starting into her eyes, seeing her sincerity starting back at him. "Take my shirt off me," she whispered to him. Reid hesitated a moment before doing what JJ had suggested, his movements slow but sure. Soon her shirt was over her head, and had been lightly tossed to one side. Reid was drinking in the look of her, like he would never see this again. Sure they had changed in front of each other, but Reid had never really looked.

Suddenly JJ reached forward and removed Reid's tie, tossing it aside before quickly working on his vest. When her hands found the buttons of his shirt, she paused. "Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?" she said. Reid nodded, and JJ began to ever so slowly undo every last button on Reid's shirt, before dropping it on the floor with his vest. Reid shivered as JJ's hands ghosted across his naked chest, but he didn't move from her touch.

Unexpectedly, to both JJ and Reid, the genius reached out and placed both hands on JJ's waist, playing with the top of her pants. He looked at her, the question in his eye. She nodded to him, so he rather clumsily undid her buckle, and it wasn't long until JJ was standing there in nothing but her underwear. Almost as soon as the words "now me" had left Reid's lips, JJ had removed his pants as well. The two of them stood there, almost naked, and it wasn't long before they were kissing again. But it was different than before. Something had changed. The immense love that they felt for each other was still there, but with a fierceness and passion they had never felt before. Their kisses had never been this intense before.

Do you… do you want to go to bed?" Reid asked timidly, cautiously.

JJ looked at him, shocked. "Are you sure?" she asked. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"I do want to," said Reid. "I want you so much, JJ. I love you. I'm ready." Reid hesitated for the briefest of seconds before speaking again. "It's just… thinking the others were gone forever, made me think about what would happen if I lost you. And I just couldn't face that. That's when I realised I was ready."

JJ nodded and took a few steps away from Reid, stopping with her hand outstretched. "Come with me then," she whispered, a gentle yet suggestive tone to her voice. Reid nodded, no thought in his mind other than JJ when he reached his own hand out and took hers. She led him towards her bedroom and then lay down on her bed, beckoning to him. Without a moment's hesitation Reid went to her, his lips meeting hers in an intense and lingering kiss.

It was a long while later when Reid and JJ were just lying in bed, their bodies covering in a sheen of sweat, feeling exhausted yet incredibly happy. It was still unbelievable to Reid that JJ was his in every way.

Reid rolled onto his side, so he was facing JJ. He reached out and placed a hand tenderly against her cheek. "My beautiful JJ," he said. "You are… amazing."

"You're not so bad yourself," said JJ with a smile. "And here I was, thinking that the reason you weren't ready to have sex with me was because you were bad in bed. Boy was I wrong."

"I just wanted to make you happy," Reid said simply.

"You did," JJ assured him. "You did in every way. I want you to know that."

Reid shifted, pulling JJ into his arms. "I love you, Jennifer Jareau. My beautiful, beautiful JJ."

"I love you too, Spencer Reid," JJ replied. My sweet, amazing Spence. My everything."

"You do realise we're going to be tired in the morning?" Reid pointed out. "And sore. Well, at least in my case. I may not be a virgin, but I certainly don't have much experience."

JJ laughed. "Don't worry, Spencer," she said. "It's been a while since my last time, too. I like to think that I was saving my next time for you." JJ nestled into Reid's naked chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Reid was unable to stop himself from letting out a small yawn and he closed his eyes, burying his face in JJ's hair. "Goodnight, JJ," he said sleepily.

"Goodnight, Spencer," JJ murmured back. And it wasn't long until the two agents were swept into a peaceful sleep by their exhaustion.


A/N: So there you have it! Reid finally felt he was ready to give JJ all of him :P So what did you think? Love, hate, meh? Please review and tell me what you thought!