A/N: CALLING ALL CM READERS AND AUTHORS! Join us for our first Profiler's Choice CM Awards on ! Help us choose the best of the best of the CM stories on , and let your voice be heard. Anyone with a account is eligible to nominate. Please check out the nominating ballot and rules at Chit Chat on Author's Forum at .net/topic/74868/30888142/1/. All rules and information are on the forum.
A/N: There is an Emily/JJ category for the contest above (hint, hint). It seems like a really neat idea and I think it would be amazing if everyone participated! I know I'm going to!
-IF-
The hallway was dark and deserted, but that didn't stop Derek Morgan from picking up his pace. The last thing he wanted to do was to get caught out in the open. Finally reaching the door and quietly slipping inside, the handsome profiler shut the door behind him with a soft click.
"Well hello my handsome hunk of a chocolate god," Garcia said as she remained staring at her computer screens.
"You know, I would ask how you knew it was me, but I've stopped trying to figure you out baby girl," Morgan replied with a smile in his voice as he landed heavily in the seat next to Garcia.
"You are a wise man. So to what do I owe this rare pleasure of being able to gaze upon your heavenly face and sculpted body this afternoon? What do you need?"
"What? I can't just come pay a visit to my baby girl?" When Garcia glanced over for the first time since he had been in the room with a look showing she was onto him, Morgan relented and explained the reason for his visit, "Okay fine, you win. I came to, we'll say, investigate."
"And what, pray tell, are you investigating? I know it isn't about the case since we're all going to be going over that in about forty five minutes," Garcia exclaimed as she finished what she was doing and turned to face Morgan head on.
Deciding they didn't have much time to talk, Morgan just jumped right into his reason for visiting, "Well, as I'm sure you remember from yesterday, Emily undeniably came out. And that was mainly because of your baited question. What I want to know is how you knew? And don't try to deflect and say you were just taking a wild guess. I saw your face before you asked the question, you knew Emily was gay. Either that, or you had a strong enough suspicion to trick Emily into answering you," Morgan finished. He had been itching to talk to Garcia about how much she knew since the incident had occurred, but this was the first opportunity he had gained. It was only 2:15pm so the team wouldn't be assembling until 3:00.
Garcia looked at Morgan to try and gauge what she should and should not reveal. She had a feeling he could be a strong ally to have in the effort to pair JJ and Emily up, but at the same time, she didn't want to spill JJ's secret. "And why should I tell you anything? You obviously knew she was gay also. I saw how you didn't react at all when Emily came out, which leads me to believe that you were already privy to this information. Why should I reveal my information to you, when you neglected to reveal yours to me?"
Morgan swallowed and sat a moment. He was also trying to determine how much to reveal to Garcia. As he sat in silence for a few minutes, he made the decision that the tech analyst could be trusted. He knew she would never use the information he had against Emily. He, on the other hand, would have to most likely persuade the blonde into giving him information. That shouldn't be too hard, he thought easily. "Alright, you have a point. How about this baby girl, I tell you what I know, everything I know, and in turn, you spill what you know. Deal?"
Thinking it over for a minute, Garcia had to admit she got the better end of the bargain. If what Morgan knew didn't add up to what she knew, she could refrain from sharing her side of things. Deciding to go with the offer, Garcia extended her hand, "Deal."
Shaking and letting go of Garcia's hand, Morgan sat back in his chair getting ready to find out what he needed and to tell what he knew. "I found all this out one night when it was just a very drunk Emily and me at a bar after a hard case. I guess I'll start with the obvious. Emily is gay and has been for as long as she can remember. She's never been in a relationship with a man. This includes holding hands with, kissing, flirting, etc. As far as relationships go, she's actually never really had a serious one. She's had the usual and expected fling. The only relationship she'd consider serious was when she was twenty two and living in Portugal with her mother after college. She wouldn't call that love though as it only lasted about six months."
When Morgan paused as though done telling his side of things, Garcia spoke up, "No way am I giving you any of my information if that's all you got baby cakes. I could get that out of Emily in a week, tops. You're gonna have to do better than that."
Pausing briefly, Morgan was reluctant to continue. The previous information was not something that, as she stated, Garcia couldn't finagle from the brunette herself. He had only been privileged to know even this little bit of her past because it was revealed the same drunken night Emily had come out to him. However, the next bit, he wasn't sure he should expose. It wasn't necessarily his secret to tell. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that this was for Emily's own good, the dark profiler trudged ahead. "This next bit is the part I really came in here to talk to you about. As you figured out, somehow, JJ is Emily's type."
Garcia looked incredulously at Morgan. He was coming in here with obvious truths and trying to trade what she already knew for his own profit. No way was she going to play that game, "Sweetie, you're overstating the obvious. I know JJ is Emily's type. That's how I outed her, remember? Or are those muscles getting in the way of your brain? I guess you can't always have both," Garcia joked, getting ready to end this pointless exchange.
Frustrated, Morgan relented, "No baby girl, you don't understand. JJ doesn't just fit into Emily's type. Emily's type IS JJ. As in, Emily only wants JJ. She doesn't want a blonde hair, blue eyed, feisty replacement. She wants JJ. She's apparently wanted JJ from the moment she began working here." There, he'd said it. He wasn't the only one harboring Emily's secret. He now had someone to share the load.
Garcia sat unblinkingly for a moment in her chair, just staring through Morgan. Sure, she had suspected that Emily was attracted to JJ, had even tried to convince JJ of the fact, but to hear it actually confirmed was another story entirely. "How did you…when did she…God, I don't even know where to begin," The blonde woman said as she tried to sift through her overwhelming thoughts.
"I know where you can begin, how about you tell me what you know? How about you start with how you knew, or suspected, that Emily was gay," the profiler prompted, eager to find out the other side of things. He suspected there was more to what Garcia was privy to than she was letting on.
Garcia swallowed shakily. To tell Morgan one thing, she knew she was really going to have to tell him everything, including JJ's attraction to Emily. But as she thought about it, Morgan had been doing an excellent job at keeping Emily's secret, so why should she doubt that he could keep JJ's? "Well, I guess you could say JJ and I have had extended conversations over the past few years about Emily's sexuality. I always thought she was gay or at least leaned a little that way. I guess it's in the way she carries herself, how she interacts with others, oh and not to mention the looks I would sometimes see her giving JJ when she thought no one was watching her. "
Morgan nodded as he agreed with what Garcia was saying, "Yeah, that was something I always had to remind her to be careful about. She has a severe weakness when it comes to JJ. But why would you and JJ have extensive conversations about Emily's sexuality?"
Here goes nothing, Garcia thought as she decided to just go for it, "Let's just say that Emily is exactly JJ's type also."
"Meaning…" Morgan prompted, not following what Garcia was trying to say.
"Gosh, what is it with people being dense in my office today? Meaning that our innocent little JJ has the hots for our tall, dark, sexy, exotic, mysterious, stubborn Emily," Garcia finished anxiously. Why was it that she always had to explain everything in detail to everyone? Weren't these people supposed to be some of the most intelligent and aware people in the country?
"What do you mean by JJ has the hots for Prentiss? JJ's straight," Morgan pointed out what he thought was obvious. He was thoroughly confused at this point.
"No, actually JJ has not been straight since high school. You just assumed she was because of Henry and because she is a girly-girl," Garcia clarified. Seeing that Morgan was about to protest, Garcia continued, "And before you ask, Henry was the result of a one night stand gone wrong. But that's not the topic of this conversation. I think at this point, we need to work on a way to get these two together. I'm personally sick and tired of hearing JJ talk about Emily this and Emily that. And even though it's only been a day, it's actually gotten worse since yesterday. I'm going insane," the blonde finished as she sat back in her chair. She didn't know when she had leaned forward, but now that everything had been said and every secret had been spilled, she was a lot more relaxed.
"Wow, I don't even know where to begin," Morgan said as he rubbed his large hands over his head a few times as he processed what Garcia has just told him.
"See how I felt? Except I am probably guessing it's a bit worse for you since you had no idea about JJ. I at least had an inkling about Emily."
"Wow. I guess I can only say that I'm on board with you about getting them together. I doubt Emily is quite as bad as JJ when it comes to talking about the other one. But I will say I can see how it tears her up inside. She tries so hard to hide it, but sometimes it slips through. Usually after a specifically grueling case," pausing momentarily, Morgan thought for a second before continuing, "Today was the worst I've ever seen her. I think it's because she got no sleep last night and she is still exhausted from our case in Oregon. She also had to spend the whole night with JJ and Henry playing house. I'm sure that is what mainly tore her up. I just want to see her happy," Morgan finished as he looked into Garcia's brown eyes. In those eyes, he saw the same desire for JJ to be happy as well.
"Alright my chocolate god, what did you have in mind?" Garcia began as a smile spread across her face. Though she had decided earlier that she wouldn't do anything, she also knew that if she allowed the two girls to handle things on their own, they wouldn't get together for years to come.
Before Morgan could respond with any ideas, his cell phone rang on his hip. Bringing the ringing intrusion to his ear, he grunted "Morgan" into the mouthpiece and waited for a response. "Yes sir. I'm actually with Garcia now so I'll just walk up with her."
After looking at her watch and seeing 3:04, Garcia already knew who was on the phone, "Hotch?" Receiving a nod from Morgan both stood to leave the lab. Morgan waited as Garcia gathered her things to head up to the bullpen together. Before leaving the lab, Garcia addressed Morgan on their previous conversation, "So it goes without saying that everything we talked about stays between us."
"Of course baby girl. You're the only other person in this department I trust with this information anyway," Morgan responded as he held the door open for the blonde and began escorting her down the hall.
"Be thinking of a plan and we'll talk more about Operation Jem later," Garcia said she the two entered the bullpen to find they were the last ones to be accounted for.
"Operation Jem?" Morgan questioned.
"Yeah, J for JJ and Em for Emily. Operation Jem"
Chuckling softly so as not to alert the others to their conversation as they neared the conference room, Morgan responded, "Nice one baby girl." Once the duo entered the room, they sat in the two seats that had been left open for them at the back.
"Now that everyone is here, let's go over what was accomplished today. Garcia, we'll start with you. Were you able to find out more information about Brad Connors?"
"As a matter of fact, if by Brad Connors, you mean Mr. Harold Eason, then yes. Brad Connors changed his name approximately six year ago from Harold Eason. Now, Harold Eason has a rap sheet with quite a few more marks on it that Brad Connors' spotless one. Harold was arrested multiple times in Louisiana for a number of misdemeanors including assault and battery, petty theft, and unpaid traffic tickets. But then, about seven years ago, his mother passed away. That is when things started to change. He was charged with attempted rape and murder of a woman by the name of Cynthia Rowe. Here's the kicker. Not surprisingly, Ms. Rowe fits into our victimology perfectly. Every detail about her life is the same as our victims', except for one difference. Cynthia was not estranged from her family. Anyway, he was never charged of the crime because there was a lack of evidence and Cynthia wouldn't testify. After the trial, Harold Eason drops off the map and Brad Connors appears," Garcia finished as she displayed the old mug shot of Harold Eason on the board. They now had a potential suspect and picture to go with it.
"Morgan and Prentiss, you guys were supposed to go to Brad's house. What happened there," Hotch continued moving everything along.
Morgan began speaking since he took the lead on this outing, "Brad wasn't at his house. I kind of expected as much, but we waited around for a bit just to be sure. We talked to some of the neighbors and asked them some questions. They all pretty much said the same thing, 'Oh Brad is just darling. He is so quiet and kind. He helps me with this, that and the other.' So basically he keeps his façade up at home also. All the houses are pretty close together. With the assumption that the victims are alive and conscious while he has them, he most likely has another location other than this house because the neighbors would hear any screams. There was no basement that could be seen from our vantage point and without a warrant, we couldn't go looking around. All in all, it was extremely uneventful and unhelpful," Morgan concluded.
Rossi spoke up for the first time, "I'll work on getting the warrant pushed through, but it most likely won't be signed until tomorrow morning at the earliest."
At this point, Reid cut in to inform them of his updated findings, "I added the address into the geographical profile. It fits, rather perfectly actually. It falls right into the middle of the grid. Going off the assumption that he does have another location, it will be within a five mile radius of his house. We need to search for places that he could be secluded, have privacy, and most importantly, not be heard."
"Reid, you keep working on that. Focus on abandoned warehouses, storage units, empty houses, or anything along those lines. Now, as for Dr. Gibson's office, it was a bit more helpful, although not by much. They were able to tell us that Brad was fired because he was caught going through patient files without permission. Apparently it was his third and final warning. Other than that, we didn't get any new information. But it did solidify that Brad Connors, aka Harold Eason, is our guy. JJ, did you get that press release finished?"
Caught off guard at finally being addressed, JJ tore her eyes away from staring at Emily quite reluctantly and addressed Hotch, "Yes sir. It's done. I just need to proof it once more and go over it with Emily and it'll be ready for the five o'clock news again," the blonde said as her attention went to Emily to confirm that they would review the statement together.
"Good. Go ahead and call the press conference and get Prentiss prepared," Hotch ordered. He watched as JJ all but sprang from her chair and bustled out the door with an energy that only came from doing nothing all day. He felt a sudden wave of guilt wash through him and wished that he could allow the young agent back into the field on this case. The rest of the team was running on fumes so they could use the extra help. But knowing that her safety was of the utmost importance, especially after the new information about Brad Connors' first victim when he had been Harold Eason, Hotch knew that just wasn't possible. Then Hotch watched as Emily slowly rose from her chair and turned to follow the energetic blonde. He knew if there was one person on the team who needed rest more than anyone, it was Prentiss. He also knew that right now, she had the most weight on her shoulders, having to also do JJ's job on top of her own. But the brunette never once complained. He made a vow that tomorrow he was going to give her something less demanding to do, giving her a slight break, provided they didn't have to go chasing the unsub down.
-IF-
When JJ entered her office, she quickly made her way over to her computer to print out what she had written so far. Looking up, she expected to see Emily already sitting in the seat in front of her desk. Instead, the brunette profiler was just making her way to JJ's door and slowly walking through it. Immediately, deep concern etched itself across JJ's face as she addressed Emily, "Em, are you alright? You look dead on your feet."
Knowing that JJ was easily reading through her front of faked energy but knowing there was little else she could do about it, Emily still managed to respond with humor, "Thanks JJ, that's just what a girl wants to hear after a long day that isn't quite over."
Smiling sympathetically, JJ responded, "Sorry Emily, I'm just worried about you is all. You probably shouldn't have been out in the field today at all. I would have much rather you stayed here instead. I know you could have easily tweaked the geographical profile just as Reid did." Looking at the haggard agent in front of her, JJ was amazed at how beautiful she still managed to look. Granted, her face was a bit more gaunt the usual, and the dark circles surrounding her eyes were more prominent, but she still carried herself with a sense of elegance and refinement not found in most people. She still had the sharp, intellectual gaze that always drew JJ in deeper than she usually intended to go.
Emily smiled gently, happy to know JJ was looking out for her safety. It was a not a sentiment she was used to receiving from many people. "Thanks for the concern JJ. But honestly, I'm fine. Once we get this press release done, we'll all most likely be sent home again since there isn't more we can do without the search warrants to look at Brad Connors' place. I think I can make it another hour and half."
"Very well. Let's get this done then." So JJ joined Emily in front of her desk as they reviewed the press release and what was to be said and to be avoided.
Knowing the press release wasn't going to cause any difficult problems for her, Emily only half paid attention to what JJ was trying to explain to her. Instead, she couldn't help but to focus on the way JJ's hair kept falling over one shoulder and the blonde would continuously push it behind her ear only to have it fall back again. Emily focused on the way JJ's vanilla scented lotion wrapped around her so all she could smell was the blonde woman. All she could think about was the blonde woman. She focused on how she wanted to reach over and stop JJ's incessant blabbering about the press release with a ravishing kiss that took the two of them to her desk top where she would push the folders and papers out of the way. Emily focused on the fact that she could not focus on anything but her need for JJ. At that moment, JJ consumed her every thought, her every inhale, her every exhale, her every heartbeat.
When JJ looked up from her paper, she gasped faintly at the look in Emily's eyes. The barriers, for whatever reason, seemed to have been all but obliterated at that instant. JJ vaguely thought it had something to with Emily's exhaustion, but the reason why was far from her mind. She was too focused on the lust that was pulsating from the brunette. The normally light brown eyes were almost black with desire, pulling JJ ever closer to Emily's chair. The profiler's lips were swollen and seemed to be begging JJ to close the remaining distance and claim them. And she planned to do just that. Leaning forward to meet Emily, JJ felt as if time had stopped and sped up at the same moment. She felt as though she was moving too slowly, but everything was happening too fast. Just as she was about to close the distance, she heard a whimper of the name "Jennifer" that fell almost silently from lips just inches in front of her own. And at that second, her desk phone harshly screeched into the thick air.
Cursing a number of profanities under her breath, JJ rose, turned her embarrassed back towards Emily, and answered without looking at the caller id. "Jareau," she grumbled ungratefully into the receiver.
Hotch heard the irritation in JJ's voice and assumed Emily was being difficult to deal with. Nevertheless, he informed JJ on the reason for his call, "The press is downstairs. We're all in place and just waiting for Emily." Knowing that JJ would understand that he meant for her to send the brunette down, Hotch ended the call and waited.
JJ forcefully hung up the phone and turned to tell Emily to head down to the lobby. But as her eyes took in the chair where the brunette had just been sitting, JJ realized that Emily had already left with the press release. JJ shivered noticeably as she thought back to what had almost happened not a minute before. She imagined she should be worried about having scared Emily away, but she remembered the way Emily had whimpered her name, the way it just sounded so right for the name Jennifer to fall so easily from the lush lips, and JJ knew this experience solidified her desire to be with Emily. Now, at least, she was sure the brunette wanted her just as much. She could easily see that Emily was beginning to fight a losing battle with her barriers and walls; with her heart. Before long, Emily Prentiss would fall into her open and waiting arms.
-IF-
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! I really had a great time writing the ending of this chapter! So close! Another update hopefully will be up by the end of this week. As always, please review and let me know what you think! Did you like the ending?