Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.

Christmas Magic-Chapter 10

~Again, a HUGE thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story!

They caught a case that following Monday and it kept them out of town for nearly two weeks. Much to the dismay of the entire BAU team, they arrived back in DC just in time for the annual FBI Christmas Gala. Normally none of them would have gone to such an event, preferring instead to go and grab a beer or two to celebrate the end of a grueling case, but the higher ups had been complaining about the lack of BAU presence at Bureau functions so Strauss had made the party mandatory for the entire team. As much as they liked solving the case, and they obviously didn't want any more victims, a small part of everyone on the team wished the case could have lasted just a little bit longer so they wouldn't have had to go to the gala.

Dave, having finished the requisite paperwork for the case, left his office and made his way down to JJ's. He stood in the doorway for a moment, just watching her, before knocking lightly on the open door.

JJ looked up when she heard the knock. "Hey Dave," she said tiredly. "What can I do for you?"

"Are you going to this dog and pony show tonight?" He asked her.

JJ nodded, "Strauss made it clear that anyone who wanted to continue working in the BAU needed to be there tonight."

"Wanna go to this thing together?" He asked, hoping like hell she'd say yes.

She thought about it for a minute and then nodded, "Sure. I have Henry staying with the nanny and I have my dress and makeup here, so I don't have to go home beforehand. Do you need to go to the cabin to get ready?"

Dave shook his head, "I have my tux here as well. Why don't you start getting ready and I'll stop by your office in an hour to pick you up?" It wasn't a real date, since they were going from the BAU headquarters to the hotel where the shindig was being held, but Dave still felt like an excited sixteen year old arranging his first date.

"Sounds good," she said, shutting her laptop. "I think we're the only ones here, so at least I'll have the shower to myself in the women's locker room." She said as she grabbed her makeup bag and garment bag and headed down the hall. As Dave watched her go, he wondered if she was trying to be deliberately cruel by putting the image of her in the shower into his head.

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An hour later, Dave found himself once again knocking on JJ's office door. After hearing the soft, "Come in," he pushed the door open and saw one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen. JJ was standing there in an emerald green dress that had spaghetti straps, a fitted bodice and a skirt that flared over her hips and ended just above the knee. She paired that with tasteful gold jewelry and understated makeup. Along with her flawless skin and slightly done up hair, she was the most mesmerizing woman he'd ever seen.

"Dave? Dave? Earth to Dave?" He finally heard. JJ had been talking to him and he hadn't been aware of it. He shook his head, as if to clear it.

"Sorry Jennifer, I just can't get over how beautiful you are," he told her, swallowing hard.

JJ's cheeks reddened slightly, "Thanks Dave; you look pretty good yourself," she said, looking him up and down. She always knew that Dave was one of those men who got more handsome as he aged and tonight proved it. He was standing there in his Armani tux with a gold plated watch and his ever present FBI ring, and she was filled with a sudden urge to push him down onto her sofa and ravage him, right there in her office. Hiding a smile at her own thoughts, she quickly composed herself and put on her high heeled shoes.

"Ready?" She asked, as she picked up her purse.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he grumbled. "Remind me to fuck with Erin Strauss' life after the holidays as payback for forcing us to go to this shindig." He sounded annoyed, but deep down he was grateful to the Section Chief for making them go, as it got him a pseudo-date with his dream girl.

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JJ could feel everyone's eyes on them as they entered the ballroom of the Capital Hilton Hotel, and she mentally groaned. She knew exactly what this looked like to everyone and she knew she would have to answer many questions from both Emily and Penelope the next day. Hell, from the way they were staring at her, she knew she'd have to field questions from Reid and Morgan too. Taking a deep breath, she strolled up to the BAU table with Dave and pretended nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Hi everybody," she said cheerily and then forced herself to dial it down. Dave, who was standing next to her, gave a snort at her attempt to play it cool.

"Tell me this thing has an open bar," he said desperately.

"Yeah, if you like shitty beer and even shittier wine," Derek said, "Otherwise you'll need to take out a bank loan if you want any alcohol."

He looked around at his miserable co-workers, "First round is on me; what does everyone want?"

The prospect of free liquor perked everyone up and they gave him their drink orders. JJ accompanied him to the bar to help him get the drinks and that's when the trouble started.

"JJ, I didn't think you'd be here this evening," the media liaison heard from behind her. She turned around to see Agent Jamison from cybercrimes standing behind her. She'd seen Jamison around the building and he'd subtly hit on her in the past, but each time she'd gently brushed him off.

"Agent Jamison, it's good to see you," she said warmly. The young agent wasn't a bad guy; it's just that he didn't know when to quit trying. "I wasn't planning on coming, but my section chief made the BAU's presence mandatory. How are things in cybercrimes?" She asked, not seeing Dave turn around to watch the pair.

"We're actually kind of slow right now, which gives me time to listen to the rumor mill. Speaking of which," he segued, not-so-smoothly, "Did I hear you broke up with that Cajun boyfriend of yours?"

JJ nodded, "I did, a few months ago in fact."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I know how it is when a long-term relationship ends, but maybe now you'll give me a chance?" He asked hopefully.

JJ was about to respond when Dave broke in, "Maybe not," he said, menacingly as he slipped his arm around JJ's waist.

JJ didn't know who was more surprised by the action, Agent Jamison or herself. "Rob, have you met David Rossi? He's a colleague of mine at the BAU and I'm here with him tonight."

"Agent Rossi, it's an honor, sir. I was just reading one of your books the other day, and I-"

"That's great kid, now if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to our team," Dave interrupted. "Come on JJ," he said, taking three drinks in one hand and her hand in the other.

JJ, who was startled to say the least, picked up the other drinks in her free hand and followed Rossi back to the table. Once there, she set the drinks down and then sat there and seethed at Dave's behavior towards her and Agent Jamison.

As the night wore on, she watched Dave pretend that nothing had happened, and she watched as he joked with the members of their team and she became angrier and angrier. Finally, after two hours of pretending she was fine, she'd finally had enough.

"If you guys will excuse me, I think I'm going to head home. I'm exhausted and I've been here for two hours which should fulfill Strauss' requirement for this evening," she told them, not meeting Dave's eye.

The team, knowing that something had happened between her and the older agent, but not knowing exactly what it was, all nodded. With the mood she was in, no one was willing to cross her, not even Hotch.

She stood up, grabbed her purse off of the table and made her way to the coat check line. As she waited for the clerk to retrieve her wrap, she heard footsteps behind her and then she smelled a familiar cologne. Taking her wrap from the girl, she turned and found herself standing face to face with the one man she was trying to avoid.

"Ready?" He asked as he pulled his car keys from his pocket.

"Stay here, Dave, I'll take a cab home."

"A cab ride to your place will be expensive, and I don't want you out and about alone this late at night. We came together and we'll leave together. I'll drop you off at your place and then you can call me tomorrow when you get up and I'll take you to your car at headquarters."

"Fine," JJ said, not arguing. She could feel a headache building behind her eyes and she just wanted to get home.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a hellacious traffic jam when Rossi spoke up. "Wanna tell me what was wrong with you back there?" He asked, honestly not knowing why she seemed so pissed at him.

"Really? You really have to ask that?" JJ said sharply, feeling some of her anger return.

"Evidently I do, seeing as I have no idea what I did to piss you off."

"How about the way you treated Agent Jamison? He's a friend of mine, Dave, and you treated him like he was a peon not worth your time!"

"He was hitting on you right in front of me!" Dave shot back, "What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"So what if he was? You and I aren't a 'you and I!' We went to this thing as friends, as co-workers and nothing about that relationship gives you the right to act like you own me. Hell, even if we were a couple, that STILL wouldn't give you the right!" JJ shouted, all of her frustration pouring out. God, how she wished they were a couple, but since that wasn't the case, how dare the man sitting next to her keep her from talking to another guy!

"I'm sorry JJ, it was rude! I don't care if we were there as friends, you were with me and both of you should have known that!"

"We were just talking Dave," JJ said, exasperated. "I was talking to a friend, that's all, there was nothing rude about it."

Not wanting to alienate the feisty blonde any further, Dave decided to surrender, "I'm sorry JJ, it looked like more than that to me, but I should have known you wouldn't have done that to me."

"You're damn right I wouldn't!" She said, but his apology had melted most of her anger; she knew how hard it was for him to say those three words. "But I forgive you," she said with a slight smile.

"Do you forgive me enough to continue my cooking lessons? My family will be at my cabin for dinner on Saturday," he reminded her as traffic finally began moving again.

"It would be easier to negotiate world peace than it would to have you cook an edible meal by the weekend," she said with a smile.

"Hey!" Dave exclaimed in mock offense.

"I'll tell you what, Henry and I will come over Saturday afternoon and I'll help you cook the meal for Saturday night, okay?"

"Okay," he said, thrilled that she would be there for the upcoming weekend. "Come Friday night, that way you won't have to get up early on Saturday."

"Alright," she agreed as they pulled into her apartment complex.

Dave, being the gentleman that he was, walked her to her door. "Thanks for going with me tonight, JJ, even if I was an ass."

"It's alright Dave, I'm used to it," she said with a smile as she unlocked her door.

Wearing a smile of his own, Dave unconsciously bent down and gave her a light kiss on the lips. The light kiss turned into a heavier one and they finally pulled apart after about thirty seconds.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry JJ, its habit for me to kiss women goodnight," he said. "Look, I'll see you on Monday, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, a flustered David Rossi bolted down the hallway and down the stairs.

JJ, who was stunned by both the kiss and Dave's reaction, slowly closed the door. She knew she would be replaying that kiss over and over in her mind for hours to come.