Author's note: Sorry this chapter is so short, but there is only one, or maybe two, more to go after this. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing and sending messages – I really appreciate them, and hope you'll let me know if you're enjoying Home.

JJ left the BAU at six that evening, determined to get home and make a few calls to family and friends and get in bed at a decent hour. She hadn't realized the toll the past week had taken on her mentally and physically, and she knew that if she was going to move in two weeks, she had better get a move on. Luckily a friend of Mac's had an apartment in a good neighborhood close to the crime lab she could rent.

She had just washed her face and put on her pajamas when she heard an insistent knocking at her door. "Coming!" she called as she hurried down the hall and through the living room. She looked through the peephole and saw Rossi.

"David!" she exclaimed as she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. May I come in?"

She was so surprised to see him that she simply nodded and stepped aside so he could enter. The night was cold, and she couldn't very well let him freeze to death.

"I have to admit, I didn't think I'd get this far," he said once she'd taken his coat and they'd sat down on her couch. "You agree we have to talk?"

"Yes," she replied, though somewhat reluctantly. "We do."

"Is now a good time?" he asked with a slight nod toward her attire.

"Not really. I was just getting ready to go to bed."

"Okay." He was willing to say yes to whatever she wanted. "When? Where? You want to come out to Little Creek tomorrow after work?"

"I'd prefer that we say whatever we have to say to each other in neutral territory."

"But – "

"No buts, Rossi – we do this my way, or we don't do it at all."

"Sounds like someone's been hanging around me too much." The tiny smile that his comment elicited made his heart soar; they had a long way to go, but maybe, just maybe, they'd taken the first step. "You name the time, the place, and I'll be there with bells on, babe."

"How about Mel's? Say, seven?"

He should've known she would pick her favorite diner for her favorite comfort food. "Perfect. Now will you make me another promise?"

She regarded him cautiously. "That depends. You're damn lucky I let you in tonight."

"I know," he replied quickly as he rose and walked toward the door, grabbing his coat on the way. "I just want you to promise me that you won't leave like you did Friday. I was out of line, and you were right to give me hell, but watching you storm out ... God, Jennifer, don't put me through that again. Please."

"You left me today," she said softly.

"I realize that, and I'm sorry. I just couldn't sit there and listen any longer. But do you promise?"

When he reached out for her hand, her breath caught in her throat, and she marveled once again at the power his touch had over her. Lifting her eyes to his, she nodded. "I promise. See you tomorrow."