Chapter 10

Everything is Different Now

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Dave knew something was up with JJ. The woman was a virtual book to his eyes and he wasn't blind to her beauty in the slightest. Nevertheless, he knew she was hung up on the gangly know-it-all doctor. That didn't mean he hadn't come to care for her in the months since his return. She didn't look at him like an idol as many of the rest of the team did and she didn't unintentionally isolate herself as Prentiss and Morgan seemed to do. And Hotch... well, Hotch was most definitely hung up on his wife-to-be, though the man had come out with them when Prentiss had turned them down.

But that wasn't why he was currently on a hunt through the hotel. He'd been watching JJ all day, sticking professionally close to her, watching her reactions to the continued awkwardness that seemed to plague the air between her and Reid. In some ways, he felt bad. Dave knew that his friendship with JJ was something that bothered Reid. Of course, he didn't really care, but it almost wasn't fair to the poor boy. Reid had no idea that Dave understood that he couldn't compare to JJ's feelings for Reid. The unfortunate thing was that it was putting JJ smack dab in the middle. That, he didn't like.

Which was why he was hunting for her. She'd disappeared after their dinner briefing. He hadn't seen where she'd gone, nor had Prentiss and nor had Morgan. That annoyed him, because JJ needed people. But he knew Prentiss was preoccupied with something else so he didn't exactly expect the brunette woman to be paying attention to JJ's undertones. But he was and he was paying careful attention.

He found her in the bar and almost hit himself for his stupidity. Where else was she going to be after a bad day? "Hey stranger."

She looked up, surprised, but the look slipped into a small smile. "Hi."

"Bad day?"

JJ sighed. "Did you get a chance to look at the autopsy results?"

"Nah. Figured Reid could give me the details tomorrow."

"Huh," JJ replied, sounding less than impressed. She tossed a pile of papers at him. "Take a look."

"They proved she was pregnant," Dave said, reading off of the report. "That what this is about?"

"There was a life inside her, Dave. She had everything going for her and it didn't matter."

Dave arched an eyebrow. He'd been on way too many cases with the BAU to allow something bother him during a case. When he was at home, sure, but now... Well, he was just too jaded. For the purposes of cases, they were all just people, they were all victims. They weren't mothers, brothers, aunts or nephews.

JJ blew out a sigh. "I know that they are no different than any of the other victims we see and deal with. I know that they're people that have families and that its an unfortunate group of situations and circumstances that led them to wherever they are now I just... She had her whole life ahead of her. She had a family, a job, a career..."

"Would you feel any different if it was a homeless woman?"

He could tell she was irritated by the look she shot him. "I don't compartmentalize like the rest of you," she said sharply.

He'd learned that. He'd also learned that she told him the most about who she was when he goaded her. It was part of their little friendship. "So?"

"So I can't just turn my brain off. I can't just look at each of these women as another victim that fits into a pattern. Samantha Cunningham was a wife, a daughter and she was going to be a mother. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

Dave tilted his head to the side. "Is this all about the victims?"

"If you're going to go off on the whole 'they're all like you, your age, your demographic', I might shoot you."

"You and an army, JJ." He took a minute to collect his thoughts. "You know, there's a difference between being callous and compartmentalizing."

"That damned word."

He arched an eyebrow, unaccustomed to her swearing, but let it go. "You said it yourself. You don't compartmentalize like the rest of us do. Yet you wake up every morning to do the same job. You're still here and that has to count for something."

"A job isn't everything."

"You're right. You can't get love or human affection from your career."

Her head snapped up. "That wasn't what I was talking about."

"Wasn't it?"

JJ glared at him. "Were you not given the memo about inter-team profiling?"

"Is it the same as it was when I was an agent?" he replied with a cheeky smile. His smile turned genuine when JJ chuckled.

"Sometimes I wish it was just easy."

"You're talking to the wrong man."

"Ah yes," she said with a tight smile. "Three failed marriages."

"I don't need anyone other than Mudgie."

"Dave, a dog isn't going to keep you warm at night."

"Neither did my second wife."

"That was uncalled for."

Dave shrugged. "I don't have to be nice all the time."

"You might want to try sometimes," she said wryly.

Silence fell over them for a moment.

"Sometimes," JJ began turning fully to face him as he pulled up the bar stool next to her, "it's really hard. Emily and Hotch are planning their wedding. Pen's got a baby girl of her own and a man that dotes on her hand and foot. Is it so much to ask?"

"Relationships take work. Most fail because people expect them to be easy."

"And yours?"

"We're not talking about mine."

JJ sighed. "I want what they have, Dave."

"And you want it with Reid."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." She hadn't told him anything about the failed relationship between them, just about Reid's perception of their quickly growing friendship.

"Am I insane? To still be hung up on a guy after... gosh, who knows how long?"

"No more insane than the rest of us."

"Even after we found out it didn't work?"

"JJ, I'm probably not the right person to be asking."

She sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry." Then she hopped down from her barstool. She pecked a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks for listening anyway."

She hadn't pulled that far away. When Dave turned his head, he knew how easy it would be to just...

But she was the one that closed the gap between them first.

Aaron looked down at the stick his wife-to-be had given him. He knew what it was and he had a feeling he knew what it meant, but without the instruction book he wasn't...

"I'm pregnant."

He looked up at Emily, questions and emotions swirling in his eyes. Pregnant. She was actually seriously pregnant. He'd assumed that was why she'd unconsciously protected her stomach earlier, but it had seemed like too good of a dream. Yet the evidence was now right in front of him, in front of his eyes and he couldn't argue with him. "You're sure."

"The test says so. I'll make an appointment with the doctor when I get home."

She was nervous, he could tell, so he took her hand, tugging her closer to him as he looked down at the positive result on her pregnancy test. "Emily..."

"What are we going to do?"

He was surprised by the sound of tears in her voice. He faced her, not bothering to hide the shock. "What do you mean?"

She blew out a breath. "I wanted to be married first, Aaron. I wanted to do something right."

"'Right' is a state of mind," he argued logically.

"I wanted to do it in the right order," she clarified, wiping angrily at the tears

"Hey," he chastised, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. "Emily, there is no right and wrong here. Its... It's a baby."

The sheer awe in his voice made her smile slightly. "I wanted to be married."

"We will be."

"Before I was pregnant."

"Does it matter?" he asked, a hand slipping down her shoulder to wrap around her waist. Aaron pulled her to him, his heart full. She was pregnant. His heart thrilled at the thought of her swollen with his child. It was what he wanted almost more than marrying her. "Emily... you're pregnant."

"I know," she said with a sigh.

Aaron shook his head. He'd never in a million years expected her to be so down about having a child of her own. "This is..." He couldn't put into words what he was feeling, so he put it into a kiss instead, pulling her close, pouring every emotion racing through his blood into the kiss. She responded just as enthusiastically and he backed her up towards her hotel room bed. They were breaking every rule they'd made for away cases, but all he cared about was showing her how happy he was.

Because she was pregnant.

I did it! This morning. Finished it. And I guess technically left you guys with a little bit of a cliffie.

Now, I had this huge overflow of reviews debating between Rossi and Reid. I still haven't made up my mind. We'll see what happens!