A long chapter this time.

"Let's finalize my list," Ashley half-ordered, half-asked. They were both on their couch at home. Ashley reached over from where she was seated to grab a pen and pad off the glass coffee table in the middle of the room. She was careful not to disrupt Emily's feet too much when she moved. While Ashley had enough energy to sit up and watch the series of families move in and out of homes on HGTV, Emily was content to just lie still horizontally on the sofa, her legs thrown upon Ashley's lap.

In spite of all her work, in spite of Stephen's commitment to find Scratch, in spite of the team's tireless efforts, in spite of all of Fiona's experience, Reid was still in prison. It was weighing on them all, but especially Emily. She had seen firsthand the toll it had been taking on Reid, and Garcia, and JJ. Needless to say, Emily didn't find it to be the best time for a dinner party, but she had promised Ashley. She had promised and put off for months by that point, but Rossi finally mentioned to Emily that maybe it was time for the team to have a night off. Maybe the team needed a break for one night.

It was just about as decent of timing as the unit was going to get. They thought they might finally have a new lead to track down Scratch, and Emily was due to fly out to London in two nights to get some help from her Interpol contacts. So the brunette had acquiesced: the next night she would host a dinner party with Ashley Seaver. Emily wasn't sure how Ashley was going to get it all together so last minute, but it didn't really matter. Emily Prentiss wasn't Elizabeth Prentiss. If things went south she had no problem serving her guests pizza for dinner.

"Who's coming?" Ashley asked during a commercial. She tapped her pen against the notepad, gently reminding Emily she wanted her to pay attention.

"The team."

The redhead laughed, "Can I have some names?" The yawn that Emily let out signaled to Ashley that she would have to take the lead on making this list. "No Reid, for obvious reasons. Penelope?"

"She'll be there."

"Plus one?"

"No, I think solo."

"Rossi?"

"Yes."

"Plus one?"

Emily scoffed at the question, "Nah. I don't want to open that can of worms."

"Okay, no date for Agent Rossi," Ashley laughed. Ashley had found his checkered dating life very interesting and wasn't opposed to letting that into their evening for a little fun, but she trusted Emily's judgment on that one.

"Alvez," Emily added. She cut in before Ashley could bother to ask, "No date for him. I'm sure. Don't bother asking."

"Solo Alvez," Ashley wrote down with a chuckle.

"And Garcia."

"I already said her," Ashley noted as she continued to write on her pad. " JJ and Will."

"No Will."

"No Will?"

Emily didn't feel she had any bad blood with Will. She had always liked the guy. He wasn't a bad guy, and she was married now. Will not being invited wasn't out of any sort of malice or jealousy, she reasoned. None of the other BAU spouses besides Ashley were coming. Granted, there were no other BAU spouses besides Stephen's, who wasn't able to attend, but still. It wasn't necessary. Emily cleared her throat before she answered, "I think he's babysitting."

"Okay….JJ should really let him out of his dungeon," Ashley joked before she studied her very short list. "You know, not a lot of 'plus ones' for the BAU."

"Yeah, well, comes with the territory."

"We're very lucky then," Ashley remarked absentmindedly. Emily had just nodded along again. She was lucky. She was lucky to be in this position. She was lucky her wife was hosting a dinner, and she wasn't going over to a LaMontagne dinner instead.

"Oh, hey!" Ashley exclaimed and hit Emily on the leg. "What about Morgan?"

"We can't."

"Why?"

"Persona non grata." Emily knew she would have to clarify that: no, they weren't in some sort of feud. Spence was just embarrassed and wanted to keep the number of people knowing down. "Reid doesn't want to see him right now, and if someone slips…"

"Okay."

Emily bit her bottom lip as she tried to think of someone else to invite. She had to admit their list was a little short. "Maybe Fiona?"

"No."

Emily chuckled at the curt response. "I told you there was nothing to be jealous about with Fiona."

"And I've had her over here since then. Haven't I?" Ashley reminded and pointedly ignored Emily's raised eyebrow. "It has nothing to do with anything seventeen years ago. It's that if Fiona comes the night will devolve into being all about Reid's case, and I get it. I knew Reid, and I'm worried about him too. God knows, that man of all people does not belong in a prison. But, you said yourself, we're doing our dinner party now because the team needs a break. You need a break. Look at you Emmy," Ashley gestured to Emily's body on the couch. She was completely spent at nine o'clock in the evening. "You're run down. You're exhausted, and I'm sure the rest of your team is too. It isn't a bad thing to have one night away from the case. It might even help you to have a break and go back with fresh eyes."

The older woman accepted the lecture, "No Fiona."

"For sure, Fiona and a plus one- a plus two even- are welcome. After the case," Ashley assured with a pat to the leg. "But right now? It's just too much for you all."

It was around 8:20 in the evening, 10 minutes before the dinner was supposed to start, when JJ had shown up to Emily and Ashley's condo. After her last botched dinner, JJ had made a point of leaving earlier than before to be able to ensure that if there was any awkward set ups, she could try to avoid them. She had called Garcia on the way over, but apparently the woman was still getting ready because only Tara, Rossi and Alvez were at Emily's. The four had all hovered around the kitchen, snacking and drinking wine, while Ashley put the finishing touches on dinner. After she had gone into to the surprisingly small condo, greeted everyone at the counter, and left a bottle of wine she had brought, JJ had noticed that Emily had moved from her position by Tara. She was standing a little farther back from the chatting foursome. JJ grabbed a glass of wine and followed Emily out on to her back terrace.

The view was decidedly less awe-inspiring than Emily's previous apartments. Her condo, their condo, was at the back of their building, and faced out to the view of houses and Georgetown Hospital. It wasn't quite the view of the Capitol. Quite frankly, JJ felt that it showed the uglier side of D.C., but it was nice to be outside anyway. It was nice to be out of the claustrophobic living room and in the open air with Emily. The two were side by side. Both women leaned their arms against the terrace's rail, leaving their wine glasses hovering over the land below.

JJ had cut into the silence first, "Hey you."

"Hey."

"It's pretty out here," JJ remarked into the quiet night.

Emily "hmm'ed" noncommittally, and after a few more second passed, she moved to face JJ. They still learned against the rail, but both women were then facing each other. "I think it's about the only thing I like about this place."

"Really?" JJ's tone isn't exactly one of shock, but she's a little taken aback to find out Emily hates her home. Sure, it was a lot smaller than the other places Emily had in the past, and wasn't the neighborhood she pictured Emily in, but it was a fine place?

"It fit all the boxes. It's not terribly located, and it has this great terrace to just relax and unwind. I liked that, but I don't really like all that much about it. It's dated, but it doesn't have character. It's small, as if it tries too hard to be warm. The bedroom is too dark- not even dark- it's dim. And I know," Emily lifted her free hand to signal to the other woman not to interrupt. "I know that sounds weird to say, but it's just dim in there. It's not great when you're trying to get ready. And Ashley likes to put these red handkerchiefs over the lamps so they have a red tint…"

"Oh my god," JJ laughed.

"It's like I'm living in Morgan's retired sex dungeon," Emily laughed back.

JJ had sipped on her glass before she spoke again, "So why'd you pick it?"

"It was more of a compromise. Like I said, it fit most of the boxes. There are no perfect places." JJ nodded in agreement. Most of the time there was an element of compromise when it came to renting or buying real estate. Although, she was surprised that Emily Prentiss, who had a lot more money than she did, seemed to have to compromise so much on where she wanted to live. "My apartment was cleaner in London. I think I liked that. I think I've gotten out of the habit of 'things' and 'trinkets.'"

"Em," JJ said over a laugh. "You never were much for decorating. Your other places just had personality built in."

"Yeah."

A few seconds of quiet passed before JJ started the conversation again. "You know which apartment of yours I loved?"

"Which one?" Emily asked as she had a sip of wine herself. It was nice. It was relaxing- to be out there with JJ.

"I loved that place you had right when you transferred to the BAU."

Emily took a deep breath as she remembered the nearly perfect apartment. "Yeah, it was pretty perfect."

"Why'd you move?"

Emily shook her head and bit her bottom lip at the question. Why did she ever want to move? "I guess…guess I just got antsy. Wanted to see what else was out there."

"Your next place was pretty nice too."

"Yeah."

"That one probably fit you better, anyway. I don't know, the first apartment just felt special to me," JJ admitted and began to trace her fingers along the terrace's railway. It felt like the railing's chalkiness rubbed on to her fingertips.

"I think in a perfect scenario…" Emily began before she drifted off and checked to see that the rest of the unit wasn't ready for them yet. They weren't, so Emily was free to continue on. "Perfect scenario would have been to stay at the first apartment. Then, after Doyle, I could have moved to the next one."

"He ruined it, didn't he? Second apartment I mean." Emily just nodded and gazed out towards the view of…the hospital. "Hey, I get it. It's an invasion. It's the one place you're supposed to feel safe and it's impossible when someone takes it away from you. Actually 'impossible' is too weak a word. I get it."

"It was a great apartment though," the brunette sighed.

"And I have a great house," JJ remarked with a sigh. "And it's cheap considering how the D.C. area's real estate had changed. I get why Will wanted to stay. It was probably the 'smart' thing to do, but, fuck if I didn't want to move after I saw that unsub in our house…still do." JJ moved her wineglass from her right to left hand, and inched her pinky finger just enough to touch Emily's fingertips. It had been years, but she still worried. She would probably always worry. "How do you feel about it all now? Is it still…taken away?"

Emily furrowed her brow at the question, and tried to respond honestly. "I feel better about it. I think I just needed time to believe that he was gone. That I was okay….I am okay. I did a job. I did what I had to do."

"You did," JJ assured. It was firm- the voice she had used. It was firm at the start, but as she worked her ways through the words her voice became more affected, more affectionate. "You're a good person, Em. Always remember that. How you were able to do that assignment- how you were able to and have been able to keep your humanity through it all. It more proves than disproves it."

"Well," Emily began with a grin, "I still wish I was better."

"You're good enough."

Emily decided not to argue with the blonde about it, "I did a job, and I had to make peace with it. It had been at the back of my head for years. I was so worried what everyone else would think of me if the truth came out. I know Morgan said he was mad I didn't tell anyone."

"You couldn't," JJ reminded. She knew all about secretive missions and they weren't something you could just divulge at will; not even to other FBI agents.

"It was hard…It was hard to be scared. To be scared of Doyle. To be worried that other people would judge me. All the withholding had made me feel like a spy, and I didn't want that anymore. I think I felt the need to prove myself to everyone. To prove I could be trusted. To prove that I was a normal person, not just for their sakes but for my own, too. To remind myself that the past was the past." JJ didn't say a word. She just nodded and let Emily talk. "I don't feel that way anymore, fortunately. He doesn't haunt my every spare hour. I don't have nightmares of him and what he wanted to do to me- most of all what he wanted to do to everyone else. I needed space to make peace with it all. A fresh start to help process it all…And it helps that space made you all miss and appreciate me more."

JJ laughed at the other woman's joke. She smiled even more after she noticed the lopsided grin on Emily's face. "We missed you A LOT. We always knew we loved you, but maybe we didn't appreciate how much until you weren't there." She was quieter when she said the next part. It was a secret that she wouldn't allow anyone inside the condo to hear. "A lot of really good agents have come and gone trying to take your place. None of them ever could. No one ever can."

They were both content to let the statement sit out there. It sat with them until Emily felt the words had just about faded into the night. "What'd you think of my other apartments?"

"Other apartments," JJ playfully scoffed. "You mean your hotel and the house you refused to buy?"

"It was ugly."

JJ laughed at the defense. "It was an ugly house." The blonde had moved just enough to see through the sliding glass door that Ashley was headed toward them. JJ dropped her hand off the rail and simply remarked, "That's the thing about rental condos, though. They're not permanent. You don't have to stay here forever, Em."

Just like that their moment was over, and Ashley had joined them on the terrace to tell them dinner was done.

Jennifer Jareau was starting to hate dinner. Granted, this dinner was decidedly less painful than the marriage announcement one, but it was still difficult for her. It was hard to see Emily and Ashley together. It was hard to be in their home, eating on their plates. Ashley had made the group a roast chicken. Of course it was great, of course. She had been humble about it, too, remarking earlier in the night- in response to one of the many compliments from the table- that it was the only dinner she could prepare. She had learned from the other law enforcement wives in London. "Other wives" had stayed in JJ's mind as she scraped at her plate, careful to not scratch it. JJ had wondered if the couple had picked their china out together, or if it was a wedding gift from the Ambassador. Or maybe the glassware was? That looked expensive too. Did the Ambassador like Ashley? Did the elder Prentiss approve? It wasn't like Ashley had the best 'breeding'- neither did JJ for that matter- but Ashley was young. She was beautiful. She was smart. She didn't have a lot of baggage, not of her own making anyway. JJ wagered that the Ambassador did approve. JJ knew that Emily could do a lot worse, and she felt the Ambassador probably felt that way too.

"Aren't we getting a story?" Alvez hinted and nodded between Emily and Ashley. He was obviously looking for clarification about how the two had gotten together. Another reason to hate 'new guy' Garcia internally muttered as she looked over to a distracted JJ.

"Yeah, tell us!" Tara added.

Emily shrugged and motioned for Ashley to tell it. "It all started- damn, baby," Ashley looked up at Emily and signaled to get her attention, "Seven years ago. 2010."

"Aw, a long twisted love story. I love it," Tara kindly responded, and Ashley turned back to her and Luke to continue on in her story.

"Mind you, I was a fresh cadet-"

"A cadet?" Tara laughed as the entire group, save for JJ, looked to a red-faced Prentiss.

"Scandalous," Garcia giggled. She immediately felt bad for joining in on the story in front of JJ. She just couldn't help her love of interoffice romance.

Emily shook her head at her team, "Okay, okay, I wasn't the boss back then."

"And after some shameless flirting from this experienced agent who trained me. Who I begged to take me on-" Ashley began with a nod towards Emily. In the midst of dramatics, no one noticed that Garcia had rolled her eyes at the statement. She had seen shameless flirting before, and there had been none between that former blonde and brunette at the table. The older blonde and Emily, Garcia thought, That's a different story. "-Emily invited me out for a drink, and then gave me the very coveted invitation back to her apartment." The table had erupted into "oohs" and "ahhs," and even some claps from Rossi. "Which I admit I had been desperately hoping for since the moment I met her. We dated for a while until things got complicated…" Ashley drifted off before she grabbed the hand Emily had left on the table and intertwined it into her own. "A year and a half later I get a call from London, and it's Emily. She told me everything had been sorted and she didn't want to bother me while I was in my assignment with Swann, but she missed me and wanted to catch up. It took a few more months and a lot more phone calls, but finally she said, 'You know, Ashley, an FBI career doesn't really pick up until you move to London.'"

"Very smooth," Luke teased and the rest of the team laughed, even JJ. She couldn't not laugh at Emily's terrible advances. Although, she had to admit that she was shocked Emily had made a move at all. When it was her and Emily, she was the one who had to show up at Emily's apartment. Sure, Emily flirted with her and made her feel…important, but the brunette was never that forward. Ashley and Emily's story seemed like the opposite of the Emily she knew.

Ashley laughed over a loving sigh. "And when you get an offer like that, well, you just gotta take it."

"And the wedding?" Tara questioned.

Rossi looked over to JJ. She had handled herself well, but he couldn't help but feel a little bad for the blonde. He had seen her after Emily merely stated she was married, having to hear the play-by-play must have been even worse. "Make it snappy," Rossi jokingly ordered to his former protégé. "You know I'm an old dog."

"Not that old, Rossi," Ashley smiled. "Wedding? Well, it was all pretty sudden. I never got to be engaged. Of course, Emily did great with the ring." Ashley had held out her hand to show off the two carat cushion cut diamond set in platinum Emily had bought for her, "But it didn't come until later. Emily just came home one night and said, 'Would you want to get married?' There were so many work things up in the air, so the next day Emily bought me that little number. Next thing we knew, we went for a quick trip to the States to get married at her mother's house in Martha's Vineyard."

"And that's it," Emily cut in to mercifully end the story for JJ's sake.

"Yep, honeymoon on the plane ride home. Before I knew it she was in D.C.," Ashley laughed. "I'm so glad though because- and sorry to embarrass you, Emmy- I know she's so happy to be back as your unit chief. I know she loves getting to know Luke, and Tara, and Stephen, who could not make it tonight-"

"To Stephen," Garcia raised her glass into the air and desperately tried to end the conversation.

But, after the toast to their newest co-worker, Ashley had kept going. "And I know she loves being back with her original BAU friends: Rossi, Penelope and JJ."

"Ms. Jareau, if you're nasty. Hey, hey," Garcia had added to lighten the moment, raising her hands in the air and wishing Derek was there too. JJ finally let out a real laugh, and with that the night, thankfully, just about ended.

The dinner had been an undoubted success. Emily had helped Ashley do most of the cleanup before the younger woman excused her to go pack for London. She had to get her clothes together so she could leave directly from the BAU to the airport. Emily had assured Ashley that it would be a day trip at most, but Ashley understood. To be fair, what difference did it really make? It was either Emily was going to be away on a case or in London. As far as Ashley was concerned, Emily was gone either way.

Emily didn't notice that Ashley had been standing in the doorway of their bedroom, watching her pack. "Bring the black blazer," Ashley softly decided from the doorway. Emily nodded and packed it for the plane ride home. "I'm not sure if it's because it came up a little at dinner, or because I always associate Interpol with him in some way…"

"Hm?" Emily absentmindedly asked while she plugged her phone into the charger on her bedside table.

Ashley's voice had been quiet and extremely gentle- careful- when she asked it. "You never talk to me about it."

"Who?" Emily was still distracted. She wished the lights in their room had a higher wattage.

"Ian Doyle."

Emily sighed and stopped what she was doing to turn around and focus on the younger woman. The red hair had made her look a little older than when she was blonde, but she still looked so young to Emily. She was sympathetic to the other woman, but there was a short list of people who she was willing to talk about Doyle to. It was probably only one name, and it wasn't Ashley's. Emily replied in an even, but still kind voice, "You know as much as anyone."

"Not really."

"You were the one who worked the case," Emily sighed again.

Ashley had tried to stop herself, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the statement. It was so ridiculous to her. "It's not a case. It's not a case to me. It's not about the broad details or the vague profile. I'm married to you. It's different."

Emily conceded a nod at the redhead's speech. Maybe Ashley was right, but it didn't change how Emily felt. She just didn't want to go there. Ashley kept her eyes locked on Emily and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb any of Emily's things. A minute passed and nothing happened. Emily didn't offer anything. Ashley shook her head in an annoyed manner, breaking eye contact briefly, before she looked back to Emily's outline in the barely lit room. "Are you going to talk to me about it?"

"Not tonight," Emily answered. It was a soft tone she had used, but there wasn't really anything apologetic in it.

"Some night then?"

Emily had started moving around the room again. She muttered, "It's really late, Ash," in a distracted voice, and went on to pack for her trip London. Ashley couldn't help but wonder if all the stories from that night- or all their stories at all- if they meant anything. "I don't like telling you 'no.'" Emily offered as a peace offering.

"But you're saying 'no'?"

Another sigh, another zip of a bag, "I'm saying: not tonight."

About earlier reviews on 'upheaval and unfaithfulness.' I hope so far I'm doing the characters justice without any "bad guys." I want everyone to be sympathetic. Personally, I think that Emily's character really doesn't seem like an 'other woman' type. They're all just humans and trying to do their best.

Without spoilers (I actually already have this story written, I'm just tweaking and trying to edit before I post) I will say that both of those things are minimal. Things are going to happen, but it's a slow burn/process either way. Whatever happens won't be spur of the moment.

Thanks for the responses and, as always, thanks for reading! Things really start kicking off next chapter.