Sorry for leaving the last chapter on a cliffhanger but I thought it would keep you all interested. Btw, sorry that the story is dragging on but I really like it, if I'm being honest, I think it's quite good. Hope you all enjoy! References to series one & two of Torchwood and all the Criminal Minds that I have seen.
A Gift or A Curse"A necklace, a very unusual necklace, so to speak."
"You don't mean that weird one that gives you that freaky ability, do you?"
"Ye, I do."
"That thing got me locked up in a mental asylum, if you have that thing then get rid of it, it's dangerous!" Smith warned.
"How dangerous?" Morgan asked, now very concerned.
Gwen walked in and stood next to Emily, listening to the interrogation.
"It messes with your mind! Have any of you used it?" Smith spoke, seemingly scared.
Gwen froze and her breathing went shallower.
"Gwen, are you ok?" Emily asked, noticing Gwen's reaction.
"Emily, I wore… that necklace… earlier." Gwen stammered.
"Gwen, he's probably delusional, and finding a way to get off easier." Emily replied reassuringly.
"But Emily..."
"Gwen, calm down. He just admitted it, he got locked up in a mental asylum."
The door opened and the young Welshman came in,
"What's up, Gwen?"
"IworethatnecklaceandSmithjustsaidthatit'sreallydangerousandmesseswithyourmindsoI'mgonnaendupinamentalasylumandI'mscared, soyougottahelpme!!" Gwen babbled.
"What?" Emily asked, looking at the Welshwoman in confusion.
"She said that she wore that necklace and Smith just said that it's really dangerous and messes with your mind so she's gonna end up in a mental asylum and she's scared, so we gotta help her." Ianto repeated, earning a nod off Gwen.
"What… how did you do that?" Emily asked, still confused.
"Gwen babbles a lot so you have to kind of pick up on words."
"Hey!!" Gwen exclaimed, giving Ianto a dirty look.
"Look, she said a word and had a breath at the end." Ianto replied in mock shock, making Emily giggle.
"When you've finished." Gwen said, looking between the two.
"We'll tell you when we've finished, don't worry." Ianto smirked.
"That's it, I'm going!" Gwen stropped, making Ianto & Emily giggle harder.
As Gwen was leaving, Spencer was entering so he politely held the door open for her.
"Thank you, Spencer, at least someone is being a gentleman." Gwen exaggerated.
"You're welcome, Gwen." As soon as Gwen had left the room, the confused young man asked,
"What was that about?"
"It started were… Smith said the necklace… messes with your mind… so Gwen started panicking… and babbled making me a little confused… so Ianto translated and then…" Emily burst into a fit of giggles again.
"Then I started messing with Gwen… so she got pissed off… and stormed out…" Ianto giggled, his sides hurting.
"So let me get this straight, Smith said the necklace messes with your mind so Gwen panicked and babbled which confused Emily so you, Ianto translated and then you started 'messing' with Gwen so she got, well as you put it, pissed off and then stormed out. Am I right?" Spencer asked, slightly confused.
"Ye… hold on, you said 'pissed'…" Emily said, stopping giggling suddenly.
"And?" Spencer asked in confusion.
"But you never swear."
"And?!"
"Oh My Gosh, aww, our little boy is growing up!!"
"Ok, I'm just gonna leave now."
"But Reid, that's soo cute!!"
"Ok, I'll take the 'aww' and the 'cute', but if you try to kiss me, I'm leaving, seriously."
"Oh, ok. Oh, wait til I tell JJ and Garcia and, Morgan." Emily said, running for the door.
"No, Emily, you can't tell Morgan! Emily!!" Spencer replied, running after the excited woman.
"Kids." Ianto replied simply.
………………………………………………………………………
"Morgan, did you get anything out of him?" Hotch asked.
"Nothing, except that the necklace messes with your mind." Morgan replied, exasperated.
"Morgan!!" Emily exclaimed excitedly.
"What, Prentiss?"
"Guess what?"
"Morgan, whatever she says is a lie." Spencer said, finally catching up to Prentiss.
"Oh, is this about you, Reid?" Morgan asked with a smirk.
"Emily, don't say anything!"
"Oh, but please do, Emily." Morgan's smirk turned into a grin.
"Don't worry, I will!"
Reid signed heavily, rolling his eyes.
"Reid swore."
"And?" Hotch & Morgan both asked.
"Do I have to have this conversation with you guys too?"
"What's the big deal?" Morgan asked in confusion.
"Reid never swears, does he?"
"And… oh, that's true, he doesn't."
"Don't start, Morgan." Reid warned.
"And why's that?"
"Morgan, Prentiss, stop winding him up." Hotch warned.
"Ye, leave my baby alone." Garcia added, making them all jump.
"Are you ok, baby boy?"
"Ye, fine." Reid replied, slightly bewildered at being called Garcia's 'baby boy'.
"Aww, are you ok, baby boy?" Morgan mimicked.
"Leave… him… alone." Garcia warned, pushing Morgan back with every word.
"Ok, baby girl, you got it."
"And don't start with the 'baby girl' when you've been picking on poor Reid."
"Ok, Garcia, I'm sorry."
"What about Reid's apology?"
"Look Reid, you know I'm just having fun, don't ya?"
"Ye, course I do." Reid replied with a shy smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Reid." Emily apologized, knowing that Reid was only putting on a smile.
"It's fine, honestly." Reid replied, before heading off to his desk.
"Don't worry, Prentiss, he knows we're only messing." Morgan reassured Emily, seeing Emily's sad face.
"Ye, right." Emily replied absent-mindedly.
"Back to work, guys." Hotch said, before heading for his office.
"You ok, Reid?" Emily asked gently.
"Ye, fine." Reid replied, looking up at her from where he was sat and giving her that small smile.
The smile that he put on to make it look like he was ok when really he was hurting. The same smile he put on just after he was drugged and abused. Emily used to think nothing of that smile, until he put it on that night, now she hated it.
Emily knelt down so that she could meet Spencer's eyes.
"Spencer," Like Hotch, Emily only called Reid by his first name when the situation was serious.
"Listen, I know that you always pretend like some of the things that Morgan says doesn't affect you but, I know that they do." She placed a gentle hand on his leg.
"Thanks, Emily." Spencer replied, smiling softly.
"You're welcome, Spence." Emily replied, standing up and smiling at him, not totally convinced.
"You know that me, JJ and Garcia will all beat Morgan to death if he does push it too far, right?" Emily joked, hoping to make Spencer smile.
"Ye, I do." Spencer smiled a genuine smile.
"Good." Emily replied, before walking off.
………………………………………………………………
"Do you want me to talk to Smith, Aaron?" Jack asked, after he had been told that Morgan hadn't got anything out of him.
"Jack, we are NOT doing anything illegal so that we can get him to talk." Aaron warned, wondering how many times he would have to say that.
"I wasn't meaning illegal, it's just that back in Cardiff we have ways of making people talk, or scream, which ever way you wanna put it."
Aaron's eyes went wide.
"You are kidding, right?" Aaron asked, still slightly scared.
"Sort of, I mean we don't cut fingers or any other body parts off but we do have this alien in our possession, and we use he, she, it, ye, it to make people talk." Ianto added, giving Jack a warning look.
"Oh, ok." Aaron replied, taking a step away from the two men.
"Don't worry, Janet doesn't bite, unless we tell her to." Jack smirked.
"Jack." Ianto warned.
"What?" Jack asked innocently.
"What have we said about making Weevil jokes, especially ones involving Janet?"
"That wasn't a joke." At this Aaron took another step back.
"Jack! Stop it! And I wish you wouldn't refer to it as a she, I never should have let you name it." Ianto warned, sounding exasperated.
"Why?" Jack asked in shock.
"Cause now you're attached to it, and you know what happens when you get attached to something."
"You end up keeping it." Jack suggested.
"Exactly." Ianto replied simply.
"Ok, please can we get off the subject of aliens?" Aaron asked, daring to take a step towards the two men.
"Ye, sure." Ianto replied, giving Aaron a smile.
"Ok, Jack, you can talk and talk only, to Smith. I mean it, if I find out you've touched him in any way then you'll be in trouble." Aaron warned.
"Promises, promises." Jack muttered, smirking at Ianto.
"Jack, stop it!" Ianto warned.
Jack was becoming uncontrollably giddy and verging on the point of being a sex maniac.
"What?" Jack asked innocently.
…………………………………………………………
"Martha, I know it might seem out of place, but are Jack an Ianto, you know, together?" JJ asked suddenly.
"They… dabble." Martha replied, smirking to herself. It was a private conversation her and Ianto had had where Ianto had replied with 'We dabble'.
"Oh, right, ok." JJ replied, not knowing what to say otherwise.
"Smith is being a pain in the ass, now."
"Why's that, well, all that Derek got out of him was that the necklace 'messes' with your head so none of use should try to use it."
"But Gwen used it, didn't she?"
"Ye, she did… hold on, maybe that's the way to get Smith to be less cryptic."
"How?" JJ asked, slightly confused.
"He said that if you use it then it messes with your head, so what if we told him about Gwen using it then he might tell us specifically how it messes with your head." Martha explained.
"Oh, good idea."
"Thanks."
………………………………………………………………
"I can't believe Hotch or Morgan couldn't get anything out of this guy!" Garcia said angrily.
"Don't worry, Jack will get something, from what I've heard, Jack has ways of making people talk." Donna replied, shuddering slightly.
"Wow, illegal ways?" Garcia asked curiously.
"Don't know really, maybe." Donna replied unsurely.
"Morgan's like that."
"Is he?"
"Ye, Hotch keeps telling him off for it, it's like watching a father and son argument, it's quite funny actually." Garcia replied, giggling slightly.
"Penny," Donna began, unsure how to ask the question that had been bugging her since the case started. "Do you like, Derek, you know, in that way?"
Penny gave a shocked expression and for a moment Donna thought that she was about to get slapped, or told off for asking such a question, or maybe both.
"I… I don't know." Penny replied, looking slightly upset.
"Penny, I…" Again Donna was unsure what to say, she didn't know Penny that well but Penny seemed really nice and the last thing Donna wanted to do was upset her.
"I think you do like him like that but you won't tell him because you're scared that he doesn't feel the same. I also think that you should tell him because I think he does." Donna said gently, not wanting to upset Penny.
"You do?"
"Ye so do Emily and Gwen." Donna replied with a reassuring smile.
"I might tell him."
"Honestly." Donna shook her head in disbelief.
"Hey!"
……………………………………………………………………
"Hey, John. You know, I worked with someone called John, we were partners, in more ways than one." Jack said, smirking.
"Good to know." John replied sarcastically.
"So this necklace, what does it do exactly?"
"Told the other guy, it… messes… with… your… head!"
"Calm down, I'm not stupid."
"Could've fooled me." John muttered.
"Oh, a smart arse, how interesting. Unfortunately for you, I hate smart-arses so you better start talking!" Jack replied, slowly loosing control of his temper.
"I've told you…"
"You've told us nothing!" Jack snapped, making John jump.
"I have!"
"Hey, believe me you don't want to piss me off."
"What you gonna do?" John asked cockily.
"Oh, what am I gonna do? Listen, you son of a bitch, start talking otherwise I'll start throwing punches, and I'm betting I'm a better fighter than you." Jack growled, grabbing John by his t-shirt and pinning him against the wall.
"Shit!" Ianto exclaimed.
"What the hell is going on, Ianto?" Martha asked in anger, slamming the door behind her.
"Martha, this wasn't my idea, in fact I didn't even know Jack would pull such a stunt." Ianto replied, glaring at his partner through the mirror-glass window.
"Bloody hell, does he always think with his fists?!" Martha asked, assuming that Ianto would know the full extent of Jack's temper.
"Don't start assuming that I let him do this, Martha!" Ianto exclaimed, looking at her and pointing at Jack.
"Don't yell at me, Ianto!! He's your partner, can't you keep him under control?!" Martha yelled back.
"He's not a dog, Martha!! I don't know when he's gonna do something like this cause if you haven't noticed, I'm NOT a bloody mind-reader!!" Ianto yelled back, before storming out the room and slamming the door behind him.
Unfortunately Jack and John had heard the whole argument and now John was grinning from ear to ear.
"Sit down! Don't move!" Jack ordered, pushing John in the direction of the chair.
"Oh ye, I was just gonna nip out to shop." John replied sarcastically.
"Shut it!" Jack ordered, before storming out the room.
"Ianto!" Jack yelled when he saw the young Welshman.
Ianto heard him but couldn't bear to respond.
"Ianto." Jack replied, placing a hand on Ianto's shoulder to stop him. "Ianto?"
"What?" Ianto snapped.
"Yan, what's wrong?"
"Stop with the bloody 'Yan'! Do you know how child-like it sounds?!" Ianto snapped, shrugging of Jack's hand and continuing to walk away.
"That's it."
"What's it?"
"You're coming with me, we need to talk."
"No, you can't make up for everything by snogging me!"
"Right, that's it, we really need to talk." Jack replied, practically dragging Ianto into an empty room.
Jack shut the door and locked it.
"That's it! Let me out now!" Ianto snapped.
"No! We are going to talk, first." Jack replied, stepping in front of the door.
"I don't wanna talk, Jack!" Ianto replied cruelly.
"What do you mean you don't wanna talk? What are you trying to say, Ianto?"
"That you think you can fix everything with a kiss or by feeling me up!!" Ianto snapped, before thinking.
He knew him and Jack had got passed that, after all they had had a civil partnership.
"Jack, I'm…" Ianto began.
"No, doesn't matter, you have a right to speak your mind." Jack said sadly.
"No Jack, I… I never meant that, I…" Jack unlocked the door and walked out the room before Ianto could finish.
Nothing could have prepared Jack for what happened next, Ianto came out the room and scanned the area for him.
"Jack!" Ianto yelled, making Emily and Gwen look up and nod to Jack's direction.
"Jack! Jack, I'm sorry!" Jack didn't reply.
"Jack, I…" Ianto thought about whether he should say it; everyone probably knew anyway.
"Jack, I LOVE YOU!!" Ianto closed his eyes, unsure about what would happen next.
Everyone stopped, including Jack.
Morgan looked up at the young Welshman with surprise; he would have NEVER seen that coming.
Hotch stood at his office door looking very impressed at the young man's bravery and then smirked when he saw Jack's shocked expression.
Spencer stood there, he wasn't that shocked; it had kind of been obvious how they felt about each other when they entered the building, though the pair probably didn't realize.
Jack looked to Spencer for, something, permission maybe, now Spencer was shocked. He looked from Ianto to Jack to Ianto and back, after a few seconds thought, Spencer nodded.
Jack nodded in agreement, about-faced and headed back up to the shocked young Welshman.
"Can we talk or do you think I'll try and sexually assault you?" Jack joked as he got close to Ianto.
Ianto smirked slightly and opened his eyes to see Jack's infectious smirk.
"I don't know, you might and if you do who's gonna believe me, you're the boss." Ianto replied, looking slightly serious, a look that soon turned into a smirk.
Jack leaned in and whispered into Ianto's ear, "I could just say that you enjoyed it."
Ianto's eyes widened in shock, before he punched Jack playfully in the arm.
"Ow."
"Don't be such a drama queen." Ianto smirked.
Jack put on a shocked expression, before kissing Ianto lovingly, earning a cheer off everyone.
"We really need to talk, Jack." Ianto said seriously.
"Come on." Jack directed to the room where they had just been.
"What's up?" Jack asked as he shut the door behind them.
"It's about before, you and John, look, Jack we've talked about the using your fists thing and yet you pinned John up against the wall."
"I'm sorry, Ianto, but he was just pissing me off, listen, I heard the argument between you and Martha and I'm sorry for that as well." Jack replied, placing his hand on Ianto's shoulder gently.
"We'll sort it but please, Jack, just try and keep your cool."
"It would be easier if he was as gorgeous as you." Jack replied cheekily, stealing a kiss off Ianto.
"Stop that!"
"What?"
"I am NOT being your distraction."
"Spoil-sport." Jack pouted.
"Do you have a deal, no fists unless EXTREMELY necessary."
"If it makes you feel better, it's a deal."
"Thank you, now, I've got some making up with Martha to do."
"Tell her I said hi."
"Ye right, then she'll tell me to give you a slap."
"Would she really want to tell you to do that though?"
"Jack!"
"Sorry."
……………………………………………………………………
"Right, John, I've got some bad news." Martha informed John sadly.
"And what's that?"
"One of my friends… sorry… one of my friends used the necklace… but it was an accident and we need to know what will happen to her."
"Oh crap! Just look after her, otherwise she gonna end up in that nuthouse like me." John was actually buying Martha's act.
"Please, John, just tell me." Martha begged.
"What did she see?" Martha looked to the mirror-glass window, unsure if Ianto had come back or not.
"She said she saw one of our friends die."
"Bet that was hard, I'm seen that…"
"Did you see the victims die?"
John gulped.
"Ye, I did."
"Would you be able to tell us who killed them and why?"
"Maybe." John shrugged.
"Can you or can't you?"
"Possibly."
"Look John, let's stop arsing around here, just tell me!" Martha rose her voice slightly.
"Fine! I'll tell you!"
"Thank you."
…………………………………………………………………………………
"Martha." Ianto said, as the young woman walked out of the interrogation room.
"Yes, Ianto?"
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier, I was just shocked at the way Jack handled John, literally." Ianto replied, unconsciously rolling his eyes.
Martha smiled.
"I'm sorry too, what Jack does isn't decided by you, Jack has full control of his actions, and I just thought that you could change him."
"I think I have a little."
"What do you mean?"
"We had a chat and he's gonna calm down with the fists of fury."
Martha laughed, the way Ianto described Jack's actions always made her giggle.
"Did he hear us?" Martha asked sadly.
"Ye, and he felt really guilty about his actions."
"Well that's a start, I guess."
"Ye, it is." Ianto agreed.
"Thanks."
"What for?" Ianto asked in confusion.
"Apologizing." Martha replied, kissing Ianto on the cheek.
"You're welcome." Ianto replied, starting to blush.
"Ciya."
"Ciya."
…………………………………………………………………………………
"Morgan." Garcia said nervously.
Garcia looked around the room for Donna; she was stood at the opposite side gesturing for her to carry on.
"Hey, Baby Girl." Morgan greeted cheerfully.
"Hi." Garcia replied shyly.
"You ok?" Morgan asked, his cheerfulness turning to concern.
"Ye, why wouldn't I be?" Garcia asked softly.
"Penny, do you wanna talk somewhere private?"
"Ye, sure… hold on, Penny?"
"Sorry, I mean Garc…"
"No, it's ok." Penny smiled.
"Let's go in the conference room." Morgan replied, letting Penny walk in front of him.
He shut the door carefully behind them and asked, "What's wrong, Baby Girl?"
"Listen, Morg… Derek, I really like you, in fact, I think I love you." Penny replied quietly.
"Did you say… Listen, Baby Girl…"
"It's ok, Derek, if you don't feel the same way…" Penny said sadly.
"Whoa, Penny, it's not that," Derek gently grabbed Penny's hand. "It's just this job, I do wanna be with you but I don't want anything to happen you, not after last time."
"Derek, that means the only way we could be together is if one or both of us left, and we're both needed here."
"Guess you're right, this job is so hard, I just wish you were safe." Derek replied, gently running his fingers through Penny's curls.
Penny loved Derek so much and he loved her. Unconsciously knowing, Penny leaned in and kissed Derek softly, bringing her hand up to his cheek, at the same time that Derek wrapped his arms around her.
When Penny pulled away, she immediately apologized, "Morgan, I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"
Derek placed a finger to her lips to hush her, "Baby Girl, it's fine, I kissed back."
"Really?" Penny asked, slightly shocked.
"Ye, I did."
Penny smiled sweetly.
"I love your smile."
"You do?"
"Ye, it lights up your whole face."
"Thanks."
Derek leaned in and quickly kissed Penny.
"Penny."
"Ye?"
"I love you too."
"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that." Penny replied, still smiling.
"I think I can guess. So you busy tonight?"
"Why, what do you have planned?"
"Do you like pizza and movies?"
"Ye, they're two of my favourite things." Penny beamed.
"Good, how about I pick you up at 8 ish?"
"Ok, you better not be late, or stand me up. No excuses."
"Promise."
"I mean it, even if the world is coming to an end…"
"I promise."
"Good."
They both stood up and were about to leave when the rest of the team entered.
"Oh, hi guys. Glad you're here we're having a conference, obviously." Hotch greeted the pair.
Derek took a seat next to Reid so that he could talk to the young man.
"So what have you two been up to then?" Emily whispered cheekily into Penny's ear.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Penny teased.
"You've become very dull, Penelope Garcia." Emily teased back.
"Me, dull? Never!" Penny smiled.
Emily rose an eyebrow to which Penny just grinned. Spencer looked up at the two women in confusion, so Penny just winked at him and said,
"Derek will probably tell you, baby boy."
"Derek?" Spencer asked in surprise.
Penny had never called Morgan by his first name before, ever.
"Don't worry, Penny, I will."
Morgan calling Garcia by her first name, something was going on.
"You two kissed, didn't you?" Spencer asked with the innocence of a child.
Everyone looked at the young man; who blushed bright red at all the attention.
"Smart arse." Morgan muttered.
Spencer looked up and grinned.
"How do you do that?" Penny asked in confusion and shock.
Emily leant over and looked at Spencer curiously.
"What?"
"I just wanna see if I can see inside your head."
Spencer gave her a funny look, which made everyone giggle.
"Were you normal before you started working here?" Spencer asked, still giving her a funny look.
"Course I was." Emily replied, finally moving away from Spencer.
"Could have fooled me." Spencer replied, much to the surprise of everyone.
"What?"
"You cheeky bugger." Emily replied, seriousness on her face.
Spencer thought he'd upset Emily and decided to look down at the table.
"Think you're funny, don't ya?" Emily smirked, ruffling Spencer hair.
"What is it with you people and my hair?!" Spencer asked, straightening his hair out again.
"Aww!" The girls cooed in unison.
"What so attractive about the kid genius that you girls all go soft with him?" Morgan asked in surprise.
"What's not attractive about him? He's sweet, funny and soo adorably cute!" Emily replied, ruffling Spencer hair again.
"Someone shoot me, please." Spencer muttered.
"No objections here, anything to be number one again." Morgan joked.
"Girls, when you've finished cuddling Reid, there's work we need to do." Hotch replied, when the conversation was becoming too distracting.
"Oh, sorry Aaron." Emily apologized, much to the surprise of the Profilers.
"It's fine, Prent… What?!" Aaron replied, not really taking in what she'd just said.
"Sorry, I meant Hotch." Emily backtracked.
"It's fine, Emily." Aaron reassured her, absent-mindedly.
"So we're all on a first name basis now?" JJ asked, slightly confused.
"Well, it makes it easier for our friends at Torchwood, doesn't it?" Aaron replied, using his quick thinking.
"Guess so." JJ replied, knowing there was something more going on.
"So we knew that the victims were beaten and strangled but what we didn't know was… Martha, why don't you tell us?"
"Ok." Martha said, standing up and taking Hotch's place at the head of the table.
"The victims were killed because, according to Smith, they were going to talk about what the necklace does. And whoever gave them this necklace clearly didn't want them to."
"How did you get that?" Jack asked curiously.
Resisting the urge to reply with something like 'well, I didn't assault him for one…', Martha replied calmly,
"I simply told him that Gwen had used the necklace and pretended that something bad had already happened to her."
"What?!" Gwen asked in shock.
"Gwen, it was so he would talk…"
"What do you mean you 'pretended' that something bad had already happened to me?!"
"Gwen…" Donna tried.
"Seeing Ianto dead and Spencer next to him, crying, isn't bad, is it?!" Gwen blurted out before storming from the room.
"What?" Jack asked, resisting the urge to lose his temper.
"Jack…" Martha began.
"What… the hell… is going… on?" Jack asked slowly.
"Jack…" Martha tried again.
"Dammit, Martha, just tell me!!" Jack yelled, making everyone jump.
"Jack, I know you're worried but yelling won't solve anything." Donna said professionally.
"I know." Jack whispered, tears in his eyes.
"Martha, I told you we should have told them." Emily said.
"Wait, you knew and you didn't tell us?" Aaron asked, now slightly angry.
"Ye, but we just didn't know how to, clearly blurting it out like that didn't work." Emily replied, her eyes sad at the hurt and distrust in Aaron's.
"Why didn't you tell me, Emily?" Spencer's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Spencer…" Emily began softly, before Spencer stood up and walked out.
Spencer didn't want molly coddling, he just wanted the truth.
"Spence…" Emily tried to say.
"I'll talk to him, Emily." Morgan reassured her, following the young man out the room.
"I'm just gonna…" Emily said, walking out the room feeling like she'd betrayed her friends, her family.
"Emily… wait… Hotch, if you don't know that she was just trying to protect Reid, then you really don't know Emily." Penny said before following Emily.
"Garcia," Garcia turned to look at him. "Go and find Reid and Morgan, please. I'll talk to Em."
"Ok." As soon as Hotch had left the room, Garcia smiled at the nickname he'd just given to Emily. She was glad that he wasn't acting so distant.
"Jack," Jack looked up at Martha, who had tears running down her cheeks. "I'm really…" Martha couldn't take it any longer, she burst into tears it was only when she felt arms wrap around her and pull her into hug, that that stifled to soft sobs.
"Martha, I know, you've always protected Ianto. Thank you, I just wish you would have told me." Jack soothed, startling Martha.
She hadn't realized it was Jack until he'd spoke.
"Ianto, I'm sorry." She sobbed before burying he face in Jack's shirt.
Jack ran his hand through her hair softly, trying to stop the tears.
"I can't believe, you…" Ianto broke of due to shock.
"Martha, are you gonna be ok?"
Martha nodded and released Jack so that he could calm down the shaking young Welshman.
JJ and Donna walked over to Martha and hugged her tightly.
"Ianto… sweetheart, please look at me." Jack said softly, placing a hand on top of Ianto's.
Ianto looked up into Jack's teary blue eyes.
"Jack,"
"Ssh, listen, you know Martha, Gwen and Donna love you like family, and really I can't blame them for not telling. I was just a little shocked, but I think there was a better way of telling us without me shouting at them. Sorry, I broke the deal."
Ianto smirked.
"Come on, let's go find Gwen." Jack replied, helping Ianto up.
"Martha," Martha looked up at the Welshman. "Thank you, for wanting to protect me."
Martha smiled softly, tears still running down her cheeks.
…………………………………………………………………
The young woman sat crying, hoping she hadn't made such a stupid mistake. Was it wrong to protect those you care about? A part of her wanted him there, to hold her and to say that everything was ok but another part of her didn't, she didn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes.
"Emily." Aaron said softly, he wasn't sure whether it was right to nickname her like he had done when he was speaking to Garcia.
"Hotc… Aaron?" Emily asked, believing that his voice was only in her head.
But Hotch never called her Emily so he must be here.
"Are you ok?" Aaron asked gently.
"Ye, what you doing here?" Emily asked, hopefully not sounding rude.
"It's my office." Aaron replied with a soft smile.
"What?! Sorry, I'll go." Emily apologized, heading for the door.
"Em, we need to talk."
"Em?" Emily asked in confusion.
"Sorry, Emily, we need to talk. Please can you shut the door?"
"Ye, sure." Emily replied, shutting the door, still a little shocked.
"You ok?" Aaron asked again, sitting down on his couch.
"Ye, I was just…" Emily struggled to find the words.
"Do you want to sit down?" Aaron asked, gesturing to the place next to him.
"Thanks." Emily sat down, shaking slightly.
"Emily, what's wrong?" Aaron asked, unconsciously placing a hand on her leg.
"I was just… Aaron, I'm sorry for abusing your trust, I really am. I just thought I was protecting a friend and Gwen was so scared." Emily apologized, grabbing Aaron's hand in an attempt at a genuine apology.
"It's ok." Aaron replied softly, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
Emily looked down at their joined hands, it felt right but with Aaron's position at the BAU, she knew that she couldn't be with him.
"Sorry, I didn't even realize that I'd…" Emily broke off when Aaron brought his hand up to her face.
"Em, I know how you feel, and I really want to be with you."
"I know… Why do you keep calling me Em?"
"If it's bugging you, then I apologize." Aaron replied, removing his hand from her cheek.
"I just can't believe that you're getting close." Emily smiled shyly.
"What do you mean?" Aaron asked, slightly shocked.
"Well, normally you put a wall up, and you don't let anyone in… Sorry, that's none of my business." Emily turned away.
"You're right." Aaron agreed, gently turning her face back to face him.
"I am?"
"Ye, you are and that's what I like about you. You've got more than Profiler skills, you've got empathy as well and you can see deeper than other people."
"You think?"
"Ye. You're special and I'm really glad I hired you. No matter what you think, it wasn't because of your parents' position. I really like you, Em and I don't care if you don't feel that way, I just wanted to tell you." Aaron said quickly, feeling like a teenager with a crush.
"You really feel that way?" Emily was slightly shocked.
"Course I do, why wouldn't I?"
"Then prove it." Emily smiled.
"How?" Aaron asked in surprise.
"Kiss me." Emily whispered in Aaron's ear.
"I can't…" Aaron replied in a disappointed voice.
"No, you're right, of course you can't." Emily gave him a soft smile then stood up. "Sorry." And with that she headed for the door.
"Em," Aaron stood up.
"Don't worry, Aaron, it's fine." Emily turned and gave him a smile.
Aaron was determined not to lose the woman he loved. He took a few steps forward and hoped that his plan would work; after all it was the only one he had.
He kissed her gently on the lips, hoping that he was doing the right thing. Before Emily could stop herself, she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist.
"That ok?" Aaron asked timidly when they broke apart.
"Perfect." Emily replied with a smile, giving him a quick kiss.
"Should we give it a try, then?" Aaron asked.
"I think we should, ye."
"Ok then, you busy tonight?" Aaron asked with a smile.
"I don't know, can I get back to you on that?" Emily replied, feeling a little bad at not being able to give Aaron an answer.
"Sure." Aaron replied, a little disappointed.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry, it's fine."
"You're too sweet to me." Emily smiled.
"You should be happy." Aaron smiled back.
"I am, very happy."
"Ciya later then."
"Ye, hopefully." Emily turned and headed for the door again.
"Oh, Em, please can we keep this on the down-low for now?"
"I was just thinking the same thing."
……………………………………………………………………………
Gwen sat with her eyes closed, breathing deeply. She knew she shouldn't have just blurted out what she did. How could she have been so stupid?! Part of her was glad that they knew and part of her wish they didn't, not until the case was over and definitely not like this.
"Gwen." The American spoke softly, which surprised Gwen.
"Jack?" She asked, wondering why he was being so nice to her.
"Gwen, look at me, please."
"I'd rather not, I don't think I have the right to." Gwen admitted, fresh tears tracing the previous ones that had dried on her cheeks.
"I understand why you did it." Jack replied, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"What?!" Gwen asked in shock, finally looking up at Jack.
"I said I understand why you did it." Jack knelt down next to Gwen.
"Then why did you have a go at me?"
"I was just scared, but it was Penny that made me realize why you didn't tell."
"What did she say to you?"
"Well, it wasn't really to me, it was to Aaron."
"What did she say?"
"She told Aaron that if he didn't know that Emily was just trying to protect Spencer, then he really didn't know Emily so that got me thinking how much you must care about Ianto to want to protect him."
"Really?"
"Ye, isn't that right, Ianto?"
"Ye it is." Ianto replied, giving Gwen a comforting smile.
"Ok."
"So are we friends again then?" Jack opened his arms for the young Welshwoman to hug him.
"Guess so." Gwen replied, letting Jack hug her and hugging him tightly.
Jack could tell that Ianto felt left out so he said with a smile, "There's always room for one more."
Ianto smiled and let himself be hugged by his Captain and his best friend.
"So we all friends then?"
"Ye, we are." Gwen beamed.
"Come on then, let's get back to the others. Hopefully Aaron has found Emily."
"Jack, is it me or does it seem like there's something between those two?" Gwen asked curiously.
"I think it's one of those attractions that was oblivious until recently." Jack replied wisely.
"I agree, I hope them two become an item, they seem good together." Ianto added with a sweet smile.
"I agree with youon that." Jack smiled softly.
"Oh, Gwen, about you seeing me dead, that probably won't happen now that we know about it. Oh, just out of curiosity, why was Spencer sat with me, and why was he crying?"
"Well, from what I could tell, he obviously felt close to you, what were you talking about when we first started this case?" Gwen asked.
"About how I used to feel like him… so that's why he feels close to me, because we're so alike. Now it's obvious!"
"That's so sweet, I'm proud of you, Yan. Oh, am I still allowed to call you that?" Jack put in, smiling sweetly.
"What?!" Gwen asked in confusion.
"Never mind, it was an argument we had earlier." Ianto reassured her. "Yes, Jack, you can still call me Yan."
"Good." Jack smiled before kissing Ianto.
"Get a room!" Gwen said, rolling her eyes.
"Don't worry, we already have one." Ianto replied, to the surprise of both Jack and Gwen.
"Ianto, there's such a thing as too much information!"
"I'm only messing, Gwen."
"Come on, kids, let's get back."
……………………………………………………………………………
"Derek. Spencer." Penny said softly.
"Hey Baby Girl." Derek greeted sadly.
"You ok?"
"Can we get back to you on that?" Derek asked, trying to joke.
"Baby boy, are you ok?" Penny asked Spencer, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He turned and smiled weakly at her.
"He's gonna be ok, Spence." Penny reassured the young man, brushing strands of hair from his face.
"Do you think?" Spencer asked in a tone barely above a whisper.
"Look, baby boy, we all know about it now, so we can look after him. You've become friends with him, haven't you?" Penny asked, a smile forming on her face at the young man's innocence.
Spencer nodded sadly.
"It's because he can relate to you, isn't it, Reid?" Derek asked, placing his hand on Spencer's shoulder, while Penny ran her fingers through the young man's hair.
"Ye, it is, Morgan." Spencer bowed his head.
"I'm glad for you, it's better that way." Spencer's head shot up at Derek's honesty.
Derek smiled.
The innocence of the young man was refreshing and sweet compared to their job. It made everyone smile whenever they saw him.
"Nothing's gonna happen to him, I promise. You know that I don't want anything happening to you again or the same happening to innocent people either." Derek added.
Spencer nodded in agreement.
"So you're ok then?" Penny asked with a smile.
"Ye, I am, Garcia." Spencer smiled back, his eyes sparkling like they always did when he smiled.
"Good." Penny smiled and ruffled Spencer's hair gently.
"You never answered by question." Spencer said suddenly.
"What question?"
"About if you two kissed."
"Ye we did." Derek replied with a smile.
"How?"
"I believe Derek is referring to when he replied 'Smart arse', aren't you, Derek?" Penny's smile grew bigger.
"Ye, I was." Derek smiled back at Penny.
"Get a room!" Spencer exclaimed, making a face.
Derek kissed Penny softly, to which Spencer started coughing.
"Oh, sorry, Reid, forgot you were there." Derek smiled cheekily.
"Obviously." Spencer replied, rolling his eyes.
"Leave him alone, Derek." Penny smiled sweetly at Spencer.
"Can I ask, do you two think there's something doing on between Emily and Hotch?" Spencer asked timidly.
"Come to think of it, ye, I do." Penny replied.
"It's never shown before though, has it?" Spencer asked.
"Not to each other but definitely to the rest of us." Derek replied with a smile.
"Maybe that's why he called her Em earlier, cause he's just realized he likes her." Penny wondered.
"But again, Penny, with our job it's hard to find love. And with Hotch's position at the BAU, it's gonna be harder."
"It shouldn't matter if he loves her, everyone has the right to be happy." Spencer added, his innocence shining through.
"Reid, it's not that simple…" Derek began.
"Morgan, I know you think that I've got the innocence of a child but that's not true. Emily and Hotch are in love and they work with each other so it's gonna be hard to avoid the situation or their feelings."
"Ok, baby boy, Derek's not saying that, it just is hard for them to be together. Think about if either of them get hurt, it could break the other's heart and makes them weak."
"Garcia, why do you keep calling me that?" Spencer asked sadly.
"What, baby boy? Well, why does Derek keep calling me Baby Girl?"
"Because it's a nickname?" Spencer suggested.
"Exactly. I'm not suggesting anything Spence, I just thought you wouldn't appreciate me calling you 'kid'." At that point Penny turned back to Derek and gave him a look.
"What?" Derek asked innocently.
"Derek Morgan, innocence doesn't fit you!" Was Penny's reply.
Spencer smirked and giggled slightly.
"Hey, you!" Derek exclaimed, playfully pushing Spencer. "Oh, good to see your balance is better." He commented at Spencer only moving slightly.
"Leave… him… alone!!" Penny ordered slowly, pushing Derek roughly.
Derek lost his balance and collided with a cupboard.
Spencer giggled a little.
"Spencer, you know it's not…" Penny began before bursting into a fit of giggles.
"So you think that's funny, do you, Penelope Garcia?" Derek asked.
"Sounds like you're in trouble, Garcia." Spencer giggled.
"Right, that's it!" Derek warned, grabbing Penny and tickling her.
"Spencer, help!" Penny begged in between giggles.
"I'm not getting involved." Spencer replied, attempting to step over the pair.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, Spencer!"
…………………………………………………………………………………
"Right, now that everyone is coming back, slowly, shall we carry on?" Aaron asked as a few members at a time entered the room.
"Hey Aaron." Emily greeted, taking a seat.
Aaron smiled shyly at her, "Hey Emily."
"Hey Aaron, we're back." Jack greeted, his arms round Ianto and Gwen.
"I can see that, Jack. Now where are Reid, Morgan and Garcia?"
"Hi Hotch." Spencer said, rubbing his head.
"Reid, is wasn't that bad!" Derek commented, rolling his eyes.
"It was your fault!" Spencer replied, giving Derek an evil look.
"What happened?" Emily asked in an exasperated tone.
"Morgan thought it would be a good idea to have a tickle fest with Garcia in a small room!" Spencer replied, continuing to rub his head.
"So what happened to you?" Aaron asked.
"Morgan grabbed my leg so I tripped and hit my head on the cupboard!" Spencer exclaimed, taking a few steps towards Derek threateningly.
"Hold on, what have you two been up to?" Derek asked with a cheeky grin.
"What you on about, Morgan?" Emily asked.
"Emily, lipstick's smudged." JJ whispered across the table.
"Oh." Emily replied simply, wiping away the smudged lipstick.
Aaron blushed bright red.
"I'll be honest, I'm not surprised." Spencer replied before sitting down next to Emily.
"You're not?" Emily asked in surprise.
"Not really."
"Oh."
"Well, shall we carry on?" Aaron asked professionally.
"Ye." They all replied in unison.
"So Martha, you got that the victims were killed because they were gonna tell someone about the necklace." Aaron reminded.
"So is this some sort of game then, like trying to find someone who won't tell?" JJ suggested.
"Could be." Aaron replied unsurely.
"It's got to be more complicated than that." Spencer contradicted.
"Why?" Gwen asked in confusion.
"Because the victims were beaten and strangled, and by the looks of it, the victims were strangled with the unsub's hands, that takes a while, especially with the males."
"What do you mean?" Donna asked.
"Hotch, is it ok if I…" Aaron nodded, so Spencer walked to the head of the table. "If we look at the victims, the two males aren't exactly weak, I mean, I'm not suggesting the females are but…"
"Calm down, Spencer, we know what you mean." JJ reassured him.
"Good, so you see why it can't be so straight forward."
"Hold on, what if it's both, simple and complicated." JJ suggested.
"What?!" The team asked in confusion.
"I think I can see where JJ's coming from, a simple crime with a complicated twist." Spencer replied.
"Now I see it, to think up something like that you must have a plan other than killing people." Emily added.
Just at that point, Aaron's mobile started ringing.
"Hold on a minute, guys." Aaron replied, pulling his mobile out of his pocket.
"Hotchner."
Everyone listened carefully.
"Really, are you sure? We'll be right there." Aaron replied, hanging up the phone.
"Aaron, what's wrong?" Emily asked in a concerned voice.
"Police have found a woman, she's still alive but by the sounds of it, she's used the necklace."
"She can't of, Hotch." JJ contradicted.
"JJ, she's talking about stuff that hasn't happened yet, do you really think I'm lying?" Aaron asked, sounding a little nasty.
"Ok, let's go then." Derek said, trying to ease the tension.
"Right, Morgan, Reid and JJ, you three in one car. Donna and Martha in another. Ianto, Gwen and Emily in a third and Jack, you're with me." Aaron instructed.
"No."
"Emily, what do you mean 'no'?" Aaron asked in surprise.
"Exactly what it's supposed to mean."
"'No' to what?"
"I think Jack would be better with Ianto and Gwen." Emily reasoned.
"But Em…"
"No, Aaron, you're not going to change my mind." Emily replied stubbornly.
"Fine, Jack, you're with Ianto and Gwen. You know what, Emily, I'm glad you're with me cause we need to talk." Aaron replied.
"Right."
"Let's go, guys." Aaron ordered.
…………………………………………………………………………
"Emily, what the hell was that all about?" Aaron asked, once they had set of in the car.
"Aaron, please don't use that tone with me." Emily replied, completely ignoring his question.
"Ok, Emily, what was that about?" Aaron asked, as gently as possible.
"Aaron, you've never bothered about me being in a car alone with you before so just because we might be dating, doesn't mean you should put me in a car away from you." Emily replied, trying to prove a point with hurting Aaron.
"Em, wait… what do you mean 'might be dating', why do think I kissed you earlier, even though I could've risked my job."
"I just… don't want you moving me around because you're scared of what might happen with us." Emily replied softly.
"Us?" Aaron asked in surprise.
"Ye, why do you not want there to be an 'us'?" Emily asked with a smile.
"Course I do." Aaron replied, gently grabbing Emily's hand.
Emily linked their fingers and placed a kiss on Aaron's cheek.
"So we're ok then?" Aaron asked curiously.
"Ye, oh, about tonight, I'm free."
"Oh, that's great."
"I was s'posed to be going to my parents' for tea so I asked them if I could postpone and they said that they were about to ring to ask me the same thing." Emily sighed.
"I'm sorry." Aaron apologized, gently squeezing her hand.
"It's fine, I'm used to it now." Emily smiled unconvincingly.
"Oh, looks like we're here." Aaron said, changing the subject to avoid upsetting Emily.
"Ye, what a pity." Emily smiled.
Aaron felt sorry for Emily, her parents were always busy and she seemed lost. He leaned over and kissed her gently, feeling her kiss back and she brought a hand up to his cheek.
"Aww!" The other girls exclaimed at the sight that met them as they walked past Aaron and Emily's car.
"Sorry."
"I'm not." Emily replied with a cheeky smile.
"Looks like we've got an audience."
"Do you think they're jealous?"
"Are you kidding? Jack is with Ianto, Morgan is with Garcia, and JJ and Spencer will probably get together, what's there to be jealous about? Well, apart from me being with a good-looking woman like you." Aaron smiled.
"I've probably said this before and I'll probably say it again, you're too sweet with me." Emily smiled back before kissing him softly.
"Come on, let's go and see the girl who was lucky enough to escape the unsub."
Sorry to Profilerreid as I promised not to do a Emily/Hotch pairing but I've been reading other peoples' stories who've done Emily/Hotch and I just thought I'd see how it worked out and tbh I'm quite proud. I've also done a Garcia/Morgan pairing as well, which I also think worked well. And I'm sorry for not updating for ages; had a bit of Writer's Block, add to that exams so you can see why I've struggled. Hope u like the chapter! Please R&R!!