AN/Thanks so much to everybody that has reviewed or alerted or even just read happily this story. I'd also like to thank SSBAILEY for some excellent brownies. :)
JJ returned home after her week of vacation very relaxed--well, as relaxed as you could be with two brothers' constant teasing. While it had been agony every moment she was away from work, it had been nice to be able to talk about something that didn't involve rape, murder, theft, and/or abductions. JJ needed some time to breathe and refocus her energy. Her one regret from her week in East Allegheny was giving Hal her number. She had agreed to go out with him once, and she had let him be her rebound after that awful door-step scene with Spence. But after she had gotten home from his apartment, he had called her at least twice a day, and hadn't picked on her not-so-subtle cues that she was far from interested. When she unlocked her door of her apartment and heard the phone ring, she was sure it was him.
"Hal! I just got in and I can't really talk right now, let me call you when I am not swamped at work." JJ lied, knowing there would never be a time where she was not swamped at work.
"Well, you came up with that excuse fast." Hotch laughed on the other end of the phone. "Who's Hal?"
"What can I do for you Hotch?" JJ asked cringing--why did she always have awkward moments with Hotch?
"Hailey had her baby, and we have a case that I need you to brief the team on in the morning."
"Congratulations! Um, I'll have the briefing ready in the morning." JJ said, still mortified.
"If I say please will you tell me who Hal is and why you don't like him?" Hotch teased, in a rare jovial mood.
"I don't not like Hal." JJ lied for no particular reason. Truth be told, she didn't like Hal, but for some reason she did not want Hotch to know that, or why she didn't for that matter.
"JJ, you were going to tell him that you'd call him when you weren't busy. You work for the BAU, you will always be busy."
"I will be at work first thing to review the case. See you then."
"Changing the subject? That is a deflection technique if I have ever heard one."
"What is with you tonight? Did you suddenly decide to have a sense of humor?" JJ snapped at her boss. Seriously, Hotch never teased anyone, so why was he making fun of her now?
"Sorry, that was unprofessional. Good night, JJ." Hotch apologized sincerely before hanging up the phone.
When JJ arrived at work, just to hear that Spencer Reid failed his qualifying exam, she felt disgusted with herself at how happy that made her. It was petty and she knew it, but after Reid telling her that she wasn't a real girl, she felt a little bitter. Presenting the case, she had a hard time suppressing the giggle she wanted to let it out. The briefing was a cinch, the case however would be difficult. LDSK's had never been caught by a profile and JJ was afraid that it would turn into the Beltway Shooter's all over again.
On the plane, JJ was both excited and slightly enraged when Reid sat down by her like nothing happened. It was hard for her accept that Reid didn't know what he did. But it mattered to JJ. While the BAU was an exciting unit, there was on problem. Men sucked. Reid didn't think she was a girl, Hotch was fantastic, but married, Morgan was would be great to spend time with, if JJ ever got to work with him and Gideon was a little old for her. She had never been the type to use work to pick up men, but her current predicament was cramping her style. Mentally forcing herself to get back to work, JJ started to go over the press releases all over again, having to reread them several times in order to comprehend anything they were saying.
She avoided Reid the entire time, staying with Gideon and Elle as they went over victimology. She got a small thrill out of almost arresting a reporter, but other than that, she assumed this case would be just like all of the others. Little did she know that this case would be very different.
When going to talk to a narcissistic trauma surgeon, she thought about the surgeon she dated for a few weeks, David was a jerk--cute, filthy rich, smart, but interested in a finding a trophy wife--which JJ was far from. JJ laughed as she remembered how it eventually ended in Lauren breaking up with David for JJ, by leaving a message on his voice mail. While JJ normally abhorred behavior like that from her friend, she easily admitted to herself how much she appreciated her friend's meddling--sometimes.
She wasn't prepared for what would awaken her from her nostalgia, she wasn't prepared for Spence and Hotch to get take hostage. Not that she ever would be, but it was difficult to deal with how worried she was for her coworkers. Victims seemed distant, like they were entirely different beings in question, but to have some of the only people who understood her--who understood what the job had done to her, they seemed real. JJ sat on the edge of her seat until she heard the gun shots. When she heard them, she thought she could cry. JJ was sure the UNSUB had gunned down Reid and Hotch. She knew it. She felt guilty about how she treated Reid since she returned home. She knew he didn't mean what he said to hurt her, and it doing so was unintentional.
In the matter of seconds where JJ was sure tragedy had struck, she was gladly proven wrong. As soon as she could make up the gap between her and Reid, she had him in a hug. She was surprised when she found out that Elle had gotten the same idea, and while she would have perferred a moment alone with him, she gladly accepted that Elle being there would atleast make the hug less awkward.
JJ awoke startled, as she found herself being carried up a flight of stairs by Morgan. Confused, she racked her brain for any possible explanation why Morgan would be taking her home.
As if he could read her mind, Morgan looked down at her. "You fell asleep on the plane, we all tried to wake you up when we landed, but you were out. I don't know what you took, but it must have been strong. I wanted to leave you there, but Hotch made me take you home." Morgan said grinning, "I told you that I would get you in bed some how, I just wasn't planning for it to be like this."
"Please Morgan, this is the only way that you could ever get me to let you take me home. I would have to be unconcious." JJ teased weakly, trying to ward off the grogginess that was enveloping her.
"Tell me, would you have to be drooling to? Because you did a whole lot of that." Morgan shot back, "Or was that a sign of you having a very X-rated dream about me."
"You caught me." JJ said, all sarcasm lost by her long yawn.
"Or would it be about Reid? Maybe something freaky did go on after the football game. The Redskins don't have to be the only ones scoring touchdowns." Morgan joked, as he reached opened her door. "Man, you must be tired. You didn't throw one little, pathetic tantrum over me carrying you the entire time you were awake."
"I am saving my energy to kick you later."
"You never did answer my question about you and Reid. So tell me, am I going to have to buy you a blender for your wedding anytime soon?" Morgan's question was answered by JJ's glare as he set her on her couch. "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad. What did the kid do? I mean, you didn't talk to him the entire time we were in Illinois. Something is up."
"He told me that I wasn't a girl. Well, that I wasn't a real girl. I even bothered washing my hair for him, and he said that I wasn't a real girl!" JJ fumed, then considered how strange that she was sharing this with Morgan of all people.
"Do you not usually wash your hair?" Morgan asked skeptically, then seeing that she was not in the mood for games, he sighed. "JJ, Reid is a good person but he lacks all forms of social skills...all. You should have seen Elle's face when he told her that her biological clock was ticking and that he wasn't sure how viable her eggs were. I thought she was going to shoot him, and frankly, was a little disappointed when she didn't. You have Dawgs trying to pick you up in bars all the time, why do you need Reid to think you're a...Oh no." He stopped.
"What?" She looked around the room, somewhat scared that he had seen a spider or a cockroach in her immaculate apartment.
"YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON REID!" Morgan yelled in disbelief.
JJ merely shrugged, sinking back into the couch, not having enough energy to lie.
"You are not seriously telling me that you...what would Elle say if she knew?" Morgan was nearly beside himself in laughter.
"It is not funny." JJ whined slightly.
"Yes it is, it is hilarious. This is the funniest thing I have heard since Reid told me that he believed in ghosts." Morgan sat on the couch.
"Morgan! If you tell anybody about this, I will castrate you in front of that coffee shop girl." JJ threatened, only making Morgan laugh harder.
"Oh, I won't tell anyone, but once I text Elle and Garcia, the whole world will probably know. Oh! And we should probably tell Gideon too, let him know that his little match making was more inspired than he thought! What about Hotch?" Morgan laughed, tears rolling down his cheeks from laughing so hard.
"Are you finished?" JJ asked angrily causing Morgan's laughter to subside. "Why don't you just leave." She suggested.
"Nope. So what's bugging you about this whole thing? You know as well as everyone else that he just get's nervous. What's the big deal?"
"Why does he get an excuse? I mean, everybody else is just as uncomfortable on a first date as he is, but all everybody says is 'Poor Reid'." She spat out angrily.
"You're right girl, but the kid just gets nervous." Morgan tried to explain, though he knew that she had already come to that conclusion. "Tell you what, I won't tell or text anyone about this, but eventually, you're going to have to cut the kid some slack." He said, a rare moment of compassion possessing him.
"Fine. But it's not going to happen anytime soon." JJ admitted begrudgingly. "Now go away, I want to sleep in my own bed for once."
AN/Again, I just want to thank everyone for their immense support in this story! And if anyone offers you a batch of cookies....Run!
