Disclaimer: See the first chapter

A/N: I want to thank everyone for the reviews and feedback.

Chapter 14: It Finally Sinks In

When the BAU flies out for a case, the first part of flight is spent on victimology and forming a game plan. There's a point, though, when it's time to shift thinking. Sometimes the team members will rest, try to distract each other with idle chatter, or do anything to distract themselves from the task at hand. That part of trip had come.

Except for Spencer Reid. His brain was on overload, trying to piece together the geographical profile before the plane landed. It was something he tried to do every so often. He always failed, but he still tried to do it.

Emily was watching him. "Maybe you should take a break."

"Not yet."

"Do you actually have enough data to do that on the plane?"

"That's not the point."

"What is?"

"I'm trying to distract myself from the four sets of eyes looking at us."

"What do you mean?" When she looked around the plane it looked like Hotch and Rossi were talking to each other, the same for Morgan and JJ.

"They're looking at us and talking. By this time, I'm sure Garcia is examining our financials."

"You're being paranoid."

"The word paranoid indicates I'm wrong. But I know that I'm right."

Emily Prentiss knew he probably was, she kept trying to convince him otherwise. Meanwhile, JJ had a hard time keeping her eyes off the couple.

"If you stare any harder at them lasers will come out of your eyes," Morgan said.

"I still don't believe this. They're joking with me. I know it."

"Why are you having such a hard time with this?"

"Because it's Spence. I mean we all love him to pieces, but he's Spence."

"So? Just because you don't think of him that way, doesn't mean she doesn't."

"You're not surprised?"

"A little. The more I think about it, though, it more it makes sense. If I think about it real hard, this has been happening little by little ever since she joined the team. Just tell me this isn't about your bet with Will."

JJ looked at him. "How do you know about that?"

"Garcia told me."

JJ made a face. "I knew I shouldn't have told her."

"Well you did. And I'm sure that's not it. Do you know what it is? I'll tell you, if you don't know."

"Whatever happened to the rule about not profiling each other?"

"It goes out the window when it's important. Sometimes understanding each other isn't profiling each other as much as being there for each other."

"So what do you think you know?"

"You just don't want to have to admit you wrong about Reid."

"That's your great insight? That I don't want to admit I was wrong?"

"That just the tip of the iceberg. Once you admit you were wrong, you have re-evaluate Reid. You'll have to consider there's something Prentiss sees in him that none of the rest of us do."

While Morgan and JJ were contemplating that, Hotch and Rossi were having a slightly different discussion.

"Whatever's bothering let it out Aaron," Rossi said.

Aaron Hotchner let his breath out of through his nostrils harshly. He was annoyed Rossi knew something was bothering him. Hotch prided himself on his poker face, but Rossi always knew when something was bothering him.

"Reid and Prentiss told me something earlier today, and I'm not certain if it's something I need to worry about or not."

"This thing, is it regarding those two or someone else."

Hotch looked at Rossi. "You know about them, don't you?"

"If you mean about them being more than friends, then yes."

"You didn't say anything."

"Well, it's none of my business. Besides, I figured it was either something they would get out of their system, or it was something serious enough they'd tell us about."

"How did you know?"

"They're not really all that discreet. I saw them making out at the Christmas part."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So they told you? That's good."

"Maybe."

"What are you worrying about?"

"Can they be professional when we're on a case?"

"Well, I guess we're about to find out."

It was a long day. Crime scenes to visit, people to interview, an incredible amount of data to go through. The team was used to long day, but this one was especially exhausting. The team had a profile, but Hotch knew something still wasn't right. He told everyone to get some sleep and they'd pick it up again in the morning.

As a result of a surge of cost cutting measures, everyone was paired up in the hotel rooms. Hotch was sharing a room with Rossi, which fine with both of them. Reid shared one with Morgan and JJ shared a room with Emily.

Morgan was exhausted. He just lay down on the bed, and tried to let go of everything in his head. He was doing his level best to be in a state of calm, which was hard because he could feel Reid's anxiousness.

"What's the matter kid," Morgan said with his eyes closed.

"I'm missing something. I know it."

"That's why we're getting some sleep. We'll attack it again tomorrow."

" I can't help it. I hate knowing something's missing, but have no clue what it is."

Morgan opened his eyes, looked at Reid and said with a mischievous grin,"Why don't you talk to Emily? Maybe she could distract you."

Reid blushed a little at this. "No, we told Hotch we'd keep things professional when we're on a case. We promised each other that too." Reid laid down on his bed. Now that Morgan made the suggestion, he couldn't help but think about Emily. Specifically, how he wished he was sharing a room with her and not Morgan.

"Just one thing that's been bothering me on and off all day Reid."

"Yeah?"

"How did the two of you get started? Seriously, I'm just curious."

Reid thought about it. On the one hand, some things were private. On the other hand, he really wanted to tell someone about it.

"Do you remember the case in Nashville? Right after the funeral?"

"Yeah."

"Right after that. I didn't want to be alone and she kept me company."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had too many unpleasant thoughts in my head. I wanted to escape them, and I was just inches away from wanting to use."

Morgan sat up, his eyes open and just stared at Reid. "Are you telling me the two of you started a romantic relationship because you wanted to use? Instead of going to a meeting, you clung on to her?"

"It didn't exactly go like that. I just didn't want to be alone. If I'm not alone, I don't even feel tempted to use. Anyway, we didn't start that night, but that was the beginning. And that night, she was the one I wanted to talk to about it. Things just progressed from there."

Morgan shook his head. "Only you two would get started like that."

Reid's eyes were closed, he was smiled, and it appeared to Morgan that his friend was asleep. Morgan smiled. Sweet dreams kid.

Emily was also trying to relax. The images filled her mind, terrible images. Things the men they were hunting had done. The face of family members horrified at what had been done to their loved ones.

Some time ago, Emily learned to use some visualization to combat the images that came into her head. Tonight she was remembering a night with Spencer. The night with Spencer, when he held her so close and the nightmare went away.

Of course, it would be easier to relax with that image if JJ didn't keep staring at her.

"Okay, JJ, just spill it. If you keep it in any longer you're going to burst."

"I'm sorry, I still cannot imagine the two of you together. I mean, it's Spence."

Emily knew she was going to have this conversation with JJ. She knew it from the very beginning and she had been dreading it. She wished she had something brilliant saved up to say.

"I know. Sometimes I can't believe it either. I mean, I still remember teasing Spencer after he decoded a letter long hand because he could do it faster than a computer."

"I remember that. The Angel Maker. It was some binary code right?"

Emily nodded, "Yeah. I poked him and made some comment about him looking so life like. That's the Spencer Reid everyone else sees."

"So what's the Spencer Reid you see?"

"What I said about him meeting my mother, that was all true. I look at him, he's just the man I want to spend time with."

"Maybe if you could tell when this all started."

"Remember the case in Nashville? After the funeral."

JJ nodded. It was emotionally draining on everyone, she remembered.

"Well, on the ride back, Reid told me he didn't want to be alone. Truthfully, I didn't either. So I invited him to my place. Neither one of us had romance on the brain, mind you. He was sleeping on the couch, then I had a major nightmare. I woke up screaming, and he was holding me."

Emily smiled. "I never felt so safe in my life. Later on, I think we just started to realize how we were beginning to feel about each other."

She looked at JJ. JJ looked pensive, like she still didn't quite understand, but she almost might. Emily continued, "I don't know how this is going to end up. I mean, we both know what a minefield dating co-workers is, but I don't care. Being with him just feels right, so that's what I'm going to do."

Emily laughed gently as a thought formed in her head.

"What's so funny?" JJ asked.

"Morgan told me about the bet with Will."

"I don't know who to kill first, him or Garcia."

"Well, it just that Reid didn't understand it."

"What's to understand? The loser give the winner a massage."

"That's just it, Reid would reverse it. He likes giving massages so he would bet so he could give one."

"Okay, just stop talking now."

"What?"

"I don't want the mental image of Reid giving you a massage. I just can't cope with it right now."

Derek Morgan woke up to discover that he was alone in the room. "What the hell? Reid? Where are you?"

Right about that time, there was a knock at his door. When he opened it, it was JJ. "good morning," she said. "I need to ride to the precinct with you. Reid and Prentiss are already there.

"What?"

"Reid woke up a couple of hours ago to work on the profile some more. Apparently Emily was awake too, so she went to help him. "

A little while later, the rest of the BAU team walked in to the local precinct, and immediately noticed something was different. There was a smell in the air that wasn't there yesterday. Coffee. Not just any coffee either, the kind of coffee only one member of the team ever made or could ever make.

Reid.

Hotch mentally groaned. The last time Reid brewed his special coffee while on a case, it created a minor incident with the locals. He didn't need to have to smooth things over. They already had one or two police officers who didn't want them there this time.

"If I knew you guys were going to make coffee, we'd would've called you guys in earlier."

It was Lt. Halaiko, the contact at the precinct. Hotch was trying to gauge if Reid's coffee made things better or worse. "Reid sometimes needs a little jolt for his process. I hope nobody minded him making his own brew."

"Nah. It's a lot better than what we're used to. Isn't the Reid the skinny one?"

"Yeah."

"He didn't make the coffee, it was the other one, uh, Prentiss. The desk sergeant said they've been here for a couple hours now."

The team members all looked at each other in surprise. Emily made the coffee?

The team had worked a case in Alabama and a sheriff's deputy thought making coffee was part of her duties. It took the whole team to restrain her. Hotch said something to the sheriff, and they didn't see the deputy for the rest of the case.

She made the coffee?

"Hey guys, we've got something. Come on," she lead them into the spot in the bullpen the tram had taken over as their conference room.

"You made coffee?" Morgan asked. "I thought only Reid made coffee that smelled like that." Morgan knew that JJ and Garcia had been after Reid to tell them how he could go to any office anywhere and make coffee that good, no matter what. He wouldn't tell them, and Garcia's numerous web searches could not find any product anywhere that produced anything close to Reid's coffee.

"He showed me how," Emily said.

"What do you two have?" Hotch asked.

"There's a third partner," Emily said. While Reid and Emily walked everyone through it, JJ got a call from Garcia.

"I've got bad news for those of us with bets against our significant others." Garcia said.

"Tell me about it."

"Wonder boy visited his mom for Christmas, and he bought two tickets. He reserved a room for two. Also, I found a credit card purchase for a pair of earrings. I also, finally started reviewing my spy cams in the office."

"You have spy cams in the office?"

"A girl's gotta have a hobby."

"I don't think voyeurism is a hobby."

"We can talk semantics latter. My mistletoe cam shows Emily and the good doctor getting hot and heavy under the mistletoe. This might be for real."

"There's no might Garcia. He taught Emily how to brew the coffee."

"Damn."

"What are you worried about? I'm the one who owes someone a massage."

"Yeah, well, the bet sounded like fun, so I bet Kevin."

"And?"

"Our bet was a little more R rated than yours. I'll talk to later." And Garcia hung up.

JJ wondered what could Garcia have bet Kevin that she didn't feel comfortable talking about? Then JJ thought about what Garcia could say without blushing. JJ quickly decided ignorance is bliss.

"JJ." It was Hotch. "Get Lt. Halaiko and his squad in here. We have a profile."

"Yes sir."

The flight back was peaceful. JJ and Morgan were playing cards in one corner. Reid and Prentiss were napping. Hotch was thoughtfully looking at his agents.

"Still worried about our love birds?" Rossi asked.

"I don't know. They certainly seem to be developing a kind of synergy. We'll have to see."

As Rossi looked at the sleeping agents, he couldn't help but notice that both Reid and Prentiss had a canary that swallowed the cat smile on their faces. Rossi knew there was no sight so smug and full of contentment as a canary that manages to swallow a cat.

A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter. I was trying to have them on a case without writing casefic. In any case, we have one chapter to go. Up next, a little BAU get together to ring in the New Year.