Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters.
A/N: Sorry! Late. I know.
BEFORE YOU READ THIS, WATCH ON YOUTUBE: /watch?v=d0LN5ReBZrg
XXX
"You guys want to…start looking around now?" Morgan asked cautiously once all the plates were clean, eyeing Emily appraisingly. "What d'you say, midget?"
JJ and Jack had their fingers crossed under the table, and both erupted with huge grins when Emily replied: "Sure, I'm fine with it." She wiped her hands on a napkin and tossed it at a nearby trash can, smiling when it landed in the target. "Let's go."
"Are you sure?" Garcia asked worriedly, hovering nearby, her hands outstretched and looking for some part of Emily to fuss over. Jack and JJ's smiles dropped more with every word. "Because if you want to go home, we totally can, and we can just kick back and relax and you don't have to drag yourself anywhere near here ever again in your-"
"I'm fine," Emily repeated more firmly, giving Garcia a look that said plainly 'Don't make this difficult for me'. "Let's go look around."
"Seriously?" JJ asked in delight, hopping up from the bench and pulling Reid up with her.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Emily was trying to play cool, and maybe she was laying it on too thick but so what?
As the group made their way out of the picnic area, they all centered themselves around the three kids in the middle, forming a sort of subconscious protective barrier. It didn't pass unnoticed by any one of the profilers, and they smiled ruefully at each other before moving apart.
"So what should we do?" JJ asked, her eyes lighting up as she took in the various candy stalls scattered around the zoo. "Ohmigosh look! Look! Giant lollipops! Can I have one Hotch? Please? Please?" Before anyone could answer, her mouth dropped open. "NO! Look over there! They have all that cotton candy! Can I please have some? Just a bit with blue and pink and- cool, look, they have purple! Maybe it's grape-flavoured! Or maybe raspberry or blueberry or eggplant! I need some of that!"
"You don't need it, JJ," Hotch answered automatically, smirking when he realized his auto-pilot answer, a reflex after years of raising Jack.
"And why would you want to try anything eggplant-flavoured?" Morgan was quick to show his revulsion. "That's disgusting!"
"It's eggplant-flavoured sugar, that's why," she answered in a 'duh' voice, rolling her eyes at Emily, who, instead of grinning back, looked at Hotch nervously.
He immediately noticed. "What's wrong?"
"No, no, nothing's wrong," she said hastily, pointing at a poster a few feet away from them. "I just saw…there's a poster there, for a show that's on soon and it looked like fun and I was just thinking that maybe…"
"We will do anything you want to do, sweetheart," Rossi proclaimed, standing tall like her personal guard. "Do you want to see the show?"
"Yeah," Emily admitted.
"Then lead the way." They started to walk in the direction the poster directed before Jack interrupted with an angry "Hey!"
"But you said we could see the tigers first, Uncle Dave!" he protested indignantly, arms folded. "Just now while we were eating, remember?"
"Did I?"
Jack looked alarmingly close to stomping his foot. "Yes! You just said I could pick!"
"Well, that was before," Rossi told him gravely. "Sometimes things happen that are out of our control and we just have to accept the circumstances and move on."
They were all sure that Jack's furious voice could be heard for miles. "But this isn't out of our control! You're deciding it!"
"Well, I'm sorry, but I've decided that Emily can pick today."
JJ joined in. "How come she gets to choose?"
"Because she's had a hard day," came the answer, and Emily smirked.
"But I don't want to see a stupid show! I wanted to see the penguins first! Morgan told me I could…" JJ whined, looking pleadingly at Reid. "Spence! Tell him! It's not fair!"
"Life's not fair," Rossi answered firmly.
Hotch joined in, giving both kids a stern look. "Emily's had a bad day, so we've said that she can decide. She picked the show and that's what we're going to see. That is final."
"Morgan! They're being morons!"
"Uncle Spencer! Uncle Dave's being an unfair idiot!"
"Garcia, do something!"
"TELL THEM!"
The three adults exchanged looks and shrugged. "She has had a bad day…" Reid started apologetically.
"But the show is on every hour!" Jack protested. "We can see it at night! We can't see the tigers in the dark!"
"Please, Morgan," JJ pleased, using her best puppy-dog eyes. "You know it's not fair. You promised me we'd go see the penguins first."
"I know," he started, contrite, "but Rossi and Hotch are right. If Emily wants to pick, I think we should be a little less selfish and do something nice for her, especially after what she's been through. Don't you?"
The two kids glared at him before finally relenting.
"Fine," JJ muttered, storming off down the path. "Let's go." Jack followed her angrily.
"Wait, you two!" Hotch called loudly, waiting for them to return before continuing. "Two things. First, you were both very rude and insulting to Uncle Dave and me just now, and I think we need an apology."
"You don't need one," JJ returned snarkily, before shrinking under Hotch's death glare. "Alright, fine! Sorry for calling you morons. There, happy?"
"Immensely. And you, Jack."
"Sorry for calling you unfair idiots."
Hotch nodded, satisfied. "Good. Secondly, after what happened I think we are going to operate with the buddy system. Pick your buddies. And," he added before anyone could say a word, "the age difference must be at least ten years."
"I call Spence," JJ said moodily, going to stand beside him, looking like she wanted to stab him with a pitchfork. He swallowed nervously.
"Aunt Penelope," Jack ground out, stamping over to her side. She moved a few inches away nervously.
Emily glanced at the remaining choices and shrugged. "Morgan, I guess."
They stood beside their partners, looking expectantly at Hotch, who finally nodded. "Now we can go."
Six of them walked and two of them stomped down the path that led to the small theatre where they were playing the Sing 'n' Dance Animal Show, a play about a little elephant named Andy on a mission to find a friend that would accept him despite his big nose. The man at the entrance handed them all information flyers, and they trooped in and found seats in the front row amongst the dozens of chattering kids and parents.
"Look at this!" Jack's lip curled back in annoyance as he skimmed over the flyer in his hand. "'Welcome to the Sing 'n' Dance Animal Show! We're glad you could join us today!' Yeah, right."
JJ continued, her disgust growing with each word as she stumbled over the reading. "'Andy is the only baby ele- eleph- elephant in his…herd, and so he has no elephant…friends. Join Andy on his qu-quest to find a true friend, and get ready to parti-partiki-participate…on this wild…adventure!' Okay, I'll participate. In. Their. Dreams."
"Pipe down, you," Garcia scolded, the only one looking forward to the hour ahead. "Don't be rude to Emily's choice."
In truth, Emily was feeling just as repulsed by the cheesy lines and the obviously-corny storyline as the others, but she wasn't going to say anything. Milking her newfound status for all it was worth had quickly become her top priority. And if she could annoy JJ and Jack in the process, then why not?
"This is so merde!" Jack muttered furiously under his breath, ignoring Emily's smile and Hotch's glare.
This officially sucked.
Big time.
Just then, a slim woman in a sparkly dress and a large, bedazzled man holding a trumpet marched proudly onto the stage. The man blew the trumpet, puffed out his chest like a peacock, and took a deep breath. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention! It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our Sing 'n' Dance Animal Show, world famous everywhere but in 192 countries and 49 states!"
Jack face-palmed as the entire theatre guffawed.
The man continued, "My name is Mike, this is Bonnie, and today we along with our talented colleagues will regale you with the story of Andy, the only baby elephant in his herd. Would you like to meet him?"
"YYYYEEEEESSSSSSS!" yelled the kids in the theatre.
"Then call him out and see what happens!"
"I've never hated anyone as much as I hate this guy," JJ whispered to Jack as the theatre bellowed "AAAANNNNNDDYYYY!"
"What was that?" Bonnie cried in a high-pitched voice. "I can't hear you!"
"AAAAAAAAANNNNDDYYYYYYYY!" the theatre screamed at the top of their lungs, and JJ slouched in her seat.
"Never mind. I hate her more."
"Hey, I hear something, Mike!" Bonnie exclaimed in fake surprise. "What could it be?"
"I know what it is: it's Andy!" Mike said happily as someone in an elephant costume trooped onto the stage. "Hey, old fella- whoops, I mean young fella!" With a huge wink towards the audience and an exaggerated wave, he and Bonnie pranced to the side of the stage.
The forty-minute play was noisy, to say the least. After five minutes, it became apparent that audience participation was an integral part of the show, and after the sixth time the entire hall erupted in ear-piercing screeches, JJ had covered her ears and buried her head and neck under Morgan's arm. Jack, seeing her, decided to do the same with Hotch.
Both of them might have enjoyed the show if they wanted to since it was targeted at their age group, but the two had decided from the very beginning that they were not going to like it, and so they didn't. Meanwhile everyone else, including Morgan and Hotch, found themselves tapping along to the catchy songs unconsciously. Garcia was full-out dancing in her seat, and was one of the screechers responsible for Jack and JJ's claimed deafness.
"Where is he?" Andy was asking from the stage, moping around. "I don't like this hide-and-seek game. I can't win…" He started to traipse off the stage.
A monkey popped out from behind the wooden trees, waved at the audience, and then disappeared again.
Immediately, the theatre exploded with noise. "LOOK THERE! BEHIND YOU! THEEEEERE!"
Andy paused, lifting one foot to his ear. "What was that?" He looked left, and the monkey moved right.
"THEERRE! HE'S BEHIND YOU!"
Andy turned around to face the back, and the monkey jumped to the front, sticking his tongue out and wiggling his hips. "Where? I don't see anybody…"
"Oh for God's sake!" JJ moaned, as if in pain.
"HE'S BEHIND YOU!"
Andy turned, as did the monkey. "There isn't anyone! Are you trying to trick me?"
The hall was filled with indignant protests. "NOOOO! BEHIND YOU! BEHIND YOUUUU!"
"Behind me? He's behind me?" At last, Andy turned and saw the monkey. "Yayyyy! I found him! Thanks for all your help, guys! I couldn't have done it without you!"
'We did it!', the song from Dora the Explorer, began to blast over the speakers.
We did it, we did it, we did it, hurray! Lo hicimos! Yeah we did it! We did it, we did it, we did it, hurray!
Andy, Mike, Bonnie, the monkey, and all the other animal cast members ran up onto the stage and began dancing their hearts out to the song.
Jack and JJ began rocking, their hands over their ears, murmuring 'La la la la la la la la la' over and over to themselves.
Finally, when the song ended, they both jumped up desperately, more than ready to leave. "Now can we go?" they begged.
"Uh, hold on," Hotch answered, checking his watch. "It's an hour-long play."
"They kept us here for four hours!" JJ looked outraged. "We should sue them."
"Not quite. It's only been forty minutes."
Both children stared at him disbelievingly. "You have got to be kidding," Jack said seriously.
"I don't know why you're complaining," Emily put in sweetly. "I think it's a really great show! Go Andy!"
With stormy looks at Emily, JJ and Jack both resumed their seats, just as Mike started his announcement.
"That concludes Andy's story, but don't get too disappointed, kids! We still have twenty minutes left and I think you know what that means!"
Jack visibly paled. "Don't say it, don't say it…"
"Dance contest!" Bonnie exclaimed in delight. "Can we have ten volunteers? Don't be shy! You can bring your parents or family with you!"
"ME!"
"MEEEE! PICK MEE!"
"NOOO! MEEEEE!"
"OVER HERE!"
"I WANT TO! MEEEE! MEEEE!"
Bonnie and Mike made their way through the audience at the back, picking children at random. Finally, they returned to the stage. "We have six lucky volunteers, but we need four more from the front! Raise your hands high! Try to touch the sky so we can see you!"
Mike came to the front row and glanced at Emily. "Hey there! Would you like to take part in our dance contest?"
"Sure!" she replied brightly. "And these two are my family!" She pointed to JJ and Jack, smirking.
"Well, you're all welcome to join! Which parents will you be bringing?"
Rossi glanced at the team for a second. "Give us a moment."
"Of course. Just come on up when you're ready."
"I'm not taking part in any stupid competition!" JJ announced immediately.
"Me either," Jack agreed firmly.
"Oh," Emily sighed. "I guess I'll just have to do it all by myself, and win the bag of chocolate that comes with it. If you two are too chicken…"
"Chocolate…?" JJ repeated dumbly.
"Chicken…?" Jack echoed.
"Let's do it," JJ said suddenly with determination. "Who's going with who?"
"I call Uncle Derek and Aunt Penelope!" Jack spoke up immediately, purposefully taking the best dancers.
Instantly, Emily stuck her bottom lip out, her eyes watering. "But…but I was going to take them…"
"Jack!" Hotch scolded. "You know better than to be rude! Let Emily pick first!"
Jack's hands balled into fists as Garcia and Morgan shuffled over to Emily, smiling lovingly at her and ruffling her hair.
"I'm not dancing with you," Jack informed his father seriously.
"None of the rest of us are dancing anyway," Hotch replied, only to be met with Emily's puppy-dog eyes and pleading expression.
"Oh, please, Hotch? I want Jack and JJ to be able to compete with me…please?"
"Oh, fine," he said, giving in. "If it's what you want. JJ, Jack, pick your teams."
"I want Uncle Dave!" Jack yelled immediately, knowing Reid could not dance to save his life. JJ scowled but nodded.
"Fine then, I get Hotch and Reid."
The eight of them, along with one other little boy and his parents from the row behind them, walked onto the stage, Emily swinging from Morgan and Garcia's hands.
When they were all assembled, Mike announced that the winners would be judged based on the amount of applause each team received. Then he went around letting each child introduce themselves as well as their parents.
When he reached Emily, she smiled sweetly and curtsied. "Hi! I'm Emily, I'm seven years old, and this is my Mom and that's my Dad." Morgan and Garcia beamed at her, and Hotch, Reid and Rossi wore matching Isn't-She-Adorable expressions.
"Hello, Emily! And who's this lovely young lady beside you?" Mike asked, turning to JJ. After one glance at Emily, she too smiled widely.
"Hi! I'm Jennifew. I'm Emmy's cousin and I'm fow years old," she pronounced with a fake lisp. "But my nickname is JJ."
"Nice to meet you, JJ! And who are your parents?" Mike asked, smiling questioningly.
"This is my fiwst Daddy and this is my second Daddy," JJ said as cutely as she could, pointing to Reid and Hotch, who turned bright red. "And sometimes people say I'm not nowmal 'cause I don't got a Mommy but they both love me vewy vewy much. And I love them!"
JJ jumped up towards Reid, who caught her, but just barely, and had to hold Hotch's arm to steady himself, adding to the loving family image that JJ was sending out. The audience awww-ed at the four-year-old, with her arms around both of her loving gay parents.
"Hi, JJ and Daddies!" Mike turned to Jack. "Aaand…last but not least we have this charming young man!"
Jack grabbed the microphone and, taking his cue from JJ, leaned into Rossi's side. "My name is Jack and I'm seven years old."
When Jack deliberately did not mention Rossi, Mike prompted, "And your parent…?"
" I…" Jack sniffled, "I don't have any parents. They died just after I turned seven, and so now I live with my grandpa. He has cancer though, and so that's why we came here, to go out together one last time." He smiled, teary-eyed and martyr-like. "But I don't want any…what's it called, pity votes, so can we pretend you don't know that?"
The entire theatre gave a collective 'Awwwww…' as Hotch tried to shoot death-rays at his son through his icy glare.
Mike smiled softly. "Of course. Welcome, Grandpa and Jack. You'll have to dance with each other for the first parents' dance, is that okay?"
Hotch and Reid looked very, very pissed when Mike announced the first dance: A parents' romantic couples dance.
"Children, come to the side," he said. "This first dance is only a competition for the parents. Start the music please." A slow, romantic melody began to drift through the speaker.
"Let the games begin!"
The parents lovingly turned to one another and swayed to the tune, Morgan and Garcia not hesitating to do the same. Rossi looked at Jack, shrugged, and took his hand, dancing with him and smirking at his two left feet.
Which left Hotch and Reid. Standing stock-still, unmoving.
"Come on, Daddies!" JJ hollered from the sidelines, her eyes flashing dangerously.
They didn't move.
Morgan and Garcia sashayed confidently past as the music started to change to a Latin-American salsa rhythm, moving their hips in time to the beat. "Hey, losers. Don't worry, we'll let you touch our cup."
Rossi was teaching Jack the standard forward-forward-back-back step, adding a few of his own moves in. He chuckled at Morgan and Garcia, spinning Jack around. "Looks like the competition's between you two and me…Hotch and Reid seem to be going into shock."
"No!" JJ shrieked, jumping up and down. "Move! Dance! Now!" When there was no response, she ran up onto stage and, smiling sweetly all the time, raised her hands for Hotch to lift her up. The moment he did, she grabbed Reid's neck with one hand and yanked him closer to her, gripping Hotch's ear with her other hand. "Listen up, amigos," she hissed through her loving smile, "you don't dance in the next ten seconds, and I will make sure that every case we have starts at one a.m. and only requires two agents, capiche?"
"Oh, they ain't gonna move, shrimp," Morgan said assuredly, flicking her hair as she angrily returned to the children's area. "They're too chicken."
"Daddy's a chicken!" Jack crowed, catching on to Rossi's teaching and shaking his hips like a true Salsa champion. "Buck-buck-buck-buck!"
"What's the matter, never danced before?" Rossi teased Reid, grabbing Jack's hand and spinning him 360 degrees.
Garcia intervened then, one of her hands on Morgan's chest. "Leave them alone! It's not their fault they can't dance."
Hotch and Reid glanced at each other, jaws clenched, and then simultaneously moved towards each other.
"Okay, so if you put your hand, ah…"
"I'll put one hand on your shoulder…"
"And then, ah…" Reid looked helplessly at Morgan and Garcia. "So they've got- we have to- you should…I mean, I put one hand on your- your hip, and…"
"And then we just…" Hotch swallowed. "We just…move."
"Okay, forward, forward, back, back," Reid directed, scowling at Jack as he stuck his tongue out at the odd couple. "We are winning this."
"Agreed," Hotch answered without hesitation. "Just…shake your hips or something. There we go…keep going…"
"They like us!" Reid realized, grinning suddenly at the audience. "They started clapping when we danced."
"Just keep doing what we're doing," Hotch ordered, his authority marred by his awkwardly jerking hips. They froze as the music changed.
"What?" Reid complained. "But we were just getting good!"
"You gotta be better than good to win, Pretty Boy!" Morgan yelled, dropping Garcia's hand to start to dance to Thriller. "Oh yeah, I'm the second MJ."
"What is that?" Reid asked, staring at the other couples as they raised their hands and walked from side to side, before starting to copy. "Come on! If you want to win, copy them!"
Hotch was staring into space. "Wait. I can moonwalk."
"You're an astronaut?"
"No!" Hotch cleared his throat, joining Reid in the thriller dance. "It's a dance move. I learned it in college. If I do it, we'll almost definitely win."
"Do it!" Reid ordered, his hands in claws, his knees bent in imitation of the other parents. Hotch hesitated, but nodded and moved forward from the dancing line, his black suit and office shoes perfect for the dance.
"Quitting already, Aaron?" Rossi taunted, but his mouth dropped open when Hotch started to glide effortlessly across the floor.
JJ's "YES! GO HOTCH! I MEAN, GO DADDY 1!" could be heard for miles.
The entire theatre erupted in applause as Hotch rejoined the line of parents after his solo. Reid grinned widely. "They love us! Ha, Morgan!"
"You wait, kid! We're gonna wipe the floor with you!"
"Next song, parents!" Mike shouted. "You're doing great!"
'I like big butts and I cannot lie. You other brothers can't deny. When a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face you get-"
"Is he singing about- about-" Reid spluttered, going red in the face. "What do we do?"
"Shake what your mama gave you!" Morgan answered, he and Garcia dancing in circles. The other parents were doing the same, laughing. "Or are you embarrassed?"
"No!" Reid replied angrily. "Come on, Hotch." He imitated Morgan, Rossi and Garcia, pulling Hotch in line with him. The theatre roared their approval as the music drifted off.
The line stopped dancing, flushed and laughing at themselves.
"Well done, everybody!" Bonnie gushed in her high-pitched voice. "You should all be extremely proud of your parents."
"But now," Mike continued, "is what you've all been waiting for. Kids, you may all join your parents on stage. I'm going to play songs, and you're going to dance. Then we'll announce the winners!"
"YAAAAAAAAYYY!" screamed the kids as they tackled their parents on stage.
Emily ran up and high-fived Morgan and Garcia, while JJ just strolled past Hotch and Reid.
"Passable," was all she said.
"First song!" Mike announced. "I think you'll all know it…"
The first few bars of the song floated out of the speakers, and Morgan and Rossi froze.
"Oh, no…"
"No."
"Not the…"
"I'm not chicken-dancing!"
But they had no choice as Emily, Jack and Garcia pulled their team members forward and forced them to dance. As she flapped her arms, JJ was surprised to notice that Hotch and Reid were staring straight ahead, unblinking, but both were dancing and neither needed encouragement.
"We're going to win this," Reid muttered. "We're going to win this, we're going to win this…"
"It'll shut Morgan up," Hotch was chanting under his breath. "It's for a good cause, it's for a good cause, it's for a good cause…"
Thankfully, the song ended soon, and the next song blasted out.
'A la tuhuelpa legria macarena, Que tuhuelce paralla legria cosabuena, A la tuhuelpa legria macarena Eeeh, macarena!'
"Oh, I know this song!" JJ cried happily, starting the moves. "I'll teach you."
Jack and Emily, too, were happy that they knew the Macarena, and Rossi and Morgan deemed the moves manly enough to attempt. Again, Hotch and Reid glanced at JJ to learn the moves, and then started dancing without hesitation, even adding in the occasion clap and wave to the audience.
"We're going to win this," Reid muttered to convince himself, just as Mike announced that there were five minutes left.
"So gear up, ladies and gentlemen, and give it your best!"
'Apple bottom jeans, jeans, Boots with the fur, The whole club was looking at her. She hit the floor, she hit the floor, Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low.'
"I want you to…do the bus driver!" Mike hollered, and he was met with chuckles and whistles.
"What's the bus driver?" Reid started at JJ, who demonstrated.
"Like this. You put your hands out like you're driving, and then you drive."
Hotch had to force himself to, reminding himself that if he didn't, the Chicken Dance and Moonwalk would have been for nothing. So he gritted his teeth, and did the bus driver.
"Free-style!" Mike yelled, when a western hoe-down song came on. "Let me see you all being cowboys!"
Most of the parents just stood around shaking their legs, but Morgan, Garcia and Emily linked hands and started to dance around in a circle, and the applause got louder.
"Yeeeeee-haw!" Jack shouted, grabbing Rossi's hand and pretending to ride a horse. The cheers increased.
Hotch, JJ and Reid put their heads together for a second for a quick conference before standing up and hooking their fingers into the waistbands of their pants. Then they quickly started an improvised tap-dance/square-dance, tapping their feet and moving around, exchanging partners every so often. Hotch and Reid, careful to exploit the gay family angle, made sure that they were partners often, and when it was JJ dancing with either of them, the other would clap loudly and pretend to sniff and wipe away a stray tear.
The applause threatened to blow a hole in their eardrums.
When it died down, Mike walked on stage, holding two giant bags of assorted chocolate and candy. JJ's eyes widened, and she almost drooled.
"I think we have a clear winner!" he announced brightly, striding up to Hotch and Reid. "Congratulations, JJ and Daddies! And," he added, turning to Jack. "For our delightful runner-up…" Jack grabbed the candy, bowing.
"Thank you. It'll be by memory of this last trip with my Grandpa."
"But your sign said you only award the winners," Emily pointed out suspiciously, as Jack leaned into Rossi's side.
Mike coughed. "Yes, well, I think…we made an exception, this time. Don't you agree, ladies and gentlemen?"
There was thundering applause for Jack and Rossi.
"Thank you all!" Bonnie shouted. "Please exit through the doors on the right!"
Morgan jumped angrily off the stage, the others following. JJ whispered something in Garcia's ear and then ran off with Jack. "This is bull," Morgan complained.
"We won," Reid said proudly. "Accept it."
Emily sidled up to Hotch's side, tugging on his sleeve. "Hotch…"
He crouched down to her level. "Yes?"
"I really, really wanted the candy…I thought maybe it would make me feel better and make me forget about what happened today."
Hotch glanced down at her, as did Morgan, Garcia, Reid and Rossi.
As one, they called "JJ! Jack! Get over here!"
The two came running, struggling to open the knot on their candy bags.
"What?" JJ asked, before continuing, "Did you see how we won? It was so cool!"
"And we won all this candy!" Jack exclaimed. "Can you open mine?"
Hotch shook his head. "Jack, it's polite to offer other people food first. Both of you ask Emily if she wants the candy. It was her show, remember? And she's had a terrible day."
Both kids' faces turned stormy. "Emily," Jack ground out through clenched teeth. "Do you want my candy?"
"JJ?" Rossi prompted.
"Do you want my candy?" JJ hissed, daring the other girl to say yes.
"That's so nice of you!" Emily gushed. "Thanks, guys! I really wanted some." She grabbed both bags and smiled sweetly at Hotch. "This is making me feel better."
"I'm glad it is."
As they filed out of the theatre, JJ held Jack back. "Don't worry. We'll get back at them. And her."
"How?" he asked.
"I took some money from Garcia," she told him, after checking to make sure no-one was listening. "And," she continued, pulling something out from under her shirt. "I bought this."
Jack eyed the CD as if he was afraid it was going to blow up. "What is that?" he asked warily, taking it from her and turning it over, studying the blank cover.
"A taping of the show." JJ grinned. "Including the dance contest at the end."
XXX
A/N: So this fic was nominated for anotherProfiler's Choice Award at the Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum (link on ilovetvalot's profile), this time for best Emily/JJ! I admit I was ecstatic, especially considering that there are some amazing Emily/JJ fics out there. Thank you to everyone who nominated it!