Disclaimer: I still don't own them.

AN: Many thanks to all those who have reviewed. Those reviews really do help me write faster. I hope to have at least one more chapter done before I go on holiday next week. Enjoy :o)

Chapter 29

A few days had passed since the blonde had moved back to her own house. They had all been busy with filing reports about the incidents over the previous days and nobody had found much time for socialising. Aside from a few stolen moments for conversations around the break room, none of the team had seen much of JJ. Emily had been out of the offices on several lunches and always left on time.

As Friday came around, Emily headed down to JJ's office. She knocked on the open door. At the sound of the knock, the blonde looked up from the file she was currently trying to read. "Hey." Seeing the brunette standing in the doorway triggered a smile. It felt like forever since she had spent some time with the other woman and truth be told, she sorely missed the company.

"Hey. Are you busy tonight?" Emily shifted between her two feet nervously.

"No, just me and Henry and a date with some cartoons." JJ sat back in her chair and noticed the way Emily was behaving. "Everything ok?" It wasn't normal for the older woman to be nervous about anything and certainly not when they spoke. While it was decidedly cute how she kept playing with her watch strap, it was out of character.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Any chance of us going out tonight…If Henry doesn't mind me stealing his mom for a few hours that is?" Emily offered a smile to the blonde. She didn't want to talk about what was on her mind here and hoped that JJ would agree to her plans for the evening.

"I'll see if Garcia is free." The comment was met by a big grin from the brunette and JJ couldn't help but smile back. There was something infectious about Emily's real smile.

"Great. Thanks Jayj." With that the brunette was out of the office again.

JJ sat looking at the door for a few moments after Emily had left wondering what was going on wth the other woman. Shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts she knew that all would be revealed that night…as long as she could get a baby sitter. She picked up her phone and dialled.

"Hey sugar, business or pleasure?"

"Hey Garcia. Pleasure I guess."

"My my…What would Emily say?" JJ could hear the smile through her friends voice and yet she couldn't stop the blush that had crept across her cheeks.

"I mean…"

"Relax sweetie, I know your heart has a one person holding limit and our brown eyed girl wins that prize. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you were free tonight to look after Henry?"

"Now there's an offer I can't refuse. He asked me to tell him the story of Goldilocks last time."

"Erm Garcia, he can't talk yet."

"A minor detail. You seem to forget that you are talking to the omniscient goddess of the FBI. A godmother just knows."

"Ok, I'll have to check with Em on the time."

"Not a problem hun. I'll see you later."

As JJ hung up the phone she couldn't help but smile. For the first time in days she was feeling like things were starting to take a turn for the better. After their time at the zoo and moving back to her house, JJ had been concerned that the lack of time Emily spent around the office was because she was avoiding her. They had spoken on the phone almost every night but the worry was still present. There had been so much to deal with in recent times that JJ wouldn't have blamed Emily for wanting to bail.

Looking at her watch, JJ saw she still had another couple of hours to go until she could leave for the day. She tried to turn her attention to the case files covering her desk but found it even more difficult than earlier. In addition to the tiredness caused by the minimal amount of sleep she was getting at the moment, her mind was now racing with possibilities about Emily's changes in behaviour.


Garcia knocked on JJ's door and waited. It had been a long time since she had been to the younger blonde's house. They used to meet up regularly for movie nights but when Will arrived on the scene, the venue was never at JJ's place. All too often, she would pull out all together leaving just Garcia and Emily. Looking back that had served to give Garcia the insight into her friend that led to the discovery of the brunettes feelings for a certain person.

The door opened to reveal JJ in a bit of a panic. "JJ, you ok?"

"Yeah, I managed to fall asleep on my desk so then I got stuck in traffic and I only got back about half an hour ago and now I'm running really late and Em will be here soon and I haven't even got changed."

"Hold up there! Breathe Jayj. You passing out from lack of oxygen won't help. You go get ready and I'll take care of my godson."

JJ shot an appreciative look to her friend before disappearing upstairs. Garcia watched her go before closing the front door and making her way into the house. At first glance, it appeared the same as always. As she walked into the sitting room, she noticed a dramatic change. Usually JJ's house was very well ordered and distinctly uncluttered. Garcia noticed the blanket and the pillow still on the sofa. There were various items of clothing sitting on the armchair and several take out cartons scattered across the table. Before Garcia had more time to think about it the door bell rang.

"Garcia, could you get it please?" JJ called from upstairs.

Garcia moved to the door and opened it. Emily was standing there. "Hey Em. JJ's still getting ready." She moved aside to allow the other woman to enter.

"Is she ok?"

Garcia understood where the question was coming from. JJ was never late for anything. She was usually the first one to be anywhere. "I'm not sure Em." Seeing the frown creasing the brow of the other woman, Garcia led her towards the sitting room. She didn't say anything but merely gestured to the room.

Emily looked around the scene, taking note of the same things Garcia had.

"Has she said anything to you Em?"

"Not really. She mentioned some nightmares but just brushed over them as if they were no big deal." Emily sighed as she turned to look at her friend. "I should have come by to check on her."

"Em, this isn't your fault. It was inevitable with everything that has happened. You can't tell me that you aren't having nightmares too." Brown eyes looked up, shocked that she had been so easy to read. "I know you Em. When you're not sleeping right then you get clumsy. I just hope that things work out for the two of you soon." She placed her hand gently on the brunettes arm and rubbed it lightly.

JJ came into the room at that moment. "Hey. Sorry I didn't leave the office till late." The earlier flustered side had been lost as soon as blue eyes laid sight on the brunette. There was something calming about the other woman's presence that just seemed to make all of the fears and concerns the blonde felt when on her own fade away. "So where are we off to tonight?"

Emily couldn't help the smile that grew. "That's a surprise. You ready to go?"

The blonde nodded. "I just put Henry down as he was really tired. He will probably wake up later on so I'm sure you can still tell him his story."

"No worries. Now you two kids go and have fun. Leave everything here to me." As Garcia spoke she started to usher the two women out of the door.

As they got into Emily's car, JJ noticed a look of confusion on her companions face. "What's wrong Em?"

"Kids? I'm older than her." JJ couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok, Em…when do I find out what your plans for tonight are?"

Emily looked over at the blonde and smiled. "When we get there." She winked at her before turning her attention to pulling out of JJ's drive.

The drive was filled with light hearted chat interspersed with the odd request for information regarding their destination. Every time JJ tried to find something out, Emily easily deflected the question. The blonde had become stumped as to where they were heading as Emily drove further. They had turned away from the main restaurant areas and were heading further out into the suburbs. Eventually Emily pulled the car up onto a driveway of a house. Turning to the blonde she simply stated, "We're here."

JJ looked from the brunette to the house and then back to the brunette. As she turned her attention back to her she found the other woman had got out of the car. Following suit she got out of the passenger side and walked around to stand beside Emily. "Where exactly is here Em?"

"I'll show you." Emily held her hand out to the blonde. As she felt the warmth of JJ's hand in her own she made her way up the porch steps to the front door. Emily pulled a key out of her pocket and opened the door. She looked around as Emily led her into the house.

"Who's house is it?"

"Mine. Well, it will be once all the paperwork goes through."

JJ turned to face the brunette. "Why? This is even bigger than your current place."

Emily led JJ into the sitting room and sat down on the edge of the fireplace. She waited until the blonde had sat next to her. As she spoke she recaptured one of JJ's hands with her own. "I want there to be a future for us Jay. I knew that when you left my house that you would never be comfortable there and that kind of put a limit on where this, us could go. We both need a fresh start, somewhere without the past memories. Somewhere that we can have a future. So I found this house." Emily looked up into blue eyes. "I don't expect us to move in together right away. I have no intention of rushing our relationship but there's a part of me that tells me one day this will be our home."

JJ could feel the tears prickling behind her eyes as Emily spoke. When other people in her life had hinted at the future, she had always been the first to up and go. With Emily, there wasn't that urge. The thought of a future with the other woman didn't leave her with any reservations or concerns. If anything, it made her feel complete. She realised she must have been sitting in silence for a while when Emily started to speak again.

"There would always be a room here for you and Henry if you needed somewhere to get away from things though."

"Emily Prentiss…You are perhaps the most caring and loving person I have ever met. I want us to have a future too. Why don't you show me the rest of the house?" The smile that spread across the brunette's face was mirrored by the blonde. At that moment, both women forgot about everything that had brought them to this point and all they could see was a future together. JJ stood up and offered her hand to Emily who readily accepted it before showing the other woman the rest of what she hoped would be their future home.