That same day, Emily had watched with narrowed eyes as JJ had gathered her belongings and stormed out of the office without looking back. Her fingers clenched involuntarily around the pen that she was holding. Will. The thought of him made her stomach churn. She'd met a lot of evil men in her time, but she still managed to save up a special kind of hatred for anyone who hurt JJ.
"Requisitions won't be too happy if you start snapping pens" Morgan appeared behind her "we break enough shit while we're on the road as it is"
"Oh, I...just got a tight grip, that's all" she mumbled, turning back to the file on her desk.
"Sure" he raised his eyebrow "give me half an hour to finish up this case and then we're getting a beer"
"Thanks for the offer, but..."
"It wasn't negotiable"
The two stubborn agents stared at each other, and Emily knew that she didn't have the energy to argue with him right now.
"Fine. Half an hour it is" she relented.
And that's how Emily and Morgan came to be sitting in a bar in the city that evening. It wasn't one that they usually frequented, chosen by Morgan to avoid the chances of anyone they knew walking in.
"So are you going to tell me, or do I have to ply you with so much alcohol that you can barely stand first?" Morgan asked, putting a beer down on the table in front of her.
"Tell you what?"
"Come on, Em"
"I don't know what you're talking about"
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trained in withstanding interrogations"
Emily laughed "Well it would be kinda useful when it comes to dealing with Strauss"
He ignored her last comment "Look Princess, I know this is about her"
"Who, Strauss?"
"Don't do that, Emily"
"Do what?"
"Try and distract me with humour. It won't work"
Emily just shrugged, clearly unwilling to give anything away voluntarily.
"All this shit that's been going on with you these past few months, it's been about JJ"
Emily's silence confirmed his suspicions.
"How long have you been in love with her?"
Her eyes widened, even she wasn't expecting such a straight to the point question.
"Please don't make me answer that" she asked quietly.
"Ok, well for the purpose of this conversation I'm gonna presume we're talking years rather than months. And I'm also gonna presume that you finally told her a few months ago, on that day where you got drunk and Garcia and I told you we knew you were gay. And she went home to Will"
Emily exhaled "I...not exactly"
"But that is what this is about, right? She chose Will and now she's leaving the BAU because of it"
"Oh wow, ok...look, a lot of this...it really isn't my place to talk about, but it's not what you think..." Emily tried to offer him something.
His eyes widened "No way...you're telling me you and her..."
"Is it so hard to believe?"
"No, no...it's just...well I presumed she was straight"
"Didn't we all?" Emily raised an eyebrow and took a swig of beer.
"So these...changes in your mood haven't been because she turned you down..."
"Not exactly"
"Come on Princess, give me something to work with there"
"It seems you have plenty already"
He glared at her witheringly "Well so far I've been missing the mark, so why don't you tell me what's actually been going on? You never know, it might make you feel better to get it off your chest"
She sighed and covered her face with her hands for a moment before looking back at him "Fine. I didn't start this, she didn't turn me down, she hasn't chosen Will. She also hasn't chosen to leave. Everything that happened inbetween is irrelevant now"
"You didn't start this?"
"Believe me, I could have kept my feelings to myself for a lifetime. But she..." Emily paused as she noticed the expression on Morgan's face "Stop. Right now. Do not be using your imagination about us"
He held up his hands "Sorry Princess. You were saying?"
"Look, she came to me, ok? And then a whole pile of crap happened, and now..."
"But she has left Will?"
"Yes?"
"You don't exactly seem sure"
"I thought I was" Emily sighed "but after today..."
"Do you trust her?"
She looked at him, clearly considering it carefully "Right now I have to, else what's the point? So yes, she's left Will"
"So he's behind her leaving?"
"I think so. I'm guessing by the way she left the office that she's gone to tear him a new one, so..."
"I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that"
"Hell, no" Emily replied, and they both took a swig of their drink.
"So...when did this all start, exactly?"
"Chicago..."
"Ok..."
"The first time" she finished.
Morgans eyebrows shot up "The first time? That's like..."
"A year ago or something, yeah"
"Wow"
"Yeah, that probably sums it up"
There was a comfortable pause as she let him process the information. While he'd read a lot of the signs successfully, clearly he was unprepared for the fact that there was actually something going on between his friends.
"You're gonna make this work, aren't you?" he asked softly.
"I have to" she replied honestly "because I can't face the alternative. I spent years loving her, but knowing I could never have her. And I could live with that. But now...I'd know what I was missing"
"She loves you, right?"
"Yes" Emily answered confidently.
"Then you'll make it work. I've never known you two not achieve something that you were determined to do. And besides, if she hurts you, I'll be hauling her ass to the sparring ring so fast that she's on the floor before she even realises"
"Thanks, Derek" she smiled genuinely.
It was at that point that her phone rang, and a number she didn't recognise came up on the screen.
"Prentiss"
"Em, it's me" a nervous sounding JJ replied.
"Oh, hey!" Emily's tone lightened "What's with the number?"
"I'll explain later. Where are you?"
"Just having a drink with Morgan...what's up?"
"I'm kind of outside your apartment, I was hoping I could see you"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I won't be too much longer here, could you get a coffee for half an hour or something?"
"Sure"
"Ok, I'll see you then"
"Bye"
Morgan raised an eyebrow "The subject of our conversation, by any chance?"
"You would be correct in that assumption. Do you mind if we finish these and head off? Something's up and she doesn't really have anywhere else to go right now"
"No worries. You go rescue your damsel in distress"
"If she ever heard you call her that..."
"I'd be dead, I know" he finished.
"Thank you...for all of this. For everything you've done for me"
"You know I've always got your back"
"It doesn't mean I don't appreciate it"
"Anytime Princess, anytime"