I'm so glad you all enjoyed the last chapter! :) And I noticed now that Elle is safe, you're all worried about it there will be an Emily or not... guess we'll find out in about ten chapters or so huh? Does saying that make me evil?
Thank you all for the awesome reviews, the favoriting, and the story alerts. You guys rock - writing is so much easier when you have feed back :)
So here's chapter 36 - I'm not sure I'm completely happy with it, but at a certain point you have to publish and move on to the next chapter otherwise writer's block will totatlly suck you in...let me know what you think.
Happy reading - enjoy :)
JJ and Spence sat in their seats on the airline flight back to DC from Las Vegas. JJ was lost in thought reflecting on recent events.
It had been a highly enjoyable vacation spent with Spence's Mom. In addition to visiting Diana, they had also taken in the sights of Las Vegas and the surrounding area. She had gotten to see Las Vegas through the eyes of someone who grew up there. Spence had especially enjoyed their time on the black sand beaches of Lake Mead, of course that might have had something to do with the black bikini she had worn, JJ thought with a smirk.
She thought back to a little over a week ago when Diana outed their relationship to the team. Once the case had been wrapped up and Rebecca had been reunited with her adoptive parents, she and Spence had met with Hotch and Gideon to discuss their relationship.
JJ and Spence approached Hotch's office. Walking down the catwalk, they could hear muffled chuckling. Hotch looked over at the doorway when JJ knocked on the door jam.
"JJ, Reid come in" Hotch said gesturing to the chairs across from his desk. Gideon was leaning against the wall, his legs and arms crossed.
JJ and Spence entered Hotch's office, Spence closing the door behind him.
"How long?" Hotch asked attempting to be serious. It was hard to do as he thought back to Morgan and Garcia's reactions to Diana Reid's news earlier that day.
"We um… er…. that is to say …." Spence rambled.
"A year and a couple months" JJ spoke softly. She was more than a little nervous. She had no point of reference for this situation. No one on the team had dated last time around. There had been Garcia and Kevin, but they were in separate departments.
"A year and…" Hotch repeated.
"Two months" Reid finished for him.
"Pay up Aaron" Gideon said standing up off the wall and holding out his hand palm up.
"You couldn't have told us a few months ago?" Hotch grumbled as he pulled out his wallet and placed a $50.00 bill in Jason Gideon's hand. "Oh. And congratulations by the way." He said with a rarely used smile upon his face.
Now it was Spence and JJ's turn to be shocked.
"You had a bet on us? Wait… what about the fraternization policy everyone is always talking about?" JJ asked.
At this Spence turned to look at her with a puzzled look on his face as did Hotch and Gideon.
"What fraternization policy?" Spence asked with a confused look on his face.
Realization hit Gideon. He turned to Hotch. "It's the DR fraternization factor kicking in again."
Now there was a term Hotch hadn't heard in quite a while. A grin broke across Hotch's face as he realized what had happened.
"JJ, have you ever actually seen the fraternization policy in writing?" Hotch asked.
"No….." JJ responded puzzled by where this was going.
"Spencer you've read the FBI code of conduct, correct?" Gideon asked
Spence nodded still trying to figure out what was going on.
"Would you please enlighten JJ as to why she had never seen the fraternization policy in writing?" Gideon asked with a slight smile on his face.
"Because it doesn't exist. Nowhere in the FBI code of conduct does it specify or give any direction what so ever as to the nature of personal relationships between FBI employees be they Agents or administrative staff." Spence said using his eidetic memory to mentally reflect on the verbiage in the code of conduct.
"Wait … what?" JJ asked puzzled.
"The fraternization policy you've heard about was actually a rumor that was started 15 years ago to help curb the tendencies of one over eager Agent to fraternize with the majority of his female co-workers." Gideon said with a smirk as he thought of his friend Dave. "Over time rumor became an urban legend and after several years everyone assumed it was a real policy." Gideon said with a shrug.
"You're not upset?" JJ asked.
"If I didn't want you to date, or didn't think you would work well as a couple, then I probably should have gotten Spencer Redskins tickets for his birthday and suggested he ask you should I have?" Gideon said. "You've been nothing but professional over the last year. I don't see a problem with it." He continued from his position against the wall.
"We'll probably have to make some adjustments here or there, but we'll figure it out as we go" Hotch said.
The group continued their conversation in the office. Hotch informed them about the change that he an Gideon had been able to get the director to make to the team's vacation time. Gideon told them to use the BAU jet to take Spencer's mother back to Las Vegas.
After finishing their conversation JJ and Spence slipped out of Hotch's office and down the catwalk to the round table room.
Meanwhile in the bullpen, Garcia, Morgan, and Elle sat chatting.
"I can't believe you call yourself a profiler Derek!" Elle snickered as she sat on her desk.
Derek Morgan leaned back in desk chair, completely flummoxed as to how he had missed JJ and Spence having been a couple. Reid's mother had said they had been dating for quite some time….how long was quite some?
Garcia was in shock. She had spent an entire day with JJ just last week. Never once had she even hinted that she and Reid were an item. Of course, now JJ blushing a couple days ago over being asked about the last time she had a date go well made so much more sense. JJ had definitely been holding back on her. A happy hour or girl's night out with full disclosure was definitely in order.
Elle chuckled under her breath and shook her head as she watch both Morgan and Garcia working through their thought on JJ and Reid together as a couple.
A short while later JJ, Spence, and Diana exited the round table room and walked over to their three friends and co-workers sitting in the bullpen.
Garcia opened her mouth prepared to begin firing away with 1001 questions.
JJ held up her hand "I know you are all curious and have questions, but can we do this in two weeks after we're all well rested? It's been a long day and Spence, Diana, and I have a relatively long flight still tonight."
"But…" Garcia started to argue.
"Garcia, please. We'll answer your questions. Just not tonight. It's been a long couple of days for everyone." JJ said interrupting Garcia before she could start to argue.
"Ok, but you promise we'll talk?" Garcia asked.
"I promise Garcia" JJ said.
After saying goodbye to the team JJ and Spence left for Las Vegas.
JJ groaned as she sat down behind her desk at work. Mondays were bad enough, but the Monday after two weeks off….well that surely would fall under cruel and unusual punishment. Thank God for Starbucks, of course even that came at a price. She had been put through the most intense interrogation she had ever seen. They really should take a look at having Garcia interrogate unsubs. She could get information out of a rock.
"How long have you and Reid been together JJ?" Garcia asked as she and JJ sat at a table at Starbucks taking a break from the BAU.
"A little over a year" JJ responded bracing herself for Garcia's reaction.
"Over a year …. You and the junior G man have been together for over a year and you didn't tell me!" Garcia said getting more excited as she spoke.
JJ winced slightly "Garcia calm down. We wanted to prove we could keep it professional at work. And it's not like we told everyone but you. Morgan, Elle, Hotch, Gideon, We didn't tell them either." JJ explained. "Then we knew we should tell you all, but we just never knew how…." She continued.
Garcia calmed considerably "Well tell me everything peaches. How did you start dating? From the way you were blushing the other day …. " Garcia wiggled her eyebrows "Give. I want details"
JJ laughed glad to see Garcia back to herself and proceeded to provide Garcia with some of the details she asked for. Some things she would never share with anyone. Plus she knew whatever she told Garcia would end up in Morgan's hands as possible ammunition for him to use to tease Spence.
"Come on pretty boy, I want to know. How long have you and JJ been an item? It must have been when she heard about how all over you Lila was. My Man!" Morgan said as sat on the edge of Reid's desk. "Who knew you were such a ladies man!"
Reid looked over at Morgan "Actually, nothing happened with Lila. And JJ and I were already together then. We've been together over a year. Our anniversary was the week that we were in New York."
"A year … kid, you've been together with a smoking hot, gun carrying, FBI Agent for a year, and you didn't say anything?" Morgan asked slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that 'quite some time' was a year. "Why didn't you tell?"
Reid and Morgan continued to have a very similar conversation to the one that Garcia and JJ were having at the time.
Elle walked into the bullpen and up to where JJ, Garcia, Reid, and Morgan were standing in a group talking.
"Hey what's going on?" She asked throwing her jacket over the back of her desk chair. "Do we have a case?"
"Garcia is trying to convince us all to go for happy hour tonight" Reid said.
"I'm in." Elle said with a shrug.
A few hours later the five younger members of the team were gathered around a high top table covered with an array of appetizers and various adult beverages.
"What I don't understand" JJ began "is why Elle is the only one who hasn't pumped Spence or I for information." She said turning in her seat next to Spence to look at Elle.
"I figure if you want to talk about it you will. I wasn't surprised to find out you were together, by the way." Elle said smirking as she picked up her rum and coke.
"What uh, what was it that um … well …how did you figure out that we were together?" Reid asked
Elle chuckled. "I suspected something from my very first day. I couldn't help but notice you turn to watch JJ's ass as she walked out of the bullpen after introducing herself to me."
Spence was blushing furiously and didn't know where to look when JJ turned to look him.
"Baby it's ok. I don't mind" JJ said leaning over to kiss him softly.
A chorus of 'Awwwww' went around the table. The group continued to spend some time together outside the workplace, laying the foundation for the close family unit JJ knew they would become over the next few years. Eventually it was time to go home, as it was a school night and who knew what tomorrow would bring.
"I'm glad the team found out and we don't have to be secretive anymore, at least about us being together." Spence said as he climbed into bed with JJ.
"Mmmm me too." JJ said as she cuddled up to Spence's side.