It is completely silent on the jet as the team makes their way to Florida.
Hotch is reviewing the case file in front of him at the back of the plane and Rossi is resting his head against the window, looking out at the sky almost in a daze across the aisle from him. Morgan has his headphones on his head, his eyes closed and head back against the headrest, feet propped up on the seat in front of him. Reid flips through pages in his book, reading the words at the speed of light.
Emily glances around at all of them, her eyes finally settling on her wife who is at the very front of the plane in a seat, her eyes also fixed out the window with a sort of glazed look over them. The brunette lets out a sigh, both of frustration and worry as she finally decides to get up and make her way over to the blonde.
It had been six days since the start of their argument. Six long and frustrating days.
If she was being honest, she wasn't even quite sure what had started the argument to begin with. Sure, they had been in arguments before. Relationships as long as theirs didn't come without them. However, most of the time, they were quickly resolved. Within 24 hours a conversation would take place and both of them would end up apologizing to the other for their part in whatever had made them fight. This time though, it was a little different.
It was almost as if Emily could feel it bubbling to the surface in the weeks leading to their argument. Little things seemed to be big things all of a sudden and it was as if both she and Henry were walking on egg shells for the past few weeks.
She knew that JJ had been stressed out. They had been working a lot, even more than they were used to and sometimes it felt like they never had even a second to breathe between cases lately. But Emily also knew it was more than that. While she hated say it, things had been different in her wife since Henry had started dating Claire.
At first, Emily had chalked that up to coincidence. But then it all blew up one night when JJ had come home asking where Henry was and Emily had told her that she had let him go out on a date with Claire on a school night.
As soon as it was mentioned that Emily had made this decision, JJ had started yelling at her so loudly that Emily wasn't even able to make out what it was she was actually saying. Emily had tried to get a word in. She had tried to explain that they were just getting ice cream and that Henry would be returning well before what was considered reasonable, but instead JJ had stormed out of the room and slammed the door to their bedroom behind her.
Emily hadn't followed her. She instead bit her tongue and waited patiently. Waited for the blonde to come around, realize that she had overreacted and come to her. But now here she was, 6 days later, and the two had barely spoken since.
But now Emily is sick of missing her wife. Sick of waiting for her to be the one to say something. So she makes her way to the front of the plane and takes the empty seat directly next to her, resting a hand softly on her denim covered thigh.
"I'm sorry," she says in a whisper and she lets out an audible sigh of relief when she feels the younger woman's hand cover her own.
"Me too," JJ admits, though she still won't turn to look at her wife and instead keeps her gaze fixed on the clouds out the window.
"I don't want to be in this fight anymore," Emily admits and she feels JJ squeeze her hand in hers. "Especially since I'm not really sure what we are fighting about to begin with."
The blonde finally turns to her then, her eyes calm and even sympathetic in a way.
"Do you need a refresher?" she pulls her hand away from Emily's.
"Wait, wait," Emily says stopping the blonde before she can continue. "I didn't come over here to make things worse. Jayje, I know that this might be hard for you..." the brunette doesn't get to finish before JJ cuts in.
"Oh right," JJ replies through gritted teeth. "After all, like you said, I'm just being an overprotective, overbearing mom who refuses to acknowledge her son is growing up."
"I never said the words overprotective or overbearing!" Emily responds with her own frustration. "I just said that Henry is growing up and it might be time for all of us to start accepting that."
"He's barely 16!" the younger of the two women whispers harshly. "Just two months ago it was you who was saying you didn't think 16 was old enough to be in control of a vehicle by themself."
"True, but I'm not saying he's old enough to live on his own, move out and get married. All I'm saying is that he's at the age where having a girlfriend is a normal part of life. He should be given a little freedom to go out on a date with a girl without an entire FBI surveillance team."
"Wow," JJ responds louder than their entire conversation had been throughout the past several minutes. Everyone on the plane glances up at the two women now, eyes locked on them, with exception of Morgan who remains asleep.
Of course they had noticed the past week that things were off between them. Morgan had tried to break Emily by badgering her every single moment of every day they were alone together to see if she would spill the beans on what they were fighting about. Reid had showed up at the house twice that week, which was out of the ordinary, under the ruse of visiting with Henry. Rossi hadn't exactly said anything but he made it a point to start conversations between the two of them, probably in hopes of getting the women to talk instead of just being angry with one another. Even Hotch had asked the brunette if things were alright between her and JJ.
But Penelope, oh, Penelope. She was always the one that took things very personally. Almost as if she was a third party in their marriage and she absolutely hated it when the two women were in a fight. This time, she went out of her way to call them both to her dungeon of an office, presumably about the case they were working on. However, when the two got there, she was no where to be found and the door mysteriously got locked from the outside. Garcia was disappointed when instead of talking the two spent the next ten minutes banging on the door until Reid gave in and opened it for them.
"That came out wrong," Emily says in a whisper again, now that the rest of the team had averted their eyes and were back to doing whatever they had been doing before.
"It wasn't a whole FBI surveillance team…" the blonde starts but doesn't get to finish.
"I didn't mean it like that. I just, I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. He's done nothing to break our trust before and until he does, I don't see why we can't trust him. You can't tell me you weren't dating when you were his age. You've told me the stories about your high school boyfriend. If I recall, he was a senior and you were a freshman, right?" Emily asks hating to be so blunt with her point but needing it to be made.
JJ's eyes lighten slightly at the words and Emily turns her head a little to the side, knowing that she had finally said the right thing.
"I know that you are right Em," the blonde sighs out, her eyes turning back to look out the window of the jet and the clouds engulfing them.
"And I'm sorry that I told him he could go out on a school night without talking to you first. I honestly didn't see the big deal," Emily states, hiding her own anger at the implication that she didn't have the right to make such a decision about a child that wasn't technically hers.
JJ had always been really good about making sure Emily never felt like that. Since the very beginning, she, JJ, Will and eventually Ashley all operated as a team. No one outranked the other and everyone supported the decision made by another parent. This feeling was something she had only felt a handful of times in the past eleven years and she knew that it was her own insecurity and not anything JJ had done intentionally.
The blonde seems to realize Emily's thoughts and her eyes widen when she realizes how her anger might have been perceived by her wife.
"Em, I hope you know that I wasn't mad that you decided to let him go out on school nights without talking to me. He's your son just as much as he's mine. I just want to protect him. It feels like this is all moving at super speed and I don't want him to get his heart broken, okay?"
"Babe, I know you want to protect him. But you can't, not from this. You and I both know that the likelihood that this relationship is going to last into adulthood or hell, even next school year, is extremely slim. But you know what, that's part of growing up. I know I had my fair share of heartbreaks but I lived through them. Didn't you?"
"I did," the blonde responds.
"And guess what? If I hadn't had all those heartbreaks, I would have probably never found you. So I'm glad I had them. I'm glad my heart was broken by those relationships so that I could find the right one with you." Emily reaches out once again to hold the blonde's hand in her own.
"That was pretty cheesy," JJ whispers, her eyes suddenly brightening up. Emily can't help but smile.
"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me Jayje. You and Henry. Everything else, it was all worth it just to have you both."
JJ can't help but smile. Her wife always had a way of saying things that made it sound like the sweetest thing in the world.
"Okay then," she breathes out before her mind remembers her worries. "When we get back I'll talk to Henry and apologize for the way I've been acting lately."
"I love you," Emily whispers as she pulls the older woman closer with the hand she is still holding in hers. Their lips attach immediately in a loving embrace.
Now usually, neither woman would have let the kiss become more than anything chaste. They were working after all, even if they were still on the jet on their way to the case. They had learned long ago to separate work and home. But after six days of barely speaking and no physical contact other than brushing up against each other while passing one another in the bullpen or climbing into bed, it wasn't as easy.
JJ's tongue swipes across the brunette's lips seeking permission to enter and Emily allows it instantly. With her free hand not being held between them, she runs it through JJ's long blonde hair and JJ's free hand rubs up and down the brunette's back smoothly.
"Get a room!" Morgan shouts from his spot in the jet, causing both women to part instantly and for the remainder of the team to laugh at the embarrassed look on both women's faces.
"Shut up Derek," Emily mutters, turning back to JJ and giving her another quick kiss on the lips before settling beside her and allowing the blonde to rest her head on her shoulder.
"Bet he's the one that taught Henry to say that to us," JJ remarks, remembering the times before when they had been caught by the teenager.
"Oh no, I didn't teach him that," Morgan says, pulling his headphones off and sitting up in the chair he had been slumped in. He points with a finger across the seats to Rossi who smirks back at him.
"Why on earth would I teach him that?" Rossi asks feigning innocence.
"Spence," JJ asks sweetly, her eyes reaching her best friends as he looks up at her call of his name. "Do you know who taught Henry to tell us to get a room every time we kiss?"
"Oh, that would be me," Spencer replies easily and quickly.
Morgan and Rossi both laugh out loud and even Hotch smiles. Emily can't help but laugh herself. Of all the people she would have expected, Spencer was not her first guess.
"Why would you do that?" JJ asks surprised by his confession.
Spencer raises a brow.
"Because he told me to," Reid responds, pointing a finger back at Morgan who tosses a pillow at him that connects right with Reid's book, knocking it out of his hands and to the floor. "Hey!"
"So are the two of you better now? No more tension and angry stares across the table?" Rossi asks, changing the subject back to the two women.
"There weren't any angry stares," Emily replies as she squeezes JJ's hand still in hers.
"If you say so princess," Morgan responds. "I'm just glad the two of you aren't fighting anymore."
"Awwwe, hear that Jayje, Derek cares about us," Emily jokes.
"Actually I think he's just happy because he just won the bet they all had on how long it would take the two of you to start talking again," Reid informs the women.
"Reid!" Morgan shouts looking for something else to throw at the boy wonder to get him to shut his mouth.
"You guys act like children," JJ chimes in from her seat at watching them interact.
"See babe, don't worry about Henry growing up. No matter what happens, you'll always have these two children to keep you on your toes."