JJ and Emily walk briskly into the office, careful not to stand too closely to each other. They usually brush each other's hands when walking, accidentally or flirtatiously, but things feel different between them. JJ breathes too shallowly, anxious from the tension. She never feels like this with anyone else. Not Penelope, and never Will. She never had those butterflies for him, she never felt sparks when they touched. With Emily, though, each time her fingers feel hers, or better yet, when her body feels her entire hug, she feels warmth. A sparkling warmth throughout her body that she thinks she can almost see. She can't risk that in front of her coworkers.

"Hey, JJ," Morgan calls, and immediately whistles. "Someone's wearing the same clothes from yesterday. You got lucky, huh?" He grins and winks.

JJ stumbles over her words. "Um, no, I-"

"Relax, I'm not here to give you the third degree. I'm just happy you're getting back out there. If you are."

Penelope suddenly takes JJ's hand and whisks her away, walking through the swarm of people arriving at the bullpen. They brush past Spencer, who looks at JJ with worry. He always knows when something is going on with her. Penelope practically drags JJ to the circle room, where no one has arrived yet. She stares at her, hands on her hips, her heels making her slightly taller than JJ.

"Did you- did you sleep with someone last night?" Penelope leans in close to JJ. "I know Derek was kidding, but I'm not. Because I know you're really struggling with something right now, and if you did something, I just want to know because-"

"Penelope!" JJ interrupts, and laughs gently. "I just stayed over at Emily's because I was too drunk to go home. It's no big deal, really."

Penelope sighs, and the team starts to file into the room. JJ makes a point to sit next to Derek and Hotch rather than Emily. She knows that in a team of profilers, she has to try extra hard to keep her body language and eye glances in check.

Penelope rises and walks to the projector. Pictures of three deceased victims appear, blood covering their abdomens. "These three people were found dead in Santa Barbara, California, all shot execution style in the back of the head. One was found in the woods off a hiking trail, another washed up on the beach, and the last was found in a dumpster."

"Any similarities known yet between victims?" Reid looks up from his folder.

"Unfortunately, no. They're different ages, different races, different genders, the whole shebang. I checked into their home lives, there's no indication that any of them knew each other."

Derek pipes up. "They're connected somehow, we'll just have to find out."

"There's no torture," Emily says, "nothing brutal about the killings at all, which probably means the victims aren't random. This guy has a reason to kill them."

"It's likely he feels guilty about it," Reid adds, "since he isn't looking at them when he shoots. If there were no signs of torture, that must mean he isn't getting revenge on them. He may be some sort of vigilante killer, executing people as his own form of justice without feeling the need to torture them."

"Alright everyone, we'll head to Santa Barbara. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch stands, and the team walks out, on the way to finding out who is behind these killings.

JJ walks up to the most recent victim's mother's house, Spencer close beside her. He gives her knowing glances, wishing he would talk to her. He wasn't used to not knowing what was going on with his best friend. He wondered why she didn't want to tell him. JJ, of course, didn't even know what there was to tell. She was too scared to even admit it to herself, so how could she tell Spence? Spence, who has been her best friend for so long. Spence, who she carried through a drug addiction. Spence, who told her he was bisexual only a year ago, and she was the first he ever told.

JJ sighs. She feels an ache in her heart, that twist of guilt like she's keeping a horrible secret. She silently begs God for the strength not only for the courage to say it, but the understanding of what it is.

The door to the house is wide, and it can easily fit both of them through it. Spencer knocks on the door and waits, and the pair take deep breaths. Talking to the victims' families is always the hardest.

"Hello?" She's a short woman, probably in her forties, her red hair sparking outwards in an electric frizz. She looks worn, her eyes droopy and her arms weighing heavy against her sides.

"Hello Mrs. Ross, I'm Dr. Reid and this is Agent Jareau, we're here about your son."

She nods, and invites them in, sadly shaking her head.

"We wanted to ask you about your son, Mrs. Ross," JJ says softly. "Did he have any enemies? Had he been acting out of the ordinary recently?"

Mrs. Ross shakes her head. "No, no, no. He was a good boy. He just graduated college. He never- this was just a horrible, random murder. This had nothing to do with him."

Reid and JJ exchange a small glance, not enough to spook the mother. How could there be nothing to connect the victims?

After a hard conversation with the victim's mother, JJ and Reid leave. They sit in the car a moment, looking over the files between the victims. The air between them is tense, and JJ feels as though Reid has something to say, but he won't say it. He starts to take a breath through his mouth, as if to speak, but his throat catches and he stops. He runs his fingers through his hair nervously.

"Okay, what is it?" JJ starts the car and begins to drive back to the police station. "You've been acting weird around me for days. We can't act like this in front of witnesses. What are you keeping in?"

Reid scoffs. "What am I keeping in? Jennifer, you haven't talked to me about anything! You're snappy, and sad, and I see you leave the bathroom at the office with tears in your eyes. You and Penelope have secret conversations, and I don't even need to explain how you're acting with Emily."

JJ turns right, waiting for the words to come.

"You're my best friend, JJ, I don't get why you aren't talking to me. I've never kept anything from you."

JJ pulls into the police station parking lot and turns to Reid. "Spence, I'm going through a divorce. I don't get to see my son when I come home. The man I trusted to stay with me forever cheated on me and left. I think I'm allowed to go through a hard time."

Reid shakes his head. "It's not that, JJ. You told me about all of that, you have since the beginning. You can always cry on my shoulder about Will and Henry, you know that. But there's something else. Something you're hiding. I can tell. You've never acted this way before."

JJ puts her hand on her cheek and leans on the car door. "I don't know what to tell you, Spence. It's nothing."

JJ's heart sinks deeply into her chest, and she squeezes her eyes shut to keep in the tears. She feels the words in her throat. I think I'm gay, Spence, she thinks. Just say it, he's your best friend. She takes a breath. I can do this.

"Fine. Just let me know if you want to talk." Spencer leaves the car and slams the door.