In the late afternoon, Hotch and Rossi were going over the next day's case with JJ before she left for the day. A knock on the door interrupted them. "Come in," Hotch called.

Reid opened the door. "Hey, guys,"

"Hey, Reid," JJ said cheerfully, "We just heard from Chief Strauss."

Despite her brightness, he was concerned, hoping it wasn't something he was in trouble for, which was a definite possibility. "What about?"

"Well, perhaps she's not as evil as we all thought, or maybe she feels sorry for me. But, either way, she's agreed to let Riley take over for me while I'm on leave."

"Oh," Reid replied, relieved, but not quite so pleased, "Great. She'll do a good job."

"We thought you'd be happier about this, Reid. She won't be put in any danger." Rossi noted.

"I know… and I am happy…" his hands went into his pocket, as they did when he was anxious. "…I'll feel better about it… depending on how tonight goes."

"What's tonight?" JJ smiled.

"Well, that's why I'm here. I just need to ask Hotch a question."

"What's up, Reid?" He asked.

"Uh… well, I didn't get something back… when I was shot and I was wondering if… you had it, Hotch."

"Is this what I think it is?" He wondered with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I gave all your effects to JJ, so she should have it." He said, meeting JJ's eye.

"Oh…" she mumbled. She looked up to meet Reid's expectant gaze. "Well… before we found out you were alive, I gave them to Riley. I thought she'd rather have them."

Reid was stunned, unable to speak. "So you mean Riley has her engagement ring?" asked Hotch.

"Engagement ring?" JJ looked around. "I didn't… I mean, I didn't think the ring would be in there."

"No, she doesn't have it!" Reid cried, his voice carrying out into the bull pen. "She gave me all my stuff back yesterday morning. She didn't even mention the ring."

"What's going on?" Morgan asked. He rushed in with Emily and Garcia in pursuit, all three having heard the commotion.

"We have a bit of a problem…" Rossi explained. "It seems we still can't find Riley's engagement ring?"

"Reid… I'm sorry, I had no idea the ring would be in there." JJ asked.

Reid looked at her curiously. "JJ, I never told you about the ring or proposing… and you mention it like you've known for awhile."

"I don't think it's much of a secret anymore, Reid." Hotch noted.

"I've known for a few weeks, actually." JJ said, "I heard it from Garcia."

"You already know I heard it from Morgan," Rossi chimed in.

"I… heard it from Riley." Emily admitted.

Further shocked, he stared at Emily in disbelief. "Riley knows." He muttered.

"She… found the ring in your effects…" Emily specified, "…and then she threw it away."

At first, they believed Reid was going to be sick. "Why didn't you stop her?" He demanded, trying not to yell and lose his temper. "You knew I was alive, you could have-"

"Reid, it's alright," Hotch said, standing up. "We'll replace it."

"But I wanted to propose to her tonight!" Reid cried.

Rossi replied, "You still can, Reid. Riley won't be mad you don't have a ring, especially since she threw it away."

"That's not the point." Reid grumbled, "It has to be perfect."

"Oh, come on, Reid," Morgan retorted, "You know whatever you do, she'll love it. It doesn't have to be perfect."

"No! It has to! You guys don't understand!" He took a moment to calm down. "You know what we've been through. When we fell in love, she was my therapist. When she told me how she really felt about me, we were bleeding in the back of a pick up truck. I was dead for three weeks, how many men put their girlfriends through that? I just… I just wanted one time that we could remember… where nothing went wrong. That we were happy and in love and… everything was perfect." He looked at all those staring at him in the room. "And now it's ruined because I lost the ring!"

"Oh, right…" Emily said with a smirk, pulling out the red box from her pocket. "You mean this ring?"

Reid gaped at her, looking like a trout out of water. "Way to bury the lead, Emily." Garcia muttered.

"Where did you get that?" He finally asked.

"You have so little faith in your friends, Reid." She said with a smile, tossing him the box, barely catching it on the tips of his fingers. "I would have given it to you sooner, but Morgan wanted to make you squirm a little bit."

"Emily…" Reid said with a dazed expression, "I could kiss you."

"Tell you what kid; I'll do it for you." Morgan said. And with that, pulled Emily too him, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Usually Emily would be so nonchalant about such a thing. She'd tease him or give him a friendly smack. Instead, her face turned a hot, fire engine red. With a deadly glower, she looked to him. "You know what, Morgan… you can be such a jerk sometimes."

With that, she hurried through the open door. Morgan stared after her with angry bitterness. He looked back at the group, meeting the questioning glances.

"Is she alright?" JJ asked, worried about her recent change in demeanor.

"Yeah…" Morgan replied. "I guess I'd better apologize. I'll be back."

He left the room, closing the door behind him. Garcia at last broke the awkward silence, turning back to the man of the moment. "So… Reid… I am dying to know, how are you going to propose?"

He opened the box to make sure the ring was inside, letting out a thankful sigh. "I have an idea… I know where I'm going to take her… and I think I know what I'm going to say… I just hope she'll say yes."

JJ stepped forward, taking the ring to get her first look at it. Moisture formed in her eyelids and she started to cry.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked.

"I don't mean to get emotional. It's mostly hormones. I just…" Her hand went against his cheek, she smiled with her tears. "I can't believe our little Spence is getting married."

Blushing almost as vibrant as Emily, Reid gave a sheepish grin.

"Prentiss," Morgan called as he hurried after her through the unit doors. "Prentiss, wait!"

"Go away, Morgan!" Emily called back, trying to hurry to the restroom.

"Oh, come on, Prentiss, I was just kidding!" His legs were faster than hers, catching up to her as she turned the corner.

"No you weren't!" She hissed, "That's just it, you weren't kidding!"

"No one in that room suspected anything; it's fine!"

"No, it's not fine! I know you weren't kidding, and that makes it not fine! You did it because you have feelings for me!"

"Get over yourself, Princess." He stated, moving much too close into her personal space. "I do not have feelings for you. At this point, I'm not even sure I want to be your friend. I can't stand being in the same room with you anymore."

"Oh, really, is that why you keep looking at me like that?" Emily asked.

"How am I looking at you?" He asked, confused.

"Like… that! Like you want to kiss me, like you want to see me naked, like you've never looked at another woman before." She stopped to catch her breath, at this point not caring if anyone down the hall heard them. "We work together, and we're supposed to be friends, and partners. And I'm dating Malcolm, he's a nice guy and I like Malcolm, he's perfect for me at this point in my life. And I can't breathe, I cannot breathe with you looking at me like that so I'm begging you, just stop!"

He was close enough to feel each breath exhaled on her face. Heavy and hot against her already warm skin. "Prentiss… do you think I want to look at you?" He mumbled, his tone so soft and yet so dangerous. He spoke slowly, like it were the only way he could get her to understand. "I hate that I can't look at another woman like this… that I can't see another woman the way I see you… that I become physically nauseous at the thought of another man touching you with his hands! Believe me, Prentiss… I do not want to look at you…"

Emily had never wanted to kiss anyone so badly. Before she had a grasp on her inhibitions, she reached up and met his lips.

Her hands immediately pulled him closer, thankful his lips matched her rhythm almost instantly, moving perfectly together. She whimpered into their kiss as he took control, pulling her against the body she craved so much. The threat of being discovered never even occurred to them, and they were mercifully left alone.

"Derek…" She moaned softly, trying to detach herself. His strong hands had started untucking her blouse, running along the small of her back. She tried to ignore the shiver those hands sent through her, how much she loved that feeling, and longed to feel it all over her bare skin again.

"Emily…" he whispered, and it sent such a warm tingle into her stomach, hearing her name uttered so breathlessly.

She wanted so badly to give into him. "No, Derek, stop," she pleaded.

Morgan pulled from her lips meeting her gaze. There was fury mixed with the lust in his eyes for ending this much too soon.

Emily tried to catch her breath. "I have to go…"

"No you don't," hissed Morgan. He held her firmly against him as he moved to kiss her neck. Her pulse sped up under his lips. "Don't you dare leave me now."

"No… I'm going home." She was able to utter before he nipped and suckled on her flesh. Emily stifled a shuddering moan, her hands grasping his shirt. Their entire bodies seemed to be in some kind of magnetic pull, unable to separate. They had been apart for so long; now that the barriers were down, they couldn't raise them back up if they wanted to. It took all her strength to remain focused and speak. "I'm getting my stuff… and I'm leaving…" She finally pushed him away, pulling his eyes to hers. "Wait twenty minutes, make an excuse to leave… then meet me at my apartment."

She pulled Morgan into one more kiss, hard and fervent. It took everything in her to remove from his grasp, but at last, Emily managed it, practically running back down the hall. Morgan waited a moment before following her.

As they returned to the bull pen, the others were still conversing in Hotch's office. Emily grabbed her bag and coat. She met Morgan's eyes, giving him an excited smirk, then hurried to the elevators. He watched her until she had disappeared, taking a seat to wait through the longest twenty minutes of his life.

A few hours later, the BAU jet was in the air. Diana Reid sat by the window, terrified, trying to stay calm on the ride. Reid was fixing himself a cup of coffee while Riley sat alone on one of the couches, a book in hand. Will took a seat beside her on the couch. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"Break No Bones," she said, showing the cover, "by Kathy Reichs. Have you read any of her works?"

"No… but I've seen Bones a few times on TV, though I hear the books are different." Will explained.

Riley looked a bit confused. "The books are a television show? And I've been wasting my time with Grey's Anatomy."

The sound of sputtering was heard. Everyone turned to look back at Reid. It had taken everything in him to keep his sip of coffee in his mouth and swallow it, coughing as it went down.

"I see the coffee is suitable for removing stomach lining," Reid said, his eyes landing on the young girl with a book in her hand.

"No it's not," Riley whined, "I've been drinking it that strong for years."

"Yes, well, you are going to overdose on caffeine before you're forty, young lady, and I will not be apart of it." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her temple. She smiled, watching him reclaim his seat next to his mother, picking up the book he was reading to her. Riley's joy faded, seeing the loathing expression on Diana's face as she stared at her.

Riley looked back to her book, trying to ignore it. It was obvious even to Will it hurt her, though. Having taken a liking to the young girl, he attempted to make her feel better.

"Please don't take it personally," He urged. "If she were sane… I'm sure she'd be just as fond of you as I am… and that's a lot."

"Thanks," Riley said, a little sad. "I know she can't help how she thinks and feels… but I used to hope, when Spencer and I started dating, that… since I had such a bad relationship with my mother… I might have a good one with his." She looked up to meet Will's eyes, exactly like Spencer's. "But you know what, she doesn't have to like me. After all, she's not the first woman to hate her son's girlfriend. But I'm not going anywhere. And eventually she'll see… she'll see how much I love him. How much he means to me… and she may never fully trust me, but she'll at least know my intentions are pure."

He was pleased at her attitude. "You know, my mother didn't want me to marry Diana."

"Really?" Riley asked.

"Yes… she knew I wanted a family and that Diana… didn't want kids at all."

Riley was shocked at the similarity. "She didn't want kids… not even one?"

"I knew her before she got sick, and even then… her life was academic, she didn't feel the need to disturb that with a child." He looked almost nostalgic. "But we talked about it… we hadn't made any final decisions, but before we knew it… Spencer was on the way. Immediately, Diana began thinking of the baby. She stopped her meds, she stopped smoking, she ate right. She was in constant fear, always hearing voices… but she had to protect her baby. Even then, he was her whole world."

"Spencer wants to have children," Riley admitted, watching as Reid turned to another page. He wasn't listening to their low conversation. "I'm not certain how good a mother I would be. My mother was not exactly a role model. But Aaron – Agent Hotchner, he's been my friend for years – he's always told me that I would be natural at it… I mean, I guess he would know, but I'm not so sure."

"Well… I would be ecstatic to be a grandfather, if that helps your decision." He joked.

"I'll file that on the pro list." Riley said, giving a giggle.

"No, I don't want to push you to make any decisions." Will assured. "It's a huge, life changing choice, no matter how much you care about a person. And I can tell you love Spencer very much."

Her eyes left Spencer, lingering on the words in her book, "You don't have to be a genius to see that."