"For the last time, Garcia…I don't date. I haven't dated for years, I hate dating, and you know that. Stop trying to set me up."

"Would you prefer a woman?" She smiled at me across the table our team sat at for lunch.

"If your male pickings for me are anything like they are for you, then I would absolutely prefer a female. However, due to the fact that I do not date, I do not require a male nor a female next weekend. Thanks for your concern."

"You're lonely." She whined.

"I am not." I raised my eyebrows.

"She basically lives with us, baby girl. Emily strikes me as someone who thoroughly enjoys solitude on the weekends. I bet spending her Sunday afternoon with us is killing her." Morgan looked between us.

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

"No one enjoys being alone." She counted him.

"When you've had a life like Emily's, you absolutely enjoy being alone." JJ chimed in this time. I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean but I would roll with it. I just wanted them to stop talking about my love life; It made me feel guilty about not sharing about Mick.

"But—"

"I saw a pretty brunette with Hotch and Jack last Sunday! Let's move on from me and pry about that." I looked at Hotch beside me.

He shot me his best glare as Garcia gasped and sat up straighter. JJ smiled at me and shook her head when she met my eyes. I shrugged my shoulders and watched Hotch's posture become more and more irritated as Garcia rambled on with questions and accusations.

Once our orders were taken, Garcia had given up on getting answers from Hotch; there were just some things you couldn't win.
When our orders were brought out, we fell into simple conversation as we ate. JJ and Hotch told us about Henry and Jack, Rossi told us about a bad date he had the night previous, and Morgan shared his last hook up story. He turned to me when my phone buzzed on the table. I looked back at him, "What?"

"Everyone you talk to is here. You usually don't have your phone on the table when we're out for lunch or dinner, and you usually yell at me when I do because "it's rude". You're awaiting a text, and I assume you just got it."

"Not everyone I talk to is here. If you need to know…it is JJ's birthday next month and the text is from Will regarding it." I lied. I knew it was from Mick, I just couldn't look right now with Morgan and Hotch at my sides, looking at me.

This – of course – brought a million questions out of both Garcia and JJ as they tried to get me to spill on what Will and I were supposedly discussing. I fended them off after a long ten minutes of interrogation, when my phone rang and I excused myself quickly, saying I would see them tomorrow. I silenced my phone, went to pay my bill, and then left quickly. I couldn't say that the call was Will; that just wasn't believable.

I sent Mick a quick text apologising and saying I was on my way home now.

When I reached my apartment door, Mick was standing against it awaiting my arrival. I smiled as I approached, kissing him immediately. It had been all of four weeks since we started this, and it shocked me how quickly I would miss him. I wasn't sure what that meant in terms of emotions, but I didn't think about it too hard; at least not yet.

We went inside and sat on the couch with coffee. He shared a few things about the case he just got home from, and I gave a few unimportant details of my week. He asked about lunch, so I told him about that too.

"I don't like that they're still trying to set you up." He said, shaking his head.

"It's just Garcia, and I think she knows that I am never actually going to go."

"How long do we need to be together before you tell them?"

I sighed and put my coffee down, "I have very little privacy from my team. We all know everything about everyone and it irritates me. I am a private person, I like to have my own life, separate from my work life."

"But your team is both your professional and personal life."

I bit my lip and nodded, "I guess they are. I just don't want them to know yet, because once they know then we have nothing just between us. JJ and Garcia have to know everything. They will bring things up or question me in front of the guys, and then suddenly they all know. I don't like my life being laid out for everyone to study," I saw his posture dropping, like he was getting upset, "I will tell them, Mick. I promise. I just want you all to myself for the time being." I leant forwards and kissed him gently. He returned the kiss, his rougher than mine, and I smiled against his lips. I threw one leg over his to straddle him and he leant back against the couch, his hands resting on my thighs.

We kissed for a short while before he pulled away, "Next weekend my team is going out for drinks. They told me to bring you." I dropped my head to the side but he continued before I could talk, "Please, Emily? I want you to know them and them you; they're important to me."

I smiled and nodded, "Okay."

"I'll even give you a massage in return." He ran his fingers up my spine lightly.

"Perfect!" I laughed and climbed back over, sitting beside him again. I grabbed the remote and flicked through Netflix before we agreed on a movie. He got comfortable and I lay down across the couch with my head in his lap. He played with my hair softly, and I fell asleep before we hit midway through the movie.

I walked into the bar a step behind Mick, his hand gripping mine tightly as he led the way. He stopped by the bar, ordered himself a bourbon and cola, and then me a gin martini. I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek after he paid the bartender, and then he turned and looked around the bar in search of his team. He took my hand gently again and I let him pull me through the bar towards his team. Gina met me with a hug, and Prophet and Cooper greeted me with smiles. Mick introduced me to Cooper's wife and she smiled too.

We sat down with them and I stayed quiet, using now to study their dynamic and learn how close they were as a group and as individuals.
I excused myself to the bathroom after a while, and on my way back, I bought the next round of drinks.

My phone rang when I sat back down with them and I silenced the call as Morgan's name appeared on the screen. Mick saw it at my side and smiled when I met his eyes, "You can get it."

I smiled and excused myself again, standing and walking towards a quieter area of the bar. I called Morgan back and he picked up quickly. "What are you doing tonight?" He asked immediately.

"I'm out with a few friends. Is everything okay?"

"Can you excuse yourself from your friends and come to my place?"

I realised now that he was looking to hook up. I hesitated, coming up empty on an excuse as to why I couldn't come to him. I looked at Mick over my shoulder and saw him watching me. He tilted his head slightly and I turned my head back away. "I'm sorry, I can't tonight."

"That's okay Princess. Enjoy your night." He hung up after that.

I took a breath as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, but relaxed when I heard Mick speak, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah it's fine. Morgan just wanted to hang out tonight. I just said I was out with some friends." I knew that referring to him as a friend irritated him. He took a breath to calm himself as he nodded. He led the way back to the table where his team still sat, and I smiled at Gina when I met her eyes.

They were similar to my team regarding the banter, and they were as close as we were. I smiled at their jokes and laughed at a few, but now I was distracted. If Morgan was going to be calling me to hook up, I either needed to fill Mick in, or I needed to fill Morgan in. The dilemma was that if I told Mick, he may get mad and insist that I tell my team right then and there. If I told Morgan, he may share the news with the others, and that isn't what I wanted right now.

All members of the group had shouted a round, and Mick saw me yawning by the time it hit midnight. "I best get her home." He smiled at me. I nodded and he began his goodbyes with his team. I hugged Gina again and waved to the others before taking his hand willingly and leaving the bar at his side.

He opened the cab door for me and sat beside me. I rested my head on his shoulder with my eyes closed on the drive to his place. He hadn't asked if I wanted to go home or to his, but I didn't really mind all that much.

We got inside quickly, and I decided to shower before getting into bed. He was already shirtless in bed by the time I got there, dressed in just my underwear and one of his shirts.
I kissed his cheek before I lay down, my head on his chest. He turned the lamp out and ran his fingers through my hair gently until I fell asleep.

The next night, Mick took me out to dinner. I wore a tight, short, almost slutty black dress. I just wanted to tease tonight. I did wear my coat over it to shield me from the cold until we got to the restaurant. We had just finished eating and polished off our fourth drinks when my phone rang. I looked down at the screen and saw Hotch's name. I groaned and apologised to Mick as I answered the call. "Prentiss."

"Case, urgent. Can you be here in ten?"

I sighed, "Yeah, I'll be there soon, probably closer to twenty," I hung up and looked at Mick, "I've got a case. I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay. I expected you to get pulled away from me again. I'm surprised it's took this long." He smiled.

"I'll make it up to you," We both stood and he went to the pay the bill while I headed out,
"I'll take a separate cab; we're going different directions. Thank you for tonight." I pressed a long kiss to his lips, and he pulled me into him. We kissed two more times before I pulled away, "Okay, I really need to go."

"Stay safe, good luck." He kissed me one final time and I smiled before getting in a cab. I gave him the address of the precinct and sat back, sighing to myself.

The precinct was almost deserted this late on a Sunday. I headed to the elevators and pressed the sixth floor. I looked at myself in the reflection of the mirror and my eyes widened, "Absolutely not letting them see me in this." I said quietly to myself. I slipped my coat on and tied it tightly. I made sure my dress was covered, and then I went through the bullpen and up to the conference room where everyone else was.

"Took you long enough." JJ smiled.

"Sorry." I poured myself a mug of coffee and sat down, opening the file that sat in front of me.

"…Were you on a date?" She asked after watching me for a few seconds.

"No."

"It's pretty warm in here; you should take your coat off." Morgan smirked.

"I'm okay, thanks." I fought an embarrassed smile.

Hotch walked in then and looked at me. "Are you sick? It's hot in here; why are you wearing a coat?"

I sighed and stood. I untied the coat and slipped it off my shoulders and onto the back of my chair. The dress was way too short for me to comfortable wearing this in front of my team or at work. Morgan whistled and JJ and Garcia chuckled quietly. I avoided looking in the direction of Rossi and Hotch, "Happy?" I asked sarcastically.

"Who was your date?" JJ questioned.

"Do we not have an urgent case?" I looked at Hotch, trying to get him to intervene before I had to answer any questions. His eyes lingered on my chest a beat longer, but I seemed to be the only one to notice.

"How many drinks?" He asked.

"Two." I lied. The coffee would fix me up anyway.

Hotch told Garcia to present the case to us and I mouthed a thank you to him. JJ and Morgan both watched me on and off throughout the presentation, as if they were waiting for my behaviour to tell them something. I ignored them the best I could. I didn't want to share Mick's identity yet.