After viewing the crime scene at Winterset park and then the almost identical site opposite a seven-eleven only a couple of streets over Emily, JJ and Morgan stopped by a local sandwich bar on their way back to the station. Morgan had briefly called with Hotch and explained the unsub's newly uncovered signature. There had been nothing else of significance at either disposal site, the only information they had garnered was that amidst the uncontrollable rage that dwelt within their unsub there was undeniably some rationality and organisation.
"I don't know what to think about what we know so far. Our unsub is obviously filled with rage yet made sure that he had the time to tidy up the disposal site and make it into a display. He started killing suddenly but seems to have settled into a rhythm almost as if it's second nature. I feel like we're going to end up with a lot more bodies before we make any significant headway here." Emily vented, watching as her turkey and ham sandwich was being wrapped by a young looking girl. She reached out and took the food as soon as it was offered and slid a note over the counter, murmuring a quick "keep the change" before whirling around to accompany her friends to a nearby table. The small seating area was barren, a testament to the time of day. Emily peered at her phone quickly and noted the time. Most people would still be working, or getting ready to pick their kids up from school so they would likely have a good deal of privacy during the course of their meal.
"What makes you so sure our unsub is a male? If anything I think the signature points to a female." Derek pointed out, taking a large bite of his bulging toasted sandwich. A small amount of hot cheese dripped from the sandwich as he bit into it and his eyes rolled back.
"That must be one damn good sandwich." Emily giggled, the scene prompting a wide and genuine smile.
"You're damn right it's a good sandwich I got the works on this thing. Hey JJ, how's yours?"
"Yeah, it's good." She replied, one corner of her mouth twitched up in an almost smile. Emily frowned, her dark eyes searching JJ's clear blue for some kind of clue as to what might be wrong.
"Are you okay Jayje? Normally you have more of an appetite." Emily noted, digging into her own cheese and meat-filled sandwich with hunger fueled fervour. She had opted to not have hers toasted, though in retrospect she wished she had. It had been out of convenience and a need to keep moving and although it would have only taken twenty seconds she had opted to pass over delicious warm melted cheese in favour of moving along with their lunch faster.
"I'm a little stressed and don't really feel like eating so I'll probably just take mine back to the station with me." JJ retorted, finally managing a small smile though Emily could still see that the blonde was strained.
"If you're sure, if you don't eat by tomorrow I'll have to chase you down with chocolate covered croissants so, remember that." Emily joked though she found it hard to keep the mental image from playing in her mind. JJ looked down, opting to fold her sandwich back up in its wrapper rather than responding, though her cheeks were dusted a light pink and a small smile played at her lips.
"I'll try not to let that thought plague my nightmares," Morgan added with a laugh, finishing his sandwich in a few bites.
"Hey now, I don't know why that'd give you nightmares Chocolate-thunder, sounds like a fun time to me." Emily retorted, unable to pass up another opportunity to jab at her best friend.
"Watch yourself, princess, you're playing a dangerous game." Morgan chuckled. He wiped his lips with a plain white napkin then balled up the garbage tightly in his fist. "You almost finished?"
"Yeah I'll have the other half later, let's regroup with the others." Emily wrapped up the remaining half of her sandwich and stood from her chair before replacing it back under the table where it had originally been. They each offered a quick thanks to the young woman who had served them then exited the shop.
It took them little time to reach the SUV and settle in, this time with JJ in the back. They had little to talk about and Emily found herself watching JJ in the rearview mirror as they drove to the station. She sat relaxed against the seat with her head rested against the glass window watching out as the city passed by around them. She had an aura of sadness and stress surrounding her and Emily hoped that talking later in the hotel room and working through the tension between them would help to ease the blonde's mind a little bit.
It seemed as if hardly any time had passed when they pulled into the station and Morgan parked alongside the two SUV's already neatly parked in spaces that had been flagged for them specifically.
"Looks like the Manassas PD pulled out all the stops to welcome us," JJ noted, her eyebrows raised as they stepped out of the vehicle.
"They likely don't experience much FBI involvement around here, it's nice and looks like they've been very mindful of what we might need," Morgan replied, leading the trio on their adventure through the parking lot and main reception. "There's my baby-girl. I think I know where our space is already."
Emily followed Morgan's line of sight across the bustling workspace. In a side room through wide-spaced blinds it wasn't hard to see Garcia tapping away on the keys of her laptop, several screens flashing, popping up and disappearing faster than Emily could keep track of, beside her Rossi and Hotch were sitting together sharing files and at the back of the room Reid stood noting things on a large whiteboard. "Of course, you would be the first one to spot her." Emily grinned, following after Derek as he set off across the room.
"Oh of course and look at the dopey grin on his face! I hate to say it Derek but you look like a lil puppy. It's kind of cute actually." JJ added with a laugh following close behind them.
"If you two say anything to her the consequences will be severe, you hear me?" Morgan stated, coming to a halt in front of the door to the room Garcia was situated in.
"Is that a threat SSA Derek Morgan, on two female co-workers!?" Emily asked with feigned astonishment. She raised her eyebrow at him, her eyes wide.
"No, SSA Emily Prentiss, that's a promise, so keep it zipped."
"Ooh okay, you win this round tough guy. Now if you don't mind I think we've hung around the door for long enough." Sensing the underlying seriousness of Morgan's tone Emily changed the subject and opened the door with a soft click. It swung open almost soundlessly and the three filed in before seating themselves at the long rectangle table provided to them.
"Now that we're all here let's go over what we know." Hotch began, effectively summoning Spencer to one of the remaining empty seats where he plopped himself down and eyed the team with interest. "Spencer, David why don't you start."
"Well the coroner didn't have too much to give us, C.O.D. was determined to be blood force trauma to the head just like the case file suggested, but there was one interesting piece of information we found." He looked to Reid and gave a small nod, effectively passing the right of speaking over.
"At first sight, there were no indications of any drug abuse by the victims personally or on the unsub's part but the coroner filed for a tox-screen and the results were interesting, to say the least. It was noted that each of the victims had high amounts of Sevoflurane, a drug commonly used in dental procedures and in veterinary practices. It's administered via gas which is why there weren't any visible indications."
"See Prentiss, this fits with the theory that our unsub is a woman. There were drugs used and the signature left at both dump sites is literally the gender sign for females, I think that's a pretty big red flag." Morgan pointed out, taking the new information on-board and processing it quickly.
"Normally I'd be inclined to agree but my gut's telling me our unsub is a male. We know they most likely experienced ongoing trauma throughout their childhood, probably for a number of years for the rage to manifest itself this way. The bodies were beaten to a pulp even after the genital mutilation, which looked to me like a number of strikes with some kind of pocket knife, that takes a lot of stamina and strength as well."
"Emily makes a good point. We can't really rule out either gender right now. Maybe that's what they want though, maybe the message wasn't a signature so much as a red herring." Hotch noted.
"What about you Penelope, have you found anything in all of your diggings?" JJ asked, flashing a glittering smile at her fellow blonde.
"Well I hadn't until a few moments ago, really I'm just trying to make sense of this and see if I can find the missing piece to the puzzle I'm currently constructing over here so if you give me two seconds... Aha! Yes! I found something that ties all three of the victims together! It was really easy to find all of the dirt on Jeff and Frank but it took a little bit longer for Simon."
"What'd you find sweet cheeks?"
"All three victims had police reports filed against them in the past three months by their partners claiming spousal abuse and they are each going through the courts right now for divorces. It doesn't stop there though, all three went to Irvin Law Firm, their assigned lawyer is one Jason Irvin. I've sent work and home addresses to your cell phones I imagine you'll want to bring him in for questioning."
"Alright, Morgan I want you Prentiss and JJ with me we're going to pay Jason Irvin a little visit. In the meantime Garcia I want you digging further into his history, I need you to fill Dave and Spencer in on everything so we can determine his involvement more effectively. Let's get a move on." Hotch retrieved his phone from his pocket pulling up both addresses as they made their way to the main doors. "JJ and Prentiss you take his work address, Morgan and I will head to his home. Remember we have no reason to expect him to be violent, he'll likely come willingly."
"Will do Hotch, we'll let you know how everything goes when we regroup," Emily confirmed the plan, taking the offered keys from Morgan as they made their way to the waiting SUV's. She pressed the unlock button on the key, satisfied when the lights flashed indicating the doors were unlocked then climbed into the drivers' side and swung the door closed behind her with a bang. A few moments later JJ slid into the passenger seat. She appeared to be mentally preparing herself for their current 'mission' and Emily decided it would be best to allow her a few moments. She turned the keys in the ignition causing the SUV to roar into life, she reversed smoothly from their parking space and pulled out of the car park, throwing the occasional glance JJ's way as she did so. "Hey Jajye, do you mind pulling up the address and keeping me right?"
"Oh, sure. Sorry, Emily, I'm just a little nervous." JJ responded quietly, clambering to retrieve her phone from her front pocket. She thrust her hips forward and dug around in her pocket, her tongue poking out from between her lips as she concentrated on locating the offending object. Emily found herself staring at JJ more than the road during all of this and when the blonde haired agent finally pulled her phone out with a triumphant smirk Emily had to pin her eyes back to the road, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Well, you've no need to be nervous you have me with you." The sentence slipped out before Emily really had a chance to think about it and the two ended up sitting in silence for several moments afterwards, both blushing and neither daring to look at the other. Emily felt herself internally eye-roll at her own childish shenanigans and took a moment to mentally compose herself as JJ read out the work address.
"It's not too far, take a right past the next set of lights then follow the bend to the end of the road. Garcia's keeping me updated on Hotch and Morgan through texts as well. Apparently, Rossi and Reid are debriefing the local cops on our unsubs victim preference so they can spread the word. If we have any more bodies though I think Hotch will call for a press conference." JJ tapped at the screen of her phone sorting through the bombardment of messages while she spoke and Emily couldn't help the small amount of anxiety stirred by her mention of a press conference. After all, there was a fifty-fifty chance she would be the one delivering it.
"It looks like it'll be a long case, honestly I kind of wish we had something easier for your first assignment in your new role but needs must. At least you have all of us, do you know which house it is?" Emily branched off as she pulled the SUV off the side of the road and cut the engine.
"Yeah, it's the one with the sign above the door and the wilting roses on the left there. Also, don't worry, I'm actually kind of happy about it... I'll talk to you more in depth later when we get to the hotel." She gave a smile and release the clip that held her seatbelt in place before swinging the door open with a soft click.
Emily followed suit, stepping out into the evening sun the edge of which was just beginning to tease the horizon. A cold wind blew causing her to shudder as she closed the door over and she drew her blazer closer around her as she stepped up onto the pavement next to Jennifer. They shared a look and Emily took the lead up the stone path which led to the front door of the premises. It was indeed lined with wilting roses, varying shades of brown tinting their petals as the life left them. The sign above the door gave a similar vibe, hand painted with deep age cracks lining the wood. Emily stopped to observe it for a moment before reaching out to push the brass door handle down.
They swept into a small reception following the jingle of a bell presumably attached to the door. Inside, two walls were lined with four small blue arm-chairs, a table with a stash of magazines splayed across the surface and a water dispenser complete with small paper cups. On the far wall, a small window led to a slightly smaller office with a beaming young brunette male tending the window. She eyed him for a moment then crossed the room to grab a cup of water. For a moment she watched the bubbles rise in the clear tank as the water dispensed into her cup then when she was satisfied with the amount, she crossed the room to the small window and knocked on it once gently.
The young man, who on further inspection appeared to have light brown eyes, paused for a moment then slid one sheet of glass to the side and flashed a smile. Emily could see his flannel plaid shirt, unbuttoned at the top to reveal a simple black t-shirt underneath. There was something in his stature and the way he smiled that served as a warning to Emily but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong.
"How can I help you, ma'am?"
"We're looking for Jason Irvin, have you seen him?" Emily leaned into the white painted wood lining the window as she spoke, watching the young mans' response. His chestnut eyebrows dipped in confusion for a moment before his eyes narrowed and he leaned back in his chair, appraising the two agents.
"What's your name, Sir?" JJ asked, stepping up to the side of the window to peer over Emily's shoulder. Her mind began to wander with her blonde-haired friends' close proximity but she forced her mind back to current events.
"Why and who is asking?" His tone took an edge and he crossed his arms over his chest, a clear indication he was becoming less willing to talk as time went on. His jaw clenched tightly and his lips pulled thin highlighting a thin silver scar that cut down from his lip towards his chin. Noting this, Emily gave JJ a look with one eyebrow raised, then reached for her identification.
"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss and this is Agent Jareau, we're from the FBI and we just have a few questions for Mr Irvin. He's not under arrest, it'd just really help our case to talk to him." She held her credentials up for a moment then slipped it back into her pocket when he seemed satisfied.
"The names Josh Irvin and I don't know what my brother could help you with but he's not here right now. He went home half an hour ago."
"Okay, thanks for your time. If you are his brother we may end up needing to talk to you as well, I'm going to leave this card here with you in case you want to get in touch with us otherwise we'll contact you if we need to." She slipped a small white card from her blazer pocket and slid it across the small surface. When he made no attempt to move it Emily decided it best to leave, with a small noise of annoyance she turned on her heel and marched across the room. At some point in all of this she ended up grabbing JJ's grey sleeve and half dragged the bewildered blonde back to the SUV.
"What was that!?" JJ gasped, jumping into her seat and whirling to face her fellow agent with a confused expression. She took a moment to re-adjust her cardigan, her clear blue eyes trained on Emily.
"I have a bad feeling about him, why so defensive when we just want to talk to his brother? Ah, maybe I just need some sleep." She rubbed her eyes as if to emphasize her tiredness then slid the keys into the ignition and started the engine. "Any updates from Garcia?"
"Yeah, Hotch and Morgan are on their way back now with Jason Irvin, we'll probably make it back to the station first though the home address was further apparently," JJ replied. She began digging around in the glove compartment as Emily turned the SUV around then popped up with a bottle of water and began drinking as Emily turned onto the main road.
They spent the journey in relative silence with Emily focused on the road and JJ focused on sifting through Garcia's onslaught of updates and before long Emily was parking the SUV in the space it had occupied previously. She made sure to grab her sandwich and began eating the remaining half as they made their way into the station.
"Oh, Garcia texted saying Spence got us coffee," JJ noted as she cleared her final notification and slid her phone back into it's hiding place. JJ's habit for stowing her phone away in her bra was always one that distracted Emily. It brought about a blush to her face and when JJ turned to see Emily's gaze she had to cough and awkwardly look away, a warm anxious feeling spreading through her.
She was thankful for the reprieve of entering their workspace and returned her colleague's greetings with enthusiasm, opting to take a seat beside Rossi this time. Spencer slid a carryout cup across the table with a small smile. "Emily, I got you a two-shot latte with two pumps of vanilla, I hope that's okay for you."
"Are you kidding boy-wonder? It's perfect, but you would remember what I like with that amazing memory of yours." Emily gratefully took the offered latte, flashing a wide and genuine smile across the table at Spencer as payment. He smiled back and turned to JJ after retrieving another cup seemingly from nowhere.
"So we've combed through this guys personal life and the three of us are in agreeance that Jason likely isn't the unsub, the fact that he has been in contact with all three victims suggests it might be someone in his circle of friends or family though so we have a new and how did you put it, Garcia, Ginormous! A new and ginormous suspect pool." Rossi stated, handing a list to JJ and Emily in turn.
"Unfortunately what with being a lawyer and volunteering at numerous soup kitchen and food banks in the area gives us a lot to work with. A lot of the people that Jason has worked with over the past five years he's stayed in semi-regular contact with." Garcia flourished her wrist gesturing at the large list.
"Are there any other details you got from the coroners that might help? What is our guys schedule?" Emily asked, taking a drink of her latte. The vanilla and coffee balanced out nicely and she found her eyes sliding shut as she enjoyed the flavour washing over her tongue.
"Coroner put the approximate time of death at between ten and eleven pm for all three victims, so if he stays on schedule we'll have another body in the next three hours," Reid noted, his eyes passing over the clock hanging at the other end of the room. He began fidgeting with his cuff and rifling through the papers in his files, eyes scanning lines of text a mile a minute.
"I'm going through this list of names but everything is slow going so if you guys have any parameters to help me narrow my search it might help." Garcia proposed, her fingers tapping away at her keyboard with an innate ferocity.
"We're looking for someone who probably was involved with violent crimes before so look at people with police records, specifically for assault and fighting." JJ offered, her eyes on the next room. Emily followed her line of sight to find Hotch and Morgan walking a tall brunette man through the desks towards the interrogating rooms.
"They may have also once been a victim of a similar violent crime that caused lasting trauma, it likely would have happened in the early years of their life," Emily added, her mind prompted by JJ's suggestion.
"Okay that's good but we have a lot and I mean a lot of criminal records here so it's going to take a while to sift through them, if you all go meet up with Hotch and view the conversation with Jason Irvin I'll probably be done by the time you're finished."
"Okay, great work Penelope, we'll leave you in peace so you can find your zen. Let us know if you find anything." Emily smiled at their busy blonde-haired friend as she drained the last of her latte and set the cup down on the table. They moved as a unit after, all standing up and shuffling over to the door then filing out. They converged on Hotch and Morgan quickly, finding them facing the window in the observation room with mild expressions.
"What do you think David?" Aaron asked, turning to meet the group as they filed into the room.
"We don't think it's likely that he's the unsub, we might be able to find out more about his business and the victims if we talk to him."
"You and I will stay here and speak with Jason then, I imagine Garcia is still working?" He paused to assess the group then continued when Spencer nodded. "I need to talk to her anyway about tomorrow, the rest of you are excused for the night, take an SUV and head to the Hotel. I know we're not far but I need everyone close for this case, I need your minds working on this as much as possible so we can keep the body count low."
"Alright Hotch, I'll get everyone to the Hotel. You two take care, see Y'all later."
Hotch and Rossi exited with a brief nod and wave, entering the room next door quickly after. Morgan led the remainder of the team outside to one of the parked SUV's. The sun was finally almost set and the surrounding streetlights where all lit, casting an orange-ish hue on the surrounding roads. Derek hopped into the driver's side and Spencer quickly jumped in the front passenger side, leaving JJ and Emily to hop in the back.
"Hey, do you guys want to get a bite to eat before we head to the hotel? I'm feeling generous so I don't mind paying."
"Morgan being chivalrous, it's a shame Garcia isn't here to swoon over you." Spencer let out a giggle, avoiding Derek's playful swat just barely.
"Watch it, pretty boy, don't wind me up when I'm about to drive." Derek smirk, turning the keys in the ignition. The SUV roared to life and Derek carefully reversed out of their parking space before pulling out of the lot.
"Dinner sounds good though, I'm really hungry. You guys want to pick up Chinese and sit in the hotel room for a bit? We're sharing with Garcia so we have two beds." Emily turned to look at JJ, surprise plastered over her features. It hadn't occurred to her that having Garcia accompany them would lead to awkward sleeping arrangements but the very real possibility now loomed over her like an amorphous shadow.
"There are around nineteen Chinese food establishments in the surrounding area, I'll look for the one closest to the hotel." Reid offered helpfully, fumbling through his back to retrieve his phone. It took him a moment but before long he was directing Morgan to a Chinese restaurant a couple of streets away from their hotel while JJ placed their order over the phone.
Fifteen minutes later Derek was emerging from the takeaway, a bag in each hand. He passed them through the back window and Emily sat them down in the middle where she and JJ could hold onto them. They took off moments later, Derek wasting no time in getting them to the hotel where Reid kindly offered to check them in. He spent a few minutes chatting to the vibrantly red-haired girl behind the counter who by all accounts looked smitten with him. When he returned he bore a broad smile on his face, the keys dangling from his fingertips.
"Boy look at that smile! She was totally into you man, did you get her number?" Derek asked, wrapping one strong arm around Spencer in a friendly hug.
"Wait, should I have asked?" Reid questioned after a moment of looking baffled.
"Spence she was completely into you." Emily laughed then took the keys to their room from his slack fingers. "Only two keys for us? Well, Garcia will need one so I guess we'll have to share."
"Oh, that's fine. Where did Spence go, Morgan, I thought you were holding on to him?" JJ looked around for a moment with a panicked expression.
"He heard what we said and decided to spread his wings." Derek laughed, directing JJ's attention to the main desk where Spencer was once again speaking to the red-haired employee. "He said he'd catch up, so let's go call the elevator, yeah?"
"Sounds like a plan, come on Jayje let him have his moment in peace." Emily placed her hand lightly over JJ's shoulder and gently steered her towards the elevator. Her hand lingered there far longer than it should have, only slipping away when they stopped in front of the elevator and Derek threw a knowing gaze over his said nothing in all of this, opting to quietly shuffle into the elevator when the door opened, a small smile playing about her lips.
It wasn't long after that they arrived at the plain white door to JJ, Penelope and Emily's shared room and Emily opened it swiftly with practised ease. The room inside was decorated with soft coffees and beige tones with plain white bedsheets on dark varnished oak bed frames. Emily crossed the room and snatched the small grey tv remote up from the glossy surface of the desk and switched the news on before promptly tossing it back down.
"I'm guessing mine and pretty boy's room will look the same, it's not too bad. We might have to get comfortable here anyway." Morgan placed one of their bags of food down on the desk before heading back to the door to let in a lightly blushing but overall happy looking Reid.
"When we finish up here I have a date! Her name is Vesta and she's studying criminology at George Mason University which obviously we have in common, I found it a little awkward, to begin with, because she knows who I am and what I do already but we have a lot in common and she's really nice!" Spencer grinned, striding into the room and plopping his messenger bag down on the first bed. "Is my chow mein still hot?"
"Yeah, here you go boy-wonder. I have to say I'm proud of you man, that's the smoothest I've seen you." Derek chuckled, offering a small proud smile as he handed the small container over to Spencer, who had begun to situate himself on the corner of the bed.
"She sounds like a perfect match for you, Spence, who knows how long this case will go on for though," JJ said, having grabbed her small box spring rolls and plopped herself up by the pillows on the second bed. Emily allowed her eyes to pass over the blonde's lounging form for a moment before she too took her food and crawled into the middle of the bed JJ had already decided to occupy.
"Thanks, speaking of the case it's almost ten pm now, I'm guessing the rest of the team will check in with the patrols and have them on the lookout, they probably won't be back until late. I'm concerned about this guy, he's very suddenly taken to a schedule almost as if he's been suppressing this urge for a while but something triggered it." Spencer opened his plastic tub with a loud pop and broke apart his chopsticks. He contemplated something for a moment before starting to eat and Emily's mind drew back to their current case.
"If we find out what triggered him we'll have our key to calming him down, but we need to find him first." She sighed after, then turned her attention back to her own food. After finishing off her sandwich she hadn't felt like eating much and opted for egg-fried rice with curry sauce. Taking the disposable plastic fork she mixed the curry sauce in with her rice and began to eat at a leisurely pace.
"You're all still assuming our unsub is male, I think there's still a chance they're female," Derek said offhandedly, slinking over to the mini-bar to grab a miniature can of beer.
"That's just going by the drugs administered and the signature though. I think the level of bruising and the fact that they had the strength to kill each victim with one definite blow points towards a male." JJ shuffled at the top of the bed before finishing her first spring roll and eyeing Derek with a challenging gaze.
"The bruising was post-mortem, they definitely had time to build up their strikes and cause that bruising." Derek countered, his brows raised slightly.
"You could argue that, but you could also argue that the sevoflurane would have allowed them time to inflict bruising before death as well, it would be easy to assume all of the bruising happened post-mortem." Emily jumped in, happy to agree with JJ's earlier points.
"What about the signature then?" Morgan sighed.
"It could be that the victims are substitutes for the unsub themselves and their true target is a female, or maybe it has something to do with gender dysphoria." Spencer offered, pushing his noodles about in his small tub as he looked at Morgan.
"Gender dysphoria? Alright, I'll bite, what's that?" Derek asked, setting his beer down on the floor before offering Spencer his full attention.
"Gender dysphoria is a condition wherein the subject feels as if their emotional and physiological identity be it male or female is the opposite of their biological gender. Some studies have shown that it can be caused by hormones not working properly in the womb, a lot of the time it's disregarded as a condition by families etc and some people go their entire lives with this condition feeling like they aren't able to make the physical changes to their body that would make them happier. Others grow up to have extensive surgeries in order to help make them feel more comfortable both in their bodies and within themselves."
"Okay, I can see parents acting negatively after realising that which could have created an unstable environment for our unsub to grow up in. It's plausible but I don't know. We can have Penelope keep a lookout for anyone who has anything out of place in their medical history or school notes that could point towards gender dysphoria." Derek agreed, finishing off his food as he did so. He downed the last of his beer in one long swig and threw the can into the small recycling bin next to the desk. "If you're done Spence, we should probably call it a night. There'll be plenty of work for us in the morning."
"You're right Morgan. Goodnight Emily, JJ." Spencer gave a small smile while gathering up his things. He awkwardly binned his rubbish and followed Derek to the door.
"Y'all have a good night, see you in the morning," Derek called from the door. They left promptly after and Emily could hear the jingling and scratching as they unlocked the room next door.
Emily and Jennifer sat in silence for a few minutes, neither wanting to start the dreaded conversation that would resolve what was going on between them. Then JJ sat up in the bed and gathered up all the rubbish. She shoved it all into one of the bags that had carried their food and threw it unceremoniously at the trash-can.
"I suppose we should talk then." Emily sighed, crawling farther up onto the bed to rest her head against the poofy white pillow.
"I just don't know what to say. At first, I was so angry with you. You put Penelope's job on the line as well as your own just to keep me on the team. It was stupid, irrational. It wasn't like you at all..." JJ trailed off looking to the side. She began to rub her left wrist with her right hand, causing a small red patch to form on the sensitive pale flesh that resided there.
"I hardly know what you mean," Emily responded, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Any one of us would have done what I did, I don't think it was irrational. I expected you to be mad, you should be. It was a risky move." She stopped, unable to find the words to express how she felt about the situation.
"That's just it though Emily, it wasn't anyone else who did it, it was you." A faint blush appeared on her cheeks and Emily's heart leapt inside her chest. "It made me think about if it had been any other member of the team in my position, would you react the same? I don't think you would... Honestly, I've just overthought this whole situation to the point where I've utterly confused myself. I don't see the point in being mad at you now, you were just trying to help and you're already being punished by Strauss with the extra work. Also hearing Derek say what he did, it kind of helped me cool off too."
"Well I'm glad, he was the one that solidified my reasoning and helped me go through with it. At first, the thought of you being angry was enough of a deterrent and I really didn't want to drag Garcia into it." Emily stretched, her muscles suddenly feeling laxer than they had in a while. She ran one hand through her dark brown hair and looked up at JJ with a small sheepish smile. For a moment Emily watched as all of the emotions in JJ's eyes melted into a look of adoration, which was quickly covered by the blonde haired agent moving to the main light switch. Understanding JJ's intentions Emily pulled the cord on the bedside lamp illuminating the bulb. JJ flipped the switch then slowly made her way across the room her blush darkening.
"Uhm. Penelope snores a lot, do you mind sharing a bed?" Jennifer asked quietly, stopping to stand next to the bed with an adorably innocent look on her face.
"I don't mind sharing." Emily found it hard to suppress the smile that blossomed naturally on her face as she shuffled under the covers and JJ climbed into the bed beside her. In all of the time Emily had been at the BAU this was the first time they had needed to share a bed. Despite the circumstances, it was still a momentous occasion to Emily and she fully intended to enjoy the closeness. "So why don't you think I'd do the same for anyone else on the team?"
"There's just something about the way you act around me, there's an unspoken sense of safety."
It was Emily's turn to blush at this statement and she almost felt like hiding her face. JJ's eyes lit up and the corner of her mouth quirked up almost in a smirk. "I'm just comfortable with you," Emily mumbled. She wriggled out of her trousers and kicked them onto the floor before bringing the covers tight around her.
"I'm comfortable with you too, Em," JJ responded, her tone affectionate. "We should get some sleep."
Emily pulled the cord next to the light, plunging the room into darkness in lieu of responding. There were a few moments of rustling as the two attempted to shuffle into a comfortable position. JJ half curled up on her left side taking up a large majority of the bed and Emily found herself squished up against the edge, too nervous to invade her friends' personal space. It wasn't until her hip and knee began to ache that she heard light snoring emit from beside her and feeling a need for comfort as sleep began to overtake her mind, Emily rolled over and threw one arm over the sleeping blonde. She buried her face in soft golden locks, which seemed to caress her face as she nuzzled into her friend. With the added warmth from JJ and the lovely scent of coconut hair products, it wasn't long before Emily too fell asleep.