Happy Holidays!

Emily woke up to her alarm the next morning on time and blaring in her ear. She turned it off and laid in bed. She contemplated calling in sick and just not dealing with anything today.

Just crawl back under the covers and pretend she was someone else.

Eventually though she decided against it because she was going to have to face the music at some point so why not just dive right in?

Rather reluctantly Emily got up and washed her hair over the bathtub before going to get some coffee. She was really nervous about the day ahead so she didn't want to risk eating anything in fear that it wouldn't stay down.

She blow dried her hair and grabbed an outfit from her closet before putting on her makeup. She put off leaving for work by hand washing the dishes even though she had a dishwasher and then of course she had to dry them and put them away. Then she had to straighten up the living room before finally putting on her shoes and slowly leaving her apartment.

She wasn't late when she arrived at the BAU but she certainly wasn't early like usual. The office felt strange when she arrived. Most of the team was there but that wasn't it.

At this point Emily had no idea if JJ had told any members of the team but judging by their cheery faces and good mornings Emily concluded that JJ hadn't.

During her break she talked with Morgan about nonsense and he was poking fun at her as usual. Halfway through the break JJ came over and joined in on the harmless fun although her poking fun was just a slight bit harsher. Emily managed to dodge them and not let it affect her too much but she was thrown off by it.

In the afternoon they got a local case. JJ briefed them in the conference room like usual and the team started coming up with a possible profile. When Emily suggested that the killer could have known his victims JJ immediately disagreed.

She got uncharacteristically and noticeably overcome with anger and Hotch had to tell her to take a walk to calm down.

"What the hell was that?" Morgan whispered to Emily. Emily just shrugged and offered a simple "Bad morning maybe."

The rest of the day Emily felt like she was walking on eggshells. The team knew something was up but weren't sure what and Emily was not willing to tell them.

The dynamic of the team changed just like Emily had feared it would. JJ was walking around like a ticking time bomb ready to tell everyone about Emily's affair if Emily looked at her the wrong way.

The next day, Tuesday, was worse. JJ got angry at Emily once again when Emily forgot to bring her a file. At this point the team knew there was something else going on because Emily often forgot to deliver files and it was a running joke throughout the office.

Hotch called JJ into his office after the outburst and she's in there for a half hour. Emily was visibly stressed while JJ was in Hotch's office. She convinced herself that JJ was telling Hotch about her affair with Will. That half hour had been the longest half hour of her life.

She no longer cared about trying to look like she was calm. She snapped at Morgan who asked her if she needed a chill pill and declined Rossi's offer to go out for coffee for the first time in 6 years.

When JJ finally came out of Hotch's office she looked about the same as she had when she went in. She didn't look like she had been crying and she didn't look less stressed out. Against Emily's better judgment she followed behind JJ as she returned to her office.

Emily closed the door behind her and turned to JJ. "What do you want?" JJ spat out as she sat down.

"Did you tell him?" Emily asked. Her heart was beating so fast she didn't know if she had yelled it or whispered it.

"Of course I didn't tell him it's none of his business."

"Why the hell not?" Emily asked suddenly mad and taken back.

"It's. None. Of. His. Business." JJ said calmly. "I don't want you to get kicked off the team Emily. We have a good team that works together better than anyone in the world. I want you to suffer but not our team."

Emily was stunned at the fact that JJ hadn't told Hotch. Emily's heart rate calmed at that fact and the fact that JJ had probably not told anyone else on the team. "JJ, I-"

"I have work to do. Get out of my office." JJ said dismissingly as she looked at her computer screen.

"JJ, I just want to sa-"

"I said get out of my office you tramp!" JJ said raising her voice and probably her blood pressure.

With that Emily left the office. Name calling she could handle at least for now but destroying the team she could not.

The rest of the day passed rather quietly. JJ locked herself in her office and Hotch gave jobs for the other team members to do.

With not even half the week under her belt Emily was starting to believe that she couldn't handle staying at the BAU for a whole week. It was such a crazy thought. Working at the BAU had been a dream of hers at one time. Something that was worth straining her relationship with her mother and moving out to DC was now so dreadful it was almost unbearable.

Emily found herself browsing relators sites looking at houses late Tuesday night. She surprisingly found a few that she really liked. She fell asleep with her laptop still on and woke up with the next morning to find its battery dead.

When she went to work that morning she was exhausted. Mentally, physically and emotionally. Her friends were concerned but stayed away in fear of getting snapped at which was wise.

Things changed on Wednesday. The team had gone out for a late dinner the night before and Emily had declined because she was tired. When she walked into the office there were no cheerful good mornings or offers to get her coffee.

It wasn't a big change in behavior but Emily noticed it obviously. She had suspected that JJ had told the team about the affair. Emily wasn't mad at JJ but it definitely changed the dynamic of the team again like she had feared.

Emily also figured that JJ had just told the team about the affair and not about Will raping her because JJ still didn't know about that. It was frustrating for Emily because yes she made a mistake but so did Will and she felt that she was getting blamed for it all.

The team had kept their distance from her for most of the day and Emily felt like a lonely outsider. The week was certainty not going well and she didn't know how much more she could take. When she went home and called a realtor and they agreed to look at houses on Friday. Emily didn't want to move but she knew that she would probably have to especially if things didn't improve soon.

On Thursday things seemed to lighten up a little. Although the team was still acting different around her at least they were willing to talk to her.

It was late in the afternoon and JJ still hadn't shown up to work. "Where's JJ?" Emily asked as she looked up at the empty office.

"I overheard her telling Hotch she had to meet with her lawyer today." Morgan replied. "You would know that if you showed up to work on time." He poked.

Emily offered him a weak smile. "Yeah things have just been a little hectic lately." Morgan nodded even though he didn't really know what was going on. "Hopefully things slow down soon."

Morgan offered to get Emily some coffee and soon she was alone with Reid. He didn't have a clue what was going on and that was fine by him. He offered to talk about a book that both of them had read and Emily agreed. It was nice to think about something that wasn't stressful or difficult.

Around that time JJ was walking into Michael's office. He had called her a few days ago and they set up a meeting but JJ wasn't sure what he wanted. She didn't think they had anything else to go over but apparently he found something.

JJ was kind of thankful to get away from the toxic work environment hat she had created even if was only for a few hours.

"Hello JJ." Michael greeted when JJ walked into his office. "Please sit."

"Thanks." JJ said as she sat down.

"So I wanted to call you in today because we didn't get the chance to talk last week."

JJ blushed and said. "Yeah sorry about that. Things just got a little overwhelming."

"Completely understandable. But you left before you got to hear something very important." Michael started and when JJ gave him a confused look he continued. "I can see your relationship with Emily is strained but there is a reason she came here with you every time, right?"

JJ nodded.

"I don't usually play make up between friends but you left before you heard the full story and I think it's really important that you hear it, if you are willing to."

JJ didn't really want to listen to any half fast excuse Emily had come up with to cover her ass but Michael did seem to think it was important. She agreed to watch the rest of the video.

Michael turned the monitor of his computer so JJ could watch. When he pressed play she looked at Emily. She looked so small and tired.

"How long did this affair last?" Daniel asked.

"Six months." Emily replied quietly.

That was the question that had tipped JJ off. Less than a minute later JJ heard the door slam and saw Emily jump and put her face in her hands.

"I only have a few more questions." Daniel said softly trying to assure her. Emily nodded but didn't look up. "When did your relationship with Mr. LaMontagne end?"

"A little over two weeks ago I guess." Emily finally replied.

When Emily looked up she could see that Emily looked even more tired than before.

Her answer was a little surprising too. JJ had figured that Emily was still sleeping with Will. She felt a little bad and that maybe she should start thinking about giving Emily a little more credit.

"One final question, why did the relationship end?" Daniel asked.

JJ saw clearly that Emily froze at the question, that couldn't be good.

"Ms. Prentiss?" Daniel asked gently.

Emily sniffed and looked up again. She took a deep breath but her voice came out smaller than Emily probably would have liked.

"He raped me in my kitchen."

The words hit JJ like a ton of bricks. He what? JJ couldn't wrap her head around what Emily had said. On the video Emily continued to talk about the rape but JJ was finding it difficult to pay attention. Will being capable of rape was almost unbelievable. It made her stomach turn and she felt like she was going to faint.

JJ's initial reaction was to call Emily a liar and not believe her at but she couldn't.

It didn't seem like a half fast excuse to JJ. Emily's eyes were filled with sadness and she looked small and broken.

JJ felt bad about being so mean to Emily but the original problem still stood. Emily still slept with Will for six months. That being said with the new news JJ was starting to think there was more to the affair than she had thought.

The video ended and Michael turned the monitor back towards him. "Wow." JJ said quietly.

"That's what I was thinking when I first heard it but probably for a different reason than you." Michael said.

JJ nodded even though she didn't follow exactly.

"Having an affair is one thing but claiming rape is another. This allegation alone could ruin his life even if it turns out not to be true."

JJ didn't say anything right away. JJ knew about Emily's past and she knew what Emily had been through. Emily had been raped before when she was a teenager by one of her "friends". JJ didn't think Emily would even think to lie about rape after that.

JJ had also seen many people who had gotten raped through her job. She had seen hundreds of victims and Emily sure did look like a few of them.

"It's true." JJ said finally. "I believe her."

Michael nodded. "I do too but that's not the issue. The issue is whether or not a jury would believe her and whether or not Emily wants to bring the situation to court."

"I don't know what she will want to do, I'm not even sure what I want to do."

"I understand and there is no rush so take your time and think things over carefully." Michael reassured.

"Yes I will. Thank you for calling me in, it really opened my eyes." JJ said standing up and shaking his hand.

"Call me next week?" He asked as JJ was leaving. JJ nodded before leaving the office and then the building.

She walked over to her car and sat in the parking lot. She was shaken and no longer knew who to blame. Yes, Will and Emily did a bad thing but could she blame either one?

Emily had bad luck with men, ever since she was a teenager. Although she probably knew an affair was wrong she might not have realized how wrong.

And then there was Will. Maybe JJ had pushed him away and into Emily's arms. She did make him go over to Emily's apartment all those months ago. Or maybe Will had just fallen for Emily's seduction, intentional or not.

Either way JJ knew at that moment that she couldn't blame just Emily for the affair but didn't have enough strength to face Emily. It was still early enough to go back to work but JJ didn't want to go to work to actually work.

She went back to the BAU and went directly to Garcia's office. The door was open so she walked in and closed the door behind her.

"What's up Jay?" Garcia asked even though she had a pretty good idea.

"I don't know what to do anymore. I thought I could blame Emily for the affair and just be done with it but I can't."

"I know. Emily came to me a few times before asking for advice and I could barely help her." Garcia offered.

JJ stopped. "Wait you knew about the affair before me?"

"Well yes." Garcia admitted. "Emily came to me and she was devastated and I didn't know what to do so I just gave her crappy advice."

"You could have gave me a heads up or something." JJ said.

"Well you were never supposed to find out." Garcia defended. "I know I betrayed you but I didn't want to betray Emily either. I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad don't worry. Well I am mad but there are other things that are making me madder so you're safe for now."

Garcia offered her a smile but it disappeared when she remembered she had to find the creep of the week and send the rest of the team his way. "Is there anything else you wanted because I have to help catch this freak of an UNSUB."

"Oh right, I'm sorry." JJ said. She was about to get up when she remembered the real reason she came.

"So you knew about the affair right?" She asked and Garcia nodded. "Did you also know about the rape?"

"The what?" Garcia asked with her eyes practically out of her head.

JJ sighed. "Yeah, apparently Will raped her in her kitchen a few weeks ago."

Garcia's mind immediately went to the last time Emily had come into her office and how Garcia had ignored the nagging voice that told her there was something more. "Poor Emily." Garcia replied in a pathetic and helpless tone.

"Don't tell her I said anything. I doubt or stubbornly strong Emily would want everyone to know." JJ added quickly.

"Oh course not." Garcia agreed.

JJ got up and walked towards the door. "I can see why Emily came to you." JJ said over her shoulder before leaving.

Garcia smiled at the now closed door before going back to work.

The team caught the guy before he got the chance to hurt his next victim. Hotch let them go home early and told them to come in bright and early to do paperwork.

Emily went home and called Jason and invited him over for supper.

There was a reason for calling him of course. Over the past week she had been thinking about whether or not she would move or not. She had debated it countless times in her head but she was slowly leaning towards moving.

She wanted to tell Jason before she made any final decisions to get his input on the situation.

When Jason arrived the two of them cooked, ate and cleaned up together. They sat on the couch in Emily's living room together drinking some wine.

"You drink to much of this stuff." Jason said gesturing to the half full glasses.

"Yeah well it tastes good." Emily said in a mock defensive tone.

"You taste good but you don't see me drowning myself in you every night." Jason replied.

"I never said you couldn't." Emily pointed out.

"Maybe I will." Jason said under his breath as he took Emily's glass and put it on the coffee table next to his.

He leaned in and kissed her neck. The wine had made Emily tipsy but Jason was making her dizzy. She pulled on his hair gently and brought his lips to hers.

"That will never get old." Jason said as he smiled down at her. Emily smiled back because when she was with him she was actually happy.

When Jason's hand started to wander under her shirt she stopped him, knowing full well that if she let him continue she would never be able to tell him she was going to move.

"Jason wait." Emily said but Jason's other hand took off instead. "I have to talk to you about something."

"It can wait an hour or so." Jason mumbled into her neck.

"No it can't." Emily said while pushing him away. He finally listened and sat back.

Emily took a deep breath. "I'm going to move."

"I'm guessing you're not moving a few blocks away."

"No, I was thinking a few towns away." Emily said quietly.

"Why?"

Emily thought for a second in order not to tell him something she wasn't ready to talk about. "Things aren't working out at the BAU anymore and another team has asked me to work with them for years now."

"Does Hotch know?" Jason asked.

"Not yet, no one knows except you." Emily admitted. "I'll tell him tomorrow."

There was a pause and Emily could almost see the gears turning in Jason's head.

"Of course I'm not happy that you're going to be moving but I want you to be happy so if moving to another town gives you that chance than I think you should go for it."

"So you're not mad?" Emily asked nervously.

"I'm upset but I'm certainly not mad." He reassured. "I'm going to miss you but I think we can make it work."

"Really?" Emily asked while failing to keep her excitement at bay.

"I think so, well I should say I want to." Jason said. "This is going to sound really cheesy but I really like you Em and I want to be with you."

"Ditto." Emily whispered because she didn't know if she could repeat what he had said.

He kissed her and this time the kiss got carried away. Emily straddled his lap and ran her fingers threw his hair.

Emily eventually took him upstairs to her room and Jason was able to drown himself in her until she was begging him to stop. He then happily obliged to all her demands and begs as the two of them travelled to sweet oblivion.

It was getting late and they were exhausted Jason made no move to leave and the thought didn't cross Emily's mind.

Emily didn't know if she wanted to leave him but when she thought about it for another minute she knew she had to. Even though right now things at the BAU were tolerable Emily knew that eventually that would change and that it would become dangerous for everyone involved.

Emily fell asleep with Jason in her bed and his arm draped over her waist.

They woke up early the next morning so they could get a not so quick shower together before Jason had to go so he could get ready for work at his house.

"Call me tonight, ok?" Jason asked.

Emily nodded and kissed him goodbye before he left. She continued to get ready for work and left an hour early so she could talk to Hotch and potentially leave early.

There was barely any traffic when she drove to work and when she arrived there were barely any people, just like she had hoped.

She put her bag and coat on her desk before heading straight to Hotch's office. She wanted to get this out of the way first in fear that she would lose her nerve.

Emily knocked lightly on his door and when he heard him say come in she opened the door. "Do you have a minute sir?"

"Yes of course. You're here early." Hotch said while he closed a file he was working on.

"I was hoping to get home early. I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to say it. I'm meeting with a realtor later today and I'm going to move soon." Emily said quickly.

"Will this move conflict with your job?" Hotch asked with his face neutral and his voice to match.

Emily sighed. "I'm going to make sure it does sir."

"Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind?"

"I don't think so. I doesn't take a profiler to know that the team has changed this week and I don't know if I can handle the fact that I'm the cause of it. It would be better for everyone if I got another job."

"I understand." Hotch said even though he barely did. He had heard faint rumors involving Emily but it would be unprofessional to believe any of them. "Your job will always be here if you want it."

"Thank you Hotch." Emily said because what else was she supposed to say.

"I'll give you the papers you need and then if you could fill them out before you leave that would be great. It will take about two weeks but if you find a new house than I can try and bump it up." Hotch said.

"That would be great, thank you."

Hotch handed her the papers and then she left his office. She walked to her desk and tried her very hardest to focus on the case file she had to finish but it was hard.

When Morgan and Reid came in the office she hid the resignation papers under the case file. She smiled at them politely and listened as Morgan talked about a date that he had the night before. When they all finished talking Emily went back to her file and Reid went to get coffee for him and Morgan.

"Is everything alright Emily?" Morgan asked once Reid was gone.

"Yeah of course." She replied looking him in the eyes to try and further convince him of her lie.

"You know you can talk to me anytime?" Emily nodded. "You're my partner." When Emily nodded again Morgan seemed satisfied and got down to work. That comment only lead to more guilt being placed on her shoulders.

Emily worked through her break and into part of her lunch. While most of the team was out to lunch Emily finished her case file and then took out her resignation papers.

She stared down at them. It was one thing to talk about leaving and it was another thing to sign the papers and actually do it. She slowly put her pen to the paper and filled out all the dotted lines.

She still wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do but she couldn't think of anything else to do.

She finished everything and looked it over twice before going back up to Hotch's office.

"All done?" Hotch asked when she appeared in the door.

"Yeah I think so." She handed them over to him. "If there's anything wrong with them just call me and I'll come back."

"Ok that will be good, you're free to go. Good luck finding a new house." Hotch said.

"You don't mean that do you?" Emily asked, as she was about to leave. Hotch shook his head a little before she left. That almost made Emily want to just forget moving and stay. Was she doing more good or bad? Who knew, Emily certainly didn't.

Emily returned to her desk and was thankful that no one had returned from lunch. She knew she had to say goodbye to her friends eventually but she wasn't ready yet.

When she left the office she called her realtor and he agreed to meet her at the first house a little early.

The rest of the day with her realtor, Jackson, had been good. They went to four houses and then returned to the first house they had seen.

It was a small house with one bedroom and two bathrooms. She knew she could afford a bigger house but it wasn't about that. The small house was cozy, safe, and secure which was exactly what Emily needed.

She signed the lease before they left and she thanked Jackson before she got in her car and drove home. She timed how far away her new house was from her old house and found it was almost three hours.

Perfect.

She called Hotch and told her she found a place and he told her that he would try and get the papers through the system by Wednesday. Emily was so thankful. She finally had something to look forward to and everyday she was closer to it.

Emily had a busy weekend ahead. She drove out to her new house to go over some things with the landlord and Jason offered to come with her.

He said he liked her place but Emily could tell he was a little upset that it was so far away even though he didn't say anything.

When everything was done with the landlord Emily and Jason left the house and started to drive home. They stopped halfway and got some supper and at a little diner just off the highway.

"Do you really like the house?" Emily asked once they had begun eating.

"Of course I do." Jason replied but he didn't look up and he didn't sound too convincing.

"Are you mad at me for moving far away?" Emily asked while she bit her lip.

"I not mad Em, I'm sad that you'll be so far away but I really like the house. I wish you didn't move so far away but I know you have your reasons so I'm sure I'll man up and deal with it soon enough." Jason replied looking up at her finally.

"I didn't mean to make you sad. I just need to get out of this place. Three hours away was the closest I could be and still be sure that I would be able to start over." Emily admitted. When Jason nodded in agreement and she continued. "I really like you Jase and I don't want anything to change between us."

"Me either. So they won't." Jason said with a smile.

They finished up eating and resumed their drive home. Jason's right hand found Emily's left and he interlocked their fingers and gently stroked her hand with his thumb. Emily smiled at him and looked at him as he drove.

He really was great. He made her happy and he made her smile constantly, the real ones. She felt safe when she was with him. It didn't matter where they were because as long as he was by her side she knew she was going to be ok.

As she looked at the side of his face and into his eyes that were focused on the road, all at once she realized that she wasn't falling in love with him. She was already in love with him.

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and I'm sorry it took so long. The story is coming to a close and I'm a little sad about it.