Penelope Garcia technically should not have been playing online RPGs at work. Well, not even technically—especially after what happened last time—but that was a long time ago and those inventory slots weren't going to fill themselves; besides, she was so much more careful now. It wasn't like she didn't semi-regularly do things on Uncle Sam's time that she wasn't supposed to technically be doing anyway. Despite her self-assuredness that all her babies would to tell her right away if someone was even thinking of sniffing around where they didn't belong, she still quickly closed her laptop when there was a steady knock at her door. Garcia was certain no one would actually reprimand her, but it was late Friday afternoon and she'd managed to avoid incurring the paternalistic frown of Hotch all day and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Enter, mortal." She called, scanning the consultation request she'd pulled up on her main screen before turning her head to see who was stepping into her lair. A bright smile blossomed on her face as Morgan entered her office and closed the door behind himself to lean against it. "Hey, Tiger," she purred, turning away from her computer. "What brings you here aside from my magnetic pull?"

Morgan shook his head amusedly, a grin on his face. "Do I need another reason?"

"Of course not," she soothed with an obviously pretended affront, "but what will the neighbours think?" she picked up a metallic pink pen topped with a feathered bauble that swayed merrily from side to side and fiddled with it idly. "Business or pleasure, Hot Stuff?"

"Oh it's always pleasure with you, Baby Girl." He assured silkily, crossing his arms comfortably. "But I'm not here to talk about work, if that's what you're asking."

Garcia smiled broadly and pushed herself towards the end of her desk, scooting out another office chair with her foot in an offer for him to sit down. "What's on your mind, sweetness?"

Morgan dropped into the chair and leaned forward with his elbows on his thighs, wondering how he should start. He had promised not to tell JJ about Emily's feelings and he intended on keeping that promise not because of the thinly veiled threat Prentiss had visited on him, but simply because Emily had wanted him to. Even if he thought that the situation could be completely resolved positively if Emily was just direct about her feelings for once—and he did—he also knew her well enough to know that she'd keep inventing, and believing, every excuse she could come up with as to why JJ didn't seriously reciprocate her attraction or feelings. He wanted to help, he really did, but Derek had never had a head for friendly espionage, which was why he needed to go to a professional: to Penelope.

"You remember when we were at the bar?" Morgan started, unsure if just coming out and saying what he wanted was a betrayal of his word.

Garcia rolled her eyes and turned back towards the consult file to read the information more carefully. "You mean last night?" she asked, a teasing tone in her voice as she wiggled her pen idly between her fingers. She darted a glance over at him and clucked her tongue thoughtfully. "Did you meet some hottie while we weren't looking and need advice?"

Derek chuckled easily and leaned back in his chair. "Now how could I look at anyone else when you're around?"

Penelope smirked but didn't turn away from the screen. "I wonder that all the time, gorgeous. Are you gonna tell me what's up or are we just going to play 'unresolved sexual tension' all day?" she looked over again and gave him an obvious once over. "Not that I'm complaining, if that's the plan."

Morgan was glad Garcia wasn't looking at him anymore so she missed the dopey smile he tried to erase from his face by wiping a hand over it and sighing. "I just…has JJ said anything to you lately?"

Garcia tilted her head to one side, only half listening. "About what?"

"About Prentiss?"

That got the hacker's attention and she swiveled in her chair to face him again. "Emily?" she repeated a little suspiciously while narrowing her eyes. "What would JJ say to me about Emily?"

Morgan raised his eyebrows. "You tell me."

Garcia pursed her lips and gave him a stern look, "what's going on, Derek?" if something was wrong and JJ hadn't told her…

Derek rubbed the back of his head and didn't answer right away, trying to keep in mind Emily's very valid point that it was nigh impossible for Penelope to keep something from JJ (and her equally valid—and proven—point that he couldn't keep anything from Garcia. But hey, at least he was helping). "You ever notice how Emily and JJ are with each other? I mean not just the flirting… but how they really are?" he asked, eying her with an expression that pleaded for her to connect the dots for herself.

Garcia leaned forward in her chair with a cautiously gleeful gleam in her eyes. "Have I ever… a blindfolded man in a dark room would notice 'how they really are.'" When Morgan breathed out a sigh of relief, the analyst tossed her bauble-topped pen onto her desk so she could press her hands together. "Why exactly are you asking?"

Morgan hesitated a moment before saying, "I don't think I'm really supposed to,"

"What grade are we in?" Garcia cut him off amusedly while leaning back again. "Although, given the situation, you sort of have to wonder." She shrugged, "you're here now and you're here for a reason, so…"

"I'm wondering if JJ has said anything to you about how she feels about Emily."

Penelope sighed and her expression was almost disappointed. "Oh my god. No offense, but has it gotten that bad that she told you too? Not that I don't think it's sweet she's trying to give me a break, but when did she tell you?" she kept going before Morgan could ask her to clarify. "It was when she conned you into playing darts with her after she scared everyone else away, wasn't it?" she nodded as if that could be the only answer. "So how many different ways did she find to say 'I'm so disgustingly in love with Emily Prentiss that all my organs are being replaced with cartoon hearts' this time?"

"Wait wait wait." Morgan insisted, raising a hand in case Garcia was going to continue rambling. "JJ told you she's in love with Prentiss? In those exact words?"

Garcia frowned. "Not that she'd have to but yeah, of course she did; she tells me everything, you know that. Why do you sound so surprised that she'd," Her eyes widened and the gleeful look returned quickly as she interrupted herself. "Oh my god, unless you came here to talk about Emily and not JJ?" she leaned forward again.

Morgan nodded, "I came here to talk about Emily." He couldn't help but smile when Garcia let out a childish squeal and clapped her hands together once but frowned slightly when she said 'I knew it' in a self-satisfied manner. "Hold up," he started again. "You didn't know the feelings were mutual?"

Penelope reached over and patted him affectionately on the cheek. "And here you had me convinced that you weren't just a pretty face." She teased. "They're the only people who don't know but since Em's never confided in me about it, JJ insists that means we couldn't know for sure and swore me to secrecy on pain of," she looked away quickly as an uncharacteristic blush touched her cheeks. "Well, on pain of painful things anyways. Since she refused to defer tothe endless wisdom of the Goddess Of All Things Knowable And Unknowable, I did the only thing I could and started dropping hints to Emily hoping she'd open up to me."

"And?"

She rolled her eyes. "And nothing, obviously. Either I'm way too indirect, or she was blatantly disregarding my fabulous trail of breadcrumbs the size of Texas."

Morgan chuckled and shook his head. "Indirect is definitely not a word I'd used to describe you, Garcia." He grinned wolfishly at the mock-offended look on her face. "But that's why we love you." He crossed his arms and got back on topic. "I knew Emily was into her, but I honestly didn't realize it was so serious until last night. She doesn't think there's a real chance and made me promise JJ wouldn't hear it from me, but she didn't say anything about hearing it from you." A small lie, but one he was sure he could weasel out of with little difficulty once everything worked out.

The blonde sucked her teeth disapprovingly and crossed her arms as well. "If it were that simple, don't you think I would have done that already? They're both denser than…" she trailed off while searching for an optimal end to the metaphor and finally gave up with a casual wave of her hand. "Denser than something I'll ask Reid about later."

"So what now? Lock them in the file room and hope for the best?"

"Tempting," she mulled. "But 'the best' would end up being a broken door and two really pissed off ladies who have guns." Morgan nodded in helpless acknowledgement of the truth as Penelope continued. "Besides, we both know how they are. They'll be adorably embarrassed about direct intervention and will feel obligated to start something to appease us instead of letting it happen organically, you know? As much as I want that to be a good idea, if they don't figure it out on their own—at the first sign of a rough patch they'll both take it as 'a sign' and give up." She shook her head. "I love our girls, I really do, but sometimes they're about as sharp as a cloth bag full of mashed potatoes."

"I definitely can't argue with that." Morgan responded with a chuckle. "So what do we do? I don't feel right just sitting around waiting for them to figure it out when we know what we know. We'll all be collecting pensions by then and I for one would like to see them happy before I'm ready for my gold watch." He made a grand gesture to encompass Garcia. "Which is why I'm here. With the expert."

"Beauty and brains!" Garcia gave a dramatic sigh and clutched her hands to her chest. "My only weaknesses." She glanced over at the clock on one of her computer monitors. "As much as I would love nothing more than to spend the last two hours we have at work plotting and scheming—I may or may not have spent like eighty-five percent of today combing through every dragon cave on the Western Continent looking for stuff to upgrade my armour and if I don't have at least three more consults done by close of business day, Hotch is going to do that face-thing that makes me feel like I'm grounded and it'll ruin my whole weekend."

Derek's question came out of his mouth before it was fully formed in his brain, "Well, what are you doing after work then?"

Penelope frowned slightly in mild confusion. "It's Friday."

Morgan raised his eyebrows. "All day until midnight," he agreed. "Oh. You've got plans?" he asked the question in an apologetic tone but the inkling of guilt that had started to creep up on him disappeared as she shook her head.

"Nope, not today; but it's Friday." She repeated. "Don't you have plans?"

He did have plans. Now that he thought of it, he had plans until Saturday night—or Sunday morning if he was lucky—but when he'd asked, he hadn't thought of it. He should have offered a rain check. They could get together on Sunday, right? It wasn't anything…they were just hanging out to talk about Emily and JJ; they could get together on Sunday. "Nah," he said, shaking his head and already making a mental note to send some cancelation texts as soon as he got out of Garcia's office. "I'm all yours, Baby Girl."

Garcia gave a kittenish grin and looked like she was going to say something in immediate response but her lips twitched slightly and she cleared her throat before saying, "I can work with that."

Morgan smiled back and stood up from his chair, stretching exaggeratedly as he stifled a yawn. "Korean Grill in Woodbridge?" he tossed out with one hand on the doorknob, and the other already fishing in his pocket for his personal phone.

Garcia swiveled her chair back to face her computer and picked up the pen she'd tossed on the keyboard. "Last one there is buying." She asserted in agreement, waving her pen at him.

"Hope you're bringing your credit card, cause I can eat a lot." Derek teased with a loud pat to his stomach as he stepped out of Penelope's office, pulling the door shut on her good-natured chuckle. He pushed his phone back into his pocket, now more interested in quickly making an acceptable dent in the pile of consults still on his desk than the texts he needed to send out. He could do that once he got to the restaurant because he was about as interested in getting there last as he was in letting Penelope pay when she showed up after him.