Dancing Queen

The plane landed in Chicago and Morgan couldn't help but smile a bit. He knew they wouldn't have time to visit his Mom and sisters. Perhaps on the way the back. He looked over to see that Emily had fallen asleep. He nudged her shoulder and she jumped.

"Easy," he said.

"Where are we?" she asked, still disoriented.

"Just landed in Chicago. We've got a layover," he answered, unbuckling his seatbelt. She undid her belt as well and they stood in the cramped space, waiting for the other passengers to exit the plane. Neither spoke as they headed for the next gate.

"I definitely don't miss civilian flying," Morgan said, stretching his back.

"I hear you," she sighed.

"Hey I need to make a call," he said after a minute or two. She just nodded and reached into her bag. She couldn't help but browse the files JJ had given her. Morgan walked a fair distance away and pulled out his phone. He hit a few buttons before pressing 'send'. The phone on the other end rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a female voice said.

"Mom. Hey, it's Derek," Morgan said.

"Hi honey," she replied.

"I was wondering what you were doing on Sunday? A friend and I are flying out to California for the weekend and we've got a layover in Chicago on the way back," Morgan explained.

"We'd love to see you," his mother answered. He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Alright then. I'll call you when we land on Sunday, Ma," he said and hung up. He headed back over to join Emily.

"Everything alright?" she asked. She'd put the case file away when she had seen him hang up from his call.

"Yeah. Just told my Mom we might stop by on Sunday," he answered.

"If that's ok with you," he added.

"Yeah it's fine," she murmured. It could be nice to see Derek's family under different circumstances. Morgan nodded his head and rested his hands in his lap. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.

"I was thinking. Maybe I'd give JJ a call and see…" Emily began but she was cut short.

"Emily, come on. No work. You promised. We're here to have a good time and get away from that," he begged, taking her hands in his. She gave him a pleading look.

"I just…I feel like I need to be doing something. I'm not goo at just relaxing," she admitted, looking him straight in the eye.

"Well we'll see if we can change that," he whispered. He dropped her hands and smiled at her before reaching for his headphones. Twenty minutes later they were boarding another flight. Morgan slid their bags into the overhead compartment and grabbed the window seat.

"I'll try not to fall asleep again," Emily laughed as she buckled her seatbelt.

"You missed the pretzels last time," he teased. She doubled over in laughter, earning her stares from the surrounding passengers. After a good fifteen minutes, the crew shut the cabin door and the plane taxied to the runway. Ten minutes after that they were making their ascent into the air. Derek looked over at Emily. She caught him staring.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Oh come on. Just tell me," she prodded.

"Just…a while ago…Reid said something and…" he trailed off. She gave him a look to continue.

"You don't think…I'm not sending the wrong message am I?" he rambled. Why was this so damn hard? He never had problems talking to women.

"Depends on what message you're trying to send,' she answered. He was about to open his mouth to respond when held her hand up.

"But I think it's the right message," she continued, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

"Just so we're clear…I don't want to change you," she whispered. He raised an eyebrow.

"I talked to Reid too," she said with a smirk.

"That sneaky little bastard. First he distracts me so he can win and now he's going behind my back, trying to set me up," Morgan chuckled.

"I wouldn't complain if I were you," she snickered. They slipped into a comfortable silence for the duration of the flight, their hands still firmly clasped. They finally had to let go to unbuckle their seatbelts.

"Hey I have to stop at the bathroom," Emily muttered as they headed for baggage claim.

"I'll see you down there," he called and they parted ways. By the time she found the baggage claim area, Morgan had grabbed their bags. She grabbed her suitcase from hi and they headed out to hail a cab.

"You have the address?" he asked and she nodded.

Half an hour later they were pulling up to a large house about half a mile from the beach. Morgan let out a whistle as he handed the cab driver a wad of bills.

"Nice place," he commented as they headed up the front walk to the door.

"Wait until you see the view," Emily said, unlocking the door. They dropped their bags in the front hall and Emily gave him a quick tour.

"I could get used to this," he laughed as he sunk down onto the couch.

"I think I'm going to take a shower," Emily announced.

"I'll be here," Derek murmured, picking up the TV remote and flipping on the set. Emily grabbed her suitcase and headed for the bathroom. When she walked out of the bathroom she nearly had a heart attack. Derek was changing shirts and clutched the towel tightly to her.

"You scared me," she gasped as he turned around.

"Been doing that a lot lately," he said, walking towards her. She fixed him with a quizzical look.

"I know what you're thinking…it's not going to happen," she said, reaching for her bra and underwear.

"Come on, Emily. I think you know me better than that," he sighed. She just shook her head and headed back into the bathroom, reemerging minutes later in shorts and tank top.

"You hungry?" he asked from his position on the edge of the bed.

"Now that you mention it, yeah," she agreed.

"I'll go see if I can find something," Morgan offered and headed for the kitchen. Emily watched him walk away for a minute before going in search of her hair dryer. When she emerged a second time, a strong smell caught her attention. She wandered out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.

"That smells really good," she said, leaning on the counter.

"Just something I whipped up," he said.

"Never knew Mr. Tough Guy was a cook," she sniggered.

"Never knew you were such a flirt either," he said, tossing a bit of pepper at her.

"Oh no you did not just do that," she gasped.

"Yeah…I did," he laughed. Emily reached for the nearest ingredient. She found some flour and sent it flying.

"You want to play dirty," he coughed. He picked up some flour of his own and began to chase her.

"No! I just took a shower!" she protested as he tackled her to the couch. She managed to keep most of herself flour-free. Without warning he leaned down and kissed her. She was a little taken by surprise but didn't pull away. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck. He reached up the brush a lock of hair from her eyes when the shift in position sent them tumbling to the floor. Emily sat up and burst out laughing.

"Way to ruin the moment," she teased.

"Come here, you've got something right there," he said, getting a bit of flower in her hair. She brushed it out and smacked him on the arm. He wiped his hands on his pants and stood up, offering her his hand.

"Let's eat," he said and they sat down at the center island in the kitchen.

The afternoon passed by uneventfully. Emily dozed off with the TV on while Morgan flipped through a book he'd found on the bookshelf. Finally evening came and they headed out for a night on the town.

"Look at you," Morgan complimented as he held the door open for her on their way out. She was dressed in a rather revealing top and skirt.

"Nothing says sexy quite like FBI out on the town," she said with a smirk.

"Damn right," he replied.

After a lot of walking and getting turned around they found a decent looking club. They stepped in line with the crowd of people waiting to get in.

"ID," the bouncer said, extending his hand. Emily and Morgan shared a look as they reached for their wallets. Both handed over their badges. They didn't want a repeat of the airport. He nodded and let them through. As soon as they walked in they were hit with the thumping base of a rap song and the strong smell of alcohol.

"You ready?" he asked, indicating the dance floor.

"Oh…I think I need a drink…or three first," she laughed. With that they headed over to the bar.

Quite some time later, Morgan had managed to drag Emily out on the dance floor and was holding her rather close. The song ended and he spun her around to face him. She managed to wrap her arm around his neck before going spinning into some nearby onlookers.

"I think you're making them jealous," Morgan whispered.

"They should be," she answered. Morgan grinned. Emily was a lot more loose and relaxed when she'd had a few drinks. Then again, who wouldn't be more relaxed?

"How about another drink?' she called as another song started to blare through the speakers.

"I'm cutting you off. Don't need to be holding your head over a toilet at two in the morning," he shouted back.

"You saying I can't hold my liquor?" she called back. He took her by the hand and headed towards a spot farther away from the noise.

"No. But I don't want to be responsible if you do something stupid," he said. She looked a little taken aback.

"Sorry…I don't get to do this often," she apologized, looking down at her hands.

"Hey…don't apologize," he said, lifting her chin up with his index finger.

"Maybe we should head out," she suggested and he nodded his head in agreement. Close to half an hour later they walked back into the house. Emily tossed the keys and her purse on a nearby table. Morgan headed for the bathroom while Emily stripped out of her top and skirt and rummaged around for a night shirt. When Morgan reappeared, they both looked at the bed and back to each other.

"It's just a bed," Morgan stated, walking by her.

"I didn't say anything," she said and climbed under the covers. Morgan followed suit, rolling over to look at her.

"Wait until Reid hears about this," he mused.

"Who says Reid has to know," Emily whispered back. He gave a soft laugh and rolled back over.

"Night," he murmured.

"Night," she responded, both succumbing to the pull of their subconscious.